So...did you get into this hot water because of your addiction to fashionable shoes? Or some other overspending habit? Because if things are as bad as you say, why are you indulging yourself in such fripperies? Shouldn't your paycheck be going to put shoes on your kids' feet instead?

And apparently that so profound lesson didn't make much of an impression. Am I supposed to be moved or impressed by this? Not bloody likely. Welcome to the real world, honey.

at the pathetic ego problems of a man who takes a situation like this, where someone is asking for advice about a sad family issue, as an excuse to flaunt his cutesy, look-at-me-ain't-I-clever flights of fancy. What a horrid spectacle.

Get a shrink, Cary. Really. Who knows what damage you might be doing to the people who are asking for your help?

The women accused at Salem did not "take their punishment". Every single person executed at that time proclaimed her/his innocence. (Yes, there were men accused as well.) It was basically why they were killed - because they "refused" to confess to something they knew they hadn't done. The only person who was spared was the slave Tituba, one of the first to be accused. She got off the hook by confessing to witchcraft. Smart move, as she probably realized they'd never believe her innocence anyway.

But why is no one complaining that Robert Downey Jr. is playing a black man?

I didn't even have to read the thing past the first couple of paragraphs to know it's a pile of crap. If Hannaham can't tell the difference between blackface and what Downey is doing in this film, his "criticism" isn't worth the pixels it's composed of.

Get a clue what you're talking about next time, dude.

The best portrayal of the entire complex of issues that I've ever seen is the 1993 film Rain Without Thunder. It's a faux documentary taking place in 2042, and it follows the case of a young woman in jail for "fetal murder". There are interviews with the girl, her mother (who is also in jail for abetting the crime, i.e., she escorted her daughter to Europe to get an abortion), her family, other inmates, and philosophical and legal figures of the day. It's an incredible film, covering pretty much all the aspects. Not only well-written and acted, but chillingly prescient.

Why have you never heard of this film? Well, it sank without a trace when it came out, mostly because the critics dismissed it as "shrill" (always a word that comes up when women's issues are discussed in any realistic fashion), "manipulative", "heavy-handed", etc. A lot of people were eager to stomp in into the ground, and succeeded.

But for anyone interested in this subject, it's must see. It was only released on video, but if folks start requesting it at Amazon and Netflix, we may see a DVD release. It's sorely needed.

Please tell me that Broadsheet writers are not so utterly obtuse that they didn't get that is ad is a MOVE PARODY. No? Really??

Damn. Time was when pretty much any media critic would have picked up on it. I saw references to American Beauty, Showgirls, Grease, The Big Lebowski, Fame, and other well-known flicks in this melange of images. But Broadsheet saw none of this? Really? (I mean, how could you miss the American Beauty reference?) *sigh* So much for the pop culture acumen Broadhseet writers seem to pride themselves on.

Also, yo, the ad is supposed to be funny. You remember funny, don't you? It's where the viewer loosens up and laughs at human foibles? Such as, "we're all just animals in and it's a jungle out there"? No? Hello??

Other than the bad animation style, I found this ad rather cute . It's not as funny as it wants to be, but that's a function of the animation, I think. People tend to overestimate the effect of this 3-D style. I think a good, sharp 2-D would get the humor across better.

But damn, people. Get a LIFE, already.

That's MOVIE PARODY. Damn keyboard gremlins.

So, Tracy, I guess the choice of Muslim women to cover themselves up is religious freedom and worthy of respect, but it's okay to make cheap jokes about the choice of Catholic women to take the veil? How very feminist of you.

Is anybody else laughing their asses off at Paglia'a oft-repeated idea that because a woman gets power for herself that automatically makes her and her ideas "feminist"? I don't know what weird-ass Kool-Aid Camille drinks on a regular basis, but I'd suggest she try to go cold turkey.

What a freakin' maroon.

Broadsheet makes a big deal of protecting womens' rights over our own bodies, but apparently it's only if we do what THEY think we ought to with them.