but I don't pay for "US" Magazine either. Glad I'm not paying for Salon!

And this woman is above having work done? Riiiiight...and back at the ranch...

First, did everyone miss Cintra's picture with her best bud Nancy? I believe that automatically negates any possible value this piece might have had. Of course, that in itself would be a stretch. What a piece of sh*t this article was.

So Rebecca Traister gets 2 pages today over Judy Blume updating her own novel over 10 years ago.

Now Cintra Wilson gets 2 pages 'reporting' her best bud's starf**king experiences from over 10 years ago.

Andrew O'Hehir gives us an up-to-date report on Williams Jennings Bryan...who died how long ago?

What's next, King Kaufman's update on the 1969 Amazin' Mets?

I sense a trend here on Salon. I know the editors read our letters, because they only award those adorable little red stars to the screeds that are the equivalent of a fawn-fest. My guess: they're praying enough of us from the old days--back when Salon wasn't just readable, but actually mattered--will keep writing long enough to justify the clicks necessary to keep ad revenue afloat. (Then again, have you noticed that most days Salon's free access ad is just a commercial for Salon Premium? Hmmm...)

"Nancy Balbirer (center) with members of ASH-X (Artistes Sans Hollywood – the "X" is for Anonymity): Mr. Wells, Mr. Burns, Mr. Greg, Mme. Nadime and Cintra Wilson"

So, Cintra Wilson is a member of ASH-X, and the X is for anonimity.

So Cintra Wilson has her picture taken with the kind of person Ayalet Waldman aspires to be, and then has the picture printed to lead her article in a worldwide-available website. (Never mind that the article is about her friend, negating any possible objectivity Ms. Wilson thought she might have.)

I'm not even religious, but the fact that Cintra chose to print this picture so close to Ash Wednesday is just rude. Not even clever.

This is a new low, even for salon.

Not everything in Salon needs to beat up Bush, save the world or promote some scintillating novel you know full well you'll never read. If you're that boring, stick to The Nation and NPR, and let the rest of us enjoy our occasional fix (or The Fix) of pop culture, which Salon -- and yes, Cintra Wilson here -- does really well.

I really enjoyed the piece. I've seen first hand in Hollywood what it means to be a woman and it's pretty soul degrading. I think the discussion of women's role in the arts and what it means to be an actress is a really important cultural discussion. I felt that Balbirer's dissection of that form of sexism was really lost in all the grocery market furor over the fact that it involved Aniston. Women's issues are not mere gossip. I'm saddened to see it being perceived that way by the majority here.

It shows we still have a long way to go.

...I had no idea Cintra Wilson was so HOT. I consider her HOTness to be the license for writing things of this nature, and also my total rationale for taking HER side in this all-important war between the forces of GOOD and EVIL here on the cultural battlefield that is Salon.

PS funnily enough, even people who consider themselves above 'this kind of thing' somehow read enough of the article to feel cheapened by it.

Listen up baby it's like this.

Occasionally Salon has to stuff chicken cutlets down it's index page in order to get your attention, and sometimes it needs to rub a little ice on it's feature articles in order to get noticed. Salon understands in order to make it in the online publishing world, it needs to be likable, readable, have straight, blow-dried graphics.

If you weren't coming home all the time with other site's pixel dust on your collar, maybe Salon wouldn't have to try so hard.

I wonder who the REAL underminer was in that friendship - because it seems this story was more about revealing embarrasing tidbits about 'Jane' than how horrible a friend she was. Just beyond tacky.

Uh, maybe she didn't want to work with you because you are obviously an incredibly petty person? THAT makes sense. I mean, she even made sure you got paid - so rare - which means she just didn't want to deal with you. Perhaps because you'd tell funny 'bikini wax' stories onset? (God knows what else.) Grow up! Because it sounds like the smartest thing 'Jane' EVER did was dump you.

And for the record - 'chicken cutlets' are plastic bra fillers, not poultry. And the term 'fuckable' concerning auditions was not coined by Jen A. Ask, oh, ANY actress alive. Even female casting agents say they want someone 'fuckable'. Sad but true. It has to do with an actress' looks and allure - it's not about sex or fucking for parts as is slightly suggested by the article.

Nancy Balbirer is the nightmare friend every famous actress dreads seeing again. Petty, jealous, and pathetic. Because ragging on people just because they're more famous than you is so 'artistic'.

I’m shocked, SHOCKED, that celebrities have plastic surgery and employ the types of chicanery described here. What a phony bitch that Jennifer Aniston is!!!

Cintra Wilson has made a career of celebrity bashing because she didn't reach the level of fame that she sought. If she had been offered a role on “Friends,” we’d never know this side of her until some old “pal” from Mount Tam High came out of the woodwork to share the “deeper autobiographical stuff and the larger cultural issues” we see in this “interview.”

If anyone wants to hear real horror stories, just talk to people who were involved in the theater world in San Francisco in the 80s and 90s. I never saw anyone, even amongst other egomaniacal actors, who was as self-promoting and narcissistic as Cintra. And ruthless, vicious! Blood dripped from her lips while she gazed lovingly at her image in a mirror! She’d walk into a room and two minutes later you’d want to throw a brick at her head to get her to shut up.

And you know, artist, shmartist, Ms. Balbirer, you in your leopard print scarf, glamour makeup, presenting your “piece” – what a load of hooey. Get your own gig.