The problem with intellectuals is that they think they always have to have great ideas. They never goof off.

While they're busy thinking overtime, they fall into a hole where everything they do is "importent". The result of that is some really cockeyed ideas, explained in great and confusing detail.

My advice is to go someplace, have a few drinks, some laughs and get laid. Remember, drunk or outta town don't count.

Then come back and start thinking again. I speak from personal expierence when I tell you a few cheap gin hangovers and sex with people you wouldn't talk to under any circumstances will do wonders for your perspective.

Leave it to Camille Paglia to zero in on one of the whitest, lamest and tamest performers in all of Bahia. Considering that Bahia has produced some of Brazilian pop music's enduring greats, Mercury was never much more than a jumped up pop tart who got very lucky with a string of hits in the early '90s. Mercury's heyday is almost 20 years in the past and she's been creatively foundering for over a decade - kind of like Paglia herself. God it's funny when Paglia tries to get in on MPB trends that are long past their sell-by dates.

Give it already. Like I told some Obama supporters, you won the primary, so what are you so angry about? Is it the fact that you failed to convince numerous demographics - white women, hispanics, working-class, Asian-Americans, etc, of your candidate's superiority? Trying to label most Clinton supporters as Republican troublemakers is ridiculous - witness the large margins in big states like NY and CA - and counter-productive to efforts to unite the party behind an increasingly Republican, I meant, centrist, Democrat. If you wonder why Obama has failed to make inroads among those that did not vote for him in the primary, just look in the mirror.

Same old Camille. Still so bitter about Madonna? Why? Is it because she still has a valid career and you do not?

I loved the lie: "serial adoption" ... she has 1 adopted son. A series requires several (see Pitt, Brad and Jolie, Angelina).

Bahia is the heart and soul of the Brazilian culture. It's where everything started. Samba is actually a native Indian word, not an African word. The popular version known in the west as Samba was developed in Rio in the 1930s, but the most important ingredient of Samba is the Marakatu, a highly percussive style of music brought to Bahia by the African slaves-without Marakatu there's no samba. I suggest listening to Gilberto Gil's classic Marakatu Atomiko. There are far more talented Bahian female singers and performers than Daniela Mercury, but it's true that she has always stayed close to her Bahian roots. As far as Salvador Da Bahia Dos Todos Os Santos, the name given to Salvador by the first Portuguese explorers, it's truly a special city, still relatively unspoiled, particularly when compared to Rio. To understand Brasil, one has to spend some time in Bahia.

Seriously, Hillary is an affront to feminism? What editor let the "dizzy dames" be juxtaposed with your grieving over feminism? The hypocrisy is obviously lost on you, but you must have an editor or a boss or a PROOFREADER. Zero credibility, lady. Zero.

Dr. Huxtable's intonations are street?

only as a front-running template for self-promotion in the 80s and early 90s. David Bowie was a similar figure ten years previous -- the difference being that he was a lavishly talented songwriter who was shrewd enough to seek out an A-list musical milieu. Madonna was artistically disposable, mere commercial product supported by competent hacks; as soon as the promo game shifted, she lost her balance and then desperately tried to regain her footing by showing her tits -- a lurching misstep that killed her career.

To this day, homosexuals of both genders seem to adore her, but I'm hard-pressed to figure out why. Like a Virgin was no Ziggy Stardust, folks. That's why my subject line bears the past tense.

This lady might be interesting to read but she is just too windy.

Tis is one line our of your rambling I totally agree with...

"Hillary is setting feminism back -- defining women as petulant brats driven by emotion rather than logic and fair play. "

Also read today's Maureen Dowd, which hits the nail on the head.

that Hillary cares about parity unity and did not smear Obama on a personal level like he did to her and Bill. She wanted to discuss issues but the media was/is too in love with Obama.

Now Obama has to face actual criticism and his true face (or many faces) are showing.

We're also getting a taste of how unqualified he is along with his inability to think on his feet.

Ms. Paglia

I commend your concern for the state of Mr. Obama's "campaign." I wish I could feel that Mr. Obama was in fact hungry to lead us.

I support Obama. But I have become genuinely worried by the campaign's inability or lack of intention - which I honestly cannot discern - to move us beyond what is the national equivalent of a student council election. Mr. Obama's initial clarion call for Change, together with its related aspirational messaging, was all brilliantly conceived and executed. But the flesh has never been put to the skeleton. Well-executed content-free messaging grabs attention and pulls us in, but then it must be followed by a persuasive second act. Even with a nod to the obstacles which Mr. Obama's campaign had to overcome - Reverend Wright's incendiary remarks and the candidate's own bonehead editorializing about voters he was attempting to woo - there is still a dearth of focus on what kind of leader Mr. Obama might be. It's as if the campaign believes parroting again and again its flashy "Judgment To Lead" backdrops will somehow convince voters that he has what it takes. This whole leadership debate with Sen. McCain would be so much easier to win if Mr. Obama would simply buckle down and demonstrate a consistent, impassioned perspective on the policies which are essential to our needs. I beg to differ that Mr. Obama ended his primary campaign so impressively; he practically stumbled across the victory line while Mrs. Clinton propelled herself with unflagging grit and a commitment to the issues. Mr. Obama should have me locked down as his supporter, but there isn't a day that goes by I don't remark to myself how utterly ineffectual he can be in making his case, in answering unprompted questions with clarity and purpose, and in demonstrating ultimately his passion to lead. If he doesn't figure out the obvious, and very soon, I fear this "campaign" will suffer an inglorious defeat.