In regard to the gender-confused American Idol auditioner: I liked that judge Randy came right out and asked him if he's a male, unafraid to acknowledge his disparate appearance. There's this underlying belief in our society that it's wrong to point out people's differences. As a result, many people end up referring to others in confusing terms because they're afraid the most obvious characteristics are too offensive to mention. It happens all the time but the best example I've experienced went something like this: Friend: Listen to what happened to Barney Flarney* (not his real name) Me: I don't think I know a Barney Flarney Friend: Sure you do. He's tall-over six feet, wears flannel shirts and cut off gloves....

On Thursday night, I saw my first preview for The Book of Daniel, a quirky new dramedy about an Episcopalian priest and his dysfunctional family. I thought it looked interesting but I probably wouldn't have sought out the program. Then I read that several NBC affiliates had removed the show from their schedules in response to some boohooing from religious groups. That got my attention. No matter what the critics or fans say about a show, nothing is more likely to get me to tune in than hearing the Religious Right has a problem with it. I think they should do away with the current stars and thumbs in ratings and implement a system of crosses for each cult, I ...

The country of Kazakhstan is threatening to sue comedian Sascha Baron Cohen because one of his characters, Kazakhstani journalist Borat Sagdiyev, ridicules its people. Are they serious? Can a freakin' country sue for slander??? For those unfamiliar, Cohen is the star of the very funny Da Ali G Show, which airs in the U.S. on HBO. His main character is Ali G, a Cockney dude decked in rapper gear who primarily assaults political figures from around the globe with inane questions. The humor isn't as much in his persistent denseness as it is in the responses from his interview subjects, who delicately indulge his stupidity to save face. Cohen's second character is the aforementioned Kaz (I can't spell it out anymore- they need ...

When I decided I absolutely had to buy Green Day's American Idiot album, I was on the road and stopped at the first store I thought might carry it: Wal-Mart. I couldn't find it on the shelves so I asked a salesperson who told me they don't sell albums with "explicit lyrics." The fact that Wal-Mart sells bullets but won't carry music with profanity is perfectly logical because we've all read the statistics on how many kids die each year from the word "fuck." It really is amazing to me that America, the land of the free, still has such screwed up priorities. Howard Stern has been practically forced off the public airwaves, while Tom Leykis gets to propagate misogynism to ...