Yet another AFI film list – this one the 50 top screen heroes and villains: ATTICUS FINCH OF “TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” PROCLAIMED #1 HERO AND DR. HANNIBAL LECTER OF “THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS” DECLARED #1 VILLAIN Indiana Jones, Norman Bates, James Bond, Darth Vader, Rick Blaine, The Wicked …

If you have a nose for cruel humor, this is the post for you. I just can’t bring myself to exploit the possibilities: Veteran singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, recently waking up disoriented in the middle of the night, walked into a wall and broke his nose, knocking himself unconscious, the entertainer …

The J.K. Rowling Albert Hall appearance will be webcast hither and yon. J.K. Rowling [will read] from the next Harry Potter adventure at the Royal Albert Hall on June 26, and [do] a live interview about the book that will be broadcast simultaneously on the Internet, organizers said Tuesday. At …

Martha Stewart, jailbird, I like the sound of that. Damn, that desiccated hag rubs me the wrong way: Martha Stewart’s company said Tuesday the home-decorating mogul has been warned that federal prosecutors plan to seek an indictment against her soon in the insider-trading scandal that has been hanging over her …

Though the subject matter is deadly serious, this just cracks me up: As undercover assignments go, posing as a teenage girl online to catch pedophiles has its share of challenges for the typical FBI agent. Should he ever capitalize words in instant messages? Is it okay to say you buy …

As Nigel reported here on May 22, Natalie Maines wore a shirt with “F.U.T.K” during her May 21 performance at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Although I disagreed with her assessment of the war and Bush that caused all the original flap, the reaction was way overblown, and the …

Malaysian government tries to help it’s CD and DVD industries help themselves with some tough love: This week, Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk S Subramaniam told buyers to quit spending – temporarily, at least – to force the industry to reduce prices. Subramaniam’s statement, reported by the …

The irony never ends: Metallica is offering exclusive Internet downloads of songs from their website to buyers of their new album St. Anger: Three years after suing Napster, Metallica is offering songs from its new album exclusively on the Internet. The heavy metal band, whose first album in six years …

The RIAA is so petulant that Morpheus and Grokster weren’t held responsible for the piracy committed by their programs’ users that they are suing the Morpheus creator again – this time for a service that wasn’t even launched. Weep: The Recording Industry Assn. of America issued a brief statement in …

A battle of images: The beauty queen and the cad both have Web sites. Katy Johnson, who was Miss Vermont in 1999 and again in 2001, uses her site to promote what she calls her “platform of character education.” “She is founder of Say Nay Today and the Sobriety Society,” …