And blah, and blah, and blah.....

Siskel and Ebert came on Letterman once and told how during the closing credits of their show, when it looked like they would lean across the aisle to one another and continue debating the merits of whatever movie they had just argued about, they would actually just say "And blah, and blah, and blah..." for as long as they needed to. They had no interest in actually talking to each other any more. I'm going to ramble on today about nothing, so if you're in a hurry, just pretend I said something interesting while the credits were rolling, and change the channel. : )

- First Oxford American turned me on to Andy Griffith's rockabilly singing career by including "Mama Guitar" on their annual Southern Music Issue CD, and now I find this fun anti-wiretapping clip from the Andy Griffith show.

- Is it wrong that I want to try this? Wired Magazine reports that by having a magnet implanted in your fingertip, you can use it to sense things like whether a wire is live before you touch it, or when you're going through a magnetic security scanner at a store. Too cool!

- I've only recently discovered the website "Popmatters," which, as you can guess from the name, revels in the art of popular culture. They recently ran an essay that not only blew my mind, but has one of the best titles ever: "Different Worlds: Does The OC endorse the economic segregation that threatens America?"

- My friend Jon has a strong response to the Isaiah Washington debacle. I guess that answers my question!

- Michael Chabon is serializing his new novel in the New York Times! Dickens who?

- And last, but certainly not least, here's an interview with Ira Glass about the upcoming "This American Life" TV show. The interview includes clips from the show, and the TAL website has announced that the show will begin airing on Showtime on March 22!

And now, here it is - your Moment of Zen: