ROBERT DE NIRO - This selection really pains me, but what pains me even more is to see this once amazing actor reduced to appearing in claptrap like "Showtime" and "Godsend." I will grant you that "Analyze This" and "Meet the Parents" were recent wonderful comedic performances, but they are blips on a downward trajectory of a career. De Niro has not managed to age gracefully on screen. As a young actor in the 70's, he rejuvenated screen acting, but he seems afraid to challenge himself anymore. I'm not a huge fan of Al Pacino's acting style, but I give him credit for working with young, experimental filmmakers who are using him in challenging roles. De Niro needs to hook up with P.T. Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, or Alexander Payne; otherwise, his future will be continue to be littered with straight to video nonsense like "Flawless" and "15 Minutes."

JOE PATERNO - He has single-handedly turned a once proud football program into a national laughing-stock, simply because he refuses to call it a day. PSU, a former perennial powerhouse, considered it's victory over Central Florida a "big win." Why would any big-time recruit (especially an offensive player) commit to a college program run by coaches who haven't updated their offensive playbook in over 50 years? Joe needs to realize that he doesn't has Curt Warner lining up in his backfield anymore. It's a shame, because this year's squad has a GREAT defense, but they've been asked to carry too much of the burden.

BEASTIE BOYS - It's hard to take these guys seriously when they look like poster boys for the Hair Club for Men, yet they still dress like teenagers who robbed an Urban Outfitters. I'm all for maturity, but it's hard not to giggle when they perform at pro-Mumia Abu-Jamal rallies or when they start spouting off about a "Free" Tibet. Aren't these the same knuckleheads who used to have girls dancing in cages on stage during the "Licensed to Ill" days? I seem to remember one of their stage props being an inflatable dick.

And now they're writing political raps. Don't believe me? Just witness this chestnut of a rhyme from their 2003 anti-war anthem "In a World Gone Mad":

Now don't get us wrong 'cause we love America/
but that's no reason to get hysterica/
They're layin' on the syrup thick/
We ain't waffles, we ain't havin' it.

Ah, the old "foreign policy distilled as breakfast-treat" metaphor. This is what passes for intelligent protest songs nowadays? No wonder we couldn't get Bush out of office, if this drivel represents the level of dissatisfaction from supposedly mature men.