Few paragraphs capture what has become of the culture better than this one from the Washington Post: "Back in its heyday, Playboy ran interviews with such luminaries as Marshall McLuhan, Martin Luther King Jr. and Allen Ginsberg. Now it runs interviews with Lisa Marie Presley, Jimmy Kimmel and Tobey Maguire. [Hugh] Hefner blames this editorial devolution on the times."

Meantime, my favorite celebrity critic and tabloid connoisseur is on a run. Check Weisblogg for the last few days, and you'll see what I mean. He draws a bead on every rag from Oui magazine to The New York Times SundayStyles section. He also guages public taste by, among other things, going to the library to see what heavily hyped titles people are checking out.