A first-of-its-kind online study combining a questionnaire with an eye-tracking method has revealed that sex in print advertisements improves the ad for men — including their “like” for the ad, the product, and all-important “purchase intent” — but it decreases ad effectiveness for women. Interestingly, with their brains presumably aswim …

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) announced its 40 greatest magazine covers of the last 40 years yesterday, with Rolling Stone’s January 22, 1981 cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono given top honors. In the Annie Liebovitz photo, a naked Lennon is wrapped around a clothed Ono in …

Multi-talented actor, musician and comedian Charles Rocket will sadly largely be remembered by posterity for two things: he created a firestorm on Saturday Night Live by saying “fuck” on the air in a Dallas spoof in February, ’81, which, along with low ratings, led to the entire cast being canned …

Reigning Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney will release his second studio album of the year on November 8. The Road and the Radio features 11 tracks, including first single “Who You’d Be Today,” a breakup ballad with a twist, “Tequila Loves …

One of the wonders and astonishments of a childhood in the South Bay area of Los Angeles for the last 53 years has been the monstrous, toothy nighttime glow of Smilin’ Jack, the world’s largest jack-o-lantern, grinning in the distance, heralding that trick or treat is nigh. I vividly recall …

They treat their legendary radio DJs pretty well over there in the old UK: over 300 concerts took place — including a Joy Division-only set by New Order — Wednesday and Thursday to mark John Peel Day in honor of the BBC’s late, great radio man. Anyone who has ever …

There’s what’s right and what’s real, and much of the debate about reproductive rights in this country, especially in regard to minors, centers around the relative priorities assigned to “right” and “real” and the government’s appropriate role in each. A review of public policy, research, and public/professional opinion from the …

Dudes, neuropsychologist Xia Zhang and a team of researchers based at the University of Saskatchewan have found that a synthetic marijuana-like drug stimulated the generation of brain cells and exerted an antidepressant-like effect in rats. The hippocampus area of the adult brain is unusual in that it contains neural stem/progenitor …

Ludwig van Beethoven rather startlingly reared his stern visage in the 21st century when Heather Carbo — librarian at the Austen K. deBlois Library of Palmer Theological Seminary outside Philadelphia — found an 80-page working manuscript score for a duet-piano version of Beethoven’s monumental Grosse Fuge in B flat major …

Having little kids I see quite a bit of Nickelodeon, especially Nick toons, and most especially of all SpongeBob, Fairly Odd Parents, and Jimmy Neutron, which seem to just about equally entertain all of us, ranging in age from 22 months to 47 years. I have recently discussed Nick’s “Let’s …