For those so inclined, there is an article that painstakingly, soberly, fascinatingly details a North Korea “on the verge of collapse,” as “entering its death throes,” a country whose children are 20% shorter and lighter than their contemporaries in South Korea after years of malnutrition, a country whose economy has …

The verdict is in.

Having long since overcome the pretty boy canard, Johnny Depp seems to have now moved into “actor’s actor” territory: he was just nominated for the best actor Oscar for the second year in a row, this time for his role as J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, in Finding Neverland, …

Freedom is an itch that spreads as it is scratched, and yesterday’s highly successful (if not triumphant: the Sunnis generally stayed home, there were 44 killed in anti-election violence) election in Iraq is a scratch that has already changed the characterization of the state of affairs in the former land …

Jury selection — which could last a month or more — begins today for the Michael Jackson trial on charges of “lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and conspiring to commit the crimes of abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.” Jackson released a video-taped statement Sunday, with …

The Michael Jackson child molestation trial touched upon almost everything we ponder: celebrity, fabulous wealth, the media, sensationalism, law, image, race, sex, eccentricity, a whole lot of cosmetic surgery, and oh yeah, he’s a singer or something. We followed it. For coverage after the verdict see here. Michael Jackson Trial: …

The 47th Grammy Awards are just over two weeks away now (Feb 13), and here is the latest on performances and tributes, with Ray Charles looking very much alive for someone who, you know, died. From Grammy.com: The Recording Academy announced today that Kanye West, currently nominated for 10 GRAMMYs, …

I will no longer tell my children to stop fidgeting: The most detailed study ever conducted of mundane bodily movements found that obese people tend to be much less fidgety than lean people and spend at least two hours more each day just sitting still. The extra motion by lean …

I had to stay home today as the Little Man, who is 13 months old, was sick with a stomach flu and my wife has a real job. Since he he didn’t feel well he was droopy and clingy and I couldn’t just plop him down in the middle of …

Back in September the U.S. government decided the former Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam (which would be sort of like me changing my name to “Joe Christian”) had unacceptable links to terrorists and noisily barred him from the country by diverting and grounding a plane full of people. As I …