Wait a second. I thought the Europeans had more mature sexual mores than we purdish Americans. Hmmm, I wonder if Marisa Miller will be barred from ever appearing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue because she posed nude for Perfect 10? I should hope not.

(Inappropriate aside: those are some sweet pics, brah.)

I Don't Trust Clark Kent
How can I decry bias in the American media while at the same time I watch BBC World every night, listen to BBC Radio before going to bed, and consult bbcnews.com several times a day? Because I know the BBC is wickedly biased and to all appearances they make little or no effort to hide it. It is not principally the bias in American news that bothers me; I side with those who contend that it is virtually impossible to present the news without interjecting one's own views. What burns me up about American "journalism" is the holier-than-thou claim of objectivity. The New York Times is just to the left of Pravda, yet they claim to operate without any political or cultural bias. At least with British papers you know where you stand. The Guardian wants to renationalize all of Britain's major industries and, by Jove, they make no secret of it! (Rupert Murdoch's papers want to outlaw the poor and install Baroness Thatcher as Lady Protector in the style of Cromwell.) It is too much to ask for journalism to be fair and objective; all I ask is that it be honest.

The Summer of '05
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith opens nationwide on May 19
Narwhal Day is May 23
both The Aquabats! and MxPx are releasing new albums on June 7
Batman Begins opens nationwide on June 17
Less Than Jake is recording a new album this summer
the United States of America turns 229 on July 4
I turn 26 on July 25
Sam would have turned 19 in August

And there are numerous events and happenings I'm forgetting. It's going to be the Last Summer of Star Wars, and for that and a thousand other reasons it's going to be a hell of a summer. Grab life by the lips and yank.