Darren Aronofsky’s new film The Wrestler just blew my mind — it is, from start to finish, a clearly conceived and well-crafted tragedy. Randy the (sacrificial) Ram Robinson (played by Mickey Rourke in the best role of his career) is the classic, downtrodden, American tragic hero — he’s Rocky Balboa and Willy Loman at [...]

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PETA put this pro-vegetarian/pro-sex ad together for the Super Bowl — and, because awesome, it was banned by the prudish network. It’s basically just a short series of images of near-naked women engaged in bizarre, cross-species foreplay (accompanied by some generic, aggressive guitar rock). And it basically asserts that vegetarians have better sex. [...]

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This has to be one of the most unintentionally hilarious commercials I’ve ever seen. Something about that music, that voice, those pastoral images, ulcers, and stomach bleeding . . . I mean, it has to be the longest litany of side-effects I’ve yet heard on one of these ads for cures that, well, may [...]

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This is was produced by a radio show on WNYC, the New York NPR station. It’s called Radiolab, and it’s freaking awesome. Check it out; I’ve been listening to it obsessively. The episode on Emergence is especially interesting, but they’re all great. You can download the podcasts for free on iTunes.

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I love this song — it makes my heart do some kind of spasmodic backflip.

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Telefon Tel Aviv’s new album, kindly titled “Immolate Yourself,” is going round and round in my Winamp playlist this afternoon. It’s their first totally original album since The Map of What is Effortless, and I’m digging it so far.

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Ah, Fox News . . . .

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