I'M A LAWYER, SO DOES THAT MAKE ME LIKE CLARENCE DARROW? Martha Stewart compared herself to Nelson Mandela in her interview with Barbara Walters last night. Now, I'm not part of the "Martha Stewart is Satan" crowd in New York, but seems to me that this is pushing it for the reasons Sarah Vowell eloquently states in her essay on Rosa Parks, available in this book, or you can listen to her read it at the end of this episode of This American Life.

ONE MONTH TO GO: Y'all should be warned, and perhaps not surprised: I'm an Olympics fan. Yes, the Games can be weird, ridiculously self-important and corrupt, but the amount of drama generated in two weeks is tough to match.

Two items of note: first off, this year's mascots, Athena and Phevos, have been unveiled. Says the website:

Through their laughter, their lively presence, their freedom of movement and their will to cooperate and stay united, Phevos and Athena will be with us from now on to express with enthusiasm and optimism our will to be united and to share the joy of the greatest celebration of humanity: the Olympic Games.

Did I mention self-important? It's unclear whether P&A will make us forget about Whatizit (warning: scarily comprehensive site) or The Snow Imp "Magique", but we've got a month to find out.

Second is a question about the Opening Ceremonies: given that the Greek athletes traditionally enter first -- as the originators of the Games -- but that the host country's athletes traditionally enter last, when will they enter this year?

THE ODD SERENDIPITY OF BLOGGING: While Adam was off listening to peppy songs about a boy wanting to have sex with a much older woman, I spent the evening seeing The Door in the Floor, an ultimately depressing movie about a boy actually having sex with a much older woman. This is the fifth film to make it to our screens based on the novels of John Irving, and proves a truth--that in order for movies based on Irving's books to really work, the books have to dramatically abridged and simplified--this time, director/screenwriter Tod Williams chose to adapt only the first third of Irving's "A Widow For One Year" and winds up with one the few Irving adaptations that balances the tragedy and comedy that are found in Irving's books.

There's not much of a plot. 10 years ago, Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges), a successful children's book writer, and Marion Cole (Kim Basinger) lost their two sons in a tragic accident, the nature of which is not made clear to the audience till the very end. In an effort to "replace" their sons, they had a daughter--Ruth (Elle Fanning, Dakota's little sister, and a dead ringer for her sister). Now, four years later, as their marriage is falling apart, Ted hires a new assistant for the summer (relative unknown Jon Foster). Slowly, the marriage unravels as Ted and Marion both unravel. It's hard to explain because not much happens--it's a character study. Fine performances all around--Bridges delivers a fantastic performance, with a long monologue at the end, revealing the truth about the accident that made me teary-eyed, and Basinger proves that she actually DID deserve that Oscar she won a few years ago.

I wasn't that fond of "Widow For One Year" when I read it, but by compressing the action and telling only a part of Irving's perhaps overly sprawling story, Williams has created something touching and fascinating--recommended.

THE SUN STILL SHINES IN THE SUMMERTIME:  Saw Fountains of Wayne last night at the WXPN Singer-Songwriter Weekend.   A good night of pop music, as they played almost everything off Welcome Interstate Managers and seemed to be fun doing it.  Surely, they're the best thing ever to emerge from the dark place. 
 
(Okay, maybe it's directors John Sayles or John Frankheimer.)
 
Anyway, weird thing about the show, and maybe it's just me, but when a song like "Stacy's Mom" starts playing, isn't is sorta incumbent on people to stand up, dance, sing along and clap along?  Instead, this yuppie-leaning crowd kinda enjoyed the whole show passively, and it was odd.  A decade ago, wouldn't there have been at least a large group of people pogoing in the front?

I'M ASKING AMERICA -- WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? Prof. Althouse reports on a change in store for the next American Idol season, raising the maximum age from 24 to 26.

While that all well and good, I again echo her suggestion that the minimum age is the one needing raising. As a contest, if the judges are going to keep complaining that competitors lack the maturity to handle the emotions in the songs, you either have to change the songs to match the singers or change the singers to match the songs.

That said, as television program, the Will Diana Make The Leap and Find Her Zone? stuff makes for good ongoing narrative. (It also has to help attract the teen and pre-teen demographics, who can more easily relate to the competitors.)

Still, when I'm King of Reality TV, the teenyboppers are gone, though I'd love to see one of these younger pairs (John Stevens/Camille Velasco) try to make it to one pitstop on The Amazing Race.

PAGING DAN HEDAYA: More FT News:

A real-life book publisher has contracted us to write a real-life book, tentatively titled Hey! It's That Guy!: A Field Guide to Character Actors. It will profile 150 of your favourite character actors, from the all-time greats to the up-and-comers. And it will be published by the fine people at Quirk Books, who previously brought you The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Guide and The Brick Testament, so we'll be in fine company.

Expected release date is Fall 2005.

IS THERE A CHANCE THE TRACK COULD BEND? The Las Vegas Monorail has opened.