THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO LOSE YOUR LIFE TO A KILLER: Zodiac is a movie about the difficulty of learning the truth, and in a very post-9/11 way: so much data and information is out here about a serial killer that no one knows what to do with it all, or even how much it actually has to do with his crimes. And no one's even on top of all the information, since killings in multiple counties have led to various police departments each having a stake in the case, and they're doing an awful job of sharing. (No better advertisement for the Total Information Awareness program exists.)

Obsessive open source research, Robert Downey Jr. "acting" as a guy with alcohol/chemical problems, Chloe Sevigny still atoning for Brown Betty Bunny by playing another sexless, repressed woman, plus a toupeed Anthony Edwards and a Gyllenhaal? Mark Ruffalo looking like Bruce McCulloch in Dick? Sounds like a hell of a movie, right?

Okay, I'm not describing it right. This movie kicks ass. Real life doesn't fit the neat narrative structure of a traditional serial-killer film like Se7en, and this is a film committed to telling the truth about this police investigation and the paranoid culture that a (possible) serial killer can cause, and not the cheap thrill of seeing Gwyneth Paltrow's head in a box. Or any cheap thrills or easy drama at all. As Nathan Lee notes, "It's a film that never raises its voice because it needs to speak clearly and carefully. It's got a hell of a lot to say."

Zodiac is an absolutely compelling take on the difference between believing and proving, and the how much it can take to reach the latter point. See it. Oh, yes. See it.

e.t.a.: Russ makes the appropriate Malcolm Gladwell point in the comments -- Zodiac is a film about a man who sees a mystery where everyone else sees a puzzle.

COME ALL YE LOYAL CLASSMEN NOW, IN HALL AND CAMPUS THROUGH: Hurrah, hurrah for the red and blue University of Pennsylvania Quakers, who won their third straight Ivy title tonight, beating Yale to become the first official entrant in the field of 65. (While you're setting up your brackets, be mindful of the fact that this isn't one of those Penn teams, with Allen/Maloney or Jordan.)

In other news, the Amherst (25-2, #6 in the country) open Div III tournament play tomorrow night when they host the Widener University Pride (15-12) in round two. It's the Lord Jeffs' seventh straight tournament appearance and sixth straight first-round bye. Nice going, Coach Hixon.

IT'S THE EPISODE MY WIFE WANTS: My wife is desparate to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber episode of Grease: You're the One That I Want (Week 5). If you have the means to burn it on a DVD or somehow transmit it over the Internets or know of a place to find it on the Google, please, please contact me in the comments.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, LOVES ITS DONUTS: Pay close attention to the small text in the Krispy Kreme graphic on this local NBC newscast (YouTube), and learn a lesson about not blocking-and-copying your broadcast art from the Internets, or at least reading them before you do. Link via Deadspin; punchline via Chris Rock.

INDUCTION JUNCTION: It's yet another installment of the post that keeps you up-to-date with all things Halls of Fame related.

• Van Halen's bumpy road to the Hall of Fame induction continues. First a much-anticipated reunion tour with Diamond Dave taking the stage with the brothers and son Van Halen was canceled. And now comes the news that the band itself won't even perform at the ceremony. That honor will inexplicably belong to Velvet Underground Revolver, the band led by ex-Stone Temple Pilots helmsman Scott Weiland and featuring Slash on guitar.
  In other Rock Hall news, the list of presenters has been released. Eddie Vedder will do the honors for R.E.M. And VH1 Classic will air the entire ceremony live on March 12, 8:30 EDT.
• The other big Hall news this week was the fact that baseball's revamped Veteran's Committee kept its perfect record intact by failing to elect anyone to Cooperstown. Ron Santo again came closest to election, being named on 57 of 82 ballots (70 percent--75 is required for induction). You'll find a lot of hand-wringing on the Google about why Santo, of for that matter, anyone, can't get elected, but I thought this quote from Bill James in a column by ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski says it best:

  "To me it is clear and unequivocal that Santo is a Hall of Famer. ... Putting guys like George Kell, Freddy Lindstrom, and Tony Lazzeri in the Hall of Fame while you leave out Ron Santo is like putting Dalmatians, Palominos, and Siamese in the zoo while you let the lions roam the streets."

• Former Reds and Tigers skipper and Torey Lovullo booster Sparky Anderson, who was enshrined in Cooperstown in 2000, will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this summer in recognition of the seven years of minor league ball he played in the Great White North. And speaking of our neighbors to the north, Darren Flutie, little brother of Doug, was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, which ordinarily would not be newsworthy except for the fact that Doug, who last fall was named the top player in CFL history, has yet to be so honored despite being eligible.
• As promised last week, this year's WWE Hall of Fame class includes Dusty Rhodes, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and the late Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig. Still no Macho Man? What's up with that, Vince? This year's induction ceremony is March 31 at Detroit's Fox Theater.
• Dave Hyde, a columnist for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, proposes a Sports A to Z Hall of Fame, but can't find a worthy X candidate. I say the X-Man deserves the honor if for nothing else than the greatest sports cameo of all time.
  
• Here's an interesting story about two competing organizations in San Antonio both claiming the name the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame. Both will have separate induction ceremonies this spring with different honorees.
  
• And in our semi-regular "Small Hall" feature, congratulations are in honor for Billy Long who was inducted into the Missouri Auctioneers Hall of Fame, which I encourage all our readers to visit should their travels ever lead them to the Resort at Point Arrowhead at Lake Ozark

ALL WE NEED IS A DRUMMER: I was recently asked to prepare a mix CD for a dance party. The crowd will be mostly in their 30's and early 40's. Give me some ideas. What would get you out on the floor?

AND MORGAN FREEMAN AS THURGOOD MARSHALL: Commenter Kate brings to our attention this item in the Washington Post, which strikes me as worthy of front-paging. Linda Greenhouse's Becoming Justice Blackmun has been optioned for development as a stage play. Sadly, Greenhouse notes in the article, "We're not talking 'Harry Blackmun: The Musical.' It would be an intimate, character-driven drama." Two directions we can go with this, of course. First, suggest your own musical songs or titles for SCOTUS-related musicals ("Machinery of Death" as Blackmun's big 11 o'clock number? "How Do You Deal With The Dissent of Scalia?" Whizzer!: The Bryon White Musical?). Second, the article suggests Sean Penn, Liev Schreiber, Hugh Laurie, and William H. Macy as potential leads. I'm sure you can do better. (James Gandolfini as Scalia?)