THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN THE UGLY BUSTS OF SADDAM: Apparently, Iraqis are nuts about Lionel Richie.

I THINK I'D BE OKAY IF IT WERE DANNI BOATWRIGHT: For those Philadelphians still on the unimpeded Cole Hamels for Sainthood train, this warning: he's dating former Survivor castaway and Playmate Heidi Strobel, she of the peanut butter and no clothing immunity challenge.

"PROBABLY ONE OR TWO STEPS AWAY FROM COMPETING WITH HELEN HUNT FOR HBO ROLES": Well, that's Jeff Wells' assessment of Jennifer Aniston's future career arc, given that, apparently, no one wants to see The Breakup. Does anyone disagree with a word of this?

I'm told that while audiences enjoy Vaughn in an off-the-wall mode, they don't want to see him in semi-romantic parts. This is bad news for Aniston also because now she's 0 for 4 -- Derailed, Rumor Has It, Friends with Money and now this thing. She's all but kaput as a big-screen, big-bucks player. She's not particularly sexy, not perky, not a gifted comedienne . . . and she always seems to play parts in an introspective, low-energy way.

IN A WORLD RULED BY A CRUEL DICTATOR, ONE WOMAN STOOD UP: I suspect the movie version of The Devil Wears Prada is not of much interest to most of our readers (though Meryl Streep having the opportunity to flex some comic muscles can be a rare treat, as Adaptation proves in spades), but I link to the trailer because I think it can spur an interesting discussion of movie marketing. First, the trailer's an unsually long 3 minutes. Second, there's no voice-over, rapid cutting, title cards (other than the final one), or any attempt to tell us what the story is about. Instead, the studio has just given us a 3 minute scene from near the start of the movie, in which our heroine (Anne Hathaway, who we're supposed to believe is the "plain girl") meets our villainess (Streep) for the first time. No surprises, jokes (heck, there's not even a "laugh line"), set pieces, or any of the plot seems to get spoiled beyond what you'd read on the jacket flap of the book. It's an interesting approach--think it'll work? (My view is that it probably won't, but that the film will do all right anyway.)

SET YOUR TIVOS. NOW: Next Friday night at this time (5/26, 11pm eastern), the USA Network will be re-running the House episode "Three Stories", the penultimate episode of the show's first season.

The Futon Critic hailed it as television's best hour in 2005; indeed, it won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series, besting both "Walkabout" and the pilot of Lost. I know some in these parts wouldn't hesitate to put it in the same sentence with "Two Cathedrals" and "Love's Labor Lost", even with Bradley Whitford failing to make the trifecta.

If you can't resist, spoil yourself by reading the TWoP recap here.

(For more on this general topic, Matt and I started the Best Dramatic Episodes Of The Past Decade Or So debate even before the blog merger.)

A GREAT WAY TO WASTE TIME AT THE OFFICE: What is The Jeopardy! Archive, Alex? Seriously--56,595 answers and questions should keep you busy for at least a few hours. Hat tip to an old friend of mine who goes by the nom de TWOP of Mean Dean.

FROM THE WHO'D-A THUNK IT DEPARTMENT: Brace yourselves for a truly shocking turn of events. Are you ready? The runaway bride and her once and future fiance are no longer together. I know, it's deeply distressing. And about as surprising as each subsequent Britney Spears baby-dropping or concept-of-car-seat-ignoring incident. Hang in there -- you'll feel more like yourself again tomorrow.