The state of the culture

It looks like Isiah Thomas can't help but bring embarrassment and controversy to whoever is stupid enough to hire him: 

Here's a shock. Nobody is paying attention to the "new TV season":

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The first week of the new television season has left industry observers concerned about the absence of a breakout series.

Only two new shows, NBC's "Bionic Woman" and ABC's "Private Practice," have gotten out of the gate with enough ratings momentum to reach potential hit status.

Too many students at Oak Park, Ill., Percy Julian Middle School were hugging in the hallway, creating huge backups between classes. So the principal decided to ban hugging in the school:

Sharts said, "Hugging is really more appropriate for airports or for family reunions than passing and seeing each other every few minutes in the halls."

[. . .]

I thought my generation was going to end up being the most arrogant and self-indulgent one in history. Glad to know I was wrong. I guess:

Forbes magazine has come up with one of the most absurd lists in recently memory. It ranked the "top 10 most influential pundits," and made some very strange choices:

CHICAGO -- Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert is the nation's most influential pundit, according to a new ranking by Forbes magazine.

Are we post-feminist enough now that gentlemanly behavior can be acceptable again?

Chivalry is not dead. It's just been keeping its head down for a bit. And who can blame it when the line between courtliness and condescension has become so blurred?

A damsel, however, need not be in distress to enjoy a considerate gesture.

I think this is the wrong question:

Is a college campus a place for all views to be aired, or are some public figures too extreme to deserve the platform?

Oh, come on. Haven't people who have made it to their mid-70s and landed in a nursing home earned the right to be free of the health police?

It was just another morning at the senior center: Women were sewing, men were playing pool — and seven demonstrators, average age 76, were picketing outside, demanding doughnuts.

They wore sandwich boards proclaiming, "Give Us Our Just Desserts" and "They're Carbs, Not Contraband."

I have also felt like this about the Jena case:

"What The Hell Happened in Jena? I haven't commented because, frankly, I am still unsure of all the details of the case..."

Forget O.J. and the stalking astronaut and the tasered college-student jerk, entertainment-news junkies. I have a Courtney Love bulletin:

Courtney Love wants to launch her own perfume but is worried nobody wants to smell like her.

The former Hole singer - who has battled drink and drug addiction - wants to lay to rest her rebellious image and reinvent herself before she brings out the signature scent.