Some links:
On US politics, two stories that illustrate the gap between the Democrats' attempts to unseat Bush on the one hand, and the President's re-election campaign on the other. Those of us who were starting to get caught up by the 'Bush is in trouble' momentum might have to start calming our enthusiasm…
Culture club
New York's creative community has thrown itself behind the Democrat campaign to topple George Bush. But is much fundraising going on amid the flirting, wonders Matthew Wells
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/arts/story/0,13319,1097274,00.html
Bush election campaign dwarfs all of his rivals
The American President's campaign already has more than six million internet supporters, ten times that of Howard Dean, the leading Democrat presidential contender
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-914916,00.html
This is something I spotted a while back and journalled about: the way spam is morphing into poetry. It seems some people are accelerating the transition.
The unlikely poetry of spam
It may all be about penis enlargement, Viagra, porn, software and mortgage offers, but spam is making unlikely poetry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/default.stm
From the Independent, a rather moving interview with actor / boxer Mickey Rourke by Deborah Ross. I used to hate Ross's work, irritated beyond measure by her meandering style. But either she's sharpened up a bit or – more likely – I've mellowed and now I really enjoy her interviews. She still meanders like a spaced-out Bridget Jones, but sometimes that's exactly what's needed.
Mickey Rourke: The outsider
Even at the height of his fame, Mickey Rourke found he was temperamentally unsuited to life in Hollywood. So, he returned to his first love, boxing. Now, with a ruined face and empty bank account, he's back in the movies. But, he tells Deborah Ross, he's still not following the script
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/interviews/story.jsp?story=468957
Finally, and probably of interest to journalists only, a piece about how newspapers are integrating their online arms. At least one of the papers I've worked for is terrified of its website, convinced that it's responsible for its print edition losing readers. This article charts some more positive relationships.
Moving Online Into the Newsroom
Many newspapers have recently decided that having two newsrooms — one for print and one for online — doesn't make much sense. One by one, papers are moving their online staff into the main newsroom.
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1069284495.php