Tonight's Reading - 10/14/07

● How to Calculate Musical Sellouts

This strikes me as an article that's a bit too late.  Really?  You just noticed that a lot of artists are allowing advertisers to use their music?  What's baffling is that the writer completely neglects to mention the role radio has played in giving bands no other option for their music to be heard.  It's not about "selling out."  It's about selling - period.  Let Volkswagen use a song, because it's sure as hell not going to be played on the radio.

● Wrong for Each Other, Right for the Show

When I recently told a friend that Jan Levenson had become my favorite character on The Office, she suggested that the character's recent "enhancements" greatly influenced my opinion.  Well, sort of.  It's that she made such an effort to win back a dolt like Michael Scott.  I'd already enjoyed Melora Hardin's portrayal of Jan in past seasons because she reminded me of people I worked with and for.  Yet she's also become believably unhinged and somewhat endearing because of it, and I find myself enjoying The Office a lot more when she's in an episode.

● Redemption Hunting

If you've seen ads for Gone Baby Gone, have you noticed that the director of the film isn't mentioned?  Maybe that's often the case, or maybe Miramax doesn't want to risk anyone making a face when "Directed by Ben Affleck" is shown on the screen.  But a film should also be judged on its own merits, not on whether or not a guy was overexposed in tabloid culture.  And if this movie is as good as critics say it is, maybe Affleck will have re-invented himself.

● Scientists Explain Chocolate Cravings

So get this: the type of bacteria living in your digestive system might determine whether or not you have cravings for chocolate.  This might hold true for other foods, too.  When those scientists find that pizza-craving bacteria, they will truly have blinded me with science.