Today's Reading - 02/29/08

● Taste Test: Cheeseburger In A Can

Just because you can has cheezburger in a can doesn't mean you should. Here is an excellent reason not to go camping. Or if you must, at least stick to trail mix. In what has to be considered a public service, the Onion's A.V. Club is trying one of these canned monstrosities (which aren't available in the U.S. - yet) so that the rest of us don't have to. And they have pictures and video to prove it.

● Some see streetcars in Ann Arbor's future

Obviously, I haven't done any of the studying and research that city planners presumably have. But my initial thought after reading that headline was, "You gotta be #@$%ing kidding me." I don't see the room on the streets for those streetcars. And then there's the little problem of the $50 million price tag (at least) for the project.

● Blogger, Sans Pajamas, Rakes Muck and a Prize

Bloggers can be journalists too - and win awards for their work in the process. Joshua Micah Marshall has provided a great example - through his work and business model - of what new media can accomplish in today's culture.

● Just go

Joining in the chorus imploring Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign from office is this long Metro Times article that presents as thoughtful and even-handed an argument as I've read. The talent and opportunity that this man has squandered is shameful.

● He Listens. He Cares. He Isn’t Real.

As a fan (or maybe "follower" is a better word) of HBO's In Treatment, I haven't had quite the same visceral reaction to Gabriel Byrne that many of the women quoted for this article have. But I agree that if Byrne's therapist character wasn't compelling, you wouldn't have a series. Depicting an active listener strikes me as something difficult for an actor to show convincingly night after night, week after week.