Liberty Stands Still (2002)

Liberty Stands Still is a look at the gun industry, and one man's mission to extract revenge. It stars Wesley Snipes, and Linda Fiorentino.

The plot of Liberty Stands Still gets based around Joe, played by Snipes who sets himself up in a building over a park. Liberty Wallace (hence the title, at least in one meaning), played by Fiorentino, is going through the city park, when her phone rings. It's Joe, and he has her in the sights of his sniper rifle. Before she can say "hot dog, extra mustard" she is chained at the ankle to a local food vendor's cart. The rest of the film plays out between these two as they discuss guns in our society, and profit vs. morals. The other plot is the police efforts to figure out where the raining bullets are coming from.

This film really fell flat. It reminded me too much of Cellular where too much of the film takes place over the phone without enough real story to glue it all together. A better look at the gun industry is Lord of War. I mean, the whole premise of this film is that snipes is antigun, so in order to express that he shoots a rifle into a city park? Talk about a double standard!

Liberty Stands Still should be renamed "Snipes Snipes Into Park- News At Eleven." I thoroughly did not enjoy this film, and suggest others skip it.

Overall Grade: C-

--Jonas

Dungen, Tio Bitar (Kemado, 2007)

Lots of different styles within the rock genre have come and gone over the years. Every so often, a performer or band tries to revive one of the older styles, with varying degrees of success. The Swedish group Dungen are such an act, bringing psychedelic hard rock and extended hippie jams into the present, with no attempt to modify the old style to make it sound contemporary. Predictably, you have to be a fan of the old style to appreciate the result.

Dungen are a quartet when they perform live, but in the recording studio nearly all of the work is done by the band's principal member, Gustav Ejstes. Ejstes is as devout a disciple of the heavy, psychedelic guitar rock of the late sixties and early seventies as you're likely to find thirty-five years after the fact. Indeed, Dungen's fourth CD Tio Bitar apppears to have been quite deliberately designed to sound just like it could have been made in 1971. The album runs only forty minutes, with two distinct halves of five songs each, just like a typical LP would. If not for the songs on Tio Bitar being in Swedish, they'd fit right in with most of the songs that have enjoyed regular rotation on classic rock radio for decades.

While Ejstes varies the volume from one song to the next, he maintains the psychedelic prog feel throughout the album. The quieter songs feature acoustic guitar, usually accompanied by strings and flute along with some organ and one-note-at-a-time piano riffs. The album's strength comes from its rockers, though. Blistering tracks like "Intro" and "Gör Det Nu" feature heavy guitars plugged in, presumably, to vintage amplifiers to generate feedback effects evoking Jimi Hendrix. By contrast, the power pop of "Du Ska Inte Tro Att Det Ordnar Sig" sound like it comes straight from Big Star's Radio City album. Ejstes makes no attempt to hide where he gets his musical ideas from; if anything, he seems determined to reproduce his favorite recordings.

I enjoyed Tio Bitar quite a bit. It may not be all that original, but as a long-time fan of classic rock who's been listening to lots of other very different things lately, I found this to be a fun breath of fresh air. Still, I really can't recommend this to everybody. If you didn't grow up listening to classic rock radio or don't care for the style, you'll probably sit there wondering what the big deal is. On the other hand, Gustav Ejstes and his band certainly believe the music of the late sixties and early seventies holds up today, and people who are too young to have experienced it, or even to have heard a lot of it on the radio, might just dig the new sound.

Overall Grade: B+

reviewed by Scott

Honor Bound (1994)

Following a brief hiatus from WEB Griffin, it was time to delve into another of his series. After all, I had finished The Corps, and The Brotherhood of War, but still didn't want to get back into the Presidential Agent series. After finishing his longest series, it was time to look at his shortest series, Honor Bound.

Honor Bound starts with a brief look at the Marines on Gaudalcanal, and even uses a character from The Corps series, Colonel Dawkins, in a cameo appearance. The connection with The Corps quickly ends, and a Marine aviator ace, Captain Clete Frede, who should be on a war bond tour gets pressed into service. The plot focuses around this Frede character, and how he ends up in the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA that is a common thread that permeates many of the Griffin novels (and also the film, The Good Shepherd).

Interestingly, this OSS had jurisdiction throughout the Western hemisphere, including Latin America. Now, while my knowledge of WW II is pretty good, I can't say I'm well versed in what went on in South America during that war. Seriously, the last time I studied Argentina and Brazil, it was high school global studies class! The author, Griffin, winters in Argentina, so he's picked up some first hand knowledge, and it clearly shines through here. Even though Argentina was officially neutral, there was a significant Nazis involvement down way south. For the plot of Honor Bound, the Germans are running submarine supply out of Argentinian waters, all on the QT- except the OSS knows.

The decision is made to send a small group of Americans to disrupt things for the Germans, without bringing the war down to Argentina. This Clete Frede is an interesting character as he is half American, and half Argentinian by descent. This reminds me of the protagonist of the Presidential agent series who also has mixed blood, and therefore uncertain allegiance.

Honor Bound successfully transports us to a far corner of the world, during a tumultuous time in world history. It is a novel less about war in the end, and more about what it takes to mount a clandestine operation in a foreign country, without getting caught. It is definitely not the standard WW II novel with the marines charging up the hill. There is a lot of culture, and place setting. This novel builds in the first 100 pages at a slow pace. Once the freight train gets moving, it is quite intriguing. I'm already working on tracking down the next novel in this series, Blood and Honor.

Overall Grade: B+

--Jonas

Blind Justice - Bruce Alexander (1994)

Historical mysteries exist as a sub-genre of mystery fiction. By "historical mysteries" I don't mean, "What happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste?" or "Who was Jack the Ripper?" Rather I mean novels which are essentially contemporary detective novels set in eras other than the present. The most famous example is probably the "Brother Cadfael" novels set in and around medieval Shrewsbury. However, if one is so inclined one can read about murders in Victorian London, Republican or Imperial Rome, Pharonic Egypt and more. There is a further sub-genre (a sub-sub-genre?) which uses actual historical figures as detectives. If you've ever felt that Jane Austen would have made a better detective than novelist, there's a series of books out there for you.

As one might expect, the results of these attempts to recast modern detective novels, especially those with actual historical figures, vary a great deal. In Blind Justice, Bruce Alexander (a nom de plume for Bruce Cook) has had a reasonable amount of success. He avoids many of the jarring anachronisms of many of these series (the convolutions required to do forensic medicine in the 12th century are fairly elaborate) by setting his book in Georgian England and taking the historical Sir John Fielding as his detective. Sir John was a London magistrate and instrumental in founding the first professional police force in England.

The book itself is well-enough written. It captures the spirit of the time adequately; although it is not an era with which I am particularly well-informed, there were no obvious anachronisms. Good research is essential if one is to write a believable historical novel, and Alexander has clearly done his homework. The characters are interesting and engaging, a diverse lot of rogues and villians providing a nice contrast to the more upright citizens who are the protagonists. A nice touch is provided by the fact that Sir John, being blind, requires an assistant in his investigations, thus providing a better rationale for a young sidekick than one usually finds.

The plot is decent enough, although unexceptional; if one reads a lot of mysteries, the twist ending is apparent well before the climactic scene. That is not, however, a fatal flaw in a mystery if the pacing, characters and incidents are compelling enough - as is the case here. To summarize: Lord Goodhope dies in the classic locked room. It is, naturally, not a suicide. Suspicion falls on the half-brother, the mistress and the creditor to whom the victim owes money. In the end, after appropriate twists and turns, truth outs and evil is punished.

If I sound a bit lukewarm, that is not my intent. Mystery novel plots tend to be rather formulaic. The appeal lies in the writing style and the characters. For historical novels, there may also be appeal in the setting. In all of those respects, this book does a better job than most; while I did not feel the need to run out purchase the remaining nine books in the series, I will certainly pick them up if I see them at my usual street-side vendor, and that is decidely not the case with many mystery series. In short, while this book is not truly exceptional it is well above average.

Overall Grade: B

Munchkin Cthulhu 2 - Call of Cowthulhu

Who knew that the horror of H.P. Lovecraft and the silliness of farms could result in wonderful humor? Anyone who's played Munchkin Cthulhu, of course! Call of Cowthulhu, the first expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu, brings a barnyard basis that scores big for playability and humor.

(For those unfamiliar with Munchkin, it's a card game from Steve Jackson Games lampooning gaming Munchkins, those power players who exploit every loophole, argue about everything that doesn't go their way, and cheerfully betray their teammates in order to get ahead. In each Munchkin game -- different ones cover different genres, from medieval fantasy to sci-fi to superheroes -- the players try to kill monsters, collect stuff, and play cards to advance from level 1 to the winning level 10 (or, if you're playing with the Epic rules, level 20). The players can (and usually do) interfere in other players' combats, necessatiting requesting help from someone to win a combat (through bribery, most often) and still facing interference from the other players. And players will switch races, classes, skills, and other attribtes they hope will let them win. It's very cutthroat, silly, and fun!)

Call of Cowthulhu adds 56 cards to the mix. While there are no new classes (my one complaint about this expansion), there is a new type of card: Madness! These can be played on oneself or others and are both a help and hinderance at the same time. For example, Gammaphobia gives a bonus to monsters for every G in their name (+1 for lower-case Gs, +5 for capital Gs) but gives an extra level to the player if they kill a monster with a capital G.

This expansion adds new monsters, items, and other cards, almost all of which match the farm setting of the title. Players can battle K'horn-Roze, ride the Green Reaper, or end a combat with Bovine Intervention. And of course, Cowthulhu is lurking in the cards, ready to strike.

If you have Munchkin Cthulhu, I highly recommend adding the Call of Cowthulhu to your deck for some more playing fun. If you don't have either, get 'em both!

Overall Grade: A

Reviewed by James Lynch

More info here.

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Before Kate Winslet did Titanic and Peter Jackson tackled the Lord of the Rings trilogy, they worked together in 1994 on Heavenly Creatures, a beautiful and disturbing tale of teen obsession, madness, and murder. The fact that this is based on an actual crime is even more disturbing.

In a girls' school in 1950s New Zealand, Pauline Parker (Malanie Lynskey) is a loner with messed-up hair and an air of depression and anger. When the sprightly newcomer Juliet (Kate Winslet) enters the school and takes an interest in Pauline, the two become fast friends. To Pauline, Juliet has everything she doesn't: beauty, a cultured family (as opposed to Pauline's working-class folks), exuberance and travels. And for Juliet, Pauline provides a steadfast companion and a buffer against Juliet's devastating fears of being left alone.

As the two girls spend time together, they develop a fantasy kingdom: first just a name and brief history, but soon a long genealogy of the royal family, sculpted dolls of the major characters, and they even begin referring to each other as the prince and princess of this made-up land. (Pauline calls her boyfriend by the fictional prince's name because "it sounds nicer.") Pauline and Juliet seem to share their delusion in this world, as they envision the same sights and dance and interact with human-sized clay figures living in this world -- and killing the people who anger the girls in the real world. The girls begin shutting out everything except each other, joined in even more fantasies (they'll go to Hollywood and become instant stars and celebrities) -- and a very dangerous plan to make their fantasies real.

Peter Jackson directs the two young, gifted actresses very well here, as their behavior becomes increasing manic to us and giddy to each other. Watching Pauline and Juliet, one can almost feel the drives that can lead to the school violence that occurs all too frequently. And the fantasy sequences are bright, colorful, and magical -- a sparkling contrast to what the two girls see in their own lives. Heavenly Creatures is an unsettling film, but a great one -- and it showcases the early talents of a great actress and director.

Overall Grade: A

Reviewed by James Lynch

No Review, Just An Idea

I spotted this, and wanted to pass it along to all of you aspiring authors out there.

Over the weekend the final book in the Harry Potter series was released. In the first 24 hours of release it sold a staggering 72.1 million copies worldwide, blasting out of the water the previous record book launch (held by the last Harry Potter book). "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" actually made more money than the latest Potter movie in the past two weeks of release. It's not often that a book bests a Hollywood blockbuster in sales. So the question is, how can you tap into some of that magic?

The tool kit below will help you write your novel from start to finish, publish it, and bring it to the masses without having to lay out a lot of cash and without having to download anything.

It's a humorous read, even if nothing else. You can read the whole thing here.

--Jonas

The Ultimate Gift (2006)

On a trip through Blockbuster, I saw the trailer for this playing on the overhead monitors, and decided I needed to see this film. In the end, I was quite pleased that the trailer caught my attention, and I rented The Ultimate Gift.


James Garner plays Red, a wealthy Texas billionaire. A self made man, he made his fortune in oil, and cattle. The film starts at his death (similar to the book, The Codex), and his ungrateful family (which have never worked a day in their lives) are only interested in their inheritance. While each get enough to last them the rest of their lives, the last inheritee remaining is his grandson. Instead of dough, his grandfather leaves him a series of tests, which will result in The Ultimate Gift, hence the title. This grandson reminds me of a bunch of people (perhaps most recently the guy who got a Mercedes convertible for his medical school graduation, but quit residency a year later because it was too much work) with the trust fund, the fancy apartment, the trophy girlfriend, and the all night parties. In the end, he must up everything in order to achieve something. He is carefully guided along the way by videos from his deceased grandfather, under the watchful eye of his grandfather's longtime attorney, ably played by Danny Glover. Brian Dennehy, who I always enjoy, (especially after he came to my high school alma mater for fun one day), also turns in a strong performance as the grandfather's friend.

This film reminds me of that Warren Buffet quote as to why he was "only" leaving his children a million dollars each- "Enough money to do anything, but not too much that they will do nothing" (I may be paraphrasing it). The Ultimate Gift embodies this quote, and as the film develops, we see how the cash has corrupted his offspring, and how empty their lives really are.

My only real criticism is that I wanted to know more of the details. Apparently, it is based on a novel, and that may explain the editing. For example, why did the child and mother come to the funeral? Why did the girlfriend leave him after she saw the sizable check? How did the family come together at Thanksgiving? I guess it's a good sign that I am that intrigued that I wanted to know all the details, rather than waiting for the disc to end as is far too common these days.

The Ultimate Gift is a great film that everyone should see at least once. It is not only highly entertaining, but it has a message that plenty of folks could use. I'm looking forward to wanting to see it again, which is exceedingly rare for any film. Make sure you don't miss this one!

Overall Grade: A+

--Jonas

Marker (2005)

Robin Cook, master of the medical thriller, brings us another glimpse into modern medicine with Marker. While most of his works stand alone, he does have one continuing series which features a group of forensic pathologists that work in Manhattan for the Office of the City Medical Examiner, OCME. As the rest of the medical profession looks at our pathology colleagues as the "doctor's doctor" they can be intriguing characters indeed (As an aside, there's some truth to the saying- "surgery does the most, but knows the least, medicine knows more, but does less, and pathology knows the most, but they're always too late"). Anyway, Marker is the fourth novel in the series, and follows Vector.

A developing series of deaths is occurring at the nearby and fictitious Manhattan General Hospital. Our steadfast pathologists, Drs. Laurie Montgomery, and Jack Stapleton are on the job to figure out why younger, healthy patients are dying soon after surgery. They are at a loss to explain things, as they have no pathology on autopsy, their labs are normal, and their toxicology is negative. A mystery indeed! Set against this is Dr. Montgomery discovers that she is positive for the BRCA1 tumor marker, while her biological clock, at age 43, ticks away.

I'm kind of divided on this novel. On one hand, it is a very enjoyable read. The prose well written, and I had trouble putting it down once started. On the other hand, being a physician, and matching wits with the author who is similarly trained, I had most of this 500 page novel figured out by page 50. Seriously, there needed to be a few more twists along the way as I expected much of what followed.

Also, Cook has been "on leave" from his day job for many books now, and he needs to update some of his medical knowledge. For example, a PICC line would never be put in acutely in the OR for a fluid resuscitation on a bleeding patient as the catheter is too long, and the flow too slow. Also, the explanation about the EKG changes didn't make sense to me. High potassium causes flattened P waves and peaked T waves, and his explanation was rather confusing, and incorrect. Also, infertility rates I'm sure would go up after removing the tube and ovary (why the took the ovary too is beyond me as they only needed to do a salpingectomy without an oopherectomy) in a 40+ year old patient.

Medical details aside, unlike some of Cook's other novels, Marker is very well done. The characters are quite developed, and the descriptions are great. The plot moves along like a freight train, without a stop at a station. If you've been considering reading this author, this series is among the best of his work.

Overall Grade: A-

--Jonas

I Think I Love My Wife (2007)

Chris Rock stars in I Think I Love My Wife. While this gets billed as a comedy, it's more of a mix of comedy and drama- a "dramedy" if you will.

Chris Rock plays Richard Cooper. To all outward appearances he is living the American dream. He works as a Manhattan investment banker, has two wonderful children, a beautiful wife, and a great house in the 'burbs. Unfortunately, his wife's frigidness pushes him to think that his whole life is boring, and triggers a midlife crisis- big time. In the middle of this, Nikki, played by Kerry Washington, arrives on the scene. She is the beautiful ex-girlfriend of Cooper's best friend from college. For the rest of the film, she is pulling him away from his marriage, and job, at every opportunity. Rock goes along, for the most part, as he ends up in the middle of this love triangle. With his boring life turned upside down, coworker George, ably played by Steve Buscemi offers sagely advice. Teetering on the edge of losing it all, Cooper takes a long hard look at what he wants out of his life.

While there are a few humorous sequences, like when Cooper develops an unwanted side effect from a little blue pill, for the most part, this film is just not that funny. Underneath the one liners, this is a front row seat on a guy experiencing a serious midlife crisis as he sits in a Porsche convertible. I found I Think I Love My Wife only average.

Overall Grade: C+

--Jonas

Kate Havnevik, Malankton (Universal Republic Records, 2007)

Kate Havnevik hails from Oslo, the capital of Norway. She had been working on several different recording projects simultaneously, of which Melankton was the first to get released and therefore qualifies as her debut CD. Havnevik's style is an intriguing blend of pop and electronica with lush orchestral arrangements. In general, Melankton works best when the orchestration gets precedence over the electronics.

The techno/electronica genre boasts a number of noteworthy female singers who have clearly inspired Havnevik and influenced her approach. Havnevik chose a number of prominent producers in the genre to collaborate on the album with her. The most noteworthy of these is Guy Sigsworth, best known for working with Imogen Heap both as a producer on her solo records and as a collaborator in the band Frou Frou. The problem with this is that Havnevik wears her influences very clearly on her sleeve, and some of the songs wind up sounding too familiar. Songs like "Travel In Time" and "It's Not Fair" would have been more impressive singles at the beginning of the decade than they are now.

Havnevik shows a bit more ambition, though, by going to Slovakia and having the Bratislavia Symphony Orchestra record tracks which Havnevik largely arranged herself. The orchestral elements in the songs really stand out, and play to the strength's in Havnevik's voice. In particular, "Nowhere Warm" and "Timeless" are terrific ballads that by themselves more than justify the purchase of the CD. The latter song, which makes very effective use of a repeating four-chord progression, was added to the album after its initial release, to take advantage of its inclusion in an episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Kate Havnevik is a talented vocalist with some promise as a songwriter and arranger as well. Melankton only occasionally succeeds in distinguishing Havnevik from performers with a similar style, though. I'd definitely recommend a couple of the songs, but if you're not a fan of the style of acts like Frou Frou or Portishead or Massive Attack, you'd probably be content to download those songs instead of purchasing the whole CD.

Overall Grade: B-

reviewed by Scott

The Comedians - Graham Greene (1966)

There are some books that make you despair for humanity while at the same time giving you a spark of hope. The Comedians is one such book. Set in the hideous darkness of Haiti under Papa Doc Duvalier, the action of the book concerns the fate of three men - Smith, Jones and the narrator, Brown. Brown is adrift and rootless, an observer rather than an actor; Smith is a vegetarian and a believer in the essential goodness of humanity, who is defeated by Haiti and moves on to the neighboring Dominican Republic; Jones is a con-man who tries to wrestle Haiti on its own terms and ultimately becomes more absorbed by Haiti in his short time there than Brown who has lived there for years.

By having Smith and Jones arrive from, respectively, North America and Europe, Greene is able to have Brown and other characters provide explanations for them of the situation in Haiti and to meditate on the state of politics in small counties - especially poor ones who are at the mercy of big ones, where they are treated as pawns in political machinations. Several pointed references are made to US political policy with regard to Haiti and the corruption attendant on it.

Smith, who had come to found a vegetarian center and help the people, is confronted with corruption, murder by the Tontons Macoute and such appalling chaos that even his optimism cracks and he and his wife depart.

Jones, a rogue, who always seems to land on his feet, is arrested soon after his arrival, then becomes and honoured guest as he tries to run a big con, then becomes a refugee in an embassy after his game is discovered, and finally joins a pathetic insurgency in the hills.

Brown watches it all, and becomes involved only when he must.

The black horror is offset by the shining hope represented by Jones' attempt at redemption and Smith's continual striving for betterment of the human state. Even as the terrible events unfold around the characters, there is a dim flame lighting the darkness. This is a good book, a moving book, by an author of proven talent and power.

Overall Grade: A-

Various Artists, Stand and Deliver (Noir Records, 2005)

Asleep By Dawn is a magazine devoted to contemporary interpretations of Medieval music. A couple of years ago they made a compilation CD titled Stand and Deliver, from the catalog of performers at Noir Records, for sale and distribution at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. As a subscriber to the folk music magazine Dirty Linen, I had a leftover copy of this disc fall into my hands when I sent in my renewal. The cover art is cheesy to say the least, and you can't help getting the sense that the music on this disc was pulled off of some SCA geek's iPod. But there are actually quite a few good performers out there doing creative things with Medieval music, and several of them are represented here.

The biggest scene for modern Medieval music right now is in Germany, so the ".de" at the end of most of the websites of the bands included in this compilation did not surprise me. Indeed, the CD opens with a fun frenetic song from the most well-known of the German Medieval bands, Corvus Corax, whom I've reviewed here. Germany's folk traditions evidently lean heavily on the bagpipes, as pipes figure prominently on many of the tracks, especially in the first half of the CD. This is not a bad thing necessarily, as a few of the pipe tracks are quite strong, including "A Voi Gente" by Estampie.

Not all the tracks are pipe pieces though. "A Virgen Mui Gloriosa" by Des Teufels Lockvoegel features a really pretty melody sung by a soprano above flute and guitar accompaniment. A couple of heavily percussive songs are well suited for belly dances. The Bulgarian group Irfan performs an ominous interpretation of an ancient chant. I happily get my hurdy-gurdy fix courtesy of Angels of Venice and their song "A Chantar Mar." The German group Filia-Irata performs an old Finnish runo song "Vikon Vaivane." Their dark, sparse arrangement of this song improves on the version of it I'd previously heard, on Värttinä's 1990 CD Oi Dai. Then again, Värttinä has done a better job of tapping into the Medieval elements of Finnish music, particularly the primal elements, on their more recent efforts than they did on their earlier albums. The album closes with a beutifully airy sixteenth-century chant "Polorum Regina," sung by the female vocal group Sarband.

Despite the cheap packaging, Stand and Deliver is a fun listen with many strong songs. It also serves as an excellent introduction to the contemporary performers making music from, or inspired by, the music of the Middle Ages. Granted, this will probably not appeal to anyone who wouldn't be caught dead at a Renaissance Faire. But if you've got your cloak and feathered hat packed, this is the perfect CD to play during the car ride.

Overall Grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

Another Armchair?

I'm guessing that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but you'd think that in this day and age, someone would check if their name is unique (as I did) before setting up their blog...

See here.

For the record, we've been around eons longer than her! Remember, we are THE Armchair Critic, before others wanted to copy us.

--Jonas

Kid Nation (CBS)

Kid Nation is the latest attempt at reality programming. The premise is that we throw a bunch of kids into a Western town, and we let them setup their own society. All right, so far so good, but I had a few questions when I heard about this related to the children's welfare, and the more I hear, the less I like it.

My first thought was when were they doing this, and were the kids missing school. Apparently, rather than waiting for the summer, these children missed 6 weeks of school in the spring! What about their right to an education? Also, these children worked 14 hour days to be able to provide for themselves. The parents all signed a waiver, but some got upset when their kids arrived home with burns from the cooking they were doing under difficult circumstances. And the reward for all of this? A lousy five grand!

This reminds me of the exploitation of children around the turn of the century in the factories. Hours were long, working conditions poor, and significant injuries were far too frequent. If we all thought that this type of exploitation of younger folks was over, and only in our nation's past, guess again. Interestingly, if they had filmed this in Hollywood the laws are stricter, and they would have needed tutors, and limited the hours of work. Unfortunately for these children, they ended up in New Mexico, strategically chosen as known for having lax child protection laws.

It's, once again, a sad day here in the U.S. when a big business, like CBS, can get away with taking advantage of our nation's youngsters, all for some silly show. Needless to say, I won't be watching this in the new Fall lineup. Meanwhile, CBS is getting ready for season two of this atrocity.

--Jonas

More info.