Law & Order: Executive Branch

My undying love for Law & Order may not be enough to make me switch political parties, but I was mildly delighted to read this morning that actor Fred Dalton Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch in the L&O-verse) is contemplating a White House run.

A quick run-through of where Thompson—a former Republican senator from Tennessee—stands on a variety of issues confirmed that we agree… on nothing. But, should he become the Republican candidate for the presidency, the smear tactics sure to come could be entertaining. Just wait until the Democrats play up the fact that Arthur Branch fired ADA Serena Southerlyn—just because she was a lesbian.

True Crime At The Movies

One of the best true crime books I’ve read in the last year is Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town. Despite my affinity for true crime reading, it’s not a book I would normally have picked up—I typically go for the more sensational stuff.

Anyway, I happened to be in Austin for the weekend last fall with my husband, and we were checking out a local independent bookstore; I was out of vacation reading material already, and Tulia was a highlighted staffer’s pick in the true crime section. I scanned the blurb on the back, thought it looked interesting enough, and made the purchase.

Needless to say, I was captivated. I finished reading the 450-page book in less than two days. The book tells the story of a 1999 drug bust that resulted in the arrests of approximately 15 percent of Tulia’s black population. The charges were based on the undercover work of a shady cop, and numerous convictions resulted from his testimony—despite the fact that none of his 100-plus drug buys (mostly cocaine, which was suspicious in and of itself in such a small, impoverished town) were ever corroborated.

It’s an amazing story of small-town politics, corruption and eventual justice. So I was pleased to read in this week’s Entertainment Weekly that a movie based the Tulia scandal is in the works, with Halle Berry set to star as an NAACP lawyer who intervenes to aid the wrongfully convicted. The movie is set to start shooting in May—and assuming a Jerry Bruckheimer-esque producer doesn’t jump in and add a wacky courthouse explosion to the mix, it should be worthwhile viewing.

Lennie Briscoe, We STILL Love You!

Thanks to NKYGal for bringing this to our attention on her kick-ass blog:

Jerry Orbach's wife has been trying to get a NYC street named after her late husband, and our favorite Law & Order actor of all time. Loree and I blogged frequently about Jerry aka Lennie Briscoe on our first blog outing Precinct27. We even swore we each were going to buy a print of this lovely piece of artwork, titled Lennie Grabs a Dog.

I for one think my first born will be named Lennie, especially if my first born is a girl. I knew a female Lennie in grad school. She was very cool. I believe it was short for Lenora.

The New Wilco -- Let the Countdown begin!

So, as I've mentioned before, the new Wilco album, Sky Blue Sky, comes out on May 15! I can't wait. (And I may not have to. I hear Greg has an early release copy). Regardless, you can download the first single, What Light, thanks to MySpace. I think it's great. Check it out!

EatingWell.com and my dietary downfall

I love EatingWell.com. The site sends me an e-newsletter each week, around 4 p.m., when I'm starving, with delicious recipes. I immediately leave work and go to Burger King, Wendy's or Big Boy (an entirely separate story) to get something that by no means can be categorized as "eating well" but tastes so good that I'm tempted to just give up and revel in my ever-expanding girth.

Hence, I have decided that EatingWell.com, with it's delicious recipes for Eggs Italiano, Scallop Piccata on Angel Hair, and Broccoli Chowder is a malicious guerrilla marketing group for the fast food industry. The emails are so perfectly timed to drive the reader to starvation that there's no other explanation. The need for immediate gratification can ONLY serve to send people through their local drive-thrus--I'll have a BK Big Fish myself, with Diet Coke, of course.

What Makes The Top 25?

I’ve been on a big-time true crime reading kick lately—in the last six months, I’ve read Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, plus books about the Black Dahlia and the Zodiac Killer, just to name a few. So I was definitely intrigued when I read Time magazine’s feature on the “Top 25 Crimes of the Century.”

Obviously, the criteria for a Top 25 crime is pretty vague—and they chose to omit crimes including genocide and mass suicides—but they put together a pretty interesting list, I thought. Alongside obvious picks like Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy, for example, the magazine also profiled The Great Train Robbery of 1963 and the theft of “The Scream.”

But, I have to admit I was surprised at inclusion of some crimes at the expense of others. Why profile Andrew Cunanan and the Versace murders, for example, but not the Zodiac Killer? Why include the collapse of Barings Bank but nothing on the Boston Strangler? And I think everyone can agree that Mary Kay Letourneau is way creepy (not to mention worth her weight in Law & Order: SVU episodes), but Top 25 material? Really?

Reading Larry Dobrow

I continue to heart Larry Dobrow. The intro to today's review of Hallmark Magazine:

I don't go to industry functions because one, I never get invited anywhere and two, I generally dislike other people. But when the opportunity to attend a lightly-appetizered preview of the upcoming "Larry Sanders Show" DVD presented itself last night, I took the party pants out of cold storage and girded myself for some painful social interaction.

And farther down into the actual review....

Even its live-happier tips transcend the trappings of the genre. Ordinarily, I'd no sooner read a story sub-headlined "15 ways to rediscover what makes you laugh, sing, dance, feel, believe - and be gloriously yourself" than bury a swizzle stick deep in my ear canal, but the feature offers a trio of well-observed, non-maudlin essays about faith, exercise and journal writing. The mag also relates a handful of DIY-themed tales, like one about a woman who built her town's library from scratch, that somehow manage not to scream WE SHALL INSPIRE YOU! DON'T FIGHT IT, BITCH.

Despite the fact that I have a sad feeling that none of our readers have the affinity for Larry that I have, I may just make this a regular feature. Now, I just need to find a picture of him that I can Photoshop a creepy little heart around so I can have a proper logo. Ten bucks says that Larry Dobrow files a restraining order against me in the next six months.