Since the Pith Compound got digital cable, I can take some comfort in knowing that whenever I turn on the television, somewhere an episode of Law & Order is playing. Anyway, even as a frequent viewer, I never picked up on the Jack and Claire subtext.

Oh, and can I just say that the new Law & Order DA woman is really irritating? Not as irritating as Vincent D’Onofrio’s Detective Goren (a.k.a. the worst partner ever) on L&O: Criminal Intent, but still pretty bad. Actually, what I’d really like to see is a show consisting solely of D’Onofrio and CSI’s William Petersen giving each other their trademark blank stares, and see who cracks first. But maybe that’s just me.

Rumours abound that Tom Stoppard, playwrite and all-around clever guy, will be writing the script for Indiana Jones 4. I am. So. There.

Although I can’t find a web presence, I saw on the news that the B.C. Projectionist Union is holding rotating strikes around the province, since they’ve been locked out yet again from their jobs. Please give the issue some serious consideration before crossing a picket line — yes, I’m sure the Spiderman movie is good, but doing something to support your fellow labourers is even better.

If you absolutely must cross the picket line, bring your own food — the vast majority of theatre profits come from the concession. (You could also sneak in and not pay for your ticket, but we here at Pith would never endorse such flagrant law-breaking. Never ever.)

R.I.P. John Nathan-Turner, producer and mentor of Doctor Who.

Las Vegas Strip Historical Information, as seen on Plep. Must.. go on.. vacation.. soon.

“I know people say they sniff a dead crow in a jar to make themselves sick on stage and that they urinate on fans…” Slipknot the band versus Slipknot the British knitting club. (The quotation above is about the band, in case you were having some difficulty.)

CNN continues its tradition of bringing you the news you need to know now with this hard-hitting article on how to look like Cameron Diaz.
Step One: Diet until Lara Flynn Boyle feels fat standing next to you.
Step Two: Buy the widest array of hideously ugly hats you can possibly manage…
(Meee-ow! I’m sorry.. I just don’t get the Cammy Diaz thing. She looks like a piece of plywood in a dress.)

You can do more cruel yet satisfying celebrity bashing with this collection of photos of famous women without makeup.

From a website for “the first television show dedicated to disco music, dance instruction, and hustle dancing” comes this essay, titled “DISCO: It Never Really Died, Did It?”. Yes. Yes it did. Next question!

As seen on MetaFilter, Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music (requires Flash). Perfect for clueless folks like myself for whom electronic music comes in three flavours: Good stuff I like to listen to, bad stuff they played in clubs during my university years, and The Prodigy.

Today’s educational content: Radio/TV Station Call Letter Origins from the US. I always assumed that the letters were assigned randomly, and didn’t realize that most are in fact clever personalized mnemonic terms.

Maybe it’s because the slow slide to the weekend starts today, or maybe it’s because my bosses are out of town, but after some effort I have now ascertained that this is the best-looking chicken costume one can purchase online. No need to thank me..

(Ha, ha, kind and benevolent bosses who read Pith! I am using creative liberties to imply that I am not working hard, even though I am in fact toiling over a hot keyboard as usual and definitly not wasting time searching for “chicken pants” on Google! Plus, I am on my lunch! No, really! Aw, crap.)

If there’s anything I enjoy more than carefully crafted chicken costumes, it’s reading about wacky Texas facts, such as the law which essentially states that one cannot have sex with a chicken unless it’s the, erm, aggressor. I’m pretty sure there is absolutely nothing snarky I can say in reaction to that fact without delving into dangerous Pink Flamingos-esque territory (“Eeeeeggman! Where’s the Eggman?!“).