MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been watching, reading, listening to?
(No Sopranos giveaways! Some of us haven't seen it yet...but please offer thumbs up/down reviews on the first episode in almost 2 years.)

South Park Smackdown
Isaac Hayes is quitting his role as Chef on South Park. He says the show is too nasty to religion. I suppose the response of the show's creators pretty well precludes him coming back and making up.

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem - and he's cashed plenty of checks - with our show making fun of Christians."

Last November, "South Park" targeted the Church of Scientology and its celebrity followers, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, in a top-rated episode called "Trapped in the Closet." In the episode, Stan, one of the show's four mischievous fourth graders, is hailed as a reluctant savior by Scientology leaders, while a cartoon Cruise locks himself in a closet and won't come out.

Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."

Weekend Box Office
1. Failure to Launch
2. Shaggy DA
3. The Hills Have Eyes
4. 16 Blocks
5. Family Reunion

I have to scroll down to #13 to find one I'm remotely interested in. And that's Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Still, it will take me a while just to catch up on the Oscar movies from last year.

C-Span Watching
Russ Feingold will introduce his resolution censuring the President at 4 ET. Here's the text (pdf), and here's a forceful, direct expression of his thoughts in a blog posting. He's shaping up to be my next great Presidential candidate disappointment. Anyone else decveloping a hankering to go down in flames with him?

This I could do without
Is anyone else thoroughly annoyed by the NPR morning segment "This I Believe"? Everything from the theme music on. I guess some people must like it. Are you one of them?
--Don