• This is just a short news story, but Brooks Barnes of the New York Times just wrote a too-true piece about how movie titles are all stupidly long these days. I think most of us would concur with Mr. Barnes. For example, do you know how inefficient it is for me to type a colon when sending a text message? What movie doesn’t have a colon in the title these days? God Hollywood, stop being such a dick. -sy
• Later today I’ll be at Queen’s Park for MMA Day, an event organized for fans, business owners, athletes and sports media people to show their support for the sanctioning of mixed martial arts in Ontario. Whether you’re down or not, for a good read check NOW Magazine’s 2008 piece, “Cage Rage” — a well-researched and probably the best-written account of the province’s tussle with the sport. If that’s not your thing, in other sports news here’s why those new ugly mascots for the 2012 Olympics are actually a good thing. Man. So ugly! -jc
• It’s a confusing and ire-filled time to be a journalist. Aside from the realities of slashed jobs and even-more-slashed pay, there’s the constant debate over the role of bloggers and their backwards-bending usurper potential. I’ve got my own opinions but I’m going to let you read Maureen Tkacik’s Columbia Journalism Review-published opinion instead-not because it’s in the CJR-but because it’s based on something invaluable: experience. -am
• Is Dora the Explorer an illegal immigrant? Sophia Tareen of the AP uses the popular children’s character as a metaphor discussing the ubiquitously controversial topic in the U.S., particularly in light of Arizona’s new controversial bill. Of note, a graphic of a beat-up Dora mugshot style accompanies the piece in the Detroit News. Classy. No mention of Deigo’s dayworker dallyings. -sy

Jeopardy, America’s favourite quiz show ® with the quirky Canadian host (who has since this photo put on a shirt and shaved his mustache, but who are we kidding, when you think of Trebek, you think of this) deals with a varying degree of topics, from the low brow reality tv questions to the highest of high brow table of elements or obscure opera ones.

Thursday night’s episode, in between all these random facts, slipped in a giant “F-you” to the journalism industry when it had an entire category devoted to the demise of Amercian newspapers and magazines. That’s not to mention it was in the double jeoardy round, complete with a daily double (ruthless!).

Those wittiest of the witty writers over there aptly title the category “folding newspapers (and magazine),” and must have had a good time running down the list of every paper to go under in the last couple of years. My guess is they are all failed fact checkers and this was their chance to get back at the real journalists after being laid off.

Sadly, nobody missed a single question, the sorry state of newspapers being such a common topic of discussion these days. 

The $2,000 question, if you’re wondering, dealt with Conde Nast’s Gourmet magazine.  Does anyone know the rest? I can’t believe the list of questions isn’t published on the web somewhere.