Word: showbiz
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...Politics," said Frank Zappa, "is the entertainment branch of industry.'' Much as I prefer to avoid quoting the artist behind "Nasty Little Jewish Princess'' and "Camarillo Brillo'' as a political sage, I think he has a point. Flamboyance, pizzazz and showbiz skills have eclipsed policy savvy as chief prerequisites for national politics, and politicians have changed their strategies as a result. This makes perfect sense to me. Only major caffeine abuse could keep me conscious through a policy guru's lecture on the tax code, but if the same wonk dons a pair of shades and blows...
...nearly the same reason late-night comics could turn his stiffness into schtick. In a business less interested in issues than in personalities, one group of entertainers needed somebody to laugh at; the other group needed somebody to be furious at. The impulse had as much to do with showbiz as with politics. When the post-election fray was joined by Jesse Jackson (whom one WABC spieler absently referred to as "Reverend Sharpton") and Robert Wexler ("one of the most vicious Clinton defenders," according to one of Grant's guests), the Radio Right hosts were ecstatic. They feed on familiar...
...glowing Plexiglas stylus. A blinking green light alerts you to new e-mail even when Audrey is turned off. To get the news, you simply turn a knob in front to flip through any of nine "channels" featuring customized Web content from sites such as ABCNews, ESPN, Mr. Showbiz and my favorite, AccuWeather.com...
...thought I had left Hollywood when I boarded a plane at LAX and landed in Amarillo, Texas. Since my upcoming rollicking profile of Charlize Theron (Hollywood is also where you're allowed to shamelessly plug) wasn't due until this week, I had taken a brief hiatus from my showbiz beat to chronicle the latest troubling chapter in America's drug war. In the summer of 1999, 43 residents of Tulia, Texas - a dry little town of less than 5,000 people in the windswept panhandle - were arrested for dealing cocaine. It was the most ambitious drug sting...
...Dropping out at 17, Rodriguez earned her GED and spent a full year "without any direction," composing poetry and short stories before deciding to write screenplays. Figuring "the best way to learn about movies was to become an actress," she fell for an old showbiz scam, signing up with a talent agency that charged hundreds of dollars for publicity pictures and then sent her on open casting calls advertised in Backstage...