That Ben Edlund?

According to Yahoo! TV, Ben Edlund is the screenwriter for next week's Angel. Would this be the Ben Edlund? Y'know, the comic genius who created The Tick?

Microsoft Profits Up

Gee, the economy sucks, tech spending is down, more people are out of work every day. Nevertheless, Microsoft's profits are up, rising to $7.8 billion for the year, up from $7.3 billion a year ago. Is there any justice in this world?

S&M Exercise Classes

Months ago there were a pair of revolting ads for Bally Total Fitness, in which students spoke rapturously about the horrible, chronic pain they had after each workout. "It's like some goddam S&M club!" I screamed at my TV, which thankfully ignored me.

Well, somebody got the message. Now there's an excise class called slavercize, led by a riding-crop-wielding dominatrix named Mistress Victoria. "Clad in face masks, dog collars, rubber suits and other sartorial S&M paraphernalia, Mistress Victoria's students run through the exercise regimen, knowing any slacking off will bring her wrath down upon them."

As Ian Shoales once said, "Only in rich America can extreme monklike behavior be indistinguishable from self-indulgence."