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Nick Kroll has been everywhere lately. In addition to starring in FX's hit fantasy sports-themed comedy "The League," the actor/comedian has also had featured roles in "Childrens' Hospital," "Get Him to the Greek," and "Dinner For Schmucks." But Kroll's stand-up comedy, and especially his unique characters, are rapidly becoming his signature.Kroll's first Comedy Central special, "Nick Kroll: Thank You Very Cool," which premieres this Saturday Jan. 29, will include stand-up, sketches, video segments, and appearances by all his beloved characters.More...

Source: Exclusive! Bobby Bottleservice On Obama, Oscars & His Favorite Kardashian (VIDEO)

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I've been thinking a lot about the weightiness of motherhood given the combustible reactions received recently by two controversial mommies.  As if most mothers didn't already question their competence on a daily basis, leave it to Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP Newsletter to make them feel even worse. Between the Superior Asian mother's anti-fun screed and GP's out-of-touch collection of helpful hints gathered from the daily lives of her over-privileged and tone-deaf mommy gal-pals, I have never been more grateful that I am only an aunt.More...

Source: Bad Mommy Chocolate Pizza

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According to a document leaked to the Columbia Daily Spectator this week, at least 8 percent of the university's undergraduate population achieved a GPA of 4.0 or above last semester.The student paper got hold of the statistics when an advising dean accidentally sent students a spreadsheet noting 482 students who earned an A or above (Columbia offers A-pluses, which translate numerically into a 4.33) average in the fall semester. Included in the database where each student's year, major and school affiliation.More...

Source: Columbia Students Rack Up Straight A's

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I'm so excited to be here in Davos.  I was here many years ago as a student cook. It was the same principle of hard work and trying to not get yelled at in Swiss-German.I'm excited about the discussions here. I heard Medvedev, Clinton, and ran into Bill Gates, and Michael Dell came to one of my sessions.More...

Source: A Dispatch From Davos

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Religion declines with economic development.  In a previous post that rattled around the Internet, I presented a scholarly explanation for this pattern: people who feel secure in this world have less interest in another one.The basic idea is that wealth allows people to feel more secure in the sense that they are confident of having their basic needs met and expect to lead a long healthy life.  In such environments, there is less of a market for religion, the primary function of which is to help people cope with stress and uncertainty.More...

Source: Why Americans Are More Religious Than Europeans

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With Groundhog Day rapidly approaching, my mind has turned to the elusive do-over. The 1993 Bill Murray flick named for February 2nd has to be one of my all-time favorite, watch-it-every-time-it's-on movies. For those who haven't seen it (and really, what kind of carpet are you living under? Netflix it immediately), the movie's plot centers around a crotchety guy named Phil Conners, played by Murray. Phil is forced to endure the same day over and over until he gets it "right."The golden opportunity that Phil gets is to explore all of the different ways to play out his day. First, we meet the mean and selfish Phil, then the woman chasing Phil and then the do-gooder Phil. Finally, just when all hope is lost and Phil truly accepts his fate, we meet the real Phil. And on the morning of February 3rd, (spoiler alert!) we watch as Phil wakes up in the arms of the woman he loves. It's a new day, and he's a renewed man.More...

Source: How to Apologize: Getting a 'Do-Over' This Groundhog Day

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WASHINGTON - Canadian television viewers looking for the most thorough and in-depth coverage of the uprising in Egypt have the option of tuning into Al Jazeera English, whose on-the-ground coverage of the turmoil is unmatched by any other outlet. American viewers, meanwhile, have little choice but to wait until one of the U.S. cable-company-approved networks broadcasts footage from AJE, which the company makes publicly available. What they can't do is watch the network directly.Other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. - including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. - cable carriers do not give viewers the choice of watching Al Jazeera. That corporate censorship comes as American diplomats harshly criticize the Egyptian government for blocking Internet communication inside the country and as Egypt attempts to block Al Jazeera from broadcasting.More...

Source: Al Jazeera English Blacked Out Across Most Of U.S.

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To the endangered species of our world, let us add another: the vanishing American religious male. While he's not near extinction, he's definitely PBS-special worthy. His disappearance isn't just within Judaism -- his lack of participation extends to every religion in the American landscape. And rabbis, priests, pastors, imams, demographers and sociologists are trying to understand why.The far-reaching Pew U.S. Religious Landscape Survey indicates that women outclass men in all the most important indices for religious belief and participation: affiliation, belief in God, regular prayer, and -- most tellingly -- the reported importance of religion in their lives. It is actually quite stunning how much resistance to female religious leadership still exists in America, considering how many more women than men engage in spiritual practice.More...

Source: The Vanishing American Religious Male

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WASHINGTON -- There are beefier issues for politicians to address, but there are few other issues that deal so directly with beef.On Monday, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) became one of the first members of Congress to take on the controversy over Taco Bell's so-called beef product, releasing a statement pitching his home state's meat as a more authentic alternative.More...

Source: Tester Pitches Montana Beef As Taco Bell Alternative

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According to a recent report in the Washington Post, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) could suffer budget cuts of almost 13 percent, which would effectively eliminate Project Gunrunner, a program designed to combat gun-trafficking from the U.S. to Mexico.Any cuts to the already under-staffed and under-funded ATF would be a setback, but the kinds of cuts that are rumored would be devastating to the ATF's ability to interrupt the flow of illegal guns across America and Mexico. Worst of all, though, would be for the Obama Administration to pursue these cuts without pushing to implement strong, commonsense gun laws, such as those to ban large-capacity , assault weapons, and closing the gun show loophole.More...

Source: ATF, Strong Gun Laws Needed to Fight Illegal Guns