On small style changes and Criminal Intent

Since I'm running late tonight, y'all get a two-for-one entry! Try to hide your burgeoning affection and appreciation for this. Well, unless you're a classy, attractive lady. (hey. callll me.)

- As you may or may not have noticed, I am trying my best to get this blog in line with the features you see on most other publications. Last night, I took the plunge and added the Link Within widget to my blog. Now, all of you new readers will be able to read glorious past entries that I've done, such as surveying the late night scene, and asking Comedy Central not to suck, and about lions and dogs with sweaters in Rhode Island.

(I wonder if me writing about Linked Within will cause my blog to explode though, like a supernova caving in upon itself. It's a risk I'm willing to take.)

- In completely unrelated news, I'm kind of digging Law and Order: Criminal Intent, even though the show no longer has Bobby Goren and Eames (a.k.a. the nice lady from The Mighty Ducks 2). Those two had always been the standout characters of the show to me, followed closely by Captain James Deakins and Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver.

However, the new detectives are pretty solid and provide a new dynamic for the show. There is a bit of blatant sexual tension and flirting between Zach Nichols (Jeff Goldblum) and Serena Stevens (the foxy Saffron Burrows), which is refreshing, considering that most Law and Order shows just tease romance or portray it as an impossibility (Eames and Goren, or Benson and Stabler). Having Nichols and Stevens hook up would take the show in a bit of a new direction, which I would enjoy, as long as it didn't become the sole focus. (Special Victims Unit became unwatchable to me when it started to become more about the detective's back stories.)

Is Criminal Intent as good as the first five seasons, which had Goren, Eames, Deakins and Carver? No, but it's still good in a different way. It remains focused on weird criminals and detective stories, in grisly details, as opposed to the law quirks of the main show or the technical mumbo jumbo of a CSI or NCIS.

Existential questions about this rap game

On "Justify My Thug" by Jay-Z, which is the 11th track off The Black Album, he remarks that if you shoot his dog, he's going to kill your cat, which is an unwritten law of rap.

1) How can it be unwritten? You just wrote it down and rapped about it.

2) Why you gotta be shooting animals, Jay-Z?

3) Does Beyonce know about this? I feel like this could potentially endanger your relationship. I would keep it on the down-low.

4) How many dogs and cats were shot while you were moving snowflakes by the O.Z.?

Note: I really like Jay-Z, although in typical square fashion, my favorite albums are The Black Album, The Grey Album, his MTV Unplugged performance and his tracks on DJ Hero. Even my street credit is lame - sorry folks.