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Great, strange Chuck Klosterman essay in this month's Esquire about Norman Mailer, the demise of boxing, fight or flight and, to my great delight, my pet theory that people are rude (and have been getting ruder for decades) because they're sure you won't punch them.

From the piece:

"It is impossible to deny that the culture is coarsening. Everyone concedes this -- even the people who are happy about it. It is now acceptable to say almost anything, about almost anyone, in a public space, and for no reason whatsoever. There is no line to step over, because such lines no longer exist. And I think those boundaries disappeared the moment people really, truly lost the fear of getting punched in the face. Americans have understood this intellectually for decades, but I don't think we accepted it in totality until now. Adults are now so insulated by technology (and so protected by modernity) that the possibility of a physical consequence for any action is a psychological nonfactor. We have removed interpersonal fear from day-to-day behavior. Today, boxers are the only people who get hit for fucking up."

People always think I'm crazy when I say this, but it has always seemed wrong to me that all sorts of behaviors that once would have been thought to be inexcusably rude have become almost commonplace in the society but it has become unthinkable that you would hit someone for any reason. As someone once said, civilized men are coarser than barbarians because they know they can be rude without having their heads split open, as a general thing.

Even recreational boxing -- when I used to box, it was like telling people I enjoyed rape and murder as hobbies. Boxing (and maybe wrestling) are the human sport urge to physically excel and dominate stripped of its dressings - no balls, no goals, no pretty uniforms. Just two people deciding which is physically superior. And for some reason the very idea of that scares the hell out of a lot of people these days.

To reward myself for having survived moving last weekend (and this week, and the unpacking that continues), this is what I'm going to be seeing this weekend:

Good stuff with Mick, Keith, Jack White and Martin Scorsese in the latest Rolling Stone.

I am disappointed to hear, however, that they wanted to get a PG-13 rating for this and so cut the use of the F-word down to two instances. Not just by playing songs that don't require it or watching their mouths but by actually taking it out of songs -- most egregiously in "Some Girls."

I can't really follow the logic -- does anyone think kids too young to get into an R movie are going to be trying to get into this without their parents anyway? The idea that Scorsese (for whom the F-word seems to have been artistically essential to this point) and the Stones (for whom the F-word is, in many ways, part of a way of life) could make a PG-13 movie leaves me scratching my head.

In a rare show of mercy (for both its stars and the audience), CBS has pulled the plug on the new reality TV show Secret Talents of the Stars after just one episode.

The show featured George Takei (Sulu from the original Star Trek) singing country music and country star Clint Black trying stand-up comedy.

I almost want to mail them some cold, hard cash for stopping this before Danny Bonaduce got to show us his secret talent.

Let me start by saying this: I'm an unapologetic Rolling Stones fan.

Yes, I know: they are elderly, rich and I was in elementary school when they put out their last really solid album.

I don't care.

The fact that they didn't break up at the height of their fame and only one of them managed to die does not make them any less a great rock and roll band -- they simply didn't cease production in the period when they were most creative and vital. I was in college before I began to really appreciate their back catalog, and on the strength of that I think they should be allowed to tour until they actually fall apart in front of us if they like.

With that said, you can see why I'd be excited to see Shine a Light, a Stones performance film directed by Martin Scorsese (who on top of being an Oscar winning director of terrific dramas is also no slouch in the rock doc department, having helped edit Woodstock, directed The Last Waltz and No Direction Home).

One of my favorite directors putting together a concert film of one of my favorite bands? Yes, please.

Unfortunately...it was not all it was cracked up to be.

You know, the problem with the future is that it does keep becoming the present -- and that present does continue to be sort of underwhelming.

Here's a list of 10 movies whose vision of the future already seem dated.

It's sort of a mixed bag, really. I mean -- New York hasn't (officially) been turned into a giant, unregulated prison. But also, our everyday furniture isn't anywhere near as cool as the stuff in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Kids in the Hall are doing a 30-city, two-month tour (don't call it a comeback - they've been here for years, rockin their peers and puttin' suckas in fear).

The Onion's A.V. Club has an interview with them.

They're apparently looking to do a new show and movie. To which I will immediately become addicted.

A new children's book will try to help parents explain their cosmetic surgery procedures to kids. The book, written by Flordia plastic surgeon Michael Salzhauer, is featured in this week's Newsweek.

From the article:

"My Beautiful Mommy" is aimed at kids ages four to seven and features a plastic surgeon named Dr. Michael (a musclebound superhero type) and a girl whose mother gets a tummy tuck, a nose job and breast implants. Before her surgery the mom explains that she is getting a smaller tummy: "You see, as I got older, my body stretched and I couldn't fit into my clothes anymore. Dr. Michael is going to help fix that and make me feel better." Mom comes home looking like a slightly bruised Barbie doll with demure bandages on her nose and around her waist.

The text doesn't mention the breast augmentation, but the illustrations intentionally show Mom's breasts to be fuller and higher. "I tried to skirt that issue in the text itself," says Salzhauer. "The tummy lends itself to an easy explanation to the children: extra skin and can't fit into your clothes. The breasts might be a stretch for a six-year-old."

Bruce Springsteen is choosing sides:

"Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest. He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.""

Bruce does misidentify Obama's book "Dreams from My Father" as "Dreams of My Father" in the statement -- but Barack has still got to be psyched to know The Boss thinks he was born to run.

Hillary, who has been blaring The Boss' music at her rallies, less so.

You can't take these things personally and I'm not sure Bruce will ask her to stop, but you've got to feel a little foolish cuing up "Land of Hope and Dreams" when you know the guy singing the song wants your opponent conducting the train.

I can't sleep and I'm up writing with the TV on in the background.

Madonna's video for "Open Your Heart" just came on VH1 Classic.

And it made me think:

1) Madonna was better before she thought she was "important."

2) Music videos were better when they thought they were.

Lou Reed is at the Carolina Theatre in Durham tonight.

A friend caught him last week at in Northhampton, Mass -- she reports that he's still in good form, plays plenty of the old stuff and the new stuff is great too.

Looks like tickets are still available.

Amazon is having a pretty sweet sale on boxed sets of classic films. Mother's day is coming up, so if your mom is a film buff, it's great timing.

Among the deals:
The Mel Brooks Collection for $45.00 (includes Blazing Saddles / Young Frankenstein / Silent Movie / Robin Hood: Men in Tights / To Be or Not to Be / History of the World, Part 1 / The Twelve Chairs / High Anxiety).

The Pink Panther Film Collection for $35.00 - includes The Pink Panther / A Shot in the Dark / Strikes Again / Revenge of / Trail of and puts that Steve Martin remake to absolute shame.

The Frankie and Annette Collection for $20.00. This is crazy 60s kitsch that is occasionally terrific and hilarious even when it's bad. Includes Beach Blanket Bingo / How to Stuff a Wild Bikini / Beach Party / Bikini Beach / Fireball 500 / Thunder Alley / Muscle Beach Party / and Ski Party. Man, was Annette the foxiest chick on the beach or what, Daddio?

The Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection for $25.00. Includes The Seven Year Itch / Gentlemen Prefer Blondes / Niagara / River of No Return / Let's Make Love and Marilyn - The Final Days Tragically omits Some Like It Hot.

The Woody Allen Collection, Set 1 for $50.00 .Includes some of my favorite Woody films, and a few I don't care for particularly. Annie Hall/Manhattan/Sleeper/Bananas/Interiors/Stardust Memories/Love and Death and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask.