The Downing Street Memo controversy has provoked an essay earlier this week by Jay Rosen of PressThink.

It in turn led to a Salon column by Ariana Huffington.

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A young woman, about 21, is filling in two friends on the nickname of a mutual acquaintance: Dirty Al.

"I was going to my first kegger, and Al's roommate told me: 'Watch out for yourself. Al is looking to score tonight. He washed his sheets.'

"So me and a friend nicknamed him 'Dirty Al'!"

I was left to wonder about what Al's nickname might have been had he left the sheets as is.

A young street guy, approximately 22 years of age, cuts across Queen W. on his very shabby chic Mustang bike and screeches to a halt beside another guy.

"Hey buddy: Where the fuck were you when I was fuckin' scrappin' those two fuckin' guys on fuckin' Front Street?!?!" he asked -- in a tone that could not be described as even and neutral.

The reply was mumbled and inaudible, but I suspect it might have been along the lines of: "Uh, I didn't wanna get my ass kicked?" :)

The Beeb's Pete Clifton on the Los Angele's Times' great wikitorial experiment.

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The land that gave us the concept of schadenfreude is seeing its stand-up comedy business slowly take wing -- with the help of some training.

For some reason, I can image Mike Myer's "Dieter" character from his SNL days barking: "Your one-liners have become tiresome!" :)

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On last night's Daily Show, Stephen Colbert was interviewing two people from the pornography industry who had joined the Republican Party.

"What was that?" asked Colbert, his nostrils twitching after a certain telltale sound.

"I farted," said the woman, whose name was Mary Carey. "I've never farted in an interview before. You're my first."

"Well, that's what we in the news business call 'an exclusive,'" said Colbert.