Mature Readers Only. Enter at Your Own Risk.

By Paul Levine

"R," baby. That's what Naked Authors received from a Rating Service, which notes the "Restricted" label stems from the use of the words "porn," "dead," and "kill."

Apparently, readers under 17 should obtain parental approval. (In reality, the kids could probably teach their parents and the Naked Scribblers a few things).

SMACKING THE LIPSTICKERS

So what about our pals at Lipstick Chronicles? Their name implies a certain raciness, does it not? Lip gloss and tiny thongs and monkey business in the buodoir.

Surely, the Lipsticker Ladies must also have the "R" rating. But NO! They're rated a Disneyesque "G," with the notation: "No bad words were found." Not even the hint of scandal to get a "PG" rating. Perhaps that is not surprising, once you realize that the letters of "Lipstick Chronicles" can be rearranged to spell "Pill Chicks Censor It."


So...Michele Martinez, Harley Jane Kozak, Nancy Martin, Sarah Strohmeyer, & Elaine Viets. I'm calling you out. You're a Big Tease. False Advertising. RICO violations. (Michele, a former federal prosecutor, knows what I'm talking about).

In a blatant attempt to foment bad blood between our blogs, I suggest you either change your name to "Polite Lady Writers" or start talking trash. Whadaya say? Wanna dance?
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SALMAN GETS THE BUM'S RUSH

In author/marital news, Salman Rushdie's fourth wife is divorcing him on grounds that he is even shorter than Mayor Bloomberg. Yes, model-actress-writer-chef Padma Lakshmi will soon be a free woman. In related news, Jim Born has asked a number of Ayatollahs if they could issue a fatwa against him.
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"BACK IN THE U.S., BACK IN THE U.S., BACK IN THE U.S.S.R."

Yesterday, Fox News Anchor Martha MacCallum, trying to frame a question about the missile defense system, stated that "Poland and Czechoslovakia, both formerly part of the U.S.S.R...."
MARTHA ("Don't Know Much About Geography") MACCALLUM

Speaking of those rascals at Fox News, there's this from Paul Krugman in The New York Times:

In October 2003, the nonpartisan Program on International Policy Attitudes published a study titled ''Misperceptions, the media and the Iraq war.'' It found that 60 percent of Americans believed at least one of the following: clear evidence had been found of links between Iraq and Al Qaeda; W.M.D. had been found in Iraq; world public opinion favored the U.S. going to war with Iraq.

The prevalence of these misperceptions, however, depended crucially on where people got their news. Only 23 percent of those who got their information mainly from PBS or NPR believed any of these untrue things, but the number was 80 percent among those relying primarily on Fox News. In particular, two-thirds of Fox devotees believed that the U.S. had ''found clear evidence in Iraq that Saddam Hussein was working closely with the Al Qaeda terrorist organization.''

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AUTHORS FLOCK TO THOUSAND OAKS, FIND NO TREES

I'll be at "Mysteries to Die For" in Thousand Oaks this Saturday at 1 p.m., flogging "Trial & Error," the fourth of the Solomon & Lord novels. Sharing the podium will be the talented Brett Battles with his debut novel, "The Cleaner."

On Saturday, July 14, our very own Naked Scribbler Patty Smiley will do an 11 a.m. chit-chat and signing at the same store, with her latest Tucker Sinclair adventure, "Short Change." I love Patty's books and can't wait to read this one. For now, my blurb is: "The cover is really, really red."

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RIDLEY PEARSON INVITES YOU TO A "KILLER WEEKEND"

A much darker cover graces Ridley Pearson's new novel, "Killer Weekend." The thriller, set in Ridley's old haunt of Sun Valley, Idaho, gets a coveted starred review from Booklist, which concludes:

"Pearson is the first American recipient of the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in detective fiction at Oxford University. The late, great creator of Philip Marlowe would be proud--both of the selection itself and of the recipient's latest work."

And this is very cool. Amazon has a video interview with Ridley, conducted by his bandmate, co-author of "Peter and the Starcatchers", and drinking buddy Dave Barry. The interview, which takes place in Dave's backyard, has a relaxed, post-Margarita feel to it. Catch it here.
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IN A BUSY WORKDAY, THE PRESIDENT COMMUTES SCOOTER LIBBY'S SENTENCE AND CHANGES HIS POSITION ON GAY MARRIAGE
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THE "CHEYNEY ADMINISTRATION," LIKE THE INSURGENCY IN IRAQ, ENTERS ITS LAST THROES."
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Finally, I've used this space to talk about the horrendous toll on life and limb the Iraq War has cost our nation. To check on the escalating financial cost of the misguided and bungled war, click on the National Priorities Project website.


Happy Fourth of July,
Paul