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The End of the GOP
2007-07-04 00:42:00
Having sacrificed everything ? their devotion to less government, their traditionally prudent temperament, their general distrust of power ? in order to follow the neocons off the Iraqi cliff, the ostensibly "conservative" wing of the Republican Party faces an electoral catastrophe.Since 9/11, conservatism has reverted to European-style absolutism.read more | digg story
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The Online Dating Site for Rejects
2007-07-04 00:25:00
The Online Dating Site for RejectsAre those Chemistry.com ads working?By Seth StevensonPosted Monday, July 2, 2007, at 6:45 AM ETThe Spot: A man is flipping through a nudie magazine. He opens up to a photo spread, takes a good long leer, and then closes the magazine and shrugs. "Nope," he says. "Still gay." A big red stamp slams across his face, reading: "Rejected by eHarmony." The announcer says, "Who knows why eHarmony has rejected over 1 million people looking for love? But at Chemistry.com you can come as you are." (Click here to watch ads from the Chemistry.com campaign.)The dating Web site eHarmony has a heteros-only policy, and lately it's been catching a lot of flak for that. A gay California woman filed a lawsuit last month accusing eHarmony of discrimination. Adding fuel to the fire: eHarmony's founder, Dr. Neil Clark Warren, is an evangelical Christian, and his background includes close ties to the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.Ad Report Card reader K...
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Google acquires Web-calling service GrandCentral
2007-07-04 00:24:00
Google acquires Web-calling service GrandCentralTue Jul 3, 2007 2:11PM EDTBy Eric AuchardSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc. has acquired GrandCentral Communications, a start-up that lets users manage their existing phones and voice mailboxes over the Web as if they were a single account, the company said on Monday.Financial terms were not disclosed.Grand Central of Fremont, California is one of dozens of innovative companies that are taking advantage of Web-based software to allow consumers and businesses to make voice calls over the Internet while also working with regular phones.GrandCentral was founded in late 2005 by Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet, who worked together while running Web-calling pioneer Dialpad Communications. Google's biggest rival, Yahoo Inc., acquired Dialpad in June 2005."You get a single phone number that forwards to all of your phones, giving you one number for life," Walker and Paquet said in a statement on GrandCentral's Web site confirming the deal....
More About: Google , Technology , Service , Calling , Vice

Movie Review: Evan Almighty
2007-06-22 22:48:00
Review: Evan Almighty"Lighten up." That's what people say when you dare to criticize a big dopey comedy, especially a potential summer blockbuster. Didn't think the Shrek movies were that funny? Were you annoyed by the sexism in one of the guy-centric comedies that seem to be taking over the genre? Didn't crack a smile during Napoleon Dynamite? Then you need to lighten up, obviously, and stop complaining just because the comedy film wasn't very funny to you. And I predict that by the end of this review of Evan Almighty, people are going to tell me to lighten up, and will probably accuse me of having no sense of humor, because I didn't love the film unquestionably.Evan Almighty, the sequel to the 2003 Jim Carrey vehicle Bruce Almighty, is in fact funny at times, because a cast like this with such superb comic timing and such charismatic screen appeal cannot help but entertain you. You're aware that the dialogue is dumb and the situation is lame and yet, thanks to the actors, yo...
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Movie Review: 1408
2007-06-22 22:46:00
Review: 1408 Confession time: Not only have I read (literally) every story ever written by Stephen King (some of 'em two or three times), but I've also seen (literally) every movie inspired by his books. Some of 'em four or five times. I discovered the man's work around the time I was 13 -- and I devoured his early paperbacks like a junkie devours his drug of choice. I was hooked. All through high school and college and "grown-up" life, if there was a new King paperback out there, I had to have it. Most I liked, some I truly did not, and I few I really went crazy for. And since I'm even more of a movie geek than I am a passionate reader, I'm always pretty excited to sit down with a new cinematic adaptation. (And no amount of Dreamcatchers will ever change that.)It's been pretty well-documented over the past two decades: LOTS of the movies based on Stephen King stories are grade-A, bona-fide awful. Some of the turkeys had good intentions; some of 'em were low-rent knock 'em ...
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MOVIE REVIEW | 'SICKO'
2007-06-22 00:57:00
MOVIE REVIEW 'SICKO'Open Wide and Say ?Shame?By A. O. SCOTTIt has become a journalistic cliché and therefore an inevitable part of the prerelease discussion of ?Sicko? to refer to Michael Moore as a controversial, polarizing figure. While that description is not necessarily wrong, it strikes me as self-fulfilling (since the controversy usually originates in media reports on how controversial Mr. Moore is) and trivial. Any filmmaker, politically outspoken or not, whose work is worth discussing will be argued about. But in Mr. Moore?s case the arguments are more often about him than about the subjects of his movies.Some of this is undoubtedly his fault, or at least a byproduct of his style. His regular-guy, happy-warrior personality plays a large part in the movies and in their publicity campaigns, and he has no use for neutrality, balance or objectivity. More than that, his polemical, left-populist manner seems calculated to drive guardians of conventional wisdom bananas. That is ...
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alli: THE BEST DIET PILL EVER?
2007-06-21 09:17:00
Source: http://angryaussie.wordpress.com/2007/06/ 20/miracle-diet-pill-with-teeny-tiny-side -effect/Laugh? I nearly shit my pants!Wednesday, June 20th, 2007...2:16 pmalli: Miracle diet pill with teeny-tiny side effectI found this news on Salon.com and felt compelled to throw my 2c in. There?s a ?new? over-the-counter drug available in the US that?s apparently flying off the shelves. It?s called alli (note the way trendy lower case!) and I use the term ?new? loosely because it?s apparently a lower strength version of a prescription-only drug (Xenical) that?s been around for a while.So what does this incredibly popular wonder drug do? Well, not to go all Bill Clinton on you, but it depends on what your definition of ?do? is. You see, there?s (1)what the drug company markets it as, (2)the medical description of what it does and (3)the biggest effect you?re actually going to notice.The drug company markets it as a weight loss pill. They say it will give ?safe, effective weight loss?. Bec...
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NEWSWEEK: The 'Pull and Strike' Democrats
2007-06-18 22:46:00
War critics desperately need a new bumper sticker, a way to commit to withdrawal without looking like surrender monkeys.WTF??read more | digg story
More About: Politics , Democrats , Newsweek , Strike , Rats

Headphones to Shut Out the World
2007-06-18 22:34:00
Headphones to Shut Out the World By DAVID POGUEAs you may have heard, air travel this summer isn?t going to be pretty.You?ll be crammed in, delayed and bumped ? if you?re lucky. If you?re unlucky, your flight will just be canceled.Fortunately, not all of this misery is out of your control. Take, for example, the noise-canceling headphones that Bose began making popular a few years ago.Until you try them, you won?t believe what a difference such headphones can make. As tiny microphones monitor the mind-numbing roar around you, circuitry in the device creates a sound wave 180 degrees out of phase with the original sounds. Presto: the roar of the engines is magically subtracted from the sound that would otherwise have ground away at your well-being for six hours.You can wear them just to be more peaceful, or you can connect them to a music player, DVD player, laptop, or the plane?s audio system. Because the engine roar is missing from the mix, you can enjoy enormously improved audio qua...
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Digital Cameras: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know
2007-06-18 20:47:00
Digital Cameras : The Top 10 Things You Need to KnowBy Rich Knapp1) Resolution is less important than you thinkThere is a popular misconception that more megapixels lead to better pictures. This is not the case.Sure, higher resolution gives you the ability to crop more aggressively or print large pictures, but only a fraction of digital photographers will benefit from this ability. If you're a casual shooter who won't be printing pictures larger than 8x10" or doing extensive computer editing, then a camera with 3- or 4-megapixel resolution will be sufficient.More advanced photographers will likely appreciate the flexibility of higher resolution, but a 5+ megapixel camera is by no means necessary to create stunning pictures. Choose a camera you can understand and afford, and don't be fooled by glitzy high-resolution specs.2) Zoom is more important than you thinkWhether you're shooting distant wildlife or close-up portraits, you can never have too much zoom. The majority of digital...
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An Obama Patron and Friend Until an Indictment
2007-06-16 20:07:00
An Obama Patron and Friend Until an IndictmentBy CHRISTOPHER DREW and MIKE McINTIRECHICAGO ? Antoin Rezko, an entrepreneur of considerable charm who found riches in fast food and real estate, is known around Chicago as a collector of politicians.Back in the 1990s, Mr. Rezko?s office was adorned with framed photos of candidates he viewed as up-and-comers. Among them was Barack Obama, a state legislator whose first campaign donations included $2,000 from Mr. Rezko?s companies. As Mr. Obama built a career that carried him to the Senate in 2004, Mr. Rezko was there with him, holding fund-raisers and rallying support.Now, as Mr. Obama runs for president, the once-beneficial relationship with his old friend and patron has become problematic.Last fall, Mr. Rezko was indicted on federal charges of business fraud and influence peddling involving the administration of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, whose picture was also on Mr. Rezko?s wall. Since then, Mr. Obama, a Democrat, has had to...
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Finance: Stocks
2007-06-16 01:52:00
StocksWhat Are Stocks?Stock is partial ownership of a corporation. If you buy stockina company, you are either buying it directly from the company, or fromsomeone who bought it from the company, or someone who bought it fromsomeonewho bought the company. Regardless of how many steps you areremovedfrom the initial sale of the stock by the company, the net effect isthesame: buying stock provides capital that allows the company to buildfactories,purchase materials to turn into a product, hire engineers to design aproduct,or one of the thousands of other necessary and sometimes unnecessarythingson which companies spend money.What do you get when you buy stock? Thereare only threerational reasons to buy stocks: dividends, capitalappreciation,or control. You may find that the stock you purchased onlygivesyou one of these three items. (If it doesn't give you any ofthethree, you probably shouldn't be buying it.)DividendsDividends are usually paid quarterly, and are a share of the p...
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Finance: Understanding Bonds
2007-06-16 01:46:00
Understanding Bonds Bonds, stocks, mutual funds, money market accounts--what are all thosethings? Today we will start to cover bonds.Until you have $20K-$40K sitting around with nothing to do, Iwouldnot encourage you to buy bonds of any sort. But: you need to understandbonds in order to understand bond mutual funds. We'll get to mutualfundsin a later segment; you need to understand bonds and stocks first,becausemost mutual funds are built on top of bonds and stocks. Bonds areenoughof a struggle to get through that I'll take two segments to get throughthem, followed by stocks, then by mutual funds.A bond is a loan to a government or corporation for a certainperiodof time at a certain interest rate. As an example, I have some 30 yearTreasury bonds that are due November 15, 2016. When the U.S. governmentfirst sold these bonds in 1986, they sold for $1000 each. (That's alsoknown as the par value or face value.) The U.S. government promises(crosstheir heart and hope to die) to pay 7.5%...
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The Magic Secrets of Personal Finance
2007-06-16 01:41:00
The Magic Secrets of Personal Finance There is a magic secret that enables you get in deep financial trouble very quickly--and get out almost as quickly. This is one of those items that is blindingly obvious--and yet most people don't ever think about, until you tell them.Let's say that you are a typical American. You spend $4000 a month; you bring home $4000 a month; you have a few hundred in savings, and $10,000 in credit card debt. You never get ahead financially, but at least you aren't sinking. Then, one day, you need to replace the engine on your car--and now, to keep your monthly minimums on your credit cards, you now are spending $4100 a month. As Mr. Micawber would tell you, "result misery." You are now getting further behind every month--and in a few months, even if nothing else goes wrong, you are now spending $4150 or $4200 a month. Soon, you are beginning to watch those ads from bankruptcy lawyers.Magic Secret #1You must, before this deficit gets out of control, eith...
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Free Hotel Porn
2007-06-16 01:39:00
http://www.totse.com/en/media/cable_and_s atellite_television_hacks/freehotelporn16 9280.htmlMarriot hotels. Marriot has, to my knowledge, installed a pay-per-view (PPV) system nationwide called ?On Command?. This system is probably similar to many such systems used in hotels today. As far as I can tell, there is a radio frequency module attached to the TV that signals some master hotel unit to order movies and add charges to your hotel bill.I spent several months in a Marriot and found a way to tap into free porn movies without paying a penny. It all started in the exercise room. Early one morning, I noticed that my favorite cable news channel had not been programmed into the wall mounted TV. No one was around, so I just accessed the menu function and scrolled up the ?raw? channels so that I could add my channel. As I hit channels 40, 41, and 42, I found porn. No scrambling and no requests for billing authorization. Nervously, I just skipped past and added my channel. When back in my...
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Obama Smears Hillary Clinton using Republican Talking Points
2007-06-16 00:29:00
Shortly after the Clinton campaign released the financial information, the campaign of Senator Barack Obama , the Illinois Democrat, circulated to news organizations -- on what it demanded be a not-for-attribution-basis -- a scathing analysis. It called Mrs. Clinton "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)" in its headline.read more | digg story
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Movie Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
2007-06-15 23:31:00
Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Heading into Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, my expectations were pretty low. The original was slow, dull and gimmicky, with too much set-up and not enough punch. That said, I'm about to make a very bold statement -- not only is this film far superior to its predecessor, but it's also one of the best sequels this summer has to offer. Granted, that's not saying a whole lot, but when it comes to entertaining a mass audience -- delivering equal parts quirk and fast-paced action -- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer serves up fun on a, well, silver platter. Unlike other recent comic adaptations content on force-feeding you bland melodrama to a point where the entire theater begins to reek like cheese, Silver Surfer never takes itself seriously. It's PG-rated summer popcorn fluff at its best, and while the new additions might irritate the hardcore FF fanatics, those simply looking for a check-your-brain-at-the-door n...
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?We have made a deal with the devil?
2007-06-15 01:35:00
Apparently, U.S. forces have not only aligned themselves with dozens of Sunni militiamen, we?re now cooperating with sectarian militias, working outside the Iraqi security forces, that include insurgents that have attacked Americans in the past.?We have made a deal with the devil?By: Steve Benen on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 at 7:03 PM - PDT For a while, part of the administration?s war policy in Iraq was disarming sectarian militias. Now, U.S. forces are trying a different tack ? the opposite tack.The US military has embarked on a new and risky strategy in Iraq by arming Sunniinsurgents in the hope that they will tackle the extremist al-Qaida inIraq.The US high command this month gave permission to its officers on theground to negotiate arms deals with local leaders. Arms, ammunition, body armourand other equipment, as well as cash, pick-up trucks and fuel, have already beenhanded over in return for promises to turn on al-Qaida and not attack US troops.Apparently, U.S. forces have ...
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The 10 Best Ultra-Violent Films of All-Time
2007-06-13 00:25:00
This list is all about the most shocking, bloody and unbelievable gut-wrentching cinematic adventures in the history of film. It?s not just about slashing up unsuspecting victims, it is about leaving a lasting imprint of terror in the minds of audiences.read more | digg story
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Airport drug sniffing dogs fired for sexually harrassing female passengers
2007-06-13 00:25:00
Two Thai street mutts who became ace sniffer dogs at an airport near the notorious "Golden Triangle" opium-producing region have been fired for urinating on luggage and sexually harassing female passengers.read more | digg story
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Butts Charged With Stealing Toilet Paper
2007-06-13 00:01:00
Police blame a woman named Butts for stealing toilet paper from a central Iowa courthouse, and while they're chuckling, the theft charge could put her in prisonButts Charged With Stealing Toilet Paper
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In Napa, Wilderness Above the Wineries
2007-06-10 08:02:00
In Napa , Wilde rness Above the Wineries By KERMIT PATTISONhttp://travel.nytimes.com/2007/06 /08/travel/escapes/08Napa.html?em&ex= 1181620800&en=326611186d3c2b9e&ei=508 7%0AAFTER hours of tromping through the hills of Napa County, beneath towering redwoods, over mountain creeks, past ruins of 19th-century homesteads, there still wasn't a single grape to be seen.Finally, from the top of a mountain peak, there was the wine country at last. Grids of green vineyards stretched for miles. Far below, perched on a hilltop, stood a white stucco winery that seemed small as a matchbox.From the highway, Napa seems to be wall-to-wall vineyards. But from the trails that snake through the hills of the county, you can see just how little of it is actually covered in vines ? only about 9 percent.I had detoured into the hills to appreciate the Napa terroir in a new way ? by hiking it. Napa offers a rare pairing of wine and wilderness. The climate and topography that make the region so ripe for vit...
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Massive Personal Finance Resource List
2007-06-08 22:23:00
Massive Personal Finance Resource List digg_url = 'http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Massive_Per sonal_Finance_Resource_List';Inspired by Leo?s Massive GTD Resource List at Zen Habits, I decided to put together a massive resource list for personal finances. It?s definitely not comprehensive. So, if you see something that I should add to the list, let me know in the comments. Enjoy.Online Money Management ToolsUnless otherwise stated, all applications are free.Wesabe Track your expenses and get budgeting tips from other users.Money Trackin Powerful online budget tool.Yodlee It?s like having Quicken online for free.Myvelopes If you?re a big fan of the envelope budget system, then try this digital version of it. ($7.90/month)DimeWise You can define multiple accounts and enter and track your transactions. You can also create reportsFoonance You can import your bank statements and track expenses with Foonance.iOWEYOU Track and manage shared expenses with others.Buxfer Manage shared expenses....
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Could Karl Rove be right about tech?
2007-06-08 22:22:00
Could Karl Rove be right about tech?By Charles Cooperhttp://news.com.com/Could+Karl+Rove +be+right+about+tech/2010-1028_3-6189538. htmlStory last modified Fri Jun 08 07:22:15 PDT 2007In an illuminating interview published in the June 4 issue of The New Yorker, White House political aide Karl Rove suggested that a nexus exists between the spread of technology and a centrist-conservative outlook on the world."There are two or three societal trends that are driving us in an increasingly deep center-right posture," Rove told the magazine. "One of them is the power of the computer chip. Do you know how many people's principal source of income is eBay? Seven hundred thousand."Rove's point being that the proliferation of technology puts increasing numbers of people in charge of how they make a living.He continues: "It's given people a greater chance to run their own business, become a sole proprietor or an entrepreneur. As a result, it has made us more market-oriented, and that equals mak...
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Fred Thompson EXPOSED
2007-06-02 22:55:00
Source: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/ 2/73340/65601Mitt Romney has already out-raised his opponents by fulfilling the one true requirement of a Republican candidate -- looking presidential. But Romney is going to have to surrender his prom king crown to the guy who has been literally acting the part for decades. Fred Thompson has been a general in the Army, an admiral in the Navy, senator, White House chief of staff, head of the FBI, and president three times (hey, doesn't that make him ineligible?). And before all those, he played another role: attorney. Yes, Thompson really is both a lawyer and a Hollywood movie star -- the two things Republicans always claim to hate, until they start drooling over any example of either willing to tack an "R" after their name. But though he's made a career of playing a character whose name might as well be "Tough Butfair," there's one part of Thompson's act that's never quite held up to scrutiny. Thompson launched his politica...
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Are You Middle Class?
2007-06-02 08:52:00
http://consumerist.com/consumer/economics /are-you-middle-class-265258.phpThe NYT has an interesting interactive graphic that shows you where you fall in terms of class in our society based on 4 criteria: Occupation, Education, Income and Wealth.So, what class are you? When you get done playing with that, the NYT has a special section on class that looks like it could eat up a chunk of our reading time.How Class Works [NYT]Class Matters [NYT]
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How To: Erase Your Hard Drive
2007-06-02 08:48:00
The best way to really "erase" a drive is to take it apart and destroy it:Me? I take dead drives apart. They have amazingly powerful magnets inside, along with all kinds of very useful screws, washers, nuts, coils, and other fiddly bits. The platters, obviously, contain the data and they should be destroyed. I run one of the magnets over them upon removal and then keep a stack of the platters around as they have proven to be incredibly useful! The platters have been used for everything as clamp pads for gluing stuff to spacers to level a table or work surface to being used by my son as part of a bug house.Or you could drop a pinball on your drive and take a picture with a high speed camera...?MEGHANN MARCO Erase that hard drive! [bbum's weblog-o-mat via Hackzine]
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HOW TO: Do A Background Check On Yourself
2007-06-02 08:44:00
Do A Background Check On YourselfCompanies can order all sorts of reports on you and make judgments about you, from banks, to landlords to employers. Here's how you can see the data they're seeing and make sure the record is right. Employment ReportChoicePoint (866) 312-8075 Check Writing History ReportChexSystems (800) 428-9623 Shared Check Authorization Network (800) 262-7771 Fax: (800) 358-4506TeleCheck (800) 835-3243.Residential and Tenant ReportsChoicePoint: (877) 448-5732Safe Rent (888) 333-2413UD Registry (818) 785-3905Medical History ReportsMIB (866) 692-6901Insurance Claims ReportsThe "Other" Consumer Reports [Privacy Rights Clearinghouse](Photo: Getty)
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Google Owns The UNIVERSE ? Does Anyone Care?
2007-06-02 06:48:00
Is Google totally freaking you out right now? Because it sure is the blogosphere! Web nerds see a monopoly brewing. Are they just being paranoid?read more | digg story
More About: Internet , Universe , Care , Anyone

Movie Review: Knocked Up
2007-06-02 00:34:00
Review: Knocked Up "Isn't it weird that when you have a kid all of your hopes and dreams go out the window?" -- Knocked UpOnce Monday morning rolls around, two things will be certain: 1) Everyone who did see Knocked Up over the weekend will find it to be the funniest film of the year so far, and 2) Judd Apatow will officially become the proud father of an instant classic. Both will happen fast -- almost instantaneously -- and you might not notice until the memorable quotes begin flying out the mouths of your fellow co-workers during that dreaded morning meeting. With no zany high concept, no major set pieces, no A-list stars and practically no physical comedy, you'd think Knocked Up would struggle to find even the mildest scattered laughter during its whopping (for a comedy) 129-minute running time. But thanks to Seth Rogan and the outstanding supporting cast, Judd Apatow picks up right where The 40 Year Old Virgin left off -- delivering a flawless situational comedy that feeds of...
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