Lynch Unveils 121-Part Web Interview Project

James Cameron's 12-year hiatus before Avatar isn't the first

(NEWSER) - James Cameron went 12 years between feature films—and other directors have gone even longer, for reasons ranging from hubris to legal problems to, say, Nazi oppression. Slate looks at 18 other filmmakers who took their sweet time:

• Sylvester Stallone, 21-year gap: Between helming Rocky IV and Rocky Balboa, Stallon was just too busy starring in other action movies. Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot, anyone?

Enough is enough: We're smart enough to know when you're happy, sad

(NEWSER) - Since its inception in 1982, the "smiley" has been used in a number of ways, all of which make Mary Elizabeth Williams "want to smack the half circle off its stupid face." Even though bright people use emoticons, "when I see a smiley, my first thought is, 'What are you, 12 years old?'" she writes in Salon . It's time for the ubiquitous :-)—along with its garish, animated, higher-tech counterpart—to die. More»

Crystal Renn recalls battle back to good health

(NEWSER) - In her teens, Crystal Renn punished herself relentlessly in pursuit of her dream of becoming a model. After years of self-inflicted hell, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Renn has found success by being herself—she is now the world's highest-paid plus-size model. Time chats with her:

• On her introduction to modeling: "One day a scout came up to me and said 'Oh my gosh, you're going to be the next supermodel.' I didn't even know what that meant. He pulled out a picture of Gisele and said, 'This is who you can be.' But he said I had to lose nine inches off my hips."

From onion blossoms to overhyped chefs, these things need to go away

(NEWSER) - Asked to name the decade's worst dining trends, chefs and other food experts couldn't shut up. There were too many (including "mache, water sommeliers, organ-meat entrees, unisex bathrooms, bacon tattoos on chefs, over-flaunted kitchen burns, chefs tables") for Christopher Borrelli to list them all, but he hits the top 10 in the Chicago Tribune:

• Fried onion blossoms: Too sweaty, too greasy, too little onion, and too much fried stuff.
• The $40 entree: When your neighborhood bistro has hit these heights, it's time to say enough is enough.

Says his generation 'disarmed' the N-word

(NEWSER) - Becoming a teen drug dealer was “natural” for Jay-Z, and it didn’t scare him a bit, given his environment in the projects, he tells Oprah in her O Magazine. “At some point, you become addicted to the feeling. The uncertainty and adrenaline and danger of that lifestyle,” the rapper says. He was shot at once, but made it through: “When you're a kid, with little bony arms—no wonder nobody could aim.” More»