Natasha: Okay, what did you think of Techno Roman Madonna and her 13th legion last night? READ MORE

"RainbowVision has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, wracked by financial problems and an increasingly bitter dispute between its residents and management. Its problems mirror those of many other gay retirement communities around the country that have either failed to open or fallen on hard times, victims of a weakened housing market, a deflated economy and, in some cases, poor business decisions." READ MORE

I was jogging by the East River this morning, listening to David Comes to Life, the new album by the Toronto rock band called Fucked Up, marveling at how awesome it is, how the drumming is like a stampede of wild horses, and how well the band's guitarists (there are three of them, like Molly Hatchet) hone and manipulate these giant waves of feedback and distortion, thinking that the sound reminds me more of Husker Du than anything I've heard since Husker Du, and that, if these guys had come out when I was in college, I would have probably wanted to tattoo some sort of sworn allegiance to them on my chest, when I noticed that the fuzz-tone wail was getting louder and louder in my headphones. Strangely louder. And then I realized that the loudness was actually coming from outside my headphones, and turned to see that a pontoon plane was landing on the river nearby. That's always cool to see, an airplane landing on water, the splash and the glide and the waves that it makes. And it seemed to fit the music so well, the power of it, and since the plane was coming from the north, I thought, huh, wouldn't that be cool if it was coming from Canada, maybe carrying Fucked Up down to the city to play a show. And that thought, and the image of the plane landing on the water from Canada, made me remember one of the less-great albums ever made by the greatest Canadian feedback-and-distortion rocker of them all. And that even though it was one of his less-great albums, there were still some songs on it that I liked. READ MORE

As I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs this spring, I’ve reached an unhappy milestone: I’m now old enough to dread learning the birthdates of professional athletes. READ MORE

Good news for those of you who are still getting carded: "People who look young for their age enjoy a longer life than those who look older than their years, according to a study of twins." The study focused on "perceived age," and over a seven-year period, researchers found that the twins who were thought to look older than their siblings were more likely to die first. I have been subject to terrible stress acne over the last year or so, which I'm going to assume makes me look like a teenager and is further proof that I will never die.

Slate claims that no one wants to be a dentist anymore, and that everyone hates them because of the movies. (There may be some truth in that! But I think people hated them first. Mostly people hate them because people hate dental work and are suspect of anyone who would do it all day!) Says Slate: "during the 20th century's final decades, a dwindling number of Americans chose to become dentists. In the early 1980s, U.S. dental schools produced about 5,750 new graduates per year. In 2007, with a population that's nearly one-third larger, there were about 4,700." And that: "In 1980, the United States had 60 dental schools; today there are 58, and class sizes are smaller." That is one way to look at the history of dentists! But let's pull some teeth here. READ MORE

"2009 is shaping up to be the year of the Grown-Ass Man, says New York's Josh Eels, discussing the notion of the middle-aged rap star. With a host of still-viable MCs approaching 40 (and, considering the showbiz tradition of shaving years off bios, it's safe to assume that some of them are already past the mark), the piece looks at the different tactics they employ to try to remain relevant. Jay-Z, of course, gets top billing. But as is so often the case, Ghostface Killah steals the show. "I wanted to take it to a more mature level," says the 37-year-old Wu-Tang Clansman, who's forthcoming album, The Wizard of Poetry, leans heavily toward love-song R&B stylings. "It's like having the same piece of pussy for twenty years. Sometimes you just need to change it up." READ MORE