The Book Standard: “John Tesh, the radio and television personality, has joined with Thomas Nelson to release his upcoming book, A Passionate Life. The book, which will be published March 11, 2008, will reveal Tesh’s own personal story of how he ‘has applied certain principles to live a complete and passionate life,’ according to the publisher.”

The Times: “France’s cultural heritage is in peril because students are shunning literature in favour of more practical courses that they believe will help them to secure well-paid jobs, the Education Minister said….’We need literary people, pupils who can master speech and reason,’ he said. ‘They are always in demand.'”

The Independent: “Online bookseller Amazon has plans to unveil a wireless electronic book reader, a kind of literary iPod, which already has UK publishers scrambling to digitise their entire range of titles. The device, which sources claim could be launched as early as next month, would follow the recent US launch of the Sony eBook Reader, a machine the size of a hardback that stores digital copies of up to 80 books and lasts 7,500 pages on a single charge.”

So when’s JVC going to jump into the fray?

Contrary to previous reports, it appears that redheads will not — repeat, NOT — be going extinct. You can go back to schtupping blondes and brunettes with egalitarian rapacity.

I didn’t get this nonsense in my email (although this doesn’t necessarily mean that I didn’t get it, if you know what I mean). Out of general principle, I refuse to publicize this piece of news. I am not your puppet. I am not your tool. I am not your dancing little monkey. What Orthofer said.

If you send me a tip, I’ll be damned if I’m going to subscribe to your unilateral way of conducting journalism. (Can I keep confidential information? You bet. But that isn’t necessarily going to stop me from confirming something with another source.) I’ll report (or not) in the manner that I find appropriate. And if that means taking two hours or two months or two years to investigate or think about something (what, you didn’t actually think that I had stopped investigating subjects broached on these pages from years ago, did you?), so be it. If this isn’t the way that the New York Times does business, then it certainly isn’t the way that I conduct business.

This is what I suggest: a united stand. If you received the information, don’t report it. Let them know that bullshit embargoes are not the way to build a positive and lasting relationship.