H Bomb is one thing, but now that a Yale panel has concluded that the U.S. is too uptight about sex, I’m convinced that the next wave of unfettered sexuality’s coming from universities.

Today, Kerry plans to respond to Drudge’s claim. Predictions: Much ado about nothing and a Playboy spread for Alex Polier.

In South Korea, activists are miffed by an actress’s muff shots. Lee Seung-yeon is selling nude and semi-nude photos of herself donned in WWII sex slave attire.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram copy desk must be bored. How else can we explain this headline?

And a German edition of Psychology Today reports that men can remember how many women they sleep with (even if they boast about it), but seldom remember their names. Women, by contrast, have total recall.

A couple has donated $100,000 to the University of Mississippi for the only national scholarship devoted to the work and life of William Faulkner. “We hoped that we could stop Cliff’s Notes from publishing summaries of Faulkner’s work, but Cliff wanted more cash,” said Campbell McCool. “So we thought: Why not get the kids spinning cart wheels?”

Ernest Gaines has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. Not a single American has won in ten years. (Toni Morrison was the last winner.) So it might be our time. Then again, both Bush and Blair are nominees too (for the Peace Prize). So who knows? The winner will be announced in mid-October.

Jacqueline Wilson is the most borrowed author in UK libraries, unseating last year’s Catherine Cookson. But it could be worse. Danielle Steele was number two.

The following quote may not explain why Bernardo’s obsessed with the bump and grind (namely, in his new film, The Dreamers), but it does offer compelling evidence that Bertolucci may be insane: “The passionate love I have is for the cinema. It is very strong, so that the first time I meet the director Jean-Luc Godard, I vomit on him; that was the expression of love. He understand. We have a talk in the bathroom of the Mayfair Hotel, where we are cleaning our suits.”

The March Atlantic (which hasn’t yet been posted online) deals with the issue, but, for the nonce, “America’s oldest college newspaper” has the scoop on the SAT’s new writing section According to the new standards, Shakespare, Hemingway and Stein are slipshod. Ted Kaczynski, on the other hand, scores off the charts.

Sometimes, sex doesn’t sell. Thor Kunkel threw in sex, Nazis, and Nazi pornography into his novel, finished his book, and then returned home from vacation to discover that his publisher dumped the book two months before its release. One of his editors reported, “He’s read too much Thomas Pynchon and has over-estimated his artistic possibilities.” If only Manhattan could be as honest about certain “political satirists” on our side of the Atlatnic.

Focus on the Family’s latest target? Christian porn addicts. They even have fey billboards up. (via Quiddity)

Jose Saramago gets medieval on Bush’s buttocks. (via TEV)

And Norman Mailer claims he’s the father of New Journalism: “Tom Wolfe claimed he was the discoverer of New Journalism … Actually, we were both doing it quite separately. But I’m much older than he is … by eight or 10 years. So I’m the only one of the post-World War II generation to practice it. Sorry if I shoot down your theory.” What most people don’t know about Mailer is that he also invented beat poetry, postmodernism, and the footnote. No word on whether he’s still terrified of the word “fuck” or getting his ass kicked by Germaine Greer in a debate.

We’re in. Look for Wrestling an Alligator, written and directed by Edward Champion, at this year’s San Francisco Fringe Festival, sometime in September 2004. More details later.

This year’s Nebula Award nominees are up, with links to most of the short stories and book excerpts. Among the nominees: Carol Emshwiller, Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, Cory Doctorow, and Jeffrey Ford.

Does Matt Drudge seriously believe that an unconfirmed rumor is going to stop Kerry? Because if he does, and groundless character flaws are the best he can muster against Bush’s National Guard AWOL, his failure to offer an Iraq-WMD link, and the skyrocketing deficit (to name just a handful), then his finger ain’t even close to the American pulse.

Let’s say the allegations are true (and, so far, the burden of proof is shaky). Does anyone really want to go back into Monicagate territory? No. Been there, done that. Trivial, really, in a post-9/11 world and a shaky economy. And there’s no simply way that Bush will be able to escape deficit/lack of Iraq-WMD link questions, even if Kerry slept with an intern. The media, even with its shaky ethical plinth, wouldn’t let that double standard happen. Call it the fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me syndrome.

If it turns out to be true, then this may be the piece of news that destroys Drudge’s career, much as Harry Knowles’ credibility was eviscerated when he “predicted” the Oscars. It’s a shame. Because there are Internet columnists and bloggers out there of all stripes who actually bother to fact-check.