• Puppies! [NYT]
  
• Unexplained national BlackBerry shutdown began at 3:30 p.m. I'd take it as a sign from God, but those fuckin' iPhones are still working. [WSJ]
  
• Obama officially pulled ahead of Clinton, delegate wise, even counting the "superdelegates," after winning in Maine. [CBS News]
  
• Oooooh, and look who's inevitable now!!! [NY Times]
  
• No really, DRUDGE EXCLUSIVE inevitable... [Drudge]
  
• And now that pretty much every state where The Nation is read has held a primary, it's pulling for Obama too. [CBS News]
  
• Paul Krugman finds something Nixonian about all this Obama love but fuck if he's going to tell you exactly what it is. [NYT]
  
• If China keeps up this stealing our military secrets thing maybe one day they will learn how to wage their own futile trillion dollar wars on oil-producing countries. But wait, who will they borrow money from to do all that? [Washington Post]

• Hey, did you know? Living in a roomy suburban single family home on a sizeable plot of land with a car and a lawn mower is actually a less environmentally-friendly lifestyle the kind you'd have if you moved into my apartment, took the subway to work and never even recycled. [New York Times]
• Chelsea dines with the 21-year-old superdelegate. [ABC News]
• The Game was sentenced to 60 days for pulling a gun on someone at a pickup basketball game. (Guy, what part of "just a game" don't you...) [LA Times]
• Thank the deities there is hope for scripted TV after all. [Wash Post]

*Inspired by Shirley MacLaine's assertion that the best parts for actresses fall into one of the above categories

Kate Hudson in Big Eyes: Hudson plays Margaret Keane, the artist that did all those creepy paintings of women with giant peepers. According to Variety: "The drama covers Keane's personal awakening at the onset of the feminist movement, leading to a lawsuit she filed against her husband, Walter, who claimed credit for her works." Verdict: initially a victim, she eventually triumphs over adversity. Sounds like this one is: ok!

Brittany Murphy in Across the Hall and possibly Poor Things: Across the Hall seems to be based on a short horror film of the same name starring Adrien Grenier, which focuses on a man, his fiancée (Murphy's character) and the man's best friend. Murphy's betrothed claims she's having an affair and brings his bff to come spy on her at a seedy motel. Unclear what happens next (it would likely be a spoiler) but with this limited information it seems like Murphy plays the victim. I imagine that motel room will be caked with her brains at some point before the end of the full length film. Poor Things was originally a Lohan vehicle, but Linds had to pull out because of that whole rehab thingy. Murphy is being considered for the Lohan role — as a female con artist who befriends homeless men and then murders them so the she and her partner can collect the insurance money. The character sounds morally crappy, but is neither hooker, nor victim, nor doormat. Verdict: ok!

Robin Wright Penn, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Monica Bellucci, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, all in Pippa Lee: Penn plays a 50-something woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown because her husband leaves her for a young chippy — played by Winona Ryder. Bellucci plays the first wife, Gyllenhaal plays Penn's pill-addled mother in flashbacks, and Julianne Moore plays a lesbian novelist (not really sure how she fits into the plot, but I like the sound of it). Verdict: Robin Wright-Penn — victim/doormat; Winona Ryder — hooker; Monica Bellucci — not enough info to go on, so we're gonna say ok; Maggie Gyllenhaal: victim of own neurosis/pill popping; Moore: ok!

Heather Locklear in Flirting With 40: In this holiday-themed Lifetime made-for-tv movie, Locklear plays a 40-year-old divorcee who meets a much younger man on vacation, and, according to Reuters, "learns that life can begin at 40." Apparently Lifetime execs learned that they can lift an entire plot from How Stella Got Her Groove Back with no apparent repercussions! Though it must be said that Heather Locklear is no Angela Bassett, not by a mile. Verdict: ugh, total victim! If she thought her life was over at 40 she's a damn fool.

WGA Announces Member Meetings For Saturday [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
Kate Hudson To Star In 'Big Eyes' [Variety]
Murphy Enters "Hall"; Eyed For Lohan Role In "Poor" [Reuters]
Four More Booked For 'Pippa Lee' [Hollywood Reporter]
Locklear "Flirting" With Lifetime [Reuters]