See why the beloved PBS show is getting unplugged and take a look at our list of must-reads that will have you chatting at the lunch counter, over IM or wherever it is that people actually talk these days.
- "Reading Rainbow" is getting the Fahrenheit 451 treatment. That's right, after nearly three decades and more than two dozen Emmys, the beloved PBS children's show hosted by LeVar Burton (a.ka. Data of "Star Trek" fame) is going off-air. The show, which promoted kids' reading and is seared into the memories of 20- and 30-somethings everywhere, ceased production in 2006 but the contract for PBS to disseminate the show to stations runs out on Friday, according to a report.
- Microsoft apparently edited a black man out of its promo photo. A photo on the U.S.-based site shows two men -- one Asian and one black -- and a women seated at a conference table. On the Polish-based website, the black man's head has been replaced with a white man's. "We apologize and are in the process of pulling down the image," the company said. You can see it here.
- Trekkies now have their own cologne. Hopefully, these three new scents -- Pon Farr, Red Shirt and Tiberius -- will not do further damage to the cred of "Star Trek" fans and exacerbate the negative loner, werido stereotype that has dogged these fans for too long. That said, it probably will.
- The "Fan Can" beer promotion is being spiked. Anheuser-Busch has decided to drop the short-lived promotion designed to coincide with the start of football season from areas around U.S. colleges that have complained about it. Critics say the promotion, which involves selling cans of Bud Light in school colors, promotes underage drinking and infringes on trademarks. There are no logos or names on the cans, just 27 color combos -- but about 25 colleges have complained already.
