FRONT OF BOOK

CONTRIBUTORS

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

STATIC   Condi kisses ass; the Democrats’ branding bakeoff; make your own Damien Hirst; the politics of power lunching.

FRESH INTELLIGENCE   J. Lo’s docudrama; Paul Allen’s pet rockers; Kabbalah’s brand offensive; and a few other blips on our radar.

IN PLAY   From Burt Reynolds to Backstreet: comeback mania! Richard Kelly’s life after Darko; inside the rap actors studio; the 20 best summer songs; vampires, sharks, and sperm: hot beach reads.

THE GOODS   Do celebrities taste better? A Radar prank; looking cool at the pool: a handy guide; fashion’s couture cutups.

DEPARTMENTS

POLITICS: THE KIDS STAY OUT OF THE PICTURE   What do Dick Cheney, Alan Keyes, Phyllis Schlafly, and Randall Terry have in common? They’re all conservatives. They’ve all campaigned against homosexuality. And they all have gay kids. By Abigail Pogrebin

HOLLYWOOD: THE SORT OF SAD, MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF
E-GIRL   Heather Robinson sold a script, befriended Matthew Perry, and got Carrie Fisher to work on her next screenplay—all without leaving her bedroom. By Emma Forrest

HYPE REPORT: HOODIA LOVE   America is going mad over a foul-smelling desert plant that promises to make eating obsolete. By Andrew Goldman

FEATURES

FAMOUS FOR WHAT?   No talent? No problem! America is minting celebrities faster than ever. But success has never meant less.
By Daniel Radosh
PLUS: Radar’s guide to shamelessly faking your way to the top.

ANIMAL HOUSE   Disney is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its theme parks, but the real action is underground. Tyler Gray gets inside the surreal, sexy subculture of Disney World’s costumed elite.

SUMMER RULES   Beach sex, tips for stylish drowning, how to tell if a lifeguard is ready to put out: our list of do’s and don’ts for relaxing at the shore this summer. By Zev Borow and Stephen Sherrill

PSYCHIC STYLE   Looking forward to fall? Not as much as our three psychics. A glimpse of what the future holds for your closet. Photographs by Danielle Levitt

TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR   Ten-year-old singer Zach Allen has a dream. And a stylist, vocal coach, choreographer, and emcee. The making of a child star. By Derek De Koff

TV’S DUMBEST ANCHORS   Network news is in more trouble than you think. Our exclusive industry poll names the stupidest, meanest, and vainest desk jockeys in the business.

BOMBS, PORN, AND PLAYSTATION   For many of the soldiers fighting the Iraq war, life is easier than it ever was back home. By Bartle Breese Bull PLUS: A brief illustrated guide to a war zone. By Brian Wilcox

BACK OF BOOK

THE LIST   Handy Arabic phrases for tourists and soldiers; speaking fees of the formerly famous; 32 ways to spell Libyan dictator; and gay bar names in red states and blue. Random notes on the things that really matter.

THE RADAR INDEX   Contents under pressure.