It looks like academia is going to study the Slayer. A three-day academic conference has been at Henderson State University in Little Rock, Arkansas to study the works of Joss Whedon, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The conference is to focus more on the philosophical themes of the series. Several books have been published on this particular subject matter (one of which sits on my own bookshelves).

"It has staying power," said Kevin Durand, an associate professor of philosophy at the school. "It's like I tell my students in philosophy a lot of times: We're not so much about necessarily finding all the answers as wanting to ask better questions. 'Buffy,' I think, does that. 'Buffy' never really leaves you with nice, pat answers. You have even more questions than when you started."

My only question is: where were the Buffy philosophy classes when I went to college? Oh yeah, Buffy wasn't around yet.

Just reading the description of The Stephen Colbert, a pork chop from Trio's Restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas has me salivating like Pavlov's dog:

If you love freedom, and we know you do, you'll love this porkchop: a porterhouse cut pork chop marinated in an apple marinade, grilled, and covered with a South Carolina peach & ginger barbeque sauce served with Sweet Home black-eyed peas, chipotle-white cheddar mashed potatoes and sautéed Swiss chard.

No doubt capitalizing on Borat fever, CBS' broadband channel Innertube is broadcasting the full-length pilot episode of The Papdits created by Da Ali G Show writer and producer Ant Hines. The show's Borat-type premise follows the misadventures of a family from Kashmir as they interact with Americans while looking for the perfect place to settle and make their fortune. Their journey begins in Arkansas.

The show, again like Borat, is a comedy/reality hybrid. You've got mockumentary, talking head shots like The Office, but also scenes in which the actors are improvising off of unwitting American dupes. The Papdits perpetuate that uncomfortable, cringe-inducing humor we've all come to know and love.