*The Washington Post's Monica Hesse profiles Cruella DeVille. Wait, I'm sorry, that's bestselling romance writer Danielle Steele. Apparently she has a pretty great sense of humor.

*The battle over the future of streaming music sites is heating up. Will revenue be subscription or ad-based? Will people prefer nested applications or clouds? Will musicians actually get a dime out of it? The Guardian weighs the pros and cons of subscription-based streaming music sites MOG and Spotify. If you live in The United States then the battle is already won, though. Spotify is not yet available to Americans.

*Comic-book stores are rife with manga cuties, but if you're looking for illustrated smut with an intellectual edge Slate just reviewed a graphic novel interpretation of Story of the O.

NME reports that the Shins frontman is set to star in a feature-length film titled Some Days Are Better Than Others. Director Matt McCormick says the film's all about "lonely people trying to create their own abstract forms of communication." Sounds pretty heavy. It's slated for release in August 2009.

Over at MOG, Charley Rogulewski observes an uncanny resemblance between Mercer and Kevin Spacey. Shins biopic, anyone? I'd be down, assuming it doesn't prevent Spacey from directing, producing, and starring in The Mike Huckabee Story. Both scenarios would offer the actor ample opportunity to indulge his well-established fondness for channeling musical personae.

McCormick and Mercer have collaborated on two Shins videos (see below): "The Past & Pending" (from Oh, Inverted World) and "Australia" (from Wincing the Night Away). If these are any indication, Some Days will probably involve a lot of abandoned farmhouses, an old-school camera, and balloon abduction.

"The Past & Pending":

"Australia":

Photos courtesy of pinguino and Victory NH: Protect Our Primary! on flickr