for 21 August 1996. Updated every WEDNESDAY.

THE FALL FASHION ISSUE! SUCKING IN STYLE? Time to throw out last year's squelching and squirming... This fall, say hello to frank admonitions and glib asides! Are the top talking heads taking style cues from you-know-who? OUT: Whoring to Advertisers IN: Advertising That You're a Whore Michael Kinsley on Slate: "We're planning to tell advertisers that you're all highly educated, high-income, politically engaged, and purchasers of vast quantities of automobiles, designer clothing, books, records, military aircraft, and alcoholic beverages. Please don't let us down." [Slate, 8/12/96] OUT: Honest Tries IN: Glib Replies Alex Trebek's response when asked if he knows all the answers to Jeopardy! questions or if he has a cheat sheet: "Of course I know all the correct answers... I'm just smart." [Entertainment Weekly, 8/16/96] OUT: Compelling Thoughts IN: Selling Lots CEO Andy Grove on why Intel needs an Internet strategy: "We need one because we're going to sell a lot of microprocessors; we're going to sell a lot of very high-performance microprocessors, because that's what we do for a living... We're putting building blocks in place... But all of it is simply motivated by the fact that we want to sell more microprocessors." [Web Week, 8/5/96]

	OUT: Private Flak IN: Public Attack From MSNBC's "Shaq Attack," software that teaches free throw shooting (produced after Shaquille O'Neal closed 'Shaq World Online' on MSN to sign a contract with Sportsline): "Wonder what Shaquille O'Neal is doing wrong when he misses all those free throws? We'll tell you and Shaq how he can save himself more embarrassment..." [Inside Media, 8/14/96] OUT: Grain of Salt IN: It's All Your Fault Ted Danson defending his new, toupee-free look: "My hair is not my problem. I look in the mirror and I look fantastic. When I turn my back to you then you've got a problem, but I don't." [Entertainment Weekly, 8/16/96] OUT: Weak Excuses IN: Frank Abuses AOL Chairman Steve Case on the 19-hour AOL service outage: "I would like to be able to tell you that this sort of thing will never happen again, but, frankly, I can't make that kind of commitment, as we are building a new medium and breaking new ground." [Reuters, 8/9/96]

OUT: Press Release Tripe IN: Redesign, Repackage, Rehype "Pepsico's 'Project Blue' global marketing assault... will see the company spend over $500 million to advertise and market its new futuristic look in all 190-plus international markets in which the cola is sold... the company said it will ship over 20 billion new blue Pepsi bottles and cans by the end of 1996." [Inside Media, 8/14/96] OUT: Beg, Borrow, Barter IN: Act Like a Martyr "Joseph James Allaire, 27,... seems to keep a grueling schedule. He said he works 100 hours a week. 'Take away the time I eat and sleep and you get the number of hours I work.'" [Web Week, 8/5/96] OUT: Try to Forget It IN: Just Admit It NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield on the network's Saturday line-up: "We were in fourth place on Saturday night in adults 18-49. As good as a year as we had, on Saturday we sucked!" [Inside Media, 8/14/96]

words Polly Esther pictures Terry Colon