1. "Maker of Hilary Clinton '1984' Ad Named." By May Wong of The Associated Press. Also, John Edwards announces that his wife's cancer is back.

"The person responsible for the Hillary Clinton '1984' video on YouTube was identified Wednesday as Philip de Vellis, a strategist who worked with a digital consulting company that has ties to Barack Obama."

"Bread and Alley (1970, 10 mins). Kiarostami's first film. A boy is walking home in an alley and finds his way blocked by a barking dog. After some fretting, he throws the dog a piece of bread. The way now clear, he gingerly heads home, followed loyally by the dog. After he disappears inside his house, a new boy darts into the alley. The frame freezes. Remember that great moment in Close-Up (1990), when a man kicks an aerosol can and Kiarostami abandons the story and characters for a minute to simply follow that clattering can down the street? The very first shot of Bread and Alley is strikingly similar: the boy kicks a box down the street for a good while, accompanied by some Paul Desmond-esque Latin jazz alto sax player on the soundtrack. Music is used inventively here: it only plays when the boy is in action; the soundtrack is silent when he is pondering, decision-making. When the new character appeared at the end, Chabrol's Les Bonnes Femmes popped into my head, probably because it has a similar ending. A modest film but emblematic, containing ideas and tropes which will recur later."

"Brett Ratner's X-3, like almost every other recent summer blockbuster I can recall, goes about its business in the apparent belief that cinematic excitement is directly proportionate to body count."

"It calls itself a 'reusable non-linear personal web notebook,' and it's a good part of the reason why this blog has gone into a coma: I write my stuff in it, rather than on here. Of course, no one reads what I write, but that's one of the reasons why the writing seems easier!"

5. "Fans Witness a Final Sopranos Shoot in Kearny." No description of the after-party at the Bada-Bing.

"KEARNY, N.J.—Ana Beresnitzky stood on the corner and waited for her moment as cast and crew of The Sopranos scurried about. After they wrapped up a scene, James Gandolfini, who plays patriarch Tony Soprano on the hit HBO mafia drama, walked across the street in her direction, toward a truck with lunch. 'Hi!' she squealed, addressing him like an old friend. 'Hello,' he shrugged."
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"Links for the Day": Each morning, the House editors post a series of weblinks that we think will spark discussion. Comments encouraged.