Weekend Cocktail ChatterSlate's handy guide to small talk.

Slate offers a quick and easy guide to help you fake your way through overly cultured cocktail parties this weekend.

PRINTDISCUSSE-MAILRSSRECOMMEND...SINGLE PAGE

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

It was a slow week on the culture scene, so you'll need to dig deep for small talk. In the theater, cluck at the failure of the Lord of the Rings musical, which is being savaged after its premiere in Toronto. Branson awaits.

Wal-Mart announced that it's luring upscale customers with high-end wines and sushi bars. A good moment, once again, to "admit" you shop at Target.

An ABC News producer's anti-Bush e-mail surfaced at the Drudge Report. Prepare your liberal-media-bias lines, pro or con.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke declined to speak with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who he says has "no environmental credentials."

Randy Quaid wants more money from the producers of Brokeback Mountain. He says producers convinced him to cut his usual fee for their sweet little art-house picture, which had "no prospect of making any money."

If you're feeling outdoorsy this weekend, mention that a very large fish was caught in California. Here's your cheat sheet.

PRINTE-MAILRECOMMEND...RSS

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

SPONSORED CONTENT

• Shirt-Buttoning Styles of the Weird and "Special"
  Why Forrest Gump, Adrian Monk, and Steve Urkel button the top button.
  June Thomas | Dec. 3, 2009
• You Really Should Be Watching Parks and Recreation
  How the NBC sitcom found its voice. Plus: its mustachioed secret weapon.
  Jonah Weiner | Dec. 2, 2009
• Strange Maps
  California as an island, utopia in the shape of a skull, and other cartographic curiosities.
  Frank Jacobs | Nov. 30, 2009
• Search for more Culturebox articles
• Subscribe to the Culturebox RSS feed
• View our complete Culturebox archive