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This year’s Palme d’Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Colour received a lot of attention for it’s depiction of lesbian sex. The author of the graphic novel the film is based on told The Guardian that she considers it porn, and was disappointed. Others, including the judges at Cannes, disagreed.

What should the measure of a good sex scene be? Is it a scene that turns you on? One that makes you think? If sex is meant to be “authentic” how is authenticity evaluated when the thing being represented is so subjective and internal?

Yesterday, The New York Times Room for Debate section asked two academics, two filmmakers, an author and a film critic if there is a way to distinguish the good from the bad in movie sex scenes.

Read More – Room for Debate: Making Love in the Movies

Looking for source material to make up your own mind? Here are some places to start:

• Lovefilm Picks for Best Sex Scenes in Movies
• Masturbation Scenes in Hollywood Movies
• Real Sex in Film

Some innovative people are trying to develop some headwear for pitchers that provides more protection. They needed to get this done yesterday.

Alex Cobb of the Tampa Bay Rays became the latest pitcher to get drilled in the head by a line drive. He’s doing OK and was put on the concussion list (out for at least seven days) on Sunday. J.A. Happ of the Blue Jays was a victim last month, and suffered a fractured skull. Doug Fister was drilled during the World Series. Brandon McCarthy had to have brain surgery and had a seizure last week as he tries to recover from one of the scariest line drive injuries in years.

While football has its own problems with concussions, it seems like it would be in baseball’s best interest to come up with its own solutions for pitchers. Yeah, they’d look pretty goofy with batting helmets, but some kind of lightweight, reinforced cap would provide some protection for a player who is typically just 50 feet from the plate after finishing his windup. Perhaps they’d look like this.

“Whoever comes up with the solution for this, they’re never going to have to work again in their lives,” Rays pitcher David Price said Sunday. “It’s scary. We know about that. You think about it, and then you don’t think about it when you’re on the mound. But when you see it happen, and you see line drives and hard groundballs up the middle, it definitely crosses your mind.”

On to this week’s Monday Morning Manager:

WHO’S HOT

Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce, Rays: They’ve combined for eight home runs and 21 hits in the last seven games.

Cory Kluber, Indians: Who? The Indians starter beat Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals on Sunday and the Texas Rangers last Tuesday. He gave up one run in 16 innings.

Yovani Gallardo, Brewers: Didn’t give up a run in consecutive starts, both wins, over the Marlins and Reds.

WHO’S NOT

Mark Reynolds, Indians: After a hot start, he’s slumping — 6 for 44 in June with one homer and 21 strikeouts.

Travis Hafner, Yankees: The Indians’ former DH was 0 for 19 last week and is hitting .111 in June (4 for 36).

Matt Moore, Rays: After starting 8-0, he’s lost his last three starts and his ERA has ballooned from 2.18 to 4.12 in just three appearances.

TOP 5

1. St. Louis Cardinals (44-25, last week No. 1)

2. Boston Red Sox (42-29, last week No. 3)

3. Oakland A’s (42-29, last week unranked)

4. Atlanta Braves (41-28, last week No. 2)

T5. Cincinnati Reds (42-28, last week No. 5)

T5. Detroit Tigers (38-29, last week unranked)

BOTTOM 5

26. Milwaukee Brewers (28-40, last week No. 27)

27. Chicago White Sox (28-38, last week unranked)

28. New York Mets (25-39, last week No. 28)

29. Houston Astros (26-44, last week No. 29)

30. Miami Marlins (21-47, last week No. 30)

Simply put, The Point is bound to be one of the most deluxe hotel stays of your life.

This lakeside lodge in upstate New York’s Adirondacks was built by William Avery Rockefeller as his Great Camp estate.

Today, The Point is an extraordinarily high-end Relais & Châteaux getaway with only 11 rooms, all with stone fireplaces and lake panoramas.

Most guests fly in on private jets. Then they revel in The Point’s food, drink, and four-season recreation. Which are all-inclusively priced and simply spectacular.

The Point is a benchmark experience.

Picture yourself living the life at The Point >>

Photos from top: The Boathouse and Morningside, rooms at ©The Point. Dinner menu with black truffle appetizer; connoisseurs’ open wine bar; The Point’s entrance at dusk. ©Karen Tina Harrison.

I don’t want to promote myself as an all-seeing, omnipotent NFL genius or anything, but I knew this was going to happen.

Tim Tebow is too good an athlete to be completely ignored by the NFL, and so in an amazingly short period of time, Tebow has gone from an unwanted free agent, cast aside by the New York Jets, to a New England Patriot.

Granted, Tebow probably didn’t have many other offers, if any. That’s evident from his two-year, no guarantee contract.

But, at least we should all find out finally whether this polarizing figure can play in the NFL or not.

The good news for Tebow fans is if he makes the team, he will be in the perfect environment to work on that hitch in his throwing motion and to learn from some of the best offensive talent and brains in the league.

For his detractors, well there is no good news other than the fact they will still have Tebow to kick around at least for a time. More on that here.

- Getty Images

Starting with Jackie Robinson 66 years ago, the Dodgers organization has had a stranglehold on the National League Rookie of the Year award.

They have 16 in team history, which is twice the number of any other team in either league. The Dodgers had four in a row from 1979-82 (Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Sax), then five in a row from 1992-95 (Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo, Todd Hollandsworth). But since Hollandsworth — undoubtedly the biggest one-year wonder of all of them — the Dodgers’ haven’t produced a Rookie of the Year. The well ran dry, and it’s probably no coincidence that the Dodgers haven’t won a pennant since 1988, either.

But they certainly seem to have a candidate this year to break the rookie drought. The Dodgers called up 22-year-old outfielder Yasiel Puig a week ago, and the Cuban defector has hit four home runs in his first five MLB games, tying a record set by the Mets’ Mike Jacobs in 2005. Puig’s 10 RBI in his first five games also tied a record.

Many of the players in the NL Rookie of the Year race so far — the Cardinals’ Shelby Miller, the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez, Puig’s teammate Hyun-Jin Ryu — got a two-month head start. But none of them had a start like this, either.

On to this week’s Monday Morning Manager:

WHO’S HOT

Domonic Brown, Phillies: Perhaps the one player hotter than Puig right now. The 25-year-old Phillies outfielder has 19 home runs and is rapidly becoming one of the most feared hitters in the NL.

Everth Cabrera, Padres: He’s on the Biogenesis list, but it hasn’t slowed him down yet. The 26-year-old shortstop is 16 for his last 32, is getting on base at a .374 clip and already has 29 stolen bases this season.

Mat Latos, Reds: Cincinnati hasn’t lost in his last 20 starts, dating to last Aug. 24. This season, Latos is 6-0 with a 2.87 ERA.

WHO’S NOT

Mark Reynolds, Indians: Is 3 for his last 22 with no homers and he’s got a lot of strikeouts, as usual — 68 in 60 games.

Starlin Castro, Cubs: Shortstop is mired in a slump. The career .293 hitter is 1 for 20 in June and has a .243 average and a .283 on-base percentage.

Aaron Harang, Mariners: Veteran righty threw a shutout on May 27 against the Padres, but has been hit hard most of the time. He gave up six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in a loss to the Yankees on Thursday.

TOP 5

1. St. Louis Cardinals (41-22, last week No. 1)

2. Atlanta Braves (39-24, last week No. 3)

3. Boston Red Sox (39-25, last week unranked)

4. Texas Rangers (37-25, last week No. 2)

5. Cincinnati Reds (37-26, last week No. 5)

BOTTOM 5

27. Chicago Cubs (25-35, last week No. 28)

27. Milwaukee Brewers (25-37, last week No. 29)

28. New York Mets (23-35, last week No. 26)

29. Houston Astros (22-42, last week No. 28)

30. Miami Marlins (18-44, last week No. 30)

Every generation has them — players who were great for a short burst and then went bust because of injuries or a serious health condition. Tony Conigliaro, J.R. Richard, Bo Jackson, Mark Prior — and in recent history, Grady Sizemore.

Sizemore was one of the best young players in the game  from 2005-08, leading the Cleveland Indians to the ALCS in 2007 and playing in an average of 160 games per season. He averaged 27 home runs per season, won two Gold Gloves and was a 30-30 player in 2009, when he hit 33 homers and stole 38 bases.

But then came a knee injury that just never healed properly. And back and elbow procedures were in the mix, too. He was back on the Indians’ roster last year, but never made it into a game after back surgery and another microfracture surgery last September. He’s now had them on both knees.

But he hasn’t given up yet, and recently resumed baseball activities, trying to resume his career. He’s made $28 million in his career, and would almost certainly have to come back on a incentive-laden minimum-salary deal. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Glove suggests the New York Mets, but I’m thinking he’ll want a team that’s in a race, if at all possible.

With Bryce Harper dealing with his own injury woes, how about the Washington Nationals? Sizemore, if he can play in the outfield a few times a week, could be a steal.

We’re witnessing perhaps one of the best hitters ever at his peak. Miguel Cabrera had a month of May that was historic.

The Detroit Tigers slugger hit 12 home runs and drove in 33 runs in 28 games last month, and entered June hitting .372 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI. Elias Sports calculated that Cabrera is the first player in MLB history to enter June with at least a .340 average, 15-plus home runs and 60-plus RBI.

Projected over the entire season, that’s 50 homers and a record 191 RBI. Now we’re not putting Hack Wilson on notice here – he holds the record with 191 in 1930 — but Cabrera is on the same pace. If guys like Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter can get on base a lot in the second half… well, it’s fun to think about.

On to this week’s Monday Morning Manager:

WHO’S HOT

Chris Davis, Orioles: Having a breakout season. He leads the majors in home runs with 20 already, and hit three last week. He also raised his batting average to .357.

Jason Giambi, Indians: He’s nothing more than a part-timer these days, but with three homers in nine at-bats last week, there’s still some life in that bat.

Bartolo Colon, A’s: He’s 40 and is coming off a performance-enhancing drug suspension. Yet like Giambi, there’s still some gas in the tank. He improved to 6-2 for the red-hot A’s with two wins last week.

WHO’S NOT

Justin Upton, Braves: His brother B.J. has been in a cold snap all season. Now he’s caught the cold, too. Justin is 2 for his last 24 with no RBI.

Juan Pierre, Marlins: As a leadoff hitter on a terrible team, he’s not scoring much (23 runs) and has just six extra-base hits in 173 at-bats. Pierre is also 1 for his last 17.

Yovani Gallardo, Brewers: Won his last start after a four-game losing streak, but his ERA is 5.05 and his WHIP is 1.49, well above his career averages of 3.73 and 1.31.

TOP 5

1. St. Louis Cardinals (37-19, last week No. 2)

2. Texas Rangers (35-21, last week No. 1)

3. Atlanta Braves (34-22, last week No. 3)

4. Oakland Athletics (34-24, last week unranked)

5. Cincinnati Reds (35-22, last week No. 5)

BOTTOM 5

26. New York Mets (22-32, last week No. 27)

27. Chicago Cubs (23-32, last week No. 28)

28. Houston Astros (20-37, last week No. 29)

29. Milwaukee Brewers (21-34, last week No. 26)

30. Miami Marlins (16-41, last week No. 30)

To the world, Los Angeles means Hollywood. But to Hollywood bigshots, Los Angeles means home.

And L.A. stars’ passion for their home city is an epic love story.

You can get inside this Hollywood love story in My City, My Los Angeles, an engrossing new book by Jeryl Brunner.

Jeryl (seen below) is a journalist who covers celebs and lifestyle for top media like In Style and About.com. A magical interviewer, Jeryl got scores of L.A. stars to open up and reveal what makes them feel at home in Los Angeles.

• New L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Jessica Chastain, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, and many more…
• Get a sneak preview of My City, My Los Angeles here on Luxury Travel >>
• Order your copy of My City, My Los Angeles >>



• Right here, highlights of Jeryl’s companion book, My City, My New York >>
• Order your copy of My City, My New York >>

Photos from top: My City, My Los Angeles; Oreos/Wikimedia Commons; Author Jeryl Brunner ©Karen Tina Harrison

Lots of us luxury travelers pride ourselves on knowing a charming, affordable little hotel on a side street in Paris or Rome. You can see it: family-owned, in a shabby-chic old buiding.

You wouldn’t think that such a place exists in New York City, a bulwark of big-brand luxury hotels.

But you’d be wrong.

Guest Author Victor Fiorillo knows one such hotel smack in Greenwich Village, with a view of Washington Square Park‘s famous arch. (Plus, guess what, a guest clientele heavy on Euro visitors).

Let Victor clue you in to Washington Square Hotel >>

(Still skeptical? Well, how Parisian is this? On Sundays, the hotel’s restaurant morphs into a jazz club.)

Photos ©Washington Square Hotel. Hotel stairwell ©Karen Tina Harrison.

The core functions of the Federal Reserve system include conducting monetary policy and serving as a bank to commercial banks throughout the U.S. That said, a number of the regional banks have made their way into data publication (most notably the St. Louis Fed with its FRED project) and economic education (most notably the Cleveland Fed with its YouTube channel), so I guess it’s not surprising that they’ve taken up a social media presence as well. In fact, all of the regional banks have at least one Twitter account:

• Atlanta – @AtlantaFed
• Boston – @BostonFed
• Chicago – @ChicagoFed
• Cleveland – @ClevelandFed, @CleveFed_ComDev, @ClevFedResearch
• Dallas – @DallasFed, @DallasFedEconEd, @DallasFedJobs
• Kansas City – @KansasCityFed
• Minneapolis – @MinneapolisFed, @fedgazette
• New York – @NYFedNews, @NYFedResearch, @NYFed_data
• Philadelphia – @philadelphiafed, @PhilFedEconEd, @PhilFedComDev, @PhilFedResearch
• Richmond – @RichmondFed, @RichFedResearch
• San Francisco – @SFFedReserve
• St. Louis – @stlouisfed
• Federal Reserve overall – @federalreserve, @FedReserveJobs

I am totally picturing them fighting over who has the most followers.

For added convenience, I’ve organized the above accounts into a Fed Twitter list that you can go to and/or follow. You might also be interested in my Economics Twitter list or my Twitter profile.