The Charles Bridge is one of Prague's historic landmarks. John Ridley

I've made it to Prague, and let me just say it's a beautiful city. Particularly if you happen to be into old world Europe, 'cause there's a lot of that going on here. The weather's been beautiful, and that only adds to the charm.

Unfortunately...

My workload here has been heavier than expected. I haven't had as much time to play the tourist as I'd like, so I'm very thankful for readers' suggestions about where to go and what to see. Thanks to Afi for the tip on the Charles Bridge which, though it's undergoing renovations, is both beautiful and a wonderful vantage point from which to take in the city.

And thanks to Alexandra who suggested I hit up "all the overpriced cocktail bars in the center, where you can make the acquaintance of dozens of charming drunken Englishmen on bachelor party weekends." GREAT tip, 'cause as pretty as the Charles Bridge is, it doesn't buy you free rounds of Absinth (Bohemian-style Absinthe). Absinth being the famous — or infamous — spirit that was tagged as an addictive hallucinogenic and long banned across the world. Though widely available in Europe since the 1990s, a low-grade version has only just been authorized for sale in the United States.

As a note, I had mine both with, and without the "fire ritual," which is a fairly flamboyant presentation of the drink, but one which real connoisseurs frown upon as being artifice which just ruins the taste of the drink.

Thanks, Alexandra!

I've never been much of a European traveler. London once on a book tour, and Italy because that's where Ferraris are from. That's about it.

But now I'm going to Prague. As you may or may not know, Prague is one big movie backlot. As I tell my Hollywood friends that I'm going there, the response is generally something like: "Oh, yeah. That's where the opening sequence of the first Mission: Impossible was shot," or "Prague, yeah, they had the best craft services when we shot there."

A couple of people have told me that Prague is absolutely beautiful and remarkably untouched by the inexorable creep of progress. But those people don't work in show business, so I'm not sure they know what they're talking about.

I, too, am going for some movie work, but hopefully between business and trying to score Ambien I'll have time for some sightseeing.

So here's what I'm thinking: I've got a packet of travel info my travel team has Interneted up for me, but I'd rather hear from some of you who've actually been there; favorite joints or points of interest I should check out. Armed with my 3G iPhone which takes some of the crappiest pictures technology will allow, I'll try to run down a few of these spots and report back as best I can.

Thanks in advance for any and all tips. I'm looking forward to it.

NBC's Kings stars Ian McShane. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

The thing about working in Hollywood is that at some point you really get tired of hearing how godless you are, and how if you and the rest of the heathens in Tinseltown would put more God-centric shows on TV, people wouldn't be abandoning prime time in favor of their Bible study classes.

If that's true, then why isn't NBC's Kings the biggest show in the history of humanity?

If you haven't been watching Kings — and you haven't 'cause it's been averaging less than 4 million viewers a week — it's this alt-world royalty/palace intrigue allegory set in the mythical near-future Kingdom of Gilboa. Kings stars the great Ian McShane who would be worth the price of admission even if you actually had to pay to see him.

But forget for a sec the great acting, the wonderfully rendered CGIed New York capital of Shiloh, the intrigue... Here's the disconnect I can't connect with: Kings is "a contemporary re-telling of the timeless tale of David and Goliath," according to the official NBC press release and the $10 million pilot episode that revolves around a character named David who single-handedly takes out an enemy tank called a Goliath. Yes, a Goliath.

The other thing about Kings is that it ain't subtle, so you gotta roll with it. And the show was developed by a major insurance company that wanted to put some dollars into a program that dealt with moral responsibility. So beyond the Biblical allegories, the plot lines of the show tend to deal with the basic notion of doing the right thing.

The Bible, God, morality...

And yet, yet the "why-don't-you-program-for-us" American public doesn't seem to care.

Their loss.

I will freely admit that I tuned into the premiere of Kings because the marketing made it look so goofy it was like being invited to watch a train wreck happen.

Only it wasn't a wreck. It was like an old-school streamliner speeding gloriously down the tracks.

And like a streamliner, unfortunately Kings' days are probably numbered. It's already been moved from its original place-of-dying spot on Sunday nights to its new Saturday night graveyard. Catch it there while it lasts, or better yet go check it out at your convenience at Hulu.com.

Jack Johnson, America's first black heavyweight boxing champ. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

When you read the headline it's one of those what-the-heck moments: John McCain has co-sponsored a Senate resolution asking President Obama to posthumously pardon boxer Jack Johnson.

One could find much irony in McCain — having been the great (white) hope of the Republican Party — asking America's first black president to pardon America's first black heavyweight boxing champ who maintained his title after beating the *rap out of "Great White Hope" James J. Jeffries back in 1910.

And as was often the case waaaay back in the day, since no individual could put Johnson "in his place," the government stepped in and did the job. In 1913 Johnson, who liked to date — and even marry — white women, was convicted of violating the Mann Act, which prohibited the transportation of women across state lines for "immoral purposes." From the likes of Johnson to actor Charlie Chaplin, the Mann Act was often selectively rather than judiciously applied. And it is that conviction, which Johnson initially fled the country to avoid, that McCain's resolution seeks to set aside.

To a degree, as with his late-to-the-party campaign visit to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, McCain is again, well, late to the party. Congress passed a resolution in September urging then-President Bush to pardon Johnson. But though he is apparently quite the boxing fan, having been a pugilist himself, McCain's move is not wholly from the blue.

And with the hard work and good intention of those like McCain, eventually a nearly century-old wrong will be righted. Johnson will and should be pardoned. His only crime, after all, was being Jack Johnson, a guy who lived how he pleased; and how he pleased to live was a life of "unforgivable blackness."

As time passes, we are all coming to see that such self-assertion is less an offense than a social attribute.