Alexis Carrington, née Joan Collins, has slammed dumb, vapid American culture. Evidently deciding to write our jokes for us, Collins recently told BlackBook magazine that "our civilization has become extremely dumbed down, with shorter attention spans. All they want are sound bites." The 75-year-old actress must miss the rococo 80's, when her Dynasty soap was churning out thoughtful, intelligent, richly braided narratives about the lives of people with names like Dex Dexter and Sammy Jo Dean Carrington. While she may have a point that tabloid magazines are complete mindless shit, I shudder at the thought of a world in which Joan Collins is the arbiter of good taste and decency and whatnot. [P6] In case you've forgotten just how intelligent and classy Ms. Collins can be, a fine example lies after the jump.