It might be a better income than writing plays.

Living in New York, actress Carmen Peláez overdoses on Che Chic. They're everywhere, the hip-hoppers and hippies and post-grungers who go around with Che on their T-shirts like he's Biggie or John or Kurt or somebody cool like that.

One day, tired of the cliché parade, Peláez took out some felt and some glue and made her own T-shirt. It features what you might call a counter counter-culture message: ''F*-- Che.'' She stuck Che's star where the letter u would go.

''I walked around in it and you would think I was throwing babies into a meat grinder,'' says Peláez, a would-be poster child for So-Uncool-She's-Cool, except few are cool enough to get that about her. "The guy was an assassin. Treating him like a rock star is the epitome of trendy ignorance.''

I'm really out of the pop culture loop. I don't even know what that was all about.

I'd buy one!!!

This reminds me of an idea I had to print up a bunch of shirts with a crossed-out gun on them and the phrase "I'd rather be raped than armed". I could try to sell them at gun control rallies. Somehow I doubt they'd sell:-)

Che was a latin Communist. He is admired by the leftwing and clueless kids much the same way that some people idolize rock musicians and pro athletes.

Whenever I see some kid walking around in a t-shirt with a communist star or Che's image I think to myself, "These people must be what Lenin referred to as useful idiots".

No they're what useful idiots refer to as "cool."