When good people do bad things for good reasons...
...and by good people I mean all people. We're all good, and when we do bad
things for good reasons, we're not bad, just misguided, by family, by friends,
and by eternal rivers of crap from the media.
Someone stole my son's laptop. Yeah, it was at least half his fault for
leaving it outside on the back patio, but the other half of blame must certainly
be bestowed upon the one who lifted it, whom I am tempted to call a scumbag just
because it feels good.
A plan had to be worked out to get it back, and for that you need a little
back story.
For the first ten years of his life, my son Max (now 15) was raised far
from civilization, beyond the reach of even city buses. He absolutely had to
take the school bus home or he'd be stuck in town, so he never got to hang out
after school and make friends. This hermit-like existence was fine for me, I
just wanted peace and quiet to write, but it was bad for him, especially if you
believe that half what they teach in school is YOU MUST OBEY, so social
educational is half reason for attendance. Max missed out on the social.
Now that we've moved to an actual city, Seattle, not just a city but a
GREAT city, he's going out of his mind on the social end. He's never been able
to simply invite friends home after school. No he can't stop, there
are lots of them, and since we moved into a pretty cool place, they keep
coming back. Many of the regulars I've gotten to know, and I've ended up
enjoying the social life too, making friends with teenagers, what's not to
like.
Then Buster came back from a one year journey to Louisiana. Can't
blame him. I myself must have left home at least two or three times till it
took. He's 21, I've missed him, good to have him around, and he too has been
marveling at the quantity and quality of the new friends Max has made.
In my new role as manager of a community center, I've had to lay down
guidelines, no smoking in the house, everyone gone by 10 on schooldays, when I'm
in the living room, I'm in charge of the TV, no eating from our refrigerator,
that sort of thing, but it's become complicated by some friends who turn out to
be homeless and want to crash on the patio. I've said no, not because I'm
heartless, but because once that snowball gets rolling, it could turn into a
landslide that buries us. There simply isn't enough room and neighbors have
already complained.
Then Buster's laptop was gone. Yeah, one thief can ruin the whole thing. I
consider shutting the whole thing down. I told Max "Someone wasn't just walking
by and happened to come onto the patio in our backyard. Since everyone here has
been invited, that means someone has invited a thief. You might not know who did
it, but you know who invited them. Here's your assignment. We will either get
the computer back or I will get an apology from whoever invited the thief, and I
have no problem calling the cops."
The next day, a whole bunch of people from school showed up, some invited,
some not, all hanging out in the backyard. I asked Max who they were. He said
some of them he specifically DIDN'T invite. I said "Invite all the people you're
sure about, your actual friends, into the house." He invited them in and I knew
them all, good kids, glad to have them around. The rest were outside. I opened
the door and told them "You guys have got to split, and don't come back unless
you're invited," purposely not mentioning the computer, letting them figure it
out by themselves.
It must be pointed out the computer is completely useless to anyone but
Buster. There's nothing on it but music, retrievable, and his personal
writing, irretrievable. It has no bottom, the CD drive is busted, and the fan
doesn't work, so it can only be run while sitting on top of another full sized
fan or it gets too hot and turns itself off in one minute. No pawnshop on earth
would touch it and worthless to whomever took it, that's how theft goes, the
stolen item worth more to the victim than the thief trading on their
misery.
This morning, the laptop was there on the doorstep. I presume I
will never know who took it, though Max might. I also presume this was some sort
of game or power trip and not the work of an actual thief. Somebody convinced
them to give it back. They did a bad thing, then a good thing. Maybe they had a
good reason. Maybe they had a bad reason. Maybe they would have kept it if they
could have sold it. I only know I must have sent out the right messages because
this is the right ending.
zEN mAN (observing the tranquil retirement community of Rossmoor under attack by Woody and his gang of Peckers.....making noise and tearing the place up....solution? shoot em)
Andrew Tobias: Ah, The Black Irish
So the President's economic stimulus package passed the House without one - not one - Republican vote. Sound familiar?
Three chords and a whoop (guardian.co.uk)
How do you write the perfect pop song? From Jarvis Cocker to Donovan, stars tell Will Hodgkinson the stories behind their hits - and why musical ability is over-rated.
Roger Ebert: Elevating the Oscar Winners--Part #1: Best Motion Picture
Of course I can't know how deeply anyone else felt about this years nominees. I'm going to try predicting the winners entirely on the basis of my feelings. No "reasoning." No scuttlebutt. Not even any discussion of the other nominees. Just Elevation. Here goes: Best film: "Milk."
Roger Ebert: Elevating the Oscar winners--Part #2: Best Leading Actor
It is impossible not to be implicated with a career performance by an actor you have long observed and admired. I've met Mickey Rourke, been on locations, admired him, deplored his self-destruction (which was not by the usual Hollywood routes but because of disastrous career decisions and uncontrolled personal intensity).
Roger Ebert: Elevating the Oscar winners,--Part #3: Best Leading Actress
Best Actress: Melissa Leo. What a complete performance, evoking a woman's life in a time of economic hardship. The most timely of films, but that isn't reason enough. I was struck by how intensely determined she was to make the payments, support her two children, carry on after her abandonment by a gambling husband, and still maintain rules and goals around the house. This was a heroic woman.
Actor/Producer Tom Hanks said at the LA premier of the Mormon polygamy themed HBO series 'Big Love', "The truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen. There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them." A few days later he gave a qualified recantation by saying, "Last week, I labeled members of the Mormon church who supported California's Proposition 8 as 'un-American,'" I believe Proposition 8 is counter to the promise of our Constitution; it is codified discrimination. But everyone has a right to vote their conscience; nothing could be more American. To say members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who contributed to Proposition 8 are 'un-American' creates more division when the time calls for respectful disagreement. No one should use 'un- American' lightly or in haste. I did. I should not have."....
This week's poll has two questions...
Should Mr. Hanks have made that recantation?
and...
If banning gay marriage is discrimination isn't it the same to ban polygamy (or polyandry) between consenting adults?
On the old Dick Van Dyke Show who was married to 'Pickles'?
A Alan Brady
B Mel Cooley
C Jerry Helper
D Rob Petrie
E Buddy Sorrell
Source
~ Tony In Philly was first, but wrong, with:
E: Buddy Sorrell
Jim from CA said:
Buddy Sorrel
Adam in NoHo answered:
I guessed right- E Buddy Sorrell
Marian the Teacher responded:
Buddy Sorrell
Charlie responded:
Well that one yesterday was sure a surprise. I hope I'm not being fooled again saying it was
E Buddy Sorrell
The character played by Morey Amsterdam.
Kenneth archly observed:
F. None of the above. It was George W. Bush.
Sally said:
All I can say for yesterday's quiz is: Good thing Bacall gave them the ,"Rat Pack" handle, because who the Hell would have become a groupie for men who referred to themselves as, "The Summit?" Their appeal was that of allowing the audience IN, and not for to LOOK DOWN ON THEM from any blasted Summit!!
Oh well, leave it to Marty to pull a fast one on us - good work, kiddo! And, kudos to MAM and Leo!!
As for today's quiz: On the old Dick Van Dyke Show Buddy Sorrell (E) was married to 'Pickles' (Or at least I THINK he was...)
PS: As I've taught the precious g/son, RESEARCH from 3 sources - and yesterday I relied on the dimming memories... Sigh.
PPS: Great PIC, JoeS - and how are you related to Vic in Alaska again?? (Love ya both, BTW!)
Maria W. on the southside of Chicago replied:
C. Buddy Sorrell
MAM also nailed it with:
D Buddy Sorrell
Buddy Sorrell was played by Morey Amsterdam. "Pickles", Buddy's slightly nutty wife, was played by Barbara Perry and then by Joan Shawlee.
And, Joe S ("We had all week to rehearse. An audience would come in at the end of the week and we'd do our little show. Most of the ad- libbing happened during the week on the show, but once we got on the air, everybody except Morey Amsterdam pretty much stuck to the script."
~ Dick Van Dyke) wrote:
E Buddy Sorrell
Now. Yesterday. Hats off to Leo and MAM. Marty zinged us all except you two. I declare Marty a winner too.
I have yet to intentionally write a 'trick' question. Seriously.
Initially, thought this daily trivia would be a snap - there are a lot of trivia websites.
But, the stuff I found usually ended up in the 'can of worms' category, or worse. They were just plain wrong, as I had pointed out on more than one occasion.
So, the questions are based, generally, on stuff that I'm currently reading, or I've had time to google something that sounds interesting, or a factoid jumps out when I'm cross-referencing the movies on TCM at IMdB. If I'm really pressed for time, and desperate, I'll draw on my TV viewing habits.
And, sometimes there's a lucky stumble, like, til 3 days ago, I thought Sinatra/Martin/Davis/Lawford/Bishop were referred to collectively as 'the Rat Pack', too.
Found the reference in a piece about Dean Martin (that had started out as looking for material on Dino, Desi & Billy), so had to verify it.
Thought it was fairly interesting, so it became the quesion of the day.
That's it. No tricks. No mirrors. Maybe a bit of smoke.
Hey, Marty... This picture is way cool. A bridge built to allow elk to cross over a major highway in Alberta. And it didn't take the elk long to figure out it was for them, it's reported. Here in Michigan, we have the largest wild elk herd east of the Mississippi and their numbers have grown to the point that signs are being posted in their range along I-75 signifying their crossing points. Ya DO NOT want to hit a 600-800 lb elk with yer car, an' that's a fact! Maybe elk bridges are in order here, too! Haha...
Long Beach airport reversed operations, I guess because of the wind, so the planes were landing over the house, instead of their usual taking off.
When you're used to hearing things going up, something coming down gets your attention. At least the first time.
Tonight, Friday:
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'Ghost Whisperer', followed by a RERUN'Flashpoint', then a RERUN'NUMB3RS'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Mary Hicks and the Gaslight Anthem.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Michael Sheen, Russell Peters, and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.
NBC starts the night with a FRESH'Howie Do It', followed by another FRESH'Howie Do It', then a FRESH'Friday Night Lights', and 'Dateline'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Elizabeth Banks, Dev Patel, and James Morrison.
On a RERUNConan (from 10/3/08) are Greg Kinnear, J.J. Abrams, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 1/12/09) are Jerry Rice and Anthony Green.
ABC opens the night with a FRESH'Wife Swap', followed by 2-unwatchable hours of '20/20'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Christina Applegate, Carlos Bernard, and Benji Hughes.
The CW offers a FRESH'Everybody Hates Chris', followed by a FRESH'The Game', then a FRESH'13--Fear Is Real'.
Faux has a RERUN'House', followed by a RERUN'Lie To Me'.
MY fills the night with a FRESH'Friday Night Steroid SmackDown!'.
PLEASE check local PBS listings for a FRESH'Bill Moyers Journal', and a FRESH'NOW With Bill Moyers David Brancaccio'.
AMC offers the movie 'Quigley Down Under', followed by the movie 'Joe Kidd', then the movie 'Thunderheart'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 6
[12:30 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 7
[1:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? US - Episode 19
[1:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 3
[2:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 7 Campania
[3:00 PM] Gordon Ramsay's F Word - Episode 3
[4:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? US - Episode 20
[4:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 4
[5:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 2 D-Place
[6:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 4 Morgan's
[7:00 PM] BBC World News America
[8:00 PM] Monty Python's Flying Circus - Ep. 12 The Naked Ant
[8:40 PM] Little Britain - Episode 5
[9:20 PM] The Catherine Tate Show - Episode 5
[10:00 PM] BBC World News America
[11:00 PM] Monty Python's Flying Circus - Ep. 12 The Naked Ant
[11:40 PM] Little Britain - Episode 5
[12:20 AM] The Catherine Tate Show - Episode 5
[1:00 AM] Monty Python's Flying Circus - Ep. 12 The Naked Ant
[1:40 AM] Little Britain - Episode 5
[2:20 AM] Catherine Tate Show, The - Episode 5
[3:00 AM] Skins - Ep 5 Sid
[4:00 AM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 6
[4:30 AM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 7
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Episode 1
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Episode 2
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has the movie 'Ghosthunters II', followed by the movie 'Happy Gilmore'.
Comedy Central has 'Scrubs', another 'Scrubs', last night's 'Jon Stewart', last night's 'Colbert Report', 'Futurama', 'Comedy Central Presents' (Rob Stapleton), another 'Comedy Central Presents' (Tommy Johnagin), and still another 'Comedy Central Presents' (Jamie Lissow).
FX has the movie 'V For Vendetta', followed by the movie 'The Mummy Returns', then 'Nip/Tuck'.
History has 'Modern Marvels', another 'Modern Marvels', 'Gangland', and 'Roman Vice'.
IFC -
[7:20 AM] Chinese Box
[9:00 AM] Separate Lies
[10:30 AM] The New World
[12:50 PM] Chinese Box
[2:30 PM] Separate Lies
[4:00 PM] The New World
[6:15 PM] The Dogs of War
[8:00 PM] The Grey Zone
[10:00 PM] 11:14
[11:30 PM] Hell Girl
[12:00 AM] The Return of the Living Dead
[1:35 AM] Pumpkinhead
[3:05 AM] The Grey Zone
[5:00 AM] Separate Lies (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has 'Star Trek: TNG', 'Invasion', 'Moonlight', followed by a FRESH'Battlestar Galactica'.
Sundance -
[04:30 AM] Kill Gil (Volume 1)
[06:15 AM] The Fortune Hunter
[07:00 AM] La Vie Promise
[08:30 AM] Swimmers
[10:00 AM] Big Ideas for a Small Planet - Season 2: Gen Y
[10:30 AM] The Sierra Club Chronicles: Episode 5
[11:00 AM] Look Both Ways
[01:00 PM] Iconoclasts - Season 4: Venus Williams + Wyclef Jean
[02:00 PM] Georgi and the Butterflies
[02:55 PM] Eve & the Fire Horse
[04:30 PM] Swimmers
[06:00 PM] Starting Out in the Evening
[08:00 PM] Ladette to Lady - Season 2: Episode 5
[09:00 PM] Live From Abbey Road - Season 2: The Kills, Sara Bareilles & the Fratellis
[10:00 PM] Eco Documentaries - Season 2: Manufactured Landscapes
[11:30 PM] Be Quiet
[12:00 AM] Stoned
[02:00 AM] Live From Abbey Road - Season 2: The Kills, Sara Bareilles & the Fratellis
[03:00 AM] Milwaukee, Minnesota
[04:35 AM] The Great Happiness Space: Tales of an Osaka Love Thief (ALL TIMES EST)
NFL football Super Bowl XLIII halftime performers Bruce Springsteen, left to right, Steven Van Zandt and Patti Scialfa speak at a news conference Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009, in Tampa, Fla.
Photo by Morry Gash
There's new controversy over the title of filmmaker Kevin Smith's saucy comedy, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno."
Last fall, some ads for the film were rejected south of the border because of the word "porno." Now, Smith says Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. have asked that the cover of the DVD, set to hit shelves Tuesday, omit the word too.
"I'm just so shocked that the word 'porno' meant that much to people in terms of, like, they found it insanely offensive and don't want to see it on display," the outspoken writer-director said Thursday in an interview from Los Angeles.
Smith said Weinstein Co., which released the film Oct. 31, has complied with Wal-Mart's request and created new DVD covers for the retailer, but the director worries that some unsuspecting customers will be fooled when they see the shortened title.
From left, Planet Hollywood shareholder Sylvester Stallone and actors Charlie Sheen and Danny DeVito sample DeVito's Limoncello liqueur at an event to celebrate Planet Hollywood's purchase of Italian restaurant chain Buca di Beppo, at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009.
Photo by Chris Pizzello
A spokeswoman for actor Mickey Rourke says he won't be taking his role as a professional wrestler into a real-life ring after all.
Paula Woods told The Associated Press on Wednesday night that Rourke will not wrestle WWE superstar Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 25 in April at Houston's Reliant Stadium.
Woods wrote in an e-mail that the Oscar-nominated actor "will not be participating in Wrestlemania. He is focusing entirely on his acting career."
Rourke portrays professional wrestler Randy the Ram in the acclaimed movie "The Wrestler." He made a surprise announcement about the wrestling event Sunday night on the red carpet before the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.
When an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at George W. Bush last month at a Baghdad press conference, the attack spawned a flood of Web quips, political satire and street rallies across the Arab world.
Now it's inspired a work of art.
A sofa-sized sculpture - a single copper-coated shoe on a stand carved to resemble flowing cloth - was formally unveiled to the public Thursday in the hometown of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.
Its sculptor called it a fitting tribute to the shoe hurler, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, and his folk hero reputation in parts of the Muslim world and beyond.
The Baghdad-based artist, Laith al-Amari, said the work honors al-Zeidi and "is a source of pride for all Iraqis." He added: "It's not a political work,"
NBC has sold all but two ad spots for its Super Bowl broadcast, despite the pressures of economic recession, the network said on Wednesday.
All the advertisements for the National Football League championship game on Sunday sold "at prices above $2.4 million, a large number of them as high as $3 million," said Dick Ebersol, chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics.
The Super Bowl is annually the most-watched television broadcast in the United States with estimates of as many as 100 million Americans tuning-in for some portion of the program. As a result, it collects high rates for ads.
NBC, which is majority-owned by General Electric Co, sold more than 80 percent of the ads by mid-September, before the credit crisis put a crimp on spending by advertisers. But sales in recent weeks have slowed down.
An oil painting by Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stands during a charity auction in St. Petersburg, January 17, 2009. The painting was sold for 37 million roubles ($1,137,062) with the proceeds going to charity. Putin took less than half an hour to complete the painting of a frosted window inside a Russian log hut with embroidered curtains. A professional artist added beads and small pieces of lace to the canvas.
Photo by Alexander Demianchuk
Elisabeth Hasselbeck of "The View" and her husband, Tim, who played for the Arizona Cardinals, are about to be outnumbered. Hasselbeck announced Thursday on the ABC daytime chat show that she's pregnant with her third child, due in August. She said: "We are thankful for such great news and will begin planning our zone defense strategy immediately."
The couple are the parents of 3-year-old Grace Elisabeth and 15-month-old Taylor Thomas.
If approved by a judge in South Carolina, a settlement over the late soul singer James Brown's estate would end a two-year legal saga. Lawyers say it would divide Brown's remaining assets and give his beneficiaries the ability to make money using his music and likeness.
Half of Brown's assets would go to his charitable trust to educate his grandchildren and needy students in Georgia and South Carolina. The rest would be split between his surviving spouse and some of Brown's adult children.
The makeup of Brown's charitable trust for needy children has been debated and at one point was said to contain most of his primary assets, including music rights and his 24-hectare Beech Island home.
But the legitimacy of the will and trust was called into question by some of his adult children, who claimed their father's estate was mismanaged by trustees. Tomi Rae Hynie, the woman who says she is Brown's final spouse and the mother of his young son, also claimed the will and trust were not valid.
The proposed settlement includes a stipulation that Hynie was married to Brown and states that the six children and unspecified number of grandchildren mentioned in Brown's will are lawful heirs and don't have to prove it through DNA testing. It also says Hynie's son, James, who underwent a disputed DNA test, is a legal heir and biological child of the entertainer.
Performers dressed in traditional costumes from the Qing Dynasty, prepare to dance at the start of a show at the Summer Palace temple fair celebrating Chinese new year in Beijing January 29, 2009. Hundreds of millions of Chinese welcomed the Year of the Ox last Sunday, and have packed temple fairs and set off fireworks and firecrackers for the week-long traditional holiday.
Photo by David Gray
An agreement has been reached in a lawsuit involving Heath Ledger's $10 million life insurance policy.
The confidential settlement was revealed in court documents filed Wednesday in Los Angeles. Ledger's attorneys are seeking a closed hearing next month to establish a court guardian to represent the actor's 3-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose, who is the policy's beneficiary.
An attorney for Ledger sued ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. last year, claiming the company was refusing to pay the actor's death benefits. The attorney claimed the insurer was refusing to pay because it wanted to investigate whether Ledger's death was a suicide.
A coroner ruled Ledger's death last January was from an accidental prescription drug overdose.
Suicides among U.S. soldiers rose last year to the highest level in decades, the Army announced Thursday. At least 128 soldiers killed themselves in 2008. But the final count is likely to be considerably higher because 15 more suspicious deaths are still being investigated and could also turn out to be self-inflicted, the Army said.
A new training and prevention effort will start next week. And Col. Elspeth Ritchie, a psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general, made a plea for more U.S. mental health professionals to sign on to work for the military.
The new suicide figure compares with 115 in 2007 and 102 in 2006 and is the highest since record keeping began in 1980. Officials calculate the deaths at a rate of roughly 20.2 per 100,000 soldiers - which is higher than the adjusted civilian rate for the first time since the Vietnam War, officials told a Pentagon news conference.
Yearly increases in suicides have been recorded since 2004, when there were 64 - only about half the number now. And they've occurred despite increased training, prevention programs and psychiatric staff.
Reverend Gary Birch models a chasuble at a catwalk show in Exeter in southwest England January 29, 2009. Real clergy performed at the three day Christian exhibition, wearing up-to-date robe design from a range of artists, which according to the organisers, 'aims to give a 21st century makeover to vestments, retaining the ceremony and solemnity of any church occasion while presenting it with up-to-date colour and style'.
Photo by Toby Melville
Iraq said Thursday it will bar Blackwater Worldwide from providing security protection for U.S. diplomats because its contractors used excessive force, sanctioning a company whose image was irrevocably tarnished by the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians.
The move will deprive American diplomats of their main protection force in Iraq.
The decision not to issue Blackwater an operating license was due to "improper conduct and excessive use of force," said Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf.
Iraqis are bitter over the September 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. Five former Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington to manslaughter and gun charges in that shooting. A sixth is cooperating with the government.
The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the case.
Twentieth Century Fox has stepped in to partner with Walden Media on at least one more film based on the C.S. Lewis children's book series "The Chronicles of Narnia," after the Walt Disney Co bowed out, a Fox spokesman said on Thursday.
The News Corp-owned studio plans to release the film during late 2010, the Fox spokesman said. No information was released about production costs for the film, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," which would be the third based on Lewis' beloved fantasy novels.
Disney bowed out of the franchise last month, citing "budgetary considerations and other logistics," three years after touting "Narnia" as its next blockbuster film property.
British singer-songwriter John Martyn, whose soulful songs were covered by the likes of Eric Clapton, died Thursday. He was 60.
A skilled guitarist and earthy vocalist influenced by folk, blues and jazz, Martyn performed with - and was admired by - musicians including Clapton, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Phil Collins.
Martyn was born Iain David McGeachy near London in 1948, but grew up in Glasgow, Scotland.
He took up the guitar in his teens, moved to London and released a series of enduring albums, including "The Road to Ruin" and "Solid Air," regarded by some critics as one of the best British albums of the 1970s.
Martyn never became a household name, but his songs were praised by critics and highly regarded by other musicians. One of the best known, "May You Never," was recorded by Clapton and a host of other artists.
Martyn had a reputation as a hell-raiser, and acknowledged that alcohol and drugs had sometimes led him into trouble.
Martyn had suffered health problems in recent years, and in 2003 had a leg amputated below the knee because of a burst cyst. He continued to perform, appearing at last year's Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow.
Last month, Martyn was named an OBE - Officer of the Order of the British Empire - by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to music.
Kim Manners, a prolific director and producer on Fox series "The X-Files," died January 25 of complications from lung cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 58.
Manners served as a producer on nearly 160 episodes of the series and directed more than 50, receiving four shared Emmy nominations for his work. At the time of his death, he was a director and executive producer on the CW series "Supernatural."
Manners' career started as a second assistant director on the 1971 feature "Valdez Is Coming," which was produced by his father, Sam Manners.
Manners is survived by his wife, Marline; his daughters, Jessica and Chelsea; his parents, Sam and Joyce Manners; his brother, Kelly, who is the line producer on Fox's new Joss Whedon series "Dollhouse"; and his sister, Tana, a longtime first assistant director.
A memorial service will be held February 7 at noon at Trump National Golf Course in Palos Verdes, Calif.
A 10-day-old pelican (Pelecanus crispus) sits in the hand of an attendant at the Rotterdam Zoo in Rotterdam January 28, 2009. The Rotterdam Zoo has an extensive breeding program for endangered animal species like the Pelecanus crispus.
Photo by Michael Kooren
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
Do you have something to say?
Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better,
amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
MAM 
also nailed it with:
