Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Lisa Miller: Our Mutual Joy (NEWSWEEK.COM)
Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.
Wayne Besen: 'People of Faith' or 'People of Fibs?' (truthwinsout.org)
In his op-ed, Boone also wrote, "What troubles me so deeply, and should trouble all thinking Americans, is that there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists." I'm not sure if Boone noticed, but it was religious extremism that was responsible for the attacks in India.
LOVING V. VIRGINIA, 388 U. S. 1 (1967)
Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival.... To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discrimination. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.
Mark Morford: The XXX of life (sfgate.com)
When even smut becomes quaint, you know times have changed .
David Klinghoffer: Ghosts, aliens and us (latimes.com)
What Puritan witch-hunter Cotton Mather called the 'invisible world' is real to many Americans.
TOM DANEHY: Scenes from the press box at the UA-Arizona State game (tucsonweekly.com)
I get to sit in the press box during UA football games. Yes, I am that special. It's nice up there, with air conditioning, a cold-cut platter before games and all the soda you can drink.
CATHERINE O'SULLIVAN: In defense of our fave gun-totin', sweatpants-wearin' football player (tucsonweekly.com)
Oh, I get letters. One of them disparaged my piece a couple of weeks back about pack rats, pointing out that the primary hazard of their coexisting with us is that their nests attract kissing bugs. The bites of kissing bugs create allergic reactions in some people, a small subset of which are severe enough to make them move to other states. Ergo, pack rats should be eliminated.
Diane Evans: Shakedown shakes publishing houses to the core (DelMio.com)
Maybe you're someone just too snobbish for nostalgia. If so, don't read on, because I'm not going to apologize for feeling regret over the news that Doubleday is being dismantled as a division of Random House Inc.
Hannah Pool: "Question time: Adele" (guardian.co.uk)
On being nominated for four Grammies, why she loves Duffy, and the worst thing she has read about herself this year.
20 Questions: Stefan Marolachakis from The End of the World (popmatters.com)
Q: Essential to life: coffee, vodka, cigarettes, chocolate, or . . .?
A: Lately I'd say beer. I never thought I would like beer when I was a kid. I remember going to a party when I was a sophomore in high school, and this junior who played with me on the baseball team told me "one day, nothing's going to taste better than an ice cold beer." He wasn't wrong.
Chuck Barney: Leno move may be good for NBC, but not viewers (Contra Costa Times)
NBC would like you to believe that its strange scheme to install Jay Leno in a weeknight show at 10 p.m. is a bold stroke of prime-time genius. Don't fall for it. With this move, a once-dominant network is waving the white flag of surrender.
Carla Meyer: 'Milk' co-star James Franco is in love with ... acting (McClatchy Newspapers)
James Franco tries to live by advice he received from the sage one, Seth Rogen. "He has a very simple philosophy," Franco said of his "Pineapple Express" co-star. "He will never act in a movie that he wouldn't go see."
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The Obama 'So far' Edition
Are you satisfied with the cabinet picks and policy statements that our President-elect has made to date?
A.) Yes! They are all spot on!
B.) Kinda, sorta... I like__________, but am not entirely happy about__________..
C.) No! I am not a happy camper and here's why__________...
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to BadToTheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
said:
Reader Comment
Adequacy
I've told you this lots of times before, but I keep being reminded of how great you are and what a wonderful page you create.
I live in the D. C. area, and to date, I have yet to hear any radio or TV station mention the death of Robert Prosky, a beloved and famous actor from this area. Yet you had the obituary. What is wrong with people up here?!
Linda >^..^<
Thanks, Linda!
from Vic in AK
Music Vidjas
Hi Marty!
Here's two new videos I made of a couple bands I taped at Chilkoot Charlies in the last weeks
Barbarella 54
(Disco aint dead, it just smells funny)
and
the Phrenia
Good Hard rocking from these kids!
and
here's me
after walking (gimping) home from filming the disco band cuz my co-star (and RIDE) Stephanie got in a spat with her baby daddy....
Thanks, Vic!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny.
Hosting New-Look Oscars
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman will host the 81st annual Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed Friday.
Jackman, a triple-threat actor, singer and dancer who was recently named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive," has awards-show host experience, and to good effect: He won an Emmy in 2005 for hosting the 58th annual Tony Awards in 2004, when he also took a best-actor Tony for his performance in the musical "The Boy From Oz."
With new producers, a new director, set designer and even a new music director, the Academy has been hinting at an all-new look and feel for this year's Oscars telecast on Feb. 22.
Jackman's selection is a departure from the Academy's standard of big-name comedians. Jon Stewart hosted the ceremony in 2008 and 2006; Ellen DeGeneres was the 2007 host. Chris Rock, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg have also hosted the show in recent years.
Hugh Jackman
Memorabilia Returned To NJ Library
Bruce Springsteen
More than 1,100 pieces of Bruce Springsteen memorabilia have been returned to the Asbury Park Public Library in New Jersey after library officials filed a police complaint against the men who had taken out the items.
Members of the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection took hundreds of books, articles and tour programs to be microfilmed in 2007.
The group says they, not the library, own the stuff. The library disagrees.
But the Friends group returned the materials after the police complaint was filed Tuesday against two members.
Bruce Springsteen
Light Saber Auctioned
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker's light saber has been on Star Wars fans' Christmas lists for more than 30 years.
On Thursday, one fan spent $240,000 to get the real thing: the prop that Mark Hamill used in the first two movies in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
The light saber highlighted several Hollywood memorabilia sold at an auction in Los Angeles by Profiles in History. The auction house said it sold about $3.5 million in memorabilia.
The droid helmet worn by Anthony Daniels to play C-3PO sold for $120,000, and the costume Marlon Brando wore in the "Superman" movie went for $72,000.
Luke Skywalker
Benefit Hunger Relief
Lunchboxes
Mario Batali is doing it. So are Gwyneth Paltrow and Salman Rushdie.
These and other celebrities from the culinary, entertainment and literary worlds are donating one-of-a-kind lunchboxes they designed to help raise money for the hungry.
The boxes are being sold online at thelunchboxauction.org until midnight Thursday. Bidding starts at $100.
They will benefit Food Bank for New York City and The Lunchbox Fund, which provides lunch to impoverished schoolchildren in South Africa.
Lunchboxes
Axing Charity
'American Idol'
For two years, "American Idol" was giving back. Now it may be taking back.
The Fox network's Jill Hudson isn't commenting on a report from an "Idol" fan Web site that the annual "Idol Gives Back" charity event has been canceled.
Earlier this week, mjsbigblog.com quoted from what it said was an internal Fox memo declaring, "there will be no Idol Gives Back."
The star-studded special has aired for two years, soliciting donations to benefit impoverished children in the United States and Africa. Last April's broadcast raised more than $64 million and boasted a lineup including Bono, Brad Pitt, Miley Cyrus, Fergie, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood.
'American Idol'
Solo Act
Sean Hannity
After weeks trying to find a suitable replacement for the departing Alan Colmes, Sean Hannity will go it alone.
Hannity on January 12 will debut "Hannity," a retooled version of the second highest-rated program in cable news (after Fox News Channel's own "The O'Reilly Factor"). It will be the first time since signing on in 1996 that Fox News Channel has changed its 9 p.m. program in any way, the network said.
But it's not going to just be Hannity. Bill Shine, senior vp programing at Fox News Channel, said that the idea is to have, along with Hannity, something called "the Great American Panel," including one conservative, one liberal and someone else the show calls "an X factor." That panel will talk about issues in several segments per night. The "X factor" could include a comedian, a former politician or even someone like "Joe the Plumber."
The show will also have commentary, interviews and other features including "Hate Hannity Hotline," carried over from his radio show.
Sean Hannity
Faces Dissension From NY Board
Screen Actors Guild
A faction of the Screen Actors Guild on Friday called for the union to suspend an upcoming vote to authorize a strike amid stalled negotiations with Hollywood producers.
The announcement represents a major split between the union's Hollywood leadership and a more moderate group based in New York. The group hopes its opposition will force the union to rethink the timing of its vote scheduled for January.
"Our members and our industry are struggling through the worst economic crisis in memory," the New York board said in a statement. "While issuing a strike authorization may have been a sensible strategy in October, we believe it is irresponsible to do so now."
The New York division's 14 board members also called for the 71-member national board to hold an emergency meeting to appoint new negotiators to work with the American Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major studios.
Screen Actors Guild
Scientists Find 2,000-Year-Old Brain
Britain
British archaeologists have unearthed an ancient skull carrying a startling surprise - an unusually well-preserved brain. Scientists said Friday that the mass of gray matter was more than 2,000 years old - the oldest ever discovered in Britain. One expert unconnected with the find called it "a real freak of preservation."
The skull was severed from its owner sometime before the Roman invasion of Britain and found in a muddy pit during a dig at the University of York in northern England this fall, according to Richard Hall, a director of York Archaeological Trust.
Finds officer Rachel Cubbitt realized the skull might contain a brain when she felt something move inside the cranium as she was cleaning it, Hall said. She looked through the skull's base and spotted an unusual yellow substance inside. Scans at York Hospital confirmed the presence of brain tissue.
Hall said it was unclear just how much of the brain had survived, saying the tissue had apparently contracted over the years. Parts of the brain have been tentatively identified, but more research was needed, he said.
Britain
Town Names Streets After Songs
Rolling Stones
Looking to live on Satisfaction Street? Or Ruby Tuesday Drive?
If so, Dartford is the place to go. Streets there are being named after classic Rolling Stones hits in honor of local heroes Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
The ties to the town just east of London are strong: Jagger was born there and attended elementary school there, meeting Richards when both were schoolboys.
According to local legend, the two later met at the Dartford train station and talked about forming a band that went on to become the world-conquering Stones.
Rolling Stones
In Memory
Van Johnson
Van Johnson, whose boy-next-door wholesomeness made him a popular Hollywood star in the '40s and '50s with such films as "30 Seconds over Tokyo," "A Guy Named Joe" and "The Caine Mutiny," died Friday of natural causes. He was 92. Johnson died at Tappan Zee Manor, an assisted living center in Nyack, N.Y., said Wendy Bleisweiss, a close friend.
A heartthrob with bobbysoxers - he was called "the non-singing Sinatra" - Johnson married only once. In 1947 at the height of his career, he eloped to Juarez, Mexico, to marry Eve Wynn, who had divorced Johnson's good friend Keenan Wynn four hours before.
The marriage produced a daughter, Schuyler, and ended bitterly 13 years later. "She wiped me out in the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history," Johnson told reporters.
His big break, with Irene Dunne and Spencer Tracy in the wartime fantasy "A Guy Named Joe," was almost wiped out by tragedy.
On April 1, 1943, his DeSoto convertible was struck head-on by another car. "They tell me I was almost decapitated, but I never lost consciousness," he remembered. "I spent four months in the hospital after they sewed the top of my head back on. I still have a disc of bone in my forehead five inches long."
"A Guy Named Joe" was postponed for his recovery, and the forehead scar went unnoticed in his resulting popularity. MGM cashed in on his stardom with three or four films a year. Among them: "The White Cliffs of Dover," "Two Girls and a Sailor," "Weekend at the Waldorf." "High Barbaree," "Mother Is a Freshman," "No Leave, No Love" and "Three Guys Named Mike."
Though he hadn't lost his boyish looks, Johnson's vogue faded by the mid-'50s, and the film roles became sparse, though he did have a "comeback" movie with Janet Leigh in 1963, "Wives and Lovers."
For three decades he was one of the busiest stars in regional and dinner theaters, traveling throughout the country from his New York base. In the 1980s, Johnson appeared on Broadway in "La Cage aux Folles," late in the run of the popular Jerry Herman msuical.
He was born Charles Van Dell Johnson on Aug. 25, 1916, in Newport, R.I., where his father was a real estate salesman. From his earliest years he was fascinated by the touring companies that played in Newport theaters, and after high school he announced his intention to try his luck in New York. He arrived in 1934 with $5 and his belongings packed in a straw suitcase.
Van Johnson
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