DOUG MERCHANT: "David Foster Wallace: 1962-2008" (tucsonweekly.com)
On Friday, Sept. 12, the 46-year-old author of "Infinite Jest," a novel roughly the size of a dictionary, hung himself in Southern California. If you've read anything he's ever written, you have to believe he knew what he was doing.
The unforgettable Ms Cole (guardian.co.uk)
Natalie Cole is the superstar's daughter who became a Black Panther, a cocaine addict - and a huge success in her own right. As she releases a new album she talks to Lucy O'Brien about her father, feminism and the fight against drugs.
Steven Rea: Spike Lee hopes his 'Miracle' launches a film trend (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Early in Spike Lee's World War II movie, "Miracle at St. Anna," there's a clip of John Wayne rallying the troops in the famous Hollywood D-Day pic, "The Longest Day." There are no black actors to speak of in that film - although thousands of African-American soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy in June 1944.
Charlie was first, and correct, with:
Presumably, the term applies whether or not the birds in question are Anglican. A group of eagles is a
A: Convocation
Such as
but maybe not
or
Way way back in the late 60's and early 70's I used to live in Humboldt County (Northern California)….I wanted to move away from the city, get down to earth, and grow my own! If you drove up highway 101 to Garberville and went West…..you'd go through Redway and Briceland, Whitethorn, Honeydew and Petrolia…along the Mattole river on your way to Shelter Cove and the fabled "Lost Coast" wilderness area. I had 40 pristine acres….I built my own lake with a 100 foot damn…cleared 5 acres below the damn….put in a wind mill and some pipe and irrigated a huge pot field…at the whim of the wind (everyday at around 3pm)
I spent a couple years there at the same time I had a Rock and Roll Band…..as my gigs in the city became more frequent, so did the Pot busts…..so we planted an orchard and sold the farm……but my god …..what beautiful country.
Directorial Debacle
I had "High" hopes when I heard about the movie "Humboldt County". I guess I expected it to be my life story….if I had stayed living up there…..you see the Mom and Pop pot farms started being overrun by Mexican Cartels, massive plantings, big rip-offs and….guns! The Directors (and Writers) of "Humboldt County" should have talked to me first…before they got lost up there…..and that's what I think happened to them and their movie….what could have been an incredible Indie film, instead got lost in haze of too many joints, the fog of the Lost Coast and the quagmire of clumsy character development.
"Everybody Smoke Pot……"
Just as "ganga" is god to the Rastas, "Weed" is the world of wisdom to the old Hippies in Humboldt. It signified self reliance and a sense of separation from the consumer life…But in "Humboldt County" the movie, Pot growing became the commodity for survival and the skewed center piece of the family unit…….I know so many people still living up there that, even though their lives revolve somewhat around weed, they have become great musicians, builders, craftspeople and "parents" in caring communities…..not in this movie!
What's a Guy to do….
Peter Hadley (Jeremy Strong) was just flunked out of Med School residency by his own erudite dad, Professor Hadley (Peter Bagdanovich)…..Peter heads to the local bar and gets picked up, fucked and abducted by Bogart, the singer in the band (Fairuza Balk)….they head north to her families Hippie Commune in Humboldt County's Lost Coast. Peter wakes up in a hand split shingled hovel and a haze of smoke…… and Jack (Brad Dourif) and Rose (Frances Conroy)…the crazy communal elders (I wonder if Darren and Danny (the writer directors) ever saw the movie "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" (2005)????) So Peter meets Bogart's sorta half brother Max (Chris Messina) and her precocious daughter Charity (Madison Davenport). Bogart splits and leaves Peter stranded in the middle of harvest season and a really fucked up family.
How will this movie end
Unfortunately, Max gets greedy and plants extra pot so he can send Charity to a good school…..Jack flips out and has a mid-life meltdown…..Rose just keeps on truckin'….Charity continues spouting little smart girl epithets and Peter's dad shows up to save him from impending doom…..
Unfortunately, something happens that is supposed to give everyone an Epiphany……but what really happens just seems to get lost in the gray smoke of another reefer.
Purple Gene gives "Humboldt County" 5 half smoked hand rolled joints out of 10 for being a half assed written and disjointedly directed mess.
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by the SEASON PREMIERE'Amazing Race 13', then the SEASON PREMIERE'Cold Case', followed by the SEASON PREMIERE'The Unit'.
NBC fills the night with LIVE'Sunday Night Football', then pads the left coast with an old 'Monk', and maybe 'Dateline'.
ABC begins the night with the 2-hour SEASON PREMIERE'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition', followed by the SEASON PREMIERE'Desperate Housewives', then the SEASON PREMIERE'Brothers & Sisters'.
The CW offers a RERUN'One Tree Hill', followed by a RERUN'Privileged', then a RERUN'America's Next Top Model'.
Faux has a RERUN'American Dad', followed by another RERUN'American Dad', then the SEASON PREMIERE'Simpsons', followed by the SEASON PREMIERE'King Of The Hill', then the SEASON PREMIERE'Family Guy', followed by the SEASON PREMIERE'American Dad'.
MY has an old 'Raymond', followed by another old 'Raymond', then an old 'House', followed by another old 'House'.
AMC offers the movie 'Mystic River', followed by a FRESH'Mad Men'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 10
[1:00 PM] Doctor Who - Ep 5 Evolution Of The Daleks
[2:00 PM] Doctor Who - Ep 6 The Lazarus Experiment
[3:00 PM] Star Stories - Ep 6 Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
[3:30 PM] Star Stories - Ep 1 David & Victoria Beckham
[4:00 PM] Star Stories - Ep 4 Madonna and Guy Richie
[4:30 PM] Star Stories - Ep 3 Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas
[5:00 PM] Star Stories - Ep 2 Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman
[5:30 PM] Star Stories - Ep 4 Britney Spears
[6:00 PM] Primeval - Episode 1
[7:00 PM] Primeval - Episode 2
[8:00 PM] Teen Transsexual
[9:00 PM] Skins - Ep 7 Michelle
[10:00 PM] Skins - Ep 8 Effy
[11:00 PM] Teen Transsexual
[12:00 AM] Skins - Ep 7 Michelle
[1:00 AM] Skins - Ep 8 Effy
[2:00 AM] Teen Transsexual
[3:00 AM] Skins - Ep 7 Michelle
[4:00 AM] Skins - Ep 8 Effy
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 16 McCann
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 17 May
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has all 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' all night.
Comedy Central has 'Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector', followed by the movie 'Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again', then 'Brian Regan: The Epitome Of Hyperbole'.
FX has the movie 'Rush Hour', followed by the movie 'Big Momma's House 2'.
History has 'MonsterQuest', 'The Universe', and a FRESH'Sandhogs'.
IFC -
[6:05 AM] IFC News Election Special
[6:30 AM] A Hard Day's Night
[8:00 AM] Black Cat
[9:45 AM] Haxan
[11:40 AM] IFC News Uncut 2008
[11:45 AM] Danny Deckchair
[1:30 PM] A Hard Day's Night
[3:05 PM] Gosford Park
[5:30 PM] Danny Deckchair
[7:20 PM] Rush
[9:30 PM] Ed Gein
[11:00 PM] Z Rock
[11:30 PM] Z Rock
[12:00 AM] IFC News Election Special
[12:25 AM] A Nightmare on Elm Street
[2:00 AM] Z Rock
[2:30 AM] Z Rock
[3:00 AM] Ed Gein
[4:30 AM] A Nightmare on Elm Street (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has the movie 'A Sound Of Thunder', followed by the movie 'Reign Of Fire'.
Sundance -
[04:45 AM] The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico
[06:10 AM] Eco Documentaries - Season 2: Escape From Suburbia: Beyond the American Dream
[07:45 AM] The Legacy | Directed by: Géla Babluani
[09:00 AM] Live From Abbey Road - Season 2: Panic at the Disco, David Gray & Suzanne Vega
[10:00 AM] Terminal City: Episode 10
[11:00 AM] Ralph Rucci: A Designer and His House
[12:00 PM] Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills
[01:15 PM] Yves St. Laurent: 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris
[02:40 PM] Seamless
[04:00 PM] Who Are You Polly Maggoo?
[05:35 PM] Unfolding Florence
[07:00 PM] Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton
[09:00 PM] The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle: Episode 4
[09:30 PM] Big Girl's Blouse: Episode 4
[10:00 PM] Being Julia
[12:00 AM] Re-cycle
[02:00 AM] Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton
[03:30 AM] Nimrod Nation: Episode 4
[04:00 AM] Breezy (ALL TIMES EST)
Lonnie Laster of Oxford, Mississippi, (R), takes a picture of Les Spenser (L) and Tony Pressman (C) from Rolla, Mo., holding a sign 'Rednecks for Obama' before Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain take the stage on their first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, September 26, 2008.
Photo by Larry Downing
The nation - and the city of Laramie - has become more accepting of gays and lesbians in the 10 years since a gay University of Wyoming student was beaten, lashed to a lonely fence and left to die, his mother said Saturday.
"We've learned a lot, we've talked a lot; we do it in public forums now," Judy Shepard said at a ceremony dedicating a bench to her son, Matthew Shepard. "So it's a wonderful tribute to Matt that these kinds of things are discussed."
Shepard died Oct. 12, 1998, five days after he was found brutally beaten and tied to the fence outside Laramie. The two men who killed him are serving life sentences in prison.
Shepard's parents established a foundation named after their son. Its stated goal is to "replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance." It also helps young gay people find a safe environment.
In this photo provided by the Las Vegas News Bureau, singer Barry Manilow performs his new show at the Las Vegas Hilton, in Las Vegas Friday, Sept. 26, 2008.
Photo by Brian Jones
Showing as much grit and determination as her National Velvet heroine, Hollywood icon Dame Elizabeth Taylor this week made a public appearance to support one of her favourite causes, just weeks after being admitted to hospital.
Her legendary violet eyes still sparking, the 76-year-old British actress was guest of honour at a charity fashion show in California's Santa Monica. And the irrepressible star showed she has lost none of her style in a black gown with sandals and a grand diamond necklace.
Another actress putting her own personal troubles behind her to campaign for the cause was Sharon Stone, who hosted the gala, which raised more than £14.5 million. The Basic Instinct star was in court recently in a dispute over the schooling of her eight-year-old son, Roan, with ex Phil Bronstein.
Also giving their support to the gala bash were American Pie actress Tara Reid and her French fashion exec love Julien Jarmoune.
Dave Matthews has acted in a few films, but the Grammy-winning musician has been playing a behind-the-scenes role in Hollywood of late - that of film producer.
The singer of his namesake band co-founded ATO Pictures and has served mostly as a silent partner. But in the company's latest film, "Choke," the musician was adamant that ATO do more than help finance the film.
"Choke," which was released Friday by Fox Searchlight Pictures, is an adaptation of a novel from "Fight Club" author Chuck Palahniuk.
The film, which stars Sam Rockwell, is about a sex addict named Victor Mancini who likes to pretend he's choking in restaurants to garner strangers' sympathy and then fleece them. When Mancini isn't doing that, hooking up with fellow sex addicts or working at a historical theme park, he's trying to cajole the truth of his paternity from his mentally ill mother.
Italian police on Friday recovered the stolen oil painting of a naked woman by French master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, nabbed from a private collection 33 years ago, and arrested three suspects.
Police were acting on a tip-off from a prominent art critic, Vittorio Sgarbi, who had been contacted by an art gallery owner in the Italian city of Riccione for a valuation of the Impressionist master's work.
The Renoir, valued at 500,000 euros (730,000 dollars), was recovered along with a forgery of a work by Edouard Manet which Sgarbi had also been asked to appraise, said local police chief Giovanni Nistri.
The Renoir nude was stolen from a Milanese family in 1975 and the owner's daughter recognised the authenticity of the recovered work due to the mark of a ball she hit it with in the early 1970s, the ANSA news agency reported.
A girl takes part in rehearsals for the "garba" dance ahead of Navratri festival in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad September 27, 2008. Navratri, in praise of Hindu God Rama, is celebrated over a period of nine days where thousands of youth dance the night away in traditional costumes.
Photo by Amit Dave
The reality fashion show "Project Runway" will not be able to strut its stuff on the Lifetime TV channel, a judge ruled Friday.
A preliminary injunction was ordered by New York Supreme Court Justice Richard B. Lowe in a lawsuit filed by NBC Universal against the Weinstein Co., which produces the hit reality series hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum.
NBC Universal had aired the series on its Bravo channel. It sued Weinstein after the production company made a reported $150 million deal with Lifetime for the show.
The temporary injunction bars Weinstein from taking "Project Runway" or any spinoff to Lifetime and contended that evidence showed that Weinstein violated NBC's "right of first refusal" for the show.
Traditional gingerbread hearts with greetings from the Oktoberfest (nicknamed "Wiesn") are on display at the Oktoberfest in Munich, September 27 2008. Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital Munich for the world's biggest and most famous beer festival, the Oktoberfest, that runs until October 5.
Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach
A New York photographer is suing two others over Marilyn Monroe images. Bert Stern says the photos were from a series of "unique and irreplaceable images" of the movie star that he took in July 1962 at the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles.
Manhattan court papers say Stern loaned them to the now-defunct Eros magazine, but they were not returned.
He says the photos are now held by Michael Weiss and Donald Penny.
Stern is seeking the photos, or at least $700,000 in repayment, plus $1 million in punitive damages and legal fees.
Picasso's "Harlequin" is going on the auction block. The 1909 work was owned for about 60 years by surrealist painter Enrico Donati.
The cubist painting will be offered at Sotheby's on Nov. 3. It is expected to bring more than $30 million.
Donati, who died in April at age 99, bought the painting in the early 1940s for $12,000. Painted in hues of green rose, jade and amber, the harlequin was a frequent motif in Picasso's work and often considered his alter ego.
Weapons used in the assassination plot that triggered World War I go display in London from next week to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the conflict, the Imperial War Museum said Thursday.
A pistol and a bomb carried by the six men involved in killing Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914 will be part of the museum's "In Memoriam: Remembering the Great War" exhibition.
The assassination led to the Austro-Hungarian Empire declaring war against Serbia, sparking a chain reaction of declarations of war and a four-year conflict which claimed the lives of at least 20 million people.
The exhibition -- which also recalls the experiences of 90 service personnel and civilians during the war and its aftermath -- runs till September 6, 2009.
Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13-million-digit prime number, a long-sought milestone that makes them eligible for a $100,000 prize.
The group found the 46th known Mersenne prime last month on a network of 75 computers running Windows XP. The number was verified by a different computer system running a different algorithm.
Mersenne primes - named for their discoverer, 17th century French mathematician Marin Mersenne - are expressed as 2P-1, or two to the power of "P" minus one. P is itself a prime number. For the new prime, P is 43,112,609.
Thousands of people around the world have been participating in the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, or GIMPS, a cooperative system in which underused computing power is harnessed to perform the calculations needed to find and verify Mersenne primes.
Big-band singer Connie Haines, who performed with Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in the 1940s, has died. She was 87.
Haines was born Yvonne Marie Antoinette JaMais in Savannah, Georgia. She started singing when she was five.
As a teenager, she teamed with Sinatra on Oh, Look at Me Now, Snootie Little Cutie and You Might Have Belonged to Another with the Dorsey band.
Haines also made movies, appearing in The Duchess of Idaho in 1950. In the mid-1940s, she toured with comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. She also performed for presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money" - followed by a second act as an activist, race car driver and popcorn impresario - has died. He was 83.
He sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray. They wed in 1958, around the same time they both appeared in "The Long Hot Summer." Newman also directed her in several films, including "Rachel, Rachel" and "The Glass Menagerie."
Newman had a soft spot for underdogs in real life, giving tens of millions to charities through his food company and setting up camps for severely ill children. Passionately opposed to the Vietnam War, and in favor of civil rights, he was so famously liberal that he ended up on President Nixon's "enemies list," one of the actor's proudest achievements, he liked to say.
In the 1970s, Newman, admittedly bored with acting, became fascinated with auto racing, a sport he studied when he starred in the 1969 film, "Winning." After turning professional in 1977, Newman and his driving team made strong showings in several major races, including fifth place in Daytona in 1977 and second place in the Le Mans in 1979.
Off the screen, Newman had a taste for beer and was known for his practical jokes. He once had a Porsche installed in Redford's hallway - crushed and covered with ribbons.
In 1982, Newman and his Westport neighbor, writer A.E. Hotchner, started a company to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. Newman's Own, which began as a joke, grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling popcorn, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and other foods. All of the company's profits are donated to charities. By 2007, the company had donated more than $175 million, according to its Web site.
In 1988, Newman founded a camp in northeastern Connecticut for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. He went on to establish similar camps in several other states and in Europe.
He and Woodward bought an 18th century farmhouse in Westport, where they raised their three daughters, Elinor "Nell," Melissa and Clea.
Newman had two daughters, Susan and Stephanie, and a son, Scott, from a previous marriage to Jacqueline Witte. Scott died in 1978 of an accidental overdose of alcohol and Valium. After his only son's death, Newman established the Scott Newman Foundation to finance the production of anti-drug films for children.
Newman was born in Cleveland, the second of two boys of Arthur S. Newman, a partner in a sporting goods store, and Theresa Fetzer Newman.
Following World War II service in the Navy, he enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he got a degree in English and was active in student productions.
Newman is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother Arthur.
Endangered Great Green Macaws are seen in a captive breeding center in Rio Segundo de Alajuela, Costa Rica, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. Experts are meeting this week in Costa Rica to establish a strategy for saving the rare birds, numbering around 200 in Costa Rica and 3,800 worldwide, according to the Tropical Studies Organization.
Photo by Kent Gilbert
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