Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Sophie Brickman: The Problem With Online Job Boards (huffingtonpost.com)
Madness, they say, is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results. I think of this every morning when I boot up my computer and scan a number of websites, in search of a job that will utilize the soft skills of the liberal arts grad.
Kevin Pang: Tim Meadows returns to his comedic roots: Chicago and improvisation (Chicago Tribune)
When I offered Tim Meadows some of my Cajun gravy-topped corncakes, he politely said no, twice in fact.
JUSTIN DIMOS: "Hearts in Exile: An Interview with H2D Founder Chuck Warner" (popmatters.com)
Hyped to Death founder Chuck Warner chats about the seductive siren song of obscure '80s post-punk and underground no-wave that sold maybe 500 albums or 250 singles or even ten tapes before fading into musical oblivion.
Nick Cristiano: Smithereens are making up for lost time (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
It's back into the light for the Smithereens. The New Jersey quartet scored unlikely hits in the late '80s with its catchy, British Invasion-driven rock - offering albums such as "Especially for You" and "Green Thoughts" and songs such as "Blood and Roses" and "Only a Memory." But the group disappeared from the recording scene after 1999's "God Save the Smithereens."
Jon Bream: Front-runner for a best-new-artist Grammy is also adept at running her mouth (Star Tribune)
Like Amy Winehouse a year ago, Adele is a young, big-haired, R&B-tinged British pop singer who's a Grammy favorite even though she's hardly a household name in the States.
Luaine Lee: 'Will & Grace's' Eric McCormack returns in new TNT series 'Trust Me' (McClatchy-Tribune News Service)
Actor Eric McCormack figures he inherited his comic timing from his dad. The actor who played Will on "Will & Grace" recalls when he was 10 he fell off his bicycle and gashed his chin on the curb.
Robert W. Butler: 'Defiance' co-stars had to endure cold, primitive conditions to play WWII rebels (McClatchy Newspapers)
Think Holocaust movie. What do you see? Lines of weary men, women and children being herded to their deaths? That's the conventional view. But in the based-on-fact World War II drama "Defiance" three Jewish brothers fight the Nazis to a standstill in the forests of what is now Belarus.
John Anderson: Brendan Fraser hopes good fortune rains on him again with the fantasy 'Inkheart' (Newsday)
The fantasy-adventure "Inkheart" features creatures and castles. Medieval hallucinations. Flying monkeys. Ominous, sky-filling specters. Helen Mirren on a motorcycle. It's not what anyone would describe as "student filmmaking on a moderate budget." Unless you're Brendan Fraser. And you mean it as a compliment.
Brent Hartinger: "Answered Prayer: 'Prayers For Bobby' is a Groundbreaking Gay TV Movie" (afterelton.com)
We talk to Sigourney Weaver and others involved in the extraordinary new Lifetime TV movie "Prayers for Bobby."
Trish Bendix: Interview with "L Word" Stylist Cynthia Summers (afterellen.com)
Summers dishes on the style of each character, Papi's hat, and which actress is the most fun to dress.
"The Best of 'Dr. Katz'": A Review by Marc Calderaro (popmatters.com)
For US television watchers in 2008, it's hard to remember a time when Comedy Central wasn't a basic cable powerhouse.
Composition Project: Writing an On-the-Job-Writing Interview Report (lulu.com)
This free pdf download describes a composition assignment that I have used successfully during my years of teaching at Ohio University. Other teachers are welcome to download and read this pdf file and decide whether this assignment will work in their classes.
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'All Things To All People' Edition...
Barack Obama is inheriting a myriad of complex problems. Some affect us all. Some are more important than others to particular interest groups and individuals. While I would like to see him become the greatest president ever, he is human and therefore not omnipotent. That said, the question is...
Is there a particular problem that you think President Obama may not be able to solve to the nation's and/or your satisfaction?
BadToTheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
Charlie wrote:
responded:
Reader Suggestion
Palin Pumps
Anyone want to walk a mile in Sarah Palin's shoes?
...No wonder she had trouble "running" for Veep, she wouldn't even be able to walk from her snowmachine to the carcass of her latest moose incident in these things!
Vic in AK
Thanks, Vic!
Naughty Monkey Heels?
Red Naughty Monkey Shoes?
Ewwwwww. How tacky. How Wasilla
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Some sun, but mostly cloudy.
Here's a Complete List of Razzie Nominations - 2009
File Released
George Carlin
Talk about irony. George Carlin spent decades pushing the bounds of free speech by saying the seven words you can never say on television, but not one of them made it into an FBI file on him.
Among the 12 pages in a file recently released by Carlin's family are a couple of letters from outraged citizens who complained that the comedian had made fun of the FBI and its director, J. Edgar Hoover, during TV appearances in 1969 and 1970.
There's also a letter from Hoover himself thanking one of Carlin's critics for defending his honor, and an internal FBI memo that quotes the director as asking: "What do we know of Carlin?"
Not much, as it turned out. The memo notes the FBI has "no data concerning Carlin" other than the two letters from his critics.
"Which kind of disappoints me," laughed Carlin's daughter, Kelly Carlin McCall, who provided the file to The Associated Press. "It doesn't really cover any of his more radical 1970s stuff."
Carlin, who died of a heart attack last June at 71, obtained the file years ago through a Freedom of Information Act request, McCall said.
George Carlin
Small Publisher Finding Big Success
Graywolf Press
For a publishing company that considered it a big success to sell 2,500 copies of an anthology of contemporary European poetry, it was a new experience to get urgent calls from the Barnes & Noble corporate purchasing department.
That's what happened at Graywolf Press when Barack Obama picked poet Elizabeth Alexander, a Graywolf author since 2001, to recite a poem at his inauguration - putting her in such hallowed company as Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. The St. Paul-based publisher is printing 100,000 copies of Alexander's inaugural poem, by far the biggest print run in its 35-year history but not for an inaugural work. Maya Angelou's "On the Pulse of the Morning," recited in 1993 at President Bill Clinton's inaugural, was a million seller.
Alexander's poem, titled "Praise Song for the Day: A Poem for Barack Obama's Presidential Inauguration," consists of 14, unrhymed three-line stanzas, and a one-line coda: "praise song for walking forward in that light." It will be released as an $8 paperback, 32 pages, on Feb. 6.
The recognition for Alexander is the latest in a string of good fortune for Graywolf. In the last two years, the tiny nonprofit publisher of literary fiction, poetry and essays helped launch obscure Norwegian writer Per Petterson to U.S. literary stardom on the strength of his novel "Out Stealing Horses," and guided first-time novelist Salvatore Scibona to a National Book Award nomination.
Graywolf Press
Hairstylist Cuts TV Deal
Johnny Wright
Michelle Obama's hairstylist has landed a development deal to star in a reality show.
Former Chicagoan Johnny Wright styled the first lady's coif for the Democratic National Convention, her upcoming appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine and other occasions. He has signed a deal with 44 Blue, which produces such reality shows as Style Network's "Split Ends" and A&E's "L.A. Gang Unit."
44 Blue executive vice president Stephanie Drachkovitch said she discovered Wright while searching for a reality host.
Drachkovitch soon will pitch the idea to cable networks as a docu-soap or a makeover series. The well-timed Obama connection doesn't hurt.
Johnny Wright
Slashes Schedule And Budget
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is cutting its 2009-10 schedule by 10 percent because of the recession, instituting a hiring freeze and slashing $4 million from the budget for its current season to keep it balanced.
Carnegie executive and artistic director Clive Gillinson says next season's budget would be even lower than the revised $76 million for this season. Carnegie announced a schedule of 180 concerts, down from about 200 in recent seasons.
Susan Brady, the hall's director of development, says individual giving for this season was down 17 to 18 percent to $11 million. She says corporate donations had remained steady and that overall giving was about $30 million.
Carnegie Hall
Moves Into Reality TV Territory
Miss America
It's been slow and not necessarily painless, but Miss America is moving into the 21st century - one well-practiced, high-heeled step at a time.
Last year, she got a reality show complete with absurd challenges and snarky judges. Then she was given an updated look, courtesy of the makeover specialists at the cable network TLC, her current television home.
This year, she's moving closer to the viewer-voting format that made "American Idol" a star.
For the first time, four contestants will be voted into the pageant finals by viewers of "Miss America: Countdown to the Crown," the four-part reality series culminating Friday on TLC. The viewer favorites will be named along with 11 other finalists at the pageant airing live at 8 p.m. EST Saturday from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
Miss America
Conservatorship Question
Peter Falk
Peter Falk's wife of 32 years is opposing a bid by the Emmy-winning actor's adopted daughter to place him under conservatorship.
Documents filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court state that Falk entrusted his wife, Shera Danese Falk, to manage his affairs and care before his health deteriorated.
Catherine Falk applied to be named conservator over her father's affairs in December, stating her father was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
The former "Columbo" star's wife contends that Falk is receiving adequate care and does not have a close relationship with his daughter. Her filing includes declarations from the couple's accountant, housekeeper and numerous friends, including the ex-wife of Johnny Carson and actor Joe Mantegna.
Peter Falk
Leave My
Kids Props AlonePalin
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is going on the offensive against news organizations and bloggers she says are perpetuating malicious gossip about her and her children. But political observers say the former Republican vice presidential candidate can't have it both ways: trotting out the children to showcase her family values, then trying to shield them from scrutiny.
Palin's criticism also raises questions about her motivations because she has said she is open to a presidential run in 2012.
Her decision to strike back at news organizations seems to contradict the governor's earlier statements on how politicians should respond to media coverage.
Months before she was named John McCain's running mate, Palin attended a leadership forum in Los Angeles and was asked her opinion on then-Sen. Hillary Clinton's allegations that she was being unfairly treated by the media during the primaries.
Palin said Clinton did herself a disservice to even mention it. The governor said it bothered her to hear Clinton "bring that attention to herself on that level."
Palin
Pleads Not Guilty
Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a Dec. 30 speeding charge in which police say they spotted the actor doing 106 miles per hour on an interstate highway.
Dillon's lawyer, Mark Kaplan of Burlington, entered the plea on behalf of the 44-year-old actor. Kaplan said there was no reason for Dillon to attend the arraignment, and he hoped to resolve the case without going to trial.
In an affidavit filed with the Vermont District Court in Chelsea, a state trooper said Dillon was apologetic and cooperative.
Because Dillon was allegedly traveling more than 30 mph over the posted 65-mph speed limit on the interstate, he was charged with criminal negligent operation. The charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Matt Dillon
Picture Fetches $1.1 Million
Putie
A picture sketched by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has fetched 37 million roubles ($1.15 million) at a charity auction.
The painting of snowfall seen through a window, finished by a professional artist, features a sprawling "Putin" signature and was introduced at Saturday's auction with the words: "Here is a new artist."
The auctioneer started bidding at 20,000 roubles ($620), the same as the other lots, only to meet cries of "Let's not be penny-pinchers" from the buyers, who demanded a starting price of five million roubles.
An auction organizer said Putin had painted the picture in 20 minutes and then a professional artist filled in the details.
Putie
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Jan. 12-18. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (X) AFC Championship: Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh, CBS, 40.65 million viewers.
2. (1) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 30.42 million viewers.
3. (1) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 30.32 million viewers.
4. (X) AFC Championship postgame show, CBS, 25.44 million viewers.
5. (4) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 24.25 million viewers.
6. (5) "NCIS," CBS, 18.62 million viewers.
7. (8) "The Mentalist," CBS, 18.07 million viewers.
8. (12) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 17.10 million viewers.
9. (X) "The Mentalist" (Sunday), CBS, 16.39 million viewers.
10. (15) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 15.83 million viewers.
11. (X) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (8 p.m. Thursday), CBS, 15.52 million viewers.
12. (11) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 13.78 million viewers.
13. (20) "Eleventh Hour," CBS, 13.16 million viewers.
14. (12) "Grey's Anatomy" (9 p.m. Thursday), ABC, 13.10 million viewers.
15. (9) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 13.08 million viewers.
16. (14) "CSI: NY," CBS, 12.67 million viewers.
17. (18) "Without a Trace," CBS, 12.42 million viewers.
18. (17) "24," Fox, 12.31 million viewers.
19. (35) "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 11.81 million viewers.
20. (35) "How I Met Your Mother," CBS, 11.76 million viewers.
Ratings
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