Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Arthur Delaney: Credit-Card Protester Sticks It To Banks -- With Stickers (huffingtonpost.com)
John Clinton Tuttle of Seattle, Wash. is waging guerrilla warfare against high interest rates and other depredations of the credit card industry. He's literally sticking it to 'em -- he's launched a campaign to encourage angry consumers to put bank-bashing stickers on ATMs.
Dan Dorfman: Fabulous Bounce May Be a Sucker's Trap (huffingtonpost.com)
Investment adviser Mark Leibovitz served up what I thought was the most incisive quote on a course of action in wake of the sharp and sudden up and down movements in stock prices: "This market is not for investors."
Sandra Fish: My Left Breast Put Fancy TSA Scanner to the Test (politicsdaily.com)
A funny thing happened to me at airport security this week: The full-body scanner appeared to detect my fake left breast.
Rep. Alan Grayson: The Story That No One Will Tell (huffingtonpost.com)
The story that everyone wants to tell is that the Democratic Party is disheartened and disintegrating. Teabagger Republicans are juiced up and on top. Or so the media says, over and over again.
Charlotte Allen: "The New Dating Game: Back to the New Paleolithic Age" (weeklystandard.com)
Late last September a college student who called herself Courtney A. posted a story on the feminist website Lemondrop: "I Slept With Tucker Max, the Internet's Biggest Asshat."
Beth Quinn: An Open Letter to 38 Dumbheads (zestoforange.com)
Dear 38 Members of the New York Senate Who Voted Against Gay Marriage: I wrote the following column nearly six years ago, when the Religious Right had a stranglehold on this country and wanted us to Just Say No to Everything.
Steve Paul: One-man band scores one for jazz guitarist Pat Metheny (McClatchy Newspapers)
For Pat Metheny, music is nothing without a story. It's a lesson he picked up 40 years ago playing with Kansas City drummer Tommy Ruskin, when the 15-year-old guitarist was beginning his passionate drive to make music a way of a life.
Songs about Darwin: The Low Anthem (guardian.co.uk)
Steeped in the past, but evolving with every step, the Low Anthem are anything but folk revivalists, writes Stevie Chick.
Laura Barton interviews Stornoway (guardian.co.uk)
From gigs in camper vans to being on TV with Jay-Z, it's been a rollercoaster of a ride for Stornoway so far. No wonder they seem a bit scared and bewildered, says Laura Barton.
Hugo Martin: Over 50 years, Walk of Fame turned Hollywood into destination (Los Angeles Times)
Fifty years ago, the Hollywood Walk of Fame began as a gimmick to lure visitors to a Los Angeles neighborhood that had fallen on hard times in the post-World War II years.
Gaby Wood: "Emily Mortimer: 'Sometimes I think this is so undignified'" (guardian.co.uk)
Emily Mortimer's worked with Woody Allen and Stephen Fry, next up it's Martin Scorsese, but she's still not convinced she's a professional actress. She talks about motherhood, movies and jealousy.
Will Harris: A Chat with Peter Billingsley, Director of "Couples Retreat" (bullz-eye.com)
Even though I've been friends with Vince (Vaughn) for, like, twenty years, Jason (Bateman) I've known for even longer. We joke about how we've both been in the business for something like 35 years, so we're the crusty veterans on the set.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Putting The Man on the Spot' Edition...
If you were given the opportunity to sit down with President Obama and ask him
three questions, what would they be?
1.) _____________
2.) _____________
3.) _____________
Send your response to
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Contributor Comment
Wednesday
Hey, M... Thanks for posting my haiku. I'm not trying to muscle in on the zEN mAN's gig, though. Tell him that! If anything, he inspires me and I love his stuff...
Anyway, this is what appears after that Mad Cat's links... The damn'd Gremlins were busy little bastards today...
weird collection of letters, numbers and symbols
and that's all...
BadtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Anybody else have trouble? Looked fine here, but I squint a lot.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Reuters Photographer Freed
Jassam Mohammed
The U.S. military freed a Reuters photographer in Iraq on Wednesday, almost a year and a half after snatching him from his home in the middle of the night and placing him in military detention without charge.
The U.S. military has never said exactly why it detained Ibrahim Jassam Mohammed -- who worked for Reuters as a freelance TV cameraman and photographer -- and locked him away for so long, saying the evidence against him was classified.
U.S. and Iraqi forces smashed in the doors of Jassam's house in Mahmudiya town, south of Baghdad, in September 2008 and whisked him away, first to Camp Bucca, a desert prison on the Iraq-Kuwait border, then the smaller Camp Cropper detention center near Baghdad airport.
Jassam is one of several Iraqi journalists working for foreign news organizations who have been detained by the U.S. military, often for months at a time, since the 2003 U.S. invasion. None has ever been charged, triggering criticism from international journalism rights groups.
Jassam Mohammed
Objects To Air Force Reserve Ad
White Stripes
The White Stripes plans "strong action" against the Air Force Reserve over its Super Bowl commercial, which the duo claims is an unauthorized re-recording of its song "Fell in Love With a Girl."
On its official Web site, the White Stripes posted a video of its song alongside a link to the Air Force Reserve commercial.
"We believe our song was re-recorded and used without permission of the White Stripes, our publishers, label or management," said the statement, attributed to Third Man Records, the White Stripes and their management. "The White Stripes take strong insult and objection to the Air Force Reserve's presenting this advertisement with the implication that we licensed one of our songs to encourage recruitment during a war that we do not support."
The White Stripes' statement continued: "The White Stripes support this nation's military, at home and during times when our country needs and depends on them. We simply don't want to be a cog in the wheel of the current conflict, and hope for a safe and speedy return home for our troops.
White Stripes
Hollywood Walk O'Fame
Ringo Starr
A star for former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday evening during a whimsical ceremony that also marked the 50th anniversary of the sidewalk attraction's groundbreaking.
Starr's name was the 2,401st to be unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Walk of Fame also includes individual stars for the drummer's former bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison, as well as the likes of musicians Roy Orbison and Ozzy Osbourne.
The Beatles as a group were given a star in 1998.
Ringo Starr
Canvases Unveiled In London
Bob Dylan
A collection of Bob Dylan paintings billed as the US musician's first works on canvas went on show Thursday, promoted with typically inscrutable comments by the legendary star.
"Bob Dylan on Canvas" at the Halcyon Gallery in London's upmarket Mayfair district includes pieces with price tags ranging from 95,000-450,000 pounds (150,000-700,000 dollars, 110,000-510,000 euros).
"I just draw what's interesting to me, and then I paint it. Rows of houses, orchard acres, lines of tree trunks, could be anything," the musician said in notes for the collection.
The gallery said the collection "witnesses the culmination of his artistic progression" from his Drawn Blank Series, a show which included a stop in London in 2008, from drawings to works on paper and now finally to canvas.
Bob Dylan
Heads To Olympics
Stephen Colbert
Like many of the athletes vying for gold in Vancouver, Stephen Colbert's Olympic training has been eventful.
He has already auditioned for the U.S. bobsled, skating and curling teams. He has angered a sizable portion of Canada. And he has landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Olympic preview.
Now, he's preparing for the big event. While "The Colbert Report" is in repeats next week, the comedian will be in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the first week of the Olympics. He'll be there recording a wealth of material for his show (to air beginning Feb. 22), attending events, conducting interviews and doing a kind of half-show from a stage set up outside the Olympic center.
Just as he has inserted himself into big events such as the 2008 election (during which he was briefly and illegitimately a candidate) and the Iraq war (he did a week of shows from Baghdad in 2009), Colbert has made himself a key figure for the XXI Olympic Games, which start Friday.
Stephen Colbert
Shorter Big Screen Run
Disney
Bob Iger wasn't bluffing. The Disney CEO has been telling Wall Street for months of his plans for studio executives to shorten traditional movie release schedules, and it appears the time has arrived for the first grand experiment.
A day after the revelation that UK exhibitors are being asked to accept a tightened theatrical window for Disney's spring feature "Alice in Wonderland," The Hollywood Reporter has learned that U.S. theater owners have been similarly approached.
Normally, movies play in first-run theaters for up to 16 weeks. Disney is talking about a theatrical run of just under 13 weeks for "Alice," a 3D motion-capture/live-action fantasy directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp.
The studio would benefit from truncating the theatrical run because the movie, with its family-friendly subject matter and well-known cast, is well positioned to do big success as a home entertainment title. The quicker Disney can get it into DVD and Blu-ray Disc release, the better for its bottom line.
Disney
Gets Makeover
Hollywood Sign
Hoping to prevent the famed view of the Hollywood sign from being spoiled by development, a group set out on Tuesday to raise $5 million to buy a nearby hilltop peak once owned by billionaire Howard Hughes.
The San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land is seeking to purchase the 1,820-foot-tall (555-meter) ridge, called Cahuenga Peak, from a group of Chicago investors who acquired it from Hughes' estate in 2002 with plans to build luxury homes there.
City officials and residents have worried since then of cluttering the postcard-perfect view of the landmark sign, whose four-story-high "H" stands just to the east of and slightly below Cahuenga Peak in the Hollywood Hills.
To launch the fund-raising drive, the land conservation group received permission to superimpose over the Hollywood sign giant letters that spell out the message "Save the Peak" -- to be fully in place from Thursday through next Tuesday.
Hollywood Sign
New Ownership
"Terminator"
The Terminator will be back, but under new ownership.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge said on Wednesday the movie franchise could be sold to California-based, hedge fund Pacificor LLC, ending months of speculation about the future of the iconic film series after its current owner collapsed into bankruptcy in August.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ernest Robles approved the sale during a hearing in his Los Angeles courtroom, saying it would offer the best deal for the company's unsecured creditors.
He overruled an objection from movie studios Columbia Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp who had claimed the auction process was unfair after their joint bid for the franchise was not selected.
"Terminator"
Warns French Politician
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot has threatened a close friend of President Nicolas Sarkozy with a lawsuit if he does not stop boasting he once had an affair with the French screen goddess, her lawyer said.
"I am beginning to get fed up hearing Mr. (Patrick) Balkany boasting that he had an affair with me, which I have already formally denied," Bardot said in a statement released Wednesday by her lawyer.
Balkany, a rightwing politician who is a close political ally and personal friend of the president, claimed in a book he published last month that he had a fling with Bardot when he was 18 years old in the late 1960s.
Bardot would have been in her mid-30s at the time. She insists she met Balkany for the first time in 2004.
Brigitte Bardot
Sued Over Diet Supplement
Jillian Michaels
Jillian Michaels has been sued for alleged false advertising by a woman who claims she was duped into buying a diet supplement endorsed by the celebrity trainer.
Christie Christensen of Lake Elsinore, Calif., is seeking class-action status for the case she filed Tuesday in Los Angeles. Michaels is a hard-charging, no-nonsense trainer best-known as one of the stars of NBC's hit reality show, "The Biggest Loser."
Christensen's lawsuit claims she bought a product called "Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Calorie Control" last month and that it has failed to lessen her appetite or cause her to lose weight as advertised.
Michaels' picture and endorsement appear on the packaging, touting her as "America's Toughest Trainer." The product and a Web site advertising include the claim, "Two Capsules Before Main Meals and You Lose Weight ... That's It!"
Jillian Michaels
When Conservatives Collide
Vatican
The Vatican accused Italian media on Tuesday of waging an "insulting" smear campaign against it and Pope Benedict by running embarrassing stories about palace intrigue and Byzantine plotting inside its walls.
With a rare statement issued by its Secretariat of State, the Vatican broke its silence after two weeks of stories about events that led up to the resignation last September of Dino Boffo, influential editor of the Catholic newspaper Avvenire.
The reports said top Vatican officials had sent an Italian newspaper owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family a false document alleging Boffo had been accused of harassment by a woman with whose husband he was having a homosexual affair.
The articles, printed in mainstream newspapers, painted a picture of Vatican halls bristling with intrigue and plotting worthy of Medieval papacies.
Vatican
CEO Resigns
MySpace
Owen Van Natta is stepping down as CEO of struggling social networking site MySpace, effective immediately, after less than a year on the job.
MySpace's parent, News Rupert Corp., made the announcement late Wednesday. The former chief revenue officer at MySpace rival Facebook will be replaced by Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, who were promoted to be co-presidents.
Jon Miller, the chairman of digital media for News Rupert Corp., said he and Van Natta agreed to his resignation after discussing his personal and professional priorities.
During his tenure, MySpace cut 720 jobs, reducing its work force by about 40 percent, and broke the lease on bigger office space in west Los Angeles that it no longer needed - moves that resulted in about $180 million in restructuring charges but set up the site for better profits.
MySpace
Cluny Museum
Paris Treasures
Like the statues of Saddam Hussein toppled during the US invasion of Iraq, so too did the stone heads of kings on Paris' majestic Notre-Dame cathedral fall, chopped off during the French Revolution.
For nearly two centuries, the kings' heads lay hidden in the foundations of a Paris bank before work to upgrade the bank's computer system in 1977 led to the extraordinary discovery of the lost treasure.
The regal heads and some 200 other pieces taken from magnificent Paris buildings -- some of which are coming out of storage for the first time -- go on show this week in Paris at the Cluny Museum.
The exhibition looks at Paris in the 13th century, home to the "rayonnant" style of architecture that became all the rage in France and ricocheted across European art.
Paris Treasures
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Feb. 1-7. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:
1. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.95 million homes, 5.51 million viewers.
2. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.66 million homes, 5.56 million viewers.
3. "Penguins of Madagascar" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.62 million homes, 5.15 million viewers.
4. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.41 million homes, 5.01 million viewers.
5. "ICarly" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.38 million homes, 4.83 million viewers.
6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.292 million homes, 4.52 million viewers.
7. "NCIS" (Monday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.290 million homes, 4.45 million viewers.
8. "ICarly" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), 3.15 million homes, 4.45 million viewers.
9. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.13 million homes, 4 million viewers.
10. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 3.1 million homes, 4.12 million viewers.
11. "NCIS" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.08 million homes, 4.07 million viewers.
12. "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.), Fox News Channel, 3.06 million homes, 4.17 million viewers.
13. "The O'Reilly Factor" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), Fox News Channel, 3.04 million homes, 4.09 million viewers.
14. "Fanboy & Chum Chum" (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.03 million homes, 4.27 million viewers.
15. "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.02 million homes, 4.24 million viewers.
Ratings
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
