Alex's Entertainment Report
Alex
Reader Review
Children's Music, Part 1
Music for appoximately ages 5-12, though younger and older kids will still appreciate the songs.
Peter Paul and Mommy, by Peter, Paul and Mary (Associate Producer, Phil Ramone...) remains one of the standards. All of PP&M remains listenable to, lo the years, and their children's songs are still strong and still being sung. Puff The Magic Dragon still captures the child-like awe of power, enchantment and loss. The Marvelous Toy remains a favorite of children and parents (and fun to do the sound effects for). Boa Constrictor is a quick cautionary tale, while Day Is Done is one of the rare father-son songs. Going To The Zoo is one of the road songs you can still sing. A total of ten songs, all at least good. Highly recommended. (I've never heard Peter, Paul and Mommy Too, but the song list looks good.)
Tom Paxton wrote The Marvelous Toy and Goin' to the Zoo as well as My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog (you know only part of the song through dog food commercials) and his version of these can be found on his first CD for children conveniently entitled Goin' To The Zoo. Other songs include the lullabye Jennifer's Rabbit and how happy you are eating Peanut Butter Pie.
Still, I prefer the second volume of his children's songs, I've Got A Yo-Yo. The Magic Whistle is about the worlds you open up by playing a musical instrument. Bananas is a great deal of fun, and might make you hungry. The Crow That Wanted To Sing is about dreams vs. reality, and strikes to the heart. Perhaps the only free speech kid's song is The Thought Stayed Free; if it weren't a kid's song, it would be an anthem. He does songs about dinosaurs and fish and subways and rhinoceroces... Fun, witty and tuneful, I highly recommend this one. Many of the tracks have kids singing along.
Around The World and Back Again asks What Is A Didjeridoo and takes you to the time when The Troubadour was the main source of stories and two kids from Buffalo overcome problems and see the world as they're Gonna Go To Borneo (probably the Chapin cut to which I give the most airplay). Fun songs.
Moonboat takes you on a horse for The Trail Ride, has us Sing A Whale Song and even the jokes in State Laughs work.
Common Ground isn't a children's album, but I like it. It's G-rated; slip it in with the others and have the kids develope some taste.
Okay, an obscure one. I found Somewhere In The Corner at the semi-annual KFAI record sale here inMpls. It's a cassette tape that I picked up for the wrong reason, but sometimes the magic reaches out to you. Since then, I've been forced to make a CD of the cuts, just so the tape won't wear out. (No, I won't make a copy for you; buy the tape!) Debbi Friedlander's songs are bouncy and clever and superbly performed. My favorite is Deepest Africa, a brilliant play on words and a duet that shines musically. (On compilation tapes for friends, I follow it with Allan Sherman's One Hippopotami and sometimes precede it with Ray Steven's Guitarzan. But then, I'm like that.) In Canaan, a handyman keeps years handy. The pit-a-pat of Mice feet gathering food for winter contrasts with the talkin' mouse blues of Jumping Mouse. She gives good advice to avoid standing under a tree with Coconuts and Inspiration urges you to fill your life with laughter. Discoveries like this one make haunting sales worthwhile, and now you don't have to buy on spec.
Dave Romm is a conceptual artist with a radio show and a web site and a very weird CD collection. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites.
Thanks, Dave!
Reader Suggestion
Web Site
Katherine Harris for Congress >>>>>> Home
'' Welcome to the "Friends of Katherine Harris" website, designed to deliver up-to-date information on my campaign for the United States Congress. I hope you will share your ideas for making our District and our nation stronger, better, and more united than ever before by common purpose and action.... ''
Thanks (I think), JD
A Repeat From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Started the evening with '60 Minutes II' on CBS, and surfing to the Olympics, and a drop by 'Enterprise', as
necessary.
Damn! 'Bernie Mac' is wonderful.
Watched Connie Chung interview Mr. Lister. Pretty creepy fellow, praise the Lord.
Tonight, Thursday, once again, CBS pisses away a night in sweeps, with
reruns and more reruns. The night opens with 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' (I'm sorry, but
this show is a bit too intense for such an early hour...wtf are they thinking?), followed by reruns of
'Raymond', and 'King Of Queens'. They are followed by a rerun 'The Agency' (their
Anthrax episode).
The programming geniuses at ABC have decided to show their utter contempt for their audience by presenting the same line-up
for the rest of the week, all reruns, of course. It's 'My Wife & Kids', 'Jim', 'Drew
Carey', and 'Whose Line'. Tonight this celebration of crap is followed by 'PrimeTime Thursday'.
The WB regurgitates the movie 'Look Who's Talking Now'.
Faux gets even creepier than usual with 'Glutton Bowl', the bulimic's version of 'Dream Date'.
UPN has WWF Smackdown.
IFC has 'The Chocolate War', a cult classic about a catholic-school boy who refuses to sell chocolate...it doesn't have a
happy ending.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Returning & Directing, Too
David Duchovny
David Duchovny, who left his role as the alien-chasing FBI agent last season, will return for the two-hour May 19 finale of the Fox drama.
Mulder, who was described as being on the run this year, will be reunited with fellow agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson),
the network said Wednesday.
Duchovny also will direct the April 28 episode of "The X-Files," which is based on a story idea he co-wrote with series
creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz.
Fox promised that final episodes of the 9-year-old series will begin to answer "many of the show's most-asked questions."
Whether that includes the identity of Mulder and Scully's baby - alien or human - wasn't detailed.
David Duchovny
Nothing Like An Empathetic Mom...
Kate Hudson
Young Kate Hudson is getting a bit nervous about how her breasts will look bared in next month's comedy release, "About Adam."
According to premiere.com, Kate called her mom, Goldie Hawn, for reassurance. "Honey," Goldie supposedly said, "you've got really
small breasts. All you're going to see is the nipples, so who cares?"
Kate Hudson
Filming In Havana
Oliver Stone
U.S. film-maker Oliver Stone is in Havana making a documentary on Cuba and its president, Fidel Castro, with whom he dined at
the weekend to start planning the project, arts and diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
Stone has been staying since last week at the famed Hotel Nacional on Havana's seafront Malecon -- a favorite haunt of Hollywood
stars past and present -- but was keeping a low profile and avoiding media coverage, the sources said.
Granma, the daily of Cuba's ruling Communist Party, briefly commented, however, that Stone, who has specialized in controversial
political movies, was in Cuba "set on an idea which obsesses him -- making a documentary about our country."
American cinema publication Variety said the documentary, tentatively titled "Looking for Fidel," would include extensive
interviews with the 75-year-old communist leader and is being produced by Spanish film companies.
Oliver Stone
'The Hours Are Brutal' (Oh, Puh-leeeze)
Katie Couric
Katie Couric's new $65 million contract isn't buying her happiness.
Even though the queen of morning TV has been all smiles broadcasting the "Today" show from the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, she's
reportedly been griping off-camera about her new boss.
"I'm tired, the hours are brutal," she said. "It's hard to make yourself go to bed at 7:30 or 8 to get up" in time for the show. Couric's
sidekick, Matt Lauer, also is said to be miffed.
Some question whether "Today" will be able to sustain its recent ratings surge once the Olympics are over.
Katie Couric
A & E Says 'Buh-Bye
'100 Centre Street'
A&E has canceled its highly touted series "100 Centre Street," produced and directed by Sidney Lumet, after only 31 episodes.
The series got off to a solid start when the first group of episodes kicked off in January 2001, averaging a more-than-acceptable
1.8 average rating in cable homes for the first play of the 13 original hours.
But when "Street" came back for a new season in October, the original episodes fell off by almost a full rating point in the
Nielsens.
As the ratings of "Street" plunged, A&E tried to salvage the show by moving it to Tuesday at 10 p.m. in November, and then
scheduling a marathon of the first 10 episodes on Saturday, Jan. 5. But the moves came too late: the A&E audience had
already deserted the series.
Jaffe-Braunstein, the production company that does the series in association with Pearson Intl. TV and A&E, has sounded out
a few other cable networks about keeping the series in production. Results should come in the next two weeks.
'100 Centre Street'
Probation Terms Eased
Paula Poundstone
A judge praised Paula Poundstone's progress Wednesday, easing her probation terms in a child-endangerment case and allowing
the comedian to have non-monitored work days.
However, the 42-year-old will still be monitored when she has daytime visits with her three adopted children. Poundstone
lost custody of her foster children.
"You have done so exceedingly well," Judge Bernard J. Kamins told her. "It is rare for me to see someone ... strive so hard
for the purpose of getting kids back."
Poundstone pleaded no contest to one felony count of child endangerment for driving while drunk with children in her car
and one misdemeanor count of inflicting injury to a 12-year-old on three occasions. She was sentenced in October to 180
days a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, and five years of probation.
Paula Poundstone
Injured On The Set
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan suffered a minor injury while performing a stunt during the shooting of a movie outside Bangkok.
The 47-year-old actor, who performs his own stunts, suffered a facial injury Monday and was sent to a hospital where
he was kept for four hours, Robert Lee, Chan's Thai coordinator, told The Associated Press. Chan was back on the set Tuesday, he said.
Jackie Chan
Another Term For 'Lateral Promotion'?
ABC Cutting Corners
ABC has consolidated three separate divisions into an investigate news unit that will have about 15 staff members, the network said on Tuesday.
Christopher Isham, senior producer on "World News Tonight," will lead the unit.
"World News Tonight" already had its own investigate unit. There were separate teams led by Brian Ross and another that
concentrated on legal issues. Ross and Cynthia McFadden will be the new unit's chief reporters.
It's part of an effort by ABC News President David Westin to consolidate efforts across the division. Isham said there would be no job cuts.
Another Term For 'Lateral Promotion'?
Serial Philanderer's Movie Of The Week
Rudy Guiliani
Last week, it was knighthood for Rudolph Giuliani. This week, it's a television movie.
USA Network said Tuesday it plans to develop a two-hour film about the life of the former New York mayor, based on the book "Rudy!" by Wayne Barrett.
"Since Sept. 11, Rudy Giuliani has been an inspiration to us all," said USA Network programming executive Jeff Wachtel. No air date was announced.
Rudy Guiliani
40 Years Ago Yesterday (Wednesday)
John Glenn & Friendship 7
Former astronaut John Glenn shows the interior of his "Friendship 7" Mercury spacecraft to wife Annie at the Smithsonian
Air and Space Museum in Washington February 20, 2002. Exactly 40 years ago, Glenn became the first American to orbit the
Earth in this spacecraft. Glenn is one of America's seven original astronauts. Located in the 'Milestones of Flight' gallery,
the capsule is one of the museums' most popular attractions. Glenn delivered the Werner Van Braun Memorial lecture to a museum
audience about his experiences.
Photo by Gregg Newton
Another Court Ruling
Phil Spector & The Ronettes
Last November, the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division upheld a lower court finding that record producer Phil Spector had violated his
1963 contract with the Ronettes, three women — one of whom was his wife — and ordered him to pay $2.97 million plus interest.
The contract dealt only with royalties on sales of records, but Spector was accused of illegally keeping fees and making
millions of dollars by selling the recordings for use as background music in movies and advertising.
Spector discovered the trio that included lead singer Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett, her sister Estelle Bennett and their
cousin Nedra Talley Ross in the early 1960s. He signed them to a contract, wrote music for them and managed their careers.
The Ronettes recorded 28 songs for Spector's Philles Records between 1963 and 1967. Their greatest success came with
the chart-topping hit "Be My Baby."
In 1968, Ronnie Bennett went solo and married Spector. The couple divorced six years later.
Phil Spector & The Ronettes
New Art Exhibit
John Waters
Filmmaker John Waters said his art exhibit's mission is to piece together cliches from different movies to create something new.
Waters, who directed "Cry Baby" and "Serial Mom," scoured films for the photos he wanted, then arranged the frozen frames to create
storyboards on exhibit at the Rena Bransten Gallery.
One grouping, called "Toilet Training," features a series of movie stars sitting on toilets in scenes from different movies.
Another creation, called "Retard," shows celebrities playing developmentally disabled characters. "It's Oscar bait, and it
works," he said. "I'm just showing another cliche that actors do to prove they're serious."
Waters said he is mocking the things he loves, and hopes people will simply have a good laugh when they see his show.
John Waters
Copped A Plea
Kim Delaney
Actress Kim Delaney was sentenced to probation and a safe-driving course after pleading no contest to reckless driving.
Attorney Steve Sitkoff entered the plea on Tuesday for the 40-year-old star of "Philly, who did not appear before Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira.
Delaney was arrested Jan. 26 for investigation of drunk driving after a motorist called 911 to report a vehicle traveling erratically,
then followed it to the actress' Malibu home. She was arrested there after the motorist identified Delaney as the car's driver.
There was "insufficient evidence to prove that her erratic driving was due to alcohol," said Deputy District Attorney Jane Robison.
Mira sentenced Delaney to two years summary probation, fined her $300 and ordered her to complete the safe-driving class.
Kim Delaney
Precocious Child?
Natalie Portman
"Star Wars" sweetie Natalie Portman burbled about bodily fluids so much as a kid that it got her in trouble at school. George Plimpton
writes in Black Book magazine that Portman's dad was a fertility specialist who "told her funny stories about his patients trying to
deliver their sperm iced in little vials and getting caught in traffic, the sperm spilling out when the taxi suddenly accelerated,
and that at school she would tell the stories to her classmates - this in the second grade! - and the teachers would call to complain to her parents."
Natalie Portman
Propaganda Passing As 'Reality' TV?
'Profiles From the Front Line'
The U.S. war on terrorism will soon come to prime-time television as a new ABC "reality" show called "Profiles From the Front Line," with
the help of the Pentagon and Hollywood action king Jerry Bruckheimer, the Disney-owned network said on Wednesday.
The program, which will focus on the stories of ordinary men and women in uniform, is being produced with the "unparalleled support and
cooperation of the Defense Department," the network said in announcing the show slated for summer airing.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "signed off" on the project without reservation, said Bertram van Munster, who will serve as an executive
producer of the series with Bruckheimer.
While ABC said the program will "transport viewers to actual battlefields around the globe," van Munster told Reuters it remains to be
seen just how close to combat the hour-long show will get. "I'm discussing all these issues with the Pentagon," Van Munster said.
The program promises to take the genre of non-scripted TV to a new level, combining the talents of one of Hollywood's biggest producers
with a pioneer of the "reality" genre. Bruckheimer produced such military movie hits as "Top Gun," "Pearl Harbor" and "Black Hawk Down."
Van Munster was a producer and cameraman for eight years on the Fox series "Cops."
Studio and network executives have met with White House officials and formed a special panel to plan ways of improving America's
image abroad and help the government craft its message about its war on terrorism.
'Profiles From the Front Line'
Impending Nuptials
Minnelli - Gest
Here's the scoop du jour on the final list of wedding participants at the Liza Minnelli - David Gest nuptials. Elizabeth Taylor and Marisa Berenson are the maids of honor.
The bridesmaids will be Mia Farrow, Claudia Cardinale, Janet Leigh, Esther Williams, Gina Lollobrigida, ABC News' Cynthia McFadden, socialites
and businesswomen Rosemarie Lieberman, Nabila Khashoggi and Arlene Lazare, British musical star Martine McCutcheon, singers Mya, Freda Payne,
Chaka Khan, Petula Clark and New York Post columnist Cindy Adams.
The groom's best men are Michael and Tito Jackson. His groomsmen are Jackie, Randy and Marlon Jackson, James Ingram, Tony Franciosa,
Robert Wagner, Nasdaq's David Weild, Plax inventor Allan Lazare, WKTU's Frankie Blue, Grammy winner Michael McDonald, sports agent Dennis
Gilbert, American Airlines' Tom Gleason, actor Tristan Rogers, vineyard/entertainment manager Bruce Cohn, and celebrity reporter Robert Osborne.
The short list of persons performing after the March 16 wedding at the Regent Hotel party on Wall Street, are already over 55 of the famous on tap - starting
with Whitney Houston and Tony Bennett and including MGM's former singing ingénue Ann Blyth, the perennial Robert Goulet, Little Anthony & the Imperials, the Doobie Brothers, to name just a few.
Minnelli - Gest
Hard To Enforce Rules One Doesn't Believe In?
Michael Powell
After a devastating court decision that undermined federal ownership restrictions in the cable and broadcast industries, the
top U.S. communications regulator expressed fears on Wednesday about his agency's ability to defend the rules.
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday struck down a ban on a company owning a cable system and a television station in the same market and
also questioned the agency's reasons for preventing a company from owning stations that reach more than 35 percent of the national broadcast audience.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said it was too early to tell whether the agency would
challenge the decision at the U.S. Supreme Court. One consumer group said it would seek the high court's review.
Asked if it would be difficult to keep the rules on the books, Powell said, "All I know is it's really hard now."
Michael Powell
Another DimSon in over his head....Wake up, or there will be only 2 purveyors of 'information', and one of them will be Faux.
3 Second Place Winners....Huh?
'Survivor: Africa', Revisited
A mistake that may have influenced the outcome of "Survivor: Africa" has forced CBS to pay three contestants as second-place winners.
Last month, the network awarded $100,000 each to runner-ups Lex van den Berghe, the tattooed marketer from Santa Cruz, Ca., and Tom Buchanan,
45, a Virginia goat rancher.
The original first and second-place winners - runner-up Kim Johnson, a retired teacher from Oyster Bay, L.I., and $1-million top prize winner
Ethan Zohn, a former soccer player from Lexington, Mass. - will keep their prizes.
"This was a screw up not a scandal," a "Survivor" spokesman said yesterday. "It was an honest mistake and the producers dealt with it
right after they became aware of the situation."
The mistake was made while filming the show last August in Kenya and corrected in the days following the show's two-hour finale last January.
The glitch occurred during the second-to-last immunity challenge when the remaining four castaways were asked to recall personal
details about their fellow survivors.
In a winner-take-all final question, host Jeff Probst asked: "Which female survivor does not have anything pierced, including her ears?"
Johnson won the challenge when she guessed booted-contestant Kelly Goldsmith.
But after the finale ended, "Survivor" producers learned that there was actually a second female contestant on the show with
no body piercings: Lindsey Richter, the castway who van den Berghe had guessed as his answer.
CBS did not make public the fact that it had designated three second-place prize winners until reporters began to ask questions yesterday.
'Survivor: Africa', Revisited
Get Yer Ya-Ya's For The Grammys?
'Lady Marmalade'
The "Lady Marmalade" crew of Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink have signed up to appear at this year's Grammy Awards.
The remake of the old Patti LaBelle song was number one on the Billboard charts in May of last year.
'Lady Marmalade'
Wedding Gift Registry
Liza & David
At www.tiffany.com you'll see Liza and David could use lots of Elsa Peretti china and silver. For instance, they'd like 12 platters at $2,900 each. They yearn
for 16 of almost everything, from $65 butter spreaders to $250 napkin rings. They could use four $4,000 each tureens by Elsa. But listen,
a tasteful single butter spreader is a nice gift and if they get enough of those, they can trade up to the more expensive items. When newly
wed, the Gests - who are already redesigning Liza's fabulous East Side apartment in Manhattan by tearing out walls, redoing and redesigning - obviously
plan to give a lot of parties.
Liza & David
Big Brother Is Not Only Watching, But Taking Notes
MS Media Player
Microsoft's new version of its popular Media Player software is logging the songs and movies that customers play.
The company changed its privacy statement Wednesday to notify customers about the technology after inquiries from The Associated Press.
The system creates a list on each computer that could be a treasure for marketing companies, lawyers or others. Microsoft
says it has no plans to sell the data collected by Media Player 8, which comes free with the Windows XP operating system.
The company said last month it had sold more than 17 million copies of Windows XP.
Microsoft's original privacy statement informed customers that they were downloading the information about CDs but
never stated it was being stored in a log file on each computer.
The new statement makes clear that information is being downloaded for both DVDs and CDs, but does not explain how
users can eliminate or get into the log file.
Clearing the list of songs and movie titles would cripple Media Player. Stopping the program from collecting any more
information would mean changing the software's settings, but that would disable Internet broadcasts.
As part of downloading the information about songs and movies from the Web site, the program also transmits an identifier
number unique to each user on the computer. That creates the possibility that user habits could be tracked and sold
for marketing purposes.
Privacy experts said they feared the log file could be used by investigators, divorce lawyers, snooping family members,
marketing companies or others interested in learning about a person's entertainment habits. It also could be used to make
sure users have paid for the music or movie, and have not made an illegal copy.
Jonathan Usher, another Windows Media executive, said Microsoft has no plans to market aggregate information about its
customers' viewing habits, but would not rule it out.
MS Media Player
Upscale Location For A Cave
dick
Vice President Dick Cheney's latest supersecret hideout is a resort on the coast of Southern California near the Marine Corps' Miramar
Air Station, says The Washington Post.
dick
Childhood Flashback
Peeps
Colored chicks on display for sale at a local market place in Amman, February 20, 2002. Traders colored the chicks as a ploy to
attract children as thousands of Jordanian shoppers rush to the markets to buy goods and food ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast,
a major Muslim holiday this Friday.
Photo by Ali Jarekji
As a small child in Christian small town America, we also had dyed peeps. The sold them at the local G.C. Murphy 5 & Dime,
and they had colored ducks, too. In hindsight, it was cruel, but, I can still remember being delighted at the sight of dozens of colored
peeps, in a display tray, cheeping & peeping their little hearts out.
Went To Space Camp At 12
Lance Bass
Lance Bass could be going from 'N Sync to in space.
The boy band member is negotiating to travel on a Russian rocket for a mission in November, according to MirCorp, the
Amsterdam-based space travel company.
The plan still requires the approval of the Russian space agency, Rosaviakosmos, according to MirCorp, which also plans to build the
first private space station. The partners in the international space station program — the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and
Europe — also would have to approve the trip.
The 22-year-old Bass attended space camp near Titusville, Fla., when he was 12. He said Wednesday that he would have to undergo five
or six months of training at Star City, the space training center outside Moscow, before blasting off.
A Los Angeles TV production company, Destiny Productions, is one of several corporations offering to sponsor Bass' journey, and hopes
to document it for a television special, "Celebrity Mission: Lance Bass."
Bass expects to start training in May, after the pop group's "Celebrity 2002" tour, which begins March 3 in Portland, Ore.
Lance Bass
Airline For Smokers?
Johnny Depp
When brooding actor Johnny Depp went off to live in Europe, it was part protest against what he saw as an increasingly politically
correct America. But now the French and the rest of them are on the same anti-smoking, anti-hedonism, kick and Depp wants to reverse
things. He says he wants to start an airline strictly for smokers. "We'd make smoking compulsory," he says. Hey, Richard Branson got
his start in aviation by bucking trends.
Johnny Depp
Hey, Marian....sounds good, huh?
Man With An Opinion
Wayne Gretzky
Gretzky Fires Shots at U.S. Media, Czechs
The boss of Canada's Olympic men's hockey team, Wayne Gretzky, berated the American media on Monday, alleging it has taken joy
in seeing Team Canada struggle during the Winter Games.
"They don't like us. They want to see us fail. They love beating us ... Believe me. On the ice, that's what they say," he said.
"They don't like us. We have to get that same feeling toward them."
"It almost sickens my stomach to turn the TV on because I'm such a proud Canadian and such a fan of our game and proud of
all the players in our locker room. It makes me ill some of the things that are said about us," said Gretzky, aiming his
comments squarely at the U.S. media.
Gretzky was incensed by the play of Czech forward Roman Hamrlik, who speared Canadian Ryan Smyth and cross-checked Theoren
Fleury with seconds remaining in the game.
"The guy should be suspended the rest of tournament, simple as that," Gretzky told reporters. "If a Canadian did it or an
American player, we'd be hooligans."
Gretzky added: "When we do it, we're hooligans. When Europeans do it, it's OK because they're not tough or they're not dirty.
That's a crock of crap."
"We have great guys in our locker room," Gretzky said. "Nobody wants us to win more than our players. Our fans are loyal.
Nobody understands the pressure these guys are under."
Wayne Gretzky
Download A Movie
MGM & CinemaNow Inc
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. launched an online movie delivery pilot on Wednesday, the first time a major Hollywood studio has
offered the public feature film downloads over the Internet.
MGM has teamed with CinemaNow Inc., an Internet cinema distributor, for a 30-day trial that features two motion pictures.
As part of the trial, MGM will test CinemaNow billing and security software. Not only will customers be limited to
a 24-hour viewing window in the MGM test, but Electronic locks in the software will be tested.
MGM is testing the waters cautiously with its latest venture. Of the two films the studio is putting forward, one
was a box-office flop. The other has already been gathering dust in home video for years.
"What's the Worst that Could Happen?" was a critically savaged comedy starring Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito. It
cost about $45 million to make and only earned $32 million before debuting on video in December.
"The Man in the Iron Mask" rode star Leonardo DiCaprio's "Titanic" success to a modest $57 million box-office success in
1998, but has been out on home video for nearly three years.
MGM and CinemaNow will charge from $1.99 to $5.99 to view each film, depending on the connection speed and whether a viewer
opts to stream or download the content from CinemaNow's site.
Download A Movie
Biting The Head That Feeds You?
Chef Wolfgang Puck
Chef Wolfgang Puck takes a bite of a gold-dusted chocolate minature Oscar statue during a press preview February 20, 2002. Puck
previewed the menu which will be served at the Governors Ball following the 74th annual Academy Awards on March 24, 2002 in
Hollywood. The chocolate Oscars will be souvenirs for the guests at the Governors Ball.
Photo by Fred Prouser
Man With An Opinion
Elton John
"Rocket Man" Elton John rued on Wednesday the thrust for instant success among undistinguished and indistinguishable
modern pre-fabricated pop bands.
"It is like packets of cereal. There are too many of them, and too many of them are just average and mediocre," he told
BBC television in an interview filmed during his current tour in the United States.
"It is just fodder. It doesn't sound. It has no distinguishing marks. A lot of it you can't tell one from the other.
There is too much of it, just too much of it," the high-spending flamboyant rock legend lamented.
"Nowadays, they think more about their quarterly earnings and there is no longevity. There is no thinking 'we want this
artist to be around in seven to 12 years time'," he said.
"It is kind of disgusting really. It is about time some of these young acts were nurtured and given the time. There
certainly is the talent out there. There is as much talent out there now as there was when I was getting going," he added.
Elton John
Nomination Is As Good As Winning
Willie Nelson
Even though Willie Nelson is up for two Grammys, he's not sure he'll be in the audience for next week's ceremony in Los Angeles.
Nelson has been nominated for best country album for "Rainbow Connection," and best country male performance for the song "Marie."
But he said his current tour might prevent him from attending.
"In fact, once you're nominated, I feel like you've won, and to try and pick out the best of these winners, to me, there's a
little negativity in there," he said. "You've got five nominations and one winner, so you have one real happy person and four
guys that's applauding politely. So just being nominated is enough for me."
Willie Nelson
Sensitive German - Russian Symbol
'Amber Room'
For 16 years, Sergei Kaminsky labored over a microscope to fashion delicate pieces of amber to reproduce towering golden-brown panels
looted by Nazis from Russia's famed Amber Room.
On Tuesday, Russian officials unveiled replicas of two of the amber panels — and a mosaic of semiprecious stones — six decades after
Nazi troops stripped the room of its original treasures.
Kaminsky, one of 50 Russian craftsmen devoted to restoring the Amber Room treasures, worked with more than half a million pieces
of delicate amber. Others painstakingly recreated the Florentine mosaic "Sense of Smell and Touch" from jasper, opal,
lapis lazuli and other stones.
The Amber Room has been the most sensitive symbol for Russians of the debate over trophy art seized by both sides during
and after World War II — an issue that has marred otherwise warming Russian-German relations in recent years.
The original room, a gift from Prussian King Frederick William, boasted walls plated in 1,300 square feet of resplendent
amber mosaics placed near mirrors and windows to glow a rich golden-brown color.
Retreating Nazi troops looted the palace and the panels were moved to a castle in Koenigsberg, now Kaliningrad in Russia,
but they disappeared in 1945.
For the rest, Amber Room
Science Project - Santa Cruz Style
'Mary Jane For Pain'
Mission Hill Junior High School officials will allow a seventh-grader to display her medical marijuana project when the school
science fair opens today.
School officials had questioned whether "Mary Jane For Pain," a project that included marijuana-laced props when the 13-year-old,
who asked not to be identified, turned it in last Thursday, fit science fair guidelines.
But after reviewing the girl's research during the weekend, school officials concluded the project — sans the marijuana-laced
muffin and rubbing alcohol initially presented as props — fits fair criteria under the category of social science.
The girl's father, Joe Morris, said he was pleased with the decision. He had been concerned after Stefanki-Iglesias said last week
that the project might not be admissible.
His daughter was embarrassed by the negative reaction at school last week and didn't want to be interviewed, Morris said. But she
worked hard on the project. In addition to the surveys, which she analyzed and graphed, she researched the history of medicinal
marijuana through articles and books, some of which were specially ordered from the library. He questioned whether her free speech
rights would be violated if the project was ruled unfit.
The girl's interest was sparked by her aunt's volunteer work. The aunt serves as a caregiver for a family friend, who is seriously
ill with cancer, and she produces a weekly batch of marijuana muffins for the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a Santa Cruz
group that provides pot to patients with prescriptions.
Morris said his daughter's project didn't condone recreational use of the drug.
He acknowledged, however, that he made a "bad call" when he allowed his daughter to bring the contraband props to school. He said
he was grateful school officials returned the items to him rather than calling police.
He said his daughter used the props to show that medical marijuana wasn't about smoking pot, and that she might bake a parsley
muffin to replace the illegal prop.
Mary Jane For Pain
Having more than a passing experience with terminal cancer patients, 'pain management', and doctors too afraid to prescribe
meds, I applaud anyone who tries to make a rotten situation better.
The French Spin
Mecca
Des pèlerins se rassemblent autour de la Kaaba, immense cube de pierre qui trône au milieu de la Grande Mosquée de La
Mecque. Le pèlerinage annuel (hadj) dans la ville sainte d'Arabie saoudite, qui commence mercredi, se déroule cette année
sous haute surveillance après les attentats du 11 septembre. /Photo prise le 18 février 2002
Photo by Bazuki Muhammad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Memory
Lucille Lund
Lucille Lund, an actress who appeared in dozens of films in the 1930s with stars such as the Three Stooges and Boris Karloff,
died on Friday. She was 89.
The actress, who co-starred in more than 30 films, is perhaps best known for playing the dual roles of Karloff's wife and stepdaughter
in the 1934 adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat."
She began acting in 1933 when, while studying drama at Northwestern University, she won a nationwide contest for "most beautiful college
coed," which included a small acting contract with Universal Studios.
Lund started with small roles in the comedies "Horseplay" and "Saturday's Millions," both in 1933. She appeared in mostly B-pictures
through the end of the decade, including Westerns "Range Warfare" in 1935, and "Rio Grande Romance" and "Timber War," both in 1936.
She also appeared in the Three Stooges shorts "Three Dumb Clucks" (1937) and "Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb" (1938).
Her last film was the 1939 Charley Chase comedy "The Awful Goof," after which she stopped working in show business apart from a few
commercials in the 1960s.
Lucille Lund
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