The Weekly Poll
This week's poll is... the Paul Newman 'Tribute' edition
What are your favorite Paul Newman movies and why?
I'd list them all for you to choose from, but why? You know what they are! You relish the memories of seeing them for the first time. You've looked forward to seeing them again and again since then... So, unload... Let it out... Let us remember a man who was not only a great actor, but a marvelous philanthropist and loyal husband, as well.
BadtotheboneBob
Send your responses to BadtotheBoneBob (BCEpoll (at) aol.com)
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Scott Burns and Laurence J. Kotlikoff: Promises, Promises, Promises (assetbuilder.com)
Here's your quiz question for the day: Who is the biggest liar of them all? The answer will surprise you and, yes, you're allowed to consult your daily newspaper or favorite Web sites. Gird yourself. You may be overwhelmed by the number of candidates.
Bob Rice: Feeling Lucky? The Odds of a President Palin (portfolio.com)
Regina Powers: Reading shouldn't be a numbers game (latimes.com)
Applying numerical ratings to books does nothing to help kids read better.
P.J. O'Rourke: Give me liberty and give me death (latimes.com)
I have, of all the inglorious things, a malignant hemorrhoid. What color bracelet does one wear for that? And where does one wear it? And what slogan is apropos? Perhaps that slogan can be sewn in needlepoint around the ruffle on a cover for my embarrassing little doughnut buttocks pillow.
Letters from my father (guardian.co.uk)
Alistair Cooke's daughter wants to shift the focus from the scandal of the sale of his body parts, after his death, back to his life as a journalist. Emma Brockes meets her.
Interview by Laura Barnett: "Portrait of the artist: Merce Cunningham, choreographer" (guardian.co.uk)
'We recently performed in the bottom of a rock quarry in Minnesota'.
Chris Riemenschneider: My Morning Jacket has learned to pace itself on the road, but it still goes wild in the studio (Star Tribune)
Plenty of rock bands have made exceptional albums but stunk like a dead carp on stage. And then there's the peculiar case of My Morning Jacket.
Tatu: From Russia with lust (independent.co.uk)
The Russian duo Tatu shocked the record-buying public (or titillated it heartily, depending on your point of view) with their faux-lesbian schoolgirl shenanigans a few years ago. Now they're back, older (but still only 23), a little less lesbian and, they say, a lot wiser. Interview by Shaun Walker.
Chrissy Iley: "Andrea Bocelli: The tenor's commandments" (timesonline.co.uk)
Andrea Bocelli discusses sex, splashing out on speed boats and materialism. But he refuses to talk about his blindness.
20 QUESTIONS: Ben Taylor (popmatters.com)
Born to the musical talents of James Taylor and Carly Simon and nourished by the fertile surrounds of Martha's Vineyard, Ben Taylor talks with PopMatters 20 Questions before touring for his new album, "The Legend of Kung Folk Part 1 (The Killing Bite)," began.
Martyn Palmer: "Kiefer Sutherland: prison changed me" (timesonline.co.uk)
He found stardom as 24's Jack Bauer, but years of hellraising culminated in him spending last Christmas in an LA prison.
Roger Ebert: "'Critic' is a four-letter word"
"A critic at a performance is like a eunuch at a harem. He sees it done nightly, but is unable to perform it himself."--Brendan Behan.
from Doug in Tallahassee
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still hot and uncomfortable.
The kid was flipping through the channels on DISH and 'discovered' channel 73 - 'The Obama Channel'. Unfortunately, it's not part of our package.
OTOH, there is no McSame channel (well, except for Fox, and NBC, and ABC, and...)
New PSA Campaign
'Don't Vote'
Leonardo DiCaprio, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, Tobey Maguire, Eva Longoria Parker and other stars are using reverse psychology to get young people into voting booths on election day.
In a new public service announcement that hit YouTube and other online outlets Wednesday, DiCaprio says: "Please - just don't vote." Others echo his plea: "Don't vote."
But the stars soon twist the message: Voting is a civic duty and the only way to effect change.
Also appearing: Ellen DeGeneres, Forest Whitaker, Dustin Hoffman, Demi Moore, Sarah Silverman, Jonah Hill, Ashton Kutcher, Courteney Cox, Laura Linney, Natalie Portman, Jamie Foxx, Usher, Kyra Sedgwick and will.i.am.
'Don't Vote'
'At 89'
Pete Seeger
At 89, folk music legend Pete Seeger still has more to say.
His latest release, aptly titled "At 89," is Seeger's first record of new material in five years and by Seeger's own account it will be his last.
"My brain is definitely, definitely going," Seeger says at one point out of frustration during a phone interview from his Hudson Valley home in Beacon, N.Y. He often stops midway through a story, apologizing for not being able to remember the rest of it.
Even so, both over the phone and on the new record, Seeger sounds strong and full of life. He still manages to chop trees and shovel gravel at his home in the woods that he shares with his wife of 65 years, Toshi. Before coming to the phone, he has to be summoned from out of the barn where he's repairing a washing machine.
Pete Seeger
Kennedy & Parker Launch Benefit
NYC Schools
Caroline Kennedy and Sarah Jessica Parker want you to shop 'til you drop - and feel good about doing it.
The pair kicked off New York City's fifth annual "Shop for Public Schools" promotion on Wednesday.
For the next week, more than 200 retail locations across the city will donate part of their proceeds to public school libraries.
NYC Schools
Fans Unite
Superman's House
Superman's home planet Krypton was destroyed, but his house on Earth will live on thanks to loyal fans and an online auction that raised $100,000 to restore the rotting home where the Man of Steel was created.
Everything from original artwork to a role on the hit television show "Heroes" was sold in the month-long auction, which ended on Tuesday, to save the dilapidated Cleveland, Ohio, house where Superman was dreamed up by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster more than 70 years ago.
"This was easily the most humbling spectacular project I've ever been part of, and showed just how much people care about this character and why today Superman still matters," said novelist Brad Meltzer, who organized the auction.
Meltzer said $101,744 was raised in the month-long sale of art, memorabilia and other donated goods, more than double the $50,000 goal. The extra money will allow organizers to fix up not just the outside but also the inside of the Cleveland house where an elderly couple now live.
Superman's House
Studios Reach Upgrade Deal
Digital Cinema
Five Hollywood studios have reached a long-sought financing deal estimated at over $1 billion with a group of theater exhibitors to digitally upgrade 20,000 U.S. and Canadian cinema screens.
Travis Reid, chief executive officer of the Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP), formed by Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Holdings Inc and AMC Entertainment Inc, told Reuters that Blackstone Group LP and JPMorgan Chase & Co would lead the financing.
Studios involved in the deal include Walt Disney Co, Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures, News Corp's Twentieth Century Fox, General Electric Co's Universal Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
Hollywood and the exhibitors are hoping the long-sought digital cinema deal will boost attendance, cut costs and enable more 3-D viewing.
Digital Cinema
Reunion Tour
Phish
Vermont-bred jam band Phish, which disbanded in 2004, announced Wednesday it's reuniting for three dates next March in Hampton, Va., and more after that.
Phish has booked dates for March 6, March 7 and March 8, 2009, at the Hampton Coliseum. Other 2009 dates will be announced later, according to a notice posted on the band's Web site Wednesday.
Rumors of a reunion have swirled since last May, when all four - Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman - appeared together to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Jammy Awards in New York. They didn't play that night.
Phish
Photographers Deny Stealing Photos
Marilyn Monroe
Two photographers being sued for the return of nude pictures of Marilyn Monroe on Wednesday denied accusations they had stolen the images and said they had been found in a trash can.
The photographers are being sued by Bert Stern, who owns rights to thousands of Monroe images. He shot the seven images in question in 1962 and lent them to Eros Magazine, according to a lawsuit filed last month in New York State Supreme Court.
The images were never returned, and Stern said he did not realize they were missing until he was approached by photographers Michael Weiss and Donald Penny, who had the pictures and wanted to license them.
"These photos were discarded more than 30 years ago and found in a pile of curbside garbage in the mid-1970s," said Jamie Brickell, an attorney for Weiss and Penny.
Marilyn Monroe
Nutjob Questions Impartiality
Gwen Ifill
PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, moderator of the upcoming vice presidential debate, dismissed conservative questions about her impartiality because she is writing a book that includes material on Barack Obama.
"I've got a pretty long track record covering politics and news, so I'm not particularly worried that one-day blog chatter is going to destroy my reputation," Ifill said. "The proof is in the pudding. They can watch the debate tomorrow night and make their own decisions about whether or not I've done my job."
The day before the Joe Biden-Sarah Palin debate, columnist Michelle Malkin wrote in the New York Post about Ifill's book, saying "she's so far in the tank for the Democratic presidential candidate, her oxygen delivery line is running out."
Gwen Ifill
Dis-Invited From Fund Raiser
Sandra Bernhard
A women's shelter on Wednesday cut headliner Sandra Bernhard from its annual benefit after she said Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin would be gang-raped if she ever visited New York.
Bernhard's made the remarks last month during her one-woman show in Washington before Palin visited New York to campaign. Bernhard said Palin would be "gang-raped by my big black brothers" during a diatribe in which she also criticized Palin for opposing abortion rights.
Many guests at Rosie's Place, a Boston shelter, have been victims of violence, public relations director Leemarie Mosca said.
Mosca said the shelter expected to book a replacement before the Oct. 16 luncheon "Funny Women ... Serious Business."
Sandra Bernhard
Book Ban Ends Cultural Exchange
Saleh Abbasi
For 15 years Israeli Saleh Abbasi has traded books between the Jewish state and its Arab neighbors, fostering a rare cultural link.
But in August Israeli authorities suddenly refused to renew his trading license because he was trading with "enemy" states Lebanon and Syria, frustrating both Abbasi's business and the Arab and Israeli readers he has helped interest in each other's literary traditions.
"How can the People of the Book be against books?" Abbasi asked, evoking the Jewish Bible as the first monotheistic holy text. "Books are a bridge to peace between cultures."
An Israeli Trade Ministry spokeswoman declined to explain the timing of the ban. But she cited a recent legal opinion that forbade importing goods from four countries Israel views as enemies -- Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Saleh Abbasi
Legal Troubles Remain
Toni Locy
A former USA Today reporter held in contempt for refusing to identify sources for stories about the 2001 anthrax attacks is facing hefty legal fines despite the government's $5.8 million settlement with a former Army scientist once under scrutiny.
Toni Locy has been appealing a judge's order in March that required her to pay up to $5,000 a day unless she identified officials who discussed Steven J. Hatfill. A federal appeals court was expected to rule in the case when the government announced in June its settlement with Hatfill, who claimed the Justice Department violated his privacy rights.
That settlement was expected to lead to dismissal of Locy's case, and the trial judge quickly indicated he would lift Locy's contempt finding and fine. But Locy said Wednesday she was being forced to continue her legal fight after Hatfill said he wanted to collect attorneys fees for the time he litigated the case while she refused to disclose her sources. Until the courts sort it out, her contempt finding still technically stands.
"What do you think the impact is going to be if reporters have to face these kinds of costs for protecting their sources?" asked Locy, a former Associated Press reporter who wrote about Hatfill while working at USA Today. Locy, who is also a former reporter for The Washington Post, now teaches legal journalism at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.
Toni Locy
Oprah's Mom Countersues Store
Vernita Lee
Oprah Winfrey's mother says she shouldn't have to pay a nearly $156,000 debt to a high-end fashion store because store officials shouldn't have extended credit to her.
Valentina Inc. alleges that Vernita Lee of Milwaukee racked up $155,547 in purchases and interest as of July 1. The company sued, saying Lee fell behind in minimum monthly payments of $2,000.
Lee filed a counterclaim Friday contending that Valentina took advantage of her "lack of knowledge, ability, and-or capacity" when creating her credit account.
Court papers say Lee resolved a 2002 case with the company over a $175,000 bill. The resolution prohibited Valentina from extending further credit to her.
Vernita Lee
Lawsuit Tossed
`Project Runway'
A New York judge has bid "auf Wiedersehen" to fashion industry veterans who claimed Heidi Klum and others ripped off their idea for television's "Project Runway."
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska has agreed to toss out the lawsuit, which claimed the reality series was based on an idea submitted by a fashion designer and a fashion merchandiser.
Preska said in a written opinion that it was clear the show was developed independently of the two women who challenged its originality.
`Project Runway'
Swiss High Court Strikes Down Smoking Ban
Geneva
Smokers in Geneva were given a reprieve on Tuesday after the top Swiss court struck down a ban on smoking in public places, in force since July 1, saying the local government had overstepped its powers.
The ban was approved by nearly 80 percent of Geneva voters last February.
But the Federal Tribunal has ruled that the local government had no legal basis to impose the ban, having failed to wait for the cantonal parliament to adopt a formal law after the referendum, the Swiss news agency ATS said.
Smokers in public buildings, bars or restaurants risked a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($908), while owners of establishments risked a fine of up to 10,000 francs for violating the ban.
Geneva
Missing In Mexico
'Condomovil'
Missing in Mexico: One truck carrying 5,000 condoms, 800 HIV tests and a 23-foot (7 meter) inflatable prophylactic.
The coordinator of an HIV/AIDS awareness tour, Polo Gomez, said Wednesday that the "Condomovil" was parked in front of a friend's house in Mexico City when it disappeared Sunday evening. He believes the truck was stolen, but he doesn't know why. Police are still investigating.
The truck should be easy to spot. It features painted images of a peeled banana, the exposed part shaped like a condom, and a shirtless man saying: "I protect myself. Do you?"
The Condomovil program has toured Mexico since 1998 promoting safe sex practices while distributing 1.2 million condoms to more than 700,000 people, Gomez said. The inflatable condom was used to draw attention from passers-by.
'Condomovil'
In Memory
Boris Yefimov
Celebrated political cartoonist Boris Yefimov, who drew brutally satirical images of the Soviet Union's foes in the service of Josef Stalin, died Wednesday. He was 108.
His cartoons spanned virtually the entire history of the communist state, from shortly after the 1917 revolution to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Among his most memorable drawings was one showing a wretched-looking Hitler, who is said to have ordered Yefimov shot if the Nazis captured Moscow in World War II. Instead, Yefimov was sent after the war to the Nuremburg trials to draw the Nazis as they faced justice.
Yefimov also turned his pen against the United States. His Cold War drawings portrayed Uncle Sam and American leaders as warmongers and money-grubbing capitalists.
In his later years he told the story of Stalin personally ordering him in 1947 to draw U.S. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower arriving with a large army to claim the North Pole. Stalin made his own corrections to the cartoon, in red crayon.
Yefimov acknowledged ambivalence about his role as Stalin's helper, but he expressed great pride in his historic role.
Boris Yefimov
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