Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Behold! Canada's most disgusting export (sfgate.com)
Nothing like Alberta's's revolting oilsands to destroy your optimism.
Harold Evans: 'We have to keep doing it' (guardian.co.uk)
Revered editor Harold Evans still has an infectious enthusiasm for journalism more than 50 years after his first newspaper job. He tells Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger why the future of news is worth fighting for .
Sean O'Hagan: "Corinne Bailey Rae: 'It happened to me. It could happen to anyone at any time'" (guardian.co.uk)
From out of the darkest place, following the sudden death of her husband, Corinne Bailey Rae is re-emerging with an extraordinarily intimate and impassioned album. Here she talks about grief and the redemptive power of music
Walter Tunis: The Decemberists' latest inspiration: a single album-length song (McClatchy Newspapers)
Almost by definition, pop music is viewed as an easily digestible commodity. It commands that you stick to a familiar and accessible theme, conjure an appealing melody, and for crying out loud, it's got to move along briskly. A pop tune isn't an epic, you know. Or is it?
Laura Barnett: "Portrait of the artist: John Eliot Gardiner, conductor" (guardian.co.uk)
'Being accepted is the biggest challenge. Every time you stand in front of a new orchestra, you are on trial.'
Randy Lewis: Amy Farris dies at 40; fiddler-singer was part of L.A. roots music scene (latimes.com)
Farris, who was also a songwriter, had moved to L.A. from Austin, Texas, to launch a solo career.
Julie Hinds: Michael Moore hopes documentary will inspire activism (Detroit Free Press)
Michael Moore isn't known for making screen romances. But in "Capitalism: A Love Story," he offers his take on how the American people have been jilted by a greedy economic system.
Alex Witchel: How Anne Heche survived her own life (guardian.co.uk)
Anne Heche was abused by her father, found fame as a teen TV star, and became one half of Hollywood's most famous lesbian couple. Then came a nervous breakdown, a man, and a family
Reed Johnson: Roman Polanski, through his own lens (latimes.com)
The director's movies, such as his Oscar-winning 2002 film 'The Piano,' may reflect his world view on morality and the role of the artist in society.
Glenn Whipp: "The Coen brothers: Just accept the mystery" (latimes.com)
The filmmaking tandem advise you to toss out any thoughts of clear-eyed analysis when it comes to navigating the pitch-black worlds of their canon. But we ignore the advice.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Afghan Options' Edition
The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama is not considering a strategy for Afghanistan that would withdraw U.S. troops from the eroding war there.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said "I don't think we have the option to leave. That's quite clear," ( White House: Leaving Afghanistan Not An Option | CommonDreams.org )
That being the case, what options would you recommend to the President?
Send your response to
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann special comment
his fathers ordeal with the healthcare system
some guy
Thanks, guy!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny and on the cool side.
Posing For Playgirl
Levi Johnston
Levi Johnston is going for the ultimate exposure - his bare body.
Posing nude for Playgirl is next for the 19-year-old father of Sarah Palin (R-Abstinence Works)'s grandchild. Johnston's attorney, Rex Butler, said Wednesday that a formal agreement has not been reached with the online magazine but adds it's a "foregone conclusion" it will happen.
Johnston fathered a child with Bristol, the 18-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor.
To get ready for his close-up, Johnston is training three hours a day, six nights a week at an Anchorage gym with a local body builder, Marvin Jones, a former Mr. Alaska competitor.
Levi Johnston
Best Return
Naomi Watts
Australian actress Naomi Watts, who starred in "The Ring," King Kong," and "Eastern Promises," is the actress who provides the best return for a film studio, according to a list by Forbes.com
They found actresses who commanded the highest prices, like Angelina Jolie who topped Forbes' list of the best paid actresses after banking $27 million in a year, were outranked by those earning around $5 million and under for a film.
Watts, 41, topped the list after the analysis found she helped the box office make an estimated $44 for every $1 she was paid for her last three major films.
Jennifer Connelly, star of ""Blood Diamond" and "He's Just Not That Into You," came second with her films earning about $41 for each dollar she was paid and Rachel McAdams, of "The Notebook" and this year's "The Time Traveler's Wife," came third with $30 for every $1 earned.
Naomi Watts
Top Of The List
'Whatever'
So, you know, it is what it is, but Americans are totally annoyed by the use of "whatever" in conversations.
The popular slacker term of indifference was found "most annoying in conversation" by 47 percent of Americans surveyed in a Marist College poll released Wednesday.
"Whatever" easily beat out "you know," which especially grated a quarter of respondents. The other annoying contenders were "anyway" (at 7 percent), "it is what it is" (11 percent) and "at the end of the day" (2 percent).
Pollsters at the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. college surveyed 938 U.S. adults by telephone Aug. 3-Aug 6. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points. The five choices included were chosen by people at the poll discussing what popular words and phrases might be considered especially annoying, said spokeswoman Mary Azzoli.
'Whatever'
Harvard Acquires Archive
John Updike
Harvard University has acquired the manuscripts, correspondences, and other papers of two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author John Updike, a member of the university's class of 1954.
The Boston Globe reports that Harvard's Houghton Library, the university's primary repository for rare books and manuscripts, will house the John Updike archive. Officials did not disclose how much Harvard paid for the papers.
Leslie Morris, curator of modern books and manuscripts at Houghton Library, says the collection includes 1,500 books, including Updike's collection of his own work, as well as books Updike reviewed, photographs and correspondence from Kurt Vonnegut, Joyce Carol Oates and others.
Updike died in January at age 76.
John Updike
Return After 2-Year Hiatus
Soul Train Awards
The Soul Train Awards plan to return to the air after a two-year hiatus to recognize those who helped shape R&B music.
Record executive Antonio "L.A." Reid, singers Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Chaka Khan and Charlie Wilson will be honored on the two-hour music special to be taped in Atlanta.
The awards are scheduled to air Nov. 29 on Centric - a new channel jointly operated by the BET and MTV Networks divisions of Viacom.
Actors Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard will co-host the awards first started by Don Cornelius, the creator of the syndicated music show "Soul Train."
Soul Train Awards
Estate Sold
Beverly Sills
An auction of the late soprano Beverly Sills' estate fetched more than a half-million dollars Wednesday - far more than expected for the costume designs, art and other personal items.
On the block at Doyle New York auction house were more than 460 lots from the soprano's home overlooking Central Park.
With a standing-room-only crowd of fans competing against bidders on the Internet and telephone, the auction's total of $519,075 exceeded the pre-sale estimate of about $253,000 to $378,000. The auction house did not disclose who would benefit from the proceeds of the sale.
The highest price, $27,500, went for a pencil on paper sketch of a family by Fernando Botero, the Colombian artist noted for the exaggerated proportions of his figures.
Beverly Sills
Heirs Will Help ID
Federico Garcia Lorca
Relatives of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca will allow their DNA to be used to identify his body, though they are still opposed to his exhumation, the daily El Pais said Wednesday.
Garcia Lorca was shot by supporters of General Francisco Franco during Spain's 1936-39 civil war and is believed to have been buried with others in a grave near Granada, in southern Spain.
The Andalucia region's government began work last month to dig the suspected site, after a request by descendants of another victim, schoolmaster Dioscoro Galindo.
Lorca "has become a symbol of all the victims because they all had a common fate," the family said Monday, adding that it did not want to "single him out or separate him from the other victims of the repression in Granada."
Federico Garcia Lorca
Filmmaker Sues
Chris Rock
A filmmaker is suing Chris Rock for at least $5 million and trying to block the release of his upcoming documentary "Good Hair."
Regina Kimbell sued Rock and several film companies in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, claiming Rock's project is a copycat of her film, "My Nappy Roots."
Kimbell states she screened her film for the comedian in 2007. The lawsuit states "My Nappy Roots" traces the business and cultural history of black hair care and has otherwise only been shown at colleges and film festivals since its completion in 2006.
Her lawsuit claims several of elements of her film have been copied.
Chris Rock
Egypt Severs Ties Over Artifacts
Louvre
Egypt's antiquities czar took his campaign to recover the nation's lost treasures to a new level on Wednesday by cutting ties with one of the world's premier museums, the Louvre, over disputed artifacts.
The Paris museum's refusal to return painted wall fragments of a 3,200-year-old tomb near the ancient temple city of Luxor could jeopardize its future excavations in Egypt.
It was the most aggressive effort yet by Zahi Hawass, Egypt's tough and media savvy chief archaeologist, in his campaign to reclaim what he says are antiquities stolen from the country and purchased by some of the world's leading museums.
His move appeared to have borne fruit almost immediately. Both the Louvre and France's Culture Ministry said they were ready to return the pieces.
Louvre
No Charges For Sherriff's Deputy
Mel 'Sugar Tits' Gibson
Prosecutors have refused to press charges against the sheriff's deputy who arrested Mel 'Sugar Tits' Gibson three years ago, citing a lack of proof he leaked details about the case.
Los Angeles County prosecutors made their decision in July. It was first reported on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times.
Sheriff's detectives presented their case to prosecutors in February 2008, but it wasn't until this summer that Deputy James Mee's financial records were reviewed. No improper payments to Mee, his wife or daughter were found.
The report states the release of the information broke the law, but it couldn't be proved who was responsible.
Mel 'Sugar Tits' Gibson
Top Court Overturns Immunity
Silvio
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed to stay on and "go forward" Wednesday after an Italian court struck down a law granting him immunity from prosecution and allowed trials for corruption and tax fraud to resume in Milan. There were immediate calls for his resignation.
The decision by the Constitutional Court dealt Berlusconi one of the most serious blows in his 15-year-long battle with the Italian judiciary. It handed prosecutors another chance to ask for his conviction and added to a list of problems that already includes a headline-grabbing sex scandal.
Berlusconi, 73, continues to be widely popular in Italy, despite accusations from his wife that he has had inappropriate relationships with far younger women and allegations from a self-described call girl that he spent a night with her. The scandal erupted in the spring after his wife announced she was divorcing him.
The law overturned Wednesday was pushed through by Berlusconi's conservative coalition in 2008 when he faced separate trials in Milan for corruption and tax fraud tied to his Mediaset broadcasting empire. It granted immunity from prosecution while in office to the country's four top office holders - the premier, the president of the republic and the two parliament speakers.
The corruption trial is particularly threatening because, in the meantime, the premier's co-defendant has been convicted of accepting a bribe to lie in court to protect Berlusconi in another case.
Silvio
Investigated In Murder Plot
Anna Nicole Smith
The FBI investigated whether Anna Nicole Smith plotted to kill her tycoon husband's son as they battled for his father's fortune, newly released files show, but the former Playboy Playmate who died in 2007 was never prosecuted.
The documents released under the Freedom of Information Act depict an investigation going on as the fight raged over J. Howard Marshall II's estate. Vast sections of the 100 pages of released materials - a fraction of Smith's full FBI file - are whited out, and no evidence of her involvement in such a plot is detailed.
There is no indication how authorities became aware of any alleged scheme, but agents interviewed Smith on July 3, 2000. Told why she was being questioned, "Smith began crying and denied ever making such plans," a report said.
Smith told agents that killing Pierce Marshall would not have made sense because her ex-husband's money would still be tied up in a trust, and because she believed the court battle over the fortune was nearly over, the report states. She told agents she believed the story about the plot was made up by a former lover angry that she broke off their relationship, according to the files.
Anna Nicole Smith
Driving While Impaired
Brawley Nolte
Santa Monica police say actor Nick Nolte's son has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
Sgt. Jay Trisler says 23-year-old Brawley Nolte was driving north on Pacific Coast Highway Tuesday afternoon when he made a lane change and struck a vehicle in front of him.
Officers called to the scene believed Nolte had been driving while impaired. Trisler says Nolte was arrested following a series of sobriety tests. He was freed after posting $5,000 bail.
Brawley Nolte portrayed Mel Gibson's kidnapped son in the 1996 film "Ransom."
Brawley Nolte
Deifies Media Whore
Newseum
Longtime "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert's office, complete with Buffalo Bills pennants and a journalist's clutter, will go on display next month at the Newseum.
The office will be reassembled to look as it did June 13, 2008, the day Russert died of a heart attack at age 58 while recording voiceovers for his next show at NBC's Washington bureau. The exhibit at the journalism museum opens Nov. 20 and will remain through 2010.
Russert, who served on the Newseum's board of directors, was bureau chief for NBC News in Washington and began hosting "Meet the Press" in 1991.
NBC is donating the office furniture to the Newseum, and Russert's family is loaning the museum many of his belongings.
Newseum
In Memory
Irving Penn
Irving Penn, whose photographs revealed a taste for stark simplicity whether he was shooting celebrity portraits, fashion, still life or remote places of the world, died Wednesday at his Manhattan home. He was 92.
Penn, who constantly explored the photographic medium and its boundaries, typically preferred to isolate his subjects - from fashion models to Aborigine tribesmen - from their natural settings to photograph them in a studio against a stark background. He believed the studio could most closely capture their true natures.
Between 1964 and 1971, he completed seven such projects, his subjects ranging from New Guinea mud men to San Francisco hippies.
Penn also had a fascination with still life and produced a dramatic range of images that challenged the traditional idea of beauty, giving dignity to such subjects as cigarette butts, decaying fruit and discarded clothing. A 1977 show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art presented prints of trash rescued from Manhattan streets and photographed, lovingly, against plain backgrounds.
Penn's career began in the 1940s as a fashion photographer for Vogue, and he continued to contribute to the magazine for decades thereafter.
He stumbled into the job almost by accident, when he abandoned his early ambition to become a painter and took a position as a designer in the magazine's art department in 1943. Staff photographers balked at his unorthodox layout ideas, and a supervisor asked him to photograph a cover design.
The resulting image, on the Oct. 1, 1943, cover of Vogue, was a striking still-life showing a brown leather bag, a beige scarf, gloves, oranges and lemons arranged in the shape of a pyramid.
He left the magazine in 1944 to join the military - serving with the American Field Service in Italy and then as a photographer in India - but returned to Vogue in 1946, taking travel assignments in addition to his fashion work.
Penn relished the chance to work in foreign locales, recalling in his 1974 book, "Worlds in a Small Room," that he had often daydreamed "of being mysteriously deposited (with my ideal north-light studio) among the Aborigines in remote parts of the earth."
In the 1950s, Penn moved into portraiture. He photographed not only the famous - actors, musicians and politicians - but also ordinary people. He published a series of pictures in 1950-1951 featuring plumbers, salesmen and cleaning women in New York City, Paris and London. The Getty Center in Los Angeles currently is exhibiting some of the photos.
His celebrity portraits included closely cropped images of Miles Davis, Spencer Tracy, Georgia O'Keeffe and Pablo Picasso, the last peering apprehensively from beneath a wide-brimmed hat. He once said that his formula for capturing meaningful portraits was to photograph his subjects relentlessly, often over a period of several hours, until they were forced to let down their guard.
Born in Plainfield, N.J., in 1917, Penn studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art from 1934 to 1938, and worked as an assistant at Harper's Bazaar in 1939.
Penn married fashion model Lisa Fonssagrives in 1950, and for decades afterward she remained one of his favorite subjects. She died in 1992. One of his 1950 photos of her sold at auction in 2004 for more than $57,000.
Penn was the older brother of filmmaker Arthur Penn, who directed "The Miracle Worker," "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Night Moves."
He had a son, Tom, with Fonssagrives. His wife also had a daughter, Mia, from a previous marriage.
Irving Penn
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