Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Obama, the great disappointment? (sfgate.com)
The Miracle President hasn't actually accomplished much? Wrong.
Elayne Boosler: Getting Into The White House (huffingtonpost.com)
You don't "breeze on past" White House security by simply "walking in with confidence."
Roger Ebert: Jason Reitman: Serial interviews and pie (charts) in the sky
Jason Reitman spent much of November hopping around the continent on a promotional tour for his wonderful new film, "Up in the Air." Wicked devil that he is, he spent part of each day making notes on the questions he was being asked, and noticing that everyone seemed to ask the same questions. Thank God I didn't know this when I interviewed him. I might have seized up.
Rene Rodriguez: Jason Reitman soaring beyond expectations (McClatchy Newspapers)
But "of course" being the son of a famous director has lots of perks. What did you expect?
Rachel Abramowitz: Jason Reitman firmly at the controls in 'Up in the Air' (latimes.com)
Now in only his third feature, the son of filmmaker Ivan Reitman has created his own identity in the business, and 'Air's' star George Clooney, for one, is impressed.
The Contender Q&A: Anna Kendrick (latimes.com)
Q: George Clooney has a reputation for being a world-class prankster when the cameras aren't rolling -- is that your experience with him?
A: No pranks, but he's definitely a joker. He was playing Nerf football around my head when I would try to prepare for a scene. He has a teenager's energy, and it made me feel like the on-set mom, like "C'mon, you guys, focus..."
Xan Brooks: "Richard Linklater: 'I'm not like Orson Welles. I'm a quiet director'" (guardian.co.uk)
The indie film-maker talks about his new film 'Me and Orson Welles.'
Saul Austerlitz: Orson Welles lives on in others' films (latimes.com)
He's been dead for almost 25 years, but the director-actor keeps popping up in other directors' films. It's not always the same depiction, though.
Simon Callow: Orson Welles - a theatrical giant (timesonline.co.uk)
Orson Welles knew how to make an entrance. Whatever the frustrations of later years, his directorial debut was a triumph.
Rene Rodriguez: Long 'Road' for director to bring McCarthy book to screen (McClatchy Newspapers)
Halfway through the filming of "The Road," director John Hillcoat made a difficult decision: No matter what, he was going to remain faithful to Cormac McCarthy's novel, about a father and son traveling across a post-apocalyptic landscape - even if such a promise meant shooting a seemingly unfilmable scene involving cannibals and a baby.
Roger Ebert: The Road (3 1/2 stars; rated R)
I see festival films again whenever I have the chance. I find the second viewing makes the good ones better, and the bad ones worse. Such is the case with "The Road."
'A Serious Man' and the odd movie out (guardian.co.uk)
'A Serious Man' may be getting rave reviews - but it's like nothing the Coens have made before. Joe Queenan on weird one-offs and the directors who make them.
Sam Leith: The World of Warcraft video game is every bit as glorious as Chartres cathedral (guardian.co.uk)
World of Warcraft may not be big on narrative, but it has a rich mythos, endless scope - and I get to wear gem-encrusted leather trousers in it .
Charlyn Fargo: War on Sugar (creators.com)
Want to keep from gaining weight and becoming obese? Declare war on sugar, says the American Heart Association. ... The new guidelines recommend that sugars added in processing, cooking or at the table should total no more than 100 calories a day for women and 150 calories a day for men. That's about 5 to 9 teaspoons of sugar daily.
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?' Edition
The two people without invitations that crashed President Obama's first White House state dinner, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, polo-playing socialites from northern Virginia, are now offering to talk to broadcast networks about it - providing they're well paid. The Virginia couple was looking for a payment in the mid-six figures range - about half a million dollars...
Are you interested enough in what they have to say about their exploit to watch an interview of them?
Meanwhile, two senators, Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) and Jon Kyl (R- Arizona), have called for criminal charges be brought against the couple...
Do you feel that the party crashing couple should be prosecuted?
Send your response to
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast and cool.
Named U.N. Peace Messenger
Stevie Wonder
American Grammy Award-winning singer Stevie Wonder has been appointed a U.N. "messenger of peace" with a special focus on people with disabilities, the United Nations announced on Wednesday.
Messengers of peace are celebrities mainly from the fields of film, music, literature and sport who promote U.N. activities and ideals through public appearances and media contacts.
In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described Wonder, who is blind, as "a true inspiration to young people all over the world about what can be achieved despite any physical limitations."
In his career, Wonder recorded 32 No. 1 R&B and pop singles, won 25 Grammy Awards and sold more than 100 million records.
Stevie Wonder
Polio Campaign
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman was afflicted with polio when he was 4. Now, 60 years later he's helping to rid the world of the disease.
The celebrated violinist is performing Wednesday night with the New York Philharmonic in a special concert at Lincoln Center. The sponsor, Rotary International, is in the midst of a campaign to raise $200 million to fight the disease, which can cause paralysis or death.
With the development of vaccines, the number of polio cases has gone from 350,000 in 1988 to about 2,000 as of three years ago, according to World Health Organization figures. Last year, only four countries - Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan - had cases of the disease, according to the WHO.
"There's absolutely no excuse for anybody getting polio at this day and age," Perlman said.
Itzhak Perlman
Beats Tabloids To The Punch
Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter, a star of the 1980's sitcom "Family Ties", said on Wednesday she was a lesbian as media reports and published photos of her and a woman embracing began to surface in public.
Baxter, 62, told NBC's "The Today Show" that she discovered she was gay seven years ago, several years after her divorce to her third husband. She said her five children, who range from ages 25 to 42, supported her when she told them.
"I am a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition," she said. "I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was that kind of awakening. I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships."
Her comments came amid recent online photographs of her walking with her girlfriend of four years, building contractor Nancy Locke, and reports that she attended a Caribbean cruise with some 1,200 lesbians, which she confirmed.
Meredith Baxter
Film Surfaces
Marilyn Monroe
A home movie showing a relaxed Marilyn Monroe apparently smoking marijuana has surfaced, retrieved from an attic some 50 years after it was filmed.
The reel-to-reel silent, color film taken at a private home in New Jersey was recently purchased by collector Keya Morgan for $275,000 from the person who took the film, who has asked to remain anonymous.
At one point Monroe is passed a cigarette and takes a puff but does not appear to inhale deeply. The person who made the film confirmed that the cigarette contained marijuana, saying: "I got it (the pot). It was mine. It was just passed around."
"It was not a party. It was just a get-together. You know, come over and hang out," the person said.
Marilyn Monroe
Hospital News
Little Richard
Little Richard is out of the hospital following hip surgery, promising to perform again.
He's recovering at his home near Nashville.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who'll be 77 Saturday, tells The Associated Press that he plans to work hard to complete his recovery so he "can get back on the road as soon as possible." He says when he returns to the stage next year, he'll "be shouting 'Shut Up' and rocking like the old days."
Little Richard said Tuesday that he could feel the prayers of his fans and is thankful they care enough about him "to take time to pray."
Little Richard
Reject Gay Marriage Bill
New York
New York lawmakers rejected a bill Wednesday that would have made their state the sixth to allow gay marriage, stunning advocates who weathered a similar decision by Maine voters just last month.
The New York measure needed 32 votes to pass and failed by a wider-than-expected margin, falling eight votes short in a 24-38 decision by the state Senate. The Assembly had earlier approved the bill, and Gov. David Paterson, perhaps the bill's strongest advocate, had pledged to sign it.
After the vote, Paterson called Wednesday one of his saddest days in 20 years of public service and he criticized senators who he said support gay marriage but "didn't have the intestinal fortitude to vote for it.
Senate sponsor Thomas Duane, a Manhattan Democrat and the Legislature's first openly gay member, expressed anger and disappointment. "I wasn't expecting betrayal," he said.
New York
Lawsuit Dismissed
Dixie Chicks
A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed against the Dixie Chicks by the stepfather of one of three 8-year-old boys killed in Arkansas 15 years ago.
Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of Stevie Branch, claimed that singer Natalie Maines accused him of being involved in the deaths of his stepson and the two other boys.
Three teenagers who became known to sympathizers as the "West Memphis Three" were convicted in the deaths, but the Dixie Chicks and others claim they are innocent.
U.S. District Judge Brian Miller found Tuesday that Hobbs couldn't establish "actual malice" - that Maines knew the statements she made were false or that she made them with "reckless disregard" of the truth.
Dixie Chicks
Costs AZ School Worker His Job
SETI(at)home
A former Arizona school district employee is accused of using school computers in an experiment to find space aliens, costing the worker his job and the district more than $1 million.
Schools officials say Brad Niesluchowski, who was Higley Unified School District's information technology director, downloaded free software on district computers in 2000.
The program, known as SETI(at)home, uses Internet-connected computers worldwide to analyze radio telescope data in an experiment to find extraterrestrial intelligence.
But Superintendent Denise Birdwell told the East Valley Tribune that the program also bogged down the district's system and interfered with technology use in classrooms.
Birdwell said it will take more than $1 million to fix the problem, including removal of the SETI software. She says police are conducting a broader investigation.
SETI(at)home
New Rules
Book Tour
She's no longer the chief executive of Alaska, but Sarah Palin should still be called "governor." And in English only, please.
That was the message sent out by officials at the Mall of America this week, who told reporters planning to cover the Minneapolis-area stop on Palin's "Going Rogue" book tour they must address the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate by her former title. The guidelines also banned foreign reporters, allowing "only English speaking press."
Mall officials said the guidelines were a mistake, and apologized Wednesday to Palin for the mix up, which they called "an internal miscommunication" that was "inadvertently distributed."
Book Tour
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by the Nielsen Co. for Nov. 24-30. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 20.41 million.
2. "NCIS," CBS, 20.35 million.
3. "Dancing With the Stars Results," ABC, 19.29 million.
4. NFL Football: Pittsburgh at Baltimore, NBC, 19.21 million.
5. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 17.22 million.
6. "60 Minutes," CBS, 14.38 million.
7. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 14.13 million.
8. "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 13.93 million.
9. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 13.88 million.
10. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 13.61 million.
11. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 13.22 million.
12. "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 12.78 million.
13. "Find My Family," ABC, 12.76 million.
14. "CSI: NY," CBS, 12.68 million.
15. "The Good Wife," CBS, 12.53 million.
16. "Hallmark Hall of Fame: A Dog Name Christmas," CBS, 12.36 million.
17. "House," Fox, 11.95 million.
18. "Amazing Race 15," CBS, 11.61 million.
19. "The OT," Fox, 10.49 million.
20. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," ABC, 10.36 million.
Ratings
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