Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Happy Holidays (holiday.barackobama.com)
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Mark Morford: Hi, I find you totally offensive (sfgate.com)
Did that headline offend you? How about starting a column with a question? Or three? Are you sure? I'm very glad to hear it. But what about grammar? Syntax? Are you right now intently scanning this paragraph for the...
Froma Harrop: Sin Taxes Are a Shame (creators.com)
Sly industry-sponsored ads in which ordinary Americans worry about some scheme in Congress generally irritate me. A grunt greeted the TV spot you've no doubt seen: A woman unloading groceries frets over a proposed "tax on juice, milk and soda" as Americans like her count every penny. She doesn't mention that the tax would be on sugar-laden juices and sodas, or that the "milk" in question would be chocolate milk. Nor does she note that it would help pay for health care reform.
Susan Estrich: Tiger's True Test (creators.com)
It's not exactly surprising to read major news organizations confirming that Elin Nordegren, the No. 1 search name on Google of late, is planning to divorce Tiger Woods. Based on what we know (And who knows what we don't know?), any sane person would have to conclude that marriage to this guy is going to bring you a lifetime of heartache, no matter how many houses and trophies surround that heartache.
HELEN WEATHERS: British Lions rugby legend Gareth Thomas: 'It's ended my marriage and nearly driven me to suicide. Now it's time to tell the world the truth - I'm gay' (dailymail.co.uk)
Gareth Thomas is a sporting legend. He captained Wales in 2005 to their first Grand Slam victory since 1978. The same year he captained the British Lions tour of New Zealand.
"Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard" by Richard Brody: A review by J. Hoberman
Opening in New York forty years ago this fall, Jean-Luc Godard's 'Weekend' appeared as one apocalyptic vision among many. The United States was at war abroad; at home, a tumultuous presidential election was heading into its final stretch. The naked provocateurs of Living Theater had returned from Europe to stage their millennial participation piece, 'Paradise Now.' But 'Weekend' was also something new.
Connie Schultz: How Many Times Must We Insult Susan Boyle? (creators.com)
The new narrative swirling around singer Susan Boyle sounds a lot like the old narrative that catapulted her to international fame: Middle-aged and (insert additional unflattering or downright mean description here) woman is stunning us all over again.
Giles Tremlett: Wynton Marsalis seeks purist fan . . . (guardian.co.uk)
The legendary jazz musician wants to give a present to the jazz buff in Spain who complained to the police that the music at a gig wasn't 'jazz' - and has asked the 'Guardian' to find him. Problem is, we can't . . .
Keith Thursby: Connie Hines dies at 79; costar on TV's 'Mister Ed' 9 latimes.com)
She never complained about being overshadowed by a talking horse, said her human costar, Alan Young. As the show reemerged in syndication, Hines enjoyed being discovered by new audiences.
Donald Fagen: The Man Who Told 'A Christmas Story' (slate.com)
What I learned from Jean Shepherd.
Brian Palmer: What, Exactly, Are "Natural Causes"? (slate.com)
And can they really explain Brittany Murphy's death from cardiac arrest at the age of 32?
Ching-Ching Ni and Andrew Blankstein: Brittany Murphy's death stuns Hollywood and her family (latimes.com)
The young actress who stars in 'Clueless,' '8 Mile' and other films as well as TV's 'King of the Hill,' went into cardiac arrest Sunday. Coroner's officials say there are no indications of foul play.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Reform or Expansion' Edition...
I'm soooooo confused!
President Obama says, "We are on the cusp of making health care reform a reality,"
Others say it is merely an expansion of health care insurance opportunities with little reform of the present system. Meanwhile, insurance stocks rocket skyward on the NYSE... Help me out here, would ya? What do you think?
Here, by the way, is a totally negative opinion of the whole shebang by a progressive, not a Rethug.
10 Reasons to Kill the Senate Bill | CommonDreams.org
Go figure...
Send your response to
noted:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Thanks to Purple Gene, that Madcat, JD, Linda, BadtotheboneBob, Sally, Erik, and Leo for the donations.
But, short of a Christmas miracle, the e-page will be shutting down and going away.
Yeah, the timing sucks - welcome to my life. : )
Save the e-page while there's still time!
Yellow Anniversary
"Simpsons"
Fox is going yellow for the home stretch of its "Simpsons" 20th anniversary celebration.
For the week beginning January 3, graphical elements across Fox properties will turn yellow in honor of Matt Groening's iconic characters. That means on-air graphics, Fox's Web sites, social-network pages and special on-air promos -- all in yellow, along with a range of other stunts (such as local Fox news anchors wearing yellow ties).
The move is part of the final push of what's been an extensive "Simpsons" marketing push to honor the series, which concludes with a January 10 one-hour documentary special on the show directed by Morgan Spurlock of "Super Size Me" fame.
Right before the documentary, "The Simpsons" will air its 450th episode.
"Simpsons"
Marian Anderson Award
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby will be the next recipient of the Marian Anderson Award.
The Philadelphia native is to accept the award and $100,000 prize at an April 6 ceremony at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
The comedian, actor and educator is being honored for his cultural impact as well as his work in encouraging academic achievement and calling for accountability in the black community.
The award is named for the famed singer and Philadelphia native who used her art in the service of social justice. It honors artists whose leadership benefits society. It was first awarded in 1998 to singer Harry Belafonte. Other past winners include author Maya Angelou and actors Sidney Poitier, Danny Glover, Elizabeth Taylor and Gregory Peck.
Bill Cosby
Rehab
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler has entered a rehabilitation facility to treat an addiction to painkillers the Aerosmith frontman has taken to cope with 10 years of performance injuries.
"I love Aerosmith; I love performing as the lead singer in Aerosmith. I am grateful for all of the support and love I am receiving and am committed to getting things taken care of," the 61-year-old rocker said in a statement released Tuesday.
The band canceled a summer tour in August after Tyler fell off the stage during a performance in South Dakota and broke his left shoulder.
Dr. Brian McKeon, who is treating Tyler, said in a statement that orthopedic injuries over the past decade have left the singer with severe chronic pain that will require surgeries on his knees and feet.
Steven Tyler
Hospital News
Johnny Hallyday
France's top rocker and entertainment icon Johnny Hallyday has left a Los Angeles hospital after riveting France for some two weeks of hospitalization for back surgery.
Hallyday's press agency says the 66-year-old star left Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday, in time to join his wife and two daughters for Christmas at their Los Angeles home. The 96b agency says he must continue "indispensable medical treatment."
Hallyday was hospitalized after lingering pain from Nov. 26 surgery in Paris for a herniated disk. An infection was discovered.
Hallyday was forced to cancel the final leg of a tour billed as his farewell. France feared for Hallyday, and even President Nicolas Sarkozy discussed Hallyday's health during an EU summit news conference.
Johnny Hallyday
Redbox Pulls Posters
Brittany Murphy
Three days after Brittany Murphy passed out in her bathroom and later died, DVD rental chain Redbox said on Wednesday it was pulling a poster depicting the actress posing lifeless in a bathtub.
The poster promoted the direct-to-video horror film "Deadline," which Coinstar Inc-owned Redbox began carrying in its kiosks nationwide on December 1.
The company said it started removing the artwork following the death of the 32-year-old actress on Sunday, and planned to complete the job by January 1.
She starred in "Deadline" as a screenwriter in a haunted house who uncovers a grim secret. Thora Birch co-starred in the First Look Studios release from writer/director Sean McConville.
Brittany Murphy
NY Court Snubs Fan's Lawsuit
Star Trek Memorabilia
A "Star Trek" fan isn't entitled to millions of dollars in damages for buying memorabilia that he says wasn't as out-of-this-world as it seemed, a court said Tuesday.
Ted Moustakis wasn't promised he was getting a one-of-a-kind plum when he paid $11,400 for a uniform for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" character Data at a 2006 auction, an appeals court said.
The court also said Moustakis is due at most a refund for two other purchases he says were fakes: a $6,000 poker visor supposedly worn by Data and a $6,600 table from the show's set.
The longtime Trekkie from Towaco, N.J., has said he was thrilled to get the items - until he showed the visor to the actor who played the android Data, Brent Spiner, at a 2007 fan convention.
Spiner told him the visor wasn't genuine, according to Moustakis' lawsuit. Moustakis said he later found the table also was inauthentic, and the uniform was one of several made for the program. Christie's had led him to believe it was unique, he said.
Star Trek Memorabilia
Request Denied
Porn
A Los Angeles judge has denied a request from an AIDS advocacy group calling for mandatory use of condoms on porn sets.
Judge David Yaffe on Tuesday rejected a petition from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation that contended county health officials hadn't done enough to prevent sexually transmitted diseases in the porn industry, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The group sued the county in July after data showed there were more than 3,700 STD cases over the past five years reported by a clinic that serves porn actors.
In denying the foundation's request, Yaffe said the county has broad discretion in how it oversees public health. The group plans to appeal the decision.
Porn
Charged With Assault
Amy Winehouse
British singer Amy Winehouse has been charged in connection with an assault on Saturday night at a theater in Milton Keynes, police said on Wednesday.
The Grammy-award winning singer voluntarily attended a police station in the Buckinghamshire town with her lawyer on Wednesday afternoon, police said in a statement.
Winehouse, 26, was charged under the name Amy Civil, with a public order offence and common assault.
She is due to appear at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court on January 20, 2010.
Amy Winehouse
Priest Wins $100,000
Poker
A South Carolina priest missed the $1 million top prize in a poker tournament to be televised this weekend but he won $100,000 for his church and he hopes his participation gives viewers a "fun twist" on their perceptions of the priesthood.
The Rev. Andrew Trapp said he entered the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge in hopes of putting St. Michael Catholic Church "super close" to its $5.5 million fundraising goal to build a new facility. He also wanted to strike a public relations blow for priests.
"At the very least, even if I didn't win any prize money, I was hoping it would help people to see that priests can have fun and be normal people and hopefully get a little bit of a fun twist on the image of the priesthood," the assistant pastor said Tuesday.
The top prize went to retired New York Police detective Mike Kosowski. But Trapp won $100,000, untaxed, in a semifinal round in October for the coastal church's building fund, which has amassed $4 million after four years of fundraising.
Poker
Burned Again
Swedish Straw Goat
A giant straw goat was burned down yet again early Wednesday in a Swedish city where torching it has become a Christmas tradition, to the dismay of local leaders.
Gavle city spokeswoman Anna Ostman said someone set fire to the 43-foot-high (13-meter-high) creature around 3 a.m. local time. Only a charred wooden skeleton of the traditional Swedish Christmas symbol remained on Wednesday morning.
Vandals have burned down the goat 24 times since it was first set up in Gavle in 1966 to mark the holiday season. It has also been smashed several times, run over by a car and had its legs cut off.
The goat is a centuries-old Scandinavian Yule symbol that preceded Santa Claus as the bringer of gifts to Swedish homes. Many Swedes place a small straw goat underneath their Christmas trees, or hang miniature versions on the branches.
Swedish Straw Goat
In Memory
Mick Cocks
Guitarist Mick Cocks, a founding member of Australian hard rock band Rose Tattoo, died in a Sydney hospital on Tuesday after a battle with liver cancer. His age was not known.
Cocks becomes the fourth member of a Rose Tattoo line-up to pass away in as many years, following bass player Ian Rilen and guitarist Pete Wells, both in 2006, and guitarist Lobby Loyde in 2007. All had suffered from cancer.
Cocks formed the band in 1976 with Wells and Rilen. Rose Tattoo's self-titled debut album, released in 1978, became an instant classic, with tracks such as "Rock'n'Roll Outlaw" and "Bad Boy For Love."
With the instantly-recognizable frontman Gary "Angry" Anderson on the microphone, the band inspired a new generation of rock outfits, including Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses, who covered Rose Tattoo's track "Nice Boys (Don't Play Rock'n'Roll)" on the 1988 EP "GN'R Lies."
Cocks left the band in 1979 and went on to create his own solo projects.
Mick Cocks
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