The Hollywood chamber of commerce has cancelled the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade, claiming they lost $100,000 last year and expected to lose twice that this year.
Hollywood Boulevard is simply too narrow a street to really do the job right. The Hollywood parade has always been an endless line of marching bands, small floats, lots of old cowboys on horseback, and has-been celebrities in backseats of convertibles with their names on banners taped to the doors, waving back and forth to crowds feigning interest, crowds of wholesome families from Pasadena who found themselves surrounded by every manner of Hollywood derelict who treated the whole event as a massive hallucination. If one were Dickens, one could paint a pastiche of cultural revolution, the haves in the convertibles vs. the have-nots picking the pockets of the tourists. It was the real thing, a genuine parochial home town parade where the town just happened to be the entertainment capital of the world.
How can I be mourning the death of this tacky antiquation that had neither the overboard surreality of the Rose Parade in Pasadena, the scale of the ridiculous balloons in the Macy's Parade in New York, nor the genuine party attitude of the Mardi Gras in New Orleans? It's entirely personal. For years I had a second floor loft/photo studio on Hollywood Blvd., above Frederick's, across the street from Johnny's Steak House, down the block from Musso & Franks, with two enormous French windows that overlooked the street, windows that actually opened out onto the boulevard and the Walk of Fame in all its tacky glory. It was the perfect place to watch the parade go by, as all my friends soon noticed. For about a decade, it turned into an annual event.
Unlike the magnificent city of New Orleans, where drinking in the streets was allowed during Mardi Gras as long as it was in a paper cup, the city of Hollywood never did anything to encourage its only parade to turn into anything like a party in the street. No such problem upstairs, where the level of festivity far exceeded that of the rabble below.
This was a time when I fancied myself a west coast Andy Warhol, hosting a non-stop party of professional perverts in my photo studio where I cranked out art by the bucket, provided the refreshments, and sat back to watch the mayhem. The Hollywood Parade? Yeah, who cares, unless you were watching it from Dare's loft.
Hollywood Christmas Parade Go-carts
Making fun of parades has a lovely underground history, starting with KPPC in the early 70s, who presented The Credibility Gap, a comedy group starring Harry Shearer, David Lander, Richard Beebe, and Michael McKean. They were a lot like The Firesign Theater with less emphasis on blowing our minds and more on making us laugh our asses off. Every January 1st, they would advise us to switch our TVs to the Rose Parade, but to turn down the sound and listen to them instead. What followed was classic and hilarious, ruthlessly making fun of everything, the floats, the queen, the marching bands, the organizers, the designers, the flower pickers, the whole zeitgeist of floaty showmanship.
Even now I remember my favorite bit. Every time the camera showed the back of a float, one member of the Gap would casually inform us "that hole in the back is where the driver is." It became monotonous till near the end of the parade when the camera showed the back of a horse. "That hole in the back is where the driver is" we were told.
Alas, the Gap broke up and KPPC became KROQ where, in the 80s, I was lucky enough to be a member of The Three Guys from Hollywood, whom I hesitate to mention in the same breath as our noble predecessors. KROQ was right down the block from the parade and we did live reports in the Credibility Gap tradition.
So just picture a party, a good one, everyone in the mood, when suddenly, out the window, comes a marching band, playing some hideous piece of Sousa crap. Everyone runs to the balcony and shouts "Shut up! Please stop that! You're making me nauseous!" but no, the horrible music gets louder and louder till it's right below, and we're all shouting "In a Gadda Da Vida! Anything but that!"
And they're gone, replaced by a guy on a horse who looks like Gene Autry because it actually is Gene Autry. We hang out the window to get his attention, then shout "We love you Roy!"
We discovered the TV feed was actually two blocks west, UP the parade route, giving us a good two minute warning as to who was approaching. Knowing Charo was on her way, we made up a sign that said "Cuchi-Cuchi," held it out the window, and now I can put in my résumé that I once blew Charo's mind.
Hollywood Parade
Let's face it, it's not just the sucktastic marching music or the phony patriotism that sink parades to the bottom of the over-all entertainment universe, it's the too too flattering commentary inevitably provided by the networks in endless smarmy complements to everybody involved. Screw that. I want Robin Williams and Stephen Colbert and Simon Cowell to rip the shit out of the damn thing. Make the parade deliberately tacky, just like it's always been, but give us commentary from people with something to say.
David Geffin, Jerry Bruckheimer, Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates, the list goes on and on of the bigwigs who could save the Hollywood Parade as casually as buying breakfast, so consider this a plea. It's worth saving and remolding into something spectacular, a parade for the 21st century, entirely interactive, live on TV and the internet. Encourage a vast discussion while it's happening, turn it into a contest, a Hollywood American Idol, a reality show, an insane promo for absolutely everything show biz, encourage interaction with the audience in the street, celebrities throwing giant stacks of their latest DVDs from the backseats of classic American convertibles as seen in Hollywood movies through the ages. It doesn't take much imagination to sell the hell out of the damn thing.
Man, if I were a billionaire I'd do it in an instant.
Satan Doesn't Want You to Know
Could MS Word be more annoying? Yeah, well, I suppose it could poke you in the eye once in a while. I'm sure they're working on it. Meanwhile, here are some ways to make MS Word less annoying.
Don't Take My Word For It
"When tyranny is law, revolution is order."
- Don Pedra Abizu Campos -
"Grown men do not need leaders."
- Edward Abbey -
"7% of society is psychotic at any one time."
- Dr. Phil -
"The RIAA was recently voted the worst company in America in an online poll, narrowly beating out Halliburton. Upset by the news and the RIAA's plans, Halliburton announced plans of its own.
"CEO Bob Johnson said that his company would begin infecting elephants and other endangered species with the AIDS virus then shooting them from giant catapults onto orphanages and children's wards of hospitals.
"'If that doesn't build the hate, then I don't know what will,' said Johnson."
"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."
- Franklin P. Jones -
"On Monday, March 19, the Supreme Court heard a case concerning the scope of student speech in public high schools. The case, Morse v. Frederick, involved an 18 year old high school student who was punished by school officials for displaying a banner on a sidewalk across the street from his school. The banner was destroyed and the student was suspended because officials believed the banner, which read 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus,' touted a pro-drug message in violation of the school's anti-drug policy.
"The case has the potential to impact a wide swath of student expression. The Court, however, could walk a narrower path and carve out as undeserving of constitutional protection just one type of speech: drug speech. Based on the justices' questioning at oral argument, it appears that a majority of the Court may be inclined to refashion the Nancy Reagan's mantra 'Just Say No' into 'Don't Even Say It,' when it comes to student speech that references drugs.
"One of the most disturbing features of the Supreme Court argument was the fact that most of the justices appear to believe that because drugs in high schools are a scourge worth combating, student speech about drugs - and by extension drug policy - is likely to encourage student drug use. The justices, in other words, equated student speech about drugs with drug use itself, and a majority may permit school administrators to censor the former in the hopes of snuffing out the latter."
"In one experiment, people who were walking across a college campus were asked by a stranger for directions. During the resulting chat, two men carrying a wooden door passed between the stranger and the subjects. After the door went by, the subjects were asked if they had noticed anything change.
"Half of those tested failed to notice that, as the door passed by, the stranger had been substituted with a man who was of different height, of different build and who sounded different. He was also wearing different clothes.
"Despite the fact that the subjects had talked to the stranger for 10-15 seconds before the swap, half of them did not detect that, after the passing of the door, they had ended up speaking to a different person. This phenomenon, called change blindness, highlights how we see much less than we think we do."
Greg Mitchell: The Pat Tillman Case Reaches a Climax (editorandpublisher.com)
Patrick Tillman Sr., the father -- a lawyer, as it happens -- said he blamed high-ranking Army officers for presenting "outright lies" to the family and to the public. "After it happened, all the people in positions of authority went out of their way to script this," he told the Post. "They purposely interfered with the investigation, they covered it up. I think they thought they could control it, and they realized that their recruiting efforts were going to go to hell in a handbasket if the truth about his death got out. They blew up their poster boy. Maybe lying's not a big deal anymore," he said. "Pat's dead, and this isn't going to bring him back. But these guys should have been held up to scrutiny, right up the chain of command, and no one has."
Carolyn Segal: Mission Impossible (irascibleprofessor.com)
The IP comments: ... In the old days, before mission statements, we pretty much knew what we were about at KKU; namely, providing a good quality college education at very low cost both to the student and to the taxpayer. Now that we have a fancy mission statement complete with goals and strategies, we watch helplessly as quality continues to erode and costs, especially those our students must bear, soar. Perhaps we might do better with a less bloated mission statement, and for that matter with a less bloated administration.
With love from her to me (guardian.co.uk)
In 1963, like many girls, Lilie Ferrari had a crush on George Harrison. When she wrote to him, she scarcely expected a reply, but an admiring letter did come back - from his mother. It was the start of an extraordinary, enduring correspondence.
Al Austin, a progressive democrat running for city council, was knocking on doors in my neighborhood today.
Tonight, Tuesday:
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'NCIS', followed by a RERUN'The Unit', then a RERUN'Shark'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Patricia Arquette, Paul Mooney, and Macy Gray.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Randy Jackson, Piper Perabo, and Roy Wood, Jr.
NBC starts the night with 'Dateline', followed by a FRESH'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', then a FRESH'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Jeff Foxworthy, Sahara Desert runners, and Dierks Bentley.
On a RERUNConan (from 11/1/06) are Sacha Baron Cohen as "Borat", Jack McBrayer, and Mastodon.
On a RERUNCarson Daly (from 2/7/07) are Timothy Busfield and Colbie Caillat.
ABC opens the night with a FRESH compilation 'Dancing With The Stars', followed by a FRESH'Dancing With The Stars', then the SERIES PREMIERE'The Great American Dream Vote'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Jenny McCarthy and "Dancing with the Stars" castoff.
The CW offers a RERUN'Gilmore Girls', followed by a FRESH'Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For The Next Pussy'.
Faux has a FRESH'American Idol' (runs 7 minutes long), followed by a FRESH'House' (starts 7 minutes after the top of the hour).
MY has a FRESH'American Heiress'.
A&E has 'CSI: The 2nd One', another 'CSI: The 2nd One', 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', another 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', 'Driving Force', and another 'Driving Force'.
AMC offers the movie 'Dead Calm', followed by the movie 'Magnum Force', then the movie 'Any Which Way You Can'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] The Weakest Link - Episode 64;
[1:00 PM] As Time Goes By - Episode 3;
[1:40 PM] My Hero - Ep. 9 A Little Learning;
[2:20 PM] Keeping Up Appearances - Episode 1;
[3:00 PM] The Benny Hill Show - Episode 14;
[4:00 PM] The Prisoner - Ep. 12 A Change of Mind;
[5:00 PM] The Avengers - Ep. 6 False Witness;
[6:00 PM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 6 Stride;
[7:00 PM] BBC World News - BBC World News;
[7:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 8;
[8:00 PM] Whose Line Is It Anyway? - Episode 2;
[8:30 PM] Whose Line Is It Anyway? - Episode 18;
[9:00 PM] Robin Hood - Ep 3 Who Shot the Sheriff?;
[10:00 PM] Robin Hood - Ep 4 Parent Hood;
[11:00 PM] Whose Line Is It Anyway? - Episode 4;
[11:30 PM] Whose Line Is It Anyway? - Episode 1;
[12:00 AM] The Benny Hill Show - Episode 13;
[1:00 AM] Robin Hood - Ep 4 Parent Hood;
[2:00 AM] The Avengers - Ep. 22 The Positive-Negative Man;
[3:00 AM] The Saint - Ep. 7 The Reluctant Revolution;
[4:00 AM] The Saint - Ep. 8 Interlude in Venice;
[6:00 AM] BBC World News - BBC World News. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives', another 'Real Housewives', 'Wrok Out', and another 'Work Out'.
Comedy Central has 'Scrubs', another 'Scrubs', last night's 'Jon Stewart', last night's 'Colbert Report', 'Mind Of Mencia', 'South Park', and 'Bill Engvall: 15 Degrees Off Cool'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart the still unfunny Dennis Miller.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report are Madeleine Albright and James Fallows.
FX has the movie 'Friday Night Lights', followed by the movie 'Taxi', then a FRESH'Dirt'.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Lost Worlds', 'Ancient Discoveries', and antoher 'Modern Marvels'.
IFC -
[06:20 AM] Beyond Rangoon;
[08:05 AM] The Brothers McMullen;
[09:50 AM] Still, We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie;
[11:45 AM] IFC News Special;
[11:55 AM] Beyond Rangoon;
[01:40 PM] The Brothers McMullen;
[03:25 PM] Still, We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie;
[05:20 PM] Media Lab Results;
[05:30 PM] Beyond Rangoon;
[07:15 PM] Johnny Stecchino;
[09:00 PM] The Englishman Who Went up a Hill But Came Down A Mountain;
[10:40 PM] Blow Dry;
[12:15 AM] Sweet Sixteen;
[02:05 AM] The Englishman Who Went up a Hill But Came Down A Mountain;
[03:45 AM] Blow Dry;
[05:20 AM] IFC Short Film Showcase. (ALL TIMES EDT)
SciFi has 'Stargate SG-1', another 'Stargate SG-1', still another 'Stargate SG-1', and 'ECW'.
Sundance -
[06:00 AM] Dolls;
[07:50 AM] Omagh;
[09:30 AM] Playing for Change;
[10:45 AM] The Grass Harp;
[12:35 PM] Dakota Road;
[02:15 PM] Fahrenheit 451;
[04:15 PM] A Good Woman;
[06:00 PM] One Punk Under God: Episode 3;
[06:30 PM] Swinging: Season 1: Episode 104;
[07:00 PM] The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid;
[07:45 PM] Brazil;
[10:00 PM] Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death ...& Insects;
[11:00 PM] In the Sun: Michael Stipe and Special Guests (Long Version);
[11:45 PM] Who Killed Bambi?;
[02:00 AM] Swinging: Season 1: Episode 104;
[02:30 AM] City of Men - Season 1: Episode 3: The Mail;
[03:05 AM] The Road to Guantanamo;
[04:40 AM] Writer of O. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Musician Elton John, left to right, listens as Whoopi Goldberg, song writer Bernie Taupin, and comedian Robin Williams, pay tribute to him on stage during John's concert in New York's Madison Square Garden, Sunday, March 25, 2007. The group was on hand to celebrate John's 60th birthday and a record breaking 60th concert for the artist in the Garden.
Photo by Jeff Christensen
Julia Ormond appealed to police agencies worldwide Monday to share information and resources in hopes of combating human trafficking.
The 42-year-old British actress, who co-starred with Harrison Ford in 1995's "Sabrina," spoke in London to help publicize a new U.N. campaign to combat 21st-century slave trade.
The initiative came a day after the 200th anniversary of the passage of Britain's anti-slavery law. The goal is to improve enforcement of a 2003 U.N. treaty against human trafficking - a crime Ormond described as being largely hidden.
President Clinton is a big fan of "24" even though "an uber right-wing guy" produces the Emmy-winning political thriller.
Clinton told TV advertisers Friday that his favorite show is the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," and he appreciates "Boston Legal" for the dynamic between William Shatner and James Spader. "It's something to behold," he said.
His other must-see TV shows include "All in the Family," "I Love Lucy," "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Bonanza" -- all of which air on TV Land, which sponsored his appearance at the cable network's "upfront" presentation to advertisers at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time Warner Building.
In this photo provided by Miramax films, Isla Fisher and Jeff Daniels arrive to a screening of their new film 'The Lookout' in New York, Monday, March 26, 2007.
Photo by Dave Allocca
The video series "Ask a Ninja" and OK Go's treadmill-choreographed music video are among the winners in the first YouTube Video Awards.
The video-sharing site announced the seven winners from its inaugural awards on Monday, a week after the nominees were put forth for voting. Each category included 10 nominated videos, which users could rank in order of their liking.
"Ask a Ninja" triumphed over perhaps YouTube's biggest celebrity: Lonelygirl15. That bedroom production finished fourth, behind "Ask A Gay Man" and "Chad Vader."
The winners and nominees are compiled in a gallery at www.youtube.com/YTAwards. YouTube says it will later unveil what a YouTube Video Award will look like.
Demonstrating her top billing on Hollywood's political money trail, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton collected a whopping $2.6 million at a weekend fund-raiser for her 2008 White House bid, organizers said on Monday.
The tally from Saturday's star-studded affair doubled the amount brought in by rival Democratic Sen. Barack Obama at a similar event last month and organizers said they believe it to be the single-biggest Hollywood fund-raiser for a presidential candidate. Their claim of a record could not be immediately verified.
Attendees included singer-actress Barbra Streisand and her husband, actor James Brolin; actor Ted Danson; "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul; Motown founder Berry Gordy and a host of media industry executives.
A day earlier, Hollywood power lawyer Skip Brittenham and his wife, actress Heather Thomas, hosted a $2,300 per person fund-raiser for Democrat John Edwards, but there was no immediate word on how much that event collected.
Sixty million consumers would lose access to baseball's television package of out-of-market games if the sport is allowed to strike an exclusive deal with DirecTV, according to Sen. John Kerry.
A day ahead of a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, the Massachusetts Democrat said the deal probably was legal but might not be good for fans.
"When you've got 75 million people who currently have the option of doing something and you reduce it to 15 million, you've got to ask are the terms of this deal fair and does it work for the fan and for the sport itself?" he said during a conference call Monday.
Under a $700 million, seven-year agreement announced March 8, baseball's "Extra Innings" package would move exclusively to DirecTV starting this season, and the sport's new television network would go to DirecTV starting in 2009.
South African trumpet player Hugh Masekela practices before a show at Elmina castle in Cape Coast March 25, 2007, to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain. The castle used to be a trading post for slaves in the 15th century. Descendants of slaves and dignitaries gathered at a white-washed former slave fort at Elmina to remember the more than 10 million Africans -- some estimates say up to 60 million -- sent on slave ships to the New World.
Photo by Luc Gnago
The Edge is donating his favorite instrument to an auction benefiting Music Rising, a charity the U2 guitarist co-founded to replace musical equipment lost or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
He's logged thousands of hours of stage and studio time on the 1975 Gibson Les Paul. The 45-year-old musician has used the guitar throughout his years with U2.
The Icons of Music auction, administered by Julien's Auctions, features 196 rock-related items, including a saxophone signed by former President Clinton, a guitar that belonged to Jimi Hendrix and an original Elvis Presley recording contract.
Comic-book hero Asterix did his bit for Middle East peace this weekend, when Arab and Hebrew translations of an Asterix album with a Middle Eastern touch were released simultaneously at the Paris book fair.
"Translation opens us up to others, to all peoples," said Syrian Jamal Shehayeb, who usually translates literary works by Proust or poet Lamartine.
In the books, the diminutive Gallic warrior's friends "live in peace and friendship with all other people as long as nobody bothers them", said Israeli Dorith Daliot Rubinovitz, who generally translates French novelist Maupassant.
The translated comic book album is titled in French "Asterix chez Rahazade" (Asterix at Rahazade's) and refers to the 1001 Arabian Nights.
British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has admitted in a magazine interview that he staged a theft at a Chelsea restaurant where he was head chef nine years ago in order to get at his former mentor, turned arch-enemy, Marco Pierre White.
Ramsay had until now blamed White for the 1998 robbery of the restaurant's prized reservations book. He believed White was plotting to take over Ramsay's place at the Aubergine restaurant, he told the magazine The New Yorker.
Now, however, Ramsay has come clean. He told the New Yorker: "It was me. I nicked it. I blamed Marco. Because I knew that would fuck him and that it would call off the dogs."
Bernd Burgmaier, dancer in the 'Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo' group, performs for the media in Berlin March 26, 2007. The ballet will be staged from April 17 till 29 in the German capital.
Photo by Tobias Schwarz
Elton John should be banned from performing at a jazz festival in Tobago because his homosexuality could influence young people, some Christian leaders on the Caribbean island said on Monday.
A group of Christian churches have failed to persuade the Tobago House of Assembly, which oversees the administration of the island, to join the call for a boycott of John's appearance at the Plymouth Jazz Festival in late April.
Jazz festival organizer CL Communications dismissed calls for a boycott and said the show would go on.
The wife of Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland was arrested in the torching of his clothes outside their Toluca Lake home hours after the couple brawled at a luxury hotel, police said Monday.
Mary Weiland, 31, was booked for investigation of felony arson vandalism after officers responded to a call Saturday night that a female was burning clothes. They found a trash can full of smoldering clothes, Sgt. Mathew Ferguson said.
Officers called Weiland, who said the wardrobe was worth $10,000, Ferguson said. The couple's children, ages 4 and 6, were placed in the custody of family friends.
The Smithsonian Institution announced Monday that its top official, Secretary Lawrence M. Small, has resigned amid criticism about his expenses.
An internal audit in January found that Small had made $90,000 in unauthorized expenses, including private jet travel and expensive gifts.
The audit also found that Small charged the Smithsonian more than $1.1 million for use of his home since 2000. The housing expenses included $273,000 for housekeeping, $2,535 to clean a chandelier and $12,000 for service on his backyard swimming pool.
Knut, the polar bear cub, sticks out his tongue during his second appearance in the Berlin Zoo on Saturday, March 24, 2007. The Berlin Zoo's baby bear Knut is the German capital's hottest celebrity at the tender age of 16 weeks. Fascination with the 9-kilogram (nearly 19-pound) bear has only grown in recent days, after headlines generated by an animal activist who insisted that the cub should have been left to die after his mother ignored him. Zoo officials intervened, instead, choosing to raise the cub themselves through bottle-feeding and keeping the cub in an incubator.
Photo by Franka Bruns
The former lead singer of punk rock band Mest was arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 25-year-old man during an argument, police said.
Anthony Lovato, 26, was being held on $1 million bail pending an investigation of criminal homicide, said Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Lovato and another man argued early Sunday in the parking structure of an apartment building, Lopez said. When police arrived at the scene, they found the unidentified man lying on the ground with knife wounds. He died later at a hospital.
After eight seasons of Ashton Kutcher playing pranks on his celebrity pals on MTV, his popular "Punk'd" series is coming to an end. The final season premieres April 10, but all eight new episodes will air back-to-back during a "sneak peek marathon" on April 7, MTV officials announced Monday.
Famous faces falling victim to Kutcher's capers this time around include Hilary Swank, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Nelly Furtado and Jewel, among others.
Kutcher will conclude the show's final season with a special "Punk'd Awards" on June 5.
Magazine publisher Time Inc. is shutting down Life magazine again, a brand it had resuscitated in late 2004 as a newspaper supplement.
Time Inc. said in a statement Monday that it would keep the Life brand going on the Internet, where it will launch a Web site with photos from its massive image collection, and by publishing books.
The company cited the "decline in the newspaper business" and poor advertising outlook as factors in its decision.
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a model presents a creation during a fashion design contest in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province Saturday, March 24, 2007. Some 86 series of creations from China's central and western provinces took part in the contest on Saturday.
Photo by Ding Haitao
ESPN is changing quarterbacks. Joe Theismann will no longer be part of the network's "Monday Night Football" broadcast and will be replaced as an analyst by Ron Jaworski, the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, the network announced Monday.
Jaworski will join play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and analyst Tony Kornheiser in the booth. Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya will handle sideline reporting.
Critics had panned the chemistry between Theismann and Kornheiser, a columnist for the Washington Post and the co-host of ESPNs "Pardon the Interruption" talk show. But Norby Williamson, ESPN's executive vice president for studio and remote production, said chemistry was not the reason for the change.
Twins can be identical, fraternal and apparently semi-identical, scientists now report.
Researchers discovered twins who are identical on their mom's side of the equation but share only half their genes from dad.
"Their similarity is somewhere between identical and fraternal twins," said geneticist Vivienne Souter, of the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. "It makes me wonder whether the current classification of twins is an oversimplification."
The semi-identical twins only came to the attention of Souter and her colleagues because one had ambiguous genitalia. The child was born a "true hermaphrodite" with both ovarian and testicular tissue. The other twin is a male, anatomically.
The current Lord Beaverbrook says he will appeal an arbitration ruling that gives the lion's share of a treasure trove of art masterpieces to New Brunswick's provincial art gallery.
Peter Cory, a retired Supreme Court of Canada judge, ruled Monday that the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton is the owner of the majority of art works at the centre of an international tug of war over paintings and sculptures valued at more than $100 million.
Cory, who has been refereeing the high-profile art dispute, said in his arbitration decision the gallery is the owner of 85 works which were gifts from the original Lord Beaverbrook to the people of his native province.
He ruled that the remaining 48 disputed art works are the property of the Beaverbrook U.K. Foundation, a charitable organization headed by the current Lord Beaverbrook, Maxwell Aitken III.
A member of staff examines a newborn Golden Coin Box turtle at the Chester Zoo in Chester, northern England, March 26, 2007. The baby, one of three to be born at the zoo, is the first of the critically endangered species ever to hatch in the Unite Kingdom.
Photo by Phil Noble
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