The Weekly Poll
Current Question
Results delayed - B2tbBob's a bit under the weather.
The 'Mad Mel' Edition...
Mel Gibson has been called a religiously insane, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, racist by a great many people. His actions and words certainly point to that as being the case. However, he has made movies that have been very popular and, in some instances, awarded and/or critically acclaimed...
So...
What is your view of Gibson as an actor and are there any of his movies that you have enjoyed?
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Who Cooked the Planet? (nytimes.com)
Why didn't climate-change legislation get through the Senate? The triumph of greed and cowardice.
Rachel Maddow: Fox Uses 'Flagrantly Bogus Stories' to Provoke White Racism
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow called out Fox News on Thursday for its role in promoting reports about Shirley Sherrod and ACORN that proved to be distorted. She charged that the network "continually campaigns on flagrantly bogus stories designed to make white Americans fear black Americans."
Connie Schultz: Middle-Aged Moxie (creators.com)
Last week, I turned 53, but a woman I never have met named Mary Dolan Welgs made it a lot easier.
Souleo: "Rock & Roll & Life & Death: An Interview with Taylor Hawkins" (popmatters.com)
After taking on drumming duties for one of modern times' most successful rock bands -- Foo Fighters -- and helping to establish them as a must-see live act, you could say Taylor Hawkins is ready to prove that he's more than just a drummer. Cue his band, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders.
Alison Lang: Waiting for Weezer (thecoast.ca)
It's been over 15 years since the "Blue" album, but the Los Angeles band still leaves us undone.
Leah Sottile: Henry Rollins was a punk. Now he's a punk with Nelson Mandela on his side (inlander.com)
He says yes to everything. ... "I'm just kind of a creature of opportunity. I come from the minimum-wage working world. I'm not really trained to do much besides lift things and maybe serve food," he says. "I just say yes to the work. I know what I have to go back to, which is a minimum-wage job."
Niki D'Andrea: Henry Rollins is Begging You to Vote (phoenixnewtimes.com; from 2008)
"This is your country; this is your time. Do this," he says. "[People might say] 'Well, I don't know who to vote for.' Get an opinion. It's easy. They give them away like free kittens at a church bazaar."
RICH IVEY: Five Words with Henry Rollins (INDEPENDENT WEEKLY (NC); from 2008)
Sticking it to the man is still acceptable.
Edmund White: Review of "Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg"
Both Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs discovered late in life that making works of art is the way to get money. Literature just doesn't do it. Speaking engagements pay, but eventually they become tiring-or one exhausts the market. Neither of the two had ever been money-mad, but old age requires a bit of a cushion. Burroughs turned to painting. He would set up paint cans in front of blank canvases and then shoot at them; the splatter was the art.
Dana Stevens: "Salt" Is Angelina Jolie (slate.com)
She's icy, invincible, and a lot of fun.
David Bruce: "Maximum Cool: 250 Anecdotes"
A Kindle Book: $1.
wrote:
said.
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Links from RJ
Two-Fer
Hi there
A few possible links for you. Thanks for taking a look!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Marine layer in the morning, mostly sunny afternoon.
Visiting 'The View' Thursday
Obama
ABC's "The View" has welcomed many notable guests, but none more prominent than President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to visit for Thursday's edition.
In making the announcement on Monday, executive producers Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie said this marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has visited a daytime talk show.
They said the majority of the hour will be devoted to Obama's appearance, which will touch on topics including jobs, the economy, the Gulf oil spill and family life inside the White House. It is scheduled to tape on Wednesday.
Walters will make a special return to the studio for the occasion, joining co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd. Other than a brief segment broadcast from her home this month, Walters has been off the air since undergoing open-heart surgery in May and had not planned to be back until September.
Obama
Mulling Haiti Campaign
Wyclef Jean
Singer Wyclef Jean is considering a run for president of Haiti but has not decided whether to seek a five-year term as leader of the quake-ravaged nation, the musician's family said Monday.
There have been rumors for some time the Haitian-born entertainer might enter the 2010 presidential contest, ever since his 2007 appointment as ambassador-at-large for the Caribbean nation by President Rene Preval, who cannot seek re-election.
In a statement e-mailed to reporters, the family said, "Wyclef's commitment to his homeland and its youth is boundless, and he will remain its greatest supporter regardless of whether he is part of the government moving forward ... If and when a decision is made, media will be alerted immediately."
Jean, 37, was born on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince but left the hemisphere's poorest country as a child and grew up in New York City's borough of Brooklyn.
Wyclef Jean
Hometown Statue
Frank Zappa
The unveling of a statue honoring Frank Zappa in his hometown of Baltimore will feature a week of events including a concert by his son, Dweezil.
The statue was donated by fans in Lithuania, a country Zappa never visited but one where his music was popular among the avant garde. The statue is a replica of one erected by a fan club in the Lithuanian capital.
Baltimore's public arts commission considered multiple locations, including the bohemian Fells Point waterfront, before deciding on the Southeast Anchor Library in working-class Highlandtown, a neighborhood well known for its many Greek restaurants.
Zappa's widow will also host a symposium and the library will have an exhibit in conjunction with the Sept. 19 dedication.
Frank Zappa
Mike Love Says No Reunion Plans
Beach Boys
The Beach Boys will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first single "Surfin'" in 2011, but band member Mike Love says any specific reports about how they'll do that are premature.
"There have been a lot of ideas floated, but nothing decided," the senior remaining Beach Boy tells Billboard.com. "So far it's just conversation. There are no big plans yet -- although there's a lot of interest from a lot of people to see what would happen if we got together and did some new music and maybe did some shows. But so far nothing's firm."
Former group member Al Jardine recently said the group -- including Brian Wilson, Bruce Johnston and early member David Marks -- would reunite in 2011 for at least one reunion show, probably free. And an early suggestion was made that Wilson and Love would be collaborate on some new material, but that was rebuffed by Wilson's management, who cited his focus on his upcoming "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin," due August 17.
"I've had a few conversations recently with my cousin Brian ... about doing some musical projects together," Love says. "But we're busy touring, he's busy recording and doing some dates, so in the fall we'll get more focused on it."
Beach Boys
Posthumous Hollywood Star
Louis Prima
'King of Swing' Louis Prima has received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a centennial celebration that included dancing in the street to his big-band sounds.
The influential band leader was honored at a Sunday ceremony on Vine Street attended by his son Louis Prima Jr., who continues the legacy of his father's music, his daughter Lena Prima, celebrities, dignitaries and fans.
"Louis Prima was a great entertainer and presented a great show. But more than anything else, he brought happiness to his audiences," said Bill Cosby in a congratulatory message read at the midday ceremony, which also included a concert of Prima's music by Louis Prima Jr.'s big band, The Witnesses, as well as swing-dancing fans.
Prima, who died in 1978, would have been 100 years old this year.
Louis Prima
Blues Record
Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie is swapping House for blues - after signing a record deal at the age of 51.
The self-taught star - who is seen playing guitar and piano on hit US TV drama House - is to release an album with music group Warner.
The British actor will team up with a range of guest musicians for the New Orleans blues album which he will record this summer.
Warner label WME will release the album, working with musician and producer Joe Henry, in the autumn.
Hugh Laurie
Directing YouTube Arcade Fire Webcast
Terry Gilliam
erry Gilliam will direct the live webcast of Arcade Fire's concert at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
The Arcade Fire show kicks off "Unstaged," a new online concert series being launched by American Express and streamed on YouTube. The Montreal-based band will live stream their Aug. 5 concert at 10 p.m. EDT, the second of two shows at MSG.
Gilliam, whose films include "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys," last released "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" in December.
The concert will stream on the Google Inc.-owned YouTube via Vevo, the music video site owned by Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Abu Dhabi Media Co.
Terry Gilliam
Piano To Auction
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley's white grand piano and his 1955 contract with RCA Records are going up for auction in Memphis next month, with the piano expected to fetch more than $1 million, auctioneers said on Monday.
The purchase agreement for the King of Rock 'n' Roll's Graceland mansion, and a letter Presley wrote in 1955 to his then girlfriend shortly after entering the U.S. army, are also among the highlights of the 270-lot Elvis Memorabilia auction on August14.
The white Knabe piano was owned and played by Presley for a decade. The singer bought it in 1957 from the Ellis auditorium in Memphis where it had been played by visiting gospel performers for more than 20 years.
Elvis Presley
Filmmaker Slammed
Oliver Stone
The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League on Monday slammed filmmaker Oliver Stone for comments he made to The Sunday Times of London, calling the film director's views "anti-Semitic."
Abraham Foxman, ADL national director, said: "Oliver Stone has once again shown his conspiratorial colors with his comments about 'Jewish domination of the media' and control over U.S. foreign policy. His words conjure up some of the most stereotypical and conspiratorial notions of undue Jewish power and influence."
When asked in an interview with the Sunday Times of London why he focused on the Holocaust in his latest filmmaking project, Stone replied: "The Jewish domination of the media."
He added: "They stay on top of every comment, the most powerful lobby in Washington. Israel has f***** up United States foreign policy for years."
Late Monday Stone issued an apology.
Oliver Stone
Rapper Begins 90-Day Sentence
DMX
Rapper DMX surrendered to a judge Monday to begin serving a 90-day jail sentence for a 2002 reckless driving conviction.
Los Angeles City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said the 39-year-old rapper turned himself in at a downtown courthouse. He said a judge ruled that the rapper cannot be freed on electronic monitoring, work release or home detention.
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was originally charged with drunken driving, but those charges were later dismissed.
He has been repeatedly arrested and jailed in the past decade, recently serving a sentence in an Arizona jail for violating probation by failing a drug test.
DMX
Estate Feud Ends
Darrell "Wayne" Perry
A long-running legal feud between the four children of a late country music songwriter and their evangelist aunt ended Monday when a judge approved placing the family's share of his catalog into a trust fund for them.
The closing of the estate by a probate judge in Hamilton, north of Cincinnati, ended five years of wrangling between the heirs of late country songwriter Darrell "Wayne" Perry and his sister, Darlene Bishop, who became executor of his estate after he died of throat cancer in 2005 at the age of 55.
His children had challenged her handling of the estate and accused her of persuading him to decline medical care in favor of prayer for the cancer. Bishop had said her brothers' children have lied about her.
The estate settlement means that Perry's share of his music catalog, which includes Tim McGraw's "Not a Moment Too Soon," goes to a trust for the children to be administered by Perry's 31-year-old son, Justin Jones.
Darrell "Wayne" Perry
The Elderly Media Mogul & The Bisexual Rockers
Sumner Redstone
An MTV reality show about an aspiring raunchy girl band remains in development despite an embarrassing controversy last week involving its cheerleader, 87-year-old media mogul Sumner Redstone.
The show revolves around the bisexual young women in the Electric Barbarellas on their quest for fame and fortune. It comes from the production company behind MTV's "Laguna Beach."
Redstone, the chairman and controlling shareholder of MTV's Viacom parent, has been at the center of a media firestorm over his taped phone message demanding that reporter Peter Lauria of the Daily Beast reveal the source of his story about the billionaire's attempts to force reluctant MTV executives to create a show for the band.
In the message, Redstone offered to reward the reporter for disclosing the source, adding that Viacom management wouldn't "kill" the responsible party.
Redstone's control of Viacom remains unchallenged, but his conduct is not going unnoticed on Wall Street. Mystery persists around the disclosure that 29-year-old band member Heather Naylor sold $157,000 worth of Viacom stock in March. Since Viacom has been tight with option grants and has rules for awarding them, the revelation that Naylor possessed the stock raises questions about corporate governance.
Sumner Redstone
Pigeon Poop Problem
Kings of Leon
American rock band Kings of Leon said they were forced to abandon a concert in St. Louis at the weekend after three songs because pigeons kept pooping on them from the rafters.
The band left the stage at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Friday after bass player Jared Followill was hit in the face by one dropping.
Drummer Nathan Followill apologized on Twitter to fans of the Grammy-winning band which is made up of three Followill brothers and their cousin Matthew who plays lead guitar.
"So sorry St Louis. We had to bail, pigeons s***ing in Jared's mouth and it was too unsanitary to continue," he wrote.
Kings of Leon
Fungus Among Us
Basil
A fungus spreading among the nation's basil crop may leave lovers of Italian and Thai food feeling a bit bland.
Basil downy mildew first surfaced in the U.S. around 2007 and is slowly but surely ruining the herb at spots across the country. Hardest hit areas are on the East Coast but it also has been found as far west as California.
Margaret McGrath, an associate professor of plant pathology at Cornell University, said the fungus is likely more of a problem for home gardeners and herb farmers who may not have access to fungicides that are available to larger commercial growers.
Basil
Latest Statue Prank
Cardiff-by-the-Sea
A bronze surfer statue near San Diego has been the target of many gags, but never one this big and scary.
Unknown predawn pranksters on Saturday surrounded the roadside statue in Cardiff-by-the-Sea with a papier mache model of a great white shark that appeared to be swallowing it whole.
San Diego County sheriff's Lt. Tony Ray said no criminal report was filed because there was no damage to the statue.
The statue has been bedecked with bras, skirts and witch hats so many times that locals have come to call it "The Cardiff Kook."
Cardiff-by-the-Sea
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