I seriously believe that all regular fans of bootleg mashups, remixes, & long mixes are familiar with the exemplary work of multi-talented mixer, dj & bon vivant, Party Ben (www.partyben.com) .
He's not only a gifted musical artist, but also has a generous nature as is proven by the bounty of tracks available on his site. Now, he gives of himself again with some splendid insight into his world, & mind, with this interview. Let's begin -
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Q1: I'm certain that most of your followers, fans & friends would like to know how you came into the bootleg dj profession, & who, if any, influenced you to take up the practice. Can you fill us in?
"Profession" you say? Well, it was a long interview process here at Mashups, Bootlegs & Bastard Inc., but once I proved to the CEO that I had what it takes... er, no. Actually to be honest, I've always been screwing around with other people's songs. If you tracked down my high school friends they'd tell you about how awesome it was that I'd always inflict my glitchy tape edits of Pet Shop Boys songs on them. I spent endless hours making mixes on my little Sears stereo. Once I discovered they made things called "mixers" there was no stopping me, and I started DJing parties and on the radio in college. I started working at LIVE 105 radio in San Francisco in 1994, and eventually they got ahold of rudimentary multi-track software ("Session 8"), which I used to make some basic remixes and stuff. Bootlegs specifically were a logical next step, although it took producers like Freelance Hellraiser and Go Home Productions, to inspire me to try cross-genre stuff. "Stroke of Genie-us" was a mind-blowing moment for me, like it is for a lot of us.
Q2: I would be surprised to find a PARTY BEN fan who didn't know of your famous SIXX MIXX series for LIVE 105 / San Francisco. A fantastic body of work from the beginning & a startler of fine skill, the SIXX MIXXes remain popular through torrents & fan sharing, do you have any memories of the series you'd care to relate?
Well, it's funny, because I'm working right now on remastering the old mixes which I'll be re-releasing on my website, one by one. The show started out very electronic-based and only evolved into a showcase for my own and others' mashups after a couple weeks. Those first couple shows also really sucked, so I'm a bit embarrassed to re-release them. Of course, everybody knows the story about how "Boulevard of Broken Songs" was the finale of a Sixx Mixx in October 2004 and the reason I used Eminem's "Sing (For the Moment)" was because I couldn't find Aerosmith's "Dream On," and I was on the air in like an hour? Anyway, good times. It was great to have a show like that but it just killed me to produce it, I was putting in 70-80 hours a week doing general production for the radio station and then would stay there til like 4am on Thursdays finishing the Mixx, then of course DJing and stuff as well, plus trying to have sex once in a while... it was pretty brutal. When my boss, losing his mind under corporate pressure to "clean up" the station, cancelled all specialty shows including mine, I didn't have it in me to fight to keep it going, to be honest, I'd had a good run.
Q3: Anyone familiar with you knows of your success at LIVE 105 with the 'Untitled Show', the electronic music show 'Subsonic; & the 'Friday Night Game Show', what are you up to currently as far as programming?
Well, I'm programming what I play on my home hi-fi. I left the station in August of 2007 and while I miss some of my old radio pals, honestly a lot of my friends have left too, so I don't really miss the constant battle. Since then it's turned very corporate and terrible, and not to get all schadenfreude-y on you but ratings have collapsed as well. American radio is very troubled at the moment so it's actually very sad to see. I'm still doing production work for a couple other stations but honestly I'm not really interested in jumping back into that environment so I'm focusing on other freelance work and DJing and stuff. Also selling my body for science experiments.
Q4: You've DJ'ed live in many parts of the world including Germany, Poland & Mexico. Have you noticed any difference in the response to bootleg material depending on where you play it? I live in Michigan & when I play mashups people often just look perplexed. (Until the bar opens, lol)
Mostly it's just funny to see how people's reactions evolve. Back when we started Bootie, people would scream when they heard the vocal come in over a different track, now everybody's jaded, they're used to it. I think it's starting to get like that everywhere -- people just expect your DJ sets will be crazy cross-genre collages.
Q5: I remember a super track you made of Queens Of The Stone Age vs Nine Inch Nails. Is it true you crafted the track while on tour with them?
Actually, I was in the hot tub with Trent and Josh, and they were arguing over who was going to give me a back rub. The only way I could settle it was by letting them both explore the wonderland of my body at the same time. Later, watching the video I'd surreptitiously taped, I had an idea for a musical tribute to our 72 hours of meth-fueled passion. The rest is history.
Q6: The 'DEAN GRAY' bootleg collection you bestowed upon the world with Team 9 created quite a stir in many respects. Is there a chance you might work on a similar project with any other bootlegger? I would relish the opportunity to hear tracks you made with the likes of DJ Moule, Pheugoo, or McSleazy.
All DJ Moule wants to talk about is English words for bodily functions, McSleazy is busy tending to his elaborate facial hair, and I have no idea how to pronounce Pheugoo, so screw all those guys. Honestly, I'm surprised Team 9 was able to put up with me for the time it took to assemble the Edit. Thankfully the fact that we're basically at complete opposite sides of the world helped to provide a kind of "annoyance cushion." I could use some "hipster points" though, so I should probably try and hitch my train to another hot young producer.
Q7: Your expertise in music extends to the world of journalism with your history of reviewing for MOTHER JONES magazine's arts blog. Like, how's that going for you?
Like, totally awesome. Actually I don't know if anybody's reading it, they just have me on as a kind of easily-mockable columnist. I'm a real jabberjaws though so this gives me an outlet, at least.
Q8: As a resident DJ at 'Club Bootie', America's First All-Mashup Nightclub™ you've delighted clubgoers since 2003. Can you tell us a little about the bootie shows?
Who have you enjoyed working with at bootie,& who have you met while at club that you enjoyed? Or perhaps didn't enjoy.
Oh, you'd love for me to spill the Bootie gossip wouldn't you. I have so many stories I could tell. Mysterous D, she's really a MAN baby. Actually, you know, some guest DJs at Bootie stay at Party Ben's deluxe accommodations, i.e., my couch. I've seen things you could never imagine. Ahem! At the club itself, it's always interesting to see what different people bring to the floor -- the "all-mashup" thing is both a blessing and a curse, and it's kind of tough to do a set that balances the need to play clear, obvious a-plus-b's with some evidence of DJ talent and mixing and stuff. But I love seeing what people do, so that's always great, and I can steal their ideas after they leave. Honestly, everyone I've met in the mashup "scene" has been incredibly friendly, funny, and unpretentious, and I wonder if, like, the minimal techno scene is like this? Or do they just all sit around quietly looking fabulous? Something to be said for that too...
Q9: It's not so often that we see you posting at bootleg forums of late. I reckon you do fine without the moodiness that occurs at some forums, but can you tell us any stories of your time spent at them?
I'm the moodiest of them all, that's for sure. Actually I give all the respect in the world to GYBO, of course I couldn't have done the Sixx Mixx show without it, so I always felt like a) I needed to post the shows there as a "thank you" to all the producers who had contributed or inspired me, and b) the least I could do in return was post some of my own stuff for people. But to be honest, I don't really care what people think about my work, and so now I feel like if someone is interested in what I do they know where to find it.
Q10: Are there any bootleg collections you enjoy hearing? I'm enamored with mashup collections, & hope they continue to appear regularly & forever.
Yeah, boy, I dunno, collections get attention but I rarely have time to contribute or listen. When I had the idea for American Edit, that was my first thought, was to open it up and have different tracks from all different people, but then I realized that it would probably be far too scattered, and I had kind of envisioned it as a single "work." Working with Team9 meant I only had to hypnotize one person to agree with me instead of 20. So, with respect to all the collection-makers out there, I know that you can get a post on Boing Boing for doing 'em but they rarely grab me.
Q11: What do you see as the future of bootlegging? I hear a lot that it's dead, but I hear that phrase about every style of music & even polka music still continues. lol.
I love how mashups have died and come back to life, zombie-like, about 7 times since I've started doing it, and even then it had already been dead for years. I'm terrible at predictions though -- if I could predict the future, I'd be sitting on a billion dollars worth of Google stock right now, not talking to you about bootlegs.
Q12: What artists or tunes captivate your listening when you aren't playing mashups?
Oh my God. My appetite for music is totally ravenous, so I don't even know where to start. Album-wise, Portishead, Santogold, M83, Beach House, No Age, Lil Wayne, Cut Copy... Also I'm nuts for swampy stoned-sounding instrumental hip-hop so the Flying Lotus album is on heavy rotation. Anything with a laser-bass noise like Sinden, Herve, Fake Blood, Machines Don't Care; spazzy techno like Crookers, Boy 8-Bit, Jokers of the Scene. My Last.fm account shows that In Rainbows is still my #1 most listened to album this year though.
Q13: I've heard that you favor ADOBE AUDITION when mixing your tracks.Is that still the case, or have advancements changed that? It seems to me it's the mixer, not the program. I've even heard fantastic tracks created on freeware like AUDACITY.
Yeah, still mucking about in Audition. I'm so unbelievably lazy, I can never be bothered to learn new stuff, and I've been using Audition for like 7 years now, so I can work pretty fast with it. I always imagine other producers have these fantastic setups, since mine is pretty rudimentary, but then I see they're using crappy old PCs or whatever and that's kind of heartening.
Q14: Thanks much for taking the time to give of yourself in this interview. As we wind up this exchange, what can you share with us of upcoming PARTY BEN matters?
Well, since I've been freed from focusing on productions that will appeal to mainstream alt-radio listeners, I've defaulted to my love for quirky electro, and I'm currently working on a bunch of tracks that are basically my attempt to sound like Fake Blood, stuff I can play out at the discotheques. Who knows if anyone will like them. I keep thinking I should do another mashup album project but nothing has struck my fancy. Then, of course, there's the obvious fact that I've had my brief 15 minutes of fame and I should slink off the stage before things get too embarrassing, but I'm so lazy I can't be bothered to cancel my web hosting account. Lots of bootleggers like to make "I'm leaving the scene" announcements but that's not my style: I'll just slowly peter out until everybody's forgotten about me. I'm already 3/4 of the way there I think. In the movie version, I'd retire to an island off Costa Rica, when suddenly there would be a worldwide crisis that could only be solved by mashups. They'd send DJ Zebra out to find me, and I'd be all grizzled and leather-skinned and I'd grumble, "that man who used to make mashups is dead, he's dead I tell you," but then he'd arrange it so I'd have to save a little girl from a crocodile using only a mashup and then realize I owed it to the world to come back. That'd be cool.
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Useo again now. Thanks Party Ben for a intriguing, pleaser of an interview. If y'all want to thank him, drop by his site, sample the wares & leave a note of thanks. I know I will.
Mix Of The Week - If you check on the long mix section of Party Ben's site, you'll find his 'Party Ben's Neon Noise Guest Mix Part One'. It's 23 minutes of joy recorded during a broadcast at Indie 103.1 FM Los Angeles. Pure bastard pop fine enough to make you tear up, grab yours now!
Mashup Tip : If you add some olive oil to any hip hop track, it will graft onto rock music better.
Please join Erin Hart as she fills in on the afternoon drive on AM760 Progressive Talk in Denver
today and Friday, from 3pm to 6pm (pdt) | 4pm to 7pm (mdt) | 5pm to 8pm (cdt) | 6pm to 9pm (edt).
Senator Barack Obama looks more and more like a Commander in Chief as he rocks the houses of Europe; and does very well in Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Did Obama's trip increase his stature? It must have, because attacks coming out of the McSame camp sound truly pathetic.
Is McCain REALLY gaining in the polls in CO and other battleground states, and what does that mean at this stage?
Will the U.S. House of Representative hearings on GW Bush's whacking of executive power make any difference?
Complaints - I've had a few (guardian.co.uk)
For a decade, Anna Tims has championed the rights of Guardian readers unhappy with the goods and services they have received in her Dear Anna column. Here, she relates your most extreme stories of bad customer service, from the bizarre to the unbelievable.
Ben Stein: What, him worry? (money.cnn.com)
Not about a recession anyway. But he is plenty concerned about the fallout from the impending retirement of his 'undisciplined' generation.
Luaine Lee: Moss finds a perfect fit on 'Mad Men' (McClatchy-Tribune News Service)
Though she's been acting most of her life, Elisabeth Moss figures she's fortunate she's never been famous. That streak of luck may have run out as Moss maneuvers her naive secretary, Peggy, from AMC's "Mad Men" into new adventures and a second season.
Will Harris: A Chat with Elisabeth Moss of "Mad Men" (bullz-eye.com)
"I loved what happened to (Don and Peggy) over the season, that relationship, and there are things coming up that develop that more. She has so much respect for him, and he actually has respect for her. They're kind of the one honest relationship in the show, as far as neither of them is trying to get something out of the other."
20 QUESTIONS: Vashti Bunyan (popmatters.com)
Vashti Bunyan chats with PopMatters 20 Questions about music-making at her pace, life without safety nets, and her nonconformist nature.
Last Sunday in an interview with CBS, Senator Obama said that an increase in troops, "...two Brigades, perhaps three..." is necessary in Afghanistan. Are you in favor of that escalation? (three brigades is approximately 15,000 soldiers)
Results tomorrow!
Fresh poll questions appear on Monday and Thursday, with Monday's results on Thursday, and Thursday's results on Monday. Might even have some charts and graphs.
What is the last name of Linus & Lucy in the comic strip 'Peanuts"?
A: Van Horn
B: Van Houten
C: Van Johnson
D: Van Meter
E: Van Pelt
Source
mj was first, and correct, with:
Why will this comic strip not go away?
It was funny first time around. As a kid, I read it in it's first re run. Shultz has been dead how long, hasn't been a new strip since when and my local, and many other papers, still run it?
Van Pelt, E.
Wanda wrote:
answer: E----VanPelt Lots of "VanPelts" in my little town. An interesting family!
Alan J anwered:
Van Pelt
Sandra in Maine responded:
E. van pelt
anyone know the backstory on this?
Sally, in hot & humid NNJ, said:
Linus Van Pelt and his sister Lucy (E) both are characters from the comic strip, "Peanuts."
PS: Reporting from northern NJ, I finally have green tomatoes here! Now the fun begins, outfoxing those piggy woodchucks who LOVE green tomatoes, and stuff themselves until every one has been taken right from the vines. Filthy swine...
Audrey answered:
Van Pelt
~ Tony In Philly replied:
E: Van Pelt
DanD wrote:
If I remember right, the answer is "E," (you know, the letter without inverted nipples). Ah, Charlie Brown, the pre-cyber epitomy of mediocre American geekdom.
Has anyone ever noticed that the world of Charlie Brown is a perfect animated example of Murphy's Law in action?
ducks said:
Linus and Lucy Van Pelt.
Marian the Teacher, who had a bit of earthquake damage, answered:
Van Pelt
Vic in Ak responded:
Too Easy E: Van Pelt....the doctor is IN!!!
The sun is out for the first time in a month, I've been crippled up due to the cold and rain, never got above 60 ,averaged in the low 50's even had some snow on the hill-side....early termination dust
But the sun is streaming in and warming me up, some online are saying the unforecast sun is due to Senator for life Stevens getting indicted for being a corrupt old bastard....I gotta agree that it is an awesome coincidence !
Charlie answered:
Got distracted this morning, it's
E: Van Pelt
As I recall.
And, Mike in Des Moines replied:
The answer is E. Van Pelt.
Thanks to Sally and Vic in AK for the pictures.
Coming Soon - More 'Prizes' - 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' on DVD!
Felt no jolts - just rolling, sorta like a kid jumping on a waterbed that isn't quite full.
Lasted a good 20 seconds, but the house didn't make any funny grinding noises, and we had no damage.
Tonight, Wednesday:
CBS starts the night with a FRESH'Greatest American Dog', followed by a RERUN'Criminal Minds', then a RERUN'CSI: The 3rd One'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Pamela Anderson, James Franco, and Atmosphere.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Michelle Yeoh, Tom Sullivan, and Jakob Dylan.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN'Baby Borrowers', followed by a FRESH'Baby Borrowers', then a RERUN'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Rainn Wilson, Emeril Lagasse, and Sergio Mendes featuring Ledisi.
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, and Gogol Bordello.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 4/3/08) are Harland Williams and Sheryl Crow.
ABC begins the night with a RERUN'Wife Swap', followed by a RERUN'Supernanny', then 'Primetime: Crime'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are David Duchovny, Katharine McPhee, and Wendy Liebman.
The CW offers a RERUN'America's Next Top Model', followed by a RERUN'Pussycat Dolls Present'.
Faux has a RERUN'So You Think You Can Dance', followed by a FRESH'So You Think You Can Dance'.
MY has a RERUN'Under One Roof', 'Whacked Out Videos', 'Twilight Zone', and another 'Twilight Zone'.
A&E has 'CSI: The 2nd One', 'Dog The Racist Bounty Hunter', another 'Dog The Racist Bounty Hunter', followed by a FRESH'Dog The Racist Bounty Hunter', and a FRESH'Criss Angel Mindfreak'.
AMC offers the movie 'Timecop', followed by the movie 'Jaws'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 10
[12:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 11
[1:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 4 The Fish and Anchor
[2:00 PM] Cash in the Attic - Ep 9 Swain
[3:00 PM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 2 Harrogate 41
[3:30 PM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 3 Kedleston 48
[4:00 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 5
[4:30 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 6
[5:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 1
[5:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 2
[6:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 3 Momma Cherri's
[7:00 PM] BBC World News America
[8:00 PM] My Small Breasts and I
[9:00 PM] Super Skinny Me
[10:00 PM] BBC World News America
[11:00 PM] My Small Breasts and I
[12:00 AM] Super Skinny Me
[1:00 AM] My Small Breasts and I
[2:00 AM] Super Skinny Me
[3:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 16 Joanna Lumley and Bon Jovi
[4:00 AM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 2 Harrogate 41
[4:30 AM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 3 Kedleston 48
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 34 Porter
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 35 Spencer
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Project Runway', another 'Project Runway', followed by a FRESH'Project Runway', and a FRESH'Shear Genius'.
Comedy Central has 'Scrubs', another 'Scrubs', last night's 'Jon Stewart', last night's 'Colbert Report', 'Futurama', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and a FRESH'Lewis Black's Root Of All Evil'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Ben Wattenberg.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report is Crosby Stills and Nash.
FX has the movie 'The Stepford Wives', followed by the movie 'Maid In Manhattan', then the movie 'Maid In Manhattan', again.
History has 'Modern Marvels'< 'MonsterQuest', followed by a FRESH'MonsterQuest', and 'Ice Road Truckers'.
IFC -
[06:30 AM] IFC Short Film Showcase
[07:30 AM] Waiting for Guffman
[09:00 AM] We Married Margo
[10:30 AM] Melinda and Melinda
[12:15 PM] Waiting for Guffman
[01:45 PM] We Married Margo
[03:15 PM] IFC In Theaters
[03:30 PM] Melinda and Melinda
[05:15 PM] Waiting for Guffman
[06:40 PM] Roger Dodger
[08:30 PM] The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman #207
[09:00 PM] The Pope of Greenwich Village
[11:00 PM] Deuces Wild
[12:45 AM] The Pope of Greenwich Village
[02:45 AM] Deuces Wild
[04:30 AM] Melinda and Melinda (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has 'Ghost Hunters', 'Ghost Hunters International', followed by a FRESH'Ghost Hunters International', and a FRESH'Scare Tactics'.
Sundance -
[05:00 AM] Avenue Montaigne
[06:45 AM] Shadowlands
[09:00 AM] Episode 1
[10:00 AM] The War Room
[11:45 AM] Lights in the Dusk
[01:00 PM] Slaughterhouse Five
[02:45 PM] Transylvania
[04:30 PM] Kadosh
[06:30 PM] Secrets & Lies
[09:00 PM] Episode 9 - Big Sur, Part 2
[09:30 PM] Episode 1
[10:00 PM] The Man of the Year
[12:00 AM] Episode 1
[01:00 AM] Murderball
[02:30 AM] Lights in the Dusk
[04:00 AM] Kasabian, Josh Groban & The Good The Bad and The Queen
[05:00 AM] Opening Night (ALL TIMES EST)
Artist David Griggs stands near his art installation titled "Frog Boy's Dissertation Into a New Karaoke Cult" at the Melbourne Art Fair July 29, 2008. Established in 1988, the Melbourne Art Fair is held biennially at the historic Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne. the Fair will be held from July 30 to August 3.
Photo by Mick Tsikas
Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker, cancer survivor Lance Armstrong and other celebrities will take part in a three-network telethon to support cancer research, it was announced Tuesday.
The hour-long "Stand Up To Cancer" will air live and commercial-free on ABC, CBS and NBC on Sept. 5 and feature musical performances and appeals from actors, athletes and journalists.
Charlize Theron, Hilary Swank, America Ferrera, Danica Patrick, Salma Hayek, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Masi Oka and news anchors Charles Gibson, Brian Williams and Katie Couric will be among those taking part.
Former Sen. John Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, and Robin Roberts of NBC's "Today" also are set to appear. Both women have battled breast cancer.
Ballet dancers perform during a dress rehearsal for a new production of Swan Lake by The National Ballet of China at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London July 28, 2008.
Photo by Dylan Martinez
China will censor the Internet used by foreign media during the Olympics, an organising committee official confirmed Wednesday, reversing a pledge to offer complete media freedom at the games.
"During the Olympic Games we will provide sufficient access to the Internet for reporters," said Sun Weide, spokesman for the organising committee.
Journalists working at the main press centre for the Olympics complained that they were unable to access Internet sites belonging to rights group Amnesty International, the BBC, Germany's Deutsche Welle, Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, and Taiwan newspaper Liberty Times.
Arthur C. Clarke's health was failing fast, but he still had a story to tell. So he turned to fellow science fiction writer Frederik Pohl, and together the longtime friends wrote what turned out to be Clarke's last novel.
"The Last Theorem," which grew from 100 pages of notes scribbled by Clarke, is more than a futuristic tale about a mathematician who discovers a proof to a centuries-old mathematical puzzle.
The novel, due in bookstores Aug. 5, represents a historic collaboration between two of the genre's most influential writers in the twilight of their careers. Clarke, best known for his 1968 work, "2001: A Space Odyssey," died in March at age 90; Pohl is 89.
Clarke originally intended "The Last Theorem" to be his last solo project, and he began writing it in 2002. But progress was slow because of his poor health, and he missed the book's original 2005 publication deadline. Worried the book wouldn't be published at all, he began to search for a co-author.
The "priceless" oldest existing bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne, dating back more than a century, was found in a sideboard in a Scottish castle, the estate said Monday.
Owner Chris James found the 1893 bottle at Torosay Castle on the Isle of Mull, off the western Scottish mainland. It is believed to have been hidden away for more than a century.
The castle was built in 1858 for a wealthy Glaswegian and sold in 1865 to merchant banker Arbuthnot Guthrie. He died in 1897, leaving the castle to his nephew and the contents to his widow.
When she cleared out the castle, she took everything inside -- apart from the dining room sideboard, which was too heavy.
Dancers perform "Alma de aire", a vertical dance by Spanish choreographer Eduardo Castro, during the Burgos-New York International Choreography Contest in Burgos, northern Spain July 29, 2008.
Photo by Felix Ordonez
Mark Whitaker has been named to replace Tim Russert as head of NBC News' Washington Bureau.
The former Newsweek editor, who joined NBC last year as senior vice president of news, will assume many of the off-camera duties held by Russert, who died of a heart attack in June.
As bureau chief, Whitaker will be in charge of "Meet the Press," as well as NBC News' election and political coverage. He also will make occasional appearances as an on-air analyst, the network said in its announcement Monday.
Whitaker, 50, worked as a summer intern at Newsweek while at Harvard University in the late 1970s and did a variety of jobs at the magazine before serving as its editor from 1998 to 2006.
Police say they have confiscated a gun belonging to Jerry Lewis that was found in the 82-year-old entertainer's carryon bag as he prepared to fly to Detroit from Las Vegas.
Las Vegas policeman Bill Cassell said Tuesday that the actor was cited Friday for carrying an unloaded concealed weapon at the Las Vegas airport.
Lewis' manager, Claudia Marghilano, says the handgun is a hollowed-out prop gun that Lewis sometimes twirls during his show. She tells The Associated Press that the gun couldn't fire.
Cassell says if the gun were merely a prop "it wouldn't be a weapon and we couldn't cite him for carrying a weapon."
"I don't like any female comedians. Seeing a woman in comedy sets me back a bit . . .
I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies into the world. Jerry Lewis
Shia LaBeouf was not to blame for an early-morning car wreck in Los Angeles, authorities said Tuesday, pinning fault on the other driver for apparently running a red light.
Also Tuesday, a person close to production of the "Transformers" sequel said LaBeouf's passenger in the accident was Isabel Lucas, the 23-year-old Australian who plays a supporting role. The person asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release the information.
Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says detectives have determined that the other driver, who has not been identified, ran the light and will also be cited. LaBeouf was booked for a misdemeanor DUI and underwent surgery for injuries to his left hand.
Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, has been indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.
Stevens, 84, has been dogged by a federal investigation into whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist.
From May 1999 to August 2007, prosecutors said Stevens concealed "his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation." The indictment released Tuesday said the items included: home improvements to his vacation him in Alaska, including a new first floor, garage, wraparound deck, plumbing, electrical wiring; as well as car exchanges, a Viking gas grill, furniture and tools.
Giant sheets of ice totaling almost eight square miles broke off an ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic last week and more could follow later this year, scientists said on Tuesday.
Temperatures in large parts of the Arctic have risen far faster than the global average in recent decades, a development that experts say is linked to global warming.
The ice broke away from the shelf on Ward Hunt Island, an small island just off giant Ellesmere Island in one of the northernmost parts of Canada.
Private security contractor Blackwater Worldwide and its affiliates may have misrepresented their size to win more than $100 million in government contracts set aside for small businesses, federal auditors said Monday.
A report by the Small Business Administration's Office of Inspector General questioned the agency's decision to approve Blackwater as a small business even though there were signs the company could be much larger than executives claimed.
In fiscal 2005 through 2007, Blackwater and affiliates won 32 small business contracts worth more than $2.1 million even though the work was restricted to companies with revenue of $6.5 million or less, according to the audit. One contract had a revenue ceiling of $750,000. Meanwhile, Blackwater's airline affiliate Presidential Airways won more than $107 million in contracts set aside for companies with revenues of less than $25.5 million or fewer than 1,500 employees.
The audit questioned whether the Moyock-based company, which built its name protecting U.S. diplomats on the volatile streets of Baghdad, could meet either of those limits. The company said last week that it's on track to reach annual revenues of $1 billion per year by 2010.
Other museums might have more or flashier items to display. But only the mini-museum of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can boast of possessing such an other-world oddity as the monkey from Mars.
The bureau's state crime lab lobby has its requisite displays on forensic science, including an illegal moonshine still and the microscopic fibers that solved the 1981-82 Atlanta child murders. But tucked away in a glass cylinder are the preserved remains of a monkey that three pranksters passed off as an alien 55 years ago in a UFO hoax that drew headlines worldwide.
At the height of UFO hysteria then sweeping the nation, two young barbers and a butcher took a dead monkey in 1953, lopped off its tail and applied a liberal dose of hair remover and some green coloring to the carcass.
Then they left the primate on an isolated road north of Atlanta in the pre-dawn hours of July 8, 1953, burning a circle into the pavement with a blowtorch before a police officer came around the curve in his patrol car.
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for July 21-27. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (17) "America's Got Talent," NBC, 13.24 million viewers.
2. (41) "Wipeout," ABC, 9.99 million viewers.
3. (17) "Two And a Half Men," CBS, 9.76 million viewers.
4. (20) "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.52 million viewers.
5. (53) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Wednesday), Fox, 8.60 million viewers.
6. (13) "NCIS," CBS, 8.52 million viewers.
7. (20) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 8.44 million viewers.
8. (53) "So You Think Can Dance" (Thursday), Fox, 8.38 million viewers.
9. (17) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 8.13 million viewers.
10. (30) "House," Fox, 7.90 million viewers.
11. (85) "Dateline NBC" (Sunday), NBC, 7.63 million viewers.
12. (10) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 7.56 million viewers.
13. (27) "CSI: NY," CBS, 7.53 million viewers.
14. (66) "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?," Fox, 7.42 million viewers.
15. (45) "The New Adventures of Old Christine," CBS, 7.40 million viewers.
16. (85) "Celebrity Family Feud," NBC, 7.28 million viewers.
17. (106) "Primetime: Family Secrets," ABC, 6.72 million viewers.
18. (93) "Flashpoint," CBS, 6.70 million viewers.
19. (37) "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC, 6.60 million viewers.
20. (70) "Bones" (Monday), Fox, 6.48 million viewers.
A king vulture looks crossed-eyed at the camera in the Berlin Zoo, Tuesday, July 29, 2008. The bird is mainly found in Middle- and South America.
Photo by Franka Bruns
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