Monthly Archive: August 2010

“The American Combat Mission in Iraq Has Ended”

How beautiful to hear those words — spoken by President Barack Obama from the Oval Office on Tuesday night.  We’re not out of Iraq by a long shot: 50,000 U.S. troops are still there. They’re all supposed to be home by the end of 2011. In the meantime, what a great step in the right direction.

Roger Federer Between the Legs — for the Win!

Roger Federer played a terrific between-the-legs shot — a “tweener,” as the announcer calls it — in his first match of the 2010 U.S. Open last night.  

The Glenn Beck Rally: 80,000 or 650,000?

ASU Professor Steve Doig was part of a team that used high-def overhead photos to count the crowds at Glenn Beck’s rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday.  Beck him

Barack and Michelle Obama: Helicopter Parents

President Barack Obama, with his wife Michelle (at top) and daughters Malia (right) and Sasha, returned to the White House yesterday after the family’s 10-day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.  All four made a stopo

Paris Hilton’s Problem: Cocaine or Lip Balm?

“Miss Hilton pulled out a tube of lip balm. At the same time … a bindle of cocaine in a plastic bag came out of her purse” in plain view of police in the room.The Las Vegas Review-Journal on Paris Hilton’s Friday-night arrest for cocaine possession.

Yes, It’s THAT Eli Wallach

Our new profile of veteran actor Eli Wallach has just been posted by editor Paul Hehn.You look at recent photos of Eli Wallach and think, oh, here’s this grandfatherly old fellow who pinches babies’ cheeks and wears tweed socks and sits on park benches looking harmlessly at pretty girls as they jog past.

George Vecsey Knows Cincinnati

Here’s a great column by my favorite sports columnist, George Vescey, on Cincinnati baseball hero Joey Votto.

The Expendables: A ‘Delightfully Bad’ Review

I went to see The Expendables, knowing it wouldn’t be a very good movie. The only thing that would have made it worse is if it had been a better movie. As it is, it’s delightfully bad.

Anna Nicole Smith, The Opera

Last March NPR did a story on a proposed opera based on the turbulent life of model Anna Nicole Smith. Now the U.K. press is reporting that the opera will …..

David and Samantha Cameron Have a Fourth Child

Samantha Cameron, wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, has given birth to their fourth child. It’s a girl.No name yet.  The BBC says bookmakers are favoring Marnie, Enid, Annabel and Elizabeth. 

David Hasselhoff Shakes Hands With a Giant Bear

David Hasselhoff shook hands with a giant German bear near the Brandenburg Gate today.  We have photos.Those are David Hasselhoff’s daughters at left: Taylor Ann Hasselhoff (sort of blonde) and Hayley Amber Hasselhoff (very blonde). The bear is also a blonde. He moved in for a closeup:

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren Divorce: It’s Final

“We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future.” Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren, speaking from beyond wedlock in their …..

Just a Nice Photo: Rupert Grint

Two excitable fans meet actor Rupert Grint, of Harry Potter film fame, at a London PR event for Grint’s film Cherrybomb.Now see a photo of Rupert Grint in a dungeon >>

Anne Frank’s Chestnut Tree Falls in Amsterdam

The 180-year-old chestnut tree that cheered Anne Frank while she was in hiding has finally fallen in a rainstorm.  MSNBC has an impressive photo.The tree was saved from destruction in 2007, but fell of its own accord overnight.

Batman and Blago and Suicide Girls: Photos

Who said there are no second acts in American lives?  Here’s disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich posing with Adam “TV’s Batman” West at this weekend’s Wizard World 2010 Chicago Comic Con. 

Separated at Birth: Taylor Momsen and Cousin Itt?

Could be:That’s Taylor Momsen at left, performing today with her band, The Pretty Reckless, at the V Festival in Chelmsford, England.  But Momsen typically doesn’t look that much like Cousin Itt, except maybe for the spectacles:

Fred Durst Leaps Into Middle Age

Fred Durst, front man for Limp Bizkit, turns 40 today.Other musicians who turn 40 this year: DMX, Beck, and Josie and the Pussycats.

And Now, a Little Gambling Irony from Pete Rose

The Cincinnati Reds wanted to honor Pete “Banned for Gambling” Rose on the 25th anniversary of the day he became baseball’s all-time hit leader.  They even got special permission from Major League Baseball to do so.

Score One for the Bull

Remarkable footage from Tafalla, Spain, where a bull jumped out of the ring yesterday and injured 40 bullfight fans.

Objects on Set May Be Shorter Than They Appear

This photo from the set of The Invention of Hugo Cabret caught my eye.  Could acclaimed director Martin Scorsese really be that much shorter than everyone else?

Dr. Laura Quits Radio

Talk radio host Laura Schlessinger announced her decision to end her long-running radio show. Here she is, explaining her decision to Larry King:

Bobby Thomson, Home Run Hero, Dead at 86

“Right away after I hit it I thought it was a home run. Going around the bases, I could hardly breathe. I was starting to
hyperventilate.”Bobby Thompson, the Scot who hit the 1951 home run known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” has died at age 86.

Sean Penn: A 50th-Birthday Sideburn Celebration!

Happy 50th birthday to terrific actor Sean Penn.Sean Penn was born on 17 August 1960 in Burbank, California. Being born just over the hill from Hollywood, it’s no surprise Penn ended up as an actor — though it’s maybe a surprise that he ended up being such a good actor.In honor of his 50th birthday, here’s a photo collection of the many faces of Sean Penn.  As we’ll see, those many faces have had many different sideburns.

Amanda Bynes, Author

Here it is: New Yorkers Read Amanda Bynes’ Tweets.
She talks about perverts, creepers, Life and Beyoncé.
Some folks also make fun of Amanda Bynes’s tweets.

Zsa Zsa Gabor Receives Last Rites

Zsa Zsa Gabor took a turn for the worse over the weekend, being “rushed” back to UCLA Medical Center on Friday and having blood clots removed.  Saturday, her 20th wedding anniversary, was spent in the hospital with her husband, Frederic von Anhalt, at he

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, ‘Agony Aunt’

It cracks me up that both The Telegraph and The Guardian call Dr. Laura an “agony aunt” in describing her racial struggles this week.As Fat Tony says on The Simpsons, “It’s funny because it’s true.”

New Profile: Wyclef Jean

We’ve just posted a new profile of Wyclef Jean — hip-hop star, producer, former member of the Fugees, and now candidate for president of Haiti.

Sylvester Stallone Loves Lots of Hugging

A few days ago we asked the musical question, “Why does Sly Stallone have a plastic bear dangling from his cell phone?”

Headline of the Day

“Serial Stabbing Suspect a ‘Gentle Giant’ But With a History of Violence.”ABC News on murder suspect Elias Abuelazam.Alternate headline: “Big Ol’ Teddy Bear of a Man Also Liked to Stab People.”

Tiger Woods Fan Goes Over the Top

Can’t resist pointing out this photo by Matt Sullivan for Reuters, taken during practice for this week’s PGA Championships.  The tournament is in Wisconsin — hence the cheese head atop the tiger.  (That is, atop the tiger with giant biceps and claws holding a golf ball on a tee. Atop a baseball cap.)

‘Cathy’ Comic Strip Ends After 34 Years

This career has been a miracle – it let me turn every anxiety into art, be paid for it and connect in such a deep way with millions of other women.Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite says it all about her comic strip, Cathy, which will end on October 3rd.

Zsa Zsa is Up and Flirting

“When she starts flirting, she is in good shape.”Zsa Zsa Gabor is out of the hospital, says her husband.

Google Doodle Salutes ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Now, that’s a pretty cool Google Doodle. The Wizard of Oz was released on 12 August 1939, making it (as the Google Doodle points out) 71 years old today. The premiere was at the Strand Theater in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.  Why Oconomowoc?

Barack Obama With an NFL Jersey

Because we just like photos of presidents getting sports jerseys. That’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees on the left, with other members of the New Orleans Saints in the background. Barack Obama is the 44th U.S. president.

Former Senator Ted Stevens Killed in Plane Crash

[Update 2: It’s official: Stevens was indeed killed in the Alaska plane crash, according to family spokesman Mitch Rose.  The website NASA Watch says that former NASA chief Sean O’Keefe was also on board, but survived.]

Say It Ain’t So, Buzz!

Buzz Aldrin turned up at the Scientology Celebrity Center in Los Angeles this weekend for the “Church of Scientology Celebrity Center 41st Anniversary Gala.” 

The Frighteningly Fit Pecs of Simon Cowell

Simon Cowell was caught topless “by accident” while changing yachts in Nice, France yesterday.  His chest was in marvelous shape. As described by our friends at WENN:

Zsa Zsa Gabor is not Addicted to Morphine

Zsa Zsa Gabor is not stuck on morphine after her hospital stay.  Quite the opposite:During her stay at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Gabor had a bad reaction to morphine, but her condition improved when she was switched to a diffe

Happy Birthday, M. Night Shyamalan!

In celebration of M. Night Shyamalan’s birthday today, I will almost apologize for ragging on him a couple of weeks ago. Just because you don’t like a director’s movies is no reason to criticize his work, right?
If I were allowed to ask him 10 questions, that might be one of them. But I’m not in that position, so instead here’s TIME magazine asking him 10 questions.

Justin Bieber Memoir Not a Memoir

Teenage pop star Justin Bieber signed a deal to release a memoir later this year. But the memoir won’t be a memoir. That’s what Justin says in this story from Entertainment Wise.

Happy Birthday, Neil Armstrong!

The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, turns 80 years old today. Happy birthday, Mr. Armstrong!

Birthday Twins: Alberto Gonzales and Billy Bob Thornton

One played a bullying Texan president of the United States in the 2004 movie Love Actually.  One gave the thumbs-up to torture while working for a Texan president in the White House in 2002.And both were born on 4 August 1955.  Happy birthday, Alberto Gonzales and Billy Bob Thornton.