Of course, Rolling Stone adds “of all time” to their title. That’s so we don’t get confused and start thinking they mean “greatest rock feuds of the Elizabethan Period.”
Here’s their gallery of the feuderists. They lead with Mick and Keef, two of the buncha guys who make up the Rolling Stones.
Today is the anniversary of Mark Twain’s birth. Mark Twain was born in 1835, in Florida, Missouri.
He has a new book out! Not bad for someone who died a hundred years ago.
Mark Twain was as popular in his time for his public performances as he was for his sarcastic remarks on the printed page. Mark Twain was a celebrity, not simply some guy to be hailed by future professors for two or three books that became part of the canon.
The day after Thanksgiving, country music legend Willie Nelson, age 77, was arrested at a Texas border crossing and charged with possession of marijuana.
Today the Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Office there released Willie Nelson’s mugshot — his booking photo — and a copy of the arrest report.
Willie’s mugshot is making the rounds, naturally. You can see the arrest report here.
“By the time the film… opens next July, the studio expects advertising and future promotions to have persuaded almost everyone that Mr. Favreau’s movie is a tough-minded adventure on the order of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven — with aliens.”It may sound like an action comedy, but Jon Favreau’s Cowboys and Aliens is actually supposed to be really scary.Now that you know, watch that trailer again:
Irvin Kershner, who directed the Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back, has died after a long illness
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2010 is upon us. Victoria’s Secret is featuring eight of its angels — their term for key spokesmodels — in this year’s show on November 30th. Because You Asked For It, here are photos and a few facts for each of the 2010 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show angels. Click any photo to see more pictures of that model.
Actor Leslie Nielsen has died at age 84. The cause was complications from pneumonia, a spokesman said.
Ed Harris turns 60 today. He was born in New Jersey on 28 November 1950.
According to this story from The Telegraph, we’re about to be bowled over at the cineplex by Abraham Lincoln. Abe Lincoln has been called the most famous of all the Civil War presidents.
President Lincoln was kilt in 1865, shot by John Wilkes Booth.
Former Republican bigwig Tom Delay was convicted today of money laundering. He faces a sentence of life in prison.
Known as “The Hammer” at the peak of his power, Tom Delay was one of those fake-populist politicians who was on Jack Abramoff’s GOP money train in the early 2000s.
Tom Delay’s idea of family values involved spending a lot of American tax dollars paying his wife and daughter. Tom Delay’s commitment to the U.S. Constitution had a lot to do with playing golf in exotic locations.
When he’s an impostor:
Roald Dahl died on this day in 1990. He was 74.
Roald Dahl is known mostly for his books for children. For his creepy, funny books for children. James and the Giant Peach and The Witches and The BFG and The Fantastic Mr. Fox and, of course, what some have called one of the best children’s books ever, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“Those of a cynical bent noted that the newly-weds would share their wedding anniversary with Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun.”Anti-royalist as ever, The Guardian comments on the April 29th wedding date of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Guy Laliberte — fire-breather, founder of Cirque du Soleil, and one of the world’s richest humans — got his star yesterday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Avril Lavigne made the scene at the American Music Awards last night in leopard-print toenails. Black velvet and spangles: Elvis would be proud. Justin Bieber was named artist of the …..
Chandra Levy was killed by Ingmar Guandique in 2001, a jury found today.After four days of deliberations, a Wasington DC jury found that Guandique killed Chandra Levy as she was jogging in Rock Creek Park in 2001. Gaundique will be sentenced later. Washington has no death
penalty, so he is expected to received from 30 years to life in prison.
John F. Kennedy was shot to death on this day in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald. Lyndon Johnson is sworn in as president on Air Force One after the death of John F. Kennedy on 22 November 1963.
Tommy Lee Jones has cooled a little onscreen, with a mere 10 films in the last 10 years compared to 20 in the glorious 1990s when he starred in The Fugitive, Men In Black, Batman Forever and a bunch of other great films.
On this day in 1831 James Garfield was born in Ohio. He was the 20th president of the United States — but not for long. Four months into his term, on 2 July 1881, he was shot twice by Charles Guiteau.
Now Joan Baez really has something in common with Keith Richards. The folk legend is “resting comfortably” after falling out of her backyard treehouse yesterday.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip put on 3D glasses yesterday at the University of Sheffield. They were actually driving a virtual backhoe, not watching Avatar. The Queen looked tentative at first, but then seemed to get the hang of 3D.
Cartoon icon Mickey Mouse quietly celebrated his 82nd birthday today, in a hidden estate in the French Riviera.Mouse, who has not been seen in public since 1984, is believed to be in ill-health and has been in a wheelchair since his 2007 wedding to actress Uma Thurman.
Today is the anniversary of the first meeting of the U.S. Congress in the new capitol of Washington, D.C.
President George Washington laid the cornerstone for the new center of government in 1793, but elected officials didn’t meet in Washington, D.C. until this fall day in 1800.
They were in a hurry to leave Philadelphia, where malaria and cholera were making even the most eloquent statesmen say, “’tis a bummer, indeed.”
[Nov. 22 update: YouTube has pulled the clip at the insistence of NBC, alas.]If you haven’t seen the cool-irritating video by Willow “Another One of Will Smith’s Kids” Smith for her song “Whip My Hair,” you can see it here. Like most music videos of pop songs, you don’t have to watch the whole thing.
Prince William and his new fiancee Kate Middleton had a royal engagement photocall today, in the State Apartments of St. James Palace in London. Nice setting.
Prince William and his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton are engaged to be married.
Tycho Brahe, the genius Danish astronomer and wearer of metal noses, is being exhumed by scientists in Prague who want to know how he died.The cause-of-death candidates are:
English author J. G. Ballard was born today in 1930, in Shanghai, China. He died last year at the age of 78. In his honor, I stacked some stuff on a cat.
I will be gone for a few days, so I’ll leave you with some cool links:
Letters of Note — I’d steal something from this every day, if it weren’t so uncool to do that.
Another great site to visit is from the U.S. National Archives, their Today’s Document from the National Archives. Always something interesting there.
Hollywood Insider reported this week on plans to make a movie based on the Rubik’s Cube, the puzzle toy created by Hungarian designer Erno Rubik in 1974.
Sure, there are board games based on movies, but movies based on board games and puzzles?
On this day in 1918 Spiro Theodore Agnew was born in Baltimore County, Maryland.
He was the son of Greek immigrants whose original name was Anagnostopoulos. He liked to be called Ted. His law school education was interrupted by service in the Tenth Armored Division during World War II. He saw combat in France and Germany.
Spiro Agnew was a suburban Baltimore lawyer, and a Democrat until 1947, when he became a Republican. From a background in county politics, he was elected Maryland’s governor in 1966.
The Freelance Review has a glimpse at art chosen for the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama.
The British Monarchy has a Facebook page, you know.
Be friends with Queen Elizabeth! See photos of Prince Harry and Prince Charles and Prince William and Prince Philip and Prince Nelson!
Okay, maybe not that last one.
Thanks to the blog Farbror Sid for this old photograph of Jane Fonda:
Colonel Sanders is a hit in China, as we once noted. Now here’s proof that he’s also a revered figure in Japan:
You have to hand it to the folks behind this this video response to the Nike and Lebron James commercial called “Rise.”
The “Rise” video deserves all the grief — it’s too precious by half. Here you can see the Cleveland “response” and the original ad:
Some people celebrate November 5 in honor of British terrorist Guy Fawkes, the Catholic revolutionary who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
Nowadays Fawkes is associated with comics legend Alan Moore, whose V for Vendetta has co-opted (or furthered) the Fawkes legend.
To read about some of the celebrations, try this feature from AOL News.
Over at the National Archives, today’s Document for Today is a letter from Richard Nixon to baseball legend Jackie Robinson, just prior to the presidential election of 1960.
Nixon thanks Robinson for his support, with a lot of yakety-yak about civil rights that now sounds pretty phony. Robinson supported Nixon over Kennedy in that election. Nixon lost that one.
Rapper Lil Wayne was released from jail today, after serving 8 months of a 12 month sentence.
From Lil Wayne’s Twitter account.
Thanks to the Huffington Post for this fashion (wink, wink) show by Mad Men star January Jones.
(2008 photo supplied by WENN.com)
According to this story in the Daily Mail, famous TV chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay continues on a financial slide.
Last year he admitted things weren’t going so grand. He sold off his Ferrari, closed several of his high-end restaurants, and tried to reorganize his empire.
Today is Adam Ant’s birthday. He’s 56.
Not even historical revisionism has saved the reputation of President Warren G. Harding. Not yet, anyway.
Harding still comes in last in most rankings of U.S. presidents. Even if he did have a famous dog.
Eight years after Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, the trial for accused kidnapper Brian David Mitchell begins today in federal court.
Smart was 14 years old when she was kidnapped in 2002, taken from her home on the night of 5 June. She was missing until 12 March 2003, when she was found in a Salt Lake City suburb with Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Ilene Barzee.