Who2 Editorial Blog

Notes and Commentary from the Editors

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Rush Limbaugh in the New York Times

"My father expected me to be a professional man. The problem was, I hated school. I hated being told what to do. In the Boy Scouts I never got a single merit badge. In school my grades were terrible. I just didn't want to be there. I just wanted to be on the radio."

--Rush Limbaugh, in a detailed new profile from The New York Times Magazine.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 4:45 AM 0 comments

George Bush Loves Birth-Mate Sylvester Stallone

Turns out George W. Bush and Sylvester Stallone were born on the exact same day: 6 July 1946.

Stallone was born in New York City, Bush in Connecticut.

The Internet Movie Database claims that Stallone is one of Bush's two favorite actors. The other? Chuck Norris.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 4:05 AM 0 comments

Friday, July 04, 2008

Joey Chestnut Is Your 'Sudden Death' Hot Dog Champ

Eating expert Joey Chestnut won the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest in extra-horrifying fashion on Friday, beating former champ Takeru Kobayashi in a five dog eat-off.

Both men finished the regular 10-minute competition with a total of 59 dogs. That led to extra franks, with Chestnut barely beating Kobayashi to the gullet.

Chestnut still fell short of last year's horrifying winning total of 66 dogs. However, he gobbled the 59 in less time: This year the competition was shortened to 10 minutes rather than the usual 12.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 9:50 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Thurgood Marshall +100

Happy 100th birthday to Thurgood Marshall. The first black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court was born on this day in 1908.

(Why is he not on the Maryland state quarter?)

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 5:10 AM 0 comments

Did Josephus Mention Jesus?

Religion and Romans editor Paul Hehn has posted a new profile of Flavius Josephus, the Jewish leader who was conquered by the Roman general Vespasian but then became pals with him anyway. (Conquerors were open-minded in those days.)

Josephus wrote Antiquities of the Jews, a history that happens to mention Jesus of Nazareth in passing. Or probably mentions him; there's a lively debate among scholars over whether the passages now credited to Josephus were pumped up by Christians (or even added wholesale) later to make Jesus sound more heroic.

Link four of our Josephus profile has an excellent analysis of the controversy. Or read our entire profile.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 4:15 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Here's the 'Quantum of Solace' Trailer

The trailer is out for the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.



It appears to be from the "rogue Bond chased by his own bosses" school of Bond films, which is probably not a good thing. However, The Guardian film blog notes that Paul Haggis has returned to work on the script, and that probably is a good thing. He did fine work on Casino Royale.

The Guardian, also on a good thing/bad thing kick, lists "the gadgets might be back" as a bad thing. We couldn't agree more. Nothing kills the drama of a Bond faster than the dopey and unbelievable 0.3 megaton Omega wristwatch neutron bombs. Casino Royale was admirably restrained in that regard, with Daniel Craig's glove-compartment medical kit being the one thrillingly effective exception.

As for the name Quantum of Solace, it's in the grand Bond tradition of grabbing titles from Ian Fleming stories with no regard to plot or meaning. If it sounds cool, that's enough, or so the theory goes. And we have to admit that's true.

In this case, the title comes from a short story published in 1959 and included in Fleming's 1960 collection For Your Eyes Only (itself the title of a later Bond film -- and dig the crazy original book cover). It's an unusual Bond story: Trapped at a boring dinner party after an assignment in the Bahamas, Bond finds himself drawn into an ambassador's tale of love and marriage among civil servants. The title phrase refers to the modicum of comfort and affection that a marriage must have in order to survive.

The story -- including a cheating, emasculating wife who gets her comeuppance -- won't do anything to satisfy those who feel Fleming is a terrific misogynist. (Or is it gynophobic?) But it was a rather interesting departure for Bond.

The film Quantum of Solace is due out in October 2008.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 6:12 AM 0 comments

Aykroyd and Bucky

Comedian Dan Aykroyd turns 56 today, and it's been 25 years since philosopher Buckminster Fuller died.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 4:38 AM 0 comments

Monday, June 30, 2008

McCain's Sweet Ride!

John McCain has a new campaign plane.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 9:10 AM 0 comments

Tim McGraw Boots Rowdy Fan

Country singer Tim McGraw threw a drunk fan out of a concert last week, and footage of McGraw rousting the guy is now a hit on YouTube.

McGraw was singing "Indian Outlaw" at a concert in Washington state when he paused mid-song, called security to "get rid of this guy," and then helped haul the cowboy-hatted fan onstage by his belt.



Seattle station KOMO says the not-too-perceptive fan "thought he was being pulled on stage to sing with McGraw."

Possibly the guy was imagining himself in the Courteney Cox role from the video for 'Dancing in the Dark," with McGraw channeling Bruce Springsteen.

Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 4:49 AM 0 comments