The Who2 Blog

In its entirety, from Who2 user G. Peters:”Is there any truth to the story that Abe Vigoda and Erik Estrada are working on a new comedy series called Fish & CHiPs?”

California Governor Arnold Scwharzenegger says he’ll sue the federal government to allow California to set its own aggressive emissions standards for cars.George W. Bush’s EPA head, Stephen Johnson, rejected the necessary waiver on Thursday, after two years of consideration.

Who2 Labs engineer Mike Duffy sends along this trailer for the latest Batman movie, due next summer.The swell Christian Bale returns as the Dark Knight, with Heath Ledger showing his chops as the latest scenery-chewing Joker.

A rare copy of the Magna Carta has been sold for $21.3 million.What else sold in that price range lately? Andy Warhol’s portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, just last month. (The seller was actor Hugh Grant; the BBC says he bought it in 2001 for $15 million, while The New York Times claims he paid only $3.5 million.)

Opening lines from today’s obituaries for singer Dan Fogelberg:”The troubador of might-have-been has sung his final song.” -The Toronto Star”Singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, whose ’70s and ’80s soft-rock hits, such as ‘Leader of the Band’ and ‘Same Old Lang Syne,’ combined poignant lyrics with his tender delivery…” -People

Great holiday gift idea: Born Standing Up, the new memoir by Steve Martin.It’s somehow both brisk and sentimental, with penetrating notes on how he developed his act — starting with his childhood days bicycling to work at the Disneyland magic shop. As Martin describes his 18 stand-up years, “Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent in refining, and four were spent in wild success.”

The Times of London has a new look back at the disappearance of adventurer Steve Fossett. The reporter, Emma Smith, gingerly raises the question of suicide (briskly rejected by Fossett’s friends) and notes that “A report in Men’s Journal, a US magazine, has suggested his mind may have been on other matters in the wake of a rare argument with [his wife] Peggy earlier that morning.”

Cryptomundo runs ’em down.(Thanks to BoingBoing for the tip.)

Headlines from today’s obituaries for Ike Turner, rocker and onetime husband of Tina Turner:”Ike Turner, a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer known for his infamy, dies at 76.” -The Associated Press”Rock pioneer was known for abusing wife Tina Turner.” -The Los Angeles Times

It’s the Curse of Tecumseh nobody talks about — the aura of death that surrounded the administrations of U.S. presidents William Henry “Old Tippecanoe” Harrison and John Tyler.Harrison died in office, four of his children died around the same time, and Tyler’s wife died while First Lady. Or as their 1840 campaign slogan proclaimed: Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!Here’s the rundown:

First George Bernard Shaw — now Al Gore has tangled with daredevil Evel Knievel.

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has had a minor heart attack. A terse announcement on the show’s official site says he’s fine and will be back on the job in January.

Imagine if Bill Clinton had stepped down in 1996 so that his wife Hillary could be elected to replace him.Then suppose that Bill was elected again in 2000, and Hillary again in 2004 — with Hillary now in year 15 of a Clinton White House.

December 6th is unusual. It’s been known around Who2 HQ as the day nobody was born — the one day on which nobody in our database had a birthday. And we have consistently pledged not to hunt for a December 6th celeb just to artificially fill the gap.

What a biographical bust the 50 State Quarters program turned out to be!

Two users wrote us last week with the same thing on their minds:

Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel has died at age 69.Knievel was a crafty star of the pre-cable TV age, when a single rare appearance on ABC’s Wide World of Sports would be seen by tens of millions. Nowadays kids in the X Games perform motorcycle jumps, spins and look-ma-no-hands shenanigans that beat anything Evel ever did. But Evel had the P.T. Barnum gene and knew how to milk a jump over 10 Greyhound busses for maximumum publicity, drama, and cash.A spin through the obituary openers:

Grover Cleveland, apparently.(Seems to be borrowed from this.)Interesting side note from the U.S. Treasury: Bills bearing the image of Santa Claus may be legal tender.

The wife of adventurer Steve Fossett has asked a court to declare her husband legally dead.”After nearly three months we feel now that we must accept that Steve did not survive,” Peggy Fossett said in a statement.

We missed it: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last week.They were married on 20 November 1947, just two years after the end of World War II. The queen is the first English monarch to be married for 60+ years.