Movies and Biographies of Russia’s Communist Leaders
This YouTube video is a collection of movie clips of all the communist leaders of Russia, from V.I. Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev:
Monthly Archive: June 2011
Is the Dominique Strauss-Kahn Case About to Collapse?
It’s “on the verge,” says the NY Times:Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr.
Michelle Yeoh Deported From Myanmar
Yesterday the Hollywood Reporter had an article about Myanmar — formerly Burma — deporting the actress Michelle Yeoh.
Bruce Springsteen’s Groovy Eulogy for Clarence Clemons
“As you boys know your pop was a not a day at the beach. ‘C’ lived a life where he did what he wanted to do and he let the chips, human and otherwise, fall where they may. Like a lot of us your pop was capable of great magic and also of making quite an amazing mess.
Photo of the Day
Basketball star Dirk Nowitzky at a rally
Wait, Did Robert Browning Murder Elizabeth Barrett Browning?
No, probably not.Noting that Robert was in the habit of administering Elizabeth’s medicines himself, his accusers claim that towards the end of her life he increased the daily dosage of laudanum to a fatal level… And it is true that towards the end of her life, her English doctor did prescribe stronger medication to alleviate Elizabeth’s symptoms of suffocation, irregular heart action and severe coughing fits.
It’s the Elizabeth Barrett Browning Deathquicentennial!
Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning died on this day 150 years ago.
Monaco Royal Wedding: Eagles, Clowns and All the Monegasquen’ Details
Monegasques rejoice! Prince Albert of Monaco will marry Charlene Wittstock in a royal wedding this weekend, July 1st and 2nd. Let’s look at a few photos as we answer your burning questions. What and where is Monaco?
Rod “Blago” Blagojevich Found Guilty
Former Illinois governor Rod “Blago” Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 out of 20 counts on charges that basically boil down to him trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated after Barack Obama was elected president in 2008.
Michelle Bachmann is Running for President
Michelle Bachmann announced today that she’s running for the 2012 Republican nomination for president.
The 10,000-Year Clock of Danny Hillis
“I think this is the most important thing I can work on. More than cancer. Over the long run, I think this will make more difference to more people.”Danny Hillis is building a giant mechanical clock inside a mountain in West Texas, with cash from Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. “Over the lifetime of this clock, the United States won’t exist,” Bezos tells me. “Whole civilizations will rise and fall. New systems of government will be invented.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Happy 100th Birthday!
The amazing Babe Didrikson Zaharias was born 100 years ago today in Port Arthur, Texas.
Mark Twain Didn’t Exactly Love Jane Austen
“Every time I read ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone.”Mark Twain on Jane Austen, from The 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults in History.
Two Presidents Died On This Day
On this day in history, two United States presidents died — 46 years apart.
President Martin Van Buren died on June 24th in 1862, and President Steve Cleveland died on June 24th in 1908.
Steve Cleveland? Yes, Grover Cleveland’s real first name was Stephen.
Peter Falk Dies
Actor Peter Falk died last night, at the age of 83.
He was best known for playing the rumpled detective Lt. Columbo in the television series Columbo, originally on the air from 1971 through 1978, then revived in TV movies after 1989.
Peter Falk was born in New York in 1927. From the New York stage he began working in television in the late 1950s. He guest starred in dozens of shows and appeared in several movies in the ’60s and won two Oscar nominations, one for Murder, Inc. (1960) and one for Pocketful of Miracles (1961).
Today’s Telly Savalas Photo
Courtesy of People magazine, 1976.
Whitey Bulger Captured in California
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Whitey Bulger has been arrested.
A New Caravaggio Means More Caravaggiomania
A rediscovered painting thought to be by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is being exhibited for the first time as part of the show “Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome.” The painting is currently on exhibit at the National Gallery of Canada.
36 People Playing a Radiohead Song
Congratulations to YouTube user OHADI22 for this edit of the song “Paranoid Android” by the U.K. band Radiohead:
It’s Going To Be A Long Presidential Campaign
It’s hard to keep track of who is running for president in 2012 among the Republicans. In part because there seem to be so many of them, but also because these days there are a dozen stages of announcing your candidacy before you actually announce your candidacy.
And to think we have 19 months to go! Just this week, the slate of candidates and maybe-candidates have been in the news more for their wacky ideas and missteps than for any policy proposals. Let’s take a look:
Ed Sullivan Tribute from Woot
Sixty-three years ago, on 20 June 1948, the first program from TV host Ed Sullivan was aired.
We can’t improve on this post from Woot.com.
Check it out. And thanks, Mike Duffy!
Jackie Robinson Is Not Mrs. Robinson
I recently passed by a bus stop advertisement from Values.com that gave me pause:
Rebecca Black Pulls “Friday” From YouTube
What kind of world is it that won’t let me see what some people consider the worst music video in the world?
Fox News Calls Ayman al-Zawahiri “Number Two”
According to news reports, the guy replacing Osama bin Laden as the head of al-Qaeda will be his old physician pal Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Zawahiri is said to have helped plan …..
Where’s Buzz? Getting a D-I-V-O-R-C-E
The action figure couple known as Buzz Aldrin and Lois Driggs Cannon are getting divorced after 23 years of marriage.
Anthony Weiner Resigns From Congress
New York Representative Anthony Weiner has resigned from office, after announcing that he was going to announce his resignation.
You can read the details here, in the New York Times. The Times avoids puns and titillating discussion, of course. They summarize the story — about Weiner’s use of modern technology to network socially (wink, wink). About as racy as it gets is when they refer to Weiner’s “tight-fitting underpants.”
Happy Birthday, Mr. Cube!
Today is the birthday of O’Shea Jackson, the man also known as Ice Cube. Mr. Cube turns 42 years old today.
So let’s listen to one of my favorite Ice Cube songs:
Some Things To Know About Flag Day
Today is Flag Day in the United States. That’s only one part of Flag Week. Did you know there was a Flag Week?
Congress in 1971 asked the president to proclaim Fondue Day as part of Flag Week.
Wait, that’s not true. But then, neither is the story that Betsy Ross is the one who designed and sewed the first flag. Maybe. Who knows. You can read more about it in our Who2 biography of Betsy Ross.
An Hour With the Coen Brothers
The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s hour-long interview with Joel and Ethan Coen, the filmmakers who did Fargo, No Country For Old Men and Barton Fink:
Frances McDormand Wins a Tony
Actress Frances McDormand has won a Tony, and you can read about it here. She won the award for her performance in the play Good People, which, judging from this …..
Two Mad Magazine Frames
Guess the actors. Guess the show.
Behind the Scenes at the Movies
Although it’s not a huge gallery, there are some terrific shots for movie lovers at this site called Best of BTS.
Like this one, from The French Connection, with Gene Hackman:
Sebastian Junger is Giving Up Front-Line Reporting
“I’m not going to do any more front-line reporting, because I don’t want to put my wife through what I went through with Tim [Hetherington]… Tim’s death made war reporting feel like a selfish endeavor.”Sebastian Junger says he’s getting out of the game.
Gabrielle Giffords: An Update, Kind Of
“We do a lot of inferring with her because her communication skills have been impacted the most… What we’ve been able to infer and what we believe is that her comprehension is very good. I don’t know about percentage-wise or not, but it’s close to normal, if not normal.”
Leona Helmsley’s Millionaire Dog, Trouble, Is Trouble No More
Leona Helmsley’s Maltese pooch Trouble has died at age 12.You may recall that Leona Helmsley left Trouble a trust fund of $12 million, which was later cut by a judge to a mere $2 million. The dog’s been living on $100,000 a year since Helmsley died in 2007.
Noah Webster’s Soop on Your Tung
Here is another great video from Merriam-Webster’s Ask The Editor feature on YouTube:
Remembering Grete Waitz
[Jack] Waitz was an accountant and part-time coach who suggested his wife try the New York City Marathon. The story is often told that she hated her first marathon so much that she threw her shoes at her husband, even though she had set a world record. A star was born.George Vecsey remembers the great marathoner Grete Waitz, who won New York an amazing nine times.
Les Paul: Stars Playing His Guitars (Photos)
Les Paul is featured on today’s Google Doodle — he was born on this day in 1915. Which gives us a chance to mention our photo essay, Stars Playing Les Paul Guitars.
Patrick Stewart’s Jaguar
Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart drives around a race track and talks about his love of cars in this video from the U.K. show Top Gear:
For the Love of Movie Posters
Here’s a delightful way to while away the hours — go visit Film On Paper, a new site from movie poster collector Eddie Shannon.
Shannon has created a gallery chockablock with a variety of promotional posters like these:
Anna Kournikova is Only 30, For Pete’s Sakes
Anna Kournikova turns 30 today. The former teen tennis sensation was born on this day in Moscow in 1981, back when it was still the Soviet Union.
James Arness Says Goodbye
Actor James Arness died Friday at the age of 88. Arness was the star of the television series Gunsmoke, a western that was on the air from 1955 to 1975. Yes, that’s right, it was the longest-running drama on American TV, and Arness was Sheriff Matt Dillon.
James Arness was also known for his roles in the science fiction classics Them! and The Thing (the original, not the Kurt Russell one).
Sarah Palin and Paul Revere
Dear Fritz:
Just a thought — should we change our biography of Paul Revere to reflect this never-before-revealed story told by presidential hopeful Sarah Palin?
According to Sarah Palin, Paul Revere rang some bells to warn the British not to take his arms (which he would need to ring the bells, I guess). Something like that. She goes on to say some other stuff that sounds a little too philosophical and intellectual for my tastes, but since it’s not specifically about Paul Revere I think we can ignore it.
Is Weinergate All About Clarence Thomas?
Angry Black Lady makes a pretty good case. The kicker, about the connection to Rep. Anthony Weiner, comes near the end. (Warning: contains naughty language plus frank talk about Clarence Thomas.){ Hat tip: The Dish }
Jack Kevorkian, “Dr. Death,” Dead Himself at 83
“Dr. Jack Kevorkian — embraced as a compassionate crusader and reviled as a murderous crank — died early this morning.”
George Lucas Strikes Back!
Finally we find out what really happened to George Lucas.
Paul McCartney’s Video Contest
Anybody can have a YouTube channel. Even singer Paul McCartney, who was once a member of the group The Beatles, and who has since been crowned a Lord High Bannister Earl of The Court Order for the Empire (by Queen Elizabeth himself). So now we call him Sir Paul McCartney.
The Nellie Taft Sesquicentennial
It happens today!
Bradley Cooper Rattling On in French
Here’s actor Bradley Cooper being interviewed on French television about his new movies, The Hangover Part II and Limitless:
Marilyn Monroe and Andy Griffith are Birthday Twins
Grab some chips, then call your neighbors and tell them that American icons Andy Griffith and Marilyn Monroe were both born on the very same day: June 1 of 1926. They presented two …..