Lee Pelton Moves to Emerson College
Congratulations to Lee Pelton, who is moving to Emerson College next year after 13 good years as president of proud and plucky Willamette University.
Biographies
Happy 120th Birthday, Colonel Sanders
Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried (‘Call Me KFC’) Chicken, was born on this day in 1890. He’s been gone for 30 years now.Meanwhile, Hugh Grant is 50.
Photos From the Library of Congress
Griping about the United States government is an American hobby (or pathology), but every once in a while it’s a good idea to step back and admire the work of those who toil away — yes, at the taxpayers’ expense! — at the unheralded task of preserving our culture, by way of the Library of Congress.The Library of Congress has always been a terrific source of Americana, and by government decree. It’s also a great place to visit, if you’re ever in Washington, D.C.
Werner Herzog Answers Twitter Questions
Along with this trailer for First Look Studio’s new movie, My Son, My Son, What Have You Done?, director Werner Herzog answers a series of questions posed by Twitter users.
It’s all very nutty, with Herzog gamely playing along, from answering how to have a good wedding to explaining “I don’t know who Chuck Norris is… is he an actor?”
Mark David Chapman Denied Parole Again
Mark David Chapman, the man who killed ex-Beatle John Lennon in 1980, was denied parole for the sixth time yesterday. He’ll be up for parole again in 2012.
Is Jerry Lewis Just Too Old for the Telethon?
Tom Shales goes there, delicately.Showing his cranky side, and hinting at his notorious temper, Lewis
complained repeatedly about the sound equipment, the plug in his ear and
not being able to hear.
Elliott Gould Looks Back on M*A*S*H
It’s been 40 years.
Stephen Hawking: God Wasn’t Necessarily Necessary
Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than
nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to
invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.Physicist Stephen Hawking speaks his mind on Why God Did Not Create the Universe.(“Blue touch paper” is an old-fashioned fuse for fireworks.)
Andrew Jackson and The Hermitage: 10 Things You Didn’t Know
Here are 10 things *I* didn’t know about President Andrew Jackson and his famous home, anyway, until my visit to The Hermitage yesterday. 1) Jackson was verrrry skinny. The man was 6’1″ and 140 pounds when elected president. (John Quincy Adams, just before him, was 5’7″ and stout; Martin Van Buren followed him at 5’6″ and also full-figured.)
Midwest Music Weekend: Nashville, Brazilbilly, and Salmon P. Chase
It’s been a musical Labor Day Weekend for the Who2 midwest HQ. Friday it was a jazz lunch at Cincinnati’s handsome Mercantile Library, with singer Kathy Wade and pianist Ed Moss:Historical homey Salmon P. Chase looked on with (presumably) approval: