This is the last day of the working or school year for many of our users.With that in mind: Happy holidays! And thanks to you all for another wonderful year. Who2 will turn 10 years old in 2008, and we wouldn’t have done it without you.Yes, Virginia, the Internet is a Santa Claus, with more gifties, tinsel, lumps of coal and candy canes than any of us could have imagined in 1998.And Groundhog’s Day is only six weeks away!
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