Joe Rosenthal, Iwo Jima Photographer
Joe Rosenthal, the photographer who took the famous photo of Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima, has died at age 94.
Biographies
The Ramsey Case
We’ve added two profiles in the sad and increasingly strange case of JonBenet Ramsey: one of the victim herself, and one of her alleged killer, John Mark Karr. His arrest in Thailand, and his apparent confession that he was “with JonBenet when she died,” have added a bizarre note to what was already a very confusing story. Our JonBenet profile has links to some of the most detailed historical sites about the case, while the Karr profile focuses on news outlets in Colorado and elsewhere that are providing steady updates.
Fidel vs. Flintstone
Cuban leader Fidel Castro is still in the hospital but expected to recover, according to his sister. He handed the reins of power temporarily to his brother Raul before surgery this week.Fidel Castro has been in power for 47 years, since 1959. How long is that?
Who2 — the Album!
It looks as if we finally have a date for the release of The Who’s new album, titled (remarkably) Who2. Pete Townshend says in this interview that October 23 is the magic day.
John Ford’s Extra Year
A recent letter from a reader in Maine questioned our birth date for director John Ford. We had 1895, but after some detailed review we now think the reader was right: Ford was born in 1894.Ford himself, it seems, liked to claim 1895 as his date of birth. That being the case, it’s no surprise that many sources online and off list his birth date as 1895. But the case for 1894 has been pretty well settled in the last two decades by some thoughtful biographers.
Superman and Grayson
A new Superman film opens this week in U.S. theaters: Superman Returns, starring newcomer Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel.However, Who2 tech guru Mike Duffy points out a superhero movie that never got made and still looks great: Grayson. It’s one fan’s heroic take on Batman’s “faithful ward,” Dick Grayson.
50 Cent Turns Thirty-One (?)
Our friends at Answers.com asked us to look into the real age of Curtis Jackson, AKA 50 Cent. We have his birth year as 1975, while many other sources say 1976.
‘Brangelina’ and ‘Frelanor’
Now that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have had their baby, let’s put an end to the tabloid naming of celebrity couples — in this case, Brangelina.The absurd trend started with Bennifer for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, and reached its artistic peak with TomKat for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Brangelina is just grasping at straws.
Shakira’s Birthday
We’ve had some trouble pinning down the birth date of Latina superstar Shakira. Many good sources list her as February 9, 1977, but other sources, just as good, have her as February 2, 1977.
Who2’s New Look
Who2 adopted a brand new look on April 2nd. We hope you like it.This is our first redesign in over two years, and it accomplishes several important tasks for us. We finally have one standard template for all of our profiles, loops, and related pages. This will help readers understand and use Who2 more easily.We’ve chosen new colors and a new, more readable typeface. Headlines are now in a more attractive (we might even say stylish) sans-serif typeface.