Jackie Robinson Is Not Mrs. Robinson
I recently passed by a bus stop advertisement from Values.com that gave me pause:
The Who2 Blog
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.