SCROTUS Update: John Paul Stevens
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is your newest Supreme Court Retiree Of The United States.
Biographies
Where’s Buzz? Out On His Ear!
Buzz Aldrin with partner Ashly DelGrosso-Costa on Dancing With the Stars. Photo: ABC
Astronaut and super-stud Buzz Aldrin got the boot from Dancing With the Stars last night.
Tiger Woods Tee Time: 1:42 pm
Tiger Woods tees off in The Masters on Thursday at 1:42 pm Eastern time. That puts him in the next-to-last group of the day. (Coincidence, or are those crafty old hound dogs at Augusta National milking the drama?)
Dean Kamen’s TED Talk
Inventor Dean Kamen’s talk at the TED conference was about a mechanical arm he devised for wounded veterans. It’s nearly 20 minutes long, but if you can spare the time and relax enough for Kamen’s steady, sincere delivery, this video is worth watching.
Happy Birthday, Raphael
Today is the anniversary of Raphael’s birth. He would have been 517 years old today if he had lived. And had been a sorcerer. Or a descendant of Methuselah.
Raphael was one of the most influential Italian Renaissance painters, working in Florence and Rome in the early part of the 16th century. He died young, at the age of 37.
It’s also the anniversary of Raphael’s death. Yes, he died on his birthday, in 1520. Bummer.
Our Reliable Tabloids
ShowBizSpy, January 5: George Clooney ‘Ready to Marry Elisabetta Canalis’ShowBizSpy, April 6: George Clooney Dumps Elisabetta Canalis
Prince Rainier III + 5 Years
Prince Rainier III of Monaco died five years ago today. Prince Rainier ruled Monaco for just about 56 years, from 1949 until his death in 2005. “Ruling” is a funny term for running Monaco, the sunny tax-free playground for the rich. Not that it’s easy to do well, but it’s also not exactly like “ruling” a traditional country.
Tiger Woods’s ‘Masterclass in Evasion’
Tiger Woods held a press conference yesterday at Augusta National, and journalists weren’t too satisfied. John Hopkins of The Times called it “a master class in evasion.”
One Boring Shining Moment: Duke Wins Again
Coach Mike Krzyzewski won his fourth NCAA basketball championship as head coach of Duke University last night. Boring old powerhouse Duke beat plucky, lovable, far-more-deserving Butler 61-59.Thereby assuring that thousands of boring bracketeers who picked obvious choice Duke to win the tournament are now blandly and smugly satisfied.Not that we’re bitter.
Presidents on TV: Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
Here’s an amusing clip of former U.S. president Gerald Ford appearing on the television game show What’s My Line. At the time of his appearance he was still a congressman (and House Minority Leader). He signs in as the “mystery challenger,” and the panelists — including Gene Rayburn — are blindfolded. At the end he gets to do a little politickin’ on behalf of President Richard Nixon.