Was Saint Valentine Real?

A question we often get at this time of year: “Was Saint Valentine a real person?”The short answer: We don’t know, and nobody really does. Even the Catholic Encyclopedia says there were at least three different St. Valentines associated with February 14th.

Palin, Richards and Bhutto

August 20: Eric tells me about his summer with the Rolling Stones, or Ronnie Wood, mainly. He likes Ronnie — he’s good company and a laugh — but is more guarded about Jagger (very sharp business mind) and Keith (pleasant, but so doped-up Eric reckons he has only a year to live).A choice 1976 entry from Michael Palin’s Diaries 1969-1979, published in 2006.

Obituary First Lines: Roy Scheider

A smattering of obituary openings for actor Roy Scheider, who has died at age 75:- “Thanks to Roy Scheider, it was okay for the good people of Amity Island to go back in the water again.” -E! Online

Granny Rocks Grammys

Why is Tina Turner at the top of the Who Popular? list today?The 68-year-old “sizzled” while performing with Beyoncé at the Grammy Awards last night. According to Reuters, “By the end, Beyoncé looked exhausted, but Turner seemed ready for more.”

Roy Scheider, Star of Jaws and Jazz

Actor Roy Scheider, star of the movies Jaws and All That Jazz, has died at age 75. The New York Post quotes his wife, Brenda, as saying Scheider died “of a staph infection, brought on by complications of the multiple myeloma with which he was diagnosed in 2004.”

Delegate Counts

We’ve been looking for a simple, up-to-date display of GOP and Democratic delegate counts. Turns out that Yahoo News has one: the Election 08 Political Dashboard.Click the “States” tab in the upper right to see a state-by-state breakdown.For those curious about so-called superdelegates, The Nation recently tried to explain the whole deal.

Gary Coleman is 40

Actor Gary Coleman turns 40 today.Should we say “only” 40? Seems like he’s been around a lot longer than that. (Turns out he’s the same age as another great pop culture figure, Dr. Cornelius.)Speaking of sci-fi, Jules Verne today turns 180.

Scotland Yard: Explosion Killed Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto was killed by a bomb, not by gunfire. That’s the conclusion of Scotland Yard, which has been investigating her assassination. Detectives decided that a gunman fired a shot and hen detonated a bomb, which killed Bhutto when the blast thrust her head against the roof hatch of her car.

Romney Drops Out

“I must now stand aside, for our party and our country.”Mitt Romney is out of the presidential race.