Tax fraud and Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to four years in prison back in 2008. Earlier this week he was moved to a halfway house — a residential facility that’s not quite prison and not quite home. “Halfway” must mean “you’re halfway done with your sentence, so out you go.”
Read the story here.
And watch this trailer for a new documentary called Casino Jack
Imagine if Marilyn Manson made a Madonna video, then add the self-indulgence of Michael Jackson so that it’s way too long, and you’ve got Lady Gaga’s newest video, “Alejandro.” Good luck sitting through all nine minutes of it — these days that seems like a lot to put up with, just to see a minute or two of sexy role playing:
Had Elvis Presley not died in 1977, he would be 75 years old today. Only 75 years old, I might add.
Recording artist Moby participated in a National Public Radio program called Project Song last month. The radio show was titled Moby: One Song, Two Days, Three Versions.
Fried butter chef Paula Deen says her maid swiped jewelry worth thousands of dollars. So she fired her. And had her arrested. The news just came in from TMZ.
Today is the birthday of pop star Prince, or, as you may know him, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince Who Is Now Known As Prince Again. He’s 52 years old.
In tribute, here’s a 2009 interview with Tavis Smiley of PBS:
Republican and House Minority Leader John Boehner wants an apology from Sir Paul McCartney. Stop the presses.
The story is here.
Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we now know that Hollywood prop masters recycle newspapers. In this case, it’s a specific newspaper prop, one that shows up over and over in movies and on TV.
Here’s the link.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal won his fifth French Open yesterday, beating Robin Soderling. That puts Nadal at the top of the rankings in men’s tennis, replacing Roger Federer.
That makes seven Grand Slam titles for Nadal. Federer has won sixteen Grand Slam titles in his career.
Today’s the anniversary of the death of President Ronald Reagan. He died in 2005 at the age of 93.Below is a video clip from one of his finest hours, as the governor of California. In this clip he’s as funny as he is brilliant.
Here’s a collection of older footage of Hollywood movie star Angelina Jolie, who turns 35 today. The videos include some early Angelina Jolie appearances on TV and in the short film Angela and Viril, as well as an interview with a teenage Jolie about modeling.
A song by Francis Scott Key, who is rolling over in his grave.
Stage and screen star and, more importantly, the man who played Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart has been knighted.
In an otherwise boring and meaningless speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan, George W. Bush, who served as the president of the United States recently, let drop that U.S. authorities had tortured the man they suspected of planning the attacks of 11 September 2001.
Film director James Cameron says his offer to help BP figure out how to fix their monstrous oil spill was rebuffed. His name showed up in the news this week in relation to the crisis, and the news was met with mixed reviews.
That means some people said, “Right on, that dude knows how to run things!” They have in mind Cameron’s films, including Titanic and Avatar, both of which are more undertakings than they mere movies.
Radio host and Democrat-whacker Rush Limbaugh is said to be getting read to tie the knot — for the fourth time.
According to this bit of gossip, Rush is set to marry Kathryn Rogers, a resident of Florida who is 26 years younger. And a lot blonder.
Today marks the anniversary of the death of baseball great Lou Gehrig. New York’s “Iron Horse” died at the age of 37, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — ALS, which for years was known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Former U.S. president George W. Bush seems to have a new Twitter account.
I can imagine him saying to Laura after dinner, “Think ahm gonna go on down ‘n’ do some tweeterin’ — er whatever they call it.”
The most recent entry reads: “Since leaving office, President has remained active. He has visited 20 states and 8 countries.”
With the passing of Dennis Hopper came several news stories that reviewed his career and its standout moments. I was never much interested in Rebel Without A Cause or Easy Rider, but as a teenager I was blown away by Apocalypse Now, so I tend to think of that movie when I think of Dennis Hopper.Even though I’m sure I’ve quoted him more often from Speed. “Way to go, Jack, way to go!” and “That’s MY money, that’s money due ME!” and “the whim of a madman!” And so on.
Today is the anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act, enacted by the United States Congress in 1924. The act granted citizenship to every Native American born in the U.S.
Of course, as this piece from the Library of Congress points out, that didn’t mean it granted Native Americans the right to vote. That was still for the states to decide: “Until 1957, some states barred Native Americans from voting.”
Yes, that’s 1957.