Sirhan Sirhan is 66 Today
Sirhan Sirhan turns 66 years old today. He’s still in jail for killing Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Below is an brief interview with Sirhan from back then (“I’m not mentally ill, but I’m not perfect,” he says):
The Who2 Blog
Fess Parker Memorial Photo
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:16:]]Mr. Duffy asked for a photo of the late Fess Parker with Ed Ames as his sidekick Mingo. Wish granted!
Alex Chilton, 1950-2010
Pop star Alex Chilton has died of an apparent heart attack, Variety reports.Chilton was a teen star with The Box Tops, who had a number one hit in 1967 with “The Letter.” He was also in the band Big Star, and later he recorded as a solo artist. A favorite among indie musicians in the 1980s, he was never a household name, but he had a loyal following. Below are two of my favorite Chilton songs, “The Letter” (of course!) and “Holocaust” (by Big Star):
New Jersey Woman Aims to Become World’s Fattest
Her goal: 1000 pounds by 2012. The kicker is in the final sentence.
Dennis Kucinich Says ‘Yes’ to Health Care Bill
He’s on board.
Pat Nixon Desert Turkey
In honor of First Lady Pat Nixon’s birthday — she would have been 98 today, but she died in 1993 — we offer the first ever (maybe?) “Pat Nixon Desert Turkey” photo:
Tiger Woods is Returning to Golf at The Masters
Tiger Woods will golf at The Masters, he said in a statement today on his official site:”The Masters is where I won my first major, and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.”Woods adds, “I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.”
David Beckham’s Achilles ‘Totally Torn’
David Beckham suffered a full tear of his Achilles tendon on Sunday, according to Dr. Sakari Oraval, the Finnish surgeon who repaired the injury yesterday. Beckham is out for the World Cup:Asked whether Beckham would be able to play in the World Cup that starts on 11 June, Orava replied: “No, I don’t think so… healing takes a long time.
Jimmy Swaggart Is 75 Years Old
Before Ted Haggard and his trips to Denver, and just after Jim Bakker and his hush money to Jessica Hahn, there was the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart.
Peter Graves, Enemy of Leaf Blowers, Dead at 83
“In 1998, he joined his wife, Joan, in an effort to get Los Angeles to ban gasoline-powered leaf blowers from residential areas, testifying before the City Council, ‘We’re all victims of these machines.'”Jeepers, good for Peter Graves.
Masons and Shriners in the Comics
Of the 68,647 cartoons that appeared in The New Yorker magazine from 1925 to 2004 only two referred to Freemasonry and five referred to the Shriners. Courtesy of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and the Yukon (good sports indeed!) comes this fine page of Masonic References in the Comics.
Just a Nice Photo: The Flaming Lips
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2355:]]Wayne Coyne rides the crowd in a big plastic bubble as his band The Flaming Lips kicks off South by Southwest 2010 at the Austin Music Hall.See more nice photos »Photo: Tom Zinn / WENN
Happy Birthday, James Taylor!
Today is the 62nd birthday of singer James Taylor.To read in detail about his early career and how he approached songwriting in those days, read this (text only) Rolling Stone interview from 1979.And here are a few videos:
Hugh Hefner’s High School Cartoons
Via this Seattle Post Intelligencer blog post about a collection of Hugh Hefner letters and cartoons from the 1940s.Before Hugh Hefner founded Playboy magazine, that is.
Tiger Woods Hires Ari Fleischer
The New York Post reports that golfer and swinger Tiger Woods has hired on former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.Tiger’s now moved to the post-scandal step of refurbishing his image, after all those gnarly headlines about cheating on his wife, model Erin Norgren, with umpteen waitresses, porn stars and unnamed third, fourth or fifth parties.
Man Who Shot Pope John Paul II Released From Prison
Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II back in 1981, has been released from a Turkish prison, according to this article in the Guardian.
The Faces of Hand Models
Our man Mike Duffy passes along this nice slideshow of Faces Behind Famous Hands.Now you can find out what those hand models look like. Our favorite slide is the one of Pamela Moses, whose hands replaced those of Transformers star Megan Fox in a television ad for Motorola.
Did Branwell Brontë Die Standing Up?
Did Branwell Bronte really die standing up?So says Somerset Maugham.We mentioned earlier that Maugham lists Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights in his book on the 10 greatest novels of all time. Emily was preceded in death (barely) by her older brother Branwell, and Maugham relates a curious anecdote about his death.
Oscar Wrap-Up
The LA Times blog The Envelope has it all pretty well covered.
California Sen. Roy Ashburn: ‘I’m Gay’
If the aftermath of a politician being arrested for drunk driving can be called refreshing, this story is refreshing:”I’m gay,” [Sen. Roy] Ashburn told KERN host Inga Barks in an interview this morning. “Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long.” Ashburn made the admission even though he has a long history of voting against gay rights. Can’t have been easy; good for him.