Katie Couric and CBS News: Splitsville?
(More photos of Katie Couric)
The Who2 Blog
Morgan Freeman’s Easy Reader
Yep, that’s 2010 Oscar-nominee Morgan Freeman as rhyming ‘n’ dancing “Easy Reader” on the old educational TV show The Electric Company. His song and dance partner there is Oscar/Tony/Emmy/Grammy winner …..
Lyndon Johnson, Fresca Fanatic
Lyndon Johnson “gave up alcohol and drank tea, Tab and Fresca” after he became president in 1963, as we note in our profile. We didn’t know until now that he used Fresca as a weapon, too.
New Faces on Mars?
Recent publications of images from Mars have kicked new energy into the once-vibrant Science Division of Who2.From HiRISE (that’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, from the University of Arizona), we analyzed this image:
The Day the Music Died
Yes, it’s the anniversary of the plane crash in 1959 that killed early rock and roll star Buddy Holly, as well as Ritchie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson.Buddy Holly is known for the songs “That’ll Be The Day” and “Peggy Sue.”Ritchie Valens had a big hit with “La Bamba.”
Meryl Streep Nominated for Ten Millionth Oscar
Good grief, not again.Meryl Streep
Bill Watterson Interview
Cartoonist Bill Watterson, the creator of the beloved Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, has given his first interview in many years to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow
It’s over. Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his den this morning and, in a rock-star ritual enhanced with texting, predicted six more weeks of winter.
Punxsutawney Phil is the Jimi Hendrix of Bad Weather Forecasting
“Groundhog Day is a lot like a rock concert but the people are better behaved and there’s a groundhog involved.” So says Tom Chapin, editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper, …..
J.D. Salinger: Not A Recluse?
Author J.D. Salinger was not a recluse, as so many have said (cough). Or so claim his New Hampshire neighbors:He would, until recent years, vote in elections and attend town meetings at the Cornish Elementary School, and he went to the Plainfield General Store each day before it closed. He was often spotted at the Price Chopper supermarket in Windsor, separated from Cornish by a covered bridge and the now ice-jammed river, and he ate lunch alone at the Windsor Diner. Mr.
Classic Rip Torn
The news of the arrest of 78 year-old actor Rip Torn — crashed out in a Connecticut bank with a weapon — gives us a chance to review this classic little bit from 1968.Beware the foul language, moms and dads, as Rip Torn and author Norman Mailer get into a nutty macho brawl, in a precursor to today’s “reality TV.”
Richard Brautigan, Happy 75th Birthday, You Brick-Swapping Son Of a Gun
San Francisco author Richard Brautigan, dead lo these many years, would still only be 75 today.He was born, like Sonny Bono and the Dalai Lama, in 1935. Brautigan’s biggest book was Trout Fishing in America, published in 1967.
Conan O’Brien and Robert Reich: Together Again?
What will Conan O’Brien do next? Maybe team up with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich for a detective drama. They did the pilot already on Conan’s old show.
A Selection of J.D. Salinger Links
The above ad is from RareLibrary.com. It’s probably true that any first edition of Catcher in the Rye is likely to have the swear words underlined, so it’s understandable that a book that’s been scribbled in can still be considered to be in very good condition.
J.D. Salinger, Author of ‘Catcher In the Rye,’ Dead at 91
Last year we noted that author J.D. Salinger was 90 and deaf. Now, alas, he’s 91 and dead. Salinger passed away of natural causes, according to his son, at his remote compound in Cornish, New Hampshire.
Barack Obama State of the Union Speech 2010 – TRANSCRIPT
President Barack Obama gave his first State of the Union address last night, on 27 January 2010. The speech ran for an hour and nine minutes — unusually long for a State of the Union talk.
PETA: Replace Punxsutawney Phil With a Robot!
We would like to present you with an exciting, innovative proposal — one that would benefit both Punxsutawney and Punxsutawney Phil. Please… make the compassionate decision to use an animatronic …..
John Edwards and Wife Elizabeth Have Split Up
{ Posted: January 2010 }
Howard Zinn Dies
American historian and critic Howard Zinn has died of a heart attack. The author of the influential history book A People’s History of the United States, Zinn was 87.His obituary from the Boston Globe recounts his career and his influence on modern historians and students, and includes details of his run-ins as an agitator at Boston University.
Happy Anniversary, Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy!
It was on this day back in 1998 that Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the time the First Lady of the United States, defended her husband on NBC’s Today show and used the term “vast right-wing conspiracy” to explain why we were hearing all about Monica Lewinsky.