David Lynch on George Lucas
In this brief video film director David Lynch tells the story of when George Lucas offered him the job of directing Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
The Who2 Blog
Book Your Place in Space
Wild man and entrepreneur Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines unveiled his newest space ship this week in California, a passenger craft called the Virgin Enterprise.According to the Virgin Galactice site, flights into space are scheduled to begin in 2011. For a couple of hundred thousand dollars you can spend a couple of hours in space — without having to become an astronaut.
Happy 62nd Birthday, Douglas Kenney
Jeepers, it’s hard to believe that Doug Kenney would still be only 62 today.He was 32 when he fell from a cliff in Hawaii in 1980, possibly under odd circumstances. But by then he had already founded National Lampoon magazine, launched the stage show Lemmings, and co-written the films Animal House and Caddyshack. Those two films, nothing more than larks at the time, have since become landmarks of the Early Ironic Age.
“Who Needs Joe the Plumber When You Can Have Scott Six-Pack?”
The GOP candidate for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat posed nude for Cosmo in 1982.
John Kascht Draws Giuliani
Caricature artist John Kascht draws and talks about the face of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in a very entertaining video, found here.Kascht also draws and talks in other videos about Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and others (links go to our profiles, not those videos).
Paris Hilton is to Blame for California’s Abandoned Chihuahua Epidemic
California has a Chihuahua problem:In what appears to be strictly a California phenomenon, Golden State animal shelters have been deluged with Chihuahuas. The trembling, pop-eyed canines have replaced pit bulls as the dogs most likely to turn up at the pound.”A couple years ago if a little one came in it’d be adopted before it touched the ground,” said Kate O’Connor, director of the Berkeley shelter.
Lady GaGa Meets the Queen
Sideshow chanteuse Lady GaGa met Queen Elizabeth II last night after the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, England.God bless the Queen in these situations. Nothing fazes her. She’s seen it all.
The Gambler Who Lost $127 Million In One Year
Jeepers, what a story. Terrence Watanabe blew $127 million in a “year-long gambling binge at the Caesars Palace and Rio casinos in 2007,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Red Baron’s Death Certificate
The official death certificate of World War I ace pilot Manfred Richthofen has turned up in the Polish town of Ostrow Wielkopolski.Richthofen was one of the most famous aviators of the 20th century.A German fighter pilot, he was known as “The Red Baron” to the English because of the color of his plane. The English were quite familiar with his work: by the time Richthofen was shot down in 1918 he’d been credited with 80 kills..
Sentinel: Hospitalized Woman is Tiger Woods’ Mother-In-Law
Regarding that 911 call: The Orlando Sentinel now says the patient is Barbro Holmberg, mother to Elin Nordegren and mother-in-law to Tiger Woods.
Ambulance Responds to 911 Call at Tiger Woods’ Home
“As if this couldn’t get more bizarre.” That’s how a local TV reporter describes this morning’s incident at Tiger Woods’ home near Orlando, Florida. A 911 call was made at 2:30 am (!), and an ambulance “rushed” an unidentified woman to a local hospital — the same hospital where Woods went after his accident 10 days ago.
‘Sully’ Sullenberger’s Pilot Hat Up for Sale
A pilot’s hat owned for years by Sully Sullenberger, the “hero of the Hudson,” is up for auction on Ebay.Proceeds will benefit two schools in the San Francisco Bay area, where Sullenberger lives when he’s not piloting engineless planes to safety in major waterways.
Iron Man 2: No More Bloated Naffness!
The Guardian is worried about Iron Man 2:A tangled love story? Too many villains? A hero struggling with his demons? Unless I’m mistaken, that sounds just like Spider-Man 3 — a superhero movie legendary in its bloated naffness.
Tiger Woods Mistress Number What?
Oh, heck. We lost count after three. But if you want to keep up with what now seems like the hourly tally of women claiming to have had fun with Tiger Woods, you can go to this story from the New York Daily News.
Birthdays for Musical Opposites
Aaron Carter and his twin sister Angel turn 22 today.Tom Waits turns 60.Safe to say they won’t be sharing a birthday concert stage anytime soon.Other entertainers who turn 60 this month: Jeff Bridges (December 4th), Don Johnson (the 15th) and on Christmas Day, Sissy Spacek.
Is Nelson Mandela Losing His Memory?
(Published December 7, 2009)Is Nelson Mandela losing his mental capacities — and is it being kept quiet? Bill Keller’s feature on the movie Invictus (with Morgan Freeman as Mandela) drops this odd nugget in passing:
5 Celebrity Christmas Songs I Never Want to Hear Again (But Undoubtedly Will)
And now for a little touch of Scrooge. Here are five celebrity Christmas songs I wish would just go away.Merry Christmas (War is Over) by John LennonIt starts out strong enough (“And so this is Christmas…”) but has there ever been a dopier lyric than “Let’s make it a good one / Without any fear”? God bless John Lennon and all, but this is not his strongest effort. Toss in the piercing kiddie backup voices, and this gets my vote for the most irritating holiday song ever.
“May Impair Your Thinking”
The latest rumors have Tiger Woods taking the sleeping pill Ambien, either the night of his accident or at select other times.
Zen (and Jen) and the Art of Process Serving
Jennifer Aniston was served with legal papers hidden in a bouquet last night.The evening ended on a sour note when Aniston left the Sunset Towers Hotel and was served with legal papers hidden in a basket of flowers, telling her she was to be a witness in a sexual harassment suit involving her agent, Todd Shemarya.I’ve always been a little confounded by the strange dance that is process serving.
Hokey-Pokey Creator No Longer Has One Foot in Grave
Robert Degan, writer of the song “The Hokey Pokey,” has put his whole self in at age 104.