Next Stop: Beastie Boulevard
205th Street in Queens was renamed “Run DMC JMJ Way” yesterday. The street’s in Hollis, the African-American neighborhood where Run-DMC got its start.
The Who2 Blog
Princess Diana’s $800 Eraser
It’s now been 12 years since the death of Princess Diana in 1997.How popular is she still?
New Profile: Rosemary Kennedy
We’ve noticed a lot of user searches for Rosemary Kennedy this past week, so we’ve created a new biography of her.Rosemary was the “forgotten” Kennedy, who spent years in seclusion at a home for the disabled in Wisconsin after she was the victim of a botched lobotomy in 1941. She died in 2005, and for most of those years inbetween she could apparently speak very little and was more or less incapacitated.
Happy Birthday, Rita and David
Today is the birthday of American poet Rita Dove (born 1952) and film director David Fincher (born 1962).In celebration, here’s a charming video interview from 1999, in which Rita talks to Charlie Rose about her poetry and Rosa Parks.
LBJ Talks to Ted
From the Houston Chronicle: A page with links to audio of President Lyndon B. Johnson calling Ted Kennedy on the occasion of his brother John’s death in 1963, and again on the occasion of his brother Bobby’s death in 1968.
122 Bowdoin Street and the Kennedy Clan
Those who know Boston may be interested in the route that Ted Kennedy’s body will take today.Near the State House the Senator will visit an odd address:
A Critic’s (Non-Oily) Farewell
IS THERE ANY BEST, SAFEST WAY TO NAVIGATE A MENU?Scratch off the appetizers and entrees that are most like dishes you’ve seen in many other restaurants, because they represent this one at its most dutiful, conservative and profit-minded. The chef’s heart isn’t in them.Scratch off the dishes that look the most aggressively fanciful. The chef’s vanity — possibly too much of it — spawned these.Then scratch off anything that mentions truffle oil.
Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009
Senator Edward M. Kennedy has died at his home on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.His family announced his death in a brief statement last night. No cause of death was given, but Kennedy has been fighting a brain tumor for more than a year.
Now You’re A Goonie
This slightly strange behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of The Goonies is six minutes of pop culture sideshow at its best. As described by director Richard Donner (The Omen and Superman were his hits at the time), this not-very-good film was a pain-in-the-butt to make. And yet it has its fans, and lots of them.In this short bit you see a young Josh Brolin a couple of times, and a young Steven Spielberg — the boss on the set.
How To Bury A Millionaire
Someone just paid $4.6 million for the crypt directly above Marilyn Monroe.”Here is a once in a lifetime and into eternity opportunity to spend your eternal days directly above Marilyn Monroe,” the eBay auction description boasted.
“Killer Cows” On the Loose in Britain
Mad cows, indeed….The NFU pointed to the fact that at least two of the four deaths involved walkers with dogs, which may be a factor in turning cows from placid cud-chewing bystanders into potential killers.Watch your back, Woody!
Michael Jackson’s Death: “Homicide”
Jeepers, here we go. Homicide, says the LA coroner.On the morning Jackson died, Murray said he tried to induce sleep without using propofol, starting first with valium at 1:30 a.m. When Jackson was still awake at 2 a.m., Murray injected Jackson with lorazepam, then injected him with midazolam at 3 a.m. Murray told police he administered several other drugs over the next few hours.Good grief.
Woody Allen Is Back In London, Thank Goodness
Good news: Woody Allen is back filming in Europe, where he makes livelier pictures. That’s him in the floppy hat, talking to Josh Brolin and Freida Pinto on the London set of “Untitled Woody Allen Project” earlier today.
All That Butter!
Here’s an amusing New York Times article about Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, finally hitting the best-seller list — 48 years after it was published.
Brett Favre Can’t Decide on a TV
Good on you, Sears. And bonus points for Favre, too.
Friday Follies
Alas, it ain’t real. But it is awesome.
The Clockwork Osmonds
Our new profile of Donny Osmond includes this list of his siblings. See if you can spot a pattern:George Jr. (b. 1945), Thomas (b. 1947), Alan (b. 1949), Wayne (b. 1951), Merrill (b. 1953), Jay (b. 1955), Donny (b. 1957), Marie (b. 1959), and James (b. 1963). They skipped a beat at the end there with Jimmy. But still, truly impressive consistency.
Did Mama Cass Gain Three Notes After Being Hit on the Head With a Lead Pipe?
Snopes says no.I hadn’t heard this one before — too busy with the old ham sandwich rumor, I guess.
Lockerbie Bomber Goes Free
“We found him to be a highly intelligent, well-educated and deeply religious person who wishes to spend his last few weeks with his wife and five children.”Hard to believe, but Abdelbasset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of killing 270 people in the Lockerbie airplane bombing in 1988, is about to be released on “compassionate grounds.” He’s dying of prostate cancer.
Stella the Fella = Caster the Mister?
History repeats itself in Berlin. 1936: At the Summer Olympics in Berlin, women’s 100-meter runner Helen Stephens is accused of being a man.