The X-Files / Hulk Connection
Gillian Anderson and Eric Bana were both born on this day in 1968.Not close together. Anderson was born in Chicago, Bana in Melbourne, Australia.
The Who2 Blog
Rocky’s Beef: The Greatest Action Figure Prop Ever?
A few days ago we examined GI Joe action figures.Now we discover that that the movie Rocky *also* has action figures, created in 2006 by JAKKS Pacific, Inc. You get Rocky, Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith’s plucky trainer guy… and this classic piece:
A Peace Sign from Ringo Starr
Until we added photos to our Ringo Starr profile, we didn’t know that a flash of the “peace” sign was his personal trademark. Examples (two-handed) here, (at a flower show) here, and (with Yoko!) here.
John Hughes is Dead at Age 59
For a period of time, Hughes was so dominant — certainly in the U.S. where he always played best — that it’s hard to believe that he only directed eight films. He wrote 30 others — the “Home Alones,” most notably — that were produced, 16 of them in the ’80s, 13 in the ’90s, and contributed characters or ideas to a handful of others.John Hughes died Thursday of a heart attack during a walk in Manhattan, where he was visiting family.
Clarence Thomas Sleeps in Walmart Parking Lots
At least that’s what his wife says in this radio interview (thanks to the Wall Street Journal).
Susan Boyle Fashion Photos
Yes, Susan Boyle got all gussied up for her photo shoot with Harper’s Bazaar magazine.
Super Freak +5
Rick James died five years ago today.Here he is in June 2004, two months before his death, rocking crushed velvet alongside Cincinnati’s own Bootsy Collins. (Photo supplied by WENN.)
Squeaky Fromme to be Released From Jail
It was just this past May that would-be presidential assassin Sara Jane Moore gave an interview about her 1975 attempt to kill President Gerald Ford.Now Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, the other woman in jail for attempting to kill Ford, is set to be released this month, after 34 years in prison. CNN has the story here.
Putin on Holiday
The U.K. Guardian has some terrific video of Russian leader Vladimir Putin on holiday. See how macho he looks here.
G.I. Joe Doesn’t Exist, Really
We’ve added a profile of G.I. Joe, just in time for the movie being released this weekend.Histories of the doll make it pretty clear that G.I. Joe’s creation in 1964 was a direct response to Barbie’s popularity with girls. Hasbro freely admits they coined the term “action figure” because they were afraid boys wouldn’t play with “dolls.”
Dennis Quaid Has Appeared In A Lot of Things
Heh! I love the “He has appeared as…” sequence in our profile of Dennis Quaid.You want befuddled, nihilistic, overprotective, sinewy, shady, plucky? He’s your man.Here he is as plain ol’ Dennis, bearing the difficult burden of joining Sienna Miller in Rome to promote their new G.I. Joe flick.
Happy 48th Birthday, Mr. President
U.S. President Barack Obama turns 48 today.He was born the same year as hockey star Wayne Gretzky. And he’s exactly two weeks older than Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The Queen is NOT Her Royal Highness
MAY I RESPECTFULLY POINT OUT THAT QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 IS NOT ‘HRH’ (HER ROYAL HIGHNESS), SHE IS IN FACT ‘HM’ — THAT IS TO SAY — ‘HER MAJESTY.’So writes Who2 reader Eric Ryan-Lander from the island of Madiera.
Awkward Photos With People in Animal Suits
In this edition: Madonna avoids a strange nun-kitten who has stationed herself (himself?) outside of the singer’s London home.
Barack Obama Didn’t Insult Special Olympics Kids in Quite the Way You May Have Heard He Did
This week the New York Times repeated a common error about the bad Special Olympics joke Barack Obama made to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show in March of 2009.
The Crazy Fur Hat of Ben Franklin
But in the meantime he had fun. Tons of French aristocratic frou frou fun. Marie Antoinette and the whole gang at court were nuts for him with his BRAINS and his CRAZY FUR HAT.Maria Kalman sketches the genius of Benjamin Franklin.
The Pineapple-Eatin’ Days of Jerry Garcia
We had our two cars in an empty lot in East Palo Alto where they were both broken. Neither of them ran anymore but we were living in them. Hunter had these big tins of crushed pineapple that he’d gotten from the Army, like five or six big tins, and I had this glove compartment full of plastic spoons, and we had this little cooperative scene eating this crushed pineapple day after day and sleeping in the cars and walking around.
Awkward Photos With People in Animal Suits
Our series continues. From late 2008: Paris Hilton and Bongo the Monkey.
A Stroll in the Garden
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip shelter from the rain as they arrive at the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace last Tuesday.What a great shot. A day in the life.
“Here’s to Your Mother”
Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., Sergeant James Crowley, and President Barack Obama clink beer glasses at the start of their meeting in the White House rose garden on 30 July 2009.