Ken Jennings, eternal Jeopardy maestro, reports on his blog that he went 24 of 38 on our recent are-you-ready-to-be-president quiz. 24 answers qualifies him for Honored Citizen status, and it’s also a scary good score. He had a close call on the Snickers question, sounds like. Thanks for the mention, Ken!
Jim Henson’s Muppets are “getting the Hannah Montana treatment” with today’s kiddies, says The New York Times.It never occurred to us that the Muppet Show Muppets were considered such separate entities from the Sesame Street Muppets. Says The Times:
Speaking as a former game show champ, I want my president to know a lot of facts. Rock-solid facts. World capitals, world leaders, currencies, the works.Not facts for their own sake, but because knowing facts is the residue of knowing a lot about the world and how it works. It’s a handy test for global savvy.
Entertainment Weekly cracks on stuntmeister David Blaine.[Update: The Times of London says Blaine is being “rubbished” over the breaks. And The NY Daily News suggests the stunt deserves “an asterisk.”]
Comedian Phil Hartman was born 60 years ago today.And it’s been 10 years now since he was killed, alas.
Fascinating: Law professor Lawrence Lessig dashes through the backgrounds of all the U.S. vice-presidents in history, comparing them to the experience of Sarah Palin.His conclusion: Palin has significantly less experience than any VP except Chester Alan Arthur and (arguably) Spiro Agnew.
Speaking of crazy endings, here’s the NFL version: the Dave Hampton game.
It was 100 years ago today.(And Three-Finger Brown was a minor footnote.)
Turns out Sen. Everett Dirksen never said “a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”(Great research. Who knew there was a Dirksen Center?)
Tom Felton, who plays “wicked little snot” Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, turns 21 today.Before Felton landed the part of Draco, he tried out for the hero roles of Harry and Ron. Judging from the photo on Felton’s official site, that’s hard to believe. With that widow’s peak and a name like Draco Malfoy, he should have a future as a James Bond villain.
Media note: I really look forward to Peter King’s weekly “Monday Morning Quarterback” column in Sports Illustrated online. (He’s an Ohio University boy!) And I also love how, in the year 2008, when you hear about a great play you can just jump to NFL.com and see the highlights immediately. Yes, I enjoy being in thrall to the NFL juggernaut, even if the business side of it is nasty and all. You’ve just got to appreciate their multimedia savvy.
“Taro Aso, a former foreign minister who delivers snappy speeches, reads Japanese ‘manga’ comics and talks tough about China, was selected Monday to be Japan’s next prime minister.”And!”A trim man who favors finely tailored suits, he is a former Olympian who competed in clay pigeon shooting in Montreal in 1976. According to the Japanese press, he used to travel to shooting practice in his Rolls Royce.”
Tzipi Livni is the new head of the Kadima political party in Israel. And she may be the country’s next prime minister.
So says Bill Dwyre of The Los Angeles Times, noting that Wie just made it through the first round of qualifying school.
“This the way the ad endsThis is the way the ad endsThis is the way the ad endsNot with a bang, but a whimper.” -T.S. Ogilvy EliotThose weird Microsoft ads with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld are suddenly kaput.
Doctor and poet William Carlos Williams was born on this day 125 years ago.
The Daily Mail has photos of Angelina Jolie at age 16. (“Before the tattoos and vials of blood,” as they put it. Those Brits!)It is kinda remarkable how much she looks like Jolie of today. Crazy lips and all.
Heh! What would your name be?[Update: Turns out the system is borrowed from the Captain Underpants book series. Tip o’ the cap to Cousin Mike!]
We noticed yesterday that the Katharine Hepburn’s profile at the Internet Movie Database has this URL: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000031.Naturally we wondered what lucky actor was #0000001. It must be the greatest or the most popular actor of all time, right? Surprise! Hey, we love him, but… you know.
By popular demand, we’re now profiling the individual Jonas Brothers to go along with our profile of the entire group.First up is the youngest member of the band, singer Nick Jonas, who turns 16 years old today.The fan site Nick J Online has a typical fan’s wish for Jonas: “A VERY PRETTY AWESOME, SUPER AWESOME, SUPER DUPER, SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY!”