FRESH AIR Actor James Franco stars alongside Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant’s new film Milk, which opens Nov. 26 in some cities. He plays Scott Smith, the boyfriend of title character Harvey Milk, a pioneering gay activist and San Francisco politician who was murdered in 1978.Initially known for his role on the short-lived but critically acclaimed TV series Freaks and Geeks, Franco entered the popular film scene in earnest when he played Harry Osborne in the Spider-Man movies alongside his close friend Tobey Maguire. RADIO TIMES Hour 1 In his new book, American Lion, JON MEACHAM explores the presidency […]
OBAMA HAS A POSSE: Announces Econ Triage Team
HUFFPO: Obama made his comments as he unveiled the top members of his economic team, beginning with New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner to be his treasury secretary. Geithner, 47, is a veteran of financial crises at home and overseas and has worked closely with the Bush administration in recent months. Obama chose Lawrence Summers as director of his National Economic Council. Summers was treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton. Obama said his newly minted economic team offered “sound judgment and fresh thinking” at a time of economic peril. He expressed confidence the nation would weather the crisis […]
THIS JUST IN: Santa Claus Run Out Of Town AGAIN!
[Photo by PHILADELPHIA MARATHON] ASSOCIATED PRESS: Two Ukrainians outran the Americans for a double victory at the Philadelphia Marathon on a chilly Sunday. Andriy Toptun won in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 58 seconds over the 26.2-mile course that bypassed Independence Hall, the Betsy Ross House and the Liberty Bell. Fred Kieser, of Cleveland, was second in 2:22.45. Vera Ovcharuk won in her marathon debut, clocking 2:44.03 in cold, windy conditions. Abby Dean, of Philadelphia, trailed in 2:48.52. MORE ESPN: Those famously churlish Philly fans can’t hide behind the urban legends. The truth is out there: They simply booed Santa Claus. […]
WEEKEND UPDATE: The Good News Flower Hour
The Good News Flower Hour #2 Folks, here’s the second installment of The Good News Flower Hour, wherein I provide the voice for a flower that reads the news. The debut is HERE. We are still tweaking the concept and streamlining the production schedule on these — it takes a LONG-ass time to make these little three-minute suckers — but we hope to make this a weekly feature in the very near future. Enjoy.
REALITY CHECK: This Ain’t The Great Depression
SLATE: “By the afternoon of March 3, scarcely a bank in the country was open to do business,” FDR said in his March 12, 1933, fireside chat (now available on a very cool podcast at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Web site). In 1933, some 4,000 commercial banks failed, causing depositors to take huge losses. (There was no FDIC back then.) The recession that started in August 1929 lasted for a grinding 43 months, during which unemployment soared to 25 percent and national income was cut in half. By contrast, through mid-November 2008, only 19 banks had failed. The Federal […]
CHINESE DEMOCRACY: Raising The Titanic
NEW YORK TIMES: “Chinese Democracy” (Geffen) is the Titanic of rock albums: the ship, not the movie, although like the film it’s a monumental studio production. It’s outsize, lavish, obsessive, technologically advanced and, all too clearly, the end of an era. It’s also a shipwreck, capsized by pretensions and top-heavy production. In its 14 songs there are glimpses of heartfelt ferocity and despair, along with bursts of remarkable musicianship. But they are overwhelmed by countless layers of studio diddling and a tone of curdled self-pity. The album concludes with five bombastic power ballads in a row. “Chinese Democracy” sounds like […]
NOTHING IS REAL: The JFK Assassination Conspiracy
The Last Confessions of E. Howard Hunt He was the ultimate keeper of secrets, lurking in the shadows of American history. He toppled banana republics, planned the Bay of Pigs invasion and led the Watergate break-in. Now he would reveal what he’d always kept hidden: who killed JFK BY ERIK HEDEGAARD/ROLLING STONE Posted Mar 21, 2007 1:15 PM Once, when the old spymaster thought he was dying, his eldest son came to visit him at his home in Miami. The scourges recently had been constant and terrible: lupus, pneumonia, cancers of the jaw and prostate, gangrene, the amputation of his […]
RAW FOOTAGE: Hardcore UFOs
Astonishing footage of a meteorite crashing into the Earth captured by the onboard camera of a police car in Edmonton, Canada, on November 20, 2008.
CONCERT REVIEW: SOUND/ART/SPACE
BY DAVE ALLEN Avant-garde music happenings held in art galleries have been common for decades, but they’re no less risky than when Andy Warhol brought the Velvet Underground into his Exploding Plastic Inevitable show. The very different stimulations from sounds and visuals often end up competing for attention, and the music can sometimes become an easily-ignorable soundtrack for those who just want to look at the pretty pictures. In spite of this danger, Network for New Music’s 2008-09 season is dedicated to exploring the interaction between music and visual art, and SOUND/ART/SPACE, an intimate chamber concert held at NEXUS/foundation for […]
INTELLIGENCE REPORT: The End Of Empire
ASSOCIATED PRESS: The report, Global Trends 2025, is published every four years by the National Intelligence Council to give U.S. leaders insight into looming problems and opportunities. It also says countries in Africa and South Asia may find themselves unstable and ungoverned, as state regimes collapse or wither away under security problems and water and food shortages brought about by climate change and a population increase of 1.4 billion. The potential for conflict will be greater in 2025 than it is now, as the world’s population competes for declining and shifting food, water and energy resources. The report, a year […]
IT’S OFFICIAL: Hillary To Take Secretary of State
THE GUARDIAN: Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned. Obama’s advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton’s foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem. Clinton would be well placed to become the country’s dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New […]
5 Things You Should Know About Madonna Last Night
1. Quote of the evening: Madonna, to muscle boy at foot of the stage: “Oh honey, you’re gonna have to go to the gym more if you’re gonna wear a shirt like that.” At this point, Madonna’s physique is beyond reproach — the python arms, the thighs that would crush your skull like a grape, an ass that’s stunning even from Section 106, so she’s certainly got room to talk. But it bears noting that the now 50-year-old pop goddess kept press photographers way back near the sound board, ensuring flattering mid-range shots of her face. Sayin’. 2. The set […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Frankenfood For Dummies
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Genetic engineering is a biological science that involves modifying plants, animals or any living cell on a genetic level using gene splicing and gene modification. Complex technology allows scientists to isolate DNA from a plant or animal, and also from tinier organisms like bacteria. The DNA is then cut and spliced and either removed from the original source or implanted into another organism. This allows alterations and direct manipulation of hereditary traits of either the original organism, or whichever new host organism into which the DNA has been implanted. OLD SCHOOL Hybridization, the old way […]