Mirren to reprise Prime Suspect role.

I missed parts 4, 5 and 6 somehow. I'll need to rent them soon, I think. If you've never seen any of the acclaimed British series, please try to - it's worth the effort.

Sir Ian McKellen enters the realm of reality TV: "The Lord of the Rings actor, 65, has allowed a camera crew from British South Bank Show - to record his life at work, on the road and at home."

I'm not sure which is more worthy of comment - this reality show (which I wouldn't mind seeing on BBC America) or the fact there's a website called wizardnews.com.

Spears "panic-stricken" after accident: "She she was so upset she had to be calmed down by a paramedic before he went on to treat the injured man."

Oh, just shut up and get a f***in' grip.

Farrell's penis 'too distracting' for audiences: "'All you could hear were gasps when Colin appeared in his full-frontal pose. The women were over-excited and the men looked really uncomfortable. It was such a sight it made it difficult to concentrate on the plot, so the decision was made to get rid of it.'"

Get rid of it?! No!!

U.S. hostage Johnson apparently beheaded.

Not really unexpected, but Christ Almighty.

Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing.

You guys have got to check this site out (thanks, popculturejunkmail.com). The site is a compilation of actual posts from baby-naming message boards, with running commentary from the site's owner. Just one example:

"I think it's good to name your baby a name different from anyone else baby, because there is so many people who have the same name your baby have or it's very difficult. Also, it's hard to name your baby a different name, because when you think that no-one have that name there will be someone who have the same name your baby have when think you have named your baby different. so, you really can't have any name that's different from anyone unless it's something made up."

Judging from this entry, I think this person named their child, 'Have.' "

Well, maybe another:

"I am 7 months pregnant, and I am having a boy. I think i'm going to name my son Kakinston , What do you think... ??

Besides sounding like a former Central Asian Soviet republic bordering Uzbekistan, it aids small bullies immensely starting the kid's name with KACK.

I've wasted the last half hour of my workday laughing at this stuff, and I'm only on Part III.

"Covered in beeeees!"

'F*CKING' villagers vote against name change: "Everyone here knows what it means in English, but for us F*cking is F*cking - and it`s going to stay F*cking - even though the signs keep getting stolen."

LOL.

(thanks, fark.com for last 2 links)

Anonymous Kidney Donor Wins Va. Lottery.

You reap what you sow.

Dirty Litter Secret - Me against the cat pee.: "Since I had a small fenced backyard, Lipscomb suggested I try putting them outside. I read that part of their elimination problem might be that they were so bored, peeing on the rug became the highpoint of the day. I let them out and they immediately ran into the spider-infested crawl space under the house like a pair of deposed Iraqi dictators."

Very funny article.

Duran Duran Regrouping for a New Album.

Yay!

Hoffman: C-Word Once 'Term Of Endearment': "When asked if it could ever be used in a polite context, Hoffman replied, 'Yes, I've actually heard it used as a term of endearment.'"

OK, Whoa! To much information.

New Grad Gift: Breast Implants: "Aubrie Wills, 17, says she expects to get breast implants in August, before she goes to college. "

What the hell. Well, at least she'll have a good time on Spring Break.

Hero Dog Leads Lost Boy Out of Mountains: "'She deserves special treats every day for the rest of her life,' Gaudin said. 'She's a good dog.' "

T-Boz files for divorce, claims abuse.

I look at the accomanying photo and wonder how she could have thought it would end any other way.

State Department awaits criticism on Bush policy: "Oakley said the group's members are senior, former government officials who 'have spent their lives working to erect the stature and posture of the U.S. as a leader in the world ... and we simply see that edifice crumbling.'"

OK, teeny bit scared.

Hepburn Auction Tops $5 Million.

I had a feeling they were going to make a lot more money than they had originally estimated.

Woman marries a month after being stabbed by husband: "A Warwickshire woman married a man just a month after he stabbed her for having pre-wedding jitters."

I guess she got the point. Hehe.

Scientists devise perfect joke formula: "As well as being scientists, the pair are also stand-up comedians who make up the Comedy Research Project. They run this in collaboration with the Science Museum's Dana Centre in London."

Leave it to a couple of math geeks to take the funny out of funny.

Detroit, City Of Short Fuses: "Increasingly, I have come to believe that we live in a nation of pantywaists and mollycoddles, and incidents like this are just more evidence for the file. It used to be that lightweight, not-terribly-original slights like Kimmel's were either laughed off, met with an eye-roll or - best of all - utterly ignored by their intended target. These days, every insult, real or perceived, must be met with cries of outrage and calls for vengeance. If we're ever going to advance as a people, we're going to have to start making a serious effort to learn when to let shit go."

Amen, Philip.

Hepburn's bronze bust sells for nearly 200K.

I wish I could get a copy of the Sotheby's catalogue of this stuff. I would love to see it.

UPDATE: You can view the items online here, as well as purchase the catalogue.

This is an awfully long goodbye.

Reagan worship: "'I think when somebody dies there's a tendency for the press to view them through rose-colored glasses. It's only polite,' says Alex Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. 'But I think they're doing a great disservice by making this totally positive and uncritical coverage. In fact, Ronald Reagan was a very controversial president, and journalists should be trying to offer something that resembles an honest look back at Reagan's administration.' "

I was astonished that the remembrance was encompassing almost an entire week; it seemed slightly excessive to me. Especially considering this week of remembrance, mourning and the state funeral was carefully planned by Reagan people. I did not know that a president can choose between a state funeral and a private one. Probably because Nixon was the only president to die during my lifetime (or at least the lifetime I can remember - I can't recall anything about Johnson), and I just assumed his funeral was private because he had resigned.

I feel a little less crazy after reading this article. While I understand that he was a genuinely nice and funny man, and I do not begrudge him the affection many feel toward him, I've been remembering those 8 years of his presidency quite differently than the way the media has been presenting it this week. I hope that we will soon be hearing an honest and balanced commentary on Mr. Reagan's presidency and legacy, including both his strengths and his weaknesses, his successes along with his failures. It's what he, and we, deserve.

May he rest in peace, at last.

Teacher suspended for washing student's mouth out with soap: "She took the boy to the nurse's office, she said, 'put a drop of soap of his lower lip, washed it out immediately and told him I never wanted to hear filth like that coming out of his mouth again.'"

She says in the article, "...old fashioned ways work." You know, I agree with her: some of them do work. I hope she's reinstated.

Hepburn items show us a vivid story: "There is, for instance, a silver cigarette box 'for Katharine with love' engraved with the names of the cast, including Van Heflin and Joseph Cotten, in the legit version of 'The Philadelphia Story'; there are several original Hirschfelds; two paintings of Hepburn by Cecil Beaton; a wooden director's chair with 'Miss Hepburn' written on its canvas back and, just to make sure there's no mistake who should be sitting in it, also an engraved plate saying 'Miss Hepburn' on its right armrest. "

If I only had the money...

He vas...my BOYFRIEND!!!

Holly got our tickets today for the Lord of the Rings Exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. yay! For those of you who don't want to pay to see the exhibit, you can always apply to be a LOTR Exhibit Interpreter. It doesn't pay much (or at all), but you can get up close and personal with some of the stuff.

Assault with a deadly weapon? I know some who have eaten Taco Bell would agree with me...

From the abcnews.com Crimeblotter:

D E S M O I N E S, Iowa — A man apparently upset that he didn't get the taco he ordered has been charged with assaulting a Taco Bell clerk with a chalupa.

Police say that on June 3, Taco Bell employee Nancy Harrison was working at the restaurant's drive-through window when Christopher Lame ordered food.

Later, Harrison said, Lame returned to the restaurant and complained that he got a chalupa instead of the taco he said he had ordered. (A chalupa, for the uninitiated, is similar to a taco but a different shell.) Harrison asked Lame for a receipt, and he went back to his car and came back with the bag that contained his order. Lame, police were told, grew upset when Harrison told him the restaurant was about to close. Harrison said that as she began to turn away, the irate customer threw a chalupa that hit her in the face, near her right eye.

Lame allegedly then fled but Harrison took down his license plate number as he drove away. Authorities tracked down and identified Lame through the license plate number.

Lame has been charged with assault and is scheduled to appear in court on June 15.

Couple Charged With Child Pornography: "A convicted sex offender allegedly recorded his wife engaging in sex acts with her two young sons and posted the images on the Internet, authorities said Wednesday. "

People just get sicker and sicker by they day.

The Fisher Family is back this Sunday, with the season 4 premiere of HBO's Six Feet Under. I as a bit apprehensive about tuning back in with the show after my father died, but now I think I'll be OK. Which makes me happy, because I really love that show.

Man surprised rampage plan wasn't discovered: "A man who spent months armoring a bulldozer before he went on a rampage through a small mountain town and then killed himself was surprised no one discovered his plans beforehand, according to notes found by investigators."

I had no idea this had happened. I have been so disconnected lately.

Man making tea sees body in fridge: "Police have launched a murder inquiry after a man found the dismembered remains of his daughter-in-law inside his son's refrigerator while looking for milk, according to police and newspaper reports."

The article says the man is now receiving counseling. Uh, yeah!

The Man Who Fell To Earth

He must have fallen to earth, because he certainly didn't come from around here. David Bowie is without doubt the coolest man on the planet. He didn't just play his old hits, he re-invented them, as he has re-invented himself many times, and the new interpretations made them sound as fresh as the day they were first released. Looking fit at 57 in tight jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt, and with a full, strong voice, he puts most of today's pop and rock performers to shame. He was relaxed and funny, at one point teasing the crowd about how old they all were - there were an astonishing number of hands raised when he asked how many were over 50. His artistic range is amazing, including hard rock, soul, dance, rock and roll and even old-fashioned crooning. The playlist, as posted at davidbowie.com:

01 Rebel Rebel
02 Queen Bitch
03 Cactus
04 Sister Midnight
05 New Killer Star
06 All The Young Dudes
07 China Girl
08 The Loneliest Guy
09 The Man Who Sold The World
10 Battle For Britain (The Letter)
11 Pablo Picasso
12 Heathen (The Rays)
13 The Supermen
14 Hallo Spaceboy
15 Under Pressure
16 Station To Station
17 Fantastic Voyage
18 Ashes To Ashes
19 Quicksand
20 Modern Love
21 Let's Dance
22 I'm Afraid Of Americans
23 "Heroes"

(Encore)
24 Diamond Dogs
25 Ziggy Stardust

(you can also find photos from our show at that link)

He began "Let's Dance" as a slow song, and when the chorus finally kicked in, the place went nuts. "Heroes" was the usual crowd-pleaser, and I was happy to see that he took as much pleasure in singing the older hits as he did singing the ones off the new CD, Reality (which I will be buying soon). When he came back for the encore, he introduced "Diamond Dogs" by saying, "This is what we called rock and roll in the 70s." And man did they rock the place. I loved that they finished with "Ziggy", and that final "Ziggy played guuuitaaaar" was sung deeper than in the released version and made a great way to end the show.

And, just so you know, my college crush on David Bowie has been re-ignited.

I must tell you about the opening act, The Polyphonic Spree. You'd have to figure the opening act for David Bowie is likely to be somewhat eclectic, and, well, you'd be right. I can't say I didn't like the music - it was pretty good, in a Godspell/Jesus Christ Superstar/Psychedlic way. There are 25 people in the group, and that includes an 8 or 9 person choir. They all wear colorful choir robes or empire waist dresses, and look like they just walked off the commune. I even noticed that a couple of the women in the choir were pregnant. The instruments included a harp, a french horn, a trumpet and a flute, along with a couple of keyboardists, electric guitar, a percussionist and a drummer. Very big sound with a "the sun makes me shine" sort of message. Definitely an acquired taste.

All in all it was a great night, and a concert that I will remember for a very long time.

Hot Tramp, I Love You So

With all that has been going on in my life, I managed to forget (until my online calendar reminded me yesterday) that the David Bowie concert is tonight! Sheila and I are going together; hopefully, we'll be able to grab something to eat at the casino before the show. I'll let you know how it was as soon as I can, maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, check this out. Hee.

Jackman Wins Astaire Award for Dancing. "The Boy From Oz" is the only show I've seen in years, and I'm having a hard time remembering the dancing. The singing, yes, but the dancing? He could shake that booty, though, I remember that.

Queer Eye's Carson takes pride in rural roots: "`I knew I had made it as a celebrity when I could wrench Charlize Theron's Oscar out of her hands and say, `Let me look at that,' and she let me do it,'' he said. "

The new season of Queer eye premieres tonight, on Bravo at 10:00. I may be watching ROTK - if not, I'll watch this.

Does it mean I'm pathetic, that this news makes me happy? Her personal life has been such crap that I guess it's nice to hear some good news, I guess.

Scrambled eggs shut down highway: "'They brought us scrambled eggs, you believe that?' Babb said. 'Sick sense of humor, these people.'"