Lennon's Loss

I'll admit that I'm a sappy, emotional guy. Once in a while, I'll settle into work, only to stumble across something on the web that hits me like an emotional ton of bricks.

This short New York Times piece on the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death is not memorable for its contents — it's memorable for the hundreds of reader comments that follow the piece. It's page after page of short, detailed remembrances, each intimate and sketching a scene of shared yet private grief at the loss of this light.

I was 4 in 1980, so my grief at Lennon's loss wouldn't come until later.

Dried flowers from the funeral of Abraham Lincoln.

Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.

It Hurts (More Than It Should?)

It's sad to hear that actor Heath Ledger has died, 3 years younger than me and apparently dead of his doing.

Something hurts especially strong within me when someone who is young and attractive and famous dies.

Our culture sets its young & famous upon pedestals like Greek heroes. If they die too soon, it feels like their deaths are almost the death of youth itself.

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.

To An Athlete Dying Young, A. E. Housman

The Loathsome 50

You may not agree with the placement of the various personalities who occupy The BEAST's 50 Most Loathsome People in America — 2006, but you'll immediately recognize it as a well-crafted work of hate art.

Not merely another liberal tear into the perceived conservative establishment, this piece takes an equal-opportunity approach toward realigning gastrointestinal tracts.

Mel Gibson Appears in Apocalypto Trailer for a Single Frame

...at about 1:45 into the trailer available at the movie website.



Yes, Mel probably still thinks his wife might go to hell. And, yes, Mel's father is probably still pretty sure that the Holocaust was kinda made up.

Buy the Doutzen Kroes Donut for Breast Cancer Research

So my lucky friend is a fashion photographer.

On a whim today, he, another photographer, and supermodel Doutzen Kroes were backstage at the Ralph Lauren show and decided to make the world a better place.

Friends, they are auctioning off a donut handled by the supermodel Doutzen Kroes for Breast Cancer Research.

Bid away!

CNN Intern Spends Night Searching for Most Flamboyant Picture of Mr. Sulu

Though he's had a partner for 18 years, George Takei -- Star Trek's Mr. Sulu -- publicly came out today.

Although a seemingly infinite number of pictures exist with Mr. Sulu in his familiar Star Trek attire, CNN.com opted to run this picture with the story.

Tom Keeps Getting Older, They Stay the Same Age

Just in case Scientologist Tom Cruise wants the math to be symmetrical, somebody please tell him that actress Keira Knightley was born in 1985.

1967 + 7 = 1974
1974 + 4 = 1978
1978 + 7 = 1985

A guy's gotta plan ahead, y'know?


Source: Wikipedia, IMDb^*

Tom Cruise and Actress Katie Holmes Dating (Reuters)

UPDATE:

I have been greatly remiss.

I completely forgot that Tom Cruise was married to Mimi Rogers before he wed Nicole Kidman. This has the potential to change everything. Now it looks like an orderly progression could really proceed in 2 different directions:

1956 + 11 = 1967
1967 + 7 = 1974
1974 + 4 = 1978
1978 + 7 = 1985

or

1956 + 11 = 1967
1967 + 11 - 4 = 1974
1974 + 11 - 4 - 3 = 1978
1978 + 11 - 4 - 3 - 2 = 1980

Therefore, I guess we're looking at a couple options:


and then,

or
Source: Wikipedia, IMDb^*

Please inform Christina Aguilera that she is not out of the woods yet.

Pat Sajak Could Do His Day Job While High

I love the internet.

Without the internet, the only Pat Sajak I would know would be Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune.

With the internet, I get to meet Pat Sajak, conservative commentator who is fed up with arguing with liberals, who isn't sure about these internet goons, and who wishes people would leave ol' Tom DeLay alone.


Source: patsajak.com

Boy or Girl, It'd Be Great if She Named it Justin

What does the Greatest Living Artist name her baby, now that all the good names have been taken?

If it's a boy, I'm thinking Boutros Boutros-Federline. If it's a girl, how about something sweet, like Epiphinecstasy or Rainbow Federline?


Source: AP

Charles Weds Camilla, Small Hedgehog

At what point did this hat seem like a good idea?

Source: CNN

Note to Self: Still Illegal to Punch Strip Club DJs @ 3 a.m.

Kid Rock, looking and feeling his very best, I'm sure.

Source: CNN.com

Now, that's good jail hair... but it's not Nick Nolte good jail hair.

Your Honor, I Call Wayne Newton To The Witness Stand

Okay, so Michael Jackson got the flu. Naturally, being as fragile as a porcelain mouse, he was rushed to the emergency room.

In reading about this little episode, I saw the character witnesses that Jackson's attorneys intend to put on the stand. Moreover, the article listed the assemblage of celebrities prosecutors are gathering to cast aspersions on Jackson. Oh. My. Gawd.

Best.
Unordered.
List.
Ever.

(Names taken directly from the article)

• Elizabeth Taylor


• Jay Leno


• Quincy Jones


• Kobe Bryant


• Stevie Wonder


• Diana Ross


• Chris Tucker


• Former child actor Corey Feldman


• Backstreet Boy Nick Carter


• ...and younger brother Aaron


• CBS correspondent Ed Bradley


• CNN's Larry King


• Fox broadcaster Rita Cosby


• New Age guru Deepak Chopra


• Illusionist Uri Geller


• Illusionist David Blaine


• Las Vegas tycoon Steve Wynn


• ...and relatives of the late Marlon Brando

Not that this list needs a single bit of qualification, but I'm excited that there will be two -- count 'em, TWO -- magic acts.

If you need me, I'll be clearing out space on the TiVo.

Heidi Klum and Seal engaged to wed

Could there be a better headline than Heidi Klum and Seal engaged to wed?

My only regret is that the writer ruins this perfect headline by following it with a story explaining how this Seal is Seal the Singer, and not Seal the Flippered Animal.

Since supermodels represent the public face of the anti-fur movement, I like the idea of one of them deciding to go ahead and marry a marine mammal.

My Firstborn Shall be Named Happenstance O'Balderdash Le Folderol

Not to be outdone by Gwyneth Paltrow and her baby Apple, Julia Roberts has decided to name her newborn twins Phinneaus and Hazel.

If We Did It This Way, I Guess Bush Would Be Mr. America

A strange factoid:

The British Royal family don't really have surnames.

Well, they do have a surname (Mountbatten-Windsor), but the usage of their surname is strange enough that Prince Henry, who recently joined the British Army, will come to be referred to as Mr. Wales, Officer Cadet Wales, or simply Wales.

Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor's formal title is His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales.

If Only the Cameras Had Been Rolling the Whole Time

Bobby & Whitney finally wise up a realize that, as long as your lives resemble a reality TV show, they just as well should actually be a reality TV show.

I have almost no interest in watching reality TV; however, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's account of what would be one of the first episodes piqued my interest:

The couple dined Monday night, as cameras rolled, at the Palm Restaurant in Buckhead, ordering multiple plates of Clams Oreganato, a 6-pound lobster and a 24-ounce porterhouse steak, according to Jimmy Logan, a waiter at the eatery. Their 10-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, had her own 3-pound lobster. Even the family dog, a small tan canine named Doogie, supped on steak tartare (Houston dutifully picked out the capers from the dish).

The article didn't mention any channel affiliated with the project, but I'm pretty sure that the Food Network would pick it up.

A Rose by Any Other Name

The cast of this go-round of Fox's American Idol includes Fantasia, Jasmine, Marque, and Tiara.

Under normal circumstances, these monikers might draw attention, except that this time they're destined to be overshadowed by the positively 18th century flair of Erskine.

Not Just an Internet Gambling Mogul. A Classy Internet Gambling Mogul.

When the infamous Hilton/Salomon sex tape first appeared online, Rick Salomon claimed that the tape had been swiped from his place by Don Thrasher.

Now Salomon has decided that he'd like to make a little green off the green, grainy footage by licensing the video on a pay-per-view basis.

News Junkie

The guy just got hurt, so he can't really be blamed for his most recent media item. However, it does seem that Ozzy Osbourne misses his The Osbournes spotlight just a little too much.

I wish Ozzy a fast recovery, and I hope he (or those around him) begin to question the value of this fame-for-fame's sake.

Depends on Your Definition of "Wholly"

Wholly unfounded, Michael? Wholly unfounded?

Allow me to remind you that...
...your house is called Neverland.
...you live with a chimpanzee named Bubbles.
...you settled with a kid in 1993 in response to similar allegations.