Death List Members in the News
May 2007
Charles Nelson Reilly
January 2007
Bobby Hamilton
December 2006
Gerald Ford
November 2006
Jack Palance
August 2006
Fidel Castro, Kirk Douglas, John Madden
July 2006
Keith Richards, Ozzy Osbourne, Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, Phyllis Diller,
B.B. King, Dale Jarrett, Arnold Palmer
May 2006
Keith Richards, David Blaine
April 2006
Tony Stewart, Gerald Ford, B.B. King, Queen Elizabeth, Mickey Rooney, Bob
Barker, Harry Morgan, Charlton Heston, David Blaine, Vin Scully, Muhammad
Ali, Hugh Hefner, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Lewis
March 2006
Courtney Love, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Jerry Lewis, Osama Bin Laden,
Queen Elizabeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Gerald Ford
February 2006
Walter Cronkite, Brian Dennehy, Don Knotts, Willie Mays, Vin Scully, Tony
Bennett, Courtney Love, Bob Barker
January 2006
Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, B.B. King, Walter Cronkite, William Shatner, Courtney
Love, Nick Nolte
December 2005
Richard Pryor, Ozzy Osbourne & Queen Elizabeth, Nick Nolte, Hugh Hefner,
Tony Bennett, Tony Stewart, David Blaine
November 2005
George Michael, Courtney Love, William Shatner, Muhammad Ali
October 2005
Rosa Parks, William Shatner, Joe Namath, B.B. King, Jerry Lewis, Tony Stewart,
Arnold Palmer, Richard Pryor, Jack Klugman, Michael Waltrip, Hugh Hefner,
Dale Jarrett
September 2005
Courtney Love, Ozzy Osbourne, B.B. King, Michael Waltrip, Willie Nelson, Courtney
Love, Jerry Lewis, Arnold Palmer
August 2005
William Shatner, Vin Scully, Ron Popeil, Hugh Hefner, Dale Jarrett, Keith
Richards, Ozzy Osbourne, John Madden, Courtney Love, Richard Pryor, Sterling
Marlin, Tony Stewart, Tony Bennett, Don Knotts, Jerry Lewis
July 2005
Muhammad Ali, Courtney Love, Kirk Douglas, Bob Barker, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony
Stewart, Dale Jarrett, Phyllis Diller, Michael Waltrip, Gerald Ford, Mickey
Rooney, Jack Klugman, Keith Richards, Nick Nolte, Rosa Parks,
Luther Vandross
June 2005
Jim Otto, Vin Scully, Tony Bennett, Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, Queen Elizabeth,
Muhammad Ali, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Klugman, John Madden
May 2005
Michael Waltrip, Queen Elizabeth, Fidel Castro, Tony Stewart, Walter Cronkite,
Arnold Palmer, B.B. King, George Michael, Vin Scully, Keith Richards, Don
Knotts, Brian Dennehy, Michael Waltrip, Wilford Brimley, Ozzy Osbourne, Willie
Mays, Bob Barker, Nick Nolte, Jim Otto
April 2005
Larry Hagman, Richard Pryor, Willie Mays, Phyllis Diller, David Blaine, Tony
Stewart, Queen Elizabeth, Muhammad Ali, Nick Nolte and William Shatner, B.B.
King, Ozzy Osbourne, Rosa Parks, Luther Vandross, Pope John Paul II
March 2005
Ozzy Osbourne, Pope John Paul II, Courtney Love, Phyllis Diller, Vin Scully,
Fidel Castro, Ed Asner, Bob Barker, B.B. King, Arnold Palmer, Keith Richards,
Muhammad Ali, Jack Palance, Jack Klugman, Sterling Marlin, Joe Namath, Charlton
Heston, Jerry Lewis, Horatio Sanz
February 2005
February 25 - Pope John Paul II
February 23 - Wilford Brimley
February 22 - Tony Stewart
February 22 - Queen Elizabeth
February 19 - Tony Stewart
February 18 - Willie Nelson
February 14 - B.B. King
February 14 - Ozzy Osbourne
February 14 - Dale Jarrett
February 14 - Pope John Paul II
February 12 - Fidel Castro
February 10 - Phyllis Diller
February 10 - Courtney Love
February 9 - Gerald Ford
February 9 - Willie Nelson
February 9 - Pope John Paul II
February 8 - Larry Hagman
February 7 - Queen Elizabeth
February 7 - Wilford Brimley
February 7 - Rosa Parks
February 6 - Mickey Rooney
February 4 - Hugh Hefner
February 3 - Courtney Love
February 1 - Pope John Paul II
January 2005
Willie Mays, Ozzy Osbourne, Arnold Palmer, B.B. King, Vin Scully, John Madden,
Johnny Carson, Brian Dennehy, Kirk Douglas, William Shatner, Rosa Parks, Jerry
Lewis, Courtney Love, Pope John Paul II, Willie Nelson, Mickey Rooney, Gerald
Ford, Bob Barker
December 2004
Richard Pryor, Queen Elizabeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Richards, Rosa Parks,
Nick Nolte, Don Knotts
November 2004
Kirk Douglas, Ozzy Osbourne, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Lewis, Larry Hagman, Johnny
Carson, Queen Elizabeth, B.B. King, Muhammad Ali
October 2004
Courtney Love, Keith Richards, Tony Bennett, Fidel Castro, Ernest Borgnine,
Mickey Rooney, Willie Nelson, Jack Klugman, Jack Palance, Pope John Paul II,
Hugh Hefner, Rodney Dangerfield
September 2004
Courtney Love, Arnold Palmer, Rosa Parks, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Barker,
Nick Nolte, Tony Bennett
August 2004
Arnold Palmer, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Barker, Brian Dennehy, Ernest Borgnine,
Rosa Parks, Walter Cronkite, Willie Mays, Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro,
Julia Child, Jerry Lewis, Mickey Rooney, Joe Namath, B.B. King
July 2004
Rosa Parks, Courtney Love, Fidel Castro, Nick Nolte, Don Knotts, Larry Hagman,
Kirk Douglas, William Shatner
February 25, 2005: Surgery helps pope breathe
Feverish, struggling to breathe, John Paul II receives a tracheotomy and is placed on respirator after suffering from flu-like symptoms
ROME
- Pope John Paul II was rushed to the hospital for the second time in a month
yesterday and underwent a tracheotomy to improve his breathing.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the 30- minute procedure to insert a tube in his throat was successful, and the Italian news agency ANSA reported that the pope was back in his room, conscious and breathing with the help of a respirator. The frail, 84-year-old pope had been suffering from flu-like symptoms of fever and congestion, as he had when he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance on Feb. 1.
Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta, an aide to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said last night that doctors told him the pope was well enough before the operation to joke with them. When they told John Paul the operation would be a small one, he retorted: "Small, it depends for whom." Letta said the pope was conscious and "serene" after the tracheotomy.
Still, medical specialists said the decision to do a tracheotomy was a strong indication that the pope's condition is quite serious. "It's a major development," said Martin Blaser, chairman of medicine at NYU Medical Center in Manhattan. "This is not a good sign."
Navarro-Valls told the Vatican Press Corps in a communique earlier that "the Holy Father showed signs [on Wednesday] of a relapse. ... For this reason the pope was admitted this morning to Gemelli Polyclinic for opportune specialized treatment and for further tests."
The missive was as sketchy as those delivered after the pope, who has Parkinson's disease, was hospitalized the first time for what Navarro-Valls then called "a precautionary visit." The pontiff's subsequent nine-day stay proved more serious than that.
Yesterday Navarro-Valls said John Paul would spend the night in the hospital, but medical experts said a tracheotomy might require a longer stay.
Vatican observers have noted that the pontiff worked hard after coming home on Feb. 10 to make it clear he was on the job. That night, l'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, announced in a banner headline: THE RUDDER IS STILL IN HIS HANDS. The pope made a noon appearance in the window of his apartment three days later, on a Sunday. He went through a round of appointments on Monday and received the president of Croatia on Tuesday.
He tried not to let down the crowd of pilgrims gathered for his regular Wednesday audience in St. Peter's Square, but one of the winter's heaviest and coldest rains hit the city and the visitors were moved into a large Vatican auditorium. The pope stayed in his apartment but spoke a bit on closed-circuit TV, in six languages, reporters were told. With each successive appearance, he seemed a little stronger and a little more alert.
That made yesterday's reversal all the more surprising. Returning from Europe aboard Air Force One, President George W. Bush wished the pope "a speedy recovery and return to the service of his church and of all humanity."
From Nigeria to the Philippines to St. Peter's Square, the faithful expressed alarm. "We have prayed for the pope to live as long as possible so we can still share our joy with him," said retiree Zofia Gebala, 73, as she left a church in Wadowice, the pope's birthplace in Poland. "We are praying for him every day, for his well-being. But it's all in God's hands now."
from Newsday, Robert Blair Kaiser
February 23, 2005: New Mexico
Cockfighting
New Mexico panel rejects proposed ban on cockfighting
SANTA FE, N.M. -- In one of the last states where it's legal, state lawmakers in New Mexico appear to be rejecting an effort to ban cockfighting.
Supporters
defend it as a centuries-old tradition. And lawmakers have been hearing from
a wide spectrum of cockfighting fans, ranging from college students to actor
Wilford Brimley.
Brimley spoke out against a ban, telling a Senate panel he moved to New Mexico because of the state's respect for individual rights.
Other celebrities, including animal-rights activist Pamela Anderson, support a ban, but didn't appear in person.
After three hours of impassioned testimony, a state Senate committee voted
to reject the ban.
One committee member defined the controversy as a "rural versus urban"
issue. Supporters added that cockfighting pales in comparison to violent video
games and television programs -- and that people don't have to watch it if
they don't want to.
from the Associated Press
February 22, 2005: Stewart furious at finish but keeps cool
DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. - Tony Stewart had every opportunity to lose his terrible temper
after getting pushed up, down and out of his first Daytona 500 victory.
When it was over, a rival crew chief tried to pick a fight with him.
For once, Stewart walked away — sort of.
Although he gave Jimmie Johnson a retaliatory bump on the cool-down lap Sunday as payback for three furious laps of blocking, Stewart resisted the temptation to explode when Johnson’s crew chief baited the shortest fuse in NASCAR to blow.
After a brief meeting in NASCAR’s office, Stewart and Johnson emerged from the makeup session together and insisted everything was fine.
“You know, Jimmie and I are really, really good friends and this isn’t something that’s going to linger,” Stewart said. “It’s over with.”
A kinder, gentler Stewart.
Who would have thought?
Especially after coming up short yet again in NASCAR’s biggest event.
Stewart was the driver to beat, leading a race-high 107 laps. But he lost his chance for victory when he was shuffled out of the lead with four laps to go.
When the race went to overtime and Stewart had a chance to salvage a respectable finish, Johnson began to block him all over the banking at Daytona International Speedway.
He ended up seventh but still managed an uncharacteristic smile when he climbed out of the car.
“At least we had a car good enough to lead laps,” Stewart said immediately after the race. “I was so, so stoked about this car. It was awesome and we just came up short.”
But the happy version of Stewart disappeared seconds later when Johnson’s crew chief stormed over to complain about Stewart’s retaliatory bumping of Johnson after the race.
“What did you do to our car? What’s your problem?” Chad Knaus screamed inches away from Stewart’s face.
“Talk to your driver, Chad. He knocked me all over the track,” Stewart replied.
The barking continued as Stewart tried to walk on, Knaus trailing him and stopping Stewart’s efforts to end the confrontation.
Make no mistake, Stewart was furious and his familiar scowl was back.
But unlike the time he punched a photographer, or shoved a fellow competitor, or knocked away a reporter’s tape recorder, Stewart kept on walking.
“I think it’s a big disappointment for all of us and we’re proud of him,” said car owner Joe Gibbs. “He had a great car and a great effort. That was for all the marbles, a lot of money and a lot of pride. It hurts to come up short.”
Stewart and Johnson were both called to talk to NASCAR shortly after. Stewart stomped his way over to the truck while Johnson sailed in with a smile.
When they came out, they were side-by-side and ready to move on.
“We were racing on the last lap of the Daytona 500 and I was mad he pinched me” into Scott Riggs, Stewart said. “We both bumped into each other. We both did the same thing to each other.
“We both had good weeks. We’re both leaving here in a good situation.”
Still, there’s no denying Stewart had to be bitterly disappointed.
Just like all his failed opportunities to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Daytona is another place that has tormented him.
He had the best car in 2002 and dominated Speed Weeks, then blew his motor two laps in and finished last. He was strong again last season, only to come up short while pushing Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the win.
And he headed into Sunday’s race as one of the favorites after winning a qualifying race last week and Saturday’s Busch Series event.
With 10 laps to go, it looked like this one was his. Then late cautions and restarts ruined everything as Earnhardt and race winner Jeff Gordon blew past him.
“Tony fought his guts out,” Gibbs said. “I hate it that we got shuffled back like that. It’s always tough for any of us and Tony in particular. To be in the lead all day and then get beat in the end, it’s a tough deal.”
from the Associated Press
February 22, 2005: Queen to miss Charles' wedding
The
Queen will not attend the civil marriage ceremony of her son and his new bride,
says Buckingham Palace.
The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles are getting married on 8 April at the Guildhall in Windsor.
The palace said the Queen would attend the church blessing afterwards and was happy to host the reception.
Buckingham Palace said "this is not a snub" and added it was because "the prince and Mrs Parker Bowles wanted to keep the occasion low key".
"The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family will, of course, be going to the service of dedication at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle," the spokeswoman said.
"She is very pleased to be giving the wedding reception at the Castle."
Security fears
Prince William and Prince Harry, along with Mrs Parker Bowles' children, Tom
and Laura, are planning to attend the civil ceremony.
The spokeswoman said: "The Queen's prime concern is that the civil ceremony should be as low key as possible, in line with the couple's wishes."
Asked if this was a royal snub, the spokeswoman replied: "The Queen is attending the service of dedication and paying for the reception - this is not a snub."
Historian Dr David Starkey said the Queen's decision was "unprecedented" in royal history.
"We are into unknown territories with this decision and one can only speculate on the reason why.
"It could be security, that she doesn't approve, or that she doesn't care, a position which would unite her with the majority of her subjects."
'Good decision'
Lord St John of Fawsley, a constitutional expert who knows Prince Charles,
said the Queen had made a "good decision" not to attend the civil
ceremony.
He said she had clearly shown her approval of the wedding but as Supreme Governor of the Church of England "does not want to go to a wedding at a register office".
The Queen was a principled person, he said, adding: "One cannot live one's life in accordance with the way the media may react."
BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the Queen had "concerns and anxieties" about the wedding.
"It's taking place in a register office - that certainly was starting to turn this into a bit of a farce," he said.
"It's just going from bad to worse... the Queen, in her heart, doesn't feel entirely at ease with this marriage."
Royal commentator James Whitaker said: "This will further split the country, with people saying 'does the Queen really believe in this marriage between her son and Camilla Parker Bowles the divorcee?' "
The ceremony was to have been held at Windsor Castle but was switched last week after a licensing blunder.
Apparently, royal aides failed to realise the licence required would have run for three years, meaning anyone could apply to marry there during that time.
Legal row
There have also been doubts over the legality of the prince's marriage.
On Monday, law experts said royals could not have English civil marriages and the prince and Mrs Parker Bowles would have to wed in Scotland.
But the lord chancellor insists the planned civil ceremony is legal.
The dispute centres on the interpretation of legislation dating from 1836 and 1949.
Under the 1836 Marriage Act, members of the Royal Family are explicitly barred from marrying in a civil ceremony.
The 1949 Marriage Act, which formalised civil marriages, superseded the 1836 Act but included a clause saying: "Nothing in this act shall affect any law or custom relating to the marriage of members of the Royal Family."
Some legal experts argue that this wording means the 1949 act does not apply to the Royal Family.
from the BBC News
February 19, 2005: Stewart a
blur off track, too
Driver's busy day spent racing, talking, fast walking
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tony Stewart wins the second of Thursday's Duels at Daytona in 62 minutes.
Good job, but here's a suggestion -- drive faster. Your race time is cutting into your face time.
Go.
Stewart climbs out of his Home Depot Chevrolet and a Home Depot cap is placed on his head and an Old Spice towel on his shoulder. Stewart has a deal with Old Spice. Plus, he's sweating.
Stewart talks to television and radio reporters for 10 minutes. He and his crew pose with photographers for 10 minutes, putting on Nextel caps and Home Depot caps and Chevrolet caps. For another 10 minutes, Stewart poses with sponsors, family, friends and servicemen.
He gets in a van and rides to the press box. Although fans at Daytona International Speedway like to watch cars go fast, they do not like to get out of the way of vans. The drive, a painful 15 minutes, lasts longer than the interview that follows.
Stewart wants to return to the garage, but the van driver has gone, although the congestion is such he could not have gone far. Stewart asks the police officer assigned to the race winner for a ride. The officer's motorcycle has no backseat, so Stewart sits on the radio box.
After 20 minutes with his Busch team, Stewart rides to his hauler on a golf cart. Now he can relax. For 20 minutes. He has a 5:50 p.m. interview with the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, his hometown.
Stewart showers, puts on blue jeans and a black Home Depot shirt he doesn't tuck in and rides back to Victory Lane. "George Michael's Sports Machine" is there; Stewart did the show Wednesday. Tonight's guests are Stewart's boss, Joe Gibbs, and driver Bobby Labonte. Stewart sticks his head between them and takes over the interview.
Stewart talks to NBC Indianapolis from 5:50 until 6 and race-walks 50 yards to the ladder that will take him to ESPN's stage, which looks like an upscale tree house.
A producer counts down to one and the Daytona edition of "SportsCenter" begins. Stewart is scheduled to talk until 6:17, but finishes four minutes early and thus has four minutes for banter with anchors.
Stewart race-walks back to the George Michael set and grabs the new guest, fellow driver Elliott Sadler. As fast as Stewart's car is, it is no sports machine.
Stewart hops onto a golf cart and is hurried through the infield to Indianapolis' ABC affiliate. Satellite problems delay the interview, and a woman who is new to Indianapolis' CBS affiliate walks up and asks Stewart if he has time to talk to her.
Stewart turns around and asks public relations director Mike Arning if he has time. As Stewart asks, he widens his eyes. The woman is attractive.
"Yes, you do," Arning says.
A man in a golf cart as fancy as an ESPN tree house stops to say that at his campsite is a woman who is such a Stewart fan she could be Tony's mom, and would Tony drive over and spend the night.
"We're not rowdy, crazy drunks," the man says.
Despite this, they turn him down, finish the interviews, hustle back to Victory Lane and take the elevator to the third floor of the Daytona Tower and Leanne Tweeden of "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
She flirts with him and he flirts with her and the satellite is down and while they wait Stewart does a telephone interview with Time Magazine, which is starting a racing publication.
Asked by the writer about music, Stewart says he has to find a song he likes before he gets into his race car because if the last song he hears is bad, it lodges in his brain like a nail in a tire.
The satellite still is down. Your job is still boring.
"That's why I have to make it fun," says Stewart. "Can you imagine what this would be like if I didn't?"
The satellite finally is up, and so is Stewart. He likes doing "Best Damn Sports Show" because Tom Arnold and John Salley, who interview him via satellite, never ask questions others do such as what would a victory in the Daytona 500 mean to you?
Salley asks about tires and spoilers and Stewart tells him he knows so little about tires and spoilers he must be reading from a sheet.
Meanwhile, George Michael has another guest and Stewart wants to again take over but he doesn't recognize the guy. It's Jim Kelly. Who? Played quarterback for Buffalo. For the first time all night, Stewart doesn't know what to do.
He wants to burst onto the set. If you can't have fun with this, drivers will try to finish second.
Besides, he has a great idea for a TV show -- Tony Stewart's Sports Machine.
from the Charlotte Observer, Tom Sorensen
February 18, 2005: Illness halts Willie Nelson
AMERICAN
country music legend Willie Nelson has cancelled his Australian tour because
of ill health.
The 72-year-old veteran will no longer line up at Melbourne's Tsunami Benefit concert on February 27 alongside Daddy Cool, Cold Chisel, Billy Thorpe, Diesel, Richard Clapton, Joel Turner and others.
Nelson has also cancelled five shows in the US this week.
The singer's doctors declared he was suffering from acute laryngitis and ordered him to rest for three weeks.
His management said they had no alternative but to cancel Nelson's Australian shows.
"At this time, we can't reschedule his Australian tour dates because Willie has already many shows booked soon in the US," they said.
It had been rumoured actor Russell Crowe would join Nelson at the benefit for a duet.
Crowe has his own band, Thirty Odd Foot Of Grunts. He met Nelson while on tour with the band in Texas and was thinking about joining him in Melbourne at the concert.
A spokeswoman for promoter Michael Chugg said he was trying to get another big name for the benefit concert.
She strongly denied that Nelson had "blown out" the tour because of poor ticket sales.
"That is just not true because Willie had already sold a lot of tickets here," she said.
"We have actually been sent his doctor's certificate and it is all true about his illness.
"He is just as upset about this as we are."
Nelson has also cancelled a concert scheduled for Yarrawonga on February 26.
from the Herald Sun, Paul Stewart
February 14, 2005: Mississippi legislators honoring B.B. King
JACKSON,
Miss. - State lawmakers on Tuesday are honoring B.B. King, a Mississippi native
whose distinctive guitar riffs have spread the Delta blues worldwide.
A resolution passed by the House and Senate says that "no matter where he appears in the world, B.B. King is a proud ambassador of his home state, and Mississippi is even prouder of this native son."
King, 79, is set to appear before a joint session of the House and Senate. Lawmakers have declared Tuesday as B.B. King Day.
Riley B. King was born Sept. 16, 1925, on a cotton plantation in Berclair, outside Itta Bena. The resolution says he earned the nickname "B.B." - for Beale Street Blues Boy or just Blues Boy - during his early career in Memphis.
With his guitar named Lucille, King has earned 13 Grammy awards and has been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
from the Associated Press
February 14, 2005: Ozzy Osbourne Wants to Give Up Reality Show
Ozzy
Osbourne wants to give up reality TV so he can return to being "simple
old Ozzy."
The former Black Sabbath frontman and his family have made a staggering $87.4 million plus $51.68 million in merchandising from their smash hit MTV show The Osbournes.
But Osbourne fears letting TV cameras into their lives has destroyed his rock credibility - and has vowed to make the fourth season the last one.
He says, "At the end of the day with The Osbournes, I (expletive) hated it.
"For all the money we have, the way we live, the cars we drive, the first-class travel we take, I'd gladly give it up just to be simple old Ozzy again.
"I probably shattered eight million dreams in one (expletive) airing."
from the World Entertainment News Network
February 14, 2005: Daytona pole a familiar place for Jarrett
DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Jarrett blasted back from the past Sunday. And Jimmie
Johnson just kept on blazing.
Jarrett won the pole for next Sunday's Daytona 500 with a qualifying lap at 188.312 m.p.h. in a Ford, and Johnson locked up the other front-row starting spot with the second-best speed, 188.170 in a Chevrolet.
For Jarrett, 48, this was a major resurgence. The three-time Daytona 500 winner hadn't been much of a factor here since 2000, when he won the pole and the race.
For Johnson, 29, this was more of the same soaring momentum that made him NASCAR's hottest driver last fall, when he won four of the final six races, and that he carried over to his solid win in the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night.
Jarrett hasn't won a Nextel Cup race in nearly two years, but during the off-season he expressed confidence that his Robert Yates Racing team could return him to his old status as the man to beat in the Daytona 500. Sunday, he followed through.
"I think we can be considered a team and a car to beat next Sunday," he said.
As to how much he impressed younger competitors, some of whom weren't even in the Cup series when he was strong here, Jarrett had his doubts.
"Some
of these guys were still in high school five years ago, so it didn't really
matter to them what I was doing--winning the pole or the Daytona 500,"
he said. "I'm not even sure they were paying attention at the time."
Whoever is at the wheel, a fast car turns heads among drivers here, and Jarrett figured that would help him regain what he hasn't had in recent years--help in the drafting lines, where aerodynamic pushes and pulls are so vital in restrictor-plate racing at 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.
"One thing that always helps is that if you have a fast racecar, people tend to want to go with that car [in the draft]," Jarrett said. "I know that in the past, when we haven't been the quickest here, I would look and figure out who had the faster cars, and those are the people I want to get hooked up with. I think that's going to be beneficial to us."
Since 2001 everybody has wanted to hook up with the dominant Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolets of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, who between them have won three of the last four Daytona 500s.
But Earnhardt qualified only 39th fastest and Waltrip 33rd. On top of Earnhardt's struggle to a seventh-place finish in the Shootout, this led to questions about whether DEI's grip on plate racing is loosening.
One symptom that the DEI situation may be critical is that "we're way, way down on horsepower," Earnhardt said.
Jarrett and Johnson said they expected Earnhardt and Waltrip to race much better than they qualified.
"But I'm not sure the dominance that they've shown is going to be there," Jarrett said. "I think you have to look more at the Hendrick stable. It seems to be on top of their game in all aspects, but certainly for here."
Johnson has emerged as the spearhead of the Hendrick Motorsports onslaught, and his teammate and mentor, Jeff Gordon, was third fastest in time trials at 188.155.
Johnson won eight races last year, the most in Cup, and Gordon won five. And they finished a close second and third to Kurt Busch in the Chase for the Championship.
"I'm definitely feeling a lot of momentum," Johnson said. "Everything to do with Hendrick Motorsports is rocking."
As for gaining on DEI in plate racing, Johnson said: "I think our team really stepped up and we were able to close that gap. Jeff won 50 percent of the plate races [one at Talladega, Ala., and the Pepsi 400 here last July] and we finished in the top five a few times. Jeff was able to get it done, and it's up to me to learn a few more tricks."
Jarrett and Johnson are the only two drivers whose positions are locked in for the 500. The others will be determined by a combination of time-trial speeds and the finishing orders of Thursday's twin 150-mile (expanded this year from 125) qualifying races.
But both front-row sitters will run the qualifying races in deference to tradition.
from the Chicago Tribune, Ed Hinton
February 14, 2005: Pope's Health Reopens Talk of Retirement
John Paul II's recent hospitalization has led to debates within the church over his future.
VATICAN
CITY — After returning from the hospital last week, Pope John Paul II
is resting comfortably and eager to return to work, Vatican officials say.
But the sudden illness that landed him in the hospital for nine days has reopened
the debate over whether the 84-year-old pontiff can or should retire.
The pope appeared at his window Sunday and blessed the crowds below in St. Peter's Square. He could speak only a few words, and an aide read his message of thanks and encouragement.
The pope had been hospitalized after a bad bout with the flu brought on throat spasms, which made breathing difficult.
John Paul's papacy is the third-longest, and during his hospitalization, reservations about his continued capacity to serve were expressed, unusually, by several cardinals and in a surge of European and Catholic editorials.
More than 700 years have passed since a pope willingly resigned. And for this once-vigorous Roman Catholic leader, a former actor and athlete whose frailties are ever more painfully visible, the idea of retirement has been especially unthinkable.
It has long been an article of faith that John Paul, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and acute arthritis, would die while serving in office. He has frequently argued that as pope, he is God's representative on Earth and cannot simply resign from such a calling. And the presence of a former pontiff might create schisms in the church.
Yet, as he spent nine nights in a hospital on the northern edge of Rome, the unthinkable was spoken and a taboo shattered.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the second-ranking prelate in the Vatican, stunned observers with his answer when asked last week if the pope was considering retirement. Rather than dismiss the idea out of hand, a standard response from a high-level church leader, Sodano seemed to leave open the possibility.
"We leave this to the conscience of the pope," he replied.
"If there is a man of the church who is guided by the Holy Spirit, if there is a man who loves the church more than anyone else, if there is a man who has marvelous wisdom, it is the pope," Sodano added. "We must have enormous faith in him. He knows what he must do."
Two days later, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of France, a Jewish-born prelate who, like the pope, grew up in Europe during World War II, echoed Sodano's sentiment.
"The pope must do what he thinks to be the will of God to accomplish his mission," Lustiger said.
Although a number of cardinals spoke in a similar vein, others put down such speculation. Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Congregation for Bishops, said talk of retirement was "in very poor taste." The Vatican said John Paul was still in charge.
Marco Politi, the Holy See correspondent for Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, said that with the pope's decline in health, the highest echelon of the Vatican's Curia, or leadership, "has been thrown for a loop" and is divided.
"There are the champions of the status quo, tradition and preserving the structures that would allow the pontiff to reach the end of his Calvary," Politi wrote in La Repubblica. "And there are the loyal pragmatists who are not closing their eyes to the reality."
The church's Code of Canon Law allows a pope to retire, but its wording is complicated. The pontiff must make the decision "freely" with a sound mind and with a proper witness.
What if he is not of sound mind? The law does not establish procedures for the mental or sudden physical incapacitation of the pope.
It has long been rumored — and denied officially by the Vatican — that the pontiff wrote a secret letter, a kind of living will, that provides for his abdication in case of severe mental incapacitation. Pope Paul IV, who died in 1978, made similar provisions, though his letter never had to be consulted.
If John Paul has written such a letter, its secrecy will call into question its validity: When was it written? Who witnessed it? What was the pope's state of mind at the time of the writing?
The last pope to willingly step aside was Celestine V in 1294. He decided he wasn't up to the job after five months in office. His controversial decision is said to have earned him a place in Dante's Inferno.
In 1415, Gregory XII was forced to step down to end a schism created by the existence of a rival pope. John Paul worries that a living, retired pope would similarly trigger divided loyalties among the faithful.
The current debate has surfaced in the European media, in unusually stark terms.
"The fiction that this exhausted man is capable of governing the church has to stop," the French daily Le Monde said. The Tablet, a London-based Catholic weekly, urged John Paul to retire "for the pope's own sake and also for the sake of the church."
For many months, the number of activities carried out by the pope has been steadily declining while his inner circle of top prelates is handling more tasks. He signs fewer documents, Vatican sources say, and he rarely completes the reading of a homily or major address. He no longer can walk or stand without assistance. He has all but discontinued the globe-trotting that so indelibly marked his papacy; only one trip is scheduled this year.
Although it cannot be said the church is drifting, a number of important decisions have not been made because of the pope's limitations. Additionally, contradictions have arisen in church statements, such as opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, because of differences among the pontiff's top aides.
John Paul views his public suffering as an integral part of his mission on Earth: Like Christ on the cross, his suffering is redemption. It represents the consummate sanctification of the value of human life, he says.
"The sick pope is the icon of the suffering of humanity," Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone told the Italian news agency Ansa last week.
The pope also addresses the matter frequently.
"If growing old, with its inevitable conditions, is accepted serenely in the light of faith, it can become an invaluable opportunity for better comprehending the Mystery of the Cross, which gives full sense to human existence," John Paul said in a message for Lent.
"The elderly need to be understood and helped," he said. "Human life is a precious gift to be loved and defended in each of its stages."
Some experts argue that the steady deterioration of the pope's health is having a destructive and demoralizing effect. The question becomes: When does the pope cease to become a life-affirming symbol?
In
the 21st century, when the world's 1 billion Catholics look to strong, decisive
leadership to invigorate a church that is losing membership and has been buffeted
by sex-abuse scandals, a weak pope can be a liability, experts argue. Modern
medicine has in some cases allowed the human body to live well beyond the
sharpness of the mind, a fact previous Curias did not have to consider.
"The pope is a figure to whom the faithful look, a figure with a strong magnetism, and to a great extent, that would be weakened," said historian Thomas H. O'Connor of the Jesuit-run Boston College. "And outside the church, the pope is a very powerful figure. When the pope speaks, the world listens. What effect would it have if he becomes known as the sick old man of Europe? We're moving close to that."
Whether the pope dies or retires, the process of selecting a successor will remain the same. The College of Cardinals, which currently has 119 voting members, would meet secretly in the Sistine Chapel to choose a successor to St. Peter's throne.
The selection will largely depend on whether the cardinals decide to reach out to Third World regions such as Latin America or Africa, where Catholicism as well as Protestant evangelism are strong, or to stick with tradition and select a European pontiff.
If the cardinals stay with tradition, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a German, could become a transitional pope. But Ratzinger, a conservative watchdog over church doctrine, is seen by some as too dogmatic for the politically charged post.
John Paul's longevity also has led to suggestions that future popes may face term limits. Bishops are required to retire at age 75, cardinals at 80.
The Rev. Peter Gumpel, a leading church historian, said that for some, the pope's illness has created the impression that he cannot run the church. Though this is mistaken, Gumpel argues, the pope would step down if he was convinced it was in the best interest of the church.
"No one can force the pope to resign if he does not want to," Gumpel said. "It is entirely a matter of his conscience. And he responds to God for that, not to us."
from the L.A. Times, Tracy Wilkinson
February 12, 2005: Castro may live to be 120, says his doctor
Opponents
of Fidel Castro's regime who are still waiting for the Maximum Leader's death
are in for some bad news: his doctor has said he may live to the age of 120.
Eugenio Selman-Housein, the senior doctor in charge of President Castro's medical team, dismissed recent concerns for the 78-year-old Cuban leader's health.
He said: "Fidel fulfils all the necessary requirements in that he eats well and walks four kilometres five days a week, even after the operation on his knee. He could perfectly well live until 120 years old.
"The whole world could satisfactorily live 120 years," said Dr Selman, President Castro's personal physician, at a seminar for nutritionists, psychologists, gerontologists on the secret of Cuban centenarians' longevity.
According to Dr Selman, to live a long life an individual must meet six basic conditions: motivation to live, appropriate diet, medical attention, intense physical activity, cultural activities and a healthy environment.
The Cuban leader was forced to urge his people to stay calm over the state of his health last October after he tripped over a step and broke a knee and an arm.
He is clearly taking the health issue to heart as earlier this week the land of the cigars banned smoking in public.
from telegraph.co.uk, Isambard Wilkinson
February 10, 2005: At 88, Diller still dishes some laughs
Phyllis
Diller won't be in Aspen this week for the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival - but
you can hear that trademark laugh in the hills. The fest, which began Wednesday,
is screening a documentary on her farewell show in Las Vegas, "Goodnight,
We Love You," on Friday afternoon.
The last time Diller and Aspen were mentioned in the same sentence was in 2000, when Jerry Lewis infamously proclaimed at the fest: "I don't like any female comedians. A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me, but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as a producing machine that brings babies into the world."
I was in Aspen that afternoon - and the crowd gasped. Later, Lewis said he was "kidding." And he added, "How could I forget the marvelous Phyllis Diller?"
She was, after all, one of the first female stand-ups.
"That was sweet of him," Diller told me recently from her L.A. house, noting that Lewis came to her last Vegas show. "But it was a big shock to me when he first said that (in Aspen)." Diller isn't that crazy for modern comedians, male or female. "I never had an agenda like they do. I only worked for one thing. Laughs."
She couldn't make it to Aspen this year because of some health concerns. "I don't like to get too far from my doctors," she said. She turns 88 in July. I told her that makes her older than the pope.
"He doesn't know when to quit," Diller said.
from the Denver Post, Bill Husted
February 10, 2005: No jail for singer Courtney Love
Singer
Courtney Love has been spared jail for assault and drug offences, but must
serve three years probation.
She had back-to-back court appearances in two separate cases in Los Angeles, first pleading no contest to attacking a woman with a whisky bottle.
In the second, Ms Love, 40, pleaded guilty to possessing a forged prescription and painkiller oxycodone.
She must also do 100 hours community service, have drug treatment, attend Narcotics Anonymous and pay a fine.
The ex-Hole singer's lawyer Howard Weitzman said Ms Love had "turned her life around" and she was "clean and sober".
'Angry and vicious'
The assault charge stemmed from April 2004, when Ms Love found musician
Kristin King in her boyfriend's home.
Ms King said the singer "threw the bottle at the left side of my face" in an "angry, vicious and erratic" attack.
Ms Love was originally charged with the more serious offence of assault with a deadly weapon, but that was reduced to assault. Judge Rand Rubin said she must:
In the drugs case, she was sentenced to 18 months probation, to run concurrently with the probation for the assault.
That offence stemmed from October 2003, when she suffered an overdose after breaking a window at her boyfriend's home.
In a separate case relating to the same incident, Ms Love was sentenced to 18 months in drug rehabilitation for being under the influence of cocaine and opiates.
In another case last October, she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for hitting a man on the head with a microphone stand at a New York City nightclub.
Last month her lawyers said she had won back custody of Frances Bean, her 12-year-old daughter with former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
The girl was removed from her care following her double arrest in October 2003. Cobain committed suicide in 1994.
from BBC News
February 9, 2005: "Preposterous" - Ford Watergate Leaker
Grand
Rapids - The possibility that former President Gerald Ford was the secret
Watergate source known as "deep throat" was called "preposterous"
Wednesday by the curator of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Jim Kratsas
told WZZM 13:"There could not be any truth to that rumour."
The rumour mill started up recently when former Watergate figure John Dean wrote that "deep throat" was ill. The Washington Post reporters who relied on the source said they would not name him until he died.
In an online, unofficial poll sponsored by Editor and Publisher Magazine, Ford received 4% percent of the votes in their recent "name deep throat" contest. He came in in 6th place. Topping the list with 20% of the vote is U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Further casting doubt on Ford - the fact that he is not ill. He is 91, and has reduced his travel, but a friend who visited him last week in California told WZZM 13, "he´s fine."
from WZZM 13 News
February 9, 2005: Willie Nelson Performs For Soldiers; Cancels Rodeo Event
SAN
ANTONIO -- Country music legend Willie Nelson was able to keep his date with
a group of soldiers Tuesday, but not with a rodeo audience.
While attending a Purple Heart Ceremony at Brooke Army Medical Center, Nelson put on a mini concert for the soldiers and the audience.
Unfortunately, that would be Nelson's only performance of the day.
He was scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, but Nelson developed laryngitis during his BAMC performance and wasn't able to sing at the SBC Center and had to cancel.
Pat Green performed in Nelson's absence.
from KSAT.com
February 9, 2005: Willie Entertains Purple Heart Recipients
A red headed stranger was on hand today to pin Purple Heart medals onto soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Legendary singer Willie Nelson, 71, dressed in a black t-shirt emblazoned with the word "Tootsies," and with his long braided gray hair hanging nearly to his waist, stood out among the green clad soldiers and officers at the awards ceremony this afternoon at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
After the ceremony, Nelson performed a private concert for the wounded solders, their families, and their doctors at the hospital.
Nelson also went through the hospital with BAMC commander Brig Gen C. William Fox, Jr. and Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, chatting with soldiers who are too badly wounded to attend the Purple Heart ceremony.
Nelson was in San Antonio to perform at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. He's the latest of several celebrities who have helped pin Purple Hearts onto wounded soldiers at BAMC. Others have included sportscaster Lee Corso and Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington.
from WOAI.com, Jim Forsyth
February 9, 2005: Pope misses his first Ash Wednesday in 26-plus years as pontiff
VATICAN
CITY (AP) — Roman Catholic faithful prayed for Pope John Paul II's recovery
as he missed out on Ash Wednesday prayers that ushered in the solemn and sacred
Lenten season for the first time in his 26-year papacy.
Though the Vatican says the 84-year-old pope's health continues to improve since he was rushed to the hospital Feb. 1 with breathing spasms and the flu, doctors have persuaded him to prolong his stay to be on the safe side. His eighth night in the hospital passed calmly, the ANSA news agency said early Wednesday.
In services later at St. Peter's Basilica, American Cardinal James Stafford presided in the name of John Paul — a reluctant substitution for a pope deeply stirred by the traditional period of penitence, sacrifice and reflection that culminates with Easter.
Stafford read his own homily in Italian, conveying no message from the pope to the Vatican's resident cardinals, archbishops, bishops and others assembled for a ceremony originally scheduled as a papal event. Several thousand faithful attended the prayer service, which involved the sprinkling of ashes on prelates and believers.
"In addressing you, brothers and sisters, I feel the joy and the honor of leading this solemn ceremony in the name of the Holy Father," said the American cardinal, who heads the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal that deals with excommunications and other issues.
"We feel his spiritual presence among us and we remember him with affection while asking the Lord to grant him the graces necessary for his charisma as primate to unite the brothers in the faith," Stafford said.
An unidentified layman offered a prayer asking God to "grant health and comfort to our beloved Pope John Paul II so that he may continue his pastoral ministry for the good of the church and all humanity."
The Vatican did not say whether the pope did anything special in his room at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital to mark Ash Wednesday, a holiday he hasn't missed with public prayers since he became pope in 1978.
Officials say the pontiff has been holding Mass regularly for the doctors and nurses treating him at the clinic. John Paul is expected to remain there at least until Thursday, when the Holy See issues its next medical update.
Ash Wednesday traditionally kicks off a few weeks of spiritual reflection for the pope ahead of the taxing Holy Week services, which culminate with Easter on March 27.
With the pope in such frail health, it remained unclear whether he would be able to preside over the traditional March 25 Good Friday prayer service at the Colosseum re-enacting Christ's Passion. He has long since stopped walking in the Colosseum procession while carrying a cross; in recent years, the faithful have carried the cross and made the symbolic Stations of the Cross walk while the pope observed and read a homily.
The pope's long struggle with Parkinson's disease and crippling hip and knee ailments have many Roman Catholics questioning how long he can continue to serve. The Vatican's No. 2 official, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, caused a stir this week by publicly suggesting for the first time that the Vatican may be discussing the sensitive issue.
Popes may resign but cannot be forced to do so, and John Paul repeatedly has said he has no intention of abdicating. The last time a pope willingly resigned was in the 13th century.
"It is bad taste to talk about it, and it's even worse because the starting point of this debate is the pope's flu," a leading Italian cardinal, Giovanni Battista Re, told the newspaper La Repubblica on Wednesday.
from the Associated Press
February 8, 2005: J.R. visits Wisconsin to drill for organ donation support
Actor
Hagman speaks on behalf of new state law
Actor Larry Hagman of “Dallas” and “I Dream of Jeanie” fame visited the Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Rd., last month to speak on behalf of a new Wisconsin law which provides up to $10,000 in state income tax deductions to cover the costs associated with donating an organ.
“Cody’s Law” – named after Menasha-area boy Cody Monroe who received a kidney transplant – is intended to ease the financial burden associated with organ donation by allowing a tax deduction for related expenses seldom covered by medical insurance.
from the Wauwatosa Express News
February 7, 2005: British queen marks 53rd anniversary of accession quietly
LONDON
(AFP) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth marked the 53rd anniversary of her accession
to the throne in quiet fashion, with her only public outing a visit to her
local church.
Accompanied by husband Prince Philip, the monarch was due to attend a morning service at West Newton Church, which forms part of the royal family's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England.
Accession Day, as it is known, is traditionally not seen as a celebration, unlike the anniversary of her formal coronation as monarch on June 2.
In 2002, Elizabeth marked her Golden Jubilee, 50 years after the coronation, with a long programme of celebrations joined enthusiastically by the British public.
In contrast, Accession Day is an event tinged with sadness for Elizabeth, as it marks the anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI, on January 6, 1952.
from AFP
February 7, 2005: Wilford Brimley won't make it to cowboy gathering
Bill Brimley, son of actor Wilford Brimley, will stand in for his father on Thursday to receive the Cowboy Cross Award from the Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering.
Wilford
Brimley, 70, was granted the award for his outstanding contribution to Western
cinema. The award will be bestowed during a meet-and-greet party at 7 p.m.
Thursday at the Ellensburg Inn.
The party kicks off the Friday-through-Sunday event planned at various locations
around Ellensburg, featuring cowboy music, poetry, arts and crafts.
Tickets continue to be on sale for the Thursday party at the Ellensburg Chamber
of Commerce. Cost is $25, and tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets
also are available for the weekend Cowboy Gathering.
Chamber Executive Director Alan Walker, a member of the Cowboy Gathering board, said Wilford Brimley couldn't attend because of heart problems and possible surgery this week.
Standing in for Wilford will be his son, Bill Brimley, a singer and entertainer who has performed at the National Cowboy Gathering at Elko, Nev. Also on hand will be Bill Brimley's wife.
In addition to the award ceremony, several of the Spirit of the West performers will be in attendance at the party.
Wilford Brimley, before launching into acting, was a ranch hand, wrangler and blacksmith. He also was a rodeo competitor as a young man. He began his film career as an extra in Westerns. Highlights of his film work include roles in "The China Syndrome," "The Electric Horseman," "Absence of Malice," "Cocoon," "The Natural" and the "The Firm" as well as the television drama "Our House."
He also partnered with Tom Selleck in "Crossfire Trail." Recently, he has had roles in "The Round and Round" and "Resurrection Mary" in 2002 and "The Road Home" in 2003.
from the Daily Record, Mike Johnston
February 7, 2005: All sides keep spinning in Rosa Parks lawsuit
DETROIT
-- When lawyer Gregory Reed filed the first lawsuit, he referred to his client
as "Rosa Parks (aka Mother of Civil Rights Movement)." Targeting
the hip-hop group OutKast and its backers, he asked for an injunction and
upward of $5 million.
Last year, after federal courts had dismissed and reinstated the claim, Reed filed a new petition. He asked for $5 billion.
"You know what that does? It gets your attention," Reed explained. "You can't put a price on a name. You really can't put a price on a legacy."
Reed got people's attention, not all of it favorable. His lawsuit over OutKast's use of her name set the stage for a messy fight over Parks, 50 years after she famously refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus.
The complications reach beyond the courthouse into questions about Parks' care. A federal judge, who worried that Parks' interests were becoming lost in the squabbling, drafted former Detroit mayor Dennis Archer to be her guardian.
Archer, once a Michigan Supreme Court justice, said that he is "just trying to bring the temperature down." He wants to settle the case, "before everyone's gotten full body armor on and gotten out their long rifles and bayonets."
But he does believe in the lawsuit. He believes a wrong has been done to Parks, 92, and someone in the music business should pay. "She is a symbol," Archer said, "of all that is good about America."
The trouble started when OutKast titled a song "Rosa Parks." Although the lyrics never mention her, they contain sexual references and vulgarity that disturbed Parks, once a seamstress and activist with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Montgomery.
The refrain is, "Ah ha, hush that fuss. Everybody move to the back of the bus." Group members Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and Andre 3000 (Andre Benjamin) say it refers to the way OutKast intends to beat its rivals and rule its corner of the music kingdom.
By using her name without her permission, Parks' many lawyers contend, the
producers and marketers broke federal rules designed to prevent people from
profiting through misrepresentation. OutKast has been dropped from the lawsuit,
which now mainly targets LaFace Records, Arista Records and BMG Entertainment,
a division of music conglomerate Bertelsmann AG.
Rhea McCauley smells a rat. A niece to Parks, who has no children, McCauley
considers the lawsuit a waste of time and money.
"My poor aunt is being used. Her image is being dragged through the mud for money," said McCauley, a financial planner in Ypsilanti. "I would like those people to let my auntie go."
Reed dismisses McCauley as a niece-come-lately who rarely visits or calls her aunt.
Parks has been a bystander to the squabble in recent years. Medical records released by the court show she has been suffering from dementia since 2002.
Arguing the case for the music defendants is Joseph Beck, a former legal services lawyer in Washington, D.C., whose current clients include the estate of Martin Luther King Jr.
Beck believes the First Amendment protects everyone connected with the OutKast production, but with settlement negotiations taking place as recently as last week in Detroit, Beck also said his clients are not ogres.
"We've always been willing to do something for Mrs. Parks, not because we have to - because under the law we don't - but because we respect her," Beck said.
from the Washington Post, Peter Slevin
February 6, 2005: Mickey Rooney's hard-wired for show biz
At
84, Mickey Rooney is still taking his show on the road. This week, he's at
the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale.
Five years before the movies talked, 2-year-old Mickey Rooney sang and danced.
In no time, he moved from America's burlesque stages to Hollywood. By 1939, Rooney was the world’s No. 1 box-office attraction -- bigger than Gable, Garbo and Garland.
Now in his ninth decade in show business, Rooney is back where he began: singing and dancing on stage. Through Feb. 13, he appears (with wife No. 8, Jan) at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, part of the Great American Follies series.
''I've been performing 82 years,'' Rooney said. "I think everybody is born to do what they do.''
Rooney was born to entertain. His mother, a chorus girl, gave birth to him while she performed on the road. Little Joe Yule Jr. joined the act in 1922.
''Since he was 2 years old, he has supported his whole family,'' said Jan's son, Chris Aber-Rooney, who produces Rooney's current vaudeville-style act. "At 84 years old, he's still supporting everybody.''
In Hollywood from 1927 to 1934, Rooney (then called Mickey McGuire) cranked out hundreds of comedy short subjects. Stardom came in 1935, when Warner Bros. cast 15-year-old Mickey Rooney as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He stole the show from James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Dick Powell and Olivia de Havilland.
Rooney
moved to Metro Goldwyn Mayer, which cast him in a B picture called A Family
Affair. His 1937 role as teenaged Andy Hardy led to 21 more pictures in the
series, one of Hollywood's most prolific and successful.
''The Andy Hardy series contributed to 55 percent of the gross profits for Metro Goldwyn Mayer,'' Rooney said.
His pay at the time: $2,000 a week and $25,000 upon completion of each motion picture. No residuals from theatrical reissues -- or later TV and home-video sales.
Through 1941, Rooney remained the world's top box-office star. He played Young Tom Edison, starred opposite Spencer Tracy in Captains Courageous and Boy's Town, and launched the career of 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor in 1944's National Velvet.
Along the way, he teamed with Judy Garland to make MGM's most-successful musical duo. Among their blockbuster hits: Babes in Arms; Strike Up the Band and Girl Crazy.
MGM coached other young performers how to sing and dance, but not Garland and Rooney.
''We had talent,'' he said. Director-choreographer Busby Berkeley "didn't tell us how to dance. He just showed us what to do. You know how long it took to film those numbers? Two days!''
Rooney's star began to fade during World War II, when he enlisted in the Army. After the war, he returned to MGM. He had a few more hits, including a turn as composer Lorenz Hart in 1948's all-star Words and Music.
Soon after, Rooney left MGM and began performing on television and in nightclubs. He became equally well-known for his tumultuous private life, including personal bankruptcy, 11 children and eight marriages.
Wife No. 1, in 1942: the late movie queen Ava Gardner. ''She never wanted to be a star,'' Rooney recalled. "She just wanted to be a person.''
Six divorces and one marital tragedy later (fifth wife Barbara Ann Thompson was shot to death in 1966), he met singer Jan Chamberlin, 36, in 1974. They wed four years later and are still together.
Being married to Rooney is ''hard, very hard,'' said Jan, who travels and performs with him. "When you're thrust into a life like that -- an arena -- at first it's a little overwhelming. While you love the adulation and the admiration, you want to make sure you say the right things to people. It can be a lose-lose situation.''
She didn't marry Rooney for his fortune. He has none.
While Rooney was in the Army, his mother ''borrowed'' his childhood MGM earnings, according to stepson Aber-Rooney, 45. "When it came time to collect the money they gathered for him, there wasn't much left. He doesn't like to remember things like that.
"He's been so bitter all his life. He's mad at himself that he never knew how to save his money.''
To supplement his income, Rooney makes TV commercials. One you won't see: a cold-remedy ad that was supposed to air during today's Super Bowl. In the commercial, set in a sauna, Rooney's towel accidentally drops, revealing his rear end.
Rooney's
stepson said multiple takes had been shot of Rooney running out of the sauna
fully covered. In one shot the star's towel accidentally fell off. That was
the take producers chose to use.
Fox TV nixed the ad, not wanting to air another wardrobe malfunction after last year's Janet Jackson debacle.
Rooney won't discuss the ad, except that he's glad it won't air. He'd rather talk about his act and how he still travels the world, giving interviews, singing and dancing.
''I see him when he's not working,'' his stepson said. "He's frail. He doesn't know what to do. The only time you see him happy, smiling, is when he's on the stage.''
from the Miami Herald, Steve Rothaus
February 4, 2005: When Hugh Hefner visited Disney World
LAKE
BUENA VISTA, Florida -- At first, the contrast was laughable: Playboy founder
Hugh Hefner, accompanied by a bevy of bunnies, visiting Walt Disney World.
But Thursday afternoon, it was one American icon paying homage to another -- Walt Disney.
The 78-year-old Hefner and his entourage -- in Florida for Playboy's famed Super Bowl party the night before Sunday's game -- said he and Disney have a lot in common. Both were Midwesterners who began their careers as cartoonists before founding their companies.
"I think he would have every reason to be proud," Hefner said. "I think he's had a very positive impact on the world. Disney and Mickey Mouse both had a tremendous influence on me when I was starting."
And both men have left their mark on the world.
"It's fascinating to see the impact of the global nature of the Disney phenomenon," Hefner said. "It's remarkable how universal the Playboy bunny is now -- anywhere in the world."
Hefner, accompanied by four blonde girlfriends, said he had another purpose for his visit to the park. It was a belated birthday gift to one of his companions, Holly Madison, who sported a small Mickey doll on her hip.
"All the girls are Disney fans," Hefner said. "But Holly is obsessed."
As for the world's most famous bachelor, it's all about staying young.
"What has never left me, quite frankly, is the boy himself," Hefner said. "It is the connection to childhood. There are two 'Happiest Places on Earth': One is Disney, and the other is the Playboy Mansion."
from the Associated Press
February 3, 2005: Courtney Love to Sell off Cobain’s Estate?
Courtney
Love may be forced to sell the estate of her late husband Kurt Cobain in order
to pay off her mounting legal bills.
Love is reportedly just days away from a deadline to resolve payment of legal costs, reports MTV. The WMC Mortgage Corp is seeking foreclosure on the 13-acre estate bought by Love in 1997 for her late husband Kurt Cobain's family, should the company forclose then the mansion would be put up for auction.
The star allegedly owes in excess of $314,000 to WMC. Love is herself claiming that she is looking for Speaking to Blender magazine in April she said, "$40 million has been stolen from me and Frances by a fiduciary institution. My daughter's trust fund has been stolen from to the point where she may have, like, nothing. I can't let this happen to Frances."
Hopefully Love will be able to make some money from her forthcoming new album, she said of the recording process:
“I didn't pick up a guitar the whole time. I let go to a degree that it's starting to bother me. I had a dream that I was holding a frame of a painting in my hand, but it was really a guitar, which to me symbolizes that my frame is how I play guitar and I need to adjust these songs that I wrote where I just sang melody lines.
“They're more narrative, acoustic-based. Someone like Elliott Smith would just take a guitar and narrate, and that's something Billy brought up that I need to do. What we wrote with an eye towards was Dylan's ‘Tangled Up in Blue’, that really cool era of Dylan.
“That's why these songs need a big, huge hit of speed, and since that would be illegal, I need to drink a lot of fucking coffee and sit down and really figure out what it is I want to say. They are beautifully arranged tunes so far.”
from Gigwise.com
February 1, 2005: Ailing Pope Taken to Rome Hospital
VATICAN
CITY — Pope John Paul II was taken to a hospital in Rome late Tuesday
night.
The pope has been suffering from the flu since Sunday and apparently suffered a "breathing crisis," a Vatican official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
This is not the first time the 84-year-old pontiff has battled illness, but his health combined with his age is of constant concern to Catholics around the world.
The Vatican planned to issue a communique toward midnight Tuesday. In the meantime, cars with Vatican license plates were speeding toward to Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital where the pope had been taken, according to an AP correspondent at the scene.
It was the same Rome Catholic teaching hospital he was taken to when he was shot in the abdomen in 1981 and at which he has undergone several operations.
As late as 11 p.m. local time, the Vatican appeared calm with no traffic or sign of an alert. The sudden transfer of the pope caught his own staff by surprise.
Earlier in the day, the Vatican said it canceled the pope's engagements for the next few days, including the popular weekly audience with the public.
The pope's influenza was described as mild but, but as in the case of his past illnesses, few details were offered.
John Paul has Parkinson's disease and suffers from chronic hip and knee problems.
He was reported to have come down with the flu Sunday, when he made his regular noontime appearance at his window overlooking St. Peter's Square and released a dove in a sign of peace. He appeared remarkably lively, but his words were barely audible.
Until the pope had been taken to the hospital, the Vatican had been issuing reassuring news about his condition, up to Tuesday's late night news cast on Vatican radio.
First word of his transfer to the hospital Tuesday night came from Italian news media.
The flu has been sweeping through Italy since December. The Rome region, which is shivering through a cold spell that has dropped temperatures below freezing at night, has been among those hit the hardest.
About 40 percent of the flu cases have been children, with the elderly making up only a small fraction of cases after an aggressive campaign of flu vaccinations for older people, health officials said.
It was not known whether the pontiff had a flu shot.
John Paul has kept a busy schedule despite experiencing difficulties with speech and movement that are typical for Parkinson's sufferers.
The last time the pope skipped an audience for illness was in September 2003, when he canceled his traditional Wednesday appointment for pilgrims and tourists because of an intestinal ailment.
The Vatican makes brief announcements when the pope falls ill but rarely provides details about the extent of the illness or any medication he may be taking.
Raw Data: Pope's Medical Problems
Major medical problems Pope John Paul II has faced during papacy:
— May 13, 1981: Pope shot in abdomen and hand by Turkish gunman in St. Peter's Square and is hospitalized for three weeks.
— June 20, 1981: Hospitalized for infection linked to shooting injuries. Undergoes operation Aug. 5 and is discharged Aug. 14.
— July 15, 1992: Operation for benign tumor on colon. Leaves hospital July 28.
— Nov. 11, 1993: Dislocates right shoulder in fall down steps at Vatican audience. Undergoes operation and leaves hospital after overnight stay.
— April 29, 1994: Taken to hospital after breaking leg in a fall in his bathroom. Undergoes hip replacement surgery. Discharged May 27.
— Dec. 25, 1995: Overcome by fever and nausea, Pope interrupts Christmas message in St. Peter's Square and is bedridden with flu.
— March 13, 1996: Pope cancels general audience because of what Vatican calls an intestinal ailment accompanied by fever.
— Aug. 15, 1996: Pope cancels Mass after Vatican says he is stricken by a similar ailment.
— Oct. 8, 1996: Pope hospitalized for operation to remove an inflamed appendix.
— February 1997: Pope cancels general audience because of flu with fever.
— June 15, 1999: Flu, with slight fever, keeps pope from celebrating Mass in Krakow, Poland, for 1 million people during pilgrimage. Also that year illness forces him to miss a weekly audience.
— Sept. 24, 2003: Pope skips weekly general audience due to an intestinal problem.
— Jan. 31, 2005: Vatican announces pope has mild case of flu, forcing cancellation of appearances.
— Feb. 1, 2005: Pope urgently hospitalized after having breathing problems from upper respiratory problems, including larynx spasms.
from Fox News and the Associated Press
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