Woman Pleads to Stalking Singer

Woman Pleads to Stalking Singer

A former national laboratory worker has admitted that she used government computers to access the e-mail account of Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington and hacked into a cell phone company's Web site to obtain his phone number.

Devon Townsend, 28, appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Scott and pleaded guilty to charges including stalking and unlawful access to stored communications.

Townsend faces up to five years in prison and fines up to $250,000 for each count. A sentencing date has not been scheduled. Townsend's lawyer, Ray Twohig, did not return messages Friday.

Townsend, who worked in Sandia National Laboratories' technology and manufacturing group, used lab computers to access private information about Bennington and his wife, Talinda, from January 2006 to November 2006.

According to a plea agreement filed Friday, Townsend said she was able to access family photos, information about a new home bought by the Benningtons, the couple's travel plans, and correspondence between Warner Bros. Records and Linkin Park's business attorney including a copy of a check made to Bennington from the record company and a copy of the band's recording contract.

Townsend also accessed the couple's cell phone accounts online and was able to download digital phone pictures and monitor voice messages.

"On at least one occasion, knowing that Chester Bennington was in Arizona, I traveled to Arizona solely for the purpose of trying to see him," Townsend said in the plea agreement. "While I was there, I monitored Chester Bennington's voice mails as a means of trying to locate where he might be eating dinner or lunch."

Investigators said Townsend also hacked into the e-mail of Bennington's wife and at one point called the former Playboy model and threatened her.

Court documents also said investigators searched Townsend's home in Albuquerque and found Linkin Park posters, autographed band memorabilia, pictures of Townsend with Chester Bennington, bootlegged Linkin Park music, and copies of messages and photographs intercepted from the Bennington family's e-mail accounts.

A call and e-mail message to Linkin Park's publicist were not immediately returned Friday.

More on Politics and Art

By Drew

Earlier this spring we engaged in a nifty four-part discussion of politics and art (part one starts here; it continues with two, three and four).

Now one of our favorite sites, 2Blowhards, continues a similar thread. Check it out, particularly the combox where there is a great discussion going. (Including a comment from our own co-leader!)

Woman Freed in Foxy Brown Assault Case

Woman Freed in Foxy Brown Assault Case

A woman charged with assaulting and robbing Foxy Brown was released from jail after the rapper failed to appear before a grand jury to testify against her.

Roshawn Anthony, 23, was released from Riker's Island on her own recognizance Thursday but still faces charges of robbery, assault and grand larceny in the alleged attack last Saturday, according to a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office. She has denied the charges.

Police say Anthony and three other people teamed up to rob Brown of a Louis Vuitton bag, $500 in cash and credit cards in the East New York section of Brooklyn.

The 27-year-old rapper, whose real name is Inga Marchand, is no stranger to violence. She pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a fight with salon workers over payment for a manicure in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Brown is on probation in that case.

She is also facing a battery charge in another incident earlier this year. Police allege she threw hair glue at a beauty shop employee in Florida when he asked her to leave because the shop was closing.

Anthony is scheduled to return to court Aug. 9.

Are Satirists An Endangered Species?

By Drew

Over at the New Criterion blog, Roger Kimball has this piece on why satire is becoming increasingly perilous: “Reality is just too nimble in outstripping even the most extravagant satire.”

Satire has always, to a certain extent, been topical; even the best satirical books and movies from the past are enhanced by a brief primer on the context and environment which existed at the time the satire was produced. It makes the funniest parts even funnier, and the most obscure at least understandable.

But for the author, satire operates on a tight timeline. If you’re too far ahead of the game, your audience won’t have any idea what you’re talking about. Lag too far behind the timeline, and the joke is stale. You might even run the risk, as Kimball points out, of having your sly social commentary pre-empted by true-life events, thus defeating the whole purpose of satire.

The political field can be (can be? Don’t you mean is?) particularly fertile ground for satire, but it’s also the area in which one runs the greatest risk of having yesterday’s most outlandish ideas become tomorrow’s official policy. I’ve read Mitchell’s very funny (and still unpublished) novel about his life in politics, and discussed with him the challenge involved in coming up with ideas that push the envelope of absurdity, when you might hear those very ideas being voiced in dead earnest by some talking head on CNN the next day. You have to act fast, that’s for sure.

Which brings me to this week’s story on the recently declassified files documenting the CIA’s attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro. And I ask you, does this not read like a plot from a Christopher Buckley novel?

According to a five-page memo in Tuesday’s release, the plotting began in the final months of the Eisenhower administration, under the leadership of Richard Bissell, the agency’s director for plans. The operation used a go-between, Robert Maheu, a former FBI agent who did work as a private investigator for the CIA.

In September 1960, Maheu traveled to New York to meet Johnny Roselli, a high-ranking Mafia official who controlled ice-making machines in Las Vegas. Maheu told Roselli a cover story: that he represented several large international business firms that were suffering catastrophic financial losses in Cuba. And they were willing to pay $150,000 to arrange for Castro’s “removal.”

Roselli didn’t want to get involved, but he introduced Maheu to Sam Giancana, boss of the Chicago mob, and Santos Trafficant, the head of the mob’s Cuban operations, both of them members of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.

Concerned about the messiness and unreliability of firearms, Giancana suggested poisoning Castro with a pill in his food. The CIA accordingly provided six pills that it described as “of high lethal content.” They were given to Juan Orta, “a Cuban official who had been receiving kick-back payments from the gambling interests, who still had access to Castro, and was in a financial bind.”

[…]

The documents also reveal that at the height of negotiations over his involvement in the Castro plot, Giancana asked Maheu for help in finding out whether his girlfriend, Phyllis McGuire, a member of the singing McGuire Sisters, was having an affair with Dan Rowan, half of the Rowan & Martin comedy team.

The CIA sent a technician to bug Rowan’s Las Vegas hotel room, the CIA memo says. But the technician was arrested by Clark County sheriff’s deputies. He placed a telephone call to Maheu in the presence of sheriff’s officials, potentially endangering the entire Castro plot.

The Justice Department announced its intention to prosecute Maheu and the technician, leading the CIA’s director of security to intervene with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

The prosecution was dropped.

This is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Who in their right minds would possibly believe something like this? A few years ago, if you’d tried to pass this off as a plot for a serious political thriller, you’d have been laughed out of the publisher’s office. Pitch it as satire, and you might have had a chance. Today? It’s just another, all-too-plausible, example of your tax dollars at work. I don’t think anyone today would doubt for a minute that this is the way history is made. And that the more implausible an episode is, the more likely it is to be true.

I ask you, what’s a working satirist to do? Steve, I don't know how you manage it!

Let's Go Out to the Movies

By Drew

Let’s talk a bit about movies.

Back in the days when I subscribed to both Crisis and The American Spectator, the sections I invariably turned to first were the book and movie reviews. James Bowman, the movie critic for the Spectator, and Terry Teachout, his equal at Crisis, often provided the most interesting reading in the issue. So what could be better than a post that incorporates good stuff from each one of them?

Terry writes about the most recent American Film Institute list of the 100 greatest American movies. Now, I’m not much into a list like this; in the first place, it’s confined to American movies, which leaves out some brilliant foreign films. Furthermore, what exactly is an “American” movie? Is it one set in America, produced by Americans, starring Americans? Is there a material difference between an American movie about World War II set in Britain starring British actors and a British movie of the same type? And what about Lawrence of Arabia (#7 on the list), which had nothing to do with America at all?

Be that as it may, we’ll take this list with its limitations. My point in bringing this up was that I was struck by the number of movies on the list that Terry hadn’t seen but I had: Raging Bull, Lawrence of Arabia, Apocalypse Now, The Deer Hunter, Rocky, The Fellowship of the Ring, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sparticus, Blade Runner, Toy Story. (For a brief moment I even imagined myself flattered by the difference, until reality intruded to remind me that the man also sees operas, ballet, and Broadway plays and musicals.)

I was also intrigued by the movies that Terry singled out as his ten favorite from the list: Citizen Kane, Singin’ in the Rain, Vertigo, The Searchers, Sunset Blvd., Chinatown, All About Eve, Double Indemnity, North by Northwest, and Sullivan’s Travels. I’ve seen a good number of these as well, but not all – Sunset Blvd. and All About Eve have never made it on to my TV set. I thought Citizen Kane fascinating technically but somewhat overrated, The Searchers (like so many John Ford movies) overwhelmed by its purplish music, and Sullivan’s Travels a terrific movie that faded in the stretch. Vertigo was disturbing, Chinatown a movie that landed on my own 10 best list. Singin’ in the Rain comes from a genre (musicals) that is far from my favorite and stars an actor (Gene Kelly) I’ve never been a fan of, yet it manages to avoid so many of the clichés that plague musicals (the “misunderstanding” between lovers that threatens their relationship, for example) and features a scene-stealing performance by Donald O’Connor.

Conversely, Terry dismisses several of the movies from his “haven’t seen” list that happen to be among my favorites: Lawrence, for instance, or Apocalypse Now (the original, not Redux). Raiders was fun, if not great art, and I probably liked The Deer Hunter more than some (although I recall with fondness the comment from one observer that at the moment the film was named Best Picture at the Oscars, the audience reacted as if “they’d asked a girl to the prom, and to their horror she accepted.”) Sparticus was preachy though, (some fine performances, particularly by Peter Ustinov, but for a more interesting interpretation of the Sparticus story I’d recommend Koestler’s novel The Gladiators), and Blade Runner was, frankly, almost incomprehensible (with or without the narriation).

At any rate, if nothing else it shows that movie criticism is subjective. One man’s trash is another’s treasure. But at the same time, I can’t help feeling that – like music – there are some standards out there that are undeniable, certain qualities that clearly define a movie as being “good” or “bad.” You could argue that a moral fulcrum is one of those qualities (see our previous discussion on truth and morality in art), and one of the things I always admired about James Bowman was that truth was not an irrelevancy for him when it came to reviewing movies. Oftentimes he would acknowledge the artistic merit of a film, while at the same time pointing out the moral, ideological, or historical failures that ultimately brought down the film.

For that reason, it’s always a pleasure to check out Bowman’s site. At present, for example, he’s writing on the changing role of heroes in movies (the transformation from Gary Cooper to John Wayne to Humphrey Bogart, for example). And this is probably worth a post in and of itself.

But what triggered my interest was a comment Bowman made in discussing the role of the movie epic. For that, let's go back and look at one of those movies on the AFI's list, the aforementioned Lawrence of Arabia.

Lawrence was often referred to as the first “intimate” or “literate” epic, by which it was meant that the movie actually attempted to provide some insight into the main characters, rather than being content to simply overwhelm the audience with spectacle (although it certainly did that as well). However (and I say this as one who has this movie on my ten-best list as well), even after having seen the movie four times (as well as owning a biography and an autobiography of T.E. Lawrence), I’m still left wondering if I really understood what David Lean was trying to say about Lawrence’s character. Does Lean (and his scriptwriter, Robert Bolt) mean to suggest by Lawrence’s ambiguities that he was ultimately incapable of being understood, or have I simply failed to understand what Lean was trying to say?

That’s one of the problems with movies that come from what Bowman, in quoting Judith Crist, refers to as “the ‘intellectual’ spectacular”:

The quotation marks around “intellectual” are meant to suggest (I think) a certain falseness about these films’ intellectual pretensions, and the glibness with which they supplied a popular audience, hungry for “culture,” with potted versions of history. Inspired partly by the post-war rage for psycho-therapy, the intellectual spectacular derived a lot of its kick from the illusion that this or that historical figure had been “explained” in terms of what, a few years later, were to be described as his “hang-ups.” Oh, so that’s what the Reformation or the Renaissance — or whatever large historical phenomenon you like — was all about.

While Bowman happens to make this comment in reference to the movie Becket (which Mitchell wrote about earlier here), he includes Lawrence and A Man for All Seasons as examples of this genre, that marks many of the signature movies of the late 60s and beyond. This desire for psychoanalysis in the movies extends, I think, to many of the achingly earnest socially relevant movies of that same period – movies such as In the Heat of the Night, Sparticus, and 12 Angry Men that sought to enter the minds of its protagonists in order to “understand” and, especially, “explain” their actions. (Note that having these characteristics doesn’t mean the movie can’t still be good – many of them, such as the two listed above, are marked by strong acting and well-written, if preachy, scripts.)

Whereas movies used to be content with telling a story, even a heroic story, the emphasis today is on the inscrutable nature of man, and the relativity of all that we naïve folks used to think we knew. It’s not all black-and-white, the filmmakers would have us believe today – according to them, there are so many shades of grey we may never find out the truth, if in fact it even exists. This could be as good an explanation as any as to why the Western, which has generally been understood as a allegorical morality play, has virtually disappeared from movie screens (Clint Eastwood notwithstanding). Exceptions to this rule, and there are some, become more notable for daring to take such a stance. At any rate, one can suggest that this trait has diminished the movies in some way. Escapist fare has yielded to deep analysis, and in the crime story it becomes more and more difficult to tell the good guys from the bad.

Yes, it can be hard to find good movies to see nowadays (Teachout has mentioned how he's practically given up going to movie theaters) - but reading literate criticism from writers like these two, and others such as John Simon, reminds us of the fun movies used to be, and the delight a good one can still produce.

The Hottest Films of 2007 coming up!

The Hottest Films of 2007 coming up!

The first six months of 2007!

It’s been a mixed bag of goodies so far. Like a lucky draw. Some got their favourite candy from it, others got a phtooey bag! We’ve had releases like Bheja Fry, Cheeni Kum, Guru, Namaste London - all big hits so far. Then there’ve been Metro, Tara Rum Pum, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom; opening to mixed reviews but all average hits. And then the much hyped Salaam-E-Ishq which went down … Now the next six months … and another mixed bag coming up. Big films,big banners, different scripts and big stars … as for the directors - the men who make it rock - here’s who to watch out for - the hottest directors coming up …


Ashutosh Gowariker

Film to watch out for: Jodha Akbar
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

USP: Aishwarya Rai’s first big release after her newly acquired status as Mrs. Bachchan. Her sizzling chemistry with Hrithik in Dhoom 2, and the controversial lip-lock reportedly ruffled Bachchan feathers. But that’s history. Now new history is being written with this historical. And everyone’s waiting to see the magic unfold once again.

Expectation: Is always high from a director who graciously walked the red carper at the Oscars for Lagaan. And though Swades wasn’t a commercial super-success, Ashutosh Gowariker’s cinematic vision is grand and far above the ordinary.


Farah Khan

Film to watch out for: Om Shanti Om
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone
Producer: Red Chilli Productions

USP: A Shah Rukh Khan home production is reason enough. And SRK’s pairing with supermodel Deepika (who’s touted as the next hottest gal in Bollywood) is quite an unusual but intriguing combo. A pleasant break from his favourite leading ladies - Rani, Preity and Kajol. The audiences’ will heave with excitement too. Farah Khan known for her stilted take and bold sensibilities, has pulled off a never-done-before casting coup. A host of beauties from Shilpa Shetty, Rani, Kajol, Preity, Priyanka, Saif, Karisma, Salman, Juhi, Dharmendra, Bobby, Jeetendra, Sunju, Rishi Kapoor, Subhash Ghai, Karan Johar and more….have done cameos in the film.

Expectation: The SRK - Farah Khan deadly combo created a commercial pot-boiler with Main Hoon Na. This one is apparently another tribute to the golden era of Bollywood, much like her debut film. Nothing short of sky-high expectations from this one.


Shimit Amin

Film to watch out for: Chak De India
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan and Vidya Malvade and a hockey team of women!
Producer: Aditya Chopra (Yash Raj Films)

U.S.P: SRK playing an ex-hockey player who returns to the field as a coach to the women’s hockey team - interesting plot. Reviving a national sport that is overshadowed by another passion, cricket. But with cricketers stock taking a beating, hockey with SRK may just be the new sporty flavour of the season.

Expectation: High expectations only because it’s an SRK and Aditya Chopra venture. Shimit Amin’s previous film Ab Tak Chappan didn’t leave a dramatic impact on the B.O, so we wouldn’t bet all our money on Vidya’s team - not yet really, but safe to hedge here.


Vivek Agnihotri

Film to watch out for: Goal
Cast: John Abraham, Bipasha Basu
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

U.S.P: John and Bipasha will be scorching the screens together after nearly three years. The film was embroiled in controversies of all kinds - from racism in UK, to fall-outs and eventual break-ups. The latest rumor doing the rounds is the John-Bips split, also that the cracks in this long relationship appeared during filming Goal. If it’s true this might be their last film as a real-life jodi. All eyes are waiting to see if their chemistry is as hot as before!


Expectation: A film based on soccer is reminiscent of Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Like Beckham, which was a runaway hit. Curiosity meter is high for this film from the content and controversy angle. The sex appeal of the lead stars only adds


Anurag Kashyap

Film to watch out for: No Smoking
Cast: John Abraham, Ayesha Takia
Producer(s): Vishal Bharadwaj and Kumar Mangat

USP: John Abraham is hot property now, so he is the single most USP in this film. The film is about a smoking addict trying to resurrect his life, is definitely a refreshing subject. And with the debate on whether smoking should be banned on-screen - heating up intellectual movie circles around the globe, this film is perfectly timed.

Expectation: Anurag Kashyap was known as the jinxed director, till the controversial Black Friday hit the theatres. He’s won accolades in the critics circle, but his understanding in mainstream commercial cinema is yet to be proved. Expectations aren’t too high, but it might be a surprise package.


David Dhawan

Film to watch out for: Partner
Cast: Salman, Govinda, Katrina, Lara
Producer: Sohail Khan

USP: Salman, Govinda and David Dhawan - this is a comedy combo everyone’s been waiting for! The Govinda-Sallu dosti is the talk-of-the-town, so much that this film is garnering a lot of publicity along the way. Govinda’s hottest hits (Coolie No. 1, Hero No.1), and Salman’s best performances (Biwi No.1, Mujhse Shaadi Karoge) have been with the funny-bone tickler, Dhawan, The trio coming together is the best thing to happen.


Expectation: Movie buffs are hopeful about Govinda and Salman’s screen chemistry and comic timing. But Dhawan has been unpredictable lately, he lost his magical comic touch with Shaadi No.1, so over-expectation could just be a killjoy.


Anil Sharma

Film to watch out for: Apne
Cast: Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Katrina Kaif, Shilpa Shetty
Producer(s): Rahul Sugandh, Sangeeta Ahir

U.S.P: The coming together of the three Deols for the first time ever - is the USP of this film. The director known as Anil ‘Gadar’ Sharma, has been riding on the success of Gadar (which remains Bollywood’s biggest hit to date) for long, this family film has been his toughest project ever.

Expectation: The three dashing Deols have distinct personalities, and different generations of fan following, too. Hence, expectations are (and ought to be) very high from such a star-muscle-power-packed family.


Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Film to watch out for: Saawariya
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor
Producer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

USP: Launchpad for star-kids Ranbir (Rishi and Neetu Kapoor’s son) and Sonam (Anil Kapoor’s daughter). The film has been kept under wraps, so the curiosity value is really high. SLB on his own star merit attracts huge numbers; like Rani says, he brings out such amazing performances from his stars that they’re left stunned at their own untapped talent.

Expectation: This is touted as one of the most-awaited films of the year simply for the new stars on the block under SLB’s baton.


Vijay Krishna Acharya

Film to watch out for: Tashan
Cast: Kareena, Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar
Producer: Aditya Chopra - (Yash Raj Films)

USP: Kareena and Akshay has been a lucky jodi in the past, and having swept away the awards for his performance in Omkara, Saif and Kareena are the new toasts-of-town. The rare mix of actors in this film seems to a winning combo all the way.

Expectation: With Dil To Pagal Hai, Karisma Kapoor delivered one of her finest performances of her career. Now hopes are pinned on Kareena - who features in a Yashraj film for the fist time. Not much is known about the director, but with Aditya’s spot-on luck with first timers, and all the hype ‘n’ hoopla a Yash Raj Film creates - expectations will soar high.



Anil Mehta

Film to watch out for: Aaja Nachley
Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Akshaye Khanna, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor
Producer: Yash Raj Films

U.S.P: The return of the dancing diva Madhuri Dixit, in well, a dancing role. Need we say more?

Expectation: After years Madhuri Dixit returns to the silver-screen with a tailor-made role. She’s back to doing what she does best - dancing. Only second to acting, of course. Expectations have hit the roof!


Ajay Devgan

Film to watch out for: U, Me aur Hum
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Kajol
Producer: Ajay Devgan

USP: Two of best actors in Bollywood - Ajay and Kajol appear together on celluloid after a span of seven years.

Expectation: When a rockstar performer like Ajay wields the directorial baton, expectations are bound to be exceedingly high. And Kajol being a rare-sight on silver-screen, with her abundant talent and style, curiosity quotient is running riot already.


Director: Feroze Abbas Khan

Film to watch out for: Gandhi My Father
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Bhumika Chawla, Shefali Chhaya - Shah
Producer: Anil Kapoor

USP: The subject is alarming and unique. Besides, there’s very little revealed about it - that’s what makes it interesting.

Expectation: Fairly high - with serious cine-goers atleast.


Pradeep Sarkar

Film: Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Cast: Rani Mukherjee, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor
Producer: Aditya Chopra - Yash Raj Films

U.S.P: The Abhishek-Rani intense chemistry. After his shaadi he’ll be seen paired with Rani again in this one, in fact, what everyone is waiting to see is the Bachchan bahu’s reaction. Of course, every actor in this film is a stellar performer - it has little reason to worry. B.O records, or critical acclaim - it will be a winner one-way or the other. Most likely, both.


Expectation: With powerhouse performers like these expectations are extremely high. After the success of Parineeta, Pradeep Sarkar is a director to look out for.


Director: Aamir Khan

Film to watch out for: Taare Zameen Par
Cast: Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary, Tisca Chopra
Producer: Aamir Khan

USP: Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan - As the director, actor, producer.

Expectation: An Aamir Khan film is not a regular phenomenon; hence every AK film is an attention-grabber. In fact, everything the elusive actor says and does makes headlines. And this being his directorial debut - Aamir has a lot to prove, a lot to say. And definitely a lot to hear.


Madhur Bhandarkar

Film to watch out for: Fashion
Cast: Undecided
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

USP: A welcome break from all the make-belief stories, with picture-perfect faces and dream-like locations. A peek-a-boo in to the world of reality. Like every other Bhandarkar film.

Expectation: As realistic as it can get!


Imtiaz Ali

Film to watch out for: Untitled production
Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor
Producer: Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd

USP: After a series of stupendous performances in movies like Chameli, Omkara, Dev; Kareena Kapoor has become the toast of the critics’ circle. Though their last five films together didn’t do perfect justice to their adorable chemistry (which is so evident in real-life), this romantic- adventure story of a Punjabi girl and Muslim boy, might be able to link the missing connection.

Expectation: Imitiaz Ali’s first film Socha Na Tha, was fairly well-made, but we can’t bet our last dime on him just as yet. Expectations are high from a Kareena-Shahid pair, as always.


Harry Baweja

Film to watch out for: Love Story 2050
Cast: Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra
Producer: Harry Baweja

USP: A mega launchpad for Harry Baweja’s son, Harman. The film has been embroiled in controversy, with Kareena walking out, and Priyanka stepping in at the last minute. Harman hasn’t been exposed to the media, so there’s a surprise element for the audiences.

Expectation: It’s rumoured that Priyanka and Harman are romantically involved, so their screen romance is something to watch out for as even rumoured linkups have worked for every newcomers before this too (remember Sunny-Amrita, Kumar Gaurav-Vijayeta, etc, etc, etc/). Harry Baweja’s also known for his special effects, so this futuristic, sci-fi flick should be another feather in his cap, if only for his son.

Poetry Wednesday

By Judith

Amy Lowell (February 9 1874 – May 12, 1925) came from the prominent Boston family of Lawrences and Lowells (for whom the cities in Massachusetts are named). A poet of the ‘teens and twenties, she published her first book of poetry in 1912 (as did Robert Frost, who we looked at last week). Her first book was heavily influenced by Keats and was, thus, considered Romantic. After reading Imagist poets such as Hilda Doolittle and Ezra Pound, she too took up the cause of imagism and published three more books in this style. Her later work is considered by some to be more Impressionist that Imagist, but whatever classification is made, her rich, evocative words in poems such as “The Humming-Birds” or “Tomb Valley” are almost cinematic, producing vivid pictures and dance-like motion. Those poems, as well as the one we’re looking at today, come from a volume titled What's O'Clock, for which she posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. For a warm summer day, here’s “Summer Night Piece.”

The garden is steeped in moonlight,
Full to its high edges with brimming silver,
And the fish-ponds brim and darken
And run in little serpent lights soon extinguished.
Lily-pads lie upon the surface, beautiful as the tarnishings on frail old silver,
And the Harvest moon droops heavily out of the sky,
A ripe, white melon, intensely, magnificently, shining.
Your window is orange in the moonlight,
It glows like a lamp behind the branches of the old wistaria,
It burns like a lamp before a shrine,
The small, intimate, familiar shrine
Placed reverently among the bricks
Of a much-loved garden wall.

This Just In

By Steve

Motivational Speaker “Presidential,” According to Workshop Participants

OMAHA, NE -- As the result of a successful team-building training session, a presidential boomlet has started for workshop facilitator and motivational expert Ted Dough.

The 6’4”, 220 lb. Dough, wearing a charcoal grey pinstriped suit and sporting a freshly-cut head of chestnut hair, made a considerable impression on many of the participants who attended the all-day workshop at the Cypress Room in the local Holiday Inn.

“Oh, definitely,” Kathryn Jamison responded when asked if she could see Dough as President. “When you look at him standing up there behind the podium, it’s like he’s so, presidential. I would definitely trust what he had to say if I saw him on TV or on a billboard."

Those thoughts were echoed by Corrine Huberty, who found the 37-year-old Dough “dynamic and hunky.” A supporter who voted twice for former president Bill Clinton, Huberty said she detects “many” of the same qualities in Dough.

Added Huberty’s friend and co-worker Ellie Ratcliffe, “I mean, I could totally see him as President of the United States, sure. He had a really cool powerpoint presentation where all the words flew in to the screen from different angles. I thought it was very creative and kept our attention very well, even after the buffet lunch."

Dough is apparently being coy about his presidential aspirations. His corporate website makes no mention of policy statements or intentions, and his secretary, displaying a reluctance to go on the record, said she was unaware of any plans he might have at present to travel to New Hampshire, home of the nation’s first presidential primary.

Dough could just be showing caution, if a survey of the presidential race by CNN analyst Bill Schneider proves accurate.

“The presidential field is packed to overflowing right now,” Schneider said in a phone interview. “For any dark horse candidate to enter now would be political suicide. It’s much better, in my opinion, for someone who is relatively unknown to wait until the field has thinned, and from there measure voter discontent.”

However, in what may be a pessimistic note, when asked about Dough’s prospects in such an event Schneider replied, “Who?”

Most talked about kissing scenes

Most talked about kissing scenes

Emraan Hashmi and Sayali Bhagat - The Train (2007)

The idea of having a smooch with the kiss king left Sayali Bhagat restless. But when the moment took place, she was surprised at how much she psyched herself about the kiss.

In The Train, Emraan plays Sayali’s husband. So when there’s a married couple onscreen, it’s obvious that they’d be shown kissing.


Abhay Deol and Neha Dhupia - Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007)

This was a much talked about kiss between the two young actors. The actors had to retake the shot about seven to eight times. Unfortunately due to this, Abhay said this made the kiss quite mechanical and technical. Abhay and Neha play two people who’ve missed the last train for the night. Wandering around for their next train to leave, they soon find themselves falling in love.


Tusshar Kapoor and Aarti Chabbria - Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007)

This is a recent kiss that was looked down upon. Critics believed Tusshar was miscast as Buwa a ruthless killer; they felt he should stick to playing the ‘good boy’. Even the anticipated kiss between Tusshar and Aarti Chabbria, who plays his onscreen girlfriend was considered as unnatural and forced.

Tanushree and Jimmy Sheirgill - Raqeeb (2007)

Tanushree plays Sofie a woman who wants to be with someone well settled. That’s why when she was set up on a blind date with Remo, the owner of a software company - things just clicked between them. Jimmy Sheirgill plays a struggling actor who can’t have Sofie, since he is not financially stable. We won’t say much about the kiss, since the film is recent, but we will tell you that it was strictly okay.


Abhishek and Preity - Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

This has been one of the better smooches of 2007, though we can’t say it’s the best since the year isn’t over. The kiss came across as natural and well portrayed. It didn’t seem forceful as done by some of the A-listers in the film business.

Dharmendra and Nafisa Ali - Metro (2007)

Metro is the story of various love sagas taking place across the city. Dharmendra plays an old man who has come back to spend his final years with his first love. People have perceived their kiss as being awkward. In India, we’re not accustomed to seeing old people portray affection physically.

Ruslaan Mumtaz & Hazel - Mp3

Like most teen love stories, this one too ends on a happy note.

We see the separated lovers unite, as Ruslaan’s character realizes his true feelings for his girlfriend. They kiss at the end of the film - the scene looks tender and romantic.

Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai - Dhoom 2 (2006)

This is one ‘puppy’ that got both actors in a soup, especially Ash. Her then-future in-laws and hubby were fuming over the kiss. Furthermore, a lawyer from Indore filed a case against them under the ridiculous pretext of “conveying vulgarity to society”. Puhleease, big deal! So what if they kissed? We need to get a little more open-minded about displays of affection. We have a population of 1 billion after all, and it’s not as though storks have been coming around and delivering babies.

Mallika Sherawat and Himanshu Mallik - Khwaish (2003)

While it was commonplace for an actress to do a kissing scene or two, when Mallika came on the scene she blew everyone away by kissing 17 times in the film! In fact this became Khwaish’s USP.

The film propelled Mallika into the limelight because of her willingness to go the extra mile. As for her co-star Himanshu, he didn’t make it too far; after all he never mastered the art of kissing like Emraan Hashmi did.

Vinod Khanna and Madhuri Dixit - Dayavaan (1988)

This is a powerful and memorable kissing scene between Madhuri (Neela) and Vinod Khanna (Shakti) from Dayavaan. Shakti meets Neela who is a shy girl forced into prostitution.

This vulnerability draws him to her and they eventually get married. The scene is particularly touching because it is he who rescues Neela from hell. So we feel for both of them.

Vivek and Aishwarya - Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na (2004)

Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na is a film brimming with irony. It is the movie where Amitabh (Raj) plays Vivek’s father. And Vivek (Arjun) plays Aishwarya’s (Diya) love interest.

But Arjun doesn’t return her affection; this leads uncle Raj into prompt action to get them married. If you’ve been following up on Bollywood news, we don’t even need to explain a word.


Kamal Hassan and Rani Mukherjee - Hey Ram (2000)

The kiss for this one is right up on the movie posters. This is something that might have contributed to its downfall. Hey Ram is an interesting film that did not receive the success it truly deserved.

It failed at the box office because distributors were weary of Hey Ram’s subject matter.


Ayesha Takia and Vatsal Sheth - Taarzan: The Wonder Car (2004)

Before Ayesha came up with her no kissing policy, she engaged in a kiss with newcomer Vatsal Sheth for Taarzan: The Wonder Car.

After that Ayesha hasn’t done too many kissing scenes and come to think of it, we haven’t seen much of Vatsal either. We wonder if the lad was really that bad at puckering up. If that was the case then he’d better have spent his spare time practicing!


Dia Mirza and Emraan Hashmi - Tumsa Nahin Dekha (2004)

The Serial Kisser was just at the start of his flourishing kissing career with Tumsa Nahin Dekha. This is another film where he’s able to showcase his talents.

At the receiving end is Diya Mirza, who is his senior by a few years.

Bipasha Basu and John Abraham - Madhoshi (2004)

The real life couple John and Bipasha set the screens on fire in Madhoshi; of course since they’re dating, we can say that this scene couldn’t have been that hard.

It was the last film where the couple was seen together onscreen. Thereafter both of them began acting by themselves though still being together.


Anil and Sameera - Musafir (2004)

Anil plays a man betrayed by his lover, but he finds himself at the home of a sultry dancer played by Sameera whom he’s strongly attracted to. - He was 45 she was 21, but that didn’t stop the passion from building up between them.

Watch Musafir to see the sparks fly between the two.

Urmila and Saif - Ek Hasina Thi (2004)

Urmila’s character Sarika believes that she has found true love, but she is highly mistaken.

This tender moment belies the horror that awaits her, for the kiss that she receives is the kiss of the betrayer.

Hrithik and Amisha - Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000)

Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai was her first film and it was a launching pad carefully crafted for him by his daddy dearest.

Hrithik certainly looks surprised here, maybe it’s because dad forgot to mention that this scene was in the script.

Karishma and Aamir - Raja Hindustani (1996)

Directed by Dharmesh Darshan, Raja Hindustani is another of Bollywood’s fairytale that tells that a poor guy can meet the beautiful woman of his dreams, who brings home a big fat bank balance.

This kiss is their proof that you can attain the unattainable. We won’t stop you guys from dreaming.


Rani and Saif - Hum Tum (2004)

Saif’s character Karan is a flirt who woos Rhea (Rani) in vain. He even lands an unwelcome kiss on her that leads her to run away.

They reunite years later after her husband has passed away and share a night of passion. This time the kisses are welcomed by Rhea.

Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan - Dev (2004)

This is a tender moment in an otherwise serious film which showcases communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims. Fardeen plays a Muslim foot soldier who decides to fight the Hindus he believes has been oppressing his community. Fardeen and Kareena was a popular onscreen jodi that also acted together in Fida and Khushi.

Sonu Nigam and Flora Saini - Love in Nepal (2004)

This film marks the end of Sonu’s brief affair with acting. It’s another run-of-the-mill love story about rivals falling in love that we’ve seen before. The film did not do well at the box office, and Sonu understood that he ought to save his mouth for singing. Flora Saini wasn’t ever seen again on the acting circuit either.

Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai - Dhoom 2 (2006)

This is one ‘puppy’ that got both actors in a soup, especially Ash. Her then-future in-laws and hubby were fuming over the kiss. Furthermore, a lawyer from Indore filed a case against them under the ridiculous pretext of “conveying vulgarity to society”. Puhleease, big deal! So what if they kissed? We need to get a little more open-minded about displays of affection. We have a population of 1 billion after all, and it’s not as though storks have been coming around and delivering babies.

You Call This a Bible Study?

By Bobby

Another silly "Bible study" for "small groups," a popular codeword in the Emergent Church, has this:

"Looking for a relevant cultural lesson for Sunday night? Don't miss our MTV Video Music Awards Questions and Bible study."

In the study, youth are encouraged to view "music videos" from thug rappers who deserve to be sent to the Oval Office such as Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus, no-talent Gwen Stephani, and other talentless smut peddlers.

What good does it do when children go to Bible studies, only to be taught not the Bible, but the latest in pop culture such as smutty "music" so irritant that it makes me angry that I would rather be at the Schermerhorn Center for the symphony for music.

But to replace Bible studies with MTV video studies is out of control!

Friday Releases

No Kidding

One of the movies in the theatres this week is a children's film titled Chain Kuli Ki Main Kuli.


Starring Rahul Bose, the film revolves around an orphan Karan played by Zain Khan, who has dreams of becoming a big cricketer.


His dreams take a new life when he finds an old bat that he is convinced is a magical one used by Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup, and soon he is also spotted by the Indian cricket team coach to be the opening batsman


The kid bonds with the team captain Varun - Rahul Bose. A family film directed by debutante Kituu Salooja, Chain Kuli Ki Main Kuli is the only Hindi film releasing this week.


Apart from Kituu Salooja’s Chain Kuli Ki Main Kuli, also in theatres this week is the thriller Premonition.


This Sandra Bullock-Julian McMahon-starrer is the story of Linda Hanson and her picture perfect married life till one day when receives the word that her husband has died in an accident.


However, when Linda wakes up the next morning and finds Jim beside her, she assumes she has just had an unusually vivid dream.


Soon she finds out that what she experienced was not a dream, and she must battle time and destiny to save her family.