mariemarie
Guests
Todays news is packed with a little bit of everything! For those who likes to read full articles, here's some of the many I picked. Or are you one of those who prefer to just read about Michael Jackson, check out the highlights.
Remember when MTV was FUN to watch? Well, it has sucked for quite some time now, and it doesn't really seems to change for the better, only for the worse.
Mentionings
Homosexuality in entertainment
The other night I had the amazing experience of going to see a George Michael concert. I have always been a big fan his, but never had the chance to see him live. I am only 21; admittedly I was not familiar with his entire collection of music. In an attempt to familiarize myself with his music and career I went online.
After reading up on the star, I was really surprised by how successful he actually is. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, had 10 U.S. No.1 singles, with a total estimated income of around £100 million or $200 million. He has fans worldwide, and he can still fill up huge venues, as I saw at the American Airlines Center.
Every seat I saw was full, and the crowd was going wild the entire time. Everyone was up on their feet dancing and singing; it seemed like 80 percent of the crowd knew all his songs by heart. It was the best concert I've seen to date.
After that night I couldn't help but ponder the nature of the entertainment industry.
I hear over and over again about record labels, movie producers and studios, casting directors and talent agents rejecting talented, good looking artists simply because they are gay. Not only do I hear of this happening, I have experienced it myself. The most frequent excuse I hear is that gay artists cut out a major part of the market and have less appeal to straight members of the opposite sex.
With so much gay talent out there and so many gay consumers, why aren't record labels, producers and the like jumping at the opportunity to create a new gay pop or movie star? Everyone in that crowd knew George Michael was gay, and the entire auditorium still filled up. Sure, there were plenty of people from the GLBT community there, but by no means was everyone gay.
My best friend and I sat next to a young woman who had a "major crush" on the singer her whole life. I asked her if his being gay was a turn off and she replied, "No! I find him incredibly sexy." So, do members of the opposite sex really shy away from gay musicians and actors? I believe the answer is no.
The most successful and famous artists are those who push the envelope and break down gender identity and conformity. Some of the most prevalent examples are Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson and, of course, George Michael. If these artists have shown us anything about music, it's that a little homosexual or just sexual controversy is always good.
We have artists today who dabble with their sexuality. Britney Spears had the whole world talking about her kiss with Madonna. Lindsay Lohan is now reportedly in a lesbian relationship with Samantha Ronson, and Nelly Furtado was recently quoted as saying she believes everyone is innately bisexual. This is definitely a good thing. It is breaking down the barriers that have been in place for too long that have been preventing us from having an actual gay artist be gay from the beginning of his career and have a real chance at making it big.
Is the world ready for another gay pop star? I think so. The question is, who?
http://media.www.smudailycampus.com.../Homosexuality.In.Entertainment-3399967.shtml
Say goodbye to music on Music TV
Rock didn't save the world, but reality TV is worse
On Aug. 1, 1981, MTV: Music Television exploded onto America's television sets with the words, "Ladies and gentleman, rock 'n' roll."
Thanks to MTV, the remainder of the 1980s would be filled with music and music videos ranging from Duran Duran to Michael Jackson to Madonna. The '90s rolled around with videos and promotions for and from the likes of Boyz II Men, New Kids on the Block, Blink-182 and (always persistent) Madonna.
By the 2000s, MTV seemed to be in a rush to get rid of the music. Eight years later, it's official: MTV no longer plays music except for the rare program.
I know times have changed. Kids certainly aren't turning to television any longer to get access to music. We, the generation of Napster and Limewire, can illegally download hundreds of songs in a manner of seconds. Three cheers for "progress."
However, that doesn't mean it's not a tragedy to lose the music in MTV. To make it worse, filling the gaping maw where music once was are some of the trashiest, dumbest, most plot-free reality shows on television.
The big question is what happened to the music? Who cares, "The Hills" is on.
I know pointing out that MTV has lost its mojo is clich. I also know that being only 16, I don't even know what MTV truly was like in its prime. The network was never perfect. Back when it actually played music videos around the clock, people claimed it was simply a tool of the record industry to sell CDs. That's true.
My own mother claims that decent people never cared about MTV to start with. That's possible. However, it's undeniable that MTV is now something totally different than what it was at the beginning.
I'm not saying that every person who watches and enjoys a little MTV is a bad person. I'd be knocking almost every teen in America (including myself) if I did. I'm not some crazed, fanatical music pusher either. Rock 'n' roll isn't saving the world anytime soon.
I'm just a teen-age girl who's saying her last goodbye to the way things were when there was one simple, legal way to get access to music that kills your parents.
So, goodbye MTV, from a generation of ne'er-do-wells.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1219050909270100.xml&coll=1
Leaving behind the child artiste tag
HE is much popular by his character name Vasu in Thirumathi Selvam. Having started his acting career as a child artiste in Anbulla Rajinikanth, Tinku has come a long way. “I have acted in more than 117 films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam as a child artiste.
Tinku is also into event management. “My company, Thunder Entertainment, is organising events,” he says. Talking about dance, Tinku says, “I have been interested in dance right from my childhood.
I used to get Michael Jackson cassettes, and developed my own steps. Probably that made my body flexible. I haven‘t been to any dance class”.
Full story http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE420080819042752&Page=4&Title=Entertainment&Topic=0
ACTIVIST NAJEE ALI SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN PRISON
ALHAMBRA — Gang member turned activist Najee Ali was sentenced to four years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to trying to bribe a witness in his daughter’s criminal case.
Ali allegedly tried to tamper with a witness outside his daughter’s preliminary hearing in January at the Alhambra Courthouse, Sandi Gibbons, public information officer for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, told City News Service.
Ali, born Ronald Todd Eskew, was arrested and charged on March 11 with attempting to intimidate a witness and attempting to bribe a witness.
Ali pleaded guilty to to attempting to bribe a witness and was sentenced by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Frederick R. Rotenberg. The charge of witness intimidation was dropped, Gibbons said.
Ali would have received two years in prison, but the sentence was doubled because of a conviction for armed robbery in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Gibbons said.
Rotenberg also found that Ali violated his probation in a 2004 felony hit-and-run and perjury conviction and gave him a four-year sentence to be served concurrently with the attempted bribery sentence, Gibbons said.
Ali has not paid $29,240 in restitution in that case, Gibbons said.
Ali was taken into custody immediately after the sentencing and was placed in isolated detention at the downtown jail because of his notoriety, Gibbons said. Ali’s daughter will be tried later this year on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count leaving the scene of an accident, stemming from a July 2007 incident on the San Bernardino (10) Freeway, Gibbons said.
Ali heads Project Islamic HOPE, which describes its mission as fighting poverty and social injustice.
Ali has been involved in a series of protests over the years, including several officer-involved shootings and the closure of Martin Luther King Jr.- Harbor Hospital. He organized a caravan of Los Angeles-area Michael Jackson supporters to Santa Maria for the entertainer’s arraignment on child molestation charges.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Bill Bratton called Ali “one of the biggest nitwits in Los Angeles’’ in 2004, a comment Bratton apologized for a few days later.
Then-Mayor Jim Hahn appointed Ali to a commission in 2004 to investigate the rough arrest of a car theft suspect that was shown on live television. Ali soon resigned after some city officials expressed doubts about whether he should serve because he is awaiting trial on charges of identity theft and leaving the scene of a car accident.
Most recently, Ali was involved in the protests following last month’s fatal shooting of U.S. Postal Service employee Kevin Wicks by Inglewood police Officer Brian Ragan.
Ragan had been placed on leave in May after being involved in a shooting in which a 19-year-old man died at a restaurant near Crenshaw Boulevard and 85th Street.
“This man doesn’t belong on the police force, he belongs in jail,’’ Ali said at an July 21 rally.
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=11
Amos Lee @ Gothic Teatre
It wasn’t just the songs that showcased Lee’s influences, though. His stage performance featured Buddy Guy’s plucking, Waylon Jennings’ gunman grip and posture, Justin Timberlake’s shoulder shrugs, head bob and hand gestures during breakdowns – which were originally Michael Jackson’s. Amos would close his eyes whenever a big note came belting out. It was clear that he had been groomed for the stage.
Full story http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2008/08/18/amos-lee-the-gothic-theatre/
Kim's Life Is Still Blooming
Real Women She Might Now Be A Successful Gardener, But Eighties Pop Legend Kim Wilde Can't Wait To Strut Her Stuff On Stage Again At This Year's Retrofest
KIM Wilde's career as a gardening expert is blooming, but she admits she will always be remembered for her hit song Kids in America.
The mum of two loves to juggle a career in the garden with being mum to Harry, 10, and Rose, eight. Not to mention her touring commitments.
And Kim, 47, can't wait to return to the stage at this year's Retrofest music festival at Strathclyde Country Park, which takes place from August 29 - 31.
"I'm all set," she admitted. "We enjoyed it so much last year at Culzean Castle. It's fantastic. So Iamreally looking forward to it. It is a brilliantly put together festival with the emphasis on family. It is great to be involved. "Last year, it was fun hanging out with all the other artists from the Eighties.
"It was also great seeing lots of people dressed up in Eighties wigs, black and white tops, shoulder pads and white stilettos. People got right into the spirit of the whole thing and it is a very warm audience."
Famous for the song Kids in America, which reached No.2 in the charts in 1981, Kim has released 10 albums and 30 singles during her career.
She topped the singles chart in America - a rarity for a British artist - with You Keep Me Hanging On, in 1986.
And she says her dad, Marty Wilde, a Fifties pop icon, played a key role in helping her to keep her feet on the ground when fame hit.
"I was hugely advantaged without a doubt," she recalled. "I grew up in a musical family. People know my dad as a Fifties heartthrob, but he was also an extremely successful songwriter and penned songs for people such as Lulu and Status Quo. "So I spent a great deal of my childhood in recording studios, hearing my dad writing new material and trying new styles. I sometimes sang backing vocals for him.
"Once it all kicked-off for me, he was a huge part of my career. I had already been on the road with him, so I had a wide experience of the music industry. I knew from an early age that I wanted to sing and have a career in music."
Kim began to consider quitting the pop business after touring with Michael Jackson in the late Eighties, though it was years later before she finally let go.
She recalled: "He kept very much to himself and was surrounded by people protecting him. It is often a big price people pay for superstardom.
"It isolates people in hotel rooms, otherwise they are pray to the press and mad fans. It can be lonely being that famous.
"I remember thinking, 'Is this really what I am trying to chase, ever more success and breaking America?' Ultimately, if I got what I wanted, it would have made my life a living hell. So I did have to think very seriously during that tour in 1988 about fame and how much more of it I wanted.
"I'm glad I did that tour, it planted the seed of doubt that eventually got me out of the industry eight years later.
"If I hadn't got out of the music industry when I was in my mid-30s, I might have kept my head down and gone for an elusive hit record and missed the boat.
"There's a chance that could have happened and it would have been very sad if I had not had my children.
"I knew if I didn't stop and take time to smell the coffee I might never smell any coffee, so it was a huge relief to make that decision to stop. But it had been my career in my head since I was a child. I was 36 when I stopped and it was exactly the right thing to do."
After a short stint presenting with Chris Evans on Channel 4's groundbreaking Big Breakfast TV show, Kim accepted a role in the West End musical Tommy in 1996. She met and fell in love with fellow cast member Hal Fowler. The pair married within six months and now share a 16thcentury home in Hertfordshire. Keen to create a garden for their children, Kim went on to study horticulture and did TV work on Channel 4's Better Gardens and the BBC's Garden Invaders.
Continues http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entert.../kim-s-life-is-still-blooming-86908-20703333/
A celebratory dance in Market Square
NEWBURYPORT — The bricks of Market Square served as a dance floor yesterday, as a group of youths celebrated an epochal moment in hirsute history: the two-month anniversary of Owen Williams' beard.
The follicular foofraw kicked off at noon as a half-dozen Newburyport High School juniors began dancing in front of the Monkey's Fist. Some passers-by took photos of the dancers, while others busted out moves of their own.
"People keep joining us," said Max Handler, who provided the boombox, iPod and playlist for the "beardaversary." "Dancing cheers people up."
The dance party started to rival the beard in length — it was still going strong as the sun was going down at 7:30 p.m. Michael Jackson and the theme to the Mortal Kombat movie kept the dancers moving in between breaks to catch their breath. A toddler who joined in needed no downtime, waving his arms wildly before dropping an offering in the group's tip jar.
Handler said the friends had collected about $40, which would be put toward a post-dance pizza. After nearly eight hours of dancing, that pizza would not be too far off, he said.
"We'll keep on dancing until we get hungry," Handler said.
http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_231235009.html
The 1 thing you must do, see, or hear this week
THE 1 ROCKIN' PODCAST
If you are a podcast person of the rock 'n' roll persuasion, get a load of "Sound Opinions." This weekly hourlong talk show, which originates in Chicago and doesn't air in the Boston area, is hosted with passion and winking humor by rock critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. As these guys zip among genres and eras, you're bound to stumble across great new music, from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' (left) latest album to Rhymefest's cool Michael Jackson remixes. - MATTHEW GILBERT
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/08/18/the_1_thing/
Remember when MTV was FUN to watch? Well, it has sucked for quite some time now, and it doesn't really seems to change for the better, only for the worse.
Mentionings
Homosexuality in entertainment
The other night I had the amazing experience of going to see a George Michael concert. I have always been a big fan his, but never had the chance to see him live. I am only 21; admittedly I was not familiar with his entire collection of music. In an attempt to familiarize myself with his music and career I went online.
After reading up on the star, I was really surprised by how successful he actually is. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, had 10 U.S. No.1 singles, with a total estimated income of around £100 million or $200 million. He has fans worldwide, and he can still fill up huge venues, as I saw at the American Airlines Center.
Every seat I saw was full, and the crowd was going wild the entire time. Everyone was up on their feet dancing and singing; it seemed like 80 percent of the crowd knew all his songs by heart. It was the best concert I've seen to date.
After that night I couldn't help but ponder the nature of the entertainment industry.
I hear over and over again about record labels, movie producers and studios, casting directors and talent agents rejecting talented, good looking artists simply because they are gay. Not only do I hear of this happening, I have experienced it myself. The most frequent excuse I hear is that gay artists cut out a major part of the market and have less appeal to straight members of the opposite sex.
With so much gay talent out there and so many gay consumers, why aren't record labels, producers and the like jumping at the opportunity to create a new gay pop or movie star? Everyone in that crowd knew George Michael was gay, and the entire auditorium still filled up. Sure, there were plenty of people from the GLBT community there, but by no means was everyone gay.
My best friend and I sat next to a young woman who had a "major crush" on the singer her whole life. I asked her if his being gay was a turn off and she replied, "No! I find him incredibly sexy." So, do members of the opposite sex really shy away from gay musicians and actors? I believe the answer is no.
The most successful and famous artists are those who push the envelope and break down gender identity and conformity. Some of the most prevalent examples are Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson and, of course, George Michael. If these artists have shown us anything about music, it's that a little homosexual or just sexual controversy is always good.
We have artists today who dabble with their sexuality. Britney Spears had the whole world talking about her kiss with Madonna. Lindsay Lohan is now reportedly in a lesbian relationship with Samantha Ronson, and Nelly Furtado was recently quoted as saying she believes everyone is innately bisexual. This is definitely a good thing. It is breaking down the barriers that have been in place for too long that have been preventing us from having an actual gay artist be gay from the beginning of his career and have a real chance at making it big.
Is the world ready for another gay pop star? I think so. The question is, who?
http://media.www.smudailycampus.com.../Homosexuality.In.Entertainment-3399967.shtml
Say goodbye to music on Music TV
Rock didn't save the world, but reality TV is worse
On Aug. 1, 1981, MTV: Music Television exploded onto America's television sets with the words, "Ladies and gentleman, rock 'n' roll."
Thanks to MTV, the remainder of the 1980s would be filled with music and music videos ranging from Duran Duran to Michael Jackson to Madonna. The '90s rolled around with videos and promotions for and from the likes of Boyz II Men, New Kids on the Block, Blink-182 and (always persistent) Madonna.
By the 2000s, MTV seemed to be in a rush to get rid of the music. Eight years later, it's official: MTV no longer plays music except for the rare program.
I know times have changed. Kids certainly aren't turning to television any longer to get access to music. We, the generation of Napster and Limewire, can illegally download hundreds of songs in a manner of seconds. Three cheers for "progress."
However, that doesn't mean it's not a tragedy to lose the music in MTV. To make it worse, filling the gaping maw where music once was are some of the trashiest, dumbest, most plot-free reality shows on television.
The big question is what happened to the music? Who cares, "The Hills" is on.
I know pointing out that MTV has lost its mojo is clich. I also know that being only 16, I don't even know what MTV truly was like in its prime. The network was never perfect. Back when it actually played music videos around the clock, people claimed it was simply a tool of the record industry to sell CDs. That's true.
My own mother claims that decent people never cared about MTV to start with. That's possible. However, it's undeniable that MTV is now something totally different than what it was at the beginning.
I'm not saying that every person who watches and enjoys a little MTV is a bad person. I'd be knocking almost every teen in America (including myself) if I did. I'm not some crazed, fanatical music pusher either. Rock 'n' roll isn't saving the world anytime soon.
I'm just a teen-age girl who's saying her last goodbye to the way things were when there was one simple, legal way to get access to music that kills your parents.
So, goodbye MTV, from a generation of ne'er-do-wells.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1219050909270100.xml&coll=1
Leaving behind the child artiste tag
HE is much popular by his character name Vasu in Thirumathi Selvam. Having started his acting career as a child artiste in Anbulla Rajinikanth, Tinku has come a long way. “I have acted in more than 117 films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam as a child artiste.
Tinku is also into event management. “My company, Thunder Entertainment, is organising events,” he says. Talking about dance, Tinku says, “I have been interested in dance right from my childhood.
I used to get Michael Jackson cassettes, and developed my own steps. Probably that made my body flexible. I haven‘t been to any dance class”.
Full story http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE420080819042752&Page=4&Title=Entertainment&Topic=0
ACTIVIST NAJEE ALI SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN PRISON
ALHAMBRA — Gang member turned activist Najee Ali was sentenced to four years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to trying to bribe a witness in his daughter’s criminal case.
Ali allegedly tried to tamper with a witness outside his daughter’s preliminary hearing in January at the Alhambra Courthouse, Sandi Gibbons, public information officer for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, told City News Service.
Ali, born Ronald Todd Eskew, was arrested and charged on March 11 with attempting to intimidate a witness and attempting to bribe a witness.
Ali pleaded guilty to to attempting to bribe a witness and was sentenced by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Frederick R. Rotenberg. The charge of witness intimidation was dropped, Gibbons said.
Ali would have received two years in prison, but the sentence was doubled because of a conviction for armed robbery in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Gibbons said.
Rotenberg also found that Ali violated his probation in a 2004 felony hit-and-run and perjury conviction and gave him a four-year sentence to be served concurrently with the attempted bribery sentence, Gibbons said.
Ali has not paid $29,240 in restitution in that case, Gibbons said.
Ali was taken into custody immediately after the sentencing and was placed in isolated detention at the downtown jail because of his notoriety, Gibbons said. Ali’s daughter will be tried later this year on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count leaving the scene of an accident, stemming from a July 2007 incident on the San Bernardino (10) Freeway, Gibbons said.
Ali heads Project Islamic HOPE, which describes its mission as fighting poverty and social injustice.
Ali has been involved in a series of protests over the years, including several officer-involved shootings and the closure of Martin Luther King Jr.- Harbor Hospital. He organized a caravan of Los Angeles-area Michael Jackson supporters to Santa Maria for the entertainer’s arraignment on child molestation charges.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Bill Bratton called Ali “one of the biggest nitwits in Los Angeles’’ in 2004, a comment Bratton apologized for a few days later.
Then-Mayor Jim Hahn appointed Ali to a commission in 2004 to investigate the rough arrest of a car theft suspect that was shown on live television. Ali soon resigned after some city officials expressed doubts about whether he should serve because he is awaiting trial on charges of identity theft and leaving the scene of a car accident.
Most recently, Ali was involved in the protests following last month’s fatal shooting of U.S. Postal Service employee Kevin Wicks by Inglewood police Officer Brian Ragan.
Ragan had been placed on leave in May after being involved in a shooting in which a 19-year-old man died at a restaurant near Crenshaw Boulevard and 85th Street.
“This man doesn’t belong on the police force, he belongs in jail,’’ Ali said at an July 21 rally.
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=11
Amos Lee @ Gothic Teatre
It wasn’t just the songs that showcased Lee’s influences, though. His stage performance featured Buddy Guy’s plucking, Waylon Jennings’ gunman grip and posture, Justin Timberlake’s shoulder shrugs, head bob and hand gestures during breakdowns – which were originally Michael Jackson’s. Amos would close his eyes whenever a big note came belting out. It was clear that he had been groomed for the stage.
Full story http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2008/08/18/amos-lee-the-gothic-theatre/
Kim's Life Is Still Blooming
Real Women She Might Now Be A Successful Gardener, But Eighties Pop Legend Kim Wilde Can't Wait To Strut Her Stuff On Stage Again At This Year's Retrofest
KIM Wilde's career as a gardening expert is blooming, but she admits she will always be remembered for her hit song Kids in America.
The mum of two loves to juggle a career in the garden with being mum to Harry, 10, and Rose, eight. Not to mention her touring commitments.
And Kim, 47, can't wait to return to the stage at this year's Retrofest music festival at Strathclyde Country Park, which takes place from August 29 - 31.
"I'm all set," she admitted. "We enjoyed it so much last year at Culzean Castle. It's fantastic. So Iamreally looking forward to it. It is a brilliantly put together festival with the emphasis on family. It is great to be involved. "Last year, it was fun hanging out with all the other artists from the Eighties.
"It was also great seeing lots of people dressed up in Eighties wigs, black and white tops, shoulder pads and white stilettos. People got right into the spirit of the whole thing and it is a very warm audience."
Famous for the song Kids in America, which reached No.2 in the charts in 1981, Kim has released 10 albums and 30 singles during her career.
She topped the singles chart in America - a rarity for a British artist - with You Keep Me Hanging On, in 1986.
And she says her dad, Marty Wilde, a Fifties pop icon, played a key role in helping her to keep her feet on the ground when fame hit.
"I was hugely advantaged without a doubt," she recalled. "I grew up in a musical family. People know my dad as a Fifties heartthrob, but he was also an extremely successful songwriter and penned songs for people such as Lulu and Status Quo. "So I spent a great deal of my childhood in recording studios, hearing my dad writing new material and trying new styles. I sometimes sang backing vocals for him.
"Once it all kicked-off for me, he was a huge part of my career. I had already been on the road with him, so I had a wide experience of the music industry. I knew from an early age that I wanted to sing and have a career in music."
Kim began to consider quitting the pop business after touring with Michael Jackson in the late Eighties, though it was years later before she finally let go.
She recalled: "He kept very much to himself and was surrounded by people protecting him. It is often a big price people pay for superstardom.
"It isolates people in hotel rooms, otherwise they are pray to the press and mad fans. It can be lonely being that famous.
"I remember thinking, 'Is this really what I am trying to chase, ever more success and breaking America?' Ultimately, if I got what I wanted, it would have made my life a living hell. So I did have to think very seriously during that tour in 1988 about fame and how much more of it I wanted.
"I'm glad I did that tour, it planted the seed of doubt that eventually got me out of the industry eight years later.
"If I hadn't got out of the music industry when I was in my mid-30s, I might have kept my head down and gone for an elusive hit record and missed the boat.
"There's a chance that could have happened and it would have been very sad if I had not had my children.
"I knew if I didn't stop and take time to smell the coffee I might never smell any coffee, so it was a huge relief to make that decision to stop. But it had been my career in my head since I was a child. I was 36 when I stopped and it was exactly the right thing to do."
After a short stint presenting with Chris Evans on Channel 4's groundbreaking Big Breakfast TV show, Kim accepted a role in the West End musical Tommy in 1996. She met and fell in love with fellow cast member Hal Fowler. The pair married within six months and now share a 16thcentury home in Hertfordshire. Keen to create a garden for their children, Kim went on to study horticulture and did TV work on Channel 4's Better Gardens and the BBC's Garden Invaders.
Continues http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entert.../kim-s-life-is-still-blooming-86908-20703333/
A celebratory dance in Market Square
NEWBURYPORT — The bricks of Market Square served as a dance floor yesterday, as a group of youths celebrated an epochal moment in hirsute history: the two-month anniversary of Owen Williams' beard.
The follicular foofraw kicked off at noon as a half-dozen Newburyport High School juniors began dancing in front of the Monkey's Fist. Some passers-by took photos of the dancers, while others busted out moves of their own.
"People keep joining us," said Max Handler, who provided the boombox, iPod and playlist for the "beardaversary." "Dancing cheers people up."
The dance party started to rival the beard in length — it was still going strong as the sun was going down at 7:30 p.m. Michael Jackson and the theme to the Mortal Kombat movie kept the dancers moving in between breaks to catch their breath. A toddler who joined in needed no downtime, waving his arms wildly before dropping an offering in the group's tip jar.
Handler said the friends had collected about $40, which would be put toward a post-dance pizza. After nearly eight hours of dancing, that pizza would not be too far off, he said.
"We'll keep on dancing until we get hungry," Handler said.
http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_231235009.html
The 1 thing you must do, see, or hear this week
THE 1 ROCKIN' PODCAST
If you are a podcast person of the rock 'n' roll persuasion, get a load of "Sound Opinions." This weekly hourlong talk show, which originates in Chicago and doesn't air in the Boston area, is hosted with passion and winking humor by rock critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. As these guys zip among genres and eras, you're bound to stumble across great new music, from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' (left) latest album to Rhymefest's cool Michael Jackson remixes. - MATTHEW GILBERT
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/08/18/the_1_thing/
Today in
Michael Jackson History
2004 - Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville authorized the Sheiff's Department to release the results of an investigation by the California attorney general's office into the treatment of Michael Jackson after he surrendered to authorities in November 2003. The report concluded that Jackson had not been mistreated.
2004 - The stepfather of Michael Jackson accuser testified that he had sought payment for video interviews designed to restore Michael Jackson's reputation.
2004 - Michael Jackson issued a brief statement on his Web site that complained that his family has for years been "vilified and humiliated" by a recent TV movie. The statement did not make any referenced to the child molestation charges he was facing at the time.
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