1st\NW Quadrant 11/19 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 19, 2007

MIT vs Gehry

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is suing renowned architect Frank Gehry, alleging serious design flaws in the Stata Center, a building celebrated for its unconventional walls and radical angles.

The school asserts that the center, completed in spring 2004, has persistent leaks, drainage problems and mold growing on its brick exterior. It says accumulations of snow and ice have fallen dangerously from window boxes and other areas of its roofs, blocking emergency exits and causing damage.

The suit says MIT paid Los Angeles-based Gehry Partners $15 million to design the Stata Center, which cost $300 million to build. It houses labs, offices, classrooms and
meeting rooms. (NY Times)

Gehry, 78, has spoken only to The New York Times about the legal battle. He said he believes the issues at hand are relatively minor and that "M.I.T. is after our insurance."

"These things are complicated, and they involve a lot of people, and you never quite know where they went wrong," he told the newspaper. "A building goes together with seven billion pieces of connective tissue. The chances of it getting done ever without something colliding or some misstep are small." (Fox News)

McCartney vs Mills

McCartney













Mills


Stella McCartney has mocked her disabled stepmother Heather Mills by designing a £300 silver pendant necklace featuring a single leg in an apparent dig at her father's [Paul McCartney] estranged wife, who had her left leg amputated below the knee after being hit by a motorbike in 1993.

Heather branded Stella "evil" during an outburst on live TV, and said, "Every week she tried to break up my marriage to Paul."

Heather and Paul are currently in the middle of a high profile divorce. Heather is believed to have turned down a £50 million divorce settlement. (M & C)

Stolen White Truffles

An Italian truffle hunter has been robbed on his way to the market by thieves posing as police officers who relieved him of 400 grams of freshly collected white truffles worth €2,000.

Dario Pastrone, 58, had spent Friday and Saturday night in the wooded valleys around Chiusano collecting the prized delicacy and was driving to a truffle market in Asti when another car forced him off the road, the Guardian newspaper reported.

Three men dressed as police officers jumped out, opened his trunk and stole the truffles. The price of truffles has risen to as much as €8,000 ($11,500) this year, almost half the
price of gold. (Spiegel Online)

Federer Espresso Ads

Roger Federer, the top-ranked Swiss, recently inked a deal with Swiss coffee-maker Jura, which specializes in fully-automatic gourmet coffee and espresso machines.

According to the company’s website, “The Swiss multiple Grand Slam Winner will represent JURA as an Ambassador both in Switzerland and internationally and spread the message of their common values across the world: performance, precision, prestige and passion for excellence.”

Federer was on hand September 26, along with Jura General Manager Emmanuel Probst, to “inaugurate the JuraWorld of Coffee.”(Tennis)

Roderick Davis

A man who schemed to sell stolen computers and photographs used for Steven Spielberg's upcoming "Indiana Jones" movie has pleaded guilty to two felony counts.

Roderick Davis, 37, of Cerritos pleaded guilty on Thursday to receiving stolen property and commercial burglary. As part of his plea deal, he will serve two years and four months in state prison. He would have faced at least four years in prison if convicted of the charges, the District Attorney's Office said.

Davis was arrested Oct. 4 in West Hollywood during a sting operation by detectives who learned that some of the stolen material was being offered for sale to several entertainment gossip Web sites. They posed as potential buyers for the images and set up a meeting. When Davis arrived, they took him into custody. (Pravda)

Gisele Bündchen
Euros vs Dollar

Gisele Bündchen is the world's richest model, and to stay that way she is insisting that she be paid in almost any currency but the U.S. dollar.

Like the billionaire investors Warren Buffett and Bill Gross, Bündchen, the Brazilian supermodel said by Forbes magazine to earn more than anyone else in her industry, is at the top of a growing list of rich people who have concluded that the currency can only depreciate because Americans are living beyond their means.

When Bündchen, 27, signed a contract in August to represent Pantene hair products for Procter & Gamble, she demanded payment in euros, according to Veja, the biggest weekly magazine in Brazil. She will also get euros for the deal she reached last October with Dolce & Gabbana to promote the fragrance The One, Veja reported.

"Contracts starting now are more attractive in euros because we don't know what will happen to the dollar," Patrícia Bündchen, the model's twin sister and manager, said in September. (International Herald Tribune)

4th\SW Quadrant 11/12 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 12, 2007

"Live with Regis and Kelly 3-D"

This year's Halloween episode of "Live with Regis and Kelly" was broadcast in 3-D. The show was sponsored by Walgreens, which provided 3-D glasses for free in participating stores or by mail. (TV Blend)

Highlights from "Live with Regis and Kelly 3-D"

Lance Armstrong\Ashley Olsen Romance

The couple showed up to the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel Monday [October 29, 2007] and spent the night together. One bar spy said, “They came together with a group of friends. Ashley drank red wine, sat on his lap and they were making out all night. They left together around 2 a.m.” (Just Jared)

[Then] Page Six's ever-alert observers spotted the duo enjoying a romantic dinner at Graydon Carter's Waverly Inn on Tuesday night [November 1, 2007]. (Page Six)

Crocs in D.R.

Crocs’ SolesUnitedSM, JetBlue Airways and The Elliott Foundation announced today [October 29, 2007 ] a plan to provide 10,000 newly recycled Crocs™ shoes to children in need of footwear in the Dominican Republic. Renowned actor Manny Perez and four members of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), of which Crocs, Inc. is the title sponsor, will be on hand at the upcoming Dominican International Film Festival on November 8 – 11, 2007 at Sun Village Resort & Spa in Cofresi Beach, Dominican Republic to make the donation. (PRLEAP)

M23

Riders on the M23 Crosstown bus will tell you: there is nothing speedy about the trip. In fact, you might be better off on foot.

"I walk faster than this bus. I mean, it's really slow," said one commuter.

"In fact, I was about to start walking right now ‘til you stopped me, man. Bus takes too long. The 23's one of the slowest buses,” added another.

In fact, the M23 is the slowest bus, according to the Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives, the transit advocacy groups behind the annual Pokey Awards.

The M23 clocked in at an average speed of four miles an hour on weekday afternoons, pokiest in the city. (NY1)
(Photo courtesy of Newsday)

Rob Lowe's Tan

Camelback posted the following in the forums on TWOP, "Rob really is integrating well with the other actors. In the ep thread some have mentioned that he was too tan. Is it his real tan from a summer spent outdoors a lot or did the makeup people put on too much bronzer?"

3rd\SE Quadrant 11/12 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 12, 2007

Chelsea Peretti "All My Exes"

Chelsea Peretti is a stand-up comic and writer living in New York. She makes short films with the Variety Shac (currently in pre-production on a pilot) and has created two series for Turner's newly launched SuperDeluxe: "Making Friends With Chelsea Peretti" and "All My Exes."

She is co-creator of the New York City Rejection Line: (212) 479-7990 and of web satire blackpeopleloveus.com, which brought her to HBO Aspen Comedy Festival's "Off the Web."

Chelsea has written for Playgirl, the Village Voice, Details, and the Gawker book. (Chelsea Peretti)

"All My Exes #1"

Harold and Kumar in Prime Time

Since filming "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" John Cho (Harold) has appeared in the following television shows:

• "How I Met Your Mother"
• "Ugly Betty"
  
• "Til Death"
• "The Singles Table"
• "Kitchen Confidential"
• "Grey's Anatomy"
• "American Dad!"
• "House M.D."

And Kal Penn (Kumar) has appeared in:

• "House M.D."
• "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
• "24"
• "The Call"
• "Awesometown"

"The Breaks"

Book Description: In the fall of 1982, celebrated photographer of the British music scene Janette Beckman moved to New York City, where she found hip hop on the edge of explosion. After a decade underground, the DJs, MCs, b-boys, fly girls, and graff writers were finally getting their due from the downtown crowd.

While trains were covered in graffiti and boomboxes were blasting on the corners, DJs were up in the clubs while the dancers rocked the floor. Artists were getting signed and local legends were born. And while others called hip hop a fad, Beckman knew better. Her photographs, collected in The Breaks: Stylin’ and Profilin’ 1982–1990 transport us back to a time before music videos, marketing departments, and uber-stylists took control.

The queen of the 80s album cover, Beckman shot the icons of the era: Afrika Bambaataa, GrandMaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Fearless Four, the World Famous Supreme Team, Lovebug Starski, Salt’n’Pepa, Run-DMC, Stetsasonic, UTFO, Roxanne Shante, Sweet T, Jazzy Joyce, Slick Rick, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. and Rakim, EPMD, NWA, Ice-T, 2 Live Crew, Tone Loc, Gang Starr, Ultramagnetic MCs, Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock, Special Ed, Leaders of the New School, Jungle Brothers, Beastie Boys, Rick Rubin, and countless others.

The era was as original as it was innocent, and Beckman’s images remind us of a culture that brought forth The Message before it got Paid in Full. (Hustler of Culture)

Artists’ Reception for "The Breaks," and "Born in the Bronx":

Friday, November 9, 2007, 6:00–9:00 pm
The Windows of The powerHouse Arena
37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
RSVP: graham@powerhousebooks.com
For more information, please call 212-604-9074 x100

Exhibition Dates: November 3–11, 2007
Gallery Hours: Weekdays: 10am–7pm, Weekends: 11am–7pm

"Born in the Bronx:
A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop."

Jim Farberm of the Daily News wrote in his review of the book, "In seminal photos, handbills and record sleeves from the late '70s and early '80s, "The Bronx" captures an ironically gorgeous thing: The early rappers, break dancers and graffiti artists bred in our northernmost borough managed to contradict every depressing element of their surroundings by transforming them into pure expression. More, they did so with such creativity, their work wound up changing the entire history of youth culture."

(Photograph by Joe Conzo courtesy of Born in the Bronx)

Joe Torre in L.A.

Joe Torre was hired Thursday [November 1, 2007] to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking the job two weeks after walking away from the New York Yankees.

The winningest manager in postseason history, Torre moved from one storied franchise to another, agreeing to a three-year, $13 million contract. He becomes the Dodgers' eighth manager since they left his hometown, where he rooted for the rival New York Giants.

Torre guided the Yankees to four World Series championships from 1996-2000, and they made the playoffs in all 12 years he managed them. (ESPN)

2nd\NE Quadrant 11/12 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 12, 2007

"From Here On Out''

Alastair Macauly's review of the ballet in the Times states, "...it seems to have learned lessons from numerous ballets, from Jerome Robbins’s “Glass Pieces” on (maybe even moments from “The Sleeping Beauty”), including the undeniably influential William Forsythe. Several of these lessons are good. Mr. Muhly’s score has, as the overture alone shows, a striking range of sonority and structure, and Mr. Millepied’s ballet has craft, discipline and a welcome energy."

However, another reviewer wrote in the Culture section of the Bloomberg News,"The duet's subject seems to be a cruel co-dependency that masquerades as love. Remarkably, the choreography conveys no human feeling, neither depicting nor eliciting empathy. Its extravagant shapes and ferocious energy are merely decorative."(Arts Journal)

The Fed on Hannah Montana Tickets

Soaring black market prices for tickets to see pop idol Hannah Montana have enraged parents and prompted probes by several states' attorney generals, but the Richmond Federal Reserve says don't blame market forces.

"Yes, it may be unfortunate that some little girls won't be able to see Miley Cyrus (the real name of the performer who plays teenybopper Hannah Montana) in concert," the Richmond branch of the U.S. central bank noted in an article on its Web site.

"The more fundamental issue is that promoters of the Hannah Montana series apparently haven't priced tickets commensurate with demand, opening the door to a secondary market with much higher prices," the Fed said.

This secondary market has sky-rocketed. Hannah Montana tickets officially priced at $25-$65 for a show on Monday in Seattle were for sale on one major private on-line ticket brokerage for between $163-$393. Seats near the stage for a Nov. 7 performance in Los Angeles were $2,427 each. (ABC News)

(Photo courtesy of Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

"Taxi"

Pete Hamill of the New York Times wrote in his review of "Taxi,""In this informative, solid history, Graham Russell Gao Hodges traces the story of the cabdrivers from 1907, when the first metered taxis appeared on New York streets, to the present. He writes with obvious sympathy, having driven a hack himself before moving on to academic labors as a historian at Peking University and Colgate. Loneliness is a running theme in “Taxi!”: if the title were not already taken, Hodges could have called his compact history “One Hundred Years of Solitude."

"Taxi! is not only lively and erudite social history, it is probably the best account of taximen that is ever to be written... The cabby is fortunate, however, to have found his sociological poet laureate in Graham Hodges. In the taxi trade, we would have called this fascinating trip in his gregarious company, 'a great fare.'" -- Wall Street Journal

The first chapter of the book can be read here.

A Tree for Anable Basin, NY

From the project's press release: A Tree for Anable Basin, NY is 24' high by 24' wide aluminum tree with wood birdhouses that sits on a floating island housing flora and fauna. The sculpture is designed to reflect the historical interplay between industrial and ecological activity that shaped Anable Basin, the transforming waterfront of Long Island City/ East River, where industrial structures give way to high-rise condominiums.

This metallic natural form functions as a "condominium for birds" set in a panoramic urban landscape. It is designed to emote the displacement of nature, specifically of migratory water birds by industrial activity and urban development.

This public art sculpture tells the story of NYC's waterfront past, present and future, giving the birds not just a sanctuary, but a place in history. Responding to the ceaseless tension between permanence and transition that informs urban landscapes, the tree is deliberately not grounded -- without roots it can float along the waterways, move with the ebb and flow of the tide, its metal branches softly blowing in the wind.

MUJI in NYC

Retrogurl posted on the blog Nitro:licious, "Looks like Muji is setting foot into New York very soon, not one but two locations [Soho, and the The New York Times Building]! I’m ecstatic! Muji means “no-logo products”, it is simple-yet-sophisticated products ranging from apparel and home furnishings to stationery and art supplies to food/snacks…its like a high-class version of IKEA! The prices aren’t that expensive neither, affordable."

The 5,000 square feet MUJI store in the Times building is set to open in time for the 2007 holiday season, and the MUJI SOHO store, which will be located at 455 Broadway, opens November 16 at 12:00 P.M.

MUJI is dedicated to reducing waste and conserving resources, so they will be giving away a free reusable "My Bag" during the first three days of the store's opening at the Soho location. (Racked)

"The Shock Doctrine"

The neo-liberal economic policies—privatization, free trade, slashed social spending—that the Chicago School and the economist Milton Friedman have foisted on the world are catastrophic in two senses, argues this vigorous polemic. Because their results are disastrous—depressions, mass poverty, private corporations looting public wealth, by the author's accounting—their means must be cataclysmic, dependent on political upheavals and natural disasters as coercive pretexts for free-market reforms the public would normally reject.

Journalist Klein (No Logo) chronicles decades of such disasters, including the Chicago School makeovers launched by South American coups; the corrupt sale of Russia's state economy to oligarchs following the collapse of the Soviet Union; the privatization of New Orleans's public schools after Katrina; and the seizure of wrecked fishing villages by resort developers after the Asian tsunami.

Klein's economic and political analyses are not always meticulous. Likening free-market shock therapies to electroshock torture, she conflates every misdeed of right-wing dictatorships with their economic programs and paints a too simplistic picture of the Iraq conflict as a struggle over American-imposed neo-liberalism. Still, much of her critique hits home, as she demonstrates how free-market ideologues welcome, and provoke, the collapse of other people's economies. The result is a powerful populist indictment of economic orthodoxy. (Publisher's Weekly)

"The Shock Doctrine" Trailer



"Kiku" Exhibit

Discover the exquisite beauty of kiku—meticulously cultivated chrysanthemums, a traditional Japanese art never before seen on this scale outside Japan.

This is the most elaborate flower show and cultural exhibition ever presented by the Garden in its 116-year history.

Marvel at the dramatic shapes, vibrant colors, and perfect blossoms that characterize the specialized styles of displaying kiku. This flower show culminates a five-year collaboration with Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo.

Kiku has been meticulously cultivated and expertly trained into exquisite shapes and arrays, advancing floriculture to such a degree that there are names for more than 10,000 styles. These techniques have been developed over 1,500 years. (NYBG)

1st\NW Quadrant 11/12 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 12, 2007

Morrissey Shirt Removal

Matt wrote on the blog EAR FARM, "Night four [October 27, 2007] of Morrissey at the Hammerstein Ballroom was the best show of the series so far - a 9.5/10. Morrissey wore a tuxedo, was in high spirits, went off on a rant about Canada in regards to their killing of baby seals, and delivered his strongest vocals of perhaps any show I've seen him perform to date."

Sheridan Whiteside posted in the forums on the site Morrissey-Solo, "Before leaving the stage, he removed his sweat-soaked navy shirt and threw it into the crowd."

Seinfeld on Letterman

Jerry Seinfeld said on the Late Show [October 29. 2007],"So a billionaire comedian's wife writes an Oprah-approved cookbook about hiding brussel sprouts in your kids' mac and cheese, and some celebrity-stalking lunatic [Missy Chase Lapine, the author of "The Sneaky Chef"] accuses her of plagiarism, just because the book she already wrote on that topic contains 15 identical recipes!" Seinfeld also accused the author of being a potential serial killer. (Defamer)

The premise of Ms. Seinfeld's book ["Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food"] is that meals kids enjoy, such as lasagna, tacos and pita pizzas, can be tweaked to be more nutritious. She sneaks carrot and spinach purees into a recipe for brownies, while a recipe for chicken alphabet soup includes cauliflower puree. In her introduction, Ms. Seinfeld notes: "This book is nothing more than one mom's coping skills."

Missy Chase Lapine has gone from feeling "uncomfortable" about the uncanny similarities between the two titles to "concerned and troubled." (Jezebel)

JKF Cat Roundup

To the alarm of cat rescue groups, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has started rounding up feral cats that live in a colony deep in the secured cargo areas of Kennedy International Airport. The several dozen cats have been tended for years by sympathetic airport employees.

The cats sleep in makeshift cubicles made of plastic packing containers nestled in cargo carts that once carried transcontinental luggage but have been long retired from Kennedy’s runways. They gather under and around a rusted old fuel tanker truck.

He [Pasquale DiFulco, an authority spokesman] said the cats were creating “an unsafe and unsanitary” environment. “You’ve got a situation where the cats are being fed, which then attracts rodents and, far more seriously, birds,” he said. Gulls attracted to the food could end up colliding with sensitive aircraft parts, he said. (New York Times)

"LES MISÉRABLES"

"LES MISÉRABLES" is the third longest-running show in Broadway history and will, on October 8, pass the 21 year old record of "Cats" in London to become the longest-running musical ever on the West End or Broadway with 8,372 performances; a run nearly three years longer than Broadway’s record-holder "The Phantom of the Opera," all three shows having been produced by Cameron Mackintosh. "LES MISÉRABLES" has been seen by over 54 million people in 38 countries and 21 languages since its first London performance in October 1985. The original Broadway production opened on March 12, 1987, at the Broadway Theatre, winning seven Tony Awards that season, including Best Musical. The show went on to play a total of 6,680 performances. (Les Mis)

"None of the Above"

Wilborn Hampton of the New York Times writes in his review of the play, "There may be a) drama, b) humor or c) romance in the teenage trauma known as the SATs, but in Jenny Lyn Bader’s play “None of the Above,” it is the title that is the correct answer, at least in the uneven revival being presented by the fledgling South Ark Stage Company."

"Ms. Bader’s two-hander takes the situation of a tutor’s being hired to coach a bratty high school senior for her SATs, then gives the characters so much improbable back history that her score on the test becomes a life-and-death struggle. "

"The playwright has updated a version staged in 2003 (with Alison Pill, now appearing on Broadway, as the senior) and set in 1995. The play now takes place in “the present,” but it still feels behind the times, a slight comedy that wants to be taken seriously."
(Photo courtesy of Carol Rosegg via NY Times)

However, Matthew Murray of Talkin Broadway said in his review of the play that it was a,"... highly enjoyable comedy..."

"Lost Book of Nostradamus"

In 1994, Italian journalist Enza Massa was at the Italian National Library in Rome when she stumbled upon an unusual find. It was a manuscript dating to 1629, titled: Nostradamus Vatinicia Code. Michel de Notredame, the author's name, was on the inside in indelible ink. The book contains cryptic and bizarre images along with over eighty watercolor paintings by the master visionary himself. Follow the investigative trail of how the manuscript was found in the archives and exactly how it got there. New insight is given into the life of Nostradamus and his relationship with Pope Urban VIII, who knew about this manuscript and in whose possession it was for many years. (History)

Two-minute Preview

“Tell Me You Love Me”

Despite the fact that HBO describes “Tell Me You Love Me” as a provocative and honest exploration of intimacy, it appears that every sex scene has a simultaneous orgasm.

4th\SW Quadrant 11/5 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 5, 2007

Kid Rock

Saturday night [10/20/07], he [Kid Rock] rocked a sold-out show supporting his current No. 1 album in the country and the first chart-topper of his 17-year career. A few hours later, Kid Rock, who calls his genre-bending blend of country, rap and southern rock "hick-Hop," was arrested after police said he and his entourage beat up a customer — at a local Waffle House. Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, was charged with simple battery, as were five other men who were with him. The 36-year-old rocker was released from DeKalb County Jail on Sunday afternoon after posting a $1,000 bond on the misdemeanor charge.

DeKalb police said Ritchie was finishing up a post-show meal at a Waffle House on Buford Highway about 5:15 a.m. Sunday when a customer recognized a woman in his entourage and began exchanging words with her. Ritchie joined in the altercation, which soon escalated into a physical fight between the rocker and the man, Harlen DeJon Akins, 39.
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(Mug shot photo courtesy of the DeKalb Sheriff's Office)

Foxy Brown

Jailed rap star Foxy Brown has dug herself deeper into "the hole." The down-and-out diva, whose real name is Inga Marchand, was removed from the general population and locked away in a segregated cell for 76 days beginning Oct. 16 after committing three violations at Rikers Island this month, sources told The Post yesterday. The first incident occurred on Oct. 3 while Foxy and another female inmate were headed to the dining hall for a meal in the Rose M. Singer facility, the sources said. They started shoving each other for reasons that were not immediately clear, prompting correction officers to jump in and separate the two before things turned bloody, officials said. The next day, Foxy was verbally abusive toward correction officers and also refused to take a random drug test, the sources said. (NY Post)

Sandra of the blog Sandra Rose News said, "I can tell you from my experience as a nurse working at two youth detention centers here in Atlanta -- those detainees and guards don't care who you were on the outside. They will beat Foxy's ass."

“One Life to Live” Actor Assault

From the blog Celebrity Smack - Nathaniel Marston who plays Dr.Michael McBain on “One Life to Live” has been hospitalized and is in trouble with the law after attacking three people and fighting with police during a drug induced rage.

The incident happened just before 5AM Sunday morning. Marston has been charged with two counts each of felony assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and one count of resisting arrest.

Witness and victim, Salvatore Cabibbo, says he was minding his own business having a cup of coffee when he saw Marston get out of a cab and argue with the driver. Then Cabibbo says that the amped up actor came at him for no reason other than he just happened to be there. Marston threatened the man screaming, “I’m going to get you,” and charged at Cabibbo swinging a metal crate at him.

Says Cabibbo, 46, “He was crazed - I don’t know the guy from a hole in the wall. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Marston hit him with the crate, breaking his leg, then continued on, running into a nearby gas station nearby. He ran through the traffic on a busy New York street nearly being hit in the process.

Nets Cancel Game

Yahoo! Sports - The NBA preseason game between the New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics was canceled after one half Friday night because of damp court conditions at the DCU Center.

Boston led 36-33 at halftime when the game was called because of condensation forming from ice beneath the floor. The 25-year-old city-owned facility is home to the AHL's Worcester Sharks, an affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.

"The players felt like they were risking injury by playing on the court," said Danny Ainge, the Celtics director of basketball operations. "They didn't feel like they could get any footing and they were slipping and sliding, so it was pretty unanimous among the players and the officials and the coaches that the game should be called."

Ryan Gosling

From the blog Spielster, "Peter Jackson fires Ryan Gosling from the film version of "The Lovely Bones" days before production was set to begin because he was too fat and wasn’t “movie star” like enough. Mark Wahlberg has since stepped in as the grief stricken dad of a murdered teenage girl in the adaptation of the hit novel."

Celebitchy wrote, "When he [Ryan Gosling] got on set to work on the film, director Peter Jackson thought he wasn’t hot enough to play the character despite being told ahead of time by Gosling that he would gain weight for the role. Gosling left due to “creative differences” last Friday, before filming was set to start on Monday."

Melanie Griffith's Lips

Michelle Kung related the following on the Huffington Post, "Blasted by critics as a "train wreck," "horrid" and "totally botched," not to mention possibly the "worst show in the history of television," Viva Laughlin, CBS's Nevada-set musical/mystery drama series, just became the first scripted casualty of the fall TV season, and good riddance."

Janco54 posted in the comments, "... And can Melanie Griffith's lips get any bigger? My God, pretty soon her top lip is just going to be a part of her nostrils."

CBGB Space into Varvatos Store

From Indie Blog Heaven, "As CBGB's has been closed down for over a year now, word has came down that the empty venue could be filled with a high end fashion boutique. The store would be ran by legendary fashion guru John Varvatos, who has dressed several rock greats over the years, including Iggy Pop, Slash and Ryan Adams."
(Photo courtesy of Gothamist)

3rd\SE Quadrant 11/5 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 5, 2007

"SHAZAM: MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL DELUXE EDITION"

Jeff Smith, the award-winning creator of BONE, tells the story of young orphan Billy Batson who finds himself transformed into the World's Mightiest Mortal whenever he says the magic word "Shazam!" after being granted the magical powers of the gods by an ancient wizard. In this hardcover collecting the acclaimed 4-issue miniseries, Billy must use these extraordinary abilities to face an invasion of alien creatures as well as stop mad scientist Dr. Sivana and his Monster Society of Evil from taking over the world! (DC Comics)

Job posted on his blog Jog Likes Comics, "So I read the new book, and it was pretty neat."

"Kid Nation"

Despite her horrible record of failing to make the yellow team perform their assigned tasks, Taylor is arrogantly confident of keeping her job.

"Zach does not have any chance of beating me,"Taylor said smugly,"because I have all five girls on my side."

Zach will have none of it, and runs aggressively on a "clean up this town" platform, reasoning he can win if he can sway just one girl.

And Zach defeated Taylor for the Yellow district seat by a one-vote margin. (Get Real)

"Kid Nation" is a reality television show hosted by Jonathan Karsh that premiered on the CBS network on September 19, 2007 and airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. The show features 40 children aged 8 to 15. In the show, the children try to create a functioning society, including setting up a government system with minimal adult help and supervision. The show stresses the difficulty in creating a viable society. At the end of each episode, an elected council of kids awards the Gold Star, worth $20,000, to a fellow participant. Participants were paid $5,000 for their involvement in the show's taping. (Wikipedia)

Mendoza Diagonal

Club80 posted on the blog Mookie - A very interesting approach to analyzing the correct amount of hotness a woman must have to overcome her craziness. The concept, of course, being that the crazier a woman is, the hotter she must be to overlook it. It was analyzed using the HCS (Hot-Crazy Scale) on How I Met Your Mother. After considering all factors and plotting them on the graph, the side that a crazy woman falls on the Vickie Mendoza Diagonal would scientifically determine whether the relationship is worth pusuing.

In a nutshell, Hot is on the Y axis and crazy on the X axis. The line starts from 0 with a slope of 1. Basically plot where the girl lies on the graph (crazy, hot) and determine on which side she falls on the Vickie Mendoza Diagonal.

2nd Avenue Deli

The 2nd Avenue Deli may reopen in a new location farther uptown near Third Avenue, a year after the landmark restaurant closed its doors in the East Village, depriving the city of what had been its best corned-beef sandwich. The Lebewohl family, who owned the deli for more than 50 years, until a rent dispute with a new landlord shut it down last year, is now expecting to close on the purchase of a building in Murray Hill, where a spokesman for the family said it plans to open a new delicatessen. (The New York Sun)

The following was previously posted on Eater: It looks like the famed 2nd Ave. Deli will definitely be reopening at 162 E. 33rd St according to a reliable confirmation received in the form of a communique from a trusted correspondent:

Me: You still making deliveries?
Driver: Nah man, soon. soon tho.
Me: Really? They are reopening?
Driver: Yeah.
Me: Where?
Driver: Thirty Third and Third
Me: Wow! How long?
Driver: Soon man. Soon.
Me: How soon?
Driver: Oh, I say five months.

Coheed and Cambria

Coheed and Cambria recently performed (Friday, October 19th) at CMJ '07.

Elizabeth Cline of New York wrote about show, "The encore, meanwhile — which came after a typically terrific, anthem-packed show — emphasized the band’s prog-rock leanings. It was devoted entirely to jamming: Sanchez soloed with the guitar behind his head and on a theremin; Travis Stever blew on the mouth harp; and the band’s new drummer, Chris Pennie, earned his keep with some insane off-tempo, double-bass drum rolls. The teenage fans were left seeming a little slack-jawed — but Aunt Antonia could not have been better honored."

Coheed and Cambria is a progressive rock band from Nyack, New York and Kingston, New York. Coheed and Cambria have released four studio albums, two live albums, and various special-edition re-releases. Their albums are concept albums, revealing the plot of an overarching storyline, The Amory Wars. (Wikipedia)

Our Dumb World:
The Onion's Atlas of The Planet Earth,
73rd Edition

Book Description: Our Dumb World: The Onion's Atlas of The Planet Earth, 73rd Edition features incorrect statistics on all of the Earth's 168, 182, or 196 independent nations. It also features maps, including a fold-out world map at actual size. Readers will learn about every country from Afghanistan ... to the Ukraine, "The Bridebasket of Europe."Today's news-parody consumer cannot possibly understand made-up current events without the context of fake world history and geography. That is why The Onion is publishing a world atlas: to help us. Our Dumb World is an invaluable tool for any reader interested in overthrowing a weakened government in East Asia, exploiting a developing nation in Africa, or for directions to tonight's party at Erica's. It is a reference guide to 250,000 of the world's most important places, such as North Korea's Trench of Victory, the Great Human Pyramid of Egypt...(Amazon)

Brian Scott of the blog Book Catcher wrote, "No nation is safe when The Onion's hard-hitting cartographic team is on the job."

2nd\NE Quadrant 11/5 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 5, 2007

"The Night Tourist"

Book Description: Jack Perdu, a ninth grade classics prodigy, lives his with father on the Yale University campus. Smart and introverted, Jack spends most of his time alone, his nose buried in a book. But one winter evening, a near-fatal accident changes Jack's life forever. His father sends him to see a mysterious doctor in New York City--a place Jack hasn't visited since his mother died there eight years ago. In Grand Central Terminal, he meets Euri, a girl who offers to show him the train station's hidden places--the ones only true urban explorers really know about. Eight flights below the train station, however, Jack discovers more than just hidden tracks and mysterious staircases. He has stumbled upon New York's ghostly underworld. This, Jack believes, is his chance to see his mother again. But as secrets about Euri's past are revealed, so are the true reasons for Jack's visit to the underworld. Masterfully told, The Night Tourist weaves Classical mythology together with New York's secret history and modern-day landscape to create a magical adventure, full of unexpected twists and page-turning action. (Amazon)

Franki posted on the blog, A Year in Reading, "It is a great read, one that I think middle school students will enjoy. This story has clear connections to the Orpheus myth and there are many references to mythology throughout. But for readers who are not familiar with the myth, this book would still be a treat."

The rights to the book were bought by Universal. (Cinematical)

Benny Carter

Jazz at Lincoln Center kicked off its season [October, 19 2007] with the centennial salute to the alto saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader who earned the title "the Renaissance man of jazz." (News Day)

Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King. Carter was admired for his ability to write saxophone solis, which are sections of music that are played by the whole saxophone section as one unit in the manner of a harmonized solo. As a youth, Carter lived in Harlem around the corner from Bubber Miley who was Duke Ellington's star trumpeter. Carter was inspired by Miley and bought a trumpet, but when he found he couldn't play like Miley he traded the trumpet in for a saxophone. (Wikipedia)

“The Brothers Size”

Jason Zinoman of the New York Times wrote in his review, "Tarell Alvin McCraney, a third-year student at the Yale School of Drama, is one of the few playwrights in the Under the Radar festival who is actually under the radar — but not for long."

“The Brothers Size,” his absorbing and emotionally resonant drama set in the bayou country of Louisiana and loosely based on West African myths, is decidedly the work of a young writer. But there is evidence in his richly drawn characters and colloquial poetry, which manages to sound both epic and rooted in a specific place, to suggest that he has a long career ahead of him."

Cindy Pierre of the blog, New Theater Corps, wrote, "The Brothers Size is an allegory for lost time and regret. It is an ardent celebration of tradition with a loose structure that seats us inside the action. It is cerebral, spiritual, and innovative. If you're looking for a nice departure from the standard theatrical form, you'll find it here, beautiful in its vibrations and timbre."

"A Psychic Vacuum"

Artist Mike Nelson transforms the disused interior of the Essex Street Market in NYC’s Lower East Side, taking audiences on an unexpected journey through reconstructed rooms, passageways, and meticulously assembled environments of his installation titled "A Psychic Vacuum." Inspired by the building’s history, the surrounding neighborhood, literary and cultural references, and the current social climate in the United States, the project comes to life via materials gleaned from local salvage yards and debris from the market’s heyday. (Creative)

Scott Lachut of Cool Hunting posted, "All of Nelson's carefully selected details create a running narrative that at once interprets the (now endangered) character of the neighborhood as a relic forgotten as the days pass by, while at the same time revering it as a still vital participant in the flow of daily life happening on these streets."

The show was free, and ran from September 8 - October 28 at The Old Essex Street Market.
(Photo courtesy of Charlie Samuels)

A Time to Keep Silence

... in A Time to Keep Silence, Leigh Fermor writes about a more inward journey, describing his several sojourns in some of Europe's oldest and most venerable monasteries. He stays at the Abbey of St. Wandrille, a great repository of art and learning; at Solesmes, famous for its revival of Gregorian chant; and at the deeply ascetic Trappist monastery of La Grande Trappe, where monks take a vow of silence. Finally, he visits the rock monasteries of Cappadocia, hewn from the stony spires of a moonlike landscape, where he seeks some trace of the life of the earliest Christian anchorites. More than a history or travel journal, however, this beautiful short book is a meditation on the meaning of silence and solitude for modern life.
(The New York Review of Books)

Prose lapidary and evocative enough to please even the hardiest skeptic.
— The Washington Post

Edmund Wilson Essays

With this inaugural volume of what will be a series devoted to Edmund Wilson's work, The Library of America pays tribute to the writer who first conceived the idea of a publishing series dedicated to "bringing out in a complete and compact form the principal American classics." Literary Essays and Reviews of the 1920s and 30s presents Wilson in the extraordinary first phase of his career, participating in a cultural renaissance and grappling with the crucial issues of his era. (The Library of America)

Edmund Wilson (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer, noted chiefly for his literary criticism. Most literary experts considered Wilson the preeminent American literary critic of his day, and perhaps of the 20th century.

Edmund Wilson was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, and his father was a lawyer. He was educated first at The Hill School and then at Princeton from 1912-1916. He began his writing career as a reporter for the New York Sun, and served in the army during the First World War. He was the managing editor of Vanity Fair in 1920 and 1921, and later served as Associate Editor of The New Republic and a book reviewer for The New Yorker. His works influenced novelists Upton Sinclair, John Dos Passos, Sinclair Lewis, Floyd Dell and Theodore Dreiser, and he wrote plays, poems, and novels, but his strength was literary criticism. (Wikipedia)

Christopher Wheeldon's
Morphoses

Christopher Wheeldon, the dancer and founder of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, may well be the world’s most in-demand ballet choreographer.

Critics routinely praise his wit and imagination and point to his keen musicality, mastery of stage space and inventive partnering. His best-known works — the strange and stirring “Polyphonia” (2001) and “After the Rain” (2005) — gain their power through the force of their sensual shapes, lines and geometric forms. (Times Topics)

Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company performed through Sunday [October 21, 2007] at City Center, 131 West 55th Street.

Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company

1st\NW Quadrant 11/5 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of November 5, 2007

Dumbledore

Dumbledore, it turns out, the wise and wizened wizard of “Harry Potter” fame, is taking his place alongside other media figures, like Bert and Ernie and Tinky Winky of the Teletubbies. For all, sexuality has become an issue. Dumbledore is, as his creator, J. K. Rowling, asserted at Carnegie Hall, gay. (New York Times)

(Photo courtesy of Murray Close/Warner Brothers Pictures)

Garrison Keillor Stalker

Garrison Keillor has gotten a restraining order against a Georgia woman he claims has made telephone calls and sent him explicit e-mails and disturbing gifts, including a petrified alligator foot and dead beetles. (Gawker)

“Young Frankenstein” Scalpers

“Young Frankenstein” is one of the biggest deals headed to Broadway so far in 2007-08. Top ticket prices will be $120, with some "premier" and "premium" seats priced at $450 and $375 per ticket. The New York Times reported that the $450 orchestra ticket price will apply to the 100 or so best seats in the house. At the time of the August 7 first preview in Seattle, the Broadway advance was already around $15 million. (BAM)

Scalpers may have over anticipated demand by raising the price too much, because there are seats still available during the previews.

Opening night is November 8 at the Broadway Hilton Theatre.

Nellie McKay

"The 24-Hour Plays" on Broadway is an annual benefit in which six one-acts are written, cast, directed and performed in less than a day. (24HourPlays)

Nellie McKay who is a British-born American singer-songwriter, actress and former stand-up comedian, served as musical guest. (Playbill)

She is noted for her critically-acclaimed debut album “Get Away from Me.” (Wikipedia)

Apparently, her performance during the "The 24-Hour Plays" was, “barely audible.” (NY Magazine)

Compañía Nacional de Danza

Spain’s acclaimed Compañía Nacional de Danza made its BAM debut from October 16th through 20th with three works of choreography of Artistic Director Nachio Duato: Por Vos Muero, Castrati, and White Darkness.

Deborah Jowitt of the Village Voice wrote that, “White Darkness deals with drug addiction, but there’s so little sordidness that, unless you read the program before seeing the piece, you mightn’t know that the white powder that, spotlit, pours down from above at various times and in various places onstage is meant to be heroin (or cocaine). It could be a miraculous blessing from heaven. People lie neatly down around a pool’s circumference to sleep, or kneel devoutly by another supply. A woman (Yolanda Martín), guided or guarded by a man (Dimo Kirilov) is fatally attracted to the substance; others hang her out over “their” pool; Martín and Kirilov pour small quantities of it between each other’s hands. In the end, several individuals are isolated by their craving in squares of light, and the white stuff rains down on Martín until she’s turned th color of ash. Kirilov walks out of her life.
(Photo courtesy of Jack Vartoogian)

Tomayo Painting

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo's ``Tres Personajes,'' a 1970 painting vibrating with reds, yellows and purples, may fetch as much as $1 million at a Sotheby's auction on Nov. 20, the work's first public viewing since Elizabeth Gibson spied it in a mound of garbage on a Manhattan sidewalk. Gibson, a tall, blond 53-year-old resident of the Upper West Side, went out for a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning in 2003. She spotted a large painting poking out from among the garbage bags left on the sidewalk on West 72nd Street. In her pre-caffeinated haze, she kept walking.

``I'm all about de-cluttering, so why was I going to take it home?'' she recalled in an interview.

A few minutes and a cup of coffee later, Gibson returned to the trash pile, saw the painting and reconsidered. ``I saw it was a big painting,'' she said. ``It needed a sleek, large apartment.''

After finding a million-dollar painting in the trash, Gibson has reaped some gain herself. She collected a $15,000 reward from the owner as well as an undisclosed fee from Sotheby's. Her experiences have inspired her to begin writing a book. Uribe, meanwhile, is focused on the sale in November.

Tamayo, who died in 1991, remains one of the most sought- after Latin American artists. His 1955 ``America (Mural)'' fetched a record $2.59 million at Christie's International in New York in 1993.

Million Dollar Painting Found in Garbage

4th\SW Quadrant 10/29 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of October 29, 2007

2nd Cab Strike

Yahoo! News - A second strike in six weeks by New York City cabbies did little to slow the city Monday, as familiar fleets of yellow cabs lined up as usual outside transportation hubs.

The cabbies called their second walkout to protest new rules requiring installation of equipment that would let passengers watch TV, pay with credit cards and check their location using a global-positioning system.

The taxi drivers say the technology is a costly invasion of their privacy and works erratically at best. The Taxi and Limousine Commission has said its tests showed the technology worked more than 99 percent of the time.

It wasn't immediately clear how many drivers were honoring the 24-hour strike. But the city said the vast majority of the city's 44,000 licensed taxi drivers were working.

Spice Girls @ Victoria's Secret

Richard Driver posted on Bloggingstocks that Billboard reported last night [October 16, 2007] that the new Spice Girls Greatest Hits album will be sold exclusively at Victoria's Secret stores, a division of Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD), starting November 13, until it is released in other retail outlets starting January 15. According to the same report, fans will have a 24-hour period to pre-order the album from the Victoria's Secret website starting tonight at midnight. The album will also be available in digital stores from November 13, while the Spice Girls begin a worldwide tour in early December.

The deal that Capitol Music Group made with Victoria's Secret will also see the quintet performing at the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show," which will be broadcast by CBS (NYSE: CBS) on December 4.

"Transformers" MLB Game Ad

Sam posted on the blog Sam vs Kevin, "Not only is it underhanded, but it’s also intrusive. For example, during the 2007 baseball playoffs on FOX, instead of a normal screen wipe, a "Transformers" movie title would flash. Now granted, Transformers is a great piece of cinema, but it had no relation to anything else in the FOX broadcast. It was an artificially created spot for product placement where none should have been, and it detracted from the overall professional feel of the telecast."

"Samantha Who?"

Plot Outline: A psychiatrist suffers from amnesia and is forced to find out who she really is.

Ginia Bellanfante of the New York Times wrote in her review of "Samantha Who?," "The show works because Ms. Applegate is the kind of comic actress who could never be completely believable as a goody-two-shoes. She puts a healthy ironic distance between herself and that dreaded entity, the better person her character must become. You look in her eyes, and, happily, you see a recidivist."

ABC has full episodes of the show on its website.

"The Game Plan"

Plot Outline: An NFL quarterback living the bachelor lifestyle discovers that he has a 8-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Todd Gilchrist of IGN Movies said, "To paraphrase David Spade, I liked this movie the first time I saw it -- when it was called Kindergarten Cop," but Cynthia Fuchs PopMatters wrote, "You can't not like The Rock."

"The Game Plan" grossed $22.9 million in 3,103 theaters in its opening weekend and was the #1 movie at the U.S. and Canadian box office. The film was also the #1 movie in its second weekend, grossing $16.6 million. (Wikipedia)