Palin on SNL (Take 3)

Another shot at Sarah Palin fro Saturday Night Live - guest spot by Queen Latifah

Palin/Couric #2 on SNL

Death of a Legend - Paul Newman

Paul Newman, the philanthropist actor whose ice-blue eyes and undeniable cool made him one of Hollywood's most iconic and revered stars, died after a long battle with cancer.

The 83-year-old legend, whose half-century career paired him with the screen's greatest actors and directors, passed away quietly Friday at his farmhouse near Westport, Conn., publicist Jeff Sanderson said Saturday.

The 10-time Oscar nominee - star of "The Hustler," "The Sting" and "Cool Hand Luke" - was surrounded "by his beloved family and the close circle of friends that had supported him through his last days," Sanderson said.

The actor died a week after sitting with one of his five daughters in the garden of his country home, sharing the fading summer.

See the full Article in the NY Daily News.

October 2008 Apple Event unfolds with out any amazing new product launch (or surprises)

From the NYTimes.com

At Apple Event, a New iPod but No Big Surprises

By Brad Stone

We’re at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for Apple’s annual September music event, this year entitled “Let’s Rock.” The prodigious Apple rumor mill predicts new iPod Nanos, a cheaper iPod Touch and perhaps a new version of the iTunes software. Of course everyone’s eyes will be on Steven P. Jobs, whose appearance last June generated a round of speculation about his health. Stay tuned for updates; the most recent ones are on top.

2:08 p.m. EDT | No ‘One More Thing’: And that wraps it up. Meanwhile, Apple’s stock price fell 3 percent during the presentation. Partly that’s a function of today’s down market; partly it’s the lack of product surprises from Mr. Jobs. But also, obviously, Apple’s shareholder value is now closely tied to speculative impressions of Mr. Jobs’s health. Because he looks much the same as he did in June, armchair doctors examining Mr. Jobs’s appearance here are not going to find any new reasons for comfort. (Mr. Jobs has insisted that he is fine.)

2:02 p.m. EDT | iPhone vs. Touch: More from Saul Hansell on pricing: The Touch now starts at $229 for an 8-gigabyte model, a good Christmas-present price. And it now has a price tag that is only $30 more than the 8-gigabyte iPhone (without the $2,000 in monthly costs over time). So the price doesn’t seem so out of whack.

1:53 p.m. EDT | No More? Mr. Jobs is bringing Jack Johnson on stage to perform. Is this event over? It appears that way, and if so the lack of product surprises might disappoint Apple watchers.

1:51 p.m. EDT | Mistakes Were Made: Mr. Jobs says the new software update for the Touch and iPhone, version 2.1, will fix lots of the problems of the 3G iPhone. It offers better battery life, faster iTunes backups and, crucially, fewer dropped calls. “We have fixed a lot of bugs,” he said. The software upgrade will be available on Friday.

1:49 p.m. EDT | Tilting at the Coffee Shop: Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president, is giving a demonstration of games on the iPod Touch. You can play games like Spore or RSoccer09 by tilting and shifting the device, instead of hitting buttons. This is obviously the future of mobile gaming, and Apple’s ads for the product will feature it.

Mr. Jobs is back with a declaration — “this is the funnest iPod ever” — and prices. An 8-gigabyte model goes for $229, a 16-gigabyte model is $299 and a 32-gigabyte model is $399. They are all available starting today.

1:37 p.m. EDT | The Touch: We have moved on to the iPod Touch, which is due for a revamp since the AT&T-subsidized 3G iPhone is now considerably less expensive. Mr. Jobs says the new version is thinner, and there are volume controls on the side, along with built-in Nike + iPod software and a speaker for “casual listening — this is not for audiophiles.” Owners can create Genius playlists and access the iPhone App Store.

1:32 p.m. EDT | Price Points: Saul Hansell chimes in: I wrote earlier about price points. So far Apple is keeping the $149 starting price for the Nano and $249 for the Classic, increasing the capacity of both. This is a vote of confidence in demand. An easy vote when, as Apple boasted today, you have 73 percent market share.

1:28 p.m. EDT | Nano Details: The new Nano line comes in a rainbow of eight colors. The first model, with 8 gigabytes of memory, will sell for $149 and will go on sale tomorrow. The second model, with 16 gigabytes, will sell for $199 and should go on sale by early next week.

1:24 p.m. EDT | Shake It: Big applause for a new feature, “Shake to Shuffle” — you shake the Nano, the accelerometer kicks in, and the device automatically forwards to the next song. Time magazine’s Josh Quittner, sitting next to me, has an interesting thought: “That wouldn’t be so cool if you are running.”

1:20 p.m. EDT | The iPod Lineup: Mr. Jobs has moved on to the iPod — by far the most popular digital music player in the United States with a 73.4 percent share of the market, according to NPD. Cumulative iPod sales: over 160 million through June, Mr. Jobs said.

The 80-gigabyte version of the iPod Classic is getting an upgrade to 120 gigabytes for the same $249. But Mr. Jobs said the company is focusing on its thin models. The Nano is getting a refresh for the holiday season. The company is moving back to the rectangular “stick” model — abandoning last year’s squat and square design. It’s angular and sleek, and Mr. Jobs is showing the one he has been toting around in his pocket.

More details of the new Nano: It has curved glass over the display and is the thinnest iPod Apple has ever built. It also has the accelerometer that Apple put into the iPhone, so owners can turn the device on its side to see photos and video in landscape mode. You can also initiate Genius playlists on the new Nano.

1:14 p.m. EDT | How Smart Is Genius?: Mr. Jobs is demoing Genius, clicking on “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis. Some similar songs according to Genius: “White Room” by Cream, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John, “Blowing in the Wind” by Bob Dylan. Really? Let the musical debate begin. ITunes 8 is available today from Apple’s site.

1:08 p.m. EDT | A Genius in iTunes: Mr. Jobs is talking about the new iTunes, version 8, and a new feature, “Genius.” It automatically generates playlists from similar songs in your library. Let’s say you’re listening to a Bob Dylan song. You push the Genius button at the bottom-right-hand corner of the screen and it generates a playlist of similar tunes. The Genius Sidebar makes recommendations from the iTunes store of songs you might want to buy.

Mr. Jobs explains that when you turn on the Genius feature it will send information about your musical tastes to Apple -– anonymously, he says. “At no time do we keep your ID around.” It allows Apple to combine user information to look for meta musical trends. “Genius just gets smarter and smarter and smarter. Everyone benefits by that.”

1:05 p.m. EDT | More High-Def, NBC Is Back: There are 65 million credit card accounts on iTunes, Mr. Jobs says. This has enabled Apple to become the No. 1 music retailer in any format. The first thing Apple is adding to iTunes is high-definition TV shows for $2.99, a dollar more than standard definition. Apple also announces that NBC is coming back to iTunes — after a year in exile. “The Office,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Heroes” and other shows will be available in both standard and high-def.

1 p.m. EDT | Mr. Jobs Is Here: “Before we begin I just wanted to mention this,” he says, and the screen reads “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” But he does look a bit thin. The hens aren’t going to stop clucking. Now on to music, and to iTunes.

JetBlue flight diverted after fight breaks out

(CNN) -- A JetBlue flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted Saturday when a fight broke out after someone was smoking in the bathroom, federal officials said.

A JetBlue plane was held in North Carolina for two hours while passengers were interviewed.

One passenger aboard JetBlue Flight 455 was taken into custody at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina after the plane landed about 5:45 p.m.

A federal Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said one person was injured in the face by what may have been a punch. She said the fight involved three people who are thought to be related.

According to the airline, there were 88 people and four crew members aboard the jet. The flight had been scheduled to leave Boston at 1 p.m. but did not take off until 3:11 p.m., spokeswoman Alison Eshelman said.

Eyewitnesses said the scuffle was between two brothers, one of whom was angry that his brother

One passenger interviewed by CNN affiliate WFOR said the fight left one of the men bloody.

"I saw the guy holding his head with the blood coming out," Mike Rocha said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/09/06/flight.diverted/index.html

Harry Potter Prequel

For those of you who want to see it in JK Rowlings longhand do the following:

• click here
• click on Read our Authors Stories
  
• click on JK Rowling.

It has been reported hard to read so if you want to see it typed out look below ---------

The speeding motorcycle took the sharp corner so fast in the darkness that both policemen in the pursuing car shouted,"Whoa!" Sergeant Fisher slammed his large foot on the brake, thinking that the boy who was riding pillion was sure to be flung under his wheels; however, the motorbike made the turn without unseating either of its riders, and with a wink of its red tail lights, vanished up the narrow side street.

"We've got 'em now!" cried PC Anderson excitedly. "That's a dead end!"

Leaning hard on the steering wheel and crashing his gears, Fisher scraped half the paint off the flank of the car as he forced it up the alleyway in pursuit.

There in the headlights sat their quarry, stationary at last after a quarter of an hour's chase. The two riders were trapped between a towering brickwall and the police car, which was now crawling towards them like some growling luminous-eyes predator.

There was so little space between the car doors and the walls of the alley that Fisher and Anderson had difficulty extricating themselves from the vehicle. It injured their dignity to have to inch, crab-like, towards the miscreants. Fisher dragged his generous belly along the wall, tearing buttons off his shirt as he went, and finally snapping off the wing mirror with his backside.

"Get off the bike!" he bellowed at the smirking youths, who sat basking in the flashing blue light as though enjoying it.

They did as they were told, finally pulling free from the broken wing mirror, Fisher glared at them. They seemed to be in their late teens. The one who had been driving had long black hair, his insolent good looks reminded Fisher unpleasantly of his daughter's guitar-playing, layabout boyfriend. The second boy also had black hair, though his was short and stuck up in all directions; he wore glasses and a broad grin. Both were dressed in t-shirts emblazoned with a large golden bird; the emblem, no doubt, of some deafening, timeless rock band.

"No helmet!" Fisher yelled, pointing from one uncovered head to the other. "Exceeding the speed limit by-by a considerable amount!" (In fact, the speed registered had been greater than Fisher was prepared to accept that any motorcycle could travel.) "Failure to stop for the police!"

"We'd have loved to stop for a chat," said the boy in glasses,"only we were trying--"

"Don't get smart-you two are in a heap of trouble!" snarled Anderson. "Names!"

"Names?" repeated the long-haired driver."Er-Well, let's see. There's Wilberforce...Bathsheba...Elvendork..."

"And what's nice about that one is, you can use it for a boy OR a girl," said the boy in glasses.

"Oh, our names, did you mean?" asked the first, as Anderson spluttered with rage."You should've said! This here is James Potter, and I'm Sirius Black!"

"Things'll be seriously black for you in a minute, you cheeky little-"

But neither James nor Sirius was paying attention. They were suddenly as alert as gundogs, staring past Fisher and Anderson, over the roof of the police car, at the dark mouth of the alley. Then, with identical, fluid movements, they reached into their back pockets.

For the space of a heartbeat both policemen imagined guns gleaming at them, but a second later they saw that the motorcyclists had drawn nothing more than-

"Drumsticks?" jeered Anderson. "Right pair of jokers, aren't you? Right, we're arresting you on a charge of--"

But Anderson never got to name the charge. James and Sirius had shouted something incomprehensible, and the beams from the headlights had moved.

The policemen wheeled around, then staggered backwards. Three men were flying-actually flying- up the alley on broomsticks-and at the same moment,the police car was rearing up on its back wheels.

Fisher's knee bucked; as he sat down hard; Anderson tripped over Fisher's legs and fell on top of him, as flump-bang-crunch- they heard the mean on brooms slam into the suspended car and fall, apparently insensible, to the ground, while broken bits of broomstick clattered down around them.

The motorbike had roared into life again. His mouth hanging open, Fisher mustered the strength to look back at the two teenagers.

"Thanks very much!" called Sirius over the throb of the engine."We owe you one!"

"Yeah, nice meeting you!" said James. "And don't forget: Elvendork! It's unisex!"

There was an earth-shaking crash, and Fisher and Anderson threw their arms around each other in fright; their car had just fallen back to the ground. Now it was the motorcycle's turn to rear. Before the policemen's disbelieving eyes, it took off into thin air: James and Sirius zoomed away into the night sky, their tail light twinkling behind them like a vanishing ruby.

From the prequel I am not working on-but that was fun! J.K. Rowling.2008

The Hulk promo on Jimmy Kimmel Live

After Ed Norton passed on most of the traditional late night talk shows he did this spot for Jimmy Kimmel Live which has been a splash all over the Internet.



It's so much better than any 10 minute interview would have been with the same questions over and over.

Update: The Hulk has grossed over 60 Million its opening weekend. What a HULK-OUT !!!