"Forgetting Sarah Marshall"

4th\SW Quadrant The Approval Matrix

From the guys who brought you "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up"

The ultimate romantic disaster movie

When Peter got dumped by his girlfriend, he wanted to get as far away as possible.

Apparently... so did she

A comedy about getting dumped, and taking it like a man.

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CNN Reporter Arrested with Meth and Dildo

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CNN and CNN International reporter Richard Quest has predictably gone into rehab as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. You may remember that Quest was arrested with methamphetamine in his pocket in Central Park last Friday. Equally surprising was that Quest had a rope tied around his genitalia and some sort of sex toy in his boot at the time. Quest was in the park around 3:45 in the morning, well after it’s closed. I’m guessing it was the rope that made police really pay attention – otherwise they probably would have just yelled at him to get out of the park. -- Celebitchy

Aston Martin Driven into Lake

4th\SW Quadrant The Approval Matrix

The car being used in the latest James Bond film plunged into a lake in northern Italy while being driven to the set.

Producers say the driver of the Aston Martin was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. They say James Bond's iconic car was being delivered to the filming unit in heavy rain on Saturday morning when it went off the road and plunged into Lake Garda. -- MSNBC

Raw : Aftermath Of James Bond's Aston Martin.
Recovery crews get ready to send bonds car to the scrap yard after a stuntman decided to take it for a swim. -- Live Leak

Mark McKinney Crushes Own Head

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Mr. Tyzik (a.k.a. The Headcrusher) is a character portrayed by Mark McKinney on the sketch comedy show Kids in the Hall. He is a lonely man who disapproves of seemingly everyone, especially those he considers business men and trendy people. He calls them flatheads because in his mind their heads deserve to be crushed. He is more than willing to help by pretending to crush their heads from a distance with his fingers, using forced perspective, while enthusiastically declaring "I'm crushing your head! I'm crushing your head!" in a high-pitched nasal voice with a slight eastern European accent then making a crushing noise. Because of this he is often referred to as the Headcrusher. In his own words: "Not everyone deserves to have their head crushed, just 99.99999% of them." When Mr. Tyzik is not actively crushing someone's head, he is talking to himself about why someone near him deserves to have their head crushed. -- Wikipedia

Scott Thompson set the tone early at the Kids in the Hall show at the Nokia Theatre Saturday. Delivering a monologue as the fabulous Buddy Cole, Thompson noted the hint of “incest, regret, and traffic jams” in the air. “The Pope must be in town!” His Holiness likely wouldn’t have approved of much of the show — a tight 90 minutes that revived numerous characters from the Kids’ past, from Mr. Tyzik, who crushed the heads of all the members of the troupe... -- NY Mag

"The Paper"

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Welcome to Cypress Bay High School -- home of the award-winning newspaper The Circuit. Its fiercely competitive student staff exhibits the aptitude, pride and ambition of future leaders, and they want the world to know it.

Between struggling to keep the peace with each other, maintaining good grades and managing extracurricular activities, these students have their hands full. But they still put their hearts and souls into writing memorable stories and making the best paper they possibly can.

Every day, the paper's dynamic personalities battle it out to see who has what it takes to produce news that's fit to print. Journalism is taken very seriously at The Circuit, and its staff is a truly ambitious bunch. -- MTV

DAVID FORD - "Go To Hell"

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Live - one camera, one take.

"Google?" "Microsoft and Yahoo!"

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“Table and immediately adjacent area in strong white light. Rest of stage in darkness.” This ultra-minimalist bit of stage direction — from Krapp’s Last Tape, by Samuel Beckett — could easily apply to talk-show host Charlie Rose’s somewhat spooky conversational lair.

And although, sadly, we’ll never get to watch Mr. Beckett “for the hour” with Mr. Rose, filmmaker Andrew Filippone Jr. has imagined a sidesplitting and weirdly profound three-minute vision of both men’s styles colliding. In a confrontation reminiscent of another Charlie (Kaufman) facing down his twin brother in Adaptation, this Charlie takes on his most challenging guest ever: Charlie Rose. The topic — the future of technology — is apt, considering how we found this Web gem hiding in the tall grass of YouTube’s lonelygirls and soccer highlights.
-- Very Short List

by Samuel Beckett"

"Locked Up Abroad"

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Overview: True stories of people who have ended up miles from home, in a foreign land in a situation beyond their worst nightmares. From travelers who fell foul of the law and found themselves behind bars, to an adventurer who strayed too far off the beaten track and found himself hostage, Locked Up Abroad tells their stories. -- National Geographic

Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor"

2nd\NE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

By The New York Times\JEREMY W. PETERS

In “The Visitor,” a new film by Thomas McCarthy that opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, Mr. Jenkins plays Walter Vale, a lonely, bored and widowed economics professor who finds his orderly life shaken and then transformed by two illegal immigrants he discovers in his Manhattan pied-à-terre.

Vale is in many ways a reflection and creation of Mr. Jenkins himself. Both are contemplative and earnest men, making it difficult to tell where Mr. Jenkins ends and Vale begins.

That is because Mr. Jenkins worked directly with Mr. McCarthy, who wrote the script with the actor in mind, to shape Vale’s character development. The actor and director collaborated on the character’s every trait, from the lines he speaks to the glasses he wears.

"Rutka's Notebook: A Voice from the Holocaust"

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Book Description:

Rutka Laskier, a 14-year-old Jewish girl in the town of Bedzin in Poland, died in Auschwitz in 1943. But she left behind a notebook in which she recorded her thoughts, fears and dreams. Some are the musings of any adolescent girl; others are the despairing cries of an individual caught in history's vortex. Now, after 60 years in the keeping of a friend, that notebook has been recovered - and it opens a unique, moving window into the everyday life of Polish Jews caught in the throes of Adolf Hitler's Final Solution. Hailed as the "Polish Anne Frank," Rutka Laskier now speaks to us across the decades: a witness to evil, a voice for the silent, and a timeless symbol of resolve. The editors of TIME add annotations, photos, maps, and quotations that help bring this tragic era into compelling focus for today's readers.
-- Amazon

Jeff Koons at MET

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By The Independent

On Monday evening in New York, Jeff Koons found what seems the perfect place to symbolise his primacy over the American art market: the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Cantor Roof Garden at the Met mounts a seasonal outdoor sculpture show every spring. This year it is Koons's turn, and he is showing off three sculptures in the idiom with which he's most at home: a blown-up, buffed-up, glossily shiny version of small objects. In this case, a chocolate heart wrapped in red cellophane, a twisty-balloon dog, and a badly coloured picture of Piglet from a Winnie the Pooh colouring-book.

Jeff Koons on the Roof is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York until 26 October

Jeff Koons at Met Museum, New York (April 2008)

Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg" at Tribeca Film Festival

2nd\NE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Film Description and Director Biography:

With his latest work, My Winnipeg, iconoclastic filmmaker Guy Maddin continues in the freewheeling, genre-bending tradition that has made him one of Canada’s most consistently intriguing and internationally respected artists. But even his devoted fans may be surprised by the nature of his new film: a documentary (or “docu-fantasia,” as he describes it) about his hometown. Equal parts mystical rumination and personal history, city chronicle and deranged post-Freudian proletarian fantasy, My Winnipeg – which is framed as a goodbye letter – blends local myth with childhood trauma. Somehow, it all feels seamlessly assembled, utterly if perversely logical.

Guy Maddin was born in Winnipeg. He directed his debut feature, Tales from the Gimli Hospital, in 1988. His short The Heart of the World, created for the Festival’s Preludes in 2000, won a Genie Award. -- tiff07

Show Times at the 2008 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL:
Wed, Apr 30, 10:30PM AMC 19th St. East 1
Sun, May 04, 1:15PM Village East Cinema 6

Jackie Robinson Museum Coming to SoHo

2nd\NE Quadrant The Approval Matrix


It's full speed ahead for the Jackie Robinson museum being planned in SoHo [75 Varick Street]. Ralph Appelbaum, the designer behind the U.S. Holocaust Museum, will helm the Nike-funded project.

Yanks honcho George Steinbrenner and Mets owner Fred Wilpon each has made a seven-figure donation to the museum, which Robinson's widow calls "one of my last great dreams."

Bill Cosby, Clive Davis, Spike Lee, Jordin Sparks and George Lucas toasted the new endeavor Monday [March 3, 2008] night at the Jackie Robinson Foundation's annual awards dinner.
-- Daily News

Airlines to Charge for Checking Two Bags

1st\NW Quadrant The Approval Matrix

(Mark Graham for The New York Times)

By The New York Times

Five of the six major airlines in the United States plan to start charging coach passengers as much as $25 next month to check a second bag, the latest move in their quest to offset high fuel prices.

But while the airlines, and even some industry specialists, say they expect the fees will primarily affect leisure travelers, business travelers beg to differ.

“For people traveling with samples or trade show materials, they’re going to find their costs are substantially higher,” an airline industry analyst, Robert Mann, said. “It’s really not limited to leisure travelers.”

The new fee of $25 for a second bag is being levied by Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways. The low-fare carrier AirTran has announced that it will charge $10 for a second checked bag.

Clinton Ad Accuses Obama

1st\NW Quadrant The Approval Matrix

The six-week Pennsylvania presidential primary drew to a contentious finish with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton invoking images of Pearl Harbor and Osama bin Laden in a television ad that questioned Senator Barack Obama's ability to lead in a time of crisis.

As she sought to make a comeback in the Democratic nominating contest, Clinton warned voters not to "take a leap of faith or have any guesswork" as they cast ballots Tuesday [April 22, 2008]. The Obama campaign accused its rival of employing the "politics of fear."

While Obama spent nearly twice as much money as Clinton on television ads in the final days of the race here, her new commercial used historic images and threatening moments to ask voters whom they could trust in the White House. It did not mention Obama by name, but closed with a question: "Who do you think has what it takes?"

Obama, after three days of criticizing his opponent with some of his sharpest language of the campaign, did not directly engage Clinton. His campaign hastily responded with an advertisement of its own, asking voters: "Who in times of challenge will unite us - not use fear and calculation to divide us?" -- International Herald Tribune

Yoko Ono Sues

1st\NW Quadrant The Approval Matrix


Beatle John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono is suing two companies over the rights to videos of her late husband, one of which shows Lennon smoking marijuana, composing songs and wondering if he should drug Richard Nixon.

World Wide Video has filed its own lawsuit claiming ownership of the video that it has titled "3 Days in the Life," billing it as "a most intimate and no-holds-barred" look at Lennon's private life with his family and friends.

The video, shot by Cox, includes images of Lennon smoking marijuana, speculating about lacing then-US president Richard Nixon's tea with LSD, and composing songs including "Remember" and "Mind Games." -- Yahoo! News

Lauren Bush's FEED Bag

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By Bag Snob\Tina

The fashion world has gone green if you haven't noticed. Lauren Bush is the latest celeb to jump on the eco-conscious wagon with her "Feed Bag" made of natural burlap and cotton. Bush has been the honorary spokesperson for WFP for the last three years and has traveled around the world extensively to help with food aid. Amazon.com is the exclusive retailer of the Feed bag with proceeds directly benefiting United Nations' World Food Program. It retails for $59.95 and is reversible. Each bag sold will bring in $34 to WFP, enough to provide one starving child lunch every school day for an entire year.

The Feed Bag is reversible, this is the backside, the white is the reversible way of using it. 1 is for the number of child buying this bag will feed for a year (school lunch).

Ben Stein's "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"

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Overview:

Ben realizes that he has been “Expelled,” and that educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired – for the “crime” of merely believing that there might be evidence of “design” in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance.

Ben travels the world on his quest, and learns an awe-inspiring truth…that bewilders him, then angers him…and then spurs him to action!

His heroic and, at times, shocking journey confronting the world’s top scientists, educators and philosophers, regarding the persecution of the many by an elite few. -- Expelled the Movie

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Super Trailer)

The Approval Matrix: Week of May 5, 2008

McCain, Obama, and Clinton on "American Idol"

4th\SW Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain all made prerecorded cameos to help Idol Gives Back, the fund-raising arm of talent show "American Idol," which aired Wednesday night.

"If we take steps to help our neighbors, whether next door or in another state or country, collectively we can make the world a better place and give our children a brighter future," Clinton said.
"I can tell you that each donation will make a difference," she added.

As the dad of two girls who are "big 'American Idol' fans," Obama said he "cares deeply about what tonight's show is all about.

"Whether it's across the street or around the world, Idol Gives Back is proving that when ordinary people come together, they can do extraordinary things," Obama added.

"American Idol" is a lot like a presidential primary election. Except for people who live in Michigan and Florida - their votes actually count," McCain cracked.

"Thank you in advance for all that I am sure you will do. As for me, it's back to work on my new immigration plan . . . Watch your back, Simon," he added -- Daily News

"American Idol" - McCain, Obama, and Clinton (Super HD)

"My Beautiful Mommy"

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A must-have for any mother with young children considering plastic surgery.

Join a young girl as her Mommy goes through her plastic surgery experience, and learn how the entire family pitches in to help Mommy achieve her beautiful results.

Undergoing a plastic surgery procedure can be an exciting and stressful time for you and your family. This book will make your plastic surgery experience more understandable to your little ones. -- My Beautiful Mommy

Dr. Michael Salzhauer, a renowned plastic surgeon, wrote My Beautiful Mommy to help patients explain their transformation to their children. The story guides children through Mommy's surgery and healing process in a friendly, nonthreatening way. -- Big Ten Books

Bobby Brown Tell-All

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By Black Voices

... the forthcoming memoir 'Being Bobby Brown: The Truth and Nothing But ...,' Brown let's loose on an array of controversial subjects, dishes dirt on fellow celebs and make startling self revelations.

BlackVoices.com has exclusively obtained an advance copy of the tome, which was written with biographer/publisher Derrick Handspike and will be independently published via Down South Books this spring.

In the scorching page-turner, the former New Edition front-man doesn't only pontificate on his 14-year marriage to Whitney Houston (as all of the mainstream media seem to be harping on) today, he also spoke candidly about his affairs with Janet Jackson and former video vixen Karrine Steffans.

"The Bank Job"

Plot Summary: Based on the true story of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery which was prevented from being told for over thirty years because of a Government gagging order. The real story of how one of the biggest robberies in British history took place with no arrests ever made nor money ever recovered. -- IMDb\Written by Mark Thomas

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"Bulging Brides"

4th\SW Quadrant The Approval Matrix


About the Show:

It's less than two months before the Big Day and the gown doesn't fit. Call in the "Dream Team" and watch these brides go from flab to fab just in time for the walk down the aisle!

1st Episode Synopsis: Over the last two years Sarah [above] has packed on the pounds. Now she’s upset and frustrated that her wedding dress doesn’t fit. Will six weeks of strenuous exercise and balanced nutrition undo the caloric catastrophes of the past? -- WE tv

Ranger Sean Avery

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By The Daily News

Devils goalie Martin Brodeur laughed off Sean Avery's unusual attempt to distract him during Sunday night's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round series at the Garden, but the NHL certainly did not.

After seeing Avery plant himself in front of Brodeur and wave his hands and stick in the goalie's face as the Devils tried to defend a 5-on-3 that eventually resulted in a goal by Avery, NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell made it clear yesterday that such faceguarding will be penalized from now on.

"An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender's face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play," Campbell said in statement.

Avery, who has a long history of run-ins with Brodeur, camped out in front of the crease and put on a show reminiscient of a grade schooler playing an "I'm not touching you" game. Rangers forward Chris Drury told Avery to keep his stick down, trying to prevent a disallowed goal because of the high stick, but Avery wound up scoring on a regular shot and no penalty was ever called.

The screen, the battle, the goal. Keep your eyes on Brodeur and Avery on the right.

The screen, the battle, the goal. Keep your eyes on Brodeur and Avery on the right.

AsianLiver.com Ads

4th\SW Quadrant The Approval Matrix

"We no longer want to hit that"

"30 Rock" is back! In last night's episode [April 10, 2008], Tina's character, Liz, is asked to pen a new show for the star of the faux reality show "MILF Island." In the clip above, Liz defends her "integrity" while her boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) tries to convince her that "'MILF Island' reflects the drama of the human experience, and isn't that the essence of art?" It even has relay races!
-- Jezebel

When the contestants of "MILF Island" were voted off, they were told "We no longer want to hit that."

"Cop in the Hood"

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix



Publishers Weekly : Moskos frankly records his experiences with poverty, violence, drugs and despair in the gritty ghetto. Moskos's overview of policing problems covers everything from arrest quotas, corrupt cops and excess paperwork to the reliance on patrolling in cars, responding to a barrage of 911 calls, rather than patrolling on foot to prevent crimes. Moskos blends narrative and analysis, adding an authoritative tone to this adrenaline-accelerating night ride that reveals the stark realities of law enforcement while illuminating little-known aspects of police procedures.

The first chapter can be read here.

Robbie Williams' "Goodbye To The Normals"

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Audrey Tautou in "Priceless"

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She only dated men with money... until she met a man with heart.

Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a shy waiter working in a grand hotel, is mistaken for a young millionaire by beautiful, scheming adventuress Irene (Audrey Tautou). When she discovers his lowly status, Irene beats a quick retreat. But love-struck Jean has no intention of letting her escape, and pursues her to the Cote d'Azur. Quickly running out of money, he adopts his beloved's lifestyle, setting himself up as a gigolo and moving in to a magnificent luxury hotel. Irene at last accepts this new Jean. She starts to give him advice, she grows closer and closer to him, not realising that love is working its subtle magic on her too.

Pierre Salvadori (After you - Après vous) directs this sexy and thoroughly charming romantic comedy - which is a fresh re-imagining of the cinema classic, Breakfast at Tiffany's.
-- The CIA

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Comme des Garçons Designs for H&M

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Comme des Garçons’ founder and head designer Rei Kawakubo will create this autumn’s guest designer collection at H&M. Rei Kawakubo, famous and admired for her creativity and artistry, will design a women’s and a men’s collection, with some pieces for children too. Accessories and an exclusive unisex fragrance will also be included in the collection.

"I have always been interested in the balance between creation and business. It is a dilemma, although for me creation has always been the first priority. It is a fascinating challenge to work with H&M since it is a chance to take the dilemma to its extreme, and try to solve it", says Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons. -- H&M

3rd\SE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

Daniel Reichard in "Candide"

2nd\NE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

After three years of playing Bob Gaudio, a.k.a. that guy who sings "Oh What a Night," in the blockbuster Four Seasons musical Jersey Boys, Daniel Reichard decided to take a break from finger-snapping and side-stepping to play the ebullient title character in Leonard Bernstein's opera-musical Candide at New York City Opera ... NYMag

This item is a little irrelevant since "Candide" only ran through April 20.

Black Cab Sessions

2nd\NE Quadrant The Approval Matrix

"A CHALLENGE HAS BEEN LAID DOWN. FORGET CHART POSITIONS, FORGET TICKET SALES, OR BRAND-EXTENDING TOILETRIES OR MYSPACE FRIENDS OR ANY OTHER MEASURE OF SUCCESS. FROM HERE ON IN, IT'S ALL ABOUT HOW WELL YOU CAN ROCK THE BACK OF A CAB."

CONCEIVED AND PRODUCED BY JUST SO FILMS, ARTIST SELECTION BY HIDDEN FRUIT.

THE SESSIONS ARE ALL ABOUT GREAT MUSIC AND THE VENUE STRIPS THIS TO ITS ESSENCE. WE AREN'T PICKY ABOUT GENRE AND WILL HAPPILY OPEN THE CAB DOOR TO ANYONE WHO BLOWS US AWAY.

Black Cab Sessions. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Benjamin Zephaniah



The Black Cab Sessions. Chapter Thirty-Three: Killa Kela