"Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness, doesn't it help?"

Created by Oscar Yea

12/07/2008, São Paulo - Insignificância

Ganhador de vários prêmios, Johnson roteirizou a versão cinematográfica de Insignificância em 1985, representando o cinema britânico em Cannes, naquele ano.

Em cartaz no Teatro Ágora até 31 de agosto, Insignificância é uma comédia do autor inglês Terry Johnson, dramaturgo e diretor de teatro, cinema e televisão. Com tradução e direção de Beatriz Bologna, o espetáculo põe em cena duas figuras emblemáticas da nossa sociedade do século XX: Marilyn Monroe e Einstein, num quarto de hotel em Nova York, em 1953. A eles se juntam o maior ídolo do esporte nos Estados Unidos (Joe Di Maggio), marido da atriz, e um senador (Joseph McCarthy) à caça das bruxas.

Esse encontro inusitado traz à luz uma das questões mais presentes na mídia em nossos dias atuais: as implicações da fama, tanto na vida pessoal das grandes celebridades, no que diz respeito a concessões feitas para obtê-la ou mantê-la, quanto no que concerne à sua manipulação para fins políticos. Por meio dos olhos de personagens que representam os maiores fenômenos de popularidade do século XX, o autor especula sobre três possibilidades de negociação com a fama: a recusa dela pelo cientista; a aceitação relutante, pelo mito sexual que Marilyn representa até hoje; e a frustração, quando ela se esvai, no personagem do jogador.

Os quatro personagens, que no texto são identificados apenas como professor, atriz, jogador e senador, encontram-se em um quarto de hotel, na noite em que precederia um suposto depoimento do cientista na Comissão de Atividades Anti-Americanas. A atriz acabava de filmar uma cena que se refere ao filme O Pecado Mora ao Lado, de Billy Wilder, em que o vento do metrô levanta sua saia. Deprimida, a diva do cinema busca a sabedoria do cientista mais influente do século.

The Clippers acquired the 30-year-old local product from the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in exchange for Brevin Knight in a swap of point guards.

"We are glad to have Jason back with us," general manager Elgin Baylor said in a statement. "He played an important role for us when he was here previously, and we think he will be a valuable component this time as well."

Hart, who attended high school in nearby Inglewood, rejoins the Clippers after averaging 2.9 points, 1.5 assists, 1.0 rebound and 10.6 minutes in 57 games for the Jazz last season. He played in just two of Utah's 12 playoff games.

Hart joined the Jazz as a free agent after splitting the 2006-07 season between the Sacramento Kings and the Clippers, averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 assists in 23 games for Los Angeles. He enjoyed his best NBA season with Charlotte in 2004-05, averaging 9.5 points, 5.0 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 74 games.

The 32-year-old Knight, who joined the Clippers as a free agent in August, averaged 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists and 22.6 minutes in 74 games last season. He finished second in the NBA with a 4.62-1 assists-to-turnover ratio.

A continuación una lista de otros que se han adelantado en el camino.

AALIYAH, la estrella de R&B que falleció en 2001 en un accidente aéreo en las Bahamas antes del estreno de la película de vampiros "Queen of the Damned".

JAMES DEAN:  "Rebel Without a Cause" fue estrenada un mes después de la muerte de Dean, de 24 años, a causa de un accidente en carretera.

CLARK GABLE: Gable murió de un ataque cardiaco en 1959.  Al año siguiente se estrenó su filme, "The Misfits".

RIVER PHOENIX:  Falleció de una falla cardiaca, causada por sobredosis de drogas, cuatro meses antes del estreno de "Silent Tongue".

MARILYN MONROE:  Falleció en 1962 en condiciones misteriosas, aludiendo a una sobredosis.  Estaba filmando "Something's Got to Give", que después se adapto a "More Over, Darling".

BRANDON LEE:  Falleció en el set de "The Crow", ocho días antes de que la filmación terminara.

BRUCE LEE:  Falleció a los 32 años de un edema cerebral, un mes antes del estreno de "Enter the Dragon".

NATALIE WOOD:  Se ahogó en 1981, antes de terminar la película de ciencia ficción "Brainstorm".

JOHN CANDY:  El comediante falleció en 1994 en locación mientras filmaba "Wagon's East"

TUPAC SHAKUR:  El rapero de 25 años fue asesinado durante una balacera en 1996.  Había terminado las películas "Gridlock'd" y "Gang Related".  Ambas fueron estrenadas un año después.

PHIL HARTMAN:  El comediante fue asesinado por su esposa Brynn Hartman en 1998, dos meses antes del estreno de su película "Small Soldiers".

CHRIS FARLEY:  Murió a causa de una sobredosis, en 1997, un mes antes del estreno de "Beverly Hills Ninja"

GARY COOPER:  La leyenda del cine falleció de cáncer, en 1961, un mes antes del estreno de "The Naked Edge".

A figura abaixo é muito interessante e desperta nossa curiosidade sobre a questão de nossa capacidade de enxergar (bem ou mal) aquilo que estamos vendo: De perto voce enxerga a figura de Albert Einstein.... no entanto, se voce se afastar cerca de 3 metros, terá a grata satisfação de enxergar a Marilyn Monroe. A explicação está abaixo.

Move backwards for about 3 meters and see Einstein´s features transforming into Marilyn Monroe´s face. Read below and see what happens here.

Art by Aude Oliva, MIT Museum - Cambridge

Four dark-gray and four light-gray lines over medium-gray background

O que acontece aqui tem a ver com aquela dúvida que temos ao vermos à noite um carro que se aproxima em uma estrada escura: de longe, o que vemos nos faz enxergar uma motocicleta (apenas 1 farol) mas ao se aproximar, percebemos que se trata de um carro pois enxergamos os 2 faróis. Essa dificuldade acontece por causa do tamanho limitado -ou seja pequeno- de nossa pupila (o círculo mais escuro -no centro da iris, que é a parte colorida do olho) que permite à luz entrar para atingir a retina (a parte sensível no fundo do olho, que capta a imagem e daí é levada ao nosso cérebro). Quando duas linhas (especialmente se de tons complementares, uma mais escura e outra mais clara que o padrão do fundo como no caso das rugas nos olhos, ou fios do cabelo da cabeleira ou do bigode de Einstein) ou 2 pontos (no caso dos faróis do carro) se encontram próximos de nós de modo que seus raios atingem nossos olhos com uma separação angular igual ou superior a ~0,2 grau (rugas da figura acima vistas de uma distância de 40 cm ou menos ou dois faróis vistos a 200 metros de distancia ou menos), esses raios de luz irão atingir pontos relativamente afastados da retina e uma informação dupla segue para o cérebro. No entanto, se as linhas (das rugas, bigode ou faróis) chegarem a seu olho com uma separação angular menor, digamos de 0,02 grau ou mesmo menor (as rugas vistas a 4 m ou carro a 2 km) tais raios atingem pontos da retina muito proximos entre si e uma mistura de informações acaba sendo enviada e confunde nosso cérebro. Essa fusão de imagens é facilitada pela superposição de traços mais finos, acinzentados e de tons complementares, nítidos e só percebidos se vistos de perto (veja de diferentes distâncias as 8 linhas no ciculo acima), como os detalhes referentes à figura de Einstein, que o autor do trabalho denomina por imagens de alta frequencia espacial ou "high spatial frequency", espalhados sobre a figura mais suave (desfocalizada) de Marilyn - imagem de baixa frequencia espacial  ou "low spatial frequency". Se a pupila fosse maior enxergaríamos com mais acuidade (e nosso olho busca fazer isto -alarga o diâmetro da pupula- quando está escuro, para nos ajudar a melhor distinguir os objetos, tente observar isto nos olhos de alguém, quando vai do claro para o escuro). Do mesmo modo, se a pupila fosse menor teríamos mais dificuldade de distinguir 2 objetos/linhas/farois ou pontos de uma daquelas telas pintadas por milhares pontos que só conseguimos entender (a mistura) se enxergamos de longe: simule isto fechando os olhos quase que completamente e tente ver o Einstein, mesmo de perto... voce enxergará a Marilyn. No presente caso foram traçadas linhas (rugas, um tipo de bigode etc) sobre o rosto/lábios etc da Marilyn. Para quem quizer se aprofundar nesses conhecimentos, da Física, não da Marilyn, a sugestão é procurar informações sobre difração por um orifício circular (no caso nossa pulila), sua relação com o diâmetro e os comprimentos de onda da luz,  dada pelo Critério de Rayleigh. Para ver outras figuras dispistadas de Eintein visite o site do Museu do MIT.

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It is easy to explain what happens here: It is the same phenomenon that makes a distant forthcoming car, at night, to be mistaken for a motorbyke (single headlight). When the car comes closer you can see unmistakably the two headlights. Such a phenomenon is related to the limited -small enough- diameter of the pupil (the dark circle in the center of the iris - the colored part of the eye). That aperture lets light entering the eye to reach the retina (the detecting cells that transform light into electrical impulses toward the brain). When two lines (specially in complementary dark and light gray against a medium-gray background as in the eye wrinkles, head or moustache hair threads in Einstein´s face) or two dots (car headlights) are close enough to be seen under a ~0.2 degrees or more (Einstein´s wrinkles seen from a 40 cm distance or less, as above or the car´s headlights observed from a distance of  200m or less), the light rays reach the retina in two distinct areas and a double information reach the brain. On the other hand, if the same lines (wrinkles, hair, headlights) reach your eye in angular separation much less, say 0.02 degrees (Einsteins features observed from about 3 - 4 meters or car headlights from 2 km) the light rays reach the retina in areas very close to each other and a blend of information is transmitted to your brain. The light melting effect happens due to the scattering of  the sharp Einsein´s dark and light gray face details, called by Dr Oliva as "high spatial frequencies",  that you can see only if you are close to them (see also, from different distances, the 8 gray lines on the mediu-gray circle above) , overlapped with Marilyn´s medium-gray smoother (blurred  and indistingushable at low distance) image  with "low spatial frequencies"  that goes sharper at long distance. If our pupils were larger we would have better visual acuity (and our pupils do this -enlarge- in the dark, to improve acuity, trying to compensate the lack of light) - you can do this experiment observing someone´s pupil when moving from a light to a dark room). Contrarily, if the pupils were smaller, it would be more difficult to distinguish two wrinkles/hair thread/headlights and also dots in those multi-dots paintings that make sense only if observed from far away - To demonstrate that, you can keep seated and nearly closing your eyes, see Einstein´s face trasnsforming into Marilyn´s. In the present situation Marilyn´s visage was covered with sparse lines (Einsteins features such as wrinkles, moustache and mane-like threads etc) over her face, lips, hair etc to be seen only from a closer distance. For deeper information (on Physics, not on Marilyn) look for "diffraction through a circular hole"  and its relation with the light wavelength, given by  the Rayleigh´s criterion. To see more "disguised Einteins" visit the MIT Museum page.

Point guard Marcus Williams Marcus Williams , who recently vowed to fight for his minutes after the Nets New Jersey Nets acquired Keyon Dooling, is headed to Golden State for a future first round pick. The trade will be announced later today.

The pick is lottery protected for 2011 – so the Nets get it if the Warriors are in the playoffs. If it goes to 2012, the pick is protected 1-to-11. It’s protected 1-to-10 for 2013. If it is not conveyed by 2013, the Nets s\get second rounders in 2013 and 2015.

Die Hürden zum Erfolg eines Blog-Schreibers sind allerdings hoch. Wen interessieren schon rabatzende Frösche? Das wird kaum gelesen, geschweige denn mit spitzer Feder kommentiert. Wer gelesen werden will, muss ganz andere Dinge präsentieren — und wir alle ahnen es: Sex sells! Beiträge mit dem Potential blanker Haut oder gar Fetischistenseiten (was es da aber auch alles gibt!) werden regelmässig ganz weit oben in den Blog-Charts geführt. Und genau dort werde ich mit diesem Artikel endlich auch ankommen!

Anlässlich eines Wetterauer Dorffests traten neulich die «Heuchelheimer Festdamen» auf. Ich habe zwar die sicher atemberaubend erotische Performance verpasst, konnte den Damen aber nach der Vorstellung wie ein Paparazzo auflauern. Herausgekommen sind fotografische Werke, deren schöpferische Kraft und Ausdrucksstärke für sich sprechen. Das einschlägige Magazin Playboy hat bereits nach den Exklusivrechten angefragt. Einen Einblick kann ich den treuen Leserinnen und natürlich vor allem den lüsternen Lesern dieses Blogs bereits jetzt gewähren.

-fj

PS. Eben kam die Absage von Hugh Hefner: Meine Fotos wiesen angeblich ästhetische Mängel auf, er könne sie nicht einmal für die Ausgabe in Blindenschrift verwenden. Frechheit!

PPS. Ich hab's nochmal kontrolliert und muss zugeben: Es stimmt, die Fotos haben kleinere Mängel. Hätten die Ehefrauen der Heuchelheimer Festdamen den Sitz der Kostüme ihrer tanzenden Kerle nicht genauer kontrollieren können? Die Waschzettel der winzigen Tops schauen tatsächlich hervor. Meine Karriere als Häschenfotograf ist jedenfalls erstmal die Wetter runter.

Me gustaba mirarte caminando por las calles con ese pelo con el cual te pavoneabas al mover tus caderas – quizá inconscientemente- de una manera singular. Nadie como tú me sacaba del sopor que producían el ruido de las micros y los pasos de miles. Y así fue cómo un día se me ocurrió no permitir que el día se me fuera en vano y te intercepté. Terminamos en un bar. A mi se me ocurrió juguetear con tu pelo y mi encendedor. Parecía una buena táctica para acercarme más. Mala, mala idea porque tu cabello era particularmente inflamable.

Grauman's Theatre has long been an iconic Hollywood symbol - almost a celebrity in and of itself.  Grauman's Chinese Theatre opened its doors on May 18, 1927.  The Theatre was the brainchild of movie theatre owner Sid Grauman, who in 1922 built Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, and his partners Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.  Grauman, who passed away in 1950, now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (near 6379 Hollywood Boulevard), and he was also one of the original founding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  The Chinese theatre was purchased by the Mann's Movie Theatre chain in 1973 and the name was changed to Mann's Chinese Theatre.  But in 2001 the original name was reinstated and the theatre is once again officially known as Grauman's Chinese Theatre. 

The handprint tradition began one day in 1927 while the Chinese Theatre was still being built. Sid accidentally stepped into some fresh cement in front of the theatre, leaving his footprints behind which sparked a magical idea.  He says he immediately ran to get his two partners, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, who did the same with their feet.  The rest as they say is history.  There are currently over 200 stars' handprints and footprints immortalized in cement at the entrance to Grauman's, including Tom Cruise, Betty Grable, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and even R2D2 and Donald Duck. 

It is interesting to note that Marilyn's handprints are absolutely black with dirt, one hundred times dirtier than any of the other handprints at the Theatre.  (You can see the dirt in the picture to the left.)  Seeing that, it becomes quite apparent just how many fans come on a daily basis to place their hands in Marilyn's famous handprints.  Marilyn's handprint ceremony took place along with Jane Russell on June 26, 1953 during the promotion of their movie Gentleman Prefer Blondes.  You can watch their handprint ceremony here.  If you look closely at the dot in the "i" of Marilyn's name, you can see that it looks a bit odd.  Marilyn had wanted to put a real diamond in the cement to mark the dot of the "i" in her name in honor of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" which she sings in the movie.  The studio refused out of fear of it being stolen, but Marilyn was allowed to use a rhinestone instead.  Apparently less than three days after the handprint ceremony that rhinestone was indeed stolen, so the theatre replaced it with a glass bead which has remained embedded in the cement ever since.

Several movies and TV shows have also been filmed outside the theatre, including Hollywood Homicide, I Love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, Forest Gump, Blazing Saddles, Mighty Joe Young, Rush Hour, Borat, Goldmember, Earthquake, and A Star is Born.  Although the theatre is a complete tourist trap and is always crowded with hordes of people, I highly recommend stalking it if you have not yet had the chance to do so.  Grauman's is a true Hollywood icon and a place everyone should see in person at least once in their lives.  :)

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  :)

Stalk It: Marilyn's handprints can be found in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, which is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard, right in the heart of Hollywood.  Her handprints are close to the doors of the Theatre, on the left hand side as you face the front of it.  If you can't find them, there are many theatre ushers standing around who can direct you to the right spot.  You can still catch a movie at Grauman's and I highly recommend doing so, as the theatre has recently been restored to its original grandeur and the interior is quite a sight to see.

While I enjoy a good cardboard cutout, I am no expert. Not wanting to disappoint, however, I have rounded up a few sources that may help you, dear stand-up enthusiasts, locate the lifesize, paper version of the entertainment personality of your choice, such as this talking(!), motion-activated(!!) Luke Skywalker model:

I think Oprah and I know a certain little lady who would love this one, but I digress. ... On to the goods!

• Lifesize Celebrity Cardboard Cutouts:
  As they say on their website, "Congratulations! You have found the largest distributor in the world!" Fair warning, though: The Whitney Houston model (filed, curiously, under 'Americana') has been discontinued.
• Party Standups:
  These people seem to specialize in custom cut-outs (Get one for your sweetheart's next birthday! Nothing says I love you quite like that.) and ... GIANT CHECKS!
• BowlingShirt.com:
  These cool cats trade in '50s-themed cutouts. They have Marilyn in 6 styles!

Unfortunately, I was unable to find an online proprietor who deals solely with daytime TV judges in corrugated effigy, but barring any legal ramifications, I feel confident that you can get one custom made.

Actriţa, cunoscută lumii întregi din cauza problemelor sale cu alcoolul şi drogurile nu s-a mulţumit, ca Paris, doar cu lauda de sine. Vedeta în vârstă de 21 de ani a hotărât că este cazul să evidenţieze asemănările dintre ea şi diva Monroe printr-un pictorial incendiar. Special pentru noua ediţie a revistei New York, vedeta din „Mean Girls” şi-a dat jos hăinuţele şi s-a lăsat fotografiată în acelaşi ipostaze în care Marilyn o făcea cu zeci de ani în urmă. Mai exact, Lohan a imitat ultimul pictorial realizat de legendara blondă în anul 1962. Şedinţa foto s-a desfăşurat într-un decor intim, în hotelul Bel Air. Întrebată cum s-a simţit ştiind că apare goală în faţa camerelor de fotografiat, Lindsay a răspuns simplu: „M-am simţit confortabil”.

Lohan a povestit special pentru revistă despre admiraţia pe care i-o poartă lui Monroe şi chiar a recunoscut că şi-a cumpărat un apartament în care diva blondă a trăit cândva. „Dacă aţi vedea casa mea, am o grămadă de lucruri de-ale lui Marilyn”.

Legendara vedetă s-a stins din viaţă în anul 1962, la vârsta de 36 de ani, după o supradoză de medicamente. Lindsay a trecut în mai puţin de un de trei ori pragul unui centru de reabilitare, şi de multe ori a existat teama că tânăra va sfârşi tragic. Întrebată dacă soarta ei s-ar putea asemăna într-un fel cu cea lui Monroe, Lindsay a răspuns, vizibil iritată: „Nu ştiu”.

This was my most highly anticipated movie of the summer. It was "The Departed" starring Batman and The Joker. I went with 2 people a couple of years older than me and 4 teens (14, 14, 15, and 15)

The teens' reviews: "Boring", "I thought it would have been better", "Loved it", and "FN awesome".

My review: Pretty Good.

Heath Ledger as the joker turned in a good performance. He was the highlight of the film. The blazing reviews he has been getting for his acting job is based on these factors: 1) He did a GOOD job. 2) The movie is very slowly paced so his under-the-top performance is a jolt in a slow paced movie. 3) Post Death Honors 4) All the cool lines in the movie went to the Joker. (They didn't give Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhardt, or Michael Caine anything interesting to say or do. I don't remember 1 thing Batman said.) The Joker's magic trick is CLASSIC.

I picked up on several of the inspirations for Ledger's Joker. The obsessive annoying lip licking is straight from Hannibal Lector when he licked at Jodie Foster. The punk kid act is straight from A Clockwork Orange's Alex as played by Malcolm McDowell. There were a couple of forced Nicholson's Joker laughs. He also very much reminded me of Jigsaw puppet from Saw. So for me it was like listening to a really good a Beastie Boys song from "Paul's Boutique" where all the samples form something cool but you still know that it's really a lot of other people's work that's been incorporated. Kinda of an Andy Warhol painting of a soup can or Marilyn Monroe. No matter how many people say how original it is, it's still not a Michelangelo.

So if The Academy wants to give him a posthumous Oscar that he maybe should have earned for Brokeback Mountain, who am I to protest. But, this was not in the same class as Jack Nicholson's joker by any stretch of the imagination.  Had Jack Nicholson reprised his role with this script it would have been truly something magical.

The Rest of the Movie: I'm tired of the self conscious superhero looking for an excuse to quit storyline. But, I enjoyed the movie with all of its flaws. I would watch it again. To me it was as if they took the movie, "The Departed" and added in Batman and The Joker. And I really liked The Departed. I'm going to break it out on DVD asap as soon as I watch Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, and Tim Burton's more entertaining Batman on DVD. Maybe I'll watch them in picture in picture.

I do recommend the movie. It is pretty good. Better than The Incredible Hulk (who also played that get me out of here superhero role). Not as fun as Iron Man but with a much better villain. Not as good as Wanted with Angelina Jolie.

UPDATE: Quote from MSNBC review about Heath Ledger's performance: "Nothing that Jack Nicholson, much less Cesar Romero, created even comes close." That is utter nonsense. It's a journalistic crime to insult and belittle the all-time best superhero villain performance just for the sake of hyperbole. Jack Nicholson has 3 Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Actor and another 9 nominations. He was robbed of an Oscar for his take as the Joker in Batman but did win a Golden Globe for Best Leading Actor for Batman, a BAFTA, a Saturn, and various other awards. It's a fallacious argument to tear one person down in order to build another up. How come it isn't reasonable to say Ledger's performance stands up to Nicholson's?