IT HARDLY MATTERS Back to Main Index Browse the Archives	Thursday, September 29, 2005 ( 12:51 AM ) Found at Metafilter: In these cynical, troubling times, Stanley Kubrick's touching new film, The Shining, quietly and lovingly reminds us that that most beleaguered of institutions, the American family, might just make it after all. Steady, relentlessly optimistic, and miraculously free of the tiresome paranoia that haunts so much modern cinema, Kubrick has finally realized his potential as our unqualifiedly great filmmakers. Monday, September 26, 2005 ( 10:00 AM ) This has got to be one of the awesomest pictures ever. The Hubble Space Telescope was totally worth the gazillion dollars and headaches it took to put it in the outer space. ( 09:33 AM ) Any talk of the new season of the Shield gets my heart rate going. I saw an ad for the new season the other night and I nearly had a heart attack from the excitement. Forest Whitaker on active duty with 'Shield' By Cynthia Littleton LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - There's a new menace in Vic Mackey's life. Forest Whitaker has joined the cast of "The Shield" as a regular for the FX police drama's upcoming fifth season, set to bow in January. Whitaker will play Detective Jon Kavanaugh, an ambitious newcomer to the Los Angeles Police Department's Internal Affairs division who is tasked with investigating rogue cop Mackey, played by series star Michael Chiklis, and the strike force he leads. "He's going to be a great foil for the guys on our show," said Shawn Ryan, the series' creator and executive producer. "Forest has always impressed me with his range. He's got an incredible sweetness and soulfulness but also strength. It's a rare combination for an actor and that appealed to me with this character." "Shield" wrapped a strong fourth season in June that was highlighted by the addition of Glenn Close in an Emmy-nominated turn as Mackey's boss, Capt. Monica Rawlings. Ryan said that the character of Kavanaugh "will present the biggest danger to Vic and his team in the history of the series so far." Sunday, September 25, 2005 ( 03:07 PM ) The Story of the Beginning. Saturday, September 24, 2005 ( 12:47 PM ) Okay, things in Iraq have been pretty out of hand for awhile, but now it's really getting crazy... Iraq arrest warrant for UK troops Saturday, September 24, 2005; Posted: 7:07 a.m. EDT (11:07 GMT) BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- An Iraqi judge said on Saturday he had renewed arrest warrants for two British soldiers who were rescued from jail early this week by troops using armor to crash through the prison walls. The British government said the warrants are not legally binding, as the soldiers are subject to UK law. This week's violence in Basra infuriated local Iraqi police and government officials, and tensions remained high in the city on Saturday. Rockets were fired at two buildings housing British officials, police said. Most of them missed their mark, and no British officials were hurt. However, two of the rockets hit nearby homes and wounded an Iraqi civilian, police said. The two British soldiers were arrested by Iraqi authorities on Monday after allegedly shooting two Iraqi policemen who tried to detain them. One of the policemen reportedly was killed. The two British soldiers, operating undercover, were subsequently taken into custody. A British armored patrol then surrounded the jail where the two were held, prompting a riot in the Basra, Iraq's second largest city and the southern hub of the country's oil industry. Angry residents attacked the British armor with Molotov cocktails and pelted soldiers with stones as they jumped from the burning vehicles. Later Monday, British armored vehicles crashed through the prison walls in an operation to rescue the two soldiers. They were subsequently found in a nearby house in the custody of militiamen, Britain said. Basra authorities said the operation violated Iraqi sovereignty, and the governor ordered all government employees to stop cooperating with the British, who have 8,500 troops in the Shiite Muslim-dominated region. Judge Raghib al-Mudhafar, chief of the Basra Anti-Terrorism Court, said Saturday that he reissued homicide arrest warrants for the two soldiers on Thursday. But the British government said they are not legally binding on the British soldiers. "There is no legal basis for the issue of this arrest warrant. Rather, we have a legal obligation to investigate the allegations ourselves. That is being done as we speak," a spokesman at the British defense ministry said in London on Saturday. "We will continue to work with the Iraqis on the inquiry which the Iraqi government has begun" into the clash, he said in an interview. In Basra early Saturday morning, several rockets were fired at the British and American consulates in the city, but both fell in a nearby field, hurting no one, said police Capt. Mushtaq Khazim. Also, three rockets were fired at the Shat al-Arab hotel, the headquarters of the British army in Basra, he said. One rocket hit the building, without causing casualties. The two others hit nearby private homes, wounding an Iraqi civilian, Khazim said. He said it was not clear who had fired the rockets. ( 02:10 AM ) The Napoleon Dynamite Utah State Fair adverts. You think you can handle it, but you have no idea. Friday, September 16, 2005 ( 09:22 AM ) My first reaction to the headline of this article? "Oops!" Zellweger, Chesney split Friday, September 16, 2005; Posted: 8:11 a.m. EDT (12:11 GMT) LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger and country singer Kenny Chesney are seeking an annulment after five months of marriage, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Publicist Nanci Ryder confirmed that Zellweger and Chesney, who stunned the entertainment world in May with a marriage on a beach in the Caribbean, had split. In court papers filed Wednesday, Zellweger listed "fraud" as the reason for the breakup but did not elaborate, The Associated Press reported. A phone call to her attorney was not immediately returned, nor was a call to Gleason later in the day regarding the fraud claim. Despite their fame and success -- Zellweger won an Academy Award for "Cold Mountain" and Chesney was named entertainer of the year in 2004 by the Country Music Association -- they had largely kept the relationship under wraps until the wedding. Ryder could not say if either Zellweger, 36, or Chesney, 37, had filed court papers and had no further information about the split, which was first reported on People magazine's Web site. The couple met at a benefit for tsunami relief and dated for four months before they wed. Aside from her "Cold Mountain" win, Zellweger has been nominated for Oscars for her work in "Chicago" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." Chesney's "When the Sun Goes Down" was named album of the year by the CMA. His hits include "Me and You" and "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." I'm guessing the facts of the matter will soon come to light. Included among the charges of "fraud" will be that Chesney does not, in fact, own a tractor. Monday, September 12, 2005 ( 01:03 PM ) From The Onion Radio News with Doyle Redland: A Freakish Newborn Is Half-Chinese, Half-American The medical community was horrified today by the birth of a half-American, half-Chinese infant in a Kentucky hospital. The monstrosity’s parents, Tsao Tsing Tsang and Mary Williams were shocked. “We’ll try to love it.” – Mary Williams Dr. Avery Myers was the attending physician. “When I saw its vaguely Anglo, vaguely Asian face, my first instinct was to put it out of its misery.” – Dr. Myers The parents plan to hide the abomination in their basement until it is rooted out and killed by a mob of torch-wielding neighbors. Tuesday, September 6, 2005 ( 10:41 AM ) First Hot Snakes call it quits, now Rocket From the Crypt! Why, oh why?? Monday, September 5, 2005 ( 11:43 PM ) Been busy fixing up the house! No time for bloggin!! Thursday, September 1, 2005 ( 08:58 PM ) We watched the end of AMN last night. It was totally sad. In other news, CBGB is closing. I don't really care, though.