The Iceman Choketh

The PBS American Experience documentary of the life of Eugene O'Neill (do I really need to tell you the name of the director?) combined a synopsis of O'Neill's tragic life with samplings of his work, read aloud by "some of the most gifted actors working in theater today, including Al Pacino, Zoe Caldwell, Christopher Plummer, Robert Sean Leonard, Liam Neeson, and Vanessa Redgrave," or so says pbs.org.

Pacino's reading of Hickey's soliloquy from "The Iceman Cometh" reminds one of Buddy Hackett and Jerry Lewis suffering a collective aneurysm. I felt I had to include a clip of this to show just how far the mighty have fallen. If you don't walk away from this clip holding your head and screaming "This is SO BAD!," then your opinion means nothing to me. As for Eugene O'Neill, he is not only rolling over in his grave, but has reportedly resumed drinking in excess after seeing this particular mangling of his work.

To be fair, Christopher Plummer, who read a long passage from "A Long Day's Journey Into Night," was absolutely brilliant. Liam Neeson fared little better than Pacino, but then nobody expected much. The others were fine, and overall, I would still recommend the documentary highly, even though it's in that annoying (and totally played out) Ric Burns style. Go here to read more about it.

But first, go here to download the video of Pacino's clip. You won't be sorry.

Hard Up For Work?

Apparently, when Heidi Fleiss decides to go legitimate, she goes all the way, so to speak...

The website for her new business venture, Heidi Fleiss' Stud Farm, a "farm" exclusively for the benefit of females ("There will be no male to male sexual services offered," the website claims), has the following verbiage above its e-application form:

Thank you for inquiring about Heidi's stud farm in Crystal Nevada.

Heidi's Stud Farm will be a new structure and has NO connection to the defunct Cherry Patch Brothel or its owner [ed. well, thank God for that!].

This is a brief overview of what to expect. This establishment will hire men to service women.

We will hire 20 men and 10 on stand-by. Lady customers will be charged $250.00 an hour that will be split 50-50 to the house. Men will be able to keep all tips. They will be charged a weekly rate for a housekeeper, room, board, and food. Weekly tests for STDS and HIV are mandatory. Employees will register for a work card with the sheriff's department.

We wish Heidi all the best, given the hard time she's had in the past (tee hee).

Many thanks to Linda Nelson for the tipoff.

Deaf And Dumb

Now, I'm not one to mock the afflicted, but you gotta admit, this was pretty damn negligent on the part of the victim. I mean, what the hell was she thinking? Why would you EVER, under any circumstances, walk on railroad tracks even if you had ALL of your senses intact?

I just don't get it. What can I say? Text messaging is bad. Period.

- Deaf beauty queen was text-messaging when hit by train [CNN]

Will It Float?

The good news: Dubai Ports World has announced it will transport its American ports business to a "US entity"

The bad news: The "US Entity" will be Halliburton Industries.

Well, you can't win 'em all.

- US: DUBAI COMPANY ENDS PORTS ROW WITH TRANSFER TO AMERICAN FIRM [AND Kronos International]

Bird Flu Kills Cat

....although Curiostiy is being sequestered in Germany for the time being.

-Bird Flu Found in Cat in Germany [Yahoo! News]

Spot The Looney

Mel Gibson has already proven himself to be a total psychopath with his recent behavior (his recent interviews made him appear as if he were about to scratch fleas). However, I think this recent finding crosses a line. Check out the trailer for his latest feature film, Apocalypto. About three quarters into it, there is a flash frame with Gibson posing with his fellow extras, sporting a positively demented expression.

Full credit goes to Michael Sciddurlo for successfully "spotting the looney"

Here's a link to the trailer. See if you can spot the looney:

Go here to see the trailer.