| How WWF became WWE: It's a wild story
You've been hearing a lot about World Wrestling Entertainment lately, in anticipation of WrestleMania 23 on April 1 at Ford Field. But didn't the company used to be called the World Wrestling Federation? Indeed it did. But in 2002 the WWF changed its name to WWE, after the World Wildlife Fund -- also known as the WWF -- sued the sports entertainment company for unfair trade practices relating to the company's merchandising efforts. Both companies had shared the same initials for several decades, but the World Wildlife Fund -- which is now known as the World Wide Fund for Nature -- claimed the wrestling WWF violated an international agreementover the international use of the WWF initials. Hence the WWE's forced name change. The switch to WWE was not an altogether smooth one.
Weekend Hotlist
This area struggles to get some of the top emerging bands -- like, for starters, the Arcade Fire -- but we have little trouble with the classics. This weekend we have not one, but two members of the old Haight-Asbury scene in our midst, representing the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane. First, guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, who started with the Airplane and moved on to Hot Tuna, hits the Rex at 8 p.m. Friday on a tour with Barry Mitterhoff playing acoustic blues ($25; 412-323-1919). On Sunday, Bob Weir of the Dead brightens the doorstep of the Palace Theatre in Greensburg with his own bluesy outfit, Ratdog. That long-time band -- featuring Mark Karan, Jeff Chimenti, Jay Lane, Kenny Brooks and Robin Sylvester -- is also well-versed in the Dead as well as whatever blues jam he might want to venture into.
A powerful late start for young-adult book author Mal Peet
It was just a small scrap of silk, no bigger than a chocolate bar, imprinted with radio code from a war that had been over for more than half a century. Mal Peet, an English writer, heard about it from a friend whose father had been a British agent in Holland during World War II. The code's survival was amazing, the agent's survival even more so. "These guys had a life expectancy of three months," Peet said. "I think he was one of only half a dozen underground wireless operators who survived the war in Holland." Life-or-death risks, secret identities -- it's the stuff of novels, and Peet knew he'd stumbled onto something rare. From that intriguing scrap of war memorabilia, he spun "Tamar," a novel of such power and nuance it went on to win Britain's prestigious Carnegie Medal, to Peet's great delight.
Meridian teams with Ferrari for F80 home entertainment system
No, it's not surprising in the least that Ferrari has found yet another firm willing to cater to their every demand in order to form a distinct partnership, but regardless, the automotive firm is looking to sweep the rug out from under your current home entertainment setup with the F80. Teamed up with Meridian Audio, the same folks who channeled HD content from your iPod to your TV, Ferrari is delving into yet another consumer electronics realm by coordinating an oddly-shaped and still mysterious "home entertainment center." Aside from looking more like a semi-circle and less like an AV component, the device purportedly packs DAB / FM / AM tuning, a CD / DVD player (no word on HD DVD / Blu-ray just yet), and 80-watts of power dispersed through the two front-firing speakers and rear-mounted subwoofer.
Isaak, Legend headline annual 'Stars on the Lake' series
The annual "Stars on the Lake" concert series at Lake Las Vegas Resort has announced its 2007 schedule. Tickets for all the following shows go on sale at 10 a.m. today at Ticketmaster outlets: • Chris Isaak will perform May 11. Tickets are $50, $85 and $125. .
Popular Internet Filmmaker, Lisa Murray, Enters Burnett/Spielberg ...
Hollywood, CA (PRWeb) March 2, 2007 -- Lisa Murray, the independent filmmaker responsible for the popular Internet video, Free Hugs in Hollywood, (which has almost a half a million views and was recently featured on Yahoo's home page), as well as the Grand Prize winner in Entertainment Tonight's Search for the Caress Confidante (which won her a VIP trip to the Emmys with ET) has entered a trailer of her documentary, "I Have Dreams Dammit!", in the new Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg reality show contest, On The Lot. Murray is hoping her lucky streak will land her a spot on Fox's hot new reality show.
According to the show's website, 'ON THE LOT, executive-produced by Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, will give aspiring filmmakers from around the world the chance to earn a $1-million development deal at DreamWorks.
Part 2 of the latest Wii vs. the PS3 debate — your price factor ...
If Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 had the same price, which would most consumers choose to buy over the next few months? And yes, I let readers decide for themselves what that price would be (down toward Nintendo's or up toward Sony's?). That made the question all the more open-ended. But despite the irritating aspects of the premise, a lot of interesting comments came in. I'm not trying to close off that thread — you can scroll down to that post and join in if you want. The quality of the responses justifies the question, I think. With this post, I'd like to see if there's a discussion worth having about two particular comments. (1) "Schlermie" wrote: "The fact that PS3s can be found on some shelves today is a testament that Sony has got their manufacturing lines successfully working at full steam.
Kris Aquino rushed to the hospital again!
PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) just received an unconfirmed report about 10:30 in the evening tonight, February 28, that Kris Aquino was rushed to the Makati Medical Center. The TV host-actress was said to have felt a sudden pain in her stomach. According a PEP source, Kris is now in stable condition. She is already home, resting. The doctors strictly advised her to have a complete bed rest. This is the second time she is brought to the hospital in a week. Last Thursday, February 22, Kris was also brought to the hospital due to "premature labor pains," which was caused by stress. In an interview with Korina Sanchez for The Buzz and Rated K that aired last Sunday, February 25, she revealed that the issues surrounding her marriage with James Yap is affecting her pregnancy.
I buy, therefore I am
According to Jim Morrison, "The self-interview is the essence of creativity." Of course, Morrison also insisted that the soft parade has begun, the lizard king can do anything and the blue bus is calling us. Still, I've got hedonistic "self-interviews" posted in all the usual places: Classmates, MySpace, Friendster, Live Journal. Taken together, however, they're little more than distractions, sad little annotations that might at best be depended on to provide context to the one place that reveals the true me: my Amazon.com Wish List. Having surpassed the bumper sticker and the screen-printed T-shirt to become the tool of choice for promoting one's irreverence, cultural awareness and intellectual prowess, the Amazon.com Wish List is the only social networking Web site of note.
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