News entertainment 2008-05-07 Andanh.com

Linkage: A mom jam, Cafe Press for CDs, more from Marvel Tue, 06 May 2008 15:34:48 -0600

The centerpiece of any good Mother's day mix.

The long tail finally comes around: CreateSpace is Amazon's service for creating products as customers order them. Let us spend the afternoon daydreaming about all the applications.

An earlier question answered: 2010 for Iron Man 2. 2011 for Captain America and the Avengers. Vulture discusses the speculation that Matthew McConaughey will play Cap'n A. Dude.

Surely, no one's shocked: The always reliable New York mag film critic David Edelstein has only unkind things to say about "Speed Racer."

The film is like a nightmare in which you’re trapped in an arcade with screens on all sides and no eyelids. Based on an elemental but happily streamlined Japanese cartoon (an anime precursor), it’s an eyesore, a shambles, with incoherent action and ear-buckling dialogue. The colors flatten everything: The cars and costumes look like they’ve been filled in with crayons—and not from the big 64-box but the dinky eight-pack. The plot is relatively intricate, which means the Wachowskis leap back and forth between hyperspeedy races and static scenes in which marooned actors labor to find a style as campy as the décor.

Geek out: The inaugural editon of the Arkansas Times movie club Tue, 06 May 2008 13:26:10 -0600

da da DA DA DA

Since our two regular movie critics, David Koon and Matt Reed, were super-amped for "Iron Man," and since reams of straightforward reviews have already been written, we decided to take it on discussion-style, a little more conversationally. This'll appear in Thursday's paper, but lest it be old news, I'ma go ahead and post it here. We give fair warning for spoilers.

Lindsey Millar: I know that we’ve all been anticipating "Iron Man" for months now, pouring over screencaps, sending each other links to new versions of the trailer and crossing off days our calendar. Anytime a studio teams a director with a relatively smart, offbeat track record (Favreau of "Swingers" fame) with a serious actor (Downey Jr.) and stupid-cool F/X tricks, my expectations get a little silly. But fellas, I gotta tell you, I wasn't really let down.

There's no question that "Iron Man" belongs in the pantheon with the first "Spiderman," "Batman Begins" and "The Flash" (joking). Are we all in agreement? Who deserves credit? Marvel Studios? Favreau? The writers and rewriters? Downey Jr.?

Matt Reed: I agree, this is one of the best superhero movies ever made, and Favreau and Downey and the writers deserve the lion's share of the credit. Downey was tailor-made for this sort of role. It's even better if you grew up with some of his comedies in the ’80s, like "The Pick-Up Artist." Smarmy guy with heart of gold stuff. In fact, that's "Iron Man" for me: "The Pick-Up Artist" with robot suits. And everyone knows that if there's anything better than picking up chicks, it's picking up chicks in a robot suit.

David Koon: You know, Matt, I've gotta disagree with you on RD Jr. being tailor-made for the role. The lovely part about great actors — Brando comes to mind, as does Johnny Depp — is that they have this uncanny ability to take on roles that have you scratching your head and then knock your friggin’ socks off. That was RD Jr. in Ironman. When I heard he was doing this, I honestly couldn't see him in the role. Now that he's done it, I can't see anybody else. Ditto on Christian Bale in "Batman Begins," and ditto on Ed Norton in "Incredible Hulk," which makes me think that one's going to rock as well.

Sonny Garrett's latest blog: Southern rock meets the Red Army Chorus Tue, 06 May 2008 15:24:00 EST
What do you get when you combine a Finnish rock group and the Red Army Chorus performing "Sweet Home Alabama"? One really strange, but fascinatingly cool, video. I was listening to "Moby in the Morning," and the host, Moby, told about a group called The Leningrad Cowboys performing the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic with the Red Army Chorus. He said he'd have a video of it at his MySpace page. How could I not check this out — a Finnish/Russian version of Southern rock. Read the rest of Sonny's blog, and find how you, too, can find this video at www.baxterbulletin.com/news/blogs/blog7/index.html.

Dudley Mackey's latest blog entry: Tips for bugs Tue, 06 May 2008 09:44:00 EST
With all the wet weather we have had this spring, and if the numbers of ticks I have had on my old legs turkey hunting is an indication of thing to come, it looks like there will be a above average number of bugs. Now this is good for wild turkeys and other creatures that prey on these full of protein critters, it is not a thing we will over enjoy in our upcoming summertime, outdoor adventures. The most unwelcome of these pesky, mostly unseen insects, will be the ever unpopular mosquito. All the high water around the area, such as the water up in trees around the lakes, creeks, ponds and even that old mud hole in the ditch along the road, will be ideal breeding places for the winged nuisance. Although not as bad around the Twin Lakes as in other parts of the state, these small biters can turn a fun, late evening fishing trip, camp out, just sitting in the back yard or one of many other outdoor activities we all enjoy, into a not so fun scratchy night. Knowing that I spend a lot of nights on the lake, a friend sent me a tip that I would like to pass on, that just might help combat these pests and help turn a biting, bug ridden night into the kind of outing we are accustomed to around these parts. Find out more at Dudley's blog at www.baxterbulletin.com/news/blogs/blog19/index.html.

Fish biting hard on North Fork Tue, 06 May 2008 04:37:00 EST
Biologists and anglers are seeing evidence that the trout fishery in the North Fork of the White River not only survived the record rains and flows in March and April — it my be flourishing.

An honest politician Tue, 06 May 2008 04:27:00 EST
Sandy Huffaker

RoseAnn C. Ashcraft, 71 Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EST
A memorial service for RoseAnn C. Ashcraft, 71, of Mountain Home will be 2 p.m. Friday at Roller Funeral Home. Mrs. Ashcraft died Friday, May 2, 2008.

Greyhounds clip Warriors, 11-8 Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EST
CAVE CITY — Despite a valiant comeback effort, the Cotter Warriors fell 11-8 to the Marmaduke Greyhounds in the semifinals of the Class 3A Region 3 Tournament Monday at Cave City High School.

Couple donates land to Mountain Home Food Basket Tue, 06 May 2008 04:34:00 EST
A local resident donated property to the Mountain Home Food Basket, which will allow the food pantry space to build its own building.

Auditing your home can help people save money, energy Tue, 06 May 2008 04:32:00 EST
With energy costs rising, along with the cost of everything else, and more concern about being "green," folks are on the lookout for ways to save money and the environment.

Ronald E. Bronaugh Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EST
TOMBALL, Texas — Ronald E. Bronaugh passed away Monday, May 5, 2008, at 1:15 a.m. A memorial service will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at Klein Funeral Home in Tomball, Texas. Additional services will be in St. Louis at a later date.

Pirates topple Panthers, 11-9 Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EST
BROCKWELL — The Calico Rock Pirates cashed in on six Norfork errors to defeat the Panthers by an 11-9 count Monday afternoon in the semifinals of the 1A Region 2 Tournament at Izard County High School.

MUSIC REVIEW: Opera star, chorus are poetry in concert Mon, 05 May 2008 03:27:00 -0500
Sunday’s concert by the River City Men’s Chorus that packed Little Rock’s Trinity United Methodist Church was a blessing for several reasons, not least because of superb performances by mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton, but also because the ensemble and director David Glaze are finally tackling repertoire they’ve avoided for too long.

Chinese Dir