Karen Olivo Wins Tony Award, karen olivo west side story, karen olivo wiki, next to normal, jennifer damiano, devil s rejects

Karen Olivo Wins Tony Award

PETER KRAMER | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Karen Olivo

LEDGER STAFF

Published: Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 9:48 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 9:48 p.m.

Former Polk County resident Karen Olivo won a Tony Award for her role as Anita in the revival of ‘West Side Story’ on Broadway.

She won her award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.

Olivo, a 1994 graduate of Lakeland’s Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, also starred in last year’s Tony Award-winning musical “In the Heights.’

The Tony Award winners were announced at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The awards are televised on CBS.

Source : http://www.theledger.com/article/20090607/NEWS/906079964/1410?Title=Karen-Olivo-Wins-Tony-Award

Ron Silver

In Memoriam - Ron Silver

Some people have more courage than others.

And still other people have dead on guts that make the rest of us seem like terrified guppies in a sea of cowards.

That was Ron Silver.

Ron had been fighting terminal stomach cancer for well over two years now as if it were some minor skirmish interrupting his otherwise important dedication to the future of this country. And what a dedication that was – twenty-four hours of every day, when they didn’t drag him into Sloan Kettering for treatment… the place Ron would call to his friends with characteristic gallows humor – Sloan Spa.

We all knew Ron had cancer and most of us, I suspect, had some idea how bad it was. The summer before last (I think it was then) I remember him telling me about his recent operation. He was out for about six hours, he told me, and when he woke up he looked at the doctor and asked her how it went. She told him she couldn’t take out the cancer. It had metastasized. The six hours were for nothing. She had to sew him back up. They gave him about three to four months to live at that point.

My heart went into my toes, but Ron told me that matter-of-factly and then he went on to apologize for not writing some article or other for Pajamas Media and then asked me how I was doing. That was Ron.

We had a close relationship that came from a strange confluence of events. Perhaps the best movie that either of us worked on was the same one. – Enemies, A Love Story. But that wasn’t the real reason – it was politics. We had stayed friends after Enemies, as movie folks sometimes do when they have worked on something together that was successful, critically or commercially. We discussed other projects, but our relationship was fairly superficial then and gradually we drifted apart during the nineties.

Then 9/11 came and Ron and I were thrown together once again. We were 9/11 Democrats. We talked on the phone about our journey and the alienation we were feeling from some our friends, but we didn’t come face-to-face until the Republican Convention of 2004. I was a blogger there and feeling rather weird – an old leftie gone right – but there was Ron, far more out than I was, speaking to the entire convention. And he was brilliant. The man could speak in public as well as almost any politician and he had more intellectual background than almost all of them too. He swept the convention audience off their feet.

Ron and I renewed our friendship in the corridors of Madison Square Garden that year and that friendship became faster than it ever was. I think I knew better than most what he was going through in the political sphere, had some sense of his feelings when confronting his peers in the entertainment industry. He gave me tremendous strength. I hope I give him back even a hundredth of what he gave me.

I am writing this in a hurry because of the recent announcement of his death at the age of 62 – and I will undoubtedly write more about Ron – but I would like to share one other moment in recent years.
Somewhere around a year ago we were having breakfast in New York. He wasn’t looking good, hair thin from chemo, sallow complexion, etc. His energy, however, as always, was spectacularly high and he was filled with plans for his new Sirius radio show. But something was wrong. It wasn’t just the cancer, but it was related to the cancer. Ron was, above all things, an actor, a fantastic actor. And the cancer made him unable to do that work. He told me he had just been offered the title role in Coriolanus at the Long Wharf, but didn’t think he could do it. He would be too tired with his illness to play a Shakespeare lead. His artistic work was all over for him. It was the one time in all the recent years I saw him on the edge of tears.

I’m starting to cry myself as I type this, so I’m going to shut up. What a great man.

Source : http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2009/03/15/in-memorium-ron-silver

euna lee, lisa ling, lisa ling sister, laura ling north korea, laura ling euna lee

Laura Ling, the sister of former The View co-host Lisa Ling, and fellow Current TV journalist Euna Lee have been sentenced to twelve years in a labor camp by a North Korean court for crossing that country's border.

Calling it a "grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing," the Central Court of North Korea convicted and sentenced the two reporters in a trial that began last Thursday. The U.S. State Department said that outside observers were not allowed to witness the trial's proceedings.

Friends and family of Ling and Lee insist that their border crossing was accidental and have been publicly pleading with the North Koreans for mercy in recent days. Reports CNN:

"When the girls left the United States, they never intended to cross into North Korean soil. And if they did at any point, we apologize," Lisa Ling, Laura Ling's sister, said on "Anderson Cooper 360" on Wednesday.

"And we know that they are very, very sorry. And we ask that you show mercy today," added Lisa Ling, a special correspondent for CNN.

Despite the limited communication, the families say they've heard enough to know the women are "terrified" and "extremely scared."

Current TV employees, including company Chairman Al Gore, had been ordered by their legal team to remain quiet about the situation with Ling and Lee, a stance that they held fast to both individually and and a company, despite some public outcry.

Obviously, this whole thing is a situation fraught with horrendous peril, not only for Ling and Lee, but for the United States in general. One can't escape the feeling that the convictions of Ling and Lee are less about North Korean law and more just another example of provocation by a renegade country led by a mad man. What Kim Jong Il and North Korea hope to gain by this situation is anyone's guess, but one can only imagine what sort of horrors take place inside a North Korean labor camp, and we certainly feel that it's time for the former two-term vice president of the United States to break his silence and start throwing his weight around to crack some serious skulls if he has to in order to get Ling and Lee freed. The Current TV strategy of silence has not worked up to this point and will only continue to reflect poorly on them and Gore going forward.

In the meantime, our thoughts are with Laura Ling and Euna Lee and their traumatized families.

Source : http://gawker.com/5282606/laura-ling-and-euna-lee-convicted-sentenced-to-hard-labor-by-north-korean-court

Watch The Hangover (2009) Online Free Download

A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him.

WiseVid

SNT Flash

SNT Divx

Zshare

source : http://www.fastpasstv.com/the-hangover-2009

World Environment Day: June 5

Every year on June 5, World Environment Day tries to focus attention on the environment while encouraging us to take action. On a personal level, you'll find Daily Do Something Tips that touch on your home, your commute to/from work and your workday habits.

Are you celebrating World Environment Day this Friday, or do you already celebrate the environment every day with via choices similar to the Do Something tips? Enjoy your world, and go birding!

DSC | DSC 2009 | DSC Key | DSC 2009 Key | DSC Initial Key | DSC 2009 Initial Key | DSC Answer Key | DSC 2009 Answer Key | DSC Solution | DSC 2009 Solu

Government of Andhra Pradesh has conducted 2009 DSC Exam on 31st May 2009 for the recruitment of 5,655 teacher posts, Including 12,252 school assistants, 30,558 secondary grade teachers, 7,018 language pandits, 2,789 PET’s and 30 Special teacher.Initial Key for 2009 DSC Exam will be declared on 2nd June 2009. Will soon update you with DSC Exam Answer Key.

Jayam Ravi, one of the leading young heroes of Kollywood has finally given up his 'eligible bachelor status' today! He tied the holy knots of Mangalya Sutra today to his sweet heart Aarthi at Adayar Park Sheraton on Thursday, May 4 in the early hours of the morning. The bride Aarthi was dressed in golden colour Kancheepuram silk saree.

Almost all the Kollywood stars, producers and directors attended the well arranged marriage and blessed the couple.

Superstar Rajinikanth arrived at the marriage hall well in advance and blessed Jayam Ravi and Aarthi and presented his gifts to them.

Kamal came to the function after a few minutes and conveyed his greetings to the couple.

Other stars who graced the occasion were Jayaram with his wife Parvathy, Arjun, Sundar.C, Khushboo, Radharavi, M.S.Baskar, Abbas & his wife, Radhika Sarathkumar, Meena, Mohan, Shangavi, Sibi & wife, Manjula Vijakumar, Sridevi, Gayathiri Raghuram, Banu Chander, Dhusyanth, Vikram (Prabhu Son), S.Ve.Shekar and his actor son Aswin Shekar.

Mny directors also graced the oocassion like Venkat Prabhu, Ameer (Who will direct Jayam Ravi's next film!), Jananathan, Kreedom Vijay, Hari, S.P.Muthuraman, Telugu director Muthailu Subbaiya, Subramaniam Shiva, Mugavari Durai and producers A.G.S.kalapathy Agoram, S.P.B.Charan, Ayngaran Arun Pandian, Ayngaran Vijaya Kumar, Rukmangathan, M.Muthuraman and T.Ramarao.

Muslim Brotherhood Members to Attend Obama's Cairo Speech

Egyptian lawmakers from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood are expected to attend President Obama's highly anticipated speech to the Muslim world Thursday in Cairo.

Khaled Hamza, editor of the Muslim Brotherhood Web site, confirmed to FOXNews.com that 10 members of the Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc received official invitations to attend the speech.

The list includes Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, head of the parliamentary bloc.

The expected attendance of the Brotherhood members already is stirring some criticism from conservatives in the U.S. who say they do not represent the kind of moderate Muslims Obama should be appealing to.

"What kind of signal are we sending?" said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, warning that such an invitation will be seen more as a sign of weakness than strength. "I think the president takes some big risks by unilaterally putting out these olive branches."

The Muslim Brotherhood, though, has a complicated history.

Though the hard-line group, which calls for an Islamic state and has close ties to the militant Hamas, is officially banned in Egypt, its members have considerable sway in the country and its lawmakers, who run as independents, hold 88 seats in Egypt's 454-seat parliament.

The Brotherhood renounced the use of violence in the 1970s and now says it seeks democratic reform in Egypt. It is the most powerful opposition movement in the country, and many analysts argue Washington should engage the Brotherhood directly to show it is open to dealing with nonviolent Islamist movements.

The group is not on the State Department's official list of foreign terrorist groups.

Despite some reports suggesting the Obama administration arranged the invitations, officials said invitations were only sent out by Cairo University and Al-Azhar University.

"I can tell you that invitations have gone out to the full range of actors in Egyptian political society," Obama adviser Denis McDonough said Friday.

It is unclear what Muslim Brotherhood members hope to hear in the speech. One member said last month on the group's Web site that Obama's trip to Egypt would be "useless" unless preceded by concrete changes in U.S. foreign policy.

Scott Wheeler, director of the National Republican Trust PAC, slammed the administration for apparently allowing the Muslim Brotherhood into the event.

In a written statement, he charged that the group is linked to "international terrorists attacks, advocates suicide bombings, and the very founders of Hamas."

"The American people did not vote for President Barack Hussein Obama to make peace with Muslim terrorists," he said in the statement.

Obama is hoping to strengthen fractured ties between the East and West in his Cairo speech Thursday.

source : www.foxnews.com

Are Google And The White House Getting Too Cozy?

Since the start of the year, two senior Google (NSDQ: GOOG) executives have joined the Obama administration?and CEO Eric Schmidt has been appointed to the president's advisory board on science and technology. Concerned in part over the company's growing influence, two consumer groups are publicly opposing the appointment of a third Google executive to the White House. In a letter to the president dated Wednesday, Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy call for Obama not to move forward with the appointment of Google public policy chief Andrew McLaughlin as the nation's deputy chief technology officer. "Given ... your commitment to a new standard for ethics in government, it would be a mistake to put Google's top global policy person in a key leadership position with critical technology decisions for the federal government," they write. The two groups note that in his post at Google McLaughlin lobbied on behalf of the company and that Obama has signed an executive order with the intent of limiting the role of former lobbyists in the White House.

The groups emphasize that they are not opposed to McLaughlin's appointment solely because of his ties to Google, noting that "it would be just as inappropriate for a lobbyist from Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) or any similar technology company to be appointed Deputy Chief Technology Officer." However, the letter mentions two antitrust investigations the Justice Department has launched against Google as well as the already prominent presence of other Google executives in the Obama administration. Worth noting, however, that the Justice Department launched those investigations?in addition to a third one revealed Wednesday?despite those ties. The Obama administration has not actually announced McLaughlin's appointment. Google, however, has confirmed that he is indeed leaving.

source : www.washingtonpost.com

Monty Stratton - Major League Baseball pitcher

Monte Franklin Pierce Stratton (May 21, 1912 - September 29, 1982), nicknamed "Gander", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He was born in Celeste, Texas, USA. Stratton played five years with the Chicago White Sox (1934-38), compiling a career 36-23 record with 196 strikeouts and a 3.71 ERA in 487.1 innings. His major league career ended prematurely when a hunting accident in 1938 forced doctors to amputate his right leg.

A 6-foot-5-inch right-hander, Stratton made his debut with the White Sox on June 2, 1934. He became a starter in 1937, winning 15 games with a 2.40 ERA and five shutouts, and made the American League All-Star squad. The following season, he also won 15 and completed 17 of his 22 starts.

On November 27, 1938, Stratton was hunting rabbits on his family farm when he fell, accidentally discharging a holstered pistol. The bullet struck his right leg, damaging a main artery enough to require amputation. Equipped with a wooden leg, Stratton worked with the White Sox the next two years as a coach and batting practice pitcher. When World War II started, he tried to enlist but was rejected. Then, he organized a semipro baseball team at Greenville, Texas, and constantly practiced coordination on the field.

Throughout the early- and mid-1940s, Stratton attempted to comeback from his injury, pitching in the minors and semi-pro games.His return to baseball was rough sledding because other teams persistently bunted balls out of his reach, but Stratton finally was able to make a successful comeback winning 18 games with the Class-C Sherman Twins of the East Texas League.

His comeback attempt was the subject of the film The Stratton Story (Sam Wood, 1949),which starred Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson, with big-leaguers Gene Bearden, Bill Dickey and Jimmy Dykes in cameo appearances. Stratton died in Greenville, Texas, on September 29, 1982, at the age of 70.

Latest Stills