Strange and silly stories from here, there and … the You Must Be Kidding Department:
Ald. Bernard Stone (50th), a veteran member of the City Council and Chicago’s vice mayor, testified as a character witness for Chicago union leader Bruno Caruso–and the independent hearing officer seemed flabbergasted at what Stone said.
In a decision tossing Caruso and two others out of the union because of their alleged mob ties, ex-Chicago prosecutor Peter Vaira said he “finds it difficult to believe that a person who has served as a Chicago alderman for 27 years can state that he does not know whether organized crime exists.”
Stone probably never heard of Al Capone or Sam Giancana.
Live Kennedys
After years of legal wrangling, a California court has cleared the way for more albums and videos from the Dead Kennedys, one of the defining hard-core punk bands.
Digitally remastered albums, previously unreleased live music and videos culled from 60 hours of taped performances are in the offing, with some ready for release by spring.
Leave us alone!
We were checking out one of our favorite Web sites when a light bulb went on. The site is the ideal alternative for all those picky Inc. readers who spend their time pointing out our teensy-weensy mistakes.
Why confine the carping to our little Page 2 effort when the history of film awaits? Nitpickers can offer their own suggestions to movie-mistakes.com, run by Jon Sandys, who compiles viewer contributions of movie goofs.
Some recent site entries on the box-office hit “Cast Away”: The movie is set in 1995 but star Tom Hanks drives a 1998 model Jeep; Helen Hunt hollers “Jack” to the character named Chuck; on the plane, Hanks’ pants are khaki, but on the island they’re black or dark gray.
Woof
Those wacky Brit tabloids report that a Romanian woman is suing for more than $500,000 in psychological damages because her neighbor named his dog Sandi, after the woman’s daughter.
What next? The creator of Little Orphan Annie sues the Romanian for naming her daughter after the comic strip’s dog, Sandy?
Say what?
Well it’s about time somebody settled all those bar bets by doing some serious research on the issue of whether it’s “pop” or “soda.”
An online poll found that nearly two out of three Illinoisans call it “pop.” But almost 2 percent of the respondents checked “other.” Like what? “Soft drink,” “soda pop” or, our personal favorite, “sodie.”
For much more, including a national color-coded map and a state-by-state breakdown, click on www.ugcs.caltech.edu/(tilde)almccon/pop-soda.
… but who’s counting?
Sunday birthdays: Actor Robby Benson, 45; Spice Girl Emma Bunton, 25; actress Geena Davis, 44; opera’s Placido Domingo, 60; actress Jill Eikenberry, 54; rocker Richie Havens, 60; golfer Jack Nicklaus, 61; singer Billy Ocean, 51.
