Keepingitreal

THE NEW MUSIC REVIEW

Trina feat. Keyshia Cole - I Gotta Thang For You (full) - listen
In all honesty, this doesn’t sound like Keyshia Cole towards the end, but I have no doubt that it’s her. “I Gotta Thang For You,” I’m sure, is a big contender for second single from Trina’s upcoming album, Still Da Baddest. I’ve never really been a fan of Trina’s, so I guess I’m not leaning either side of liking or disliking the track. I think this’ll be cool for radio, though.

Nicole Scherzinger - Who’s Gonna Love You (full) - listen
Here’s another Nicole Scherzinger song from her shelved album, Her Name Is Nicole. This song was produced by Polow Da Don. This is more pop-sounding song from Polow. I kind of dig the feel of the song, it has a very ’90’s feel to me. But it seems as though Nicole has already hit the studio with the Pussycat Dolls. So who knows whether or not her solo debut will ever drop.

Day 26 - Come In (full) - listen
Something about these boys I just can’t find myself getting into. I think it’s because I have such a huge attachment to the girls, that I just find myself not caring about the boys or paying attention to them when I’m watching the show. However, this song “Come In” isn’t bad. Even though the intro with all the harmonizing is really nice and the boys sound good, I think that it was a little too lengthy and it doesn’t really fit in overall with the song. The track is produced by The Runners.

One Chance - Having A Ball (full) - listen
More new music from One Chance! I’m glad too, because as most of you know, I like these boys. The new song “Having A Ball” has a cool track, it’s kind of different from anything I’ve heard recently. I’m hoping that this means that the ball is still rolling on their project, Private. I don’t know though, because Usher has been leaking tracks like nobody’s business. I just wish these boys would show their voices more. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Democrats Clash on Trade, Health and Rival Tactics

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton  confronted Senator Barack Obama on health care, Nafta, Iraq and his political tactics on Tuesday night in one of her most pugnacious debate performances of the campaign, as she fought for fresh momentum before four potentially decisive nominating contests next Tuesday. Mr. Obama, pursuing a front-runner’s strategy of nonconfrontation after winning 11 straight contests, mostly defended his positions and views, though he said he and his team had not “whined” about the Clinton camp’s attacks on him. Sitting a couple of feet from Mrs. Clinton at a circular table, he appeared to listen intently to her attacks before responding in even tones. The debate — the 20th for Democrats — was the final one before the March 4 contests in Ohio and Texas, states that the Clinton camp has labeled as must-win if she is to keep her campaign alive. Questions about which approach Mrs. Clinton would take to sway voters were quickly answered as she immediately confronted Mr. Obama, and she was relentless throughout the meeting. She insisted on responding to virtually every point that he made — often interrupting the debate moderators, Brian Williams and Tim Russert of NBC, as they tried to move on. At the same time, it was one of the most detailed and specific of all the debates, with both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama giving long explanations of their records and views. Unlike their debate last Thursday, a more cordial affair that ended with Mrs. Clinton saying she was “honored” to share the stage with Mr. Obama, this exchange had a belligerent edge. Mrs. Clinton did not nod along as Mr. Obama made standard Democratic points, as she has been known to do. She was more apt to call him “Senator Obama” than the friendlier “Barack.” She did not smile at him. At one point, after the moderators asked her a series of pointed questions, Mrs. Clinton even vented her long-simmering frustrations with news coverage of Mr. Obama, citing a “Saturday Night Live” sketch from last weekend that portrayed debate moderators as fawning fans of Mr. Obama. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

THE MOUTHPIECE OF 14 MILLION PEOPLE

February 26, 2008 -- Today's page looks at the Chicago Defender, which became the world's largest black newspaper. The Chicago Defender was founded by Robert S. Abbott on May 5, 1905,and lauded itself as the "world's greatest weekly." The Defender was the nation's most influential black weekly newspaper at the start of World War I. Abbott started the paper with 25 cents and 300 copies, working out of a small kitchen in his landlord's Chicago apartment.The first editions were handbills containing local news items gathered mostly from other papers. The Defender did not use the words "black" or "Negro." African-Americans were referred to as "the Race." It was militant in its decry of racial injustice and famous for blazing headlines and graphic images that depicted the injustices blacks suffered in the United States, including lynchings. The paper soon attracted national attention. The Defender provided firsthand coverage of the infamous Red Summer Race Riots of 1919, which broke out in cities across the country.The paper was in full support of the Great Migration (1915-1925), urging Southern blacks to leave the racially oppressive South and head North for better opportunities. The paper featured job listings and train schedules, and referred to the famed migration as the "Great Northern Drive." More than 110,000 blacks came to Chicago alone, nearly tripling the city's African-American population.It was no surprise that distributors in the South refused to circulate the paper. The Defender was smuggled in by Pullman porters and entertainers, passed from personto person and read aloud in barber shops and churches. The Chicago Defender was the first black newspaper to have a circulation of more than 100,000, a health column and a full page of comics. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Review: 'Raisin in the Sun'

In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" opened on Broadway, the first play ever by an African American woman to do so. (The title comes from Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem": "What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?") Its revival in 2004 represented another historical landmark, of a sort -- the stage debut of Sean Combs, the hip-hop tycoon alternately known as Puffy, Diddy and Puff Daddy. That production, or a version of it, has been filmed for television, with Combs as executive producer and the principal cast intact. (Director Kenny Leon is back as well.) John Stamos is a new, TV-friendly addition, but the film comes with ample television cred. Phylicia Rashad was on "The Cosby Show," and Audra McDonald is on "Private Practice," although Rashad, who won a Tony for this role -- the first African American to win best lead actress in a play -- has lately transferred her affections to the stage. And McDonald is herself a four-time Tony winner. When it opened, "A Raisin in the Sun" was a contemporary story meant to dramatize a turning point in black consciousness, a picture of "old Negroes" versus "new Negroes," and attitudes about social mobility and racial pride, different aspects of which are exemplified and argued over by the Younger family of Chicago's South Side. Hansberry addressed her text to the past, present and future, but in 2008, it's a period piece, a play about the way black people lived 50 years ago. It still has value, nevertheless, as a picture of human relations, the embodiment of a moment in history, and for its craft and its energy.Paris Qualles' teleplay is not a strict translation of Hansberry's original -- "based on" is how the credits read. The play itself has been both streamlined and expanded -- "opened up," as plays usually are when moved to the screen, to take the players out of the one or two rooms that onstage might stand for a whole world. And yet that physical constriction is part of what makes theater exciting, and the best parts of this film are the most "theatrical" and contained, where the quasi-athletic interplay of actors bouncing off one another in a small space is most palpable. You can see why Rashad and McDonald got their Tonys. The catalytic event here is the imminent arrival of a $10,000 life insurance check, coming to Lena Younger (Rashad) after the death of her husband. Her son, Walter Lee (Combs) -- who lives with her, along with his sister, Beneatha (Tony-nominated Saana Lathan), wife Ruth (McDonald) and their son -- is counting on getting a piece of that money to invest in a liquor store. He is a man of big dreams but limited imagination. There would be no reason to assume Combs couldn't act simply because of his day job. It does, however, take a certain bravado, or a lack of sense, for an amateur to step into what is not only a difficult part to pull off, but also one that was originated by Sidney Poitier (onstage and in the 1961 film, for which Hansberry wrote the screenplay). That is running before you can walk. Combs does a fair enough job hitting his marks, and he has successfully made himself into a working-class man of the middle 20th century; there is no trace of his own fabulous life in his portrayal of Walter Lee, but there are no overtones in his performance, no intermediate shades -- it's all primary colors. It's impossible not to notice that he works at a lower skill level than his costars, who support but also eclipse him. He seems merely petulant in a role that requires us to feel him half-mad and twisted up inside -- "You're damn right I'm bitter," he says, "I'm a volcano, I'm a giant, a giant surrounded by ants" -- and the weight of the play shifts to the women who put up with him, each of whom he resents for one thing or another -- not supporting him sufficiently well or, in the case of his sister, who wants to be a doctor, getting the support he feels he deserves. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

American Gangster’s Ruby Dee Overlooked at Oscars

Yes, American Gangster’s Ruby Dee lost… and so did There Will Be Blood. This year's 80th Annual Oscars stood out more so for the rekindled flame between the recently striking Writers Guild of America and anyone who thought they could get over on them. The show, hosted by Jon Stewart, went on without a hitch, and the big winners turned out to be the Coen brothers, who took home the Best Picture Oscar for, No Country for Old Men. Here’s a list of this year's lucky ones:                            

Best Movie: No Country for Old Men    
Lead Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood    
Lead Actress: Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose.                            
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men.                            
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton.                            
Foreign Language Film: The Counterfeiters, Austria.                        
Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men.                            
Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, Juno.                            
Animated Feature Film: Ratatouille.                            
Art Direction: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.                            
Cinematography: There Will Be Blood.                            
Sound Mixing: The Bourne Ultimatum.                            
Sound Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum.                            
Original Score: Atonement, Dario Marianelli.                            
Original Song: Falling Slowly from Once, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.                            
Costume: Elizabeth: The Golden Age.                            
Documentary Feature: Taxi to the Dark Side.                            
Documentary Short Subject: Freeheld.                            
Film Editing: The Bourne Ultimatum.                            
Makeup: La Vie en Rose.                            
Animated Short Film: Peter & the Wolf.                            
Live Action Short Film: Le Mozart des Pickpockets (‘The Mozart of Pickpockets’).                            
Visual Effects: The Golden Compass.                            

   

WHOOPI LEFT OUT OF OSCAR HOST MONTAGE: Actress is really hurt over omission; addresses it on 'The View.'

Why wasn't Whoopi Goldberg included in a montage of Oscar hosts during Sunday night's Academy Award telecast? After all, the woman has served as mistress of ceremonies four times. Of course the snub was addressed yesterday morning on "The View." Goldberg got emotional as her co-hosts – led by Sherri Shepherd – stuck up for the entertainer and dissed the Oscar producers for leaving out their girl.Barbara Walters tried to give producers the benefit of the doubt, pointing out that Steve Martin was also left out of the host reel. Walters also said Whoopi may have been absent from the host clips because she was included in the Oscar-winner's reel. At the end of the segment, Goldberg got up and kissed each one of the hosts for their consoling words. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

JILL SCOTT SAYS HER BOOBS ARE BITTERSWEET: Singer talks about challenges of finding the right bra.

Jill Scott is the first to tell you that her chest area is both a blessing and a curse. "I have large breasts," she tells The Associated Press in a recent interview. "I've been blessed with them, and I need something that can support (them)." The singer-turned actress has tried everything – custom-made bras, even wearing two at a time "a bra for lift, and one for shape," she explains. But nothing has worked.Until now. Scott, 35, has come up with a solution for herself and others with the same burden in the new "Butterfly" bra for plus-size store Ashley Stewart.The undergarment, which Ashley Stewart says is "inspired" by Scott, puts additional fabric and support on the back of the bra rather than on the shoulder straps, which can dig into the skin."I got tired of the hurting shoulders — that's not nice," said Scott, who stars in the upcoming film "Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency."Currently on tour to promote her new album "The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3," Scott said she once considered having breast reduction surgery, but was scared off by the thought of pain."Besides, I really enjoy my breasts," she said. "They've been with me for a long time — without being too graphic, we've had fun!" SOURCE OF THIS STORY

ANDRE HARRELL TEAMS WITH EDDIE F: New Internet venture seeks to help aspiring music industry folk get started.

Veteran music execs Andre Harrell and Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell have launched MusicWerks.com, a new online music group that links artists, song writers, producers, bands and independent labels with resources and interactive services needed to succeed in the music industry. Ferrell, the founder and president of MusicWerks, hopes users will take advantage of services that "range from obtaining digital distribution deals with major online retail outlets like iTunes to receiving professional one-on-one feed back from top A&R's and execs."  "MusicWerks.com offers a compelling and affordable solution to bridge the gap between the traditional music business and the new technological era of music," Ferrell added. Services offered on MusicWerks include digital distribution, A&R review services, artist bootcamp, marketing/promotion, online branding, video production/promotion, publicity, CD manufacturing and studio recording services. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Health Care Will Cost $4 Trillion by 2017

(AP) By 2017, total health care spending will double to more than $4 trillion a year, accounting for one of every $5 the nation spends, the federal government projects. The 6.7 percent annual increase in spending - nearly three times the rate of inflation - will be largely driven by higher prices and an increased demand for care, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Monday. Other factors in the mix include a growing and aging population. The first wave of baby boomers become eligible for Medicare beginning in 2011. With the aging population, the federal government will be picking up the tab for a growing share of the nation's medical expenses. Overall, federal and state governments accounted for about 46 percent of health expenditures in 2006. That percentage will increase to 49 percent over the next decade. "Health is projected to consume an expanding share of the economy, which means that policymakers, insurers and the public will face increasingly difficult decisions about the way health care is delivered and paid for," CMS economists said. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

CBS Poll: Obama Surges Ahead Nationally

(CBS) A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds Barack Obama with a 16-point lead over rival Hillary Clinton among Democratic primary voters nationwide. Obama, coming off 11 straight primary and caucus victories, had the support of 54 percent of Democratic primary voters nationally. Clinton had 38 percent support. In a CBS News poll taken three weeks ago, shortly before Super Tuesday, Obama and Clinton were tied at 41 percent. Clinton led by 15 points nationally in January. The former first lady has lost her advantage among women, according to the poll: The two leading Democrats now have even levels of support among female primary voters. Men, meanwhile, disproportionately favor Obama. He leads Clinton among male Democratic primary voters 67 percent to 28 percent, and leads among white men 61 percent to 33 percent. Fifty-nine percent of Democratic primary voters said Obama has the best chance of beating likely Republican nominee John McCain in the general election. Twenty-eight percent said Clinton is most likely to win in November. Obama is now seen as the likely Democratic nominee: More than two-thirds of Democratic primary voters said they expect the Illinois senator to win the nomination. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Evan Ross And Bow Wow To Star In Indie Film 'Driving Lessons'

Two of Hollywood's youngest talent will be featured in the indie black comedy 'Driving Lessons'.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Max Thieriot, Bow Wow, Evan Ross, Chi McBride and Gabrielle Anwar will star in and Selma Blair is in final negotiations to join the film.Thieriot will play the religious, right-wing teenage son of Bunnie (Hope Davis), a woman given a second chance at her unhappy marriage to Jack (Dermot Mulroney) after losing her memory. It conveniently helps her forget an interracial affair with her burly next-door neighbor Simon (McBride).Blair will play a sarcastic lesbian high school teacher having an affair with a student (Madeline Zima). Anwar will play Jack's sexy, power-crazed co-worker, and Brittany Robertson is cast as his sexually adventurous daughter.Ross will play Simon's son, and actor-rapper Bow Wow and Jermaine Williams will play wannabe thugs who complicate everyone's lives. John Patrick Amedori also stars.Vivi Friedman's feature debut is based on an original screenplay by Mark Lisson. J. Todd Harris, Allan Jones and Lisson will produce the project, set to begin principal photography next month in Los Angeles. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

New Music Report: Janet Jackson’s “Discipline”

In this week’s New Music Report, Rolling Stone Senior Editor Melissa Maerz takes a look at Janet Jackson’s tenth studio album Discipline. Is it a return to form for Ms. Jackson or another problematic trip down the rabbit hole? Discipline's mechanized thump flatters producer Rodney Jerkins, who slams down the high-voltage money shot "Feedback" and the Jam-Lewis homage "Rollercoaster." The slower, slinkier stuff is left to Ne-Yo, who's so excited to be working with a real, live Jackson that he even calls one song "Rock With You." Essential to the album's fantasy world is its lack of references to the real-life woman behind the mike. (No one really wants to think that it's Jermaine Dupri she's inviting to "strum [her] like a guitar," right?) So by the time Janet's murmuring, "Daddy, I disobeyed you," on the masochistic title track, you can dismiss any images of the abusive Jackson clan that flit into your mind. Just lie back and enjoy the sensations as pure aural autoeroticism. Janet Jackson has abandoned the plastic R&B of 2006's 20 Y.O. for a sexier brand of digitized megapop. On her Def Jam debut, the beats are as crass and processed as Jackson's heavy breathing, so she sounds more like a sex droid than a blow-up doll, which is way hotter — for starters, sex droids show more initiative. When Janet brags she's "heavy like a first-day period" on "Feedback" or sings in a scrunched-up robot voice that she's "So Much Betta" than your girl, all the amateur competition should just pack up their Webcams and go home. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

BREAKING GROUND WITH BILL T. JONES

Tuesday, February 26 > official website TUES, FEBRUARY 26, 2008, 7:30 PM  TONY Award winning Choreographer, Bill T. Jones, returns with the second of a series of moderated discussions with a focus on the Harlem community. In Harlem - The Scene, Bill and special guests look at “the scene” in Harlem today, and discuss where it is, what it is, its impact, it’s direction.

• Harlem Stage Gatehouse
• General Tickets: $15
• Harlem Residents (walk up only) + HS + BTJAZD Members: $12
• Harlem Stage Box Office: 212.281.9240

Check back later in the season for part three of Bill’s stimulating conversations on the Harlem community. A Harlem Stage Partners program This Harlem Stage Partners program is supported in part, by Deutsche Bank and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Tuesday, February 26, 2008 @ 7:30 pm buy tickets

 

 

Broussard Says Cop Encouraged Him to Save Bey

In an interview with 60 Minutes, murder suspect Devaughndre Broussard suggested that an Oakland police officer encouraged him to take the fall for the murder of reporter Chauncey Bailey. Broussard said that Oakland detective Derwin Longmire allowed bakery leader Yusuf Bey IV to meet with him in private shortly before he admitted to the murder of Bailey. "They were getting along like they really knew each other," Broussard said of Bey and the detective. "The detective he was saying, like, 'You can't let Yusuf Bey IV go down. He doing good in the community. He helping out black people.'" After emerging from the private meeting with Bey, which was not recorded or videotaped, Broussard admitted to killing Bailey. But he retracted that confession soon thereafter, claiming that he was coerced into making the confession by Bey, who had urged him to be a "good soldier" for the bakery.The claim comes around minute 9:30 of 60 Minutes' twelve minute piece about the murder of Bailey. Former Express staff writer Chris Thompson, who wrote extensively about the bakery in 2002 and 2003, is also interviewed in the piece. — Stephen Buel

Questions over extent of YouTube blockade

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Conflicting reports emerged out of Pakistan on Tuesday over the duration of a Pakistani government block on the video-sharing Web site YouTube for showing a "highly blasphemous Dutch" video.The video, which the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority described as "highly provocative" and "anti-Quranic," featured Dutch politician Geert Wilders and had "the potential to cause more unrest and possible loss of life and property across the country," PTA said in a statement on its Web site."PTA believes that the said footage absolutely stands against the values of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence arousing deep anguish and distress across the Muslim world."Wilders, a far-right Dutch lawmaker, announced last month that he would release an anti-Islam film. Both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have expressed concern that the film would spark global protests and riots.The Pakistan government is asking YouTube to remove the "objectionable content," said Nabiha Mehmood, a spokeswoman for the PTA.She said the government would reinstate access to the video-sharing site if YouTube complied with the request. But YouTube, in a statement, only referred to access problems for about two hours on Sunday.YouTube's statement did not address the Pakistani government blocking access to its site. It said that an issue related to its site in Pakistan affected access to YouTube for users around the globe for about two hours on Sunday."Traffic to YouTube was routed according to erroneous Internet protocols, and many users around the world could not access our site," the statement said.YouTube added: "We have determined that the source of these events was a network in Pakistan. We are investigating and working with others in the Internet community to prevent this from happening again."The government said it decided to block the video after senior representatives from several ministries of the Pakistani government met, according to a statement on the PTA Web site. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

THE WIRE: EPISODE 58 CLARIFICATIONS

"A lie ain't a side of a story. It's just a lie."  - Terry Hanning Det. James "Jimmy" McNulty presents a detailed report about the serial killer investigation to Mayor Thomas "Tommy" Carcetti, Norman Wilson, Commissioner William A. Rawls, Deputy Commissioner for Operations Cedric Daniels and other police commanders. McNulty asks for surveillance resources for several "persons of interest" and requests that Sgt. Ellis Carter run the surveillance team. When he points out they will need decent undercover cars, the Mayor orders them to go to Enterprise if they have to, he's sparing no expense. After Carcetti leaves, Rawls tells his team the bad news: They'll actually have to catch the serial killer. But the good news is the mayor finally needs a police department more than he needs a school system. Duquan "Dukie" Weems stops in an athletic shoe store looking for a job, but the salesman, Poot, informs him the manager won't hire anyone under seventeen. Poot recognizes Dukie from hanging out with Namond on the corner and admits he got tired of that life. He encourages Dukie to hold out a while longer and come back when he's old enough.McNulty fills Carver in on what he and Det. Lester Freamon really want him to do with his surveillance teams — watch Marlo Stanfield and his crew, not the serial killer suspects. McNulty explains that he's throwing people over to Freamon's investigation of Marlo and writing up the hours and paperwork under his serial killer case. Carver suspects they have an illegal wire tap, knowing he gave Freamon Marlo's cell phone number from Herc two weeks ago, but McNulty claims to know nothing about that. Carver finally agrees to the scheme and when he asks about how they'll get decent cars, he is stunned to hear they have been granted an open account at Enterprise car rental downtown.Chief of Staff Michael Steintorf and the budget director review priorities with Carcetti about how to avoid cuts to school funding while giving the police department what they need to solve the serial killer case. Carcetti informs them he's speaking at a vigil for the homeless. Norman interrupts with the news that Maurice Dobey from "P.G." (Prince George's) county is suggesting he may run for governor in the Democratic primary, and U.S. Congressman Albert Upshaw is threatening to back him. Though Dobey can't win, he could do damage to Carcetti's bid for the Statehouse, and Carcetti realizes he has to meet with Upshaw to try to put a stop to it. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Tiger sails past Palmer, sets course for Hogan

MARANA, Ariz. — Tiger Woods dispatched six opponents this week to win the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. In doing so, he added    Arnold Palmer to his long and ever-growing list of those he's conquered.In comfortably sinking    Stewart Cink 8 and 7 in Sunday's 36-hole final, the 32-year-old Woods passed Hall of Famer Palmer on the all-time victories list with his 63rd PGA Tour title. RESULTS: Match Play Championship"When I see him I'll give him an earful, and I'm sure he'll do the same," Woods said, smiling. "Anytime you're associated with Arnold and what he's done with the game of golf, it's always a positive thing."Positive results are all Woods has racked up in the last six months:FIND MORE STORIES IN: PGA Tour | Woods | Arnold Palmer | Tiger | Stewart Cink | Hogan | World Golf Championships | Gallery | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | Dove Mountain • He's won his first three events worldwide this year and eight of the last nine.• He has won four consecutive PGA Tour events for the third time.• He has 15 wins in 26 starts in World Golf Championships events, which draw some of the year's strongest fields, including wins in the last three, five of the last six and seven of the last 10."This certainly is the best stretch I've ever played," he said. Asked to explain his WGC success, Woods said, "All I know is that I just love playing against the best players in the world. That's the fun part because we don't get to do it that often."In his victory Sunday, Woods recorded 14 birdies in 29 holes. The 8-and-7 score — meaning he led Cink by eight holes with seven to play — is the largest margin in the final in the event's 10-year history.For the week, Woods devoured the par-72, 7,413-yard Gallery course at Dove Mountain with 47 birdies and two eagles in 117 holes. In winning this tournament for the third time, Woods improved to 31-6. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Flu epidemic rises as expected

The USA's flu epidemic continued to grow last week, with cases mounting in every state and a dozen new deaths among children, the government's leading flu expert said Friday.Altogether 22 children have died of flu so far, with widespread flu activity reported in 49 states, up from 44 last week, says Nancy Cox, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention influenza division. Only Florida is reporting regional flu activity for the week ending Feb. 16th, according to the CDC."Influenza activity has continued to increase, but not quite as dramatically as over the previous two weeks," she said in her weekly flu update. "We're within the normal parameters of what we'd expect for an influenza season."

ON DEADLINE: CDC recommends expanding use of FluMist

FLU SHOTS: Too few adults get their vaccines

Cox blamed much of the flu's recent influx on a switch in dominant viruses. The virus circulating in December and January had spread widely enough in previous years for people to build up immunity through infection or vaccination. More people in the USA were susceptible to the newer virus, she said. Another reason for the rise in cases is a mismatch in the make-up of the current flu vaccine. Only one of the three strains in the current vaccine matches those causing most of this year's cases, leaving people with less protection against two of the circulating strains. SOURCE OF THIS STORY

Code of Coens: How to succeed in filmmaking

COMMENTARY

By Christopher Bahn

MSNBC contributor

updated 4:25 p.m. ET, Tues., Feb. 19, 2008

From their audacious 1984 debut “Blood Simple” onward, filmmaker brothers Joel and Ethan Coen have built a remarkably consistent and unmistakably personal body of work.Their latest, a hard-edged adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel “No Country For Old Men,” is one of the frontrunners at this year’s Oscars, tied with “There Will Be Blood” with eight nominations, including best picture.While it clearly ranks alongside “Fargo” and “The Big Lebowski” as the brothers’ best work, “No Country” has an unusual place among their movies, in some ways perfectly typical of their style and in others an unexpected reinvention of it. Here’s a quick look at some of the characteristic hallmarks of the Coen brothers’ success. Know what you excel at and don’t be afraid to specialize in it The Coens make essentially two kinds of movies: Wacky dark comedies about well-meaning idiots with a penchant for larceny, and brooding crime thrillers inspired by the classic authors of the noir genre. They established that pattern early on: “Blood Simple” drew its noir themes of jealousy, murder and revenge from the stories of James M. Cain. Their follow-up, 1987’s baby-kidnapping comedy “Raising Arizona,” at the time seemed like a 180-degree turn into wacky and cheerfully ironic territory.Looking back, it’s now clear that every film since then lives somewhere between the signposts defined by those two films. There is some crossover between the two modes — “Fargo” is a near-perfect synthesis of both — but generally they alternate between the two styles from film to film, and have not significantly stepped outside their self-defined boundaries. Some might call that a lack of range, but nobody complains that Van Gogh painted too many sunflowers. Find good people to work with, and work to their strengths The Coens often write their scripts with specific actors in mind. For instance, they had to wait to film the upcoming “Burn After Reading” until George Clooney, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand were all available at the same time. Their loose-knit stable of actors has been a hallmark of their films, with memorable repeat performances by John Goodman, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi and Stephen Root, and sometimes a bit of in-jokey humor: Holly Hunter moves from an infertility in “Raising Arizona” to a mother of seven in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”; Billy Bob Thornton plays the taciturn title role in “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” then an irrepressible motormouth in “Intolerable Cruelty.” SOURCE OF THIS STORY

A Raisin in the Sun with Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad & Audra McDonald

Monday, February 25 > official website The ABC World Premiere Movie Event: A RAISIN IN THE SUN tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago’s South Side in the 1950s. Phylicia Rashad won the Best Actress Tony Award for her role in "Raisin" -- becoming the first African American actress to ever win the Tony in this category. Audra McDonald won the Best Featured Actress Tony Award for her role in the play, and Sanaa Lathan was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress for her performance. Dates:Monday, February 25, 2008 @ 8:00 pm