First, the wonderful. The wonderful always should go first but rarely does, does it? Tonight, the Charlie Rose interview show on PBS stations (check local stations for times) will air “AN APPRECIATION OF WENDY WASSERSTEIN WITH FOUR OF HER FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES.” I look forward to this hour. It’s bound to be full of laughter, tears, and rich conversation.
Wendy Wasserstein was a good friend to Seattle. Writes the Seattle Times of a former Seattle theatre director: “One thing theater director Daniel Sullivan will miss about famed playwright Wendy Wasserstein: her laugh, an infectious sound mingling a giggle with a guffaw … [and] Wasserstein’s answering machine. It featured ‘songs from Broadway musicals of the 1940s and ’50s, which she loved, sung by Wendy herself or with her daughter, Lucy Jane’.” (By the way, her daughter, born in 1999, is now living with Wendy’s brother, the owner of New York magazine.)
Over two decades, at Seattle Rep and in New York, [Sullivan] collaborated closely with Wasserstein, directing the debuts of several of her plays, including “The Heidi Chronicles,” “The Sisters Rosensweig” and, in 2005, “Third.”
Chicago, you make me miss “The Sopranos” (which finally starts again in March!): A special bulletin from the Chicago Tribune says that “Chicago City Clerk James Laski today turned in his resignation. … Laski was charged with soliciting $50,000 in bribes for steering city trucking business to a lifelong friend. Also charged in the scheme were John Briatta, a brother-in-law of Cook County Commissioner John Daley and two other city employees. John Daley is the mayor’s brother.”
Some headlines write the story: “Hawks flagged down in quest for first NFL title,” Seattle Times
Catch Glenn Greenwald on C-Span and in print: Washington Journal audio/video (archive up now) and “Live blogging the NSA hearing.”
The Carpetbagger Report, one of my newly favorite blogs, has a great political round-up today: “Monday’s political round-up … it’s an “installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers.” Like these gems:
… How bad are things going for Ralph Reed’s campaign in Georgia? On Friday, 21 of Georgia’s 34 Republican state senators signed a letter urging Reed to withdraw…
North Carolina Democratic congressional hopeful Heath Shuler has enjoyed unusually strong fundraising of late and seems to be raising concerns among Republicans who think he might win … Read ’em all
This Muslim cartoon controversy is idiotic, much ado over little (unless you’re a PC nazi), and has gone on long enough: Because, ugh, I’m compelled ethically and legally to support their right to free speech, I have to tolerate things I hate — like the barbaric, idiotic, inciteful speech of Bill O’Reilly and Michael Savage, and the incredibly annoying God- and Jesus-pandering of every politician in this country. The (thankfully few) Muslims who are rioting need to learn to get along with the rest of the world, even us who don’t share or even care for their religion. They need to lighten up. And it’s insane when four people die in the riots. Everybody gets ridiculed everyday. It’s part of living in a big, complex, diverse world that is enriching (if one but opens up to it, and can learn to laugh at one’s self too). Although we’re not a culture to advise any other on getting a sense of humor, I regret to say:
The NBC “Will and Grace” episode featuring Britney Spears hosting a cooking show called “Cruci-fixins” has been cancelled in the wake of Christian protests, but the term was actually recycled from a Fox network show. (CNS)