Gone Baby Gone

Gone Baby Gone:

• Steve Pond continues his crackerjack reporting on the secrets behind the secret ballot at the Oscars. “All the ballots come with an attached letter from AMPAS president Tom Sherak briefly explaining the voting process. The acting ballot comes with a separate letter from branch governors Annette Bening, Tom Hanks and Henry Winkler, which lays out ‘a circumstance [that] exists in no other area of Academy Awards voting,’ in which voters not only select the work they deem the best, but also the category, leading or supporting, in which it belongs.” As Steve notes, “The note tells actors to place each performance into the category in which they ‘genuinely believe it belongs,’ and includes two notes in red: ‘You are not obligated to place a performance in a category because ‘for your consideration’ ads have been suggesting that it belongs there,’ and ‘You are not obligated to place a performance in a category because another organization that presents motion picture awards has placed it there.'” TS-EX- ODDS

• Gordon Smart writes that five-time Grammy nominee Lady Gaga “is a Susan Boyle supporter too. And as crackers as this sounds, she’s not ruling out a GaGa/SuBo collaboration. The ‘Poker Face’ singer said: ‘I love Susan Boyle. She is my woman of the year. She has achieved more in this year than most artists will in a lifetime. This time last year nobody even knew who she was and now she is knocking the world’s most established artists off the album and singles charts. Our styles are different. I don’t know if we could work together, but never say never. It would be great to work with somebody of that talent.'” TS-EX- SUN

• Donna McConnell details the dramatic turnaround by diva Mariah Carey. As Donna reports, “Big screen success has eluded the singer since she was widely panned by the critics for her role in film ‘Glitter’ (2001) for which she won the Razzie Award for Worst Actress.” However, Carey “enjoyed a glamorous night in Capri at the town’s annual Hollywood International Film Festival where she was honoured with an award for her very unglamorous role in the movie ‘Precious.’ Mariah took home the prize for Supporting Actress of the Year for her role as social worker Mrs. Weiss in the Lee Daniels film where she stars opposite Mo’Nique and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. And she’s in good company, as past recipients of the Supporting Actor nod include heavy-hitters Dennis Hopper in film ‘Elegy,’ Amy Ryan for ‘Gone Baby Gone‘ and Matt Dillon for ‘Crash.'” DAILY MAIL

• Joan Rivers — who ruled the red carpet at awardscasts on behalf of E! for a full decade ending in 2003 — will be back on cable net in the new year to host a series of specials. As per the press release, Rivers is returning “to bust badly dressed celebs in a series of awards-season ‘Fashion Police’ operations. The clothes-minded critiques begin with ‘Fashion Police: The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards,’ Jan. 18. Joining Rivers on the red carpet beat will be E! Network personalities Khloé Kardashian Odom, Giuliana Rancic and Jay Manuel.” E ONLINE

• Dave Karger sets down in print a slew of Oscar predix in the new issue of EW. And a trio of Oscar hopefuls — “Up in the Air” stars George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick — appear on the cover with the tag line “Watch your back Avatar!” Inside, Clooney reveals in an interview that “he immediately saw parallels between the character and himself. ‘Jason came to my house and brought the script and I read it. There were some things that sounded like they were taken from a Barbara Walters special that I had done. I’m not completely unaware of people’s perceptions of me. I sort of felt like, if you were ever going to deal with it, this is probably the best way to do it and the best person to do it with. If you can’t point at what people think are your shortcomings, then you’re boxing yourself in.'” ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

• Rebecca Keegan makes merry with the proliferation of pictures trying to make the top 10 at the Oscars this year. “Mounting a best-picture campaign can cost a studio more than $1 million in trade ads, screeners, catered parties and traveling hair-and-makeup pit crews for their talent. Deciding which films warrant the ‘For Your Consideration’ treatment becomes even trickier when there are twice as many reasons for filmmakers to be encouraged. Earlier in the year a broad group of noteworthy directors had reason to hope for awards-season love for their sometimes wart-covered babies.” VANITY FAIR

• Anne Thompson admits, “I’m having a devil of a time figuring out what this year’s Oscar nominations for best picture are going to be. As the ballots are going out, I usually have a fair idea of the final five. But this year there are ten best picture slots instead of five. If voters had trouble coming up with their top five in the past, won’t they have even more trouble filling out a ballot with ten?” THOMPSON ON HOLLYWOOD

• Guaranteeing even greater sales of the DVD edition of “Avatar,” director James Cameron says the disc will show what the movie is missing — the love scene between Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. “We had it in and we cut it out. So that will be something for the special edition DVD, if you want to see how they have sex.” As the sultry Saldana explains, “because Jim was shooting for a PG-13 rating, we couldn’t move in certain directions. The motion would look a little too past the PG-13 rating standards. So it was really funny for Sam and me. We had a lot of giggles there.” REELZ CHANNEL

• Alex Dobuzinskis reports that “Nine” will still “play in 1,412 screens in the United States this coming weekend, the same number as last weekend. ‘At this moment in time there has been no plan between us nor the theater chains that we deal with to cut any theaters,’ David Glasser, an operations executive for the independent Weinstein Company told Reuters on Wednesday. ‘We are going to hold our theaters as planned. The movie is working.'” However, as Alex notes, “‘Nine’ was one of the most anticipated movies of the year and cost an estimated $64 million to produce. But it finished eighth at the North American box office on its second week last weekend with a modest $5.5 million in ticket sales.” REUTERS

Top photo: Academy Award statuettes. Credit: AMPAS

Middle photo: “Entertainment Weekly ” cover. Credit: Entertainment Weekly

Bottom photo: “Avatar” poster. Credit: Fox

Happy New Year Charlie Brown

Happy New Year Charlie Brown:“Happy New Year, Charlie Brown” (8 p.m., ABC): In the animated special, “Happy New Year, Charlie Brown,” our round-headed hero plans to skip out of a big party to read “War and Peace.” To which we say: “Good grief.”

“The Real World” (10 p.m., MTV): Hard to believe, but “The Real World” is entering its 23rd cycle. This time, our hot-looking roomies convene in Washington, D.C., where their shenanigans just might be business as usual.

Dixie Cannonball

Dixie Cannonball:On June 27, 1863, Confederate cavalry general Albert Gallatin Jenkins, a former U.S. congressman from western Virginia, led more than 1,000 mounted infantrymen through the heart of the Cumberland Valley from the Carlisle vicinity on Trindle Road toward Mechanicsburg, camping some five miles from the latter central Pennsylvania town. The veteran officer had sent numerous patrols scurrying in all directions to scour the countryside for fresh horses, supplies, food, and forage, and scores of Cumberland County farmers and residents would later file border claims with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for damages incurred by the Rebels from Dixie. His movements can be traced by comparing these claims to old road maps and atlases. In some cases, minor skirmishing occurred with Union patrols.

York County farmer John Hutton provides some very interesting clues to the route of one of these roving patrols in his damage claim. Claimants had to file a sworn deposition as to what the Confederates took, provide any eyewitness testimony, and describe the circumstances of the theft. In his filing asking for $375 in compensation for lost 3-year-old and 6-year-old bay horses, the farmer added an unusual but enlightening passage. The raiders were from Jenkins’ cavalry, and the patrol was on a raid from Mechanicsburg to Lisburn and on to Sidneytown before going on to Dillsburg. It’s one of the very few border claims that delineates the exact route the Rebels took to reach a farm. Sometime late on Saturday afternoon, the patrol reached his farm and took his horses.

That unknown scouting / foraging patrol was one of the first units of Jenkins’ command to enter York County.

It would not be the last.

We don’t know precisely which company of which (West) Virginia regiment/battalion stopped by Hutton’s farm, but they were quite active in the area of Lisburn, as several Cumberland County claims confirm the route that Mr. Hutton stated that the raiding party used to reach Monaghan Township in northwestern York County.

Another victim of this late afternoon patrol was George S. Baum of Washington Township. He was traveling on an unspecified country road when he was overtaken by “a body of armed Rebels,” who confiscated his black mule, spring wagon, the harness and gears, two bridles, two halters, and two collars. He watched ruefully as the Southerners rode off with his wagon. Presumably, it was used to haul supplies from neighboring farms.

There are no known contemporary Confederate accounts of the Saturday initial raid into York County. In fact, first person Rebel narratives of June 27 are not common for any of Jenkins’ men. One officer in the 14th Virginia Cavalry, German-speaking Lt. Hermann Schuricht, later translated his dairy into English and published it in the Richmond Dispatch on April 5, 1896. It later appeared in the Southern Historical Society Papers from which I quote the diary entry for June 27, as it provides some context for Jenkins’ movements of that day…

“June 27th.–The entire brigade moved on to Carlisle, and after some skirmishing with Pennsylvania militia on horse we passed the obstructions and fortifications, and occupied the city at 10 o’clock. About 3 o’clock General Ewell’s Corps arrived. We advanced towards Mechanicsburg, Pa., and camped during the night about five miles distant from the town. Our pickets were attacked several times.”

Apparently at least one patrol left this camp, skirted Mechanicsburg, and took a circuitous route down into York County before returning to the brigade before nightfall.

For York Countians, the raid on Hutton and Baum and their fellow citizens was only a warm-up for the next act in the drama, for Sunday June 28, 1863 would prove to be a very busy day for Jenkins’ Brigade both in Cumberland County and in neighboring York County.

The next few entries in this series will cover some of the highlights of Jenkins’ diverse activities in the region on that long ago Sabbath.

Adapted from an article being developed for the Gettysburg Magazine for future publication.

Bgsu,Bowling Green State University

Bgsu,Bowling Green State University:Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public four-year institution located in Bowling Green, Ohio, USA, about 20 miles south of Toledo, Ohio on I-75. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry bill, which also established Kent State University. For the 2007–2008 academic year BGSU has a student body of over 20,000, of which 3,000 are graduate students.

BGSU offers over 200 undergraduate programs,as well as various master’s and doctoral degrees, including the nation’s first Ph.D. program in photochemical science, one of the first undergraduate programs in neuroscience, the first masters degree in Organizational Development and the first executive MBA program in the State of Ohio. In addition, BGSU has accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to offer full degree programs online.

Bowling Green State University’s first season under coach Dave Clawson will close today against Idaho in the Humanitarian Bowl at Boise State’s Bronco Stadium.

Mythbusters Death

Mythbusters Death:Erik Gates, who made several appearances on the TV show ‘Mythbusters’ in Discovery channel has passed away. At the time of his death he was 47 years. He died in an accident while surveying a business site affiliated with one of his owned businesses last week. Erik Gates was the owner of Gateco Electric in Thousand Oaks, California. He makes regular appearances on the show ‘Mythbusters’ where he also founded a website dedicated to his rocketry work.

Erik provided rockets and his rocketry expertise in several myths; he was an expert of rockets like JATO Chevy, Ming Dynasty Astronaut, Swingset 360, Confederate Rocket, Salami Rocket. It was reported that Erik was walking across the roof of a building which he and a coworker were working on when he suddenly fell and dropped 30 feet to his death. Reports are suggesting that he fell through a skylight and his death was caused by severe trauma to his chest. Erik was taken to the hospital and later died.

Steve DeGennaro, Xirrus Inc.’s co-founder and CFO said,

“He was a good guy, he survived cancer, he jumps with parachutes, he base jumps. He’s an active guy who was used to taking precautions. This was a freak accident that shouldn’t have happened.”

Next Page »