Sunday, August 27, 2006

Spotlight
Conan O'Brien is the host of this year's Emmy Awards show, to be broadcast this evening on NBC. Among this year's nominees are two father-son duos: Martin (The West Wing, Two and a Half Men) and Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) and Donald (Human Trafficking) and Kiefer Sutherland (24). A special Emmy will be presented this year to Dick Clark, longtime host of American Bandstand, which still holds the record for television's longest-running music/variety program. Clark has won four Emmys and has a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Quote
"I'm thinking about naming my first son Emmy so I can say I've got one. I want Emmy, Oscar and Tony — and my daughter Grammy." — Noah Wyle

Word of the day
roman-fleuve -- /roe-maan-floev'/ [F, river novel]
a novel in the form of a long chronicle of a social group (as a family or a community) often in many volumes -- coined for Balzac's Comedie Humaine (© )

Today's News

• Iran: insists its new reactor is for peaceful purposes, while continuing to enrich uranium (story)
• Kyoto: religious leaders gather to discuss world peace (story)
• Atlantis: lightning strike delays space shuttle launch (story)
• Jackie Mason: sues Jews for Jesus over pamphlet (story)

Today's History

• gusher: Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well, near Titusville, PA (1859)
• Krakatoa: volcano erupted in loudest explosion ever recorded; resultant tsunami killed 36,000 (1883)
• Kellogg-Briand Pact: multinational treaty signed in Paris outlawed war — about 11 years before the same nations took part in WWII (1928)

Today's Birthdays

• Georg Hegel: metaphysical philosopher (1770-1831)
• Paul Reubens: actor, Pee-wee's Playhouse (54)
• Sarah Chalke: Dr. Elliot Reid on Scrubs (30)