No Stooge for you!

Well, I probably would have been disappointed anyway:... stuff about other things snipped:

Penn drops Stooges, Cartel films for personal time-out
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Comedy fans eager to see Academy Award-winner Sean Penn as one of the Three Stooges appear to be out of luck, as the actor has dropped out of his upcoming film projects.

Penn, who won Oscars for his roles in Mystic River and Milk, is taking a break from acting and withdrawing from the Farrelly Brothers' film The Three Stooges as well as the crime thriller Cartel, a spokeswoman for the actor has confirmed.

Mara Buxbaum did not give a reason for the decision, but added that if the start dates of the productions were postponed, the actor could remain involved.

According to industry reports, Penn, 48, is taking an extended leave from Hollywood to deal with personal issues. [snip]

The Stooges project is a longtime labour of love for the Farrellys, who garnered much buzz in March with news that Penn had been cast as Larry, Jim Carrey as Curly and Benicio del Toro as Moe.

Before Penn's announcement, the comedy had been slated to start filming in August and released in 2010.

[snip]

relates to http://ltmurnau.livejournal.com/201978.html

(no subject)

This is encouraging...

Autistic people better at problem solving than non-autistics: Research

By Amy Minsky, Canwest News ServiceJune 17, 2009 2:03 PM

New research suggests that autistic people are 40 per cent faster at problem solving than non-autistics.

( Read more... )

I suppose the visual-details and pattern-finding abilities are the best leads here. Certainly, it helps to try and teach someone using their strengths, to address their weaknesses.

Selected Friday5s

Just because it's been a while:

1. Would you return to high school life for a week? Why or why not?
No. It was a bore and an embarassment.
2. Who were you in high school?
Militia Nerd.
3. What was your favorite high school hangout? What did/do you do there?
We used to hang out in the computer room (which had two, count 'em TWO, Apple II Pluses!). We'd bullshit and play board games (Ogre, Richtofen's War).
4. What were your favorite three songs in high school?
Anything by Devo.
5. What was the craziest thing you did in high school?
For grad, my friend and I skipped school for two days to climb Mount Baker (a 10,700 foot high mountain in Washington state about 70 miles away from my town) and put the school flag on top of it. There was no school flag, so we made one out of construction paper. My English teacher did not believe we'd done it until I showed her the photos we took.

What is your favorite food from each food group?
1. Bread (Grain) Group:
Croissants.
2. Meat (Protein) Group:
Chicken.
3. Vegetable Group:
Carrots.
4. Fruit Group:
Cherries.
5. Sugars, Fats and Oils:
Chocolate.

Randomosity!
1. What was your first word as a child?
I'm told it was "Dada". I have no way to dispute that.
2. What's the weirdest dare you've ever taken?
I dunno, I don't usually take dares. Once I ate a bug so someone would give me a stamp for a letter I'd written.
What are you allergic to?
Nothing, as far as I know, but I will sneeze if I eat dark chocolate (at least 65% cocoa).
What was the last name of the first person you kissed?
Bostwick.
Have you ever REALLY cried from happiness? What was the situation?
I almost did, when my son was born.

1. If you could live in any period in history other than now, when would it be?
Earlier 20th century - 30s to the 50s.
2. What knowledge or skills do you think you'd have to learn to be able to fit in your chosen period of history?
Not much.
3. If you could take just one thing from the modern world back with you, what would it be?
Back to the 50s? Maybe some kind of scientific dictionary or almanac, just to show how things they were working on at the time would pan out.
4. What period in history would you hate to have lived in?
The Middle Ages. Ick.
5. What thing from the past would you like to see make a comeback?
Politeness. Civic responsibility. Good hats for men. Pick any one of these.

1. What is your favorite girl's name?
Alice
2. What is your favorite boy's name?
Tom
3. What is the weirdest/most obnoxious name you've ever given to a pet?
Boots
4. What is/was your favorite pet?
Angus, a mutt we had for a long time. He was a good dog.
5. What is your most cherished dream for your future?
That Aki will go on his way, with happiness and success.

1. What do you feel is the most important quality in a close friend?
Discretion.
2. What is the one quality in a stranger you'd just met that would make you want to get to know them better?
Finding out we share interests, the more obscure the better.
3. What do you think is the most important quality in a good leader?
The ability to trust their subordinates.
4. What is the one thing that makes a child likable to you?
Politeness.
5. What do you think is the one thing that makes a good parent (other than loving their children)?
Patience, closely followed by consistency and a sense of humour.

What was your favorite class/subject in school?
English.
Who was your favorite teacher?
Mr. Cross was nice.
Why was your favorite teacher your favorite?
He would listen to me natter on about films. Now he's Mayor of Sidney.
What would you have liked to major in in college?
Perhaps history. I wanted to be an engineer when I went to university. Even if I had had the ability, I don't think I would have liked it.
Would you rather go to a small, medium, or large college, if you had the money to go to any of the three?
Depends on the program and the quality of the teaching - you can be miserable (or happy) anywhere.