Ramble On, Twist and Shout ...

Yale Honors Paul McCartney with Honorary Music Degree

Paul McCartney can now add one more honor to the numerous awards, accolades and the knighthood he has already received. The famed bass guitar and founding member of the Beatles on Monday was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University.

In granting the honorary degree to McCartney -- Sir Paul McCartney since he was knighted in 1996 -- the university said no one compares with the legendary songwriter.
Yale said the 65-year-old McCartney awakened a generation, giving a fresh sound to rock and roll and to rhythm and blues. A band played "Hey Jude," a Beatles hit, as McCartney walked on stage to accept the honorary degree.

Yale University President Richard Levin evoked some of the songwriter's most memorable lines.

"Here, there and everywhere," Levin said, quoting a line from a Beatles song, "you have pushed the boundaries of the familiar to create new classics. We admire your musical genius and your generous support of worthy causes."

New Haven was the site of a British invasion of sorts on Sunday, as McCartney and former Prime Minister Tony Blair were in town for Yale's 307th commencement. Blair's eldest son, Euan, is completing a two-year master's program in international relations, and the former prime minister, who is to teach a course in the fall, gave a speech Sunday to Yale students on foreign relations.

McCartney last Sunday toured a downtown art gallery and dined with Yale dignitaries.

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Okay, we did it. We have a St. Joseph's statue and it is firmly planted... Here is the ritual:

St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and earthly Father of Jesus Christ, is honored as the patron saint of married couples, families, carpenters and workingmen. March 19, his feast day, is especially celebrated by people of Italian and Polish descent.

Over the years, the tradition arose of St. Joseph having a special power in real estate transactions. European nuns buried a medal with his likeness on property they hoped to aquire for convents. Gradually the medals were replaced with statues and the focus changed from buying to selling.

The statue is buried upside down in the front yard with the feet pointing to heaven. It may face towards the home (or towards the street if you want your neighbor's home to sell!) The location of the statue can vary: by the "For Sale" sign, in a flower pot (popular for condo owners), etc.. As long as you can find it once the home has sold. After the home has sold, the statue should be removed from the ground and given a place of honor in your new home.

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I enjoyed the work of Sidney Pollack and was sad to read of his death. From The Way We Were to Tootsie to Out of Africa, he was among the best. Here is the AP obit on the Oscar-winning director and actor:

Director and actor Sydney Pollack dies at 73

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON

LOS ANGELES — Sydney Pollack was remembered by some of the elite actors he directed in films such as "Out of Africa," "Tootsie," and "Absence of Malice," not only for his Academy Award-winning direction, but also for his acting talents.

Pollack, diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, died May 26, surrounded by family, at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, said his publicist, Leslee Dart. He was 73.

Unlike many other top directors of his era, Pollack was also a film and television actor himself, and he used this unique position to forge a relationship with Hollywood's elite stars and create some of the most successful films of the 1970s and '80s.

In 1970, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?," about Great Depression marathon dancers, received nine Oscar nominations, including one for Pollack's direction. He was nominated again for best director for 1982's "Tootsie," starring Dustin Hoffman as a cross-dressing actor and Pollack as his exasperated agent. As director and producer, he won Academy Awards for the 1986 romantic epic "Out of Africa," starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, which captured seven Oscars in all.

Last fall, Pollack played law firm boss Marty Bach opposite George Clooney in "Michael Clayton," which he also co-produced and received seven Oscar nominations.

"Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act," Clooney said in a statement. "He'll be missed terribly."

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Earlier this week, Washington was abuzz with the release of excerpts from Scott McClennan's book which will be on bookshelves tomorrow. Here is the CNN story lede in case you missed it:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The spokesman who defended President Bush's policies through Hurricane Katrina and the early years of the Iraq war is now blasting his former employers, saying the Bush administration became mired in propaganda and political spin and at times played loose with the truth.

In excerpts from a 341-page book to be released Monday, Scott McClellan writes on Iraq that Bush "and his advisers confused the propaganda campaign with the high level of candor and honesty so fundamentally needed to build and then sustain public support during a time of war."

"[I]n this regard, he was terribly ill-served by his top advisers, especially those involved directly in national security," McClellan wrote.

McClellan also sharply criticizes the administration on its handling of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

"One of the worst disasters in our nation's history became one of the biggest disasters in Bush's presidency," he wrote. "Katrina and the botched federal response to it would largely come to define Bush's second term."

My question as I look at all the coverage generated by the book and its place as #1 on the Barnes & Noble list?

Yeah? So, what's the news here? Are you telling me it is a newsblast that someone with integrity is criticizing President Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rice and Rumsfeld for the way they handled the war?

Or, is it the fact that such an "insider" is willing to step up and be honest.

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God Help Them ...

Florida Atlantic just made a huge mistake:

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University named veteran coach Mike Jarvis as the final Head Men's Basketball Coach candidate during a press conference held Tuesday afternoon in the Tom Oxley Athletic Center's Founders' Lounge, located on FAU's Boca Raton campus. The FAU Board of Trustees will meet on Wednesday, May 28 to vote on the selected candidate's contract.

"I'm happy and excited," said Jarvis. "I'm blessed to have an opportunity to be doing what I love to do and what God has blessed me to do."

If approved, Jarvis will join the FAU family after posting a 326-202 career collegiate coaching record while guiding Boston University, George Washington University and St. John's University to a total of 11 postseason appearances in his 18 years at the helm. His 11 postseason appearances included nine trips to the NCAA tournament where he advanced to the Elite Eight in 1998-99, his first season at St. John's University.

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