The multifarious and multitalented Dana Owens, aka Queen Latifah, will be hosting this year’s Grammys, telecast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles (assuming it doesn’t wash away) on CBS, February 13. “Queen Latifah is an extraordinary Renaissance artist with unparalleled style and substance, and her passion, talent and …

Following up on her October SNL disaster, Ashlee Simpson was booed rather heartily after her Orange Bowl halftime performance, as discussed here. This girl has more alibis than Pete Rose: “Maybe they were booing at me, maybe they were booing at the halftime show ’cause the whole thing sucked,” she …

Wharton has a fascinating if oddly clinical (they are a business school, after all) look at the logistics and economics of disaster relief, the long-term developmental needs of the areas hit, and aspects of disaster planning. Though highly informative throughout, the most compelling portion of the article is an account …

No, it’s not a new band, but a list of the top 10 most viewed stories in the NY Times this year. Besides content, other variables likely involved include availability (most news stories are only available for free for one week) and date of publication (older stories have more time …

Bob Marley’s widow Rita wants to move his remains from a Jamaican cemetery to his “spiritual resting place” in Ethiopia. The exodus will occur some time after the monthlong February celebration of the reggae great’s 60th birthday in Ethiopia. Bob died of cancer in 1981 at the age of thirty-six. …

The media machinery is scarcely able to control its glee with the approach of the Michael Jackson child molestation trial at the end of the month, most giddy of all are Court TV for obvious reasons, and E!, well, also for obvious reasons. While Court TV has a lurid special …

The exceptional 28-song The World of Nat King Cole is a compact career retrospective and best-of package simultaneously celebrating one of the finest, swingingest jazz pianists AND pop vocalists of the 20th century. The collection, which benefits the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, is coming out January 25 to coincide …

Powerful and emblematic story in the Cool Cleveland newsletter by Lee Chilcote about the entrepreneural perils of running a concert club, trying to turn a neighborhood into a cultural center, and the leak of young creative types to more amenable climes. While the story takes place in Cleveland, it could …

Clarinet giant and big band leader Artie Shaw was eulogized Sunday after passing away from complications of diabetes at the age of 94 on New Year’s Eve: Shaw’s music filled Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park chapel Sunday, inducing a few tapping toes, and the entertainer’s friends delivered tributes before …

In general, my dealings with customer service/call center operators have been positive over the last few years: I may not get done exactly what I wanted to get done, but I usually have the sense the person tried, and more often than not I take my issue up a level …