And now, a word from Kasey

(Jenn’s sister Kelly’s daughter.)

“PBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLT!”

NPR interviews the Times-Picayune editor

Fresh Air (“Jazz hands!”) interviewed Jim Amoss, the editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, about reporting during Katrina and after.

The newsroom Jim Amoss leads was widely praised for its unflinching coverage of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. In a piece one month ago, Amoss said “New Orleans has become two cities — an enclave of survivors clustered along the Mississippi River’s crescent and a vast and sprawling shadow city where the water stood, devoid of power and people.”

Definitely worth a listen.

Cold and flu season

… has reached the Yarbrough residence. That is all.

Into the Blue

You know Into the Blue is going to be beautiful, both the stars and the scenery. That’s a given.

The surprise is that this thriller is actually quite good, better than more ambitious recent efforts like After the Sunset. Even if Jessica Alba and Paul Walker aren’t big names like Sunset had, the plot is tighter and more plausible — skin-divers looking for buried treasure exposed by a recent hurricane in the Bahamas find it, along with a nearby crashed plane full of cocaine — and the actors throw themselves into the admittedly not-amazing dialogue with real commitment.

The only real issue in the movie is that Paul Walker is apparently half-dolphin, able to hold his breath for a half-hour at a time. The first time he does this, another character is impressed that he can hold his breath for three minutes at a time. Later in the movie, they’re all doing a lot more than that, in areas where they can’t conveniently get more air, and no one seems to think it’s remarkable at all. There’s also several uncontrolled ascents that scuba divers will wince as they watch — several of the characters should be laid up with the bends at different points in the movie, and possibly have serious damage to their hearing — but otherwise, the filmmakers show a generally strong understanding of diving, both scuba and otherwise.

This is a light and breezy entertainment, to be sure, but a better use of your time than most such films. A strong recommendation for scuba diving movie-watchers, those who just love tropical locations and, of course, anyone interested in lots of sequences of Jessica Alba in a bikini.

Jordis Unga blog, new tracks online

The new J.D. INXS CD, Switch, is already out, but the other contestants of Rock Star: INXS aren’t far behind.

One of my favorites, Jordis Unga, has a new site, including a blog and tracks from her “early 2006” album.

Marty Casey and his band (now called “Marty Casey and Lovehammers,” instead of just “The Lovehammers”) have an album on the way as well.