Another Monday.........It's no surprise that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the top movie over the weekend. It's a fun film and it moves along briskly. Johnny Depp is nothing short of brilliant as he hits another weird character out of the park. He manages to be both funny and creepy at the same time. Although I don't buy his "I modeled the character as a cross between Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers" statement. He manages to let his Willy Wonka stand apart from Gene Wilder's in the original film.

Another blow for the Bushie camp, po George Bush, his staff just can't get a break. (That spelling error in the last sentence was intentional.) Yesterday on Meet the Press Matt Cooper, the Time magazine reporter, told Tim Russert that he found out about Valerie Plame from Rove. Of course the Republicans are calling it a smear campaign by Democrats. That's code for "we are in the wrong but we'll say anything to get people to feel sorry for us." Give it up already!!!!

Jaw dropper of the day: A couple of years ago the film Calendar Girls, which was based on the calendar of the Rylstone Women's Institue in North Yorkshire, turned real life into hilarious art. Who says the men can't have their day in the nude too? They are!! In Leland, Michigan, twelve caretakers of the school gardens are posing nude, with the props put in the appropriate places of course. One of them is the school superintendent, which, to say the least, has raised a few eyebrows. Not affiliated with the Leland Public Schools, the calendar, called "The Naked Gardener," is being used to raise money for the gardens. At $20 a pop, the first 500 have sold out. The calendars went on sale July 1. There is another printing in the works and no doubt a movie just waiting to be in the can.

Enjoy your day,

paul