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Long-Reigning Microbe Controlling Ocean Nitrogen Shares the Throne

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B6 Science Pia Moisander

Entertainment B1

March 18 – 24, 2010

IN TUNE

The Grapevine

By STACY FOGARTY

Pearl Jam Live March 11, Pearl Jam made the announcement fans have been eagerly awaiting—12 U.S. tour dates in May. The shows precede an already announced European tour in support of their latest release “Backspacer.” Pearl Jam kicks off the May dates at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation Festival on May 1 and wraps up with a two-night stint at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York on May 20–21. Opening all but the first MSG show is another Seattle indie rock group— Band of Horses. The Black Keys have been tapped to open the first MSG show and get a jump-start on

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Kate Winslet in HBO Miniseries

David Schwimmer, 43, best remembered for playing the quirky and unlucky-in- love Ross Gellar on “Friends,” is engaged to his photographer girlfriend, Zoe Buckman, 24. The two reportedly met in London during Schwimmer's directorial stint on the movie “Run Fatboy Run.”

Bobby Flay Joins New NBC Show Food Network celebrity chef Bobby Flay is reportedly joining NBC’s new cooking/restaurant chain competition series called “America's Next Great Restaurant,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Flay will be one of four restaurant leaders featured on the show, where he will serve as an investor and mentor as well as a judge. The show is expected to premiere next season.

Gisele Bundchen Launches Skin Care Line Brazilian supermodel, environmental activist, and new mom Gisele Bundchen launched a new eco-friendly skin care line called Sejaa Pure Skincare according to reports from People. com. Sejaa’s Facebook page indicates that products will include day and night creams as well as a mud treatment. It also explains that the philosophy of the brand is, “Love life. We do that by being conscious, being grateful for what we’ve been given, and by taking care of what we value, including our planet, each other, and ourselves.” Compiled by Michele Goncalves Epoch Times Staff

their tour in support of the new disc “Brothers” due out May 18.

Pink Floyd vs. EMI

Hollywood starlet Kate Winslet will star in the upcoming fivehour miniseries “Mildred Pierce” on HBO, which begins shooting in April. Kate Winslet, who will play the title character, will be joined by Guy Pearce as Monte Beragon, and Evan Rachel Wood as her daughter, Veda Pierce. The miniseries, which is based on the novel “Mildred Pierce” by James M. Cain, follows a single mother and her daughter during the Great Depression. In 1945, a film adaptation of the book was a huge success and earned Joan Crawford an Academy Award for the title role.

David Schwimmer Engaged

Singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

PROTECTING DOLPHINS: Mandy-Rae Cruickshank in a scene from the Oscar winning documentary “The Cove.” Oceanic Preservation Society

Oscar-Winning Documentary Reveals Astonishing Truth By STEFFEN MUNTER Epoch Times Staff

Filmmaker and photographer Louie Psihoyos is co-founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society—an organization focused on the “evident decline” of the planet’s oceans—and the man behind this year’s Academy Award winning documentary, “The Cove.” Psihoyos is first introduced to Ric O’Barry while attending a conference on marine mammals in San Diego. O’Barry, he notices, has been removed as the main speaker by the event’s sponsor—research institute and theme park operator Sea World. ‘They called him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning …’ Ric O’Barry was the trainer of “Flipper,” the famous TV-dolphin, in the 1960s. In all, five female dolphins swam before the cameras as “Flipper” over the duration of the popular series. All of them were caught and trained, and housed by O’Barry. Eventually, he begins to realize that the dolphins are suffering terribly in the concrete basins he keeps them in. Their extremely sensitive ultrasonic sense of hearing, with which they orient themselves in the sea, can hear even a human’s heartbeat. Then, one day, dolphin Cathy dies in Ric O’Barry’s arms. “She had suffered so terribly, I could feel it, I could see it. She had committed suicide in my arms.” Ric explains that dolphins don’t breath automatically like humans, “Every breath they take

is an intended action. When their life becomes too unbearable they can put an end to it just by breathing no longer. For that reason I use the word suicide. Cathy had done so. She swam in my arms, saw directly in my eyes, and took a deep breath ... and stopped breathing.” From then on, he changed his course of life. Life-threatening activism In April 1970, Ric O’Barry founded the Dolphin Project, an organization dedicated to releasing captive dolphins still capable of surviving in the wild. For nearly 40 years he has been fighting an industry he helped to establish. He admits, “I feel somehow responsible because it was the “Flipper” series, which has made the multi-million dollar business rolling.” He has been arrested numerous times for releasing dolphins. His work is dangerous. “A dolphin at the right place can earn a million dollars per year. There’s a lot of money in it. When one gets into their way and I get into their way, this can become very, very dangerous.” Two of his colleagues have been killed because of their work. Inside the cove The Japanese town of Taiji is the world’s biggest provider of dolphins to sea parks and “swimming with the dolphin” programs. $150,000 is paid for every dolphin. According to O’Barry, dolphin meat is even sold as food, despite its toxic levels of mercury, and fisherman are paid $600 for a dead dolphin. In Taiji, the risks in eating dolphin are covered up by the government,

while the mayor of Taiji is planning a campaign in which dolphin meat is to be distributed without charge to Japanese schools. What’s more, O’Barry’s team discovers that dolphin meat is being sold under the label of expensive whale meat, in stores. It becomes clear where 23,000 slaughtered dolphins disappear to each year. The film chronicles this Japanese dolphin operation. Everything appears to be running relatively normally—adequate animals for sea parks are caught and evacuated in boats. But then small boats disappear to a secret cove, which is shielded by rocks from three sides in order to handle the rejected dolphins. One can reach this secret hideout through several tunnels. The area is protected through gates and high fences of barbwire. Mission possible For years activists have been trying to reveal the proceedings in Taiji. Ric O’Barry made the media come on site—the BBC, the London Times, and the Times Magazine. But all of them had to retract empty-handed. Ric O’Barry only sees one chance: a secret mission. A team of specialists consisting of free-divers, high-tech experts, and adventurers, whose hearts were in it, was composed. They set out for Japan with 47 bags. In several actions, they hid underwater cameras and acoustic recording devices in the secret cove. What they filmed is no less than shocking evidence, which rightfully earned them the Best Documentary Oscar at last week’s Academy Awards.

Pink Floyd is sitting pretty after winning a judgment against their record label EMI on March 13. The court ruled in favor of the band whose two-pronged suit included royalty issues and a cease and desist of the label selling single song downloads. The band claims a clause in its contract “expressly prohibits” EMI from selling single tracks and only selling complete albums in sequential track order—thus preserving the integrity of their work. EMI countered with the position that the clause only applied to physical sales not digital downloads. The judge ruled in favor of the band and ordered EMI to cease selling singles without the bands written

Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd. Paul Kane/Getty Images

consent, and pay the band’s legal fees. As far as the royalty issue, Reuters reports that the judgment was in favor of the band but held in secret per EMI’s wishes for “commercial confidentiality.”

You Could Be in The Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan, founder and last original member of The Smashing Pumpkins, is used to flux. In 22 years, the band has had numerous lineup changes and now, with the departure of their bass player, the Pumpkins are in dire need of help. They’re soliciting a bass player and keyboard player through open auditions. On the Pumpkins’ Web site Corgan explains: “We were lucky enough to find drummer Mike Byrne through an open audition process, so why not open the doors again to anyone who might be interested for the bass or keyboard position. As you can see from our past and present, age, race, or a person’s background is not an issue. Everyone is truly welcome to audition.” Deadline for applying is March 31, and time is of the essence for the

South by Southwest

Austin, Texas, reputed as the live music capital of the world, lives up to its reputation this week by hosting the 24th annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. SXSW is a week of interactive film and music festivals, and conferences that take place every spring in the heart of downtown Austin. The music portion starts on Wednesday March 17 and includes close to 2,000 bands from around the globe at over 80 stages. But this is more than

Musician Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Pumpkins—especially with new material and a tour in the works. To apply: send background information (including age, a resume of any bands/recorded work), photos, and performance Web links via email only, either to [email protected] or [email protected]. Note: only musicians with video clips can be considered.

a music festival—it’s become the networking event for the music industry. By day attendees interact with managers, labels, promoters, press, and artists; as they conduct business at the Convention Center through lectures, panel discussions, celebrity interviews, and workshops. And by night (and day) it’s a chance to see some of the hottest up and coming bands from around the world. For details: www.sxsw.com. Stacy Fogarty is an on-air radio personality and music director for a popular radio station in the heart of the Colorado Rockies.