Banksy x Simpsons

Ray Charles + Willie Nelson + Bill Cosby +++

The latest film on the legendary Ray Charles will air Tuesday, October 12 on A&E's bio channel at 8 PM. The two-hour special, narrated by David Duchovny, commemorates the 80th anniversary of Ray Charles’ birth and explores the life and music of the man behind such hit songs as “What’d I Say,” “Georgia On My Mind,” “Hit The Road Jack,” “America, the Beautiful” and “I’ve Got A Woman.”

A unique partnership between the Grammy-nominated producers of the BIO documentary “Johnny Cash’s America,” and The Ray Charles Foundation, the film features unprecedented access to the Ray Charles archives including a wealth of rare and never-before-seen footage and photos and more than 25 of Charles’ recordings.

The special includes: A yet to be released recording of “It Hurts to Be In Love;” a never-before seen interview at his studio not long before his passing; live video from his recording sessions for “Genius Loves Company” including his duet with Willie Nelson for “It Was a Very Good Year” and his duet with Elton John for “Sorry Seems to Be The Hardest Word; an amazing performance of “Ring of Fire” on the Johnny Cash Show; and a tour of his private recording studio in LA including his wardrobe, chessboard and personal Braille address book and magazines. The many interviewees in the program include Willie Nelson, Clint Eastwood, Bill Cosby, Fran Drescher, Elton John, James Taylor, Quincy Jones, Ben Harper, Common, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, B.B. King, Taylor Hackford, Glen Campbell, Tom Waits and Norman Lear.

Director Alexis Manya Spraic seeks out provocative and challenging subject matter. Last year, her documentary Shadow Billionaire examined DHL founder Larry Hillblom's mysterious disappearance off the coast of Micronesia (and subsequent estate battle among his many children with bar girls across all of Asia).

Adventures with Ruth

Even though Gourmet Magazine shuttered with its last print issue in November of 2009, the brand continues to live on through some interesting programming choices online and on TV. I caught the last episode of Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth first season today on PBS. Part travelogue, part cooking show, Adventures with Ruth has the former Editor-in-Chief jetsetting to food capitols in Laos, Morocco, Mexico, the US and beyond. The episode I caught features the amazingly charming Jeffrey Wright and explores the culinary landscape of Jackson Heights, Queens with chef Julie Sahni. Not only do we get an insider's peak into the community, the restaurants, and the green market, but our guides introduce straightforward recipes to try out at home. In Brooklyn, you can catch the show next Monday, 1/11 and 1/18 at 7:30PM on WLIW Channel 21. Check the clip below.

The REAL Situation

It's no secret that Jersey Shore is a guilty pleasure of mine. Check out this spoof from FunnyOrDie of Mike "The Situation," Snookie, and Pauly D doing their thing.

Michael Pollan on The Colbert Report

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From Serious Eats!

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, was on The Colbert Report last night. Colbert welcomed him with Sierra Mist soda, which definitely doesn't make Pollan's five-ingredients-or-less rule for virtuous foods. But Pollan politely took a sip and argued that he can still be American while avoiding American cheese (and other synthetic foods). For example, he encourages all parents to go the breast milk route, except we learn, thanks to a Mrs. Pollan in the audience, that he was not breast fed himself! Scandal.