the early-evening news

Does Ludacris Have Hos in Your Area Code?

Photos: Getty Images, strangemaps.com


Finally, Geographers Get Their Act Together: Where has Ludacris committed perpendicular vehicular Ho-micide? Where has he eaten Hos d’oeuvre? One brave geographer has finally mapped it out. Of note: Who would have expected that Ludacris has a ho-zone in East St. Louis, but not in St. Louis proper? Update: Ludacris does so have hoes in St. Louis! We guess we don’t know where the Mississippi River actually is. [Strange Maps]

Heath Ledger, Posthumous Oscar Nominee?: Was this weekend’s “Arts & Leisure†profile of Christopher Nolan the first salvo in an Oscar campaign for Heath Ledger as the Joker? [Gold Derby]

The Death of Late Night: While Jay Leno still leads the late-night-ratings war, the real news is that ratings are down more than 20 percent overall from last year as consumers watch DVRed prime-time programming (or, in our case, Pardon the Interruption) during the late-night hours. This evening, Jay Leno will begin a joke about the ratings drop, then burst into tears in the middle, unable to continue. [Variety]

Golden Compass a Success After All?: The Golden Compass attains the dubious honor of being the first movie ever to exceed $300 million in foreign box office while failing to clear $100 million in the United States. Producers speculate that the results — though disappointing in the short term owing to New Line’s sales of foreign rights — might encourage New Line parent Warner Bros. to green-light the sequels after all. Dibs on Sir Charles Latrom! [Variety]

Idolers Steer Clear of George, Ringo: According to Nigel Lythgoe, the Beatles songbook being sung by American Idol contestants this week is “all the early songs†and apparently doesn’t extend past Revolver. Also, it includes only Lennon-McCartney tunes, so all those hoping to see Syesha sing “Octopus’s Garden†are shit out of luck. [MJs Big Blog via Idolator]