Five things worth knowing today

- Photographer Annie Leibovitz stops by Chicago's Harold Washington Library Center to discuss her new book, Annie Leibovitz at Work. Likely not included therein: topless Miley Cyrus, but you can ask Annie all about it. (We bet she's not tired of that one yet.)
- William Shatner, the latest onetime star to get a celebrity talk show, debuts Shatner's Raw Nerve on Biography tonight. On the couch: Valerie Bertinelli, who we can only assume was invited to calm Shatner's titular nerve before producers bring in the big guns. (Jenna Jameson's coming later this season.)
- The MacDowell Colony celebrates its 101st year with a gala in New York, featuring performances by James Earl Jones, Meredith Monk, and Sam Waterston.
- Today in 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency began operations, working to ensure that, amongst other things, polar bears continue to exist.
- And today in 1946, late designer Gianni Versace was born. Below, Versace discusses his inspirations and philosophy in a '97 television special, which also features the requisite eye candy:

Five things worth knowing today

- It's World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness and funds to combat the virus and support those affected.
- San Francisco celebrates the anniversary of Prohibition's rollback a few days early with Repeal Week, sponsored by a restaurant and bar called 21st Amendment. One guess which amendment that is.
- Bosnian author and National Book Award nominee Aleksandar Hemon reads from his work with Amitav Ghosh at the 92nd St. Y. He'll be fielding questions afterwards, so be sure to get his two cents on Sarajevo Fashion Week, which continues through tomorrow.
- Today in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, prompting her arrest and sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Never thought we'd say it, but the phrase "You go, girl" does indeed come to mind.
- And today in 1970, comedian and general offender Sarah Silverman was born. Below, Silverman regales Leno with a list of similarities between African-Americans and Jews—the germ of "The Great Schlep," her pro-Obama video which actually may have helped the guy win Florida. (Or at least didn't hurt.)

Five things worth knowing today

- More fun than fighting the crowds at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Watching the balloons get blown up today, starting at 3 p.m. There's a certain creepy profundity in watching a building-size Underdog struggle into inflated existence.
- Problem-plagued outback epic Australia premieres today, likely proving once and for all that Nicole Kidman can't carry a movie. (Sorry, Nicole.) Perhaps more compellingly, Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin in the third installment of Transporter. Let the Thanksgiving movie debate begin.
- Or, for those looking to get as far away from Thanksgiving as possible, the South African surf association Wavescapes begins its annual beachfront photo exhibition and film festival in Cape Town. Always a prominent theme: avoiding sharks.
- Today in 1917, the National Hockey League was formed in Montreal. Turns out it's thanks-giving season in Canada, too.
- And today in 1922, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz was born. Sure, a recent biography suggested that the guy was something of a depressive nightmare, but what would the holidays be without Charlie Brown's unique (and, of course, vaguely depressive) take on the season?

Five things worth knowing today

- Two disparate viewing publics mourn tonight following the series finale of The Shield and the season finale of Dancing with the Stars.
- Today in 1964, former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan was born. The husky bluesman is rightfully known for his dirges, and just might be "the manliest man alive," or so says our senior editor, anyway.
- Today in 1947, a cadre of Hollywood powerhouses—including Louis B. Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn, and Dore Schary—met at the Waldorf-Astoria and agreed to blacklist the suspected Communists of the Hollywood Ten.
- A Colbert Christmas is out on DVD, featuring guest appearances by Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, and Jon Stewart. Below, Stewart tries to sell the charms of that other December holiday—with limited results.

Five things worth knowing today

- Christie's London branch sets its sights on the money with Russian Art Week, comprised of six Russo-centric sales—potentially the last six sales worth betting on for the foreseeable future.
- Ovation TV premieres Andy Warhol's Factory People, the first of a three-part doc on the fame-loving artist and his coterie of lunatic hangers-on. - Celebrities and socialites gather for the Children at Heart Celebrity Fantasy Auction & Gala Dinner, benefiting the Children of Chernobyl organization. Items up for auction include the chance to intern for Ivanka Trump. (Value? "Priceless.") Happy bidding, rich folks.
- Today in 1859, Darwin published On the Origin of Species. Man, meet your cousin, Ape. He's the one throwing his own feces everywhere.
- And today in 1991, inimitable Queen frontman Freddie Mercury died. His style may not have been for you, but, like it or hate it, it's hard to take your eyes off the guy—modified track pants and all. Below, Mercury and Queen perform "Under Pressure" in '86. Note the deep-V around 20 years before American Apparel got around to it:

Five things worth knowing today

- It's World Hello Day, on which you're encouraged to greet ten people for the sake of peace. We're not entirely sure what one has to do with the other, but it's a nice sentiment and, hey, it certainly couldn't hurt.
- The 26th Turin Film Festival begins today in the birth city of Italian cinema.
- New York gets a double dose of rock's grandmasters tonight: Dylan plays The United Palace (the only NY stop on his current tour), and Brian Wilson is at Hammerstein Ballroom. Choose wisely.
- Today in 1920, the English and Irish brutally slaughtered each other on the Irish War of Independence's so-called "Bloody Sunday."
- And today in 1944, actor, writer, and director Harold Ramis was born. You know his work: He starred in Ghostbusters, cowrote Animal House, wrote and directed Groundhog Day—obviously this guy's a rare genius. Below, Ramis as Egon Spengler explains psychokinetic energy in layman-friendly terms:

Five things worth knowing today

- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's underrated fourth season comes to an end tonight. With this and the imminent conclusion of The Shield, they'll be hardly a reason for FX at all—until Sunny's next season, at least.
- Seattle music fans can enjoy the Ballard Jazz Walk. Good music, Blackbird-adjacent—okay by us.
- The American Museum of Natural History hosts its annual gala. Finally, a benefit where the blue-hairs attending won't be the oldest specimens in the room (sorry).
- Today in 1985, Windows 1.0 was released, changing the personal-computing game entirely.
- And today in 1971, The Soup's Joel McHale was born. He's better than most of the show's previous hosts, but still, nobody's perfect. Below, some of McHale's less-stellar moments:

Five things worth knowing today

- Shaken Not Stirred—half roast, half talk show—welcomes Pamela Anderson for a discussion of motherhood. We can't quite envision it either, but that only makes it more compelling.
- The best way to ensure Junior is Oak-ready by high school? Stick him in one of Quinny's new strollers, designed by Henrik Vibskov, which make their New York debut at an unveiling tonight.
- The 2008 National Book Awards are presented tonight.
- Today in 1969, Pelé scored his 1,000th goal—so eagerly anticipated that it was given a name, O Milésimo—against the Brazilian team Vasco da Gama.
- And today in 1942, Calvin Klein was born. The man has left his mark on everything from fragrance to sportswear to underwear, and helped boost the careers of everyone from Kate Moss to Christy Turlington. Below, a '92 spot with a young Moss—and some white rapper not yet out of his douchebag phase:

Five things worth knowing today

- Geek-savant Malcolm Gladwell's latest opus, Outliers, hits stores today. It's the book you've been waiting to read—unless, that is, you've read its near-complete serialization in the pages of The New Yorker.
- Proenza Schouler and Sonnabend Gallery team up to throw RxArt's "The Party," a socialite- and art-star-studded event and auction in New York. If you've already bid on the silent auction works online, in just a few hours you may be the proud owner of a Terry and Barack print.
- The Discovery Channel's Extreme Loggers takes a close look at the world of lumberjacks who use mules. Catch it now, before it becomes Gladwell's next book.
- Today in 1985, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes debuted in newspapers nationwide.
- And today in 1968, actor (and Wes Anderson stalwart) Owen Wilson was born. Below, Wilson's star turn in The Royal Tenenbaums:

Five things worth knowing today

- The History Channel debuts Einstein, its two-hour documentary on the man who legitimized disorganization as being fully compatible with genius. And, oh, yeah, proposed the theory of special relativity, etc.
- The newest W Hotel opens in Atlanta.
- The Middle East gets (another) chance to flaunt its cash at artparis Abu Dhabi, an extension of the annual French art fair. (Damien Hirst's I F...ing Love You is going to look great in His Highness' palace.)
- Today in 1973, President Nixon told the Associated Press, "I am not a crook."
- And today in 1944, SNL and 30 Rock producer Lorne Michaels was born. Good producer, only so-so skit guest. See the proof below: Thirty-plus years in the business and he still gets upstaged by Sarah Palin?

Five things worth knowing today

- The History Channel's Lock N' Load investigates the life and times of the rifle. Now that the finer points of shooting wolves from helicopters are no longer campaign platforms, we can go back to enjoying guns the way they ought to be: vicariously and on television.
- The San Francisco Green Festival begins in the Bay Area, drawing speakers as diverse as professor Cornel West, former Nader VP candidate Winona LaDuke, and Chuck D.
- If you've missed the approximately 2,000 posts we've done over the past year on every minute detail of Quantum of Solace, you may not know that the 22nd Bond film opens nationwide today. We promise, we'll stop writing about it now. Maybe.
- Today in 1922, the BBC began radio service in the U.K.
- And today in 1919, classic Hollywood moll Veronica Lake was born. Lake was widely known as difficult within the industry (no less than Raymond Chandler dubbed her "Moronica Lake"), but at her prime—as in Preston Sturges' classic Sullivan's Travels—there was no woman more beautiful or charismatic. Watch her work those wiles on Joel McCrea, below:

Five things worth knowing today

- The Paris Photo Show kicks off in the City of Light, with a special focus this year on Japanese work.
- Our friends at Seattle's Blackbird celebrate four years of keeping the Pacific Northwest flush with covetable menswear. Keep up the good work, guys.
- New York's Lord & Taylor department store unveils its Christmas windows, a pre-turkey reminder that the holiday season—and, retailers are praying, holiday shopping—is fast approaching.
- Today in 1927, the Holland Tunnel opened to traffic, linking New York and New Jersey. Congestion, no doubt, followed within minutes.
- And today in 1967, late night's Jimmy Kimmel was born. The guy may be (ahem) sexually involved with Ben Affleck, but apparently he's engaged to T.I.—a proposal he made in full view of his girlfriend, Sarah Silverman:

Five things worth knowing today

- Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood host the CMA Awards, country music's biggest night of the year, and a perfect excuse for everybody on earth to rehash those perennially fresh Miley Cyrus jokes.
- The Humane Society's Compassion in Fashion Awards honor those designers and retailers who opt not to use or carry fur. (We're not taking sides, just reporting.) The real draw: The evening's power-couple DJs, Albert Hammond, Jr., and Agyness Deyn.
- Don—er, chef—Tom Colicchio resumes doling out laconic kitchen wisdom to the hopefuls on the new season of Top Chef in New York.
- Today in 1982, gorgeous actress—and no longer indicted schmuck's girlfriend—Anne Hathaway was born.
- And today in 1970, Oregon's Highway Division undertook to remove a beached whale in the worst way possible: with a half-ton of dynamite. Now infamous, the exploding whale incident illustrates what most of us probably could have guessed—that detonating an eight-ton beached whale will send huge and potentially injurious chunks of blubber near and far. Check out the video below, presumably not appropriate for discussion at the Compassion in Fashion Awards:

Five things worth knowing today

- The U.S. celebrates Veterans Day, honoring the service of the men and women of the military.
- The inspired miscellany at Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons—sadly, not including this razor—is 25 percent off until December at the company's "Preservation Sale" retiring old designs and clearing the way for new ones.
- Chilean-Mexican novelist Roberto Bolaño's lauded epic, 2666, is released today. Endless attention span required: The book is so long that it's being released in two versions—one's a three-paperback set, while the other is a "Bible-sized single volume" (in the words of one critic).
- Today in 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies, ending World War I. (Europe celebrates today as Armistice Day, but America prefers to do its own thing—see above.)
- And today in 1922, the celebrated late novelist (and onetime Rodney Dangerfield costar) Kurt Vonnegut was born. Below, Vonnegut visits Charlie Rose to assess his own work. The upside of being both the grader and the graded? Scoring three A-pluses (at least one of which, we'd argue, is deserved):

Five things worth knowing today

- Style-minded socials hit Fashion Forward, a charity event featuring runway presentations from the Spring 2009 collections of Michael Bastian, Tim Hamilton, and John Varvatos, among others.
- Bay Area lushes kick off six days of indulgence at San Francisco Wine Week. Don't worry, all Sideways screenings will be strictly optional.
- To celebrate its 45th anniversary, the august New York Review of Books hosts a discussion with Joan Didion, historian Garry Wills, literary scholar Andrew Delbanco, and others, on the topic of the 2008 Election (still!).
- Today in 2007, King Juan Carlos of Spain incited international controversy when he said what everyone was thinking and publicly asked Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez Por qué no te callas?—or, in the Anglophone world, Why don't you just shut up?
- And today in 2001, author and Merry Prankster Ken Kesey died. Below, Kesey endorsing acid as a "shortcut to enlightenment." If you say so, Ken.

Five things worth knowing today

- Color-photo pioneer William Eggleston gets his first U.S. retrospective, Democratic Camera, at the Whitney.
- The Discovery Channel's hard-living Survivorman returns for a new season, testing his mettle against the unforgiving terrain of the Sierra Nevada. Think of him as Jeff Probst, only without the makeup and airlift home.
- The ultraviolent Gears of War 2 drops today. If you've got any gamer friends, this is probably a good time to say goodbye to them forever.
- Today in 1874, Thomas Nast published a cartoon in Harper's Weekly that was the first important use of an elephant as a G.O.P. icon.
- And today in 1970, director, producer, and provocateur Morgan Spurlock was born. Below, Spurlock takes up the hunt for Osama bin Laden in some unlikely places:

Five things worth knowing today

- Ari Marcopoulos—who we last saw lensing footage for Adam Kimmel—opens Fear God, a new show of webcam photos and video at New York's Project Gallery.
- Meanwhile, the Disposable Film Festival comes to the Anthology Film Archives, celebrating work made with nonprofessional equipment: cell phones, single-use cameras, webcams, and more.
- Across the pond, MTV's Europe Music Awards take Liverpool, with Kanye, The Killers, and Duffy set to perform. (You can mute it for that last one.)
- Today in 1887, late Swiss architect and designer Le Corbusier was born.
- And today in 1947, Meet The Press debuted. The program would become a must-visit for politicos great and small. Case in point: A young JFK, who sat down to chat with the panel in 1960:

Five things worth knowing today

- The New York Comedy Festival kicks off in NYC, with performances throughout the week by Craig Ferguson, Sarah Silverman, B.J. Novak, and Tracy Morgan. Yes, it's like your TV came to life.
- Swimwear's sure to be prevalent at the Islands of the World Fashion Week in the Bahamas—reason enough to tune in.
- Britons celebrate Guy Fawkes Night this evening, commemorating the foiling of the 1605 gunpowder plot, a Catholic conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. Sounds like a holiday to us, too.
- Today in 1895, George B. Selden was granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile.
- And today in 1931, the late Ike Turner was born—bad husband, but great soul man. Below, a young Ike and Tina perform "River Deep, Mountain High," backed by the gorgeous Ikettes:

Five things worth knowing today

- The U.S. presidential election is today and, with a little luck, we'll know who the winner is tonight.
- Turnout not going your way? Plan your expatriate escape. Our choice: Argentina, where the Fiesta de la Yerba Maté begins today.
- My Bare Lady's second season premieres tonight, following the continuing adventures of four American porn stars testing their acting chops on the London stage. Shakespeare, no doubt, is applauding in the hereafter.
- Today in 1922, the British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the entrance to King Tut's tomb.
- And today in 1994, Fred "Sonic" Smith—founding member of the MC5, husband of Patti Smith, and Sonic Youth's namesake—passed away at 45. Below, MC5er Wayne Kramer pays tribute (with plenty of vintage footage):

Five things worth knowing today

- The most respectable of socials do their best to ignore the recession at the New York Public Library's Library Lions Gala, chaired (of course) by the de la Rentas.
- Inside the Actors Studio returns to the air tonight for its 15th season, beginning with a sit-down with Goldie Hawn. Related: Apparently people are still interested in Goldie Hawn.
- The 14th annual Artwalk NY bows today (it isn't much of a walk at all, but rather a high-profile party and auction), this year honoring the late, great Robert Rauschenberg.
- Today in 1911, Chevrolet officially entered the auto market to compete with Fords Model T.
- And today in 1931, Italian stunner Monica Vitti, who made L'Avventura such a, well, avventura, was born. Below, Vitti in Antonioni's 1960 art-house classic: