The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

This month’s book is the award winning The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, by Michael Chabon (pronounced, in his words, "Shea as in Shea Stadium, Bon as in Bon Jovi", i.e., [ˈʃeɪˌbɑn]).
The preview from Google Books describes The Yiddish Policemen’s Union as:
For sixty years, Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of revelations of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. Proud, grateful, and longing to be American, the Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant, gritty, soulful, and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. For sixty years they have been left alone, neglected and half-forgotten in a backwater of history. Now the District is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end: once again the tides of history threaten to sweep them up and carry them off into the unknown.

The Eleventh Doctor starts filming

Filming has started on the new Doctor Who series due for broadcast early next year. Matt Smith is, of course, taking over from David Tennant, and will be accompanied by Karen Gillian’s character Amy Pond. The Doctor Who website has more details.

There are also galleries of the new look plus the Doctor look through the years.

Personally I prefer the pre-production look, but hey, what do I know about style…

Ryan Reynolds to play Green Lantern

According to the BBC and Hollywood industry magazine, Variety, Ryan Reynolds has been cast as the Green Lantern in a new comic book adaptation. Reynolds, 32, recently played the character Deadpool opposite Hugh Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. A spinoff movie for Reynold's Deadpool character is also in development. If the new deal goes ahead, it would make Reynolds the only male actor to have played heroes for comic rivals Marvel and DC. Bradley Cooper, who stars in The Hangover, and music star Justin Timberlake also did a screen test for the role of the superhero who is armed with a magical ring. The film is being directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed 2006's Casino Royale. For those who are not familiar with the comic book, the Green Lantern is the name of a series of characters who wield a magic ring that gives incredible powers as long as they have the willpower and strength to use it. The stories were first published back in 1940 by one of the companies that would become DC Comics.

EE Doc Smith's Lensman series is heading for the big screen

Yes, that's right. That classic of space opera excess is in the clutches of Babylon 5's creator J. Michael Straczynski and his script is now doing the rounds. The predicted film release date is 2011 You can find more info at http://bit.ly/ldt8L and http://bit.ly/cmHeG Could they film the Skylark series though?