Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 40

D2 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2002 THE HARTFORD COURANT JAVA BY PAT feeling of this whole process. For The Oscars, King Tut! Steve Martin will host the 75th anniversary Academy Awards, ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. The diamond-anniversary Oscars will be Martin's second as host; he also hosted the 2001 telecast Whoopi Goldberg served as host in 2002. The 2003 Oscars are scheduled for 8:30 pjn. EST March 23.

v. DESPITE A RELATIVELY BRIEF recording career, the Police (from left, Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers and Sting) were among the most influential British new-wave bands in the late 70s and early '80s. All three members have since found solo success. -J i i XT' i' 4 i '(Lb New Rock Hall Inductees best album covers ever a shot of guitarist and singer Joe Strummer inches from smashing his guitar on stage. Costello, and "Watching the Detectives," among others, is said not to be friendly with Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas.

Maybe everyone can follow the example set this year by the Talking Heads and make nice justlongenoughtoplay bis head a smashing contrast to Cialfi who was manning the kitchen for the party, and wearing his food-stained whites. His staff churned out a veritable feast for the cast who had pre-danced off all the calories it featured pumpkin-filled ravioli, lasagna and meatballs Bolognese, smoked black cod, pizzettas robiola and scallopini ofchicken. In honor of the show, the Peppercorn's staff is dressed in '70s garb for two of the weeks it is running. More than that Cialfi says the business customers not Bushnell-bound get a little squirmy about being surrounded by so many John Travoltas. What was funny about Cialfi was that because he's seen the musical so many times, he could instantly recognize which actor played which part And it was a mutual love fest The cast members were all saying how they loved the Hartford audience, saying it was much more receptive than their last stop on tour, Norfolk, Va.

Atlanta was great too, they said. But different parts of the country react differently. As for Cialfi who hosts many cast parties for The Bushnell, this was the friendliest "I think well be like family," he said. Kelly Survives First Cut In Today Show Contest Our Connecticut girl is still in the running. Kelly Mittleman of Newtown dodged the booted-out bullet Thursday in NBC's "Today's Superstars" singing contest Chosen from a pack of 4,000, Mittleman was one of the six finalists.

Dina Mizejewski of Florida was voted off the plaza, and then there were five, Mittleman among them. On Thursday, our "Newtown Sound" sang Melissa Manchester's "Through the Eyes of Love," winning the approval of judges Lanie Kazan and Miss Piggy, who sashayed back and forth to the song. Mittleman, 39, who has two children, thought having Miss Piggy was "absolutely adorable," and her "off-the-cuff COSTELLO a A stellar crop of highly influential bands, including three British new-wave acts, will join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. The Police, the Clash and Elvis Costello and the Attrac tions topped the list of inductees announced Thursday, along with Australian hard-rockers ACDC and the Righteous Brothers. The 18th annual induction ceremony takes place March 10 in New York.

The ceremony and accompanying performances will be televised later on VH1. It's fair to wonder how harmonious those performances will be. The Police, known for such songs as "Roxanne" and "Every Breath You Take," had an acrimonious breakup in 1985. Members of the Clash didn't part on the best of terms, either, when the band imploded in the early 1980s. Known for mixing punk, reggae and other styles, the band's seminal "London Calling" record features one of the comments Piggy used up all her signature French phrases set the right fun tone for the show.

However, it was "one of those nail-biter days," Mittleman said "The word "boot' was used a lot" So far, it's been fun. A limo picks her up, takes her to McDonald's at her request then 1 1 few tunes for old times' sake. No worries when it comes to ACDC, though. The hard-living, hard-rocking quartet's biggest musical highlights include "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Back in Black." The Righteous Brothers' blue-eyed soul tunes include "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling." ERIC R. DANTON To hear excerpts from the inductees, go to www.ctnow.com music.

to a hotel in New York to be whisked to the show. "It's frighteningly she said. On Monday, the vote will be tallied again. If she makes the cut, Mittleman will be singing Bonnie Raitt's ballad "I Can't Make You Love Me," which pretty much captures the CASHMAN KATZ DINO CIALFI, an owner of Peppercorn's Grill in Hartford, is loco over the show "Mamma Mia," now playing at the Bushnell. At top, at a cast par- ty Wednesday night, he is surrounded by cast members James Kali, Kristie Marsden, Pearce Hunting and Chris Bo-Ian.

Cialfi's sister and restaurant partner, Tina Autunno, is at right. He served food that he declared "ABBA-licious." Above, bartenders Keith Ro-cheleau, dashing in a pink ruffled tuxedo jacket, and David Roth, Fonz-like in denim, carried out the '70s theme of the show. For two weeks, the restaurant staff will be dressed in Mamma Mia-esque clothes. Bunting suggested Cialfi bid on a special silent auction item where the top bidder gets a walk-on in the show. It's a fund-raiser for Broadway Cares, Equity Fights AIDS.

You could tell visions of a silver jumpsuit were dancing in Coming L2 To Terms, Back And Forth Hello Again, To Miss Molly Molly Ringwald yes, the redhead of "Sixteen Candles" fame and the princess of '80s teen angst is finding grown-up relationships aren't easy, either. While her professional life is good, her personal life has turned sour. She's filing for divorce, the New York Post reported. She has been married to French filmmaker Marcel Valery Lameignere since 1999. The couple lived in France, but she filed for divorce in New York where she is now starring in "Cabaret" Today's Birthdays Actor Norman Lloyd is 88.

Actress June Havoc is 86. Jazz singer Chris Connor is 75. Singer Patti Page is 75. CBS newsman Motley Safer is 71. Singer Bonnie Bramlett is 58.

Singer Bonnie Raitt is 53. TV personality Mary Hart is 52. Christie Hefner is 50. Actress Alfre Woodard is 49. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 48.

Singer-actor Leif Garrett is 41. Actress Courtney Thome-Smith is 35. Actress Parker Posey is 34. Rock musician Jimmy Chaney is 33. Actress Roxana Zal is 33.

Singer Diana King is 32. Actress Gretchen Mol is 29. Actress Tara Reid is 27. Actress Azura Skye is 21. Jack Osbourne Wire Reports Included Hat beremet can be reached by e-mail at eremetcourant.corrt or by phone at 860-241-6742 or 800-524-4242, Ext 6742.

Today is Friday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2002. There are 53' days left in the year. Today's highlight in history: In 1923," Adolf Hitler! launched his' first attempt atr seizing power ALMANAC ASSOCIATED PRESS with a failed coup in Munich, Germany, the "Beer-Hall" Putsch." On this date: In 1837, Mount Holyoke Sem-' inary, a college for women' opened in South Hadley, MassI In 1932, New York Gov." Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated1 incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency.

In 1933, President Roosevelt, created the Civil Works Ad-: ministration, designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed. In 1942, Operation Torch be-1 gan during World War II as. U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa. In 1960, Massachusetts Sen.

John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency. In 1988, Vice President George Bush won the presidential election, defeating Massachusetts Gov. Michael.

Dukakis. MO 1-800-609-HAIR twr forever centers, inc. (aUbSsMIVI) 'Dtiicatei tt btlping wkm frtl goad mbctil ibtimthm' MoreHair.r srrtawgor cow-up. i( Its hair additon- i literally more 1 I 1 jk hai.added mtoyourrm SL And It alow MM Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! How Many Times Is Dino Gonna See-Ya? Even the cast members of "Mamma Mia!" were stunned that they had such a fan in Hartford. After their performance Wednesday night at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, they descended on the nearby Peppercorn's Grill for a dinner party, and were incredulous when they heard that restaurant owner Dino Cialfi had already seen "Mamma Mia!" nine times.

And he had tickets to see it two more times in its Bushnell run. "I'm crazy," Cialfi said before anyone else could say it first. He has seen it in London, San Francisco, Boston and New York. Last year in New York, the experience was particularly poignant He saw it in New York on Sept 17, less than a week after the fateful Sept 11, reluctant to go. But with the exuberance and escapism of the show, he said: "The whole audience had a moment of release, it was so light heart-warming and fun." It isn't exactly that Cialfi's crazy.

It's just that when he loves a show, he wants to share it with others, including his staff. He figures he's taken about 50 people, which means he's spent about $5,000 on "Mamma Mia!" Pearce Bunting, one of leading men, was impressed. His sister, who lives in Amherst is bringing 17 people to the Bushnell to see him. NANTUCKET FISH CHOWDER Olive oil spray 2 ounces smoked, low-fat ham 12 medium red onion, sliced (1 cup) 1 celery stalk, sliced 02 cup) 34 pound russet or Idaho potatoes (1-12 cups cubed) 1 cup bottled clam juice 2 cups water 6 ounces cod, dolphin or grouper 8 clams 2 tablespoons fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried 2 tablespoons whipping cream Salt and freshly ground black pepper Heat a medium nonstick saucepan on medium-high heat and spray with olive oil spray. Add ham, onion and celery.

Saute1 5 minutes. Meanwhile wash the potatoes (do not peel), and cut them into 12-inch cubes. Add to saucepan with clam juice and water. Raise heat to high, cover and boil 10 minutes. While potatoes cook, rinse fish, pat it dry and cut into 2-inch pieces.

Scrub clams. Reduce heat to medium, and add fish, clams, thyme and tarragon. Simmer covered, 5 minutes. The clams should be open; discard any clams that aren't. Remove from heat and add cream, salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 2 servings. Knight Ridder Tribune News Service By ROB KYFF Last month's sniper attacks in the Washington area forced officials there to invent a new term for homicides unrelated to the WORD WATCH sniper: traditional murders." "Traditional murders" is a retronym, a word or phrase coined to distinguish something that already exists from something new. The term "retro "sniper murder" and "drive-by shooting" are protonyms for the retronyms "traditional murder" and "stationary shooting." Retronyms are like archaic rotary phones gathering dust in the attics of our vocabularies. And, come to think of it, "rotary phone" is itself a retronym. Like "rotary phone," many retronyms are precipitated by technological advances.

Until the invention of steel ships, diesel locomotives and automatic transmissions, for instance, people didn't need the retronyms "wooden ship," "steam locomotive" and "manual transmission." More recently, retronyms have been necessitated by the development of cable networks digital clocks electric guitars digital cameras electron microscopes microwave ovens laser printers and e-books printed books). Innovations in sports provide a natural turf for retronyms: "natural turf" "summer Olympics" "day baseball" "snow skiing" "horse polo" and "ice skates" New trends in cooking have served up a smorgasbord of tasty retronyms. Thanks to fast food, for instance, traditional restaurants now serve "slow food." Likewise, before skim milk, decaffeinated coffee and chunky peanut butter, there was no need for the retronyms "whole milk," "regular coffee" and "creamy peanut butter." It's enough to make you reach for a martini er, better make that a gin martini. Rob Kyffis a teacher and writer in West Hartford. Write to him in care of The Courant, Features Department, 285 Broad Hartford.

CT 06115, or by e-mail at WordGuyaol.com. nym" was devised by Frank Mankiewicz, a journalist who once served as press secretary to Robert F. Kennedy. Thus, "traditional murder" became a retronym for "murder," for police to distinguish non-sniper homicides from sniper homicides. A similar retrofitting occurred during the 1990s when drive-by shootings necessitated the retronym "stationary shootings." Some linguists refer to a word that spurs the formation of a retronym as a "protonym," literally, "a name that precedes." Thus, Eminem Explains Rap Experience With '8 Mile' Drive ter, Eminem's Jimmy comes across as a pallid, opaque man-child, his blue eyes staring glas-sily from under his perpetual wool cap.

And in this story, when he reaches the stage, Jimmy clutches, unable to loose his internal flow of rhyming, rude poetry. "8 Mile" finds Jimmy at a particularly hard time. He has split with his girlfriend after she falsely claimed to be pregnant, rewarding her with his ride. He has lost his comfy fast-food job and is taking on grueling factory work in a rundown mill that stamps out auto framework. He returns to his mom's trailer to find her nude, astride a man barely older than he is.

He worries about his adored little sister and her future. And he has lost face at the Shelter. His posse, led by Mekhi Phif-er's charismatic David Porter, or Future, gi ves im support. A paL Eugene Byrd's connected Wink, is trying to set up free studio time to cut a demo. But nothing seems to work in this week in the life of this White Rabbit until FROM PAGE Dl Like Prince's "Purple Rain," Eminem's debut apotheosizes music as the way out of a deadend life.

With basketball, rap and hip-hop are the tickets to millions, if only that three-pointer or demo hits. In some ways, Curtis' film recalls the much superior documentary "Hoop Dreams," with a major difference. The first rapper to detail the struggle to reach stardom happens to be Caucasian, mocked by blacks as "Elvis" or "Vanilla Ice," two leading earlier examples of white men who stole black music. Neither Spike Lee nor Ice Cube was shrewd enough to seize upon this updating of "The Jazz Singer." For all of the hype that has attended this pairing of Eminem with the director who won prestige with "L.A. Confidential," "8 Mile" is a relatively modest opus, and its star proves curiously unexciting.

First seen trying to shake off jitters in the bathroom of a crummy, jammed open-mike club called the Shel Cheddar Bob, who shoots himself in the leg while playing gang-sta. And there is a rivalry, which turns violent with Anthony Mackie's hip rapmaster Papa Doc. But Rabbit finds his voice and raps and raps. It ultimately becomes clear that Eminem is only peripherally musical and, in fact, a latter-day insult comic, a Don Rickles of street talk. When he reels off his rapid-fire, rhyming invective, he comes alive.

8 MILE, directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Scott Silver. Director of photography, Rodrigo Prieto. Edited by Craig Kitson and Jay Rabinowitz. Produced by Brian Grazer, Jimmy Iovtne and Hanson. Featuring Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy and Mekhi Opening today at area theaters.

Running time: 111 minutes. Rated for vulgarities, much fornicating, brutal slugfests and kicking. Excellent; Very Good; Good; Fair; Poor sudden, unpersuasive turnabouts that provide an upbeat end. Much of "8 Mile" consists of guys riding in cars through the war zone of Detroit. Here Hanson, and his director of photography, Rodrigo Prieto (in a very dUfferent style from his lighting for alternate between traveling shots, passing dumps, such as an indoor pistol range, and tightly jumbled images of the sardine-packed interiors of junked cars.

Overall, the look is cinema verite, with jagged, blurry hand-held camera-work The story is minimal. Like his Updike forbear, Rabbit panting-ly gets it on during a factory break with the free-living Alex, played by a brazen, heavily painted Brittany Murphy. But she proves a faithless floozy, though a faithful fan. Mom, acted by a blowsy Kim Basinger (very different from her Oscar-winning glamour in Curtis' "L.A. faces eviction and loses her young loser boyfriend.

There is some comic relief from Evan Jones' dopey i.