Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 42

DETROIT FREE PRESS WWW.FREEP.COM I 2D FRIDAY, NOV. 26, 2004 SKYWATCH LEONARD PITTS fit. THE WAY WE LIVE Palace brawl i i Ml II result of lines crossed UUMl Fine, suspend Ron Artest. Anyone who follows pro basketball knows that his reputation as an JOHN SMVNTEK'S Whatever makes you happy. "It depends how it goes in the next few years.

If I'm not doing the kind of work that makes me feel that it's worth it, I'm going to become a doctor." KATE BECKINSALE, actress, in the December Details magazine. She also frets about "the intellectual apex of my career" "Van "tjS i UPN's new late-night schedule has big laughs emotionally un stable nitwit is no accident. And yeah, while you're at it, Suspend his Indiana Pacers teammates Jermaine O'Neal Stephen Jackson for their Jart in last Friday's fracas at the Palace. Suspend Ben the Detroit Pistons center who triggered the initial alternation with a two-handed fhove to Artest's face. took at the fans But after you've done all "that, can we talk about the Because if any single turned a routine confrontation between athletes 'Jnto an indoor riot, they were Iji, And to my mind, that speaks about issues much 'larger than sports.

For the record: The conflict between Wallace and Artest over pretty quickly. After Wallace expressed his rather -emphatic objection to being fouled by Artest, the latter uncharacteristically walked away from conflict and reclined on a scorer's table. The matter was well on the way to $eing settled. 1 Then some fan threw a cup of liquid that hit Artest in the Next thing you know, he's Charging into the stands. 'Z And I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble blaming it all on an Excess of beer.

Alcohol, by and large, does not create emotion much as it magnifies and distorts it. Alternately, some observers Say race contributed to the Jhelee specifically the jealousy and anger of white sports alienated by black basket-'ball players they perceive as Itoo rich, too showy, too and tattooed. And insufficiently humble. That's a good point, but I'm hesitant to place all the weight either. ALL THE NEWS ABOUT LOHAN THAT WILL FIT Us Weekly reports teen goddess Undsay Lohan is thinking about acquiring the latest celebrity accessory: her own restaurant! Just freshly 18, she Is in talks to open a chic eatery in the Sunset Strip property that was once home to the star favorite Dublin's Irish Whiskey Pub.

"A restaurant like that would be a great Lohan's Wilnier Valderrama FREE PRESS FREE STUFF See 'Closer On Dec. 2 Want to see a special advance -screening of the film "Closer" the evening of Dec. 2 at a metro Detroit theater? It explores the ever-changing state of modern relationships based on Patrick Marber's hit play about sexual politics. It stars Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen and is directed by Mike Nichols. It's rated so no entrants underage 17, please.

To win one of 25 passes for two, e-mail your name, postal address and daytime phone to moviecontest hotmail.com. Your must type "Closer" in the subject field. We'll select the winners at random by noon Monday and notify them by return e-mail. BRIEFLY Moved: Florine Mark's "Remarkable Woman" radio program, a half-hour interview show, to 7:30 a.m. Sundays on WMGC-FM (105.1).

It began airing in January 1999. More information at www.florineonline Guesting: In one of his final appearances, late comedian Rodney Danger-field as the voice of cranky canine Mad Max in an episode of "Phil of the Future," at 6 p.m. Saturday on the Disney Channel. rep told Us. How do 18-year-olds get the yen to be dinery divas? She may have been inspired by the news that ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama, 24, was looking to partner in the soon-to-be-opened West Hollywood eatery Geisha House with Ashtort Kutcher.

When Lohan asked if she could get involved, the "That 70s Show" star said no: "It's a guy thing only," she was told. Then Lohan found out that those rascals allowed the new breast-barer of the moment. Tonight's eastern sky about 7 p.m. Today The moon turns full at 3:09 p.m. In colonial times the full moon of November was known as the Beaver Moon or Frosty Moon.

Tonight you can glimpse the moon rising close to sunset. Once the sky turns dark, look for the bright star Aldebaran 8 degrees (almost a fist's width) below and slightly to the right of Luna. The Pleiades star cluster appears 8 degrees to the moon's upper right. Saturday Saturn rises just less than 4 hours after sunset. The Cassini spacecraft is currently in orbit around Saturn, examining the planet, its famous rings and the multitude of Saturnian moons; Early next year the Huygens probe that piggybacked on Cassini will attempt a landing on the planet's largest moon, Titan.

For the latest informal tion, visit NASA's Web site saturn.jp.nasa.govhome. i Sunday Venus is closing in on Mars. Monday morning before dawn the two planets are 4 degrees (half a fist) apart, with Mars to the lower left of Venus. The two planets are also approaching Alpha in a third-magnitude star 3 degrees to Mars' lower left. Alpha has a fainter companion star only 'Aoth degree above it.

The planets and Alpha appear closest together in early December. Monday For those skywatchers who take comfort in sighting the Big Dipper, this is a tough time of year. The Dipper skims the northern horizon in winter, so it's easily lost in city lights or landscape obstacles. A worthy stand-in for the Dipper is Cassiopeia, the W-shaped pattern that now perches high in the northeast. The two lie on opposite sides of Polaris, the North Star.

They can be thought of as an alternating set when one's down, the other is up. Tuesday Tonight the moon rises hours after sunset, considerably north of east. Try to catch the waning gibbous orb at least an hour after it rises, or about 9 p.m. Saturn sits 5 degrees (10 moon diameters) to the moon's lower right. The Gemini Twins, Pollux and Castor, hang over Luna.

Pollux is 3 degrees above the moon and Castor another degrees above Pollux. Wednesday Saturn rises in the eas-northeast about 3' hours after sunset tonight a reasonably convenient observing hour given the early nightfall this time of year. The planets are followed within an hour by the waning gibbous moon tht clears the horizon a few degrees farther north. Saturn sits just inside the boundary of the constellation Gemini (notice the Twins, Pollux and Cal-tor, to the planet's upper left) while Luna perches squarely fti the empty plot of sky between Gemini and Leo known as Can WKBD-TV's (UPN, Channel 50) new weekday late-night program schedule has been finalized as the WXYZ-TV (Channel 7)-produced 10 p.m. newscast ends after the Dec.

3 edition. Effective Dec. 6 at 10 p.m., there'll be back-to-back episodes of the sitcom "The King of Queens." "The Simpsons" returns to 11 p.m. followed by "Friends" at 11:30 p.m, "Just Shoot Me" at midnight and "Frasier" at 12:30 a.m. Beginning Dec.

4, the Saturday lineup will be "The King of Queens" at 10 p.m., "Friends" at 10:30 p.m., "Dance 360" at 11 p.m., "That 70's Show" at 11:30 p.m. and "The UPN Detroit Late Movie" at midnight. Sundays will have "The King of Queens" at 10 p.m, "Frasier" at 10:30 p.m., a double run of "Girlfriends" from 11 p.m. until midnight, then back-to-back episodes of "Just Shoot Me." A modest suggestion Not our idea, we admit, but this interesting posting on an Internet site merits second thought. We withhold the author's name because we can't verify his identity but give him big-ups for thinking creatively outside the box: The boldest move ever in TV news would be for a retiring Dan Rather to be replaced by Jon Stewart.

What about turned-off older viewers? They'd be replaced by a desperately needed influx of younger viewers. Mitigated hilarity on some stories? Offset by the "Daily Show" staffs unrelentingly skewed (but astonishingly credible) perspective on absurdities of politics. Stewart's appearances on "Crossfire" and "60 Minutes" show that he cares about the state of TV journalism. There's very little left for him to prove (or, frankly, room to grow) on Comedy Central, as great as the "Daily Show" is. CBS should offer an eye-popping raise.

Even promise him Letter-man's spot down the road, if that's what it will take to get him in the news division's Big Chair next Jon Stewart for CBS Evening News Anchor? Not so far-fetched anymore. Intrigue on the radio Radio One Inc. owner of Detroit radio stations WCHB-AM (1200), WDMK-FM (102.7) and WDTJ-FM (105.9) agreed earlier this week to acquire a majority interest in Reach Media a Dallas media company owned by popular radio personality TomJoyner. Radio One will pay $56.1 million in cash and stock in a deal that will give it ownership rights to Joyner's immensely popular syndicated radio morning show, which reaches 8 million listeners on 115 stations. Here's where the plot thickens: In Detroit, Joyner is on Radio One's hottest Detroit competitor, WMXD-FM (92.3), owned by Clear Channel.

Radio One Detroit boss Carol Lawrence Dobrusin said the deal would have no immediate effect on the Detroit market, indicating Joyner's contract still has time to go at WMXD. However, Joyner is already on 15 Radio One stations; WMXD's most direct competitor is WDMK, now with John Mason. In any event, the really big fish in the deal may be Joyner's www which has about 800,000 members. Children on the radio Lame-duck Detroit Public Schools-owned WRC J-FM (90.9) has agreed to bring back the Tom Wilson-produced children's show, "Brady Jamzz," which features fourth- and fifth-graders from the Detroit's Brady Elementary School. The half-hour show airs at 4:30 p.m.

Tuesdays. The program features student DJs, their commercials, action stories and radio plays. The show had been running for six years until October, when all weekend programing on WRCJ was halted, pending a now long-delayed third party operational deal. Compiled from staff, news service and Web reports by JOHN SMYNTEK at 313-222-5169 and smyntekfreepress.com. Hear him today at 7:40 a.m.

on WJR-AM(760) with Warren Pierce and Dec. 2 at 7 a.m. from Macomb Mall on WMGC-FM (105.1) with Jim Harper for Toys for Tots. Tara Reid, to throw her coins in the-kitty. Revenge for Lohan -amounted to hatching a plan for a restaurant with omigosh Jessica and Lindsay Lohan CATHY By Cathy Guisewite A breakdown of old rules Something broke loose Friday.

I don't know what to call it. maybe? Decorum, ferhaps? Or maybe what roke is simply that old school ielief that there are some lines 'rou don't cross. As such, this modern Detroit riot offers irresistible tlymbolism: players going into the stands where they are fans going onto the floor from which they are restricted. People crossing lines "that were once considered 'inviolable. You cannot convince me 'jhat's only a sports phenomenon.

Listen to the blowhards of 'Calk radio and crossfire politics. Check the empty vulgarism of rap music and fear factor television. Listen to the Cynicism and entitlement of children. And tell me that played no role in "Some fool's decision to fling his This coward a prosecutor as identified him as a self-Smployed contractor with a Record of felony assault and klrunk driving tipped the balance with a single act of abject stupidity. 3 And once that happened, Wasn't the rest preordained? Jrtest charging in for retribution? The entire stadium erupting in a furor? If your behavior is unchecked, doesn't iithat give me license, too? And Ithe whole veneer of civil society, comes tumbling down.

4 Some would argue it's not -Qiat solid to begin with. We Jjave become a chest-thump Ration. A nation that crosses not because lines need grossing, but because lines are 'twere. It's a lame and misguided 'echo of the '60s, when attitude was a political statement and people broke barriers because freaking barriers was necessary to force closed places pen. Friday night was a postcard prom across the line.

Friday Slight, something broke loose in But the truth is, it's been jtearing for a very long time. I IRVING- A WHAT DO WOli MEAN, WON'T I WAS 1 MORE PIE WHILE WE SIT AND TALK ABOUT THE H00, OUtjJ I HOW IV EAT AN PIE, ONLY OUT OV Nr, A but she the Room WOULD WANT TO 30M VOU KNOW HOUO HE IS KNOWHOUOHE 1 HA, HA! SMluXOEO FOR FOUR fN07 THANKS. 1 ZL JL- If $AKl THE BAIT fj MINUTES, I 1 1 COULDN'T. on.vft! Hfl.HA! fHA.HflQ VJpi I Ashlee Simpson. More? But of course.

Lohan sat down with TV's "Extra" to blather about her brand new CD due next month. "It's really exciting 'cause this is something that I loved to do and have aspired to do for a while, I was able to write a lot of the songs it's nice to have on your album some things that you really feel personally that shows through in the music." Lohan hopes that, "People aren't like, oh she's an actress trying to be a singer." She declares: "This is really just who I am and something I really put my heart into." Lohan explained that her single, "Rumors," was important because "a lot of stuff was going on at the time, people making up a lot of rumors a lot of your personal life is out there on the line, but it's something when you come into this business that you have to expect people want to know more about you." Lohan went on to say that "silly rumors" really get to her. She says, "personal stuff like if you're dating someone when that gets out, that's frustrating." Lohan says the hardest part about trying to have a personal life is, "keeping your personal life personal." "A lot of things that go on with my family life people find out about it, that's stuff that you really don't always want people to find out about." (That would pertain to her headline-seeking, troublesome dad.) For support, Lohan says that she relies, "mostly on my family, like my mom. I'm basically an open book. I'm a very honest person my they just let me vent." cer.

BEETLE BAILEY By Mort Walker THAT WAY'S I BUT A POG MUST ALWAYS 1 1 TI TT fl THE QUICKEST A i il TAKE THE TIME FOR fr LL I jrt P3 a gfrQQ fry Wnq Featurw 3yBdWrt. Inc Wortd nqhte reserved HAGAR By Chris Browne Ttimz TO CALL? I TJdfL 0 Thursday In the dawn sky Venus doles in on Mars over the next several days. This morning, the bright goddess rides about degrees (a little more than finger width) above the fainter warrior. During twilight Friday morning the two planefe slide half a degree (width of full moon) closer. Use binoculars to detect fainter Alpha of Libra below Mars.

Continue to watch the action every clear morning. The pair is closest on Dec. 6. By David Batch, Abrams Planeta- 4. J.EONARD PITTS JR.

appears Inost Wednesdays and Fridays in Free Press. Reach him at the (, mwiigun oiaie university, 1 www.pa.msu.eduAbrams Skywatchers Hot Line has messaffi es about astronpmical events. Call 517-332-7827 anytime. Miqyii Herald, 1 Heraldt Plaza, MiQi, Ft 33132; toll fiie at 888-251 4407 or at lpittsherald.com..