THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE WRECK of the EDMUND FITZGERALD: The legend lives o­n from the Chippewa o­n down of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee. Nov. 10 marks the 38th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald -- 729 feet-long, 75 feet in breadth, 39 feet in depth, weighing 13,632 gross tons -- an ore bulk carrier with a capacity of 25,000 tons. When it was launched o­n June 7 1958, at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan, Fitzgerald was the largest ship o­n the Great Lakes. Here's misty, water-colored video of the launch.

The "Queen of the Great Lakes" sank in the eastern end of Lake Superior during a fierce storm -- including snow squalls -- that pounded the ship with 30-foot waves. The crew of 29 men perished; without witnesses, a definitive reason has never been determined. A Coast Guard report suggested that faulty hatches failed to keep water out of the ship's cargo holds, though others believe the ship struck an uncharted shoal and took o­n water. A documentary created and aired by the Discovery Channel concluded the loss was due to freak waves that overwhelmed the faulty hatches.

After the wreck, the Rev. Richard Ingalls went to Mariners' Church in Detroit and rang its bell 29 times, o­nce for each life lost. The church continues to hold an annual memorial, which includes reading the names of the crewmen and ringing the church bell. Here's video of Rev. Ingalls recounting that night. 

At the request of family members surviving her crew, Fitzgerald's 200 lb. bronze bell was recovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in 1995, as a joint project with the National Geographic Society, Canadian Navy, Sony Corporation, and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The bell is now o­n display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Here's a brief video from o­ne of the underwater explorations of the wreck. Throw in the 3-D animation, and you'll feel just like Bill Paxton.

The song by Gordon Lightfoot spent 21 straight weeks o­n the pop charts, peaking at No. 2. And there's a homemade video for it, which I highly recommend. Beats the tar of Celine Dion! (PS:  Ken King -- who has lived o­n the U.P. of  Michigan, says the gales of November are quite something.)

***

OF MONTREAL stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set. 

FRANK TURNER stopped by The Current for a chant and mini-set, including a cover of "Live And Let Die."

WHITE DENIM stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

WILCO: Summerteeth Demos.

TODD RUNDGREN: "Bang the Drum All Day." Because it's Friday.

ALBERT HAMMOND JR of The Strokes talks to PopMatters about the genesis of his latest solo EP.

SUB POP co-founder Bruce Pavitt talks to PopMatters about the early days of grunge to promote his new book on the bubject.

RIOT GRRRL is featured as part of 1993 Week at The A.V. Club.

CUTOUT BIN: and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases include Thor: The Dark World, which is currently scoring 70 percent on the ol' Tomatometer; plus the expansions of About Time, which is scoring 65 percent; and 12 Years A Slave, scoring 96 percent.  I have already reviewed About Time and 12 Years A Slave, so how about...

THOR: THE DARK WORLD is the second of Marvel Studios' post-Avengers "Phase 2" films, and our third look at the heir to Asgaardian throne. In general, I would say that if you liked the first Thor pic, you'll most probably like this one as well (and if you're one who finds the whole Norse god thing takes you out of the reality you want from the Marvelverse, probably not).  The script has two weaknesses. First, the narrative takes longer than it should to build momentum. With a sequel, you should be able to jump into the main narrative a bit more quickly.  The third act, in which all heck breaks loose in a unique way not seen before in a superhero pic -- perhaps any pic -- tends to compensate for this. Second, the villain, Malekith, is really sort of weak in his characterization. This is really an underlying sub-issue of the Norse mythology thing; you're asked to simply accept his evil based on writ.  However, you also get healthy chunks of Loki, and Tom Hiddleston is again a delight to be savored in the role. The rest of the cast is up to the quality of their prior performances, though one wishes the subplot involving Lady Sif had been more developed, if only to see more of Jaimie Alexander.  As with the "Phase 1" Marvel flicks leading up to The Avengers, stay at least part of the way through the credits, and those who stay past the end will be further rewarded.

WILL SMITH was just "being silly" in risque photos taken with his Focus co-star Margot Robbie, says his camp.

JUSTIN BIEBER, filmed sleeping by a mystery girl in Brazil.

KHLOE KARDASHIAN & LAMAR ODOM are secretly selling their Tarzana mansion.

TOM CRUISE reportedly testifed that Katie Holmes indicated she left him in part over Scientology, and offered a glimpse of the aftermath of his divorce from Nicole Kidman, during a deposition in his libel suit against Life & Style magazine.

CHARLIE SHEEN is under a gag order.

JOHNNY GALECKI breaks his silence about his past relationship with Big Bang Theory co-star Kaley Cuoco.

SUPERMAN-BATMAN: Are actresses testing for Wonder Woman? Or Bruce Wayne's love interest?

AN IRANIAN lawmaker claimed that Iran has "hundreds" of troops in Syria assisting Assad regime forces; the IRGC countered that "Iran has only advisers in Syria to transfer its military experience to the Syrian army." Iran entered talks with world powers in Geneva about its nuclear program.

EGYPT: Security forces reportedly killed three Islamist militants during clashes in the Sinai. Al Gamaa al Islamiya said it plans to demonstrate against a new protest law.

LIBYA: Heavy fighting erupted in east Tripoli after reports that the leader of the Misrata Nosoor Battalion had been killed at a checkpoint.

SYRIA: Regime and Hezbollah forces recaptured the strategic rebel-held suburb of Sbeineh, south of Damascus, effectively cutting off much of the supply line for rebels in southern Damascus. The OPCW said it has verified the inoperability of one of the two remaining chemical weapons sites on its list, with "sealed cameras used by Syrian personnel" at the northern Aleppo site.

A TINY KITTEN kisses her face.

TOFFEE THE HORSE: Always a bridesmaid...

MYSTERY FISH caught near Malaysia. It lookslike it might jump onto your face.

MUTANT SUPER-RATS which cannot be killed by regular poisons may be spreading across the UK.

METRIC offers a kaleidoscopic view of Emily Haines in "Synthetica."

JIMI HENDRIX: HEAR MY TRAIN A COMIN' is streaming in full at PBS.

ERASURE is advance streaming... wait for it... a Christmas album, Snow Globe.

THE JOY FORMIDABLE played live at the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival.

LAURA VEIRS stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a chat and mini-set. 

SNOWBIRD, the duo of singer/songwriter Stephanie Dosen and Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde, drop "Porcelain" ahead of their debut.

THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN: Because there's "Something In The Air." And you know that it's right.

LOU REED, remembered by Patti Smith.

THE OLD 97's: Rhett Miller talks to Rolling Stone about the band's work on a new album and why he still can't believe he gets paid to play music.  

WYE OAK tells SPIN they've abandoned the guitar on their next LP.

SKY FERREIRA talks to the L.A. Times about the long road to banging out Night Time, My Time in a feverish 21/2-week burst of writing and recording.

WILL SMITH and his Focus co-star, beauty Margot Robbie, got too close at a New Orleans party last month and their salacious photo booth pictures that were meant to stay private, prove it. Sources tell Us Weekly his marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith is “great”.

ASHTON KUTCHER & MILA KUNIS engagement on tap?

ANNE HATHAWAY is not pregnant, according to her rep.

TOM CRUISE defends his parenting in his suit against Life & Style magazine.

ELIZABETH VARGAS checks into rehab for alcohol abuse.

LADY GAGA to sing in space, where no one can hear you scream. I kid. Maybe.

TURKEY: Authorities seized chemical materials from a three-vehicle convoy that was attempting to cross the border near Reyhanli into Syria on Nov. 2; two of the three drivers managed to flee into Syria but a third was arrested. The confiscated materials, which "could be transformed into weapons," the Army said, included about a ton sulphur and eight barrels of another substance. Some reports alleged that al Qaeda forces had seized a chemical arms facility in Homs and needed raw materials.

EGYPT: Leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood who fled Egypt after the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi have been reorganizing in a number of locations including Turkey, Qatar, and the UK. A court upheld a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood.

MUNCHKIN CAT pops water balloons.

UPDATE: THE 20-LB CARP lost its bid for the Ann Arbor City Council.

A TESTICLE-EATING FISH caught in Cedar Lake, IL.

SNAKE IN AN OVEN: A python turns up in Northumberland.

DESTROYER drops a video for "Bye Bye" from the Five Spanish Songs EP.

BLACK FLAG -- Greg Ginn's version of it, anyway --  is streaming What The... via Spoitify.

BLOOD ORANGE is advance streaming Cupid Deluxe via iTunes.

STEVE EARLE stopped by WFUV for a mini-set.

PAVEMENT: Live at Shepherd's Bush, 1997. 

PETER GABRIEL dropped a finished version of "Courage," which dates back to 1986.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: "Shoreline 7/4," from 2006. Because I was in the mood.

CHARLIE CHESTERMAN, frontman of Scruffy the Cat, lost his ongoing battle with cancer on Monday.

COLIN MELOY spoke to Rolling Stone about his new solo tour, new recordings and the future of the Decemberists.

THE SWANS: Michael Gira is profiled by Drowned In Sound.

OKKERVIL RIVER's Will Sheff tells Drowned In Sound The Silver Gymnasium is an album he feels he was “always training for.”

GWYNETH PALTROW wants to wage war on Vanity Fair. Too late, Goopy. Everyone knows now. 

MILEY CYRUS wrote her ex a letter for some reason or another.

LAMAR ODOM will not be prosecuted for damaging a photog's gear ... provided he keeps his nose clean and gets help with his anger issues. he also has not reconciled with Khloe Kardashian.

AMANDA BYNES will be home from treatment by Christmas.

DENISE RICHARDS has informed the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services she will no longer care for the twins of Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller.

DAVID ARQUETTE's girlfriend is months pregnant.

SAUDI ARABIA: Meeting in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah yesterday, Secretary of State Kerry said the US would defend Saudi Arabia in the event of external attack, and offered to share information on negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Trial began in Abu Dhabi for 20 Egyptians and 10 Emiratis accused of trying to establish a UAE branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Prosecutors allege that a number of the defendants are members of al Isla, an Emirati group said to be a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The defendants deny the charges against them and claim to have been tortured while in detention.

LEBANON: A judge charged Ali Eid, the leader of the pro-Assad Arab Democratic Party, along with another party member, for helping a suspect wanted for the deadly Aug. 23 car bombings in Tripoli to escape into Syria.

SYRIA: The US and Russia failed to agree on a date for peace talks. The OPCW said it prefers shipping Syria's chemical weapons outside the country for destruction. The Al Nusrah Front and 10 other battalions are launching an offensive to take over a scientific research center in Aleppo. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham confiscated historical artifacts, including mosaics, and destroyed a statue in Raqqah.

CORGIS, running at cameras in slow-motion.

A 20-LB CARP ran for Mayor of Ann Arbor; no word at press time on the results.

A GIANT FLESH-EATING PLATYPUS terrorized Australia (a long time ago).

MEOWTFIT OF THE DAY: Cats In Tights.

CHARLI XCX busts out the Strangeloves’ "I Want Candy" in SF.

WOODEN SHJIPS advance stream Back To Land.

HOWIE GELB advance streams The Coincidentalist. (Plenty of cameos, too.)

THE BEATLES preview Live at the BBC, Vol. 2.

!!! played live at MusicFest Northwest.

LUCIUS stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set. 

THE KILLERS drop "Just Another Girl" to promte the upcoming Best Of...

HOSPITALITY drops "I Miss Your Bones" ahead of Trouble.

BROKEN BELLS break out the theremin on “Holding On For Life.”

MANFRED MANN: "Do Wah Diddy" and "The Mighty Quinn" are your Twofer Tuesday.

STEPHEN MALKMUS talks to Pitchfork about why Anthony Kiedis isn't such a bad songwriter, naming his cat after a Daft Punk song, and more.

THE FLAMING LIPS: Wayne Coyne talks to Stereogum about new EPs, ditching the space bubble, his rivalry with Arcade Fire, and more.

WHITE DENIM talks to the Irish Times about recording with Jeff Tweedy.

MUSICAL ARCHIVES are important. Maybe even moreso as album sales slump.

DREW BARRYMORE and husband Will Kopelman are expecting their second child.

TEEN MOM star Amber Portwood was just released from an Indiana prison, almost a year-and-a-half after she begged a judge to put her behind bars.

EMINEM denied lip-syncing during his SNL performance of “Berzerk” ... but does admit he was using a vocal track underneath his live vocals.

JUSTIN BIEBER was caught sneaking out of a brothel in Rio.

JOSH BROLIN has road rage... in the Del Taco drive-thru?

BROOKE MUELLER failed in her attempt to get a restraining order against Charlie Sheen.

SYRIA: The UN said 40 percent of Syria's population needs humanitarian aid.

EGYPT: The trial of former president Morsi began. Morsi said he believes he is the country's legitimate president and refuses to be tried by the court.

IRAQ: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant killed 12 people and wounded more than 30 in a series of bombings and attacks in Baghdad, Hawijah, Taji, and Mosul.

GOOSE vs GORILLA: Who you got?

CAN A BEAGLE detect polar bear pregnancies?

A TANK OF EELS: The latest in beauty parlor exfoliation.

SERGE THE LLAMA was kidnapped and taken on a train ride in France.

ARCADE FIRE covers "Uncontrollable Urge" in Hollywood. Plus, the Devo original, for Twofer Monday or something.

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS: The soundtrack to the next Coen Bros movie is streaming at NPR.

CATE LE BON is advance streaming her third album, Mug Museum. NPR drops Tom Verlaine and Nico references.

SONGS: OHIA is streaming the 10th anniversary edition of The Magnolia Electric Co.

PAPA: The new project from former Girls drummer Darren Weiss streams Tender Madness.

M.I.A. is streaming Matangi. Not really my thing, but I felt like I should mention it, y'know?

MONTH OF THE DEAD: A free Grateful Dead track every day this month.

ANDREW BIRD drops the title track for the I Want To See Pulaski At Night EP.

SEBADOH drops "No Wound" as a B-side. Because who cares what's on the flip side of a record? I do.

BOOKER T & THE MG's: "Green Onions," live in '68.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND talks to The Guardian about playing the Hollywood Bowl, songwriting, and more...

ISLANDS: Nick Thornbury talks to NOW about becoming more selective, songwriting, his evolution as a musician, and more.

SONGS FOR SLIM becomes a two-disc comp with bonus tracks, including contributions by Peter Holsapple and Soul Asylum.

MIDLAKE's guitarist Eric Pulido steps up to the mic, and talks to Stereogum about taking on vocal duties.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Ender's Game tops the chart with 28 million, which is better than other recent efforts to start Young Adult franchises, but a number that will require good overseas biz against a 110 million budget. And with Thor: The Dark World (which already grossed 109 million in overseas markets) coming this Friday, Ender may have a tough time finding legs here. (In fairness, there really wasn't a perfect weekend to open Ender's Game between this weekend and year's end. It's competitive out there.)  Bad Grandpa places with 20.5 million, which is solid and gives a 62 million total against a 15 million budget for the Jackass spinoff.  Last Vegas shows with a 16.5 million debut against a 28 million budget, a bit better than predicted, if no Wild Hogs.  Free Birds opens in the fourt slot with 16.2 million, perhaps suggesting a tale about Turkeys at Thanksgiving made some parents uncomfortable.  Gravity rounds out the Top 5 with another 13.1 million and a 219.2 million domestic total against a 100 million budget (remarkably good for a fifth weekend, btw).  Below the fold, Captain Phillips takes sixth with 8.5 million and fading hopes of cracking 100 million domestic.  And 12 Years A Slave moved up to No. 7 on just 410 screens; it opens wide this Friday.

ABOUT TIME also opens wide this Friday.  Given the marketing emphasizing it's the latest from Richard Curtis, there will be more Love, Actually comparisons from critics than possibly imaginable, but they will mostly miss the mark. Love, Actually-- a film I have seen more times than I care to admit -- is based around the simple idea of stripping down the basic 3-act rom-com to three scenes, packing a bunch of them into one movie, and hoping the viewer doesn't die of diabetic shock.  About Time is a film with plenty of sentiment, but not as over-the-top in its method. And it's only partly a rom-com; the other part -- involving time travel -- is a much more effective, much less expensive version of Cloud Atlas.  Curtis has assembled a solid ensemble cast, including Curtis vet Bill Nighy (doing his Nighy thing) and newcomers like Tom Hollander.  Although Domhall Gleeson does just fine in the lead role, it's fair to say co-star Rachel McAdams gets most of the marketing, and she's very good as acting adorable.  Plus, after The Time-Traveler's Wife and Midnight In Paris, it's impressive that she's found roles varying so much in this niche. I'm not going to dissect the potential time-travel problems in the film, as Bruce Willis successfully convinced me in Looper that such talk is simply not worth it.  I didn't care for the degree to which Curtis beats the viewer over the head with his message at the end of About Time, but it's a nice enough message, and what comes before is funny and charming enough that you still leave with a spring in your step.  I'd even say About Time is worth your time, but that's just brutal; I wouldn't do that to you.

MILEY CYRUS: Currently twerking Benji Madden.

CHRIS BROWN admits he has anger management issues, the first step in his latest quest for judicial leniency.

LINDSAY LOHAN was paid to host a Halloween party; the casino wants its money back.

RYAN GOSLING & EVA MENDES are fighting. Apparently, she's the jealous type.

MICHELLE MONAGHAN and her husband Peter White welcomed their second child.

JENNIFER MORRISON & SEBASTIAN STAN, co-stars of Once Upon a Time, are officially broken up.

COURTNEY STODDEN, 19-year-old attention-seeker, splits from her 53-year-old husband. Whoda thunkit?

PAMELA ANDERSON ran the NYC Marathon, presumably in slow motion.

YEMEN: More than 58 people were killed during clashes between Houthi rebels and Salafists in Dammaj in Saada province. The government has called for a ceasefire, and the International Red Cross said it has been denied access to Dammaj.

LIBYA: Prime Minister Zeidan said Italy will start conducting aerial and electronic surveillance of Libya's borders, from Owaynat, in the southeast near Sudan, all the way to the Libyan-Tunisian-Algerian border in the northwest.

SYRIA: A rebel media center in Raqqah closed its offices in protest against the torture of an activist by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham.

IRAQ: After his first meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in nearly two years, President Obama said al Qaeda has recently become more active in Iraq. Al-Maliki asked Washington for military equipment and counterterrorism support.

BABY DUCKS ON A WATERSLIDE: Let's go to the video.

AN ALLIGATOR was detained at O'Hare International Airport on Friday.

A MYSTERIOUS WILD BOAR roaming an island in Guernsey could have swum there from France.

WHEN MONKEYS ATTACK: Blame the cat, the dog and the egg salad sandwich.