Improve black kids' lives, Cosby pleads to adults

Improve black kids' lives,Cosby pleads to adults
WASHINGTON -- Bemoaning an increasing tendency of parents to "manage their kids' lives by cell phone," entertainer Bill Cosby pleaded Wednesday with fathers, mothers, teachers and other authority figures to work harder to improve the lives of black children.
"With all the systemic racism that pounds at us every day, there is nothing that will defeat parenting," the comedian and education activist told an audience of about 500 people during a panel discussion at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference.
In the schools, Cosby said many students have "a great deal of anger" that goes unnoticed by educators because of a lack of psychologists and psychiatrists. Underlying problems at home, such as child abuse, can go undetected, Cosby said.
That anger, he said, manifests itself in the profanity-laced language that some kids use today.
"It's very important to call ourselves on it and look in the mirror, but we need all of our players involved and we need to be galvanized," Cosby said.
Wearing sunglasses and dressed in a tan suit, Cosby again stood by remarks he made in May in which he criticized certain segments of the black community on issues from their grammar to complaints about police brutality.
The comments had been construed by some as an elitist attack on the poor.
"As far as I'm concerned, come at me all you want. Write all the articles you want, because you are not making any sense," he said, eliciting applause from the crowd.
Imagine not having a seatat your own film premiere
Master thespian Al Pacino was denied a seat at the premiere of his "The Merchant of Venice" at the Venice Film Festival, after organizers issued too many tickets. The screening was delayed 70 minutes while folks scrambled to find a place for Pacino, who plays Shylock, and failed. "I've never seen anything like this at a festival, and for this reason I'm never coming back to Venice," said "Merchant" co-producer Michael Lionello Cowan.
The mishap pushed the screening of "Finding Neverland," starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, back to 2 a.m. "Welcome to the breakfast screening," quipped Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein, adding that the festival director "will be serving croissants and I'll be teaching him the meaning of timing. Then I'll drown him in the lagoon, with his feet encased in cement."
Dunst is at odds with momover early push into work
A seasoned actor at age 22, Kirsten Dunst is estranged from her mother, Inez, for pushing her into acting at age 3. "I would never do this to my child -- start them out as a child actor," she tells Allure magazine. "Being a child is complicated enough, and then you add all this other stuff. There were definitely parts of my mother that would have liked to do it herself."
Dunst, who stars in "Wimbledon," opening Sept. 17, adds "My mom and I are going through a separation right now. It's all about each of us letting the other one go. It's even more complicated than the normal mother/daughter stuff."
Track star Holmes says nowhen Cruise seeks date
Looks like even megastars get turned down for dates.
Tom Cruise asked Olympic double-gold medalist track star Kelly Holmes to accompany him to the U.K. premiere of his film "Collateral," she claims. But Holmes said no because it would have been inconvenient -- and because she didn't have anything to wear, reports MSNBC.com.
The 34-year-old athlete says she was "star struck" when she met the actor, who she says later called her up for a date.
Today's birthdays
Actor Cliff Robertson is 79. Actress Sylvia Miles is 72. Actor Topol is 69. Rhythm and blues singer Luther Simmons is 62. Singer Dee Dee Sharp is 59. Football commentator Joe Theismann is 55. Actor Tom Wopat is 53. Actor Hugh Grant is 44. Actor Adam Sandler is 38. Actor David Bennent is 38. Rock singer Paul Durham (Black Lab) is 36. Rapper Dray (Das EFX) is 34. Actor Goran Visnjic is 32. Actress Michelle Williams is 24.