U.S. tour will result in handwritten Bible

U.S. tour will result in handwritten Bible

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More than 31,000 Americans will have a hand in publishing a new edition of the Bible.

Zondervan Corp. is starting a 90-city, 15,000-mile cross-country tour to mark the 30th anniversary of its new translation of the book.

The tour will stop at special events, churches, landmarks and other places to allow people to write out Bible verses. The collection of handwritten verses will be published and sold after the tour ends in San Diego on Feb. 12.

Most will come from regular people, but the publisher also hopes to get verses from President Bush, the Rev. Billy Graham and other luminaries.

‘Lion King’ to replace ‘Mamma Mia’ on Strip

LAS VEGAS — It’s Simba’s turn to roar on the Strip.

Disney’s “The Lion King” will replace “Mamma Mia!” at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas, where it will take over for the musical that was part of a wave of Broadway hits to migrate to the desert.

Disney’s stage version of the animated hit is the company’s first show to set up residence in Sin City. Non-touring versions of “The Lion King” are playing in six other cities, including London and Tokyo.

It replaces “Mamma Mia!” — the longest-running, full-length Broadway musical on the Las Vegas Strip — which closes Jan. 4 after more than 2,200 performances, a spokeswoman for the show said. The show, based on the hits of 1970s supergroup ABBA, opened in Las Vegas in 2003.

New Bob Dylan album streaming on NPR.com

NEW YORK — Bob Dylan’s new album has been released as a free online stream on National Public Radio’s Web site.

NPR Music is streaming the entire two-CD, “Tell Tale Signs,” until Tuesday, when the album is officially released by Columbia Records.

“Tell Tale Signs” is the eighth volume of Dylan’s ongoing rarities compilations, titled the “Bootleg Series.” This edition includes out-takes and rare cuts from the last two decades. An alternate version of “Mississippi” — a song from 2001’s “Love and Theft” — was earlier made available as a free download at Amazon.com.

Playboy magazine art on the auction block

CHICAGO — In one drawing, a naked woman leans over a ship railing, her ample derriere playfully peppered with travel stickers. In another, a busty blonde runs forward, casting off her button-down shirt with splayed arms and manicured nails.

This is the art of Playboy magazine, and for the second time in five years, it’s being made available to the public at a major auction.

The 17 pieces from “Playboy: The Art of Beauty” will be auctioned on Oct. 15 at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, but bids are already being taken online at www.ha.com/Playboy.

Christie Hefner, Playboy’s chairman and chief executive, said she and company art curator Aaron Baker chose items from the magazine’s archives.

The pieces by 11 artists include two by pinup king Alberto Vargas, a piece entitled “Yugoslav Nudist Camps” from LeRoy Neiman, two works by Patrick Nagel and a set of four comics by “Little Annie Fanny” artists Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder.

Today’s birthdays

Cartoonist Bil Keane (“Family Circus”) is 86. Singer Richard Street (The Temptations) is 66. Singer-guitarist Steve Miller is 65. Singer Brian Johnson of AC/DC is 61. Director Clive Barker is 56. Singer Bob Geldof is 54. Actress Josie Bissett (“Melrose Place”) is 38. Actress Kate Winslet (“Titanic”) is 33. Guitarist James Valentine of Maroon 5 is 30.