Showbits

After seeing the brilliant Kevin Murphy subject himself to the face recognition software of MyHeritage.com, I decided to see which celebrities this online software would consider me to resemble:

For those of you drawing blanks, the above eight mugs belong to Howard Dean, Jude Law, Joe Montana, Julio Iglesias, Cab Calloway, Seann William Scott, Johnny Damon, and Steve Jobs. If you find these results questionable, know that, with a beard, I'm told to be akin to J.K. Rowling, Anna Paquin, Chow Yun-Fat, and Spike Lee. (In real life, I've been told I look like either Beck or Chevy Chase.)

Diverse and spurious choices, to be sure — I do not consider myself to have vaguely African features. Still, I think it's an improvement: the last time I tried this program in 2006, my matches were Vassily Ivanchuk and Ksawery Tartakower, both Russian chess players — not terribly flattering, but at least consistent.

Who do you look like?

From CNN.com:

Endlessly versatile, [John Belushi] inhabited the samurai deli guy, Joe Cocker, Captain Kirk and more on "Saturday Night Live." He gave us Bluto ("Food fight!") and Jake Blues, on a mission from God to save music. Always, there was a hint of intelligent mischief, if only in a masterfully lifted eyebrow.

In 1978, on the eve of his 30th birthday, Belushi had the No. 1 movie with "Animal House," the No. 1 record (with partner Dan Aykroyd), "Briefcase Full of Blues" and was the heart of television's hottest show.

The world was Belushi's, for better and worse, as his contracts rose from $35,000 for "Animal House" to $2 million and more. As it had for others, success fueled destructive excess.

The comedian was found dead on March 5, 1982, in a hotel bungalow at the Chateau Marmont hotel on the fabled Sunset Strip.

Not having been a follower of SNL, I know Belushi's work from only Blues Brothers and Animal House. What are your favorite memories of Belushi that I'm missing out on?

FatFreeFilm, a podcast by and for directors, has an interview with Leonard Nimoy. Topics include his transition from acting to directing to photography; experiences behind the camera of Star Trek III and Three Men and a Baby; the hardship of independent film; the digital revolution; and the benefits of being typecast as a Vulcan.

I am not a filmmaker, nor do I have any aspirations to be — but I nonetheless found Mr. Nimoy's insider perspective engaging.