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Laughter, then tragedy: Michael Johnson’s end unlike his celebrated life

When 706 scrolled across her cell phone screen, Carolyn Johnson felt a wave of trepidation. It wasn’t the first time. She has that gene mothers have, the one where the mere sight of a matching area code triggers visions of the worst. For her, 706 meant her boy, Mike.

SHINING STAR: Univ. ROTC leader a lifesaver in Afghanistan

The last thing the wet-behind-the-ears Army specialist wanted to hear was nothing.

On this summer scorcher in the Afghanistan desert, he was part of a handful of American soldiers embedded with 62 Afghan troops in the Kapisa Province in Eastern Afghanistan.

Doing nothing worth $94,000

WANTED: Administrative Specialist-Managerial SALARY: $94,464 JOB DUTIES: None CONTACT: University of Georgia Athletic Department Who’s interested in a nearly six-figure salary to do nothing? Sounds too good to be true, huh? Well, ask former women’s golf coach Todd McCorkle if he’s dreaming.

‘Leatherheads’ sparks Clooney ‘man crush’

Full disclosure: I have a man crush on George Clooney. I can’t be alone. For the most part, I’m iron-proof to celebrity gawking, but Clooney really is that damn cool. He seemed to miss the memo circulating through Hollywood that actors are in fact a superior form of species to the rest of us.

Movie offers ‘real’ portrait of war

Hollywood’s new favorite punching bag, the Iraq War, is back yet again with “Stop-Loss,” an uneven but ultimately touching drama that sheds light on a towering back door draft. Upon returning from Iraq, Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) longs for the ordinary Texas life but learns he is subject to the stop-loss policy – retention of soldiers beyond their contractual term of service.

‘Drillbit’ a rare dud for popular comedy duo

For all intents and purposes, “Drillbit Taylor” needs to be renamed “Superbad: The Early Years,” as it plays like a watered down version of the high school buddy comedy released just months ago. It was inevitable – the first chink in the rightly canonized Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) comedic empire.

‘Rewind’ chronicles a ‘filmmaking passion’

I’m an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I’ll bring you something out of it. – John Lennon Eclectic and still armed with a childlike fascination, director Michel Gondry has again proven that he too has a wide array of tubas. His new muse – homemade movies shot by video store clerks – reinforces the distinct allure of the flickering image, even though these clerks ain’t Tarantino.

‘Semi-Pro’ lacks inspiration, wit

Will Ferrell’s latest sports parody goes the route of the league it mocks on film – belly-up. “Semi-Pro,” a homage to the now defunct American Basketball Association, will dominate the box office this weekend. Ferrell will surely get pitched another revolving door of sports flicks as a result.

Will Ferrell pitches film, scribbles note (with audio)

There we were, me and Will – Will Ferrell that is – standing atop a nearly completed house for a family of 13.

It was Valentine’s Day.

Will suggested we build a labor of love for a family in need.

We spent the entire day baking in the sun, alternating grunts and hammer strokes to give a family their first home.

Student suspended by Univ. sues

A University student, who plead guilty to aggravated assault with intent to rape, is on track to graduate in June as he sues President Michael Adams for upholding his suspension from school.

Joshua Clay Oliver was issued a year-long suspension in Spring 2006 but has not served one day of it.

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