As a Golden Globe winning actor, published author, and graduate student at more than one prestigious university, one would think James Franco had no time to spare for modern art. After watching him portray the ‘bad boy’ in “Freaks and Geeks” and drift about dreamily in “Pineapple Express,” you’d think James Franco wouldn’t have the personality or background to express himself poignantly either, but he did so brilliantly with the debut of “The Dangerous Book Four Boys”, which opened at New York’s Clocktower Gallery earlier this week.

Franco opened his first solo show with an overpowering but alluring combination of film, photography, drawings, and sculpture attempting to capture his personal and intense exploration of masculinity, sexuality, and celebrity. The exhibit is spread over two rooms, one of which resembles an adolescent boy’s room full of the relics of teenage hell, while the other transitions to an adult scenario, seemingly on behalf of a transition from boyhood to manhood, represented by the material possessions hoarded along the journey.

Short films feature Franco in all his glorious presence along with the artist, Carter, and contain everything from a tribute to mustaches and motorcycles, to an abstract monstrosity full of ghosts, flaming arrows, and mechanical bulls. The result? An overwhelming and intriguing look into the heart and soul of James Franco, the person.

Overall, “The Dangerous Book Four Boys” stimulates a substantial amount of interest, and at the very least, lets you get a glimpse of the inner James Franco, an obvious multi-talented character.

“The Dangerous Book Four Boys” is on view at the Clocktower Gallery and is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 12 to 5 P.M. through September, and I encourage you to take this opportunity to view an interesting montage revolving around  the mind of an interesting and intelligent individual (not too mention, he’s not too bad on the eyes either).

Plot details from the newest installment of Walt Disney Co’s popular movie series “Pirates of the Caribbean,” have been announced. This Monday, the studio working on the upcoming movie revealed several hints about what viewers can expect. The fourth movie in the film series will be titled “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”.

One of the new character that will be introduced in this movie will be a woman. The character will be played by Penelope Cruz, and she will have ties to the movie’s main character, Jack Sparrow, who is played by Johnny Depp.

Although Penelope Cruz’s character has yet to be named, some of the actions her character will take are already known. She will be playing the daughter of the legendary pirate Blackbeard, who will be played by Ian McShane. Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, will play a large role in the story. Jack Sparrow will be made to board the ship by the character played by Penelope Cruz. It appears that neither she nor her father Blackbeard will be characters that Sparrow can trust.

Although Depp is a part of “On Stranger Tides”, the other stars of the Pirates franchise or not. Neither Orlando Bloom, who played Will Turner, or Keira Knightley, who played Elizabeth Swann, will be a part of the movie. Although specific reasons for their absence have not been given, the upcoming wedding of Orlando Bloom may be a part of it. His representatives announced Monday that the actor plans to wed his Victoria’s Secret model girlfriend, Miranda Kerr.

With or without some of the films stars, the odds are still in favor of “On Stranger Tides” being a success. The Pirates franchise has currently grossed over $1 billion at US and Canadian box offices alone.

Production on the new movie has already begun, and the movie will open in 3D on May 20, 2011.

Jimmy Dean, country music legend and sausage entrepreneur died Sunday at his home in Varina,Virginia where he lived with his wife. Dean was 81. The Henrico County Police department reported his death appears to be from natural causes.

Dean was perhaps best known for his song “Big Bad John”, the ballad of a mythical miner. That signature single topped both the country and pop charts in 1961 and earned Dean a Grammy for Best Country and Western recording. Dean’s songs regularly appeared in the Billboard Top 40 charts. In 1962 “PT-109” , a song written in honor of John F. Kennedy, made the top ten. Dean was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in February of 2010.

During the 1960’s the personable Dean launched a successful television career. He hosted an ABC variety show called “The Jimmy Dean Show,” which regularly featured country music entertainers such as Roger Miller, George Jones and Charlie Rich. It was one of the first shows to present country music to a mainstream television audience. The show is also remembered for popular sketches featuring Dean along side one of Jim Henson’s Muppets, Rowlf the piano playing dog. Dean also made appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace. He played the role of Josh Clements in six episodes of the television show Daniel Boone and appeared twice on the eighties hit, Fantasy Island.

In 1969 he founded the Jimmy Dean Meat Company in Plainview, TX his home town. Dean was a huge success in the sausage business. In 1984 he sold the company to Sara Lee Foods, but continued to serve as spokesman for the company.

Dean was born in Olton, Texas, on August 10, 1928 to poor working class parents and grew up Plainview, TX. Dean’s father abandoned the family, leaving him and his siblings to be raised by their mother in abject poverty. Dean and his siblings often wore clothes sewn from old sacks by their mother. Dean credited the teasing he faced from his peers while growing up poor for his drive to succeed. “I think that was a good motivator,” Dean once said in an interview. “Every time they laughed at me, they just built a fire and there was only one way to put it out – to try and show ‘em I was as good as they were.”

The Dean family were devout Southern Baptists and attended church regularly. Jimmy sang in the church choir and found an escape from the harshness of poverty in music. His mother taught him to play the piano when he was ten. Dean was a natural and quickly picked up other instruments including the guitar, harmonica, and accordion.

Dean dropped out of high school to join the Merchant Marines and later enlisted in the Air Force. After being discharged from the Air Force in 1948 he formed a band called the Texas Wildcats that played in the Washington, D.C., area where he had been stationed. Dean signed a record deal with Four Star records and his first single, “Bummin’ Around,” became a Top 10 hit in 1953.

Dean was critical of his own artistic abilities. Lacking confidence in the marketability of his acting and music he began pursuing other ventures. Along with his brother Don he started a hog butchering company. The Jimmy Dean Meat Co. was a profitable business within six months.

Dean is survived by his wife, Donna, three children and two grandchildren.

Without public reason or offered comment, actor Mel Gibson has cemented his breakup with Oksana Grigorieva, mother of his 7-month-old daughter, Lucia, by filing for a restraining order just yesterday.

The 54 year-old Oscar winner and 40 year-old musician had been together for about year when they called it quits in April of 2010. During their public split, a family friend had claimed that Gibson and Grigorieva were “still friends and they’ll both raise Lucia together.” An obvious tension had developed since then, proving them to be less than amicable.

Despite the fact that the legal documents were sealed when filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, RadarOnline claims that the main issue centers on Gibson’s access to his child. Even more interesting is the fact that Grigorieva was served while residing in the Sherman Oaks, CA home, her current residence, although owned by Gibson, who currently lives in Malibu.

Gibson’s had a history of bad breakups anyway, with his former wife of 30 years, Robyn Moore, choosing to file for divorce in April of 2009, citing irreconcilable differences. Just a bit later that month, Gibson made a public appearance with Grigorieva on his arm for the first time as a couple. Gibson is also the father of six sons and one other daughter, while Grigorieva is mother to son, Alexander.

Researchers at the American Psychological Association have recently published their findings concerning violent video games and the effects they cause to children. They listed their findings in a special issue of the Review of General Psychology Journal where they stated that violent video games could help in the control of diabetes, help in easing pain and that they are useful in working as a complementary tool in psychotherapy.

An important statement made by Christopher J. Ferguson of the Texas A&M University was that the games are similar to peanut butter. What he meant was that violent video games only negatively affect children who have other mental health or personality problems. The games do not pose any risks to children who do not have mental or personality problems. To support his statement, Ferguson said that the games have not caused any personality problems in the current generation of young people.

Ferguson, who is a guest editor of the Review of General Psychology Journal, also said that research proves that the children who regularly play the games in Europe and the United States display few behavioral problems. They do not have violent personalities and they make high scores in standardized tests.

A study of a hundred and eighteen teenagers performed by Patrick Markey of Pennsylvania’s Villanova University revealed that certain personality traits in children could negatively influence how they react to violent video games. The traits that can make children hostile after playing violent video games include indifference to other people’s feelings, depression, children who are easily upset and always emotional, those who fail to keep promises and those who are disobedient. Playing violent video games will affect children who have these negative personality traits for they will influence them to act negatively.

However, Pamela Kato of the Utrecht’s University Medical Center in the Netherlands views violent video games positively. Kato’s research shows that specially designed video games are effective in preventing asthma attacks, easing pain and are an effective tool in treating diabetes. The other researcher who views the games positively is T. Atilla Ceranoglu of Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital. Ceranoglu’s research reveals that psychologists can use violent video games to assess children and teenagers.