Weekend Planner -- Comedy

Sarah Blodgett has the distinction of having been the only stand-up comic in the 2006 Miss Massachusetts Pageant. Described as "one funny honey," she's a regular at Boston comedy clubs where the laugh-inducing, tell-it-like-it-is stories of her life experiences are augmented by her annoyingly bubbly, blonde personality.

Weekend Planner -- Jazz

While The New York Times recently nominated Tyshawn Sorey as one of "Five Jazz Drummers to Watch," his fellow jazzman, Steve Lehman, has gone further, calling the 29-year-old "the most brilliant composer/percussionist of his generation, possessing both perfect pitch and a total-recall-like ability to absorb massive amounts of musical information."

Weekend Planner -- Movies

Opening this week in area theaters: Cinemark in Hadley opens "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," "The Blind Side" and "Planet 51." The Amherst Cinema opens "An Education" and continues showing "A Serious Man" and "Coco Before Chanel." South Hadley's Tower Theaters features "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" and "A Christmas Carol.

Movie Times

Call theaters to verify titles and times, which are subject to change. Listings are for Thursday, Nov. 19.

Amherst Cinema 28 Amity St. Amherst, 253-2547

Bright Star (PG) 4:30, 9:45

Coco Before Chanel (PG-13) 2, 4:15, 7:15, 9:30

Paris (R) 1:45, 7

A Serious Man (R) 2:30, 4:45, 7:30, 10

Cinemark at Hampshire Mall 367 Russell St. Hadley, 587-4237

Gold for Gordon: Cinematographer Willis, part-time Florence resident, receives lifetime Oscar for film career

NORTHAMPTON - Legendary Hollywood cinematographer Gordon Willis, a part-time Florence resident, was nominated for an Academy Award twice before he finally walked away with one this week - though he'd never before attended a ceremony. After some coaxing from his family, Willis, his wife Helen, and their three children were on hand for a special Academy Awards ceremony Saturday in Los Angeles.

In the moment: Bright life in the U.S. inspires Amherst poet

Like most of the winners of the recent Bright Lights Big Verse contest, in which poets from across the country were invited to extol the virtues of Times Square, Amherst poet Henk Rossouw's relationship with the iconic stretch of New York City real estate is merely a passing one. Of the four top finishers (out of a field of 500 entries), only one lives in New York. The others, like Rossouw, are occasional passersby. But, that doesn't mean Rossouw, a student in the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, didn't have plenty to say.

Ken Ober left mark in Valley: Comedian, MTV host dead at 52 in California

LOS ANGELES - Ken Ober, a comedian and actor with roots in Valley comedy clubs, who as host of MTV's "Remote Control" in the 1980s guided the raucous question-and-answer trivia contests on the irreverent game show, was found dead Sunday at his home in Santa Monica. He was 52.