All Things CNN: Weekend News

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday. BA is on vacation this week so I'll try to fill her shoes as best as I can.

First some special weekend programing notes:

On Sunday former Vice President Dick Cheney will be on State of the Union with John King at 9am (ET).
Also on Sunday at 1pm ET (8am & 3pm on CNNi) Fareed Zakaria will interview former Ambassador Charles Freeman to discuss the withdraw of his name from consideration for chairman of the National Intelligence Council and some of his controversial comments.

On March 24th A Mighty Heart will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. The movie is based on the true story of the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal who was beheaded by Al Qaeda in Pakistan. There is an added feature on the release which has Christiane Amanpour talking about how dangerous it is for journalists overseas and how a foundation has been started in the name of Daniel (Daniel Pearl Foundation) to remember him and others who suffered the same fate.

In other Christiane Amanpour news she was seem having dinner with Gwyneth Paltrow and a large group of people at the new Sweetiepie restaurant in New York's West Village last week.

One of my favorite pundits, Paul Begala, has become a music critic.
"If there's a better CD this year than Willie and the Wheel, I'll two-step over to your house, kiss your ass, say it smells like roses—and give you an hour to draw a crowd. As an old Austinite, we have a name for people who don't believe in Willie Nelson: atheists. Nelson has teamed up with Asleep at the Wheel, the high priests of Western Swing. Ray Benson, the hub of the Wheel, is the real deal, and so is his band. Austin Music City calls Willie and the Wheel "One of the finest albums ever recorded. Download it, uplink it, iTune it or just buy it—it'll put a spring in your step and beat back the recession blues.
And in a similar vein Soledad O'Brien has given a book recommendation.
"Twins mom.....Soledad O’Brien lends her hearty recommendation to this book, saying “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins and More is funny and moving, insightful and inspiring. Life with twins is a chaotic, wonderful, joyful experience -- and this book captures it perfectly!”We've been talking for weeks about Roland Martin's new gig as Campbell Brown's sub on NBNB. Recently we came across an article about Roland at chron.com. It's quite an interesting read and takes you through his early struggles to where he is now.

So there you have it, the Friday night edition of All Things CNN. As always thanks to Julie and to BA for the research help. ~Phebe