Kingdom

WHEN IN the course of human events it [became] necessary to explain how the text of a speech by former Senator Elizabeth Dole ended up as part of statement of values on Senator Scott Brown's website, Brown's assertion that a summer intern was to blame made a measure of sense. Youth is full of pleasance, age full of care. Youth like the summer morn, age like winter weather. Youth like summer brave, age like winter bare. On some level, even Brown's young staffer should have known better.

The contradiction inherent to all Wes Anderson films — the juxtaposition of the meticulous artificiality of the settings and the passionately wistful emotions that are longing to burst free — is at its most effective in a while in "Moonrise Kingdom. " The director and co-writer's tale of first love, filled with recognizable adolescent angst and naive fumblings, feels at once deeply personal (and, indeed, it was inspired by a boyhood crush of his own) and universally relatable.

If Jay-Z hadn't "retired" in 2003, his new album, "Kingdom Come," in stores today, would sound like a perfectly serviceable follow-up to his acclaimed "The Black Album. " But because he has made such a multimedia spectacle of his "comeback," it's hard not to be a little disappointed in the mere mortal nature of "Kingdom Come. " Fascinating but uneven, the 14-track, hourlong effort reveals that Shawn Carter has been contemplating more than quarterly reports as president of Def Jam. He's been thinking about himself and his skills, of course -- he is a rapper -- but also about love, fame,...

In Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," the famously meticulous director takes his fastidiously fashioned world and flings it into the woods. Even a relatively loose Anderson film is more ornately composed than most dollhouses, so no one should expect cinema verite in his latest fable. But there is — gasp! — actual handheld camera work in "Moonrise Kingdom," a story of pre-adolescent love on a rustic New England island. For Anderson, whose previous film was the animated "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," it's a welcome return to the vagaries of live-action filmmaking.

First things first. "Kingdom of Heaven," director Ridley Scott's return to the sword-and-sandals genre he revived with "Gladiator," is nowhere near as entertaining as that 2000 film. It's also nowhere near as awful as the inert bores that followed "Gladiator" into theaters -- the wooden "Troy" and the demented "Alexander. " It is, instead, a mostly lumbering, occasionally rousing epic that walks a bizarre line between historical fact and Hollywood wishful thinking. More than anything, this often fascinatingly confused Crusades epic lacks a leading man with the stature to put it over.

SALEM -- So much is lost when a city is destroyed. Lives, homes, businesses, and commerce are the first level of devastation. Then comes the cultural heritage: books, historic documents, works of art. In 1767, the city of Ayutthaya was nearly demolished. Burmese soldiers attacked the thriving Siamese metropolis, which for 400 years had been a crucial center of trade and home to the king of Siam. After the Burmese laid siege to it, burning buildings including vast libraries, the populace relocated to Bangkok, 50 miles south.

WASHINGTON - Defense contractor Raytheon Co. said yesterday it has been hired to assist the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in expanding its nationwide air traffic management system. Terms of the deal - disclosed at the Dubai Airshow in the United Arab Emirates - were not disclosed. The deal will extend the air traffic control surveillance throughout the Kingdom and enhance flight safety for the rapidly growing domestic airline sector. It will also improve the efficiency of Saudi Arabia’s air traffic management system.

BRUSSELS - The keys of the kingdom were posted on eBay . Fed up with a three-month political standoff, a Belgian teacher posted an ad on the online auction site: "For Sale: Belgium, a Kingdom in three parts . . . free premium: the king and his court (costs not included). " Gerrit Six placed the advertisement on Saturday, offering free delivery, but pointing out that the country was coming secondhand and that potential buyers would have to take on more than $300 billion in national debt.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has no evidence that Osama bin Laden's widows and family members deported from Pakistan have been involved in terrorism, an official Saudi statement said Sunday in an indication that authorities will allow the group to remain in the kingdom. The statement also provided more details of the secrecy-shrouded arrival of the late Al Qaeda leader's family, saying they were met in the Red Sea city of Jiddah by other members of bin Laden's extended clan.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia and the makers of the BlackBerry have reached a preliminary deal on granting access to users’ data that will avert a ban on the phone’s messenger service in the kingdom, Saudi officials said yesterday. The agreement would probably involve placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia to allow the government to monitor messages and allay official fears the service could be used for criminal purposes, the telecom regulatory officials said.

"Moonrise Kingdom," which director Wes Anderson filmed last year in Rhode Island, was screened Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival in France. The movie, set in 1965 on the island of New Penzance, somewhere off the coast of Rhode Island, is about two young lovers whose sudden departure leads to an oddball search party. The film, starring Bill Murray , Tilda Swinton , Bruce Willis , Frances McDormand , and Edward Norton , was shot in various scenic and secluded locales around the Ocean State, including Fort Wetherill State Park, Lincoln Woods State Park, and...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has no evidence that Osama bin Laden's widows and family members deported from Pakistan have been involved in terrorism, an official Saudi statement said Sunday in an indication that authorities will allow the group to remain in the kingdom. The statement also provided more details of the secrecy-shrouded arrival of the late Al Qaeda leader's family, saying they were met in the Red Sea city of Jiddah by other members of bin Laden's extended clan.

How do you build a 10,000-year epic adventure story? You start with the storyteller. For Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the first release from former Red Sox pitching ace Curt Schilling's video game company, 38 Studios LLC, that storyteller was best-selling fantasy author R.A. Salvatore. A Leominster native and author of 50 novels, he spent five years writing the multimillenia history of a magical, medieval world for game players to explore. And five years was barely enough.

Are countries stable facts of life or tangled webs of meaning? Consider Burgundy. The purplish-red color comes from the wine, which by law must come from a few designated grape-growing pockets on the west bank of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône in eastern France. The surrounding Burgundy administrative region - one of modern France's 27 - covers about 12,000 square miles, with 1.6 million residents. At the center of Dijon, Burgundy's capital and largest city, a sprawling Ducal Palace complex dating to 1364 houses the city's...

WATCH THE THRONE: JAY-Z & KANYE WEST At: TD Garden, Monday, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $57-$247.50. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com If it came with a scratch 'n' sniff sticker, "Watch the Throne" would smell like a shiny new car. A Rolls-Royce, to be exact. Everything about the album has the regal air of luxury, from the gold-plated artwork to the lyrical references to extreme wealth to the outsize personalities who made it. And that title! Only Kanye West and Jay-Z, two rock stars masquerading as rappers, could get away with that.

WHEN IN the course of human events it [became] necessary to explain how the text of a speech by former Senator Elizabeth Dole ended up as part of statement of values on Senator Scott Brown's website, Brown's assertion that a summer intern was to blame made a measure of sense. Youth is full of pleasance, age full of care. Youth like the summer morn, age like winter weather. Youth like summer brave, age like winter bare. On some level, even Brown's young staffer should have known better.

Maybe it’s a cheap shot to call ‘‘The Kingdom’’ ‘‘.‘Syriana’ for Dummies,’’ but it’s fairly close to the truth. A taut, slickly made thriller about an FBI team solving a terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia, the film stars Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, is directed by the actor-turned-director Peter Berg (‘‘Friday Night Lights’’), and has been produced by Michael Mann. That’s telling; the movie presents a Mann’s man’s world of international politics.

The Ruby in Her Navel By Barry Unsworth Set in the Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century, this spacious novel undergoes magical shifts (Doubleday, $26). Thunderstruck By Erik Larson A suspense-filled ending makes this new work from the author of "The Devil in the White City" unforgettable (Crown, $25.95). The Light of Evening By Edna O'Brien In musical prose, the author explores the eternal bond between a mother and daughter (Houghton Mifflin, $25)

Children composed poems of joy, flight attendants and bank clerks practiced celebratory dances and the airwaves were flooded with wedding fever as the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan prepared for the marriage of its beloved fifth Dragon King. The ceremony Thursday, while far less star-studded than the year's other royal wedding — of William and Kate — will be no less elaborate in its uniquely Bhutanese way. "It's the biggest occasion I'll ever see in my life," said Tshewang Rinzin, 27, a loan officer.

Massachusetts has not been on Manchester United’s itinerary for more than 50 years. When United kicks off its US tour against the Revolution Wednesday night, it will mark the club’s fourth appearance in the state, following matches in Fall River in 1950, ’52, and ’60. But there was a strong Manchester United influence on local soccer before and after those visits. From 1978-80, the New England Tea Men were coached by Noel Cantwell and assistant Dennis Viollet, legendary figures in Manchester United history.