Eight Items or Less: Banks, Benefits and Bashing

1. English painter Joseph Gandy was fascinated with Roman ruins and the lessons to be learned by the fall of the Roman Empire. He painted this fantasy of the Bank of England in ruins in 1830. As of noon today, that bank was still standing.

2. Benefits battle it out in Miami. The promoters of the city's annual AIDS fundraiser, The White Party, are upset that another group is planning their own party on the same night. Both are scheduled for November 30 at South Beach nightclubs.

3. Rufus Wainwright composed an opera that will premier next year in Manchester, England. The subject: A day in the life of an opera singer. Last year the Manchester International Festival produced Damon Albarn's (Blur) "Monkey: Journey to the West." (via Guardian)

4. Madonna has been bashing Sarah Palin during her recent concerts. She told her Meadowlands audience that the VP candidate was not welcome at her shows and has been ad-libbing lyrics including threats to "kick her ass."

5. Great shots of Zombie Apocafest 2008 here. The three day event was held in Seattle and ended on October 5.