Interesting Facebook post last week from Simon Romero, the Ribera native who is in Haiti covering the catastrophe there for The New York Times. "I ran into Sean Penn yesterday at the tent camp in Petionville overseen by the 82nd Airborne. His group is doing great work addressing medical emergencies and education needs among the camp's inhabitants. (Still, this is Haiti and he's being careful: He was packing a pistol in a holster.)" The two knew each other from a previous meeting in Venezuela, where Romero is bureau chief for The Times.

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Two more: The list of participating Santa Fe restaurants in Santa Fe Restaurant Week also includes Santa Fe Bar and Grill and San Francisco Street Bar and Grill, both in the $25 per person. Santa Fe Bar and Grill is at 187 Paseo de Peralta, 982-3033, while San Francisco Street is at 50 E. San Francisco St., 982-2044. Also, if you're calling Ze French Bistro to make a reservation, use this number: 984-8500. Restaurant Week starts tonight and lasts through Saturday — let us know who is out and about enjoying the dining scene of Santa Fe.

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Blues Travelers' John Popper awed the capacity crowd at the Tin Star Saloon last Saturday night by taking the stage with that zany but talented duo Vanilla Pop. Popper played the harmonica lead and sang on several of the Pop classics performed that night to the pleasure of everyone there.

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Santa Fe-shot Bollywood blockbuster — Kites — will release worldwide on May 21. Its two versions — Hindi for domestic Indian audience and English for international audiences — were reportedly simultaneously shot. Besides Santa Fe, the film was shot in Las Vegas, Nev., and Los Angeles.

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Songwriter Ryan Bingham continues to garner publicity for his Oscar-nominated song, "The Weary Kind," written with T-Bone Burnett. The Hobbs native is featured in a two-page spread in Rolling Stone's March 4 edition. The song is the theme to Crazy Heart, also filmed in Santa Fe. Actor Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal are Oscar-nominated for their roles in the modern-day Western. Bingham tells the magazine that his singular voice comes from "blowing it out in smoky bars with crappy PAs." This spring, he plans to start working on a third album with Burnett. The singer also is considering an acting career, on the advice of none other than Bridges himself.

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Spotted at Hobby Lobby last week: artist Ed Archie Noisecat, shopping.

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Tiffany Lovato (Santo Domingo Pueblo) of Santa Fe is taking part in Sunflower Farmers Market's second annual Smallest Winner Weight Loss Challenge, which runs through April 1. She hopes to learn more about healthy eating and exercise and share that knowledge with her community.

Send your news to elmitote@sfnewmexican.com.