It’s more for the

atmosphere than the food

DENVER — The food at the Federal Corrections Camp in Alderson, W.Va., apparently is nothing to write home about — unless one is eating it with Martha Stewart.

Roman Catholic nun Carol Gilbert, 57, who is serving time in the same prison as the famous homemaker, says she enjoys eating with Stewart, although the setting could be better.

‘‘We’re not talking about a tea party,’’ Gilbert’s attorney, Sue Tyburski, told the Rocky Mountain News for a story in Saturday’s editions. ‘‘We’re talking about a big cafeteria setting with the terrible food.’’

Stewart Gilbert is serving 33 months on convictions of obstructing the national defense and damaging government property for her role in an anti-war protest at a missile silo in 2002.

Stewart was convicted on obstruction of justice in May and began serving her five-month sentence at the women’s federal prison Oct. 8.

Stewart, 63, is getting ‘‘kid-glove’’ treatment from the guards, Tyburski said.

‘‘She’s in great demand for people to visit with at lunchtime,’’ she said.

Gilbert seemed to confirm a rumor that Stewart is writing a book about her prison experience. Stewart’s publicist did not immediately reply to an e-mail inquiry from The Associated Press.

Rock star turned

politico passes out

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian rock star-turned-lawmaker Peter Garrett was hospitalized after collapsing on a Sydney beach following a morning swim, authorities said.

Garrett, former lead singer of Midnight Oil, was taken by ambulance to Prince of Wales Hospital after collapsing on Maroubra beach in southern Sydney early Saturday.

He was discharged from the hospital Saturday evening, saying he would undergo further tests to determine why he had collapsed.

‘‘It’s good to be back on my feet again,’’ he told reporters outside the hospital. ‘‘(There are) no obvious causes as to why this happened and we’ll get some more tests and checks done next week.’’

Lifeguards came to Garrett’s aid when he collapsed as he waded from the water where he had been body surfing.

Garrett’s political adviser Simon Balderstone said Garrett had no history of medical problems.

Obama cracks

wise on Letterman

NEW YORK — Democratic Sen.-elect Barack Obama poked fun at the Illinois Republican Party when he appeared as a guest on the ‘‘Late Show with David Letterman.’’

Obama told Letterman on Friday night’s show that after Republican challenger Jack Ryan dropped out of the race in June, the state’s GOP ‘‘couldn’t find anyone out of the 12 million people in Illinois to run against me.’’

Instead, Illinois Republicans picked Alan Keyes, a conservative political commentator from Maryland, to replace Ryan on the November ballot.

Obama won 70 percent of the vote on Nov. 2 compared to 27 percent for Keyes.

Since arriving in Washington, D.C., Obama told Letterman he has had breakfast with Vice President Dick Cheney and President Bush’s adviser Karl Rove, and has been spending time answering mail from Illinois residents.

Obama, who will be the fifth black U.S. senator in history, told Letterman he hoped his victory will help spur voters to elect more senators of different races.

Letterman, calling Obama a rising star, asked Obama to promise to return as a guest when he runs for president.

Obama responded: ‘‘I hope you invite me (back) before then.’’

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Director Mike Nichols likes to talk about what’s floating around in his head, but longtime partner Diane Sawyer won’t always play that game.

Sawyer ‘‘doesn’t answer the infamous question, ’Honey, what are you thinking?’’’ says the 73-year-old director.

Nichols told the Chicago Sun-Times for a Sunday story that Sawyer told him his new movie ‘‘Closer’’ is about the importance of lying, ‘‘or maybe I should say withholding what’s in a relationship.’’

‘‘That’s why she doesn’t answer the ’what are you thinking’ question. She wonders, ’Do you have the right to know what’s in the other person’s head even if you love them?’’

In ‘‘Closer,’’ Julia Roberts stars as a photographer who is cheating on her not-so-nice doctor husband, played by Clive Owen. Roberts’ character is having a fling with an obit writer played by Jude Law, who is lying to his much younger muse of a girlfriend, who works in a strip club that Owen’s character frequents.

‘‘We’ve all heard those fatal words in a relationship where someone says, ’Just tell me. I promise I won’t be mad. I just want the answer,’’’ Nichols says. ‘‘Clive Owen asks his wife that question in ’Closer,’ but he really doesn’t want the answer because it’s just a slide into great pain.’’

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