'Best of TBH Politoons'
But Untrue
Strangely Believable
White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales played Miguel Agilar in the 1976 movie The Bad News Bears.
~Jeff Crook
Jeff Crook is the Ceci Connolly of the Left - J. Howard Tuft
Strangely Believable but Untrue is now available online at the Untrue Fact of the Day web calendar. Help spread disinformation and misunderstanding by sharing this with your friends and enemies.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Ayelish McGarvey: Evangelical Elitists
The exclusive church where Washington's conservative power brokers pray very consciously aims its ministry at the ruling class.
Molly Ivins: Lynching Social Security
To eliminate nation's safety net, Bush first has to convince us it's bad
In the Texas legislature, they are called "prior-roarities," such a happy coinage. What should come prior? When the pitter-patter of falling year-end columns comes again, not necessarily next year, but certainly four years from now, I fearlessly forecast a dismal unanimity: that the Bush Administration II suffers from bad and dumb prior-roarities.
A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW: Journalist and News Producer Kristina Borjesson Examines Mainstream Media...What They Don't Do...and Why?
In the news business...upsetting the government or the public makes no sense for the bottom line and should be avoided.... Not only is there no reason to change the status quo, there are actually good reasons to move more towards entertainment in every possible way because the more entertaining the program, the more audience it attracts.
A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW: Michael Scheuer, ex-CIA bin Laden Unit Chief, Explains Why Insurgents Are Willing To Die Fighting Us...Maybe It's Not Our Freedom They Hate...
I'm very much frustrated with the inability of our leaders to make more than a superficial effort to understand the enemy, not because we need to sympathize with them or empathize with them, but because he's so dangerous. We really need to take the measure of the enemy and why the enemy is fighting us.... Islamic militancy is a complex issue, but it's not impossible for Americans to understand if they're talked to directly and frankly. So far, we've gone through 12 or 15 years with not a single frank discussion with the American people.
Annalee Newitz: Destroy All Planets
The asteroid threat provided a perfect fantasy counterpoint to very real fears aroused by the tsunamis.
Mark Fiore on US Foreign Aid
Miss [Veronica] Vera's Finishing School for Boys Who Want To Be Girls
Reader Comment
Re: Snow days
I just had to write to you about your son being upset because he doesn't get snow days. I live in Wisconsin and you'd think we'd be having them all of the time. Well, that just isn't so. My granddaughter lives with me, she is 10 and has never had a snow day. For some reason, for the last few years the section of the state we live in has not been getting much snow, and when we do, it is often on a weekend. My granddaughter is really fustrated, because, North, South and West of us they've gotten enough snow to close schools several times this season, but not us. Tonight, she is staring out of the window, I'm sure praying for a snow day, and we got 1/2 inch so far. Her brothers live about 30miles SW of us and are up to 4inches and the farther South you go, the more snow there is and schools are being closed left and right, but none around here. Of course you can remind your son that if you get too many snow days, you just make it up by having less time off for summer vacation.
Kay
I wrote to you last year about zoo tycoon and how putting the mermaid in the tank makes her come alive. My granddaughters are also disappointed with the new Zoo Tycoon2, it takes too long to download and start a game, but they like Roller Coaster Tycoon too, because if they set up a good ride, the riders throw up. Of course with the original Zoo Tycoon, they were often feeding the guests to the sharks. They like several of the other Tycoons too.
Thanks, Kay!
Your tip about the mermaids in Zoo Tycoon I was a great hit.
The kid says he can make people throw up in Zoo Tycoon I, too.
From my snow day memories, they shaved days off Easter break before they extended the semester into summer.
My cousin Keith, who's visiting dear old dad in PA, grew up behind the Orange Curtain in Villa Park, CA. He's never experienced snow, and while there was plenty before he showed up, it's remarkably green there currently.
Elk County, PA, is part of the 'lake effect snow belt', but anymore, you'd never know it.
Nah, we don't need no stinking Kyoto Accord.
Question
Re: googlewhack
congratulations marty!
did you know you are a googlewhack under cardigans froglets?
if you have already had this utterly useless yet intresting information
ignore my email, safe in the knowledge that you are considered special in
the eyes of googlewhackers everywhere.
if you like, email me back and tell me what you think of this revelation.
all the best...
L
Thanks, Luke!
No, I didn't know - that's pretty freaking cool!
Reader Suggestion
Link
I thought that this was very nicely done.
MAM
Reader Question
dirty minded?
Am I the only dirty minded old guy that pronounces "Phuket" in a more risque way?
Pete
Thanks, Pete!
Nah, you're not alone.
Purple Gene Reviews
'Indecent Behavior II'
Purple Genes' review of the Erotic Thriller "Indecent Behavior II" (1994) directed by Carlo Gustaff.
I was seduced into watching a pseudo-sexy salacious erotic "B" movie last night....and I found an amazing "Six degrees of Separation".........I can tie Terry Gross of NPRs' "Fresh Air" to Ronald Reagan........Let me explain !!!! It all starts with the Queen of Sleazy late night Erotica - Shannon Tweed and her tremendous playboy of the year in 1982 - TITTIES.....She perfected a genre of faux fuck flicks that kept you watching and waiting for her big beautiful boobs to appear....."Cannibal Women of the Avocado Jungle" (1989)..."Lethal Woman" (1990)...."Naked Truth" (1992)....."Night Eyes II, and III"...."Body Chemistry"..."Scorned"....."Illicit Dreams"...."Victim of Desire"..."Dead Sexy"......on and on and on.....well last night she was on Showtime West starring in "Indecent Behavior II" with James Brolin (Husband of Barbra Streisand and father of Josh Brolin who just got in trouble for beating his wife of 3 months Diane Lane!!!!).....but let's go back to the 6 degrees thing first before we review this fine flick.....
Shannon Tweed was born in Canada with her big boobs and came to America and became Playboy Playmate of the year in 1982. After appearing on "Falcon Crest" and "Days of Our Lives"...she worked her way into this long string of Titty Flicks...and at the same time she married Gene Simmons (note from marty - Shannon Tweed & Gene Simmons have never married, but they have been roommates since 1983) of the glam/rock band KISS. Now Gene (with the long fire-breathing tongue) just so happened to have been a guest on the National Public Radio show "Fresh Air" hosted by .....who else but Terry Gross (Terry almost walked out of the interview because Simmons asked her to spread her legs for him!!) . So our six degrees begins here......From Terry Gross to Gene Simmons to Shannon Tweed to Jan Michael Vincent who was in the first "Indecent Behavior" to James Brolin who was in "Indecent Behavior II" to.........James Brolin playing the "Gipper" in the made for TV movie "The Reagans" (2003) - which was banned by the conservative creeps from being shown on CBS!!!!!! There you have it...now the movie.....
Reporter Shoshona Reed (Elizabeth Sandifer) is blackmailing information from some bad guys and she is about to EXPOSE them....so she gets murdered...sex therapist Rebecca Mathis (Shannon Tweed) is a suspect...the killer could also be a rich impotent business man named Tom Mueller (Craig Stepp) or even crazed convict Darryl Martine (Chad McQueen) but Rebecca hooks up with detective Liam Odonnell (James Brolin) and I mean HOOKS UP.....out comes the titties all over harry chested Brolin (I wonder if Jim and Babs have ever sat up and watched this movie!!) and who cares what else happens or "Who dunnit" - We've got Shannon Tweed all over the screen with her 36 DD naturals bouncing up and down over Brolin....and the dumb look on his face is priceless......By the way, there is a cameo by another big breasted made for TV erotica STAR - Nikki Fritz ("Bare Wench Project" - "Secret Pleasures" and "Night Cap"). People watch these movies for one thing and one thing only...actually TWO things only....You guessed it....and Shannon Tweed always delivers..........
Purple Gene gives "Indecent Exposure II" 2 Titties out of 10 because that's all it needs!!!!!
Purple Gene
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Cool, overcast, but no rain.
The view from Signal Hill was so clear that the hills of Catalina looked like a backdrop for downtown Long Beach.
Brian Wilson was on Leno Wednesday night performing 'Good Vibrations'. He was fabulous, and the theremin was a wonderful bonus.
Co-Hosting People's Choice Awards
Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander has it on good authority that his job as co-host of the People's Choice Awards on Sunday is unlikely to have a big payoff.
"My good friend Jerry Seinfeld had the greatest quote, and it's so true. He said these things are a no-win situation: If you really screw it up, you're a complete jerk. If it goes brilliantly, all you get is they ask you to do it again," Alexander said.
He'll share the adventure of hosting with Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who stars with Alexander in the new CBS sitcom "Listen Up."
Scheduled presenters at the ceremony airing 9 p.m. EST Sunday on CBS include Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, Ellen DeGeneres, Josh Duhamel, William Shatner and Prince.
Jason Alexander
Tsunami Victims Auction
Jane Kaczmarek
Actress Jane Kaczmarek is calling on her fellow celebrities to donate the fancy clothes off their backs for an auction to raise money for victims of the tsunami disaster.
Kaczmarek, who plays Frankie Muniz's mom on television's "Malcolm in the Middle," and her husband, "The West Wing" actor Bradley Whitford, are sponsoring a "Clothes Off Our Back" auction beginning the day after the Jan. 16 Golden Globe Awards.
She and her husband started the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation in 2002. It collects clothes and accessories from celebrities and designers and auctions them to raise money for children's charities.
Jane Kaczmarek
Still Barred From U.S.
Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)
The singer formerly known as Cat Stevens is still barred from entering the United States because of terror intelligence that identifies him as a security threat.
"The intelligence is the same. The reasons we rejected him several months ago still exist in my mind," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday of Yusuf Islam, the "Peace Train" singer who largely gave up music after converting to Islam in the late 1970s.
In November, he was awarded the "Man for Peace" prize in Rome by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who praised him for charity work and standing by his convictions despite personal hardships.
Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)
Blames 'Fundamentalism' In US For Flop
Oliver Stone
Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone blamed "raging fundamentalism in morality" for the frosty reception that his new film "Alexander" is getting in his native United States.
In London for its British premiere, Stone, 58, said that after a career full of cage-rattling work, he thought a biopic of Alexander the Great, the 4th century Macedonian-born conquerer, would be "a safe subject".
"There's a raging fundamentalism in morality in the United States. From day one audiences didn't show up. They didn't even read the reviews in the south because the media was using the words: 'Alex is Gay'."
Oliver Stone
Best 'Guitar Face'
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix not only had the skills to become a rock legend - he apparently had the right look as well. A recent poll found that Hendrix had the best "guitar face" - the look guitarists get when trying to nail a high note or power chord.
Hendrix received 24 percent of the 3,000 votes cast online by the public and a poll by some 20 celebrity judges. B.B. King captured 18 percent of the vote, followed by Angus Young of AC/DC with 16 percent.
Jimi Hendrix
Back for One More Season
'The Osbournes'
Mark your %&.! calendars - the Ozzy Osbourne clan will be back Jan. 17 with the final season of their reality show, MTV announced Thursday.
"After three years, the MTV cameras became part of the family, documenting what is possibly the most dramatic year we have had," Sharon Osbourne said in a statement. "Though it was rough sometimes, we are truly blessed to have had this amazing experience."
The show will wrap up with 10 new episodes, MTV said.
'The Osbournes'
Picked Up, Again
'Dr. Phil'
Distributor King World said Wednesday that syndicated talk show 'Dr. Phil' has been renewed on stations representing 80% of the country through the 2008-09 season, including all top 20 markets.
"Dr. Phil" consistently ranks as the No. 2 talker behind "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Currently in its third season, "Dr. Phil" was created by Winfrey's Harpo Prods.
'Dr. Phil'
Court Dismisses Suit Over Death
Aaliyah
Aaliyah's record company cannot sue the video producer that arranged the 2001 airplane flight from the Bahamas in which the singer was killed, an appeals court has ruled.
The Manhattan court dismissed the lawsuit brought by Blackground Records, saying only the singer's parents had a right to sue for her wrongful death. The court said the parents did so and were compensated.
In 2003, Aaliyah's parents, Michael and Diana Haughton, filed papers in Los Angeles court saying they had reached an undisclosed settlement with the plane's operator, owners and flight broker.
Aaliyah
Producer To Run Paramount
Brad Grey
Talent agent and producer Brad Grey will take over the Paramount Motion Picture Group, succeeding Sherry Lansing who led the studio for 12 years.
Grey will become chairman and chief executive of Paramount on or before March 1, it was announced Thursday by Viacom Inc., the media giant that owns Paramount. Details on his compensation package were not disclosed.
Grey, 47, has run the talent agency Brillstein-Grey Entertainment and also produced films and television shows, most notably the HBO series "The Sopranos."
Grey is an unusual choice because he has not worked inside a Hollywood studio. But Viacom noted that his relationships with actors, directors and other talent would help reinvigorate the studio, which has languished over the past few years.
Brad Grey
Documentary Comments on Nazi Ideology
'Hitler's Hit Parade'
"Hitler's Hit Parade" is hardly a trip down memory lane. This film's juxtaposition of romantic songs and wartime brutalities can cause viewers to squirm or turn away in horror.
The disturbing collage of Third Reich musicals, newsreels, home movies, cartoons and commercials, including rare segments in color, shows how the Nazis relied on escapist entertainment to promote their murderous ideology and bolster the veneer of normalcy during the nightmare of Adolf Hitler's reign.
The 75-minute production, co-directed by Oliver Axer and Susanne Benze, opened Wednesday for a two-week run in New York - the U.S. premiere after limited screenings in Germany. It's a provocative study of seductive propaganda techniques, a partial explanation of the riddle of mass German support for Hitler.
Portraying themselves as protectors of German traditions and historic continuity, the Nazis promised law and order and national respect at a time of economic despair when Hitler came to power in 1933. Lighthearted entertainment was allowed to flourish to distract Germans from harsh realities of totalitarianism.
For more, 'Hitler's Hit Parade'
Adopts Stray Hippo
Tortoise
A 120-year-old giant tortoise living in a Kenyan sanctuary has become inseparable from a baby hippo rescued by game wardens, officials said on Thursday.
The year-old hippo calf christened Owen was rescued last month, suffering from dehydration after being separated from his herd in a river that drains into the Indian Ocean.
However, Owen's relationship with the Aldabran tortoise named Mzee, Swahili for old man, may end soon. The sanctuary plans to place Owen with Cleo, a lonely female hippo.
Tortoise
Nominees
Directors Guild
The Directors Guild of America has announced the nominees for its annual awards. They are: Clint Eastwood ("Million Dollar Baby"), Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland"), Taylor Hackford ("Ray"), Alexander Payne ("Sideways") and Martin Scorsese ("The Aviator"). DGA President Michael Apted made the announcement this morning (Thursday) in Los Angeles.
The nomination for the DGA Feature Film Award is the first for Marc Forster and Alexander Payne.
This marks Eastwood's third nomination for this award, who was also nominated for "Mystic River" (2003) and "Unforgiven" (1992). Hackford was previously nominated for the award for "An Officer and a Gentleman" (1982), while Scorsese has been nominated six times, for "Gangs of New York" (2002), "The Age of Innocence" (1993), "Goodfellas" (1990), "Raging Bull" (1980), and "Taxi Driver" (1976).
Directors Guild
In Memory
Makgatho Mandela
Makgatho Mandela, former President Nelson Mandela's only surviving son, died Thursday of AIDS-related complications. He was 54.
Mandela announced Thursday that his eldest son died, saying the only way to fight the disease's stigma was to speak openly about it.
Mandela said he had been unaware of his son's illness when he began lobbying for more openness about the pandemic some three years ago.
Mandela's position contrasts with that of President Thabo Mbeki, who has denied knowing anyone who died of the disease. Mandela declined to comment on Mbeki's views.
Makgatho, an attorney, was one of four children from Nelson Mandela's first marriage to Evelyn Mase, who died in May 2004.
Makgatho Mandela
In Memory
Danny Sugerman
Doors manager Danny Sugerman, who befriended the members of the legendary Los Angeles rock band as a youngster and spent the rest of his life tending to its legacy, has died after a battle with lung cancer, associates said on Thursday. He was 50.
Sugerman, who died at his home on Wednesday, was responsible for reigniting interest in the band with the best-selling 1980 Doors memoir "No One Here Gets Out Alive," which he co-wrote with veteran music journalist Jerry Hopkins.
The Doors, famed for such tunes as "Light My Fire" and "Riders on the Storm," enjoyed a wild heyday in the late 1960s. Sugerman went along for the ride, hooking up with the band when he was 14 after seeing them play a show.
He answered fan mail, compiled a scrapbook, and then Morrison suggested putting him on the payroll as a management associate. He went on to manage the affairs of Densmore, Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger after Morrison died of heart failure in 1971.
Densmore, who visited Sugerman shortly before he died, said he had been sick for some years. "Cigarettes took him out," he added.
Sugerman is survived by his wife, Fawn Hall, who testified against her former boss Oliver North in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, and by a brother and sister.
Danny Sugerman
