'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Time To Say Buh-Bye To MSNBC
Savage Weiner
When word reached conservative radio host and author Michael Savage that certain gay and women's groups were peppering MSNBC with letters asking the cable news network to reconsider their decision
to bring "The Savage Nation" to television, he went ballistic.
"You rats. You stinking rats who hide in the sewers. You think you can go after my income? You think you can kill my advertisers? You think I'm Dr. Laura? You think I'm gonna roll over like a pussy?
You're wrong. I'm going to find out where you get your money from. You live by handouts, all of you. You live off grants, all of you. You're a bunch of beggars, but you don't know how lucky you are,"
Savage ranted on his Thursday (Feb. 27) radio broadcast.
He goes on threaten the protesters, "If you continue this, we're going to go after your funding sources. And we will do everything we can within the legal realm to cut off that funding. We are also
going to go to the U.S. Justice Department under John Ashcroft. What you are doing is illegal. You think it's 1965 and I'm South Africa? I've got news for you: it's not 1965 and it ain't South Africa.
I'll cut your funding off, and if you break the law any further, I'll put you in jail."
"The addition of Michael Savage to the MSNBC lineup was made with the full awareness of his reputation for controversy and confrontation," says an NBC statement on the subject. "We respect the right
of those who wish to protest. However, we also strongly defend his new show as a legitimate attempt to expand the marketplace of ideas."
In recent weeks, MSNBC has expanded the marketplace of ideas by firing liberal host Phil Donahue and hiring Savage as well as right wing former-Congressmen Dick Armey and Joe Scarborough.
Savage Weiner
~~ Tim H
Thanks, Tim!
Jeez, what a week for the Peacock throne - er, network.
Hired another hateful, angry, middle-aged, small-dicked white man, and 2 former politicians - one of whom had a dead intern in his office - but, since he
had the magic (R) after his name, no special prosecutor or investigation was needed.
And quoting the late Sonny Bono 'The beat goes on...'
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast morning cleared to sunny afternoon.
The conference with the teacher went better than anticipated, although the teacher used the word 'ex-specially'. OMFG! Bit cheek, curled toes, clenched sphincter & said not a word.
Did the farmer's market/CostCo loop - strawberries & cauliflower are in season, and CostCo had more 'food ladies' than I've ever (13+ years) seen. The grazing was grand!
Conan had the line that smirk spoke at the time that 'Friends' usually airs, but no one raelly noticed - they thought smirk was Joey.
Tonight, Friday, CBS opens the evening with a FRESH 'Star Search', followed by a
RERUN 'Hack', and then '48 Hours'.
On a RERUN Dave are Stupid Pet Tricks, Tom Brokaw, and The Pretenders.
On a RERUN Craiggers are Julia Stiles, Derek Luke, and Joseph Arthur.
NBC opens with a FRESH 'Mr. Sterling', followed by 'Dateline', and then a RERUN
'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay is Jesse Malin.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Mena Suvari, Ice-T, and The Raveonettes.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Carmen Electra, Donnie Wahlberg, Ali G, Gary Gulman, and Sahara Hotnights.
ABC has a supposedly FRESH 'American's Funniest Home Videos', and while my TV Guidance system says that 2 FRESH
episodes of 'Drew Carey', I'll bet it turns out to be a RERUN 'America's Funniest Home Videos', followed by '20/20'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Tom Arnold, Bowling for Soup, and guest host Sarah Silverman.
The WB starts with a FRESH 'What I Like About You', followed by a RERUN 'Sabrina',
then a FRESH 'Reba', and a FRESH 'Grounded For Life'.
Faux offers a FRESH 'Fastlane', followed by a FRESH 'John Doe'.
UPN has the movie '3 Strikes'.
My local PBS station has NO 'NOW With Bill Moyers' tonight, and his time slot is mucked up the next couple of weeks. What an arfing pisser! Fridays had become my
favorite TV night with the Bills - First Bill Moyers on PBS, and then Bill Maher on HBO. While I may not always agree with both, it's so damn refreshing
to hear/see something that isn't Rove-approved-or-generated and/or hate-based - OTOH, how pathetic to be grateful for 2 hours (out of 168 in a week), between the 160+ channels we receive.
HBO has a FRESH 'Real Time With Bill Maher'.
TCM seems to be celebrating the Hollywood version of War. First up is
Sergeant York (1941) - about a pacifist who became the most decorated US soldier in WW I (the War to end all Wars).
Next is Top Gun (1986), and then
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987).
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Actor Steve Martin, pictured with large Oscar statues in this undated publicity photograph, will host the 75th Anniversary Academy Awards from Hollywood March 23, 2003. This will be
Martin's second appearance as Oscar-telecast host. Martin has served as a presenter on six shows. The show will be telecast in the United States on the ABC network and seen by worldwide audience as well.
Photo by Bob D'Amico
No 'Jane, You Ignorant Slut' Comments Planned
Bill & Bob
Former President Clinton and his 1996 election opponent Bob Dole are joining the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes" for weekly debates on national issues in the show's old "Point-Counterpoint" style.
The two agreed to 10 segments, starting Sunday night, but CBS executives say the network will consider extending the debates into next season.
Clinton said he often watches some of the political shows on cable television that degenerate into screaming matches.
"There may be a market for people who want light instead of heat," the former president said.
Clinton said that given their old jobs, both men want to be careful about what they say regarding any potential war with Iraq. All citizens want to be supportive of the armed forces, he said.
Clinton, who has reportedly been offered several television opportunities, said the CBS idea appealed to him because "60 Minutes" is a serious show. "It's just once a week and not too long, so we won't be in anybody's way," he said.
The segments will revive the "Point-Counterpoint" segments popular until they stopped airing in 1979, but will instead be called "Clinton/Dole" one week and "Dole/Clinton" the next week.
Bill & Bob
Celebrating 40th Anniversary
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are coming to China to celebrate their 40th anniversary, but most Chinese don't know Mick, concert organizers said Thursday.
Until this year, not a single disc by the Stones and their lead singer, Mick Jagger, had ever been officially released in the world's most populous nation, said Dai Renzhi, a spokeswoman for EMI Records
China. The company released "40 Licks," the Stones' compilation album, in China earlier this year.
Dai spoke at a news conference in Beijing to publicize the band's plan to play their first-ever China shows in April, with one performance in Shanghai and one in Beijing.
The British rock band's management was "puzzled" when organizers told them they needed time to educate Chinese music fans about the Stones and time to promote their tour dates, Chen said.
Rolling Stones
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Top TV Personality
Oprah Winfrey
America loves Oprah Winfrey — or so says a new online Harris poll.
"Everybody Loves Raymond" star Ray Romano moved up three spots a year ago to place second in the poll, and late-night talk show host David Letterman moves up from fourth to third on the list.
The rest of the top-ten TV personalities list includes, in order, Katie Couric, Bill O'Reilly, Jennifer Aniston, Dr. Phil McGraw, Tom Brokaw, Jay Leno and Dan Rather. Those who were in last
year's top-ten but have dropped out this year include Regis Philbin, Rosie O'Donnell, Drew Carey and Kelsey Grammer.
Oprah Winfrey
Former President Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, former Senate majority leader and the Republican candidate for the presidency who ran against Clinton in 1996, are interviewed on
CBS' 'The Early Show' Thursday, March 6, 2003, in New York. Clinton and Dole have agreed to debate weekly on the '60 Minutes' television program beginning Sunday, March 9 on the CBS network.
Photo by Jeffrey R. Staab
Laughing Through the Apocalypse
'Funny Times'
BY KEVIN HOFFMAN
It would seem to be a period of mourning for the left. For the first time since Eisenhower, Republicans control the White House and both houses of Congress. Funding for everything from the environment
to worker safety is being slashed. And we're about to go to war.
All of which would appear to make for a glum mood at Funny Times, the monthly Cleveland Heights humor paper. This left-leaning digest of cartoons and essays has long been a darling of progressives.
The Washington Post once gushed that Funny Times may be "the best leftist magazine in America." Famous subscribers have included Steven Spielberg and Jello Biafra, former singer of the Dead Kennedys.
Hillary Clinton even sent a change-of-address card when she moved from the Arkansas governor's mansion to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
But despite -- or perhaps because of -- the country's conservative tenor, Funny Times' staffers are having the time of their lives.
For one, business has never been better. Launched 17 years ago as a free biweekly, the paper now counts 62,000 subscribers and grows by a few thousand each year, says Business Manager George Cratcha.
Moreover, Dubya has been a boon for business. Protests against his policies -- particularly the war with Iraq -- have made for cost-efficient marketing, offering a convenient way for Funny Times to
reach its target audience, which the magazine describes as "people who think too much."
"The anti-war protests are helping us gather all the like-minded people in one place for us to market to, so Bush is doing that for us!" effuses Publisher and Editor Raymond Lesser.
For the rest, 'Funny Times'
Found In Rupert's Rag
Jeff Soref
Remember the name Jeff Soref. The openly gay heir to the Masterlock fortune is an up-and-comer in the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton had to visit his Gramercy Park apartment before he'd endorse her for the
Senate (Julia Roberts lives upstairs, and once flooded him with her overflowing bathtub). He's also been talked about as a successor to Andrew Tobias (author of best-selling investment guides) as treasurer
of the Democratic National Committee.
Jeff Soref
Speaking at Maine Graduation
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono has agreed to be the commencement speaker at the Maine College of Art's graduation ceremony in May, the college announced Thursday.
"As a pioneer in conceptual art, Yoko Ono exemplifies the artist as innovator, risk-taker, leader and global citizen," college president Christine Vincent said.
Ono has been involved in painting, drawing, sculpting, photography and film for more than 40 years. "Yes Yoko Ono," a retrospective of her paintings, sculpture, music and memorabilia
of her peace efforts with Lennon, exhibited in seven cities two years ago.
Yoko Ono
Found On The Net
Mister Rogers & Tony Perkins
Fred Rogers, who graduated from the Rollins Conservatory of Music in 1951, and eventually went on to achieve fame as television's Mister Rogers, remembers Tony as "musical" rather than athletic.
"I had a piano in my room because I was a composition major, and Tony used to stop by and play every once in awhile. He must have "been able to play by ear."
For musical boys like Tony, who were sexually ambiguous or simply slow to blossom (in Hollywood, Rock Hudson and his friends were using the word "musical" as a
code word for identifying other gay men), the theatre arts department offered refuge...
[Later on in the story]:...Around this time [mid '50s], Fred Rogers, who hadn't seen Tony since his freshman year at Rollins, ran into him on the street. "I was
working in New York and had gotten married in '52. Joanne and I were walking down Fifth Avenue, and all of a sudden we saw this person in sneakers on a bicycle. It
turned out to be Tony, and I hailed him.
"He was just thrilled to see us. He got off his bike and said, 'Come on! Let's go to the top of this building.' I don't remember what building it was, but we went to
the roof, he made paper airplanes, and we threw them off the top of the building. That was so typical :of Tony and his enthusiasm.
"I wish that we had been able to stay close after that. But his was a very different life from the one I had chosen."
quoted from -SPLIT IMAGE: The Life of Anthony Perkins, by Charles Winecoff, published in paperback by Plume (1997)
Mister Rogers & Tony Perkins
Hits Back at Tax Slurs
Sean Connery
James Bond actor Sir Sean Connery hit back at claims his tax exile status in the Bahamas undermined his staunch support for Scottish independence.
Connery, 72, revealed his tax records to The Herald newspaper, Glasgow, in a bid to forestall criticism ahead of May elections when he is expected to be an active supporter
of the independence-minded Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP).
He told the paper in an interview published on Thursday that he had paid $5.93 million in British tax since 1997.
"I'm an easy target because of my political opinions but I defy anyone in Scotland to find one detail where I knowingly ever did anything that was to the detriment of Scotland," Connery said. "It gets up my nose."
Sean Connery
Moving To CBS
Andy Richter
Andy Richter has signed on to star opposite Monica Potter ("Patch Adams") in "Lunchbox Chronicles," a sitcom about a widow raising two young kids. Richter will play her adorable best friend.
Richter is in second position on the project, since Fox has not yet decided the fate of its critically acclaimed laffer "Andy Richter Controls the Universe." While prospects for the show don't look good -- Fox
pulled it for the February sweeps and it didn't return this week to its 9:30 p.m. Sunday slot as planned -- there's always a chance the network could have a change of heart and order more episodes.
In addition to "Lunchbox," Richter has signed on for a small voiceover role in the CBS pilot "Harry's Girl." He'll contribute the voice of a dog who narrates the show.
Andy Richter
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
'The Nutty Professor' Was Crowning Achievement
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis says he wants to be remembered for the 1963 film "The Nutty Professor," which he considers the crowning achievement of his show business career.
"You know, every director in the history of cinema prays for the one work," said the 76-year-old Lewis in an interview published in The Kansas City Star. "And if you get the one work, you can sit
with your grandchildren and tell them you did something substantial. And I've had mine - `The Nutty Professor.' That's the one."
Lewis directed and starred in the movie, which he says was a critical and box-office success. "I mean, I did almost $31 million when tickets were a quarter," he said.
Jerry Lewis
An anti-war demonstrator holds a 'Yankie Poodle Dandy' banner which refers to Prime Minister Tony Blair, outside the Scottish Parliament buildings in Edinburgh, March 6, 2003. Several
hundred people took part in the march on Thursday to protest against possible war on Iraq.
Photo by Jeff J Mitchell
More Than A 'Cafeteria' Catholic
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson is furious at the New York Times over a story that will depict him as a pope-hating, conspiracy-minded cultist.
It's no wonder Gibson's upset. In a story in this Sunday's Times Magazine, Gibson embraces an ultra-traditional "strain of Catholicism rooted in the dictates of a
16th-century papal council and nurtured by a splinter group of conspiracy-minded Catholics, mystics, monarchists and disaffected conservatives."
The traditionalists disdain the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965, say Mass in Latin, and fast on Fridays. Women wear hats in church.
Gibson refused to be interviewed, but Noxon located the star's father, Hutton Gibson, in a Houston suburb. The elder Gibson has railed against the Vatican for more than 30 years, having
written such books as "Is the Pope Catholic?" and published a quarterly newsletter, "The War Is Now."
Hutton told Noxon that Vatican II was "a Masonic plot backed by the Jews," called Pope John Paul II "Garrulous Karolus, the Koran kisser," and denied that the Holocaust ever happened. "Go
ask an undertaker or the guy who operates the crematorium what it takes to get rid of a dead body," he said. "It takes one liter of petrol and 20 minutes. Now, six million?"
Mel Gibson has never expressed such views. But the Times article suggests that "The Passion" - the movie he's directing about the last 12 hours in Christ's life - could revive the
medieval charge that it was the Jews who killed Christ.
Mel Gibson
To Receive Harvey Award
Rich Little
Comedian-impressionist Rich Little will receive the 2003 Harvey Award from the James M. Stewart Museum Foundation on March 27.
The award is given annually to someone associated with Stewart whom the foundation judges to have continued the actor's tradition in the performing arts.
Stewart, who died in 1997 at 89, starred in the 1950 film "Harvey," in which his character, Elwood P. Dowd, befriends an invisible rabbit named Harvey. The award depicts a lamppost like the one in the film, where Dowd meets Harvey.
The museum is based in Stewart's Pennsylvania hometown, Indiana, about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Rich Little
The Jimmy Stewart Museum Web site
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Reflects on Drunken Driving Arrest
Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte says being arrested was the best thing that ever happened to him.
"Being out on the road drunk and driving isn't a good thing, and I'm glad I didn't have an accident. I was relieved when the siren came on because I knew it was over — the substance abuse, that is."
The actor was stopped by the California Highway Patrol for investigation of driving under the influence. Nolte says he'd been sober for eight years before that infamous slip, adding that he's not proud of his actions.
"That's just part of the problem about substance abuse: it appears at times I'm on top of it." He jokes that the photo of him in a Hawaiian shirt looking like a wild-man is one of his "finest performances."
Nick Nolte
Free speech, a key tenet of the U.S. Constitution, is facing unusual challenges in pre-war, post 9/11 America -- where wearing an anti-war T-shirt prompted an arrest and lampooning the
vice resident's wife drew a letter from a White House lawyer. The creator of satirical Web site, www.whitehouse.org, that took aim at Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice resident Dick Cheney,
received a letter from a counsel to the vice president, asking for the removal of pictures and a 'fictitious biography' of Mrs. Cheney. Instead, the website's creator John Wooden added
red clown noses to pictures of Mrs. Cheney, over the word 'CENSORED,' and posted the letter.
www.whitehouse.org
Virginia Police Recover
Cher's Wig
Police have recovered the teal-and-black wig that was reported stolen from Cher's concert tour.
A woman walked into one of the city police precincts and turned in the braided hairpiece, valued at between $8,000 and $10,000.
The surrender came Tuesday night after a city police employee overheard a man bragging in nearby Chesterfield County that he had the wig and informed Richmond police. The man later told a
detective that he had given it to an unknown woman outside the Richmond Coliseum after the Feb. 25 concert.
Cher's Wig
Called A Truce
Britney Spears & Fred Durst
Britney Spears & Fred Durst have finally called a truce, only days after Durst's embarrassing diss-and-tell on Howard Stern's radio show. "We had a conversation and have resolved our
differences privately," Britney's manager, Larry Rudolph, confirmed to People magazine after speaking to Durst. Adds Durst on his Web site: "Enough already about the 'Fred and Britney' thing.
I'm gonna do my best to put it behind me." As reported, the far-from-gallant Durst told Stern last week that he bedded Britney on their first night together - after she seduced him while
wearing a "see-through" shirt - and threw in some gratuitous details like the pop tart's disdain for bikini waxes. Now that he's stopped badmouthing Spears, Durst can pursue other passions,
like his new line of baseball caps.
Britney Spears & Fred Durst
Receive Honors This Week
Shania Twain & Eddy Arnold
Shania Twain is one of 11 nominees for induction to Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. It's a lot like the one in Hollywood, but farther north and east. The Canada Walk of Fame
pays tribute to Canadians with stars laid into the sidewalk in Toronto's theater district. On June 25 there will be a giant gala for the new inductees.
Country Music Hall of Famer Eddy Arnold and his wife Sally will also receive accolades today at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tenn. Arnold's career has
spanned six decades, and this year he donated much of his personal collection of career memorabilia to the Museum's permanent collection.
Shania Twain & Eddy Arnold
Obscenity Charge in S.C.
Luther Campbell
Former 2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell faces a felony charge after police said he led a sexually charged performance at a Dorchester County nightclub.
An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for the 42-year-old Florida-based rapper on a charge of presenting or participating in an obscene performance.
The October show reportedly featured naked people on stage at the End Zone nightclub.
"That might go over in South Beach or wherever he's from, but it's not going to fly in Dorchester County," prosecutor Walter Bailey said.
Luther Campbell
Sues Accuser, Claims Blackmail
Michael Flatley
"Lord of the Dance" star Michael Flatley filed a lawsuit on Thursday claiming that a woman who has accused him of rape and sued him for $35 million fabricated the story in a plot with her attorney to extort money.
The woman, identified in Flatley's suit as Tyna Marie Robertson, a resident of suburban Chicago, alleged in a lawsuit filed in Illinois on Tuesday that the 44-year-old performer sexually assaulted her in his Las Vegas hotel suite last October.
But in a suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, he accused Robertson and her lawyer, D. Dean Mauro, of defamation and civil extortion, saying she made up the story of rape and threatened to publicize the allegation in an attempt to blackmail him.
The woman filed a criminal complaint with police in Las Vegas last November alleging Flatley had forced her to have sex with him, but the investigation was dropped when she refused to cooperate, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.
Flatley acknowledged that he and Robertson, who met during a previous occasion in Las Vegas, had spent the night together in his room last Oct. 19 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, but he disputed her claims that he
sexually assaulted her in his bed while she was taking a nap.
Michael Flatley
Atavistic Airlines Assuages Egos
Hooters Air
If any of the passengers who boarded an aging Hooters Air 737 on Thursday suffered from a fear of flying, none showed it.
Perhaps it was the thought of attractive young women in hot pants and tight-fitting tank tops that set them ease.
In a throwback to an era when airlines sought to titillate as well as transport their largely male clientele, the Hooters of America restaurant chain christened its namesake air service on Thursday with a maiden flight between Atlanta and the resort town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The airline is admittedly starting off small.
Hooters Air
Widow With A Tatoo & An Opinion
'Do Not Resuscitate'
An 85 year-old widow is so determined not to be resuscitated against her will by doctors that she has tattooed the words "Do Not Resuscitate" across her chest.
Frances Polack, a former nurse, said she paid $40 for a tattoo with the instruction and a heart with a 'no-go' sign in red and blue to ensure medical staff knew she did not want to be revived.
"Years ago when I was nursing I could see they resuscitated so many people they shouldn't have," Polack told the Nursing Standard magazine.
The white-haired pensioner who lives in the New Forest in the south of England said she visited a local tattooist with a friend. "I don't know if I want to start a fashion, but I hope I will start a debate," she said.
'Do Not Resuscitate'
A three month old unnamed polar bear cub that a police officer rescued from native hunters near Fort Severn, Ontario, plays in an enclosure at his temporary home at the Metro Zoo in Toronto,
March 6, 2003. The cub reached the zoo after two flights, a short stay in a private home and a night in a jail cell. There are believed to be around 15,000 polar bears in Canada, but the species
is considered under threat because of extensive hunting and an increase of populated areas.
Photo by Mike Cassese
'The Osbournes'
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