'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Cool Site
'Skinema'
Can't wait for the Oscars?
Why not try the sixth annual Skinnies Awards, featuring the significant
entertainment skin conditions from last year.
This year's winners cover the full range of the body's largest organ.
Nicole Kidman's getting nosy, Al Pacino has a co-star hidden in his
fingernails, and what can't Windex do for the skin? The dermatologic
obsessions of Mike Myers, a movie icon gets skin cancer, and one cinema
lesion gets particular exposure.
Also featuring the Os-scars of the 2003 Academy award nominees. Who
wins with the most skin lesions? Far and away, it's... Catherine
Zeta-Jones! Check it out...
Topical as always, the skin in cinema site
--Vail Reese, MD
Thanks, Vail. Love the site!
Boycott Overblown
Dixie Chicks
While rock acts like Pearl Jam have gone relatively unchallenged when protesting the war on Iraq, the Dixie Chicks found out the hard way that such sentiments didn't fly as well with the flag-waving country set. After Lubbock, Texas, born singer Natalie Maines' remarked at a March 10th London show that she was "ashamed the resident of the United States is from Texas," reports of boycotts abounded. But Jaye Albright, a consultant to fifty country radio stations in the U.S. and Canada, calls the controversy "a tempest in a teapot."
"Out of some 2,100 country stations in America, maybe five or six boycotted the Chicks, and most of them only for a day or two as a publicity stunt," says Albright, singling out a bulldozing of Chicks CDs by Shreveport, Louisiana, station KRMD that drew an estimated 200 to 400 listeners. "A station can get that many people at any remote broadcast from a car dealership. It was very underwhelming, almost laughable."
The Dixie Chicks' U.S. arena tour, which kicks off May 1st in Greenville, South Carolina, has also enjoyed strong sales. The tour set an industry mark, selling out fifty-one out of fifty-nine dates the day tickets went on sale.
Maines quickly issued a personal apology to resident Bush last week for her "disrespectful" remark. So far the storm has had no ill effect on the album sales for the band's Home, which sold 124,000 over the past week, good enough for Number Four on the charts. Next week's charts, which represent the sales week from March 16th through March 22nd, might provide an even better barometer as to whether the statement will have any ill effect on the band's popularity.
Dixie Chicks
~~ Czach
Thanks, Czach!
Funny thing is, Natalie was right - Pickles' husband was born, bred & educated back east. Pretty sad Natalie had to apologize for telling the truth. Yeah, the grown-ups are in charge...
Musical Guests: David Bowie, and the Ghost of Woody Guthrie.
Reader Comment
Re: Howard Stern
Howard Stern - the latest media whore
He said this morning on his show that he is "for" DUMBya's war.
I wonder if he is going to make any of his three daughters enlist to go fight.
Terry C
Thanks, Terry!
Maybe one of Howard's daughters can get an appointment to the Air Force Academy, another could book Tailhook conventions, and the littlest one
could grow up to be an underwear model (just like daddy's girlfriend), as well as a pin-up girl for the guys at the Air Force Academy, completing the circle.
Reader Commentary
The Chickenhawk Bill
I just sent this to Congressman Moran and Senators Allen and Warner: This might be a repeat for some but I can't help it, it's too important.
I , Nancy Maynard, support the Presidential Qualification (better known as the Chickenhawk Bill. No one should be allowed to serve their country as Commander-In-Chief unless they have served active duty in the military during a war or conflict. It should be considered qualification for the job.
This goes as well for the Vice President and Secretary of Defense. Because Congress has abrogated their responsibility to declare war, we must depend upon the Commander-in-Chief, Vice President and Secretary of Defense to have the knowledge of what war is before committing the nation to any war or conflict. Anyone with the ability to declare war should know and understand what war is and have seen the death and destruction it causes.
~ Nancy Maynard
Thanks, Nancy.
Although this law would preclude someone like Bill Clinton being elected. Cripes, look at the last election where a chickenhawk was encouraged by his party to question the patriotism of the incumbent, a war veteran, who lost limbs, and got away with it. The soulless know no shame, and stupid has no bounds.
Reader Request
from Ray
I am on a bulletin board out of the the Daytona Paper. It is loaded with freepers, conservatives and other typical haters. As a minority, I am asking you to publish their address with a request for some liberal leaning types to join and help support a few lonely voices of reason.
Here is the URL: US Moderate's Bulletin Board
If you publish this, my name on the site is USModerate. They can't deal with that either, since I don't accept everything Bush does, I must be a flaming liberal.
ray
Thanks, Ray! Will try to pop in over the weekend - nothing like spanking monkey butt on a weekend night!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast til noon, cleared nicely.
Jo the (remaining) lizard molted today.
Around lunchtime, had a bit of excitement. Got a call from the school nurse - seems the kid incurred a playground injury. He had his hands outstretched, fingers fully extended, when another kid
ran into the left pinkie finger, and it swelled up real good. I hate hospitals & insurance-shit, so I'll be good, and not go anal with details, but, once I had 4 root canals in one day - it was faster, and more fun.
Thankfully, the finger isn't broken, but it's going to be splinted & taped for a few days, and he might be a bit cranky. Speaking of cranky...
Tonight, Friday, CBS is supposed to have lots of March Madness.
On a RERUN Dave (from 1/10/03), are Andy Richter and Rich Hall.
On a RERUN Craiggers are Ashton Kutcher, Alison Eastwood, the Used.
NBC is supposed to offer the Series Premiere of 'Search For America's Most Talented Kids', followed by a
FRESH 'Ed' (at its new time), and then a FRESH 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
On a RERUN Jay are Nicole Kidman, Dame Edna, and Shania Twain.
On a RERUN Conan are Regis Philbin, Ja Rule, and Kevin McDonald.
On a RERUN Carson Daly are Stuart Scott, Kevin Brennan, and 50 Cent.
ABC is supposed to have a RERUN 'America's Funniest Home Videos', followed by another RERUN
'America's Funniest Home Videos', and then '20/20'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Frankie Muniz, Freeway & Beanie Sigel, and this week's guest co-host Fred Durst.
The WB is supposed to open with a RERUN 'What I Like About You', followed by a FRESH 'Do Over', then
a RERUN 'Reba', followed by a FRESH 'Grounded For Life'.
Faux is supposed to have a FRESH 'Fastlane', followed by a FRESH 'John Doe'.
UPN is supposed to have the movie 'Showdown In Little Tokyo'.
Check local PBS listings for 'NOW With Bill Moyers'. It's great TV!
HBO has 'Real Time With Bill Maher'. (Just love my Friday night 'Bills-TV'!)
In the middle of the night, AMC offers one of the best pajama party movies of all time -
'The Tingler' (also see:
The Tingler (1959), with
Vincent Price, and directed by
William Castle.
TCM seems to celebrate girl's names...
Rebecca (1940) (directed by
Alfred Hitchcock, based on a book by
Daphne Du Maurier, with a screenplay by
Philip MacDonald, and starring
Laurence Olivier as George Fortescu Maximillian 'Maxim' de Winter,
Joan Fontaine as his new wife, the Second Mrs. de Winter, and
Judith Anderson as the insane Mrs. Danvers),
then, Gigi (1958),
Lili (1953), and
Janie (1944).
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Athenians participate a vigil in front of Greek parliament protesting U.S-led attack on Iraq, March 21, 2003. U.S. resident George W. Bush) unleashed war on Iraq with dawn air raids to kill Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqi leader survived and spat defiance at America.
Photo by Yiorgos Karahalis
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
New McCarthy Era Dawning?
Gossip As Propaganda
A columnist at the New York Post has run an article called "Don't Aid These Saddam Lovers" in an attempt to start a boycott against celebrities who have made their anti-war feelings known.
Richard Johnson--who usually writes gossip for the tabloid-style newspaper--has apparently branched out into political commentary, and urges his readers to stop supporting movies, television shows, concerts, and albums by artists Johnson deems unpatriotic. Among the targeted stars are Fred Durst and his band, Limp Bizkit--whose fans, Johnson implies, are too stupid to even "know what Iraq is"--as well as Samuel L. Jackson (called a "drone" in the article), Danny Glover, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Janeane Garofalo, Susan Sarandon, and Laurence Fishburne.
The article is in violation of a recent directive from the Screen Actors Guild, which reminded media outlets of their impartial stance and warned against "blacklisting" behavior reminiscent of 1950s-era McCarthyism.
Gossip As Propaganda
E! Still Plans Oscar Pre-Show
Joan & Melissa
E! still plans live, all-day coverage from the Kodak Theater, beginning with a countdown special at noon ET. Joan and Melissa Rivers will take over at 6 p.m. ET. Rather than focusing on fashion faux pas, however, the Rivers tandem will offer play-by-play commentary on the Oscar arrivals and storylines.
"Joan and Melissa will do their two-hour show," said Gary Snegaroff, E!'s vice president of original production. "The two-hour show will focus more on the Oscar ceremony itself...There will definitely be predictions, as well as discussions on the latest dish with what's going on with the parties. They will have it covered from every angle." (E! Online is a division of E! Entertainment Networks.)
No doubt, they'll also be talking about the Prius gas-electric hybrid vehicles that some stars--most notably Cameron Diaz, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams--plan to take to the ceremony in lieu of gas-guzzling limos. The celebs hope to raise awareness of America's dependence on foreign oil and the need to develop alternative energy sources.
Other stars, including nominees Julianne Moore, Salma Hayek and Michael Moore, along with Dustin Hoffman, Jim Carrey, Ben Affleck, Kirsten Dunst, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello, plan on modeling "peace pins" provided by Artists United to Win Without War.
Joan & Melissa
Dana Summers holds a sign in Times Square in New York during antiwar rally Thursday, March 20, 2003. Galvanized by the American attack on Iraq, anti-war activists around the country set off their own barrage of street protests, chaining themselves together, blocking workers and traffic, walking out of classes, and parading in mock chemical suits
Photo by Robert Mecea
Oscars Dress Stolen in London
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie was left frockless for Sunday's Academy Awards after the gown she'd planned to wear was stolen from the car of British designer Scott Henshall.
The 3,000 pound ($4,700) gown was among seven dresses, jewelry and accessories worth a total of 40,000 pounds ($62,400) that were snatched from the back of the designer's convertible in London's fashionable Knightsbridge district Wednesday, said spokesman Paul Bhari.
A "devastated" Henshall flew to Los Angeles with alternative dresses for Jolie to consider, Bhari said.
All seven dresses, featuring heavy beading and trimmings such as ostrich feathers, were from Henshall's catwalk collection of 20 dresses that were shown at last month's London Fashion Week. No copies had been made.
Angelina Jolie
Warns of Deregulation Danger
Writers Guild
The Writers Guild of America has singled out media industry consolidation as a culprit in the loss of 10,000 jobs in California over the past three years and warns the trend will persist if ownership limits are eased.
"More jobs will be lost if consolidation continues," said WGA West assistant executive director Charles Slocum in testimony Wednesday before a State Senate committee. "The economy is less robust when it depends on a few large companies rather than a web of a thousand small firms."
The hearing was the latest chapter in the ongoing debate over consolidation of conglomerates, with the Federal Communications Commission expected to vote this summer on easing ownership caps, such as those preventing media companies from owning multiple properties in one market.
Slocum attacked the validity of the industry's argument that the increase in TV channels has led to an increase in diversity and choice, noting that 80 percent of the highly viewed channels are owned by just six companies -- with five of those companies also producing 80 percent of prime time TV.
"What seems like 100 channels is really five if you measure by who owns the channels or the programs on them," Slocum added. "The major economic implication of this consolidation is the gradual exclusion of small businesses from the entertainment industry."
Writers Guild
Opera Singers Cancel Performances
'Faust'
Soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna have canceled their remaining performances of ``Faust'' atthe Metropolitan Opera because of the war in Iraq.
The husband-and-wife team left the United States after Mondaynight's performance, Met spokesman Francois Giuliani said Thursday. That was the fourth performance in the run.
``They had war concerns and terrorism concerns,'' Giuliani said,adding they also cited ``their presence being needed for their children in France.''
'Faust'
www.metopera.org
Thanks, Tim H!
Back in Rehab
Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli, who last week suddenly canceled her lavish first wedding anniversary celebrations, is back in rehab for what her publicist called an eight-week "self-help" program.
"She is in the Caron center where she is obliged to go for eight weeks every year for a self-help program," publicist Warren Cowan said on Thursday. Cowan said Minnelli went into the center in rural Pennsylvania two weeks ago. He was unsure when she would leave.
Four times married Minnelli, 57, has battled addictions to alcohol and painkillers for years and came near death in 2000 after a bout of viral encephalitis.
But she relaunched both her career and her personal life with her marriage to producer David Gest in March last year.
Liza Minnelli
Says Oscars Will Be Her Swan Song
Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor says that Sunday's scheduled Oscar ceremony will mark her swan song from acting, and will instead focus on AIDS activism.
Taylor, 71, is expected to take part in a walk-past featuring all past winners in the 75-year history of the Oscars. Organizers are planning for the show to go ahead in a scaled-down version despite the start of war against Iraq.
"That will be my swan song on the stage. I've retired from acting; it doesn't really interest me that much anymore. It seems kind of superficial because now my life is AIDS, not acting," Taylor told the syndicated TV show Access Hollywood in an interview broadcast this week.
Taylor won two Oscars for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" in 1967 and for "Butterfield 8" in 1961, but has made few movies since the late 1980s. She was one of the first celebrities to embrace AIDS activism, taking up the cause when her friend, actor Rock Hudson, died in 1985.
Elizabeth Taylor
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Withdraws From Oscars Ceremony
Will Smith
Will Smith is skipping the Academy Awards in light of the U.S.-led assault on Iraq.
The "Men in Black" star, who was scheduled to be a presenter at Sunday's Oscars, didn't intend his withdrawal as a protest over the military action that began Wednesday, his publicist, Stan Rosenfield, said Thursday.
"Not in any way, shape or form," Rosenfield said. "There's no agenda, there's no speeches. He just did not feel personally comfortable in going because of the world situation."
Will Smith
Snarky Gossip
Hung Hollywood
'Details' magazine is getting plenty of co-operation on an upcoming story about the best-endowed leading men in Hollywood. When word got out about the story, publicists started calling to say that "their clients should be included in the article, or [offering] rumors or anecdotes about the stars they represent," a source told Msnbc.com's Jeannette Walls. "But they're insisting that they be identified only as 'someone close to the star' or 'a well-placed Hollywood insider,' so it doesn't look like they're trying to plant this information." "There was some lobbying," the article's author Whitney McNally says, "but they're just going to have to wait to see who made the cut."
Hung Hollywood
Here's a site that's already done their research on this topic, but with musicians...
Favored for Documentary Oscar
'Bowling for Columbine'
Never the glitziest award category, Sunday's Oscar race for best documentary feature may be enlivened by an unlikely standard bearer -- a paunchy white guy in a baseball cap.
Director Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine," a popular and provocative documentary on the roots of gun violence in America, is the clear favorite to take home the Academy Award.
The $4 million documentary inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, has so far grossed more than $19 million, a record for the genre.
Moore, a social satirist who rose to fame with 1989's "Roger and Me," a look at the impact of a General Motors plant shutdown on the residents of Flint, Michigan, has made a career out of being a corporate gadfly.
And, given his unabashed political views -- a segment of "Columbine" details America's international military aggressions -- an acceptance speech by Moore is unlikely to overlook current world events.
Matthew Bernstein, associate professor of film studies at Emory University in Atlanta, notes that "Roger and Me" was not even allowed to be nominated for a documentary Oscar because its personal emphasis and playful style did not fit with the Academy's traditional notions of what a documentary should be -- i.e., Ken Burns' style of talking heads and the filmmaker behind the camera, not in front of it.
'Bowling for Columbine'
Finnish Filmmaker Skipping Oscars
Aki Kaurismaeki
Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaeki, nominated for an Oscar in the foreign language film category, said he will not attend the awards ceremony gala this weekend due to war on Iraq.
"Neither I or anybody else from Sputnik (production company) can participate in the Oscar gala at the same time as the US government is preparing a crime against humanity due to economic interests," Kaurismaeki told the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a letter, cited by news agency FNB.
Last September Kaurismaeki declined an invitation to attend the showing of one of his films at a movie festival in New York, in an expression of solidarity after Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami was refused a US visa to attend the same event.
Aki Kaurismaeki
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Insurer Sues For $612,000
Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall, who stars in the television series "The Dead Zone," is being sued for more than $900,000 (U.S. $612,000) by the show's insurer, which says he failed to disclose a mental illness.
In the negligent misrepresentation lawsuit, Chubb Insurance of Canada claims production of the series in Vancouver was disrupted when Hall was admitted to St. Paul's Hospital on May 11, 2001, following an episode of "bipolar affective disorder depression with psychotic features."
He was discharged from the hospital a day later and returned to his home in New York, according to documents filed last week in British Columbia Supreme Court.
Hall had stopped taking his prescribed medication for the illness, previously known as manic depression, according to the court filing.
After filming was delayed until Aug. 14, 2001, the production company, Lions Gate Film Corp., submitted an insurance claim and received $912,042.28, which Chubb is trying to recover.
According to the court filing, cast members filled out a form asking, among other questions, whether they'd been "under a doctor's care for any physical or mental condition during the past five years."
Hall replied only that he'd been under a doctor's care for a broken finger in 1994, Chubb's lawyers wrote.
Anthony Michael Hall
Thousands of anti-war protesters participate in a march in Montreal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basic Cable Networks
Rankings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of March 10-16. Each ratings point represents 1,067,000 households. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses.
1. "WWE Raw Zone" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNN, 3.4, 3.6 million homes.
2. Movie: "Pretty Woman" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), TBS, 3.1, 3.31 million homes.
3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNN, 3.1, 3.3 million homes.
4. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.0, 3.19 million homes.
5. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.0, 3.15 million homes.
6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.8, 2.93 million homes.
7. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Sunday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.7, 2.91 million homes.
8. "Law & Order" (Monday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.6, 2.82 million homes.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Thursday, 6 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.6, 2.79 million homes.
10. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.6, 2.77 million homes.
11. "Larry King Live" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), CNN, 2.5, 2.68 million homes.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.63 million homes.
13. Movie: "A Vision of Murder" (Sunday, 6 p.m.), Lifetime, 2.5, 2.63 million homes.
14. "Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius" (Tuesday, 6 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.61 million homes.
15. "The O'Reilly Factor" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Fox News Channel, 2.4, 2.59 million homes.
Rankings
The Hastings Bad Cinema Society
'The STINKERS'
THE COMPLETE LIST OF "WORST OF 2002" STINKERS WINNERS
WORST FILM
Swept Away
WORST SENSE OF DIRECTION
John McTiernan (Rollerball)
WORST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
Tom Green (Stealing Harvard)
WORST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE
Madonna (Swept Away)
WORST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Hayden Christensen (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones)
WORST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Madonna (Die Another Day)
WORST SCREENPLAY FOR A FILM GROSSING MORE THAN $100 MILLION WORLDWIDE*
*using Hollywood math
Scooby-Doo
MOST PAINFULLY UNFUNNY COMEDY
tie: Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
& The Master of Disguise
WORST SEQUEL
Analyze That
WORST REMAKE
Rollerball
WORST SONG IN A FILM OR ITS END CREDITS
"The Penis Song" from "The Sweetest Thing"
MOST INTRUSIVE MUSICAL SCORE
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
WORST ON-SCREEN COUPLE
Madonna and Adriano Giannini (Swept Away)
MOST ANNOYING ON-SCREEN GROUP
The Most Miscast Voice Ensemble in Motion Picture History (Pinocchio)
MOST ANNOYING FAKE ACCENT - MALE
Harrison Ford (K-19: The Widowmaker)
MOST ANNOYING FAKE ACCENT - FEMALE
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Femme Fatale & Rollerball)
MOST DISTRACTING CELEBRITY CAMEO APPEARANCE
Michael Jackson (Men in Black II)
MOST ANNOYING NON-HUMAN CHARACTER
Scrappy-Doo (Scooby-Doo)
WORST RESURRECTION OF A TV SHOW
I Spy
The Hastings Bad Cinema Society
Many thanks to Joe Bacon!
Die beiden Kaiserschnurrbart - Tamarinen posieren am Donnerstag, 13. Maerz 2003, fuer die Medien im Frankfurter Zoo. Die am 13. Februar 2003 geborenen weiblichen Zwillinge werden von Tierpflegern in direkter Nachbarschaft zu den leiblichen Eltern von Hand aufgezogen.
Photo by Bernd Kammerer
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
