'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Norman Solomon and Jeff Cohen: The Martin Luther King You Don't See on TV
Every year on April 4, as Americans commemorate MLK's death, we get perfunctory news reports that fail to account for the last several years of his life -- and for good reason.
Matthew Rothschild: Attack of the Mortgage Vultures (The Progressive; Posted on AlterNet.org)
Over the last decade, we have been witnessing some of the most brazen acts of mortgage entrapment ever to hit the American housing market.
Dr. Mark H. Shapiro: The Student Loan Trap (irascibleprofessor.com)
The Irascible Professor has commented a number of times in the past about the rapidly rising cost of a college education in the United States, and about the problems that creates for upward mobility in our society. One issue we haven't discussed previously is the extent to which the increasing cost of a college education is saddling both students and their parents with debts that often become unmanageable.
The great wine rip-off (guardian.co.uk)
Three bottles for the price of two. Two for the price of one. Forty per cent off this. Five pounds off that. The supermarkets and off-licences offer a dazzling confusion of 'bargains' and 'special offers'. But are they for real? Victoria Moore investigates.
Cassidy Hartmann: Come on, Get Happy, Says Positive Psychology Founder (philadelphiaweekly.com)
A Penn psychology professor thinks the oft-overlooked key to preventing depression is promoting joy.
ANDY BETA: Do Not Adjust Your Speakers (nysun.com)
The legend goes that in 1993, when Stefan Betke, the mastering engineer for the Berlin techno label Basic Channel, accidentally dropped his favorite microphone, the Waldorf 4-Pole-Filter, he was shocked to hear that it made everything sound like a...
David P. Powell: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (popmatters.com)
"You are NOT prepared," says Illidan, a bat-winged demon lord who soars through the opening cinematic for The Burning Crusade, the first major expansion to Blizzard's massively-multiplayer blockbuster, World of WarCraft. His gravelly voice is as indignant as it is menacing, as if players have shown up for honors English class at the Welton Academy without doing any of the assigned reading.
Cole Haddon: Auteur Erotica (sacurrent.com)
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, the makers of "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill," "Sin City" and "Spy Kids," respectively, have built a reputation as maverick filmmakers, and their latest, "Grindhouse" - a double-feature that pays homage to the low-budget, ultra-violent, ultra-sexualized "grindhouse" horror pics of the '70s - only reinforces that reputation. Long gone are the days of double features, but neither of these guys seem to have figured that out yet. Turns out, they don't have much patience for people who tell them what they can and can't do.
'I'm the last crazy artist' (guardian.co.uk)
Thanks to the end of a bitter 30-year feud, the deranged, gruesome movies of Alejandro Jodorowsky are finally hitting the big screen. Xan Brooks meets the director of "El Topo."
Student Loan Justice
Reader Comment
Re: Bald Eagle Chicks
Marty
The April 5th article about two Bald Eagle chicks hatching on Catalina Island is great. Found a picture of them, and also a site where there is a video of the eagles and chicks in their nest situated on a rock pinnacle 200 feet above the Pacific Ocean.
www.iws.org/
MAM
Thanks, Marianne!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, but cool, again.
Honors Announced
Peabody Awards
NBC trio "The Office," "Friday Night Lights" and "Scrubs," ABC's "Ugly Betty" and the late Ed Bradley's investigation of the Duke rape case for CBS "60 Minutes" are among the 2006 winners of the prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards.
HBO received five awards Wednesday, including one for Spike Lee's documentary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It also won for "Elizabeth I," "Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer," "Baghdad ER" and HBO Family's "The Music in Me," about young musicians.
The NBC version of the famed British series "The Office" -- which itself won a Peabody -- was honored because it "firmly established its own precise voice and studied brilliance," according to Peabody judges. "Scrubs" was praised for its parody of "The Wizard of Oz," and the critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged "Friday Night Lights" was celebrated for its "clear-eyed" reality. "Betty" is "unmistakably graced with wry intelligence and heart," the Peabody judges said.
ABC News won two Peabodys, for Brian Ross' investigation about the Rep. Mark Foley scandal, and for "Out of Control: AIDS in Black America," which included some of the last interviews done by the late anchor Peter Jennings.
Peabody Awards
Opening Tribeca Film Festival
Al Gore
Al Gore will host the opening night gala of the Tribeca Film Festival, which will begin with a series of short films on global warming.
The festival, which will run from April 25 through May 5, is taking the rare step of opening not with a high-profile feature film but seven short films presented by the Save Our Selves (SOS) campaign.
"The SOS Short Films Program harnesses some of the world's most creative minds to educate, inform and inspire people across the globe to solve the climate crises," former Vice President Gore said Thursday in a statement. "Premiering the SOS films at Tribeca will ensure that these pieces will be viewed all over the world for years to come."
Al Gore
$20 Lemonade
George Clooney
A group of kids on spring break thought setting up a lemonade stand near George Clooney's movie set might be a good business move. They were right.
The star paid $20 for his lemonade, which 10-year-old Carter, 6-year-old Chandler and 5-year-old Chase Fontaine were selling for 25 cents.
Clooney made his way over to the lemonade stand Wednesday afternoon after shooting scenes for "Leatherheads," a movie about the early days of professional football that he is directing and acting in.
The boys' mother, Courtney Fontaine, offered Clooney the lemonade for free. He had posed for pictures with her and some other women.
George Clooney
Live-Action Feature
Edward Gorey
The world of Edward Gorey is coming to the big screen for the first time with a live-action feature based on the illustrator-writer's classic tale "The Doubtful Guest."
The project is being developed by Walden Media, the firm behind the "Narnia" franchise, Fox 2000 and the Jim Henson Co. Brad Peyton ("Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl") will direct from a script written by Matthew Huffman.
Gorey, who died in 2000 at age 75, was an artist and writer known for his macabre bent, with works that had an ominous and somewhat Victorian air. His influence can be seen in the works of Tim Burton and in music videos like Nine Inch Nails' "The Perfect Drug," and while none of his works has ever reached the silver screen, the opening titles of the PBS series "Mystery!" done in animation style are based on his art. He also was a successful set and costume designer, earning a Tony for his Broadway production of "Edward Gorey's Dracula."
Edward Gorey
Indonesia Playboy Editor Acquitted
Erwin Arnada
The editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia was acquitted Thursday of charges that he violated the Muslim nation's indecency laws by publishing pictures of scantily clothed women.
Erwin Arnada had faced a maximum punishment of nearly three years in prison in a case closely watched by strict Muslims, who have loudly protested since the toned-down version of the American magazine hit Indonesian newsstands a year ago.
Efran Basyuning, presiding judge of the South Jakarta District Court, said pictures of scantily dressed women, some in underwear with their breasts partially exposed, could not be categorized as pornography under the country's criminal law.
Erwin Arnada
Movie Based On Thomas Kinkade Painting
Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole is in final negotiations to star in "The Christmas Cottage," a feature based on the Thomas Kinkade painting.
"Cottage" is said to be partly biographical and based on events that led American painter Kinkade to become an artist. O'Toole will play painter Glen Weissler, a character based on one of Kinkade's mentors.
The Lionsgate project will be directed by Michael Campus, and production is scheduled to begin this month in Vancouver and Whistler. A holiday release is planned for the film, which is part of a production deal between Lionsgate and Kinkade.
Peter O'Toole
Cartoonist Helps Search For Killer
Berkeley Breathed
A Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist is lending his talents to a crime-fighting television show in an attempt to track down the killer of a young musician who was slain nearly three decades ago.
Berkeley Breathed, best known for the 1980s political cartoon "Bloom County" and the quirky "Opus" comic strip," has more than a passing interest in the 1979 case. Authorities believe the killer may have burglarized Breathed's home when Breathed was a student at the University of Texas in Austin.
The cartoonist's drawing of the burglary scene will be aired Saturday night on Fox's "America's Most Wanted."
In Austin, Michael Cahill's slaying is remembered as the "Book of Days" murder because the killer was suspected of breaking into the homes of Breathed and several other student photographers who contributed black-and-white pictures to a 1978 desk calendar by that name.
Berkeley Breathed
Sues Music Promoter
Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner has sued a music promoter, claiming the company reneged on a contract to back the actor's fledgling music career.
Costner, 52, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Superior Court. The suit accuses Mahee Worldwide Ventures Inc. of breach of contract and fraud. Costner is seeking damages in excess of $8.5 million.
Costner is the lead singer in the Kevin Costner Band, for which he also writes songs. He also has a company, Kevin's Music LLC, that manages his musical activities.
The lawsuit claims Costner's company and the promoter entered into a two-year agreement in January that would allow the actor's band to perform in as many as five concerts each year. Mahee also would create and maintain a Web site marketing Costner's band, the lawsuit said.
Kevin Costner
Items To Auciton
Jackson Family
More than 1,100 Jackson family items are set for auction in Las Vegas next month, but a representative for Michael Jackson says the pop star is considering legal action to stop the sale.
The Jacksons Auction is scheduled May 30-31 at the Hard Rock hotel resort.
Guernsey's auction house said items include Michael Jackson's gold record for his "Thriller" album, handwritten lyrics for The Jackson Five hit "ABC" and a "Victory Tour" program signed by Jackson family members.
Jackson Family
Watchdog Too Cozy
NASA
NASA's top watchdog routinely tipped off department officials to internal investigations and quashed a report related to the Columbia shuttle explosion to avoid embarrassing the agency, investigators say.
The report found Robert Cobb met then-NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe at least twice a month between 2002 and 2005 for private lunch meetings dubbed in calendar logs as "Administrator's Hideaway." Cobb also flew with O'Keefe on NASA aircraft, and eagerly accepted O'Keefe's golf invitations.
Cobb also routinely sought O'Keefe's advice on how to structure audit investigations and he let O'Keefe review a draft IG opinion regarding the independence of the Columbia accident investigation.
Only resident Bush can dismiss Cobb, a former White House aide and 1986 law graduate whom Bush selected as NASA's IG in 2002. The White House has said it is satisfied with NASA's plans to require leadership training for Cobb, who once was an adviser on ethics to then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, now the attorney general.
NASA
Salmonella Outbreak Blamed On Moisture
Peanut Butter
ConAgra Foods said Thursday that moisture from a leaky roof and faulty sprinkler was the source of the salmonella bacteria that contaminated peanut butter at its Georgia plant last year, sickening more than 400 people nationwide.
The Omaha-based company conducted a nearly two-month investigation into the contamination and pledged to ensure that Peter Pan peanut butter is safe when it returns to stores in mid-July.
"Consumer safety and health is our top priority," ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said, winking. "We plan to do our best to regain consumer trust once Peter Pan returns to stores."
The recall covered all Peter Pan peanut butter and all Great Value peanut butter made at the Sylvester plant since October 2004. That plant is ConAgra's only peanut butter plant.
Peanut Butter
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