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From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
Capricorn for 6/8 - 7/10
Celestial Sass
By Gare Galbraith
Capricorn 12/21 - 1/20
Heed me now and don't whine to me later. Though, in all fairness, you goat ones don't really whine, you brood professionally. This is a rather challenging time for you.... having just left the not-so-useful (unless you used it to reflect on reasons to re-edit your mountainclimb) Mercury Retro on 6/8, we stumble into a period til 6/21 where the details/practicality of work interfere with your grand ambitions.... you know like you're an aspiring Goat Puppeteer ever since you saw "Sound of Music" (show me one Cappy that doesn't like that film and i'll give you a free 3 min reading), but the shifts at your survival job at the Nursing Home Karaoke Bar keep piling up and you can't practice your manipulation of those precious marionettes. Chill baby..... it gets better after 7/23. You hate summer anyway. Your best days for promoting yourself are 6/16 (yes, a Sunday, but you don't have to be SO conventional), 6/17 and 6/20. Just wanted to throw you a bone (or what do goats eat?... ahhh.. all that's useful), before throwing the heedwatch out to you concerning 1:15pm (EST) 6/11 - 6:38pm 6/13 and especially be heeding me 9:36pm 7/7 thru all of 7/10. No one will be doing what you want or even what you consider useful, esp during the July dates with Sun AND Moon in your opposite sign. Just smile thru your superiorly bonestructured face and realize home is more important to some than career. The Full Moon period of 6/24 - 5:36pm 6/26 is when you will feel so torn by conflicts and the overemotionality of others. Pretend you have 2 selves and try to waltz (or gogo) delicately in your own head before having scenes with others.
1st Decan Cap 12/21 - 12/31 Since the 1st of June you've experienced illogical (well, let's say "feeling-based") aggression regarding partners, decor and/or the judicial system. This subsides a tad after 6/14 when some of this energy will be subsumed (i know that's a word) into intense sex or vengeance seeking.
2nd Decan Cap 1/1 - 1/10 The out-of-contol passions you experienced in the 1st week of June are put into some sort of action 6/14 - 7/1. But remember, that none of this will be productive unless you are practicing utter fairness and respect for all concerned. And you look better than you think you do.
3rd Decan Cap 1/11 - 1/20 Apply the 2nd sentence of 2nd Cap Decan's blurb to 6/28 thru 7/14 ( i can't do everything for you people). But capitalize and notarize the fairness stuff and throw in graciousness and manners as well. Sometimes you might feel your just "acting", but it will draw better energy to you, you earnest GoatThang, you.
~~ Gare G.
Thanks, Gare!
Reader Recommendation
Star Trek Meets MIMS
From JoeBacon
Star Trek Meets MIMS
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
If it's Thursday, it's Farmer's Market day in Long Beach. The Rainier cherries and apricots are coming into season. Corn is starting to come in from
the Central Valley, and the strawberries are at their peak. Yep, it'll be a pie-Friday in these parts.
Last day of school for the kid is next Thursday. He's not excited at all.
Wonder what happened on CBS Thursday night. They promo'd the hell out of 'The Price Is Right' all week long, and then didn't air it.
Sure am enjoying UPN's counter-programming at 10pm (pdt) - 'Seinfeld' and 'Frasier' reruns beat the crap out of the networks programming.
Tonight, Friday, CBS starts the night with 2 reruns - 'JAG' and 'First Monday'. They are followed by '48 Hours'.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Zach Braff and Kathleen Madigan.
Scheduled on a fresh Craiggers are Andy Dick and the Bitches of Century.
NBC has Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Expect lots of local programming, and 'Dateline' as network filler.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are James Garner, World's Ugliest Animals with Julie Scardina and No Doubt.
Scheduled on a fresh Conan is John Pizzarelli.
Scheduled on an unusual Friday outing of a fresh Carson Daly are Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins.
ABC pisses away 2 hours (as usual) with reruns of reruns of 'Funniest Home Videos' and the so-called 'Best Commercials'. 'Boston 24/7' rounds out the evening.
Scheduled on a fresh Bill Maher are Gilbert Gottfried and Lori Waters (Eagle Forum Exec. Director) and 2 TBA's.
The WB has 4 reruns - 'Sabrina', 'Maybe It's Me', 'Reba', and 'Raising Dad'.
Faux reruns 'Dark Angel' and then follows with an O'Really 'special' - 'O'Really vs. Hollywood' (hip-wader alert).
UPN has the movie 'Striptease'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Big Dog Watch
Bill Clinton
Former President Clinton revealed in Northern Ireland that his new dog will have an Irish name.
At the opening Wednesday of a peace center named for him, Clinton encountered a chocolate Labrador retriever and told the crowd that his own chocolate
Lab will be called Seamus, spokeswoman Julia Payne said.
The dog is still being trained at the Maryland kennel where he was born in February and is expected to join the former president at his Chappaqua home
later this month. At the kennel he was called B.B., for Bill's Boy, while Clinton decided what to name him.
Clinton's White House dog, Buddy, was killed by a car in Chappaqua in January, an event the ex-president said was "by far the worst thing" to happen to him after leaving office.
Seamus was sired by Buddy's nephew, and breeder Linda Renfro said he seemed much like Buddy, "except that I think he's probably a bigger eater. From what
I have seen of him, his sole ambition 24 hours a day is to eat."
Bill Clinton Names Puppy
Best Numbers, Yet
'Shield' Finale
The Tuesday night finale of FX's "The Shield," the cop drama that has effectively put the basic cable channel on the TV map, earned the series' highest episodic rating since its premiere.
The show earned a 3.9 rating in FX's cable universe, drawing 4.1 million viewers, in its regular Tuesday at 10 p.m. time slot. The performance matched that of its lead-in, the basic cable premiere of "Independence Day."
In FX's target demo, adults 18-49, the finale drew 2.6 million viewers. Despite solid ratings, the show's content scared away advertisers. Michael Chiklis stars as a brutal cop.
'Shield' Finale
Some Interesting Reading
Hunter S. Thompson
A conversation on drugs, politics and the 30th anniversary of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Pay-Per-View On The Ropes
Tyson Hype Lags
The hypemeisters who were predicting a month ago that Saturday's Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis fight would rake in more money via pay-per-view than any other bout in history have suddenly clammed up.
Instead of breaking the record of 2 million buys harvested by the Tyson-Evander Holyfield match on June 28, 1997, Saturday's Tyson-Lewis slugfest may end up, according to forecasters,
with a PPV buy rate of between 1 million and 1.2 million.
The signs of dampened expectations are cropping up all over the place. It now seems the event itself, at the 20,000-seat Memphis Pyramid, will be far from a sellout.
No major incident has catapulted the fight to the news headlines, at least in part because Tyson's handlers have kept the fighter from interacting with the press -- Tyson canceled a
planned news conference earlier this week -- and from meeting with Lewis in advance of the fight.
Tyson Hype Lags
Arrested in London Cab Row
Woody Harrelson
U.S. actor Woody Harrelson was arrested after a bizarre taxi chase in the early hours of the morning through the streets of London, a British police source said on Friday.
The source told Reuters that Harrelson, best known for his roles in the hit TV comedy "Cheers" and movies such as "Natural Born Killers," was accused of breaking an ashtray
and a lock on the door of a black cab taking him back to his hotel from a central London nightspot on Thursday in the early morning.
Then, in a scene that could have come from one of his own action movies, the source said Harrelson jumped into another cab, with the driver of the first taxi chasing behind.
Officers eventually intercepted the taxi carrying Harrelson near Sloane Square, in west London, where the 40-year-old actor jumped out, the police source said.
Harrelson was taken to a central London police station and bailed to return on July 1. Scotland Yard said a report would be sent to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide
whether he would face charges.
Woody Harrelson
A Crazy Money Train
The Osbournes
The Osbournes, America's new first family, are planning a big push at the Licensing Show in Gotham, Tuesday through June 13, betting their wacky MTV rocker reality
will play well on sleepwear, dartboards, backpacks and a voice-activated plush bear that yells "I'm the f---ing prince of darkness!"
The family and music merchandiser Signature Network said they already have signed up 55 licensees for more than 300 products and are hoping for retail sales of up
to $200 million this year. About $10 million-$15 million of that would flow to the Osbournes, according to traditional formulas.
Signature has been working with Ozzy Osbourne for 20 years and inked a deal to represent the family when the MTV series launched earlier this year. Caps, mugs and
T-shirts, which merchandisers use to test consumer waters, are already in music retailers like Sam Goody and Musicland. Hot Topic, Gadzooks, Spencer Gifts, Target
and Kmart also will carry Osbourne product, Signature CEO Dell Furano said.
Many of the toys talk ("Shut the f--- up and go to bed" and "I'm not cleaning up the dogs---, I'm a f---ing rock star!"); others are edited for a general audience. Lola
the dog just wrapped up a photo shoot for a new calendar. Other merchandise includes action figures, socks and key chains.
"We're going to do some crazy s---," Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne said in a statement.
Furano, whose firm also represents Britney Spears and presented the Kiss Casket at the Licensing Show last year, said the Osbournes have helped bring music merchandising to new level.
The Osbournes
Andy Shows His Cards
Uncle Karen
White House aides are shaking their heads in disbelief over chief of staff Andy Card's loose talk in the new issue of Esquire.
Card, who also worked for President Bush the Elder, has a reputation for keeping mum. But in a story about the departure of George W. Bush counselor Karen Hughes, Andy shows his cards.
"Listen, the President is in a state of denial about what Karen's departure will mean, so is the First Lady, and so is Karen herself," he tells writer Ron Suskind.
"The whole balance of the place, the balance of what has worked up to now for George Bush, is gone, simply gone," Card says. "She's leaving when the President has one of the
highest approval ratings on record. From here, it can only go down. And when it does, you know who they're going to blame? They're gonna blame Andy Card."
No word yet on how Bush himself has reacted to Card's frank talk, but a senior Bush adviser declared: "Ho-ly [bleep]! Andy is Mr. Cautious. What the hell was he thinking?"
Andy Shows His Cards
''UFOs Will Land Thursday''
'Amazing' Kreskin
The Amazing Kreskin says he can't say exactly how he knows.
But he's so sure Las Vegas is going to be visited by UFOs Thursday night that he's willing to bet $50,000. He's even narrowing his prediction down
to a time: between about 10 p.m. and midnight.
His name's become a synonym for predicting the future. Still, he insists he's not a psychic -- he's a mentalist.
He says he'll donate the $50,000 to charity if he's wrong. He wouldn't say which one.
'Amazing' Kreskin
Habitat for Humanity In South Africa
Jimmy Carter
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter uses a spirit level as he helps to build a low income housing project in Durban, South Africa, Thursday, June 6, 2002. Carter is among 4,500 volunteers, organized by Habitat for Humanity, who
are building 100 homes in the coastal city this week.
Photo by Themba Hadebe
Ordered To Stand Trial in LA for Shoplifting
Winona Ryder
Actress Winona Ryder was ordered on Thursday to stand trial on shoplifting charges after a store detective told a preliminary hearing that she witnessed the Oscar-nominated star snipping off tags from
merchandise she was later accused of stealing.
More than six months after her widely publicized arrest at Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden Fox ordered Ryder formally arraigned on June 14 and added: "There is sufficient
cause to believe that Ms. Winona Ryder is guilty and that she be ordered held to answer."
The judge also ordered the press not to go within eight feet of Ryder. Her lawyer said she fractured an elbow during a court appearance on Monday when was caught in a crush with reporters.
Kenneth Evans, the security chief at the posh Beverly Hills store, told the court he mistook the 30-year-old movie star for a homeless person when he first saw her on a surveillance camera. He said she
attracted his attention because she was carrying several bags and had on a three-quarter-length cashmere coat. Ryder's lawyer, Mark Geragos, then asked if Evans saw a lot of homeless women wearing cashmere coats.
Geragos told reporters after the hearing that the evidence presented against his client was "close to full-blown perjury. Those witnesses lied through their teeth. I believe that Saks targeted her as a celebrity. We
have a lot of other evidence we did not produce.'
Winona Ryder
'Crank Yankers'
Jimmy Kimmel
Believe it not, "Crank Yankers" wasn't Jimmy Kimmel's first choice for a title for his new Comedy Central show. Kimmel wanted to call the show "Prank Puppets," but he says
he wasn't allowed to for some "ridiculous legal reason."
The show features puppets making crank phone calls, voiced by celebrities including Kimmel and his "Man Show" buddy Adam Corolla.
Kimmel says he came up with the title at 4 in the morning, "sitting in front of a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary." He says he knew "the word crank would be good and yankers just followed."
Corolla and Kimmel say crank phone calls can be as out there as you can make them, as long as the person you're calling buys it.
Jimmy Kimmel
What's The Significance?
Monopoly Playing Pieces
What's the significance of the Monopoly playing pieces?
Monopoly Playing Pieces
Snarky Gossip
Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner has broken up after two years with much-younger galpal Christine Baumgartner amid whispers he was cheating on the California cutie. "After
my eight-year marriage fell apart, I didn't think it was possible that I would fall in love again," Costner, 47, told a German magazine. "But I did, and
now that has ended too." But Costner is bullish on finding another soulmate: "I believe in love and also in marriage."
Kevin Costner
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
First Universal Video To Go 'Limited Release'
'E.T.' On DVD
Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," the second highest-grossing movie not yet released on DVD, will come home again on Oct. 22, but only for a brief visit.
Universal Studios Home Video (USHV) will reintroduce the alien creature to home video audiences in both his big screen incarnations (original and re-release) in a limited DVD
Collector's Edition ($22.95) for 10 weeks only before the title goes on moratorium indefinitely. It is the first Universal video to get a limited release.
The only title bigger than "E.T." that has yet to be released on DVD is the first "Star Wars" theatrical release. George Lucas has said he will likely not release any of the first three
Star Wars movies on DVD until he completes work on the sixth film.
The double-disc Limited Edition "E.T." DVD features 10 hours of extras. Spielberg appears in original featurettes describing all facets of the production of the original 1982 theatrical
release and the updated 20th anniversary theatrical release earlier this year.
'E.T.' On DVD
'Most Hated Person In Britain'?
Naomi Campbell
Supermodel and super pain in the butt Naomi Campbell has just been named the most hated person in Britain in a national poll. Nearly half of the 2,200
Brits who responded cast their vote for Campbell, who handily beat out Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, who filled second and third spots on the loathsome list.
Naomi Campbell
Salacious Friday Picture
Britney
Britney Spears performs Tuesday, June 4, 2002, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Krista Niles
Silent Film Gala
Harold Lloyd Lives
Like his comedic character in "The Freshman," silent film great Harold Lloyd zigged and zagged his way back into the hearts of hundreds in a Hollywood-heavy crowd
at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's annual silent film gala at UCLA Saturday night.
Lloyd, some of whose works were recently shown on Turner Classic Movies, dipsy-doodled onscreen, backed by the orchestra's live accompaniment of both the 90-minute
"The Freshman" and a 20-minute short, "An Eastern Westerner."
Event chairman Dustin Hoffman said the 13-year-old gala, which he has attended for several years, shows "the work of great artists. It's just, unfortunately, still
a well-kept secret in this town. It's like living in Paris and not going to the Louvre."
Among those attending were Hank Azaria, Neve Campbell, Robert Stack, Dean Devlin, Taylor Negron, Amy Heckerling and Carole King.
Lloyd's granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd, who restored the films, said Turner will feature her grandfather's work next April in a 19-film festival marking the 110th anniversary of his birth.
Harold Lloyd Lives
Lost Inca Town Found In Peruvian Jungle
Cota Coca
British and American explorers have found a large Inca town that was lost for more than 400 years after hacking their way through the dense jungles of Peru.
Working on a tip from a local mule driver and their own knowledge of the area, the four-man team spent three weeks hacking through forests of the Peruvian interior with machetes.
There, completely overgrown and at the bottom of a valley carved by the Rio Yanama river 6,069 feet above sea level, they found the ancient city at a site called Cota Coca.
The Cota Coca valley is about 60 miles west of the ancient Inca capital Cusco.
The team's report said a preliminary survey showed that Cota Coca contained at least 30 stone-built structures, including a 75 ft long meeting hall, grouped around a great central plaza.
The town lay undiscovered for centuries because of the rapid growth of the jungle.
Cota Coca
Why Aren't There Any B-Cell Batteries?
Trivia Question
There are "A" batteries, (as well as AA and AAA), C batteries, even D batteries. But there aren't any "B" batteries. Why did they skip B? Or were there ever B batteries?
Why Aren't There Any B-Cell Batteries?
To Play NY State Fair
David Lee Roth
Journey and David Lee Roth have been added to the New York State Fair's summer grandstand concert lineup.
Poison and Cinderella are scheduled to perform on Aug. 22, the fair's opening night. Journey and Peter Frampton will play the 16,000-seat grandstand on Aug. 27. Sammy
Hagar and Roth will team up for a show on Sept. 1.
Fair officials previously announced the following shows: Alicia Keys, Aug. 25; Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Smithereens, Aug. 28; Alabama and special guest Jamie O'Neal,
Aug. 29; Toby Keith and Montgomery Gentry, Aug. 30; and Brooks & Dunn with John Michael Montgomery, Aug. 31.
With Tuesday's announcement, only three grandstand shows remain to be scheduled for the 2002 fair, which runs Aug. 22-Sept. 2.
David Lee Roth
BartCop TV!
Rock And Roll (Part 2)
Gary Glitter
Vietnam has no record that disgraced former British pop star Gary Glitter has entered the country from Cambodia, and would not let him stay if he were found here, an official said Thursday.
Glitter, 57, who served a four-month prison sentence in Britain in 1999 for possessing child pornography, left Cambodia last week and headed to Vietnam, according to Cambodian police.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said immigration officials had checked their records and found no indication that Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, had entered the country.
"However, they will continue checking," Thanh said. "Vietnam never harbors such criminals."
She said the government would notify international police if he is found.
"I am sure we cannot let him stay in the country," she said. "We think that (child pornography) is a crime and he is a criminal."
Gary Glitter
Volvo Ocean Race
'Transe Express'
Members of the music group "Transe Express" hang like puppets down a huge crane during their rehearsal at the Kiel harbor on the Baltic Sea, northern Germany, Thursday, June 6, 2002. The
artists are part of the entertainment program in connection with the finish of the Volvo Ocean Race. The sailing boats leave Swedish Gothenburg on Saturday for the last track on their
round-the-world regatta, expected to cross the finish line at Kiel on Sunday.
Photo by Heribert Proepper
Released After Posting Bond
R. Kelly
R&B star R. Kelly, jailed overnight on child pornography charges, was released Thursday after posting a $750,000 bond and a judge ordered him to have no contact with minors unrelated to him.
The charges stem from a videotape purporting to show a sexual tryst between Kelly and an underage girl, the latest legal trouble for the artist already dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct.
Kelly, 35, was charged with 21 counts of child pornography Wednesday and later arrested near a house he rents in Davenport, about 35 miles southwest of Orlando. The felony charge carries a maximum
sentence of 15 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Kelly has denied he is the man in the video, which has been sold on street corners in major cities and over the Internet and become a topic among music fans.
Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine said the video was made in November 1997 or later and that the girl was born in September 1984.
When asked why underage sex charges were not filed against the singer, Devine said, "We brought the charges we thought appropriate at this stage."
Kelly also is the focus of at least four lawsuits, three of which accuse him of having sex with underage girls. He has acknowledged settling two of the lawsuits regarding
underage sex, but his lawyers have said they will fight the third.
R. Kelly
Court Upholds Case Dismissal
'Natural Born Killers'
A Louisiana appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit blaming the Oliver Stone film "Natural Born Killers" for a young couple's interstate
rampage that left a store clerk paralyzed, the studio that made the film said.
The Louisiana Court of Appeal said "Natural Born Killers," a 1994 film about a couple on a killing spree, was entitled to First Amendment freedom of speech protection
because nothing within the movie advocated or incited viewers to commit violent activity, said the film's maker, Warner Bros.
The lawsuit was first bought against Warner, a unit of media conglomerate AOL Time Warner in 1995 by the family of Patsy Byers, a Louisiana store clerk who was shot
in a robbery attempt by Sarah Edmondson.
Edmondson and her boyfriend Ben Darras told authorities they had watched "Natural Born Killers" repeatedly before launching a two-state crime spree. Darras killed a
Mississippi man the day before Edmondson was captured on a store surveillance tape shooting Byers.
'Natural Born Killers'
Impending Nuptials?
Heather & Paul
Speculation about the details of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney's forthcoming nuptials narrowed on Thursday after the eccentric owner of an Irish
castle let the world in on "a secret."
The time and place of McCartney's wedding to former model Heather Mills has been shrouded in mystery, with venues on both sides of the Atlantic mooted,
but international media have homed in on Castle Leslie in the Irish border county of Monaghan.
The question now is "when."
Sir John Leslie, whose family has owned the castle for 300 years, said the big event would take place early next week.
Heather & Paul
Giant Goldfish To Go On Tour
Bruce
A giant goldfish which has clinched a place in the Guinness Book of Records is about to take up ambassadorial duties, his Hong Kong breeder has said.
Bruce, who at 40 cms (15.7 inches) has been recognised by Guinness as the world's longest goldfish, is likely to be moved from his home in southern China to a Hong Kong aquarium and then be
put on display elsewhere in the world.
Showing off the Guinness certificate, breeder Jackie Chan said the fish -- as big as a domestic cat -- has grown more since his statistics were first lodged with the world's record keepers.
Ornamental fish enthusiasts in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore have been clamouring to exhibit Bruce since flaming orange bundle of muscle first shot to fame in January.
Goldfish are believed to have originated in China, where records dating back to 300 A.D. contain references to them. The Chinese in particular prize the brightly coloured fish as a symbol of wealth and abundance.
Goldfish breeding later spread to Japan around 1500 and then to Britain, Portugal, France and the Netherlands in the 18th century with the flourishing of international trade.
Bruce, The Giant Goldfish
Moon to Obscure Sun - Monday
Partial Eclipse
A dazzling solar eclipse will be on display across a broad swath of the western United States, Mexico, Canada and Asia on Monday, with as much as 99 percent of the sun obscured by the moon.
One of the best U.S. views will be in San Diego where as much as three-fourths of the sun will be hidden.
Other sections of the country will get a less dramatic sight. In Chicago, only one-fifth of the sun's surface will be blocked. The Eastern Seaboard will miss the eclipse entirely because it will occur after sunset there.
The early evening event is called an annular, or ring-shaped, eclipse. Because the moon will be farther from the Earth than during total eclipses, it will only partially cover the distant
sun. It will be the last eclipse visible from the United States until 2005.
In places such as the tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, the moon will darken all but only the glowing rim of the sun for about a minute, said Fred Espenak, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration astrophysicist and eclipse expert. The eclipse will begin at 5:13 p.m. PDT, with best viewing time around 6:20.
Partial Solar Eclipse On Monday
Emerging as Faux Star
Shepard Smith
If he weren't a nice guy, Shepard Smith could pierce you like a laser with his eyes.
Fortunately, he means no harm. He only wants to command your attention when he's on the air. So, glowing in the keylight, his peepers seize you with urgency, concern,
amusement, even mischief. And ... you ... cannot ... look ... away.
An anchor who can handle the light in his eyes — how else to explain Smith's success at the Fox News Channel? Unless maybe it's that baritone voice with its mediating
Mississippi twang. Or his smooth, game manner.
Put on your boots & wade on in - Shepard Smith
This one nearly made me puke.
In Memory
Dee Dee Ramone
(Douglas Glenn Colvin)
Singer Dee Dee Ramone, who co-founded influential 1970s punk rock band the Ramones and went on to become a rap singer, was found dead in his Hollywood home of an apparent drug overdose, officials said on Thursday.
Police reported finding drugs and drug paraphernalia in his apartment after his wife discovered his body Wednesday night. His death came about two months after the band's lead singer and co-founder, Joey Ramone, died of lymphoma.
Dee Dee, whose real name was Douglas Glenn Colvin, was pronounced dead by paramedics at 8:40 p.m. PDT (11:40 p.m. EDT), about 15 minutes after his wife called for help, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said.
"Police reported it to us as an apparently accidental overdose," spokesman David Campbell said. "At this time, there is nothing to indicate foul play or suicide."
The coroner's office put his age at 50, though some references listed him as 49 years old, the same age Joey Ramone was when he died in April.
Campbell said an autopsy was performed on Thursday, but medical examiners were awaiting results of toxicology tests before pronouncing a cause of death.
Born in Virginia, Colvin grew up in Berlin with his military family, returning to the United States in his teenage years. He co-founded the Ramones in 1974 and played bass with the band until 1989. Dee Dee, the lyricist, also came up with the band's name, taking it from a Paul McCartney pseudonym, Paul Ramon.
After leaving the band, Ramone pursued a short career as a rapper under the name Dee Dee King, with little success, then moved on to writing and painting.
Ramone had just finished writing his fifth book, which follows such titles as "Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones" and "Chelsea Horror Hotel," the musician's Los Angeles-based agent, Chris Maggiore, told Reuters.
Arguably one of the most influential bands of the 1970s, New York City's Ramones kick-started the punk rock revolution a year before U.K. rivals such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash.
Earlier this year, Spin magazine decreed the Ramones to be the second greatest band of all time, behind the Beatles. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last March.
Known for its chants of "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" and playing in jeans and leather jackets, the band has been cited as an influence on such leading recording acts as U2, Pearl Jam, and Green Day. It's best known songs included "The KKK Took My Baby Away," "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Pet Sematary." Their first record, 1976's "The Ramones," is now considered one of punk rock's seminal albums.
The scruffy quartet from Forest Hills, Queens -- Colvin, along with Jeff Hyman (singer Joey Ramone), John Cummings (guitarist Johnny), Tommy Erdelyi (drummer Tommy) -- immortalized themselves with simple anthems that rarely stretched beyond three minutes in length.
Dressed alike in stovepipe jeans and leather jackets, the Ramones based their material on real-life frustrations -- boredom, broken homes and bleak job prospects. But they still infused their songs with a cartoonish black humor.
During the 1980s, a number of the Ramones cleaned up from drug and alcohol addictions.
"He was sober for I don't know how many years," Maggiore said. Dee Dee produced a hand-written fan magazine called "Takin' Dope" that came out irregularly, with the last one being in December.
"I was extremely hated. Nobody in my life cared about me," Dee Dee told SPin magazine last year. "To be in the Ramones you kind of had to be miserable."
The group's first live performance was in 1974. No one took them very seriously at first, but their surprising work ethic and ambition kept the band from withering.
Dee Dee was the band's screw-up, and had to be kept in line by his bandmates. "Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones" detailed his drug-fueled life in possibly apocryphal fashion. Still, all were guilty of the usual rock 'n' roll hijinks.
The band's reputation really started to take off once it established a residency at New York's punk rock mecca CBGB's later in 1974. Word-of-mouth among young fans generated media and label interest, and the group signed with Sire Records.
Their debut, self-titled album, recorded in 17 days for about $6,000, was released in 1976. Fourteen songs were crammed into 29 minutes. From the opening strains of "Blitzkrieg Bop" ("Hey! Ho! Let's go"), the band seamlessly morphed into darker tunes, such as "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" and the male hustler odyssey "53rd and 3rd."
They introduced punk rock to Britain in July 1976. Critics called them moronic, but the group paved the way for the English punk rock revolution. Ironically, the Sex Pistols and the Clash ended up stealing the Ramones' thunder. They never had a hit single and none of their 14 studio albums ever went gold.
Dee Dee Ramone
Dee Dee Ramone #2
Thanks to Tim H for this link.
Dee Ramone #3
Thanks to Marian (the school teacher) for this link.
Dee Dee Ramone #4
Thanks to Michelle in Gilbert for this link.
Still Seeking Volunteers
'The Osbournes'
Very freshly updated - 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2 !
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
C'mon....send your thoughts, your impressions, your views, your favorite quotes...
Scroll down for lots of addys to pick from (or 'from which to pick', for the truly anal retentive).
