'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
from Mr. Hawk
Couple of Quick Notes
IFC is running a very good but not well know film called "Lock, Stock and
2 Smoking Barrels", made by the same production team that made "The
Full Monty". It's worth a watch but the R rating for language and violence
is very well deserved. I would say its like "Pulp Fiction" in style.
STARZ Mystery Channel has the 1996 Movie "Dr Who" running in its rotation.
For those who are not familier with the series, The good Dr is a time lord
who travels thru time and space saving the universe. This movie was attempt
to revive the series. Unfortunately, the movie got panned by fandom and
creamed by "Roseanne" in the ratings. Enough time has past to take a look
and see that it was pretty good.
And Marty, thanks for all the updates you've been giving everyone on the new
Who. I just hope BBC America carries it.
~ Mr. Hawk
Dissent is not Terrorism
Freedom is not Legislated
Thanks, again, Mr. Hawk!
Reader Comment
Re: AFI Song List
Regarding the AFI top 100 songs list, I cannot believe they put Aquarius on the list but left off 'Hard Days Night'!
My guess is that because the Beatles' movies were British-made the American Film Institute didn't consider them eligible...
- Perry
Thanks, Perry!
Satire Link
Bush Indicts Founding Fathers
In an apparent attempt to prove he is not a tool of his advisors, this morning President Bush held an unannounced, unscripted, and slightly incoherent, press briefing at which he indicted America's founding fathers as enemy combatants.
"Just because these freedom-haters are dead does not mean their crimes against America will go unpunished," Bush said with the proud face of a child wearing big boy pants for the first time.
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Reader Comment
The Christian Taleban
I just came across www.christianexodus.org which espouses
the same sort of attitudes as the Taleban. These people want a "return"
to a "Godly constition" (ignoring the fact that the US constitution was
never based upon religion) and for sodomy to be illegal (stoning gays to
death no doubt comes later). So I have some suggestions for people like
this who wish to impose their own religious views upon others:
If your religion says you cannot do any work on Sunday or you will burn
in hell for eternity, then DON'T FUCKING DO ANY.
If your religion says you will burn in hell for eternity if you drink
alcohol, then DON'T FUCKING DRINK ANY.
If your religion says you will burn in hell for eternity if you commit
adultery, then DON'T FUCKING COMMIT ADULTERY.
If your religion says you will burn in hell for eternity if you have
an abortion, then DON'T FUCKING HAVE ONE.
If your religion says wou will burn in hell for eternity if you commit
sodomy, then DON'T FUCKING DO IT.
It's common sense. If you truly believe what your religion tells you,
then you do not need laws against things you would never do anyway. If
somebody doesn't believe in your religion then they do not want laws
banning them from things their religion permits and which takes place
between consenting adults.
Oh wait, I've just realized something. Christian extremists want laws like
this because with Christianity you can get away with anything as long as
you sincerely regret it later and beg for forgiveness. Timothy McVeigh
converted to Christianity prior to his execution and Christians assure me
that he will have an eternity of bliss (which I think is a little like
orgasm, except there's no damp spot to deal with) despite all the deaths
he caused.
So that's why they want those laws, to prevent people fornicating and
committing sodomy and generally enjoying themselves, and then playing
the "get out of jail free" card when next they talk to God. With laws,
those people would be punished for enjoying themselves and so they wouldn't
do it.
Hang on a moment. If God can forgive them their sins, who are these
people to punish others for what are consensual crimes? Punish people
for things that cause actual harm to non-consenting people, sure, even if
God forgives them. But if it's consensual, it's NOBODY ELSE'S FUCKING
BUSINESS what people get up to. If YOUR religion says that YOU shouldn't
do these things then DON'T FUCKING DO THEM.
Brain dF
Thanks, Brian!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast burned off early and the day was on the 'too-warm' side.
Did the CostCo/farmer's market loop today - CostCo's take-out pizzas are now square.
Talked to dear old Dad - there was a deer in his garden. It tore out the little rabbit-fence & had a lovely buffet luncheon. He's not a happy camper.
Actor Peter Fonda (L) and singer John Kay greet fans as they arrive for the 2004 edition of Canada's Walk of Fame awards in Toronto, June 23, 2004. Kay, along with his band Steppenwolf, performed the song 'Born to be Wild' which was featured in the classic movie 'Easy Rider' in which Fonda starred. Kay was awarded a star.
Photo by Peter Jones
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Scores High Marks from Critics
'Fahrenheit 9/11'
After blistering the box office in its inaugural New York launch, Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" opens nationally on Friday with most reviewers giving it high marks as brilliantly provocative but unflinchingly partisan.
"Unabashedly partisan, wearing its determination to bring about political change on its sleeve, 'Fahrenheit' can be nit-picked and second-guessed, but it can't be ignored," wrote Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times.
One of the more surprisingly glowing reviews came from Fox News.com columnist Roger Friedman, who called the film "a tribute to patriotism" and "a really brilliant piece of work ... that members of all political parties should see without fail."
For more, 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
Criticizes Iraq War
Ron Reagan
Ron Reagan, the younger son of the late President Reagan, criticized the Bush administration's foreign policy, saying he believed the president misled Americans to gain support for the Iraq war.
"We lied our way into the war," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Wednesday, referring to allegations that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and direct connections to al-Qaida. "It's a terrible mistake, a terrible foreign policy error."
Reagan, 44, a vocal opponent of his father's conservative politics, said he would vote for anyone who could beat the current president.
Reagan also said he was angered over the administration's opposition to human embryonic stem cell research.
Ron Reagan
Dutch SculptorJan Selen forms a sand sculpture called 'Marriage of Pelops and Hiepodamea' depicting the history of the Olympic games on the beach of the Baltic Sea resort town of Travemuende in northern Germany June 24, 2004. Some ten tons of special sand will be used by 75 sculptors from all over the world to form the 'Olympic Myth', this year's main theme at the sand-sculpture festival.
Photo by Christian Charisius
Reuniting on Game Show
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child will perform together for the first time in nearly two years as part of the Pepsi "Play for a Billion" TV game show on ABC this fall.
"Play for a Billion," with Damon Wayans as host, will offer a $1 billion grand prize but also guarantees that one finalist will win $1 million even if the grand prize isn't awarded.
Destiny's Child
Court Tosses Package
Media Deregulation
A federal appeals court on Thursday largely reversed a landmark set of rule changes from the Federal Communications Commission that would have allowed companies to own more radio and television stations in the same market.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit marked a major setback to the FCC's efforts to deregulate mack to the FCC's efforts to deregulate media ownership rules and a victory for public interest groups that had opposed the measures.
In their 2-to-1 decision, the judges threw out rules that would have allowed greater ownership of television and radio stations in the same market. However, they also found that the FCC was within its rights to repeal a blanket prohibition on companies owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same city.
Media Deregulation
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
CBS Joins Reality Hunt
INXS
Four years after the launch of "Survivor," the show's chief, Mark Burnett, is reuniting with CBS in search of a rock star.
After a healthy bidding war, CBS has landed an untitled reality series described as a cross of "American Idol," "Big Brother" and "Survivor" set in the world of rock music.
It will feature aspiring musicians competing for the chance to become the new lead singer of Australian rock band INXS, a gig that opened up after the 1997 suicide of frontman Michael Hutchence.
INXS
People watch a bonfire during the traditional San Juan's (Saint John) night in Torre de Benalgabon, southern Spain, late June 23, 2004. Fires are lit throughout Spain on the eve of Saint John. People burn objects they no longer want and make wishes as they jump through the flames.
Photo by Rafael Marchante
Reissue 'London Calling'
The Clash
A disc of recently discovered demos for the Clash's "London Calling" and a DVD boasting previously unseen live performance footage will be included in Epic Records' Sept. 21 reissue of the English punk band's landmark 1979 album.
The demos, dubbed "The Vanilla Tapes," were recently discovered in a storage facility belonging to guitarist/vocalist Mick Jones, according to a statement issued Thursday by the Legacy Recordings heritage unit of Epic's Sony Music parent.
In addition to the original album and the demos, "London Calling: The 25th Anniversary Edition" will boast a DVD chronicling the Clash at that point in its existence. A 45-minute documentary was created by longtime biographer Don Letts, and features recording studio footage, previously unreleased live performances, interviews with Jones, late singer/guitarist Joe Strummer, drummer Topper Headon and bassist Paul Simonon and a conversation with one-time band manager Kosmo Vinyl.
The Clash
To Visit Holy Places in Israel
Madonna
Pop star Madonna plans to tour holy places in Israel in October with a group of more than 100 students studying cabala, or Jewish mysticism, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Thursday.
Her trip is planned to coincide with the Jewish New Year, Maariv reported. Madonna will stay in an out-of-the-way guesthouse and avoid fans and TV cameras so that she'll be able to focus on her cabala studies, the newspaper reported.
Madonna
Cancels Trip to Be With Twin
Ashley Olsen
Ashley Olsen has canceled a trip to Australia to stay with her twin sister, Mary-Kate, who is being treated for "a health-related issue."
Ashley had been scheduled to attend the Australian premiere of their new movie, "New York Minute," in Melbourne next week.
Ashley Olsen
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Snarky Comments
Mark Hamill
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has attacked the sci-fi franchise's mastermind George Lucas for ignoring him, describing the director as a "sad" man who "just doesn't get it".
Hamill gained worldwide fame as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy - released between 1977 and 1983.
But while Hamill's co-stars, including Harrison Ford, went on to become superstars, he appeared in a string of flops.
And the 52-year-old blames his withering career on Lucas' decision not to cast him in any of his other movies.
Mark Hamill
An Indian model wears a bridal necklace in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, June 24,2004. An Indian company showcased fashionable bridal dress materials and jewellery during a fashion show in Calcutta on Thursday.
Photo by Sucheta Das
Ancient Indian Settlement Found
Utah
For more than 50 years, rancher Waldo Wilcox kept most outsiders off his land and the secret under wraps: a string of ancient Indian settlements so remarkably well-preserved that arrowheads and beads are still lying out in the open.
Hidden deep inside Utah's nearly inaccessible Book Cliffs region, 130 miles from Salt Lake City, the prehistoric villages run for 12 miles and include hundreds of rock art panels, cliffside granaries, stone houses built halfway underground, rock shelters, and the mummified remains of long-ago inhabitants.
The site was occupied for at least 3,000 years until it abandoned more than 1,000 years ago, when the Fremont people mysteriously vanished.
What sets this ancient site apart from other, better-known ones in Utah, Arizona or Colorado is that it has been left virtually untouched by looters, with the ground still littered with arrowheads, arrow shafts, beads and pottery shards in places.
For a lot more, Utah
Literary Group Discredits
Shakespeare
A literary group on Thursday marked the 400th anniversary of the death of an Elizabethan nobleman they contend was the "true" Shakespeare.
The de Vere Society alleges that Edward de Vere penned the 37 plays officially attributed to the master playwright.
"He had the education and did the traveling, which Shakespeare did not," said society secretary Richard Malim of de Vere.
Shakespeare
More Dignitude
Cheney Obscenity
A brief argument between Vice President Cheney and a senior Democratic senator led Cheney to utter a big-time obscenity on the Senate floor this week
On Tuesday, Cheney, serving in his ceremonial role as president of the Senate, appeared in the chamber for a photo session. A chance meeting with Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, became an argument about Cheney's ties to Halliburton Co., an international energy services corporation, and resident Bush's judicial nominees. The exchange ended when Cheney offered some crass advice.
"Fuck yourself," said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency.
As it happens, the exchange occurred on the same day the Senate passed legislation described as the "Defense of Decency Act" by 99 to 1.
For more, Cheney Obscenity
Pigeons Lead to Rediscovery
Renaissance Fresco
Pigeons fluttering through a hole in the ceiling of a Spanish cathedral led an art restoration team to discover an exquisite Renaissance fresco of winged angels that had been covered up for more than three centuries.
The team had been working on the Baroque dome of the cathedral in Valencia for more than a month, removing a layer of grey paint and fending off birds flying in and out of the hole, the Valencia regional government said Thursday.
The Baroque ceiling turned out to be a false one that covered a fresco done by Italian painters Francisco Pagano and Pablo de San Leocadio. They were commissioned in 1472 by papal envoy Rodrigo Borja, a Spaniard who went on to become Pope Alexander VI.
Renaissance Fresco
Rankings
Basic Cable
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of June 14-20. Each ratings point represents 1,084,000 households. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses.
1. Movie: "Salem's Lot" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 3.7, 4.02 million homes.
2. "Monk" (Friday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.6, 3.91 million homes.
3. "Law & Order" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 3.1, 3.41 million homes.
4. "WWE Raw Zone" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Spike, 3.1, 3.31 million homes.
5. "Sex and the City" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), TBS, 3.0, 3.2 million homes.
6. "Sex and the City" (Thursday, 10:35 p.m.), TBS, 2.8, 3.01 million homes.
7. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), Spike, 2.8, 2.98 million homes.
8. "Sex and the City" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), TBS, 2.7, 2.89 million homes.
9. "Law & Order" (Monday, 8 p.m.), TNT, 2.6, 2.83 million homes.
10. "Sex and the City" (Tuesday, 10:36 p.m.), TBS, 2.6, 2.8 million homes.
11. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Monday, 1:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.6, 2.77 million homes.
12. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.75 million homes.
13. "Law & Order" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNT, 2.5, 2.74 million homes.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.72 million homes.
15. "Real World XIV" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 2.5, 2.72 million homes.
Basic Cable
Kushi, a 52 day old Sumatran tiger cub, rests on a keepers shoulders at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, June 24, 2004. The Sumatran tiger is the last-sub species of tiger found in Indonesia and estimates suggest that there are only 400-500 left in the wild. Kushi is the sole survivor of a litter of two born at the zoo.
Photo by Darren Whiteside
'The Osbournes'
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