TODAY!
Erin Hart
Please join Erin Hart today as she fills in
for Jay Marvin on AM760 Progressive Talk in Denver, from 5am to 9am (pdt) | 6am to 10am (mdt) | 7am to 11am (cdt) | 8am to noon (edt).
For more information check out Erin Hart Show
The Monday Or Thursday Poll
The Current Question
The current question:
Famed Soviet dissident and Noble Prize winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn died this week in Moscow. Have you ever read any of his many books?
Send your response to BadtotheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
BadtotheboneBob
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Connie Ogle: Pelosi urges women to seize opportunity in 'Know Your Power' (McClatchy Newspapers)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a message for women, one delivered to her by Louisiana congresswoman Lindy Boggs more than 20 years ago: "Know thy power."
Sarah T. Williams: Brothers bonded by love of storytelling (Star Tribune)
Before Leif Enger hit the big leagues with his runaway bestseller, "Peace Like a River," and before his brother, Lin, wrote his first serious work of fiction, "Undiscovered Country," the Minnesota brothers were living undercover as creators of a murder-mystery series.
Brian McCollum: Sheryl Crow gets serious about music, motherhood and making a difference (Detroit Free Press)
A thriving, 15-year career in the pop-rock world is a triumph. A thriving career for Sheryl Crow in 2008 is a bona fide feat.
James Eldred: A Chat with Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk (bullz-eye.com)
If I could flash back to '95 and say to my 14-year-old self, 'You're going to play Lollapalooza,' it'd be nuts.
David Medsker: A Chat with Dan Wilson, leader of Minneapolis pop rockers Semisonic (bullz-eye.com)
(On writing for the Dixie Chicks) "It was about freedom of speech, it was about war! It was about the direction the country was headed. It was about a lot of things that are really important. I wouldn't be as excited about getting together with someone who had a lot of problems with tabloid-y stuff."
Jeff Giles: review of "Mandy Moore's 'Wild Hope'" (bullz-eye.com)
In 1999, during the height of TRL mania, Mandy Moore arrived as Epic's hat in the teen-pop ring, singing poorly written second-tier bubblegum like "Candy" and flouncing her way through jailbait videos. Aside from her extreme youth - she was 15, you perverts - Moore offered little to set herself apart from a crowded pack of starlets who, if they weren't more talented vocally, were at least getting better material to work with.
Lisa Bernhard: Susan Powter Returns (advocate.com)
A ubiquitous presence on 1990s TV with her signature buzz cut and manic energy, Susan Powter urged everyone to "stop the insanity!" as she dished out her own brand of dieting advice. Now she's back and at age 50 more fired up than ever.
Heather Matarazzo Officially Engaged to Carolyn Murphy (afterellen.com)
The out actress from "Exes & Ohs" and "The L Word" has announced her plans to marry.
GRETCHEN RUBIN: Clutter-busting: Eight Tips For Preparing For A Real (Or Virtual) Move (huffingtonpost.com)
Knowing my preoccupation with clutter-clearing, a friend emailed me a few days ago: "I am starting the great purge of our belongings in preparation for moving. What mantras should I be using?"
THE GULLIBILITY TEST: Science and Nature (museumofhoaxes.com)
Pretend that you're an editor at a major newspaper. A reporter has just handed you a story that contains the following statements. Unfortunately, this reporter has a reputation for embellishing stories with wild claims that are completely untrue. Using common sense and whatever you happen to know about the subjects, you've got to decide which statements are true and which are false before the paper goes out to print. Saying 'I don't know' isn't an option.
Commentoon: "THE MEMO: Ms. USA 2008" (womensenews.org)
Museum of Hoaxes
Headzup Video: McCain's Latest Attack Ad
Lotta and Vassar were the first two brands of what?
Reader Query
Willow's Question
On Wednesday Willow asked:
Today someone told me that I should not vote for Obama because he is
the anti-christ. I am confused.
Does that mean, if he loses the
election, he won't be the anti-christ anymore? Or, would he just lose
some of his powers?
If Senator McCain wins, will he then have more
power than the anti-christ? Will the anti-christ, whoever he might
be, only run for office in the USA?
Please, if any of you can
enlighten me, I would really appreciate it.
Willow
Another Response:
Excellent question Willow -
I often wonder that if Bush is a Christian and doing the Lords work then
isn't his war against Islamofascist terrorism in fact impeding the Lord's
second coming and Armageddon etc? Especially since he claims were
winning.
Seems to me if you want to see a fireman then you shouldn't put out the fire, you
should pour gas on it. Or is that what Bush is doing with Iran...?
Now I'm
confused.
Gary
Reader Recommendation
Another Link
'Some Guy' says check this one out!
A tainted $5000 donation from the pac of indicted Senator Stevens of Alaska to John McCain will be donated to the flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Anybody familiar with copyright infringement?
'Darfur Olympics'
Mia Farrow
As the Summer Games open in Beijing, actress activist Mia Farrow is Web-casting her own "Darfur Olympics" from a refugee camp on the barren Sudan-Chad border, aiming to shame China into using its influence with Khartoum to end the Darfur conflict.
Human rights groups have been using the Beijing Olympics to highlight accusations that China's close ties to the Khartoum government are helping fuel the bloodshed in Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million people driven from their homes since 2003.
At the same time as the opening ceremony in Beijing on Friday, Farrow will post footage on the Web from one of a dozen camps in eastern Chad where Darfurians fleeing the conflict have taken refuge. The Web-cast is to include refugee children playing sports and songs contributed by pop singers including REM, Bette Midler and Taleb Kweli.
If people want to skip the "opening propaganda ceremony" in Beijing, they can "watch the opening ceremony we put together," Farrow said.
Mia Farrow
Favorites Revealed
Pop Culture
Holy politicking, Batman. Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have unmasked their favorite pop culture icons, including superheroes, with McCain favoring Batman and Obama choosing Spider-Man and Batman.
In the world of music, McCain revealed a weakness for the Swedish disco-era band ABBA, late singer Roy Orbison and 1970s star Linda Ronstadt.
Obama favored an eclectic group of musicians, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and John Coltrane.
As for TV, Obama listed throwback programs like "M*A*S*H" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show," while McCain named the more recent "Seinfeld," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Dexter."
Pop Culture
L'Oreal Denies
Beyoncé
Cosmetics giant L'Oreal is denying it lightened Beyonce's skin tone in an ad.
"We highly value our relationship with Ms. Knowles. It is categorically untrue that L'Oréal Paris altered Ms. Knowles' features or skin tone in the campaign for Feria hair color," the Paris-based company said in a statement sent to the Associated Press through the singer's representative.
A representative for Beyonce said the singer would have no comment beyond L'Oreal's statement.
Beyonce has been a spokeswoman for L'Oréal since 2001.
Beyoncé
Demoted In New Billboard Historic Chart
Elvis Presley
Poor Elvis. Random sightings of the King of Rock 'n' Roll have tapered off in recent years, and now he has mysteriously disappeared from the upper echelons of a new list that ranks the artists with the most No. 1 hits on the U.S. pop singles chart.
Until April, Elvis Presley and Mariah Carey tied at No. 2 on Billboard's list of the top acts of the rock era with 17 No. 1 tunes each, behind the Beatles with 20.
But then Carey took sole possession of the silver medal when her single "Touch My Body" hit the top spot. That should still make Presley No. 3, but not according to Billboard which has demoted him to No. 14 with seven No. 1 hits, a ranking he now shares with Phil Collins.
The music publication, which has a news distribution arrangement with Reuters, is rolling out a series of charts to mark the 50th anniversary of its Hot 100 singles chart. The problem for Presley fans is that 10 of his chart-toppers predated the August 4, 1958, birth of the Hot 100.
Elvis Presley
Hospital News
Bernie Mac
A spokeswoman for Bernie Mac says the actor is responding well to treatment for pneumonia and hopes to be released in the next few weeks.
Publicist Danica Smith said Thursday in a statement that Mac's condition is "stable." Smith first announced on August 1st that Mac was hospitalized in Chicago.
Smith has said the pneumonia isn't related to an inflammatory lung disease Mac also has. That condition has been in remission since 2005.
Bernie Mac
Hospital News
Mr. Blackwell
Acid-tongued fashion critic Mr. Blackwell regained consciousness in a hospital Thursday as he battled a serious infection, his publicist said.
Richard Blackwell, 85, collapsed at his home and was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital on Tuesday, publicist Harlan Boll said. Blackwell was given antibiotics to treat the unspecified infection.
"He appears to be cognizant of his surrounding and acknowledged his partner, Spencer," Boll said.
Mr. Blackwell
Republican On Republican On Republican
Bradley Blakeman
A former presidential aide claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that plot and marketing elements of the Kevin Costner (R-Career Over) and Kelsey Grammer (R-Overdone) movie "Swing Vote" were stolen from him.
Political commentator Bradley Blakeman (R-Screwed), a former deputy assistant to resident Bush for appointments and scheduling, said in the lawsuit that he gave a copyrighted screenplay entitled "Go November" to Grammer in 2006.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Long Island, claims Grammer agreed to develop the project and star as an incumbent Republican president but ended up portraying a similar role in "Swing Vote," which was released Aug. 1.
The Walt Disney Co. is named as a defendant in the suit, as is Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group Inc. and Disney division Touchstone Pictures, which distributed "Swing Vote." Costner and the writers of "Swing Vote" also are among those named.
Bradley Blakeman
Lawsuit Filed
Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige has been sued in New York for $2 million by a company that says she stole some of the music she used on her latest hit album, including one used on an iPod commercial.
The Drama Family Entertainment company filed the lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday.
The lawsuit claims the company suffered copyright infringement because the singer's "Growing Pains" album contains the song "Work That." The suit says the song was created by a producer who worked for the company at the time.
The song was featured with a silhouetted Blige in an iPod commercial. Apple Inc. isn't named in the lawsuit.
Mary J. Blige
Director Sued
Peter Berg
The parents of an assistant propmaster killed in an accident during the filming of "The Kingdom" have sued director Peter Berg, seeking reimbursement of funeral expenses and other damages.
Berg was traveling in a sport utility vehicle in August 2006 when it collided with a golf cart-sized vehicle on a road near Mesa, Ariz. The impact killed Nick Papac, who was working on the closed set of "The Kingdom," an action thriller starring Jaime Foxx and Jennifer Garner.
Papac's parents, Mike Papac and Michele Bell, filed suit against the director, a driver and a production company in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday. They are asking for an unspecified amount that would include the costs of the funeral, lost earnings and medical expenses.
The film had just finished shooting for the day on a closed stretch of highway on the far eastern side of metropolitan Phoenix when Papac, 25, was struck. A statement released by the filmmakers at the time said that Papac collided with Berg's SUV and was attended to by paramedics for Universal Pictures/Forward Pass. He later died at a hospital.
Mike Papac is a longtime Hollywood propmaster. Studio officials said at the time of the accident that he was at his son's side at the time of his death.
Peter Berg
Court Orders End To Suit
Lisa Marie
A long-running lawsuit filed by Tim Burton's ex-girlfriend over his assets should be dismissed, an appeals court has ruled.
The California Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Wednesday ordering a lower court judge to grant a motion by Burton's attorneys for a summary judgment.
The move halts a trial scheduled for next week that would have focused on the couple's nearly decade-long relationship, which ended in 2001.
Burton's longtime girlfriend, Lisa Marie, sued the director in 2006. She claimed that she was cheated out of money that Burton had promised her during their relationship.
Lisa Marie
Something Stinks
Berwyn Heights, MD
Mayor Cheye Calvo got home from work, saw a package addressed to his wife on the front porch and brought it inside, putting it on a table. Suddenly, police with guns drawn kicked in the door and stormed in, shooting to death the couple's two dogs and seizing the unopened package.
In it were 32 pounds of marijuana. But the drugs evidently didn't belong to the couple.
Police say the couple appeared to be innocent victims of a scheme by two men to smuggle millions of dollars worth of marijuana by having it delivered to about a half-dozen unsuspecting recipients.
The two men under arrest include a FedEx deliveryman; investigators said the deliveryman would drop off a package outside a home, and the other man would come by a short time later and pick it up.
The mayor, who was changing his clothes when police burst in, also complained that he was handcuffed in his boxer shorts for about two hours along with his mother-in-law, and said the officers didn't believe him when he told them he was the mayor. No charges were brought against Calvo or his wife, who came home in the middle of the raid.
Berwyn Heights, MD
Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover
Ancient Chariot
Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,900-year-old well-preserved chariot at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Thursday.
Daniela Agre said her team found the four-wheel chariot during excavations near the village of Borisovo, around 180 miles east of the capital, Sofia.
At the funerary mound, the team also discovered table pottery, glass vessels and other gifts for the funeral of a wealthy Thracian aristocrat.
Ancient Chariot
September Launch Set
Large Hadron Collider
The world's most powerful particle accelerator, aimed at unlocking secrets of the universe, will be launched on September 10, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said on Thursday.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), housed in an underground tunnel 27 kilometers (17 miles) in circumference, will recreate conditions just after the Big Bang which many scientists believe gave birth to the universe.
The LHC will study a new frontier of physics, producing beams with seven times more energy than any previous machine.
Some 10,000 scientists from around the world have worked on the complex 10 billion Swiss franc ($9.5 billion) apparatus since construction began in 1994, a spokesman said.
Large Hadron Collider
In Memory
Erik Darling
Erik Darling, the reedy-voiced guitarist and banjo player who deftly stepped in when Pete Seeger left the pioneering folk music group The Weavers, has died after battling lymphoma. He was 74.
Darling was perhaps best known for his hit "Walk Right In" and for his arrangement of the iconic Southern true-crime ballad "Tom Dooley," which inspired The Kingston Trio's recording of the song that topped the charts in 1958. He was a member of the Tarriers, known for its version of "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" - the signature tune of Harry Belafonte.
Darling also replaced Seeger in the Weavers in the late 1950s, a few years after the band was blacklisted for its political views.
Fred Hellerman, an original member of the group, said he learned of his friend's death by e-mail earlier this week.
Hellerman said he didn't learn until many years later that Darling was uncomfortable with his band mates' leftist leanings.
Erik Darling
In Memory
Simon Gray
British writer Simon Gray, author of literate, bittersweet plays and acerbic diaries, has died at 71, his publisher said Thursday.
Gray wrote more than 30 plays, including "Quartermaine's Terms," "Otherwise Engaged" and "The Old Masters," as well as five novels and the screenplay for the 1987 film "A Month in the Country."
A rakish figure who claimed to have consumed three bottles of champagne a day for years, Gray also was steeped in the academic world.
Born in Hampshire, southern England, on Oct. 21, 1936 and educated at Canada's Dalhousie University and the University of Cambridge, Gray taught English for many years at the University of London's Queen Mary college.
In 1995, the West End run of Gray's play "Cell Mates" was famously curtailed when star Stephen Fry suffered a breakdown and disappeared, turning up several days later in Belgium. As was his habit, Gray turned the misadventure into material, writing a book about the episode, "Fat Chance."
In recent years, Gray gained a new following for a series of frank and witty memoirs - including "The Smoking Diaries," "The Year of the Jouncer" and "The Last Cigarette" - chronicling his battles with theater producers, alcoholism and a 60-a-day cigarette habit.
Gray is survived by his wife Victoria, and by a son and daughter from his first marriage. Funeral details were not immediately available.
Simon Gray
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