The Monday Or Thursday Poll
Results
The question was:
What was your favorite Bernie Mac genre?
A. His 'stand up' comedy routine ala 'The Original Kings of Comedy'
B. His movie roles (Ocean's Eleven and sequels, Bad Santa, Booty Call, Mr. 3000, Guess Who?.. et al)
C. The Bernie Mac Show
Results
A. His 'stand up' comedy routine ala 'The Original Kings of Comedy'
One vote by Sjmcros... "Absolutely A. His 'stand up' comedy routine ala 'The Original Kings of Comedy'. This was the show that cemented my devotion to this gifted performer.
B. His movie roles (Ocean's Eleven and sequels, Bad Santa, Booty Call, Mr. 3000, Guess Who?.. et al)
Three votes...
mj wrote, "I'm going with the little known Head of State where he played the VP candidate chosen by his brother (Chris Rock) not to balance the ticket, but to put someone he trusted and who shared his values as second in command. I saw it on a flight from LA to Honolulu with a bonus feature, Dave, in late 2000. It gave me an odd boost of spirit, and I've liked it ever since."
orendorff particularly liked Bad Santa (Me, too!) and wrote, "I liked the movie and I liked Bernie Mac's part in it, too. He showed an evil side quite convincingly."
Joe added, "I never saw any of Bernie Mac's stand up. I'll go with his movie roles."
C. The Bernie Mac Show
One vote by Sally P who commented, "...I liked the, "talking to the camera" segments, and the premise of he and his new wife raising his sister's children - AWA the reality of the episodes..."
So, there it is, Poll fans! Thanks to all who responded! Sorry for the delay...
BadtotheboneBob
The new question:
T. Boone Pickens, self-proclaimed lifelong oil man and CEO of BP Capital Management that specializes in energy investments has been touting a 'plan' to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.
Do you think his 'plan' is viable and should it be seriously considered?
Send your response to BadtotheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
Fresh poll questions appear on Monday and Thursday, with Monday's results on Thursday, and Thursday's results on Monday.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
JENNIFER C. KERR: Representation Without Taxation: Study Says Most Corporations Avoid US Income Tax (huffingtonpost.com)
Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress.
Robert L. Borosage: The Great Corporate Tax Heist (huffingtonpost.com)
Remember the old Steve Martin routine on how to make a million dollars and not pay taxes: "First, make a million dollars... Second, don't pay taxes." Turns out Martin's joke is standard operating procedure for corporations in the US.
Barbara Ehrenreich: Pastors Go Postal (huffingtonpost.com)
After Joel and Victoria Osteen's latest incident, there's a possible message from on high: that their brand of Christianity fosters a distinctly un-Christian narcissism.
Mark Morford: The great untethering (sfgate.com)
Who will lament the end of the traditional land-line phone? Shall we have a party?
John Farr: Where Are All The Classy, Smart Female Stars Today? (Thank God - I Found One) (huffingtonpost.com)
Joan Allen is a quiet, steady, pre-possessing performer who combines her all-too-evident God-given skill with an understated style and allure, and also happens to make lots of extremely good pictures.
Ron Judd: More reasons not to believe your own eyes (The Seattle Times)
We suspected from the start that the voice of that little girl in the opening ceremony was fake. And now that the rest of the world is in on the secret, it's time for some other hidden truths to finally be told, especially about NBC's sleight-of-hand Olympic broadcasting.
John Mark Eberhart: Author Dorothy Hearst on why we go to the dogs (McClatchy Newspapers)
Well, here you are in 2008, standing erect on two feet, arms free, fingers and opposable thumbs ready to reach out and grasp whatever it is you want. Yes, you, proud member of the human race, the dominant species on Earth. And if Dorothy Hearst is right, you owe it all to your dog.
A Review by Donna Seaman: "Travel Writing" by Peter Ferry
Will the real Peter Ferry please stand up? Peter Ferry No. 1 lives in Evanston. He has been a textbook author, a travel writer, and a creative-writing teacher at Lake Forest High School. He has now written his first novel, Travel Writing, with a protagonist named Peter Ferry, a former textbook author who teaches creative writing at Lake Forest High School, and does a little travel writing on the side.
David Medsker: A Chat with Richard Archer, the singer and principal songwriter of West London quartet Hard-Fi (bullz-eye.com)
"Our first record, because of the way it was made, is very lo-fi. You almost have to have sound in there to paste the cracks, or you'd hear the guy walking in the door outside (the studio)."
KIRA CRAFT: How The Television Saved My Life (huffingtonpost.com)
For a person who doesn't own a television, I sure watch a lot of TV.
Fitness through the ages (guardian.co.uk)
Keeping active is key to a healthy lifestyle. However, our bodies' needs change as we get older and we need to target our exercise accordingly, says Andy Darling.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Nastily humid.
HBO Documentary by Rory Kennedy
Helen Thomas
As a tireless questioner of authority and a consummate Washington insider, pioneering White House correspondent Helen Thomas has covered nine U.S. presidents over a span of nearly a half century.
Next week on cable network HBO, Thomas, 88, makes a rare appearance as an interview subject in a documentary produced and directed by filmmaker Rory Kennedy, whose uncle "Jack" was the first Oval Office occupant Thomas followed as a reporter.
The 38-minute profile, "Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House," features the journalist reflecting on her life, career, and devotion to the ideal that democracy thrives best when a vigilant press holds leaders accountable.
Helen Thomas
Files Suit
Jackson Browne
Renowned songwriter and liberal political activist Jackson Browne has filed a lawsuit today against Senator John McCain and the Republican National Committee in the United States District Court in Los Angeles, California. The lawsuit stems from a recent television commercial for Senator McCain's presidential bid that incorporates the song Running On Empty, a song written by and famously associated with Mr. Browne, it was announced today by Jackson Browne's attorney, Lawrence Y. Iser.
The suit alleges that Senator McCain and the Republican Party failed to obtain a license for the use of Mr. Browne's song in the television commercial. In the commercial, Senator McCain and the Republicans mock Democratic candidate for President Barack Obama for suggesting that the country conserve gas through proper tire inflation.
In addition to a claim for copyright infringement, the suit alleges that by using a song famously associated with Mr. Browne, Senator McCain and the Republican Party violated the United States Lanham Act by falsely suggesting that Mr. Browne is associated with and endorses Senator McCain's candidacy. The suit also alleges that the use of Mr. Browne's voice in the commercial violates Mr. Browne's right of publicity under California law. The suit seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting the use of Running On Empty and any other Jackson Browne composition, as well as damages.
Jackson Browne
Rare Collection On Display
John Lennon
John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and his admirers are so protective of his legacy they don't want any of his original drawings photographed in full.
Some are fragile and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, and they don't want them to hit the Internet, where they can be counterfeited.
So for the first time the public will get to see 27 pencil and pen drawings along with five lithographs and serigraphs - all authenticated - at the Waukesha County Historical Society Museum in suburban Milwaukee.
A retired man in his 50s - who wants to remain anonymous - loaned the art and other memorabilia, like the microphone Lennon used to record "Imagine," to the museum.
John Lennon
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
Garrison Spik
A grotesque comparison of a steamy love affair to a New York City street has won a Washington man this year's grand prize in an annual contest of bad writing.
Garrison Spik, a 41-year-old communications director and writer, took top honors in San Jose State University's 26th annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with this opening sentence to a nonexistent novel:
"Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped 'Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J.'"
The contest is named after Victorian novelist Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, whose 1830 novel "Paul Clifford" famously begins "It was a dark and stormy night."
Garrison Spik
Convention Cities
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine will perform at an anti-war music festival during the Democratic National Convention.
The politically outspoken rap-rock band said Thursday it will perform at the Tent State Music Festival to End the War on Aug. 27 at the Denver Coliseum, a venue about 3 miles from the convention site. Others scheduled to perform include Wayne Kramer, who played with MC5 during the riotous 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago.
"I do this out of a sense of participating in democracy," said Kramer, who said he plans to vote for Democrat Barack Obama in November. "Democracy requires participation. It's not just a theory."
Rage Against the Machine also has a concert scheduled Sept. 3 in Minneapolis during the Republican National Convention in the adjacent city of St. Paul.
Rage Against the Machine
"Ed Sullivan Show" Photos
Elvis Presley
It was October 26, 1956, seven weeks after Elvis Presley's first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
The host didn't really want the hip-shaking rock 'n' roll star back on the family-friendly show, but big ratings beckoned. Sullivan corralled the King during rehearsal and made it clear that he couldn't do that thing with his hips.
The 21-year-old's reaction to Sullivan is priceless. Photos of that chat and other behind-the-scenes shots from that memorable night recently resurfaced after a half-century and are being made available to the public.
Young photographer Richard Weede was allowed on set for the rehearsal because his father, Robert Weede, who was starring in "The Most Happy Fella" on Broadway, also was appearing on the show that night. The negatives Weede snapped were relegated to a garage until his son found them in February 2007.
Elvis Presley
Will Not Face Charges
Christian Bale
Batman star Christian Bale will not face charges relating to an alleged assault last month on his mother and sister, prosecutors said Thursday, suggesting their decision was based in part on the family members' wishes.
Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to afford a "realistic prospect of conviction," and ordered police not to take any further action.
The service said in a statement that while it "treats all incidents which take place in a domestic context seriously, it is important that the views of complainants are also taken into account when making decisions in such cases."
Christian Bale
Now The Gun Was A Gift
Jerry Lewis
Comedian Jerry Lewis said the handgun seized from his baggage by airport security in Las Vegas last month was an engraved gift given to him during his annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The 82-year-old entertainer, who was detained by police after the incident at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, explained why he was carrying a firearm in an interview with the TV show "Entertainment Tonight" airing on Thursday.
"I had a gun in my carrying case ... which was given to me by a marvelous engraver," Lewis said. "Last year, at the telethon of '07 he presented me with this gorgeous gift. I put it in that traveling case and I hadn't traveled since that telethon."
The unloaded .22-caliber handgun was found by airport screeners on July 25 while Lewis was on his way to an appearance in Michigan with his manager, Jeff Low, he told the TV program.
Jerry Lewis
Cutting 1,000 Newspaper Jobs
Gannett
Gannett Co Inc plans to eliminate 1,000 positions from its local newspapers around the U.S. because of declining advertising and circulation revenue, and may cut more if those conditions persist.
The largest U.S. newspaper publisher said the cuts equal about 3 percent of the positions in its Community Publishing unit, according to a memo obtained by Reuters on Thursday. The unit accounts for the vast majority of the company's newspapers, except for USA Today.
About 600 people probably will be laid off as part of the cuts, the memo said. The remaining cuts will come from retirements, resignations and other vacancies that will go unfilled.
Gannett
Deportation In His Future
Gary Glitter
Onetime pop star Gary Glitter will be deported to Britain next week upon his release from a Vietnamese prison after serving a three-year term for child molestation, his lawyer said Thursday.
"I paid for the ticket for him," Glitter's lawyer Le Thanh Kinh told AFP. "He's a British citizen, (Vietnam) wants him to go back to the UK."
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was arrested in Vietnam in November 2005 and convicted of committing obscene acts with two girls aged 11 and 12 in the southern resort town of Vung Tau.
The 64-year-old former glam rocker was sentenced to three years in jail but was given a three-month reduction. He is set to be released on Tuesday.
Gary Glitter
Departs United Artists
Paula Wagner
In a move that ends her longtime business partnership with Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner is stepping down from her post as co-owner and CEO at United Artists.
Although she and Cruise were brought aboard to revive UA in November 2006, she encountered difficulties in jump-starting MGM's specialty label. Once she negotiates her exit, Wagner plans to return to producing films full time.
Wagner's move comes just two weeks after her husband, Rick Nicita, who had been Cruise's longtime agent, exited Creative Artists Agency to join production company Morgan Creek.
With Wagner's departure so closely following Nicita's, many in Hollywood read the power couple's moves as a reflection of Cruise's unhappiness with key lieutenants in charge of his career.
Paula Wagner
Cheap Bastards Getting Cheaper
Disneyland
Hundreds of maids, cooks and dishwashers from three Disney hotels are picketing at Disneyland's gates to protest what they say is an unfair labor proposal from the corporate-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth.
The workers' contract expired in February and their union says Disney's latest proposal makes health care unaffordable and creates an unfair two-tier wage system.
The union also says Disney wants to create a new category of part-time workers who would receive no benefits.
The dispute involves 2,300 workers at the Paradise Pier, Grand Californian and Disneyland hotels.
Disneyland
Remains of Cemetery Found
Sahara
A tiny woman and two children were laid to rest on a bed of flowers 5,000 years ago in what is now the barren Sahara Desert. The slender arms of the youngsters were still extended to the woman in perpetual embrace when researchers discovered their skeletons in a remarkable cemetery that is providing clues to two civilizations who lived there, a thousand years apart, when the region was moist and green.
Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago and colleagues were searching for the remains of dinosaurs in the African country of Niger when they came across the startling find, detailed at a news conference Thursday at the National Geographic Society.
Some 200 graves of humans were found during fieldwork at the site in 2005 and 2006, as well as remains of animals, large fish and crocodiles.
The researchers used radiocarbon dating to determine when these ancient people lived there. Even the most recent were some 1,000 years before the building of the pyramids in Egypt.
Sahara
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