'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Question
from Imogen
Did Aimee appear in one of the very first episodes of the Osbourne's?
Enquiring minds need to know...
~~ imogen g
Good question. Wish I had an answer. Think I read somewhere that Aimee had been in a couple of episodes, but in the background. Hope somebody
has the answer.
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Dreary, overcast day that finally gave way to rain. So far, the new roof is doing fine.
In the LA area, most people act like rain'll melt them. Today, CostCo was a great example of what passes for empty here. No lines at the 'food lady tables' - and there were a couple of dozen of them set up.
Makes the grazing much more convenient. Much as I hate shopping, it's tolerable on rainy days.
Getting the kittens fixed this weekend. The orange striped long-hair is for-sure a male (and in spite of his tail, he has no squirrel blood), while the calico (a true tri-color) is female (of course).
Tonight, Friday, CBS opens the night with '48 Hours', then a fresh 'Hack' and a fresh 'Robbery Homicide Division'.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Brittany Murphy and Al Lubel.
Scheduled on a fresh Craiggers are John Cleese and Chevelle.
NBC starts the evening with a fresh 'Providence', follow it with 'Dateline', and then wrap the night with a fresh 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are Pierce Brosnan and Sarah Silverman.
Scheduled on a fresh Conan are Julianne Moore, Wayne Brady, and Blues Traveler. *** (RERUNs all next week)
Scheduled on a fresh Carson Daly are Ted Danson, Tim Robbins, Elon Gold, and India.Arie.
ABC has a fresh 'America's Funniest Home Videos', then 2 fresh episodes of 'Drew Carey', and cap the night with '20/20'.
The WB has a fresh 'What I Like About You', a fresh 'Sabrina', a fresh 'Reba', and a fresh 'Greetings From Tucson'.
Faux offers a fresh 'Firefly' and a fresh 'John Doe'.
UPN has the movie 'Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls'.
Check local PBS listings for 'NOW With Bill Moyers'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Auction At Christie's
Eye Miniatures
Eye miniatures, dating from 1800, are displayed ahead of auction at Christie's in London November 7, 2002. Eye miniatures, originally worn as jewellery mounted as brooches,
rings, lockets, and tie-pins were meant to capture the window of the soul and these examples are expected to bring in between 800 and 1,500 pounds ($1,234 - $2,315) at auction
on December 10.
Photo by Alice Evans
#1
Hosting Oscars Again
Steve Martin
Actor-comedian Steve Martin will once again trade in his arrow-through-the-head for a tuxedo as he returns to host the 75th Academy Awards in March, the show's organizers announced on Thursday.
The March 23 presentation of the film industry's highest honors will mark Martin's 10th appearance on an Oscars telecast and his second as master of ceremonies.
Last year's telecast was hosted by comic actress Whoopi Goldberg, who made a memorable entrance dressed in top hat and feathers, shouting "Come and get me boys," as she descended
to the stage on a trapeze in a send-up of "Moulin Rouge."
Martin first hosted the Oscars in 2001 with a performance that eschewed the "wild and crazy" persona that propelled him to fame in favor of a more understated, biting humor, with
many of his jabs aimed at Hollywood stereotypes.
The silver-haired funny man and film star also has served as presenter on six Oscar shows, introduced a best-picture clip in 1997 and took part in a gag film sequence in 1995.
The 2003 Oscars will be televised live on ABC from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
Steve Martin
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
2003 Inductees
Australia's heavy-metal rockers AC/DC along with three British groups -- Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Police and The Clash -- climbed to the ranks of rock's pantheon after being named the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2003 inductees, organizers said on Thursday.
They were joined by The Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, whose 1965 chart-topping hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" helped define what came to be called "blue-eyed soul" during that decade.
The Hall of Fame's 18th annual induction ceremony will be held in New York on March 10 and as in recent years, it will likely reunite bands that parted ways several years ago, sometimes acrimoniously.
The Police, The Clash and Costello followed in the footsteps of The Ramones and Talking Heads, who last year became the first punk and new wave bands to break into the Hall of Fame.
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record.
The hard-charging guitars of Angus and Malcom Young combined with the growl of AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson to power the band's aggressive sound with anthems such as "You Shook Me All Night Long" in 1980.
2003 Inductees
At The Tokyo Dome
Konishiki & Barry Bonds
San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, right, chats with former sumo wrestler Konishiki at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002. Bonds and other Major Leaguers
are touring Japan for a seven-game major league all-star series against Japanese stars.
Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi
To Host TV Talk Show?
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne may regret her hit MTV series but she's still fond of television, reportedly signing up as host of a syndicated talk show.
The wife of rock star Ozzy Osbourne has reached a deal with Telepictures Productions for the show beginning in fall 2003, Electronic Media online reported Thursday.
A spokesman for Telepictures said the company doesn't comment on projects in development. Terms of the deal were unavailable, Electronic Media said.
Sharon Osbourne
Leaving 'CSI: Miami'
Kim Delaney
Kim Delaney is out of the new hit crime series "CSI: Miami" after just 10 episodes, CBS said Thursday.
The decision was a joint one involving the network and producers "upon recognizing that the character of Megan Donner was becoming less integral to the series," CBS said in a statement.
Delaney, who played a DNA specialist in the "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" spinoff, has filmed her last episode. It will air Nov. 25, and her character's departure will be explained, CBS said.
No additional changes are planned for the program, which stars David Caruso and is the top-ranked new fall series. The original "CSI" is the No. 1 series overall.
Kim Delaney
Nothing Has Changed
TV News
The content of local television news changed little after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks even as the story touched the lives of most viewers, a study released Thursday found.
Crime stories still dominated, increasing slightly to 25 percent of newscasts, according to the study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, while only 1 percent of the
stories dealt with homeland security — despite airports tightening security, the threat of bioterrorism and increased nervousness about threats to public places.
Coverage of foreign policy and defense issues increased from 4 percent to 9 percent of the broadcasts, the study found. Arguably, those stories are less the province of local news
than how the aftermath of the attacks affected individual communities — and that was where little initiative was evident, said Tom Rosenstiel, the project's director.
It showed the reluctance of television stations to break from their routines, a common theme the project found in a five-year examination of local news. This was the last year of the content study.
The study's findings this year were based on 53 stations in 17 markets over a two-week period in March and May 2002.
Rosenstiel's impression of local television news over the course of the study is an industry stretched thin by budget cuts and a thirst for profits. In many cases, local broadcast
affiliates have added newscasts with little additional staff.
Increasingly, you see cameras sent to events with no reporters, use of stock footage from news services and clips from electronic press kits — all signs of broadcasts trying to do more with less, he said.
Over five years, the PEJ study has found a strong correlation between quality broadcasts and increased ratings, he said. But sometimes it's hard to convince news directors that this is true, he said.
TV News
Inducted Into TV Hall Of Fame
Tim Conway & Harvey Korman
Comedians Tim Conway and Harvey Korman along with costume designer Bob Mackie were among those inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Science's Hall of Fame.
Conway and Korman were inducted Wednesday by comedienne Carol Burnett who costarred with them on her self-titled variety show that ran on CBS for 11 years.
Conway, a five-time Emmy winner, also appeared in "McHale's Navy," "The Tim Conway Show," and the "Dorf" home video series. Korman, who has received four Emmy awards, also appeared in "The Danny Kaye Show"
and "Mama's Family" and appeared in films, including "Blazing Saddles" and "History of the World, Part I." Conway and Korman recently have teamed up for a two-man stage show.
Mackie became the first costume designer to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. His career as a television costume designer started as an assistant on "The Judy Garland Show." He went on to create memorable
costumes for "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Show." He has won eight Emmy awards for his work on variety specials and shows.
The late John Frankenheimer also was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame for directing shows in the medium's Golden Age. Frankenheimer directed over 150 live episodes for shows such as "You Are
There," "Danger," and "Playhouse 90." He later went on to direct Hollywood film classics such as "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Birdman of Alcatraz. His widow, Evans, accepted his television award.
Other who were inducted into the Hall of Fame were actress Jean Stapleton, who played the lovable dingbat Edith Bunker on "All in the Family" and producer-director Bud Yorkin, who started directing
with shows such as "The Colgate Comedy Hour" with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and later teamed with producer Norman Lear to create hit shows, including: "All in the Family," "Maude," "Good Times," and "Sanford and Son."
Tim Conway & Harvey Korman
Teamsters Reach Agreement
Rolling Stones
A threat by the Teamsters to shut down The Rolling Stones was averted when a major promoter gave the union part of the action at this weekend's concerts.
Bill Graham Presents announced the deal with Teamsters Local 85 Wednesday after the union picketed in front of Pac Bell Park, where the Stones will play Friday and Saturday.
Teamsters complained the promoter, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, was not using union workers to load and unload trucks or unionized stage hands to set up the stage and lights.
Bill Graham Presents said it never has had a relationship with the Teamsters and was surprised by the protest, although the union says it has been having trouble with San Antonio-based Clear Channel for years.
Members of the stagehands union refused to cross the picket line, but the agreement was reached in time to set up for the show without any delay.
Rolling Stones
Back to TV
Neil Simon
After a very long break, playwright Neil Simon is returning to series television.
ABC has committed to a half-hour comedy pilot to be written and executive produced by Simon. It is intended for a fall 2003 bow, with casting set to get under way immediately.
The new project will revolve around two separated couples. Rather than divorce, the husbands move into one house while the wives move into another house -- next door to the guys.
While ABC's "The Odd Couple" was based on Simon's earlier feature and play, he did not write the series. Indeed, while he's penned several movies and specials for the small screen, his last
series work was back in the 1950s for the likes of "Your Show of Shows," "The Sid Caesar Show" and "The Gary Moore Show."
Simon's long list of credits range from "Barefoot in the Park," "Sweet Charity" and "California Suite" to "The Sunshine Boys," "The Slugger's Wife" and "Brighton Beach Memoirs." He's currently
working on an update of "The Goodbye Girl" for TNT.
Neil Simon
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Arrested
Bobby Brown
Singer Bobby Brown was arrested early Thursday in Atlanta's trendy Buckhead district on drug and traffic charges.
An officer at the Atlanta city jail said Brown was charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, speeding and having no driver's license or proof of insurance.
Brown, 33, is the husband of singer Whitney Houston.
He posted bond at the Atlanta jail, but Sgt. T. Davis said Brown had a charge pending against him in neighboring DeKalb County. The officer said he didn't know what the other charge was, but
said Brown would be taken to the DeKalb County Jail later Thursday.
Bobby Brown
India
Amritsar
Indian girls carry earthen pitchers during a cultural festival in the city of Amritsar, in the northern state of Punjab, November 7, 2002. The festival invites participants to take part in various activities related to culture of the Punjab.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Named Top Film
'Apocalypse Now'
"Apocalypse Now," Francis Ford Coppola's anti-Vietnam War classic, is the greatest film of the past 25 years, according to a survey of British film critics and writers.
Two movies by Martin Scorsese also made the top 10 in the poll released Friday by the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound magazine.
The 50 respondents chose Scorsese's "Raging Bull" as the second-best movie of the past quarter-century, followed by Ingmar Bergman's "Fanny And
Alexander" in third place. Scorsese's "GoodFellas" was fourth, with David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" coming in fifth.
The highest-ranking British film was Terence Davies' "Distant Voices, Still Lives" at No. 9.
Films dating from January 1978 to this year were eligible.
In August, another Sight & Sound poll chose "Citizen Kane" as the best film of all time.
In the latest poll, the top 10 are:
1. "Apocalypse Now" (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
2. "Raging Bull" (Martin Scorsese, 1980).
3. "Fanny and Alexander" (Ingmar Bergman, 1982).
4. "GoodFellas" (Martin Scorsese, 1990).
5. "Blue Velvet" (David Lynch, 1986).
6. "Do the Right Thing" (Spike Lee, 1989).
7. "Blade Runner" (Ridley Scott, 1982).
8. "Chungking Express" (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994).
9. "Distant Voices, Still Lives" (Terence Davies, 1988).
10. (tie) "Once Upon a Time in America" (Sergio Leone, 1983).
10. (tie) "Yi yi (A One and a Two ... ) (Edward Yang, 1999).
'Apocalypse Now'
Sight and Sound
Trying To Set Record
Roger Williams
"Born Free" pianist Roger Williams celebrates his 78th birthday Sunday by trying to break his 12-hour marathon piano-playing record at the Richard M. Nixon Library.
Williams is going for 13 hours, starting Sunday at 10:30 a.m., on the piano he donated to the library. In addition to Cole Porter, George Gershwin and his hit "Autumn Leaves,"
Williams will be playing an unnamed composition written by the nation's 37th chief executive.
Nixon, also a pianist, performed his composition on the Jack Parr show in 1963.
In June 2001, Williams set his 12-hour marathon record at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. He then donated his piano to the library.
Roger Williams
Wedding News
Robert Evans
Robert Evans, the charismatic producer whose playboy lifestyle and numerous failures and comebacks have made him a Hollywood legend, has married for the sixth time.
The 72-year-old former head of Paramount Pictures wed former Versace model Leslie Ann Woodward, 34, in Mexico, spokeswoman Gina Lang said Wednesday.
The ceremony took place Saturday on a beach in Zihuatanejo, with guests such as "Red Dragon" director Brett Ratner, lawyer Robert Shapiro and Peter Bart, editor of the trade newspaper Variety.
Evans previously was married to "Love Story" star Ali MacGraw , former Miss America Phyllis George, Swedish actress Camilla Sparv, "Dynasty" co-star Catherine Oxenberg and actress Sharon Hugueny.
Robert Evans
BartCop TV!
Health Insurance Woes
Screen Actors Guild
Health insurance is becoming a growing headache for Hollywood actors.
They have become demoralized over next year's pending benefit cuts and tightened eligibility for participants in the Screen Actors Guild-producers health plan.
As in many other professions, skyrocketing medical costs have battered the actors' healthcare plan, which is jointly administered by SAG and the Hollywood studios. Those conditions
forced trustees in September to announce plans to tighten eligibility and cut benefits for the second time in two years.
The minimum annual earnings requirement for basic coverage, currently $15,000, will jump to $20,000 in 2003 and reach $30,100 by 2007.
Since actors often work several non-showbiz jobs to make ends meet, the insurance changes seriously complicate the already tight finances for thesps. About 70% of SAG's 98,000 members earn under $7,500 annually.
Screen Actors Guild
Villasana de Mena, Spain
'Yogic Flying'
Pedro Callerro, 46, business consultant from Bilbao, performs yogic flying in a convent in the Castillian village of Villasana de Mena in Northern Spain on November 2, 2002.
Followers of the ex-Beatles guru, Marharishi, hope to open a center in the Spanish Basque Country performing the technique, which they claim has a scientifically proved positive
influence on the minds of people in the region where it takes place.
Photo by Vincent West
On LA's List Of Historic Monuments
Monterey Trailer Park
A tree-shaded trailer park has been named to the city's list of historic and cultural monuments, making it what could be the first mobile home park in the country given the designation, officials said.
The Monterey Trailer Park in Highland Park, a few miles northeast of downtown, dates to the early 1920s. It served as an auto camp to provide temporary housing to people moving to Los Angeles after
World War I, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy, which lobbied for the historic status.
The City Council unanimously approved the designation with no discussion Tuesday. The trailer park joins 715 other Los Angeles historic sites that range from an avocado grove to the Hollywood sign.
The site was built by Elmer Drummond, who named it the Monterey Auto Camp. It boasted laundry facilities, 10 guest cabins and two small Craftsman-style homes nestled among pines, elms, live oaks
and even a pair of redwoods.
Today, the guest cabins are gone but Craftsman-style homes and some of the other facilities remain, along with 22 trailers and mobile homes used by about 30 residents.
Monterey Trailer Park
Whale Finds New Home
Keiko
From his new home in a tranquil Norwegian bay, Keiko the killer whale has what his friends say is an ideal place to live: peace and quiet, human care and ample opportunity to meet wild orcas.
The six-ton orca, who gained fame in the "Free Willy" movies, was led Thursday from the Skaalvik fjord, where he turned up in early September, to the nearby but quieter Taknes Bay.
"Here at last," said Colin Baird, 36, Keiko's Canadian trainer.
"Welcome to Taknes," Baird said in Norwegian, reading a sign painted by some of the 10 residents who turned out to welcome their new neighbor. They also painted an orca lying on its back.
Baird and Norwegian fishery officials spent weeks seeking the perfect winter home for the orca before settling on the bay, which is just six miles away.
Baird said the new location is ice-free, has plenty of fish, is along orca migration routes and is more remote — something they hope will reduce crowds of admirers.
Keiko
www.aquarium.org/keiko/
HBO Drama Strikes Out
'Baseball Wives'
HBO's "Baseball Wives" is out before it's come up to bat.
No production date has yet been set for the drama series about major league baseball from the perspective of players' wives -- and insiders said Wednesday that one never will.
The move comes after HBO announced in July that it was set to start shooting 13 episodes of the drama in Miami this fall, for a 2003 debut. It's unclear exactly why the project won't go forward as planned.
'Baseball Wives'
Signs Moby, Boyband to Help Girls Quit Smoking
The European Union
The European Union has signed up techno star Moby, British pop singer Sophie Ellis Bextor and a Canadian boyband for a campaign aimed at preventing teenage girls and young women from taking up smoking.
The "feel free to say no" campaign has already featured one of the world's most expensive soccer player, Zinedine Zidane, in a bid to win over young men during this year's World Cup soccer finals.
And its new look will be launched on Friday by boyband b4-4 and European Health Commissioner David Byrne.
The European Union
Taking Down Gargoyles
Duke University
The stone gargoyles perched atop the doors to Duke University's new Gothic dormitory were meant to surprise and honor two wealthy donors.
The university succeeded at surprise: Aubrey and Kathleen McClendon, who gave $5.5 million to build the dorm, were shocked to find their own likenesses staring down from the hall that bears their name.
So shocked that the sculptures will be taken down at the couple's request.
"They were grateful," said Peter Vaughn, spokesman for Duke's development office. "They just didn't approve of the way we showed our appreciation."
The caricatures resemble bobble-head dolls, with oversized smiling heads and tiny bodies.
The sculptures of Aubrey McClendon, a 1981 graduate and CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Oklahoma City, and his wife, Kathleen, a 1980 graduate, will remain on McClendon Tower until
new ones are crafted to replace them, university officials said. A plaque will honor the couple instead.
Duke University
Woman Kills Would-Be Rapist
Erica Maramba
A 22-year-old Chiweshe man died instantly after a 50-year-old woman he attempted to rape overpowered him when she tugged at his genitals.
The two had met at Rwere Business Centre in Chief Makope's area in Chiweshe on November 1.
The man, Wonder Kazingizi (22), had offered to accompany Erica Maramba who had just got off a bus on her way to a memorial service at Mahere
homestead in Mudzamiri Village.
On the way, Kazingizi proposed love to Maramba but his proposal was turned down. He allegedly started fondling Maramba in an attempt to be intimate with her.
She maintained her calm and pretended she was accepting the advances. When Kazingizi had relaxed and thought he was having it his way, Maramba went for the most delicate part of his body.
The elderly woman suddenly grabbed Kazingizi's genitals and started pulling them until he lost consciousness.
Maramba continued pulling until Kazingizi died on the spot. She further assaulted him with a stone on the head and knees.
The woman reported the incident to police at Bare Police Station two days later.
Mashonaland Central provincial police spokesperson Inspector Dawson Mahonde said the incident occurred around 8.30pm last Friday.
He said the man was on police wanted list in connection with several other rape cases committed in the area.
Erica Maramba
Sydney, Australia
Koalas Park Sanctuary
A mother Koala proudly holds her ten-month-old baby at the Koala Park Sanctuary in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002. The babies have starting coming
out of their mothers' pouches and are now on regular view to their adoring public.
Photo by Russell McPhedran
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
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