'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
from Mark
a desperate plea for legitimacy
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, clear & brisk.
The local TV-stations are having a great time covering the hail in Watts. Still hadn't melted by 11pm Thursday night.
Tonight, Friday, CBS begins the night with a FRESH 'Joan Of Arcadia', followed by a FRESH 'JAG', then a
FRESH 'The Handler'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Jessica Lynch and Shelby Lynne.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Halle Berry, Paul Bettany, and Sarah McLachlan.
NBC opens the night with 'Dateline', followed by a FRESH 'Miss Match', then a FRESH 'Third Watch'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Dennis Rodman and Elvis Costello.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Russell Crowe, Alicia Silverstone, and Andrew W.K.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are John Stamos, Joe and Gavin Maloof, Erykah Badu, the Wailers, Mike Birbiglia, and Dave Graybill.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH 'George Lopez', followed by a FRESH 'Married To The Kellys', then a FRESH
'Hope & Faith', followed by a FRESH 'Bonnie', then '20/20'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Shannon Elizabeth, L.A. Dodger Eric Gagne, and DMX, with this week's guest co-host D.L. Hughley.
The WB offers a FRESH 'Reba', followed by a FRESH 'Like Family', then a FRESH
Grounded For Life', followed by a FRESH 'All About The Andersons'.
Faux has the movie 'The Animal'.
UPN has the movie 'The Best Man'.
Check local PBS listings for 'NOW With Bill Moyers'.
A&E has 'American Justice', 'Poirot: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe', and another 'Poirot'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Shootist', followed by the movie 'Mary Reilly', then the movie 'Halloween III: Season Of The Witch'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Guest;
[7pm] 'Ground Force' - Lurgan;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Ripley Castle;
[8pm] 'At Home With the Braithwaites' - Episode 5;
[9pm] 'The Office' - Episode 5;
[9:40pm] '3 Non-Blondes' - Episode 4;
[10:20pm] 'Manchild' - Episode 2;
[11pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Alice Cooper;
[11:30pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Carrie Fisher, Nigella Lawson;
[12am] 'The Office' - Episode 5;
[12:40am] '3 Non-Blondes' - Episode 4;
[1:20am] 'Manchild' - Episode 2;
[2am] 'At Home With the Braithwaites' - Episode 5;
[3am] 'So Graham Norton' - Alice Cooper;
[3:30am] 'So Graham Norton' - Carrie Fisher, Nigella Lawson;
[4am] 'The Office' - Episode 5;
[4:40am] '3 Non-Blondes' - Episode 4;
[5:20am] 'Manchild' - Episode 2; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Inside The Actors Studio' (Martin Sheen), the movie 'Sirens', then the movie 'Polish Wedding'.
History has 'The Kennedy Presidency', 'Dead Men's Secrets', 'Heavy Metal', and 'Modern Marvels'.
SciFi has 'Stargate SG-1', 'Tremors: The Series', 'Stargate SG-1', 'Scare Tactic', and another 'Scare Tactic'.
TCM celebrates Dick Powell (he would have been 99 today) all day,
then spends the night with Miriam Hopkins.
[6am] 'Footlight Parade' (1933);
[8am] 'Happiness Ahead' (1934);
[9:30am] 'Flirtation Walk' (1934);
[11:15am] 'Dames' (1934);
[1pm] 'Twenty Million Sweethearts' (1934);
[2:30pm] 'Page Miss Glory' (1935);
[4:30pm] 'Colleen' (1936);
[6pm] 'Murder, My Sweet (1944);
[8pm] 'Trouble In Paradise' (1932);
[9:30pm] 'The Smiling Lieutenant' (1931);
[11pm] 'Becky Sharp' (1935);
[12:30am] 'Lady With Red Hair' (1940);
[2am] 'Forbidden Games' (1952) [Jeux interdits] ; and
]3:30am] 'Mrs. Miniver' (1942). (ALL TIMES EST)
Olivia Harrison, wife of the former Beatle George Harrison, holds a bouquet of flowers on stage as she and guitarist Eric Clapton, right, and movie director Jon Kamen make an appearance in front of Japanese fans before the start of the premiere show of movie, 'Concert for George' in Tokyo, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003.
Photo by Katsumi Kasahar
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Speaks at University
John Mellencamp
Anyone can write songs, John Mellencamp told a class on rock music history at Indiana University, urging students to go home and get started.
"There are going to be thousands of people in life who will tell you that you can't do something," the 52-year-old singer said. "It is important to realize that you've got to believe in yourself no matter where your dream leads you."
Mellencamp, who lives just outside Bloomington, spoke to the class Tuesday, touching on topics from politics and MTV to lessons in life.
John Mellencamp
www.mellencamp.com
Cut from 'Return of the King'
Christopher Lee
Lord Of The Rings actor Christopher Lee is fuming after discovering all of his scenes have been cut from the third and final fantasy epic. The 81-year-old, who plays Saruman in the first two Lord Of The Rings films, says he was "shocked" and mystified by his exclusion from The Return Of The King - which hits cinemas worldwide next month - and has vowed to boycott the star-studded premieres.
Lee says, "The only reason I'm able to say this is because it was on the internet and has been for some days. I only heard recently. As far as I'm concerned, I'm only telling you this because it has been revealed on the internet, someone has talked and it certainly wasn't me. Of course I am very shocked, that's all I can say. If you want to know why you would have to ask the company New Line or director Peter Jackson and his associates because I still don't really know why. I can't say any more because I signed a confidentiality agreement and I honored my word."
And after being asked if he planned to attend any of the premieres, Lee snapped back, "No, what's the point? What's the point of going? None at all."
Christopher Lee
Suing 'Dr. Phil' Show
Laurie Bembenek
A former Milwaukee police officer trying to prove her innocence in a 20-year-old murder case sued the "Dr. Phil" show, claiming false imprisonment before the taping of a show led to injuries and the amputation of her leg.
The suit filed Monday in Superior Court claims Laurie Bembenek was hurt in 2002 when she tried to escape from an apartment where she was taken and kept by producers.
During a panic attack, she tied bed sheets together as a rope but fell from the second floor after they unraveled. The drop caused several severe fractures and the loss of her right leg, the suit said.
Bembenek was to appear on the "Dr. Phil" show to get the results of DNA testing on evidence in the murder case that was paid for by the show.
"By having more concern for television ratings and advertising dollars than for the safety and well-being of their guests, the 'Dr. Phil' show acted recklessly, carelessly and in a grossly unethical manner," Bembenek's attorney, Stephen Bernard, said in a prepared statement.
Laurie Bembenek
TV producer and philanthropist Norman Lear delivers remarks at the launching of the 'Declare Yourself' campaign at the George Washington University, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003 in Washington. Declare Yourself is a non-profit, non-partisan campaign designed to energize a new movement of young adults to vote in the 2004 election.
Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta
Protest Treatment in Iraq
30 Media Outlets
In two separate letters to the Pentagon, the press claims that U.S. troops are harassing journalists in Iraq and sometimes confiscating equipment, digital camera disks and videotapes.
The Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) wrote a letter of protest to Larry Di Rita, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. Some soldiers' actions "appear intended to discourage journalists from covering the continued military action in Iraq," wrote APME President Stuart Wilk, also vice president/managing editor at The Dallas Morning News.
"These actions are unacceptable and contrary to the Pentagon's own guidelines distributed to troops in the field," Wilk wrote. The harassment has deprived "the American public of crucial images from Iraq in newspapers, broadcast stations and online news operations."
Separately, 30 media organizations, lead by The Associated Press, fired off their own letter to Di Rita, saying they have "documented numerous examples of U.S. troops physically harassing journalists," according to a report in Thursday's Boston Globe. The letter was signed by representatives from CNN, ABC, The Boston Globe, Newhouse News Service, and many others.
30 Media Outlets
Sustainable Urban Architecture
Robert Redford Building
In the Robert Redford Building, toilets flush themselves with rainwater -- except for the urinals, which use no water at all -- the floors are made of bamboo and the carpets from hemp.
All of which help make it, the actor said during a dedication ceremony in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica on Thursday, one of the "greenest" buildings in America and a glimpse into the environmentally friendly future.
Though the three-story, gray clapboard-style structure is largely unremarkable from the outside, Redford and the National Resource Defense Council activists who will work there call it a showcase of sustainable urban architecture.
For more, Robert Redford Building
Loses Second Game
Gary Kasparov
Chess superstar Gary Kasparov on Thursday lost his second virtual reality game against the computer "X3D Fritz," after agreeing to a draw with the machine in their first match.
The computer, playing whites, defeated Kasparov in 39 moves in a match that lasted four hours.
A slip by the former world champion in movement 32 resulted in a blistering attack from the computer, forcing two checks before Kasparov conceded.
The 40-year-old Russian-American will play two more games against "X3D Fritz" at the New York Athletic Club.
Gary Kasparov
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
CBS Apologizes
Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett got a public apology after a tribute to her was left out of CBS' 75th anniversary special.
"I am sorry that during the excitement of a `live 3 hour television event' the wonderful film piece we prepared that paid tribute to the `Carol Burnett Show' was not aired," executive producer Gil Cates said Wednesday in an open letter addressed to "Dear Carol" and published in trade papers.
It was a skipped cue that failed to bring up clips of Burnett's show before she took the stage, Cates said in an interview Wednesday. Burnett didn't complain and he apologized to her the next day, he said.
He said he took the ad out, in part, to explain to those in the TV industry who might have wondered why Burnett's show had been omitted.
Carol Burnett
Matthew Johnson, 14, shovels hail off the street to help free a buried car in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003, as other residents try to make their way through the hail-covered street.
Photo by Nick Ut
Post Office To Be Named
Bob Hope
Bob Hope is getting a post office named after him in the TV town of Burbank.
A plaque with the late entertainer's name will be presented at a dedication ceremony in coming months. Naming the Olive Avenue post office for Hope "will remind generations of Americans of the laughter and comfort he brought to American soldiers serving throughout the world," said Democratic Representative Howard Berman, who co-sponsored the legislation honouring Hope with Representative Adam Schiff, another Democrat.
Bob Hope
Quits UNESCO Post in Protest
Catherine Deneuve
French actress Catherine Deneuve has quit her job as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador to protest Angola's nomination of a scandal-marred businessman to the cultural agency, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
Deneuve resigned Wednesday to protest the African country's naming of French businessman Pierre Falcone as its UNESCO envoy.
Angola granted Falcone a diplomatic passport and a job in its foreign ministry. Falcone, who denies any wrongdoing, is under investigation by French authorities in a scandal centering on the suspected sale of $500 million in illegal arms to Angola during its two-decade civil war. The war ended last year.
Catherine Deneuve
Showrunners Dish Dirt
Hollywood Luncheon
With a little prompting from late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, seven successful TV showrunners relived their Hollywood tribulations -- mostly for laughs -- at an industry luncheon Wednesday.
Asked by moderator Kimmel to cite the one industry figure they could never forgive, most of the showrunners gamely broke Hollywood protocol and dished the dirt, albeit not about any executive with current greenlight power.
Barbara Hall ("Joan of Arcadia") cited Mary Tyler Moore, who she said once insulted her writing. David Kohan ("Will & Grace") dissed producer Gavin Polone without explaining why. And Kohan's partner, Max Mutchnick, sarcastically referred to the late "Candid Camera" creator Allen Funt, for whom he once apprenticed, as "wonderful."
Less vinegary were the writer-producers' recollections of past TV shows that inspired their work. Linwood Boomer ("Malcolm in the Middle") hailed ABC's 1969-74 series "Room 222," which he said he looked forward to as a youth every week. Kimmel drew laughs again by confusing Boomer's favorite with "227," the 1980s sitcom starring Marla Gibbs, who played the maid on "The Jeffersons."
Hollywood Luncheon
Pleads Guilty to Obscenity Charge
Luther Campbell
Former 2 Live Crew leader Luther Campbell has avoided jail after pleading guilty to an obscenity charge for a performance at a North Charleston nightclub last year.
The Miami-based rapper pleaded guilty last month to aiding and abetting another person to expose body parts in a lewd and lascivious manner, prosecutor Walter Bailey said Tuesday.
Circuit Judge James Williams suspended the maximum six-month jail sentence in favor of banishing Campbell from making paid performances in South Carolina for the next five years.
Luther Campbell
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Added to CBS 'Sweeps' Lineup
Michael Jackson
The Viacom Inc.-owned network confirmed on Thursday that it has scheduled a one-hour special chronicling the career of Michael Jackson, the self-styled king of pop, set to air on Nov. 26, the final night of the ratings "sweep."
In keeping with his reclusive nature, the Gloved One is not expected to perform live for the special. A spokesman for the entertainer, Stuart Backerman, said the closest Jackson will come to an "in-person" appearance during the show will be a newly produced video for his latest single, "One More Chance."
Written by R&B singer/producer R. Kelly, "One More Chance" is the only new song on Jackson's upcoming greatest-hits collection, "Number Ones," due out on Epic Records Nov. 18.
Michael Jackson
The official poster for the 76th Annual Academy Awards, designed by artist Burton Morris, is pictured in this undated photograph. The poster was unveiled November 13, 2003 in Hollywood. The Oscars will be presented in Hollywood February 29, 2004, one month earlier than in past years.
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Charged With DUI
Wynonna Judd
Country singer Wynonna Judd was charged with drunken driving early Thursday after a city police officer stopped her speeding Land Rover close to Music Row.
The arrest report states Judd had an odor of alcohol about her, watery eyes and dilated pupils, and she didn't remember how many drinks she had consumed.
Officer Carey John Adkerson said Judd consented to a breath test and registered a blood alcohol level of 0.175 percent — more than twice the 0.08 percent legal definition of drunken driving.
The officer said he stopped the vehicle because it was traveling 47 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone.
Judd, who began her career as half of the mother-daughter act The Judds, posted the standard $500 bond for a first offense and was released.
Wynonna Judd
Sue Larry Flynt
Barbi Twins
Former Playboy playmates the Barbi Twins have sued porn king Larry Flynt to prevent his use of sexually explicit photos of the sisters.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Superior Court, claims that someone gave Flynt photos taken by Shane Barbi's husband, actor Ken Wahl. The photographs, taken earlier this year, show "intimate sexual acts between the twin sisters," the lawsuit said.
"They've had some nude photos before but ... this is not the kind of work they want to do anymore," said their lawyer, Jeff Le Beau.
"They were photographs that her husband took but he had nothing to do with putting them out. They were private photos," Le Beau said.
Barbi Twins
Sentenced in Al Jazeera Site Attack
Hacker
A Los Angeles-area man has been fined and sentenced to community service for hacking into the Web site of satellite TV network Al Jazeera during the U.S.-led war in Iraq and rerouting visitors to a page featuring an American flag and the motto "Let Freedom Ring."
At a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Howard Matz told Web designer John William Racine II: "I don't think of you as an evil person ... but this was a crime. It wasn't just a childish prank."
Matz sentenced Racine, 24, to 1,000 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine. Racine, also known as John Buffo, vowed to the judge that he would never do such a thing again.
Hacker
Apologize for Cannibalism
Fiji Villagers
Villagers in a remote Fijian community staged an elaborate ceremony of apology Thursday for the relatives of a British missionary killed and eaten here 136 years ago.
The Rev. Thomas Baker and eight Fijian followers were killed and devoured by cannibals in 1867 in the village of Nabutautau, high in the hills of the South Pacific island of Viti Levu. Residents say their community has been cursed ever since.
In a mixture of ancient pagan and modern Christian rites, the villagers have staged a series of ceremonies hoping to erase the misfortunes they believe have kept them poor.
The rituals — which started about a month ago — culminated Thursday with the offering of cows, specially woven mats and 30 carved sperm-whale teeth known as tabua to 10 Australian descendants of Baker.
"This is our third apology but, unlike the first two, this one is being offered physically to the family of Mr. Baker," Ratu Filimoni Nawawabalavu, the village's chief, told The Associated Press.
Fiji Villagers
Sent to South Dakota
Bison
Dozens of long-standing residents of Santa Catalina Island are trading their ocean views for a vast playground in the Great Plain, though not by choice.
About a third of the Southern California island's 300 bison were shipped off this week to South Dakota, where they will live on two Indian reservations. They arrived in South Dakota Thursday.
Bison have lived on Catalina Island since the 1920s, when 14 animals were brought in for a movie shoot.
The finished film, "The Vanishing American," had no footage of bison. Still, the wooly beasts became a mainstay on Santa Catalina a few years later, after chewing gum mogul William Wrigley Jr. acquired a majority interest in the company that owned the island.
The Catalina Island Conservancy now oversees 88 percent of Catalina and helped plan the bison's return to their ancestral homeland. On Monday, 106 bison were herded onto cattle trucks and ferried 26 miles to the mainland as part of their 1,700-mile trip.
In South Dakota, Sioux tribal members greeted the bison with a traditional blessing.
Bison
In Memory
Dorothy Fay Ritter
Dorothy Fay Ritter, the mother of late actor John Ritter and star of several B-movie westerns in the 1930s and '40s, has died. She was 88.
The wife of singing cowboy Tex Ritter died Nov. 5 of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, said her son, Tom. Ritter, who played opposite Buck Jones, William (Wild Bill) Elliott and other western stars, had a stroke in 1987 and moved to the retirement home two years later.
Born Dorothy Fay Southworth in Prescott, Ariz., Ritter attended University of Southern California in Los Angeles and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
"She was very outgoing, very charming - the sort of person who walks into a room and the energy is driven to her," Tom Ritter told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.
"My brother was very much his mom's son," he added. John Ritter, who starred in Three's Company and other sitcoms, died Sept. 11 at age 54 of a previously undetected heart problem.
Dorothy Ritter made four westerns with Tex Ritter but gave up show business shortly after they married in 1941. They were living in Nashville when Tex Ritter died in 1974, and Dorothy moved back to California in 1981.
In addition to her son, Ritter is survived by four grandchildren.
Dorothy Fay Ritter
Two tourists walk in front of 'Moai' statues, near the town of Hanga Roa on Easter Island, 4,000 km (2,486 miles) west of Santiago, October 20, 2003. Easter Island's mysterious 'Moai,' giant head statues carved out of volcanic rock, are in danger of being destroyed by years of tropical rains and wind as well as careless humans and farms animals. Experts have called on the international community to commit funds to preserve the monoliths, whose mystery draws tourists to the world's most remote inhabited island. Picture taken October 20, 2003.
Photo by Carlos Barria
'The Osbournes'
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