Tonight - On Dave Letterman!
George Carlin!
Tonight (Friday), George Carlin will be on Dave Letterman.
Tomorrow night, on HBO, at 10 pm (est), 'George Carlin: Complaint'
9 minutes have been cut, and the title has been changed....but, damn, it's George Carlin!
To hear a little Carlin, online, www.laugh.com.
Anyone else remember when if you saw George Carlin, Kenny Rankin was the opening act?
Wish I could remember more of those evenings...LOL
BC Entertainment Link Of The Day
Moose & Squirrel Information One-Stop
http://geocities.com/mooseandsquirrel1
What a great site! Information and reference materials of the first order!
Between 'Moose & Squirrel' and 'Google', who needs 'refdesk'!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night's TV
Started the evening with 'Friends' on NBC - Ron Liebman (Rachel's dad) is
a wonderful actor, and not seen enough. Anyone remember 'Kaz'?
Stuck with NBC til ER, and I really hate hospital shows.
Then went to ABC for 'Prime Time Thursday', and poor Niki Taylor....
41 surgeries so far!
The highlight of the evening, though, was Steve Martin on David Letterman!
Dave introduced 'Steve Martin and His Singing Balls', and I'll never hear 'Mr.
Sandman' the same way again....LOL
The other guest was Earl Scruggs, and 'Friends'...Started out on one of the old TV's, had to
move to one of the stereo receivers, and WOW! That was some 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown'!
Have a soft spot for banjo pickers, and to read a bit more about an album Steve Martin & Earl Scruggs
have put together, see Earl Scruggs & Friends (bcEnt-82301).
Tonight (Friday), watch for 'Iron Chef' on the local UPN outlet, with William
Shatner.
ABC now owns the franchise on both 'Charlie Brown' and 'Winnie the Pooh', and they
are out to maximize the effort tonight. Later, Barbara Walters has a special with 4 young studs &
Julia Roberts.
AMC's oddity today is 'The Nanny' starring Bette Davis. Who killed the little
girl - her brother or her nanny?
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Taking A Good-Natured Swipe At The Windsor's
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger has taken a good-natured swipe at Britain's royal family for failing to award him
any of the nation's coveted royal honors.
While Paul McCartney and Elton John sport the knighted title of ``sir'' and the Beatles were
all declared members of the Order of British Empire decades ago, Jagger remains title-less - an apparent irritation.
In a soon-to-be-released documentary previewed Tuesday, Jagger, 58, jokes about the matter
shortly before an encounter with Prince Charles.
In an exaggerated upper-class English accent, he holds a mock conversation with himself: ``Is
it true that you haven't got anything at all? That is rather odd, isn't it.''
``Being Mick'' will air in Britain and the United States (on ABC-TV) on Thanksgiving. It will
coincide with the release of Jagger's new solo album, ``Goddess in the Doorway.''
Bono, Lenny Kravitz, Pete Townshend and Wyclef Jean - all contributors to the album - appear
in the documentary.
Mick Jagger & 'Being Mick'
It's Your Universe
The Leonid Meteor Shower
The Leonid meteor shower will flicker and flash above North America late on Saturday,
Nov. 17 through early Nov. 18. All you need to see it are your eyes, a dark location,
and a little weather luck. This and a few other simple tips will assure a good view of
the event, which experts say should be spectacular this year.
The Leonid meteor shower is brought to us by comet Tempel-Tuttle, a ball of ice and
rock that orbits the Sun every 33 years, jettisoning tiny fragments of itself. Each
pass lays down a new trail of bits and pieces, or meteoroids, which burn from the
friction of the Earth's atmosphere as we cross the Tempel-Tuttle trails every November.
The resulting meteors are popularly called shooting stars.
Tempel-Tuttle's path is slightly different each orbit, and the individual debris streams
spread out and drift through space. So each year the number of shooting stars varies
depending on which trails Earth passes through. Forecasters say 2001 should provide
the most spectacular show since 1966.
Several peaks of activity are expected in various parts of the world.
For North American skywatchers, Earth will enter the heavier parts of the stream at about
11 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 17. Activity will peak around 5 a.m. Sunday morning, when as
many as 13 meteors per minute could be visible, likely for a stretch of time that lasts less
than 1 hour. The peak corresponds to 4 a.m. CST, 3 a.m. MST and 2 a.m. PST.
Because this peak occurs near dawn on the East Coast, West Coast watchers will have a
longer period following the peak to look for meteors, said Bill Cooke, a meteor forecaster
at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
The nights and early mornings surrounding the peak -- from Nov. 14-21 -- should also
offer up a handful of meteors and possibly some meteor outbursts as Earth potentially
passes through various old debris streams.
Residents around the Pacific Rim may see a more intense storm. The heaviest part of
the debris stream is expected to slam into the atmosphere over the western Pacific
Ocean. Top viewing in Australia, Japan, eastern China and the Philippines is expected
to occur between 1:30 and 4:30 a.m., local time, on Nov. 19. Rates during these peaks
could approach two shooting stars every second.
"The Leonids have a reoccurrence of heavy activity every thirty years or so," said Dreyfuss
Planetarium Astronomer Kevin Conod. Conditions are right, he said, for Earth to pass
through a dense stream this year.
Conod predicts the shower will flourish with 100 to 1,000 streaks and flashes from different
meteors throughout the night in North America. A similar display should occur in Central America.
But like most meteor showers, the Leonids are notoriously difficult to forecast.
To get the full effect, find a dark location outside that's clear of trees. Lunsford recommends
allowing a half-hour for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. Gradually you'll be able to see
more and more stars as well as meteors.
"The more stars you can see before the shower," said Lunsford, "the better level of
activity you'll see as well."
Earth will encounter another dense ribbon of the debris next November. Europe and Africa are
the favored locations for another predicted storm. But a full Moon will dampen the 2002 show.
After that, scientists say it will likely be nearly a century before the Leonids storm again.
"It's now or never," said Robert Naeye, editor of Mercury, the magazine of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific. "People should take advantage of this year's Leonid storm, because
astronomers don't think we'll see another storm like this one until the year 2099. We will
probably never see a better meteor shower in our lifetimes."
Leonid Meteor Storm - Great Visuals & It's Free
Write Your Own Caption
Updated!
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' never seems to rest - and doesn't let little things like laundry or
housekeeping get in the way!
Damn near every show on TV must is listed - days & days worth of great reading.
For an amazing variety of information on an awesome array of tv programs check out
BC TV!
Working Steady, Keeping Busy
William Shatner
For William Shatner, the voyage continues at warp speed.
Just check him out at breakfast earlier this week. Even sitting still, the once-and-forever
Captain Kirk is on a quest. He presides. He glows. He rhapsodizes, seemingly as thrilled to
discuss his slice of multi-grain toast as his latest batch of projects.
Is there another pop-culture presence more enduring and adaptive than Shatner at age 70?
Indefatigably bridging kitsch and cosmology for nearly 40 years, he is a TV star, memoirist
and sci-fi novelist, movie actor and filmmaker (he directed a ``Star Trek'' feature, and
currently has a couple of films in the works), novelty recording artist, and, of course,
self-spoofing product spokesman: ``If saving money is wrong,'' he wailed in one of his
goofy Priceline commercials, ``I don't want to be right!''
When asked his greatest strength, Shatner replies, with rare brevity, ``my strength.''
Now he is weighing in with ``Iron Chef USA,'' an English-language version of the kookie
culinary clash that has proved a cult sensation in its Japanese original.
But wait! There's more!
Shatner and pal Leonard Nimoy, who co-starred as pointy-eared Mr. Spock in the ``Star
Trek'' TV series and feature films, recently met to tape ``Mind Meld: Secrets Behind
the Voyage of a Lifetime.'' A coupla gents sitting around talking, this confessional
is for sale in VHS and DVD formats on Shatner's Web site.
``In my proudest moments, I think, 'I had a real hand in the creative force of making 'Star
Trek,''' says Shatner, whose run lasted until Kirk's demise in the umpteeth film sequel,
``Star Trek: Generations,'' back in 1994. ``But most of the time, I don't think about it.
``I hear about `Enterprise' and (series star) Scott Bakula and I think, 'That's great. Good
for him.' But I've never seen it. I never saw `Next Generation,''' he adds, referring to the
first TV spinoff. ``I never saw `M-A-S-H' or `Seinfeld.' I don't watch TV.''
Nonetheless, Shatner somehow got a glimpse of the Japanese ``Iron Chef,'' which, airing on
cable's Food Network, he appreciatively calls ``the weirdest thing you've ever seen.''
Shatner plays the strutting, great-coated Chairman whose ``cooking arena'' (at Las Vegas'
MGM Grand hotel) becomes the battleground for dueling chefs. In one hour, both of them must
prepare an exotic meal whose every course contains a particular ingredient disclosed only
moments before Shatner bids the rivals ``allez cuisine'' (``start cooking'' in French).
Sixy minutes later, a panel of minor celebs decides which menu (and which chef) takes the cake.
As usual with a Shatner project, ham, too, is on the menu. Loftily, The Chairman hands
down wisdom like ``Eating fuels the body. Eating well fuels the soul.''
William Shatner Working Steady
William Shatner's Official Web site
What If They Gave A War, And Nobody Showed?
Geraldo Rivera
What if the war in Afghanistan ends before Geraldo Rivera can get to it?
Geraldo doesn't think that's going to happen, despite the speed with which the country's key
cities, including the capital city of Kabul, have been falling this week.
And as he packs for a flight to Pakistan tomorrow, he's certain there will be plenty of war
left to fight and cover by the time he arrives.
"I would have loved to have been in Kabul when it fell," he said on the phone yesterday, "but
I think the main event is still to come. It's the much more elusive goal."
And Geraldo, who's heading to the region as Fox News Channel's newest correspondent, is itching
to join the search as the war moves from the cities into Afghanistan's forbidding mountainous
terrain, where the Taliban is believed to be holing up in caves and regrouping for a guerrilla war.
"Now it really becomes like Vietnam in the mountains. It's Vietnam in the Hindu Kush. Now they
have to go after al Qaeda in their caves and in their ravines and in their valleys and in their
mountain redoubts north of Kandahar. That's basically what I wanted."
He'd also been quoted recently as wanting to personally capture Osama, but now, on the eve of
his departure for South Asia, he's setting more modest goals for himself.
In addition to assembling clothing and supplies sufficient for surviving nights in the mountains
when the temperature can fall far below freezing, Geraldo is bringing along two producers - his
younger brother, Craig Rivera, and Greg Hart, who has accompanied Geraldo to war zones in Colombia,
Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia in a partnership that goes back 14 years.
His brother and Hart were part of the package when Fox News hired Geraldo, who had asked NBC to let
him out of his contract when he saw that the network was not going to let him cover the war.
He'll be seen on Fox News for the first time on Monday, reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan. He'll
likely enter Afghanistan the next day.
Muy Macho Male-Menopausal Moron
Who's The Prettiest?
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan is ``The Sexiest Man Alive'' according to People magazine.
The James Bond star is the 15th person to receive the title, which the magazine has
bestowed previously on Brad Pitt, George Clooney and the original Bond, Sean Connery.
The 48-year-old actor admits he's had his teeth fixed, but added, ``I have not had any
plastic surgery in any shape or form. No implants. And my hair is not dyed.''
Also included on the list of sexiest men are cellist Yo-Yo Ma, ``The Oprah Winfrey
Show's'' self-help guru Dr. Phil McGraw, actor-comedian Ben Stiller and Mexican president Vicente Fox.
Pierce Brosnan
Liberal Radio !
Erin Hart
Liberal radio online - what a concept! Listen from 9 pm to 1 am (pst) Saturday and Sunday
at www.710kiro.com
There's even a chatroom!
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To check out 'Train Station Chicken', and more (like 'Cranberry Autumn Tea'),
In The Kitchen With BartCop
Fun Link
Betty Bowers
http://bettybowers.com/harrypotter.html
Betty Bowers, a better Christian than you or me, has reviewed 'Harry Potter'. Check it out!
Your Tax Dollar$ At Work
For Faux
Twentieth Century Fox will host a special premiere screening of ``Behind Enemy Lines'' on Saturday at the
Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.
Joining the expected 1,500 naval officers and sailors at the event will be members of the film's cast -- including
star Owen Wilson (''Zoolander''), who's giving up his limo to arrive in an F/A-18F Super Hornet jet fighter.
How does Wilson feel about making his red-carpet arrival in a machine that produces 44,000 pounds of thrust?
``I guess we all have to make sacrifices,'' he joked in an interview with Daily Variety, gamely
adding, ``I guess I'll try to eat pretty light that day.''
Despite the numerous scenes featuring Wilson in fighter cockpits in ``Behind'' -- he plays
a naval aviator downed in enemy territory -- the trip will mark the first time the thesp actually will fly in one.
``Actually, I am really excited,'' said Wilson, ``We're flying from Malibu to San Diego, which
should be pretty spectacular.''
Before the screening, Fox will hold a reception aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which
has just returned from active duty.
Faux's 'Behind Enemy Lines'
Dead Sea Scrolls Finally Published
2000 Years In The Making
The Dead Sea Scrolls, dating between 250 B.C. and A.D. 70, have nearly all been published 54 years
after their discovery in caves on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
The announcement of their publication was scheduled for Thursday at the New York Public Library
by Emmanuel Tov, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the project's editor in chief.
The 900 scrolls and commentaries in 37 volumes, primarily written in Hebrew and Aramaic on more
than 15,000 leather and papyrus documents, were found between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves near the
ruins of an ancient settlement at Hirbet Qumran, nine miles south of Jericho in the West Bank.
They are believed to have been written by the Essenes, an austere and insular Hebrew sect.
Scholars consider the scrolls a treasure of Jewish history and religion. They provide insights
into what the Hebrew Bible looked like more than 2,000 years ago. They also reflect the thinking
of Jews during the turbulent period that produced the beginnings of rabbinic Judaism and the dawn of Christianity.
Tov's team of about 100 international scholars, overseen by the Israel Antiquities Authority,
has issued 28 volumes; two more are in the final stages of preparation. They are published by
Oxford University Press under the general title ``Discoveries in the Judean Desert.''
An introductory volume is to be published early next year with a history of the project and a
list of all the texts in the various volumes.
Dead Sea Scrolls Finally Published
Audio Files From BC
Bonus Page Link
Looking for some 'Garbage'?
Here are some MP3 files from BC
Dead Actor To Be Digitized, Star In Film
Bruce Lee
Twenty-eight years after he died, Bruce Lee is still alive and kicking -- at least, in the movies.
South Korea's ShinCine Films, headed by filmmaker Chul Shin, said Thursday it will
make a $50 million movie that recreates the martial arts star on film using digital,
computer-generated images (CGI) and new voice technology.
Lee, who died in 1973, will be a kick-boxing hero in the same style his fans loved
in Hong Kong martial arts movies of the 1970s like ``Way of the Dragon.''
In a telephone interview, Shin said the movie's script was still being written, so he
did not want to be specific about the story.
Shin described the technology ``totally new'', but it would re-create Lee's image and
cause him to interact with live-action actors and actresses. An actor would tape Lee's
dialogue, and computer software would change the actor's voice to make it sound like Lee.
ShinCine acquired the rights to Lee's name and likeness from Concord Moon, a company
administered by Lee's widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, and Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee.
In a statement for Lee's family, Shannon Lee said they sold the rights because they
``believe in ShinCine's and Mr. Shin's enthusiasm and commitment to making a first rate film.''
Shin founded ShinCine in 1988 and has made some 15 films including current Korean hit
``Wild Beauty'' and 1999's ``Lies.''
Lee died in July, 1973, in Hong Kong of a brain hemorrhage caused by an allergic reaction to pain killers.
His son, Brandon Lee, followed him into acting and was on the verge of becoming a star
in his own right when he, too, suffered an untimely death at age 27, due to an accidental gunshot on a movie set.
Bringing Bruce Lee Back From The Dead?
Auction News
The Tolkien Collection
A comprehensive collection of proof copies, first editions and letters by author J.R.R. Tolkien
comes under the hammer in London today, auction house Christie's has said.
The archive, which chronicles the development of Tolkien's best-selling fantasy ``The Lord
of the Rings,'' is expected to fetch up to $50,000, Christie's said in a statement.
The documents are from the collection of Tolkien's friend George Sayer.
In one letter Tolkien thanks Sayer for his ``great kindness and generous support and help in
the matter of the L.R. in the dark days of doubt...
``...You were extremely kind to me at a low ebb. And I believed your praise, somehow more than
anyone else's,'' he wrote.
Other notable works for sale at Christie's inaugural 20th Century Book Sale include a signed
edition copy of T.S. Eliot's ``The Waste Land'' (estimated at $1,500-$2,150) and an inscribed
copy of D.H. Lawrence's ``Amores'' (estimated at $7,000-$10,000).
A copy of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's ``Die Traumdeutung'' said to have influenced figures as
diverse as author James Joyce and artist Salvador Dali, is expected to fetch about $13,000, while
a group of six letters from Albert Einstein to his sons could sell for up to $8,500, Christie's said.
The Tolkien Collection
For a little more background from BC Entertainment
Trouble For A Double
Busted Again
A former movie double for Robert De Niro has been busted again for handing out a line of raging bull.
Joseph Manuella, a 51-year-old former firefighter whose dead-ringer appearance for the
iconic actor scored him work in De Niro's film, The Fan, was arrested Wednesday in Middletown,
New York, after he allegedly tried to woo women and con businesses by posing as the man himself.
The two haven't worked together since De Niro's (very appropriately titled) 1996 stalker
flick. But this isn't the first time the 58-year-old Oscar winner has encountered problems with the imitator.
"There is a past history," De Niro spokesman Stan Rosenfield says. "He was arrested on
similar charges two years ago, and part of his sentence was to agree not to do this again."
Police say Manuella made a living impersonating De Niro, and he was making up to $1,500
a pop to show up at parties and weddings. Nothing illegal there, but the New Jersey man
allegedly kept the charade going after hours, wooing starstruck women while partying in
the Hamptons and even acquiring a credit card in De Niro's name.
For his part, De Niro is just hoping to put the whole ordeal behind him and make sure
Manuella doesn't try to keep playing De Niro dress-up.
"We hope, if nothing else, that people will be aware who they're dealing with," Rosenfield
said. And, offering a little De Niro-speak of his own, he promptly added: "You f--k with us, we f--k with you."
De Niro's Double In Trouble
Off To Afghanistan
Jay Leno
As studio moguls and network executives brainstorm about how they might back the U.S. war effort, one of
Hollywood's most powerful forces is being deployed to the front lines -- Jay Leno.
The host of NBC's ``The Tonight Show'' said Thursday he plans to travel overseas next month to entertain U.S.
troops involved in the war in Afghanistan against Taliban forces and Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.
Leno said his exact itinerary is unknown, but one NBC official said the comedian is expected to visit troops in
what the military describes as a ``forward operating location.''
Highlights of his trip, which Leno expects to last three or four days, will be aired Dec. 26-28 on ``The Tonight Show.''
He said he doubted his wife, Mavis, known for her work on behalf of Afghan women's rights, would join him on the trip.
Leno also will present a special Thanksgiving Day telecast from his NBC studio in Burbank, Calif.,
to be beamed live on Armed Forces Radio and Television Services, which reaches U.S. military personnel
stationed in 175 countries around the world.
Producers plan to fill the studio audience with servicemen and women for the show. Leno's guests for
the Thanksgiving broadcast, which will air on NBC on Nov. 22, will include Irish rock band U2 and
former ``Baywatch'' star Pamela Anderson.
Leno, 51, first entertained American troops abroad during the Persian Gulf War in 1990, when
he was guest host of ``The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.'' He performed for a military
audience again in 1995 at an air base in Aviano, Italy, and as recently as two weeks ago on an aircraft carrier.
Leno said members of the U.S. armed forces are ``the best audience in the world.''
He said some of his first experiences in front of U.S. troops in Kuwait were among his most
gratifying as a performer.
``You stand on a tank, and 30 or 40 guys would sit in the sand, and there's no microphone, and
you just kind of yell jokes, and they laughed like they were the funniest jokes in world,'' Leno
recalled. ``And I went, well, this was easy enough. I wish Vegas was this easy.''
Leno Hitting The Road
New! Updated!
(6 Nov, 2001)
The official BartCop Astrologer, Geneva, has provided another eye-opening set of charts!
A brief excerpt: " "The influence of the opposition across the 3rd/9th axis may indicate
we have more to fear from domestic terrorism than a foreign entity. Sagittarius on the cusp
of the foreign 9th house, with ruler Jupiter in Cancer, the sign most closely associated with
home and country, in the home 4th, shows the source of anthrax and other bio-chemical threats
are more likely from within our own borders; by a home grown group of domestic terrorists. The
recent wave of breast beating, chest thumping, and flag waving can be attributed to the most
excessive planet (Jupiter) transiting the most exorbitantly patriotic and jingoistic sign (Cancer).
Jupiter also has jurisdiction over religion, so the source of these dreadful bio-terrorist attacks
could very well be a group with a strongly opinionated religious axe to grind. "
Very interesting reading!
'War' Makes For Strange Bedfellows
ABC + CBS = ABCBS?
Executives at ABC and CBS News are talking about sharing equipment and other ways they could work
together to cut costs, while maintaining editorial independence.
Neither network would talk publicly about their negotiations, reported Thursday in The New York
Times. But executives at both networks, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the private
meetings, which took place as recently as Wednesday.
Both networks had been involved in similar talks with CNN earlier this year. When those discussions
proved fruitless, ABC and CBS turned to each other.
ABC and CBS already share a satellite uplink in Pakistan. Sharing more of the costly equipment used to
transmit reports is central to the talks between the two networks, executives said.
There are also discussions about sharing camera crews on assignments, letting both networks use certain
file footage and even consolidating office space in bureas. Both networks say there have been no
talks about sharing on-air talent, or any other arrangement that would be readily visible to viewers.
The talks between ABC and CBS predated Sept. 11. Executives had no idea when or if an agreement would be reached.
``Each network feels like it could do a better job than anybody else,'' CBS President Leslie Moonves
said earlier this fall. ``Network pride factored in.''
Sharing Resources At A Network Level
All The Details Have Been Worked Out
Kidman/Cruise
Tom Cruise and his ex-wife Nicole Kidman have agreed to share custody of their two adopted
children and reached an amicable agreement over how to divide the property and fortune from
their 10-year marriage, lawyers said on Thursday. The agreement, details of which were kept
secret, ends an acrimonious 10 months for the Hollywood couple, whose sudden split in February
shocked the show business world.
Lawyers for Cruise, 39, and Kidman, 34 issued a joint statement after the deal was reached in
Los Angeles Superior Court late on Wednesday on the outstanding issues of their children and
the division of assets.
The statement issued by their lawyers said the movie stars ''have come to an amicable, full
resolution of all issues. This was done to ensure that the best interests of their children were protected.
``The terms and conditions of their agreement are confidential. The parties will remain close friends.''
Kidman/Cruise Settle Confidentially
Another Cameo Role
Jesse Ventura
Gov. Jesse Ventura made a two-day trip to Southern California last week to play a bit part in a movie.
He made a cameo appearance in a movie titled ``Master of Disguise,'' a comedy starring Dana Carvey
to be released in May, according to a spokeswoman for Revolution Studios, the film's producer.
The trip came as some in Minnesota were calling for Ventura to take action to help save the Minnesota
Twins from elimination. Major League Baseball owners voted to eliminate two teams and the Twins have
been named as a possibility. Ventura has invited a group of local businessman to a meeting Friday to
discuss a possible purchase.
Jesse Ventura & Dana Carvey
Today's Gross Story
'How's It Hanging'?
Life in the penis gallery, and other mixed nuts in Boulder.
Without all the flag-waving, nobody would have noticed the penises.
After all, they'd hung in the Canyon Gallery of the Boulder Public Library for three weeks before
the library received its first complaint about "Hanging 'em Out to Dry," one of fifty pieces included
in Art Triumphs Over Domestic Violence, an exhibit sponsored by Boulder County Safehouse. And during
that time, the show had collected numerous positive reviews, not just in the local media but also in
a book that the library set out for viewers' comments -- most of them as heartfelt as the artists' statements about their own work.
An uneven but sincere lot, that work -- still on display through November 26 -- ranged from pieces
comparing domestic violence to terrorist attacks (!) to a few very graphic nudes that made Judy
Chicago seem like a priss, detailed down to every pubic hair. (When the Canyon Gallery hosted an
entire show of nudes -- both male and female -- back in summer 2000, it inspired exactly one
complaint. Boulder residents also fondly remember an impromptu snow sculpture from a few years
back of a naked lady who reclined on a bench outside the library until she melted away.) And yes,
overhead was a clothesline, from which dangled 22 colorful ceramic penises. But no one so much as
whimpered about their inclusion until longtime library director Marcelee Gralapp vetoed putting a
ten-foot-by-fifteen-foot American flag outside the entrance for fear that it might "offend" someone.
And with that, Boulder hung itself. Again.
In another town, a public library wouldn't dream of exhibiting a string of penises, or displaying
portraits of nudes, or even hosting a show that included graphic artistic representations of domestic
violence. But Boulder, as we all know, is not another town.
This is a town where the good citizens responded to early coverage of JonBenét Ramsey's murder (fifth
anniversary coming right up) by urging a boycott of the Globe and other supermarket tabloids rather
than suggesting that the crime be solved. This is a town where, just last winter, a third-grader's
science-fair entry was banned because her use of black and white Barbie dolls was deemed politically incorrect.
But since the events of September 11, even Boulder is not the place it used to be. A decade ago, a year
ago, Gralapp's refusal to hang an American flag might have gone unnoticed. And still, Gralapp could have
forestalled the whole mess by simply pointing out earlier that several flags, albeit smaller ones, were
already displayed -- size doesn't matter, after all -- and left out the blithering about "objectivity"
that opened the library to criticism regarding what it would hang.
Penises. In broad view of any weekend warrior ready to go off half-cocked, with Dr. Laura Schlessinger and
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell quickly joining the ranks.
"By its very nature, the subject matter for this exhibit, domestic violence, is provocative," offered Karen
Ripley, the library's director of cultural programs, in the city's response to the first penis protests. And
by its very nature, a library is the sort of place where tough topics, including domestic violence, deserve
to be discussed. But such discussion belongs in books, and arguably in sections that can be closed off to
those who'd rather read about the subject than see it as they enter the public facility -- or, more to the
point, have their children see as they enter. And ultimately, even the library recognized the need for some
prophylactic measures: Last week the show was rearranged to make more "sexually explicit" pieces less
visible -- in deference not to kids, but to potentially squeamish adults attending a celebration of the
Boulder Planning Department's fiftieth anniversary. Had the penises been put under wraps a little earlier,
the next act in this farce might have been cut short.
Instead, on Saturday morning, an anonymous Boulder patriot absconded with the penis piece, leaving a
note -- "El Dildo Bandito was here" (what el dicko!) -- and a flag in its place. The library responded
by posting its own notice suggesting that anyone with knowledge of the crime contact the police, as well
as this comment from "Hanging 'em Out to Dry" artist Susanne Walker, a University of Colorado student: "This
piece is not about dildos or sex toys, it is not about whether a large flag should be hung in the entrance
to a public library. It is very sad and disturbing to me that an individual can warp and twist the message
created by survivors and victims of domestic violence. It is not only an attack on my freedom of speech,
but the art space, the issue of domestic violence, women and the victims of terrorism.
"If you want to attack me or my artwork, then confront me with discussion...that is the purpose of this type of art."
On Sunday, the penis pilferer, one Bob Rowan, confessed to KOA radio; he's since discussed his "anger" over
the library's anti-flag, male-bashing attitudes with assorted media outlets. The penises remain in the police
property room; they will not be rehung. And on Tuesday, Rowan was charged with second-degree criminal
tampering, a Class 2 misdemeanor involving tampering "with the property of another with the intent to cause
injury, inconvenience, or annoyance to that person or another."
How about annoyance to a cast of thousands? Once again, Boulder rises to the occasion.
''How's It Hanging?''
A 'Local' Spin
Ken Kesey
The Eugene Register-Guard
Still Really Like This One....
"Boondocks" (9 Oct 01)
Gonna let it ride for awhile.
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
