'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Maureen Dowd: Goodness Gracious! The Truth! (NY TIMES)
First Junior took over the house with grandiose plans to remodel it and make it the envy of the neighborhood. But then he played with matches and set the house on fire. So now he's frantically trying to stop the flames from torching the whole block.
Now you see her ... (guardian.co.uk)
It's just a 10-minute bit part at the end of The Nutcracker. So why does every ballerina want to be the Sugar Plum Fairy? By Judith Mackrell.
Sanford Pinsker: Does it Matter if English Majors Read Ulysses? (/irascibleprofessor.com)
If the question, "Does it matter if English majors read Ulysses?", had been posed to me a decade or two ago I would have responded with a rousing, unqualified "Yes!" "Yes!," readers of Ulysses will know, is the final word of James Joyce's epical 1922 novel, and represents Molly's acceptance of Leopold Bloom's proposal of marriage as well as an affirming word, for Joyce, that characterized the human spirit at its best.
Andrew Tobias: GOOD ADVICE CIRCLING THE INTERNET (andrewtobias.com)
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company. 1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
Andrew Tobias: MORE GOOD ADVICE (andrewtobias.com)
Alan Light: As you yourself pointed out years ago, it is a myth that hotel keys contain personal information such as credit card numbers. They don't even contain a guest's name. Click here."
Welcome to the FTC's Identity theft site
This website is a one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help you Deter, Detect, and Defend against identity theft. While there are no guarantees about avoiding identity theft, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk and minimize the damage if a problem occurs:
What if I'm a victim? (bankrate.com)
You must prove you're a victim of identity theft -- not a deadbeat who doesn't want to pay bills. Act quickly and follow these eight steps to clean up your credit. This worksheet will help you track your calls.
World chess champion loses to computer (news.yahoo.com)
BONN, Germany - World chess champion Vladimir Kramnik lost his final game in a match against computer program Deep Fritz on Tuesday, ceding a hard-fought Man vs. Machine series 4-2.
The ugly truth about Peter Rabbit ... (guardian.co.uk)
With a new film out next month, we are facing a tidal wave of Beatrix Potter mania and merchandise. But, asks Stuart Jeffries should we be celebrating this creator of a dark, sadistic, bloodthirsty world?
Could this be a lost masterpiece? (guardian.co.uk)
After paintings worth £1m turned up in a spare room in Oxford, Jonathan Jones started to wonder about that picture hanging on the wall in his parents' lounge ...
Guess Who's Building Nuclear Power Plants?
Hubert's Poetry Corner
THE AMERICAN MILITARY AND GEORGE W. BUSH
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny but cooler.
Here's a Complete List Of The 2007 Grammy Nominations
Little Steven Starts Own Record Label
Steven Van Zandt
It's not like Steven Van Zandt doesn't have enough to keep him busy.
There's his job as host of his nationally syndicated "Underground Garage" radio program, with more than 1 million listeners in 200 markets. And his position as head of his own channel on Sirius Satellite Radio. And his role as consigliere Silvio Dante on "The Sopranos."
Oh, and he's the guitarist with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
Yet this week, Van Zandt added another line to his rapidly expanding resume: head of his own record label. In a deal with Best Buy stores, he rolled out the first six records on his rocking new label.
Steven Van Zandt
Honoree's Named
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Bluesman B.B. King, who picked cotton before picking up a guitar, and John "Buck" O'Neil, the grandson of a slave who became Major League Baseball's first black coach, are among this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, the White House said on Thursday.
Resident George Bush also named historian and author David McCullough and ex-Soviet dissident and human rights activist Natan Sharansky for America's highest civilian honor.
Also receiving the Medal of Freedom are: literacy advocate Ruth Johnson Colvin; Norman Francis, president of Xavier University of Louisiana; British historian and journalist Paul Johnson; Joshua Lederberg, a Nobel Prize winner for his work in bacterial genetics; former transportation secretary Norman Mineta; and William Safire, a former New York Times columnist.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Memorabilia Auction
Charlie Chaplin
Some sixty objects that once belonged to silent screen icon Charlie Chaplin will go on the block next week in Switzerland, where the British actor spent the last 25 years of his life, the Bernard Piguet auction house said.
The furniture, books and other items all come from the house in Vevey, by lake Geneva, where Chaplin lived until his death in 1977, and where he lies buried.
Among the lots are a bronze and crystal Restoration chandelier valued between 6,000 and 8,000 Swiss francs (5,018-6,690 dollars, 3,775-5,032 euros), and Chaplin's own mahogany writing desk, valued between 4,000 and 6,000 francs.
Charlie Chaplin
Buys Hard Rock
Seminole Tribe
The Seminole Tribe of Florida is buying the Hard Rock business, including its massive collection of rock 'n' roll memorabilia, in a $965 million deal with British casino and hotel company Rank Group PLC, the tribe announced Thursday.
The Hard Rock business includes 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues and stakes in three unbranded hotels.
With it, the tribe acquires what is said to be the world's largest collection of rock memorabilia, some 70,000 pieces including Jimi Hendrix's Flying V guitar, one of Madonna's bustiers, a pair of Elton John's high-heeled shoes and guitars formerly owned by Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Chuck Berry.
Seminole Tribe
Spokane Shows Its Love
Bing Crosby
He was arguably the most popular entertainer of the 20th Century, and inarguably the most famous person to ever grow up in Spokane.
The former Met Theater in downtown Spokane, where Crosby performed as a young man, will be renamed the Bing Crosby Theater at a public ceremony on Friday.
The "Wing Ding for Bing" culminates an effort by Spokane historian and journalism teacher Bill Stimson, who noticed one day that little in the Lilac City was named for its favorite son, and suggested the Met might be a good choice.
Crosby was born in Tacoma in 1903, but his family soon moved to Spokane and he remained a figure in the city's history for the rest of his life. The golden-throated crooner returned often to visit family and friends, and was a generous donor to Gonzaga University and other causes.
Bing Crosby
Early Paintings Exhibited
Jerry Garcia
To Jerry Garcia's brother, the Grateful Dead guitarist's oil paintings were never rare works of art, just stuff that took up space in his garage.
For nearly 50 years Clifford "Tiff" Garcia held onto them, first as a favor to his late mother, then to his only sibling and, finally, after his younger brother's death in 1995, because he wasn't quite sure what else to do with them.
Last month, all five of the works he kept in the garage were displayed publicly for the first time, at San Francisco's Matrix, where Jerry Garcia once performed as a musician. A limited edition lithograph of one of them is also being sold. "In Chair" depicts a seated figure.
As it turned out, Tiff Garcia has the only five Jerry Garcia oil paintings known to exist. His brother, who painted and drew throughout his life, worked often in watercolors, acrylics and other forms, but apparently never oil except for one year in the late 1950s when he was a teenage student of Elmer Bischoff at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Jerry Garcia
Baby News
William Dylan O'Hurley
"Dancing With the Stars" competitor John O'Hurley and his wife, Lisa, have welcomed their first child, a boy, the actor's spokeswoman, Liza Anderson, confirmed Thursday.
The baby, named William Dylan, was born Wednesday in Los Angeles and weighed 7 pounds, Anderson told The Associated Press.
The 52-year-old actor is known for his role as catalog king J. Peterman on the long-running "Seinfeld" TV sitcom.
William Dylan O'Hurley
National University of Ireland
Martin Sheen
The President carried his own books, no bodyguards in sight. He ate in the cafeteria, took cigarette breaks and sat through lectures. And for a 66-year-old former denizen of the West Wing - the television show, not the Pennsylvania Ave. address - it was a fabulous performance. Martin Sheen, perhaps best known for his stint as President Jed Bartlet on the award-winning "The West Wing," attended classes at the National University of Ireland, Galway and played the role of a regular student.
"This is one of the greatest adventures of my life - this romantic fantasy I have, studying in my mother's home," Sheen said. "I feel more human here than any other place on earth."
Sheen was born in Ohio, but his semester at the seaside university in Galway, western Ireland, has left an imprint. On Wednesday night, taking questions after an on-campus screening of his new film "Bobby" - written and directed by son Emilio Estevez - he answered to the Irish pronunciation of his name, affected a brogue, and unwittingly adopted Irish slang, such as "the lads," when chatting about his friends.
For a lot more, Martin Sheen
The Sound Of Frat Boys Whining
'Borat'
A Los Angeles judge on Thursday said he would consider a request by two U.S. college students to have a scene cut from the hit movie "Borat" that shows them guzzling alcohol and making racist remarks.
In a lawsuit originally thrown out a month ago and now aimed at DVD sales, the fraternity brothers said they were tricked into appearing in the film and that including the scene on the forthcoming DVD would harm their chances of finding work.
One of the South Carolina students has already had to resign from a prominent position in his fraternity and another lost a "very prestigious internship," their lawyer said.
'Borat'
Begs To Differ With Mr. Murphy
Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown
Eddie Murphy has said that he's not sure if he's the father of ex-Spice Girl Melanie Brown's unborn child. Brown, however, says she's quite certain that he is.
"I am obviously upset and distressed at some of the comments made by Eddie Murphy to the media," Brown, 31, said in a statement released Thursday by her publicist, Nadine Bibi.
"I have no idea why anybody would want to conduct themselves in this kind of manner about such a personal matter in such a public way. My main concern is for the well-being of my daughter, Phoenix, and of course the baby. I was astonished what Eddie said. There is absolutely no question that Eddie is the father."
Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown
Gets Probation
Lou Diamond Phillips
Actor Lou Diamond Phillips was sentenced on Thursday to three years probation after pleading no contest to domestic battery for pushing and dragging his girlfriend earlier this year.
Phillips, best known for starring as rocker Ritchie Valens in the hit movie "La Bamba," was also ordered by a Los Angeles judge to complete one year of domestic-violence counseling and 200 hours of community service.
The actor was sentenced after pleading no contest to one count of domestic battery. Under California law pleading no contest is the equivalent of a guilty plea.
Lou Diamond Phillips
PA Raid Led To Tax Probe
Wesley Snipes
The tax-fraud investigation that led to the indictment of "Blade" star Wesley Snipes began with a raid four years ago in Pennsylvania, an IRS agent testified.
The testimony came in the trial of Arthur Farnsworth, who is accused of tax evasion.
When agents searched Farnsworth's home near Sellersville, they found documents suggesting Farnsworth owned several bogus trusts, the agent said. Among them was one designed to hide money and assets to avoid payment of federal income taxes.
Snipes owned a similar trust, according to testimony by Wayne Rebuck, a former director at the company that sold the trusts. Rebuck said he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count in return for his testimony against Farnsworth.
Wesley Snipes
Comic Mockery
Pop Stars
The world's most famous pop stars are to be lampooned in a television cartoon after the success of a series of children's books mocking their celebrity lifestyles.
Author of the tongue-in-cheek tales is Peter Robinson, founder of the www.popjustice.com Web site that appeals as much to music industry insiders as it does to teenagers.
He has now signed a deal to turn the slim volumes into an animated TV series.
Pop Stars
In Memory
Jay "Hootie" McShann
Jay "Hootie" McShann, a jazz pianist and bandleader who helped refine the blues-tinged Kansas City sound and introduced the world to saxophonist Charlie Parker, died Thursday. He was 90.
McShann, whose musical career spanned eight decades and earned him accolades from both blues and jazz aficionados, was born James Columbus McShann on Jan. 12, 1916 in Muskogee, Okla. Against the wishes of his parents, he taught himself how to play piano, in part by listening to late-night radio broadcasts featuring pianist and bandleader Earl "Fatha" Hines.
He hooked up with Parker in 1937, after hearing the sax genius' music coming out of a Kansas City club, and the two worked together off and on until 1941. Parker, who earned his nickname "Bird" while playing with McShann's orchestra, made his recording debut on McShann's "Hootie Blues" in 1941.
McShann's own nickname stemmed from an incident in which someone slipped him a loaded drink during a jam session. McShann, a nondrinker, was unable to play at the "hootenanny," and the sobriquet, shortened to "Hootie," stuck.
He was the subject of a film, "Hootie Blues," in 1978 and was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1996, he received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
In 2000, the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City named its outdoor performance pavilion for McShann.
Jay "Hootie" McShann
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