'Best of TBH Politoons'
Reader Request
Phone Cards for the Troops
The number ONE request at Walter Reed hospital is phone cards.
The government does not pay long distance phone charges
and these wounded soldiers are rationing their calls home.
Many will be there throughout the holidays.
Really support our troops -- Send phone cards of any amount to:
Recommended Readings
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Canada Goes To Hell
Legal pot? Legal gay marriage? Universal health care? What's next, free porn and candy?
Reader Suggestion
Re: Bill Moyers
great speech. pity it's over the heads of so many.
I Want One!
Citizen Kane Snowglobe
Purple Gene Reviews
Kevin Spacey
Purple Genes' Review of Kevin Spacey promoting his new Bobby Darin movie "Beyond the Sea" by playing live at Bimbos 365 Club in Sab Francisco:
I will never forget Kevin Spacey playing Lester in "American Beauty" - That opening scene of him jacking off in the shower......goddamit - this guy's got guts!!!! That's what got me off my ass to go and see him promoting his latest movie that he directed and stars in "Beyond the Sea" - About the late lounge lizard/pop singer/Sinatra wanna be "Dream Lover" Bobby Darin....Spacey is promoting his pet project turned film biopic not by going on Oprah or Regis live....This guy put together a 18 piece band - rehearsed, booked and showed up for live performances of Bobby Darins' greatest hits.....and he showed up at Bimbos 365 Club in San Francisco last Sunday night......
Spacey came out "Swinging" in a tight suit singing "Hello Young Lovers". Not bad - Kevin can croon! Then the finger snapping intro to "Mack the Knife". Pretty good - Kevin can Swing! Then he performed "Dream Lover" with a little different arrangement than Bobbys' hit (less poppy). This guy must adore Bobby Darin. This is unheard of....taking a band on the road to promote a movie....some movie stars should take notice!! Well Kevin kept the ball rolling with some schlock rock - "Can't Take my Eyes off of You" (Frankie Valli hit) - "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" . I was hoping that Kevin would perform my favorite Bobby Darin song "Eighteen Yellow Roses" (about a dad whose daughter is getting married) but he skipped that hit (actually it was the "B" side of "Dream Lover"). He ffinished with a flourish with an extended version of...."Somewhere...Beyond the Sea....my Love's waiting for Me...."
Now for the bad news.....I also got to see the movie "Beyond the Sea" (2004) directed by and starring Kevin Spacey.....It took me a while to get past the prosthetic schnozz and the horrendous hair piece....plus Kevin just looks older than Darin did when he was hot! It's a shame that someone who tries so hard - misses the mark - I think Val Kilmer would have been a better facial match than Spacey - he's got that Bronx Sneer...but goddammit - Kevin did all the singing and dancing himself in the movie........This film will end up being a good rental to watch....after all, it is basically a Musical and a Biopic about a guy who was an amazing asshole (like Cole Porter in "De-Lovely").
Bobby Darin was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever at age seven and with his damaged heart was only expected to live to 15! "Beyond the Sea" cleverly casts a young Bobby Darin having a dialogue with old Bobby Darin through the whole film....this narrative didn't work for me...and the supporting characters seemed like caricatures....Kate Bosworth as Bobbys' wife Sandra Dee - Bob Hoskins as Charlie - Bobbys' brother in law - John Goodman as Steve - Bobbys' manager.....the only partially shining performance came from Brenda Blethyn (Cynthia in "Secrets & Lies") playing Bobbys' singing, dancing and laughing MOM!
If you are interested in the music and the life of Bobby Darin, then go and see Kevin Spacey with his musical/acting ensemble portray him. I never thought too much of Bobby Darin myself....sort of Neil Diamond meets Wayne Newton....but maybe that's not fair....who cares!
Purple Gene gives Kevin Spacey 8 yellow roses out of 10 for his lively performance at Bimbos....and 6 stars out of 10 for the movie "Beyond the Sea".
Purple Gene
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and dry with Santa Ana winds.
Visits Afghan Troops
Robin Williams
American forces serving at Bagram air base got a little early Christmas cheer Thursday as Robin Williams - along with football star John Elway, model/sports commentator Leann Tweeden and comedian Blake Clark - stopped by on a tour of American servicemen serving far from home.
Clark got a number of laughs, particularly with an imitation of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin trying to track down Osama bin Laden.
That bit of political incorrectness set up Williams' typically X-rated standup act, which had the crowd of more than 1,000 roaring as he bounced around the stage. On an unseasonably warm winter day, he took off his jacket, revealing a Vince Lombardi High School T-shirt that he later tossed into the crowd, leaving himself briefly bare-chested.
Robin Williams
Trump Names 'The Apprentice'
Kelly Perdew
One key lesson if you want to be on Donald Trump's payroll: don't let the boss fly off unnoticed. The Donald chose software executive Kelly Perdew, 37, to join his staff during the season finale of "The Apprentice" on Thursday.
He rejected feisty lawyer Jennifer Massey despite her bare-knuckled fight for the job.
"The Apprentice" isn't nearly the hit it was last spring. The show averages just under 16 million viewers, down 19 percent from the 19.6 million it averaged going into the first season's finale, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Kelly Perdew
Selling Elvis Estate
Lisa Marie Presley
Lisa Marie Presley is keeping Graceland but selling the bulk of the Elvis estate, including rights to her father's name and image, in a deal worth approximately $100 million.
Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. announced an agreement Thursday to sell 85 percent of its assets to businessman Robert F.X. Sillerman, founder of music and sports promoter SFX Entertainment.
As Presley's only child, Lisa Marie is the sole heir to the estate, most of which is now to become part of a publicly traded company that will be called CKX Inc.
Lisa Marie will retain possession of her father's home, its more than 13 acres of land and many of her father's "personal effects," an announcement on the agreement said.
Lisa Marie Presley
Hollywood Stars Forced to Flee
London Hotel Fire
Hollywood actor Jim Carrey, in London to promote his latest movie "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," was forced to flee his hotel on Thursday after a fire broke out.
He was not the only film star affected by the fire, which broke out in the kitchen of a hotel restaurant.
Brad Pitt and Matt Damon had to cancel a press conference in the same building to promote their new blockbuster "Ocean's Twelve."
London Hotel Fire
French Honor For American Choreographer
Trisha Brown
Acclaimed American choreographer Trisha Brown will be awarded one of France's top cultural honours Friday for her work as a major force in the postmodern dance movement.
Brown will be presented with the insignia of Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters by France's culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the National Opera of Paris said. Friday's ceremony will follow a presentation featuring two of Brown's works, Glacial Decoy and O Zlozony, O Composite.
Trisha Brown
Selling Sheet Music, Educational Unit
Warner Music
Warner Music, the smallest of the four big record companies, is selling its sheet music and educational materials division to closely held Alfred Publishing so it can focus more on signing artists and songwriters.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a statement from both companies on Thursday.
New York-based Warner Music said it is keeping its profitable Warner/Chappell music publishing business.
Warner Music
Show Near Dachau Sparks Outrage
Pop-Art Hitler
An artist who depicted Adolf Hitler as a pop art-style cartoon figure at an exhibition near the former Dachau concentration camp said Thursday he would close the 2-week-old show due to public outrage.
Walter Gaudnek said his brightly colored artworks aimed to provoke people by showing Hitler as a human rather than a monster, but Jewish community and local political leaders see the images as dangerous.
The exhibition consists of 12 paintings and 24 prints, either showing a uniformed Hitler or other Nazi iconography.
It is illegal in Germany to display artwork glorifying Hitler.
Pop-Art Hitler
Pays Grocery Bills
Don Johnson
All the creditors listed on bankruptcy petitions involving former Miami Vice and Nash Bridges star Don Johnson have been paid off, Denver lawyer Lee Kutner said Tuesday. Kutner said Johnson's companies should be emerging from bankruptcy soon. "He has obtained new financing," Kutner said.
Johnson's well-documented grocery bill of $5,740 to Clark's Market, which sued him earlier this year and won, has also been paid, according to court papers filed last week in Pitkin County Court.
The grocery tab saga was the stuff of gossip for supermarket tabloids. The Woody Creek Tavern, near Johnson's estate, at one point had a tip jar asking for contributions to bail him out.
Don Johnson
Accused of Assault
Vince Neil
Motley Crue singer Vince Neil is accused of knocking out an employee of a Dallas nightclub after a disagreement over sound levels during a concert.
An arrest warrant for misdemeanor assault was issued Wednesday for Neil in the fight at Gilley's Dallas during an Oct. 30 show.
Gilley's soundman Michael Talbert was knocked unconscious by a punch allegedly thrown by Neil that pushed him to the floor. A CAT scan showed a mild concussion, Talbert told The Dallas Morning News for a story in Thursday's editions.
Vince Neil
Bawdy 17th-Century Play Sold
'Sodom, or the Gentleman Instructed'
A bawdy 17th-century play billed as the rarest known piece of English pornography sold for $88,300 at an auction Thursday.
"Sodom, or the Gentleman Instructed," attributed to writer and libertine the Earl of Rochester was bought by an anonymous bidder for well above its pre-sale estimate of $48,000 to $68,000.
It is the only known printed copy of the play, which is believed to have been written for private entertainment in the 1670s. Catalogue notes by auctioneer Sotheby's describe it as "outrageously obscene in its sexual and scatological references, language and content."
A renowned restoration wit known as much for his debauched life as for his satirical writings, John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, died in 1680 at the age of 33.
'Sodom, or the Gentleman Instructed'
To Be Auctioned
Guitars
A Gibson guitar once owned by Beatle George Harrison and recently discovered under a bed and a guitar played by the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards on the 1964 Ed Sullivan show are among the highlights of a rock 'n' roll auction Friday.
Christie's is aiming to sell more than 400 items of rock 'n' roll and entertainment memorabilia and expects to bring a total of $3 million.
Other items include Elvis Presley's U.S. Army trench coat, an album cover signed by Bob Dylan and Britney Spears' grade school book report.
Guitars
Coming Earlier Than It Used To
Spring
In one of the most comprehensive studies that plants in the Northeast are responding to the global warming trend, Cornell scientists and their colleagues at the University of Wisconsin found lilacs are blooming about four days earlier than they did in 1965.
The Cornell study is consistent with other examinations involving the biological impact of rising temperatures, but those studies have been much more limited in geographic scope.
Earlier this year, Harvard University scientists also reported finding evidence of earlier flowering in specimens at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, while botanists at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. found the city's Japanese cherry trees are blooming about a week earlier than they were 30 years ago.
Spring
OK After Rear-Ending Bus
Whitney Houston
Singer Whitney Houston rear-ended a city bus with her sports car, but no one was hurt, police said.
The accident happened Wednesday afternoon as Houston was making a left turn, said Sgt. Chris Lagerbloom.
She was given a citation for failure to yield, a misdemeanor.
Whitney Houston
Wildlife Artist Gored To Death By Kenyan Buffalo
Simon Combes
A British artist who made a career of depicting Africa's wildlife has been gored to death by a buffalo in Kenya, his family said.
Simon Combes, 64, was out on an evening walk in a reserve of the Great Rift Valley with his wife Kat and their friend, cheetah expert Mary Wykstra, when attacked.
"It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," his daughter Cindy, 36, said, describing the area as a place Combes had grown up in and knew intimately.
The attack only lasted some 10 seconds but "seemed like a lifetime", until the two women threw things at the buffalo and scared it off, she said.
Simon Combes
Nearly 900 U.S. Kids Lost a Parent
Another Iraq Casualty
The escalating toll of American dead in Iraq is causing another tragedy that cuts deeper. After studying casualty reports and obituaries and accounts in hometown newspapers, and also conducting family interviews, Scripps Howard News Service has identified nearly 900 U.S. children who have lost a parent in the war.
At least half are under the age of ten. More than 40 troops died without ever seeing their newly born children. At least 60 children lost parents last month.
One reason for the high rate of dead parents is the reliance by the U.S. military on reserves, who tend to be older and have more children.
Another Iraq Casualty
Found In Coffins
610 Pounds
Talk about your killer weed. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers found 610 pounds of marijuana hidden in caskets being hauled in a truck stopped in eastern Oklahoma.
The driver, Timothy G. Hynd, 26, and his passenger, Robert Dean Harper, told a trooper they were working for a Tucson, Ariz., casket company and their destination was Atlanta. They were pulled over early Friday for going 6 mph over the speed limit.
Hynd and Harper were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and were freed on bond Monday. Both men said they had no idea there was marijuana in their cargo.
610 Pounds
Basic Cable Networks
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Dec. 6-12. Each ratings point represents 1,096,000 households. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses.
1. NFL Football: Philadelphia vs. Washington (Sunday, 8:28 p.m.), ESPN, 6.7, 7.34 million homes.
2. Movie: "3" (Saturday, 9 p.m.), ESPN, 4.1, 4.44 million homes.
3. "WWE Raw Zone" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Spike, 3.1, 3.43 million homes.
4. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), Spike, 3.1, 3.37 million homes.
5. "Law & Order" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 3.1, 3.37 million homes.
6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.0, 3.28 million homes.
7. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.9, 3.2 million homes.
8. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.9, 3.16 million homes.
9. "Sportscenter" (Sunday, 12:07 a.m.), ESPN, 2.8, 3.07 million homes.
10. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.8, 3.02 million homes.
11. "Law & Order" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 2.7, 2.96 million homes.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.7, 2.95 million homes.
13. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Sunday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.6, 2.87 million homes.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 6 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.6, 2.82 million homes.
15. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.5, 2.78 million homes.
Ratings
