'TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Huygens Space Probe
By Baron Dave Romm
Looking like an inverted Flying Saucer, the probe will descend into Titan. A NASA Animation will help demonstrate what the Huygens Probe is doing. "On January 14, four weeks after separation from the Cassini spacecraft, the Huygens probe will enter Titan's atmosphere 1270 kilometers above its surface." Titan was chosen as a more likely place to find life on other planets. It's not a good chance, and maybe the moon doesn't have intelligent life, as in the blue states, but the conditions may exist and finding out more about other places helps us understand our own.
Launched in 1997, still a time of optimism, the spacecraft and probe are named after early observers of Saturn, Saturn's rings and Saturn's moons. The Huygens probe will be the first to land on a body of the outer planets. To speed its journey, the spacecraft was launched toward the sun and used Venus as a slingshot, twice, and swung around Earth and Jupiter.
The Huygenbs Probe contains six instruments:
Cassini is still operating and sending back tremendous amounts of information. Go to the NASA's main Saturn page for information and updates. Saturday, January 14th, is a big day. Huygens will land on another world and Cassini will relay the data to us Earthlings. It's one small long distant step for men, one giant leap for mankind.
The urge to explore -- to find out, to seek out new places and greet new faces -- transcends race, politics or religion. For many centuries exploration was the province of the brave, the stupid and/or the lucky. Now, geeks rule. This is a voyage that could not have been done by Magellan, Marco Polo or Christopher Columbus. The intellectual heirs of Newton, Galileo and Einstein are expanding our knowledge.
Indeed, the US Space Program must be considered the most successful undertaking in human history. The goals of the space program plus the spinoffs and supporting projects have affected almost every aspect of your life. Foremost as you're reading this online: the internet. The net started out life as a way for government researchers to talk to each other. That expanded to include a way to exchange documents, images and files. Visionaries such as Al Gore realized the potential of information exchange and funded the high-speed lines and university nodes that were the backbone of the net and even today remain important.
Of course, the space program wasn't really about sending a man to the moon. We were really funding missile research. After Sputnik scared the complacency out of the US, we got moving. Because of the space program, we were able to contain the spreading threat of communism until the Soviet Union collapsedof its own weight. Now, thanks to the economic expansion generated by the tools of information exchange, other communist countries such as China are moving toward models of capitalism and democracy.
Spinoff from the space program are all around you. The car you drive, the weather forecast you listen to, the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the medicine you take, the building you live in, the office you work in, the computer you play games on were all directly influenced by the work done for NASA. From baby food to Biblical research, our drive to explore has touched your every waking hour. Here is a partial list of spinoff research including chip research, water purification and aid to school bus design. Here's another list, including TV Satellite dishes, smoke detectors and bar coding.
Oh... we put a man on the moon. NASA achieved its objective on time and under budget.
And let's not forget the two Mars Rovers. They have exceeded their mission specs and continue to send us information. This week marks the one year anniversary of Spirit. Landing on Mars on Jan 3, 2004 with a mission of 90 days, the rover has continued to send back useful information. Opportunity arrived less than a month later, and is also going strong.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E , and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Judy Blume Talks About Censorship
When I began to write, thirty years ago, I didn't know if anyone would publish my books, but I wasn't afraid to write them. I was lucky. I found an editor and publisher who were willing to take a chance. They encouraged me. I was never told what I couldn't write. I felt only that I had to write the most honest books I could. It never occurred to me, at the time, that what I was writing was controversial. Much of it grew out of my own feelings and concerns when I was young.
Judy Blume: Introduction to "Places I Never Meant To Be: Original Stories By Censored Writers"
When I was growing up I'd heard that if a movie or book was "Banned in Boston" everybody wanted to see it or read it right away. My older brother, for example, went to see such a movie -- The Outlaw, starring Jane Russell -- and I wasn't supposed to tell my mother. I begged him to share what he saw, but he wouldn't. I was intensely curious about the adult world and hated the secrets my parents, and now my brother, kept from me.
A Discussion With JUDY BLUME
BLUME: Book banners are almost always afraid that if their children read about it, they'll do it. As an example, in my book Deenie there's some discussion of masturbation and Deenie talks about her "special place" and getting that "good feeling." Some parents - who consider masturbation the ultimate taboo - believe that if their children never read about it, they'll never know about it, and therefore, they'll never do it. Well, I don't know about you but nobody ever taught me to masturbate. I certainly never read about it in a book. I never even heard the word. Like Deenie, I discovered my "special place" and that "good feeling" on my own. I'd have been so relieved to read about it, to know it was okay, to know I wasn't the only one. These same parents think that if their kids read a book like Forever they'll start having intercourse. Norma Klein used to say reading about sex satisfied her curiosity so she didn't have to go out and do it. So much of book banning is based on parental fear.
Judy Blume: Is Harry Potter Evil?
Interview with Lois Duncan
There are so many questions to ask you; why don't we begin with your banned books? You knew that "Killing Mr. Griffin" had been banned or censored, but were surprised that "Don't Look Behind You" also was, and "[couldn't] think of a single thing that anyone might object to about that book." If I told you it was challenged for its immorality, as well as for its graphic and sexual references, would you consider these valid reasons for challenging the novel?
I can only assume there was a mix-up. "Don't Look Behind You" is about a family forced into the Federal Witness Protection program because the father helped the FBI expose a drug ring. It's an adventure story. The closest we get to a sex scene is when the 17-year-old daughter goes to a party where the punch has been spiked, and her date starts kissing her. She shoves him away and makes him take her home.
Banned Books
National Coalition Against Censorship
Reader Suggestions
Some 'Don't-Misses' Coming Up
Hey, Marty...
Doing my TiVo trip tonight I noticed that there are several really great, not often seen movies coming up on TCM.
The Unholy Three (1930), Lon Chaney at his height, doing his best impressions of the Bush administration, on the 12th at 7 AM EST. (note from marty - it's also Lon Chaney's only talkie).
Quai des Brumes (1938) [AKA: 'Port of Shadows'], a certified classic, on the 14th at 11PM EST.
Garden of Eden (1928) a great SILENT, on the 16th at 9 PM...and the long version of Superman (1978), on the 15th at 11:15 AM EST.
Two of its Supermen departed last year.
Oh, and for those wistful moments, TCM is reshowing Washington Story (1952), back when democracy was cool and took courage.
But, Marty, don't be too hard on John Kerry. He's got a brain and a heart, and that's what it takes.
The Road to Hell is paved with Republicans, mostly while Democrats stand in amazement.
Paul in LA
Still protesting after all these years
Thanks, Paul!
Great film recommendations!
As to John Kerry, he may have a heart & a brain, but so do our cats.
Like the characters in 'The Wizard of Oz' learn, a heart, a brain & 'da noive' are necessary.
And John Kerry is no Bert Lahr.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Rained so hard this afternoon that it looked like a dark, foggy night.
Book Banned In Mississippi
Jon Stewart
Library officials in two southern Mississippi counties have banned Jon Stewart's best-selling "America (The Book)" over the satirical textbook's nude depictions of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices.
"I've been a librarian for 40 years and this is the only book I've objected to so strongly that I wouldn't allow it to circulate," said Robert Willits, director of the Jackson-George Regional Library System of eight libraries in Jackson and George counties.
The book by Stewart and the writers of "The Daily Show," the Comedy Central fake-news program he hosts, was released in September. It has spent 15 weeks on The New York Times best seller list for hardcover nonfiction, and was named Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the industry trade magazine.
Jon Stewart
Plays Tsunami Benefit Show
Willie Nelson
For Willie Nelson, picking and singing to raise money for relief efforts from the Asian tsunami is a natural gesture.
The Austin Music Hall performance Sunday by Nelson and others sold out in less than seven hours, generating $75,000 for the Red Cross, UNICEF and CARE.
Performers at the Austin concert include Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, the Joe Ely Band, Patty Griffin, Alejandro Escovedo, Ray Price and Spoon.
Willie Nelson
BBC Airs Musical Over Protests
'Jerry Springer - The Opera'
Britain's public broadcaster televised "Jerry Springer - The Opera" on Saturday, despite appeals from church groups not to air the expletive-heavy musical.
The British Broadcasting Corp. said it had received 40,000 complaints even before airing the show, which has been running in London's West End.
Inspired by Springer's trashy American television talk program, it features songs titled "Pregnant By A Transsexual" and "Here Come The Hookers." It is peppered with obscenities and has drawn the ire of Christian groups, outraged at its portrayal of Jesus Christ in a nappy admitting he is a "bit gay."
'Jerry Springer - The Opera'
Old Hollywood, New Stars
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Today's movie superstars met up with the old guard on one soggy red carpet Saturday night for the gala awards presentation at the 16th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Nicole Kidman attended with her father Anthony Kidman, who flew in from Australia for the event.
Other contenders for next Sunday's Globes braved an unusually rainy weekend to make the scene: "Kinsey" co-stars Liam Neeson and Laura Linney received the festival's Desert Palm acting honors.
Adrien Brody and Bryce Dallas Howard ("The Village") walked the arrivals line alongside locals Anne Francis, Celeste Holm, Lainie Kazan and Congresswoman Mary Bono.
"We actually wouldn't be here if it was not for Sonny Bono," said Kevin Spacey, Globe contender for "Beyond the Sea" and recipient of the Sonny Bono Award for acting, directing and producing the film.
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Soul Mainstay In Publishing Deal
Betty Wright
Singer/songwriter/producer Betty Wright, famed for such soul classics as "Clean Up Woman" and "Where Is the Love," has signed a worldwide co-publishing deal for her catalog with Universal Music Publishing Group.
Wright earned her standing in R&B/pop history as an artist with the 1971 classic "Clean Up Woman" and later won a best R&B song Grammy Award for "Where Is the Love." Her list of hits also includes "Baby Sitter" and "Tonight Is the Night."
Wright also operates her own label, Ms. B. She has helped shape British soul ingenue Joss Stone's breakthrough projects. The current Grammy nominee for best new artist worked with Wright on her 2003 S-Curve Records EP, "The Soul Sessions," as well as her 2004 full-length debut, "Mind Body & Soul."
Betty Wright
'Pajama Game' On Broadway
Harry Connick Jr.
Harry Connick Jr., the crooning heartthrob and jazz stylist, will star next season in a Broadway revival of "The Pajama Game," one of the musical theater's biggest hits of the 1950s.
Connick will play the role originated in 1954 by John Raitt, according to Jeffrey Richards, a co-producer of the revival. Richards called Connick "an actor of enormous charisma and skill, a wonderful singer and a bona fide star."
No other casting has been announced, although Richards said the production will be directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, currently represented on Broadway by "Wonderful Town."
Harry Connick Jr.
Injured in Stage Fall
Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel, the Tony-winning star of "Wicked," fell through a trap door during the Saturday matinee of the Broadway musical and cracked a lower rib.
The show, a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," was halted for about 45 minutes while Menzel's understudy, Shoshana Bean, prepared to go on as the green-skinned Elphaba, according to Bob Fennell, a spokesman for the musical.
Bean also played the Saturday evening performance and was scheduled for the Sunday matinee, which was to have been Menzel's last performance after a more than 16-month run in the show.
The accident occurred near the end of the performance at the Gershwin Theatre, during what's known as "the melting sequence," Fennell said Sunday. During the scene, a trap door opens and an elevator that was to have lowered Menzel had already partially descended, according to the spokesman, causing the actress to fall and hurt her side.
Idina Menzel
War Mongering At It's Finest
Two Military-Themed Channels
Ten-hut! When the Military Channel reports for duty Monday at 2000 hours, it will be a boon for armchair generals and fans of corporate warfare, too.
The debut comes only five days after another network, the Military History Channel, began operating. Both are targeting much the same audience with a similar programming mix, and are bankrolled by two of the cable TV industry's biggest and most successful players.
The Military Channel is a repositioning of the aviation-centered Discovery Wings channel, which is already seen in about 35 million homes. It's the 14th domestic channel operated by Discovery Communications Inc., including TLC and the Discovery Network.
The Military History Channel is a spinoff of the History Channel, the sixth U.S. network started by AETN, and was offered to cable and satellite systems starting Wednesday.
Two Military-Themed Channels
Ack!
Sperm Donor TV Show
True Entertainment and Brighter Pictures, production companies owned by international reality giant Endemol ("Big Brother") in New York and London, respectively, are co-developing a reality series that would pit a group of male contestants against each other for the honor of serving as a sperm donor to a woman willing to be impregnated.
The twist -- there's always a twist in reality land -- is that the woman must choose between two finalists. One will be determined on the basis of biological compatibility, the other on personal grounds. Either science or love will prevail.
To make "Mum" more palatable for American networks, Endemol has opted not to use microscopic cameras that would enable viewers to actually see the egg get fertilized.
Sperm Donor TV Show
Texas Company Wants to Sell
Biosphere 2
The company that owns Biosphere 2 Center, 3.1 glass-enclosed acres designed to simulate the Earth's environment, has put the site up for sale.
The company is also selling 70 other buildings on the center's 140-acre campus 16 miles north of Tucson, said Christopher Bannon, general manager of Decisions Investment Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas.
In 1991, eight "biospherians" were sealed inside for a two-year stay. But the project was plagued by rising costs and other setbacks and Columbia University assumed responsibility for the site under a management agreement, turning it into a research and education facility.
The relationship with Columbia ended in September 2003 and Biosphere 2 has been open as a tourist destination.
Biosphere 2
Can Tell Human Languages Apart
Rats
Rats can use the rhythm of human language to tell the difference between Dutch and Japanese, researchers in Spain reported Sunday.
Their study suggests that animals, especially mammals, evolved some of the skills underlying the use and development of language long before language itself ever evolved, the researchers said.
It is the first time an animal other than a human or monkey has been shown to have this skill.
Rats
1st Awards Show Of The Season
People's Choice Awards
The People's Choice Awards, hosted by Jason Alexander and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, were presented at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and broadcast on CBS. The awards covered 38 film, television and music categories, including a number of new ones.
The nominations were determined by editors at Entertainment Weekly, the People's Choice production team and a panel of pop culture fans. Winners were determined by Internet voting.
The complete list of winners:
_ Motion picture: "Fahrenheit 9/11"
_ Drama motion picture: "The Passion of the Christ"
_ Comedy motion picture: "Shrek 2"
_ Animated motion picture: "Shrek 2"
_ Favorite sequel: "Shrek 2"
_ Animated movie star: Donkey in "Shrek 2" (voiced by Eddie Murphy)
_ Movie villain: The Fairy Godmother in "Shrek 2" (voiced by Jennifer Saunders)
_ Favorite on-screen chemistry: Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler in "50 First Dates"
_ Female movie star: Julia Roberts
_ Male movie star: Johnny Depp
_ Female action movie star: Angelina Jolie
_ Male action movie star: Will Smith
_ Leading lady: Renee Zellweger
_ Leading man: Brad Pitt
_ Funny female star: Ellen DeGeneres
_ Funny male star: Jim Carrey
_ Television drama series: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
_ Television comedy series: "Will & Grace"
_ New television comedy series: "Joey"
_ New television drama series: "Desperate Housewives"
_ Female television star: Marg Helgenberger
_ Male television star: Matt LeBlanc
_ Late night talk show host: David Letterman
_ Daytime talk show host: Ellen DeGeneres
_ Reality show - competition: "American Idol"
_ Reality show - makeover: "Extreme Makeover Home Edition"
_ Reality show - 24/7: "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica"
_ Crest fans favorite smile: Julia Roberts
_ Pantene fans favorite hair: Jennifer Garner
_ Cover Girl fans favorite look: Kate Hudson
_ Favorite group: U2
_ Female singer: Alicia Keys
_ Male singer: Usher
_ Favorite remake: "The First Cut is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow
_ Favorite combined forces: "Yeah" by Usher/Lil Jon/Ludacris
_ Country group: Brooks & Dunn
_ Country female singer: Shania Twain
_ Country male singer: Tim McGraw
People's Choice Awards
$7 Billion Consolidation
Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch, consolidating his global media empire in the United States, is expected to announce today that he will buy out the shareholders of his Fox properties for about $7 billion, executives involved in the deal said last night.
The deal would solidify Mr. Murdoch's control over some of the nation's most valuable media assets like the Fox broadcast network and the DirecTV satellite service and help simplify the complicated structure of his far-flung company, the News Corporation, which includes newspapers, television, film and satellite assets around the globe.
The transaction, which the board of News Corporation approved last night, would also make Mr. Murdoch's company an even more formidable media power in the United States. Mr. Murdoch, who gave up his Australian citizenship 19 years ago to become a United States citizen, recently reincorporated News Corporation in the United States and shifted its primary stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange from the Australian exchange.
The move to bring Fox Entertainment back inside the fold of News Corporation also gives Mr. Murdoch more flexibility to wield his deal-making muscle in the United States, where he used to have to rely on the often faltering stock price of his Fox subsidiary as leverage for deals.
Rupert Murdoch
