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From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
Dave Romm's Review
CDs from TV shows III
By Dave Romm
No, I'm not going to talk about Golden Throat. Bad music is bad music. If you're that desperate, go here. Fair warning.
For years, Leonard Nimoy was trying to escape being typecast as the vulcan from Star Trek. He failed, going so far as the title of one of his books, I Am Not Spock. In many ways, he deserves more: He's a fine actor with many other interests and talents. Still, tv eats reputations alive. While the show was running he issued Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space, which includes a rock version of the Star Trek Theme, Music To Watch Space Girls By, Highly Illogical ( his first flirtation with having a hit), Spock Thoughts (a take on Desiderata) and others. As the show was winding down, he tried the transitional title The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy. He has several albums and books of poetry out. More on his music here. While he may not be a terrific singer (or poet, though his photography is okay, and you can send Nimoy e-postcards), I kind of like several of his songs. I seem to be almost alone in liking The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, (with a music video...) but what the heck. I remember watching on some Hullabaloo-like program, opposite Star Trek no less, to see Nimoy singing it. Highly Illogical as an import. I think it's sad that these are really hard to find, and the best place I've found, and one of the few that has Bilbo Baggins, is a compilation with William Shatner called Spaced Out. Bio and discography of Nimoy. And some sound bites here, too.
During the heydey of Star Trek conventions, in the mid-to-late-70s, Nichelle Nichols had the reputation of being a very good singer. You can't really prove it by the CD Out Of This World, but it does have a few good cuts. My favorite cut is Rock the World, about world peace. She does a creditable job on the disco version of the Star Trek Theme, and a few others are interesting. I wasn't all that impressed with Uhura's Theme or her poem for Gene Rodenberry. The CD contains a long (25:21) interview with her. Still, she's good enough that I'd like to hear her do other stuff, but alas they're are not released.
Possibly the best actor as a regular on a Star Trek series was Brent Spiner. He's also the best singer. He spoofs his own character while singing straightforward Tin Pan Alley songs in Ol'Yellow Eyes Is Back . "One of the twelve songs feature back-up vocals by The Sunspots, which consists of his ST:TNG co-stars LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, and Patrick Stewart" says the web site, though I don't offhand remember which one. He does a creditable job on standards.
As befitting the large number of tv shows and movies it generated, there are a LOT of Star Trek soundtracks and DVDs and such. If that's your thing, fine. I appreciated the Star Trek: The Motion Picture 20th Anniversary Collectors' Edition because of all the interviews on the second CD, Inside Star Trek. Gene Rodenberry, Nichelle Nichols, William Shatner, deForest Kelly, Isaac Asimov... an informative and often hilarious set of reflections.
Dave Romm is a conceptual artist with a radio show and a web site and a very weird CD collection. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here.
Does He Ever Rest?
the worried shrimp!
DeficitDubya39
New Theme Song
'The Ballad of the Shrub'
From Theatetus
'The Ballad of the Shrub' for BC Entertainment
(Sung to the tune of the Ballad of Jed Clampett)
Come 'n listen to my story 'bout a man called Shrub
Poor Millionaire, not a deal he couldn't flub
Then then one day, he was snortin' up some coke,
An' pals ran 'im for office as a funny joke.
Executions! Pay-offs! Pollution!
Well, the first thing ya know, Shrub's governor for real
His friends said, "George, there's more we can steal."
Said Washington is the place y'oughta be,
So they loaded up the PACs, and they moved to ol' DC.
Subliminable! Fuzzy Math. Misunderestimate!
"I'll deliver Florida" brother Governor Jeb declared.
"Martial Law will keep those liburuls a-scared."
Then when the Democratic votes began to mount
Jeb had his witch Harris stop the ballot recount.
Tossed ballots. Voter intimidation. Hanging chads.
Ol' Shrub almost lost but the court saved the day
Supressin' the ballots that might get in the way,
Lotsa folks objected, but the Supremes found no fault,
And turned Shrub loose on the surplus a-layin' in the vault
Cash, that is! Corporate welfare, Defense money!
Now Shrub and gang were carrying the Treasury away
When Osama attacked our beloved US of A
Although he was warned, Shrub was reading to a class
The planes hit the towers, and then he hauled ass
Bunnypants! Git outta harm's way. Mommy!
Well now it's time to hear Shrub's 'Trifecta' win
War, recession emergency - Lord it makes you spin
Now Shrub is as happy as can be,
Stealing both our taxes and our liberty.
Fascism, that is!, Country's going to hell. Take your rights off!
Y'all come back, here!
~~ Theatetus
Thanks!
Cool Link
from Sharon
From Sharon
Darwin Bedford, atheist messiah in Canada, has a cool website, including lots of hate mail from fundies:
www.atheists.net
Thanks, Sharon.
Reader Comment
Re: Border$ Book$
From Lorena
The Dumbing Down Dept. at Border$ Book$
Commercial Alert and 26 authors and scholars sent a letter Wednesday to
Borders Group CEO Gregory P. Josefowicz, asking him to reconsider his
"category management" plan which will likely reduce
the range of ideas in print and put small publishers
out of business.
'Commercial Alert (in PDF format)
(excerpt)
Denied shelf space in a major outlet like Borders, smaller publishing houses
will be hard pressed to survive. The Kremlin would have found it difficult to
invent a more subtle and effective way of suppressing original viewpoints and
ideas.
~~ Lorena
Thanks, Lorena
Reader Observation
from Ray
From Ray M
I'm overcome in a fit of patriotism ...
I've been reflecting on all the weeping and gnashing of teeth folks are doing over the removal of "under God" from the National Morning Kiddie Wake-Up Call we got shoved down our throats since the 1950s. Maybe we should just rephrase it, "... one nation, underpaid ...".
Of course, since the 2000/2001 Coronation, a new flag design is in order. I've come up with this one, based on The Holy Gang-o'-Nine. The four stars are for the 4 Justices who dissented with the Presidential Appointment. The stripes, like the court, should all be white. Of course, you'll notice the slightly different stripe in the middle ... for the Oreo.
Next I think I'll work on that new pledge (to the tune of "Old MacDonald):
I pledge allegiance to the flag,
Ee-i-ee-i-o!
... and to the republic for which it stands,
Ee-i-ee-i-o.
...oops, excuse me ... I gotta go extinguish the flaming cross on our lawn.
Ray
Thanks, Ray
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The weather is still nice. Talked to some pals up in Sac, where it was over 100. They didn't appreciate hearing it never got to
75 here...LOL
Tried a tri-tip roast on the portable incinerator (aka the Webber kettle), and we had a winner!
Promised the kid a trip into Hollywood this week. Probably will aim for Wednesday or Friday - it's a traffic thing.
Tonight, Monday, CBS has reruns of 'King Of Queens', 'Yes, Dear', 'Raymond', and 'Becker'. They are followed by '48 Hours'.
Dave is on vacation, and airs a show not even a month old, from 6/5/02, with Chris Rock and Jack Johnson.
Scheduled on Craiggers are The Rock, Mila Kunis, and Dave Alvin.
NBC has a rerun 'Fear Factor', then a fresh 'Dog Eat Dog', followed by a rerun 'Crossing Jordan'.
Jay is also a rerun with Katie Couric, D.J. Qualls, and Hoobastank.
Of course, if it's Monday, Conan is a rerun. This one features Tom Green, Seth Green, and Jordan Rubin.
Scheduled on Carson Daly are Bridget Moynahan and Pete Yorn.
ABC has the movie 'Swing Blade' (yup).
Watch out for ghosts on the scheduled rerun of Bill Maher with William Baldwin (actor), John Henton (comedian), Senator Joe Lieberman, and Barbara Olson (political commentator).
The WB has 2 reruns of '7th Heaven'.
Faux has reruns of 'Boston Public' and 'Ally McBeal'.
UPN has reruns of 'The Hughleys', 'One On One', 'The Parkers', and 'Girlfriends'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Baby News
Lola Simone Rock
Chris Rock and his wife, Malaak Compton-Rock, welcomed their first child, a girl, Friday in New York City.
The couple named their daughter Lola Simone. Rock's publicist declined to divulge any other details.
Rock met Compton in 1993 and they tied the knot in November 1996. They reportedly separated briefly in 1998 before reconciling. The couple currently live in Brooklyn.
Compton-Rock is a former publicist who now runs her own nonprofit that helps women on welfare find jobs. She was named as one of the top 40 New York executives under 40
by Crain's magazine last year and has also appeared on Oprah for her work.
Lola Simone Rock
Free Pocket-Size Copy
The Constitution
Free Copy Of The Constitution
Big Dog Watch
Bill Clinton In Colombia
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton gives a speech during a seminar in Cartagena, June 29, 2002. Clinton is participating in a seminar on the Colombian private sector.
Photo by Jose Miguel Gomez
Summertime Fashion Intern
Barbara
First Daughter Barbara Bush will be employed in NYC as a fashion intern over the summer — and she's bound to work up a thirst.
Barbara, 20, is going to work for Lela Rose, the designer who created the dresses that she and her twin, Jenna, wore at their dad's Inauguration. (Rose also dressed
Sharon Stone and Ashley Judd.)
The still underage Yalie is sure to be closely watched if she slips into Lotus, Lot 61, Trust or any other fashion oases around town. Especially after The Washington
Post reported that she and Jenna went drinking at Stetson's in Washington on Wednesday night.
University of Texas student Jenna, the younger (and, perhaps, friskier) of the pair, is wisely steering clear of our tipster-infested town. She will soon head for
Prague, which she visited in May with her mother, Laura, according to the magazine.
Pickle's press secretary, Noelia Rodriguez, declined to comment on the girls' summer vacations "or anything else concerning them."
But she did deny speculation by some reporters that Jenna is traveling totally at taxpayers' expense.
Not true, says Rodriguez. "Some form of reimbursement [by the Bush family] was worked out. I don't have the details."
Summertime Fashion Intern
from Joe B
Great dining tip in the West Hollywood area, from Joe B
LA Barbeque King
(Note: and check out these links! Woo hoo, a veritable motherlode!)
Thanks, Joe. What you doing Wednesday or Friday?
Gay Parade
San Francisco
Thousands of rainbows appeared under the blue sky Sunday as an estimated half million people lined the streets to celebrate diversity and progress during the city's 32nd annual gay pride parade.
San Francisco wasn't the only city that closed off the streets to party - celebrations were under way across the nation, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle and Minneapolis.
In San Francisco, the Dikes on Bikes, a rumbling motorcade of several hundred women on motorcycles, kicked off the event followed by their quieter, male counterparts pedaling bicycles as
part of the Mikes on Bikes.
Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who starred in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Gods and Monsters," served as one of the parade's celebrity grand marshals in his
first San Francisco parade. Wearing a long white coat and waving the British flag, he leaped from his silver convertible and raced to hug and kiss a group of bare-chested men standing on the sidewalk.
"For generations the people in San Francisco have set standards for the rest of the world to catch up to," said McKellen, who decided to come out in 1988 while performing Shakespeare here.
Sharon Smith was expected to march in the four-hour parade in memory of her partner, Diane Whipple, who was fatally mauled to death by dogs outside their apartment last January.
Alice Hoglan also was expected to be there in support of her son, Mark Bingham who was believed to have helped thwart the terrorists on Sept. 11 aboard Flight 93.
San Francisco
Star Trek License Plate
Ontario
Ontario's new Star Trek license plate
Poly High Grad, Class of '89
Snoop Dogg
About 1,000 people crowded into the Long Beach Poly High School gymnasium Saturday to see rap star Snoop Dogg and other celebrities play a charity basketball game to
support Long Beach youth. "There's a lot of inspiring kids that are going to come out of this school that are going to make it one day," said Snoop Dogg, who graduated
from here in 1989, when he was known as Calvin Broadus.
"They might be in the audience looking right now seeing that we did it, and they can be inspired," he said.
April Miles, a Long Beach resident, said she liked the opportunity to see "all the celebrities and famous people." And Bobby Rucker of Los Angeles said he appreciated
the way celebrities came together to help the neighborhood.
"It's cool for the community," Rucker said.
Proceeds from the $10 tickets will be shared equally between the high school and Youths Working for Change, a gang intervention program the rap star co-founded about six months ago.
Professional basketball player Byron Russell of the Utah Jazz, who joined Snoop Dogg's All Stars team, said he jumped at the chance to play at Poly.
"Snoop called me out and asked me to come and work out for the kids," Russell said. "And that's all I needed to hear. ... He's giving back to the high school, and showing people he really cares about them."
Pro athletes on the opposing Supreme Team were Russell's fellow Jazz team member Deshawn Stevenson and Byron Chamberlain of the Minnesota Vikings football team.
Actor Michael Goldman said he didn't get a chance to practice for the game before Saturday. He was getting ready to watch the game when he was asked to join the Supreme Team, about 10 minutes before tipoff.
Snoop Dogg waxed nostalgic about playing at his alma mater. "I used to rap in the benches we're standing on. It brings back a lot of good memories in here," he said.
Snoop Dogg
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Another Controversy
Lousy Writers?
Rick Moody, Toni Morrison, Don DeLillo, Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy and most of the other sacred cows of contemporary American letters are boring hacks who use complicated writing to
conceal the fact that they have nothing to say, a controversial new book charges.
In "A Reader's Manifesto: An Attack on the Growing Pretentiousness in American Literary Prose" (Melville House), one-time Atlantic Monthly writer B.R. Myers claims that a vast conspiracy
between corporate publishing houses, mediocre writers and mindless reviewers has robbed the nation of good, meaningful books.
Morrison's Nobel Prize in literature, for instance, doesn't impress Myers, who relates an incident in which Oprah Winfrey called Morrison "to say she had had to puzzle repeatedly over
many of the latter's sentences. According to Oprah, Morrison's reply was, 'That, my dear, is called reading.' Sorry, my dear Toni," Myers declares, "but it's actually called bad writing."
Citing a DeLillo essay in which he asserts that people can't tell neo-Nazis from Auschwitz victims because both have shaved heads, Myers comments, "Some ideas are beneath comment."
If you insist on digging into DeLillo's legendary novel "White Noise," Myers warns, "Just don't expect good prose. After all, this is a man who uses 'river' and 'stream' as synonyms."
Man-about-town novelist Moody is so beloved in cultural circles that he was once awarded a $35,000 Guggenheim grant even though he's swimming in dough. Yet Myers says all his literary parlor
tricks "can't hide Moody's tin ear, his unfamiliarity with the world of children, and the absence of sharp or memorable detail."
Lousy Writers?
Santa Cruz, CA
Barbara Lee
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif, right, walks into the Del Mar Theater with U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif, in Santa Cruz, Calif., Saturday, June 29, 2002. Lee
was honored by having Saturday proclaimed as "Barbara Lee Day" in the city.
Photo by Mike Fiala
Useful Link
Global Circle Net News
Global Circle Net News - Global Portal
Dropping Infomercials For Religion
BET
BET, the cable television network geared to African-American viewers bought by Viacom Inc. more than a year ago, said on Friday it will dump its infomercials for religious programming, beginning next month.
BET will replace about 50 hours a week of infomercials, most shown on Sunday evenings and early mornings, with such new programs as a religious talk show called "Let's Talk
Church" and live gospel performances, the company said.
Getting rid of the infomercials changes BET's early weekend and Sunday programming, but not during prime time, Lewellen said.
BET's prime-time programming has come under fire from some critics who argue it is too heavy on music videos featuring scantily clad women and violent lyrics and too
light on in-depth, serious programming,
Among those critics are "Boondocks" cartoonist Aaron McGruder, whose two tiny starring characters, with stinging wit well beyond their years, take frequent swipes
at BET, and the National Pan-Hellenic Council, a group of black sororities and fraternities, which has considered a boycott to protest the content of its music videos.
BET
BartCop TV!
'Reality' TV Not Winning Anymore
Hollywood Over News
Given the choice between Hollywood's version of reality and a network news division's, television viewers are taking a clear stand this summer.
Last month's debut of NBC's "Crime & Punishment," the latest addition to "Law & Order" producer Dick Wolf's stable of criminal justice stories,
drew 11 million viewers and was among the 10 most popular shows of the week.
When ABC News' "State v." bowed four days later, it had 5.9 million viewers and was nowhere near the top 10. The second week's numbers were closer: NBC at 8.2 million, ABC at 6.3 million.
Hollywood wins, hands down.
For more of Dick Wolf & ABC sparring over this issue, Hollywood Over News
Interesting Reading
Profits
Speaking Of Huge Stock Profits
Whoremongers, Fornicators & Drunkards Unite
Orlando Bethel
Evangelist Orlando Bethel's gospel tent in Loxley, Ala., is shown Wednesday, June 26, 2002. Bethel was only supposed to sing at a funeral in Loxley. But when he started
preaching, calling some in the crowd "whoremongers" and saying the deceased had gone to hell, that's when all hell really broke loose. The microphone was abruptly disconnected
and some in the crowd of 100 mourners unceremoniously dragged Bethel out the door. Loxley police Chief Cliff Yetter said Friday that he's still investigating the indicent, but
no one has been charged.
Photo by Garry Mitchell
For the whole story, see BartCop Entertainment - Thursday, 27 June
Adult Content!
'Favorite Centerfolds'
Favorite Centerfolds
'Permanent' Show At Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
Penn & Teller
Publicis & Hal Riney, a San Francisco agency, was hired by comedy and magic performing team Penn & Teller to create a campaign that will run primarily in Western markets.
Penn & Teller recently began a permanent show at Harrah's Entertainment-owned Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. TV, print and radio ads will break in
San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas later this summer. Billings were not disclosed.
Penn & Teller began their permanent show at the Rio on June 14.
"We've been cookin' this goddamn steak for 27 years. Let's see if these cats can sell the sizzle," Penn Jillette, part of the duo, said in a statement.
Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
Big Dog Watch Continues
Bill Clinton In Colombia
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton plays the saxophone with Colombian musician Alvaro Rodriguez, during a dinner in the San Felipe castle in Cartagena, June 29, 2002.
Clinton is in Colombia attending at a Seminar on the Colombian private sector.
Photo by Guillermo Tapia-Ancol
Liked The URL
Evil GOP Bastards
Evil GOP Bastards
Preserving Native Tongues
UC Berkeley
Quirina Luna-Costillas grew up thinking the language of her Mutsun ancestors was gone, lost in the flood of disease and destruction that ravaged California Indians.
With the language went identity. Other children would ask her, with the bluntness of youth, "What are you?" She'd tell them and get a blank stare, accompanied by: "What's that?"
She later stumbled across a book by a Spanish missionary that listed hundreds of Mutsun (moot-SOON) phrases.
It might as well have been Greek.
Luna-Costillas turned detective, hunting for echoes of the almost vanished dialect. The trail was pretty cold; the last fluent speaker of Mutsun died in 1930.
But there were clues to be found in the vast archives of the University of California, Berkeley, where for nearly a century anthropologists have been recording the cultural memories
of Indians who survived the disasters of colonization and the Gold Rush.
Six years after she began her quest, Luna-Costillas and a small group of other Mutsuns have scraped together a nodding acquaintance with their ancient language. They compiled a dictionary
with the help of a linguistic professor and translated the Dr. Seuss classic "Green Eggs and Ham" to read to their own children.
"When people lose a language they lose, we all lose, a body of knowledge and a way of looking at the world that's really important," says Leanne Hinton, survey director. "To the participants themselves, language is a symbol of their identity and so it's a symbol of survival against all odds."
The race to save dying languages is going on across the United States. Tribes are videotaping elders and, in a few cases, children are being taught their ancient tongue in immersion programs.
Eighty-five California languages are believed to be endangered or dormant.
For a lot more, Preserving Native Tongues
Berkeley project
Mutsun culture
Still Seeking Volunteers
'The Osbournes'
Freshly updated - 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2 !
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
C'mon....send your thoughts, your impressions, your views, your favorite quotes...
Scroll down for lots of addys to pick from (or 'from which to pick', for the truly anal retentive).