'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
The New TV Season 2007 Part II
By Baron Dave Romm
Shockwave Radio Theater podcasts
Shorter review columns
I just started a new job, and will be cutting back on the length of these essays/CD recommendations for Bartcop-E. Of course, I've said that before and the political essays got longer. I'll still be doing columns, but might miss a week now and again if I have nothing to say.
The New Television Season: Settling In
This season's new shows have been a disappointment. Bionic Woman, Chuck, Moonlight, Journeyman, Life, etc. have all fallen by the wayside. I gave them each at least two shows but they never encouraged me to watch more. I was away last weekend and didn't watch tv or tape any shows, and really only regretted missing one. More below.
Still, some winners have emerged from the pack. As mentioned last time, Pushing Daisies is really good. It will take a while to find it's audience, though it was just picked up for more episodes, but it has an easy field to be judged against. If the writing and acting stays sharp, it will be around for a while.
Carpoolers is getting better as the characters flesh out.
The Big Bang Theory works as the geeks play off each other and not so much off non-geeks. Compare with Cavemen, which has been getting better but spends too much time playing off homo sap.
Flash Gordon is hitting its stride. The more recent shows have been much better than the earlier episodes. I'm still not going to recommend it to non-sf fans, but it hasn't fallen off my watch list yet.
Only two new shows to recommend that I haven't talked about.
Samantha Who works because of smart writing and terrific comic acting by Christina Applegate. I only saw the pilot episode, but laughed most of the way through it. The premise is thin: Sam Newly wakes up from a coma with no memory of her previous life, and she discovers that she is a bad person. Can the premise sustain more laughs? We'll see. Too many sitcoms are comedy soap operas, with a continuing plot line and story arc that is important to the laughter. I suspect Samantha Who needs to be followed, and if so I've alreay missed one and am behind in references. But I have hope.
Speaking of shows that I've already missed an episode of, the new season of Boondocks snuck up on me. I caught the second episode when The Cartoon Network reran it. The show seems to have picked up where it left off: More bleeped words than funny ones, but the quirky characters and sly social commentary are worth the trouble. Okay, heavy handed social commentary. Last year's Martin Luther King episode was the best show on tv last year. Let's hope they rise to that level more often.
New seasons of old shows
I missed an episode of Heroes and felt no desire to catch up via the network download. Oh well.
Two and a Half Men started in syndication in the local market, and it's been fun watching the older shows. The current season is still good.
Bones is still okay, though they're having problems creating tension among the characters who are a tight knit group by now. I hope they go back to the basics of a high-end forensic science show and de-emphasize the immediacy of a crime show.
Speaking of forensic crime shows, CSI still generates interesting plots. It goes from being sexy -- downright kinky at times -- to being gory -- in an autopsied body kind of way -- with loping comfort. I've finally given up on CSI: Miami as too full of itself, and CSI: NY, long my favorite of the three, hasn't fallen off my watch list but is slipping.
The best part about Numbers was always the character interplay, and that's still the case. The math often seemed artificially grafted onto a crime show, and currently the writers are making strides to avoid unnecessary technobabble. We'll see.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with 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. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jeffrey C. Billman: The Cost of War (orlandoweekly.com)
Governing is, at its simplest level, about prioritizing. Every dollar spent on the Mesopotamian civil war could be spent here. Here's a look at what some of that war money could buy.
Altruists anonymous (telegraph.co.uk)
A discreet and exclusive grouping of very wealthy individuals is trying to change the lot of the world's poor by more than just signing cheques. David Thomas gets a rare look at the inner workings of the Philanthropy Workshop.
Froma Harrop: Fire and Science (creators.com)
It has long been sage policy to ignore the crank denials around global warming. But now and then you have a weather-related disaster like the fires devouring big chunks of Southern California - and you wonder about the extent to which the blockheads have slowed progress in dealing with the problem.
Jana Riess: "It Is Written: Literalism ad absurdum" (christianitytoday.com)
A.J. Jacobs spent a year living by all the commandments of the Bible. For starters, no wool and linen in that coat...
LIZZY RATNER: Epater Le Bébé! (observer.com)
Katharine Hepburn chose not to have kids in order to focus on her career. These days, pregnancy earns an actress ink...
Christie Keith: A Look Back at Jon Stewart's Greatest Gay Moments (afterelton.com)
The Daily Show's archives are packed with gay-themed segments that showcase the comedian's passionate defense of gay rights.
Frank Lovece: A (#(ASTERISK)&^$%!!) chat with 'Curb Your Enthusiasm's' Susie Essman (popmatters.com)
It's the curse of Susie Essman-"curse" as in "naughty language" and not "magical wish for harm"-that has made her a highlight of "Curb Your Enthusiasm, " the Larry David HBO series. Her profanity-filled tirades spew forth with almost Elizabethan eloquence as she verbally slices and dices the fictional Larry David and his buddy, her onscreen husband Jeff Greene (played by Jeff Garlin).
Kim Ficera: "Don't Quote Me: Rosie's Detox" (afterellen.com)
The reviews of "Celebrity Detox" are almost all mean-spirited.
Linda Villarosa: "Outside the Lines: The Education of Debra Chasnoff" (afterellen.com)
The Oscar-winning out filmmaker re-releases "It's Elementary."
A good loser (film.guardian.co.uk)
His understated portrayals of psychos, weirdos and oddballs have turned Steve Buscemi into one of Hollywood's finest character actors. So what does that say about him? Simon Hattenstone finds out.
Roger Ebert: Answer Man
Q. It seems that your reviews since your return from illness are "nicer." Are you viewing life and films differently now? I can't remember ever seeing so many three- to four-star reviews from you, week after week, as I have in the past few months. Or do you think that movies are just getting better? What has changed, you or the quality of the films?
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Graven in New Haven
The ultimate Halloween tale of child health care gone so terribly wrong?
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, but cool.
Dogs Have Their Day
The Fidos
Actress Helen Mirren has been garlanded with awards for her portrayal of Britain's Queen Elizabeth in the film "The Queen" and now her corgi co-stars have won two awards at the Fidos .
At the world's first international awards for canine film stars, given out at a ceremony at the London Film Festival on Sunday, the four corgis were named as the Best Historical Hounds as well as picking up a Best in the World prize.
The Fidos are the brainchild of journalist Toby Rose, who awards the Palme Dog at the Cannes Film festival to the year's finest canine performance on screen.
The Fidos
Mexico Sends Firefighters
'Bomberos'
More than three dozen Mexican firefighters have been tackling California's wildfires in what officials say is the first time firemen from south of the border have battled blazes on US soil.
"Firefighters are firefighters; it doesn't matter if they're Mexican or American," said Marco Antonio Sanchez Navarro, Director of Tijuana Fire and Civil Protection.
The Spanish word for firefighters is "bomberos" and it is used with praise and respect at the sprawling base camp of the Harris Fire in eastern San Diego county near the US-Mexico border.
The Tijuana fire department sent four fire trucks carrying a battalion chief, a supervisor, a liaison and 35 firefighters to help the Mexican border city's US neighbors.
'Bomberos'
Hunter's Images Stir Debate
Bigfoot
RIDGWAY, Pa. - It's furry and walks on all fours. Beyond that, about the only thing certain about the critter photographed by a hunter's camera is that some people have gotten the notion it could be a Sasquatch, or bigfoot. Others say it's just a bear with a bad skin infection.
Rick Jacobs says he got the pictures from a camera with an automatic trigger that he fastened to a tree in the Allegheny National Forest, about 115 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, hoping to photograph deer.
"We couldn't figure out what they were," Jacobs said of the images captured on Sept. 16. "I've been hunting for years and I've never seen anything like this."
He contacted the Bigfoot Research Organization, which pursues reports of a legendary two-legged creature that some people believe lives in parts of the U.S. and Canada.
"There is no question it is a bear with a severe case of mange," Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser told The Bradford Era.
Bigfoot
Museum Will Open Despite Republicans
Woodstock
A museum dedicated to Woodstock will rock on even though the federal government pulled $1 million in funding for the memorial to the famous hippie fest.
Officially, the Woodstock museum is known as the Museum at Bethel Woods, and is due to open next year. Bethel is the upstate New York town where organizers eventually put on the three-day Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969.
"Our plans haven't changed," said Ellyn Solis, spokeswoman for the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which is developing the museum as the newest part of its 2,000-acre performing arts venue.
Last week, in a mostly party-line 52-42 vote, lawmakers voted to strip the $1 million earmark sought by New York Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, both Democrats. Bethel Woods has received $15 million in state funding.
Woodstock
Goes Online
'Last Supper'
Can't get to Milan to see Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece "The Last Supper?" As of Saturday, all you need is an Internet connection. Officials put online an image of the "Last Supper" at 16 billion pixels - 1,600 times stronger than the images taken with the typical 10 million pixel digital camera.
The high-resolution allows viewers to look at details as though they were inches from the art work, in contrast to regular photographs, which become grainy as you zoom in, said curator Alberto Artioli.
Besides allowing experts and art-lovers to study the masterpiece from home, Artioli said the project provides an historical document of how the painting appears in 2007, which will be valuable to future generations of art historians.
'Last Supper'
Painting To Be Auctioned
Winston Churchill
A painting by Winston Churchill, which President Truman called one of his "most valued possessions" after receiving it as a gift from the British prime minister in 1951, will be sold at Sotheby's, the auction house said Saturday.
Churchill, a respected amateur artist, painted "Marrakech" in about 1948 during one of his frequent trips to Morocco. It shows one of the city's gates against the backdrop of the Atlas mountains.
Truman wrote in response: "I shall treasure the picture as long as I live and it will be one of the most valued possessions I will be able to leave to (daughter) Margaret when I pass on."
The painting has remained in Truman's family since he died in 1972, and is being sold by his daughter, Margaret Truman Daniel. It will be auctioned Dec. 13 at Sotheby's in London.
Winston Churchill
Grand Jury Probing
David Copperfield
A federal grand jury is investigating allegations that magician David Copperfield raped and threatened a Washington state woman at his estate in the Bahamas, a newspaper reported.
The Seattle Times reported Saturday that at least three federal law-enforcement officials, whom the paper did not identify, confirmed the grand jury investigation. No indictment or criminal charges have been filed.
The woman told law enforcement that she and her family were approached by a member of Copperfield's entourage at a Jan. 25 performance in the Tri-Cities area of Eastern Washington, The Times said. They were given special seats, and Copperfield selected the woman to come on stage as part of his act, the sources told The Times.
The 21-year-old woman said Copperfield later said he could help with her modeling career and invited her to his estate in the Bahamas.
David Copperfield
NASA To Search Files
Kecksburg
NASA has agreed to search its archives once again for documents on a 1965 UFO incident in Pennsylvania, a step the space agency fought in federal court.
The government has refused to open its files about what, if anything, moved across the sky and crashed in the woods near Kecksburg, Pa., 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Eyewitnesses said a flatbed truck drove away a large object shaped like an acorn and about the size of a Volkswagen bus. A mock-up based on the descriptions of local residents sits behind the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department.
UFO enthusiasts refused to let the matter die and journalist Leslie Kean of New York City sued NASA four years ago for information.
Kecksburg
Major Archaeological Find
Puerto Rico
U.S. and Puerto Rican archaeologists say they have found the best-preserved pre-Columbian site in the Caribbean, which could shed light on virtually every aspect of Indian life in the region, from sacred rituals to eating habits.
The archaeologists believe the site in southern Puerto Rico may have belonged to the Taino or pre-Taino people that inhabited the island before European colonization, although other tribes are a possibility. It contains stones etched with ancient petroglyphs that form a large plaza measuring some 130 feet by 160 feet, which could have been used for ball games or ceremonial rites, said Aida Belen Rivera, director of the Puerto Rican Historic Conservation office.
The petroglyphs include the carving of a human figure with masculine features and frog legs.
Archaeologists also uncovered several graves with bodies buried face-down with the legs bent at the knees - a style never seen before in the region.
Puerto Rico
Adapt To Life At Dubai Hotel
Pacific Dolphins
Twenty-eight dolphins from the South Pacific, flown to the Gulf emirate of Dubai this week despite opposition from wildlife groups, are adapting to their new home in a luxury hotel on a man-made island, the Gulf News reported on Saturday.
The five-star Palm Atlantis Hotel bought the wild bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands, the paper reported, despite several international conservation groups decrying the decision by its government to allow the resumption of the live dolphin trade, saying it is inhumane.
The dolphins are being kept is seven, three-metre (almost 10-feet) deep pools and are being acclimatised to humans and trained to interact with hotel guests and visitors, the English language daily reported.
Pacific Dolphins
Fountain Works - Finally
Frank Lloyd Wright
The giant water fountain Frank Lloyd Wright designed is no longer the unworkable dud it was for decades.
Thanks to computers and extensive restoration, the "Water Dome" finally produces the three-story dome of water Wright envisioned 70 years ago as the centerpiece of his architectural design for Florida Southern College's campus.
"He was very far ahead of his time, and sometimes materials are just catching up with him," said New York-based architect Jeff Baker, who heads preservation work at the college where 12 structures make up the largest collection of Wright's works on a single site.
More than 1,000 people cheered the fountain's opening Thursday, when the school celebrated Wright's vision if not his engineering ability. Spectators ringed the fountain more than 10 deep in places, and some had black and white pictures taken with a cutout of Wright.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Piles Found
Old Money
Talk about throwing away money. Piles of old coins worth as much as $200,000 were found in a long-abandoned home, including scores that the owner had apparently thrown down a hole in the wall.
Jeff Bidelman, owner of Rare Collectibles near Johnstown, said he was helping the family clean out the house after the death of the owners, who had not lived there for two decades.
He was dragging a bag of old coins down the steps when he noticed the hole in an upstairs wall.
"The woman said when she was a kid, there were always rumors that that's where they threw their money," Bidelman told the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat.
Old Money
Weekend Box Office
'Saw IV'
The killer of the "Saw" franchise may be dead, but his sadistic spirit lives on. Lionsgate's "Saw IV" led the weekend box office with $32.1 million, maintaining the horror franchise's position as a Halloween perennial, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Overall Hollywood revenues declined for the sixth-straight weekend, though business was off only a fraction compared to the same weekend last year. The top-12 movies took in $86.1 million, down 2 percent, better results than the previous weeks, when business had fallen significantly more.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Saw IV," $32.1 million.
2. "Dan in Real Life," $12.1 million.
3. "30 Days of Night," $6.7 million.
4. "The Game Plan," $6.3 million.
5. "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?", $5.7 million.
6. "Michael Clayton," $5 million.
7. "Gone Baby Gone," $3.9 million.
8. "The Comebacks," $3.45 million.
9. "We Own the Night," $3.4 million.
10. "Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas," $3.35 million.
'Saw IV'
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