BartCop Entertainment Archives - Monday, 13 December, 2004
Monday
13 December, 2004
(Updated Daily)
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'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
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Baron Dave Romm
The Knights Templar
By Baron Dave Romm
The Knights Templar As Pop Culture Background
American Treasure and The Da Vinci Code
raise the bar
There has been a lot written about the Knights Templar, some of
it probably true. I've written two essays on the
history of the Templars and speculation about the Templar's
connection to Christopher
Columbus.
The Knights Templar is an organization just made for Grand Conspiracy
Theories. It came out of nowhere, its origins a mystery, and was one
of the richest and most powerful organizations in the world for two
centuries before being officially dissolved by Papal Decree around
800 years ago. Some of its power clung to people who clammed up,
much of its money disappeared without a trace and its mystery has
been claimed by organizations still around today.
Power, mystery, murder and money. The perfect backdrop to a
successful novel and a popular movie. Except maybe for the religion
part.
The
Da Vinci Code, by Dan
Brown, touches upon the religion part but doesn't confront it
head on. (Brown also makes the understandable but annoying decision
to use the painter's surname, derived from his place of birth, rather
than his given name. The Leonardo Code may not have the same
ring of Old Mystery, but would be more historically accurate.) The
novel is a murder mystery set in modern times. Only one murder takes
place on stage, but it sets off a chain of events that takes us to
some of the most famous hiding places in Europe. Brown, continuing
the plot structure from his previous Robert Langdon novel Angels
and Demons: It's not a Whodunnit, but a Whohiredthewhodunnit.
Just who sets everything up? And again, the actual denouement is
less impressive than the set up.
But what the heck.
As Robert Langdon and Sophia Neveu (the granddaughter of the
murdered Louvre curator; her name translates roughly to new
learning, says my Obscure Spidey-Sense), run around just ahead of
the police and solve some nifty puzzles along the way. You have to
keep an open mind, and you have to realize just how repressive
organized religion is. This is not a book for The Left Behind
crowd. Indeed, the book is very empowering to women and other groups
that the sphincter conservatives have tried to cast into a lesser
role.
The Da Vinci Code delves into the various mysteries
surrounding The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Gnostic
Gospels and the various religious symbols that mean something a
little different than what you're used to seeing. You probably
didn't even know they were hiding something. And indeed, they may
not; this is a work of fiction, after all. But Random House is
playing along. Play Uncover the Code
Contest, which is sort of fun, but you have to be specific. (If
you make it all the way through, let me know...)
The Da Vinci Code is highly recommended. Don't wait for the movie
starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.
As much as I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, I liked Angels
and Demons better, and I recommend reading the earlier Angels
and Demons first. Robert Langdon runs around Rome and delves
into architecture and the Illuminati. Perhaps I liked it better
because I was less familiar with the territory being explored.
Perhaps I liked it better because it was bloodier. I dunno. But I
eagerly await Dan Brown's next novel.
Maybe his next novel will be about George
W. Bush and the Skull and Bones Society. heh
The Masons claim descendence from the Knights Templar. While
their precise relationship has been called into question, the Masons
clearly inherited (or reclaimed) much of the Templar code. Are the
Masons some part of a deep dark conspiracy or are they just an old
boy network using a bunch of old rituals? I won't get into that,
though personally I think they're much, much closer to the latter
than the former.
On the other hand, many of those Old Boys signed the Constitution
of the United States. And therein starts the hunt for the National
Treasure.
National Treasure doesn't really make a lot of sense, and
it's best not to analyze the plot or character motivations too
closely. Still, it's nicely acted with fine understated performances
by terrific actors in minor roles. In their starring roles, Nicholas
Cage and Jon Voight almost make it convincing. The character
interactions work pretty well. The sets are fine, and the location
shooting is pretty good.
The basic plot revolves around the Masons and the treasure of the
Knights Templar having made it to the US and the signers of the
Constitution hiding clues all over the new country. I worked hard to
suspend belief, but the twists got dumber and dumber. The fun is in
seeing what's hidden not quite literally in front of the eyes of
millions of Americans every day.
On the Shockwave Rating System from 9 to 23, I give National
Treasure about an 18. Fun, with some nice dialog and acting, but
ultimately just eye candy. I hope the DVD will have some great
extras that explore more of the mysteries touched upon in the movie.
I suspect that they'll just promote the adventure part, which will be
too bad.
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. He reviews
things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music
recommendations from Bartcop-E here, you can
order Shockwave Radio
Theater CDs, and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts
in Real Audio here (scroll down to
Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play
on the air, and I'm continuing to collect extra-weird stuff.
--////
"I don't need any help with the smiting."
-- G-d to Joan re elections
for student council, Joan of Arcadia
Thanks (again), Baron Dave!
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Reader Recommendations
from Bruce
Joel Havemann: If it ain't broke...The Bush plan to fool you about Social Security
Even before settling on a proposal to privatize part of Social Security, President Bush is mounting an aggressive campaign to convince the public of something that many Democrats and economists say is mistaken: that the massive government retirement system is hurtling toward disaster.
Frank Rich: 'The plot against sex in America'
A recent Columbia University study found that teens who make "virginity pledges" to delay sex until marriage still have premarital sex at a high rate (88 percent) rivaling those that don't, but are less likely to use contraception once they do. It's California, a huge blue state that refuses to accept federal funding for abstinence-only curriculums, that has a 40 percent falloff in teenage pregnancy over the past decade, second only to Alaska.
Bill Vaughan: A Lump Of Coal For America's Poor
With President Bush set to make his tax cuts permanent for 2005 and push Social Security privatization, the extra money to make up the difference has to come from somewhere. Bill Vaughan of Families USA says it's likely to come from one of the largest-and most vital-government programs: Medicaid. In a season of doing good unto others, cutting taxes for millionaires and leaving severely ill seniors in nursing homes without care is an immoral choice.
Roger Ebert: The Answer Man
Daryl Elfield has been found! The subject of the best-remembered exchange in Answer Man history is alive and well and living in London. Before I tell you his current story, here are highlights from a letter he wrote me in 1995:
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THE MOUNTAINS AND SKY
LIKE OUR VERY EXISTENCE
SEEM TO HAVE NO END
Zen Man
(in the Mountains)
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Reader Response
Re: obit for Jerry Scoggins
"...the obit for Jerry Scoggins. "
Oh crap, now I feel bad.
Peace --Joe
"Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want to impress people they don't like."
- Will Rogers -
manisteedems
Heh - Don't worry about it, Joe.
Besides, if I'd wanted you to feel badly, having been raised in a tradition of guilt & shame (catholic), I would have started my rebuttal with a hearty 'Indeed!' (thank you, Sister Agnes Terese). ; )
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Purple Gene Reviews
'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
Purple Genes' review of Larry Davids' HBO sitcom "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - Episode 1.10 called the "Group" :
My brother, JD, always tells me that TV Sucks!!! For the most part, this is painfully true....network news, reality shows, stupid weeknight sitcoms..."must see TV" its a wasteland of commercially generated CRAP. I spend a lot of time watching Cable....All the Movie Channels, Comedy Central, Sundance, IFC...etc! But there are the new sitcoms on cable that get my attention via my roving remote THUMB.....Sex in the City, Sopranos, Six feet Under...all on HBO....are incredibly well written and directed.......I just happened to get hooked by a half-hour HBO sitcom called "Curb Your Enthusiasm" written and starring Larry David....the writer responsible for "Seinfeld" ! The first time I tried to watch this show, I must admit, I actually had a hard time staying with it. Larry David plays his real life self but with completely fictitious plots and characters......But I started to like watching this annoying idiot get himself into the most riotous situations..........
So last night I watched an episode called the "Group" and I was just belly laughing through the whole half hour........
Larry is laying in bed with his wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines). They are about to fall asleep and Cheryl leans over and says to Larry, "Honey, why am I always the one who has to initiate sex?" Larry says, " Listen, I'm ready to go any time. Do you want me grabbing your breasts every minute? If you want to do it just tap me on the shoulder and I'm there!" The next day Cheryl finds out from Larrys Manager Jeff (Jeff Garlin) that a director named Wendy wants Cheryl to do the "Vagina Monologues". Cheryl is thrilled. As they are walking out, Larry and Cheryl run into an amply breasted woman named Lucy (Melanie Smith) who used to be Larrys' Girlfriend.....feeling uncomfortable with her, Cheryl goes ahead to the car while Larry stays and talks to Lucy. Lucy tells Larry that she has something really important to talk to him about...could they meet over lunch? Larry says, "Did you have my baby"? She says "no", but they agree to meet for lunch.....
Back in bed that night, Cheryl taps Larry on the shoulder......Larry says "Honey I'm "Tapped out"...Cheryl says, "Do you mean that you already did it? Like were you thinking about Lucy your Ex and her large breasts while you were doing it?" Larry says, "Just in the first part. But I promise, I won't THINK about her when I DO IT ever again!"
The next day, Larry is on his way to lunch with Lucy and Jeff the manager sees them and shows unnatural prurient interest in her....David and Lucy sit down by themselves for lunch and Larry says, "What did you want to talk to me about?" Lucy says, " Larry, remember when we were going together and I told you that I was an Incest Survivor? And that you are the only person in the whole world that knows?" Larry says, "Yes'! Lucy says, "I want you to accompany me to an Incest Survivors meeting!" Reluctantly Larry agrees...and at that very moment Larrys' wife walks into the same restaurant with her girlfriend and finds Larry and Lucy. Cheryl says, "Larry, why are you meeting Lucy here?" Of course now Larry can't tell her why because his ass is sworn to secrecy....Oh shit....could it get stickier?
So Larry goes to the Incest Survivors meeting with Lucy and it is being run by Wendy who, unbeknownst to Larry, is also the director of the "Vagina Monologues". Well each woman, starting with Wendy tells their seedy, salacious and sick stories of Incest. Oh shit it's Larrys' turn! He thought he was here to listen. He says his name is Todd and has to make up a story about being molested by his UNCLE when he was 12 years old. "None of this can ever leave this room"!
This all remains under wraps until Larry takes Cheryl to meet her new director....Wendy...from the Incest Survivors meeting....Of Course Wendy calls Larry Todd and Cheryl wants to know why and Oh Jesus this is getting weird and Cheryl Quits the show and walks out.
That night in bed, Larry tells Cheryl the whole story and she is sympathetic and shocked and they decide to call Wendy back and try to get the part back by telling Wendy that Larry told her about his "gambling" problem and now she knows why Wendy called him Todd! Well it's too late....because Wendy already gave the part to Lucy, Larrys' EX, because Larrys' manager, who has the hots for Lucy, got Lucy the part......Is all lost?......Well Jeff the manager get Lucy in a hotel and they get drunk on Johnny Walker "Blue Label" and driving away get in a car accident and Lucy gets hurt and can't do the Vagina Monologues....Wendy calls Cheryl. All is well...or is it.......So it's opening night and Larry decides to bring his UNCLE to the first show.
Oh my god....well they go back stage to see Cheryl and Wendy comes out and Larry introduces his UNCLE to Wendy.......Thinking this is the UNCLE that molested Larry, Wendy goes ballistic.....she starts screaming "Get out of here you fucking piece of shit, you cocksucker, you bastard............" Larry looks at Cheryl....end of show!
Purple Gene gives This episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" 10 Larry David disgusting nose hairs out of 10 for being so well written and funny.
Purple Gene
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast morning followed by a sunny afternoon.
The kid has another cold. Ack.
Tonight, Monday:
CBS opens the night with a FRESH 'Still Standing', followed by a FRESH 'Listen Up', then a RERUN 'Raymond', followed by a
FRESH '2½ Men', then a FRESH 'CSI: The 2nd One'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Jim Carrey and Ashanti.
Guests on 'Craiggers' are David James Elliott, Kristen Bell, and the Hives. Don't know who is hosting - their website wasn't updated as of Sunday, 11pm (pdt).
NBC begins the night with a RERUN 'Fear Factor', followed by a RERUN 'Las Vegas', then another RERUN 'Las Vegas'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Leno are Lindsay Lohan, Spencer & Abigail Breslin, and Ludacris.
On a traditional Monday-night-RERUN Conan (from 8/4/04) are Jamie Foxx, Josie Maran, and Beenie Man.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Jason Biggs, John Saunders, and Badly Drawn Boy.
ABC starts the night on the East Coast with a FRESH 'Life Of Luxury', followed by the LIVE 'MNF', where the Chiefs visit the Titans.
On the left coast, the night starts early with the LIVE 'MNF', where the Chiefs still visit the Titans, followed by an hour of local crap, then the FRESH 'Life Of Luxury'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Anna Nicole Smith, poker player Greg Raymer, and Velvet Revolver.
The WB offers a RERUN '7th Heaven', followed by a RERUN 'Everwood'.
Faux has a FRESH 'Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy', followed by a FRESH 'The Swan'.
UPN has a FRESH 'One On One', followed by a RERUN 'Half & Half', then a FRESH 'Girlfriends', followed by a RERUN 'Second Time Around'.
A&E has 'American Justice', 'Cold Case Files', followed by a FRESH 'Growing Up Gotti', another 'Growing Up Gotti', and a FRESH hour-long 'Airline'.
AMC offers the movie 'Some Kind Of Wonderful', followed by the movie 'Terms Of Endearment', then the movie 'On Golden Pond'.
BBC -
[2pm] 'As Time Goes By' - Episode 2;
[2:40pm] 'Are You Being Served?' - Shedding the Load;
[3:20pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 3;
[4pm] 'The Saint' - The People Importers;
[5pm] 'The Weakest Link' - Episode 64;
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Burrows;
[7pm] 'Hamish Macbeth' - Lochdubh Deluxe;
[8pm] 'Murder in Suburbia' - Episode 4;
[9pm] 'Waking the Dead' - Episode 4;
[11pm] 'Murder in Suburbia' - Episode 4;
[12am] 'Waking the Dead' - Episode 4;
[2am] 'Hamish Macbeth' - Lochdubh Deluxe;
[3am] 'Murder in Suburbia' - Episode 4;
[4am] 'Waking the Dead' - Episode 4;
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has all 'West Wing' all night.
Comedy Central has the movie 'The Hebrew Hammer', 'South Park', 'Blue Collar TV', and 'Reno 911!'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Kevin Spacey.
History has 'Modern Marvels', followed by the FRESH 'New UFO Revelations: China's Roswell', 'Ultimate Survival', and another 'Ultimate Survival'.
IFC -
[6AM] 'Thirteen Conversations About One Thing' (2001);
[8AM] 'Ugetsu' (1953);
[9:45AM] 'At The Angelika #91' (2004);
[10:15AM] 'Passing Stones' (2001);
[12PM] 'God Said, "Ha!"' (1998);
[1:45PM] 'Ugetsu' (1953);
[3:30PM] 'At The Angelika #91' (2004);
[3:30PM] 'At The Angelika #91' (2004);
[4PM] 'IFC Short Film Collection II' (2004);
[6PM] 'Passing Stones' (2001);
[7:45PM] Short: 'Happy Birthday to Me' (1998);
[8PM] 'At The Angelika #91' (2004);
[8PM] 'At The Angelika #91' (2004);
[8:45PM] 'Before Night Falls' (2000);
[11PM] 'The End Of The Affair' (1999);
[12:45AM] 'IFC 10th Year Anniversary Special' (2004);
[1:15AM] 'Ridicule' (1996);
[3AM] 'Before Night Falls' (2000);
[5:15AM] 'Henry's Film Corner' (2004);
[5:45AM] Short: 'Happy Birthday to Me' (1998). (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has the movie 'Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade', followed by the FRESH 'Legend Of Earthsea' (part 1 of 2).
Sundance -
[6:05AM] 'Alchemy' (Feature);
[7:40AM] 'Divorce, Iranian Style' (Documentary);
[9:05AM] 'War and Peace' (Jang Aur Aman) (Feature);
[11:30AM] 'Why Pay Two Rents' (Short);
[12PM] 'The Game of Their Lives' (Documentary);
[1:25PM] 'Cunnamulla' (Documentary);
[2:55PM] 'Held Hostage in Colombia' (Documentary);
[3:45PM] 'War and Peace' (Jang Aur Aman) (Feature);
[6:05PM] 'Anatomy Of A Scene: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys' (Original Production);
[6:35PM] 'Westray' (Documentary);
[8PM] 'Shooting the War' (Documentary);
[9PM] 'Within a Play' (Documentary);
[10:30PM] 'Last Dance' (2002) (Feature);
[12AM] 'Mutant Aliens' (Feature);
[1:25AM] 'The Lover' (Feature);
[3:10AM] 'Another Heaven' (Feature);
[5:25AM 'Held Hostage in Colombia' (Documentary). (ALL TIMES EST)
TCM pays tribute to Mario Lanza all day and
celebrates James Stewart all night.
[6:30am] 'That Midnight Kiss' (1949);
[8:15am] 'The Toast Of New Orleans' (1950);
[10am] 'The Great Caruso' (1951);
[12pm] 'Because You're Mine' (1952);
[2pm] 'The Student Prince' (1954);
[4pm] 'The Seven Hills Of Rome' (1958);
[6pm] 'For The First Time' (1959);
[8pm] 'The Shop Around The Corner' (1940);
[10pm] 'Bell, Book and Candle' (1959);
[12am] 'The Philadelphia Story' (1940);
[2am] 'No Time For Comedy' (1940);
[3:45am] 'Wife vs. Secretary' (1936);
[5:15am] 'Come Live With Me' (1941). (ALL TIMES EST)
Tuesday - 12/14
TCM pays tribute to Martin Scorsese all night.
[6:45am] 'Ziegfeld Girl' (1941);
[9am] 'Born To Dance' (1936);
[11am] 'Rose Marie' (1936);
[1pm] 'Festival of Shorts #13' (1998);
[1:30pm] 'Best Foot Forward' (1943);
[3:30pm] 'Yolanda And The Thief' (1945);
[5:30pm] 'Bells Are Ringing' (1960);
[8pm] 'The Last Waltz' (1978);
[10pm] 'Scorsese on Scorsese' (2004);
[11:30pm] 'Raging Bull' (1980);
[2am] 'Scorsese on Scorsese' (2004);
[3:30am] 'New York, New York' (1977). (ALL TIMES EST)
Any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
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Actress Liv Ullmann of Norway smiles after receiving the award for her contribution to cinema over the years at the European Film Awards in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004.
Photo by Alberto Estevez
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Wins 'Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire'
Chris Daugherty
CBS's "Survivor: Vanuatu - Islands of Fire" came down to two highway workers, but only Chris Daugherty was able to drive home with the $1 million prize and a new car.
Daugherty, 33, outplayed, outlasted and outwitted Twila Tanner, 41, in the 39-day contest. Daugherty received five of the seven-person jury's votes.
Daugherty, who lives in South Vienna, Ohio, works for the Ohio Department of Transportation. Tanner works for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
At the end of the reunion, the location for the 10th season and yet another twist was revealed. Twenty castaways - past seasons have only included 16 or 18 - are headed to Palau, an island nation located in the Pacific. Host Jeff Probst promised "everything the survivors have come to expect will be wiped out in the first 10 minutes."
Chris Daugherty
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Names Its Top 10 Movies of the Year
AFI
The superhero adventures "Spider-Man 2" and "The Incredibles" made the American Film Institute's list of 2004's top 10 movies.
Also on the list released Sunday were the not-yet-released Howard Hughes film biography "The Aviator" and boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby."
Rounding out the group's list, which did not rank the films, were the hit-man thriller "Collateral"; the quirky romances "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Sideways"; the football drama "Friday Night Lights"; the drug-smuggling drama "Maria Full of Grace"; and "Kinsey," a film biography of sexuality researcher Alfred Kinsey.
The institute's top 10 television programs of the year were HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Deadwood," "The Sopranos" and "Something the Lord Made," ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," FX's "Nip/Tuck" and "The Shield," Fox's "Arrested Development" and Comedy Central's "South Park."
AFI
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More than 400 tuba players from across the US raise their instruments to conclude the 31st annual 'Merry Tuba Christmas' performance in New York's Rockefeller Center, Sunday, Dec. 12, 2004.
Photo by Jennifer Szymaszek
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Among Museum-Store Customers
Bill Clinton
A Socks the Cat doll that meows could show up in a stocking stuffed by Bill Clinton this year. Thousands of people from around the world - including the former president himself - have spent more than $400,000 at the Clinton Museum Store since it opened Nov. 15.
Clinton placed a phone order from Chappaqua, N.Y., on Thursday, calling museum store manager Connie Fails to order, among other things, Air Force One toys that emit the sound of plane engines when squeezed, neckties, stuffed donkeys and a Socks the Cat doll that says "meow."
"I'm still totaling up the bill. Yes, he has to pay for it," Fails said.
Bill Clinton
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Shut Down In Atlanta
'Naked Boys Singing'
Police shut down a bar that was showing a successful musical revue featuring nudity because the business didn't have an adult entertainment license.
The manager of The Armory bar in midtown Atlanta, Doug Youngblood, said police overreacted Saturday night. He said the show had been running since August and is theater - not adult entertainment.
The revue, "Naked Boys Singing," has spent six years off-Broadway in New York and road show versions are playing in several cities. The gay-themed show, billed as celebrating "the splendors of male nudity in comedy, song and dance," features six male actors who are in the buff for much of the performance.
The show received generally good reviews in New York City, where it ranks as the 10th longest-running off-Broadway show. In August, the city's tourist bureau pulled it from a list of discounted offerings for visiting Republican delegates after the Republican National Committee complained it wasn't suitable.
'Naked Boys Singing'
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Back to Teach New Lessons
'Davey & Goliath'
After a nearly 30-year hiatus, Davey Hansen and his faithful dog Goliath are back to teach values to a new generation of young people.
The Lutheran church is reviving the 1960s-era animated series for a holiday special, "Davey & Goliath's Snowboard Christmas," on the Hallmark Channel Dec. 19. It airs at noon, and will be repeated the same time on the day after Christmas.
The original series was produced from 1960 to '65 and distributed for free to television stations. Many eagerly aired the 15-minute episodes on Sunday mornings; as public licensees, it was a solid PR move to show wholesome children's programming with a religious component.
Ruth Clokey, daughter of a Lutheran minister, and her husband, Art, were the producers. Art created the Gumby character - remembered as much for Eddie Murphy's "Saturday Night Live" skits as the original shows - and the quirky, stop-action animation that was its signature.
Production of "Davey & Goliath" was discontinued but the Lutheran church funded more episodes made between 1969 and 1971. A handful of specials were also made, the last in 1975. Repeats were a staple on TV until the early 1980s. It mostly disappeared after stations recognized the money they could make by selling advertising for other religious programming, often made by conservative Christians.
'Davey & Goliath'
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U.S. actor and director Woody Allen plays the clarinet during a performance with his New Orleans Jazz Band at the Sistina Theatre in Rome December 12, 2004.
Photo by Alessandro Bianchi
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2 More Episodes
George Lopez
ABC has ordered two more episodes of family laffer "George Lopez," bringing the show's season total to 24.
Now in its fourth season, "George Lopez" has averaged 8.6 million viewers this fall. Show moved to Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. this year, having aired last season as part of the "TGIF" Friday lineup.
George Lopez
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Rare Copy to Be Auctioned
'Scarlet Letter'
The town's historical society hopes to make more than $250,000 this week by auctioning the oldest known copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" - not bad for a manuscript that spent more than a century in a drawer before someone recognized its significance.
A relative of Hawthorne donated the corrected page proofs in 1886 to the organization that became the Natick Historical Society. The pages are covered with more than 700 proofreading corrections and comments, many believed to be in Hawthorne's own hand.
The gift spent the next 118 years in a drawer, until trustee Roger Casavant came across the manuscript earlier this year while cataloguing the society's collections and identified it as the oldest existing copy of "The Scarlet Letter."
'Scarlet Letter'
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pissed
(formerly 'The Vidiot')
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Eminem Crew Raps Oz Officials
D12
US rapper Eminem's group D12 has reportedly accused Australian immigration officials of taking the country "back to the dark ages" after the musicians were lectured on how to behave ahead of a tour Down Under.
Sydney radio station 2UE said the Detriot-based rap crew was angered by the lecture from immigration officers after they arrived in Perth on Saturday.
Tour promoter Arash Madden said the rappers were told not to "incite" young Australians.
D12
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Kashmiri Muslim girls play traditional instruments during a Sufyana Mosaqi class of classical Kasmiri music in Kralpora, on the outskirts of Srinagar in this picture taken December 11, 2004. Kashmiri musicologists are struggling to revive the 500-year-old Sufyana Mosaqi drawn from Sufi tradition-- music which is dying after decades of neglect through 15-years of separatist revolt. Picture taken December 11, 2004.
Photo by Fayaz Kabli
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To Be Played Out in TV Movie
Disney Feud
The bitter business relationship of Hollywood heavyweights Michael Eisner and Mike Ovitz will be played out again in a television movie.
"Two Blind Mikes" is being developed by Showtime with writer Frederic Raphael, who co-wrote the Stanley Kubrick film "Eyes Wide Shut," Daily Variety reported Friday.
A shareholders' lawsuit, now being heard, contends that Disney's board was negligent in hiring Ovitz to a lucrative deal and for agreeing to a $140 million package settlement.
Disney Feud
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A combination picture shows traditional wooden 'Krampuss' masks seen during a parade of about 100 people in traditional attire known as 'Krampusse' in Munich, December 12, 2004. Krampusse consist of animal skins and masks attached to large cow-bells used to make loud and frightening noises, and are worn by young single men. They follow Saint Nicholas from house to house in December each year to bring luck to the good and punish the idle.
Photo by Alexandra Winkler
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New Wheels In Swaziland
King Mswati III
Swaziland's King Mswati III has bought himself a 500,000-dollar (390,000 euros) luxury sedan while his debt-ridden country continues battling AIDS and crippling poverty, a newspaper reported.
Southern Africa's last absolute monarch now joins an elite circle of four "super rich" people in the region who own the Daimler Chrysler flagship Maybach 62, according to the Mbabane-based Times Sunday.
Swaziland has the highest AIDS rate in the world at 38.8 percent, unemployment stands at 40 percent, almost 70 percent of the nation live on an average income of 11 dollars per month and about a third rely on food aid for survival.
King Mswati III
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In this photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard, the two halfs of the Malaysian cargo ship Selendang Ayu are pounded by waves as it sits offshore of Skan Bay on Unalaska Island near Unalaska, Alaska, in the Aleutian Island chain Saturday, Dec. 11, 2004. High seas and gale-force winds again limited spill recovery and salvage efforts from the 738-foot tanker that split in two on Wednesday off the Aleutian Island after it lost power on Tuesday. Seas projected to reach 24 feet and 50-knot winds kept most aircraft and recovery boats in Dutch Harbor and away from waters oiled by the wreck of the Selendang Ayu on the west side of Unalaska Island.
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Fan Based Death On Sherlock Holmes Case
Richard Lancelyn Green
The mysterious death of Britain's leading Sherlock Holmes expert appears to have been a bizarre suicide plot deliberately based on one of the cases tackled by the fictional detective himself, a report said.
According to friends of Richard Lancelyn Green, he appears to have dressed up his suicide as murder in an attempt to get at an enemy from beyond the grave, a notion lifted from one of Holmes's adventures, the Sunday Times said.
According to the report, Lancelyn Green had become bitterly depressed after learning that a collection of papers belonging to the creator of Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was to be broken up and sold at auction.
The Sunday Times said that friends believed Lancelyn Green based this on "The Problem of the Thor Bridge", one of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures.
For the rest, Richard Lancelyn Green
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In Memory
Gary Webb
Gary Webb, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who wrote a controversial series of stories linking the CIA to crack cocaine trafficking in Los Angeles, has died at age 49.
Webb was found Friday morning at his home in Sacramento County, dead of an apparent suicide. Moving-company workers called authorities after discovering a note posted on his front door that read, "Please do not enter. Call 911 and ask for an ambulance."
Webb died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Sacramento County coroner's office.
Webb was part of the San Jose Mercury News reporting team that won a 1990 Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
Webb's 1996 series in the Mercury News alleged that Nicaraguan drug traffickers had sold tons of crack cocaine in Los Angeles and funneled millions of dollars in profits to the CIA-supported Nicaraguan Contras during the 1980s.
Born in Corona, Calif., to a military family, Webb dropped out of journalism school and went to work for the Kentucky Post and the Cleveland Plain Dealer before landing at the Mercury News.
Webb worked in state government after leaving the paper, most prominently as a member of an audit committee investigating former Gov. Gray Davis' controversial award of a $95 million no-bid contract to Oracle Corp. in 2001.
Webb is survived by two sons and a daughter.
Gary Webb
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In einer vom Raureif bedeckten Landschaft ruht sich am Freitag, 10. Dezember 2004 in einem Gehege bei Erling im oberbayerischen Landkreis Starnberg ein kapitaler Hirsch mit 16 Enden aus, waehrend drei Hirschkuehe im Hintergrund stehen. Nebliges Wetter sorgt in den Niederungen in Bayern fuer Raureifbildung.
Photo by Diether Endlicher
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