'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
He's Been Busy Again!
The Worried Shrimp
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The day started off overcast & gray, but gave way to full sun by mid-afternoon.
Wish I could get the damn scanner working. Nell Carter was in rehearsal for a show here in Long Beach - a musical version of 'A Raisin In The Sun'. The
Long Beach Press Telegram had a 'press' photo from the show on the front page (and it's not on their website), that's so much more flattering to Miss Carter than what is on the wire-services.
Anybody else notice that everytime ABC/Disney hypes the 'new' 'Dragnet', it's attributed to Dick Wolf and there is NO mention of Jack Webb? So, if Dick Wolf sells the network a series called 'Hamlet', about a crazy Danish prince, wanna bet
they'd hype it as 'Hamlet' by Dick Wolf? Yep, we sure need more consolidation < /sarcasm>.
Did anyone see 'Penn & Teller: Bullshit' on ShowTime? Is it worth changing from HBO?
Did the weekly grocery/cricket shopping today. When did shrimp become the food of the Super Bowl? Every store in town has frozen shrimp on sale for half price (having been raised catholic way back when fish on Friday was mandatory, I was mighty grateful for the shrimp option - not to mention the lobster loophole).
Tonight, Saturday, CBS opens the evening with a FRESH 'Touched By An Angle', then a FRESH 'The District', and finally, a
RERUN 'The Agency'.
NBC starts the night with a RERUN 'Law & Order', followed by a RERUN 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit', and then a
FRESH 'Meet My Folks'. It seems that 'SNL' is a RERUN.
ABC offers a half-hour RERUN 'America's Funniest Home Videos', and then the movie 'Mission: Impossible'.
The WB has the movie 'Houseguest'.
Faux has a FRESH 'Cops', then another FRESH 'Cops', followed by 'America's Most Wanted'.
UPN has the movie 'Class'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana gestures as he leaves Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego Friday, Jan. 24, 2003. Santana is part of the pre-game show for Super Bowl XXXVII, featuring the Oakland Raiders and
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Photo by Dave Martin
8 Albums, 13 Singles Added
Grammy Hall of Fame
From Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough "Born to Run" to Led Zeppelin's hit "Stairway to Heaven," some of the biggest classic-rock titles of the 1970s were inducted on Friday into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The 1975 album that launched Springsteen as a superstar and the 1971 Zeppelin ballad that became one of the most heavily played tracks of the rock era were among 21 recordings to gain Hall of Fame status this year.
The eight albums and 13 singles bring to 606 the number of titles recognized since 1973 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for their enduring artistic quality and cultural influence.
The lion's share of this year's entries -- 11 in all -- dominated record collections and radio airplay during the 1970s and endure on classic-rock stations today. Among the album selections were Elton John's double-set "Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road," Fleetwood Mac's blockbuster "Rumors," the Eagles' smash release "Hotel California," Paul Simon's introspective "Still Crazy After All These Years" and Steely Dan's jazz-rock masterpiece "Aja."
Hit '70s singles making the list included one of the most popular songs of the decade, Carole King's "It's Too Late," along with Eric Clapton's cover of the Bob Marley classic "I Shot the Sheriff" and Ike & Tina Turner's take on the John Fogerty song "Proud Mary."
Six other entries hail from the 1960s, notably Peter, Paul & Mary's hit version of the Bob Dylan protest song "Blowin' in the Wind," Petula Clark's winsome 1964 single "Downtown," Judy Collins' generational
touchstone "Both Sides Now" and "Up-UP And Away" by the 5th Dimension.
Jazz made the list with two titles -- Thelonious Monk's 1949 release "The Genius of Modern Music, Vols. 1 & 2," and the oldest entry from this year's crop, Ethel Waters' 1933 rendering of "Stormy Weather."
Grammy Hall of Fame
For All Your Reference Needs (And Then Some)
Moose & Squirrel
Speaking In Sydney
Christopher Reeve
"Superman" movie star Christopher Reeve said Friday human trials were under way into therapeutic cloning that could help repair spinal injuries like the one that paralyzed him from the neck down.
New York-based Reeve, in Sydney for a spinal-injury forum, said some scientists have shifted from testing animals, such as mice, to people.
The actor declined to give details, saying scientific advances required peer review and other steps before being made public.
The actor, set to guest star in next month in a television version of Superman called "Smallville," is an active campaigner for nuclear transfer, or so-called therapeutic cloning.
Australia's parliament last month approved medical research on 70,000 spare human embryos created for in-vitro fertility treatment.
Reeve is attending the two-day forum, which begins on Monday, at the invitation of New South Wales Premier Bob Carr.
Christopher Reeve
Old Master painting 'Descent into Limbo,' painted circa 1492 by Andrea Mantegna, sold at auction Jan. 23, 2003 to an anonymous telephone bidder for $28,568,000 by Sotheby's auction house in New York. The most paid for a Mantegna at auction prior to this sale was $10.4 million for his 'Adoration of the Magi' in 1985.
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Libraries Can't Afford New Harry Potter Books
Budget Cuts
When "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" comes out this summer, many young readers will rush to their local public libraries to get copies.
Because of budget cuts, libraries are struggling to have enough Potter books. In New York City, for example, the number of ordered copies has dropped from 956 for the last release, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," to 560 for the new one.
In Clinton, Wis., population about 2,000, the public library expects up to 100 requests for the new book. Meanwhile, the library's budget has been cut by double digits.
"Getting the Potter book means not getting something else," says Clinton library director Michelle Dennis, who said she won't be buying any children's nonfiction this year, including a set of encyclopedias she had hoped to order.
Booksellers are celebrating the recent announcement that J.K. Rowling's fifth Harry Potter story will be released June 21. But the news only highlights the current crisis of public libraries.
Having sustained substantial reductions over the past year, libraries face an unhappy choice: Fail to meet the demands of all those Potter fans or take money from another part of the budget.
At the Bruggemeyer Memorial Library in Monterey Park, Calif., cuts in funding already mean that 800 fewer children's books will be bought this year, from 5,600 titles down to 4,800. Library director Linda
Wilson says the budget could shrink even more.
Like few other books, the Potter stories also serve a librarian's core mission: getting kids to read. Librarians worry that delays could spoil a special chance to nurture a lifelong passion.
Budget Cuts
Low-Maintenance Rock Star
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is as low-maintenance as a rock star gets. When the gravel-voiced legend goes on tour, he doesn't demand that his dressing room be stocked with green M&Ms and enough booze for a crew of 20. The list of
backstage requirements for his current tour consists of just a few basics, including hot and cold running water and a toilet. Dylan also requests clean towels, a bar of soap, a full-length mirror, a banquet table,
two ashtrays and "incandescent" lighting, reports the Melbourne Herald-Sun.
Bob Dylan
Super Bowl to Kick Off Tribute
Bob Hope Centennial
It's been years since comedian Bob Hope played golf, and the one-liners no longer fly from his lips. He spends his days at home, enjoying ice cream, old Bing Crosby records, TV and the company of friends and family.
Looking forward to celebrating his 100th birthday on May 29, the veteran star plans to spend Sunday watching the Super Bowl football championship and a televised pre-game salute from resident Bush that kicks off a year of centennial celebrations, his daughter said on Friday.
Linda Hope, 63, said the Super Bowl tribute at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego was the idea of San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos, a friend of the legendary entertainer who was himself once an NFL owner as a Los Angeles Rams shareholder.
"He said, 'Bob always loved a big audience, and this is the biggest audience in the world, so this is the biggest birthday gift I can give him,"' she told Reuters in a phone interview.
The tribute, airing on ABC about an hour before game time, will feature vintage footage from Hope's career and the years he spent entertaining U.S. troops around the world, as well as a prerecorded birthday message from Bush.
The English-born entertainer has remained out of the public eye since returning from a three-week visit to the East Coast in 2000 to open the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment at the Library
of Congress in Washington. Shortly after that trip, he was hospitalized for gastrointestinal bleeding. The following year, he suffered a bout of pneumonia.
Hope and his wife, Dolores, 93, who met at a nightclub where she was singing, will celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary next month, Linda Hope said.
Bob Hope Centennial
Letterman Bids Farewell to Neighbors
Mujibur & Sirajul
And the No. 1 reason Mujibur and Sirajul will disappear from David Letterman's "Late Show" ... their boss is closing his Broadway souvenir store.
K&L's Rock America, the cramped shop up the street from Letterman's theater where smiling salesmen Mujibur Rahman and Sirajul Islam work, is going out of business. The store is a victim of spiraling midtown
Manhattan rents, with its landlord hoping to bring in a tenant with deeper pockets.
"You always did a great job for us and we're going to miss you guys," Letterman told the pair this week before presenting each with some lovely parting gifts: a dozen roses and a new vacuum cleaner.
They debuted on Letterman's show on Sept. 13, 1993, shortly after the CBS show premiered at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
Mujibur, 47, and Sirajul, 43, natives of Bangladesh and residents of Queens, said they may go into business together. But Mujibur was skeptical about whether that would be show business.
Mujibur & Sirajul
"Late Show" Web site
On The Road, Again
Pearl Jam
Eddie Vedder and his Seattle-based rock group Pearl Jam are letting fans know they're still alive.
The band plans to launch a 48-city North American tour in April at the Pepsi Center in Denver in support of its latest album, "Riot Act," after a swing through Australia and Asia in February and March, the group announced on Thursday.
The North American outing will be broken into two legs, the first wrapping May 3 in State College, Pennsylvania, and the second starting May 28 in Missoula, Montana, and winding up July 9 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
According to Billboard magazine's online site (www.billboard.com), the band will be offering authorized soundboard-sourced "bootlegs" of each show on the upcoming tour, as it did for its 2000 world tour in support of "Binaural."
Prior to its opening U.S. show in Denver, Pearl Jam will play 10 dates in Australia, starting Feb. 8 in Brisbane, followed by five concerts in Asia. The band expects to announce opening acts next week, and add a handful of other U.S. dates over the next month.
Pearl Jam
Hosting NAACP Image Awards
Cedric the Entertainer
The NAACP chose Cedric the Entertainer to host its upcoming Image Awards show despite his jokes in the film "Barbershop" that angered some black leaders.
Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the uproar was "overblown." He noted that other characters in the film shouted down the remarks that Cedric's character made.
Mfume said Thursday he hoped choosing the comedian as host would help put the controversy to rest.
Cedric has had four consecutive Image Awards — presented by the NAACP to people of color for their work in literature, television, film and music — for comedic supporting TV actor for "The Steve Harvey Show." He also stars
in his own Fox variety show, "Cedric the Entertainer Presents."
Show-business professionals and NAACP officials from across the country choose the Image Award winners. The 34th annual ceremony is set for March 8 at the Universal Amphitheatre, and Fox will broadcast a tape of the program on March 13.
Cedric the Entertainer
NAACP Image Awards Web site
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Moved to Recovery Center
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was injured in a traffic accident nearly two months ago, has been moved from a hospital to a luxury suite at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital.
Gabor was moved this week to the hospital that caters to aging stars, her husband, Frederic von Anhalt, said Thursday.
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Newest Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers, who played ditsy blond Chrissy Snow on the 1970s sitcom "Three's Company," got a star Friday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"And the nuns in Catholic school said I'd never get to heaven," she joked during the ceremony. "This is heaven and I'm just floating in it."
Somers' star is located near the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, site of the first Academy Awards. Friday's ceremony was attended by singer Barry Manilow, entertainer Merv Griffin and CBS television president Leslie Moonves.
Somers, 56, will tour in a one-woman show called "The Blonde in the Thunderbird" beginning in September.
Suzanne Somers
Outdated Tattoo
Angelina Jolie
Like Johnny Depp and Tom Arnold, Angelina Jolie now finds herself with an outdated tattoo. With Billy Bob Thornton out of her life, she's looking to get "Billy Bob" off her shoulder, Msnbc.com's Jeannette Walls reports. "She's
made inquiries with doctors," says a source. Depp's "Winona Forever" became "Wino Forever" with laser surgery, but Arnold kept the huge likeness of Roseanne Barr on his chest. It was too big to take off.
Angelina Jolie
Stalking Case Termed 'Misunderstanding'
Britney Spears
Britney Spears' troubles with an alleged Japanese stalker, accused of sending love notes to the pop princess, are due to a "cultural misunderstanding," the man's lawyer said on Friday.
Spears, 21, is seeking a restraining order against Masahiko Shizawa, 41, of Yokohama, Japan, claiming he had sent her photos of himself and a note saying "I'm chasing you."
But Shizawa's lawyer told a brief court hearing that the legal fray was due to a "cultural misunderstanding."
"He's a VIP in Japan. He had no intent" to disturb her, lawyer Simon Hiller said, without expanding his remarks.
According to the syndicated TV show "Celebrity Justice," he has been forced to return to Japan, where he is reportedly a millionaire computer programmer, after his U.S. visa expired, and has twice been stopped while trying to return to the United States.
Britney Spears
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Gray & Jeb's Friendly Wager
Super Bowl
Gov. Jeb Bush accepted a friendly wager Friday with California Gov. Gray Davis on the outcome of Super Bowl XXXVII.
"I think the Bucs will win, because they have the best defense in the NFL and a great coaching staff," Bush said in a statement. "The final score will be 20-14. Go Bucs!"
The Florida governor lost an earlier bet to Ohio Gov. Bob Taft when Miami lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Because of the loss, Bush must wear an Ohio State jersey at the next National Gov.s Association meeting.
If the Buccaneers win, Bush will receive a case of California wines, a fish taco dinner at Rubio's Baja Grill in San Diego and some of California's agricultural products.
If the Raiders win, Davis will get a dinner from The Columbia Restaurant in Tampa and some citrus and agricultural products from Florida.
The governors also agreed to display the winning team jersey in the losing team's state capitol.
Super Bowl Wager
A Bolivian manholds up an 'Ekeko' (the god of fortune and abundance) during the traditional fair of 'Alasitas' (buy me) in La Paz, January 24, 2003. Thousands of devotees buy miniature dollar and euro bills
and other things like small houses, cars, computers, credit cards, etc. The tradition says that these miniatures might become real during the year.
Photo by David Mercado
Laying Off 61 Journalists
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corp. said Friday it was laying off 61 journalists as part of an effort to save $800 million.
The layoffs will come in the broadcaster's television and radio news departments. A spokeswoman said the majority would be voluntary, but that some people might have to be fired.
The BBC is publicly owned and largely funded through a $181 annual license fee paid by all television owners.
BBC
Personal Submarine
Deep Flight Aviator
It's not exactly the "Nautilus," but a San Anselmo man has created a submarine that's every bit as capable as the famous submersible from Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea."
Marine engineer and inventor Graham Hawkes on Thursday "flew" his $1 million Deep Flight Aviator through the murky water at San Francisco's Pier 15 in an official launch. The Aviator is Hawkes' first underwater craft specifically designed for ocean exploration.
The Aviator can submerge to 1,500 feet and travel at a speed of up to 10 knots.
At 4,400-pounds, the contraption is nothing like the clunky, pod-shaped remote-operated vehicles seen in underwater documentaries and Hollywood movies. Rather, it resembles a sleek, two-person kayak with wings and rounded glass hatches protecting the passengers.
The battery-powered Aviator works like an airplane, pushing away water in its path.
Deep Flight Aviator
Shar-Pei Survived
Cosmic Justice
A man trying to beat his dog to death with a gun was fatally wounded when it apparently went off accidentally, police said.
Raymond Poore Jr., 43, called his wife at work Thursday and told her that their dog had bitten him and he intended to kill the animal, police Capt. David Sobonya said.
The wife came home about 6 p.m. and found her husband unconscious, with a number of dog bites and scratches. Emergency medical personnel discovered that Poore had been shot. He was pronounced dead at Winchester Medical Center.
Sobonya said Poore must have beaten the 30-pound shar-pei with the gun that went off. He said the stock of the weapon, a combination rifle and shotgun, was broken and there appeared to be blood and dog hair on it.
Cosmic Justice
In Memory
Ben Friedman
Rock poster dealer Ben Friedman, a North Beach fixture for more than 30 years, died Jan. 4 at the Jewish Home of San Francisco. He was 91.
Mr. Friedman ran the Postermat, at one time the largest purveyor of psychedelic rock posters in the world. His store, located at 901 Columbus Ave., sold '60s rock posters from concerts at the Fillmore and Avalon Ballrooms and attracted tourists and locals alike.
Although Mr. Friedman kept the store open for several years, he sold his inventory in 1990 to Philip Cushway, whose Art Rock in San Francisco sells rock posters through a mail-order catalog.
"He had a million posters," said Cushway, "easily the biggest stash of posters and postcards in the world. And he sold them one at a time out of his store."
Mr. Friedman bought the entire inventory of original posters from Chet Helms of the Avalon Ballroom for $10,000 in 1969. Around the same time, he bought a large number of the original Fillmore posters from Bill Graham, who couldn't understand what Mr. Friedman could possibly want with posters from past shows.
"I buy them from you for 50 cents," he is said to have told Graham, "and sell them for a dollar."
Born in New York City and raised in upstate New York, Mr. Friedman served in the military and moved to San Francisco with his mother after World War II, said his executor, Blandina Farley, who worked for Mr. Friedman "on and off" since 1971. He worked as a wholesale egg salesman and shopped estate sales as a
sideline. Mr. Friedman opened a Grant Avenue used-record store after buying a large lot of old albums. He sold records for 59 cents and kept a bucket of soapy water by the cash register for customers to wash their purchases.
"Ben was always a character," said Farley. He was a lovable grump in a Greek fisherman's cap who kept a cat at the store and a sign on his counter that read "Pet Kitty -- Five Cents." He lived upstairs and kept the landmark store open late every night.
"People would come from all over the world to visit him," said Farley. "He would stay there all night. He would go out to eat, but he would always want to go back to the store. The store was his living room."
He would never let you buy what you wanted to buy," said Paul Grushkin, author of "The Art of Rock: Posters From Presley to Punk." "He would let you buy three or four max. You'd have to stand there for hours wheedling him to pull out what you were looking for. Hundreds of us used to be supplicants to this guy."
No services are planned.
Ben Friedman
Indian soldiers on camel back guard outside the Presidential Palace, background, during the 'Beating Retreat' rehearsal in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 24, 2003. Beating Retreat marks the end
of the Indian Republic Day on Jan. 26.
Photo by Ajit Kumar
'The Osbournes'
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Critical Date Approaches
Nick's Crusade
