'Best of TBH Politoons'
Staub Beer - The Official Beer
Groundhog Day
Straub Beer, a natural brew with no salt, sugar or preservatives, is the official beer of
Groundhog Day.
Straub offers a
virtual tour of the brewery in case you aren't near St. Marys, PA.
If you're in the area, stop by - Straub's has the Eternal Tap, which is
open to the public ages 21 and older (Monday through Friday during the main office hours [9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.] and until 1 p.m. on Saturdays) - and, don't be surprised if
they ask you to wash your glass when you're done.
And, if you're visiting in Elk County, don't forget to visit
Johnsonburg, but be warned - you'll smell the town before you see it.
Here are some old pictures of
Johnsonburg, PA.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Edwards Effect (nytimes.com)
The two Democratic candidates left standing are, to a large extent, running on the platform that John Edwards built.
Frank Rich: On the Democrats (nybooks.com)
Such was the low estate of the Bush administration in American public opinion that the Democrats did even better than expected in the midterm elections of 2006, especially in their narrow takeover of the Senate.
Mark Morford: Study says many studies suck (sfgate.com)
Research shows we are far too drunk on stupid studies that tell us what research shows
The Borowitz Report: Nader Warns Bloomberg Not to Run (borowitzreport.com)
Only Room for One Egomaniac in Race, Activist Says.
Jim Hightower: GOOGLE'S GAMBLE ON GREEN (jimhightower.com)
Corporate idealism is practically an oxymoron in this era, with big investors considering the bottom line to be the only line and demanding a constant flow of ever-higher profits.
MARK BITTMAN: Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler (nytimes.com)
A SEA change in the consumption of a resource that Americans take for granted may be in store - something cheap, plentiful, widely enjoyed and a part of daily life. And it isn't oil. It's meat. The two commodities share a great deal: Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government.
Charlotte Raven: I've never liked the consumer herd, so self-denial was made for me - if I could just resist the plasma TV (guardian.co.uk)
If everyone did stop consuming, there'd be a global recession, and if they don't we're heading for a different kind of disaster. With capitalism, you can't win.
Wendy Ide: The intelligent chick flick returns (timesonline.co.uk)
It's the best rom-com since Annie Hall. Maybe the film world is at last going to take its female audience seriously.
Joseph V. Amodio: Scottish actor Ewan McGregor is in big demand (Newsday; Posted on popmatters.com)
Ewan McGregor's been busy. He's got a handful of films coming out, starting with Woody Allen's latest, "Cassandra's Dream," starring McGregor and Colin Farrell as working-class brothers faced with a moral puzzler: Could you kill a total stranger if someone you respect asked you to? (Cash will be thrown in for good measure.)
Jon Bream: No country for older female singers? Ask Martina McBride (Star Tribune; Posted on popmatters.com)
Two minutes into the interview, Martina McBride's 2-year-old had already completed her painting project and just had to show Mom.
Reader Comment & Question
Greedy Corporate Masters
Marty,
While I generally agree with most/much/a great deal of what appears on BC Entertainment, one thing keeps nagging at me, and it has to do with our shared belief that corporate masters are greedy bastards.
For Leno, Stewart, Colbert and Maher, etc., you keep saying, "but his corporate masters have decided to not announce any scheduled guests." But is it the greedy corporate masters depriving us of knowing whether or not to tivo these shows, or is it that since these shows are sans writers, they really don't know a day or two in advance who among the invited guests will or will not cross the picket lines? I suspect the latter has a lot to do with it.
Chipshot in Tyler, TX
Reader Comment
Re: Heath Ledger
Hi Marty
I like how they go back 2 years and talk about his drug abuse but don't
say anything about what the quacks gave him to supposedly cure him.
He got hooked on their shit which was way worse in my opinion, you can't
help but see it watch how they ignore the present to protect the drug
companies.
joe
Thanks, joe!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Looks like more rain.
This cold is kicking my ass. Ack.
UN Peace Messenger
George Clooney
In his new role as U.N. messenger of peace, George Clooney was playing himself.
Clooney toured U.N. headquarters for a ceremony and a new pin on his lapel marking his designation for the special job by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
He was just back from a two-week trip to 19 locations in Sudan's Darfur region, the Central African Republic, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo, arriving in the U.S. by way of India, a major contributor of U.N. peacekeeping troops, U.N. officials said.
He is a co-founder of Not on Our Watch, a humanitarian group that focuses global attention on Darfur's people and has raised more than $9.3 million for the region.
George Clooney
NASA Launching Beatles Tune Into Space
'Across the Universe'
NASA on Monday will broadcast the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star.
This first-ever beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space is nostalgia-driven. It celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of NASA's Deep Space Network, which communicates with its distant probes, and the 50th anniversary of NASA.
"Send my love to the aliens," Paul McCartney told NASA through a Beatles historian. "All the best, Paul."
NASA loaded an MP3 of the song, just under four minutes in its original version, and will transmit it digitally at 7 p.m. EST Monday from its giant antenna in Madrid, Spain. But if you wanted to hear it on Polaris, you would need an antenna and a receiver to convert it back to music, the same way people receive satellite television.
'Across the Universe'
Posthumous Hollywood Star
Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, less than two weeks after she died of respiratory failure, on what would have been her 71st birthday, Pleshette received the walk's 2,355th star.
"The only thing that exceeds her talent and her beauty was her bravery, because she was one of the greatest women," Bob Newhart said.
"Many people walk through your life and very few people leave footprints on your heart," said Marcia Wallace, another "Newhart" co-star. "She left footprints on my heart, and now we can all leave our footprints on her star. She'd love it."
Tina Sinatra, a daughter of Frank Sinatra, accepted the star on Pleshette's behalf.
Suzanne Pleshette
Doors Auctioned
Jim Morrison
The latest in a series of doors being auctioned off from a house where Jim Morrison once lived has been painted with a "Love Her Madly" theme.
"The Jim Morrison Home Legacy Series" enlists artists to use doors collected from a Clearwater, Fla., home that belonged to Morrison's grandparents as their canvases. The doors are then donated to various causes.
The latest, taken from the master bathroom, will go up for auction on eBay Saturday after being unveiled during a Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concert dedicated to the band's music. Proceeds will benefit the orchestra and an anti-gang initiative.
Painted by Florida artist Doug Wright, the door quotes from "Love Her Madly" and pictures a thoughtful Morrison, who died in 1971 at 27, beneath an image of seven horses. A doorbell will play snippets of the song. It's the fourth door Wright has painted for the foundation. The last two have quoted Morrison's writing.
Jim Morrison
Fans Hope To Save Show
`The 4400'
A sunflower seed company in the middle of the frozen prairie is trying to help fans save "The 4400," a science fiction show axed last month by USA Network.
Fans of the show are protesting the cancellation by sending network executives sunflower seeds, the favorite snack of a character named Dr. Kevin Burkhoff. Many are Giants Sunflower Seeds, manufactured by a Wahpeton-based company with eight employees.
"We thought they were loony tunes at first," said Jay Schuler, head of Giants Snacks LLC, which makes Giants Seeds. "But it has been a wonderful thing."
About 1,700 bags had been ordered from Giants by the end of the business day Thursday, the day before the campaign's official launch, said Tom Schuler, who handles Internet sales for Giants Seeds. The Schulers are brothers.
`The 4400'
TruTV Cancels
Star Jones Reynolds
TruTV has canceled Star Jones Reynolds' legal-focused talk show after a six-month run.
The last episode of the show, which aired at 3 p.m. weekdays, will be Friday (February 1). "Arrest & Trial" will run in that slot.
The show, which began in August, showcased Reynolds' work as a TV host and former lawyer. She will remain with the network as a contributor to the channel's trial coverage.
Star Jones Reynolds
Acquitted Of Tax Fraud
Wesley Snipes
Action star Wesley Snipes was found not guilty of federal tax-fraud and conspiracy charges Friday, but was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a tax return.
Snipes had faced up to 16 years in prison if convicted on all charges, but can now only get up to three years. The "Blade" star and two co-defendants had been indicted in 2006 after Snipes stopped paying, using tax protest arguments long rejected by the courts.
Snipes sat emotionless as his verdict was read, then nodded in relief. He refused to talk with reporters after the verdict, and is still liable for millions in taxes likely to be pursued in civil court.
Wesley Snipes
Stenographer's Apartment Burglarized
Lesley Stahl
A burglar posing as a construction worker made away with about $100,000 worth of jewelry and electronics in a broad-daylight heist at Lesley Stahl's apartment, police said Friday.
Police wouldn't provide specifics, but the New York Post reported the burglar posed as a construction worker and stole several diamond watches, a pearl necklace, earrings, gold and silver necklaces and a laptop.
The burglar reportedly went onto the roof, gained access by breaking a patio door and then ransacked the apartment Stahl shares with her husband, writer Aaron Latham, and daughter.
Lesley Stahl
Concerts Canceled
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls have dropped Australia, China, South Africa and Argentina from their world tour, which reportedly has been drawing a disappointing turnout at some concerts.
The group, which reunited in a blaze of publicity last June, said on Friday that the tour will now end in Toronto on Feb. 26.
The Spice Girls' tour kicked off in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 2, and has also included stops in Britain, the United States, Spain and Germany.
Spice Girls
Banned In Burma
Rambo
Police in Myanmar have given DVD hawkers strict orders not to stock the new Rambo movie, which features the Vietnam War veteran taking on the former Burma's ruling military junta, a Yangon resident told Reuters on Friday.
Despite the prohibition, pirated copies of the movie are widely available on the streets of the former capital, where it is fast becoming a talking point among a population eager to shake off 45 years of military rule.
"People are going crazy with the quote 'Live for nothing, die for something'," one resident said, referring to the tagline of the fourth Rambo installment, which opened in the United States this week.
Even though it received lukewarm reviews, it is likely to be a sure-fire hit with opponents of the junta, with some even hoping it could spur a change of regime in the impoverished southeast Asian nation.
Rambo
In Paris Nude Revue
Pamela Anderson
Former "Baywatch" star and Playboy model Pamela Anderson takes to the stage in one of France's most famous nude revues this month, when she performs for two nights at the Crazy Horse in Paris.
Anderson, who has recently been performing in a magic show in Las Vegas, follows Arielle Dombasle, an actress and wife of one of France's leading intellectuals, in appearing at the Crazy Horse, a fixture in Paris night life for half a century.
"A special number will be created for Pamela Anderson, a striptease on a Harley Davidson," the Crazy Horse said.
Pamela Anderson
Shares Its Wealth
`A Chorus Line'
"A Chorus Line," one of Broadway's biggest hits, is spreading more of its wealth.
Artists who participated in the original interviews and workshops of Michael Bennett's classic 1975 musical about dancers auditioning for a Broadway show will now have a financial stake in the current New York revival as well as major "first-class" future productions.
The new arrangement, amending terms of a 1976 agreement, was announced Friday by beneficiaries of Bennett's estate as well as by artists who were part of those 1974 interviews and subsequent workshops that eventually became the long-running musical.
Beneficiaries of Bennett's estate include Bob Avian, who oversaw the current revival, and John Breglio, executor of the estate. The artists include such original "Chorus Line" cast members as Kelly (originally Carole) Bishop, Donna McKechnie, Priscilla Lopez and Robert LuPone.
`A Chorus Line'
13 More Episodes
"The Moment of Truth"
Fox picked up 13 more episodes of "The Moment of Truth" on Thursday, a day after the breakout reality hit passed its moment-of-truth second-airing test with flying colors.
On Wednesday, "Truth" drew 17.6 million viewers and a 7.8 rating/19 share among adults 18-49, dropping a modest 24 percent from its blockbuster premiere and retaining 77 percent of its "American Idol" demographic lead-in. "Truth," which features contestants answering embarrassing personal questions for a cash prize, also showed a minimal ratings drop-off between the first and second half-hour in the younger demographics.
Casting already is under way for the new batch of episodes, and production is slated to begin February 11.
"The Moment of Truth"
Germany Launches Comic Book On Holocaust
"The Search"
German schools will launch a comic book next week that aims to teach children about the Nazi era and the Holocaust.
Although German schools already make a big effort to give pupils a thorough education about the Nazi era, racist violence remains a problem, and the revival of Germany's Jewish community has brought a rise in anti-Semitism with it.
The Tintin-style comic book is called "The Search", and tells the story of Esther, a fictional Jewish survivor of the Holocaust.
Created by the Dutch cartoonist Eric Heuvel, it is already available in the Netherlands. Berlin's Anne Frank Centre, which is backing the project, thinks it will serve a purpose in Germany, too.
"The Search"
Funding Shortfalls
Science Research
Scientists are chafing at the U.S. government's unfulfilled pledge to boost funding for basic scientific research, the source of innovations ranging from the World Wide Web to high-tech cancer treatments.
In December, Bush ordered the Democratic-controlled Congress to stick to his 2008 budget cap in its final catch-all spending bill, and the resulting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cuts left many researchers in shock.
Roughly 700 planned science projects have gone unfunded as a result, jeopardizing facilities in the United States and elsewhere.
Fermilab's 1,900 staffers were told they have to take furloughs of one week without pay every two months, and layoffs are possible. Argonne has lost 20 of its 300 scientists.
Science Research
Watching US Presidential Race
The World
Germans are gaga over Barack Obama. He's got Japan pretty jazzed, too, along with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Russia's leaders, not so much: They prefer a Republican - as long as it's not Kremlin critic John McCain.
After eight years of resident Bush, the latest mantra in U.S. politics - "transformational change" - is resonating across the rest of a planet desperate for a fresh start.
In Europe, where some see Obama as untested, support for Clinton is widespread, and nostalgia for her husband's charisma runs deep. When scandals rocked the Clinton White House, most Europeans responded with a Gallic shrug.
The Republican presidential hopefuls, by contrast, are not highly regarded in Europe: Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are seen as too religious, and the 71-year-old McCain as too old.
The World
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