'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Annalee Newitz: The Bush Administration's War On Science
Our government is waging a war against science, endangering millions of lives in the U.S. and beyond.
Jim Hightower: MONSANTO SEEKS TO BAN THE TRUTH (jimhightower.com)
Ben & Jerry's Homemade is now owned by a conglomerate, but the company's luscious ice cream still is made from milk that contains no synthetic growth hormones in it - a fact that the company proudly advertises right on its carton. And that really POs Monsanto.
Eric Eaton: Don't Bug Me! (irascibleprofessor.com)
Just when you thought it was safe to crawl into bed in your dorm room, fraternity, sorority, or off-campus residence, here come the bed bugs.
Undercover economics (books.guardian.co.uk)
Top 10: Tim Harford, author of the logic of life, believes that the hidden economics of everyday life can explain much that we take for granted. He picks 10 books to prove his point.
Sarah Churchwell: Nureyev's animal passions (entertainment.timesonline.co.uk)
If Rudolf Nureyev's behaviour was often disgraceful, his dancing was anything but.
Len Righi: Garage-rock vets The Fleshtones are getting another good look (The Morning Call; Posted on Popmatters.com)
Peter Zaremba sounds like he might be pinching himself as he speaks on the phone from his Brooklyn home about The Fleshtones' new CD, "Take a Good Look!"
Joseph V. Amodio: "David Morse: From 'St. Elsewhere' to George Washington" (Newsday; Posted on Popmatters.com)
Before there was a Dr. Kovac or Dr. Greene on "ER," before McDreamy on "Grey's Anatomy," there was Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison, a likable young physician played by David Morse on NBC's "St. Elsewhere." The show, which also featured a young Denzel Washington, ran for six years in the 1980s and gave Morse his big break. And headache. He wound up typecast as a softie. Morse has spent the last two decades proving them wrong.
The haircut that won an Oscar (film.guardian.co.uk)
The killer bob modelled by Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" was so repulsive, so overwhelming, it seemed to me that it was the haircut that won the Oscar for best supporting actor, says Chrissy Iley.
Roger Moore: Christina Ricci lightens up a bit in 'Penelope' (The Orlando Sentinel; Posted on Popmatters.com)
Christina Ricci can be forgiven a little trepidation for wondering when her latest movie, the adult fairy tale "Penelope," would hit theaters. It was at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. It was 20 minutes longer there.
Roger Moore: Jessica Lange hits the road in 'Bonneville' (The Orlando Sentinel; Posted on Popmatters.com)
Maybe it's her Minnesota prairie roots, or her restless, globe-trekking college years coming home to roost. But Jessica Lange, a two-time Oscar winner, considered herself incomplete, somehow, for this one shortcoming on her film resume.
Brian Villalobos: I'm Will Ferrell? (sacurrent.com)
The SNL alum and Semi-Pro star on fame, his alternate-universe job, and why he sucks (or did) at coordinating art appraisals.
Josh Friedman: Will Ferrell smells good to Old Spice (latimes.com)
Ferrell's Jackie Moon character stars in commercials for an Old Spice antiperspirant.
TV spots featuring the comedian reach out to the young men the venerable brand covets while raising the profile of New Line's upcoming movie 'Semi-Pro.'
One of the very first website's I visited was
'Dr. Foo's
Funny Pages, which is where
I read Rick Polito's quote about 'The Wizard of Oz.'
Marty's New Computer Fund Update
Donations
There have been 14 donations for a total of $550.
Thanks!
(If you're more comfortable with snail mail, please drop me a note)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny, but a bit cooler.
14th HBO Show - Tonight
George Carlin
Long before he went on stage and began to say "The Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV," got arrested for it in Milwaukee and saw the battle over freedom of expression that it ignited rage all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, George Carlin had a different dream.
He was going to be a wholesome standup comic, the kind who could make little children laugh and delight their parents. No jokes about race or sex and every bodily function imaginable (some of them so outrageous they seemingly could only be imagined by Carlin).
No, he would emulate his childhood hero, Danny Kaye, the kindly, rubber-faced comedian who ruled over the decade that Carlin grew up in - the 1950s - with a clever but gentle humor reflective of its times.
Only problem was, it didn't work for him.
For the interview - George Carlin
Honored In Phoenix
Navajo Code Talkers
Veteran Navajo code talkers on were honored in Phoenix on Thursday with a monument commemorating their use of an unbreakable cipher that helped U.S. forces defeat the Japanese in World War Two.
Thousands of Navajo volunteers rushed to enlist in the armed forces following the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, many from the sprawling Navajo reservation in northern Arizona.
Around 420 bilingual Navajo speakers were selected by the U.S. Marine Corps and trained as communications specialists, developing a secret code to pass tactical messages in battles fought across the Pacific from 1942 to 1945.
The Navajos' reputation grew as island after island fell, and was sealed during the first two days of the battle for Iwo Jima in 1945, when six Navajo code talkers worked around the clock, sending and receiving more than 800 vital messages without error.
Navajo Code Talkers
Navajo Code Talkers
Cryptology: Navajo Code Talkers in World War II
Mario's Cyberspace Station
Navajo Code Talkers' Dictionary
Navajo Code Talkers on Bartcop Entertainment
Sunday, 25 November, 2001,
Thursday, 6 June, 2002, and
Tuesday, 11 June, 2002.
How Good People Turn Evil
Philip Zimbardo
Psychologist Philip Zimbardo has seen good people turn evil, and he thinks he knows why.
Zimbardo will speak Thursday afternoon at the TED conference, where he plans to illustrate his points by showing a three-minute video, obtained by Wired.com, that features many previously unseen photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (disturbing content).
His book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, explores how a "perfect storm" of conditions can make ordinary people commit horrendous acts.
He spoke with Wired.com about what Abu Ghraib and his prison study can teach us about evil and why heroes are, by nature, social deviants.
For the whole interview - Philip Zimbardo
Disturbing New Photos From Abu Ghraib
Pop Culture Auction
Anthony Pugliese
It is billed as the best pop culture collection ever assembled -- ranging from the gun used to kill the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy to the Wicked Witch of the West's hat from "The Wizard of Oz."
Collected over the past 25 years by South Florida property developer Anthony Pugliese, the collection, which also includes a whip and the holy grail from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," will be put up for auction next month in Las Vegas.
Also up for grabs is the jacket worn by Beatle John Lennon in the "Imagine" video, the wedding dress worn by pop star Madonna in her "Like a Virgin" video, a "Superman" costume worn by Christopher Reeve, and an Andy Warhol paint brush.
Other items to be auctioned include a Federal Bureau of Investigation badge that belonged to the bureau's founder J. Edgar Hoover, a wig worn by Elizabeth Taylor for "Cleopatra," and the leather jacket worn by actor Brandon Lee when he was accidentally shot and killed while filming "The Crow."
Anthony Pugliese
Gets Palm Springs Star
Frank Sinatra Jr
Frank Sinatra Jr. has joined his famous dad and sister on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
The 64-year-old singer received star No. 307 on Palm Canyon Drive.
Sinatra noted that he used to play on the same street as a kid.
Nancy Sinatra said her brother deserves the honor because he "is practically, single-handedly, keeping the American songbook alive."
Frank Sinatra Jr
Self-Aggrandizing Republicans
Rick Dancer
Longtime KEZI anchor Rick Dancer led off the 11 o'clock news with word that a Republican had announced his candidacy for Oregon secretary of state. The candidate: Rick Dancer.
After ABC's Academy Awards coverage ended Sunday, its Eugene affiliate spent the first three minutes of its newscast on Dancer's candidacy, including a question-and-answer session with an on-air colleague.
Quite a bit of high-profile coverage for a second-tier state race. Which brings up a question: What about Dancer's four Democratic rivals?
The station's CEO, Carolyn Chambers, is a staunch Republican who has given nearly $90,000 to Republican causes and candidates over the last 13 years.
Rick Dancer
White House's Plagiarising Christian
Timothy Goeglein
A White House official who served as resident Bush's middleman with conservatives and Christian groups resigned Friday after admitting to plagiarism. Twenty columns he wrote for an Indiana newspaper were determined to have material copied from other sources without attribution.
Timothy Goeglein, who has worked for Bush since 2001, acknowledged that he lifted material from a Dartmouth College publication and presented it as his own work in a column about education for The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind. The newspaper took a closer look at his other columns and found many more instances of plagiarism.
Goeglein has worked at the White House since 2001. He is a special assistant to Bush and deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison, serving as the administration's liaison with influential conservatives. He was a right-hand man for former strategist Karl 'Turdblossom' Rove when he oversaw the public liaison office.
White House spokesliar Dana Perino said Goeglein helped establish Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiative, his program for AIDS relief in Africa, and also played an important role in the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Timothy Goeglein
Author Admits Holocaust Wolf Memoir Bogus
Misha Defonseca
The author of a bestselling autobiography that told the story of a young Jewish girl saved by wolves while hiding from the Nazis in wartime Europe has admitted that most of the story was made up.
Misha Defonseca's book "Survivre avec les Loups" is known in English as "Misha, a Memoir of the Holocaust Years" and has just been made into a successful film.
Defonseca's book told the story of a 7-year-old Belgian Jewish girl who journeys across Europe after her parents were arrested by the Nazis during World War Two.
But critics have said that, contrary to the account in her book, her family was not Jewish and her father was arrested as a member of the resistance.
Misha Defonseca
Actors Charged In Burglary
Goffney Twins
Twin brothers who have appeared in hardcore gay-porn online videos are charged with the rooftop burglary of a South Philadelphia business and are suspected in dozens of similar crimes in at least three states, authorities said.
Keyontyli and Taleon Goffney, 25, of suburban Pennsauken, N.J., were arrested Feb. 19 after authorities from a multistate task force said they watched the twins break into a South Philadelphia beauty shop through the roof.
The brothers are suspects in dozens of burglaries committed over the past 18 months throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, where intruders gained entry by hacking through the rooftops of businesses, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.
The brothers face charges of burglary, trespassing, theft and related counts. A preliminary hearing is expected next month, authorities said.
Goffney Twins
Girl Geek Boom
Japan
At Edelstein boarding school, the schoolboys wear lip-gloss, the headmistress has a weakness for homoerotic comic books, and there is only one subject: how to serve female visitors.
Welcome to Tokyo's first schoolboy cafe, the latest in a flurry of eateries in Japan where customers and waiters role play themes from manga comics.
In keeping with the schoolboy theme, waiters with manicured hands and soft voices pretend to be teenage students, chatting and flirting with well-dressed Japanese women playing the roles of benefactresses visiting the school.
"Most of our customers are office ladies in their twenties and thirties, women who are fashionable but normal," said Emiko Sakamaki, Edelstein's 27-year-old manager, herself dressed in a loose mini-dress over skinny jeans and knee-high boots.
Edelstein is based on one of Sakamaki's favourite comic books, a 1970s cult classic about romance at a German school.
Japan
Experts Create New Image
Johann Sebastian Bach
Experts have digitally rebuilt the face of 18th century German composer Johann Sebastian Bach -- and say the results may surprise his fans.
Using his bones and computer modeling, they have come up with an image of a thick-set man with closely-shorn white hair.
Bach's bones were excavated in 1894 and sculptors first used them to help create a bust in 1908.
But it was mainly based on a portrait of the composer and contemporary critics said it was so inaccurate that it might as well have been the composer Handel.
Johann Sebastian Bach
'Fowl' Language In PA
"Crispy Frickin' Chicken"
A convenience store chain's billboard advertising its fried chicken sandwich is ruffling the feathers of some residents. Sheetz unveiled the "Crispy Frickin' Chicken" billboards at the beginning of February.
The campaign consists of 100 billboards placed locations that carry the sandwich, spokeswoman Monica Jones said Thursday. The campaign is aimed at young adults, and the company did not intend to offend anyone, Jones said.
Sheetz will take down the billboards on Wednesday, when the campaign is scheduled to end, Jones said. The company recently removed one billboard in Hazle Township, near Hazleton, after local officials fielded complaints.
Sheetz Inc., based in Altoona, operates stores in Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.
'Crispy Frickin' Chicken'
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