'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Partying Like It's 1929 (nytimes.com)
It's time to relearn the lessons of the 1930s, and get the financial system back under control. Otherwise, the next few years will surely be the worst slump we've seen in decades.
Mark Morford: "Note to China: Please Implode" (sfgate.com)
Could the Olympics rain down shame on Chinese oppression and Tibet abuses? Let's hope
Rachel Swan: Forget My ADHD, Here's My Manuscript (eastbayexpress.com)
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be a burden for a kid -- but is it also a gift?
Rachel Swan: Ise Lyfe Asks Who's Really Krazy? (eastbayexpress.com)
The Oakland spoken-word poet explores the relativity of happiness in his one-man show.
Gene Seymour: As she turns 90, jazz pianist Marian McPartland still knows the score (Newsday; Posted on popmatters.com)
When she talks about falling down at home, she makes it seem such a trifle that she passes by the details, save for the important one: "I fractured my pelvis," Marian McPartland says, adding, as if she just remembered something else, "like a jerk. It was about two weeks before Christmas. You can't do anything for it except sit around and wait until you get better."
Jeff Severns Guntzel: Sex, Drugs, & Awesome Hair (citypages.com)
The glamtacular history of 1980s heavy metal in the Twin Cities.
ADRIEN BEGRAND: BLOOD AND THUNDER: Shining in its Evil Splendor (Popmatters.com)
PopMatters' Adrien Begrand talks with Tomas Haake about Meshuggah's State of obZen.
Nick Smith: The Semi-charmed Life of Ben Fagan (charlestoncitypaper.com)
CBS reality TV series Pirate Master made him rich, but will his music make him a star?
Brian McTavish: Almost 40 years later, Barry ('Greg Brady') Williams remains proud of his 'Bunch' (McClatchy Newspapers; Posted on popmatters.com)
Barry Williams is not Greg Brady. He knows that.
But the 53-year-old actor and singer appreciates that by having played eldest son Greg in five prime-time seasons (1969-1974) and millions of reruns of "The Brady Bunch," he remains a viable pop-culture commodity.
Dixie Reid: Director says 'Under the Same Moon' addresses reality of life on both sides of the border (McClatchy Newspapers; Posted on popmatters.com)
Patricia Riggen, who directed "Under the Same Moon," came to the United States for the very reason many Mexican citizens do: opportunity. Here she found a culture that allowed her to become a filmmaker.
Colin Covert: 'The Counterfeiters' filmmaker finds the complexity in truth (Star Tribune; Posted on popmatters.com)
Stefan Ruzowitsky has an appealingly modest take on his sudden ascent to art-house respectability. He's quick to point out that his previous film, "Anatomy," was a horror feature crafted for "a young, popcorn-eating crowd." Yet the Austrian writer/director of this year's Oscar-winning foreign film, "The Counterfeiters," feels that his experience with lowly genre fare served him well.
John McCain: The Worst Person in the World
Reader Contribution
First Day of Spring
Reader Question
Re: computer fund
How is your computer fund going?
I ask because I didn't see an update. Did you buy it already? If so, what did you get? Just curious. :)
Tom
Get the info on cartoons, anime, comics and more
Thanks, Tom!
The fund sits at $785, and so far, haven't done any upgrades.
It's not for a lack of interest, more like there's a lot of other stuff going on that needs attending.
OTOH, I have spoken with the neighborhood geek, and he's working on putting something together.
And this computer seems to have settled down, and while I know that's only temporary, it's taken some of the 'frantic' out of the picture.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny - we're having a heat wave.
Gave Millions To Charity
Jolie-Pitt
Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt donated more than eight million dollars to charity in 2006 according to tax records, it was reported on Friday.
According to federal tax records, the foundation handed out around 2.4 million dollars in donations in 2006, including one million dollars each to both Doctors without Borders and the Global AIDS Alliance.
Other cash gifts included 137,935 dollars to the Namibia Red Cross Action Program, the country where the couple's biological daughter Shiloh was born.
A donation of 100,000 dollars was also made to the Daniel Pearl Foundation, a trust set up to honor the former Wall Street Journal reporter murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan. Jolie played Pearl's widow Marianne in last year's acclaimed film "A Mighty Heart."
Jolie-Pitt
ABC Wins
Pennsylvania Debate
ABC has won the battle of the networks for the right to carry the next debate between Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.
ABC will televise a 90-minute debate between the two in primetime on Wednesday, April 16, beginning live at 8 p.m. EDT on the East Coast and tape-delayed at 8 p.m. PDT for the West Coast. The debate, to take place at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia six days before the Pennsylvania primary, will be moderated by "World News" anchor Charles Gibson and "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos.
The decision caps a nearly monthlong battle between ABC and NBC after earlier debates with just Clinton and Obama earned monster ratings for CNN and MSGOP.
Pennsylvania Debate
Winners Announced
The YouTubes Awards
A puppet show version of "Harry Potter" featuring a naked Dumbledore and an enigmatic song called "Chocolate Rain" by a Minnesota graduate student were among the winners of YouTube's second annual video awards, the Web site said on Friday.
Despite a huge number of views and worldwide media attention, "I Got a Crush on Obama" lost the politics award to "Stop the Clash of Civilizations", about mutual prejudices held in Islamic and Western worlds, by the "global web movement" Avaaz.org.
The short film winner, "My Name is Lisa" by Shelton Films, focuses on a teenager coping with a mentally ill mother, while commentary winner "LonelyGirl15 is Dead!" by "What the Buck Show" gave a gossipy, arch review of the demise of the popular Web character.
Winners were chosen from among six nominees in 12 categories, including "Adorable", commentary, eyewitness, instructional, politics, short film, comedy, creative, inspirational, music, series, and sports.
The YouTubes Awards
Gets Hollywood Star
Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett has had good days - becoming a mother to twins, winning a Golden Globe, being nominated for an Academy Award. Then there was Thursday.
"Do you ever have one of those days? I woke up and the sun wasn't really shining but then it burst through the clouds and it was glorious. Hallelujah!" Bassett exclaimed to the crowd at the ceremony for the 2,358th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bassett, 49, was joined by husband Courtney B. Vance, their children and guests Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne and Rick Fox, her co-star in the new film "Meet the Browns," out Friday.
Born in New York City and raised in Florida, Bassett snagged bachelor's and master's degrees from Yale before starting her career in theater and then moving on to film.
Angela Bassett
Axed By CBS
'Jericho'
"Jericho," the post-apocalyptic CBS drama whose devoted fans rallied to save it from cancellation, has met its end.
The show failed to increase its audience and will air its final episode Tuesday, the network said Friday.
"Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program; we simply wish there were more," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said in a statement. "We have no regrets bringing the show back for a second try."
'Jericho'
Fox Moves To Lower Profile Slot
'Canterbury's Law'
Two weeks after its debut, Fox is moving legal drama "Canterbury's Law" from Monday nights to Friday.
Starting the week of March 24, "Law" will be replaced by repeats of "House" on Mondays.
For its March 10 debut, "Canterbury's" had a 1.7 rating among adults 18 to 49, Fox's lowest-rated premiere ever in the time period. This week, "Canterbury's" was flat.
Fox's midseason scripted dramas, "Canterbury's" and "New Amsterdam," originally were scheduled for Friday, then Fox moved them to a more visible time period when the writers' strike made scripted programming a scarce commodity.
'Canterbury's Law'
45th Anniversary
'General Hospital'
It's been 45 years since "General Hospital" began dispensing heavy doses of drama to TV viewers.
Since 1963, ABC's longest-running daytime series has documented the trials and tribulations of Port Charles' citizens, carving an unprecedented television niche with intrigue and illness - long before "ER," "House" and "Grey's Anatomy" graduated from medical school.
Stars such as Demi Moore, John Stamos, Ricky Martin and Rick Springfield got their start on "General Hospital." A-list fan Elizabeth Taylor famously guest-starred as the malicious Helena Cassadine at supercouple Luke and Laura's wedding in 1981, one of television's most popular moments, attracting 30 million people.
'General Hospital'
Good Vibrations Restored
Beach Boys
The settlement of a long legal dispute over rights to the Beach Boys' name has restored good vibrations among the three surviving original members of the famed group, attorneys in the case said on Thursday.
The agreement, reached on Wednesday after two days of talks mediated by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, put to rest years of litigation that strained relations among members of the group that defined the California surf sound of the 1960s.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But lawyers suggested the amicable nature of the settlement could pave the way for a long-awaited reunion of the band's three surviving co-founders -- Brian Wilson, cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine.
Beach Boys
Music Rights Flap Jams Biopic
Bob Marley
The family of Bob Marley has refused to license any of his music for an upcoming Weinstein Co. film drama about the late reggae star even though his widow, Rita Marley, is its executive producer.
The reason? There is a competing Martin Scorsese documentary being produced by the Marley family-owned Tuff Gong Pictures and Steven Bing's Shangri La production banner, the first theatrical documentary to license Marley songs.
The family members involved in the Scorsese documentary say they were unaware that the Weinstein project would be unveiled so soon and believe that its projected late-2009 release date would interfere with their film's February 2010 opening, which is timed to coincide with Marley's birthday.
"Martin Scorsese doesn't want to go out with a competing project, and Steven Bing has made deals with companies" that are now compromised, Blue Mountain Music president Chris Blackwell said. "The Weinstein project has put the documentary into jeopardy."
Bob Marley
Sue To Block 1962 Tapes' Release
Beatles
Lawyers for the Beatles sued Friday to prevent the distribution of unreleased recordings purportedly made during Ringo Starr's first performance with the group in 1962.
The dispute between Apple Corps Ltd., the London company formed by the Beatles that helps guard their legacy, and Fuego Entertainment Inc. of Miami Lakes stems from recordings the Fab Four apparently made during a performance at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany.
Eight unreleased tracks are said to be among the recordings, including Paul McCartney singing Hank Williams' "Lovesick Blues" and McCartney and John Lennon singing "Ask Me Why."
Apple Corps claims that the songs were taped without the consent of the band and that Fuego and sister companies Echo-Fuego Music Group LLC and Echo-Vista Inc. have no right to distribute them.
Beatles
Sues Over "Guitar Hero"
Gibson Guitar
Gibson Guitar said on Friday that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Viacom's MTV networks and Harmonix as well as Electronic Arts relating to the wildly popular "Guitar Hero" video games.
The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Tennessee, relates to the same patent involved in another suit Gibson filed earlier against various retailers, the Tennessee-based guitar maker said in a statement.
Gibson said the games, in which players use a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes on a television screen, violate a 1999 patent for technology to simulate a musical performance.
Gibson Guitar
Wrist Slap Fine
Cedars-Sinai
A Los Angeles hospital was fined $25,000 by state health regulators for giving overdoses of a blood thinner to three infants including the newborn twins of Dennis Quaid.
The California Department of Public Health cited Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and 10 other hospitals Thursday for violations that caused or were "likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients."
The fine against Cedars-Sinai comes two months after the state issued a 20-page report blaming the hospital for giving Quaid's premature twins and another unidentified baby 1,000 times the intended dosage of heparin in November. All three children recovered, but two needed a drug that reverses the effects of heparin.
Cedars-Sinai
Rough Audience Lawsuit
Oprah
A woman claims in a lawsuit that she was injured in a dash for seats at Oprah Winfrey's talk show in Chicago.
Orit Greenberg's lawsuit seeks some $50,000 in damages. Greenberg claims Harpo Studios failed to control the audience on Dec. 5, 2006.
The lawsuit says audience members were told to sit wherever they wanted. The crowd allegedly pushed Greenberg down a flight of stairs, causing "severe and permanent injuries."
Fake Reality Show's Real Lawsuit
More Oprah
Oprah Winfrey is "confident" of victory in an ongoing legal battle with a woman who claims she gave the star the idea for her charity TV show Oprah's Big Give.
Darlene Tracy, from Boston, Massachusetts, filed a lawsuit against the star, insisting she hatched the concept for a programme in which contestants would be challenged to help the needy and offered it to Winfrey's production company in February 2005.
The suit claimed Harpo Productions turned down her idea for the show, titled The Philanthropist, but went on to use the format as the basis for Oprah's Big Give which aired for the first time on US TV earlier this month.
More Oprah
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
