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The Smoking Gun obtained VP Dick Cheney's hotel travel requirements.
Humor Gazette obtained Osama bin Laden's ...
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Emily Bazelon: You Have My Body (slate.com)
The Guantanamo detainees try to fight their way into court.
Garrison Keillor: 'Message to White House co-pilot: Eject now' (smirkingchimp.com)
No president in your lifetime or mine has seen his fundamental competence--his ability to think clearly and manage the government--so doubted by the voting public as Mr. Bush has. This is humiliation of a rare sort.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Bush's Woes Won't Guarantee Dem Wins
America's clearly fed up with the president. But how can we translate his lower-than-low approval ratings into political gains?
Jim Hightower: DOING SOMETHING ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING
Instead of recognizing the obvious - that global warming is fast reaching the tipping point where it becomes irreversible (and disastrous) - the Bushites continue to keep their heads up the tailpipes and smokestacks of the industries pumping out the greenhouse gases that cause the unnatural warming.
Nicholas von Hoffman: Student Debts, Stunted Lives (The Nation. Posted on Alternet.org)
While our legislators are up nights working on new tax gimmicks to further "capital flows," as they like to call their money-grabbing, they are also burning the midnight oil to throw up financial barriers that will keep the middle class from having children. Forget the cant about family values. Make that childless couple values.
Rebecca Parrish: The Measure of Meritocracy (Dollarsandsense.org)
According to Lani Guinier, our educational system has become a copy of the aristocracy it was intended to undo.
Arthur Levine: Expectations for Our Teachers Are Misplaced (schoolandcollege.com)
Education is not a competitive choice for the nation's most able young people, for whom law, medicine, and business - fields that pay median salaries two to four times as large as those in education - are far more appealing.
Politicstv.com
Chris Bliss: Smart Comedy for the Information Age
Reader Suggestion
Cheney's Got a Gun
Marty,
Bob Rivers
has a Twisted Tune cartoon out that some might enjoy. 'Cheney's Got a Gun'
Just click on the play button and it will start streaming or download a file.
Sincerely,
John K
Issaquah, WA
PS, I miss Erin Hart
and you discussing all the lies from Bush and company. 710KIRO has gone to the dark side.
Thanks, John!
I rather miss my 'Seattle Sundays', too.
OTOH, keep watching - should have some exciting news from Erin soon!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and cooler with a nice breeze.
No new flags.
Live-Action Opening
'The Simpsons'
Ever wonder what Bart Simpson would look like in human form?
"The Simpsons" is about to show you. The long-running Fox animated series will unveil a live-action opening sequence Sunday (8 p.m. EST), a Fox spokeswoman said Thursday.
A team from British network Sky One created and commissioned the live sequence, which apes the series' memorable opening shots: Bart writing on a chalkboard, Homer pulling a nuclear rod out of his shirt, and Maggie and Marge at the supermarket.
'The Simpsons'
See it now on YouTube
Big Screen Bio
Bettie Page
Although pinup icon Bettie Page became an overnight sensation for her naughty girl poses in the 1950s, her recent journey to the big screen has been anything but facile.
Her story is chronicled in the sexy indie "The Notorious Bettie Page," which indie distributor Picturehouse will give a limited release April 14. But writer-director Mary Harron first became intrigued by the story behind the raven-haired beauty with her signature bangs way back in 1993. While working on the short-lived Fox newsmagazine show "Front Page," Harron met a young researcher named Sam Green (who later went on to co-direct the Oscar-nominated documentary "The Weather Underground"). Green suggested doing a segment on the cheesecake model who inspired a generation of men as well as U.S. Senate hearings investigating the role of pornography in juvenile delinquency.
Harron, an on-the-rise journalist, started working on a screenplay for a Page short with scribe-actress Guinevere Turner ("Go Fish").
Bettie Page
PEN America Center President
Ron Chernow
Ron Chernow, author of acclaimed biographies of Alexander Hamilton, J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, has been elected president of the PEN American Center.
Chernow succeeds Salman Rushdie, who has held the position for the past two years.
PEN is an independent organization that promotes free expression, defends writers in legal disputes and sponsors literary programs.
Ron Chernow
All-Star Cast Set For Spoof
'Farce of the Penguins'
Actor Samuel L. Jackson has signed on to narrate an upcoming spoof of the Oscar-winning documentary "March of the Penguins" with an all-star supporting voice cast, independent studio ThinkFilm said on Friday.
"Farce of the Penguins," mixing archival wildlife footage with an R-rated screenplay written and directed by comedian Bob Saget, is aimed for a late-summer theatrical release, ThinkFilm spokesman Alex Klenert said.
Saget will supply the voice of several characters, including the lovelorn penguin at the center of the story, with Tracy Morgan, Lewis Black and Mo'Nique as some of his pals.
'Farce of the Penguins'
Washington, D.C.
Environmental Film Festival
One thing can be said about the Environmental Film Festival: it's not Cannes or Sundance. It may not even be Missoula. But it is part of a U.S. trend to feature movies about nature and the assaults on it.
The 11-day festival in Washington, which runs through Sunday, takes the widest possible view of what makes an environmental film, according to its founder, Flo Stone.
There are certainly mainstream successes -- including the Academy Award-winning "March of the Penguins" -- among the 100 films shown at theaters, museums, think tanks and embassies around the U.S. capital.
But there are also frankly quirky movies that might not find an audience any other way.
Environmental Film Festival
'Pay to Play for Hurricane Katrina Relief'
'99 Luftballons'
VH1 Classic will present a full hour of the English and German music videos for the 1984 hit "99 Luftballons," aka "99 Red Balloons," by German rock group Nena.
The music video presentation, to air Sunday (2 p.m. EST), caps off the cable channel's "Pay to Play for Hurricane Katrina Relief," which raised over $200,000 for Mercy Corps, a humanitarian relief organization.
Viewers could request one video to be played on VH1 Classic for every $25 donation. For a $35,000 donation, they could select an hour's worth of music videos from the 1960s through the early 1990s.
However, one viewer chose something different for his allotted hour, requesting continuous playing of "99 Luftballons," said VH1 spokeswoman Maura Wozniak.
'99 Luftballons'
Here's a link from last November - a German/English Side by Side Comparison of '99 Luftballons' Lyrics
Conspiracy Theorist
Charlie Sheen
Actor Charlie Sheen refuses to accept the official explanation behind the terrorist atrocities of 11th September 2001, and believes the US government covered up what really happened.
Talking on US radio programme The Alex Jones Show on the GGN network, he said, "It seems to me like 19 amateurs with box-cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75 per cent of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory. It raises a lot of questions.
"It is up to us to reveal the truth. It is up to us because we owe it to the families, we owe it to the victims, we owe it to everyone's life who was drastically altered, horrifically, that day and forever. We owe it to them to uncover what happened."
Charlie Sheen
Assets Threatened
Marion 'Suge' Knight
A judge said on Thursday he would take control of Marion "Suge" Knight's assets, including his Death Row Records label, after finding the rap mogul had avoided paying a $107 million civil court judgment.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian said Knight, who co-founded Death Row with rapper Dr. Dre in the early 1990s and helped launch the careers of performers Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, could stave off the order if he fully disclosed his assets in a debtor's exam set for April 1.
Sohigian said he would appoint a court officer to take over Knight's finances because he had failed to make good on a $107 million judgment won last March by Lydia Harris, who claimed he cheated her out of a 50 percent stake in the rap label.
Marion 'Suge' Knight
Financial Difficulties
Don Johnson
A lending company has asked for court permission to sell Don Johnson's 17-acre Woody Creek ranch, claiming the "Miami Vice" actor hasn't made good on a $10.6 million note, the Aspen Daily News reported.
New York-based D.E. Shaw Laminar Lending Inc. filed the motion March 16 in Pitkin County District Court. The motion was made public Wednesday.
The motion says "defaults have occurred under the deed of trust, including ... the failure to timely make payments as required under the deed of trust."
Don Johnson
'Brokeback' Back End Deal
Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid, who plays a tough sheep rancher in "Brokeback Mountain," claims he was fleeced for his work in the movie.
Quaid filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging the producers got him to work cheap by falsely claiming the movie was "a low-budget, art house film, with no prospect of making any money."
The suit alleges intentional and negligent misrepresentation and seeks at least $10 million in damages. It names Focus Features LLC, Del Mar Productions LLC, which was formed by Focus to make the movie, and producers David Linde and James Schamus.
Randy Quaid
Savoy Hotel Special
Claude Monet
A London hotel is offering art fans a chance to emulate Impressionist Claude Monet in the room where he painted his classic studies of the Thames skyline.
For 2,600 pounds ($4,500), a couple can stay two nights in the Savoy Hotel room where Monet painted 70 canvases.
For that price, they also get an easel, paints and the advice of an arts teacher on how to reproduce the French painter's famous works.
Claude Monet
In Memory
Cindy Walker
Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Cindy Walker, whose songs were recorded by stars ranging from Bing Crosby to Elvis Presley, died Thursday, said her niece, Carol Adams. She was 87.
Walker's songs were recorded by generations of celebrities, beginning with Crosby, who gave the budding songwriter her start in the early 1940s. Willie Nelson released an album this month featuring her work titled "You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker."
Walker was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in 1997, and she was an inaugural inductee into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.
Walker's first big break came in 1942 while on a trip to Hollywood with her father. She walked right into the Crosby Building and sang one of her songs for Larry Crosby, who told her to come back the next day and present the song to Bing Crosby.
He decided to record "Lone Star Trail," beginning Walker's long career of songwriting - often using a floral-patterned typewriter to compose her hits. Her famous songs included "You Don't Know Me," "Dream Baby" and the Top 5 Gene Autry hit, "Silver Spurs."
Cindy Walker
In Memory
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell, hailed as the first lady of opera for her adventurous productions as longtime director of the Opera Company of Boston, died of heart failure. She was 82.
Caldwell died Thursday at Maine Medical Center, according to Jim Morgan, her longtime friend and colleague and the former manager of the Opera Company of Boston.
In more than 30 years as founder-director of the Boston company, she staged and conducted some 100 operas, ranging from baroque to avant-garde.
In 1975, she became the first female conductor at New York's Metropolitan Opera. In a cover story, Time magazine hailed her as "the best opera director in the United States."
When she received a National Medal of the Arts from President Clinton in January 1997, he said, "She's come a long way from Arkansas, and I'm very proud of her." He praised her enterprise in bringing "difficult yet beautiful operas to the stage" and developing new audiences for opera.
Caldwell was born March 6, 1924, in Maryville, Mo., moving to Arkansas when she was about 12. She was a child prodigy in both music and mathematics and studied violin before turning to opera and conducting.
Sarah Caldwell
In Memory
David Blume
David Blume, a composer and record producer who wrote the 1966 hit "Turn Down Day," died March 15 of complication from a stroke, his son, Howard, said. He was 74.
"Turn Down Day" was originally written as a jazz tune but became a hit when the pop group Cyrkle recorded it. The song was Blume's first and last venture on the pop charts.
He also wrote the title songs for several 1960s films, including "The Shakiest Gun in the West," which starred Don Knotts, and "What's So Bad About Feeling Good?," starring Mary Tyler Moore and George Peppard.
In the 1970s, Blume co-produced several albums featuring the early use of synthesizers and quadraphonic sound. Starting in 1973, he supplemented his income by working as a copy editor for the Los Angeles Times, remaining with the paper in several capacities until 1999.
He also owned and operated Cafe Danssa, a folk dancing club in west Los Angeles.
David Blume
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