'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Link
'Bush vs. Saddam'
I'm just another frustrated progressive out there. I'm also a frequently laid off Flash designer. Combine the two, and it becomes my political cartoon website.
I'm trying to get this off the ground, and I've finished the first of many Flash cartoons to come called
"Bush vs. Saddam," which shows how alike these two right-wing bungwipes truly are.
Peace,
Zenpickle
Thanks, Zen! Great work!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another sunny day with big Santa Ana winds. The humidity is next to nothing, and static electricity rules.
Bill Moyers had a great show tonight.
Janeane Garofalo was one of Bill Maher's guests, and she kicked ass!
Tonight, Saturday, CBS is supposed to have more 'March Madness' - although it is scheduled to only infringe 1 primetime hour tonight. Also scheduled, a
RERUN 'The District', and a RERUN 'The Agency'.
NBC is supposed to piss away another night, while lining Dick Wolf's pockets, with a RERUN 'Law & Order', followed by a RERUN
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', and then a RERUN 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
In keeping with the evening's theme, 'SNL' is also a RERUN - Jennifer Garner hosts, and the show bites.
ABC is supposed to kill the night with pre-taped 'Figure Skating'.
The WB has the movie 'Bull Durham'.
Faux has the unual - a FRESH 'Cops', followed by a RERUN 'Cops', and then 'America's Most Wanted'.
UPN has the movie 'The Accidental Spy'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
'Not In My Name'
Manneken Pis
Anti-war Belgium gained a high-profile conscientious objector Friday: the country's famous Manneken Pis, dressed up in a pacifist costume to protest the conflict on Iraq.
Sporting a placard reading "Not in my name" around his neck, the infant urinator was turned into anti-war symbol with the approval of City Hall.
"The City encourages all forms of mobilizing and opposing this war," said the municipality, which gave the green-light for the costume donated by a group under the slogan "Manneken Peace Not War."
The original Manneken Pis ('urinating boy'), on which the 17th century statue is modelled, is said to have saved Brussels by urinating on a fuse to prevent a huge fire engulfing the city.
Manneken Pis, who has been peeing into a fountain since 1619, has some 600 costumes in his wardrobe, many offered by embassies, associations and sporting groups. He is dressed up for 300 days per year on average.
Each costume must be approved by city fathers, whose conditions include a ban on advertising. Among his most popular is an Elvis outfit.
Manneken Pis
Returns Monday
David Letterman
Comedian David Letterman will return next week to host his CBS late-night show for the first time since he was sidelined in late February by a case of shingles, the network said on Friday.
The 55-year-old star of the "Late Show with David Letterman" last appeared Feb. 25, when he complained on the air about the visible inflammation of his right eye, which turned out to have been caused by shingles, a viral infection related to chickenpox.
Guests will include comedian Billy Crystal and 18-year-old world whistling champion Michael Barimo. Letterman plans to host all episodes of his show throughout the week.
Insiders said swelling around Letterman's eye cleared up relatively soon, but lingering pain associated with the infection is what kept him away for so long.
Before his heart operation, Letterman had never missed an appearance in his more than 20 years of late-night television.
David Letterman
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Hurt by 'Razzie' Award
Madonna
Madonna is apparently not as tough as she seems. She tells "Access Hollywood" she was "totally hurt" by the bashing of "Swept Away," the movie she made with her husband, Guy Ritchie.
Madonna says she would work again with her husband "in a heartbeat" even though "Swept Away" was named the worst movie of the year and given a Golden Raspberry Award on March 22. Madonna also won a Razzie for "Worst Actress" and Guy Ritchie won "Worst Director."
She may have chance to redeem herself in an upcoming stint on "Will and Grace." Madonna plays a high-maintenance office worker who's a possible new roommate for Karen. Madonna says because of shooting the episode, she and Megan Mullally are now friends.
Madonna
En Indonésie, des manifestants se sont rassemblés devant des restaurants McDonald's, dont ils réclament le boycottage comme symboles des Etats-Unis, dans l'île de Java.
Photo by Joel Nito
Disturbed By Event Cancellation
Susan Sarandon
Actress Susan Sarandon said she was disturbed by a charity's decision to cancel her appearance at a fund-raising event because of complaints about her anti-war views.
The United Way of Tampa Bay was to feature the 56-year-old actress as keynote speaker at an April 11 women's leadership event designed to inspire volunteerism in the community.
But organizers this week scrapped the $75-a-plate event after the charity got three dozen complaints about Sarandon's selection.
In a statement Friday, Sarandon said that "considering the depletion of federal funds for community programs and the faltering economy, it is disturbing to me that the United Way is letting partisanship determine its support base.
"Once again, the shortsightedness of the powerful will end up hurting those in need."
Marty Petty, executive vice president of Times Publishing Co., which publishes the St. Petersburg Times, resigned as a member of the United Way board of directors and chair of the 2003 campaign.
"This decision is grounded in my lifelong personal and professional belief that our civic life is made stronger by the expression of all views, including ones that are controversial," Petty wrote in a letter.
Sarandon's brother, Terry Tomalin, outdoors writer at the St. Petersburg Times, had asked Sarandon to participate six months ago.
Susan Sarandon
Exhibit Combat Fatigue
TV Viewers
Television viewers are showing their first signs of war fatigue, according to a poll released Friday.
The number of people who say it tires them out to watch war coverage was 42 percent from Tuesday to Thursday this week. Less than a third of poll respondents said that on Sunday and Monday, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Pew's surveys also found a steady increase in viewers who found the coverage "frightening to watch." Fifty-eight percent of respondents agreed with that statement in the most recent poll, versus 51 percent earlier in the week.
The war's television appeal has faded since the first bombs fell, but it's still a potent draw. Roughly 7 million people watched Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC on Wednesday, compared to the 2 million who watch those networks on a typical day, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The constant television airing of the war has already led to questions about whether TV is distorting the event's reality, or causing unrealistic expectations. The Bush administration expressed frustration Friday with some press reports questioning why the military operation isn't already over.
Pew's study is based on nationwide telephone interviews of 2,034 adults conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates from March 20-27. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
TV Viewers
Eyes Elektra Gig
Ric Ocasek
Former Cars front man and prolific producer Ric Ocasek is on track to become a talent scout at Elektra Records.
Ocasek saw multiplatinum success as a performer and songwriter for nearly a decade with 1980s new-wave/pop act the Cars, penning such hits as "You Might Think," "Shake It Up" and "Since You're Gone."
He's less well known -- but perhaps more respected -- as the producer behind a broad array of acclaimed albums, ranging from "Rock for Light," by D.C. hardcore pioneers Bad Brains, to recent platinum releases from rock acts No Doubt and Weezer.
Ric Ocasek
Cancel China Shows
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones have canceled what would have been their first ever shows in China next week because of the killer bug sweeping through Southeast Asia, the group said on Friday.
Earlier this week the veteran rockers canceled two concerts scheduled for this weekend in Hong Kong, also as a result of the deadly and highly contagious pneumonia virus that has killed 54 people worldwide and infected around 1,500.
The Rolling Stones were scheduled to play in Shanghai on April 1 and Beijing on April 4. Fans were flying in from all over the world to see the band's historic China concerts. The Stones have been trying to play China ever since 1978 when the government rejected their application.
"We are very sad and disappointed not to be able to do these concerts," Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger said in a statement. "We have been looking forward to the shows in China for so long and will reschedule them as soon as possible."
The Stones have shuffled the dates of the remaining cities on the Asian leg of their "Licks" world tour. They will play the Indian cities of Bangalore on April 4 and Mumbai on April 7, both a week earlier than originally scheduled; and Bangkok on April 10, two days later than planned.
Rolling Stones
Limp Bizkit Changes Name
'limpbizkit'
It looks like capitalization and spacing is no good any more for Fred Durst. He posted a message on Limp Bizkit's Web site saying the band will now be known as limpbizkit with no capitals and no space between words. He gives no reason for the change.
He seems to like playing around with words lately, given the changes he makes to the new album's title. This week he said it would not be called "Bipolar" but instead "Fetus More." He's changed his mind again and now he's calling it "The Search for Teddy Swoes." Durst promises "it will all make sense very soon my friends." He does clear one thing up, though. He says the song "Just Drop Dead" is NOT about Britney Spears.
'limpbizkit'
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Threatened to Pull Out of Concert
Ani DiFranco
Buffalo-based singer Ani DiFranco threatened to pull out of a New Jersey concert if the hall's managers refused to let a peace organization speak during the show, her manager told The Buffalo News.
DiFranco, 32, told the management at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark that she wouldn't perform if peace activists were prevented from setting up an information table or prohibited from making anti-war statements from the stage.
Arena managers, who said such activities were against their policy, eventually relented and the concert last Wednesday night went on — just as the United States was beginning its attack against Iraq.
Ani DiFranco
A four months old female Platypus 'puggle' is weighed at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Friday, March 28, 2003. The Platypus, one of only two egg-laying mammals in the world is an enigmatic water dwelling nocturnal animal 35 to 45 cm (12 to 18 inches) long with a beaver like tail and a duck like bill.
Photo by Dan Peled
Returns to MSNBC - Replacing Donahue
Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann, who quit a prime-time MSNBC show in disgust five years ago after being forced to talk endlessly about Monica Lewinsky, is coming back to the network in the same time slot.
His new show, "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," is the replacement for Phil Donahue's failed talk show. It officially begins Monday.
"He's edgy, he's got attitude, he's hip, he's clever, he's a good writer," MSNBC President Erik Sorenson said on Friday. "We've always been consistent in trying to get the baby boom generation to latch onto us instead of CNN," and Olbermann fits into that plan.
Olbermann, who's jumped back and forth between news and sports and recently did work on CNN, is legend in the business for not sticking with jobs for a long time. Sorenson said MSNBC's management had some long talks with him about this before hiring him.
"We're convinced that he's seen the light and he's made a real life change," Sorenson said.
Of course, MSNBC has a history of not sticking with shows for a long time, so it may be a perfect match. But Olbermann points out he's already been hired as a host of MSNBC's summer Olympics coverage in 2004, so it might be awkward for the network to fire him before then.
Keith Olbermann
Isn't Afraid of War
Transylvanian Society of Dracula
The Transylvanian Society of Dracula said on Friday it would hold its world Dracula congress in May in Romania's Carpathian Mountains despite the war in Iraq.
Over 20 international and Romanian scholars will discuss the concept of fear at the medieval town of Sighisoara, birthplace of the Romanian prince Vlad Tepes the Impaler, whose extreme cruelty was the inspiration for the fictional vampire Count Dracula.
"The Count fears no war. We are holding the congress and we are expecting many distinguished scholars from around the world to attend," said society president Nicolae Paduraru.
Academics from as far as Japan and the United States will speak on such issues as "Religious Fear," "Early vampire stories in England" and "Fear of the Supernatural" from May 15 to 18, he said.
The medieval prince famous for impaling his Turkish enemies, nicknamed Dracula, has little to do with the bloodthirsty 19th century vampire of Bram Stoker's gothic novel, but the story is located in Romania's northern Transylvania region.
Transylvanian Society of Dracula
Kick Off 2003 Tour
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) kick off their 2003 spring tour on Friday (March 28). They currently have 16 dates scheduled between now and May 3, but the group is expected to tour extensively throughout the summer.
David Crosby says he and Graham Nash might try to sneak in a new song or two along the way, but this tour will concentrate on CSN's better-known material. "We can do a night of just hits, just stuff that you love," Crosby said. "We can play you [a] solid two hours of songs you love. It's cheating a little bit, 'cause there's all that emotional loading, but it sure as hell works."
The Crosby, Stills & Nash itinerary (subject to change):
March 28,29 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Harbor Resort
March 31 - Boise, ID - Bank Of America Centre
April 1 - Bozeman, MT - Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
April 3 - Rapid City, SD - Rushmore Plaza
April 4 - Sioux Falls, SD - Sioux Falls Arena
April 6 - Lincoln, NE - Pershing Auditorium
April 7 - Cedar Rapids, IA - U.S. Cellular Center
April 9 - Mt. Pleasant, MI - Soaring Eagle Casino
April 10 - Rama, ON - Casino Rama
April 12 - Pittsburgh, PA - A.J. Palumbo Center
April 13 - Champaign, IL - Assembly Hall
April 15 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center
April 25 - New Orleans, LA - Morris F. X. Jeff Auditorium
April 26 - New Orleans, LA - Fairgrounds Racetrack
May 3 - Atlanta, GA - Music Midtown Festival
Crosby, Stills & Nash
'Most Foolish American'
Michael Jackson
"King of Pop" Michael Jackson was selected as the most foolish American in a poll out ahead of April Fool's Day.
Eighty percent of those polled said Jackson, who has been in the media spotlight again since a British television documentary shed new light on his personal life, was the biggest fool in the country, according to pollster Jaff Barge who has the survey taken every year.
Boxer Mike Tyson came in a foolish second.
Michael Jackson
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Cuts 1,000 Jobs
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment said Friday it is eliminating 1,000 jobs in a move that had been expected as the company seeks to become more efficient.
The cuts come to about 10 percent of Sony Music's worldwide work force of approximately 10,000 people.
Roughly 600 of the cuts will come from the company's U.S. operations, specifically its manufacturing and corporate and label businesses, a source close to the company said, adding that the rest of the reductions will be overseas and no other cuts are expected.
This is the latest in a series of changes at Sony Music. Tommy Mottola resigned as chairman in January after 14 years at the company to start a new label. He was succeeded by former NBC president and chief operating officer Andrew Lack — a newsman with no background in the music industry.
Sony Music Entertainment
Clowns protest outside of the US Embassy in Mexico City demanding a stop of the war in Iraq, Friday March 28, 2003. Some 100 protesters from different organizations gathered outside of the embassy to protest. The banner in back says 'Bush Murderer'.
Photo by Jose Luis Magana
North American Tour Starts September 1st
R.E.M.
On the heels of a summer European jaunt, R.E.M. has announced its first American tour in four years. The 26-show, six-week affair kicks off September 1 at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival. Also on the itinerary are appearances at the San Diego Street Scene Festival on September 7 and the Austin City Limits Festival in Texas on September 21.
The tour is in support of the upcoming The Best Of R.E.M., an 18-track overview of the group's years with Warner Bros. Records since 1988. The album, due September 30, will include two new songs the trio is currently working on in Vancouver with co-producer Pat McCarthy. Bassist Mike Mills said one of those new songs might be "Final Straw," an anti-war protest song that the group recently posted at its website
(remhq.com).
R.E.M. will be accompanied on the tour by longtime sideman Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows and the Minus 5, the Posies' Ken Stringfellow, and drummer Bill Rieflin (Ministry, the Minus 5). Opening acts for the North American tour include Wilco (September 3-13), Ed Harcourt (September 14-20), and Sparklehorse (September 23-October 4).
The full R.E.M. North American itinerary includes (subject to change):
September 1 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
September 3 - Portland, OR - TBA
September 6 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
September 7 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Street Scene
September 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
September 11 - Las Vegas, NV - Thomas & Mack Center
September 13,14 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
September 16 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
September 17 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
September 19 - Grand Prairie, TX - Next Stage At Grand Prairie
September 20 - The Woodlands, TX - C.W. Mitchell Pavilion
September 21 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival
September 23 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena
September 24 - Pelham, AL - Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
September 26 - Chicago, IL - United Center
September 27 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
September 28 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace Of Auburn Hills
September 30 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
October 1 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center
October 3,4 - Jersey City, NJ - Liberty State Park
October 5 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
October 8 - Washington, DC - MCI Center
October 9 - Chapel Hill, NC - Dean E. Smith Center
October 11 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
R.E.M.
In The Hospital
Prince Charles
Prince Charles, Britain's heir to the throne, was admitted to a London hospital to undergo an operation on his hernia, a spokesman for the prince said.
Charles, 54, was accompanied into King Edward VII hospital by his long-term companion Camilla Parker Bowles.
Prince Charles
Palimony Suit
Lou Rawls
A woman who said she sacrificed a lucrative career as a fruit broker to be Lou Rawls' mistress filed a $12 million palimony suit against the crooner saying he reneged on an agreement to support her for life.
In her lawsuit filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Margaret Schaffer accused Rawls, 67, of breaching his oral contract to pool and share their income and property, and to support her after their four-year relationship ended.
Schaffer said she met Rawls in 1998 when he performed with the Yakima Symphony in Washington state. Schaffer, a symphony patron, said the "Soul & Silk" singer "vigorously" courted her and eventually persuaded her to sell her home and leave her job, the lawsuit said.
David Brokaw, the singer's longtime manager, said Rawls and Schaffer were "acquaintances" but he dismissed her lawsuit as "frivolous."
According to the lawsuit, Rawls initially concealed the fact that he was married but later told Schaffer that he wanted her to be his "companion in business and love." Rawls told Schaffer he would not divorce CiCi Rawls, his wife of 12 years, because he did not want to divide his assets, the lawsuit said.
As a result, Schaffer sold her Yakima home and moved to Southern California to go on the road with the Chicago-born Rawls as a "homemaker ... so that he could feel that his life was in order," the lawsuit said.
She also claims to have lost more than $2 million in property and money as a result of the relationship.
Lou Rawls
Buys Kirch Library
Haim Saban
U.S. entertainment entrepreneur Haim Saban has agreed to buy the film library and rights business of Germany's collapsed Kirch media empire, Saban's company said Thursday.
Saban, founder of the Fox Family Worldwide network, made a deal last week to buy the prime Kirch asset, its controlling stake in ProSiebenSat.1, the country's No. 2 television broadcaster, for an undisclosed price.
The library contains some 18,000 films and series, including Hollywood classics and more recent films, TV series and movies, and documentaries. The company claims it is the biggest such collection outside Hollywood, and includes the Buster Keaton library, Laurel and Hardy and the Howard Hughes/RKO library with "King Kong" and "Citizen Kane."
The film library deal must still pass regulatory and antitrust review.
Haim Saban
To Reunite For One Song
Great White
The rock band Great White plans to perform together for the first time since the band's Feb. 20 concert in Rhode Island resulted in a nightclub fire that killed 99 people.
Survivors of the group say they will perform one song at West Hollywood's Key Club on April 29 to raise money for a memorial fund in honor of their late guitarist, Ty Longley, the group's manager, Paul Woolnough, said Friday.
The charity concert will benefit the late guitarist's pregnant girlfriend, victim relief funds and students seeking art scholarships.
Other bands in the Key Club lineup include the glam-metal group XYZ and 5 Cent Shine, of which Longley was a former member.
Longley, a 31-year-old Ohio native who had lived in Los Angeles for the last five years, was among the dozens who perished at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. Investigators suspect the band's pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing foam.
Great White
Oldest Fragment Found in Austria
The Nibelungen Saga
The oldest written fragment of the Nibelungen myth, an oral tale later standardized into the most famous Germanic text of the Middle Ages, has been found in a monastery in Austria, experts said Friday.
The Nibelungen Saga, a 2,439-verse epic that tells of the rise and fall of the Burgundian empire through the adventures of the mythical hero Siegfried, is considered the most important text of the Middle High German language.
There are three official written versions of the song dating to the late 12th century. But the pieces of parchment found recently in the Zwettl monastery in the province of Lower Austria are older than the official versions, art historian Charlotte Ziegler told Reuters.
"The (parchment) fragments contain the themes of the Nibelungen legend, but in prose, not in verse like in the later written versions of the Nibelungen Saga," said Ziegler, who analyzed the parchments with the help of international experts.
The Nibelungen Saga
A baby koala clings to his mother at the Duisburg Zoo in western Germany on Friday March 28, 2003. The little koala left the mother's pouch for the first time after seven months.
Photo by Frank Augstein
'The Osbournes'
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