'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Review
Dixie Chicks in Auburn Hills
Went to see the Chicks on June 3 in Auburn Hills
(Detroit) Michigan. Tried to get tickets for 2
months, but both shows were SOLD OUT. Finally called
Ticketmaster, and offered armored trucks full of cash.
After we agreed on an acceptable 'fee', they 'found'
a few tickets about 20 feet from the stage!. (NOTE:
You can pay extra to have the tickets emailed to you,
but don't expect them to actually SEND them. I
suppose I expected too much for the $22 in
'convenience fees'). After the typical
runaround/robbery/snafu/2 hours on the phone with
Ticketmaster, it was time for the show!
This was only about the 3rd country show I've ever
seen, so I wasn't sure what to expect (I am a
rock/alternative music person. I am much more at home
seeing a Dave Matthews, Creed, or REM show). The
whole atmosphere was pretty festive. They have quite
a bit of interactive fan activities in the parking
lot, so I guess the key is to get there early for the
party. The opening act was Joan Osborne ('What if God
Was One of Us'). Pretty good, but the country crowd
didn't seem too excited. Unnoticed by most, the PA
music between acts was all progressive acts (U2, REM,
Springsteen, Pearl Jam...). Then, it was time for the
main attraction...
The girls opened with their humorous look at a serious
subject, 'Goodbye Earl'. The crowd went NUTS. We
couldn't even hear the music for the first 20 seconds
or so. (Well, this IS Detroit. Bush ain't exactly a
hero here...)
The concert was in-the-round, and the Chicks made good
use of the format - They move about quite a bit during
the show. The girls looked awesome - Natalie wore
this cool punk-looking outfit, with a necklace that
almost looked like it said 'Bush' (?!?!) Emily wore
this cool T-shirt that said 'FREE NATALIE' - various
sections of the crowd cheered wildly the first time
they saw it! And Martie looked fantastic and
fashionable, as always.
Most of the show was focused on the current 'Home'
album, but they hit quite a bit from 'Wide Open
Spaces', and some from 'Fly'. It was one musical
knockout after another all night. These girls (with
their awesome band) clearly re-define what country
music is about. They pay homage to their bluegrass
roots, while adding their own artistic influence, and
present it with one hell of an attitude! The
hilarious 'White Trash Wedding' from 'Home' showed
their musical prowess, and was one of those 'goose
bump' moments you have when you realize you are seeing
greatness. The warmest moment of the night was their
cover of Patty Griffin's 'Truth Number 2'. Natalie
introduced it by saying 'We put the song on the album
because we liked it. But after 'the indicent', it
gained new meaning for us.'. When they launched into
the opening line 'You don't like the sound of the
truth coming from my mouth...', there was nobody
sitting down! Through the whole song, they showed
videos of right-wing oppression through the decades
('Whites only' signs, book burning, McCarthy), and the
brave people who fought it (Rosa Parks, Mohammed Ali,
JFK, Malcolm X...). One vivid image in the video
showed people destroying Dixie Chicks CD's. Hardly a
dry eye in the house.
If you haven't listened to 'Home', you cannot
understand the musical depth of this group. Their
concert takes it to another dimension. Emily plays a
range of banjo/guitar/dobro instruments, with a
definite mastery of the art. Martie absolutely kills
with the fiddle playing (The crowd cheers on every
solo). It is so damn beautiful at times, it is
stunning. And, of course, when Natalie pours out her
heart in the vocals, it is moving, to say the least.
You WILL feel the mood of the song, whether joyous,
sad, or pissed off. The Chicks have charisma that is
unmatched (well, OK, I've never seen Garbage live).
Obviously, 'Godspeed' and 'Travelin Soldier' provided
the serious, sappy moments of the night, but both were
amazingly beautiful. The blending of their voices is
something that cannot be described in words. The
cover of 'Landslide' was a crowd favorite, as well as
'Wide Open Spaces' and 'There's Your Trouble'. 'Lil
Jack Slade' served as a great reminder of their
bluegrass roots (and was damn fun). Toward the end of
the show, they got a good reaction to 'Long Time Gone'
(although I wonder if most people understand it takes
a swipe at modern country music) and 'Tortured,
Tangled Heart'. The show closed with a VERY rowdy
rendition of 'Sin Wagon'. Do NOT plan to go to a
Chicks show and sit down through it!! They have one
hell of a good time, and expect the fans to, as well.
Overall, it definitely ranks as one of the best shows
I've seen (and clearly the best of my *limited*
country experience). It was two full hours of some of
the best musical talent to be found anywhere on the
planet (I wish I had the complete setlist, but I think
it is pretty standard for each show). They seem to
genuinely feed off of the warmth of the crowd, and
appreciate the support. You leave their concert with
a feeling that you've been part of something special,
and that you've seen musicians ply their craft at the
highest level. The right-wingers can pretend that
people don't like the Chicks, but it sure isn't true
in Motown! The Dixie Chicks live show is NOT to be
missed. Now, to get out of that 'selling my soul to
the Devil' pact I made with Ticketmaster...
If you can't make the show, you MUST get a copy of
'Home'. No music collection is complete without it.
Tom in Motown
Excellent job, Tom - many thanks!
TV Viewing Reminder
Franken Spanks O'Really Rerun
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Rained this morning, little sun the rest of the day.
Was the kid's last Friday in the 4th grade. Woo hoo!
Tonight, Saturday, CBS starts the night with a RERUN 'The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular', followed by a RERUN 'The District', and then a RERUN 'The Agency'.
NBC has the movie 'Carrie' (the new one, not the fabulous Sissy Spacek version).
ABC has what hopefully will be the last night of 'Stanley Cup Hockey', and let the Devils have their due. Left coast prime-time all local filler.
The WB offers the movie 'Breaking Away'.
Faux has the usual RERUN 'Cops', followed by another RERUN 'Cops', and then 'America's Most Wanted'.
UPN here is baseball, with the Chicago White Sox visiting Rupert's Doggers.
A&E offers 'American Justice', followed by 'Cold Case Files', then a RERUN 'Crossing Jordan'.
AMC has the movie 'Jaws', followed by the movie 'Earthquake' (which is a horribly cheesy movie, but I remember seeing it when it first opened at the old Grauman's Chinese, where they installed 'Sens-surround' for the premiere - they also hung nets over the audience in case any of the fancy-schmancy stuff fell from the ceiling).
BBC America offers 'Keeping Up Appearances - Episode 1' (6:40pm), 'Keeping Up Appearances - Episode 2' (7:20pm),
'Wire in the Blood - Shadows Rising' (8pm), 'The Browning Version' (10pm), 'Wire in the Blood - Shadows Rising' (12am),
'The Browning Version' (2am). ALL TIMES ET.
Bravo has the movie 'Great Expectations', followed by the movie 'Class Action'.
History offers 'The Last Mission', followed by 'Hiroshima: Decision To Drop the Bomb'.
TCM opens the night with Cabaret (1972),
directed by Bob Fosse, based on the book by
Christopher Isherwood, starring
Liza Minnelli, as Sally Bowles,
Michael York, and
Joel Grey. I love this movie! First time I saw it was in Germany, where they removed all
references to the Nazis. Damn thing ran under 50 minutes.
Next up is Guys and Dolls (1955), starring
Marlon Brando as Sky Masterson, and
Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit.
Then, it's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966),
directed by Richard Lester, and starring
Zero Mostel as Pseudolus,
Phil Silvers as Lycus,
Buster Keaton as Erronius,
and Jack Gilford as Hysterium.
TVLand is all 'I Dream of Jeannie'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Actor Peter Mayhew gets re-acquainted with his alter-ego, the lovable Chewbacca, at the Disney-MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, June 6, 2003. Mayhew was attending 'Star Wars Weekends,' the theme park's celebration of the famous Star Wars film saga. It was recently announced by Lucasfilm Ltd. that Mayhew, who stands 7'3' tall, will again star as the giant Wookiee in the next installment of the Star Wars films. The film is expected to be released in 2005. Mayhew will appear at the Disney-MGM Studios through Sunday, June 8.
Photo by Mark Ashman
Judge Says Not an Offense
'Shizzle My Nizzle'
A judge has ruled that the lyrics of a rap record urging the listener to "shizzle my nizzle" and referring to a "mish mish man" did not constitute an offense.
Presiding in the case of UK rap artist Andrew Alcee against the Heartless Crew, High Court Judge Lewison ruled that not only were the lyrics not necessarily offensive but that they may as well have been in a foreign language.
Alcee is claiming that a remix by Heartless Crew of the Ant'ill Mob's 2001 garage hit "Burnin" constituted "derogatory treatment" of his copyright because the lyrics contained references to violence and drugs. "This led to the faintly surreal experience of three gentlemen in horsehair wigs examining the meaning of such phrases as "mish mish man" and "shizzle my nizzle," the judge said.
Dismissing the claim, he added that despite extensive surfing of the Internet in search of illumination, he had been unable to establish whether the words complained of in the rap were actually references to violence and drugs.
'Shizzle My Nizzle'
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Crossed The Danube
Elephants
Elephants crossed the river Danube on Friday to inaugurate an army pontoon bridge, invoking the spirit of Hannibal the Conqueror for a summer music festival to reunify Serbian youth culture with the rest of Europe.
The former Yugoslav army supplied the 300-meter link between New Belgrade on the south shore and Great War Island, where organizers of the Echo festival hope to attract up to 250,000 people next month for the Serbian capital's biggest concert.
The island is a sandy-shored nature reserve where four stages await Echo's July 11-13 extravaganza featuring 100 modern music acts -- the widest draw since war tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s and plunged Serbia into a decade of isolation.
Elephants
Sports fan and director Penny Marshall shows allegiance to two cities by wearing a Bronx hat and a Cubs jacket at the first game to be played between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field since 1938, Friday, June 6, 2003 in Chicago.
Photo by Stephen J. Carrera
A&E to Make Movie
Hillary Clinton
A&E announced Thursday that it will make a two-hour movie on Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York senator and former first lady that is expected to air in early 2004.
No one has been cast yet, but producers have already talked with Sharon Stone about the title role, according to a source close to the production who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A&E's announcement comes just days before Clinton's book, "Living History," is scheduled to hit bookstores. The senator will be seen in TV interviews with Barbara Walters, Katie Couric and Larry King in next few days.
The A&E movie will be based on a different book, though: Gail Sheehy's best seller, "Hillary's Choice."
Hillary Clinton
New Policy, Old Hate
DoJ Pride
US Attorney General John Ashcroft, an outspoken conservative, has banned a "Gay Pride" event at the Department of Justice headquarters, a gay group said.
The DoJ Pride group, which includes hundreds of members of staff from the department headed by Ashcroft, was to have held an annual gathering on June 18.
But DoJ Pride member Melissa Schraibman said Ashcroft had banned the "annual pride ceremony" in the department building in Washington.
The cancellation "is definitely a surprise," Schraibman told AFP. All the preparations for the event, to be held in the Department's main hall, had already been finalized.
According to Schraibman, the prohibition is "in accord with a new department policy that prohibits commemoration unless it is supported by a presidential proclamation."
DoJ Pride
Banned From Six Flags, Darien Lakes, NY
Marilyn Manson
Officials at Six Flags in Darien Lakes, N.Y., are invoking a contractual clause to exclude Marilyn Manson when Ozzfest stops there on August 11.
Officials with the venue have said some people in the area are not comfortable with Six Flags hosting Manson. Manson is known for his outrageous and controversial stage performances, which have drawn protests in some cities.
It's not known whether Manson, known for his ghastly, cadaverous look and macabre lyrics, is banned from other Six Flag venues around the country.
Marilyn Manson
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Hollywood Walk of Fame Star
Dwight Yoakam
Country rock met Hollywood glitz as singer-actor Dwight Yoakam received a star on the Walk of Fame.
The Kentucky native, whose albums include "Hillbilly Deluxe" and "A Long Way Home," was honored Thursday for his role in the Harrison Ford-Josh Hartnett buddy picture "Hollywood Homicide," which debuts June 13.
Yoakam, whose other acting credits include "Sling Blade" and "Panic Room," also has a new album, "Population Me," set for release June 24.
Dwight Yoakam
Myanmar activists demonstrate near the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Friday June 6, 2003, calling for an immediate release of the country's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues. U.S. diplomats who visited the site of political clashes in Myanmar saw bloody clothes and homemade weapons, suggesting far more people may have been killed than the four reported by the military junta, a U.S. Embassy official said Thursday.
Photo by Katsumi Kasahara
Buys US Rights to Olympics in 2010 & 2012
NBC/GE
NBC has won the U.S. broadcast rights to the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2012 Summer Games, outbidding three network rivals with a record deal of more than $2 billion, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.
IOC President Jacques Rogge said the figure to be paid by NBC represented an increase of more than 32 percent over the network's previous record of $1.5 billion for the 2006 and 2008 Olympics.
The selection of NBC, which is owned by industrial conglomerate General Electric Co. and has televised every Olympics since 2000, came hours after NBC, Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC and Fox, a unit of News Corp. Ltd., presented their official bids to the IOC on Friday.
NBC/GE
Finally Goes on Display
Sculpture
A buffalo sculpture commissioned nine years ago by actor-director Kevin Costner will go on public display Saturday, said exhibit manager Jim Fisher.
Costner and his brother planned to build a $100 million hotel and golf course just north of Deadwood. Although Dunbar Resort hasn't been built, Costner was bound by a contract with artist Peggy Detmers to put the bronze sculpture on public display by this year.
"Tatanka — the Story of the Bison" features Detmers' 17-piece sculpture, which shows Lakota hunters driving buffalo over a cliff. It features 14 buffalo and three mounted warriors and was cast at the Eagle Bronze foundry in Lander, Wyo.
Sculpture
Collection to Open
'Gone With the Wind'
Four cast members from "Gone With the Wind" will be in Marietta this weekend for the opening of a museum collection devoted to the 1939 film.
Cammie King Conlon, who played Scarlett and Rhett's 5-year-old daughter, Bonnie Blue Butler, is among those attending. Also expected are Fred Crane, who played Brent Tarleton; Mickey Kuhn, who played Beau Wilkes; and Patrick Curtis, who played Beau Wilkes as an infant.
The "Gone With the Wind" Weekend Extravaganza was beginning Friday with a free screening of the film. Saturday's activities include a breakfast with the cast members, an autograph session and a tour of the museum.
'Gone With the Wind'
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Denies Threat to 'Hollywood Madam'
Tom Sizemore
Actor Tom Sizemore pleaded innocent on Friday to 16 charges, including domestic violence and witness intimidation, stemming from his relationship with onetime "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss.
Sizemore, who starred in the CBS drama "Robbery Homicide Division," was also ordered by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to stay away from Fleiss, his ex-girlfriend of a year and return to court on June 24.
Sizemore is charged in the Fleiss case with domestic violence, making criminal threats, intimidation of a witness, vandalism, making obscene phone calls and repeated harassing phone calls.
The 41-year-old actor -- who is also facing charges of assaulting another ex-girlfriend and trying to intimidate a witness in that case -- has accused Fleiss of making up the allegations because she is "fixated and obsessed" with him.
Tom Sizemore
Sakeena (L), suffering from burns to 70 percent of her body from when her husband threw acid on her, sits with her sister 15-year old Shaheena (R), hit in the face and blinded by the overthrow, sit in their home in Ahmedpure Sharqia, 330 miles south of Islamabad May 22, 2003. Rights activists say acid attacks are among the worst of the huge numbers of crimes against women committed in Pakistan, a male-dominated Islamic state where the human rights commission estimates a woman is raped every two hours. Picture taken May 22, 2003.
Photo by Mian Khursheed
Appear in Concert
Golden Age Instruments
When the Golden Age collection of million-dollar string instruments made its debut, it wasn't just their perfect curves that sent sound soaring to the farthest balcony seat.
Nor was it the exotic woods fashioned by Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu and other legends of the mid-17th and early 18th centuries.
That sound was heard in concert for the first time this week as the collection of 30 Italian instruments, acquired by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in February, was the centerpiece of a weeklong festival.
The Golden Age collection consists of 24 violins, 2 violas and four cellos. The instruments are so responsive, they are known to improve the virtuosity of musicians wealthy or lucky enough to play them.
The collection, valued at $50 million, was assembled by pet products tycoon and music philanthropist Herbert Axelrod, a New Jersey native and amateur violinist.
Axelrod, a colorful figure who refers to the costliest violins on earth as "fiddles," sold the collection to the orchestra for the steeply discounted price of $18 million.
Golden Age Instruments
Not Making Any More Beetles
Volkswagen
Volkswagen said Friday it will stop making the original rear-engine Beetle later this year, bringing the curtain down on the nearly 70-year history of the classic "bug."
Production of the last old Beetles at the VW plant in Puebla, Mexico, will "end this summer," spokesman Fred Baerbock said, adding that an exact date was not set.
He said there had been sinking demand for the original model, manufactured only in Puebla since 1978.
Puebla will continue to produce the New Beetle sedan, a modernized successor to the cult car. The New Beetle hit the market in 1998 and has a chassis based on the VW Golf.
Volkswagen
Makes New Oxford Dictionary
'Bling-Bling'
Khazi, minging, bling-bling?
Not some crazy new dialect, but standard British vocabulary, according to the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, published Friday.
The publishers said they have added almost 6,000 new words and phrases that reflect 21st century life, including the frowner's favorite, Botox, passion-enhancing drug Viagra and sambuca, the aniseed liqueur served with a flaming coffee bean.
Among the 187,000 definitions in the latest edition, published by Oxford University Press, there is also bevvy — British slang for a beer; head-case, referring to a person who exhibits irrational behavior; and bling-bling, a reference to elaborate jewelry and clothing, and the appreciation of it.
And J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional world in "The Lord of the Rings" is also recognized. Orcs are defined as "members of an imaginary race of ugly, aggressive human-like creatures." The dictionary says the word probably comes from the Latin orcus meaning hell, or the Italian orco, meaning monster.
Getting down to basics, the new dictionary now makes it all right to describe the khazi (toilet) as minging (disgusting).
'Bling-Bling'
Oxford English Dictionary
Leaves Italy for Prado
'Venus of Urbino'
Titian's "Venus of Urbino" has left Italy for the first time to become the jewel in an exhibit at the Prado Museum.
Described by Prado director Miguel Zugaza as "the cultural highlight of this summer in Europe," the exposition features 65 works by the 16th-century Venetian master.
Touted as the biggest showing of the Italian artist's work in over half a century, it opens June 10 and runs to Sept. 7. It is the continuation of a recent show at London's National Gallery that featured 44 works and attracted some 300,000 visitors.
The show is the biggest exhibit of Titian's work since a 1935 show of 104 works in Venice.
'Venus of Urbino'
NFL Washout Now Marketing Tsunami
Bob Sapp
For much of the past year, Bob Sapp has led the double life of a closet celebrity.
His family thought he was hanging around his college town of Seattle, making ends meet as a personal trainer after tendinitis cut short an unremarkable pro football career.
The truth was too strange for words: How do you tell people that you've reinvented yourself as a wildly popular martial arts superhero in a far-away land? What kind of job description is it to be Japan's favorite gentle giant?
In less than a year, Sapp has gone from NFL wash-up in America to marketing tsunami in Japan, where his image as a kind-hearted kickboxer is being used to sell everything from alarm clocks and pizza to wide-screen TVs and slot machines.
Sapp's golden year started when he headed to Japan in April 2002 to compete in K1 competitions, a mixed-martial arts sport featuring elements of karate and kickboxing that draws big audiences in Japan.
Sapp, who clearly enjoys the limelight, believes his popularity started when he won an early match with a devastating knockout but then walked over to make sure that his opponent was OK before celebrating.
For more, Bob Sapp
Linked to Personality
Music Preferences
The music you listen to may say more about you than you think, according to new research findings that suggest that our choice in music reflects our personalities.
Do you enjoy blues, jazz, classical and folk music? You may be intelligent, tolerant and politically liberal, researchers report.
Meanwhile, country and religious music fans tend to be cheerful, outgoing, reliable and conventional, while alternative and heavy metal music lovers tend to be physically active, curious risk-takers.
As for rap/hip-hop and dance music fans? They are often outgoing, agreeable people who generally eschew conservative ideals, according to a report in the June issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
SOURCE: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003;84:1236-1254.
Music Preferences
U.S. artist Jeff Koons sits by his sculpture, called Ballon Dog, during the preparation of his exhibition in Naples, June 6, 2003. The Koons' exhibition will open on June 9 at National Musuem in Naples, in southern Italy.
Photo by Mario Laporta
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
