'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Humor
You Might Be A Republican If...
* You've tried to argue that poverty could be abolished if people were allowed to keep more of their minimum wage.
* You've ever referred to someone as "my (insert racial or ethnic minority here) friend."
* You're a pro-lifer, but support the death penalty.
* You've ever uttered the phrase, "Why don't we just bomb the sons of bitches."
* You've ever called a secretary or waitress "Honey."
* You've ever called education a luxury.
* You're afraid of the "liberal media."
* You've ever called the National Endowment for the Arts a bunch of pornographers.
* You think all artists are gay.
* You've ever urged someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, when they don't even have shoes.
Thanks, Bruce!
Reader Link
The Madness of King George
" The Vatican security people said that they had to strongly increase their measures following strident demands from the Secret Service, when Bush visited the Pope and that the latter viewed Bush as "not quite normal" and a "most unpleasant personage."
Bush apparently tried to bully the Pope who responded in public, admonishing him for his actions and insisting on US withdrawal from Iraq. As is well-known, the Pentecostal President detests Catholics, calling them, among other things, "Whores of Babylon ...."
For the rest of an interesting read, The Madness of King George
Thanks, Perra!
Fresh Link
Humor Gazette
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Paul Berenson
Another Side of the News
Saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" Sunday. When the woman was talking about her son who was killed, a woman behind us was crying. That sure was a strange scene with the House Black Caucus protesting the 2000 Election, and Gore telling them to sit down because not one single Senator would support them. Hear that Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, John F. Kerry, etc.? Not one single Senator would stand up and contest the election results. Forget Daschle. Moore hammers that smarmy wimp, along with Gephardt. The movie received a standing ovation! I don't remember the last movie I went to, but it may have been "JFK" Going to see Fahrenheit again tomorrow, and we'll talk about it Saturday.
Also, the Saudi-Bush connections in general. The draft, too. Bush involuntarily called up recently discharged military to serve some more. Let these Government officials send their military age kids to fight. Only one has a child in Iraq. We turned over sovereignty to Iraq this week, but what about our 14 new bases there? Yeah, right!
Tune in to "Another Side of the News" with Paul Berenson, Saturdays 9am-10am PST on KCSB-FM 91.9 or listen on
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD's on vacation.
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Lovely overcast morning, mild & sunny afternoon.
We took the kid to his first 'R' rated movie - 'Fahrenheit 9/11', this afternoon.
The 'R' rating is not deserved, and was probably given so teachers cannot show this film in high schools, where it could be of use in classes as diverse as history, film-making, philosophy, government, & rhetoric - guess they don't want the fodder to meet the cannon.
Had hoped to write up a bit more, but a singularly huge clump of cat crap clogged the toilet & most of my evening was spent playing sanitation engineer. Ewwwwwww.
Musician Pablo Menendez, a US citizen living in Cuba, shows a cover design of the recently released CD, 'Bridge to Havana' during a press conference at the International Press Center in this June 30, 2004 file photo in Havana, Cuba.
Photo by Cristobal Herrera
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
International AIDS Conference in Bangkok
Richard Gere
Brazilian dresses made of condoms, a drag show from Indonesia and a special appearance by actor Richard Gere.
These and dozens of other cultural performances, art shows, fashion parades and films from around the world will be featured at the international AIDS conference this month in Bangkok to break the monotony of scientific sessions, organizers said Friday.
Nearly 240 artists, mostly from Asia but also from Africa, the Americas and Europe, will produce more than 70 shows during the 15th International AIDS Conference July 11-17, said Chumpon Apisuk, chief co-ordinator of the cultural program.
Richard Gere
Hard Hat Ready
Colin Powell
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell donned a hard hat and tucked a hammer in his belt Friday, performing a version of the Village People's hit "YMCA" at the conclusion of Asia's largest security meeting.
Tradition dictates that the meeting wrap up with a night of song and dance, provided by the diplomats themselves.
On Friday, Powell danced alongside five other U.S. officials sporting costumes that included an Indian headdress.
"Resident Bush, he said to me: 'Colin, I need you to run the Department of State. We are between a rock and a hard place," Powell and his colleagues sang to the tune of the disco classic.
The after-dinner show is an annual highlight of the ASEAN Regional Forum, a time for ministers to loosen up after discussing security issues.
Colin Powell
Battling Alzheimer's
James Doohan
James Doohan, the 84-year-old Star Trek veteran, who held together the Enterprise against repeated Klingon attack through his tenure on the original TV series and in several big-screen movies, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, his son, Chris Doohan, confirmed Friday.
Doohan said his father is relaxing in retirement in Washington state with his wife, Wende, and the daughter he beamed up when he was 80. Chris Doohan said his father, at this time, has been more slowed by Parkinson's disease and diabetes than Alzheimer's, the incurable, progressive neurological disorder that affected Ronald Reagan.
To the world, Doohan is best known as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the fiery chief engineer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.
All surviving crew members of original-formula Trek are scheduled to put in appearances at the Aug. 28-30 event in Hollywood: Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, Grace Lee Whitney, even William Shatner, with whom Doohan famously clashed with for years.
The Doohan tribute convention will coincide with the actor's induction onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a ceremony set for Aug. 31.
James Doohan
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Show Tests Waters On CGOP
John McEnroe
John McEnroe's "Letterman"-like show on CNBC bows next week, part of the campaign to take the dollar sign out of the financial cable news net's evening lineup and replace it with more entertaining fare.
The campaign has yet to produce a critical hit, however, whether it be Dennis Miller's new weeknight show or Tina Brown's "Topic A" on Sunday. Brown's one-hour interview program has fared dismally in the ratings, despite a long roster of high-profile guests.
"McEnroe" debuts Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET, following the one-hour "Dennis Miller." NBC U entertainment, news and cable prexy Jeff Zucker was instrumental in bringing both Miller and McEnroe onboard. It was NBC Sports topper Dick Ebersol who introduced Zucker to McEnroe several years ago.
John McEnroe
Leland Pritchard of Plattsmouth, Neb., displays four different models of 'Exploding Terrorist Heads' fireworks, on sale in a roadside fireworks tent in Plattsmouth, Neb., Tuesday, June 29, 2004. The fireworks sell for $1.99 each or $7.96 for a package titled 'Exploding Terrorists Heads,' which includes the likenesses of 'Sadly Insane (Saddam) Hussein,' 'Rag Hat (Yasser) Arafat', 'Cannibal (Moammar) Kadafi', and Osama bin Laden.
Photo by Nati Harnik
Director Cashing In
Peter Jackson
The box office success of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy has made him very rich. Sales of merchandise linked to movies of the J.R.R. Tolkien books are set to make him even richer.
The Wellington-based director saw his wealth balloon from $45 million last year to $118 million this year, according to a list of rich New Zealanders published Friday in a National Business Review magazine survey.
Peter Jackson
Cancels Spain Visit
Dalai Lama
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will not take part in an international culture festival in Spain because his doctors have advised him to rest after a punishing travel schedule.
"As a result of a persistent cough developed on account of an exhausting and hectic schedule, his holiness the Dalai Lama has been advised by doctors to take complete rest for at least two weeks," said a medical statement released Friday by the organisers of Barcelona's Forum 2004.
Dalai Lama
Marks 500th Tour
Kenny Kramer
When opportunity came knocking for Kenny Kramer, it was just the guy across the hall. The quirky Kramer, once a disco jewelry salesman and a reggae band manager, spent 10 years living opposite the Hell's Kitchen apartment of "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David. A fortuitous friendship was forged.
David morphed his neighbor into Jerry Seinfeld's strange sitcom sidekick, Cosmo Kramer. The real Kramer, in return, launched a weekly bus tour of real Manhattan locations featured in the fictional Seinfeld universe - and this weekend, he hosts tour No. 500.
The 500th "Kramer's Reality Tour" is set for Sunday, when the 60-year-old Kramer and several dozen soon-to-be-close-friends will gather. Although "Seinfeld" went off the air in 1998, Kramer is still going strong; he estimates 30,000 people have taken the tour.
Kenny Kramer
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Speaks Out About 50 Cent
Vivica A. Fox
Vivica A. Fox is finally speaking out about her breakup with 50 Cent - and it's possible that the rapper might now be wishing that she had kept quiet.
Fox told reporters at the 2004 BET Awards that she has no beef with 50, but that she was upset that he chose to go public with their differences.
"What I didn't like about the whole situation was that he made it public and he pitted a sister and a brother against one other. And that was wrong," Fox told reporters. "I've been in the game for 10, 15 years. I didn't need to exploit, use nobody."
"My films have grossed over $1 billion worldwide," Fox said. "I ain't got to use nobody for no cover of no magazines. I've been on magazines forever. So he can put that where? Back there!"
Vivica A. Fox
The coral reefs of the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat are shown in their heyday in this file photo at the top when they were considered among the most spectacular and biologically diverse reefs in the world. But now environmentalists say that a mass production fish cage industry in nearby waters is wiping out the corals and causing the reef's colourful marine life to disappear as seen in the bottom file picture.
Photo by Itamar Greenberg
Launches Bid To Serve Time In France
Bertrand Cantat
French rock singer Bertrand Cantat, jailed in Lithuania for beating to death his actress girlfriend Marie Trintignant, has launched a legal process to serve out the rest of his eight-year sentence in France, justice officials said.
Cantat's lawyer Virginijus Pairtis said his client's request asking to serve his sentence in France was handed to the ministry on June 28. "The procedure has started and we hope it will go smoothly," he said.
Cantat, the 40-year-old lead singer of the group Noir Desir was found guilty in March of causing the death of Trintignant, 41, following a fight in their Vilnius hotel room last July.
Bertrand Cantat
Disney Sued
'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'
South African lawyers are suing U.S. entertainment giant Walt Disney Co for infringement of copyright on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," the most popular song to emerge from Africa, the lawyers said on Friday.
If Disney loses, South African proceeds from its trademarks -- including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck -- could be seized by the courts, lawyers representing relatives of the song's composer said.
The lilting song, initially called "Mbube," earned an estimated $15 million in royalties since it was written by Zulu migrant worker Solomon Linda in 1939, and featured in Walt Disney's "Lion King" movies.
However, Linda's impoverished family have only received about $15,000, the lawyers said.
'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'
Guilty in Gun Charge
David Crosby
Rock musician David Crosby, founding member of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, pleaded guilty Friday to a gun charge, was fined $5,000 and sentenced to a conditional discharge.
Crosby, 62, pleaded guilty in Manhattan's state Supreme Court to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree as part of a plea deal. The charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison upon conviction.
Justice Michael R. Ambrecht said the case was discharged on the conditions that Crosby pay the fine and the court surcharges and avoid getting arrested again. Crosby's lawyer, Scott Herschman, said his client planned to pay the fine immediately.
David Crosby
Howard Walker, left, Marie Evans, right, and Chris Carrozza, center, of Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, prepare the fireworks for show after Friday's Pittsburgh Pirates games and the annual Independence Day show for the city on a barge in the Ohio River in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, June 30, 2004. All the shows will be dedicated to the man known as 'Boom Boom' and 'Mr. Fireworks.' But in nearby Pittsburgh, Zambelli's favorite songs and shells, including one that bursts into a giant purple heart, will be used in a carefully choreographed memorial for George Zambelli Sr. died last year on Dec. 25 at age 79.
Photo by Keith Srakocic
May Have Changed Recently
Speed of Light
The speed of light, one of the most sacrosanct of the universal physical constants, may have been lower as recently as two billion years ago - and not in some far corner of the universe, but right here on Earth.
The controversial finding is turning up the heat on an already simmering debate, especially since it is based on re-analysis of old data that has long been used to argue for exactly the opposite: the constancy of the speed of light and other constants.
A varying speed of light contradicts Einstein's theory of relativity, and would undermine much of traditional physics. But some physicists believe it would elegantly explain puzzling cosmological phenomena such as the nearly uniform temperature of the universe. It might also support string theories that predict extra spatial dimensions.
The threat to the idea of an invariable speed of light comes from measurements of another parameter called the fine structure constant, or alpha, which dictates the strength of the electromagnetic force. The speed of light is inversely proportional to alpha, and though alpha also depends on two other constants, many physicists tend to interpret a change in alpha as a change in the speed of light. It is a valid simplification, says Victor Flambaum of the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
Speed of Light
PA Railroad Marvel 150 Years Old
Horseshoe Curve
This year, railroad enthusiasts will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Horseshoe Curve, a simple yet groundbreaking piece of engineering just west of Altoona that turned the Pennsylvania Railroad into a national player and forever changed the way railroads did business.
Before railroads, travel from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh often took 20 days or more in horse- or ox-drawn wagons. But as the Ohio Valley and the Midwest emerged as the nation's new growth corridor, there was money to be made in getting people and goods across the Allegheny Mountains.
The Erie Canal through New York quickly established itself as the easiest route to the Midwest, attracting both freight and passenger traffic.
That was the impetus for the creation of the Main Line of Public Works which connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh via a system of railroads, canals and inclined planes, said Bill Withuhn, curator of the history of transportation for the Smithsonian Institution. It was a publicly funded enterprise like the Erie Canal.
Horseshoe Curve
Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark
* ADULT *
In Memory
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, who revolutionized Hollywood's image of a leading man playing street-tough, emotionally raw characters in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront" and then revived his career a generation later as the definitive Mafia don in "The Godfather," died at 80.
The reclusive Brando died of lung failure at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at UCLA Medical Center, according to hospital spokeswoman Roxanne Moster.
For generations of movie lovers, Brando was unforgettable - the embodiment of brutish Stanley Kowalski in 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire," famously bellowing "STELLA!" at his estranged love with a mix of anguish and desire.
Then came his mixed-up, washed-up boxer Terry Malloy of 1954's "On the Waterfront," who laments throwing fights for his gangster brother with the line, "I coulda been a contender ... I coulda been somebody ..."
The key to Brando's craft was Method acting - a practice learned at Stella Adler's renowned Actors Studio in New York. The technique eschewed grandiose theatricality in favor of a deeper psychological approach, often through near-continuous rehearsal that led many actors to behave like their characters even when offstage.
Brando's personally combative nature only increased as he grew older. It might best be defined by his line from 1953's "The Wild One," in which Brando, playing a motorcycle gang leader, was asked what he's rebelling against.
"Whattaya got?" was his character's reply.
Even though the studios had written off the star in the early 1970s, he went on to create the iconic character of Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather," which reinvigorated his career and earned him his second best-actor Oscar.
His first came years earlier for 1954's "On the Waterfront," and Brando showed up in a tuxedo and graciously accepted it.
Brando's private life was tumultuous. His three wives were all pregnant when they married him. He fathered at least nine children.
His family life turned tragic with his son's conviction for killing the boyfriend of his half-sister, Cheyenne Brando, in 1990. Five years later, Cheyenne committed suicide, never having gotten over her depression and the killing.
Marlon Brando Jr. came from the American heartland, born in Omaha, Neb., on April 3, 1924. Nicknamed "Bud" to distinguish him from his father, Brando and his family moved around the country throughout his youth. He was constantly being reprimanded for misbehavior at school, and had a talent for playacting, both in elaborate pranks and in plays and recitations.
After getting expelled from military school, Brando at 19 moved to New York and stayed with his sister Frances, an art student.
He took up the study of acting in the city, and appeared in such plays as "I Remember Mama," and "Truckline Cafe." The latter was directed by Elia Kazan, who would hire him for the play "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1947 and later the movie.
At the end of his two-year contract for "Streetcar" he never appeared in another play.
His first film was director Stanley Kramer's "The Men" in 1950. To research the story of paraplegic war veterans, he spent a month in a veterans hospital.
His impact on screen acting was demonstrated by Academy Award nominations as best actor in four successive years: as Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951); as the Mexican revolutionary in "Viva Zapata!" (1952); as Marc Anthony in "Julius Caesar" (1953); and as Terry Malloy in "On the Waterfront" (1954). Besides his win for "The Godfather," he also had Oscar nominations for "Sayonara" (1957), "Last Tango in Paris" (1973) and "A Dry White Season" (1989).
Although he remained in Hollywood, he refused to be part of it.
He sometimes refused to memorize his lines and would hide them on various props or on the chests of other actors facing away from the camera. He claimed it increased the spontaneity of the line readings.
While working on the musical "Guys and Dolls," he reportedly infuriated co-star Frank Sinatra - who was notoriously impatient with reshoots - by insisting on take after take after take, coolly and endlessly redoing scenes while Sinatra bristled.
A remake of "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1962, with Brando as Fletcher Christian, seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in directors and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either.
The "Bounty" experience affected Brando's life in a profound way: he fell in love with Tahiti and its people. Tahitian beauty Tarita, who appeared in the film, became his third wife and mother of two of his children. He bought an island, Tetiaroa, which he intended to make part environmental laboratory and part resort.
"I am myself," he once declared, "and if I have to hit my head against a brick wall to remain true to myself, I will do it."
Marlon Brando
The rays of the rising sun shimmer on symmetrical strands of this web as a small spider waits in the center for its' next meal in Portland, Ore., Thursday, July 1, 2004.
Photo by Don Ryan
'The Osbournes'
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