'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Restaurant Review
Jeff Crook
Reader Link
Defeat The Right In 3 Minutes
Selected Saturday Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Not much sun or humidity - a very pleasant day.
All the local O & O (owned & operated) stations for the major networks (KCBS, KNBC, KABC, KTTV [Faux] & KCAL [the secondary CBS-station under the new FCC rules]) dumped normal programming to carry news conferences offering any scintilla of rumor about Kobe Bryant, the now self-admitted adulterer. Poor Vanessa.
Woo - hoo. Radio Fred is sharing his tickets to Rupert's Doggers, and we'll be at the game today.
Tonight, Saturday, CBS starts the night with '48 Hours', followed by a RERUN 'Hack', then a RERUN 'The District'.
NBC begins the evening with a FRESH 'Just Shoot Me', followed by another FRESH 'Just Shoot Me', then the movie 'Bowfinger'.
Of course, 'SNL' is a RERUN, and it'll suck - the worst season of 'SNL', EVER.
ABC begins the night with the movie 'Krippendorf's Tribe', followed by a RERUN 'Dragnet'.
The WB offers the movie 'Predator'.
Faux has the traditional RERUN 'Cops', followed by another RERUN 'Cops', then 'America's Most Wanted'.
UPN pisses away the night with 'WWE Smackdown!.
A&E has 'American Justice', followed by 'Cold Case Files', then a RERUN 'Crossing Jordan'.
AMC offers the movie 'American Graffiti', followed by the movie 'The Return Of The Pink Panther', then the movie 'King Kong' (the Jessica Lange version).
BBC -
[6pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 1;
[6:40pm] 'My Hero' - Episode 1;
[7:20pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 2;
[8pm] 'Red Cap' - Crush;
[9pm] 'Red Cap' - H-Hour;
[10pm] 'Jonathan Creek' - Jack in the Box;
[11pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Trinny and Susannah;
[11:30pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Linda Hamilton;
[12am] 'Jonathan Creek' - Jack in the Box;
[1am] 'Red Cap' - Crush;
[2am] 'Red Cap' - H-Hour; and
[3am] 'Love or Money'. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo tries to kill 'Queer Eye', with 2 RERUNs, then the movie 'The Untouchables', and another RERUN 'Queer Eye'.
HBO - Bill Maher returns in 'Victory Begins At Home!'.
History has 'History Undercover', and 'History's Mysteries'.
SciFi has the movie 'Stargate', followed by the movie 'Alien Hunter', then the movie 'Alien Cargo'.
TCM offers
[6am] 'Watch On The Rhine' (1943) (written by
Lillian Hellman and
Dashiell Hammett);
[8am] 'The Romance Of Rosy Ridge' (1947);
[10am] 'He Walked By Night' (1948);
[11:30am] 'MGM Parade Show #17' (1955);
[12pm] 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon' (1949);
[2pm] 'The Long, Long Trailer' (1954);
[4pm] 'The Bachelor And The Bobby-Soxer' (1947);
[6pm] 'The Philadelphia Story' (1940);
[8pm] 'Gone With the Wind' (1939);
[12am] 'The Old Maid' (1939);
[2am] 'Dark Victory' (1939);
[4am] 'Love Affair' (1939); and
[5:30am] 'Festival of Shorts #19' (1999). (ALL TIMES EDT)
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Madge Overhouse poses with a Democratic poster at the front door of her home Friday, July 18, in Los Gatos, Calif. It's a message that resonates with Overhouse of San Jose, a retired librarian who is working actively against the recall despite weekly cancer treatments. 'Republicans stole the presidential election in Florida in 2000, and now they are trying to do the same thing in California,' she said. 'They couldn't get elected here, so they have to go and steal it.'
Photo by Ben Margot
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Citizen Kane Oscar Up For Auction
Orson Welles
It started with "Rosebud," and ended in universal acclaim for Orson Welles, whose Oscar for best screenplay for "Citizen Kane" is the star attraction in an entertainment memorabilia sale next week.
Welles' Oscar from the 1941 film, regarded by many as the best movie ever made, is expected to fetch between $300,000 and $400,000 when it goes under the gavel on July 25, Christie's auction house said on Friday.
Welles, only 25 years old when he made the classic, was nominated for four Academy Awards for "Citizen Kane," including Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay, which he shared credit with Herman Mankiewicz.
He won only for his writing.
Orson Welles
Any bets this Oscar will be bought by Steven Spielberg?
Settles Stallion Breeding Case
William Shatner
William Shatner and his ex-wife have reached a settlement in a dispute over breeding privileges to three American saddle-bred stallions owned by the former "Star Trek" actor, according to lawyers for Marcy Lafferty Shatner.
Terms of the settlement are confidential, said Matthew R. Heiman of McLean, Va., one of the lawyers for the actor's second wife.
She had sued her ex-husband in April, claiming he had broken an agreement in their 1995 divorce settlement. The lawsuit was dismissed in June by joint agreement.
The lawsuit said that until this breeding season, Shatner had provided her the semen of one of the horses, Great Day's Came the Son, in "fresh cooled format." The lawsuit said she had learned the breeding privileges from that horse and two other stallions would be in the form of frozen semen.
William Shatner
Didn't Violate Probation
Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte didn't violate his probation because there was nothing to support an anonymous allegation that he'd been seen driving away from a liquor store while appearing to be intoxicated, a judge ruled Friday.
"Unfortunately, because of what you do for a living, you're going to be exposed to this," Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira said.
The 62-year-old actor, dressed neatly in a dark jacket and slacks, made a brief court appearance with his lawyer. The judge ordered a Jan. 20 progress report on his probation in a driving-under-the-influence case.
Deputy District Attorney Lorraine Petersen told the judge that she'd received a telephone call from someone alleging that Nolte had been seen at a San Francisco Bay area liquor store and then getting into a car and driving away.
An investigation showed that Nolte had bought $120 worth of alcohol and driven away. "But there was no confirmation that he was under the influence" and people who saw him afterward said he was not drunk, Petersen said.
Outside court, Nolte said he'd bought the liquor to serve to guests at a benefit he was attending.
Nick Nolte
Boxer shorts belonging to late President John F. Kennedy on display as part of the items for auction belonging to the late president and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy on July 18, 2003. The auction, at Dawson's Auctioneers & Appraisers in Morris Plains, New Jersey, will include more than 300 items ranging from the whimsical -- World War II Navy-issue boxer shorts, with the sown label, 'Jack Kennedy' -- to the historic, a personal presidential campaign notebook.
Photo by Chip East
Toronto Lifts Some Fan Restrictions
Rolling Stones
The organizers of the Rolling Stones concert in Toronto are relenting on what fans can bring to the show.
That concession comes after fans complained about the restrictions. Items such as beach towels and sleeping bags will be allowed after all, even though some fans at other concerts use them to throw people in the air.
Snack food and soft-sided coolers will be allowed too, and organizers deny food and water at the event would be sold at inflated prices.
The July 30 show is designed to bring tourists back to Toronto after the SARS scare hit the city. Other performers include Rush, AC/DC, the Isley Brothers and Justin Timberlake.
Rolling Stones
www.rollingstones.com
Grown Man Afraid Of Old Ladies & His Former Boss
Ari Fleischer
In an appearance on CBS's "The Late Show with David Letterman" Thursday, Ari Fleischer, who left the White House staff this week, was asked about President Bush's much-noted pronunciation of "nuclear." The pronouncer in chief says NU-cu-lar rather than NU-cle-ar when talking about weapons of mass destruction.
"That might be why we haven't found them yet," Fleischer quipped.
Letterman then asked, "has anybody ever said to him, 'Oh, by the way, it's not 'nucular'?"
"Well, I've actually gotten a lot of mail about that, and people stop me and say what you say," Fleischer said. "And I've thought about should I go into the Oval Office and say to the president, 'Mr. President ...'. And I haven't."
When Letterman asked him who in the White House press corps "drives you nuts," Fleischer said "Helen Thomas — but don't tell anybody."
Fleischer said the former United Press International reporter, now a columnist for Hearst newspapers, "is very liberal. She disagrees with everything I say. She still thinks Al Gore won Florida."
Then came the kicker: "She reminds me of my mother." Fleischer's mother was in the audience, and was celebrating her birthday Thursday.
Ari Fleischer
Closes Sale of Cable TV Channels
MGM
Film and television studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. on Friday said it has closed the sale of its 20 percent stake in three cable TV channels to majority owner Cablevision Systems Corp.
MGM agreed to sell the channels, AMC, the Independent Film Channel, and WE: Women's Entertainment in order to boost its cash position as it competes to buy Vivendi Universal's U.S. media assets, which include the Universal Pictures film studio and Sci Fi and USA cable TV networks.
Cablevision, too, is part of the bidding for Vivendi Universal's media group, known as Vivendi Universal Entertainment. It has pledged the cable properties it owned with MGM as part of a bid being mounted by former Seagram Co. Ltd. chief Edgar Bronfman, Jr. Seagram once owned Universal.
For the sale, MGM received $250 million in cash and the balance in a note payable in five months.
MGM
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
New Animated TV Series From Stan Lee
'Hef's Superbunnies'
A unit of Playboy Enterprises Inc. on Friday said it plans to develop a new animated television series starring Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine, and his famed centerfold girls in another move to introduce the Playboy brand to younger generations.
Hefner, an icon of the American sexual revolution, will be the mastermind behind a sexy, sophisticated squad of Playmates that will fight the "enemies of the democracy" in "Hef's Superbunnies," the cartoon series to be developed by Stan Lee.
Lee, the godfather of comics, created all-time best-seller comics such as Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil and The X-Men. All of these characters were recently taken to the big screen and became box-office hits.
"We do have a deal with Stan ... we've been working on at it for some time," Richard S. Rosenzweig, chairman of Alta Loma Entertainment, told Reuters. Alta Loma is the entertainment and production arm of Playboy Enterprises.
While the venture is still at an early stage, Alta Loma and Lee's POW! Entertainment, a company that creates live action and animation motion pictures and television franchises, will work on the 30-minute series which will be developed for mainstream television.
'Hef's Superbunnies'
Phyllis Pierce, 50, of Mineral Wells, Texas, holds signs during a protest outside the hotel where President Bush is holding a fund raiser in Dallas, Friday, July 18, 2003. According to Pierce, this is the first time in her life she has felt compelled enough to come out and protest on any issue.
Photo by LM Otero
James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Tony Bennett
'Songs From The Street'
To celebrate the upcoming 35th anniversary of PBS's Sesame Street, the show's producers--the Children's Television Workshop--have announced plans to release a boxed set of songs from famous musicians' visits to the landmark children's show.
Songs From The Street will feature performances by James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, Trisha Yearwood, and Celine Dion, to name a few. The three-disc set will contain more than 60 songs in total, pulled from the show's archives. Many of the tracks have never before been released.
Songs From The Street is expected to be released in September. Plans for a DVD/VHS companion are now being mulled over.
'Songs From The Street'
Demands Met by TV Shows
Jackson Browne
At Jackson Browne's demand, two TV programs have edited out scenes referring to allegations the singer beat up Daryl Hannah during their romance.
The Fox Television Production of "America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story," which aired on TNT in January, will be modified to delete references to Browne in two scenes, Browne publicist Michael Jensen said Thursday in a statement.
In a related development, Viacom-owned VH1 agreed to delete a scene with similar references that aired in the program "When Cameras Cross the Line." A written apology will be broadcast at the beginning of the show in future airings.
Browne "is appreciative that the producers moved so quickly to correct the program and apologize," his manager, Donald Miller, said in a statement.
Jackson Browne
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
NBC To Broadcast Special Episode
'Queer Eye'
After the show's smash-hit debut on sister network Bravo, NBC said on Friday it will show a special episode of the make-over program "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" next week.
"Queer Eye," in which five gay man with expertise in fashion, grooming, culture, food and interior design team up to make-over a straight man, broke ratings records for Bravo in its hour-long premiere this week.
NBC said it would show a condensed 30-minute version next Thursday at 9:30 p.m.
'Queer Eye'
John Howat flags in the Kansas State University solar car 'CATalyst' as it reaches the University of New Mexico checkpoint in Albuquerque, N.M., during the American Solar Challenge, Friday, July 18, 2003. Twenty college teams are competing in this year's 2,300-mile solar car race from Chicago to Claremont, Calif.
Photo by Stefano Paltera
Gets Down With Moominmamma
James Brown
When James Brown was winding down his show at a jazz festival, the crowds clapped to the beat of his 1970's hit "Sex Machine," then roared with approval when Finland's popular president Tarja Halonen walked on stage to jive with the King of Funk.
An enthusiastic audience chanted "Tarja, Tarja, Tarja," in the balmy, bright summer evening Thursday in Pori, on the southwestern coast of Finland, wrapped in a rare heat wave.
Halonen, 59, let her hair down and visibly enjoyed dancing with 70-year-old Brown, who calls himself "the Godfather of Soul," at one of Finland's oldest music festivals.
Before the brief dance interlude, Halonen and Brown talked backstage while jazz enthusiasts snapped photos of her.
"Take pictures of him, he's the star," the Ilta-Sanomat tabloid quoted Halonen saying as she pointed at Brown.
Halonen, a belly dancer and keen swimmer, is Finland's first female president. Her popularity has steadily increased since she took office in March 2000 with a poll last month giving her a 94-percent popularity rating, way above her predecessors.
On her first visit abroad as president, Swedish media dubbed her "Moominmamma" after the cuddly moomintroll characters created by the late Finnish writer and artist, Tove Jansson. Like the mother of the white, rotund trolls, she often carries large handbags.
James Brown
Marking Presley Anniversary
Nashville
The anniversary of Elvis Presley's passing is approaching, and Nashville is doing its part to commemorate the somber occasion.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will honor the king of Rock and Roll's legacy with a series of special events in August, including a Q&A session with Alanna Nash, author of the new book "The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley."
Also on the agenda are tours of the historic RCA Studio B, where Presley recorded many of his hits, including "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight."
Elvis Week is Aug. 9-17, and will mark the 26th anniversary of Presley's death at age 42 on Aug. 16, 1977.
Nashville
Elvis Presley Web site
Mentions Double Standard
Bob Graham
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham said on Thursday there were grounds to impeach President Bush if he was found to have led America to war under false pretenses.
While Graham did not call for Bush's impeachment, he said if the president lied about the reasons for going to war with Iraq it would be "more serious" than former President Bill Clinton's lie under oath about his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
"If in fact we went to war under false pretenses that is a very serious charge," Graham, the senior U.S. senator from Florida, told reporters in New Hampshire.
"If the standard of impeachment is the one the House Republicans used against Bill Clinton, this clearly comes within that standard," he said.
Bob Graham
Run Extended
'Paradise Hotel'
Fox Broadcasting Co. has extended the run of the summer reality series "Paradise Hotel" by six additional weeks with the order of another dozen episodes.
The show, which airs twice a week, features a revolving group of single men and women living together in an exotic resort with one guest eliminated every week to make room for a new one.
There will be a seamless transition between the initial eight-week run and the new batch of episodes. "Paradise" premiered June 18 to modest ratings but has been inching up in recent weeks, even against heightened competition from unscripted fare on NBC and CBS.
'Paradise Hotel'
Fourteen-year-old female polar bear, named 'Pelusa' stands in her cage in the Mendoza Zoo, 1100 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires, July 18, 2003. Normally white, Pelusa turned violet after veterinarians administered a medicine to treat her for a skin condition. Her veterinarians said her coat should turn normal again within a month.
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'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
The Ark Group discovers a final member of the last expedition in a place dominated by Murphy's Law.
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 5
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
