'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
PETER DORAN: Cold, Hard Facts (nytimes.com)
Our results have been misused as "evidence" against global warming by Michael Crichton in his novel State of Fear and by Ann Coulter in her latest book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism. Search my name on the Web, and you will find pages of links to everything from climate discussion groups to Senate policy committee documents - all citing my 2002 study as reason to doubt that the earth is warming. One recent Web column even put words in my mouth. I have never said that "the unexpected colder climate in Antarctica may possibly be signaling a lessening of the current global warming cycle." I have never thought such a thing either. . . . I would like to remove my name from the list of scientists who dispute global warming.
Mark Pothier: Overpasses become activists' podiums (boston.com)
It takes only a bedsheet and 18-gauge wire for Bruce Macdonald to stir road rage in some motorists.
JILL KRAMER: Why We Won't Fight (pacificsun.com)
Peter Laufer wants to stop the war in Iraq. He believes that some of the most persuasive arguments for ending it come from the men and women whose service in the war zone has convinced them that this mission is a terrible mistake. He gives voice to their thoughts in his latest book, Mission Rejected: U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq.
Jacques Peretti: Kooky capitalism (guardian.co.uk)
What is it with Ben & Jerry's unprompted affiliation to nuclear disarmament? It's kooky capitalism, an example of multinational companies marketing themselves as itsy-bitsy cottage industries rather than monoliths with Exxon-like bad vibes.
David Swerdlick: Boondocks: Cosby's Younger, Hipper Son (AlterNet.org)
The new DVD of The Boondocks shows that Aaron McGruder has fully realized satire's potential to lay bare the most acute absurdities about black life in our times.
To you, my darling, I leave very little ... (guardian.co.uk)
Tori Spelling, the only daughter of deceased millionaire TV producer Aaron Spelling, has inherited only £100,00 of his £270m fortune. She's not the first to get a rough deal out of a will, says Lucy Mangan.
Roger Ebert Days of Heaven (1978; A Great Movie)
What is the point of ``Days of Heaven''--the payoff, the message? This is a movie made by a man who knew how something felt, and found a way to evoke it in us. That feeling is how a child feels when it lives precariously, and then is delivered into security and joy, and then has it all taken away again--and blinks away the tears and says it doesn't hurt.
Homer, "The Iliad": A Review (powells.com)
There was something like a Trojan war, maybe several Trojan wars. It would be fine to know the truth about them, but who would give up the Iliad for the historical record?...
One-Hit Wonder: The life story of the woman who wrote one of America's most beloved novels
"To Kill a Mockingbird" sold 30 million copies but Harper Lee never published another book. Was she a great writer or a so-so writer with great editors?...
Live in Canyon Lake, Texas? Borrow Bruce's Books (Tye Preston Memorial Public Library)
Perform a search for "Funniest People."
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A bit cooler - it's a start.
Had some sort of police action - helicopters, cops on foot with flashlights and many, many police cars blocking several intersections.
Nothing on the news about it.
No new flags.
Documentary To Debut At Toronto Fest
Dixie Chicks
A documentary about the firestorm that greeted the Dixie Chicks' anti-Bush comments will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, organizers said Thursday.
"Dixie Chicks -- Shut Up and Sing," from Oscar-winning director Barbara Kopple ("Harlan County," "American Dream") and Cecilia Peck, will receive a high-profile gala screening.
Toronto also has booked a North American premiere for U.S. documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," David Leaf and John Scheinfeld's archival portrait of the Beatles star's move from musician to war activist. Paul Rachman's "American Hardcore," a look at the 1980s hard-core punk music scene, will receive a Canadian premiere.
Dixie Chicks
Outraged About New Orleans
Dr. John
Dr. John, a man who has performed with voodoo priestesses and snakes that appeared to groove to his music, is better known for funky tunes like 1973's "Right Place, Wrong Time" than for expressing outrage.
But 11 months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged his native city, the precarious situation of young New Orleans musicians struggling to find cheap housing, gigs and guidance has him riled up.
"I feel like I'm living under another corrupt dynasty," he said. "I'm so full of anger at what's going down."
Dr. John
Getting Celebrity Support
Al Franken
The list of contributors to comedian Al Franken's political action committee reads like a celebrity who's who: singer Barbra Streisand, writer-director Nora Ephron, actor-writer Larry David and actor Jimmy Smits.
His leadership PAC, Midwest Values PAC, raised $500,000, according to a review of campaign finance reports. Franken couldn't use the money for his own race, but he can contribute to other candidates, engendering goodwill.
Among the contributors to the PAC were actor Larry Hagman, directors Christopher Guest and Barry Levinson, and writers Harold Ramis and Aaron Sorkin.
Al Franken
Both Featured In Political Ads
The Clintons
Whether it's Bill or Hillary, the Clinton name is hot copy in political advertising these days.
The ads seek to capitalize now and in November on the strong passions with which voters remember the Clintons. Call it a back-to-the-future strategy that both Democrats and Republicans believe will reap rewards.
President Clinton, a formidable Democratic fundraiser, has been growing in popularity, even among Republicans. His job approval ratings were at 61 percent last month, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll. Resident Bush's approval rating in the same poll was 36 percent.
The Clintons
Responds To Steely Dan
Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson has denied any connection between his new movie, "You, Me and Dupree," and '70s supergroup Steely Dan, a spokesman for the actor said Friday.
The band recently posted a letter on their Web site claiming that Wilson's Dupree character was based on their Grammy-winning song, "Cousin Dupree," about a couch-hopping houseguest.
In a statement released by his spokeswoman, Ina Treciokas, Wilson said: "I have never heard the song `Cousin Dupree' and I don't even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, `HEY 19.'"
Owen Wilson
Rare Live Track
John Lennon
The soundtrack to the upcoming documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" will include a previously unreleased Lennon song, "Attica State," recorded at the John Sinclair Freedom Rally in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1971.
The Capitol/EMI release, set for a September 26 release, will also feature such tunes as "Imagine," "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," as well as an instrumental version of "How Do You Sleep."
The controversial documentary explores the government's attempts at silencing Lennon as a proponent of humanitarian and anti-war causes, which included FBI surveillance, wiretapping and deportation proceedings.
John Lennon
Fillling In For Roger Ebert
Jay Leno
Jay Leno will step into the critic's chair next week as he takes on guest co-hosting duties for "Ebert & Roeper."
The host of NBC's "Tonight Show" will be the first guest co-host for the syndicated movie review show while regular co-host Roger Ebert recuperates at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after cancer surgery last month.
Leno will join Richard Roeper for the August 5-6 episode of the show, which will review the films "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," "Miami Vice," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Night Listener" and "Shadowboxer."
After Leno's stint on the show, film director Kevin Smith will take over guest co-hosting duties for the August 12-13 episode. Smith -- whose latest film, "Clerks II," opened last weekend -- announced the news Tuesday on his Web site.
Jay Leno
Malibu DUI
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson was arrested early Friday for suspicion of driving under the influence, a Sheriff's Department spokesman said.
Gibson's vehicle was speeding eastbound on the Pacific Coast Highway when officers stopped him at 2:36 a.m., Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
Gibson, 50, was booked at the Lost Hills Sheriff's station at 4:06 a.m., according to department records. The actor-director was cited and released, Whitmore said. Bail was set at $5,000.
Mel Gibson
Appeals 'Wardrobe Malfunction' Fine
CBS
CBS asked a federal appeals court on Friday to set aside the $550,000 fine by the Federal Communications Commission against the broadcaster for airing Janet Jackson's breast-baring performance during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
The television network argued the fine was "unconstitutional, contrary to the Communications Act and FCC rules and generally arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law."
The petition for review was filed in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. CBS agreed to turn over the fine money, a prerequisite for filing the appeal.
CBS noted in a statement that it had apologized for "the inappropriate and unexpected" episode and had put in place safeguards to prevent a recurrence. "However, we disagree strongly with the FCC's conclusions and will continue to pursue all remedies necessary to affirm our legal rights."
CBS
Museum of Fine Arts
Boston
Boston's Museum of Fine Arts this week reached a tentative agreement with the Italian government to return objects suspected of being plundered antiquities.
The museum will transfer "certain objects of Italian origin in the Museum's collection to Italy," it said in a statement. In return Italy has agreed to loan pieces to the museum to be displayed in special exhibitions, the two sides said.
Museum spokeswoman Kelly Gifford would not say which items would be shipped back to Italy.
The Boston museum also pledged to work with Italian officials to make sure that it will not buy stolen works, the statement said.
Boston
What Global Warming?
Utilities
Coal-burning utilities are passing the hat for one of the few remaining scientists skeptical of the global warming harm caused by industries that burn fossil fuels.
Pat Michaels - Virginia's state climatologist, a University of Virginia professor and senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute - told Western business leaders last year that he was running out of money for his analyses of other scientists' global warming research. So last week, a Colorado utility organized a collection campaign to help him out, raising at least $150,000 in donations and pledges.
The Intermountain Rural Electric Association of Sedalia, Colo., gave Michaels $100,000 and started the fund-raising drive, said Stanley Lewandowski, IREA's general manager. He said one company planned to give $50,000 and a third plans to give Michaels money next year.
Michaels and Lewandowski are open about the money and see no problem with it. Some top scientists and environmental advocates call it a clear conflict of interest. Others view it as the type of lobbying that goes along with many divisive issues.
Utilities
Holmes Fans Hope To Save House
Arthur Conan Doyle
When Arthur Conan Doyle was told in 1893 that his consumptive wife had only months to live, he absorbed the diagnosis - then went home and built her a house.
Undershaw, an imposing red-brick edifice in a dry and sheltering valley near Hindhead, south of London, is credited with helping Louise Conan Doyle, known as Touie, to live an extra 13 years.
Today, Undershaw's windows are boarded, its ceilings discoloured by mildew, the author's beloved tennis court swamped by a meadow of long, waving grasses. And the house's future is uncertain: A developer who bought the site in 2004 is determined to build on it.
The Victorian Society is leading the campaign to save the house. It has urgently asked the conservation group English Heritage to move the house higher up the list of important historical buildings, making it harder to alter the building. But that could take several months.
Arthur Conan Doyle
Found Sign Offensive
Jehovah's Witnesses
A British woman has been ordered by police to take down a sign on her garden gate which read "Our dogs are fed on Jehovah's Witnesses."
Janet Grove, who owns a terrier puppy called Rabbit, insisted the sign was a gentle joke to discourage callers at her front door.
Her late husband put the sign up more than 30 years ago when members of the church called at their house on Christmas Day.
"We were informed by a member of the public who found the sign to be distressing, offensive and inappropriate," a police spokesman said. "Officers attended the address and the sign was voluntarily taken down."
Jehovah's Witnesses
In Memory
Dika Newlin
Dika Newlin, a composer and musicologist who was deeply influenced by the avant-garde master Arnold Schoenberg and brought his style into the punk rock era, has died. She was 82.
Newlin, a child prodigy who was still on the musical cutting edge 70 years later, died July 22 at a Richmond nursing home, according to Sabine Feisst, a professor of musicology at Arizona State University.
Newlin was best known for her writings and correspondence with Schoenberg, the Austrian composer who moved beyond the traditional musical scales with his 12-tone composition method. He came to the United States in the 1930s and died in 1951, and Newlin was one of his few surviving students.
She had studied with Schoenberg at UCLA after graduating from Michigan State University at age 16.
Newlin translated several of Schoenberg's writings from German to English. Her journals about her experiences with him were published in 1980 as "Schoenberg Remembered: Diaries and Recollections (1938-76)."
A composer of several operas and chamber works, Newlin began exploring popular music in the mid-1980s. Inspired by her college students, she sang and played keyboards in a band called Apocowlypso. More recently she performed as a flame-haired punk rocker and performance artist, singing works such as "Murder Kitty," composed solely of meows.
"Even in her punk-rock period, she refers to Schoenberg in that she uses the motifs in his works, or quotes from text in his works," Feisst said.
Her career also included appearances in alternative films, including a 1995 horror film called "Creep" and a short documentary titled "Dika: Murder City."
Dika Newlin
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