'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Thanks for all the kind birthday wishes.
We went out to an early dinner, and came home to open presents only to find we'd been burgled.
The back door was jammed shut & it's knob was on the stoop. The front door's knob was missing (even though it had been opened from the inside).
What little jewelry I owned was stolen (my wedding ring, my mother's wedding ring, my grandmother's wedding ring), all the pins from my Disney-days, my collection of old (silver) German 5 mark pieces, cripes - I don't know what all at this point.
There's a big mess to be cleaned up, a door & some locks to be replaced, and the rest of the police report.
And, yes, my presents were taken, although the bastards left the rumpled wrapping paper behind.
While I'm grateful the animals weren't hurt, and that the place wasn't trashed as badly as it could have been, but, damn, my grandmother's wedding ring.
I'm pretty bummed.
Today's page is a bit thin. May be a bit thin tomorrow, too.
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 RERUN 'The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments 2', followed by a RERUN 'Law & Order',
then another RERUN 'Law & Order'.
ABC fills the night with 'Miss America'.
The WB has the movie 'Rocky 2'.
Faux has 'Cops', 'Cops', and 'American's Most Wanted'.
UPN still has baseball - Giants visiting Rupert's Doggers. Hopefully no one will be murdered in the parking lot at this game.
A&E has 'American Justice', followed by 'Cold Case Files', then a RERUN of a RERUN 'Crossing Jordan'.
AMC has the movie 'Rio Grande', followed by the movie 'The Shootist', then the movie 'The Comancheros'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'Parkinson' - Rowan Atkinson and Pierce Brosnan;
[7pm] 'William at 21';
[8pm] 'The Second Coming';
[11pm] 'The Second Coming';
[2am] 'William at 21';
[3am] 'The Second Coming'; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Queer Eye', followed by the movie 'Pollock', then the movie 'Velvet Goldmine'.
History has 'History Undercover', 'Come Home Alive', and 'Dead Reckoning'.
SciFi has the movie 'Dragon Fighter', followed by the movie 'Deadly Swarm', then the movie 'Screamers'.
TCM -
[6:30am] 'The Good Die Young' (1954);
[8:30am] 'You Only Live Once' (1937);
[10am] 'The Enforcer' (1951);
[11:30am] 'MGM Parade Show #18' (1955);
[12pm] 'Virginia City' (1940);
[2pm] 'Captains Of The Clouds' (1942);
[4pm] 'The Story of G.I. Joe' (1945);
[6pm] 'Battleground' (1949);
[8pm] 'Coal Miner's Daughter' (1980);
[10:30pm] 'Bound For Glory' (1976);
[1am] 'Buddy Holly Story' (1978);
[3am] 'Your Cheatin' Heart' (1964); and
[4:45am] 'Elizabeth Taylor: An Intimate Portrait' (1975). (ALL TIMES EDT)
Crew members push a giant Emmy statuette inside the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003, in preparation for Sunday's 55th annual primetime Emmy Awards.
Photo by Damian Dovarganes
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
'Goodie Bags'
Emmy Presenters
The gift bags given to presenters at this year's Emmys ceremony are worth a cool $30,000, according to organizers.
The bags, described by the TV academy as a "generous thank you," will be distributed to presenters during Emmy rehearsals to be held the day before Sunday's ceremony.
Among the gifts provided or to be redeemed are a private dinner party, resort and spa visits, a portable DVD player, chocolate, a year's worth of cosmetics, a watch and cellular phone.
The 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, airing on Fox, will be held at the Shrine Auditorium.
Emmy Presenters
www.emmys.com
www.fox.com/specials/emmy2003
Taking More Bipartisan Approach (Count The Buzzwords)
'West Wing'
When NBC's White House drama "The West Wing" returns next week for its fifth year, the most obvious difference from last season will be that John Goodman, not Martin Sheen, is calling the shots in the Oval Office as the famously liberal show gets more bipartisan.
Executive producer John Wells promises that Sheen will get his old job back before long.
But Wells said Goodman's guest-starring role is just one way in which "West Wing," which some have criticized as being too liberal, too Democratic, will become more politically balanced this season.
The stage for a more bipartisan tone actually was set last season, when series creator Aaron Sorkin wrote the election of a Republican-controlled Congress into the show.
Now Wells, who took control of the series when Sorkin left in May, intends to use the show's new fictional politics to explore issues dividing real-life Washington and the nation, including debates over the economy and global security.
To maintain a political balance, and bring a higher level of realism to the show, producers rely heavily on a coterie of Beltway insiders, Wells said.
To represent the Republican point of view, Wells has recruited former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein, along with John Podhoretz, a conservative columnist who wrote speeches for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior. Wells said Podhoretz has been one of the show's "staunchest critics" in recent years.
'West Wing'
Former Vice President Al Gore, left, and California Gov. Gray Davis, acknowledge supporters at a rally Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, in Los Angeles. Gore and Davis campaigned against a recall vote on Oct. 7, that would if successful remove Davis from his post.
Photo by Damian Dovarganes
Plane Clips Building
Dixie Chicks
The wing of a plane carrying the country band the Dixie Chicks clipped the side of a building after the jet landed at Glasgow Airport Friday afternoon, their spokeswoman said.
"The girls are all absolutely fine," their publicist, Barbara Charone, said from London. "I'm sure it wasn't pleasant. The incident happened when part of the wing just hit a corner of the building."
"No one was injured. It sounds worse than it really was," she added.
Malcolm Robertson, a spokesman for BAA Scottish airports, which runs Glasgow Airport, said the plane was taxiing at walking speed toward its parking place when a tip of one wing clipped a building.
All 15 passengers got off the plane and walked into the airport, Robertson said. A pilot, co-pilot and attendant also were on board.
Dixie Chicks
Michael Moore Favors
Wesley Clark
Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, known as a tough critic of resident George W. Bush, globalization's downside and the culture of arms, wants a new man in the White House: Democrat Wesley Clark.
In a letter that begins "Dear General Wesley Clark," of which AFP obtained a copy, Moore encourages the retired general to press hard to win the Democratic Party's nod.
Moore said that after the Oscar audience booed his acceptance speech, in which he blasted as "fictitious reasons" Bush's rationale for going to war in Iraq, Clark came to his defence on national television.
Moore hailed Clark's support for affirmative action programs at universities, his opposition to Bush's tax cut scheme, he support for abortion rights and for privacy concerns in the president's "war on terror."
Wesley Clark
Gets Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall, the star of "The Godfather" and "Tender Mercies" received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Thursday. The ceremony took place in front of the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards.
"It's a privilege for me to work as a professional actor. I am very proud of that, and I still got a lot in me before they start wiping away the drool," the 72-year-old Duvall, who won a best-actor Oscar for 1983's "Tender Mercies," told the crowd.
Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton called Duvall "one of my heroes and my mentor."
He is "the greatest actor that I have been around and has inspired me in everything I have done," Thornton said.
Robert Duvall
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
SNL Line
Slot Machines
The party at the Palms hotel-casino introduced five "SNL"-themed machines: "Church Lady," "Coneheads," "The Blues Brothers," "Pumping up With Hans and Franz" and "Saturday Night Frenzy."
The "Saturday Night Live" band led by current bandleader Lenny Pickett also performed for a crowd of about 1,000 gambling and entertainment professionals. It was the band's first appearance in Las Vegas.
The "SNL" slots will be available to all Nevada casinos, along with other casinos in New Jersey, Mississippi and California.
Slot Machines
www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/index.html
www.ballygaming.com
Singer Britney Spears is featured on the cover of the October 2003 issue of 'Rolling Stone' magazine in this undated publicity photograph. Spears is interviewed in the magazine about her celebrated kiss with singer Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in September 2003 in New York.
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Tops Forbes List, Again
Bill Gates
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, worth 46 billion dollars, topped a list of the 400 richest people in the United States, published by Forbes magazine.
It was the 10th year in a row in which Gates, the 47-year-old chairman of Microsoft, topped the rankings of the richest people in the United States, compiled by the business magazine. His fortune increased by three billion dollars over the past year, according to Forbes.
Warren Buffett, 73, chairman of the Berkshire Hathaway investment group, was second on the list with a fortune of 36 billion dollars. Ranked third was Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, 50, with a total net worth of 22 billion dollars.
The next five slots were held by members of the Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retail store chain, with a net worth of 20.5 billion dollars each.
In ninth position was Oracle Corp. chairman Lawrence Ellison, 59, with a fortune of 18 billion dollars. Rounding out the top 10 was Dell Inc. chief Michael Dell, 38, with a net worth of 13 billion dollars.
For more, Bill Gates
Sued Over Song Copyright
Eminem
A 70-year-old grandmother has filed a lawsuit against Eminem and his record labels for allegedly using a clip from a composition by her late husband on a 1999 song.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court alleges the Grammy-winning rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, used a clip from composer Ronald Stein's "Pigs Go Home" in his song "Guilty Conscience" from "The Slim Shady LP." According to court documents, the CD's liner notes state that "Guilty Conscience" contains "an interpolation from 'Go Home Pigs,'" but Stein isn't listed as the composer.
Plaintiff Harlene Stein alleges copyright infringement in her lawsuit, filed last month, and is seeking past royalties and compensatory damages.
Eminem
In Scuffle Near Blaine Box
Paul McCartney
Police are investigating an early morning scuffle involving former Beatle Paul McCartney near U.S. magician David Blaine's starvation stunt at Tower Bridge in London, a police source said Friday.
A photographer for the Evening Standard newspaper said he was hit after he tried to take a photograph of the multimillionaire, who had gone to view Blaine on his attempt to spend 44 days without food suspended in a glass box by the River Thames.
Photographer Kevin Wheal told the Evening Standard he had approached McCartney to take a picture.
"Then his friends, who seemed more like minders to me, grabbed hold of me and pushed my camera toward the ground," he said. "One of them said: 'there's no way you're going to take a picture, mate."'
Wheal said McCartney pushed him in the chest with his open palm, swore at him and said: "It's a private visit."
Paul McCartney
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Files $20M Suit Over House
Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger complains in a $20 million lawsuit that her Park Avenue apartment house is not a proper home because it is infested with toxic mold.
Jagger, 58, accused the owner and managing agents of her Manhattan building of negligence, breach of contract and fraud. She said in court papers that she had been constructively evicted because water leaks and mold contamination made the apartment uninhabitable.
A Sept. 11 New York Times article quoted Jagger, who was married to rocker Mick Jagger from 1971 to 1979, as saying that she had endured a "difficult" summer partly because "my apartment has poisonous mold." Her apartment building is near East 60th Street.
A search of Manhattan Housing Court records revealed that Jagger is being sued by the owner of the building, Katz Park Avenue Corp., for nonpayment of several months of the $4,000 monthly rent. The case is due back in court Oct. 6.
Bianca Jagger
Buddhist monk Genshin Fujinami is greeted by faithful believers upon his return to his temple at Mount Hiei, central Japan, on Thursday Sept. 18, 2003. The 44-year-old monk returned Thursday from his 24,800-mile spiritual journey in the Hiei mountains, a range of five peaks that rise above the ancient capital of Kyoto.
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Detectives Submit Findings
Phil Spector
Sheriff's detectives investigating the murder case involving legendary record producer Phil Spector say they have submitted their findings to prosecutors.
Detectives completed their preliminary investigation and submitted their findings Thursday to the district attorney "for their consideration of a criminal filing," sheriff's Deputy Scott Butler said. He said the department would not discuss the investigation further.
Spector, whose "wall of sound" recording technique transformed 1960s pop music, was arrested Feb. 3 for investigation of murder after the body of 40-year-old Lana Clarkson was found in the foyer of his hilltop Alhambra mansion. He was released after posting $1 million bail, which has been extended in past months while an investigation has been pending.
Spector suggested in a July Esquire magazine interview that Clarkson, an actress and hostess at the House of Blues, may have shot herself, but sheriff's investigators said in March that they discounted suicide as a possible cause of death.
Phil Spector
Overlooked Table Fetches $400K
Hickory Museum of Art
For more than 50 years, the little side table sat out of view in a vault at the Hickory Museum of Art.
With its ornate top of tiny glass pieces, it didn't fit in the museum's collection of American art. The micromosaic tabletop, attributed to 18th-century Italian artist Giacomo Raffaelli, had been displayed only a few times since it was donated to the museum in 1949.
Facing tough economic times for nonprofits, museum officials decided to sell the table, hoping it would fetch some $20,000 to $40,000 at auction.
But 10 collectors from Europe jetted to the auction earlier this month and began a bidding war. When the bidding was over, the table had sold to an anonymous European collector for $400,000.
A 1998 appraisal had assessed the value at about $7,500. But an expert was able to attribute the piece to Raffaelli, who lived from 1753 to 1836. The table's antique status was the wild card in the bidding, plus it had been kept in excellent condition, said Andrea Maricich, the museum's acting executive director.
Hickory Museum of Art
www.hickorymuseumofart.org
Sues Smiths
Housekeeper
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's former housekeeper is suing the celebrity couple for allegedly failing to pay her about 1,640 hours of overtime pay and firing her after she complained to them.
In a lawsuit filed Sept. 11 in Ventura Superior Court, Marilu Cooley said she worked for the Smiths and lived on their estate for 4 1/2 years. She said during that time she often worked more than 40 hours a week and received overtime pay during her first two years of employment.
But starting in March 1999, Cooley alleged the Smiths stopped paying her overtime and instead promised to pay her a $25,000 annual bonus.
Cooley said she never received the bonus and, after she complained about it, the Smiths fired her in October 2001.
Housekeeper
Arrested for Shooting at Car
Sisqo
R&B singer Sisqo was arrested last week after he allegedly shot at a car from the front porch of his home and resisted arrest, Baltimore County police said.
The 24-year-old singer, whose legal name is Mark Andrews, was arrested Sept. 13 and charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.
A man visiting a neighbor early that day told police that a man started firing at his vehicle while he was sitting in his vehicle. No one was injured in the shooting.
Andrews was released on bail. No court date has been set.
Sisqo
Only 3%, But What A 3%!
Arianna Huffington
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the international box-office star, but the most entertaining candidate in California's race for governor may well be Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington, the author, syndicated columnist and brassy television pundit who literally pushed her way into the campaign spotlight.
Huffington was once a darling of the right, an acolyte of Newt Gingrich and the wife of Michael Huffington, a former GOP congressman from Santa Barbara. But she is running as an independent on a populist platform, railing against special-interest politics and calling for public financing of campaigns.
Huffington got campaign experience during her husband's 1994 Senate race against Dianne Feinstein, in which he spent $28 million of his family fortune. The two divorced in 1997 after 11 years of marriage, and he later announced he was bisexual.
The latest polls indicate she has the support of just 3 percent of likely voters. But she has won considerable backing from Hollywood types, including Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand and a comedy-club worth of comics, including Al Franken and Harry Shearer.
"As a satirist, I will never publicly support a candidate who has a chance of winning," Shearer promised the several hundred guests during a recent evening of stand-up comedy that collected more than $300,000.
"The last person who took the politicians-should-be-fun platform I believe was Hubert Horatio Humphrey. And look what it did for him," Shearer said. "So I don't know if they mix or not. But it's fun to be around."
"She had a political transformation, which to me is a huge thing, because I would become a transsexual before I became a Republican," "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David said during the comic fund-raiser.
Arianna Huffington
www.votearianna.com
San Diego Zoo veterinarians Karen Lisi (L) and Karen Kearns perform a routine health exam on the Zoo's male panda cub, at the SBC Giant Panda Research Station, September 17, 2003. The Zoo vets determined the cub's health to be in great shape as they checked his heart rate and collected body measurements. The unnamed cub currently weighs 34 ounces and is 11.5 inches long. Picture taken September 17, 2003.
Photo by Ken Bohn
'The Osbournes'
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