'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
He's Been Busy, Again!
the worried shrimp
Arrogance
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
So, while watching MLB tonight, the game was on the local Faux O&O. Sure sounded like the coverage was provided by the B-Team (as opposed to the 'A-Team'). When the game
finally wrapped, the final tag was 'This has been a presentation of ESPN', yet, the logo on the show was for Disney Family, while the end-product was aired on KTTV, Faux for Los Angeles!
Hope this form of 'consolidation' makes a Powell happy because it scares the crap out of me.
The kittens seem to think that they're running their own version of the Indy 500 tonight.
Sure could use some reader generated reviews of the new TV season! Come on - put your spin into words & share!
Tonight, Saturday, CBS has a 'Trifecta' of freshness - a fresh 'Touched By An Angle', a fresh 'The District', and a fresh 'The Agency'.
NBC offers a rerun of 'The 40th Anniversary Of The Improv', then reruns the movie 'Men In Black'. Later, it's the season premiere of 'Saturday Night Live', with Matt Damon as host, and Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band as the musical act.
ABC re-re-reruns the movie 'Air Force One'.
The WB has the movie 'Zero Effect'.
Faux fills time with 4 reruns of 'Cops'.
UPN has the movie 'Rambo III'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Big Dog Watch Continues
Bill Clinton In Berlin
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, right, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pose on the balcony of Schroeder's apartment in the chancellery in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin Friday, Oct. 4, 2002.
Schroeder and Clinton met for a breakfast in Schroeder's apartment.
Photo by Michael Kappeler
It Was 40 Years Ago Today
First Beatles Single
The first single released by the Beatles, the British pop group that was to take the world by storm, was issued exactly 40 years ago today.
Love Me Do, recorded in 18 takes in London's Abbey Road Studios on September 11, 1962, was released just over three weeks later on October 5.
It peaked in the British charts at number 17 but briefly hit the number one spot in the United States when it was finally released there in April 1964 as the band's second U.S. single.
The song featured on the Please Please Me album issued in 1963 -- the first of 13 albums released by the band in just seven years.
It was an auspicious debut for the Fab Four -- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- who went on to score a total of 27 number one singles on either side of the Atlantic.
For a bit more, First Beatles Single
#22
'Don't Give Up'
Awarded Thursday Night
Ig® Nobel Honors
The definitive study on bellybutton lint, a dog-to-person translation device and an inquiry into what arouses ostriches were recognized Thursday with Ig Nobel prizes for dubious contributions to science and cocktail-party conversations everywhere.
The Ig Nobel Prizes, awarded annually at Harvard University as a spoof of the Nobel ceremony, recognize achievements that "cannot or should not be reproduced."
"It's a great honor. It introduces people to the idea that science is fun," said Karl Kruszelnicki, a University of Sydney researcher who wrote the paper on bellybutton lint.
Kruszelnicki, at his own expense, studied bellybutton lint samples sent to him by 5,000 people. He concluded the lint is a combination of clothing fibers and skin cells that are led to the navel, via body hair, "as all roads lead to Rome."
"Your typical generator of bellybutton lint or fluff is a slightly overweight, middle-aged male with a hairy abdomen," Kruszelnicki said.
A potentially more practical achievement is a Japanese device that measures the tone of a dog's bark and relays his mood. The device is on the market in Japan, and an English version, called Bow-Lingual, should be ready in about a year.
British scientists were honored for research that found that ostriches become more amorous with each other when a human is around. In fact, ostriches eventually start putting the moves on humans.
In economics, the executives and auditors at Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Andersen and a host of other companies were commended by the Ig Nobel committee "for adapting the mathematical concept of imaginary numbers for use in the business world."
Actual Nobel Laureates bestow the awards at a raucous ceremony, during which the winners are hailed with cheers and a flurry of paper airplanes.
Winners are selected from thousands of nominations by a secret committee.
Ig® Nobel Honors
Here are the Winners of the 2002 Ig® Nobel Prizes.
My favorite '2002 Ig® Nobel Winner' site - The Wooden Periodic Table Table
El Paso To Celebrate Native Son
Gene Roddenberry
Trekkies in town for the city's first "Star Trek" convention won't need star charts to find the birthplace of Gene Roddenberry, creator of the sci-fi TV series.
By the time the convention begins this weekend, the central El Paso site where Roddenberry was born in 1921 will be marked with a wooden plaque at Sylvia's Flowers.
The plaque reads: "He created a universe for his future and that universe was 'Star Trek,' which became a worldwide phenomenon."
Roddenberry died in 1991 at age 70.
Gene Roddenberry
Star No. 2,205 On The Hollywood Walk of Fame
Jackie Chan
Actor Jackie Chan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, close to the entrance to the theater where the Academy Awards are presented.
Asia's biggest movie box office star for more than 20 years, Chan was asked what's next in his career and he said: "The Oscar."
Chan, 48, has star No. 2,205 on the Walk of Fame, only about 25 feet from the entrance to the Kodak Theater. The theater became the new home for the Oscar presentations last spring.
About 500 people gathered for the midday ceremony, including actor, producer and writer Owen Wilson, who appeared with Chan in "Shanghai Noon."
Jackie Chan
Snarky Gossip
2 Paul's & A Kurt
Not everyone had a sycophantic reaction to Bono at Monday's panel on the state of the economy hosted by Harry Evans. Most of the luminaries at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse nodded in agreement when the U2 frontman pleaded for more charity for Africa.
But Paul Theroux turned to his tablemate, Kurt Vonnegut, and said: "I've hitchhiked, walked and taken public transportation the length of Africa. It's what my new book is about. I'm distrustful of those who've seen it by private plane. The Africans,
rich and poor, need to work on saving Africa. It can't be done from the outside." So there.
2 Paul's & A Kurt
Bring Back Kirk: The Official Site
Non-Hate Based Talk Radio !
Erin Hart
Non-hate based talk radio - what a concept!
Join Erin Hart at regulation time (9 pm to 1 am [pst] Sat & Sun ) on www.710kiro.com or www.kiro710.com (It's
a browser thing), even though KIRO no longers streams audio - BOO. HISS.
There's a chatroom, too!
For more details, visit Erin's fan page (courtesy of 14Dem), http://erinistas.com/, or to join her mailing list, drop a
note to erinistas@aol.com
Off 'American Idol's' Second Season
Brian Dunkleman
"American Idol" co-host and sometimes Coca-Cola pitchman Brian Dunkleman won't be part of the hit Fox reality show's second season.
Dunkleman's reps had been talking to Fox and show producers 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia about a new deal, but Dunkleman's spokeswoman issued a statement Thursday declaring the standup comic-thesp was done talking.
"I have decided not to return for season two in order to pursue other opportunities in the world of TV and feature films," Dunkleman said, adding that he was "so grateful" for the opportunity "Idol" had given him.
Indeed, Dunkleman and co-host Ryan Seacrest were the subject of a vicious parody during the August MTV Video Music Awards.
Seacrest recently inked a six-figure deal for a second season of "Idol," while snarky judge Simon Cowell will also be back.
Brian Dunkleman
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To Play Pancho Villa
Antonio Banderas
We'll soon get to see what Antonio Banderas looks like in a big, droopy mustache. He'll star as Pancho Villa in a movie called "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself."
It's based on a real incident where Villa sold the rights to a film about himself to the American movie industry. Villa wanted to raise money during 1910 through 1917
to help pay for the Mexican Revolution. This new movie follows a group of American filmmakers as they shot actual battles for the 1914 silent movie "The Life of Pancho Villa."
HBO Films is producing the movie.
Antonio Banderas
'Inside the Actors Studio'
Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese was grilled for 31/2 hours by James Lipton for "Inside the Actors Studio," which airs on Bravo. Scorsese, who directed the long-awaited "Gangs of New York," revealed that his
grandmother once punched a nun; he suffered from asthma and allergies and didn't play sports as a child; and he had Sharon Stone watch "Valley of the Dolls" to prepare for her Oscar-nominated
performance as a mob moll in "Casino."
Martin Scorsese
Massachusetts
Boston
Jackie Wattenberg of Melrose, Mass., left-foreground, walks with a fellow demonstrator who identified himself as "Vermin Supreme" of Rockport, Mass., background, holding an anti-war sign and chanting outside a Boston
hotel, Friday, Oct. 4, 2002, where resident Bush and Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney were attending a campaign fundraiser.
Photo by Josh Reynolds
TV Coverage Wins Casey Journalism Award
Nick's Crusade
The Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families is a non-partisan national resource for professional journalists who cover the lives of children and families in the United States, particularly the disadvantaged. CJC is a program of the
Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
The winner in ''Television: Short Form'' is Bruce Mildwurf, WPMI-TV/Mobile, Ala ('NBC 15')., for ''Nick's Crusade.''
Judges' comments included: An original, moving piece of journalism that explored a little-known policy quirk with a major impact: Alabama's Medicaid coverage requires disabled youths to move into out-of-home nursing care once they reach 21. Refusing
to succumb to television's chronic memory lapses, Mildwurf continued to follow the battle of Nick Dupree for months, to the state capital and even to Washington, D.C. He captured the larger picture without ever losing the drama of Dupree's plight.
To read the whole story, Bruce Mildwurf, WPMI-TV/Mobile, Ala
Better yet, check out Nick's Crusade!
'The Olsen Twins'
Mary-Kate & Ashley
Teen celebrities and marketing whizzes Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and their Dualstar Entertainment Group on Thursday launched a product brand name for their core, young girl fans even as the pair grows older.
The girls, once dubbed "The Olsen Twins," started their television careers as babies on the sitcom "Full House," then leveraged their celebrity into a business of videos, books,
apparel and fashion accessories with 2002 total sales nearing $1 billion.
The Olsens turned 16 years-old on June 13, and as their privately-held Dualstar, co-founded with Los Angeles attorney Robert Thorne, has grown, industry experts have wondered how
Mary-Kate and Ashley could stay relevant to core fans ranging in age from about 2 years-old to their early teens.
The new brand, "Mary-Kate and Ashley in ACTION!," will be featured on traditional products like books and videos, but also extend to new areas like greeting cards, even toothpaste.
Already, the new brand is being promoted with Kellogg Co.'s Corn Pops and Apple Jacks cereals currently in stores.
Mary-Kate & Ashley
BartCop TV!
They're B-a-a-a-a-c-c-k
Jim & Tammy Faye
It's been years since they left the national spotlight, but televangelism's best-known couple — Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner — are still being hounded for $3 million in back taxes.
The Internal Revenue Service says Bakker and Messner owe personal income taxes from the 1980s when they were building their Praise The Lord empire, The Charlotte Observer reported Friday.
Their Fort Mill, S.C., theme park and retreat — Heritage USA — drew 6 million visitors at its 1986 peak. But the ministry collapsed after revelations of Jim Bakker's sexual encounter with a former church secretary.
He later went to prison for bilking followers out of $158 million.
Usually, the IRS has 10 years to collect taxes, but recent court filings show the agency continues dunning Bakker and Messner for taxes, some more than 20 years old.
For more than 15 years, the IRS has been trying to collect taxes it says the Bakkers owe from 1981 through 1986. As a normal part of the collection process, the agency also had filed liens against the former couple.
With a lien in place, the IRS can seize assets, such as real estate and bank accounts, to pay taxes. But Roe Messner said there are no assets. Messner said they rent their Matthews, N.C., home.
When the agency's 10-year collection period expires, liens usually expire, too. Court documents filed in July and September in county courts in Charlotte and York, S.C., indicate the IRS "mistakenly" allowed
the liens to expire. The agency reinstated the liens.
Jim & Tammy Faye
Quiksilver Pro Surfing Tournament
Wipeout!
Kelly Slater of Florida is thrown by a massive wave during a wipeout at the Quiksilver Pro surfing tournament in Hossegor, France, Oct. 4, 2002.
Photo by Grant Ellis
Cuts Disney's Credit Rating
Standard & Poor
Standard & Poor's said Friday it lowered the credit rating of The Walt Disney Company one notch because of worries the media giant's earnings will be crimped for at least a year.
The securities rating agency said it downgraded Disney's long-term corporate credit to triple-B-plus from single-A-minus because of expectations that earnings will "recover more gradually
than management's previous guidance had indicated."
The credit-rating downgrade brings the company's long-term bonds down to medium investment quality from high-medium investment quality, with a higher element of risk.
The move follows an Aug. 26 downgrade by Fitch Investors Service, Inc. of Disney's senior unsecured debt to triple-B-plus from single-A-minus.
Standard & Poor
TVShow - worldwide television shows, stars and guides
Station Suspends DJ For 'Prank'
KUPD-FM
A radio station suspended the disc jockey who called Darryl Kile's widow in an on-air prank and asked if she had a date to Thursday's playoff game.
KUPD-FM disc jockey Beau Duran was suspended Friday for at least a week, said Chuck Artigue, market manager for the Sandusky Group, which owns the station.
Artigue announced the suspension to The Arizona Republic and Phoenix television stations but didn't return repeated phone messages from The Associated Press on Friday.
Flynn Kile hung up the phone after Duran called her Phoenix hotel room.
Her husband, a starting pitcher for the Cardinals, was found dead in his bed at the team's hotel in Chicago on June 22. An autopsy showed the 33-year-old pitcher died from blocked coronary arteries.
The station's Web site carried an apology Friday headlined ``In Response to Our Misjudgment.'' It said the prank ``was not intended to be hurtful or malicious in any way.''
KUPD-FM
Tries a Comeback
Paula Poundstone
Paula Poundstone says she can't hide from her arrest last year on child abuse charges as she tries to resume her standup comedy career.
"I am not a victim," Poundstone told Newsday before an appearance Friday night at a small club on Long Island, part of a three-day swing through the Northeast this weekend. "I am absolutely
responsible for what has happened in my life, and it is safe to say there has been some unfairness."
Poundstone lost custody of her three adopted children after pleading no contest last year to a felony count of child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of infliction of injury on a child. The
endangerment charge involved driving while drunk with children in her car.
The children were placed with a court-approved foster parent, a friend of the comedian's. Poundstone, 42, sees the children daily but the visits are monitored.
"I am back working — not as much as I would like to, probably for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the economy," said Poundstone, who won the 1989 American Comedy Award for best female comedy club standup comic.
Paula Poundstone
Digitally Altered
Ralph Fiennes
Director Brett Ratner has been quoted in several overseas publications as saying that he had to digitally alter the actor in nude scenes because the shots were distracting. "We had to digitally remove part of his [private region,]"
Ratner is quoted as saying in the London Mirror. At an early screening of the flick, people in the audience reportedly gasped.
The star of "The English Patient" — perhaps not surprisingly — had turned down the opportunity to wear a robe or some other garment to protect his modesty. "It's ridiculous when men get out of bed wearing underwear or pants after sleeping
with a girl — it's just not realistic," he told a reporter. "Nudity's no big deal to me."
Ralph Fiennes
Becoming the Simpsons?
Italian Families
Traditional Italian families are turning into a nation of "Simpsons" clones, abandoning mamma's pasta for the sort of habits favored by America's most dysfunctional cartoon family, according to experts
gathering near Florence this weekend in a desperate effort to reverse the trend.
Parents Homer and Marge and children Bart, Lisa, and Maggie from the cult American series have become real-life role models for Italians, say Dr. Loris Moroni and colleagues. The trend is so widespread that
linguists, nutritionists, psychologists and sociologists have set up a "City of Simpsons" conference to look at similarities.
Just like the Simpsons, Italian families watch a lot of TV, talk too much on their cellular phones and eat badly at any time of the day, Moroni said.
Homer is providing inspiration for idle dads throughout the country and obnoxious, spiky-haired Bart is the idol of Italian teenagers, Professor Enzo Linari, the conference curator, said.
"It is quite alarming. Though we should also consider that the Simpsons, with all their defects, still provide some family values. In the best family tradition, they love one another," Linari told Reuters Health.
Italian Families
Central Java Coast
Hawksbill Turtle
A 33-pound Hawksbill turtle struggles toward the ocean on a beach in central Java after being released by an Indonesian known for his efforts to preserve the creatures. For the last three years Agus Santoso has been trying to educate fishermen
that turtles are protected species, and helps them out by buying any they catch along a series of beaches not far from Indonesia's ancient royal capital, Yogyakarta. He also protects turtle eggs. Picture taken Sept. 24, 2002.
'The Osbournes'
Updated! 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
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