'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The roofers kinda-sorta finished today. They left a ladder and an extension cord. The weather vane wasn't replaced on the top of the garage, and the dish still needs to be
re-mounted. Have to take pictures for the insurance company, too. Gonna be a busy Saturday.
Air was crisp - well, for here - guess that means it barely hit 70 ; )
The kid wants to wear the same Halloween costume this year as last - a killer whale. While it's a pretty cool costume, I always wanted something new every year. Now that I think about it, he wore his Itsy-Bitsy
Spider costume a couple of years, too. It had 6 extra arms, a bowtie and a little top hat.
Bought fresh crickets for Jo, the lucky (remaining) lizard. Sounds nicely rustic.
Tonight, Saturday, CBS has a fresh 'Touched By An Angle', a fresh 'The District', and a fresh 'The Agency'.
NBC has a fresh 'Forensic Files' then the movie 'Star Trek: Insurrection'. 'Saturday Night Live' is fresh with Sarah Michelle Gellar hosting & Faith Hill singing.
ABC has the movie 'Enemy Of The State'.
The WB has the unintentionally funny movie 'Shining Through'.
Faux has baseball & probably 2 reruns of 'Cops', too.
UPN has the movie 'Witness'.
Bravo is showing 'The Godfather' a couple of times.
TCM has 2 movies that I really like: First,
King Kong (1933). This is an uncut version, so you'll be able to see
Fay Wray's nipples in a couple of scenes (gasp!).
Later, it's Harvey (1950), starring
James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd, who said: ''Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" -- she always called me Elwood -- "In this world,
you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you may quote me.''
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Stands By His Remarks
Harry Belafonte
Singer Harry Belafonte said on Friday he stands by remarks likening Secretary of State Colin Powell to a plantation slave who is "serving his master well" but insisted he never meant to defame the former general.
"This was not a personal attack on Colin Powell," Belafonte said in a statement issued through his New York-based publicist. "However ... speaking on behalf of so many African American
citizens, I have found Colin Powell to be a tragic failure."
Belafonte, 75, who like Powell is a black man of Jamaican descent, responded in racially charged terms when asked during a radio interview on Tuesday about Powell's position in the
debate over possible U.S. military force against Iraq.
"...there were those slaves who lived on the plantation and there were those slaves that lived in the house," Belafonte said in the interview. "You got the privilege of living in
the house if you served the master exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him. Colin Powell's committed to come into the house of the master."
In his follow-up statement on Friday, Belafonte said he did not "intend to defame ... Powell as an individual." But he went on to largely repeat his criticism of the Cabinet secretary.
In characterizing Powell as "serving his master well," Belafonte said, he was referring to resident Bush.
"My analogy to the plantation existence I say without regret, and maintain that the overwhelming majority of black people in this country agree that the impending war with Iraq
is a colossal mistake," the entertainer said.
Harry Belafonte
Honored at London Home
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson, the deep-voiced American singer and pioneering civil rights activist, was honored at the north London home where he lived from 1929 to 1930.
Singer Cleo Laine unveiled a blue plaque from the preservation group English Heritage on Thursday which has been attached to the house in Branch Hill, Hampstead.
Robeson, one of the first black performers to gain international acclaim, is probably best known for his rendition of the haunting "Ol' Man River" from the musical "Show Boat."
Blacklisted during the McCarthy era for his political beliefs, he died in 1976.
"Paul Robeson's name should be lauded in America and the world, as is Dr. Martin Luther King's," Laine said.
Robeson's son, Paul Jr., welcomed the honor, saying it was an appropriate symbolic recognition of a significant period of his father's artistic and political growth in London.
Paul Robeson
Ratings Are Down
'The West Wing'
Ratings for "The West Wing" have tumbled this fall -- but that's not all bad news for the folks at NBC or the show's producer, Warner Bros. TV.
For NBC, the weakening of an anchor show is hardly a cause for celebration, particularly given the so-so performance of its new comedies and the potential exit of "Friends" this May.
Yet the timing of "West Wing's" decline is actually perfect for NBC, since the network is just a few months away from starting talks with Warner Bros. over extending the
Emmy-winning White House drama's license fee agreement.
With "Wing" less of a powerhouse -- the series is down a full 33% in adults 18-49 vs. the same period a year ago, and 16% compared with its 2001-02 average -- the studio
might have less leverage to hold up NBC for an outrageous per-episode sum.
And better the series fade now as it begins its fourth season than after NBC locks in for a few more years (as happened to ABC after the network renewed "The Drew Carey Show" for three years.)
Executives note that advertisers still pay a premium to air their spots during "The West Wing." As NBC loves to tell ad buyers each May, no other show on TV snags
a bigger share of viewers with annual incomes over $75,000.
'The West Wing'
2000 Years Old
'London'
Archaeologists excavating an ancient site in London said on October 11, 2002 that they had unearthed the oldest known plaque inscribed with the city's Roman name. The approximately 2000-year-old
Italian marble plaque, found in the Southwark area of London at the junction of three key Roman roads on October 3, is dedicated to the Roman emperors and the god Mars from London-based merchant
Tiberinius Celerianus.
Photo by Peter Macdiarmid
Recalls Being Ozzy's Neighbor
Pat Boone
According to the Osbournes, Pat Boone is the best neighbor one could ever have.
Boone believes they feel that way about him because "I've visited with Ozzy and Sharon, and nights when they had loud music playing, they never heard any complaints from me."
He says as a fellow musician, he "expected to hear loud music coming from Ozzy's house. It wasn't him as much as it were his kids that were playing (loud) music, anyway."
Speaking of music, Boone says he was surprised to hear his rendition of "Crazy Train" used as their show's theme song. The singer says he's seen nearly every episode of "The Osbournes."
In recalling his three years as their neighbor, he said "his fondest memory ... was riding bikes with Sharon through Beverly Hills on the sidewalks, and she's towing Ozzy behind
her in a wagon because (of his) balance problem."
Pat Boone
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://www.erinhartshow.com, or to join her mailing list, drop a
note to erinistas@aol.com
Joins Cast of 'Boston Public'
Tamyra Gray
Tamyra Gray, a finalist on the Fox talent show "American Idol," has joined the cast of the network's dramatic series "Boston Public."
Fox announced Thursday that Gray, who is from Norcross, will portray a Winslow High School student in four episodes, with her first appearance coinciding with the February sweeps.
Atlanta-born Justin Guarini, the runner-up on "American Idol," has been signed to a record contract with the U.K.-based 19 Recordings Limited, which is headed by the show's creator, Simon Fuller.
Tamyra Gray
Mayor Will Not March Without Sopranos
Bloomberg Says 'Basta!'
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Friday he will not march in the Columbus Day parade because organizers have refused to let him bring actors from the hit television show "The Sopranos."
The Italian-American group Columbus Citizens Foundation, which has run the parade for 58 years, asked Bloomberg to rescind his invitation to two Sopranos cast members because it was "deeply offended
by this program's extremely negative and ugly stereotyping of our people."
Bloomberg said during his weekly radio program that he would not march in Monday's parade without the actors.
"I'm sorry if anybody is annoyed but if my friends can't march, or people that I think have done things for the city, then I'll find some other way to celebrate the Italian heritage," he said.
The mayor previously said he had invited two cast members of the HBO show -- Dominic Chianese, who plays New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano's Uncle Junior, and Lorraine Bracco, who plays Soprano's
psychiatrist -- to walk with him during the parade on Fifth Avenue because of the work they do for the city.
Bloomberg Says 'Basta!'
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Never Stopped Loving Marilyn
Joe DiMaggio
American baseball legend Joe DiMaggio had planned to remarry his ex-wife Marilyn Monroe just before her death and remained obsessed with her for the rest of his life, a close friend says in a new book.
"Marilyn was the Great DiMaggio's only love, the one who reached deep into his soul, where he kept his emotions under double lock," Morris Engelberg, DiMaggio's lawyer and friend in the later years of his life,
writes in "DiMaggio, Setting the Record Straight."
"For the last 37 years of his life, he ached at the thought of how close they had come to remarrying, only to be thwarted by her death."
The book's publisher made the advance excerpts from the book, which is to be published early next year, available to Reuters during the Frankfurt Book Fair, the premiere showcase for the publishing industry with editors from 110 countries.
The book also tells of DiMaggio's hatred for singer Frank Sinatra and for the entire Kennedy clan because of the relationship President John Kennedy and his brother Robert had with Monroe.
For more, Joe DiMaggio
Ivory Coast
Cocoa Beans
Ivorian women Agnes Moya shows dry cocoa beans at the Ebimpe village west of Abidjan, October 11, 2002. At least 4,500 immigrant workers have fled plantations fearing ethnic bloodshed in key cocoa growing
regions of western Ivory Coast, local representatives of neighbouring Burkina Faso said on Thursday.
Photo by Juda Ngwenya
Invites Air Force to Ranch
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson is inviting more than 200 Air Force Members and their families to spend the day at his Neverland Ranch in California on Saturday.
The air force personnel are stationed at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is located near the Neverland Ranch. The singer is issuing the invite as a gesture of thanks to base members who have served
overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom — the Bush administration-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
Michael Jackson
Faces $100 Million Lawwuit From Own Father
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston finds herself facing a $100 million lawsuit — brought by her father's company, John Houston Entertainment. The company filed a breach of contract lawsuit back in August,
accusing the singer of not paying for services rendered — including helping her with her drug bust in January 2000 and helping land her big record deal with Arista.
A company official quotes John Houston as saying he feels ripped off by Whitney's people — and wants to be paid, adding that he's 100 percent behind the lawsuit against his daughter.
Meanwhile, Whitney's spokeswoman, Nancy Seltzer, says she spoke to the singer's dad recently, and he called the whole thing ridiculous. Seltzer told MTV News the case
is a situation where "two people who seem to be dragged into this, which is neither of their own doing."
Whitney Houston
BartCop TV!
Now 'Spiritual Girl'
Madonna
Madonna says she wants to shed her Material Girl image and start helping the world.
"I'd like to be more involved in making the world a better place," she told Britain's mass-circulation Daily Mirror newspaper on Thursday.
"I'd like to be more concerned about humanity," said the 44-year-old pop superstar.
"There is only one thing that lasts and that's your soul and if you don't pay attention to that, all the money in the world is not going to help you.
"I'd like to be more involved in bringing about world peace," she added.
"I can write the greatest songs and make the most fabulous films and be a fashion icon and conquer the world, but if there isn't a world to conquer, what's the point?"
Madonna
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Special shape hot air balloons light up during an evening balloon glow at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M. Thursday Oct. 10, 2002. The fiesta runs until Sunday.
Photo by Pat Vasquez-Cunningham
Show Goes On Despite Sets At Sea
Los Angeles Opera
Declaring the show must go on, Los Angeles Opera on Thursday scrambled to build an entire stage set in two weeks after falling victim to the West Coast ports shutdown.
A container ship carrying sets, costumes and props for the staging of the renowned Kirov Opera production of "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" was rerouted to Tokyo late last week because of the work dispute that closed all
West Coast ports for 10 days.
Rather than cancel one of its season highlights, Los Angeles Opera decided to construct a new set with the aim of meeting the scheduled Oct. 23 opening night. Set construction for an opera would normally take up to two months.
Los Angeles Opera had planned to stage the production of composer Dmitri Shostakovich's masterpiece using the original Kirov Opera sets, costumes, orchestra and singers. But the five containers carrying
the sets and costumes were part of a much larger consignment of other goods rerouted to Tokyo on Friday by the shipping company after fruitless efforts to dock in California.
Opera officials are arranging to have the costumes unpacked once they arrive in Tokyo and flown back to Los Angeles by air -- hopefully arriving by Oct. 18.
But the sets are too large to be shipped by air so Los Angeles Opera flew the original set designs over from Russia and a team of 16 carpenters on Thursday launched into a run of 14 hour days to get the work done in time.
Los Angeles Opera
'Vibrant Competitive Market' Means 2?
FCC
After approving every major media merger for the past 30 years, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday resoundingly rejected the $14 billion EchoStar/DirecTV union as a monopoly that could have devastating consequences for the consumer.
The unanimous vote of the Republican-controlled FCC leaves the deal -- which would have united the country's two largest satellite broadcasters -- gasping for life.
Even if antitrust attorneys at the U.S. Dept. of Justice approve the marriage, which appears unlikely, the companies can't proceed without the required FCC licenses.
"I decline the invitation to turn our national communications policy back so many years," FCC chairman Michael Powell said. "The combination of EchoStar and DirecTV would have us replace a vibrant competitive market with a regulated monopoly."
There was no small irony to the FCC vote; it's supposed to be Democrats who reject mergers, not the GOP. It also was a stinging blow for EchoStar Communications Corp. chairman Charlie Ergen, the merger's mastermind.
FCC
M.C. Escher (and check out the 'virtual ride')
Museum Group Acquires Handwritten Manuscript
George Washington
A group of Pennsylvania museums has acquired George Washington's handwritten account of his early military career, a rare manuscript that America's first president never intended to preserve.
The War for Empire Consortium, a group of French and Indian War sites, purchased the 11-page document, written in the late 1780s, from the Malcolm Forbes estate at Christie's auction house on Wednesday.
"It's the only piece of specifically autobiographical writing Washington ever did," said Fred Anderson, a scholar of early American history at the University of Colorado.
Washington refers to himself in the third person as he describes his campaign against the French in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1754 during the French and Indian War.
It's the most important historic document associated with southwestern Pennsylvania and will be an important resource as the consortium prepares for the 250th anniversary of the war in July 2004, said Chuck Smith, the
site administrator for the Fort Pitt Museum and the Bushy Run Battlefield.
George Washington
Escher's ''Ascending and Descending'' in LEGOs
Opera Returns to Egypt's Pyramids
'Aida'
A cast of hundreds staged a lavish open-air performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" against the silhouettes of Egypt's ancient pyramids at Giza on Thursday.
Under a clear starry sky and crescent moon, opera goers watched the tragic love story of Radames, an Egyptian commander, and Aida, his Ethiopian love, with the 4,500-year old pyramids providing fitting scenery for the tale set in ancient Egypt.
The cast, clad in shimmering gold robes, included 400 soldiers, 35 ballet dancers and a 150-member voice choir. "It is the biggest artistic event in Egypt in the year," Cairo Opera House Chairman Samir Farag said.
The alfresco extravaganza, popular with foreign tourists, had been a regular fixture on the international opera calendar but was canceled in 2000 and again in 2001 following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The show moved to the Pyramids in 1998 from what had become its regular venue in the southern town of Luxor, home to a wealth of pharonic tombs and temples, after the 1997 massacre of 58 foreigners and four Egyptians by Muslim militants.
Aida is being played by Russia's Elena Zelenskaya, Galina Kalinina from Germany and Egypt's Iman Mostapha.
'Aida'
Patriarch Of Hell's Angel
Sonny Barger
Sonny Barger is on a highway to hell and that's just the way he likes it.
The legendary Hell's Angels patriarch, who helped found the motorcycle club almost 50 years ago, has battled cancer and heart disease as fiercely as the law, but has no intention of allowing age to mellow him -- or
giving up the free-wheeling lifestyle he loves.
The grizzled, tattooed Californian is the kind of rough, tough, unrepentant hard man that country and western songs are written about.
Barger said he was constantly being asked to tell his stories about the Angels' history, particularly during the 1950s and 60s when their hell-raising exploits shocked "straight America" and branded them as outlaws.
"But probably the question that I get asked the most is what happened at Altamont," he said in reference to an infamous Rolling Stones concert near San Francisco in 1969 when the Angels' provided security in return for a few kegs of beer.
During the concert, which started after the crowd was kept waiting for hours, a fight broke out and an Angel stabbed a man to death. The band decided to pull the plug.
"Keith Richards told me the band wasn't going to play anymore until we stopped the violence. I stood next to him and stuck my pistol in his side and told him to start playing his guitar or he was dead. He played."
The writer Hunter S. Thompson was among those celebrities who sought him out in the 60s, intrigued by the bikers' outlaw life.
For the rest, Sonny Barger
Baby Tapir
Mandula
Mandula, or Almond, a two-week old baby tapir, looks into the camera at the zoo in Szeged, Hungary, some 150 miles south of Budapest, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2002. Mandula is the
first tapir to be born in Hungary.
Photo by Gyoergy Nemeth
'The Osbournes'
Freshly Updated - 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
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'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
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