'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Comment
Re: Jimi Hendrix
Yes, Jimi served in the 101st. It influenced his music too - listen to
Machine Gun and hear the drums, and his guitar, become an automatic weapon.
When he played his version of the National Anthem at Woodstock you could
almost see the bombs bursting in air.
If you're looking for another good example of counter-culture / hippy rock
star who served in the military (and also played at Woodstock), may I
present my friend Country Joe McDonald (gimme an F) who served in the Navy
in the early to mid 60s. That's what gave the authenticity to the Fixin to
Die Rag. He would love to have you visit his web page.
Also, Bill Graham, who ran the concerts at the Fillmore was a Korean War
Vet, though he wasn't exactly a hippy.
I'm sure there are a few more.
John Zutz
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Thanks, John!
from Mark
General Pete's Words of Wisdom
Appearing on the April 6, 2003 edition of NBC News'
Meet the Press, General Peter Pace and Dr. Paul
Wolfowitz were questioned by Tim Russert about troop
strength requirements in Iraq. Gen. Pete and Dr. Paul
stuck to the "Operation Iraqi Cake Walk" party line of
the Bush administration.
more ...
Selected Saturday Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another foggy morning, sunny afternoon.
Did some grocery shopping. Fresh produce is a bit more difficult to find, and little stores are a lot busier with the strike.
Stopped by a nursery & picked up some onion sets, and seeds for lettuce & other green stuff.
The kid found some carnivorous plants there, so we'll be adding them to the 'terrarium o'death' this weekend.
Tonight, Saturday, CBS begins the evening with '48 Hours', followed by a FRESH 'Hack', then a
FRESH 'The District'.
NBC fills the night with the movie 'Erin Brockovich'.
'SNL' is FRESH, with Halle Berry hosting, with music by Britney Spears (and rumors of an appearance by Madonna).
ABC starts the night with the movie 'Toy Story 2', then a FRESH 'Dragnet'.
The WB offers the movie 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'.
Faux is all 'Cops' all night.
'Mad TV' has Nicole Sullivan as host, with the cast of 'Jackass'.
UPN fills the night with the movie 'Once Bitten'.
A&E has 'City Confidential', 'American Justice', 'Cold Case Files', and 'Crossing Jordan'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Hunter', followed by the movie 'The Untouchables', then the movie 'Usual Suspects'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 1;
[6:40pm] 'My Hero' - Episode 2;
[7:20pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 2;
[8pm] 'The Vice' - Sons;
[10pm] 'Tipping the Velvet' - Episode 3;
[11pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Heath Ledger;
[11:30pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Sophia Loren;
[12am] 'The Vice' - Sons;
[2am] 'Tipping the Velvet' - Episode 3;
[3am] 'So Graham Norton' - Heath Ledger;
[3:30am] 'So Graham Norton' - Sophia Loren;
[4am] 'The Vice' - Sons; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Queer Eye', the movie 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde', then the movie 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'.
History has 'Battlefield Detectives', 'Come Home Alive', and 'Dead Reckoning'.
SciFi has the movie 'Shark Attack 3: Megalodon', followed by the movie 'Shark Hunter', then the movie 'Wolfen'.
TCM -
[6:15am] 'The Sisters' (1938);
[8am] 'The Killer Is Loose' (1956);
[9:30am] 'MGM Parade Show #19' (1955);
[10am] 'Vera Cruz' (1954);
[12pm] 'Comanche Station' (1960);
[1:30pm] 'Paint Your Wagon' (1970);
[4:30pm] 'Johnny Guitar' (1954);
[6:30pm] 'Mail Order Bride' (1964);
[8pm] 'The Miracle of Morgan's Creek' (1944);
[10:15pm] 'Georgy Girl' (1966);
[12am] 'The Miracle of Morgan's Creek' (1944);
[2:15am] 'The Landlord' (1970); and
[4:15am 'Murder Ahoy' (1964). (ALL TIMES EDT)
Celebrating the 40th anniversary screening of director Stanley Kramer's comedy film 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World' and the 40th anniversary of the Cinerama Dome are (L-R) honorary mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant, actor Billy Bob Thornton, Karen Kramer, widow of the director and their daughter Katherine in Hollywood October 16, 2003. Sid Caesar starred in the film that featured an all-star cast including the late Spencer Tracy, Buddy Hackett, Milton Berle, Jimmy Durante and others. The classic comedy film was the first film to premiere at the Cinerama Dome in 1963 and the film ran for over one year.
Photo by Fred Prouser
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Joining Britney On 'SNL'?
Madonna
Will Madonna join Britney Spears on NBC's Saturday Night Live Saturday (October 18)? Spears will perform her single "Me Against The Music" on the program, and rumor has it that her friend Madonna may join her as a surprise guest for the performance. There's been no official confirmation that Madonna will show, so fans will just have to tune in to find out.
The video for "Me Against The Music" featuring Madonna will debut on MTV's Making The Video on October 20.
Madonna
Editorial Says Yankees Lost
NY Post
On the morning after the New York Yankees vanquished the Boston Red Sox to win the American League pennant, some editions of the Post carried an editorial bemoaning a loss for the Bronx Bombers.
"The Yankees couldn't get the job done," read the editorial. "The hitting fell short and the bullpen simply didn't deliver. It's a crying shame that Roger Clemens' career had to end on a losing note."
Post Editor in Chief Col Allan blamed the foul-up on a simple production error.
NY Post
The Smoking Gun
Thanks, Alex!
Returning for CBS Reunion
Mayberry Veterans
Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knots and Jim Nabors will take a sentimental journey back to the fictional town of Mayberry next month in a CBS reunion special 35 years after the "Andy Griffith Show" ended its run.
Griffith, 77, who starred as the affable, folksy sheriff and widowed father, Andy Taylor, will host and narrate the one-hour special, slated for Nov. 11, shot on a replica of the courthouse set that appeared in the classic comedy series.
The special will feature the four veterans reminiscing about the series, highlights from the show, and separate interviews with other surviving cast members, including George Lindsay (Goober) and Betty Lynn (Barney's girlfriend, Thelma Lou).
Mayberry Veterans
Granny in '8 Simple Rules'
Suzanne Pleshette
Veteran television actress Suzanne Pleshette will join comedy "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" to help fill the void left by the death of the show's star John Ritter, ABC said on Friday.
Pleshette, co-star of the 1970s series "The Bob Newhart Show," and James Garner, star of "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files" will appear as the parents of widow Cate Hennessy, played by Katey Sagal, and grandparents to her teenage children.
The grandparents are separated but put aside their differences to comfort the family after the unexpected death of Paul Hennessy, Cate's husband who had been played by Ritter.
Pleshette and Garner will join the show for a one-hour special on Nov. 4, the first post-Ritter show. Garner is slated to continue for at least the following three episodes.
Suzanne Pleshette
A Catalina Island Conservancy member holds 'Tachi,' one of the foxes in the recovery program, on Catalina Island, Calif., in this 2003 photo, exact date not known. Four subspecies of island fox likely will be listed as endangered under a legal agreement hammered out with a wildlife group that sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to win added protection for the rare predators, officials said Friday, Oct. 17, 2003. The agreement, also calls for the agency to map out and protect critical habitat for the tiny foxes on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina islands, located off the Southern California coast.
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Join Simon & Garfunkel Tour
Everly Brothers
Rock and roll pioneers the Everly Brothers, almost as famous for their mutual hostility as their string of rockabilly hits, have joined the historic North American tour of another famously fractious duo, Simon & Garfunkel, officials said on Friday.
Don and Phil Everly, aged 66 and 64, respectively, made a surprise appearance during the first date of Simon & Garfunkel's "Old Friends" tour in Wilkes Barre, Pa. on Thursday. Afterwards, Simon & Garfunkel announced that the brothers would perform with them throughout the tour.
Simon & Garfunkel then joined in on "Bye Bye Love." That song kicked off the Everlys' five-year run of success in 1957, reaching No. 2 on the U.S. pop charts. They made No. 1 later that year with "Wake Up Little Susie." Their last big hit was "That's Old-Fashioned" in 1962.
The Everlys continued touring and recording, but drugs, divorces and business problems took a toll. They traveled separately, stayed in separate hotels, and had separate teams of advisers.
For more, Everly Brothers
AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award
Meryl Streep
Double Oscar-winning US screen legend Meryl Streep is to be honored with a lifetime achievement award by the prestigious American Film Institute next year, the group announced.
Streep, 54, the most Oscar-nominated actress in history with 13 nods for cinema's highest honour under her belt, will be crowned with her latest tribute at a ceremony in Los Angeles on June 10 next year.
Meryl Streep
20th Century Popular Culture
Christie's
The 1942 best-director Oscar that Michael Curtiz won for "Casablanca," and John Lennon's hand-written lyrics to the Beatles hit, "Nowhere Man," will go on the block November 18 at Christie's, the auction house said.
The two items, Christie's said in a statement, are part of "a choice group of items that shaped the 20th century popular culture."
Other highlights in the lot are a 1924 hand-written postcard from Walt Disney and a film clip of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy in New York's Madison Square Garden in 1962, a year before his assassination.
Christie's
May Run for Ohio Governor
Jerry Springer
It seemed Jerry Springer's final thought on politics was, he wasn't going to get involved again. Now he's talking about running for governor of Ohio.
The talk show host, who's a Democrat, spent about $1 million this year to determine voter support for a possible U.S. Senate run in a primary, and eventually a possible campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. George Voinovich.
On Thursday, Springer told students at the University of Akron that he's open to the possibility of running for Ohio governor in 2006. If he decides to join the race, he'll quit doing his Chicago-based syndicated series, which he called the "silliest show ever."
Jerry Springer
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Fewer Jobs
Editorial Cartoonists
Walt Handelsman is one of perhaps 90 full-time editorial cartoonists on a U.S. daily -- down from a 20th-century peak of more than 200.
"There are a lot of excellent editorial cartoonists out there, and a lot of them are unemployed," says Mike Ritter, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC).
Why the precipitous decline in jobs? Fewer newspapers is one reason cited by Bruce Plante, the AAEC's immediate past president.
But there are additional factors that are keeping creators out of work. Ritter says some newspapers view staff cartoonists as "expensive luxuries" in these budget-conscious times. Instead, they purchase syndicated drawings (many of them by staff cartoonists at other newspapers) for a few bucks a week.
Some newspapers fear that hard-hitting local cartoons may anger readers, including the advertisers and politicians with whom some publishers play golf. But Ritter, of Tribune Newspapers in Arizona and King Features Syndicate, says newspapers should welcome the way editorial cartoons elicit strong reactions.
For a whole lot more, Editorial Cartoonists
An activist of the Science and Rationalists' Association of India performs a fire-breathing act as she demonstrates with others against the alledgedly false claim by Sister Nirmala of the Missionaries of Charity, that Mother Teresa performed a miracle in Calcutta.
Photo by Deshakalyan Chowdhury
Chicago Museum Returns Remains
Haida Indian Tribe
After spending decades in storage drawers at Chicago's Field Museum, the remains of 160 members of the Haida Indian tribe will return to Canada under an agreement the tribe and museum officials signed Friday.
Members of the tribe, who number 6,000 in Canada and the United States, held a ceremony at the museum Friday to reclaim the ancestors who were taken from their graves by anthropologists who believed the Haida would soon vanish.
The Haida Nation of Canada set up a repatriation committee about eight years ago to track down and retrieve the human remains.
A delegation of about 40 Haida members spent a week preparing the remains for their journey home. They leave Chicago on Saturday, then will take another week to ready the remains for reburial.
Haida Indian Tribe
Noel Honors Famous Dad
Mel Blanc
When Mel Blanc died in 1989, his legacy for providing words from the mouths of animated characters such as Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, was passed to son, Noel Blanc.
Noel Blanc is honoring his father with a limited-edition lithograph featuring Warner Bros. characters that Blanc helped make famous.
The poster-size "Passing the Baton: A Tribute to Mel and Noel Blanc" lithographs are numbered, signed and will be personalized by Noel Blanc. Produced by Warner Bros. for Great American Ink, they cost $495.
Mel Blanc
www.greatamericanink.com
Awards & Honors
Las Vegas Comedy Festival
Singer Wayne Newton will receive the Bob Hope lifetime service award at the upcoming Las Vegas Comedy Festival for his efforts entertaining U.S. military personnel.
The festival will run Oct. 29-Nov. 2 at the Stardust Resort and Casino, where Newton is the resident headliner. The Smothers Brothers, the Improv's Budd Friedman and comedian Rita Rudner also will be honored.
Tom and Dick Smothers will receive a career achievement award, Friedman will be honored with the Steve Allen Pioneer of Comedy Award and Rudner, a headliner at the Strip's New York-New York gambling resort, will receive the comedian of the year award, presented by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Las Vegas Comedy Festival
www.lasvegascomedyfestival
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Editor (Sort Of) Apologizes for Remarks
New Republic
A senior editor of the New Republic magazine is apologizing for saying in his column that the producers of the hit movie "Kill Bill" are "Jewish executives" who "worship money above all else."
In an apology posted late Thursday on the New Republic's Web site the editor, Gregg Easterbrook, said he was guilty of "mangling words" in the article which appeared Monday on the Web.
Easterbrook attacked "Kill Bill" and its writer/director Quentin Tarantino for glorifying violence and criticized Miramax, which released the film, and its parent company, Disney, for "wallowing in gore" for profit.
New Republic
An undated photo of James Rosenquist's sculpture 'Tumbleweed, 1963-66' which is part of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's exhibit 'James Rosenquist: A Retrospective' which opened on Friday, Oct.17,2003. It is the first comprehensive survey of his work in 30 years. The piece is chromed barbed wire, neon, and wood.
Photo by Eduardo Calderon
New DVD
Jim Croce
When Jim Croce died in a plane crash in 1973, the promising singer-songwriter had four top-40 singles to his name, but he was broke.
A bad recording contract meant the mustachioed troubadour never saw any financial benefits from such hits as "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" and "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown."
Now, Croce's albums sell about 100,000 copies a year worldwide, according to his widow, Ingrid, and his name lives on in two restaurants and three jazz bars she operates in San Diego.
She and the couple's only child, Adrian (or simply A.J.), have just produced a DVD, "Have You Heard: Jim Croce Live." It compiles clips from TV performances, as well as an audio commentary and a home movie. Also available is a CD, "Americana," featuring folk tunes Croce recorded at home in 1967. Both are being distributed by Shout! Factory, an archival firm founded by three former executives at Rhino Records.
For a lot more, Jim Croce
German Exhibit Renews Debate
Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner has been dead for 120 years, but the legacy of his monumental operas glorifying Teutonic myths and his deep anti-Semitism remain as contentious as ever.
A new German exhibit on Adolf Hitler's favorite composer, which opened Friday, highlights the contradictions between Wagner the musical genius and the Wagner who saw himself as the savior of German culture against Jewish influence.
The Wagner family — especially the composer's daughter-in-law, Winifred — financed Hitler during his rise to power and helped him publish his infamous manifesto, "Mein Kampf." After Hitler came to power in 1933, the family remained among his closest friends and he turned the annual Wagner festivals in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth into Nazi propaganda events.
Most of the new Munich exhibit is devoted to Wagner's compositions, his grand project to build an opera house for himself in Bayreuth — it opened in 1876 — and his political development from anarchist sympathizer in his 30s to staunch conservative later in life.
Richard Wagner
RIAA Letter Before Lawsuit
Song-Swappers
Recording industry investigators said on Friday they have begun asking suspected Internet song-swappers to settle copyright-infringement charges before taking them to court.
The Recording Industry Association of America, which is waging a legal campaign against Internet users who copy its songs online, said it had contacted some 204 suspected infringers with settlement offers this week.
The RIAA said from now on it would send out warning letters first, allowing suspects to negotiate a settlement before being served with a lawsuit. Those who do not respond within 10 days will be sued.
Song-Swappers
Loses Appeal on Racist Hiring Fine
Moulin Rouge
The management company that runs Paris's famed Moulin Rouge cabaret on Friday lost its appeal of a $11,600 racial discrimination fined levied by a court for refusing to employ a Senegalese man outside of its kitchen.
Abdoulaye Marega said he applied for a job at the cabaret in January 2001 but was told by employee Micheline Beuzit that "the Moulin Rouge doesn't take blacks in the theater, only in the kitchen."
An investigation by state prosecutors found that the Moulin Rouge, whose scantily-clad can-can dancers are a huge tourist draw, had not hired a person who was not white as a performer or waiter for 40 years, though many are employed as kitchen staff.
Moulin Rouge
Ruled Illegal
Schwarzenegger Mural
The 100-foot-by-40-foot mural featuring Schwarzenegger, on a building along the Hollywood Freeway, violates rules regulating outdoor advertising in scenic corridors, city officials said. The mural promotes the upcoming DVD release of "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
The city attorney's office filed misdemeanor criminal charges Thursday against building owner Robert Lusk Davis for allowing the mural to be erected on behalf of Warner Bros. Each count carries a possible six-month jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.
Davis got permission in 1995 to paint a dinosaur on the same building, and he said the "Terminator" ad should also be allowed. "We believe we are now, and always have been, properly permitted," he said.
Schwarzenegger Mural
Label to Serve Up Jazz History
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall, the 42-year-old New Orleans venue devoted to Crescent City jazz, has launched its own record label.
Distributed by Redeye in Graham, N.C., Preservation Hall Recordings will debut Jan. 27 with a trio of releases devoted to historic and contemporary traditional jazz music.
The label is a collaboration of Ben Jaffe, co-director of Preservation Hall, and Steve DeBro and Albert Lee, the principals of Facility Partners in New York.
For the rest, Preservation Hall
Publicist Says Autobio Unlikely
Woody Allen
Will Woody Allen write his memoirs? Contradicting a published report, his publicist said Friday he was not close to a deal. In fact, it wasn't even his idea to do the book.
"This was completely his agents' idea," Leslee Dart said Friday.
According to The New York Times, Allen was near agreement with Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin, for a deal worth around $3 million, well below what he had reportedly been seeking.
But Dart said Allen had turned down Riverhead and that no other offers were being considered, although he had not given up. "He has no real passion for this," she said.
Woody Allen
Train Station Reopens
'Brief Encounter'
Moviegoers cried when ill-fated lovers Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson met at a train station in David Lean's 1945 film "Brief Encounter."
Now, the Carnforth railway station in northwest England, immortalized by the classic tearjerker but long disused, has been reopened as visitors' center.
Once an important junction, the station fell into disrepair in the last part of the 20th century. Local people and the former rail infrastructure company Railtrack paid to restore it to its 1940s glory.
'Brief Encounter'
Carnforth Railway Station
Seven weeks old black panther cubs Ajun and Ajan are presented to photographers at the Wuppertal, western Germany, Zoo, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2003. The panthers were born at the zoo on Aug. 30, 2003.
Photo by Frank Augstein
'The Osbournes'
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