'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Selected Saturday Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
from Mark
When you're in Rome ...
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny and brisk.
Have gotten way behind in mail - hopefully this will be a productive weekend.
Tonight, Saturday, CBS starts the night with '48 Hours', followed by a FRESH 'Hack', then a
FRESH 'The District'.
NBC once again expresses contempt for their viewers by offering another Saturday (in Sweeps, no less) of nothing but RERUNs. First up,
it's a RERUN 'Las Vegas', followed by a RERUN 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', then a
RERUN 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
'SNL' is FRESH, with Alec Baldwin hosting and music by Missy Elliot.
ABC has a FRESH made-for-tv-movie with the Olsen Twins - 'The Challenge', followed by a FRESH
'Dragnet', but since it's been cancelled, who knows what may show up in the slot.
The WB here has NBA Basketball - Magic visiting the Clips.
Faux has the ususal 'Cops', 'Cops', then 'America's Most Wanted'.
'MAD TV' is FRESH, with Margaret Cho hosting, music by Macy Gray.
UPN has the movie 'Lethal Weapon 3'.
A&E has 'City Confidential', 'American Justice', 'Cold Case Files', and 'Washington Sniper'.
AMC offers the movie 'Mary Reilly', followed by the movie 'Psycho III', then the movie 'Alien Resurrection'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 2;
[6:40pm] 'My Hero' - Episode 6;
[7:20pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 3;
[8pm] 'Red Cap' - Espirit De Corps;
[9pm] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 3;
[10pm] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 4;
[11pm] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 2;
[11:30pm] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 1;
[12am] 'Red Cap' - Espirit De Corps;
[1am] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 3;
[2am] 'Cambridge Spies' - Episode 4;
[3am] 'Dead Ringer's - Episode 2;
[3:30am] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 1;
[4am] 'The Vice' - Betrayed; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Queer Eye', followed by the movie 'The Grifters', then the movie 'Bugsy'.
History has 'History vs. Hollywood' and 'Battle In The Air'.
SciFi has the movie 'Sabretooth', followed by the movie 'Rats', then the movie 'Mosquito'.
TCM -
[6am] 'Always In My Heart' (1942);
[8am] 'Force of Evil' (1948);
[9:30am] 'MGM Parade Show #20' (1955);
[10am] 'The Oklahoma Kid' (1939);
[11:30am] 'Spartacus' (1960);
[3pm] 'The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad' (1958);
[4:30pm] 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles' (1959);
[6pm] 'The Black Stallion' (1979);
[8pm] 'The Three Godfathers' (1948);
[10pm] 'The Virginian' (1946);
[11:30pm] 'Wagon Master' (1950);
[1am] 'The Outlaw' (1943);
[3am] 'Bad Lands' (1939); and
[4:30am] 'Indian Agent' (1949). (ALL TIMES EST)
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has a light moment with South Korean children during his visit to a school in Seoul, Friday, Nov. 14, 2003. Clinton came here yesterday for the 13th anniversary ceremony of the Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS). Left man is South Korea's Hanhwa Group chairman Kim Seung-hyun.
Photo by Yang Hyun-taek
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Watch Dave
David Letterman
Following up on a strong showing in the top "metered" markets, David Letterman delivered his best national viewership in more than two years as audiences responded to the birth of his first child. But his gain did not come at late-night champ Jay Leno's expense.
CBS' "Late Show" drew an average of 5.06 million viewers for the week ending Nov. 7, a sizable 25% gain from the same week a year ago as Letterman halved the lead of NBC's "Tonight Show" to 1 million viewers. Letterman's rating among adults 18-49 rose 13% to a 1.8, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Still, Leno posted his strongest 18-49 numbers since mid-May, with a 2.4 rating, the same as a year ago. Leno's 6.1 million viewer total was also flat with last year.
David Letterman
ABC Puts On Hiatus
'Karen Sisco'
ABC pulled "Karen Sisco" off its schedule but will give the critically acclaimed crime drama a second chance in the spring.
"We love this show, but it has become increasingly obvious that it's not working on Wednesday nights," ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne said Friday. "Rather than give up, we're going to complete production on the remaining episodes and aggressively relaunch the series this March in a new time period."
Six episodes out of the total 13 produced for this season will be held for airing when the series returns, ABC said. It stars Carla Gugino ("Spy Kids") as a U.S. marshal in Florida and Robert Forster ("Jackie Brown") as her dad.
'Karen Sisco'
'Alias' star Jennifer Garner, left, poses with Martha Stewart as they tape a segment about trussing a turkey for the Nov. 18, 2003 episode of 'Martha Stewart Living,' in this 2003 handout photo taken at a television studio in New York. Garner, who said she's a big Stewart fan herself, invited Stewart to appear on her ABC spy drama.
Photo by Vanessa Lenz
Handwritten Lyrics to Be Auctioned
John Lennon
A range of entertainment industry memorabilia -- including John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for "Nowhere Man" -- will be auctioned next week, auction organizers said on Friday.
Online auctioneers itsonlyrocknroll.com said they would put a fiberglass yellow submarine, displayed at the 1968 Los Angeles premier of the Beatles movie of the same name, on sale on Tuesday along with an unreleased, 26-minute Christmas message taped for fan clubs in 1965.
Christie's sale also includes the best director Oscar won by Michael Curtiz for "Casablanca," which is expected to sell for between $200,000 and $300,000.
Also featured in the sale are Grammy Awards for best pop vocal performance won by Frank Sinatra for "Strangers in the Night," and Paul Simon for "Still Crazy After All These Years."
John Lennon
Sues Over Sex Tape
Rick Solomon
The man seen having sex with Paris Hilton in a notorious amateur videotape that has surfaced on the Web has filed a $10 million slander lawsuit against the 22-year-old hotel heiress, her parents and her publicist.
Video entrepreneur Rick Solomon claims in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed on Wednesday that the Hiltons and publicist Sari Garber have sought to portray him as a criminal. He is seeking $10 million in damages.
The Hiltons have threatened to sue anyone who releases the tape, which was made when Paris Hilton was 19 and before Solomon, then 30, married actress Shannen Doherty.
The sex tape, which was made in 2001 when Solomon and Paris Hilton were dating, has become fodder for countless gossip columns and is being offered for sale or viewing on a number of Web sites.
Rick Solomon
Gets New Breathing Aid
Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve says a device implanted into his chest now allows him to breathe without a ventilator for hours at a time.
The "Superman" actor, paralyzed from the neck down in a horseback riding accident in 1995, demonstrates the device, which acts like a pacemaker, during an interview with Barbara Walters for ABC's "20/20."
Reeve became the third person in the United States to undergo the procedure, called diaphragm pacing via laparoscopy, at the University Hospitals of Cleveland on Feb. 28.
The surgery involves threading tiny wires through small incisions in the diaphragm. The wires connect the electrodes to a control box worn outside the body.
Christopher Reeve
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Newest Inspector Jacques Clouseau
Steve Martin
Steve Martin has agreed to step into the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau for MGM's new "Pink Panther" movie.
Chris McGurk, vice-chairman and chief operating officer at MGM, confirmed Martin's decision Thursday night at an open house hosted by the studio.
The original "Pink Panther" starred Peter Sellers as the bumbling French detective on the trail of a slippery jewel thief. Sellers kept the franchise going in four subsequent features, while Roger Moore and Alan Arkin also took turns in Clouseau's trench coat.
Steve Martin
Performance artist Mark McGowan performs his artwork entitled 'Sausage, Chips and Beans' at the House Gallery, London on Friday. McGowan intends to spend 100 hours sitting in the bath of baked beans with sausages strapped to his head and two chips stuck up his nose in support of the traditional fried breakfast which he views as an important part of British culture.
Photo by David Bebber
Hospitalized for Steroids
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis has been hospitalized for several weeks trying to wean himself from a steroid medication he took for a life-threatening respiratory condition, his manager said Friday.
The 77-year-old comedian was trying to recuperate and strengthen his lungs at an undisclosed Las Vegas hospital as he stopped taking the drug prednisone for pulmonary fibrosis, manager Claudia Stabile said.
The medication caused him to gain so much weight that his body appeared noticeably bloated in recent years.
He entered the hospital several weeks ago, Stabile said. She couldn't say when he would be released.
Jerry Lewis
Wife Wins Child Support
Jerry Lee Lewis
Kerrie Lewis, the estranged wife of rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis has been awarded $10,000 a month in temporary child support for their son while divorce proceedings continue.
Kerrie Lewis was awarded temporary custody of the couple's 16-year-old son, Jerry Lee Lewis III, but the teen will stay with his father on school nights.
The couple were married in 1984. It was her second marriage and Lewis' sixth.
Jerry Lee Lewis
May Return for 12th Year
'Frasier'
Reports of the demise of "Frasier" may be exaggerated. There's a possibility the NBC series, widely expected to be in its final season, may be back.
In talk-show appearances this week, series star Kelsey Grammer suggested he would be willing to return as Dr. Frasier Crane for a 12th season.
NBC, however, has yet to officially deem this the final year for "Frasier." And there's precedent for a resurrection — NBC's "Friends" was expected to wrap last season but came back for one more year.
'Frasier'
Fan Of The Darkness
Tony Blair
In between running Britain and shooting the breeze with resident Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair still finds time for a spot of head-banging and air guitar.
Blair has revealed himself as a fan of chart-toppers The Darkness, the British glam heavy metallers renowned for their big hair and skin-tight catsuits, according to British newspapers Friday.
The Darkness were not immediately available to comment on whether they welcomed Blair's endorsement.
Tony Blair
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Says He Whipped Michael
Joe Jackson
Michael Jackson's father says he never beat his son but admits in a TV interview to be broadcast Sunday that he whipped him.
Joe Jackson told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he whipped Michael with a switch and a belt but says he never dealt out a beating.
"You beat someone with a stick," the BBC quoted him as saying in a story on its Web site Friday.
When asked about Michael's comments that he was so nervous seeing his father that he regurgitates, Joe Jackson's comment is, "He regurgitates all the way to the bank."
Jonathan Bell skis through heavy snow at Wolf Creek Ski Resort near Wolf Creek Pass, Colo., Friday, Nov. 14, 2003. As much as 63 inches of snow has fallen at the ski area over the last few days. Ski resorts across the West are breathing easier after a series of storms ended an extended Indian Summer, providing enough snow for several to open early.
Photo by Scott Smith
Take on Star-Maker Role
Olsen Twins
At 17 years old, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are all grown up and have decided to leave the nest of successful direct-to-video fame to become major film stars and to executive produce film and television products as well as a new DVD series featuring undiscovered teenage talent.
The Olsens and their umbrella company Dualstar Entertainment Group's CEO Robert Thorn are planning to schedule a national casting call to pull together an ensemble cast of teenagers in order to create a DVD series with the goal of creating a stable of stars.
Olsen Twins
Steal Airwaves in Protest
French Artists
Turn on the TV in France these days and stay tuned for the latest form of dramatic protest. With cameras rolling, France's struggling artists have begun invading live broadcasts to publicize their grievances to television audiences.
They've driven a popular reality show from the air for two hours, taken a news show hostage for a minute of free advertising, and on Wednesday stormed a televised Parliamentary session.
The new tactic is Act II of an uprising that started this summer when part-time show business workers shut down music and theater festivals across France.
The strikers' arguments have proven to be tough to sell. For years, part-time show business employees have only had to work roughly three months a year to collect a year's worth of pay and benefits.
French Artists
Boycott Stops Clinic
Planned Parenthood
Weeks into the project, the contractor hired to build an abortion clinic hit a brick wall: Plumbers and carpenters would not work for him. Drywall installers and heating subcontractors would not do business with him. Cement suppliers for miles around would not touch the job.
He had been hit with a boycott organized by abortion foe and construction-industry executive Chris Danze.
The builder finally quit the job this month, stopping the clinic project in its tracks, in what national Planned Parenthood officials said was the first such boycott they have ever seen.
Danze, a 48-year-old who has protested outside clinics, compares the building of an abortion clinic to construction of a concentration camp during the Holocaust.
Danze, an owner of Maldonado & Danze Inc., a concrete-foundation contractor, oversaw a telephone and letter-writing campaign urging more than 750 Austin- and San Antonio-area businesses not to provide supplies or services for the project. He recruited contractors to join what he called the Texas Contractors and Suppliers for Life Association.
For the rest, Planned Parenthood
Admired as Sculpture
Hanging Corpse
Police on Friday removed the corpse of a man believed to have hanged himself at least a year ago after builders and students at Budapest's University of Arts had initially mistaken it for a modern sculpture.
The body hung for a whole day in a garden building that had been re-opened for repairs before onlookers realized what it was and called the police, local media said.
The building, in campus grounds crowded with different types of sculpture, had been closed five years ago pending reconstruction work.
Hanging Corpse
In Memory
Tony Thompson
Tony Thompson, the drummer who powered hits by the Power Station, Chic, and Diana Ross, and who almost joined Led Zeppelin, died in Encino, California, on Wednesday (November 12), just three days shy of his 49th birthday. Thompson had battled renal cell cancer and had undergone surgery earlier this year in an effort to combat the disease. He is survived by his wife Patrice and their two children.
Like many musicians, Thompson died without health insurance, and his family is stuck with huge medical bills. Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductible donation can do so at
tonythompsonfund.com, or at
nilerodgers.com.
A benefit concert will be held on December 16 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Los Angeles. The lineup should be announced soon.
Thompson was born in New York City on November 15, 1954. He first got noticed while playing with LaBelle in the mid-70's, but it was with Chic that Thompson had his first major success, including Top Five albums and a Number One hit with "Le Freak" in 1978. Chic leader Nile Rodgers said he and Bernard Edwards formed the band with Thompson for three main reasons: "His power--gotta be the loudest drummer I've ever worked with or heard in my life; his technical facility, which has gotta be up there with among the best of 'em; and his great sense of humor. I think that Bernard and I hired him for all three of those qualities."
Following his success with Chic, Thompson developed a reputation as an ace session drummer. He got the call to work with Diana Ross on 1980's Diana, David Bowie on 1983's Let's Dance, Madonna on 1984's Like A Virgin, and Mick Jagger on 1985's She's The Boss, among many others.
He also joined Robert Palmer and Duran Duran's John and Andy Taylor in forming the Power Station, which had Top 10 hits in 1985 with "Some Like It Hot" and a cover of T. Rex's "Get It On (Bang A Gong)."
Thompson got the call of a lifetime when he was asked to play with Led Zeppelin at Live Aid in 1985. Following that one-off gig, they started recording some new material, but the sessions ended after Thompson was in a serious car accident, and the music has never been released.
Other people Thompson played with included Palmer on 1985's Riptide, Rod Stewart on 1988's Out of Order, Blondie leader Debbie Harry on her 1981 solo album Kookoo, and Duran Duran on 1995's Thank You.
Tony Thompson
In Memory
Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton, who brought the comic strip character Blondie to life in a popular series of films and was the voice of the mother on "The Jetsons," has died. She was 95.
Singleton died Wednesday at Sherman Oaks Hospital, two weeks after suffering a stroke, said longtime friend Dick Sheehan.
The Blondie series, which had 28 films from 1938 to 1950, was based on the cartoon strip about the misadventures of a small town family created by Chic Young in 1930. Arthur Lake played Blondie's husband, the bumbling Dagwood Bumstead.
After her stint as Blondie, Singleton was the voice of Jane Jetson in "The Jetsons," Hanna-Barbera's 21st century counterpart to their highly successful "Flintstones" cartoon family. The show ran in prime time for just one season, 1962-63, but has been widely seen in reruns.
Singleton also appeared in the 1964 film "The Best Man" but spent most of her time touring in nightclubs and roadshows of plays and musicals such as "Call Me Madam."
She became active in the American Guild of Variety Artists, the union representing touring performers, chorus girls and other entertainers. As union vice president in the 1960s, she helped lead a strike by the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.
Singleton was born in 1908 — some references say 1909 — daughter of a Philadelphia newspaperman. She got her start in show business by winning an amateur contest and was touring in vaudeville by her early teens.
After debuting on Broadway in the late '20s, she began appearing in films, at first under her real name, Dorothy McNulty. She took the name Singleton after marrying dentist Lawrence Singleton in 1937.
Singleton is survived by two daughters, two grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Penny Singleton
Im Partnerlook: Ein Harley-Davidson-Fahrer hält seinen Hund "Bandit" am Sonntag beim Start des Wohltätigkeitsrennens Love Ride XX in die Höhe. Die Aufnahme entstand im kalifornischen Glendale.
Photo by Jim Ruymen
'The Osbournes'
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