'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Comment
from Michelle
Re: BBC NEWS | UK | Who's your showbiz favourite? from
yesterday's BartCop Entertainment
I'dda voted for Judi Dench, but for the appearance of Tom Wilkinson on the list. I absolutely love the man, especially for performances in "Ghost and the Darkness" , "The Patriot", and "In the Bedroom", -- (for which perf he was Oscar nommed).
I wish I could compare to others of his contemporary Brit actors I admire;-- Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Michael Gambon;-- but there is such a controlled passion floating about him that only hints of the person we have yet to uncover.
Not to detract at all from my female fave, Judi Dench; -- but Tom is way overdue for notice.
~~ Michelle
Thanks, Michelle!
Happening In Chicago
from Tim H
Actor Mike "MASH" Farrell is to moderate a
town hall meeting Sunday at Northwestern University
Law School's Center on Wrongful Convictions,
which is hosting a national gathering of former Death
Row inmates who were exonerated.
*The stats: The event will be held at
Northwestern University's Law School, 375 E. Chicago, and the
town hall meeting will be attended by attorney
Barry Scheck and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Watch for Gov. Ryan and actors Danny Glover,
Jill Clayburgh, Richard Dreyfuss and Mike Farrell
to be on hand Monday at the Chicago Center for
the Performing Arts for the Chicago premiere of
"The Exonerated," an off-Broadway documentary
play about the exonerated and released prisoners
once occupying Death Row.
Chicago
from Tim H
Thanks, Tim!
Reader Suggestion
from Kip
I got this in the mail today...
If you're as over-retailed as I feel right about now, you're apt to
throttle
the next Wal-mart employee who greets you to the over-miked strains of
Bing
Crosby's syrupy rendition of "White Christmas."
But why risk being hauled off to Guantanamo and labeled a threat to
homeland
security? Wreak your vengeance instead by going online. Tune in to my
counterculture holiday radio station, "Them Rootin' Tootin' Holidaze", and tune everything else out.
You'll find your angst evaporating like yellow snow on a hazy day as
"Santa
Got a DWI," "She's My Yarmulke Mama," "I Want an Alien for Christmas" and
"Mamacita, Donde Esta Santa Claus?" waft out of your computer speakers,
baffling your workmates and sending your significant others scrambling for
the exits.
This may be the last year this is available online, thanks to the evil
ones
who rule the music and entertainment industries (as well as some really
patriotic folks in Washington).
So click here and do your part:
~~ Kip Shepherd
Thanks, Kip!
Thanks, Rob
'IF YOU'LL NUKE SOMEBODY' {SET ME FREE}
from Alvin
We'll Use Nukulear Arms, US Warns
The Wizards of Armageddon at the White House has dramatically raised tensions in the Iraq crisis by stating
that it would respond with nukulear weapons to any country that
used WMD against the US or it's allies. The bunker-buster nukes are designed to knock-out the leadership of hostile regimes.
MIDI
'IF YOU'LL NUKE SOMEBODY' {SET ME FREE}
{Sung to 'If You Love Somebody' {Set Them Free} by The Police}
{intro}
If you'll nuke somebody, call Tony
If you'll bomb someone, you can call Chretien
If you want to do something vicious
War is the art of looking for trouble
If you want to follow a wrong direction
Don't even think about me
If you'll nuke somebody
If you'll bomb someone
If you'll nuke somebody
If you'll bomb someone
Set me free, set me free
Set me free, set me free
There's no arguments you want, a view you hold dear
To err isn't human, to forgive unusual
You're much more comfortable when you're bad
All the facts are irrelevant
Life and death are seldom logical
Bush's principles are immoral
If you'll nuke somebody
If you'll bomb someone
If you'll nuke somebody
If you'll bomb someone
Set me free, set me free
Set me free, set me free
The way to make your dreams come true is to wake up
There comes a time to do what's right
Those who will not reason shall perish in the act
It's really a simple task
But Bush has depth only on the surface
He won't become a failure until he's satisfied
If you'll nuke somebody, call Tony
If you'll bomb someone, you can call Chretien
If you want to do something vicious
War is the art of looking for trouble
If you want to follow a wrong direction
Don't even think about me
If you'll nuke somebody
If you'll bomb someone
If you'll nuke somebody
If you'll bomb someone
Set me free, set me free
Set me free, set me free...
~~~~~ Alvin
Thanks, Alvin!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Started out sunny, got progressively more overcast as the day wore on. Still supposed to rain over the weekend. If it does, will finally get the Links page updated.
Fresh cricket day for Jo (the remaining) lizard.
Tonight, Saturday, CBS opens the night with the old 'Frosty The Snowman' followed by 'Frosty Returns', and then a fresh 'The District' and a fresh 'The Agency'.
NBC has to hours of live on the east coast (tape delayed anywhere else) 'Figure Skating' and then the Dennis Miller hosted '2002 GQ Men Of The Year Awards'. It's a fresh 'Saturday Night Live', hosted by Al Gore, and music by Phish.
ABC has the movie 'Armageddon'.
The WB offers the 'Soul Train Christmas Starfest', hosted by Arsenio Hall.
Faux starts with a fresh 'Cops', then a RERUN 'Cops' followed by 'America's Most Wanted'.
UPN has the movie 'The Nutcracker'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Scheduled Sketches
SNL Spoilers
The following are sketches that are planned for tonight's episode of "Saturday Night Live," with host Al Gore and musical guest Phish.
Hardball
"Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley" - Al Franken and Tipper Gore cameos
Jarret's Room - Al Gore will play a college professor
the annual Christmas Song - Horatio Sanz, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, & Tracy Morgan
TV Funhouse - Robert Smigel parodies "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
a Fericito sketh - Fred Armisen as a Venezuelan comic
While these sketches are scheduled for the dress rehearsal, any of them are subject to be cut prior to the live broadcast.
Spoilers
National Historic Site
Frederick Douglas
National Park Service Ranger Eola Dance welcomes visitors to celebrate a Victorian Christmas at the Frederick Douglas National Historic Site. Douglas was a world renowned author, statesman and orator. His 19th century home is hosting
candlelight tours during the month of December.
Photo by Evan Vucci
Lincoln, Nebraska
Bono-Judd Visit
A visit by rock star Bono and actress Ashley Judd to advocate help for AIDS-stricken Africa has done little monetarily for a local organization that drew the celebrities to Lincoln.
Since the U2 lead singer and Judd came Dec. 1, the Lincoln-based Save Sub-Saharan Orphans has received only $406 in new donations.
That's something of a disappointment for Nelson Okuku Miruka, leader of the group that hopes to build a $100,000 orphanage in Kenya for children left homeless by AIDS.
Nevertheless, Miruka said, the Bono-Judd appearance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Lied Center was a success because it called attention to his organization.
Bono - Judd Visit
Riesa, Germany
Anne Poleska
Anne Poleska of Germany swims in the women's 200 meters breaststroke competition of the European Short-course swimming championships in Riesa, Germany, December 13, 2002.
Photo by Alexandra Winkler
Grandpa Was A Pimp
Lisa Ling
Lisa Ling is shedding her squeaky-clean image now that she's left "The View." Not only is the formerly demure damsel pitching a just-approved contraceptive
called NuvaRing, she's dishing about some indelicate family secrets. Ling tells Stuff magazine that her grandfather had 20 children with three wives and owned
a series of brothels in Taiwan's red-light district. "He was a serious pimp," Ling says. "Literally. I mean, on a fundamental level, it's kind of unsanitary."
Lisa Ling
Visiting Baghdad
Sean Penn
U.S. actor and director Sean Penn, starting a three-day visit to Baghdad, said Friday he wanted more insight into "this frightening conflict."
The former Hollywood bad boy and Oscar nominee, who paid for a $56,000 advertisement in the Washington Post in October accusing President Bush of stifling debate over Iraq, was to visit
a Baghdad hospital later in the day.
"As a father, an actor, a film-maker and patriot, my visit to Iraq is for me a natural extension of my obligation...to find my own voice on matters of conscience," Penn, once married
to pop diva Madonna, said in a statement issued by the Institute of Public Accuracy.
The institute is a U.S. organization of policy analysts with offices in Washington and San Francisco.
Penn's advertisement in the Washington Post took the form of an open letter to Bush in which he urged the president to stop a cycle where "bombing is answered by bombing,
mutilation by mutilation, killing by killing."
"Sacrificing American soldiers or innocent civilians in an unprecedented pre-emptive attack on a separate sovereign nation may well prove itself a most temporary medicine," he said.
Sean Penn
Plans World Tour in 2003
R.E.M.
R.E.M. will hit the road in 2003 after a four-year hiatus.
The tour will open June 27 at England's Glastonbury Festival, followed by stops in Werchter, Belgium; the German city of Hamburg, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Wiesbaden; Odense, Denmark;
Locarno, Switzerland; Vienna, Austria; Warsaw, Poland; Glasgow Scotland; Manchester, England; Dublin, Ireland; Carhaix and Vienne in France; and Padova, Ancona and Naples in Italy.
The tour will reach North America in the fall and continue around the world in 2004.
Dates for the North American tour will be released early next year.
R.E.M.
www.remhq.com
History Prize For Book Rescinded
'Arming America'
Severe doubts about a book on guns in the United States has led Columbia University to rescind the prestigious Bancroft Prize for history.
"Arming America," by Michael Bellesiles, had received the award in 2001.
In a statement released Friday, Columbia said that the school's trustees had concluded "his book had not and does not meet the standards ... established for the Bancroft Prize." Columbia has asked Bellesiles to return the prize money, $4,000.
It was the first time in the 54-year history of the Bancroft award that Columbia has taken such actions. Phone and e-mail messages left by The Associated Press with Bellesiles were not immediately returned.
Bellesiles resigned in October as a professor at Emory University, after an independent panel of scholars strongly criticized his research. In May, the National Endowment for the Humanities withdrew its name — although not
its funding — from a fellowship given to Bellesiles. (pronounced Bell-EEL).
The historian spent 10 years working on "Arming America," published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2000. The book challenges the idea that the United States has always been a gun-oriented culture and that well-armed
militias were essential to the Revolutionary War.
For a lot more, 'Arming America'
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Sues Former Van Halen Bandmates
David Lee Roth
Singer David Lee Roth has filed a lawsuit against his ex-Van Halen bandmates accusing them of conspiring to keep money from him.
The suit filed Thursday in Superior Court alleges that Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony diverted royalties and breached their fiduciary duty to Roth.
Roth claims that the band signed a deal with Warner Bros. in 1996 without his knowledge or authorization for increased royalties from sales of albums. He claims that his financial
losses were estimated to be at least $200,000 at the end of 2001.
The former frontman wants an accountant to review the royalties and determine the interest on them. Roth is also seeking unspecified compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages and legal fees.
David Lee Roth
Philippines
Manilla
Nus Dans Les Rues De Manille
Une dizaine d'étudiants ont participé nus mais masqués à la traditionnelle course organisée par l'Université des Philippines, à Manille. /Photo prise le 13 décembre 2002
Photo by Romeo Ranoco
Snarky Gossip
Bob Guccione
Bob Guccione has apparently found a pot of gold. The Penthouse publisher was so broke, he sold off some of his Impressionist masterpieces last month. And it was announced his double-wide, 30-room townhouse on East 67th Street, valued at $37 million, would go on the block on Nov. 15. But it's been quietly taken off the market. Sources said Guccione found financing to keep his crumbling empire afloat. Circulation at Penthouse has plunged from 5 million in the 1980s to just 650,000. No word on whether he'll also get to keep his estate in upstate Staatsburg. Guccione had no comment.
Bob Guccione
Longtime Show Shutting Down
'Computer Chronicles'
"Computer Chronicles," a national public television series devoted to personal computing, is powering down after 20 years.
The show is the victim of tough times in the high-tech industry, said creator and host Stewart Cheifet. A companion show, "Net Cafe," also has ended its run.
"Computer Chronicles," which debuted in 1982 at the dawn of the PC era, aired weekly in nearly 300 cities in more than 100 countries at its peak. It's been dubbed in Spanish, French,
Chinese and Arabic, among other languages.
The program now has more than 1,000 episodes in its library, which is being archived and will be available online at Archive.org.
"Computer Chronicles" final episode will air during the last week of December.
'Computer Chronicles'
www.computerchronicles.com
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Attacked In Boston
Moby
Techno artist Moby was attacked by two men while signing autographs outside a nightclub following a radio station-sponsored holiday concert, police said.
According to police and witnesses, Moby, whose real name is Richard M. Melville, was approached by the men about 1 a.m. Thursday outside the Paradise Rock Club. One of
the men punched Moby in the back of the head and on the right side of his face, breaking the singer's glasses and cutting and bruising his face.
When two club security guards tried to stop the attack, the assailants sprayed a mace-like substance at Moby, Moby's manager and the guards, and then fled, police said.
The assailants said nothing during the attack, and the motive is unknown, said Paradise manager Jeff Marshall.
Moby
'Old Masters, Impressionists, and Moderns: French Masterworks from the State Pushkin Museum Moscow.'
Henri Matisse's 'Virgin With Chalice'
Irina Antonova, director of the State Pushkin Museum in Moscow, left, talks with Maria Nikolaeva during a media tour of the new exhibit at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002.
More than 50 masterpieces which have never been viewed in the United States arrived in Houston as part of an exhibition exchange between Russia and the United States. In the background is
Henri Matisse's 'Virgin With Chalice.' The items are part of the exhibit titled, 'Old Masters, Impressionists, and Moderns: French Masterworks from the State Pushkin Museum, Moscow.'
Photo by David J. Phillip
Booted From Leno
The Vines
Rowdy rockers the Vines got the boot from Jay Leno after lead singer Craig Nichols began trashing the band's equipment during a sound check Monday, just hours before the show's taping. The Australian frontman went ballistic over something and started wrecking stuff, sending NBC staffers running for cover, the L.A. Times reports. By the time he was finished, the stage was littered with debris and Nichols and Co. were ordered to leave the Burbank studio immediately. Insiders say Nicholson partook a little too freely of the bar cart Leno provides to loosen up his guests.
The Vines
Bids Scrapped In Home Auction
Eminem
The price on rapper Eminem's boyhood home has come down from $12 million to $75,000 on Internet auction site eBay.
Bids for the two-story house had reached as high as $12 million weeks ago. So owners of the house, Roland Fraschetti and Sebastian Lucido, hired a company to weed out phony bids.
About 300 old bids were scrapped. A new round of bidding started Dec. 5, with a minimum bid of $120,000 set by the owners. Bidding ends at 8 p.m. Sunday.
So far the best offer has been $75,000, said Fraschetti, a Macomb County commissioner from St. Clair Shores and a 25-year real estate veteran.
Under eBay rules, if the minimum bid isn't met, the seller doesn't have to sell.
For more, Eminem
Pair Stole From Comics Icon
Stan Lee
Two brothers were convicted of federal fraud charges for writing checks from empty bank accounts, costing the now-defunct Internet company of comics legend
Stan Lee and two financial institutions more than $10 million.
Stephen M. Gordon, 52, who was Stan Lee Media's former chief operating officer, and his brother, Jonathan Gordon, 44, were found guilty Thursday of conspiracy,
wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.
They were indicted last October for allegedly writing checks for millions of dollars from accounts with no money. They deposited the checks at US Bank and
investment firm Merrill Lynch, and then drew cash from these institutions.
The Web site was touted as an online entertainment destination for 6-to 20-year-olds. After being traded at more than $20 a share, the company's stock price plunged late
in 2000 after the scheme was discovered. Following layoffs of most of its staff, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Stan Lee
Snarky Gossip
Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner is trying to sober up in a Pennsylvania rehab center after falling off the wagon following her successful Broadway run in "The Graduate." Turner, 48, who was recently replaced by "Sopranos" star Lorraine Bracco in the hit play, checked herself into the secluded Marworth facility in Waverly, Pa., on Dec. 3, next week's Star magazine reports. "I want to quit [drinking] for my husband, child and my career," Turner announced when she arrived at the lavish $550-a-day treatment center housed in an 1890s mansion. "I have no problem with alcohol when I'm working. It's when I'm home alone that I can't control my drinking." The Star reports that Turner's husband, Jay Weiss, threatened to divorce her and take custody of their daughter Rachel if she didn't sober up. A puffy-faced, chubby Turner arrived at the clinic solo dressed in faded jeans without makeup or jewelry. Turner's rep, Alan Nierob, did not return calls.
Kathleen Turner
Released At Big Sur
7 Condors
Seven California condors have been released into the wild, and this time the public got a chance to do the honors - a first since biologists have been trying to save the birds from extinction.
On Thursday, the condors joined 16 others already released in the area. The seven were bred in the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos, then kept in a pen in the Big Sur area
for a year to adapt to climate and the region. Previously released condors also visited the birds in their pens to "mentor" them.
The chances to release the birds were auctioned off for $1,000 to $1,700 by the Ventana Wilderness Society, which began returning condors to the wild in 1997.
U.S. biologists captured the remaining wild condors in 1987 and started breeding them in captivity. They've been releasing them since 1992. There are currently 47 condors
in California and Baja California and 33 in Arizona.
7 Condors
In Memory
Mary Hansen
Mary Hansen, guitarist and vocalist with the '90s alternative band Stereolab, has died in London at age 36, the group announced.
Hansen, from Maryborough in Queensland, Australia, died Monday in a cycling accident in London, The Independent newspaper reported Friday.
Details of the accident were not available. Band spokesman Mick Houghton was quoted by The Independent as saying a truck might have backed into her, "but I really don't know much more than that."
Hansen joined the band in 1992, two years after it was formed by Tim Gane, formerly of the band McCarthy, and his French girlfriend Laetitia Sadier.
Among hundreds of messages posted on the band Web site, one from a fan who identified himself as Louis called Hansen "the soul" of the band.
Hansen, who played several instruments, first appeared on 1992's LoFi single and all subsequent releases, including 1994's Mars Audiac Quintet and 1996's Emperor Tomato Ketchup.
Stereolab had been working on a new album, expected to be released next year.
Hansen's funeral was to take place in Maryborough next week, the band said. It named her mother as Moira Hansen, of Maryborough, among her survivors.
Mary Hansen
Stereolab
Taipei Zoo
Orangutan
A young orangutan protects itself from the cold weather inside a coarse sack at Taipei Zoo December 10, 2002. Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said Tuesday is so far the coldest day of the year for the subtropical island
which straddles the Tropic of Cancer, with lows at 9.4 degrees Celsius (49 degrees Fahrenheit) and it is expected to become even colder later in the week.
Photo by Simon Kwong
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
#5
