'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andrew Tobias: Oh, Boy (andrewtobias.com)
I always thought I would miss immortality by about 50 years - which really pissed me off. I know, lots of people say they wouldn't WANT to live forever, but I sure would, if only because it will take that long to successfully cancel my Norton Anti-Virus subscription.
F in science, A in self-esteem (latimes.com)
American 15-year-olds go up against teens from around the world.
Jim Hightower: BATTLING MONSANTO'S DOCTORED MILK (jimhightower.com)
Time for another Gooberhead Award [Beanie Cap Breakdown] - presented periodically to people in the news who have their tongues running 100 miles an hourŠ but forgot to put their brains in gear.
Mark Lattimer: Freedom lost (guardian.co.uk)
After the invasion of Iraq, the US government claimed that women there had 'new rights and new hopes'. In fact their lives have become immeasurably worse, with rapes, burnings and murders now a daily occurrence.
Jon Henley: A glossary of US military torture euphemisms (guardian.co.uk)
A brief reminder of the burgeoning lexicon of euphemisms now employed by the Bush administration to describe what the president himself is pleased to refer to as 'the tools necessary to protect the American people'
Annie Korzen: What's so wonderful about it? (latimes.com)
Capra made life in Bedford Falls seem great, but he ended up on an estate in Brentwood.
Aileen Jacobson: Caroline Kennedy's new book: 'A Family Christmas' (Newsday; Posted on popmatters.com)
During her childhood, Caroline Kennedy would always find such Victorian-era gifts as walnuts and oranges in her Christmas stocking. But by the time her own three children were old enough to write to Santa, her mother had succumbed to the "era of plastic," giving her grandchildren such items as a plastic shopping cart, miniature kitchen and talking phone.
John Mark Eberhart: Anna Quindlen holds a mirror to the character of being a celebrity (McClatchy Newspapers; Posted on popmatters.com)
Anna Quindlen knows human nature and the nature of the American media-how it can create superstars, then turn them into villains based on one careless statement.
Peter Bogdanovich: How I found the real Tom Petty(telegraph.co.uk)
Peter Bogdanovich's four-hour film about veteran US rocker Tom Petty is one of the best 'rock docs' for a long time. He tells Andrew Perry the secret of his success.
'Golden Compass' loses its religion (latimes.com)
Appeasing narrow-minded religious groups in the film adaptation does a disservice to great fiction.
Robert K. Elder: The author of 'The Golden Compass' doesn't mince words (Chicago Tribune; Posted on popmatters.com)
He certainly doesn't look like a god-killer.
Reader Comment
Miley/Hannah
Hey, Marty...
I damn sure wish I had a piece of this action.
Get Hannah Montana wristbands tonight.
The mania over that young lady boggles my mind...
BadtotheboneBob
Battle Creek, MI
Yep, BTTBBob!
Never underestimate Disney's ability to make money.
My Christmas Tree
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Hubert's Poetry Corner
STEROID AGE MUTANT BASEBALL PLAYERS
All these characters on The Mary Tyler Moore Show had their own show except Gordy.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny, and still colder than seasonal.
January Returns?
Late Night
Idled television talk-show hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are likely to return to work in early January, even if the Hollywood writers strike is not settled by then, Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition.
NBC stars Leno and O'Brien, along with CBS's David Letterman and Craig Ferguson, and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel refused to cross the picket lines in deference to their writers. But their ratings have suffered.
The networks laid off the shows' production staff, although most of them are still receiving pay checks thanks to the personal largess of O'Brien, Letterman and Kimmel.
The trade paper said Leno, O'Brien, Letterman and Ferguson may all return around the same time, but that the NBC duo was "most likely to return in early January" no matter what Letterman decides. Some late-night observers believe Kimmel may also be preparing to go back soon, Daily Variety said.
On the other hand, with none of the hosts eager to be the first to return to work and risk the union's ire, Daily Variety said the hosts may yet still decide to stay home.
Late Night
Amazon Revealed As Mystery Book Buyer
J.K. Rowling
Online retailer Amazon revealed Friday it was the mystery buyer of British author J.K. Rowling's first book since the phenomenally successful Harry Potter series.
"The Tales of Beedle the Bard" was sold at auction at Sotheby's Thursday to art dealers on behalf of an unidentified client for 1.95 million pounds (2.72 million euros, 3.95 million dollars), 40 times its expected price.
All proceeds from the sale of the handwritten single volume will go to Rowling's charity, Children's Voice, which helps vulnerable children across Europe.
J.K. Rowling
No. 1 For Autographs
Johnny Depp
Want an autograph from Johnny Depp? Chances are, he'll sign something for you - and not be a jerk about it.
The 44-year-old actor is the most gracious celebrity - for the third year in a row - on Autograph magazine's annual list of the "10 Best and 10 Worst Hollywood Signers."
Matt Damon is second on the list, followed by George Clooney, Jack Nicholson, Rosario Dawson, John Travolta, Katherine Heigl, Jay Leno, Dakota Fanning and Russell Crowe - wait, Russell Crowe?
Will Ferrell is deemed the worst celebrity signer, followed by Tobey Maguire, Joaquin Phoenix, William Shatner, Renee Zellweger, John Malkovich, Julie Andrews, Bruce Willis, Teri Hatcher and Scarlett Johansson.
Johnny Depp
Charity Auction
Banderas & Griffith
Antonio Banderas and his wife, Melanie Griffith, paid $50,000 for works by Joan Miro and Salvador Dali at a charity event this week, an auction official said.
"They bought the two works for a price much higher than their commercial value because the proceedings of the auction went to UNICEF," Denise Ratinoff, head of the auction house, told The Associated Press by telephone.
Ratinoff said the etchings purchased by the couple were Miro's "San Lazaro et Ses Amis" and Dali's "Rosy Horse."
Banderas & Griffith
Poster Sells At Auction
Bette Davis
A photograph of Soviet film pioneer Sergei Eisenstein and a poster from an early Bette Davis movie commanded huge prices at the opening day of an auction of Hollywood memorabilia.
The photo of Eisenstein, the silent movie director and film theorist, was taken by famed photographer Man Ray, said Joe Maddalena, president of Profiles in History, which put on the auction.
"It was inscribed to Eisenstein by Man Ray and I had it estimated at about $4,000 or $5,000," Maddalena said. It sold for $70,000, a price he called "enormous."
A six-sheet poster for Davis' 1938 film "Jezebel" was estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. It also fetched $70,000 Thursday.
Bette Davis
Meeting Canceled Due To Writers Strike
TV Critics
In more fallout from the Hollywood writers strike, the Television Critics Association says it's canceling its annual January meeting, where networks and cable channels promote upcoming program schedules.
Broadcasters had been unwilling to commit to the Los Angeles-area meeting, citing expected budget cutbacks and the possible difficulty of holding sessions about scripted shows, the association said Monday. Many shows have been sidelined by the walkout.
The group includes more than 220 journalists writing about TV for print and online outlets in the United States and Canada. Members traditionally gather in January and July to preview new series and interview show stars and creators and TV executives.
TV Critics
Picks Unknown As New Lead Singer
Anthrax
Anthrax has picked an unknown singer to be their new frontman.
Dan Nelson, a part-time singer and personal trainer from New York's Long Island, met Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano a few years ago and recently contacted him through MySpace, according to a statement issued Thursday by the band.
Anthrax had a reunion tour with former singer Joey Belladonna in 2006, but talks fell through after that, according to the statement.
Nelson and the band met for a musical workout, and "right from the first second Dan started `Room for One More,' we knew," guitarist Scott Ian said in the statement, referring to a 1993 staple.
Anthrax
Hollywood Bookkeeping
"Lord of the Rings"
The Academy Award-winning producer behind the "Lord of the Rings" franchise has sued the films' distributor, New Line Cinema, to force it to disclose its accounting for the multibillion-dollar epic.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Los Angeles by octogenarian producer Saul Zaentz, was at least the second involving profits from the trilogy against New Line, which is accused in both suits of hiding profits.
Zaentz acquired the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" novels in 1976 and licensed them to Miramax Film Corp, which later assigned the license to New Line.
Zaentz contends the license specified that he would receive a share of the adjusted gross receipts from the films, which grossed more than $3 billion at worldwide box offices, as well as the right to audit New Line's books.
"Lord of the Rings"
Dominates U.S. Radio In 2007
Country Music
Country is still king when it comes to radio, but news/talk is closing the gap.
As of October, there were 2,054 country stations in the United States, which is up slightly from 2,049 a year earlier, according to M Street, which tracks such statistics. News/talk stations now total 2,026, an increase of 18 from a year ago. The number of news/talk stations has increased by nearly 500 in the past 10 years -- there were 1,567 in 1997. Country, by comparison, has lost more than 450 stations during the same time period.
Among current music-driven formats, country is tops, followed by contemporary Christian stations (920), Spanish (917), adult contemporary (666) and top 40 (495). Contemporary Christian stations are on the rise, up from 897 a year ago, as are Spanish-language stations, which tallied 819 at this time in 2006. AC is essentially flat, while top 40 is down 15 stations from a year ago.
Other formats that number more than 300 stations include "hot" adult contemporary (up eight stations to 392), alternative rock (basically flat at 385 stations), Southern gospel (up 15 from last year to 316) and rock (up nine stations to 300).
Country Music
Damaged Merchandise
"Price Is Right"
The price was all wrong for one contestant on "The Price Is Right," who claims the TV game show and its authorized auto dealership tried to pass off a rehabilitated wreck as a new car she won.
Donna Tillman said she won the 2004 Pontiac GTO Coupe during her June 28, 2004, appearance on the game show. But she was told after she paid the taxes and license fees that the vehicle that appeared on the stage had mechanical problems, according to a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Los Angeles.
When the car was delivered about eight weeks later, it was not the model that had been displayed on the show and it had more miles on the odometer than the car she had been promised.
Several months later when Tillman took her prize for a service at a dealership in her hometown of Puyallup, Washington, she learned the car had major damage to its frame that had been repaired and concealed, the lawsuit said.
"Price Is Right"
12 Year Streak
"Today"
"Today" made history this week by cementing 12 years of unbroken ratings dominance.
It's both a record for any morning show, and it also marks the current longest winning streak in broadcast TV. That's 626 weeks, since December 11, 1995.
Meanwhile, "Nightline" made history of its own, beating both "The Tonight Show" and "Late Show With David Letterman" for the second week, according to data released Thursday by Nielsen Media Research.
For the week ended last Friday, "Nightline" averaged 3.9 million viewers, vs. 1.5 million for Leno and 1.4 million for Letterman.
"Today"
Deaths Higher Than U.N. Estimate
Burma
The death toll from a democracy crackdown ordered by Myanmar's ruling junta was much greater than U.N. estimates and scores of people were still missing, activists just back from the reclusive country said on Friday.
A delegation of Buddhist witnesses who entered Myanmar posing as tourists to document the aftermath of September's monk-led uprising said secret talks with activists pointed to a death toll of at least 70, far above United Nations estimates of 31.
"The regime is at pains to paint the situation as being back to normal, and it is anything but, because there is so much pressure and security," Australian delegate Jill Jameson from the Buddhist Peace Fellowship told Reuters.
Jameson entered Myanmar with two Thais and an American priest, talking to rights activists, monks, aid groups and social workers in Yangon and on the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Burma
In Memory
Floyd Red Crow Westerman
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, an American Indian activist, actor and folk singer who appeared in "Dances with Wolves" and performed with Willie Nelson and other musicians, has died. He was 71.
Westerman died Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of complications from leukemia, said his son, Richard Tall Bear Westerman.
A respected musician, Westerman worked with Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Harry Belafonte, Jackson Browne and others. His debut album, released in 1970, was titled "Custer Died For Your Sins." Last year he released "A Tribute to Johnny Cash" to positive reviews.
He was an activist for environmental causes, and for the rights of American Indians and other indigenous people. In the 1990s, Westerman toured the world with Sting to raise money to preserve rain forests.
"He was really, really politically conscious," his son said. "He said the Iraq war is just another land grab, like they did with Oklahoma and the Midwest in America. Back then it was about land and gold, and now it was about oil."
Westerman was born Aug. 17, 1936, on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Sioux reservation in South Dakota.
He left the reservation as a youngster to attend a government boarding school. In keeping with policies at the time, the school frowned on his culture.
"They cut his hair and they wouldn't allow him to speak the language," his son said. "He was a survivor of everything that the government has tried to do to Native Americans."
Westerman graduated from a reservation high school, spent two years in the Marines and earned a degree in secondary education from Northern State College in South Dakota.
Survivors include his wife, Rosie; son, Richard, and daughters Jennifer Westerman of Arizona, Chante Westerman of Washington state, Nicky Jackson of Minneapolis, and Chenoa Westerman of South Dakota.
Floyd Red Crow Westerman
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