'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Selected Sunday Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Clear, cold & windy.
Sure wish the grocery clerk strike was settled. Have taken to carrying a list of needed things at all time.
Growing up in the backwoods, 'making do' is nothing new. But, I'm in the big city now, and if I want round toothpicks, frozen berries or cat litter it should be no big deal.
Warehouse shopping is fine for big purchases, but not realistic for a quart of milk at 10pm.
The non-major grocery chains have been experiencing shortages. Before Christmas I couldn't find a can of Crisco - or aluminum bakeware, cat foods, and lettuce.
Have had a couple of adventures in ethnic markets. The ones in my area have specific 'in' & 'out' doors, watched over by armed guards.
OTOH, it could be another reason to look into a trip to Las Vegas...
Tonight, Sunday, CBS starts the night with a 90-minute '60 Minutes', followed by a RERUN 'King Of Queens', then a
RERUN 'Cold Case', followed by a RERUN 'CSI: Miami'.
NBC begins the night with 'Dateline', followed by a FRESH 'American Dreams', then a FRESH
'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', followed by 'Queer Eye'.
ABC has the 'Sugar Bowl', so the left coast is treated to a RERUN 'America's Funniest Home Videos', followed by a RERUN
'The Practice'.
The WB here offers 'NBA Basketball', followed by a RERUN 'Smallville'.
Faux has a RERUN 'King Of The Hill', followed by a FRESH 'King Of the Hill', then a FRESH
'Simpsons', followed by a FRESH 'Bernie Mac', then a FRESH 'Malcolm', followed by a FRESH 'Arrested Development'.
UPN has the weekly RERUN 'Enterprise', followed by 'Stargate SG-1'.
A&E has 'Crossing Jordan', followed by the movie 'My Cousin Vinny', then 'Meet The Royals'.
AMC offers the movie 'No Way Out', followed by the movie 'Internal Affairs', then the movie 'White Palace'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'Monarch of the Glen' - Episode 1;
[7pm] 'Faking It' - Sheep Shearer to Hairdresser;
[8pm] 'Faking It' - Faking It Changed My Life;
[9pm] 'Jonathan Creek' - Black Canary;
[11pm] 'Faking It' - Faking It Changed My Life;
[12am] 'Jonathan Creek' - Movie: Black Canary;
[2am] 'Faking It' - Sheep Shearer to Hairdresser;
[3am] 'Jonathan Creek' - Movie: Black Canary;
[5am] 'Faking It' - Faking It Changed My Life;
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Celebrity Poker', 'Inside The Actors Studio' (Russell Crowe), and the movie 'Manhunter'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Dazed & Confused', followed by the movie 'Best In Show', and 'Friars Club Roast: Hugh Hefner'.
HBO has the 6th Season Premiere of 'Sex & The City', followed by the 4th Season Premiere of
'Curb Your Enthusiasm'.
History has 'Dead Reckoning', 'SS', another 'SS', and still another 'SS'.
SciFi has the movie 'Stephen King's "It"', followed by the movie 'The Frighteners'.
TCM:
[6am] 'Queen Christina' (1933);
[8am] 'Grand Hotel' (1932);
[10am] 'Anchors Aweigh' (1945);
[12:30pm] 'Texas Carnival' (1951);
[2pm] 'A Patch Of Blue' (1965);
[4pm] 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty' (1947);
[6pm] 'Pillow Talk' (1959);
[8pm] 'High Noon' (1952);
[9:30pm] 'Rio Bravo' (1959);
[12am] 'The Love Light' (1921) SILENT ;
[1:30am] 'Coquette' (1929) SILENT ;
[3am] 'You'll Never Get Rich' (1941);
[4:30am] '42nd Street' (1933). (ALL TIMES EST)
Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, center, is joined by musicians Willie Nelson, left, and Bonnie Raitt before a campaign fund-raising concert in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004. Along with Nelson's and Raitt's endorsements, the event also included performances by Dobbie Brothers Pat Simmons and Michael McDonald.
Photo by Jack Plunkett
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Wedding News
Britney Spears
Pop star Britney Spears married a childhood friend early Saturday morning in Las Vegas, according to reports from two news outlets.
Spears' new husband is Jason Allen Alexander, who is from Kentwood, La., according to People.com, the online arm of the Time Warner publication. The two, who are both Louisiana natives, tied the knot early Saturday morning in Las Vegas at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the Strip, People.com said.
The bride wore jeans and baseball cap, according to People.com, and had a hotel bellman walk her down the aisle.
The chapel staff told the couple that they couldn't get married without a license, so they were reportedly taken by the limo to the Clark County Marriage Bureau office in the downtown Las Vegas courthouse. They applied for and were granted the marriage license, then driven back to the chapel, where they were married.
Britney Spears
Critiqued
The Critics
The Critics Critiqued - Their nastiest insults, most insightful reviews, and oddest fixations this year.
By Ben Williams
*Best Response to a Bad Review:
After Roger Ebert called Vincent Gallo's Brown Bunny "the worst film in the history of the festival" at Cannes, the director put a curse on the critic's colon and said he had "the physique of a slave trader." (Even better: Gallo's dismay at good reviews from French critics, which he called "almost like salt in the wound.")
*Most Charming Impersonation of Bill O'Reilly:
Neil Pollack on war criticism in the Stranger: "Shut up, antiwar people. Shut up, pro-war people. Shut down your computers and shut your goddamn pieholes. No one gives a shit what you write, so stop writing about the war. Shut up, all of you."
For an entertaining read, The Critics Critiqued
Thanks, Jim K!
'American Splendor' Best Picture
National Society of Film Critics
"American Splendor," the life story of a grumpy file clerk who attains cult celebrity status by becoming a comic book writer, took best picture honors at the National Society of Film Critics awards Saturday.
Clint Eastwood's working class crime drama "Mystic River" was second in the voting for best picture and Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation," a quirky tale of two Americans finding friendship while in Japan, took third.
Eastwood got the nod for best director for "Mystic River;" Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini won best screenplay for "American Splendor;" and Bill Murray won best actor for "Lost in Translation."
Charlize Theron's performance in "Monster" earned best actress honors, while Peter Sarsgaard was named best supporting actor for his role in "Shattered Glass."
Patricia Clarkson took the best supporting actress prize for two films: "The Station Agent" and "Pieces of April."
National Society of Film Critics
Brazilian surfer Bruno Moreira competes in round three of the Billabong World Junior Championships, at North Narrabeen in Sydney, January 3, 2004. The event features six man squads from the seven Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) regions; Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Hawaii, North and South America and three wildcards. There is a total prize purse of $45,000.
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Sharon Stone & Joe Pesci
Worst Film Love Scenes
The worst film love scenes of all time. According to a new poll in Film magazine, Sharon Stone may have deserved that best supporting actress Oscar nomination for Martin Scorsese's "Casino" in 1995, but should have skipped the "romance" (so-to-speak) with diminutive tough guy Joe Pesci. The Stone-Pesci coupling was top-rated as worst love scene.
Coming in at No. 2 was Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones for "Entrapment," with readers citing the actors' 40-year age difference as being problematic. No mention of those readers' thoughts on Zeta-Jones' decades difference with her real-life hubby, Michael Douglas!
The third-place went to Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider in "Last Tango in Paris," which was quite controversial when it was released in 1972. Other contenders on the list included Madonna and Willem Dafoe's candle wax session in "Body of Evidence" and Halle Berry's sex scene with Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball," which won Berry her first Oscar.
Worst Film Love Scenes
Thanks, Tim H!
Running for Ky. Congress
Nick Clooney
Political newcomer Nick Clooney needed no introduction as he shook hands with people hunched over steaming breakfast plates at the Farmhouse restaurant.
The 69-year-old congressional candidate has instant recognition in northern Kentucky from his days as a Cincinnati television news anchor.
It doesn't hurt that he's also the father of actor George Clooney, the brother of the late singer-actress Rosemary Clooney, a columnist for The Cincinnati Post for 15 years and a former host on the cable network American Movie Classics.
Clooney is so far the only Democrat in the race for the seat held by Kentucky's lone Democratic congressman, Ken Lucas, who is retiring and recruited Clooney.
Clooney calls himself a "common sense Democrat" and stresses health care, jobs, veterans issues and a proposed buyout of farmers' federal tobacco growing quotas.
He believes the Bush tax cuts just created a huge deficit and says he would focus tax cuts on those in need.
He was an early critic of the war in Iraq, though he says the Bush administration must now finish the job and establish democracy. "I didn't think we had reason enough to send 300,000 kids over there in harm's way without enough evidence of the weapons of mass destruction being there," Clooney said.
Nick Clooney
UPDATED FOR 2004!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
'Died' Twice After Bike Crash
Ozzy Osbourne
Heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne said on Sunday he "died" twice after an accident on a quad bike that left him in a coma for eight days.
Osbourne's life was saved by bodyguard Sam Ruston who went to his aid after the December 8 crash at the star's country estate in Buckinghamshire, southern England.
The former frontman of heavy metal band Black Sabbath said he had learned a lesson from his brush with death.
"I'll never go near one of those damn bikes again...I am lucky to be here today and not paralyzed," he told the newspaper.
Ozzy Osbourne
This 1938 patent drawing of the Maidenform brassiere is part of an exhibit entitled 'Doodles, Drafts and Designs' at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. The institution has framed seventy-four doodles and drawings done by engineers to send around the country for display in museums.
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Nightly Talker for MSGOP
Deborah Norville
Former "Today" co-anchor Deborah Norville is poised to return to the NBC News fold with a nightly MSNBC show that is expected to debut later this month, sources said.
The cabler has been in the hunt for a new weeknight show to fill a hole in the network's weeknight primetime lineup that was left by the cancellation of "Buchanan & Press" in November.
MSNBC has since shifted "The Abrams Report" from 9 p.m. to the 6 p.m. slot formerly occupied by "Buchanan & Press," but that still left the network with a void at 9 p.m., where Norville's interview-driven program is expected to run.
Even with her new MSNBC gig, Norville will continue to anchor "Inside Edition." A spokesman for the syndicated newsmagazine confirmed that Norville is under contract through the end of the 2004-05 TV season.
Deborah Norville
Brazil's Musical Minister
Gilberto Gil
It's not easy being a pop star and a government minister at the same time, but that won't stop Brazil's Gilberto Gil from taking his music and social justice policies on a world tour in 2004.
The Brazilian culture minister and pop icon says he has a lot of work to do these days and less time to compose and sing the songs that have made him one of the nation's best-known figures.
After Brazil's Carnival, which starts in February, he will visit Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia to meet officials and play music. He will also travel to Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Denmark to carry out his unique pop diplomacy.
Since the 1960s, Gil has been one of the most famous singers and composers in Brazil. With singers Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa and others he helped found Tropicalia, the musical movement that followed Bossa Nova. This year Gil was named man of the year at the Latin Grammy awards in Miami.
Gilberto Gil
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
13 Killed Covering Iraq War
Journalists
Thirteen journalists were killed last year covering the war in Iraq, the highest death toll for the media in a single country since 1995, a watchdog group said Friday.
In all, 36 journalists were killed worldwide last year, up from 19 in 2002, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
CPJ said it was particularly troubled by the deaths of four journalists in Iraq killed as a result of U.S. military action. It has called on the Pentagon for a public accounting. Three of the four were killed in April, when the buildings they were in came under fire from U.S. forces; the fourth died in August after being shot by U.S. soldiers.
The count includes only journalists killed as a direct result of their work. The list does not include six other reporters who died from illness or accidents while covering the war.
Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists
A worker cleans up a Buddhist temple to greet the upcoming Chinese New Year in Kuala Lumpur Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004. Ethnic Chinese Malaysians will celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year of Monkey, which falls on Jan. 22 this year.
Photo by Teh Eng Koon
Says Arrest Was Unfair
Alex Lifeson
The lead guitarist for the rock band Rush said his arrest at a New Year's Eve party was unfair.
Alex Zivojinovich — known on stage as Alex Lifeson — was arrested for what police described as drunken, violent behavior at the Naples Ritz-Carlton hotel. He faces six charges, including four felonies, the most serious of which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.
"This gives new meaning to dinner at the Ritz," Zivojinovich, 50, said as he left jail Friday on $14,500 bond, wearing the same black suit he wore to the New Year's Eve bash.
Zivojinovich said he didn't believe his arrest was fair. "They didn't like the way we were dancing, apparently," he said.
Alex Lifeson
Museum Exhibit
'Grossology'
It burps, sneezes, passes gas and just down right stinks.
It's all in the name of learning, though even staffers at the Discovery Museum and Planetarium have trouble keeping a straight face while discussing "Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body."
After all, the exhibit's highlights include a climbing wall modeled on human skin — complete with oozing pimples and hairy moles — and "Burp Man," a cartoon character who lets out a big, loud belch after visitors pump his stomach full of soda.
And then there's the "Toot Toot" machine that children use to make all sorts of embarrassing sounds.
The term "grossology" was coined by author Sylvia Branzei, who wrote a series of science books for children about bodily functions. Branzei, a former school teacher and microbiologist, said she believes children learn best when they are taught in their own language — a language that includes words like "snot" and "barf."
For more details, 'Grossology'
Hustisford, Wisconsin
Toilet Bowl Parade
The royalty in the town's annual bowl parade carried toilet plunger scepters and sat on a giant toilet throne.
People in Hustisford welcomed the new year Thursday with the 39th annual Hustisford Toilet Bowl Parade.
Spectators along the parade route flung toilet paper at the Toilet Bowl Queen and King, Courtney and Jason Hildebrandt. The parade was followed by a town football game and water fight.
The parade had other floats, including one of Santa pulling a captured Saddam Hussein and one of a sled carrying "Miss Poopsie 2004," a doll on a potty chair pulled by a team of four dachshunds.
Toilet Bowl Parade
In Memory
Rick Van Santen
Rick Van Santen, co-president of a concert promotion company that helped bring punk rock into the mainstream, has died at his Ventura County home.
Van Santen died Dec. 28 from flu-related complications, according to Paul Tollett, co-president of Goldenvoice. He was 41.
In the 1980s, a time when major promoters shunned punk, Goldenvoice presented acts in established rooms such as the Hollywood Palladium and the Palace, now the Avalon. Acts such as Jane's Addiction, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Social Distortion and Nirvana are among groups that worked with Goldenvoice.
"There cannot be any L.A. band since the early '80s that was playing edgy rock that doesn't owe Rick," said Brendan Mullen, who operated the famed Masque punk rock club in the mid-'70s and helped guide Van Santen into the business.
Rick Van Santen
Four-month-old baby Giant Panda 'Tian Tian' plays with her eight-year-old mother 'Niu Niu' at the Beijing Zoo Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003. Panda bears are among the most threatened species, with only about 1,000 believed to be alive in the wild. China has invested heavily in a captive breeding program, but loss of habitat and low fertility continue to endanger their numbers.
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'The Osbournes'
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