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Reader Response
More ''Lord Of The Rings''
As a huge fan of Tolkien's work I greatly anticipated ''The Lord of the Rings.'' Unfortunately what I saw was a poor
second cousin of J.R.R.'s greatest tale. As a vidiot, who works in the entertainment industry, I understand the need
to shorten for time, but the changes here are strategic and greatly harm the story.
First, the movie has no sense of time flow or geographical scale. I've been reading Tolkien off and on for the last
34 years and I need no time flow , but to the moviegoer with no Tolkien experience this film is impossible to follow.
There appears to be no passage of time between Bilbo's birthday and Gandalf's return with the bad news. The wizard
gallops off for Isengard and the Hobbits leave for Bree. They eventually end up in Rivendell. How far away are these
places? By the perceived flow of time they appear to be quite close together. Where are these places in relation to
one another? Perhaps an occasional map with narration could have helped. The movie starts out with this to great effect,
but that's it. We are left to wonder, or already know the whats, when and wheres.
Second, why are the Hobbits portrayed as dolts? The Black Riders discover Frodo at Weathertop because of Strider's gaff.
Pippin's stone in Moria does not bring all the orcs ever spawned down upon them. These changes do not shorten the work
and they take away from the characters.
Third, the first book ends with Frodo and Sam Rowing off to Mordor. In this film there is what can only be described as
a weird scene where Frodo and Aragorn meet and agree to break the Fellowship. Tolkien's Strider would never have agreed
to this, and the meeting takes away the greatest decision of his life. Where is Frodo? Is he going west as a captive
of the orcs or the missing boat? The fate of Middle Earth hangs on his call, but in this movie the question has already been answered.
When great stories are brought to the screen they need not shed their greatness for time. This movie could have been
40 minutes shorter and received the approval of the Tolkien family. I do not blame Christopher for withdrawing his support.
The writers have, for reasons unknown, badly mangled the story; lessening its' positive impact and reducing Tolkien's audience.
Like me, fans of Middle Earth will enjoy this movie, but it will miss the general audience it deserves and could have gotten.
~~ Cal
More New Images
The Worried Shrimp
a new image to an old series...
ChickenHawk2
the GOP has delivered us a ChickenShit ChickenHawk Nation...
''There remains no resolution of this war
beyond each man's obligation
to his world and his conscience
to record the True inner-history
of his Vietnam experience.'' - Steve Mason - Johnny's Song
never forgive, never forget...
TWS
, TWS
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Had the 'AFI Awards' on in the background. Quite the cheese-fest.
Tonight, Sunday it's all fresh again (except for some stuff
on the WB and 'Dr. Dolittle' on ABC)!
CBS has '60 Minutes', 'Max Bickford', and the movie 'Entrapment'.
Over on NBC, Ron Jeremy is among the 'contestants' on 'Weakest Link'. It's
followed by 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' and 'UC: Undercover'.
ABC has the regurgitation of 'Dr. Dolittle', followed by fresh episodes of
'Alias' and 'The Practice'.
The WB has doubled up episodes of the same show, with one a rerun and the other fresh.
Faux has all new 'Futurama', 'King of the Hill', 'Simpsons', 'Malcolm',
and 'X-Files', if anyone still watches it.
Also, a new show debuts on TNN, 'Conspiracy Zone' with Kevin Nealon as host.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Weekly 'Survivor' Update
Buh-Bye 'T-Bird'
T-Bird has been grounded and now only four remain.
When her last-ditch effort to break the seemingly shaky Boran alliance failed, 42-year-old flight attendant
Teresa Cooper--the lone surviving Samburu member--got her wings clipped on Survivor: Africa.
The Jackson, Georgia, native was the 12th person sent packing in a ho-hum 4-1 Tribal Council vote, leaving
only Lex van den Berghe, Tom Buchanan, Kim Johnson and Ethan Zohn remaining in the Moto Maji Tribe.
The final four will be whittled down to one ultimate survivor next week during a special two-hour installment
of CBS' reality adventure series.
The show pretty much stuck to the familiar script. Day 34 kicked off with the tribe giving the usual spiel
about boredom, weather and hygiene--with Tom's smelly feet being the biggest challenge the group's faced
so far. The Moto Majis then had their animal encounter du jour (elephants pooping in the tribe's watering hole).
Tree-mail brough letters from home and the requisite tears.
And the increasingly invincible Lex won all the challenges.
The tattooed marketing manager took the reward challenge--a word-find puzzle with a hidden clue--to win a
shiny new Chevy Avalanche (can you say, "shameless plug"), which host Jeff Probst loaded up with supplies and
AIDS medicine for Lex to deliver to a local hospital. (CBS has announced that props from Survivor: Africa will
be sold on eBay after next week's finale, with all proceeds going to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.)
With Lex absent from camp, Teresa tried to rally the others against him. But when he dominated the immunity
challenge--an obstacle course consisting of bits from previous challenges--the anti-Lex forces were thwarted,
the Boransters stuck together and T-Bird was targeted for extinction in the tension-free Tribal Council.
Happy that she made it this far, the mother of two said she had the "experience of a lifetime."
Ratings-wise, Survivor: Africa is gathering steam as it heads into its final week.
Weekly 'Survivor' Update
Updated!
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' never seems to rest - and doesn't let little things like laundry or
housekeeping get in the way!
Damn near every show on TV must is listed - days & days worth of great reading.
If you have any questions about nearly any tv program, check out
BC TV!
There Seems To Be A Crack In The Dam
Portland Rocks!
Sign-wielding protestors stand in the street in northeast Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 5, 2002, near
where President Bush was appearing. Several hundred protestors showed at the first of two Portland appearances
by President Bush, but dispersed without incident.
Photo by Steve Slocum
To Display Mammary Glands, Again
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is expected to bare more than her emotions in next Bond flick.APTalk about your double agents.
The producers of the new James Bond flick have said the inevitable love scene in the upcoming 20th installment
will feature full toplessness - a first for the super-spy film franchise.
Halle Berry, who made headlines last year when she agreed to take off her top (for an additional $500,000)
in the thriller "Swordfish," is considered the most likely to bare her assets in the role of villainess Jinx,
according to The Times of London.
All the prospective Bond girls who auditioned were asked to recreate the famous seduction scene from the 1963
Sean Connery classic "From Russia With Love," in which femme fatale Tatiana Romanova beds down the dapper
007 in his hotel room.
EON Productions begins filming the latest episode of the ultra-lucrative spy series later this month.
Halle Berry
LOTR Shot Out Of Sequence
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom says he kept referring to J.R.R. Tolkien's ``The Lord of the Rings'' for his role
in the films based on the trilogy.
That's because the three movies, shot simultaneously in New Zealand, were filmed out of sequence over
a period of 18 months, Bloom told reporters.
``You could film a scene from the first movie in the morning and a scene from the third movie in the
afternoon and you could have shot the scene before that like three weeks earlier or two weeks earlier,'' the actor said.
``So to keep that all in your head, it was like homework. You'd study the book, then study the scripts
and then kind of merge the two.''
Orlando Bloon
The Winners
AFI Awards
The fantasy epic ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' won best-picture honors and two other
prizes at the first American Film Institute Awards on Saturday.
Denzel Washington was named best actor for playing a flamboyantly corrupt narcotics detective in ``Training Day.''
Sissy Spacek won lead-actress honors as a grieving, vengeful mother in ``In the Bedroom.''
Robert Altman was picked as best director for his satiric murder mystery ``Gosford Park.''
Gene Hackman of ``The Royal Tenenbaums'' and Jennifer Connelly of ``A Beautiful Mind'' earned supporting-actor honors.
The 12 awards in the film categories were spread among nine movies. The only multiple winners were ``Lord of the
Rings,'' which also won for digital effects and production design, and ``Moulin Rouge,'' honored for composing and editing.
Writer-director Christopher Nolan won the screenplay award for the convoluted, backwards-moving thriller ``Memento.'' Roger
Deakins took the cinematography honor for the Coen brothers' film-noir update ``The Man Who Wasn't There.''
``Sopranos'' co-star Edie Falco won the best TV series actress honor. The show also won for best drama series.
HBO's ``Curb Your Enthusiasm'' won for best comedy series.
Jeffrey Wright won the best actor award in a TV movie or miniseries as Martin Luther King Jr. in ``Boycott.'' Judy Davis
took the best actress honor in a TV movie or miniseries as Judy Garland in ``Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.''
The AFI Awards, aired live on CBS, included nominees in 12 movie and seven television categories.
AFI Awards
Appearing On The 'American Music Awards'
Michael Jackson
A bitter dispute over whether pop icon Michael Jackson could appear on both the Grammy awards and its smaller
rival the American Music Awards ended on Friday when Jackson agreed to accept an honor at the Music Awards but not perform.
A spokesman for the 29th annual Dick Clark-produced music awards, which are to take place next Wednesday,
said Jackson would appear to accept its artist of the century award.
Clark, proclaiming he was ``mad as hell,'' last month filed a $10 million lawsuit against National Academy
of Recording Arts & Sciences' president Michael Greene, who oversees the annual Grammy Awards, charging that
the Grammys were engaged in unfair competition against his show by not letting performers appear on both programs.
Clark claimed that the practice of keeping artists from performing on both the American Music Awards and
the Grammys has been going on for years and said there was ``a long list'' of artists who have been
barred from appearing on his show -- including Jackson.
Jackson had originally agreed to take part in the American Music Awards but allegedly backed out because
of what Clark claimed was Greene's policy of stopping artists who appear on the Music Awards from
participating on the Grammys telecast.
A spokesman for Clark said Jackson would appear on the show. ``Michael is a man of his word. He is going
to attend and pick up his award.'' But Clark plans to proceed with his lawsuit against Greene over the
alleged unfair competition, the spokesman said.
href="http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020104/re/leisure_jackson_dc_1.html">Michael Jackson to appear, after all, on Dick Clark's 'American Music Awards'
The Newest 'Aunt Eller'
Andrea Martin
With the hiring of comedian Andrea Martin, casting is now complete for the highly anticipated Broadway revival
of ``Oklahoma!'' opening March 21 at the Gershwin Theatre.
Martin, seen recently in the movie version of ``Hedwig and the Angry Inch,'' will play Aunt Eller in the
production, which will be directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Susan Stroman. Both Nunn and Stroman
were involved in the acclaimed 1998 revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical by England's Royal National Theatre.
Preview performances begin Feb. 23.
Andrea Martin as 'Aunt Eller'
Liberal Radio !
Erin Hart
Liberal radio - what a concept!
Join Erin Hart at nearly regulation times (10 pm to 1 am [pst] Sun ) on www.710kiro.com or www.kiro710.com (It's
a browser thing).
And don't forget about the chatroom!
For more details, visit Erin's homepage, http://www.erinistas.com/.
Say 'Hi' to Brian, the Webmaster, and, while you're there, check out his computer tips!
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Sad History
Zeke
The untimely death of former presidential pooch Buddy wasn't the first time one of Bill Clinton's canines was
killed while running loose. Clinton's blond cocker spaniel, Zeke, was run over by a car while romping outside
the Arkansas governor's mansion in 1990. "The dog reportedly escaped the mansion grounds regularly and prowled
the Quapaw Quarter, where he sired a few puppies," reported the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 1998. "After complaints
from neighbors, the Clintons decided to neuter Zeke. Some said Zeke grew fat and listless afterward, but he escaped
again in the fall of 1990 and was killed by a car on Broadway in Little Rock." During the 1992 presidential campaign,
Hillary Clinton told an acquaintance that Zeke was killed "after years of near misses. We still miss him, especially
Chelsea," reports newsmax.com. Buddy, who often battled with the Clintons' cat Socks, was killed outside their
Chappaqua home Thursday when he bounded into the street and was hit by high school senior Halie Ritterman.
Don't Forget 'Zeke'
Accusations Of Plagiarism
Stephen Ambrose
Historian Stephen Ambrose has been accused of plagiarizing sections of his new book about World War II bomber
pilots, ``The Wild Blue.''
Fred Barnes, a columnist for ``The Weekly Standard,'' argues in the Jan. 14 issue of the magazine that Ambrose
borrowed passages from ``The Wings of Morning,'' a book by historian Thomas Childers about the same topic.
Ambrose included footnotes that cite Childers' book as a source for the sections, but the footnotes do not
acknowledge that he quotes directly from the book, Barnes said.
The two books have several similar passages, according to Barnes. For example, Childers wrote about ball turret
gunners: ``It was the most physically uncomfortable, isolated, and terrifying position on the ship. The gunner
climbed into the ball, pulled the hatch closed, and was then lowered into position.''
A section in Ambrose's book, focusing on former Sen. George McGovern, reads: ``The ball turret was, as McGovern
said, the most physically uncomfortable, isolated, and terrifying position on the plane. The gunner climbed into
the ball, pulled the hatch closed and was then lowered into position.''
Ambrose, a professor at the University of New Orleans, has written more than 25 books. One of his books, ``Band
of Brothers,'' was made into a television miniseries.
Stephen Ambrose
New! Updated!
(10 Dec., 2001)
The official BartCop Astrologer, Geneva, has done good, again!
Very interesting reading!
New Record Label
High Times Records
High Times fans can look forward to a bonus this year - the pot smokers' magazine is launching a reefer-friendly
record label. High Times Records has teamed up with Caroline Distribution to "cater to music- and marijuana-lovers
alike, while working with artists who truly understand that special synergy." The first album is "THC (The Hip-Hop
Collection) Vol. 1," a 14-song hip-hop compilation to be released April 16. Snoop Dogg, anyone?
High Times Records
'An Apple A Day...'
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron was caught smoking an "apple bong" at a party in the backyard of her Hollywood Hills home. The
National Enquirer snapped the "Cider House Rules" star getting apple-soused while puffing something out of a
green apple. The fruit-tooting temptress is shown wearing a polka-dot bikini in the pics, which appear to be
taken by a paparazzo skulking nearby. Theron's mouthpiece issued a terse "no comment" about the shots.
Charlize Theron
The current National Enquirer (the one with the 'American Taliban' on the cover) has several pictures of
Charlize & her Granny Smith - there's even a picture of them on the front cover....right next to a picture of
Jerry Falwell, and a tease about a 'gay' cover up at his Liberty 'University'.
Back In Trouble, Again
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of obstructing and delaying officers investigating a possible
code violation at his seaside restaurant.
The former NBA player was taken into custody at 3:15 a.m. after refusing to let police officers enter the restaurant.
Newport Beach police Sgt. Neal Harvey said Rodman violated a Business and Profession Code, which restricts the hours
of alcohol beverage service after 2 a.m., when he stayed inside the restaurant past that hour.
Police officers saw numerous cars in the parking lot of the restaurant at 2:40 a.m. and tried to enter. They made
contact with Rodman at the door, but he refused to open it, Harvey said.
About 30 minutes later, patrons inside the restaurant were let out and Rodman was taken into custody.
Since retiring from the NBA, Rodman has had more than 70 visits by Newport Beach police over loud parties at his
home and a conviction for drunken driving. He also has faced allegations of sexual harassment and assault - some of which are pending.
Dennis Rodman
BC Entertainment Favorite Link
Moose & Squirrel Information One-Stop
http://geocities.com/mooseandsquirrel1
What a great site! Information and reference materials of the first order!
Between 'Moose & Squirrel'
and 'Google', who needs daddy drudge!
New Season, New Topics
Sesame Street
How do you explain the horrors of Sept. 11 to a 3-year-old?
The producers of "Sesame Street" will take on some of the difficult issues raised by the terrorist attacks on
New York and Washington when the series begins its 33rd season Feb. 4. The premiere episode deals with Elmo's fears
after he witnesses a grease fire that breaks out at a lunch counter and the reassurance he receives during a visit
with real-life firefighters at a station in Harlem, N.Y.
Other episodes set to air during the show's February-June season tackle such subjects as diversity and tolerance,
the loss of a loved one -- or how Big Bird copes when his pet turtle wanders away -- and tactics for dealing with bullies.
The "Sesame Street" production team had to scramble late last year to craft a handful of episodes that responded,
however obliquely, to the world-changing events of Sept. 11. The attacks hit just as writers of the New York-based
PBS series were putting the finishing touches on the scripts for the show's 50-episode season order.
The weighty subject matter on this season's batch of "Sesame Street" episodes comes as the show is introducing a
host of new segments and undertaking the most significant format changes since it bowed in 1969.
Sesame Street
''My Ego's Too Big''
O'Really
Move over, Charlton Heston. Bill O'Reilly sounds like he'd be a great choice to succeed you as head of the
National Rifle Association.
"You can't ever wipe out evil," Fox News Channel star O'Reilly tells the new issue of Esquire.
"But it's like if someone comes to your house bent on killing you or your family, what do you do? You don't
negotiate with them. You don't try and understand why they're coming in to kill you and your family. You kill them."
O'Reilly - who was just blasted by Sean Penn as being "worse that Osama bin Laden" - isn't afraid to die himself.
"Americans never want to die," he tells Esquire. "They're afraid to die. Everybody thinks that if they
eat sandwiches with sprouts in them, they are going to squeeze out another three or four years. You know
what? I'd rather die three or four years earlier than eat the sprouts.
Despite declaring that men prefer more than one woman, O'Reilly swears he is against prostitution.
"Never been with a hooker, never been on a blind date. My ego's too big," he explains.
"I had rules. I would never sleep with any girl who was drunk or high. And believe me, in the '60 and '70s,
I lost a lot of opportunities. But again, the ego."
"I wanted [women] to say, 'Hey, O'Reilly, c'mon' . . . I didn't want them staggering in, saying, 'What's your
name?' That wasn't going to do it for me."
O'Really
Hospital News
Waylon Jennings
Doctors have amputated country singer Waylon Jennings' left foot because of an infection related to diabetes,
his spokeswoman said.
The surgery was done Dec. 19 in Phoenix, Nikki Mitchell said Friday. She declined to discuss details.
Jennings, 64, postponed two Arizona concerts in early November after undergoing surgery to improve circulation
in one of his legs. He suffers from peripheral vascular disease that has made it difficult for him to walk in recent years.
He is expected to return to live performing in the spring.
Waylon Jennings
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Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
