'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
He's Been Busy - Again!
The Worried Shrimp
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast morning, sunny afternoon.
KNBC is running a LOT of promos for audiences for 'Dr. Phil'.
Vistied in Erin's chatroom. Will be back there tonight. While Erin (& Stacey) run a tight ship, lots of monkeys peeking in.
Had 'SNL' on in the background. Without a doubt, the singularly most un-funny show since the raygun years, when we hoped for Charlie Rocket to let loose with bad language. The highlight was the
woman in 'The Dixie Chicks' who can pick a banjo.
Sunday:
For a viewing selection, I might suggest MSNBC, around 4:30-ish, est Sunday. Really, you never know when
the resident genuises of 'Take Back The Media' might make an appearance. ; )
Tonight (Sunday), as is tradition, CBS opens the evening with '60 Minutes', then follows with a FRESH 'Becker' (Kelsey Grammar guests), then
the crappy new tradion of a RERUN in the next time slot. This week it's a RERUN 'Raymond'. (Rant alert - Freaking pathetic - CBS cancelled
'Bram & Alice' after 2 [or was it 3 weeks]! Sunday is the most viewed evening, but it seems that CBS would rather cheap out & say 'screw you, viewers'. Boo. Hiss.) Then, they have a
FRESH made-for-tv-tear-jerker, 'Profoundly Normal'.
NBC starts the night with 'Dateline', then a FRESH 'American Dreams', followed by a FRESH 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', and then
a FRESH 'Kingpin'.
ABC opens the night with the movie 'Inspector Gadget', then a FRESH 'Alias', followed by a FRESH 'Dragnet'.
The WB has the weekly RERUN 'Gilmore Girls', then a FRESH 'Charmed' followed by a FRESH 'High School Reunion'.
Faux opens the night with a RERUN 'King Of The Hill', followed by a FRESH 'King Of The Hill', then a FRESH 'Simpsons', followed by a
RERUN 'Simpsons', then a FRESH 'Malcolm', followed by a RERUN 'Malcolm'.
UPN offers the weekly RERUN 'Enterprise', and 'Stargate SG-1'.
BRAVO - on 'Inside The Actors Studio', the voice-cast of 'The Simpsons' are interviewed.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Big Dog Watch Continues
Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton, center, laughs as syndicated talk show host Tom Joyner, right, engages in a handshake with talk show host Larry King on the CNN's 'Larry King Live,' Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003, in Los
Angeles. Clinton and Joyner discussed Black History month and the importance of black students attending the historically Black universities in the United States. Joyner has authored a book and CD titled 'Interactive
Guide to Historically Black Universities.'
Photo by Rose M. Prouser
Leading San Francisco Parade
Armistead Maupin
Author Armistead Maupin will be grand marshal of the 2003 San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Parade.
Maupin was chosen Friday because 2003 marks the 25th anniversary of the author's first "Tales of the City" novel. The six volumes tell the stories of four people, gay and straight, who
live in the same apartment house in the city's Russian Hill neighborhood during the 1970s and 1980s.
The theme for the June 29 parade is "You've Gotta Give Them Hope," a quote from Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, said SF Pride President Joey Cain.
Armistead Maupin
San Francisco Pride Web site
Armistead Maupin Web site
Hunter S. Thompson
Godfather of gonzo journalism Hunter S. Thompson blew through town this week to hype his memoir.
Simon & Schuster threw a bash for the aging rebel upstairs at Pete's Tavern to celebrate "Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century."
When Thompson arrived with his assistant Anita Bejmuk, he got a standing ovation from the crowd, which included the Strokes' frontman Julian Casablancas, Sports Illustrated managing editor
Terry "Big Sky" McDonell, his agent Andrew Wylie, artist Lou Reed, S&S editor Marysue Rucci and S&S honcho David Rosenthal.
For a Hunter S. Thompson party, the evening was pretty subdued. In fact, the author - who once survived a fierce beating from the Hell's Angels - soaked his hand in an ice bucket all night,
reports The Post's Mary Huhn. He was worn out from his meet-and-greet at Barnes & Noble in Union Square just before the party. Always the professional, he signed more than 1,000 books for his fanatical following.
The previous evening, Thompson was a bit more animated when he sat down for a Relix magazine interview at Elaine's. The rabble-rouser is going to be the coverboy for the music magazine's April/May
issue. During the interview, Thompson continually beat his interviewers with a plastic hammer.
And lest anyone think that age and maturity have softened his political views, Thompson writes of the current presidency: "The prevailing quality of life in America - by any accepted methods of measuring - was
inarguably freer and more politically open under Nixon than it is today in this evil year of Our Lord 2002."
Hunter S. Thompson
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Re-Released With Subtitles
Benigni's 'Pinocchio'
Actor and director Roberto Benigni's film "Pinocchio" has found its voice — and it's in Italian.
The $35 million movie, shot in Italian but dubbed into English for U.S. audiences, flopped at the box office over the December holidays, grossing less than $4 million.
Now Miramax has re-released the film at theaters in New York and Los Angeles in Italian, with English subtitles.
The producers have said Benigni, who stars as the wooden puppet, struggled with English. Just weeks before the original release, another actor was brought in to dub Benigni's dialogue. Many reviewers slammed
the movie because the words poorly matched the actor's lip movements on screen.
Benigni's 'Pinocchio'
'No War'
Australian Women
More than 700 women posed nude on Saturday to protest against Australia's likely involvement in a potential war against Iraq.
Lying naked end to end on a grassy knoll in the Australian beach town of Byron Bay, they formed a heart around the words "No War" for an aerial photograph.
Australia has sent troops and approved fighter jet deployments to join U.S. and British forces in the Gulf preparing for a possible war in Iraq, but has yet to publicly commit itself to
joining any military action in Iraq, whether U.N.-approved or U.S.-led.
The women, ranging in age from about 20 to 60, gathered on a hillside in the beachside artists' haven in the far north of New South Wales state.
One middle-aged woman had the words "Bare it all for the boys Down Under" written down her back.
"I really realize now when I look up here and see all these women, they're desperate to let our prime minister hear how very very angry they are at what he's doing and how much they disagree
with what's happening," organizer Grace Knight told Australian Broadcasting Corp Radio.
The Australian protest echoed a similar one in New York where nude women formed the words "No Bush" to demonstrate against U.S. President George Bush's hardline stance against Iraq.
There were smaller anti-war protests elsewhere on Saturday in New South Wales and adjoining Queensland state.
Australian Women
Estate Back on the Market
Liberace
The lavish Spanish-style estate where Liberace died 16 years ago is back on the market, for $2.75 million.
Stefan Hemming, who bought the home from Liberace's estate for $750,000 in 1990, said he's selling the home because "it's time to move on."
Built in 1930 by Palm Springs pioneer Alvah Hicks, the building had served as a hotel known as The Cloisters when Liberace bought it in 1967 and renamed it Casa de Liberace.
Liberace, born Wladziu Valentino Liberace in Wisconsin, died in the house on Feb. 4, 1987, at 67.
Liberace
Starting Jewelry Company
Aimee Osbourne
Now that Kelly Osbourne's singing career is taking off, her off-camera sibling, Aimee, is putting her warbling dreams on hold. "I'm starting a jewelry company," Aimee told our spy. "It's
going to be really pretty stuff with lots of gems." The line is expected to launch sometime next September. Aimee, who has steadfastly refused to cash in on her family's television success, was pursuing a singing career last year.
Aimee Osbourne
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
$2M a Year From MSNBC
Jesse Ventura
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura will be paid a reported $2 million per year to host a talk show on cable channel MSNBC.
Ventura confirmed his plans during an appearance on NBC's "Tonight" show Thursday. It remained unclear when Ventura's show would begin, but he is expected to get a prime-time slot.
"People just love this guy," MSNBC President Erik Sorenson told The New York Times, which credited the salary to unidentified network officials. "He has some kind of connection to the average guy."
Jesse Ventura
Sold For $550,000
Unsigned Van Gogh
An unsigned painting initially valued at $83 was auctioned off Saturday for $550,000 after it was revealed to be a previously unknown work by Vincent van Gogh.
The hammer fell after only about five minutes. The oil painting, a dark profile of a frowning middle-aged peasant woman in a white bonnet, goes to the owner of a small Japanese art gallery.
The Japanese art house organizing Saturday's sale started the bidding at $41,700 after receiving word late Thursday that the piece was a van Gogh.
Previously the Shinwa Art Auction had estimated the value at $83.
It was painted around 1884 and is believed to have been restored twice in the 1950s, degrading its quality and value.
The news made headlines across Japan and caught the attention of Toshio Nakamoto, owner of Wood One Museum of Art, a small collection in the village of Yoshiwa in rural Hiroshima prefecture.
Unsigned Van Gogh
Britney's Life 'Out of Control'
Fred Durst
Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst said that despite his recent outpourings of affection for Britney Spears, her life is too "out of control" for him to date her.
Durst posted several romantic messages on his band's Web site last month about the pop singer, such as, "I have never felt this way."
The 32-year-old said that when he met Spears, he thought, "Wow, this is just a very sweet Southern girl, just simple, you know, Southern girl," he told "Access Hollywood" for an interview airing Monday.
But actually, she has a life like Michael Jackson. It's, like, out of control. ... The people around her, pulling at her, people around her that are full of (expletive), just agreeing with her, like,
it's kind of crazy, she almost can't see what's real and what's not."
Durst said he feels badly for Spears, who dated 'N Sync singer Justin Timberlake for several years and recently has been linked to actor Colin Farrell.
"We're not enemies, man, I just don't want to talk to her," Durst said. "I just chose not to talk to her anymore."
Fred Durst
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Over 27 Million Viewers
Michael Jackson Special
More than 27 million viewers couldn't resist a peek into Michael Jackson's bizarre private life Thursday night, a number that explained why ABC fought a bidding war to air it.
The special edition of "20-20" was the highest-rated newsmagazine since Barbara Walters talked to Monica Lewinsky three years ago, and ABC's biggest audience, excluding sports and
the Academy Awards, since Michael J. Fox's "Spin City" farewell in May 2000.
ABC outbid NBC and other networks for the rights to show the Jackson documentary, originally broadcast Monday in Britain. ABC reportedly paid nearly $5 million to air it.
Considering ABC has been averaging 6.5 million viewers on Thursday nights this season, it means a hefty chunk of advertising revenue for the network and parent Walt Disney Co.
A special about Jackson that followed the documentary was watched by 23.6 million people, beating an original episode of NBC's "ER," Nielsen Media Research said Friday.
Thursday's "CSI" episode on CBS had 25.6 million viewers, about 2 million off its season average. NBC's "Friends" was watched by 23.4 million, nearly identical to its typical audience.
ABC also played hardball with NBC. Thursday night's follow-up show, "Primetime Thursday," focusing on Jackson's changed face was done with an upcoming "Dateline NBC" episode on the same topic in mind. The NBC show will air as
scheduled Feb. 17, a spokeswoman said, promising it will answer some questions raised by ABC's show.
ABC also let its Jackson documentary run until 10:05 p.m. EST — making it tough for any viewers interested in switching to NBC's "ER" or any other show at the top of the hour.
Michael Jackson Special
Mavis Staples, left, Natalie Cole, second left, Ruth Brown, second right, and Bill Cosby perform the song 'Men Are Like Streetcars,' during the 'Salute to the Blues' concert at Radio City Music Hall Friday, Feb. 7, 2003,
in New York. The show is the official kickoff of the yearlong celebration of the blues. Lovers of the genre are trying to spread that word in 2003, which has been declared 'The Year of the Blues' by Congress.
Photo by Stuart Ramson
Singing For Soldiers
Faith Hill
Country singing star Faith Hill will sing for soldiers next week at a free concert.
Hill's show at Fort Bragg, home to the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command, will be broadcast by ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday morning.
The show, in a stadium that holds about 8,000 people, will be open to fans showing military identification.
Faith Hill
Hospital News
Roger Ebert
Film critic Roger Ebert is recuperating from follow-up surgery for papillary cancer, a common and curable type of thyroid cancer.
The 60-year-old movie reviewer for the Chicago Sun-Times and television audiences underwent the procedure Thursday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Ebert said in a statement Friday that he would attend screenings on Monday and would cover the Oscar nominations on Tuesday.
"In other words," he said, "it's business as usual."
Roger Ebert
A snow leopard and her cub play in the fresh snowfall at the Bronx Zoo's Himalayan Highlands Habitat in New York, Friday, Feb. 7, 2003. A winter storm dumped five inches of snow in the city, bringing the total
for the season this far to more than 20 inches, slightly higher than the average of 13 inches for this time of year.
Photo by D. Shapiro
'The Osbournes'
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Critical Date Approaches
Nick's Crusade
