'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
The Most Reverend Bruce J. Simpson, Benedictine Order of St. John the Beloved: In the grip of gay panic
Paul Krugman: Bush's Class-War Budget
(Click on "Columns," Then on "Bush's Class-War Budget")
Terrence McNally: Al Franken's Nutritional Candy (AlterNet)
Eric Alterman: Better Red Than Dead?
Norman Solomon: What They Really Mean ... (AlterNet)
Gail Johnson: On Handmade Love (www.straight.com)
BY ROGER EBERT: Inside Deep Throat
Jim Emerson: 'Million Dollar' misrepresentations ( RogerEbert.com)
Daily Gay News Headlines
The Clinton Foundation
Condi Lied
Bushflash Video (An Oldie, But A Goodie)
George Bush, Star Wars, Episode 2
4 More Years: Song by Dean Friedman
Purple Gene Reviews
'Friday Night Fights'
Purple Genes' review of "Friday Night Fights" on ESPN II - featuring a 10 round super middleweight boxing match between CaSandra Geigger (6W - 4L) and Laila Ali (20W - 0L) live from Atlanta, Georgia:
There's nothing more fun on a Friday night than watching two boxing babes bash each others brains in. Better yet, watching Laila "She be Stingin'" Ali - 27 year old drop dead fine looking daughter of Mohammed Ali (My Hero along with Bob Dylan and Bob Marley!) get into the ring with a 160 pound 36 year old bruiser named CaSandra Geigger. But what was going to make the night sweeter was that one of the ESPNII live color telecastors would be the Lucia "Billy the Blue Bear" Rijker…the real life boxer who starred with Hilary Swank in the movie "Million Dollar Baby"!!!!!! Lucia was here for one reason….she wants to fight Laila Ali and kick her ASS……..
So we have the pre-fight pugilistic movie reviews……Lucia Rijkers' top five boxing movies of ALL TIME……..
5 "Shadow Boxers"
4 "Girl Fight"
3 "Hurricane"
2 "Raging Bull"
1 "Rocky"
Wow….What about "The Champ" (1931)…."Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956)….."When We Were Kings" (1996) ….and even "Million Dollar Baby"???????
Lucia may not be a movie critic but she is certainly focused on boxing…She figured that Laila Ali would dance around Geigger for 7 or 8 rounds and then put her away!
Bell rings for the first round…..Ali comes out swinging and Geiger immediately ties her up…..body punches by Ali…..good overhand rights….slow start….this pattern happens for 6 more rounds…until the eighth when Ali unloads a flurry of fast fists and finishes the slower and heavier Geigger…….just like Rijker predicted! .Laila Ali is now 20W - 0L with 17 Knock-outs…..but you don't get the impression she is interested in fighting Lucia Rijker!
By the way, for all you fight flick freaks, there is a boxing movie being made right now called "Sweet Science" starring Mariah Carey as an unknown female boxer being trained by a hard nosed fighter played by Lou Diamond Phillips…….Guest appearances by Laila Ali and Donald Trump….YEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAW I guess "Glitter" wasn't enough for Mariah……..
Purple Gene gives Laila Ali 7 right hooks out of 10 for a sluggish but successful match. But Lucia Rijker gets 10 out of 10 for her wonderful hair and her winning attitude!
Valentine Rant
Avery Ant
'once-in-a-lifetime' chance to win a fun-filled
week at Avery's Ant Farm & Spa.
That or win a t-shirt. It could go either way.
For all the jiggy details, check out:
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, but damp & cool.
Lifetime Achievement Grammy
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin got a whole lot of belated love from the music industry on Saturday, earning a lifetime achievement Grammy in recognition of a career that changed the face of rock 'n' roll.
During their 12 years together, Led Zeppelin never won a Grammy, even though they were arguably the biggest band of the 1970s, a combo whose blues-based rock anthems resonate loudly to this day.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and keyboardist John Paul Jones showed up with the two children of late drummer John Bonham to receive crystal trophies. Singer Robert Plant, busy rehearsing for a tour, sent in a video message.
Led Zeppelin
Producing Benefit Song
Sharon Stone & Denise Rich
Sharon Stone and Denise Rich are producing a song to benefit victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster in Asia.
The "Basic Instinct" actress and the socialite-songwriter are co-writing a single, "Come Together Now," to be sung by a collection of recording artists in the style of the 1985 song "We Are the World," which raised funds for Africa.
Aretha Franklin, Lindsay Lohan, Natalie Cole, Wyclef Jean, Peter Gabriel, Patti LaBelle, Lionel Richie, Mya, JoJo, Gavin DeGraw, Brian McKnight, Kelly Price and Paulina Rubio are among those scheduled to participate, it was announced Friday.
Sharon Stone & Denise Rich
Honored By MusicCares
Brian Wilson
Beach Boys songs got a new twist from India.Arie and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at a gala in honor of the group's founder Brian Wilson.
India.Arie dueted with Wilson on "God Only Knows," while the Chili Peppers kicked off Friday night's MusicCares Person of the Year party with "I Get Around."
Michael McDonald and Billy Preston shared keyboards on "Don't Worry Baby," and Grammy nominee Jamie Cullen received a standing ovation for "Sail On Sailor." Darlene Love, who first worked with Wilson in the 1960s, sang "Wouldn't It Be Nice." Neil Young dedicated "In My Room" to Wilson and his late brothers Carl and Dennis.
Other performers were Backstreet Boys, Barenaked Ladies, Earth Wind & Fire, John Legend, Shelby Lynne and Richie Sambora.
Brian Wilson
Winners
BAFTAs 2005
Best Film
The Aviator
David Lean Award for Best Achievement in Direction
Mike Leigh, Vera Drake
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Jamie Foxx, Ray
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Clive Owen, Closer
Best Screenplay (Adapted)
Sideways
Best Screenplay (Original)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Best Film Not in the English Language
The Motorcycle Diaries
For the complete list, BAFTAs 2005
Hospital News
Matthew Perry
Actor and former Friends star Matthew Perry spent 24 hours at a Los Angeles hospital on doctor's orders earlier this week after a bad reaction to prescription medication, People magazine reported on its Web site on Saturday.
Perry, 35, was released and is recovering, according to the magazine, which confirmed the actor's hospitalization with his representative. No other details of the hospital stay and release were provided.
Matthew Perry
Over at 45 in Hollywood
Catherine Deneuve
French film siren Catherine Deneuve believes her career would have ended long ago had she tried to work in Hollywood, where youth and looks count for almost everything.
In Berlin to promote her latest film "Les Temps Qui Changent" ("Changing Times"), Deneuve, 61, said American cinema was merely a reflection of that society.
"It's true that in America you had better die young, because you are not supposed to grow older," she told Reuters on Saturday, when asked if she shared the frustration of Hollywood actresses who find work harder to get as they age.
"Also we talk a lot in European film. There is more talking than action."
Catherine Deneuve
Stun Audio World
Studio Closings
In the space of five days, two major recording facilities in two of the largest markets -- New York and Los Angeles -- have closed or announced imminent closure.
The Hit Factory in New York -- a seven-room facility that long occupied the pinnacle of the commercial recording industry with its reputation for state-of-the-art equipment, luxurious environment and a staff that catered to elite artists' every whim -- will shut its doors by the end of the month. The company will relocate its headquarters to its Miami facility, the former Criteria Recording, which it acquired in 1999. The move was announced Feb. 2.
Meanwhile, Hollywood's Cello Studios -- formerly Western Recorders and later part of Ocean Way Studios -- suddenly closed Jan. 28, simultaneous with a bankruptcy filing. Staff and tenants were given virtually no warning, according to audio professionals familiar with the situation. The studio's employees, all of whom were dismissed, have not received payment for the last pay period. The future of the company and building at 6000 Sunset Blvd. is uncertain.
Studio Closings
Line Hits Snag
Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott's street wear collection hit a snag in Denmark - its logo was a bit too similar to that of the country's queen.
Clothing maker Adidas-Salomon AG withdrew the line from Danish stores after the royal court said the logo infringed on Queen Margrethe II's copyright.
The shoes, bags and shirts in the collection carry a logo that consist of a crown on top of the words "Respect" and Missy Elliott's initials "M.E." The queen's logo consists of a crown on top of the letters "M-2-R," with the "R" standing for the Latin word for queen, Regina.
Missy Elliott
Central Park in Saffron
'The Gates'
With flowing fabric the color of a sunrise, "The Gates" - a massive public art installation - was unfurled Saturday for the start of a 16-day stay transforming miles of footpaths in Central Park.
The project opened with Mayor Michael Bloomberg dropping the first piece of saffron-colored fabric to the cheers of a huge crowd. He was joined by exhibit creators Christo and Jeanne-Clait creators Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
The weather was windy and cold as the first fabric dropped from one of the 7,500 16-foot-high gates, creating what the artists billed as "a visual golden river" along 23 miles of the park's footpaths. More than 1 million square feet of fabric was used by the artists.
'The Gates'
Really Loud Sex?
Texas
A 16-year-old boy was charged with shooting his father in their southwest Harris County home Friday, Local 2 reported. The shooting was originally reported as a case of domestic abuse, but deputies said the boy apparently witnessed a sexual act between his parents and thought the father was abusing the mother.
Sheriff's deputies charged the boy with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony.
"During the course of love making, the wife was evidently being somewhat loud … loud enough to where it woke the children up," Harris County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Mike Smith told Local 2.
"The children interpreted the noise as their mother being in danger," Smith said. "The 11-year-old went into the room, forcibly went into the room, to protect his mother. (The child) observed his parents making love and got the 16-year-old. The 16-year-old came back in and fired the shot."
After investigating previous problems at the home, officials said there have been previous reports of abuse in the family and that father had been charged and convicted of domestic violence.
Officials said the children feared their mother was being hurt due to their father's previous convictions for abuse and that is the reason the oldest son shot his father.
Authorities said they have not determined whether the mother was screaming for help.
Texas
Can It See Into the Future?
Black Box
Deep in the basement of a dusty university library in Edinburgh lies a small black box, roughly the size of two cigarette packets side by side, that churns out random numbers in an endless stream.
At first glance it is an unremarkable piece of equipment. Encased in metal, it contains at its heart a microchip no more complex than the ones found in modern pocket calculators.
But, according to a growing band of top scientists, this box has quite extraordinary powers. It is, they claim, the 'eye' of a machine that appears capable of peering into the future and predicting major world events.
The machine apparently sensed the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre four hours before they happened - but in the fevered mood of conspiracy theories of the time, the claims were swiftly knocked back by sceptics. But last December, it also appeared to forewarn of the Asian tsunami just before the deep sea earthquake that precipitated the epic tragedy.
For an interesting read, Black Box
In Memory
Stan Richards
Actor Stan Richards, who starred as gamekeeper Seth Armstrong in the British soap opera "Emmerdale" for 27 years, has died at the age of 74, the show's producers said on Saturday.
Richards died peacefully in his sleep at home on Friday. He had been unwell after suffering a collapsed lung in 2003 and also had emphysema.
Richards joined ITV's Emmerdale as "gentleman poacher" Armstrong in 1978, making him the longest-serving soap actor in Britain outside those appearing on BBC's "Coronation Street."
Richards grew up in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and started out as a pub pianist before later becoming a stand-up comedian.
He appeared briefly on Coronation Street before signing on to the Yorkshire-based Emmerdale for an initial four-week stint. In 2003, he celebrated a quarter-century on the show, which he called "25 years of fun."
Stan Richards
