'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Steve Weissman: If You Believe in Freedom, Step Aside (t r u t h o u t )
A frightening tale from Iraq shows how Mr. Bush's call to "democratize" the Middle East has already bogged down in the graveyard of impossible choices.
TAYLOR EASON: Smile When You Drink That
Wines with funny names can be good for more than a laugh.
Sarah Warn: Interview with Girl Play's Robin Greenspan and Lacie Harmon (afterellen.com)
RG: It was extremely surreal, especially the part where I come out to my mom, who is played in the movie by Mink Stole, an amazing and hilarious actor.
GIRLPLAY
John Sugg
Purple Gene Reviews
'The Gift'
Purple Genes' review of the movie "The Gift" Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Billy Bob Thornton:
My wife Sharon is Psychic. She has dreams and "sees things"! A long time ago, she used to do readings for friends and just recently, when a new housekeeper came to the door she saw dead people all around her…turned out that she had just come from a funeral…..Wierd !
So we were hanging out on a March Madness weekend and TNT was showing a movie called "The Gift" about a women who has dreams and "sees things"…..including dead people………..
Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett - "Elizabeth" - "Bandits" - "The Aviator") is a working class widow living in rural Georgia. After the accidental death of her husband she is left with three small boys to fend for herself and survive on a small pension and part time "Psychic readings" for donations. She is known around town as a sweet and kinda kooky girl. Her whole life takes a turn when she has a dream that the local debutante and newly engaged Jessica King (Katie Holmes - "Dawson's Creek" - "Wonder Boys" - "Muppets from Space"), who is missing, is dead in a small pond that just so happens to be in the back yard of a local racist redneck Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves - "Little Buddha" - "Speed" - "The Matrix") ….who Jessica has been secretly Boffing in the backwoods…..Annie leads the local sheriff to the pond and SHUR NUFF…there's a dead body there!
Well there is a big boring trial and Jessicas' Fiancee Wayne (Greg Kinnear - "Nurse Betty" - "Auto Focus" - "Stuck on You") seems appropriately heartbroken and Donnies' trailer trash wife Valerie (Hilary Swank - "The Next Karate Kid" - "Million Dollar Baby") seems appropriately confused…since she had to testify that Donnie used to beat her up a lot. And Donnie gets convicted even though his defense lawyer did his best to make Annie look like a LOONY!
Trouble is…..Annie keeps having an alternate dream…and even though Donnie was surrounded by circumstantial evidence and was abusive to his wife….Annie now thinks he might not have done it….meanwhile we have a subplot where a local nut named Buddy (Giovanni Ribisi - "Lost in Translation" - "Cold Mountain" - "Some Girls") has been relying heavily on Annie to help him with his personal problems…..turns out his Daddy used to make him stare at a diamond tattoo just above his dick while he made poor Buddy polish his jewels……..Buddy is way over the top and ends up barbequing his abusive father in front of Annie……this poor girl is going through a lot. …..
SPOILER ALERT
Cut to the chase……Wayne hears about Annies "NEW" dream and confronts her about it. We find out that Wayne found out that Jessica was Boffing Donnie. Annie knows Wayne did it and he now knows she knows.….Just when he's about to give her the BIG Flashlight over the head …in pops Buddy, Freshly escaped from the nut house, and saves her life……Wayne goes in the trunk and to the police station, Buddy hangs himself and Annie goes home to her boys and looks at pictures of their dead dad…..
Purple Gene give "The Gift" 5 Tarot Cards out of 10 for Cate Blanchett's eerie and riveting performance in a movie without a script and not much character development!
Another Rant
Avery Ant
SHAMELESS MERCH GIVEAWAY!
EVERY 50TH VOTER WILL WIN A
FREE AVERY ANT T-SHIRT. IT'S TRUE!
AND ALL FOR SIMPLY CASTING
YOUR VOTE FOR AVERY ANT FOR POPE.
SO VOTE NOW -- AND VOTE OFTEN!
CONGRATS TO OUR WINNERS SO FAR!
Special thanks to my pal Spud for
bringing Avery & Camilla together.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny spring day.
Don't forget Erin Hart on KIRO (in Seattle) streaming on the 'net tonight from 9pm - 1am (pdt). Never know who you might hear.
Donate A&M Papers, Mementos
Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, whose A&M Records label recorded superstars such as Sting, the Carpenters and Quincy Jones, have donated company papers and mementos to the UCLA Library.
The collection includes sound recordings, gold albums, letters, photographs and items such as a score for "The Lonely Bull," a 1962 hit by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, according to an announcement Friday.
The company was founded in 1962 in a garage behind Alpert's house. Other music greats the label recorded include Carole King, Joan Baez, Chet Baker, Burt Bacharach and Bryan Adams.
A&M Records was sold to Polygram in 1989.
Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss
Junos Offer "Love Letter"
Neil Young
Neil Young fully expected to recover in time to attend Sunday's Junos despite having brain surgery late last month, says his longtime friend and fellow musician Randy Bachman.
Bachman, who spoke to Young on the telephone Friday, said the rock legend went for a walk following Tuesday's operation in New York, but "had something go wrong. They had to rush him back into the hospital."
But Young has since left the hospital and was staying in a New York hotel, Bachman added.
"He said, 'I'm OK. I could probably come and be carried on stage and play but I don't want anybody to feel sorry for me,' " Bachman said late Friday after performing at one of many Juno parties across the city.
Neil Young
Denmark Fetes 200th Birthday
Hans Christian Andersen
Thousands of people lined the cobblestone streets of fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen's town of birth Saturday to welcome royals, movie stars and actors marking the 200th birthday of the beloved creator of "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling."
The young and old in Odense waved red-and-white Danish flags and snapped pictures of the princesses and sports stars who toured a museum dedicated to Denmark's most famed and beloved author.
Born April 2, 1805, Andersen was the son of a charwoman and a shoemaker. He was a well-known novelist in Denmark during his lifetime, but his worldwide popularity as a fairy tale writer came after his death.
Hans Christian Andersen
Injured in Bird Strike
Jockeys
Australian racing officials were reviewing safety procedures Thursday after five jockeys were hurt when a flock of seagulls flew into the path of their horses in a bizarre mid-race mishap.
A field of 11 horses was racing toward the finishing post in the final race at Sandown race track in Melbourne on Wednesday when a large flock of the birds suddenly rose up off the track and flew into the approaching horses.
Some of the horses reared up and others balked, throwing their jockeys.
Jockey Greg Childs, who was unhurt, said seagulls had long been a problem at Sandown, while rider Peter Mertens said the birds hit so hard that his mount went sideways.
Jockeys
'Switching' Error Puts On Public Access TV
Strippers
Viewers expecting to see the latest local meeting on their public access channel got an eyeful recently when Cablevision played a tape of nude dancers accidentally.
The mistake affected customers in parts of Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam and Orange counties.
Cablevision said Thursday it was not a public access program and that a "program switching error" occurred.
Strippers
La Scala's Maestro Resigns
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, citing continued hostility by La Scala employees, stepped down Saturday as musical director of the opera house, ending a 19-year tenure and pitching the institution into more turmoil.
There was no immediate word on a possible successor at the Milan theater, which launched the career of Giuseppe Verdi and is a source of national pride in Italy.
The behind-the-curtains drama started weeks ago, shortly after La Scala reopened in December following an extensive renovation. Muti denounced what he said was the vulgar hostility of the theater's employees. They, in turn, accused him of running the opera house as his private fiefdom. Several performances were canceled because of the feud.
Riccardo Muti
Proposal Would Allow Hunting
Feral Cats
Wild cats prowl around the bird feeder outside Mark Smith's home, waiting to pounce on a wren or maybe a robin. About all Smith can do right now is watch. But if the La Crosse firefighter has his way, there will soon come a day when he can open his door, take aim and fire - and not worry about being prosecuted.
Smith, 48, wants Wisconsin to declare free-roaming wild cats an unprotected species, just like skunks or gophers. Anyone with a small-game license could shoot the cats at will, legally.
At least two other upper Midwestern states, South Dakota and Minnesota, allow wild cats to be shot - and have for decades. Minnesota defines a wild, or feral, cat as one with no collar that does not show friendly behavior, said Kevin Kyle with that state's Department of Natural Resources.
Every year in Wisconsin alone, an estimated 2 million wild cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds, according to state officials. Despite the astounding numbers, Smith's plan has been met with fierce opposition from cat lovers.
Feral Cats
Tricked Men Into Stripping
Richard C. Brown
Prosecutors offered a man convicted of tricking men into stripping by posing as a radio disc jockey a plea agreement that would send him to prison for up to 16 years.
The agreement would allow 41-year-old Richard C. Brown to avoid trial on 14 charges for similar incidents involving seven more men, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.
Brown was on house arrest for criminal confinement in July 2004 when he phoned victims and posed as a WNOU-FM disc jockey holding a contest with a prize of $50,000 cash or a car, police said.
Three men came to Brown's home and two undressed, but the third noticed Brown's home detention ankle bracelet, left and called the radio station, which then notified police.
Richard C. Brown
In Memory
Greg Garrison
Greg Garrison, a pioneering TV director who worked with such stars as Dean Martin, Jack Benny, George Burns and Lucille Ball in a 40-year career, has died. He was 81.
Garrison directed nearly 4,000 shows in his career, but was probably best known for his work on "The Dean Martin Show" and Martin's popular "Celebrity Roasts." He also directed "Your Show of Shows," the comedy-variety program that starred Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris.
Garrison began his TV career as a "gofer" for WFIL-TV in Philadelphia shortly after World War II. He got his break when he was brought to New York by the legendary producer Max Liebman and NBC executive Sylvester "Pat" Weaver to direct "Your Show of Shows" from 1950 to 1952.
At the same time, Garrison was directing "The Kate Smith Evening Hour," a live program that aired five times a week. He also had stints directing "The Milton Berle Show" and "Ford Television Theatre" in the 1950s, as well as numerous TV specials over the years starring Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Jack Benny, George Burns, Lucille Ball, Phil Silvers, Bob Newhart and Jonathan Winters.
"Greg was the man who said, `Just go for it; I trust you,'" recalled Dom DeLuise, who appeared frequently on "The Dean Martin Show," which Garrison directed from 1965 to 1974.
When he directed such stars as Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald on the "Celebrity Roasts," DeLuise said, Garrison always had their respect. If he wanted their attention, he would whistle into a microphone and say, "One voice - mine."
Garrison also directed one of television's landmark 1960 presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Garrison was born in Brooklyn and dropped out of high school before flying combat missions with the Army Air Force during World War II. He spent time in a German prisoner-of-war camp.
One of his earliest directing jobs was the 1949 police drama "Stand by for Crime," starring a young actor named Myron Wallace who would later become better known as "60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace.
Garrison was nominated for more than a dozen Emmys, although he never won.
He is survived by his wife and two children from a previous marriage.
Greg Garrison
