'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Robert W. McChesney Is Working To Reclaim Our Free Press (A BUZZFLASH INTERVIEW)
Our seminal belief is that if all these issues of ownership of public broadcasting, or copyrights, and right of Internet access, are laid out in the open, we're pretty confident we'll get good policy.
Pericles: Terrorist Strategy 101: a quiz (Kos)
Instructions. For Questions 1 and 2, assume you are a violent extremist. In other words, there is some issue (it doesn't really matter what) for which you are willing to take up arms and kill people, even innocent people.
Paul Krugman: A Private Obsession (NY Times)
(Click on "Columns," then on "A Private Obsession.")
American health care is unique among advanced countries in its heavy reliance on the private sector. It's also uniquely inefficient. We spend far more per person on health care than any other country, yet many Americans lack health insurance and don't receive essential care.
Michelangelo Signorile: Signorile and Ratzinger (The Advocate)
Sirius OutQ radio host Michelangelo Signorile's 1993 classic Queer in America includes a telling anecdote about Pope Benedict XVI, then known as Cardinal Ratzinger, the pope's point man on crushing gay rights.
Family Guy's Family Gay? A Brief Except (Out.com)
Musto: Do you think your mom, Lois, has ever had any lesbian moments? Like right now?
Of course! Why do you think she likes the Fat Man? He has breasts ...
Free Press
The Learning Channel
What Not to Wear (TV; TLC)
What Not to Wear: Style Myths Quiz (Warning: Forces you to watch commercials to see the videos)
Update
Falcons
Marty
Looks like Pale Male and Lola have some competition in NYC. At 55 Water Street are a pair of Peregrine Falcons . . . Jack and Jill . . . on the 14th floor. One egg hatched on April 28th. There is a live video cam and a posting of Falcon News as events occur!
BOY HOWDY
I Love Hollywood
By Howdy Getso, Sports Reporter on Special Assignment
dommecile.com
OK, so I'm in Hollywood looking for a scoop. Anything will do, since I'm
on "hiatus" from the sports beat. Something about "insulting a franchise
player," and "public urination."
Hollywood just looks easy - I found that out the hard way when I got a
meeting with some studio suits. I thought it would be fun to pitch a movie
idea, and maybe get a story out of it.
I was met by a secretary that was half Hedy Lamarr, half Marilyn Monroe,
and half Madonna. This dame had gams all the way to the floor, and then
some. I took a deep breath as she showed me into the room.
Suit 1: OK hotshot, make us happy.
me: Well, here's the story. There's this really smart dame, like a nucular
physicist or something ...
Suit 2: Ha! Nuclear! We love it! Hal?
Suit 3: You got it, JB!
me: Anyway, this broad figures out a way to stop all wars ...
Suit 1: That's perfect! Exactly what we've been looking for!
Suit 3: I love it! Wait ... we've already got a project with a nuclear
physicist.
Suit 1: No!? A smart, sexy woman? Who could have a marriage, but chooses a
career, all the time hoping she will meet Mr. Right? Can we get Kate
Hepburn?
Suit 2: No no no no, not a woman. This nuclear physicist is a chimp. And
the censors have already told us there won't be any "Mr. Right." And
there's no war - the chimp has figured out a way to turn water into
gasoline.
Suit 3: I love it! But let's lose the physicist angle. The chimp has an
eighth grade education. Everybody loves an underdog.
Suit 2: That's it! This underdog chimp, eighth grade, overcomes her past
to become - something else. An astronaut?
Suit 1: No, we did that a couple of years ago. What about president?
Suit 3: YESSS! But America isn't ready for a female president, so let's
say the chimp president is a male.
Suit 2: Great! The chimp president turns water into gasoline and stops a war!
Suit 1: That's just what everyone will be expecting. Wait... WAIT ....
I'VE GOT IT! The chimp, with an eighth grade education, becomes president
of the US. And he goes on to START a war, to get the oil that belongs to
the US, but which has been mysteriously lost under the hostile sands of
middle-eastern fiefdoms.
Suit 3: I see Willis, Eastwood, Schwartzenegger, ...
At that point, I left the meeting. I was clearly in over my head. These
guys really, really understood movie-making. No one would mistake their
Hollywood vision for actual reality, but HEY! - we don't look for reality
in our movies.
- Howdy Getso
PS - It turns out one of the Suits was a Skirt! I love Hollywood ...
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny day.
Returns Tonight
'Family Guy'
Loyalty was on wild display at "Family Guy Live," where cast members did a script reading on stage before the show's return to network television Sunday night.
Sillier than a "Star Trek" convention, it was a bacchanal on Broadway in which several actors were openly lubricating and audience members exuberantly recited every word and sang every song right along with them. They even laughed in anticipation of jokes they knew were coming - though the frequent ad-libs, most of which were too risque to repeat here, also drew rowdy cheers and applause.
But those fans are the reason the series is getting an unprecedented second chance. After bouncing around various time slots for three seasons, "Family Guy" was canceled by Fox in 2002, only to enjoy renewed popularity through DVD sales and in reruns on Cartoon Network's late-night "Adult Swim" lineup.
Now, the edgy, fast-paced show is coming back to Fox starting at 9 p.m. EDT Sunday, after "The Simpsons" and before MacFarlane's new animated series, "American Dad."
'Family Guy'
Loans Gown to Teen
'Desperate Housewives'
One of TV's most popular shows is making Melissa Saunders the star at her prom.
The senior at St. Hubert Roman Catholic High School wrote to the producers of "Desperate Housewives" last fall, after seeing her dream gown on the show. The lacy, rose-colored dress was worn by actress Eva Longoria as she mowed a lawn in the pilot episode.
"It was our very first piece of fan mail," wardrobe assistant Roemehl Hawkins, the staffer who read the teen's letter, told the Philadelphia Daily News.
Hawkins showed the letter to her bosses, and they decided to loan the gown to Saunders, who's the same size as Longoria. The show's seamstress even added a lining to make it prom-modest.
'Desperate Housewives'
But Now They Can Fly
Daleks Return
It's time to get back behind the sofa as the Daleks return to Dr Who.
New doctor Christopher Eccleston finally comes face to face with his arch-enemy - and this time the Daleks are even scarier.
"People want to see the Dalek again, in all its glory, being taken seriously and killing rather brutally," said episode writer Robert Shearman.
New series creator Russell T Davies hopes to make the Daleks' cry of "Exterminate!" a catchphrase in playgrounds across the country.
Daleks Return
Dr. Phil & Humiliation Part of Image Upgrade
Pat O'Brien
This didn't take long: Pat O'Brien, fresh from rehab, will have to face Dr. Phil next week in a prime-time CBS special.
Dr. Phil McGraw will "confront O'Brien about the incidents that led up to his stay in the recovery program, the issues he faced while in treatment and the stories about his personal life that made headline news," CBS said Friday.
The hour-long special will air Wednesday at 8 p.m. (ET).
He'll also appear May 5 on the syndicated "Dr. Phil" talk show.
Pat O'Brien
Unionized Quebec Store Closed
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Canada announced the closure of a unionized store in Quebec on Friday, a week ahead of schedule, prompting a senior union leader to call the retail giant "cowardly."
The store in Saguenay, whose employees formed a union last year but were never able to negotiate their first contract, was slated to close on May 6. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said the decision to close store, about 155 miles north of Quebec City, was "easy," since it had been losing money.
The world's largest retailer has fought off efforts to unionize its U.S. stores, but the United Food and Commercial Workers, or UFCW, has been making some headway in Canada. Michael Forman of the CFCW in Quebec accused the store of "cowardly" behavior.
Wal-Mart
Real Romance?
Cruise & Holmes
Less than 48 hours after Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' publicists sought to convince the world that the unlikely pair have embarked on a hot romance, CNN's Bill Hemmer said on "American Morning": "What kind of sham is this, by the way?"
Snark, on CNN? But it raises the question: What if they concocted a publicity stunt and nobody bought it?
CBS's "Early Show" also treated the news like a joke, running an interview with Kermit the Frog about whether he had ever dated Holmes, which sounded about as plausible as Cruise doing so.
London's Daily Mail wrote, "When it comes to the timing of his romances, Tom Cruise just seems to get luckier and luckier ... cynics will point out that the star has timed things to perfection for raising his profile."
Cruise & Holmes
Coalition Formed To Protect
Cookies
A coalition of agencies, publishers and measurement firms hopes to head off a consumer revolt against Internet tracking cookies.
Safecount brings together online ad industry leaders to discuss steps to insure the reliability of cookies, which are used throughout Internet advertising for measurement, targeting, frequency capping and research. The group said it would work to safeguard consumer privacy while improving counting systems for advertisers. Surveys by Nielsen//Net-Ratings and Jupiter Research suggested over 40 percent of users delete cookies from their computers monthly.
The group's 19 founding members include agencies Carat, Interpublic Group's Universal McCann, WPP Group's mOne and aQuantive's Avenue A/Razorfish; publishers like MSN and About.com; and research firms Dynamic Logic and Luntz Research.
Cookies
Munch Masterpieces Destroyed?
'The Scream'
The Munch masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" have been incinerated, according to newspaper Dagbladet, citing criminal sources and a top secret police report.
The paper claimed Thursday that the paintings were destroyed in order to get rid of damning evidence as the police investigation closes in on the culprits behind the robbery.
Investigation leader Iver Stensrud of the Oslo police said he had no knowledge of the supposedly secret report acknowledging the destruction of the paintings.
Dagbladet cited both criminal and police sources in their reportage, and said that police expect new arrests in the case shortly.
'The Scream'
Actress Dies After Seeing Gun
Mariana Levy
A Mexican television actress died on Friday of a heart attack after a man armed with a pistol approached her vehicle on a Mexico City street, officials said.
Mariana Levy, 39, featured on the "Nuestra Casa" show on the Televisa network, developed labored breathing after seeing the weapon, said prosecutor Carlos Gurrea.
Her husband, Jose Maria Fernandez Jr., drove her to a nearby clinic where she died, Gurrea said, quoting Fernandez.
Gurrea said the suspect - who was being held on suspicion of illegal weapons possession - did not apparently directly threaten or make any contact with Levy.
Mariana Levy
Launching Takeout Chain
'Soup Nazi'
The brusque New York chef who was lampooned on "Seinfeld" as the "Soup Nazi" plans to open a chain of takeout soup stands across North America. But don't expect the authentically rude New York treatment.
Signs will be posted in each of "The Original Soup Man" franchises bearing chef Al Yeganeh's strict rules for ordering, such as "Have your money ready!" and "Move to the extreme left after ordering!" But a company spokesman said workers will be prohibited from shouting, "No soup for you!" at customers who disobey.
Yeganeh and his partners have signed deals for 123 outlets so far, with the first slated to open in the New Jersey town of Ridgewood this summer.
'Soup Nazi'
Accused of Racketeering
Universal
Two independent music promoters have sued Universal Music Group for $100 million, claiming the record company forced them to submit false invoices so Universal could recoup promotional costs from artists such as rapper Nelly.
The suit raises "pay-for-play" issues similar to those being probed by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in a wide-ranging investigation into whether record companies have broken U.S. law by paying radio stations to play their songs.
The two promoters, National Music Marketing Inc. of Los Angeles and Majestic Promotions Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, claim they were forced to doctor invoices that then allowed Universal to bill promotional costs to artists whom the promoters never represented.
"What (Universal) was doing was defrauding their artists -- some of their biggest artists," plaintiffs' lawyer David J. Cohen said on Monday.
"I'm sure (rapper) Nelly is not going to be too happy that they were taking money out of his promotion budget to pay for promotions for other artists -- money that he had to pay back from his royalties," Cohen said.
Universal
Create Artwork
Tibetan Monks
Tibetan monks are spending five days at the St. Louis Art Museum meticulously positioning millions of grains of sand in a colorful pattern to form a sand painting.
On Sunday, they'll destroy it.
The process serves as a way for the Buddhists to meditate, spread blessings and show the temporary nature of things in this world, even the beautiful ones.
"It symbolizes the impermanence of all existence," noted Tenzin Phenthok, 25, a monk who wore a flowing maroon robe and served as spokesman for the group while the painting was assembled earlier in the week.
Tibetan Monks
In Memory
William Bell
William Joseph Bell, an Emmy award-winning daytime TV soap writer, producer and co-creator of "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," has died. He was 78.
Bell died Friday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, said Raul Rojas, publicist for Bell's TV production company.
Bell's career as a TV soap writer spanned more than four decades and earned him nine Emmy awards - three for his writing on "The Young and the Restless," and the rest for producing or writing "Days of Our Lives."
The Chicago native got his start in 1956 as a writer on the soap "Guiding Light." A year later, he left to write for another soap, "As the World Turns."
In 1966, Bell become head writer on "Days of Our Lives," helping to turn the flagging series into one of the top audience draws four years later.
In 1973, Bell teamed up with his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, and created "The Young and the Restless," which is the top daytime soap opera today, according to the latest Nielsen ratings.
While still head writer on "Restless," Bell and his wife also created "The Bold and the Beautiful" in 1987.
Bell is survived by his wife of 50 years and children Bill, Bradley and Lauralee.
William Bell
