Chasing Cox, Robert Redford & Oklahoma
The Sundance Channel
After a personal appeal from Robert Redford, Cox Communications has decided not to remove
his Sundance Channel from its cable television lineup.
The 64-year-old actor-director spoke to Cox officials after they announced plans to stop
offering the channel, which specializes in independent feature films. He also spoke to Lt.
Gov. Mary Fallin, chairwoman of the Oklahoma Film Commission.
Dave Bialis, Cox vice president and general manager, said a deal was reached Thursday
with Redford and his associates that will enable the cable service to keep the channel
and still add four new channels - the Lifetime Movie Network, the Biography Channel,
History Channel International and Fox Sports World - without raising subscribers' rates.
``We talked and I can't give you specifics, but they were able to meet our needs to keep them
on, and at the same time we were able to keep the rate we charge,'' Bialis said.
Chasing Cox, Robert Redford, Oklahoma & The Sundance Channel
In The Chaos Household
Last Night's TV
Started the evening with Bobby Bowdon's loss, and celebrating Joe Paterno's win.
Network prime-time seemed anti-climactic after that.
Grossed myself out, and watched a bit of 'Barbie In The Nutcracker', but had to leave
when the anorexic snow fairies showed up.
KOCE, PBS for Orange County has 2 hours of 'Ed Sullivan', so I ended up watching
'The 4 Tops', and a really young Roy Orbison and Liza Minelli....Next Saturday, they have really
young 'Rolling Stones' and 'Richard Pryor'.
Then watched some of 'Rocky', and started daydreaming of the wonderful Italian food in
Philly.
Of course, I watched George Carlin on HBO...actually, watched it twice, taking advantage
of Dish Networks' HBO package....so, watched the live feed from the east coast, & the
taped for the west coast version, too.
Problem was, the kid remembers George Carlin as Mr. Conductor from 'Shining Time Station', which
used to be on PBS....He didn't recognize the name, but stumbled into the room and recognized the face....
told him that George Carlin was for when he got older, like wine, beer & cursing.
Actually, I basically have no problem with the kid watching, but I fear he'd like the language as much as his
parents, and we'd end up in the principal's office, again. Just what I need - a 9 year old calling
his teacher a cocksucker, regardless of the accuracy.
Tonight (Sunday), ABC has it's 'The Facts Of Life Reunion', even though it
was an NBC series.
CBS has 'Max Bickford', followed by 'In Love And War', a Hallmark Hall of
Fame piece of work.
HBO has Britney Spears in a concert from Vegas.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Time To Turn The Other Cheek?
Poor Zippy
A syndicated comic strip is getting few laughs in this eastern Connecticut town where an
unusual church design has been held up to nationwide ridicule.
The Sacred Heart Church, a condemned 30-year-old building resembling a pyramid, was the
subject of newspaper cartoonist Bill Griffith's irreverent humor that animates Zippy the
Pinhead - an unshaven clown whose non sequiturs offer a snide commentary on life and human foibles.
``Hello?'' Zippy calls out as he stands before the building in a strip published Wednesday.
``God?'' he asks in the second frame. ``Whoops. Wrong address, `` he says, walking away.
The Rev. Stanley J. Szczapa, pastor of the Roman Catholic congregation, was not amused.
``That is absolutely rude, unkind, mean-spirited, and to use a clown to say it makes it
even worse,'' he said. ``What it says to people is God is not present at Sacred Heart Church.''
The church, which is adorned by a cross above the front door, is not identified in the comic.
But Vernon residents recognized it.
``Everyone knows it is Sacred Heart Church,'' Szczapa said. ``It is a landmark.''
Poking fun at religion almost always guarantees a response, and parishioners sent angry
e-mails to Griffith. Szczapa demanded an apology.
Griffith, a Connecticut resident, refused to apologize.
``I did not intend to insult them, but if they are insulted, all I can say is that it's
not intentional,'' he said. ``My job as a cartoonist doesn't come with explaining what I do.''
The church, built in 1971, was condemned four years ago when chunks of concrete fell
from the ceiling onto pews. Parishioners now worship at a nearby parish hall.
``For the parish, it's still a source of pain and sorrow that the church has had these
problems,'' said pastoral assistant Rella Bernabucci. She compared the comic strip to ``putting salt in the wound.''
Time To Turn The Other Cheek?
On the Net:
www.zippythepinhead.com
Disney News
Did 'Victoria's Secret' Special Go Too Far?
ABC's Thursday night airing of the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" is likely to cause the network
more than a little discomfort as the federal government has already received dozens of complaints
that the G-string laced show and its related promotions violated broadcast indecency rules. FCC
commissioner Michael Copps told reporters Friday that he'd received 50 e-mail's from different
parts of the country compiling about the racy show and its promotions. One of the complaints
was of a more personal nature as Copps's 27-year-old daughter had also complained about the show.
"She saw it and was upset," Copps said. "She's a new mother and when her child gets TV age she
should see wholesome programming." He said he was forwarding the complaints to the FCC's Enforcement
Bureau and was asking it to investigate whether it violated indecency regulations.
'Victoria's Secret' Special Went Too Far?
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.
For an amazing variety of information on an awesome array of tv programs check out
BC TV!
Next Wednesday, On 'The Tonight Show'
Rodney Gets Respect & U2 !
Rodney Dangerfield is getting some respect from ``The Tonight Show'' for his 80th birthday.
Dangerfield will be saluted by ``Tonight'' host Jay Leno and in taped birthday
greetings from actors and fellow comics on the NBC late-night show Wednesday.
Dangerfield, whose long-running gag is that he gets no respect, turns 80 on Thanksgiving. He has
appeared in movies including ``Caddyshack'' and ``Little Nicky.''
For the holiday, the ``Tonight'' show will feature a first-time appearance by U2. The rock band
will be part of a special Thanksgiving Day telecast going live to U.S. troops worldwide on Armed
Forces Radio and Television Service.
The show will be seen on tape during its regularly scheduled time, 11:35 p.m. EST, on NBC.
Rodney Dangerfield Turns 80!
I thought the best perfomance in a film by Rodney was 'Natural Born Killers'...really
creeped me out, wonder why that one isn't mentioned?
Missing Super Bowl XX Ring Found
Walter Payton
The long-lost Super Bowl ring of the late Chicago Bears star Walter Payton, found in a couch by
Purdue University student Phil Hong while looking for his dog's lost toy, is displayed by Hong,
Friday, Nov. 16, 2001, in West Lafayette, Ind. Hong said he found the ring under the couch he'd
inherited from a Chicago-area family and planned to bring it to Payton's widow, Connie. Payton,
the Bears' Hall of Fame running back, won the ring in 1986 after the Bears' 46-10 victory over
the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. He died Nov. 1, 1999 of complications from liver cancer.
Photo by The Journal and Courier, Kevin Howell
Walter Payton's Missing Super Bowl XX Ring
'Make It So'
Patrick Stewart
Boldly going where he has gone before, Patrick Stewart will return to Broadway for a week at holiday time to revive his solo, A Christmas Carol. He'll do eight performances, Dec. 24-30, at Broadway's Marriott Marquis Theatre.
Stewart, star of TV's "Star Trek: The Next Generation," did three sold-out holiday seasons of the show, in 1991, 1992 and 1994, plus engagements in London (1993) and L.A. (1996). The one-man production uses minimal set pieces, relying instead on Dickens' text and Stewart's ability to portray every character in the story.
A noted Shakespearean actor well before achieving international stardom as Captain Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Stewart has been an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company since 1967, and with them has played such classical roles as King John, Shylock, and Henry IV. He returned to Shakespeare to portray Prospero in the Public Theater's production of The Tempest, which played in Central Park and on Broadway. His last Broadway stint was The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, in which his public quarrel with the producers over their marketing of the show overshadowed the play's modest run.
Stewart's non-"Star Trek" TV roles include Sejanus in "I, Claudius," Karla in "Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy," and "Smiley's People," and Salieri in "the Mozart Inquest."
Tickets are available now for those seven performances through Ticketmaster, (212) 307-4100, (800) 755-4000. For the Actors' Fund show, call (212) 221-7300, ext. 133. The Marriott Marquis Theatre box office will open on December 10.
Patrick Stewart & 'A Christmas Carol'
Liberal Radio !
Erin Hart
Liberal radio online - what a concept!
Listen from 9 pm to 1 am (pst) Sunday
at www.710kiro.com
There's even a chatroom!
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To check out 'Train Station Chicken', and more (like 'Cranberry Autumn Tea'),
In The Kitchen With BartCop
72 Year Career!
Sir John Mills
Veteran actor Sir John Mills was forced to cancel an appearance on a Radio 4 show on Saturday after cracking two ribs in a fall.
Sir John, 93, was due to be a guest on Loose Ends, but had to withdraw on the advice of his doctor, a family spokeswoman said.
She said he had suffered a "nasty" fall at his Buckinghamshire home on Friday and was kept overnight in hospital as a precaution.
"He really wanted to be there tonight, he's so disappointed but on the advice of his doctor he
decided not to. He's back home and all right," she added.
Sir John is almost blind after his retinas in both eyes failed while he was touring with his one-man show in 1992.
He has had a varied and distinguished 72-year career, starring in over 100 films.
One of the highlights of his career was winning Best Supporting Actor in the 1971 Academy
Awards for his performance in Ryan's Daughter.
He has also worked as a producer and director, even directing his daughter Hayley in Sky West and Crooked.
He still thrives on acting, appearing in Kenneth Branagh's acclaimed Hamlet in 1996 and
several distinguished television series throughout the 90s. Any intimation of retirement has been vehemently dismissed.
In February this year more than 400 stars of screen and stage gathered to honour his life and career.
The tribute evening also celebrated Sir John's recent 60th wedding anniversary. To mark the event he and his wife Mary renewed their wedding vows at their local church in January.
Sir John Mills
The Kids Are All Right
'Blintz Krieg'
Experience history from the Stoned Age to the the Blintz Krieg! From Middle Evil Times to the Age of Now, from the Land of Milk and Chocolate to the Iran Hostess Crisis and the fall of the Berlin Mall!
Welcome to the wonderful world of ``Non Campus Mentis,'' (Workman) a book of mangled moments of Western Civilization culled from actual term papers and exams of today's ``brightest'' students by incredulous college professor Anders Henriksson who, while grading exams, chose to laugh, rather than cry, at his students' most egregious mistakes.
History, after all, is nothing more than ``the behind of the present,'' according to one student, who aptly added: ``This gives incites from the anals of the past.''
The once-mighty British Empire is in a ``state of recline. Its colonies have slowly dribbled away leaving only the odd speck on the map.'' Chairman ``Moo'' has passed away, as has former President ``Franklin Eleanor Roosavelt,'' and civil rights leader ``Martin Luther Junior'' was slain in the 1960s, shortly after making his famous ``If I Had A Hammer'' speech.
Hitler, a depressed ``Nazi leader of a Communist Germany'' who spurred a huge ``anti-semantic'' movement through a terrifying ``Gespacho,'' launched ``Operation Barbarella'' while the English ``vanely hoped for peas.'' The war began turning around, though, when the ``Allies landed near Italy's toe and gradually advanced up her leg.
Hitler ultimately ``shot himself in the bonker.''
At its best, the 150-page book ``illustrates the ingenious and often comic ways we all attempt to make sense of information we can't understand because we have no context or frame of reference for it,'' according to Henriksson, chairman of the history department at Shepherd College in West Virginia. He began compiling samples 20 years ago at the University of Toronto where he also taught.
Shortly after he began his collection, he published an article in the ``Wilson Quarterly'' titled ``College Kids Say the Darndest Things,'' which prompted amused colleagues at more than two dozen universities in the United States and Canada including West Point, University of Alberta and McMaster, to regularly send him their own inane prose collections. Last year, when he realized his office overflowed with funny samples of ``cretinalia historica'' the idea for a book was born.
While Henriksson declined to identify all the schools involved he said they ranged from moderately to highly competitive, about half were in Canada, no Ivy League schools were represented, and that one of the entries came from Oxford in England.
At its worst, the book may reflect a generation raised in ignorance by bad schools and disengaged parents.
``This is not the norm,'' Henriksson told Reuters in an interview. What you have here is almost 30 years of my collecting from students' (works) at various institutions. This really represents sort of the creme de la creme of the creatively inane.''
Did he make it up?
``No!'' he said. ``Who could make this stuff up except Mel Brooks. I'm not Mel Brooks.'' Which prompts the question: Should people sound the alarms and search for an ``escape goat?''
Maybe. Hundreds of student contributors received passing grades with such statements as: ``When the Davy Jones Index crashed in 1929 many people were left to political incineration. Some, like John Paul Sart, retreated into extraterrestrialism. The New Deal was an idea inspired by Franklin Eleanor Roosavelt.''
(The Boston Tea Party, by the way, was held at Pearl Harbor.)
Gravity of the misstatements aside, the bloopers make a great reference whether one seeks information on the Canadian Missile Crisis, clashes between Israelis and Parisians, or the Gulf War in which, according to one scholar: ``Satan Husane invaided Kiwi and Sandy Arabia.''
(No doubt an act of ``premedication.'')
Henriksson said the errors fall into three major categories. Some are simply caused by bad spelling or a lack of proofreading, and come out funny. Some were prompted by a ''profound lack of preparation, while others, just seem to be ''really out at sea,'' he said.
``You get the ones who don't really even seem to understand there's a line between past and present and they tell you that the first airplane was flown by the Marx Brothers. I had this one kid who wrote that Spartacus led a slave rebellion in ancient Rome and then appered in a movie about it later.''
The book offers fresh new ``incites'' on history from ''prehistoricle'' times through ``King Toot'' and the birth of ''monolithic'' religion.(''Judyism had one big God named Yahoo'').
The book goes on to ``chronicle'' the birth of Christianity (''Just another mystery cult until Jesus was born'') and, his pronouncement, later, that ``The mice shall inherit the earth.''
The book sheds new light on the lives of Martin Luther (he nailed 95 theocrats to a church door), ``Florence of Arabia,'' and General George ``Custard'' who managed to stand up anyway.
(''Martian Luther King's'' four steps to direct action, by the way, included ``self purification,'' when you ``allow yourself to be eaten to a pulp.'')
In its final pages, the book includes students' geographical misconceptions as represented on several world maps bearing such labels as ``The Land of Milk and Chocolate'' and ``Home of Golden Fleas'' (in the Ancient World) to ``Bulemia,'' ''Whales,'' ``Roam,'' the ``Eel of France,'' and the ``Automaton Empire'' (as they were known in the ``Middle Evil'' Times).
And it notes that, yes, there has indeed been a change in America's ``social seen,'' over the centuries. The last stage, according to the book, is ``The Age of Now. This concept grinds our critical, seething minds to a halt.''
Until then, however, we Americans, ``in all humidity'' are nothing less than ``the people of currant times.''
The Kids Are All Right
Audio Files From BC
Bonus Page Link
Looking for some 'Garbage'?
Here are some MP3 files from BC
She Was Paid To Perform?
Skanky Spice?
Britain's Ministry of Defense is refusing to say how much former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell was paid to
entertain British troops on exercise in Oman last month amid a dispute over whether she should have performed for free.
Bernard Jenkin, defense spokesman for Britain's opposition Conservative Party, told the Observer newspaper
that his office was contacted by army personnel complaining that a large proportion of the army's welfare budget went on the shows.
``Wealthy performers can and should perform for free,'' Jenkin said. ``Taxpayers should not be splashing out
large sums of money unnecessarily. The government should tell us how much money they spent on these events,
and then we can assess whether it's value for money.''
Dame Vera Lynn, forces sweetheart in World War Two, told the Observer that she never charged for her wartime concerts.
``If it's true that Geri Halliwell charged a fee, then it's a very poor show. If she can't give up her
time free for the troops who are there to defend her and her way of life that is very sad,'' Dame Vera said.
``I never charged a penny and if ever I was given any money I gave it to my pianist.''
A spokesman for Geri Halliwell, Jonathan Hackford, told the Observer that she hadn't been paid. ``Geri
actually ended up out of pocket after having to personally pay stage crew and several dancers who flew
in from Italy,'' he said.
``It's a very brave thing for Geri to do. The only thing she asked for was some cold drinks after the
show which doesn't seem so outrageous considering the show was in the middle of the desert,'' Hackford said.
Defense minister Adam Ingram refused to disclose the amount that Halliwell had been paid when asked
to do so by Jenkin, saying that the information was ``commercially confidential.''
Spice Girl Paid To Be Patriotic?
Law & Order Spinning Off #4?
Dick Wolf
TV producer Dick Wolf, who turned a single drama -- NBC's ``Law & Order'' -- into a
mega-enterprise, has sealed a big-bucks deal to stick with producer Studios USA through
August 2006.
Wolf's new pact includes an eight-figure advance against syndication revenues from ``Law & Order''
and its spawn, ``Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and ``Law & Order: Criminal Intent.''
Wolf had previously been hitched to the studio through early 2003.
``Law & Order'' has been renewed by NBC through 2005, which will make it the second longest-running
drama series in TV history; ``Special Victims Unit'' is in its third year, while rookie ``Criminal Intent''
recently got a full-season pickup. Wolf is also developing the reality drama ``Trial & Error'' for NBC's midseason schedule.
While Wolf said he's kicking around ideas for a fourth edition of ``Law & Order,'' nothing is in the works just yet.
``I know what 'Law & Order 4' is, but it's not in active development,'' Wolf said. ``I'm not putting
a timetable on it. It's clearly not for next fall.''
Wolf repeated his hope that ``Law & Order'' would eventually surpass ``Gunsmoke'' (1955-1975) to become
the longest-running series drama in history. In its 12th season, the show has garnered 10 consecutive
Emmy nominations for drama series and one win (in 1997). According to Wolf, between repeats and broadcast
airings, ``Law & Order'' and its spinoffs air a total of 27 times per week.
Beyond the ``Law & Order'' franchise, Wolf's other credits include ``New York Undercover'' and ``Players''
along with writing stints on ``Hill Street Blues'' and ``Miami Vice.'' Wolf also penned the feature film ``School Ties.''
Dick Wolf, Law & Order, And 8 Figures...
New! Updated!
(6 Nov, 2001)
The official BartCop Astrologer, Geneva, has provided another eye-opening set of charts!
A brief excerpt: " "The influence of the opposition across the 3rd/9th axis may indicate
we have more to fear from domestic terrorism than a foreign entity. Sagittarius on the cusp
of the foreign 9th house, with ruler Jupiter in Cancer, the sign most closely associated with
home and country, in the home 4th, shows the source of anthrax and other bio-chemical threats
are more likely from within our own borders; by a home grown group of domestic terrorists. The
recent wave of breast beating, chest thumping, and flag waving can be attributed to the most
excessive planet (Jupiter) transiting the most exorbitantly patriotic and jingoistic sign (Cancer).
Jupiter also has jurisdiction over religion, so the source of these dreadful bio-terrorist attacks
could very well be a group with a strongly opinionated religious axe to grind. "
Very interesting reading!
Write Your Own Headline
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is just as amazed as we are that his much-maligned marriage to step-daughter Soon-Yi
Previn has worked out so well. "It's amazing it works between us," the director told German Vogue.
"Up to now, I have spent my life with quite different women, who looked a certain way like my ex-wife
Louise [Lasser] or Mia [Farrow]."
No doubt he only wishes he'd discovered the joys of Asian women sooner.
Woody Allen - Ewwwwww
Write Your Own Caption
An exotic face is painted on a model's fingernails during a nail design sculpture contest at
the International Nail Expo in Tokyo, November 18, 2001. The event is being held to showcase
techniques in nail art, develop the nail market, and promote the Japanese nail.
Photo by Eriko Sugita
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 'refdesk'!
Skyrocketing Numbers
Starwars.com
Traffic to Starwars.com skyrocketed 115 percent this past week, as movie fans flocked to the site to check out previews for ``Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones.''
Starwars.com drew 342,000 unique visitors logging on at home during the week ending Nov. 11, compared with 159,000 visitors the previous week, according to Internet audience measurement service Nielsen//NetRatings.
The site attracted a predominantly male audience with an 82 percent to 18 percent gender split. Surfers spent more than 10 minutes at the site, with 57 percent of the total audience visiting the movie trailer section for ``Episode II.''
The film is set to debut in theaters in May 2002.
``Star Wars has long been one of Hollywood's most powerful forces on the Internet. After all, it was the release of the 'Episode I' trailer in 1998 that essentially started the movie trailer phenomenon on the Web,'' said Jarvis Mak, senior Internet media analyst at NetRatings. ``Lucasfilm continues to stay on the cutting edge of technology, tying together DVD technology and the Internet to offer an online version of a second trailer to owners of the 'Episode I' DVD.''
Nielsen//NetRatings measures and reports Internet audience behavior based on data collected from 62,000 home users and 8,000 at work users in the U.S and 155,000 international users.
More Visitors To Starwars.com
In Memory
Charlotte Coleman
``Four Weddings And A Funeral'' star Charlotte Coleman has died after a massive asthma attack, British newspapers said on Saturday.
The 33-year-old British actress, best known for her role as Hugh Grant's eccentric flatmate Scarlett in the 1994 blockbuster, was found dead in her London flat on Wednesday.
``She was in an upstairs room and her asthma inhaler was found downstairs,'' her sister, Lisa Coleman, was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail newspaper.
``Apparently it was very clear that she had suffered from extremely inflamed lungs.''
Coleman's showbiz career began at 11, when she landed her first role in a children's television sitcom.
In 1991 she won a Royal Television Society award for her portrayal of a lesbian teenager in a BBC drama. Three years later she was nominated for a British television BAFTA award for her role in ``Four Weddings and a Funeral.''
Charlotte Coleman
Still Really Like This One....
"Boondocks" (9 Oct 01)
Gonna let it ride for awhile.
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
