'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
from that Madcat, JD ~
Trent Lott's Christmas Card
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another overcast day, but still no rain.
The tech wizard finally finished with the kid's computer, so we took a short road trip - all the way to Torrance!
Went to the Wrigley (neighborhood) Christmas parade. It's all done by volunteers, and they do a great job! Lot more horse groups than would seem normal for an urban setting.
All kinds of marching bands - middle schools, junior high schools & high schools. Lots of Jr ROTC, too. The floats can be anything - from cool old Model-T's to scooters to
tricked-out lowriders - there was a stretch (lowrider) limo that danced in front of us. Some floats are not much more than a truck with some tinsel & a family driving by & waving.
And at the end, an example of damn near every kind of vehicle owned by the city - from the library book mobile to a light be-decked garbage truck to the big fire truck bearing Santa.
Tonight, Sunday, as tradition, CBS opens the evening with '60 Minutes' and follows it with a fresh 'Becker'. Next, it's a RERUN 'Yes, Dear' and then a fresh made-for-tv movie 'The Man Who Saved Christmas'.
NBC starts off with a fresh 'special' - 'America's Greatest Christmas Decorations', then a fresh 'American Dreams', and cap the night with the movie 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'.
ABC begins the night with a fresh made-for-tv movie 'Nancy Drew' followed by a fresh 'Alias' (with Faye Dunaway in a 3 episode role), then a fresh 'The Practice'.
The WB offers nothing fresh - RERUN 'Gilmore Girls', RERUN 'Charmed', RERUN 'Angel'.
Faux starts the evening with a RERUN 'Futurama', then '30 Seconds To Fame', a fresh 'Simpsons', a fresh 'King Of The Hill', a fresh 'Malcolm', and a fresh 'Andy Richter'.
UPN has nothing fresh - RERUN 'Buffy', RERUN 'Enterprise', and 'Stargate SG-1'.
VH1 plays the tape of the 'Big In 2002 Awards' for the first time.
E! offers an 'Anna Nicole' Christmas 'Special' followed by the series premiere of 'Star Dates'. First up, Butch Patrick (Eddie from 'The Munsters').
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Saturday
Paris
A protestor holds a placard during a demonstration against a possible war in Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002 in Paris. Several thousand people demonstrated on Saturday in Paris,
as well as others in major French cities against a possible action in Iraq.
Photo by Francois Mori
Thanks Sandler for 'Hanukkah Song'
Sarah Hughes
Sarah Hughes' friends finally recognize her fame. All it took was a mention in Adam Sandler's latest "Hanukkah Song."
"All my friends were saying it: I'm forever immortalized," Hughes said with a laugh recently. "They said, `A gold medal? Eh — Sarah, we knew you could skate. But this ...'
"I couldn't believe how many people heard that song. I can't believe how popular that song is. He sang it on `Saturday Night Live,' and all my friends heard it."
Hughes has never met Sandler, but the skater said she'll find a part for him in her upcoming TV special if he is interested. She'd even have the already completed show taped again to fit him in.
Sarah Hughes
Looks Like 'MDs' Is Gone, Too
Buh-Bye 'Firefly'
Fox's struggling sci-fi series, Firefly, masterminded by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, just got sucked into the TV equivalent of a black hole.
The official word from a Fox spokesperson is that the series in on hiatus, which is usually network-speak for virtual death but keeps open the possiblity for a return to the
schedule. However, sources close the production say the show has indeed been canceled.
The original two-hour pilot, which never aired, will play December 20. All told, the network has aired 10 hours of the series. Three hour-long episodes remain unaired.
In the meantime, over-the-top undercover series Fastlane will take over Firefly's Friday night spot at 8 p.m.
Even though Fox has bailed on Firefly, there's a remote chance it could surface on another network, perhaps the WB (where Angel resides) or UPN (the place Buffy calls home).
Meanwhile, another show on the post-sweeps casualty list is ABC's MDs. The medical drama starring William Fichtner and John Hannah had been hammered by NBC
stalwart Law & Order and CBS' doctor drama Presidio Med, averaging 6.8 million viewers and ranking at 79 for the season. Celebrity Mole will plug the ABC Wednesday night time slot.
Buh-Bye 'Firefly'
Hollywood Boulevard
Disney Store
High school students protest Disney Company's alleged exploitation of workers in sweatshops in third-world countries during a demonstration Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002,
in front of a Disney store on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles' Hollywood district. The National Labor Committee, organizers of the protest, say workers in Bangladesh
work up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, and are paid just five cents for a shirt that sells for $18. They say that when some women at a factory in Bangladesh
protested their working conditions, Disney's contractor pulled its work from the factory and the workers lost their jobs.
Photo by Reed Saxon
Initiated New Vase
Elton John
Elton John recently took an hourlong boat ride from Venice to Murano to shop at the island's famed glass-blowing studios. Just minutes into the trip back, John needed to relieve himself so badly,
someone suggested they unpack one of his newly purchased Murano vases. According to W magazine, John turned his back and, as discreetly as possible, started to fill the vase - just as a water bus
cruised up alongside. "It's Elton John!" screamed a boatload of Asian tourists. Elton blushed.
Elton John
Library Program Expands
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program has turned a new page, welcoming hundreds of American Indian youngsters.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs partnered with Parents as Teachers and the National Center for Family Literacy to pay $27 per child to expand
the program to 92 American Indian communities.
Imagination Library sends age-appropriate hardcover books to preschool children in 183 communities in 25 states every month for free.
Parton's program began in 1996 to promote reading among children in Sevier County, a rural community in the Great Smoky Mountains where she grew up.
The Dollywood Foundation offers it to any community with a sponsor.
Dolly Parton
Dollywood Foundation
Master of Sea Adventures To Retire
Clive Cussler
After three decades of spinning tales about lost ships and sunken treasures, Clive Cussler, author of best-selling adventure books "Raise The Titanic" and "Night Probe!," is tired and plans to quit.
In New York recently to promote his latest book, a non-fiction account of his search for and exploration of underwater wrecks titled "The Sea Hunters II," 71-year-old Cussler said that
after his next novel he will stop writing.
But retirement doesn't mean Cussler plans to disappear from the scene.
Instead of writing himself, Cussler expects to act as creative director for a series of books based on characters and situations introduced in his books. These spinoff
adventures -- one of them about a tramp steamship tentatively titled "Oregon Chronicles" -- will be authored by other writers.
Cussler, whose books have sold more than 120 million copies, now divides his time between Colorado, where he has an extensive classic car collection, and Arizona.
For a lot more, Clive Cussler
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Suing Companies That Sanitize DVDs
8 Hollywood Studios
Hollywood studios have fired back at video rental stores and technology companies that allow consumers to watch films that have been altered to remove nudity, violence and foul language.
Eight major studios, which own the copyrights to the films, filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court in Denver, backing legal action by movie directors who claim the editors violate copyright laws.
The studios also allege the companies violate trademark law when they rent or sell an altered movie in the original packaging.
In August, CleanFlicks of Colorado, a dealer associated with Pleasant Grove, Utah-based CleanFlicks, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver asking the court
to rule that what they do — rent and sell edited movies — is legal.
CleanFlicks uses a proprietary software system to sanitize the films. Individual video stores buy copies of video tapes or DVDs from the studios, then send them to
CleanFlicks in Utah where they are edited and sent back for sale or rental.
A company called ClearPlay, also based in Utah, sells software that can be downloaded on a computer that mutes foul language or skips over objectionable scenes when a DVD is played on a computer.
Friday's lawsuit complains the film sanitizers charge as much as $20 more for films that have been edited and asked the court to stop the practice.
8 Hollywood Studios
At Dusk
Tokyo
Skyscrapers in Tokyo's Shinjuku district frame Mt. Fuji at dusk, December 11, 2002. At 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), Japan's highest peak is only about 100 km (62 miles) southwest
of the capital. Picture taken December 11.
Photo by Kimimasa Mayama
Gracious As Ever
Rosie O'Donnell
Proving again that the Queen of Nice is dead, Rosie O'Donnell yesterday unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against Winona Ryder, saying the sticky-fingered starlet "has been
stealing [bleep] -- for 10 years" and should be locked up because "her last film sucked."
Baby-dangler Michael Jackson also took a beating from Rosie, who was summoned at the last minute to serve as master of ceremonies for the New York Women in Film & Television's
holiday luncheon at the Hilton in Midtown, replacing new grandma Linda Ellerbee.
The Post's Andrea Peyser reports that some 1,500 women, including actresses Frances McDormand, Alfre Woodard, Marlo Thomas and producer and former Woody Allen
bankroller Jean Doumanian, laughed nervously as O'Donnell launched into an ad-lib spiel about how she'd like to open a "detox center for celebs who are not [celebs]
anymore" - offering lessons in such skills as "standing on line."
O'Donnell, whose partner, Kelli Carpenter, recently gave birth, said she had to return to Westchester and her "weepy" gal pal for an hourlong
fight over "how one bottle [for their child] won't keep her from nursing." She admits she's had difficulty adjusting to the lack of attention since her talk show ended.
She was recently stunned when she was barred from parking illegally at her kids' school. "You mean I can't do what I want?" she asked.
"Your show's off the air," she imitated an official. "Move your [bleep]ing car!"
Rosie O'Donnell
Auction Tops $1 Million
Planet Hollywood
Financially-troubled restaurant chain Planet Hollywood netted more than $1 million in an auction of film memorabilia on Saturday.
An unnamed buyer dropped a cool $207,500 for the Academy Award won in 1935 by actor Bette Davis for her role in the movie "Dangerous," while another plunked down $35,850 for a
stagecoach used in numerous movies. The two items were among the highest-priced items.
Among the pieces sold was a toreador costume once worn by actor Rudolph Valentino, bought by representative of the Debbie Reynolds Motion Picture Museum for more than $32,000.
The organization also purchased a negligee worn by Vivien Leigh in the movie "A Streetcar Named Desire" for $16,730; a western costume used by Marlene Dietrich in the
picture "Destry Rides Again" for $19,120; and a dress once worn by Carole Lombard for $14,340.
Planet Hollywood
Designed by Japanese Architect
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The northern Texas city of Fort Worth opened the doors to the public on Saturday to one of the largest modern art museums in North America, which was designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Tadao Ando.
The facility, which features glass-enclosed galleries perched majestically upon a reflecting pool, was built at a cost of $65 million. Organizers are hoping the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth will
earn a seat at the table with the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, and the Milwaukee Art Museum as one of the more celebrated recent editions to the world of architecture.
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, punctuated by a 67-foot tall sculpture outside the facility from Richard Serra, has 53,000 square feet of gallery space. The only facility in North America with more
gallery space dedicated to modern and contemporary art is New York's Museum of Modern Art, museum officials said.
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Dropping Pornography
Finland Cable TV
Cable television stations in Finland are dropping late-night pornography from their programming in response to political pressure and a lack of interest by advertisers.
Three Helsinki stations began broadcasting pornography four years ago; previously it had been available only to pay-per-view customers.
The programs are now being canceled in what appears to be part of a conservative trend in the country of 5.2 million people. Two stations cited pressure from cable operators
and lack of advertising, while the third called it a business decision.
Earlier this week, 100 lawmakers signed a petition to outlaw prostitution — a debate fast turning into a key issue in the upcoming election.
Finland Cable TV
Joined Protest
Ed Begley Jr.
Actor-activist Ed Begley Jr. overcame his fear of heights and shimmied up an old oak tree on Saturday as part of an effort to keep it from being moved to make way for a road-widening project.
Begley joined John Quigley, an environmental activist who has spent the past 44 days in the branches.
"I'm not a climber," Begley said. "I'm not good with heights, but it was very important, so I put that aside and just climbed on up."
Begley hung out in the 400-year-old tree for 90 minutes. He supports asking the developer to postpone the road-widening project, possibly for years, or rerouting the road around the oak.
The tree became a rallying point for Southern California environmentalists after plans were disclosed to cut it down.
Ed Begley Jr.
Wedding News?
Russell Crowe
Hollywood star Russell Crowe is about to pop the big question to long-time Australian girlfriend Danielle Spencer, local and international media reported on Saturday.
The 38-year-old New Zealand-born actor has reportedly splashed out on a $107,000 diamond ring for the former soap opera star.
Crowe said last month he was heading back to Australia to be with his father and girlfriend and escape a "massive level of stress."
"I am in love with Danielle Spencer but I don't get to spend nearly enough time with her," he said in a message still posted on his rock band's Web site, www.gruntland.com, after he shocked fans in November with the cancellation of Gruntland's gigs.
"I feel a great need to wake up with her as many days of my life as I can," he said.
Russell Crowe
Ventura, CA
Student-Wife?
A former high school wrestling coach has been sentenced to a year in jail for having sex with a 14-year-old student he eventually married.
Andrew Fonseca, 23, also was sentenced to four years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
During Friday's hearing, the girl's mother asked Judge Kevin McGee for leniency.
"Andrew is living at our house, married to our daughter and he works and supports her," the mother said. "It's been the best thing that ever happened to her."
The couple married in September, two months after the former Moorpark High School volunteer coach pleaded guilty to three felonies involving the girl, who is now 15.
The girl, who sat next to Fonseca in court, told the judge she loves her husband.
Student-Wife?
In Memory
Marvin O. Herzog
Marvin O. Herzog, who traveled the world with his Bavarian Polka Band for 58 years, died Thursday of pancreatic cancer. He was 70.
Herzog was a polka celebrity who regularly booked 170 appearances a year. He and his band would travel more than 75,000 miles a year in a converted Greyhound bus.
For years, Herzog was the star and co-sponsor of Frankenmuth's Summer Music Fest, which drew about 25,000 visitors annually to the town known for its Bavarian events and shopping.
Born in Frankenmuth, Herzog lived there his entire life. He quit his job at Star of the West Milling in 1973 to concentrate full-time on polka music.
He played a Cordovox - a mix of organ and accordion.
Herzog recorded 32 albums, including his "Schnitzelbank" and "Octoberfest" records in German as well as Polish, Italian and English polkas. He had a radio show and co-hosted a television show.
Herzog was inducted into the International Polka Association Hall of Fame in 1979.
Marvin O. Herzog
San Salvador Zoo, El Salvador
Patanga & Cub
A one-week-old baby lion lets out its first roar at the zoo in San Salvador, El Salvador as its mother Patanga watches on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002.
Photo by Victor Ruiz Caballero
'The Osbournes'
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