'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
He's Been Busy!
The Worried Shrimp
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Contributor Comment
Re: BBC
Have you noticed a difference in the BBC since the Hutton report? I have.
Yesterday, they reported that Bush had released all his military records.
This morning, the line of questions for an Iraqi official over yesterday's suicide bombings was decidedly pro-government.
One of the last bastions of free news available has been compromised.
I suggest:
http://www.cbc.ca/audio.html
or
http://www.deutschewelle.de/english
Our democracy is so thoroughly degraded that we have stooped to relying on the GERMANS (or wading through hockey scores) for good information.
~ Tim H
Thanks, Tim!
Something I've noticed is that BBC employees aren't afraid to protest, while their counterparts in our 'free' system are scared shitless to take a stand for fear of being unemployed or blacklisted.
Reader Request
Re: Paul Teutel
Can you show pictures of Paul Teutel from American Chopper?
- Robbins
Hi Robbins -
'Google' didn't have any 'nice' pictures - will keep an eye for the Teutels from now on, though (and they're 'locals', too).
Which Paul do you prefer?
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
from Mark
The "Meet the War President" PowerPoint
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, warmer & breezy.
The kid stayed home today. He's allergic to something in bloom, but we don't know what it is - yet.
I was one of those kids that was allergic to almost everything, from sweat to eggs to lactose.
All things considered, the kid's been pretty lucky.
But, today he was an ambulatory snot-factory with puffy eyes & a hacking cough.
Tonight, Thursday, CBS starts the night with a FRESH 'Survivor: All Stars', followed by a FRESH
'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', then a FRESH 'Without A Trace'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Bill Murray and Indiana Pacer Jermaine O'Neal.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model Marisa Miller, Chris Noth, Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell, and 311.
NBC opens the night with a FRESH 40-minute long 'Friends', followed by a FRESH 'Trump Atrocity', then a
FRESH 'ER' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour).
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Clint Eastwood, Charles Barkley, and Shelby Lynne.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Adam Sandler and Stompin' Tom Connors.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Elliott Gould, Greg Giraldo, and snowboarder Tara Dakides.
ABC begins the night with a FRESH 'Extreme Makeover', followed by another FRESH 'Extreme Makeover', then 'Primetime Thursday'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Presidents of the United States of America, with this week's guest co-host, Warren Sapp.
The WB offers a FRESH 'Steve Harvey's Big Time', followed by a FRESH 'All About The Andersons', then a
RERUN of last Sunday's 'Surreal Life'.
Faux has a FRESH 'Tru Calling', followed by a FRESH 'Big Fat Obnoxious'.
UPN fills the night with 'WWE Smackdown!'.
A&E has 'American Justice', 'Cold Case Files', 'Laci Peterson', and 'With Malice'.
AMC offers the movie 'Sahara', followed by the movie 'The Longest Day', then the movie 'Von Ryan's Express'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Smith;
[7pm] 'House Invaders' - Nuneaton;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Leeds;
[8pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 1;
[8:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Brightlingsea;
[9pm] 'Faking It' - Punk Rocker to Classical Conductor;
[10pm] 'The Office' - Episode 3;
[10:40pm] 'Wire in the Blood' - Behind the Scenes;
[11pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 1;
[11:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Brightlingsea;
[12am] 'Faking It' - Punk Rocker to Classical Conductor;
[1am] 'The Office' - Episode 3;
[1:40am] 'Wire in the Blood' - Behind the Scenes;
[2am] 'House Invaders' - Nuneaton;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Leeds;
[3am] 'Faking It' - Punk Rocker to Classical Conductor;
[4am] 'The Office' - Episode 3;
[4:40am] 'Wire in the Blood' - Behind the Scenes;
[5am] 'House Invaders' - Episode 1;
[5:30am] 'House Invaders' - Brightlingsea; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'West Wing', followed by the movie 'Five Easy Pieces', then 'Queer Eye', followed by 'West Wing'.
Comedy Central has 'MAD TV', 'Trigger Happy TV', 'Insomniac', 'South Park', 'The Man Show', and another 'The Man Show'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Drew Barrymore.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Rumrummers, Moonshiners & Bootleggers', and another 'Modern Marvels'.
SciFi has the mvie 'DNA', followed by the movie 'alien Lockdown', then 'Alien Fury'.
TCM - Day 12 of '31 Days of Oscar™', where every movie is either an Oscar™ winner or nominee.
[6am] 'The Magnificent Ambersons' (1942);
[7:30am] 'The Children's Hour' (1961);
[9:30am] 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray' (1945);
[11:30am] 'Dragon Seed' (1944);
[2pm] 'The Corn Is Green' (1945);
[4pm] 'Dead End' (1937);
[5:45pm] 'The Paradine Case' (1947);
[8pm] 'Parenthood' (1989);
[10pm] 'Hondo' (1953);
[11:30pm] 'Singin' In The Rain' (1952);
[1:30am] 'Pillow Talk' (1959);
[3:30am] 'The Landlord' (1970). (ALL TIMES EST)
Performers Christina Aguilera (R) and Missy Elliott pose with lipstick during a press conference in New York, on February 11, 2004. Every cent of the selling price of the 'Viva Glam V' lipsticks which they are displaying, will be donated to people living with AIDS through the MAC AIDS Fund.
Photo by Albert Ferreira
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Ridicules Bush at Berlin Fest
Robin Williams
The Berlin Film Festival got a much-needed shot of levity Wednesday when Robin Williams turned the news conference for Omar Naim's sci-fi thriller "The Final Cut" into a free-association comedy routine.
Williams got the biggest laughs from the packed room of international journalists and critics when he started taking shots at the Bush government and its search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"Bush is complaining about a lack of intelligence, which seems sort of redundant," Williams joked. "They say they don't know if Iraq had any WMDs -- well, all they have to do is ask (Vice President Dick) Cheney for the receipts."
Robin Williams
Joins PETA Crusade
Richard Pryor
US funnyman Richard Pryor is calling on Americans to boycott fast-food giant KFC for allegedly allowing chicken cruelty, animal rights activists said.
Pryor, 62, has joined a crusade against the US fried chicken house that has outlets across the globe being waged by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) in an advertising campaign to be launched Thursday.
Pryor joins former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson, singer Chrissie Hynde and other celebrities in supporting PETA's battle to stamp out what it brands as chicken abuse by KFC suppliers.
Richard Pryor
Democratic Interest Group Launches Agency Review
Media Fund
A Democratic interest group called the Media Fund, which is dedicated to defeating resident Bush in November, is talking to shops about preparing an issue ad campaign to air in 17 battleground states.
Headed by Harold Ickes, deputy chief of staff during Bill Clinton's first term, the group has raised $3 million so far, according to the Internal Revenue Service, and has a goal of stockpiling $80 million.
Jim Jordan, a Media Fund representative, confirmed that the group was talking to agencies but declined to name them. He said an ad campaign would start in the spring in states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida and Ohio.
Media Fund
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Some Nominees Set to Perform
Oscar Songs
Sting, Annie Lennox, Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett will perform nominated songs during the 76th annual Academy Awards on Feb. 29.
No other performers are yet confirmed, according to a representative for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC.
Oscar Songs
'Late Night' host Conan O'Brien demonstrates the art of moose calling during a broadcast from Toronto, February 11, 2004. This is the second of four shows that O'Brien is doing in Canada.
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Guesting On 'Nip/Tuck'
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave will guest star on the FX drama Nip/Tuck for three episodes, beginning with the series' second season premiere on June 22, the network announced Tuesday.
Redgrave, who won a supporting-actress Oscar in 1978 for Julia, will play the mother of her real-life daughter Joely Richardson, who stars on the TV series. Nip/Tuck also stars Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon. Redgrave's character comes to Miami for a facelift.
Vanessa Redgrave
Newest Star On The Hollywood Walk O'Fame
Jose Jose
Amid cheers of "You are my idol" and "Arriba Jose!" Mexican balladeer Jose Jose was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony that drew a throng of fans.
Jose, 55, known throughout Latin America as "The Prince of Song" for his romantic serenades, has 26 platinum records in a career spanning more than four decades.
Born Jose Romulo Sosa Ortiz to a family of musicians in Mexico City, Jose got his start in the 1960s with the hit song "La Nave Del Olvido (The Ship of Oblivion)," and went on to receive nine Grammy nominations and star in six movies.
Jose Jose
Pleaded Guilty
Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in upstate New York and paid $200 in fines.
The singer's attorney was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday but instead entered a guilty plea Feb. 4, the Daily Freeman of Kingston reported.
Garfunkel, 62, of Manhattan, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after state police stopped his limousine for speeding Jan. 17 in Hurley, 55 miles southwest of Albany.
The trooper who stopped the limo, in which Garfunkel was the lone passenger, smelled marijuana and found a bag containing 6 grams of the drug in Garfunkel's jacket pocket, police said.
Art Garfunkel
Heads To The Big Screen
'The Simpsons'
Homer, Bart and the zany cast of the hit animated television series "The Simpsons" could finally become Hollywood stars, with plans for a big-screen version of their antics in the offing.
The industry press said Wednesday the creators of the show, now in its 15th year and poised to become the longest-running sitcom in US history next year, were working on a "Simpsons" feature film for Twentieth Century Fox studios.
Writers and creators Matt Groening and James Brooks are leading a team of writers in developing a full-length screenplay, while the studio has already hired key writers, Daily Variety said.
Variety said no release schedule had yet been set for the planned movie but that it was likely to be at least two years before it enters movie theatres.
'The Simpsons'
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Enjoys Rare Nightly Victory
David Letterman
David Letterman found some gold again in Dr. Phil McGraw, the Beatles' celebration, and snowboarder Tara Dakides on Monday night as CBS' "Late Show" reached its highest rating in the top "metered" markets since Feb. 17, 2003 -- when Dr. Phil was a guest.
Dakides returned -- on the sofa -- after suffering injuries from a stunt she attempted on the show last Thursday. Letterman averaged a 6.0 rating/14 share in the 55 metered markets and defeated NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno," which earned a 5.1/12. It marked Letterman's best overnight rating since Nov. 4, 2003 when he returned following the birth of his son.
David Letterman
Bolivian dancers of a 'Diablada' (devils) group perform in La Paz, February 10, 2004. Hundreds of citizens of Oruro give their tributes on the 223rd anniversary of this city, where the splendid carnival of Oruro gets underway, drawing thousands of tourists from all over the world.
Photo by David Mercado
Adds 'GMA' Clips
Erma Bombeck Museum
The University of Dayton's National Alumni Association is adding 13 of Erma Bombeck's "Good Morning America" segments to its
Erma Bombeck Online Museum.
"Each year on Erma's birthday we add items to the museum," said humor columnist Tim Bete, curator of the two-year-old museum. "It's our way of honoring Erma and giving her millions of fans something to help remember her." Bombeck, who would have turned 77 on Feb. 21, was writing her syndicated humor column for 700 newspapers at the time of her 1996 death.
Bombeck did three-minute segments as well as interviews for "Good Morning America" between 1975 and 1986. The 13 video clips focus on picky eaters, strange chairs, why people think they're younger than they are, what Bombeck would do differently if she lived her life over, and more.
Erma Bombeck Museum
Unhappy Set?
Reba McEntire
On at least two occasions since last month, Reba McEntire called just before the beginning of production on an episode of "Reba" to say she couldn't make it, citing a family emergency in Oklahoma.
After taking her second break in four weeks, rumors have surfaced that McEntire is unhappy with her current salary on the show, which ranks as the WB's strongest comedy. However, sources said McEntire is expected to return to work Wednesday and that her reps have made no formal overtures about renegotiating her contract.
Reba McEntire
Set for Return?
'Raymond'
They're talking. That's what everybody in the know is saying about the fate of CBS' "Everybody Loves Raymond."
"Raymond" creator Phil Rosenthal and star Ray Romano had said they expected to decide by the end of last month on whether the sitcom will return for a ninth season in the fall.
Sources say Rosenthal and Romano in recent weeks have had numerous brainstorming sessions with the writing staff to determine whether there's enough life left in "Raymond," creatively speaking, to go another season. Some observers say the fact that they keep talking is a sign that Romano and company are leaning toward returning.
'Raymond'
Warrant Issued
Courtney Love
A Beverly Hills judge issued a bench warrant on Wednesday for singer-actress Courtney Love after she failed to show up for a hearing on felony drug possession charges.
Superior Court Judge Elden Fox agreed to hold his arrest order until Tuesday to give Love time to comply. Her attorney said Love was a no-show because of "security concerns" but gave no further explanation.
Courtney Love
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Pleads Guilty
Amarillo Slim
The celebrated poker player known as "Amarillo Slim" has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor assault charges for inappropriate physical contact with a 12-year-old girl, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Thomas Austin Preston, 75, who is known around poker tables as Amarillo Slim was sentenced to two years deferred adjudication -- essentially two years probation -- and fined $4,000 by a judge in the northwestern Texas city of Amarillo on Tuesday, Oldham County, Texas prosecutors said.
Preston could have faced felony charges, which would have brought a much more severe sentence. The girl was a relative of the poker player, according to documents presented in court.
Preston must seek and pay for counseling for the victim as part of the plea bargain.
Amarillo Slim
Derryl DePriest, director of marketing-boy's toys for Hasbro, Inc., puts the finshing touches on the 40th anniversary display of the G.I. Joe toy in the company's showroom at the American International Toy Fair in New York, February 11, 2004. DePriest, who has collected G.I. Joe since he was a boy, created the display of the toy's most memorable figures from his personal collection of 100s of different figures created over the 40 year period. The smaller figures are from the 3 and 3/4 G.I. Joe vs. Cobra line debuted in 1982 and isbeing reintroduced this year.
Photo by Ray Stubblebine
Settles Suit for $35,000
Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls has settled a lawsuit with a woman who claimed she gave up her business to become his mistress.
The soul singer will pay Margaret Schaffer $35,000 to settle her $12 million lawsuit which claimed he backed out of a verbal agreement to support her financially even if they split.
In the lawsuit, Schaffer said she met Rawls, 68, in February 1998 and moved into his Southern California home shortly afterward.
Lou Rawls
Reviewing LBJ Claims
History Channel
The History Channel has asked three historians to review the credibility of a documentary it aired that claimed President Lyndon Johnson was involved in the Kennedy assassination.
Former Johnson staffers and family members have been demanding an independent investigation and a retraction of the allegations in the documentary. History Channel executives said they will broadcast results of their review.
The historians reviewing the allegations are author Robert Dallek, considered an authority on the presidency; Stanley Kutler, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin and a leading authority on 20th-century American political and constitutional history; and Thomas Sugrue, an award-winning teacher and author at the University of Pennsylvania.
The program was based in part on a book published in 2003 by Barr McClellan, who claims the law firm he quit a quarter-century ago was involved in convoluted plots that link Johnson to at least 11 deaths, including President Kennedy's.
History Channel
This series is airing (again) Saturday, without any alterations. Oh, BTW, the author who's work this is based on, Barr McClellan, has a boy named Scott, who pimps for the chimp.
'Ulysses' Under Fire in Centenary Year
James Joyce
James Joyce's "Ulysses," regarded by many as the greatest novel of the 20th century and by some as the finest work ever written in English, is under attack.
As Ireland gears up to celebrate the centenary of Bloomsday -- the day in June 1904 on which the novel is set -- some disgruntled writers and columnists say they are sick to death of the impenetrable book and its cult following.
By elevating him to the status of literary God, Joyce's fans are doing other Irish writers a disservice and creating a "Joyce industry" which has more to do with tourism and money-making than literature, they say.
Stuffed full of meandering, unpunctuated sentences, classical references, snatches of song and even the occasional diagram, it tells the story of advertising salesman Leopold Bloom's wander around Dublin on June 16, 1904.
For more, James Joyce
Run Over By Float
Pluto
A costumed Disney World employee was run over and killed by a float during a Wednesday afternoon parade at the Magic Kingdom.
Disney spokeswoman Rena Langley said Javier Cruz, 38, of Orlando, was about to enter the park when he was hit, and she wasn't sure if any visitors witnessed what happened. She said Cruz had worked at the park since 1995 and was the Pluto character in the parade.
Sheriff's spokesman Carlos Torres said the investigation showed the death was accidental. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also was investigating.
Pluto
Slam Super Bowl Halftime
Legislative Hypocrites
Janet Jackson's exposed breast was talk of Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with lawmakers and regulators saying it's the latest example of all that's wrong with TV and should serve as the impetus for government to get tough with broadcasters.
At a pair of hearings, lawmakers excoriated Mel Karmazin, president of Viacom Inc. His company owns CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl halftime show that included Jackson.
Members of the House Telecommunications Committee spent more than two hours grilling Karmazin, who again apologized for the show that ended with singer Justin Timberlake tearing off part of Jackson's top and exposing her right breast to 90 million TV viewers.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said the commission has been able to enforce indecency standards for decades, and doesn't need to go through a time-consuming process to write a rule.
"It's a red herring," Powell said. "There is no ambiguity with the indecency standard. It's existed for 30 years."
Legislative Hypocrites
Talk about a tempest in a C-cup. Bunch of hypocrite bullies trying to get face time on the local news, reality be damned.
The part that puzzles me, though, is why have they given a pass to the nearly-naked guy?
A lot of airtime was devoted to 'educating' us about all the security for the Super Bowl.
Celebrities who took part in the festivities said they had to go through 5 different security locations.
Wouldn't that imply the general public was made to jump through more hoops?
So, how did that guy get on to the field, at the start of the 3rd quarter, when both teams were present?
He was able to get nearly-naked, then prance onto the field & dance about.
Where was security?
Such a major breach of security would seem to me to be a much bigger deal than a bit of a nipple.
Koresh knows, someone that 'crazy' could have had any number of explosives shoved up his ass.
And where are the flag-people bitching about Kid Rock?
Cut a slice in a flag & wore it as a poncho.
These hypocrites have their priorities ass-backward - and I'm shocked. Absolutely shocked.
Not to imply Mikey Powell needs a remedial course in the history of broadcasting rules & regs - it's a simple statement of fact.
Comcast Makes Unsolicited Bid
Disney
Cable television giant Comcast Corp. made a surprise bid for The Walt Disney Co. that would create the world's biggest media conglomerate and likely spell an end to the 20-year career of Disney chief Michael Eisner.
Comcast, which said Eisner had rejected the idea of private talks, stunned the media world with its announcement early Wednesday. It was made just before Disney started two days of meetings with analysts at its flagship Walt Disney World theme park and hours before Disney was set to announce strong first quarter earnings.
Disney's board released a statement saying it would "carefully evaluate" Comcast's offer. But the board cautioned shareholders not to take any action in the meantime.
The proposal came as Eisner is fending off criticism from former board members Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Disney founder Walt Disney, and Stanley E. Gold about his performance and lack of a succession plan as Disney's chief executive. That pressure increased late Wednesday, when Institutional Shareholder Services, an influential shareholder group, recommended against Eisner's re-election to the Disney board, citing "blurred" lines between the board and management.
For more, Disney
Wasted Educations
Texas Pharmacists
Eckerd Corp. has fired three pharmacists who declined to fill an emergency contraception prescription for a woman who had been raped, one of the pharmacists said Wednesday.
Gene Herr said he and two co-workers were fired Jan. 29, six days after refusing to fill the prescription. He said his own refusal was based on religious grounds.
Herr, 33, of Denton, said he declined to fill the prescription for the so-called "morning-after pill" because he believes it could have killed the embryo if the woman already had conceived. Though he had declined five or six times in the past to fill such prescriptions, it was the first time he had been handed one for a rape victim, he said.
"I went in the back room and briefly prayed about it," said Herr, who had worked for Eckerd for five years. "I actually called my pastor ... and asked him what he thought about it."
Texas Pharmacists
When I take in a prescription, I really care about the pharmacists' pastor's opinion...
Canneto di Caronia, Sicily
'Demonic' Blazes
A Sicilian town is struggling to work out why dozens of household items from fridge-freezers to furniture keep mysteriously bursting into flame, terrifying locals and sparking theories of demonic intervention.
Since mid-January dozens of electrical goods and pieces of furniture have spontaneously gone up in flames, causing huge damage in Canneto di Caronia, a small town perched on the Mediterranean island's rocky coast.
Italian utility Enel tried cutting power to the town after the first reports but the fires continued. With experts no closer to explaining the phenomenon, theories ranged from arson to a freak power surge or even the supernatural.
'Demonic' Blazes
Marijuana plants are shown growing in a beer vat in this police handout photograph January 12, 2004. Police busted the grow operation, the largest in Canadian history on the weekend. Nine men have been arrested in connection with the operation which made use of a former brewery. Thirty thousand marijuana plants were found in the bust.
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'The Osbournes'
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