'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Correction
Re: Horns and Halos
Marty -
The Cinemax schedule
states that "Horns and Halos" will be shown again
(which is good for me, since I forgot to tape it today.)
SusanNY
HORNS AND HALOS:
This award-winning documentary captures the unlikely connection between the
U.S. President, a discredited author and an underground publisher whose
paths to power and popularity crossed over a book: Fortunate Son, J.H.
Hatfield's unauthorized biography of George W. Bush. The odyssey of
Hatfield and underground New York City publisher Sander Hicks to get
bookstores to carry the tome--and get much-needed publicity to help drive
sales for the new edition in the 2000 presidential election year--is the
focus of this entertaining and ultimately shocking verite film.
All Showings, MAX East:
Wed 2/18 7PM
Wed 3/3 4PM
Sat 3/6 12:50PM
Sat 3/6 9:40PM
Fri 3/12 9:40PM
Tue 3/16 7:15AM
Tue 3/16 8:10PM
Thu 3/18 7:50AM
Sun 3/21 7:30AM
Sun 3/21 7:50PM
Tue 3/30 9:40PM
Thanks, Susan!
from Mark
Play "Stump the Chumps!" with Dr. Paul
Reader Comment
Re: Josh Marshall
Josh Marshall of talkingpointsmemo.com fame has a devastating but
funny response to President Bush, who recently said, "Democrats would
endanger America's fiscal health by raising taxes."
Mr. Marshall
replies, "When the president came into office the budget surplus was
over $200 billion. Now the deficit is over $500 billion. Even my
frail grasp of mathematics tells me that's a deterioration in the
nation's fiscal health of roughly three-quarters of a trillion
dollars in the three years he's been in office.
And for almost all of
that time the president's party controlled both houses of congress.
And he says the Democrats are a danger to the nation's fiscal health?
This is the arsonist in your house telling you that stranger outside
with the hose can't be trusted."
Bruce
Thanks, Bruce!
Thanks, Jan dH!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reader Comment
Re: Conan O'Brien
Dear Conan:
Thanks loads for making ALL Americans look like xenophobic jerks.
Bush has made the rest of the world hate us, so you people have to go up there and get the Canadians ticked off at us, too.
I mean, Canada is SUCH a TERRIBLE place -- what with its low crime rate, its high literacy rate, its high percentage of folks who graduate college and the fact that their people don't have to worry about affordable health care (elderly Americans have to choose between food and medications because national health care is considered socialist in the good ole US of A!)
Speaking as an American who's been to Calgary every year since 1999, I'm really embarrassed that your show has to stoop to that kind of nonsense.
And, for your information, 90% of Canada is NON-French speaking! If you're going to badmouth another country, at least try to know something about it.
I expected better of Mr. O'Brien!
Terry C (an unabashed Canadaphile)
Thanks, Terry!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
The Wall Street Poet
The Buck Stops Somewhere Else
Old Harry Truman had a sign
That sat upon his desk;
His thinking a-bout leadership
The sign straight out expressed;
Four little words were on that sign,
Their message true and clear;
They told you who to praise and blame,
They said: "The buck stops here."
The buck stops here,
The buck stops here,
The sign made clear,
The buck stops here.
But nowadays another view
Pervades a new White House;
As policies in I-raq spawn
A universal grouse;
Alas things there ain't going well,
Not going well at all;
And someone for this fi-as-co
Has gotta take the fall.
The buck stops here?
Now, now, be fair.
All praise we snare,
But blame we share.
'Twas bad intel that pulled us in,"
Revisionists now say;
'Twas lying, ex-pat, I-raq-ees
Who made us want to play;"
Colin's haggard, Wolfie's sheepish,
Rumy raves: "The mission!"
And the Oval Office occupant
Appointed a commission.
We wouldn't err,
Oh, no, dear, dear.
'Bout this affair,
The buck stops there.
Or there.
Or there.
Or....
© 2004
**********
For more political verse:
http://www.beltwaybard.com
For financial verse:
http://www.wallstreetpoet.com
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A wonderfully rainy day.
Many NBC stations air a second Leno & Conan in the middle of the night. These shows are 1 week behind the regular schedule.
If you live in an area that offers this programming, tonight
you might want to stay up, throw a tape in the vcr or program Tivo to record the 2nd Conan O'Brien of the night.
This is the show (unless NBC deletes the segment) with Triumph the Insult Dog in Quebec that caused all the uproar.
Tonight, Thursday, CBS opens 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 Sarah Jessica Parker, Professor Popsicle, and Nelly Furtado.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Tom Cavanagh, Poppy Montgomery, and J.C. Chasez.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH 'Friends', followed by a FRESH 'Will & Grace', then a FRESH
'Trump Atrocity' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour), followed by a FRESH 'ER' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour).
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Dana Carvey, Steven Bailey, and John Mayer.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Kim Cattrall, James Spader, and Kenny Chesney.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Omar Epps, Brittany Daniel, and Super Furry Animals.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH 'Bachelorette', followed by a FRESH 'Extreme Makeover', then 'Primetime Thursday'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Bonnie Hunt and Story of the Year.
The WB offers a FRESH 'Steve Harvey's Big Time', followed by a RERUN 'All About The Andersons', then a RERUN 'Surreal Life'.
Faux has the movie 'Planet Of The Apes'.
UPN fills the night with 'WWE Smackdown!'.
A&E has 'American Justice', a 2-hour 'Cold Case Files', and 'With Malice'.
AMC offers the movie 'Halls Of Montezuma', followed by the movie 'The Undefeated', then the movie 'Rio Conchos'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Maddison;
[7pm] 'House Invaders' - Tackley;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Weston Super Mare;
[8pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 2;
[8:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 1;
[9pm] 'Faking It' - Emergency Control Operator to Live TV Studio Director;
[10pm] 'The Office' - Episode 4;
[11pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 2;
[11:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 1;
[12am] 'Faking It' - Emergency Control Operator to Live TV Studio Director;
[1am] 'The Office' - Episode 4;
[1:40am] 'The Telly' - Quarter 1 2004;
[2am] 'House Invaders' - Tackley;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Weston Super Mare;
[3am] 'Faking It' - Emergency Control Operator to Live TV Studio Director;
[4am] 'The Office' - Episode 4;
[4:40am] 'The Telly' - Quarter 1 2004;
[5am] 'House Invaders' - Episode 2;
[5:30am] 'House Invaders' - Episode 1; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'West Wing', followed by the movie 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', 'Queer Eye', and 'West Wing'.
Comedy Central has 'MAD TV', 'Trigger Happy TV', 'Indomnica', 'South Park', 'The Man Show', and another 'The Man Show'.
On a RERUN Jon Stewart it's TBA.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Civil War Combat', another 'Civil War Combat', 'Tales Of The Gun - The Civil War', and 'XY Factor: Sex In The Civil War'.
SciFi has the movie 'E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial', followed by the movie 'Meet Joe Black'.
TCM - Day 19 of '31 Days of Oscar™', where every movie is either an Oscar™ winner or nominee, with the added bonus of 3 from Alfred Hitchcock, and 1 with a dream sequence by
Salvador Dalí.
[6am] 'The Green Years' (1946);
[8:15am] 'Juarez' (1939);
[10:30am] 'Exodus' (1960);
[2pm] 'Ride The Pink Horse' (1947);
[3:45pm] 'Foreign Correspondent' (1940);
[6pm] 'Notorious' (1946);
[8pm] 'The Story of G.I. Joe' (1945);
[10pm] 'Fiddler on the Roof' (1971);
[1:30am] 'The Big Sky' (1952);
[4am] 'Spellbound' (1945). (ALL TIMES EST)
A member of the Sao Clemente samba school works to finish a black replica of the Statue of Liberty on a carnival float in Rio de Janeiro, February 18, 2004. Carnival festivities in Brazil will begin on February 21.
Photo by Bruno Domingos
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
'The Green Hornet'
Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith, the filmmaker behind Chasing Amy, Dogma and the upcoming Jersey Girl will write and direct a new film about the Green Hornet and his martial-arts sidekick, Kato, Miramax Films announced Wednesday. "Longtime comics geek gets to make comic book movie?" Smith said, speculating about a possible newspaper headline. "This is a dream come true."
The Green Hornet chronicled the adventures of billionaire vigilante Britt Reid as he rode around catching bad guys in a sci-fi car. It was created by Fran Striker and George Trendle, who also worked together to create The Lone Ranger.
Smith promised his Green Hornet adaptation would be an "exciting, chop-socky-filled action flick, but it's gonna have a compelling story, believable characters, and great dialogue to boot."
Kevin Smith
A Great Read
Hunter S. Thompson
< snip>
It was like having football and porno all at once, with no holds barred ... Or that's what they said on TV, anyway. CBS News Wizard Ed Bradley called it a magic moment for show business.
But not in the White House. George Bush went out of his way to announce formally that he went to sleep long before the end of the first half.
What kind of all-American boy would say a stupid thing like that while he's running for re-election? Only a fool would deliberately insult the whole Football Nation, at a nervous time when polls show his Job Approval Rating plunging below 50 percent for the first time since he took office in January of 2001. That is like stabbing yourself in the back while you're preparing to fight for your life on a street corner. It is dumb, and so is the dingbat who told Bush to say it.
For the rest, Hunter S. Thompson
Issues 'Apology' to Quebec
Conan O'Brien
Late-night comedian Conan O'Brien sought to defuse a flap over a recent segment poking fun at the French-Canadian province of Quebec by issuing a self-deprecating "apology" on Tuesday in French.
"People of Quebec, I'm sorry," the host of NBC's "Late Night" show said in English, as a translator recited in French, with English subtitles, "People of Quebec, I'm an albino jackass."
"We meant no harm with our comedy piece the other night," O'Brien continued, "translated" into French as: "The other night, I wet the bed like a little girl."
"I was a stranger in a strange land and I was very insensitive," he went on, with the subtitle: "I have a small penis."
Conan O'Brien
Robotics Institute student Mark Michalowski, right, looks over the kiosk where 'Valerie', the new Roboceptionist at Carnegie Mellon University operates from before the indroduction of the school's latest foray into interactive robots on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004 in Pittsburgh. Students and professors from the computer science and drama departments created the personna that greets people and gossips on the phone. Instead of just giving out directions or telling visitors about the weather, Valerie is programmed with her own personality.
Photo by Keith Srakocic
Seen as Dangerous as Libya for Filmmakers
America
Risk taking and feature filmmaking have long gone hand in hand, but a recent insurance broker's report tries to capture the actual physical risks incurred by filmmakers and location scouts scouring the globe for the next choice production hub.
In perhaps the biggest surprise, the United States is deemed a "medium risk" alongside Libya, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Jordan, among others.
Columbia, Brazil and Haiti achieved the dubious status of "very high risk" Western Hemisphere countries, according to Aon/Albert G. Ruben's inaugural Global Risks in Filmmaking map, which measures crime, corruption, disease, medical care and kidnapping and ransoms.
Mexico is considered a "high risk" because of "some potential for political violence and arbitrary regulation," while Canada is deemed "low risk."
For more, America
May Sue to Block 'Greatest Hits' Release
Guns N' Roses
While work continues on Guns N' Roses' endlessly delayed album "Chinese Democracy," Geffen Records has set a March 23 release date for "Greatest Hits," compiling 14 of the hard rock act's best-known tracks.
This is the third archival Guns N' Roses release since last fall, when Geffen issued DVDs of the home videos "Welcome to the Videos" and the two-volume "Use Your Illusion."
However, according to sources, the band did not give its consent for "Greatest Hits" to move forward and may pursue legal action to block its release.
Guns N' Roses
May Get Big-Screen Treatment
'Sex & the City'
The four women who have spiced up Manhattan's singles scene for six seasons on "Sex and the City" may be headed to the big screen after their upcoming final romp on HBO, the network said on Wednesday.
Executive producer Michael Patrick King is writing a script for what would be a feature film version of "Sex and the City" that would essentially pick up where the series leaves off this coming Sunday, an HBO spokeswoman said.
"Sex and the City" winds up Sunday, Feb. 22, with a 45-minute finale, following an hourlong farewell special featuring interviews and highlights from the series.
'Sex & the City'
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Battles for Privacy
Naomi Campbell
Supermodel Naomi Campbell went to the tradition-steeped House of Lords Wednesday in a bid to win legal privacy rights for Britain's beleaguered celebrities.
Campbell is seeking to overturn the October 2002 ruling that the Daily Mirror was justified in publishing a picture of her leaving the Narcotics Anonymous meeting because Campbell had previously lied to the media about her drug use.
Campbell's lawyers began arguments Wednesday before a panel of five Law Lords — judges who sit in the upper chamber of Parliament and constitute Britain's highest court of appeal.
The hearing is expected to last two days.
Naomi Campbell
Visitors stand in front of the painting 'The False Mirror,' by Belgian artist Rene Magritte, at an exhibition of New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Berlin, February 18, 2004. Two hundred of the most significant masterpieces of the twentieth century from the MoMA are shown at the Neue Nationalgalerie from February 20 to September 19, 2004.
Photo by Arnd Wiegmann
Approve Contract Extension
Actors' Unions
The two unions representing big screen and television actors have agreed to a one-year extension of their current contract with studios in a deal that would give actors raises and unions the right to jointly bargain.
The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists agreed to extend the labor pact that was set to expire June 30. It still requires ratification by members of both unions. If approved it would expire June 30, 2005.
The agreement gives actors a 2.5 percent salary hike and requires members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to increase contributions to the actors' health plans by a half percent.
Actors' Unions
Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan
More than three years after the Smashing Pumpkins played their farewell show, former frontman Billy Corgan has taken to his official Web site (http://www.billycorgan.com) to clear the air about the true reasons for the Chicago's band's split.
Corgan said he regrets initially blaming the split on "fighting the good fight against the Britneys of the world." "By saying that, I was seen as someone who was crying foul, taking his ball and going home, which was sad, 'cause it wasn't true at all," he continued. "The truth of the matter is that James Iha broke up the Smashing Pumpkins. Not me, not Jimmy, but James. Did it help that D'arcy was fired for being a mean-spirited drug addict, who refused to get help? No, that didn't help keep the band together, not at all."
For more, Billy Corgan
Mel's Dad Is Opinionated
Hutton Gibson
One week before the US release of Mel Gibson's controversial movie, "The Passion of the Christ," the filmmaker's father has publicly reiterated claims that the Holocaust was exaggerated.
Hutton Gibson's comments, made in a telephone interview with New York radio talk show host Steve Feuerstein, come at an awkward time for the actor-director who has been trying to deflect criticism from Jewish groups that his film might inflame anti-Semitic sentiment.
In his interview on WSNR radio's "Speak Your Piece", to be broadcast Monday, Hutton Gibson, argued that many European Jews counted as death camp victims of the Nazi regime had in fact fled to countries like Australia and the United States.
During his lengthy radio interview, Hutton Gibson, 85, said Jews were out to create "one world religion and one world government" and outlined a conspiracy theory involving Jewish bankers, the US Federal Reserve and the Vatican, among others.
Hutton Gibson
More Writings to Be Published
Mister Rogers
With "The World According to Mister Rogers" already a big best seller, two more compilations of writings by the late children's television host are being planned.
In 2005, Hyperion will publish a collection of commencement addresses, followed a year later by inspirational essays. Both books have yet to be titled.
"The World According to Mister Rogers," published last fall, has more than 500,000 copies in print.
Mister Rogers
Shoah Foundation
Steven Spielberg
A new exhibit on the Jewish ghetto in the southern city of Krakow is scheduled to open this summer, with a grant of about $40,000 from Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation, a city official said Tuesday.
The exhibit in the former "Under the Eagle" pharmacy, located in the heart of the district where the Nazis forced some 17,000 Jews to live from 1941-43, will document the history of the ghetto, said Krakow councilor Boguslaw Sonik.
Some parts of Spielberg's Oscar-winning "Schindler's List" takes place in the former ghetto.
Steven Spielberg
www.vhf.org
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Settles Suit
Marilyn Manson
A civil lawsuit accusing shock rocker Marilyn Manson of sexual assault has been dismissed after the two sides reached a settlement, an attorney for the plaintiff said Tuesday.
Security guard Joshua Keasler was working on the stage during a July 2001 performance in Detroit when Manson allegedly approached him, wrapped his legs around the guard's neck and gyrated against him while wearing only a leather thong and panty hose.
Both sides agreed not to release terms of the settlement, Keasler's attorney John D. Nickola said in a statement. The lawsuit was dismissed Jan. 28.
Marilyn Manson
Coca farmer listen during a congress meeting of coca farmers in Lima, Peru on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004. Coca farmers growers are in the capital for a three-day meeting to call for a credible plan to eradicate illegal coca and expand the legal coca market in all country.The posters in the coca plant reads:' I only give life to the peasants'.
Photo by Martin Mejia
Bush Administration
'Distorts Science'
Top scientists and environmentalists on Wednesday accused the Bush administration of suppressing and distorting scientific findings that run counter to its own policies.
They backed a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists that said the administration had suppressed research on global warming, air quality, sexual health, cancer and other issues.
The report said there had been a systematic effort to manipulate the government's supposedly independent scientific advisory system "to prevent the appearance of advice that might run counter to the administration's political agenda."
For a lot more, 'Distorts Science'
Teaches Art of Scratch
Turntable Class
DJ Chi bobs his head to the hip-hop rhythm, one hand skipping over the vinyl record, the other on the mixer. Possum, Raydar, Moses and the other DJs in the room listen to his beat.
This is a "turntable technique" class at Berklee College of Music, perhaps the first of its kind in the country. DJ Chi is Yoon J. Suh, 21, one of eight students at the prestigious institution who spend two hours every Thursday manipulating old-fashioned records to scratch out "scribbles" and "stabs."
The DJ is the foundation of hip-hop, the urban music and culture that exploded out of New York City after someone decided to say a few words over the sound combinations of a Bronx DJ named Kool Herc.
For the rest, Turntable Class
www.berklee.edu
New Transcontinental Railway
'The Ghan'
Like a silver snake slithering through a rust-colored desert, Australia's longest passenger train winds its way through the heart of the nation from the far south to the tropical north.
The terrain is flat and dry as far as the eye can see, yet a few young men appear as if from nowhere to toast "The Ghan" on its inaugural 1,847-mile journey this month from Adelaide to the port of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
The 47-hour journey gives travelers a moving snapshot of the unique Australian landscape, starting at the sparkling Southern Ocean, through ochre deserts and lush cattle country before arriving in Darwin.
For more details, 'The Ghan'
Plan to Tunnel Under
Stonehenge
A public inquiry opened into controversial plans to bore a road tunnel under Stonehenge, Britain's most famous ancient stone circle.
The scheme would see a main road around the monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire -- known for being clogged with traffic in the summer tourist season -- being removed from the surface and rerouted under the stones.
Under plans backed by the government, the tunnel would be 1.3 miles long and cost 183 million pounds.
Stonehenge
Don't Store Ammo In The Oven
Bullets
A man and his wife ducked behind a refrigerator when bullets began exploding in their oven, authorities say.
Capt. Craig Kohlbeck of the Brown County (WI) Sheriff's Department said the husband had put the ammunition and three handguns in the oven before the couple left on a vacation.
After returning from their trip Tuesday, the wife turned on the oven to prepare dinner and the bullets ignited, Kohlbeck said.
No one was hurt.
Bullets
Three-year-old Chuang Chuang (L) plays with two-year-old Lin Hui in their compound at the Chiang Mai Zoo, nearly 700 km (435 miles) north of Bangkok on February 18, 2004. The giant pandas, which arrived from China in October, have been quarantined to cut the risk of them catching the highly infectious bird flu which killed a rare clouded leopard in another Thailand zoo.
Photo by Adrees Latif
'The Osbournes'
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