'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Review
'The Passion Of The Christ'
"The Passion of The Christ" is a bizarre interpretation at best. At worst, it speaks to the Dark Side.
I'm no biblical scholar, but much of this interpretation I have never read. I will not pound away at the minor points. Here are my main complaints.
From the bible, I recall Jesus and the Creator got together and decided it was time for Jesus to come home. Jesus, though initially hesitant, grasped the idea and went with it. He knew what was coming. He would suffer horribly, die, and rise again, proving the power of the Lord. Everyone else was in the dark about this - tools of the Creator. No one was responsible for Christ's death. Just God.
In this version we see a worried Jesus, unsure of his future. A Cabal of conservative Jewish leaders rise in the night to capture and try the Messiah, condemning him to death . Through a quick twist between the Romans and Herod, the King of the Jews, Jesus is scourged and sent to the cross.
In between, the movie screen is colored with an hour of the most graphic slow motion nightmare of sadomasochistic content I have ever seen. My favorite unremembered biblical moment was when Satan holding BatBoy, from 'Weekly World News' fame, floats through the screen, enjoying Jesus' suffering. Second best is the raven plucking out the eyeball scene.
Jesus dies and the Earth quakes. Everyone realizes their mistake too late, yet we are all saved, I guess.
There is a high road and a low road to religion. This movie shows something other than the 'King of Kings" or "The Greatestest Story Ever Told".
~ Cal P.
Thanks, Cal!
Reader Suggested Reading
The Station Fire
Survivors of the Rhode Island club disaster struggle to regain their lives
Thanks, Kip!
from Mark
Bill of Rights, Bill of Restrictions
Reader Rant
DEBORAH NORVILLE TONIGHT
DEBORAH NORVILLE TONIGHT
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Cloudy morning, lots of rain later.
My pal Lois from Kennewick is visiting Cindy in Van Nuys, so I took a run out to the Valley.
Had a great time, but I've been running late ever since.
Tonight, Thursday, CBS begins the night with a FRESH 'Survivors: All-Stars', followed by a FRESH
'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', then a FRESH 'Without A Trace'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Stupid Pet Tricks, Tim Robbins, and Evanescence.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Harry Connick Jr. and John Waters.
NBC opens 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 Mel Gibson, David Willey, and Prince.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Samuel L. Jackson, James Carville, and Van Hunt.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Maura Tierney and Ben Harper.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH 'Bachelorette', followed by a FRESH 'Extreme Makeover', then a FRESH
'Super Regis!'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Bill Paxton, Diego Luna, Wireless Flash movie reviewer Earl Dittman, and Simple Plan, with this week's guest co-host Anthony Anderson.
The WB offers a FRESH 'Steve Harvey's Big Time', followed by a RERUN 'All About The Andersons', then a RERUN of last
Sunday night's 'Surreal Life'.
Faux has the movie 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'.
UPN fills the night with 'WWE Smackdown!'.
A&E has 'American Justice', a 2-hour 'Cold Case Files', then a FRESH 'With Malice'.
AMC offers the movie 'Wing & A Prayer', followed by the movie 'Barbarosa', then the movie 'The Far Country'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Eaton;
[7pm] 'House Invaders' - Kings Norton;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Eastbourne;
[8pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 3;
[8:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 2;
[9pm] 'Faking It' - Kickboxer to Ballroom Dancer;
[10pm] 'The Office' - Episode 5;
[11pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 3;
[11:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 2;
[12am] 'Faking It' - Kickboxer to Ballroom Dancer;
[1am] 'The Office' - Episode 5;
[2am] 'House Invaders' - Kings Norton;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Eastbourne;
[3am] 'Faking It' - Kickboxer to Ballroom Dancer;
[4am] 'The Office' - Episode 5;
[5am] 'House Invaders' - Episode 3;
[5:30am] 'House Invaders' - Episode 2; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'West Wing', followed by the movie 'Happy, Texas', then 'Queer Eye', followed by another '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 Samuel L. Jackson.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Sink The Bismarck!', and more 'Modern Marvels'.
SciFi has the movie 'Bugs', followed by the movie 'Curse Of The Komodo'.
TCM - Day 26 of '31 Days of Oscar™', where every movie is either an Oscar™ winner or nominee.
[6am] 'Anna Christie' (1930);
[7:30am] 'Hallelujah' (1929);
[9:15am] 'Angels With Dirty Faces' (1938);
[11am] 'In Cold Blood' (1967);
[1:30pm] 'The Circus' (1928) SILENT ;
[2:45pm] 'Morocco' (1930);
[4:30pm] 'The Asphalt Jungle' (1950);
[6:30pm] 'Bad Day At Black Rock' (1955);
[8pm] 'Ben-Hur' (1959);
[12am] 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962);
[4am] 'Midnight Cowboy' (1969). (ALL TIMES EST)
Actress Jennifer Tilly talks to another poker player while playing a hand at the World Poker Tour Invitational during filming of the 'World Poker Tour' series on the Travel Channel, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif. The poker reality series, which shows everything during the game including each player's hidden cards, premieres its second season on Wednesday, March 3.
Photo by Rene Macura
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Offers $10,000 for Proof Bush Served
'Doonesbury'
Resident Bush has an unlikely ally in his effort to show that he did his National Guard duty during the Vietnam War: the often political and frequently irreverent "Doonesbury" comic strip.
The strip is offering $10,000 to anyone who can show Bush served in the Alabama Air National Guard.
"That's right -- we're offering $10,000 cash to anyone who can prove George W. Bush fulfilled his Guard duty in Alabama," Wednesday's strip said. "So if you served with Mr. Bush -- even if only in the officers' club -- we want to hear from you right now!"
Readers are referred to the Web site doonesbury.com, where a Witness Registration Form asks for online testimony. The site says the prize money is being underwritten by Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau. "Thanks to Bush's massive tax cuts for people who don't need them, GBT is flush."
The hitch is the winner will not actually receive the reward. Instead the Web site says the cash will be donated in the winner's name to the United Service Organization (USO), which entertains American troops.
'Doonesbury'
Sony Re-Names Film Recording Studio
Barbra Streisand
A recording stage on the Sony Pictures studio lot used to score such classic films as "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" has been renamed by the studio after singer Barbra Streisand, her spokesman said on Wednesday.
The stage -- which was built in 1929 when the lot was home to MGM and used in scoring hundreds of films, including three that starred Streisand -- was dedicated to the 61-year-old entertainer earlier this month, publicist Dick Guttman said.
In dedicating the Streisand stage, Howard Stringer, chairman of Sony Corp., said: "Through her artistry, passion and incomparable talent, Barbra Streisand has redefined the very nature of both music and motion picture entertainment."
Barbra Streisand
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, makes her modeling debut at the D and G Autumn/Winter 2004 women's collection during Milan Fashion Week February 25, 2004.
Photo by Alessandro Bianchi
Taken Off Clear Channel Stations (BFD - 6 Markets)
Howard Stern
Shock jock Howard Stern's show was yanked on Wednesday from Clear Channel Communications Inc. radio stations after an incident on his show on Tuesday, the first casualty of its zero tolerance policy on indecency.
Clear Channel has about 1,200 stations in the United States. The Stern show was carried in six markets, including Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida; Rochester, New York; Louisville, Kentucky; San Diego; and Pittsburgh.
Stern's show is syndicated by Infinity Broadcasting, a unit of Viacom Inc.
Howard Stern
Seek to Register Voters
Punk-Rock Bands
Pierced and tattooed rockers are in for a mosh-pit civics lesson this year. Nearly 200 bands are lining up to lambaste resident Bush and try to register a half-million voters through the Punk Voter coalition.
These bands say they can harness votes from the average liberal-leaning but disenfranchised punk-rock fan with a combination of politically charged lyrics and constant reminders about civic duty in a time of war.
The bands are drumming their message home by inviting liberal groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America to their concerts. A Web site offers election news and commentaries from former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, Jay Bentley from Bad Religion and Jim Lindberg from Pennywise.
Punk Voter's roots stretch to the 2000 elections, when NOFX bass player Fat Mike suffered from insomnia after the Florida recount, where Bush defeated Al Gore by just 537 votes to win the presidency. He began calling colleagues in the music industry and soon launched a group with the dual purpose of motivating punk fans and unseating Bush in 2004.
For the rest, Punk-Rock Bands
Punk Voter
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Six Plays In One Night
Jerry Hall
Jerry Hall dashed around London's theatre district Tuesday night, appearing briefly in six musicals - and six costumes - but didn't have to learn any lines.
The theatrical marathon, one of a series of events promoting London as a tourist destination, also won Hall a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
In just under 3½ hours, the 47-year-old former partner of rocker Mick Jagger graced the stage in Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Fame, Blood Brothers, Anything Goes and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Jerry Hall
An Indian boy heaps red chilies into a pile to be made into powder at a farm in the village of Kadi on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, February 25, 2004. Chili powder is used in many parts of Indian kitchens and more than 2,600,000 Kg (5,732,012 pounds) are exported to the U.S., United Kingdom and gulf countries, farmers and dealers said.
Photo by Amit Dave
To Be Blown Up on TV
'Cursed' Foul Ball
In an event applying the gloss of Hollywood and P.T. Barnum to the "curse" of the Chicago Cubs, the foul ball that couldn't be caught in October's playoffs will be obliterated by a special-effects expert on live television Thursday night.
The ball-bashing, taking place with spring training just underway, is being done to bring some closure to one of the most painful losses in the Cubs' doleful history.
Grant DePorter, who helped buy the ball at a December auction for $113,824 on behalf of Harry Caray's Restaurant Group, has lined up three hours of music, comedy and celebrity appearances leading up to the climactic event — everything short of Steve Bartman, the hapless fan who deflected the ball during Game 6 of the NL championship series.
The ball will be sent into oblivion by Michael Lantieri, an Oscar winner who wrecks things for a living and has worked on such movies as "Jurassic Park" and "Back to the Future." Lantieri, a Cubs die-hard himself, would not reveal his exact demolition plans but admitted he has been blowing up a dozen balls a day in his California lab in preparation.
'Cursed' Foul Ball
toast.citysearch.com
Fired After Condom-Themed Parade
Joaosinho Trinta
A Rio de Janeiro samba school on Wednesday sacked its Carnival artistic director whose pro-condom parade had upset the Catholic church and whose Kama Sutra float had been censored as too steamy even for Rio's annual Bacchanalia.
Academicos do Grande Rio school fired Joaosinho Trinta -- a popular but controversial Carnival figure -- just before the winner of this year's world-famous Carnival was named in an event that formally closed five days of pre-Lenten jamborees.
"The conflict that Joaosinho Trinta developed with the church has affected the community. We are a Catholic country and he really exaggerated on sex," a Grande Rio spokesman said. Brazil is the world's biggest Roman Catholic country.
Trinta, 70, brought the theme "Let's Put On a Condom, My Love" to the Sambadrome parade avenue, center of the globally televised party. The Vatican is strictly opposed to the use of contraceptives.
Following a legal complaint by Rio's archbishop, a float with giant figures of Adam and Eve involved in a sexual act had to be partially covered with a cloth, while a float with Styrofoam statues depicting Kama Sutra sexual positions was wrapped in black plastic.
Joaosinho Trinta
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Fires Lawyer, Trial Delayed
Courtney Love
A trial date for one of Courtney Love's two criminal cases was delayed after she told the judge she dismissed her lawyer because he wanted her to plead guilty.
Love's new attorney, Michael H. Rosenstein, said he needed time to familiarize himself with the case in which Love is charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance. Judge Patricia Schnegg rescheduled the trial for March 8.
The 39-year-old singer-actress told the judge Monday she dismissed attorney William Genego because "he wanted me to plead guilty to something I didn't do."
Courtney Love
Bill Samuels, Company President and CEO, stands behind a vat of sour mash in the Maker's Mark Distillery Monday, Feb. 2, 2004. Maker's Mark bourbon is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Photo by Patti Longmire
Asks Judge to Throw Out Pooh Suit
Disney
The Walt Disney Co. urged a judge to throw out a 13-year-old Winnie the Pooh lawsuit on grounds that the company demanding millions of dollars in royalties stole and concealed legal documents.
Disney accused Steven Slesinger Inc. of the same kind of conduct that caused a judge to fine Disney in a previous ruling.
The hearing was expected to last several days. If the trial is allowed to proceed, it could begin in January.
For more, Disney
Mel's Dad Buys Home in W VA
Hutton Gibson
The father and stepmother of Mel Gibson, whose epic film The Passion of the Christ opened Wednesday, have bought a home in West Virginia, according to records in the Nicholas County Clerk's office. Joye Gibson bought the house and a nearby lot for $76,250 US in October, according to court records obtained by The Nicholas Chronicle. The family moved into the yellow one-story home in November, neighbours said.
On Tuesday, a man at the home who identified himself as Hutton Gibson's nephew told the newspaper his uncle was out of the state.
"He's not here and won't be back until May," Patrick Gibson said. "He came here to live so he could have some privacy."
Hutton Gibson
Lead Singer Arrested
Puddle of Mudd
The lead singer of the rock group Puddle of Mudd was arrested after throwing a bottle and spitting at fans during a concert, authorities said.
The band was just 15 minutes into its show Sunday when lead singer Wesley Scantlin threw the bottle into the crowd of more than 1,000 people, authorities said.
Undercover state liquor agents decided to arrest him, said Earl Mack, an agent with the Ohio Department of Public Safety's investigative unit.
Scantlin, 31, of Beverly Hills, Calif., was charged with disorderly conduct intoxication, misconduct involving a public transportation system and criminal mischief. All are misdemeanors.
He was released Monday after posting $150 bond.
Puddle of Mudd
Caught Cheating - Chump Change Fine
The Venetian
A hotel-casino has agreed to pay $1 million for rigging three contest drawings, including one in which it awarded a Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle to compensate a high roller who had lost a substantial amount of money gambling, regulators said Wednesday.
The Venetian casino agreed to settle the charges after an investigation revealed the Chinese New Year celebration drawings in February 2002 were a sham, according to a complaint by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The complaint and settlement show a casino executive hid the winning ticket for the SUV in his shirt sleeve and pretended to draw it randomly. Casino officials reported the incident to gambling regulators shortly after receiving information about the phony drawing.
The Venetian also acknowledged the executive involved in the Mercedes scheme predetermined the winner of the two other drawings for promotional casino chips worth $10,000 and $20,000.
The Venetian did not admit wrongdoing, but said in a statement that it fully cooperated with investigators and regretted the actions of "certain rogue employees."
Four Venetian employees were fired, including two senior executives.
The Venetian
In Memory
Carl Anderson
Carl Anderson, the actor and singer best known for his stage and film portrayal of Judas in the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," has died of leukemia at age 58, his manager said on Wednesday.
The part of Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar" was originated on Broadway in 1971 by Ben Vereen, but Anderson stepped into the role when Vereen fell ill, and the two performers later took turns playing the role.
Anderson caught the attention of a talent agent and landed an audition for the part after his rock band was seen at a Palm Sunday church service performing songs from "Superstar," which then had been a hit in England but not yet had a U.S. debut.
Anderson subsequently was cast as Judas in the 1973 movie adaptation directed by Norman Jewison and starring Ted Neeley as Jesus. The film garnered Anderson Golden Globe nominations for most promising newcomer and best musical actor.
The Virginia-born actor returned as Judas for a 1992 North American touring revival of "Superstar" and again 10 years later in a production co-starring rocker Sebastian Bach in the title role.
Anderson also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 1985 drama "The Color Purple and in the short-lived 1997 Broadway musical "Play On!," a jazzy update of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," set in 1940s Harlem.
Anderson recorded several albums in the 1980s and 1990s that included such hits as "How Deep Does It Go," "Pieces of a Heart," and the duet with soap opera star Gloria Loring, "Friends and Lovers." He also sang on recordings by Stevie Wonder and jazz star Nancy Wilson.
Carl Anderson
In Memory
Estelle Axton
Estelle Axton, co-founder of the famed Stax Records Co., which generated hits from acts including Sam and Dave, Otis Redding and The Staple Singers, has died. She was 85.
The musicians on the soul record label her Lady A, and others who knew her described her as a calming, nurturing presence in the Memphis neighbourhood.
"Were it not for her, there's no way Stax could have become what it became," said David Porter. Porter and Isaac Hayes co-wrote numerous Stax hits, including Sam and Dave's Soul Man and Hold On, I'm Coming.
"You didn't feel any backoff from her, no differentiation that you were black and she was white," Hayes said. "Being in a town where that attitude was plentiful, she just made you feel secure. ... She was like a mother to us all."
Between 1960 and 1975, Stax's roster also included Booker T. and the MGs, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, The Mar-Keys and the Bar-Kays.
Axton and other family members went on to establish the Fretone label which produced Rick Dees' 1977 hit Disco Duck.
Stax began as Satellite Records in 1957 but was forced to change the name because a California company already was using it.
The siblings combined their last names - the "St" from Stewart and the "Ax" from Axton - to come up with Stax, which became a rival to Detroit's giant Motown sound in the late 1960s and early '70s.
Estelle Axton
A bee is seen in the blossom of an almond tree near Modesto, Calif., Friday, Feb. 20, 2004. California's almond growers, which produce 80 percent of the world's supply, are facing a bee shortage to pollinate the more than 540,000 acres of almond trees. High honey prices, a persistent mite problem, increased almond acreage and wildfires in Southern California last fall have contributed to a bee shortage that threatens the state's $1.89 billion almond industry.
Photo by Rich Pedroncelli
'The Osbournes'
Fairly Freshly Updated! 'The Osbournes' ~ Page 5
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