'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Jazz From Hills
Diversional Bush
By Phillip Vincent
With campaign trail in full swing (a tad more than 230 days before the election, ladies and gents), Bush's campaign advisers are pulling the old "since we screwed up everything we've touched, let's use fear" for campaign issues.
The diversionary tactic of fear is nothing new, so it is no surprise when Bush comes out in favor of altering the constitution banning gay marriage. The gays have done nothing except to express love for one another in a civil manner. Big deal. If Bush wants to "bring on" fear, he should allow the images of the bodybags coming into Delaware with American soldiers contained within. Those images should have been coupled with the coffin draped in a U.S. flag in the controversial campaign ad on the tellyvision.
I guess Bush is afraid of Big Dick Cheney's daughter. Her lover is a threat to the stability of our country. She must be if Bush's logic of amending the Constitution is pursued to any logical extent. One certainly didn't have to go far before the evil of homosexuality is found to be pervading the Oval Office.
C'mon guys, get real, dudes. Republicans have screwed the pooch big time regarding wars we're involved in, the economy, the environment, and on and on...I wonder why they hate the Constitution as they must. Freedom is so scary they think they need another change to that document. If it makes them feel better, let them re-word the Bible to disallow gay marriage and leave the Constitution as is.
When did this administration turn into homophobes? Election time! They need a diversionary tactic and divisive issue to campaign on before Kerry's balls get rolling. Throughout life on our planet, homosexuality has existed. Homosexuality exists in nature among the other thousands of species we co-exist with on this planet, not just homo sapiens. What geniuses DaVinci, Michelangelo, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson were! Celebrate these people. Guess what? Their common bond was they liked sex with their same gender. I see no harm that came from any of the afore-mentioned genius. It was such a benign issue in former centuries that the "condition" didn't even have a word to describe it until the late 19th century, when German scholars invented the word out of need to describe it for paleontological purposes as mentioned above.
So now America has another divisive issue to take their minds away from the horrors of Iraq, joblessness, poverty, failing infrastructure, fouled environment (global warming is REAL, folks, a measurable phenomenon), and on and on.
Kerry will debate Bush on same-gender marriage. Hopefully he'll get the advice to treat this particular issue as the non-issue it is and attack Bush on real issues. God help us all if Bunnypants doesn't get creamed in the next "election". Which brings up Florida. I'll stop now. My doggie needs a walk, so do I.
~ Phillip Vincent
trimmedbush.blogspot.com
Mr. Hawk Recommends...BBC Friday
Return of 'The Blackadder'
Just in time BBC America shows that good comedy is always topical.
Friday night at 8:40 brings the return of Blackadder. This begins season 2
of the show and IMHO the best of the series. Lord Blackadder is the top
noble of Queen Elizabeth I. His goals are to either marry the queen and
take control of the country or to be rich enough that he can get away from
the queen. His companions are the same as the first series but he has a new
foil in Lord Melchate (Stephen Fry).
This weeks episode could be torn straight from Laura Bush's nightmares.
Lord Blackadder has servant trouble. Yes its the same old story, Man hires
manservant, man falls in love with manservant. Yes Blackadder has fallen
head over heels for "Bob". This puts him into a real quandry untill he
finds out "Bob" is a woman. Then of course the marriage can procede.Or will
Blackadder be jilted and have to marry the bridesmaid (Baldric).
While I've got your attention I'd also like to put in a plug for another
Britcom which has just released its 4th season on DVD. The show "Red Dwarf"
is a bit more sci-fi oriented than most people care for but has plenty of
laughs. My late wife (who hated sci-fi) fell in love with this show. The
basic premise can be summed up by Holly's intro:
"This is an SOS distress call from the mining ship Red Dwarf. The crew are
dead, killed by a radiation leak. The only survivors were Dave Lister, who
was in suspended animation during the disaster, and his pregnant cat, who
was safely sealed in the hold. Revived three million years later, Lister's
only companions are a life form who evolved from his cat, and Arnold
Rimmer, a hologram simulation of one of the dead crew. I am Holly, the
ship's computer, with an IQ of 6000. The same IQ as 6000 PE teachers."
While its not for everyone I would advise a rental if your local video
store carries it.
Thanks, Mr. Hawk!
Reader Comments
TV Listings
Thanks for your TCM listings...I'm sure a fair amount of work goes into them, and they are very useful. I avidly scan the TiVo'd Directtv listings, but sometimes films slip through (like the Fassbinder film I half-missed on IFC yesterday), and your page is great for checking the list again (without having to check my book references).
One suggestion: You have a line asking for opinions or reviews, and it asks about 'any' opinions. To me, it always sounds bitter, like you get no mail. It would be better to say, 'positive or negative,' which would avoid the ambiguity.
If you get Directtv, check for the RFD channel if you're at all a gearhead. They have this show, Talkin' Tractors, which is hilarious. They show tractors (yes, tractors) from the 1920s and such, steam-powered behemoths, lots of GREAT antique equipment, which if you like old movies, you might enjoy for their age and absurdity. NO tractor pulls or anything like that. Just (restored) junky old equipment.
Paul
Thanks, Paul!
Always wondered when someone would mention 'IFC' & 'Sundance' - I'll try to include them as time allows, they're a great alternative.
About the "'any' opinions" line - the idea was based in letting people who have definite tastes in pop culture, but have been made to feel "who cares what you think," know they're welcome here.
But, hey, I'm flexible.
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Reader Question
Re: $1,000,000 Bill
A question:
How can the woman with the $1,000,000 bill be charged with forgery if an authentic bill does not exist? Just wondering
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff!
Good question, but I figure there's some legal term to cover the situation.
What I wanna know is did she really think Wal-Mart has that kind of change in the till?
Seelected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Late last night, fog rolled in and good old coastal eddy is back!
Since Letterman is in rerums this week, thought I'd check out Leno, but found myself having to hold the damn remote the whole time, riding the audio levels like a jockey at Santa Anita. Gave up on Jay before the first commercial.
One of my old, old pals (dating back to grade school) called to say she's attending a convention in Long Beach next month, so expect a visit.
Susita also had another reason to call - she's now a grandmother.
Would have felt old, but the kid yelped at the right moment.
Tonight, Thursday, CBS begins the night with a FRESH 'Survivors: All Stars', followed by a FRESH 'Crime Scene Investigation', then
a FRESH 'Without A Trace'.
On a RERUN Dave (from 2/9/04), from Dr. Phil McGraw and snowboarder Tara Dakides.
On a RERUN Craiggers are John Cleese, Portia de Rossi, and 311.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN 'Friends' (hoping no one realizes that there are fewer than 20 episodes this year), followed by a FRESH 'Will & Grace', then
a FRESH 'Trump Atrocity' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour), followed by a FRESH 'Princess Diana: The Secret Tapes (part 2)' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour).
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are The Rock, Gisele, and choir from "The Passion of the Christ".
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Elijah Wood, Rachel Dratch, and B.J. Novack.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Shannen Doherty, Steven R. Schrippa, and Melissa Etheridge.
ABC starts the night with a RERUN 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition', followed by a FRESH 'Extreme Makeover', then 'Primetime Thursday'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Joe Mantegna, Rachel Hunter, and Ty Barnett, with this week's guest co-host Kevin Nealon.
The WB offers a FRESH 'Jamie Kennedy', followed by a RERUN 'Jamie Kennedy', then another RERUN 'Jamie Kennedy', followed by a
RERUN 'The Help'.
Faux airs the pre-taped 'The 35th Annual NAACP Image Awards' (or you can read the list of winners here).
UPN fills the night with 'WWE Smackdown!'.
A&E has 'American Justice', followed by 'Smucker's Stars On Ice 2004', then a FRESH 'With Malice'.
AMC offers the movie 'Zulu', followed by the movie 'Patton', then the movie 'The Bridges At Toko-Ri'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Innes;
[7pm] 'House Invaders' - Hall Green;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Camberwell;
[8pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 5;
[8:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 4;
[9pm] 'Faking It' - Web Surfer to Wave Surfer;
[10pm] 'The Office';
[10:40pm] 'Dead Ringers' - Episode 3;
[11pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 5;
[11:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Episode 4;
[12am] 'Faking It' - Web Surfer to Wave Surfer;
[1am] 'The Office';
[1:40am] 'Dead Ringers';
[2am] 'House Invaders' - Hall Green;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Camberwell;
[3am] 'Faking It' - Web Surfer to Wave Surfer;
[4am] 'The Office';
[4:40am] 'Dead Ringers';
[5am] 'House Invaders' - Episode 5;
[5:30am] 'House Invaders' - Episode 4;
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'West Wing', followed by the movie 'Light It Up', then 2 episodes of 'Significant'.
Comedy Central has 'MAD TV', 'Crank Yankers', 'Insomniac', 'South Park', and 'Straight Plan For The Gay Man'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Paula Zahn.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Ancient Discoveries' (part 1), 'Ancient Discoveries' (part 2), and 'Ancient Discoveries' (part 3).
IFC :
[6AM] 'Angela' (1995);
[7:45AM] 'Passion In The Desert' (1998);
[9:30AM] 'Divided We Fall' (2000);
[11:45AM] Short: 'Silicone Valerie' (1997);
[12PM] 'Zentropa' (1991);
[2PM] 'IFC In Theaters' ;
[2:15PM] 'Passion In The Desert' (1998);
[4PM] 'At The Angelika 82' (2003);
[4:30PM] 'Color Of A Brisk And Leaping Day' (1996);
[6PM] 'Zentropa' (1991);
[8PM] 'The Big One' (1997);
[9:45PM] 'Short: Silicone Valerie' (1997);
[10PM] 'American Nightmare' (2000);
[11:15PM] 'Dario Argento: An Eye For Horror' (1991);
[12:15AM] 'Maniac' (1980);
[1:45AM] 'American Nightmare' (2000);
[3AM] 'Dario Argento: An Eye For Horror' (1991);
[4AM] 'Maniac' (1980);
[5AM] Short: 'Swinger'S Serenade' (1999).. (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has 'Stargate SG-1', 'Mad Mad House', another 'Mad Mad House', 'Scare Tactics', and 'Tripping The Rift'.
Sundance :
[6AM] 'Mostly Martha';
[7:50AM] 'I Remember Me';
[9:05AM] 'Shorts Program 106';
[10AM] 'Offspring Barry Stevens';
[11AM] 'How to Get Ahead in Advertising';
[12:35PM] 'Missing Allen';
[2:10PM] 'Mostly Martha';
[4PM] 'Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's';
[5:35PM] 'El Mariachi';
[7PM] 'Mississippi Masala';
[9PM] 'Bhaji On The Beach';
[10:45PM] 'Lemon Crush';
[11PM] 'How to Get Ahead in Advertising';
[12:35AM] 'CQ Roman Coppola';
[2:05AM] 'Last Dance' (2002);
[3:30AM] 'Another Heaven;
[5:45AM] 'Lemon Crush'. (ALL TIMES EST)
TCM:
[6am] 'Bring 'Em Back Alive' (1932) [ *Pre-Hayes Code*];
[7:30am] 'But The Flesh Is Weak' (1932) [ *Pre-Hayes Code*];
[9am] 'Aggie Appleby, Maker Of Men' (1933) [ *Pre-Hayes Code*];
[10:30am] 'Blond Cheat' (1938);
[12pm] 'Footlight Fever' (1941);
[1:15pm] 'We're on the Jury' (1937);
[2:30pm] 'I'm From The City' (1938);
[3:45pm] 'Betrayal From The East' (1945);
[5:15pm] 'Red River Robin Hood' (1943);
[6:15pm] 'Land of the Open Range' (1942);
[8pm] 'Grand Prix' (1966);
[11pm] 'Speedway' (1968);
[1am] 'One on One' (1977);
[3am] 'Hoop Dreams' (1994). (ALL TIMES EST)
Actor Jim Carrey (R) greets friend, comedian Rodney Dangerfield, as they arrive for the premiere of Carrey's new film 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' in Beverly Hills March 9, 2004. The film stars Carrey and Kate Winslet and is about a man played by Carrey who has the memory of his girlfriend erased from his brain and the resulting havoc wrecked by the process. The film opens in the United States March 19.
Photo by Fred Prouser
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Police Secretly Watching Celebs
Hip-Hop
Police say they are secretly monitoring hip-hop stars P. Diddy, DMX and others in South Florida to protect them, but celebrities and critics see the surveillance as unnecessary and racist.
Officers in Miami and Miami Beach have photographed rappers and their entourages at Miami International Airport and staked out hotels, video shoots and nightclubs while consulting 6-inch-thick dossiers of rappers and associates with arrest records in New York state, The Miami Herald reported.
"There's been no shortage of rock stars and other musicians" scrutinized by police, said Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. "But there has never been anything like this."
For more, Hip-Hop
Filming At UN
Pollack, Kidman & Penn
Using authentic ambassadors as a backdrop and possibly journalists as well, director Sydney Pollack began filming at U.N. headquarters this week his new movie -- "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.
Filming in New York is not unusual. But doing it at U.N. headquarters is unique because no one could remember the world body ever giving Hollywood permission. It rejected Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 movie, "North by Northwest," starring Cary Grant, which opened with the assassination of a diplomat in a U.N. lounge, scenes not considered conducive to world peace.
Pollack, too, was first turned down by the U.N. legal department, diplomats said. But Shashi Tharoor, head of U.N. public information, who read the script, convinced Secretary-General Kofi Annan and others the film would be seen by millions the organization could never reach itself.
Pollack, Kidman & Penn
Aiding Amnesty International
Mira Sorvino
Mira Sorvino is helping Amnesty International launch a two-year campaign to end violence against women.
The actress said Tuesday the campaign is intended to put pressure on governments around the world to create policies that would discourage violence against women.
The campaign also aims to have rape classified as a war crime. Sorvino said for decades rape has been used as a tactic of war, particularly in ethnic conflicts such as the civil war in Rwanda.
Mira Sorvino
Lobbies for Education Funding
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon, co-star of HBO's "Sex and the City," emerged from the office of NY state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to the TV cameras, microphones and tape recorders of a dozen reporters.
But Nixon didn't want to talk about her next role or her series' recent finale. She was among the celebrities lobbying at the state Capitol Tuesday, and the 37-year-old actress wanted to talk education funding.
Nixon, who has a child in New York City public schools, also came to Albany last year to push for more school spending.
Cynthia Nixon
Swimming champion Amanda Beard of the United States models a new Speedo brand swimsuit at a press conference in New York on March 9, 2004. Speedo says the new suit, called the Fastskin FSll, is the world's fastest competitive swimwear available. It is expected to be worn by most of the top swimmers on the U.S. Olympic team at the Athens Games this summer.
Photo by Peter Morgan
'Alias' Recruits for Real-Life CIA
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner, who plays spy Sydney Bristow in the television series "Alias," has turned her talents to recruiting real-life spies to work for the CIA in a video on the agency's employment Web site.
"Although the show 'Alias' is fictional, the character Jennifer Garner plays embodies the integrity, patriotism and intelligence the CIA looks for in its officers," the CIA said on its Web site www.cia.gov.
On the video, Garner says the CIA needs people with wide-ranging talents, diverse backgrounds, integrity, common sense, patriotism and courage who want to make a difference in the world.
Jennifer Garner
Calls For Eisner To Leave
Diane Disney Miller
The daughter of animation king Walt Disney called on the beleaguered chief executive of the company her father built, Michael Eisner, to step down and make way for fresh blood.
But Diane Disney Miller said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that she did not approve of the animated campaign to oust Eisner immediately being waged by her cousin, ex-Disney board member Roy Disney.
Diane Disney Miller
First Herblock Prize Winner
Matt Davies
Matt Davies won the first Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning, which carries a $10,000 award and sterling silver trophy.
Davies -- of The Journal News in White Plains, N.Y., and Tribune Media Services (TMS) -- will receive the prize Thursday night during a ceremony at the Library of Congress. Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of The Washington Post, is then scheduled to deliver a lecture on "The New Culture of Lying" in America.
Judges for the prize included "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau of Universal Press Syndicate, columnist Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune and TMS, and Editor David Remnick of The New Yorker magazine.
Matt Davies
Recovering from Tiger Attack
Roy Horn
Animal trainer Roy Horn said he is recovering well from a near-fatal tiger attack last year and is working tirelessly with the trainer who helped Superman actor Christopher Reeve after a crippling riding accident.
"I was almost dead and buried. But now I am better again," the Web site of Germany's Bunte magazine quoted the magician from Las Vegas duo "Siegfried & Roy" as saying Wednesday.
"I have the same trainer as Christopher Reeve and I train nine hours a day with him," Horn told Bunte in his first interview since the attack on his birthday last October.
"Spread the good news. You spoke to me and I am well," said Horn, speaking to the magazine by telephone.
Roy Horn
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Future Songs On Internet, For Free
George Michael
British singer George Michael said he was retiring from the music business and intended instead to put all his future songs on the Internet -- for free.
The 40-year-old pop star told BBC radio he would never make another album for sale in record shops, because he did not need the money and wanted to be less famous.
For more, George Michael
Colt Sandberg of the Daredevil Opera Company wears a military styled helmet which supports a watermelon before it's exploded in a controlled detonation in this combination photograph during a press preview for the show in Sydney March 10, 2004. The show, a sell-out hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, is playing in Sydney for 10 nights and features explosions, juggling, a rock band, and abundant pyrotechnics.
Photo by Will Burgess
Signs Moviemaking Deal With Disney
Judy Blume
Judy Blume, author of such children's books as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Freckle Juice, has signed a deal with the Walt Disney Co. to turn some of her stories into movies.
The 66-year-old author entered into the agreement with her son, filmmaker Lawrence Blume, and producer Jane Startz, whose credits include the book adaptations Tuck Everlasting and The Baby Sitters Club, Disney production chief Nina Jacobson said Tuesday.
The first book planned for the screen as part of the deal will be Deenie, about a young woman's struggles to chase her own dreams and break away from the expectations of her parents.
Judy Blume
Baby News
Magnus Paulin Ferrell
It's a boy for funnyman Will Ferrell and his wife.
Magnus Paulin Ferrell was born early Sunday in Los Angeles. He weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces, said the actor's spokesman, Matt Labov. The child is the couple's first.
Ferrell, 36, appeared on "Saturday Night Live" from 1995 to 2002, and had his first starring movie role in last year's Christmas comedy "Elf." He and Viveca Paulin have been married since 2000.
Magnus Paulin Ferrell
TV Pact with Fox
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez, who began her career as a Flygirl dancer on Fox's "In Living Color," has signed a production deal with the network's studio arm.
Under the multiyear pact, Fox TV Studios will have a first-look option on all television projects developed by Lopez' Nuyorican Prods., including scripted and unscripted series, specials and original movies for network and cable.
The pact also complements Nuyorican's first-look deals with Columbia for features and NBC-owned Telemundo for Spanish-language TV projects.
Jennifer Lopez
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Worried About Indecency Bills
Mikey Powell
Legislation meant to crack down on indecency on the nation's airwaves could run afoul of free speech rights and undermine the overall effort, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell (R-Nepotism) said on Wednesday.
The House and Senate Commerce committees have both passed bills that would sharply boost fines of television and radio broadcasters who violate indecency regulations. They would also require the FCC to hold a hearing to determine whether a broadcast license should be revoked after three violations.
Powell also expressed concerns that additional provisions, like one in the Senate bill that would put new media ownership rules on hold pending a review of links between indecency and consolidation, could end up scuttling the bill.
Mikey Powell
Spectators in Seattle watch as the Kalakala is pulled through the Ballard locks on its way from Lake Union to its new home in Neah Bay on Tuesday, March 9, 2004. The historic ferry boat began its two-day journey after repeated attempts to leave over past weeks were thwarted by weather. The owner hopes to renovate the boat into a waterfront tourist attraction.
Photo by Andy Rogers
CBS to Bring Mini-Series Back
'Jesus'
Inspired by the runaway success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," the CBS television network said on Wednesday it will bring its 2000 hit miniseries "Jesus" back to life later this month.
But rather than replay the entire four-hour production over two nights, as originally broadcast, the network will cut right to the chase by airing only Part Two as a stand-alone TV movie on Sunday, March 28, tracing the public life of Jesus from his Sermon on the Mount to his crucifixion.
Part One, which covered Christ's early life and ministry, including his temptation by Satan in the desert, will not be shown.
'Jesus'
Ordered to Serve Jail Time
Diana Ross
Diana Ross was ordered to return to Tucson to serve a two-day jail sentence in her drunken-driving case.
The singer, who pleaded no contest to DUI last month, had arranged to serve her sentence in Greenwich, Conn., where she lives. But during her stay, she left and returned multiple times, said City Court Magistrate T. Jay Cranshaw.
Arizona law requires DUI defendants to spend at least 24 consecutive hours in custody. Cranshaw said in a written order that the jail arrangement in Greenwich "clearly does not comply with Arizona law."
The original jail order sent to Greenwich didn't state that Ross had to serve 24 consecutive hours behind bars.
Diana Ross
Man Accidentally Killed
Masonic Rite
A Masonic initiation ritual ended in tragedy when a man was shot in the head and killed with a gun thought to contain blanks, police said on Tuesday.
They said 47-year-old William James was accidentally killed when Albert Eid, 76, confused a loaded .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol with another gun during the induction ceremony in Patchogue, on New York's Long Island, on Monday night.
Police officer Heidi Cummings said Eid pointed a gun at James' head while another member beat a garbage can like a drum as part of the rite in the basement of the suburban Southside Masonic Lodge, about 50 miles east of Manhattan.
Masonic Rite
Critically endangered Sumatran orangutan mother, Indah, and her 5-day-old newborn son makes their debut Tuesday, march 9, 2004, at the San Diego Zoo. The San Diego Zoo has teamed up with America Online to create a virtual naming ceremony that gives AOL members across the country the opportunity to name the infant. Starting March 9, AOL members can go to Keyword: What's New @ the Zoo and choose among five different Sumatran names. The naming ceremony continues through March 23. The most popular name will be announced March 24.
Photo by Ken Bohn)
'The Osbournes'
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