'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Alex's Entertainment Report
Liberal or Conservative
Are you a Liberal or a Conservative? Take a test and find out:
The Political Quiz
I got 6 points
Alex
Thanks, Alex - I got 10.
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another sunny, breezy day.
Finally got the car back this afternoon - but, it turns out I rather liked walking the kid to school. After 30-some years in So. CA, I'm still amazed at the variety of plants & colors that grow in yards.
As a kid, every old lady I knew tried to grow a rubber tree plant in a pot, but here, they're real trees. Bougainvilleas have colors I'd only seen in neon-crayons. Cripes, orchids used as filler plants!
At the moment, the song 'High Hopes' is stuck in my head.
Haven't been getting a lot of response about 'Ark of Darkness'. Bummer. Fresh chapter tomorrow.
Dear old Dad & the Babe are in Arizona babysitting her grandkids. After over 200 days without interruption, the e-page will be combining the Saturday & Sunday pages, and take a day off. Back to what passes for normal on Monday.
Tonight, Thursday, was supposed to be a highlight of the current sweeps. However, with the off-shore photo-op & staged speechifying, tonight's schedule is blown to hell, much like an Iraqi museum. The networks will have to pare at least 30 minutes, if not an hour.
CBS was supposed to offer a FRESH 'Survivor: The Amazon', followed by a FRESH 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', then a
FRESH 'Without A Trace'. (My money is on 'Without A Trace' being bumped)
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave is Bernie Mac.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers is Matt Dillon.
NBC was supposed to offer a FRESH 'Friends', followed by a RERUN 'Friends', then a
FRESH 45-minute 'Will & Grace' (with Macaulay Culkin), followed by a 15-minute 'Scrubs Funniest Moments', and then a FRESH 'ER'. (If I were anymore cynical I'd say NBC had inside information, and
will dump the RERUN 'Friends', and the 'Scrubs' interstitial.)
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Drew Carey and Lisa Marie Presley.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are John Malkovich and the Used.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Ed Burns, Les Nubians, and Talib Kweli.
ABC was supposed to offer a FRESH 'Whose Line', followed by another FRESH 'Whose Line', then a FRESH 'All American Girl', followed by 'Prime Time Live'. (Since Diane Sawyer isn't scheduled to humiliate anyone tonight, I nominate
'Prime Time Live' to be dumped, but reality says it'll probably be 'Whose Line' that'll be postponed.)
Scheduled on a FRESH The View are Bernie Mac, guest co-host Janeane Garofalo.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Donal Logue, and this week's guest co-host John Edward.
The WB is supposed to have a FRESH, 90-minute Season Finale 'Jamie Kennedy', followed by a
RERUN 'JKX: Brad Gluckman'.
Faux has a 'special' - 'Caught Red-Handed: The 15 Greatest Cops Takedowns!' that takes up 2 hours.
UPN fills the night with 'WWE Smackdown!.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Actors Mary Tyler Moore (R) and Dick Van Dyke pose as they arrive during the premiere screening of 'The Gin Game' at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills, California, April 29, 2003. 'The Gin Game' reunites Van Dyke and Moore in a bittersweet comedy that premieres in the United States on PBS Sunday, May 4.
Photo by Jim Ruymen
Warmonger Preacher Provides Comic Relief, Again
Dixie Chicks
The Rev. Jerry Falwell called the Dixie Chicks three "French hens," saying "politics should end at the shore when you leave the country," referring to antiwar remarks made by lead singer Natalie Maines.
Falwell said Maines was wrong to speak critically of the United States while overseas. "You don't talk about your own country, especially during war," he said Monday during an appearance at Jonesboro.
In 2001, Falwell apologized for saying God had allowed terrorists to attack America because of the work of civil liberties groups, abortion rights supporters and feminists.
Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks Web site
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Line Up Announced
Pavarotti & Friends
Eric Clapton, Ricky Martin, Lionel Richie, Queen, and Andrea Bocelli are among artists set to take part in the 10th Pavarotti and Friends charity concert, due to take place May 27 in the tenor's hometown of Modena, Italy.
Bono will join Pavarotti for a duet at the event. Proceeds from the concert will go to the "S.O.S. Iraq" fund of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Organizers have yet to strike a broadcast agreement.
Pavarotti & Friends
Pop Memorabilia Auction
Marlene Dietrich
A cardboard cut-out of German diva Marlene Dietrich that appeared on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band beat all expectations Wednesday as Beatlemania hit a London salesroom.
An avid Italian collector of Beatles memorabilia paid $137,700 for the autographed life-sized photographic figure of Dietrich in an ivory satin dress -- more than four times the top pre-sale estimate.
A lock of Reggae king Bob Marley's hair with a 1980 tour postcard went to a U.S. collector for $4,136, more than double its pre-sale estimate, while Michael Jackson's pillowcase went for just $713 -- at the low end of expectations.
Marlene Dietrich
Mexican President Vicente Fox (L) and former U.S. President Bill Clinton walk in the fields at the Los Pinos presidential residence, April 30, 2003, before a private breakfast. Fox and Clinton met to talk about the political and economic situation in Mexico and also the global panorama.
Photo by Gustavo Benitez
Rejuvenated London Stage
'Jerry Springer The Opera'
The secrets spill forth in "Jerry Springer The Opera," the Royal National Theater's first major production under its new artistic director, Nicholas Hytner. The production, which opened Tuesday, makes one of America's trashiest TV shows into something resembling high art.
There's the tubby Dwight (Benjamin Lake, a newcomer with a noble tenor voice), who has been cheating on his wife and mistress with a "chick with a ..." well, you can imagine; Shawntel (Alison Jiear) dreams of being a pole dancer, which means triumphing over her obesity and a grimly abusive husband.
Then there's Montel (Wills Morgan), who feels most complete in diapers. And when the action shifts in the second act to hell, the same actor reappears as Jesus in a cosmic trial that, we are warned, may contain "epic themes and mock-heroic language."
Where you might expect a rather smug English satire at the expense of screaming American lowlife, "Jerry Springer" manages to be over-the-top and foul-mouthed and also witty and wise.
No wonder the real Jerry Springer reportedly loved the show when he saw it at the Edinburgh Festival last August. From the discards of American society, "Jerry Springer The Opera" has added new life to a musical genre in ways no one before has dared.
'Jerry Springer The Opera'
Honored With Harvard University Award
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall was honored with Harvard University's 2003 Global Environmental Citizen award.
"Jane Goodall's groundbreaking and captivating research with chimpanzees continues to change the way we perceive our animal cousins and ourselves," said Eric Chivian, director of Harvard's Center for Health and the Global Environment, which presents the award.
Goodall was recognized for her work with environmental initiatives through the Jane Goodall Institute, including the Congo Basin Project, which aims to stop poachers who are threatening chimpanzees' survival in the area; and Roots and Shoots, which supports students in projects to benefit animals and the environment.
Last year, she was named a United Nations "Messenger of Peace." Messengers serve as advocates in areas ranging from poverty eradication, human rights, peace and environmentalism.
Jane Goodall
Center for Health and the Global Environment Web site
The Jane Goodall Institute Web site
Starts Saturday
Tribeca Jurors
Queen Noor of Jordan, "Bowling for Columbine" director Michael Moore and actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Candice Bergen are among the jurors at this year's Tribeca Film Festival.
The second annual festival starts Saturday and runs through May 11. It includes some 200 features, documentaries and shorts.
Also judging the films in competition are Oscar-winning documentarian Barbara Kopple; "Traffic" screenwriter Stephen Gaghan; fashion designer Miuccia Prada; Sheila Nevins, vice president of HBO and Cinemax; and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.
They'll choose the winners from among features by first- and second-time directors; documentaries by first- and second-time directors; documentaries by directors who've made more than two; short films; and student shorts.
Tribeca Jurors
Tribeca Film Festival Web site
Loses Case Against Art Dealer
Elton John
A French court ruled against British pop star Elton John, saying his claims that a Parisian art dealer sold him fake statues were without merit.
The court ruled Wednesday that the singer had not unveiled "the slightest serious evidence" that would suggest that the four groups of statues he bought from art dealer Jean Renoncourt in 1996 were not authentic.
John paid 360,000 dollars (320,000 euros) for statues of the Greek gods bearing the signature of 18th century Italian sculptor Luigi Grossi, which he later displayed in the orangery at his country home in Britain.
In 2001, John asked art expert Simon Yates to assess the works for insurance purposes, and Yates raised doubts about their authenticity, saying they dated from the 20th century and calling into question the quality of the marble used.
Elton John
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Ending World Tour in Liverpool
Paul McCartney
Ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney will end his year-long world tour in his home town of Liverpool, birthplace of the Fab Four.
The last show takes place on June 1 near the banks of the River Mersey.
McCartney began his tour in Oakland, California, in April 2002, playing 58 concerts in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan.
Last month he began the 32-show European leg of the tour which includes concerts in Rome's Colosseum and Moscow's Red Square, before ending in Liverpool.
Paul McCartney
Dame Edna Everage, a character portrayed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, laughs while wearing an outfit adorned with toy koalas and eucalyptus tree branches during a promotional event at the Union Hall Theatre in Melbourne University April 30, 2003. Dame Edna stood next to an original outfit that she wore during her one of her first performances in the 1950's at the University to promote a series of shows she will be performing in over the next few months.
Photo by Stuart Milligan
Fighting Shoplifting Charges
Shelley Morrison
"Will & Grace" actress Shelley Morrison will fight misdemeanor shoplifting charges, her attorney said Wednesday.
Morrison, who plays wisecracking Rosario Salazar, the Salvadoran maid of socialite Karen Walker on the show, is innocent and plans to mount a "vigorous defense," attorney Donald Etra said.
The 66-year-old actress allegedly took $446.44 worth of jewelry from a Robinsons-May department store in West Los Angeles on April 23. Store security guards took her into custody and handed her over to police, who took her to jail. She was released after posting $20,000 bond, and an arraignment was scheduled for May 14.
Shelley Morrison
Sues Over Ad Appearance
Mr. T
Mr. T has sued Best Buy Co. Inc., claiming the nation's largest electronics store didn't have permission to use his likeness in a print ad.
The tough-guy actor, born Laurence Tureaud, is seeking unspecified monetary damages in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Tureaud, 52, is best known for his roles on the NBC series "The A-Team" in the 1980s and as boxer Clubber Lang in "Rocky III." He survived a bout with cancer in 1991 and most recently was featured in commercials for a collect-call phone service.
Mr. T
Featured in Documentary
Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson hopes more people will pay attention to soul greats of the 1950s and '60s with the release of the documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which pays tribute to her, Isaac Hayes, the Chi-Lites and other classic soul acts.
"This is a music of America right here, this is R&B music, that people tend to forget," the former Supreme said after the film's premiere Tuesday night.
"Only the Strong Survive," directed by documentary veterans D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus ("The War Room"), comes out May 9.
Mary Wilson
Playing At San Quentin
Metallica
The members of Metallica are the heroes of the day at San Quentin State Prison, one of the most infamous prisons in the United States.
The hard rock quartet, preparing to release its new album "St. Anger" on June 10, is shooting a video for the title track at the prison on Wednesday, and will perform an hourlong concert the following day, the group said on its Web site (
www.metclub.com).
Metallica is then scheduled to play on Saturday at MTV's annual mtvICON tribute event in Los Angeles, where such acts as Avril Lavigne, Sum 41, Limp Bizkit and Korn will cover the group's songs. The 90-minute special will screen on May 6.
Metallica
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
More Line Up Announced
'Zootopia'
Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, Third Eye Blind, and Jewel have been added as performers for New York radio station Z100's annual Zootopia concert, set for June 1 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Britney Spears has also been added as a guest host for the event.
The show will include the farewell live performance by the two surviving members of R&B stars TLC, marking the first and last time Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas will perform without founding member Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes, who died in April 2002 in a car accident.
Other performers set for the show include Ja Rule, Ashanti, Simple Plan, Bowling For Soup, Wayne Wonder, Tanto Metro & Devonte, Daniel Bedingfield, JC Chasez, and Ginuwine. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
'Zootopia'
Members of the reunited metal band Twisted Sister, A.J. Pero (L), J.J. French (2nd L), Dee Snider (C), Mark Mendoza (2nd R), and Eddie Ojeda (R) pose for photos before a press conference in New York on April 29, 2003 where they discussed their upcoming USO tour and U.S. and European appearances. On behalf of the USO, the band will perform at one Air Force base and two Army bases in South Korea.
Photo by Peter Morgan
Sues Mandalay Bay
Jeff Conaway
Jeff Conaway, former co-star of TV's "Taxi," has sued the owners of Mandalay Bay, claiming security guards broke his arm at the Las Vegas casino last summer.
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, alleges the 52-year-old actor was manhandled on June 3, 2002, after he'd spent some time drinking and playing blackjack. The suit alleges assault, battery, infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of wages.
Conaway, a recovering alcoholic, said he had been drinking free cocktails and gambling while he was in town to discuss working as a spokesman for an unnamed company.
Several hours later, casino officials told him he no longer would be allowed to gamble. According to the lawsuit, he went to the room he was sharing with his wife, then returned and tried to place a blackjack bet.
He again was told he was not allowed to drink or gamble. The next morning, according to the suit, Conaway went to the guest registration desk with $1,000 in cash and chips and asked to speak to a supervisor.
Conaway claims he was handcuffed and confined to a room, and that guards laughed and taunted him when he said he was in pain. Eventually, he was taken to a hospital.
Jeff Conaway
More Hollywood Bookkeeping
Chuck Lorre
The creator of TV's "Grace Under Fire" has sued the show's producers saying he lost millions of dollars because of payments made to cast and crew members who were sexually harassed and verbally abused by star Brett Butler.
Chuck Lorre, a writer and producer who worked on the sitcoms "Roseanne" and "Dharma & Greg," also alleges accounting irregularities by the company, Carsey-Werner-Mandabach.
According to the suit, Lorre created "Grace," wrote the pilot episode and served as executive producer for the first season. The suit says he signed a contract with Carsey-Werner that would pay him about 11 percent of the show's net profits.
Lorre claims in the court papers that after his departure as executive producer, Carsey-Werner "failed to properly manage" the show, which ate into the net profits.
Among his allegations are that Carsey-Werner permitted a hostile working environment "in which sexual harassment and verbal and emotional abuse by Butler against cast and crew members were tolerated or ignored."
"Plaintiffs allege that an executive producer and at least two and possibly three supporting cast members received large cash settlements to resolve their claims of sexual harassment and emotional and verbal abuse," the lawsuit said.
He asks for compensatory and punitive damages "in an amount to be determined at trial but in excess of $3.4 million."
Chuck Lorre
Roll Over, Tchaikovsky
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Tough-guy actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is being tipped for a star role in a screen version of Swan Lake
He made his name as an all-action screen hero, but now the Muscles from Brussels could be about to take on an altogether more challenging role. Jean-Claude Van Damme is being lined up to star in a film version of Swan Lake.
The heavyweight Belgian actor, whose credits include Bloodsport, Universal Soldier and Double Impact, is one of a number of box-office stars being tipped to take up non-dancing roles in a screen version of Tchaikovsky's classic ballet.
The English National Ballet film is aimed at introducing dance to a new audience by using the special effects team behind the Harry Potter films and Lord of the Rings.
Impresario Jonathan Shalit, who is behind the film, said: 'For Swan Lake I have been thinking of: Von Rothbart - Jean-Claude Van Damme or Ewan MacGregor; The Prince's Mother - Dame Judi Dench, Angela Lansbury, Glenn Close, Jane Seymour. As director, l have in mind the likes of Stephen Daldry, Sam Mendes or Nicholas Hynter.'
For more, Jean-Claude Van Damme
Thanks, Alex!
Cancel British Shows
Tatu
The beat does not go on for Tatu.
The Russian pop duo on Wednesday canceled two British concerts scheduled for this week due to poor ticket sales.
The venues withdrew the tickets from their box offices and said ticket-holders would be given a full refund.
The duo whose name is Russian slang for "This girl (loves) that girl" had an international hit with "All the Things She Said," and became the first Russian band to top Britain's singles chart.
Tatu
www.tatu.ru
Nother Lawsuit
Van Morrison
Veteran Irish rock star Van Morrison will learn on Thursday whether he might have to pay up to $479,100 in compensation for canceling a concert in a British pub -- a far higher amount than he originally faced.
The 57-year-old singer is being sued by a disgruntled hotel owner who claims his business was ruined after Morrison pulled out of a concert at his venue last August.
Gary Marlow, landlord of the Crown Hotel in Everleigh, Wiltshire, in western England, will seek permission from London's High Court on Thursday to put forward expert financial evidence that will substantially raise his claim from the $31,940 mark Morrison was expecting to defend to around $479,100.
Van Morrison
Fetch $47,500 At Auction
Diana Letters
Eight letters and a Christmas card that Princess Diana wrote to the late fashion editor Liz Tilberis sold for $47,500 to various bidders at auction on Wednesday.
The lowest-priced letter sold for $4,000 while the highest, a personalized Christmas card with a photo of the late princess' sons and the two daughters of Sarah Ferguson, Britain's Duchess of York, fetched $7,000.
The Diana letters are unusual in their warmth, said James Cyr, whose Cyr Auction Gallery offered the correspondence in this Maine town as part of a 600-lot sale. Gray is located about 25 miles north of Portland.
He could not confirm a report that one of the phone bidders was from the family of Diana's companion, Dodi Al Fayed, who died in the 1997 Paris car crash that also claimed her life.
Diana Letters
No Toys
Alabama
Sex toys are still against the law in Alabama, at least as far as the Alabama Legislature is concerned.
The Alabama House voted against a bill Tuesday that would have removed a ban on sexual devices, such as vibrators, from the state's obscenity law. The ban on sexual devices was added at the last minute when the obscenity law passed the Legislature in 1998.
A federal district judge in Birmingham has twice ruled that the ban is unconstitutional. The first ruling was overturned by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the second ruling has been appealed to the appeals court.
The sponsor of the bill, Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, said because of the court ruling, the obscenity law is unenforceable as long as it contains the ban on sex toys.
"What you just did is make our obscenity law illegal. You voted for obscenity," Rogers shouted at lawmakers.
Alabama
Asperger Syndrome?
Einstein & Newton
Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were geniuses but British scientists believe they may have suffered from Asperger syndrome -- a form of autism.
The condition, first described by Viennese physician Hans Asperger in 1944, is a disorder that causes deficiencies in social and communication skills and obsessive interests.
But it does not affect learning or intellect and many people with AS have exceptional talents or skills.
Although it is impossible to make a definitive diagnosis in people who are dead, Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University and Ioan James of Oxford University studied the personalities of Einstein and Newton to see if the two scientists had symptoms of AS.
"Newton seems a classic case. He hardly spoke, was so engrossed in his work that he often forgot to eat, and was lukewarm or bad-tempered with the few friends he had," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.
Baron-Cohen said Einstein was also a loner and as a child he repeated sentences obsessively. Although Einstein made friends and spoke out on political issues, Baron-Cohen suspects he showed signs of Asperger syndrome.
"Passion, falling in love and standing up for justice are all perfectly compatible with Asperger syndrome," he told the weekly science magazine.
Einstein & Newton
Dying in Record Numbers
Sea Otters
A record number of southern sea otters are washing up sick or dead on California beaches at a rate biologists said on Wednesday could have dire consequences for the threatened species.
Experts say they do not know exactly why this is happening but are alarmed that many of the dead mammals this year are animals of reproductive age that should be healthy. Usually, younger or older sea otters make up the majority of the so-called "stranded" mammals, biologists said.
This loss of middle-age sea otters able to reproduce could help to push the California sea otters onto the endangered species list, biologists said. The total population has sunk to about 2,100 from a peak of more than 2,300 in 1994.
Sea otters were once found along much of the Pacific Rim coast but the animals were almost wiped out in the 18th and 19th centuries due to the fur trade. While Alaskan and Russian populations have bounced back, the southern otters have not recovered as rapidly.
The past four months have been tough for the animals found along California's Central Coast from Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, down to Point Conception, north of Los Angeles.
Since January at least 91 have been recovered on beaches, up from a previous high of 73 in 1998 during a comparable period, biologists said. In April alone, the number skyrocketed with 47 recovered ashore, more than double the 10-year average.
Sea Otters
White House Correspondents Dinner
Some Excerpts
"These guys in the administration are sore winners," Mr. Belzer said. "They're in power and they're still mean. They're vindictive and thin-skinned and humorless."
Drew Carey was there, a Republican comic. Last year he had joked from the dais about Al Gore and compared Dick Cheney to Simpsons' όber-evil power-plant owner Monty Burns. Asked what jokes he might have told this year, Mr. Carey
said: "I don't know. I don't know."Then he thought of one. "I have one joke about when they toppled that statue of Saddam Hussein," Mr. Carey said. "You know what they were yelling in Arabic? 'Rodney King!' Yeah, that's pretty good."
There's a whole lot more - Some Excerpts
Giant panda Ling Ling plays at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City in this photo taken April 11, 2003. Ling Ling is on loan from China for the third time in the hope of mating with one of the three female giant pandas in the zoo. However, zoo officials believe Ling Ling has been unable to mate and now they have pinned their hopes on using his sperm via artificial insemination to bring about a pregnancy of two of the female pandas, Xin Xin and Shuan Shuan.
Photo by Daniel Aguilar
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
