~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Review
American Originals
By Dave Romm
Way back when, on a panel on Greenwich Village Memories, I turned to Dave van Ronk, who lived there while Partch had his studios in the Bohemian hang out, and asked him a question I had saved up for nearly ten years: "So tell me. What was Harry Partch really like?"
"Never met the man."
Oh well. Not all cool people know each other.
Harry Partch was one of the people that made Greenwich Village's reputation as a place for cool avante-garde music that the unhip just couldn't understand. Eventually the hipsters and folk singers took over, but for it's always been a place for experimentation. For a detailed explanation of what Partch was doing, go to this site or this one, but if you'll allow me the attempt (composers, please don't yell at me too much):
If you want to play in the same key all the time, life is a lot simpler for musicians and instrument makers. Musical tones are a mathematical function of the wavelength of sound. But a piece of music only sounds good in that one key. Modern "tempered" music was championed by JS Bach and is the stantard in Western music nowadays. Do re me and all that. This means that you can change keys on a piano or guitar pretty easily, but also means that you're faking it in small ways. What Harry Partch did was develop a 43 tone scale that allows you to come as close as possible to the natural, untempered, notes AND change keys easily. Well, as easily as you can on an instrument where there were 43 notes when you were used to 8. Since this was decidedly non-standard, Partch had to write his own music, invent his own instruments, train the musicians, and give his own concerts. Only later in life (he died in 1974) did Partch get a larger audience.
Harry Partch is an acquired taste. You can get what Composers Recordings claim is The Definitive Harry Partch Series. I'm not sure which of the four CDs to recommend to start you off, if you don't just want to immerse yourself in him. I kind of like Barstow, which is music set to eight examples of graffiti at the major hitchhiking crossroad in California. I confess that I haven't heard all of his work (and don't have any of these CDs; my Partch a tape of his 78s), so you're sort of on your own. But if you want to be a cool daddy-o, and have a response to hipsters going on about Ginsberg and Kerouac, just pop out the Harry Parch CDs, and and listen to the fingers snap.
Meanwhile, there's Charles Ives. Called by one site as "the most original and significant American composer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries", Ives was the son of a band leader in Danbury Connecticut, a quick motorcar jaunt but a world away from Greenwich Village. He often composed music for incredibly non-traditional venues, such piano for four hands, or circus band. You can hear samples of his works here (go to the links on top of the page). His works are fun to listen to, as he does the unexpected while throwing in American folk tunes. He's not more famous because he was in ill-health most of his life, and his music doesn't fit in most orchestral arrangements. Indeed, he was a proponent of aleatory music, " in which the composer introduces elements of chance or unpredictability with regard to either the composition or its performance", ofwhich John Cage was also a practitioner.
Again, all my Charles Ives predates CDs, and they haven't reissued the albums I have. I suspect that Michael Tilson Thomas does pretty well, and he's the conductor for Symphony's #2 and #3. He won the Pulitzer in 1947 for Symphony #3, an accessible, introspective piece. You can hear samples of #2 and #3 on the Barnes & Noble site, so you might want to start there. The recording of Symphonies 1 & 4 might be a good introduction, though #1 is the least experimental of his work, #4 is a good example of it. Still, try to find a live performance in your area.
Sorry to make general recommendations, but Harry Partch and Charles Ives deserve wider recognition. They're fun to read about, if nothing else, and are great names to drop at parties.
Dave Romm is a conceptual artist with a radio show and a web site and a very weird CD collection. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here.
Thanks (again), Dave!
Great Site
'Uncommon Sense'
The always-entertaining Jeff Crook sent along the 'toon (above).
I like it!
Thanks, Jeff!
Reader Comment
All-Clinton Ticket
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Played in the dirt hole that's becoming a garden. Hadn't planned to, but, the Kid is fixated on carnivorous plants. A local
nursery (in walking distance) has Venus Fly Traps in stock, so we wandered over. Didn't realize it was going to be pepper heaven, so
we ended up with a few extra plants. Habaneros, Hungarian Wax, Yellow Banana, Paprika, and (best of all) Pepperocini. And there were a couple
of interesting heritage tomatoes, too.
Watched 'Enterprise'. Seems having a great rack is the main criteria to be cast as a Vulcan female.
Also watched 'Drew Carey' - I'm a sucker for shows where they roll out my favorite TV-Mom, June Lockheart.
From when she replaced Cloris Leachman on 'Lassie' to 'Lost In Space', and now as Lewis' demented mom - that's a career! (And, then there's also
the perversity of seeing Richard Chamberlain ['Dr. Kildare', himself] in drag. What would Dr. Zorba think?)
Tonight, Thursday, it's all fresh on CBS with 'Survivor: Marquesas', CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', and the season finale of 'The Agency'.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Hugh Grant and Tony Hawk.
Scheduled on a fresh Craiggers are Hugh Hefner, Poison's Bret Michaels and CC Deville.
NBC starts the night with a fresh 'Friends', then follows with a rerun of 'Friends'. Next, it's a fresh 'Will & Grace', followed by a rerun 'Will & Grace'. 'ER' is fresh (and buh-bye, Dr. Greene).
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are Kiefer Sutherland, Jamie Oliver (the Naked Chef) & Neil Young.
Scheduled on a fresh Conan are Kirsten Dunst and Zach Braff.
Scheduled on a fresh Carson Daly are Matthew Lillard and Papa Roach.
ABC, in an astounding display of contempt for the little audience remaining, reruns the movie 'Stuart Little', which they just aired Sunday (5 May)! It's followed by 'PrimeTime Thursday'.
Scheduled on a fresh Bill Maher are Actor Robert Forster, "Women's Quarterly" Editor Charlotte Hays, Actress Mo'Nique, and Reverend Jesse Jackson.
The WB starts with a rerun of 'Charmed', and then follows with a fresh episode of 'Charmed'.
Faux primes the 'Star Wars' pump with the movie 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'.
UPN has 'WWF! Smackdown' (but isn't it 'WWE' now?).
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
'Atrocious Language'
Ozzy & Carson Daly
It takes a lot to shock Ozzy Osbourne, but Carson Daly did it. The MTV veejay was so stoked to meet the father figure of the network's hit show "The Osbournes" that,
when they shook hands, Daly blurted, "[Bleeping] Ozzy, man. I [bleeping] love the show, it [bleeping] rocks, you [bleeping] rule." Ozzy tells Blender magazine he
found Daly a "nice enough guy, but his language was atrocious"
Ozzy & Carson Daly
Big Dog Watch Continues
First Tribeca Film Festival
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and South Africa's Nelson Mandela joined several movie stars on Wednesday to open the first Tribeca Film Festival, a celebration of
independent movies that organizers hope will help revitalize lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Actors Robert De Niro, one of the festival's founders, Hugh Grant, Kevin Spacey and Whoopi Goldberg were among those on hand at New York City Hall with the city's mayor,
Michael Bloomberg, and New York Gov. George Pataki to open the five-day festival that ends on Sunday with the New York premiere of the new Star Wars movie, "Attack of the Clones."
The festival had been in the works before Sept. 11, but organizers said in announcing it in December that it took on added significance after the attacks on New York's World
Trade Center that killed more than 2,800 people.
For more, First Tribeca Film Festival
Fun Flash Animation
Stevie Wonder & Bunnypants
Stevie Wonder & Bunnypants
Heading Toward Error Record
'Spider-Man'
Comic book hero "Spider-Man," the Columbia Pictures film which is breaking box office records in the United States, seems heading toward a new record -- but this
one is for mistakes.
Fans have so far spotted 77 continuity errors, the most flaws identified in an opening weekend, according to Web site
movie-mistakes.com.
The mistakes, cataloged in full on the Internet site, include disappearing rucksacks, clothes that are dirty one minute and clean the next and smashed windows that self-repair.
The current number of errors puts "Spider-Man," which took $114 million in its opening weekend, at number nine in
movie-mistake.com's top 10 of error-ridden films.
"The Matrix" is the current record holder with 146 errors, followed by "Titanic" with 135 and "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" with 113.
'Spider-Man'
National Cable Show Convention
Ozzy Osbourne
It's clear hard rocker Ozzy Osbourne's bitten the head off conventional programming wisdom, but TV executives are still trying to figure out what to make of the unprecedented success
of MTV's reality series "The Osbournes" and how -- or if -- they can capitalize on it.
Right now, "The Osbournes" -- which depicts the intriguing home life of the Osbourne clan -- shows no sign of slowing, even as the show wrapped up its first season Tuesday night. Ozzy
and wife Sharon were the toast of Washington, D.C., over the weekend, where they nearly upstaged President Bush at the White House correspondents dinner.
The show continues to break ratings records, having attracted as many as 8 million viewers in one airing. And even though they're not even visiting New Orleans this week, the glow of
"The Osbournes" has dominated virtually every panel discussion and hallway conversation at this week's National Cable Show confab.
Ozzy Osbourne
Josiah Bartlett's 'Worthy Opponent'
James Brolin
What if liberal songstress Barbra Streisand became a Republican First Lady? You can imagine that while watching The West Wing's season finale on
May 22 — when her hubby, James Brolin, is introduced as President Martin Sheen's GOP opponent in the next big election. While NBC won't confirm
that he'll recur on the show next season, sources say it's highly likely.
James Brolin
Live Special On HBO In July
Robin Williams
Robin Williams will return to HBO this summer for a live comedy event, marking his first solo TV special in more than 15 years.
"Robin Williams: Live on Broadway" will be presented at 9 p.m. July 14 from the Broadway Theater in Gotham, one of the stops on his national comedy tour.
Williams appeared on HBO during the pay cable network's 1977 "Young Comedians" special and went on to star in three solo specials for the network, in 1978, 1983 and 1986.
Robin Williams
BartCop TV!
Useful Link
Political Speeches
Web Sites For Political Speeches
She Made It, After All
Mary Tyler Moore
Many hundreds of eager and damp TV fans gathered on a chilly, overcast morning and cheered Mary Tyler Moore as a bronze statue of her was unveiled on Nicollet Mall in honor of the
fictional Minneapolis-based television news producer she played on TV a quarter-century ago.
They came to dedicate a statue of Moore, immortalizing the tam toss seen at the beginning of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which chronicled the Twin Cities exploits of single 1970s
career woman Mary Richards.
The popular MTM show ran for seven years on CBS-TV and is still seen today in reruns on the TV Land cable network, which paid for the statue and staged today's event.
For more, Mary Tyler Moore
And Her Ass
Jennifer Lopez
Does Jennifer Lopez's much-ballyhooed butt help her sell records? Her producer, Irv Gotti, thinks so. Gotti - who remixed J.Lo's hit Ja Rule duet "I'm Real" - concedes
that the devastatingly derriered Latina "can't make a record like Whitney or Mariah cause she ain't got a big voice." Gotti tells Elle magazine: "So she's gotta [bleep]
with guys like me who can hide or enhance that voice." Gotti says he has friends "in the projects" who "were hittin' the mute button and just lookin' at her ass."
Jennifer Lopez
Best Spin Yet
More White House Correspondents Dinner
Last year's White House Correspondents Dinner was a party in denial. Held five months into President George W. Bush's term, the dinner was marred by the bitterness from Florida lingering in the ballroom.President Bush
treated the media extravaganza like a necessary evil. Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice didn't even show up. The big guests were cast members of The West Wing, and they only reminded everyone that You-Know-Who was gone.
But the past year has been a rigorous one for the Bush administration, one in which this new White House, challenged by war, claimed new ground in the media and culture at large. President Bush posed, shiny belt buckle exposed,
with his war room on the cover of Vanity Fair. NBC's Tom Brokaw visited for a prime-time hug. John Ashcroft-John Ashcroft!-played the piano like a pop star on the Late Show with David Letterman.
The confident show of force sent a message to the room. The order of the universe had shifted. Ozzy Osbourne, sitting with Greta Van Susteren, was a benign amusement. So was Harrison Ford, over there with Bloomberg News. There was no need
to pander to Hollywood for this Correspondents Dinner. The real stars were the home team.
They even brought their own comedian-Drew Carey, a Republican and, as he reminded everyone, a Marines reservist. "I was at your inaugural parade," he told Mr. Bush. "It was so cold out there, I was getting booed every 25 feet, and all I was
thinking, 'Hey, it could be worse- it could be a Gore parade.'"
For the rest (and there is a 'rest' - vomitorious comments from both Shannen Doherty and MISS Ann Coulter), and more(!), More White House Correspondents Dinner
Interesting Link
Prurient Latin Vocabulary List
Prurient Latin Vocabulary List
John Wayne Bobbitt
Joanne Bobbitt
Just a month after marrying the misogynist with the maimed manhood, Joanne Bobbitt, 31, was jailed for five days in Las Vegas over unpaid traffic
tickets. Joanne says that John Wayne Bobbitt's boxing trainer ratted her out to the cops. A spy close to the couple explains, "He's infatuated with
John and wants her out of the picture." To make things weirder, Mrs. Bobbitt admits her husband could have sprung her by paying off her $1,800 violation,
but kept his nickels instead. "I'm very upset," she says. Asked if she'll be dumping the cad, Joanne replied, "I'm not sure."
Joanne Bobbitt
Cool Site
Trading Cards
Trading Cards
Britain's Favorite Pop Single Of All Time
Queen's ''Bohemian Rhapsody''
Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was named Britain's favorite pop single of all time Wednesday in a poll by Guinness World Records.
More than 31,000 people voted in the poll for GWR's "British Hit Singles" book.
The six-minute epic first topped the charts in 1975 and became No. 1 again in 1991 when a fund-raising version was released after the death of the group's singer Freddie Mercury.
The top 10 favorite singles of all time are:
1. Bohemian Rhapsody -- Queen
2. Imagine -- John Lennon
3. Hey Jude -- The Beatles
4. Dancing Queen -- Abba
5. Like a Prayer -- Madonna
6. Angels -- Robbie Williams
7. Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever -- The Beatles
8. Wannabe -- Spice Girls
9. Yesterday -- The Beatles
10. Let It Be -- The Beatles
Britain's Favorite Pop Single Of All Time
New Kind of Soccer Support?
World Cup Bra
Female soccer fans who feel they need a little extra support at the Korea-Japan World Cup could take to the spectators' stands in a specially designed "Hat Trick" bra.
Available only in soccer-pitch green, the polyester bra features football-shaped pads in black and white imitation leather, topped off with a trim designed to resemble a goal net.
Included in the $133 price tag is a pair of matching briefs, printed with an image of hands catching a ball. The three balls on the set make the hat trick, creators said.
World Cup Bra
Interesting Link
Immanuel Velikovsky
The Immanuel Velikovsky Archive
Baby News
Jacob Bon Jovi
Rocker and actor Jon Bon Jovi is a dad again.
Bon Jovi's wife, Dorothea, gave birth to a boy Tuesday in New Jersey, according to his label.
The baby, whom they named Jacob, is the third child for the couple.
The leader of the group Bon Jovi married the former Dorothea Hurley April 29, 1989, in Las Vegas, Nev. Their first child, Stephanie Rose, was born May 31,
1993, and Jesse James Louis was born Feb. 19, 1995.
Jacob Bon Jovi
More Baby News
Judah Miro Tapert
Former "Xena: Warrior Princess" star Lucy Lawless gave birth to Judah Miro Tapert on Tuesday at her home in New Zealand, according to publicist Leah Krantzler.
The baby reportedly was in good health and weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
He's the second child for Lawless and husband Robert G. Tapert, executive producer of the "Xena" television show, which went off the air last year. They also
have a 2-year-old son, and Lawless has a 13-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.
Judah Miro Tapert
Cool Trading Cards
Friendly Dictators
Friendly Dictators Index
Angelina Jolie & Billy Bob Thornton
Maddox Thornton
The baby boy being adopted by Oscar winners Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton is among 18 Cambodian children cleared by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service for adoption by American families.
Jolie and Thornton, like other families, still must apply for a U.S. visa for their son, but the process is expected to be smooth since the INS
has investigated the case of each child it has cleared.
In all, 121 Cambodian children have been cleared for adoption or completion of adoptions by 113 American families since Dec. 21, INS spokesman
William Strassberger said Tuesday.
Maddox Thornton
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Lisa Loeb & Neil ''Doogie Howser'' Patrick Harris
Spiderman - The Cartoon
Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb will be the voice of Spider Man's girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, in a new cartoon series about the superhero on MTV.
Former "Doogie Howser" star Neil Patrick Harris will be the voice of Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man.
The series will premiere next winter.
Spiderman - The Cartoon
O'Really & EggBoy
Something Is BassAkwards Here
Cable host and now talkradio broadcaster Bill O'Reilly was pushed over the edge this week after the DRUDGE REPORT revealed exclusively that $300,000 was
promised to O'Reilly's New York City flagship station WOR-AM to carry the program.
Although VIACOMCBSINFINTYWESTWOODONE radio head Joel Hollander publicly denied to reporters that compensation was being paid to affiliates for carrying O'Reilly -- behind the scenes on Tuesday, Hollander threatened to pull the payout guarantee to WOR, blaming the station for the DRUDGE REPORT leak!
Meanwhile, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, Los Angeles' KABC-AM is receiving $250,000 in outdoor advertising from VIACOM in exchange for clearing The Bill O'Reilly Radio Program.
A similar comp deal has also been promised to O'Reilly's San Francisco affiliate.
Difficulty clearing O'Reilly in the Washington, DC market raised the payout price to $200,000, according to insiders -- a payout that was rejected by all major stations in the region, including ABC's WMAL-AM.
"There is no other cure than to kill Matt Drudge," O'Reilly charged on the IMUS in the MORNING radio show on Wednesday.
To read it for yourself, O'Really & EggBoy
Odd Link
Say What?
www.christiansforcannabis.com
Acquired Archival Movie Rights
Imagine Entertainment
Universal Pictures and affiliated studio Imagine Entertainment said on Tuesday they have acquired the rights to make movies based on material published in Playboy magazine over 48 years.
Better known for such family-oriented fare as "Apollo 13," "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Liar Liar," Imagine, led by film director Ron Howard and Brian Grazer,
said the new agreement will give it archival rights to Playboy material dating back to the magazine's launch in 1953.
The deal between the two studios and a unit of Playboy Enterprises Inc. complements a previously announced agreement that gave Imagine the rights to develop a feature film about Playboy
founder and editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner.
Apart from its well-known nude pictorials, the magazine is also known for its short stories, articles and excerpts from a range of writers, including Ray Bradbury, John Irving and Larry McMurtry.
Imagine Entertainment
Class Action Suit Stalled
(About) 160 Artists
A $4.75 million settlement of a class action suit led by the late torch singer Peggy Lee over royalties dating back to the 1940s has been stalled amid
objections by actor Larry Hagman, lawyers said on Wednesday.
Hagman, executor of the estate of his mother, Mary Martin, best known for roles in Broadway musicals like "South Pacific," "The Sound of Music" and "Peter
Pan," objected to the proposed settlement with Universal Music, calling the figure too low and unfair to some artists, said his lawyer, Bruce Broillet.
"The settlement is too low. It seems rather unusual that $4.75 million would be used to compensate what has been done to so many outstanding artists in
American history," Broillet told Reuters.
About 160 artists -- many of whom are now dead -- are part of the class action. They include such legends as Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday,
Patsy Cline, Ella Fitzgerald, the Andrews Sisters and Bill Haley and the Comets.
Lee was the lead plaintiff in the two-year-long court case that claimed Universal failed to pay her and other artists millions of dollars by underreporting
sales figures and overcharging for services.
For more details, Class Action Suit Stalled
New Recording Contract, Own Label
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey, who received a $28 million buyout after delivering one flop album for Virgin Records, has signed a new deal with Island/Def Jam that includes her
own label, it was announced Wednesday.
The company is home to stars such as Jay-Z, Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams, Ja Rule and Ashanti. It is part of Universal Music Group, which is owned by the
conglomerate Vivendi Universal.
Carey has already begun recording her new disc, said Jerry Blair, a former executive at Columbia Records who has worked with Carey since the inception of her career.
Mariah Carey
Cancellations & Renewals
''On The Bubble''
Television viewers just getting hooked on "The Education of Max Bickford" or growing weary of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" will soon know
whether to cheer or groan.
Dozens of prime-time shows, from veteran series "Spin City" and "Touched By an Angel" to newcomers like the talking-infant comedy "Baby Bob"
and the Richard Dreyfuss drama "Max Bickford," face renewal or sudden death next week when the networks unveil their new fall schedules.
Less certain is the fate of more than 30 prime-time programs that are perched, in network television parlance, "on the bubble." They are neither sure
bets for renewal nor foregone conclusions for cancellation.
Other notable shows questionable for renewal next season include Steven Bochco's freshman legal drama "Philly," the Fox sci-fi action thriller "Dark Angel" from James Cameron,
and the ABC sitcom "George Lopez," the first prime-time family comedy with a predominantly Latino cast since Norman Lear's "a.k.a. Pablo" in 1984.
''On The Bubble''
Remaining At NBC Sports' - Voice Of The Olympics Through 2006
Bob Costas
The announcer and network have agreed to a four-year deal that is expected to be announced next week, a TV industry source told The Associated Press
on condition of anonymity Wednesday. The agreement is worth more than $1 million a year, the source said.
He had talks this year about joining Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and ABC, and was offered a job as host of an NBA studio show on ABC and a variety of work at ESPN.
At NBC, in addition to anchoring Olympics coverage, he'll work on Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup horse racing, and U.S. Open and Ryder Cup
golf telecasts, the source said. Costas also could have other assignments at the network.
Bob Costas
That's 'Entertainment'
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., which changed its name a few days ago from its venerable WWF moniker, is now tinkering with its TV line-up,
which has a tighter grip on male teenage viewers than a Ric Flair leg lock.
The company, which promotes Flair and other wrestlers, is creating separate story lines and brands for its prime-time shows, "Raw" and "Smackdown."
Each will have its stars featured on separate shows such as MTV's "WWE Sunday Night Heat" and the upcoming syndicated "WWE After Burn."
World Wrestling bought WCW from AOL Time Warner Inc. in 2001. The deal gave the company, formerly known as World Wrestling Federation Entertainment,
a stable of performers and eliminated its main competition. It changed its name on Tuesday after losing a lawsuit by World Wildlife Fund over
the use of the initials WWF.
The changes will give the company the opportunity to offer more arena shows and pay-per-view events that feature more of the company's 115 performers.
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
Naked Brit Theatre, Part 1
Streaker
A male streaker gave the Queen a revealing surprise during a visit to the northern English town of Gateshead when he ran naked in front of her black limousine.
The man, wearing only a pair of running shoes, faced jeers from crowds of royalists who had lined the streets on Tuesday to greet the 76-year-old monarch,
celebrating 50 years on the throne this year.
Four burly police officers wrestled the man to the ground and sat on him while the royal procession passed.
Streaker
Naked Brit Theatre, Part 2
Franko B
A naked man who slashes himself and uses his own dripping blood as the core of his act will feature in an arts festival in Britain next week.
Franko B, who says his bleeding body is his art, will slash his bare stomach and invite his audience to take a peek at the fifth annual Fierce!
performing arts festival based in Warwick, central England.
Franko B
Denies Sex Allegations
R. Kelly
R&B superstar R. Kelly, who has been accused of having sex with an underage girl on videotapes that have circulated across the country, denied the allegations
in a television interview on Wednesday.
Videotapes purportedly showing Kelly having sex with the girl, along with other women, have been sold on city streets across the nation, and also on the Internet. The
person on the tapes bears a striking resemblance to the singer.
In addition, Kelly has also settled two lawsuits brought by women who accused him of having sex with them when they were minors. Documents have also shown that Kelly was
married to the late singer Aaliyah, his former protege, when she was just 15. The marriage was later annulled.
A third lawsuit was filed recently by a Chicago woman who accused Kelly of impregnating her when she was a teen-ager and forcing her to have an abortion.
However, the singer alluded to other problems in his life, and said he is working with a pastor to help make himself a better person.
R. Kelly
If Your Balls Glow Red...
Ancient Cannon Balls
Cannon balls retrieved from ancient shipwrecks are wreaking thunderous havoc centuries later -- by exploding on the desks of archaeologists, New
Scientist magazine says.
Robert Child, of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff, told the magazine that he had recorded several instances where the old
rusted balls of metal started to heat up and turn red, or explode after being exposed to oxygen.
In one case, a ball retrieved from a 1691 wreck heated up to a few hundred degrees after several minutes in the open air, began to glow a dull red
and started burning its way through the pine table.
He said the explosions happened because the balls had developed a lattice-like porous structure over hundreds of years that reacted with oxygen
to produce massive amounts of heat.
The combination of oxygen and sea salt caused rapid oxidation resulting in the balls "exploding" open and crumbling into bits.
Ancient Cannon Balls
Jerry Garcia's Guitars Auctioned
'Wolf' & 'Tiger'
Guernsey's auctioneer Joanne Grant conducts bidding on guitars previously owned by the late Jerry Garcia during an auction Wednesday, May, 8, 2002, at Studio 54
in New York. The guitar named "Wolf," left, sold for $700,000 and "Tiger" sold for $850,000.
Photo by Chad Rachman
Accidental OD
Layne Staley
Alice in Chains' Layne Staley died from a mixture of heroin and cocaine, an autopsy and toxicology report revealed Monday.
Laboratory results determined the singer died April 5, according to a spokesperson for the King County medical examiner's office, the same day fellow grunge pioneer Kurt
Cobain committed suicide in 1994. Staley was found dead two weeks later, surrounded by intravenous drug paraphernalia in his Seattle apartment.
The death certificate reads Staley's death resulted from "an acute intoxication due to the combined effects of opiate (heroin) and cocaine." The death was classified as "accidental."
The lethal combination goes by the name "speedball" in drug circles. The same ingredients contributed to the deaths of comedian John Belushi in 1982 and actor River Phoenix in 1993.
Layne Staley
In Memory
Kevyn Aucoin
Kevyn Aucoin, a master makeup artist who worked on famous faces from Cindy Crawford to Britney Spears, has died. He was 40.
Aucoin died Tuesday at Westchester Medical Center from complications of a metabolic disorder, his friend Marcy Engelman said. He had been treated for
a pituitary brain tumor in the past year, she said.
Aucoin, born on Valentine's Day in 1962, had a lifelong love of makeup. During his youth in Lafayette, La., Aucoin would rip out photos from magazines
and try to replicate the models' makeup on his sisters.
He moved to New York in January 1983 and spent his time making up models for free. His big break came eight months later, when Vogue magazine booked him
to work on a photo shoot of Meg Tilly. He did his first cover in 1986, working with Richard Avedon.
"He had such a rapid rise because he was so extraordinarily talented," said Linda Wells, editor in chief of Allure magazine, where Aucoin had a column until February.
Aucoin was in demand as makeup artist to the stars, including Janet Jackson, Sharon Stone, Madonna, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Aucoin was the author of three books, "Face Forward," "Making Faces" and "The Art of Makeup," and had recently started his own product line. But while he was famous
and highly paid, he never presumed to dictate how people should use cosmetics.
"I don't use 'always do this,' 'never say that,' and I never give advice because I'm not the end-all, be-all authority," he told The Associated Press in November.
He was also an activist, remembered as an opinionated person with strong political views who was outspoken about gay rights, Wells said.
Kevyn Aucoin
www.kevynaucoin.com
Warning!
Scheduled Yahoo! GeoCities Maintenance
Friday 5/17/02 9PM PST (GMT-7)
GeoCities will be performing scheduled maintenance starting
Friday, May 17th, 2002 at 9:00 pm PST (GMT-7). Service will
be restored the morning of Sunday, May 19th, 2002.
Still Seeking Volunteers
'The Osbournes'
Recently updated.
Put up a page devoted to 'The Osbournes'
C'mon....send your thoughts, your impressions, your views, your favorite quotes...
Scroll down for lots of addys to pick from (or 'from which to pick', for the truly anal retentive).
