'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
P.J. O'Rourke: "When Worlds Collide: The American past meets modern museum doctrine" (weeklystandard.com)
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago has a new permanent exhibit of savagery and barbarism, "The Ancient Americas." The ancient Americans themselves are not portrayed as savage or barbarous. (How surprising. Knock me over with a feather.) The savages and barbarians are the museum's curators. They plunder history, ravage archaeology, do violence to intelligence, and lay waste to wisdom, faith, and common sense.
Ronald Bailey: The Top Ten Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems (reason.com)
Where in the world can we do the most good? Supplying the micronutrients vitamin A and zinc to 80 percent of the 140 million children who lack them in developing countries is ranked as the highest priority by the expert panel at the Copenhagen Consensus 2008 Conference. The cost is $60 million per year, yielding benefits in health and cognitive development of over $1 billion.
How Britain's middle class was betrayed (guardian.co.uk)
Larry Elliott and Dan Atkinson reveal how a wealthy elite rewrote all the rules - and conned the middle class.
Greg Kot: Rock 'n' roll pioneer Bo Diddley dead at 79 (Chicago Tribune)
Bo Diddley, who died Monday at age 79 in Florida, was as essential to the creation of rock `n' roll as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Little Richard, though he seldom got the credit or the accolades that were showered on his better-known peers.
RJ Eskow: Bo Diddley Was a Gunslinger (huffingtonpost.com)
Bo Diddley was a living gateway between times and places. He brought African rhythms and African-American chants into the Top Forty. Together with Chuck Berry, he built rock and roll.
Dan Glaister: Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies, aged 79 (music.guardian.co.uk)
The rhythm and blues musician whose distinctive choppy rhythm shaped rock'n'roll has died at home in Florida of heart failure.
Kai Jones: Against the Grain: An Interview With Portishead (popmatters.com)
After ten years in the wilderness, Portishead have returned, and they're just as uncompromising, challenging, and vital as ever.
Erin Podolsky: Seattle indie band Death Cab for Cutie is now big business with No. 1 album (Detroit Free Press)
For long time followers of Death Cab for Cutie, the news was a pleasantly unexpected sock to the tender-hearted jaw, just as it was for singer Ben Gibbard. Two weeks ago, the Seattle quartet's sixth full-length album, "Narrow Stairs," entered the Billboard Top 200 at No. 1, putting the band in such company as Madonna, Mariah Carey and George Strait, just to name a few artists who held the top spot in the past few weeks. It's a milestone that cements the fact that Death Cab isn't a little indie band that could anymore - this is an indie band that can, did and does.
Glenn Gamboa: On her first album in four years, Ashanti has a new team of producers and a new fighting spirit (Newsday)
Ashanti is ready to fight. She's had a lot of training for it lately - going up against murderous crows and flesh-eating zombies in last year's hit movie "Resident Evil: Extinction"; going up against a music industry infrastructure that didn't support her last album, and, by association, going up against federal prosecutors who tried (and failed) to take down her label's chief executive and producer Irv Gotti, who was acquitted on all money laundering and racketeering charges.
Ben Wener: Iron Maiden's secret to success (The Orange County Register)
Singer Bruce Dickinson explains how the British metal gods still attract teenage metalheads by the tens of thousands.
Cole Smithey: Jack Black Kicks Kid's Humor from the Hip--Kung Fu Panda (Three Stars)
I once asked Jack Black what he liked to do in his spare time, to which he amiably replied in that instantly recognizable Jack Black way, "I likes to doodle." It's the kind of answer that wins you over for its irreverent sense of childish liberation. Mr. Black has made a career of refusing to grow up, and his infectious rebellion is enough to open the floodgates for audiences to follow their bliss.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Activism (athensnews.com)
Activists do good deeds by fighting back against such evils as sexual harassment. In New York City, 17-year-old LaTosha Belton hung up posters that declared, "Street Harassment is a Crime!" This didn't stop a group of guys from looking her over and shouting come-ons at her. She approached the guys, gave them a poster, and told them, "Read this." One guy responded, "What, I can't tell you, you look nice?" Ms. Belton pointed to the poster and told him, "What does this say? You are harassing me, and I don't like it."
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Secrets from Amber Ray
Does she know?
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast and cooler.
HBOs excellent miniseries 'John Adams' hits the stores this coming Tuesday (the 10th).
They sent me a free copy to review, so I've decided
decided that starting Friday (tomorrow), and continuing until Tuesday (the 10th) the trivia question of the day will be a contest and all the questions skewed to John Adams (in some way).
On Wednesday (the 11th) somebody will win the copy of 'John Adams' (haven't quite figured out the specifics yet).
It's a very nice set - 3 discs; the entire 7-part miniseries; two featurettes: The Making Of John Adams and David McCullough: Painting With Words; and an onscreen viewers guide.
If it hadn't been for HBOs Robert Wuhl: Assume The Position going to video we wouldn't have a trivia question of the day.
Speaks At UN
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd says she decided to lend her voice against human trafficking after she "stumbled upon" the issue while visiting brothels, slums, hospices and other clinics in 12 nations to promote public health.
"I know that the unheard are helped when they are heard. I know that compassionate listening helps me, and my goal was to help the U.N. help them," the actress said at a news conference Tuesday at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Judd, a two-time Golden Globe nominee whose screen credits include "De-Lovely" and "Kiss the Girls," also has used her celebrity to focus attention on HIV/AIDS prevention to young adults around the world. She has been serving as a global ambassador for YouthAIDS, an education and prevention program of the group Population Services International.
"I do think that all of the issues are fundamentally connected. They all spring out of gender inequality," she told reporters.
Ashley Judd
Appeasing Michelle Malkin
Rachael Ray
To Palestinian-American designer Nemi Jamal, the controversy surrounding a fringed black-and-white scarf worn by Rachael Ray in an ad for iced coffee is "just a disgrace."
Dunkin' Donuts pulled the ad last week after rightwing critics said the scarf worn by the television chef symbolized Muslim extremism and terrorism.
The traditional headdress became symbolic during the Palestinian uprising against the British occupation from 1936 to 1939, and has been a symbol of nationalism ever since, according to Rochelle Davis, an assistant professor of culture and society at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.
"While it has symbolism of solidarity with Palestine, it is not associated with terrorists and does not show that someone is sympathetic to terrorism," Davis said. "To say that is just incorrect."
Rachael Ray
Rare Performances Online
Marley & Hendrix
Vintage concert performances by such acts as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix will soon join the nearly 500 recordings already available for download purchase at the music and memorabilia site Wolfgang's Vault.
The additions were made possible through a deal between Universal Music Group (UMG) and Wolfgang's Vault founder Bill Sagan. The recordings include live performances by UMG artists culled from thousands of concerts produced by late promoter Bill Graham, along with gems from other catalogs and archives dating back decades.
If the concert is longer than 30 minutes, a full download is priced at $9.98, with concerts of less than 30 minutes at $5.98. Some one- or two-song performances cost $3.98. The site will continue to offer free streaming.
Marley & Hendrix
Victim Wants Case Closed
Roman Polanski
Oscar-winning movie director Roman Polanski should not have to serve time in prison for unlawfully having sex with a 13-year-old girl 30 years ago, the victim now says.
The French-Polish filmmaker fled the United States to France in 1978 before he was sentenced and Samantha Geimer, now 45 years old with three sons, said in an interview she wants the case resolved.
"I don't think he's a danger to society," said Geimer, who settled a confidential civil suit with Polanski more than 10 years ago. "I don't think he needs to be locked up forever and no one has ever come out ever besides me and accused him of anything."
"What happened that night, it's hard to believe, but it paled in comparison to what happened to me in the next year of my life," she said of the media frenzy surrounding the trial, adding that she was relieved when Polanski fled because the media attention died down.
Roman Polanski
Air America's Newest Hire
Ron Kuby
Ron Kuby, who lost his previous radio job to Don Imus, will return to the air Monday on the Air America Radio network.
Kuby will be on Air America from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, the network said Tuesday.
WABC dumped Kuby for Imus, who returned to radio last December. CBS Radio fired Imus in April 2007 for making offensive on-air remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team.
At WABC, the left-leaning Kuby had sparred with Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa since May 2000.
Ron Kuby
Cancels Tour
Yes
The classic rock band Yes has canceled its 40th anniversary tour following frontman Jon Anderson's severe asthma attack last month.
The 63-year-old singer, who's since been diagnosed with acute respiratory failure, was ordered by doctors last weekend to rest for at least six months "or suffer further health complications," it was announced Wednesday in a statement released by representatives for the band and Live Nation, which was presenting the tour.
The tour, called "Close to the Edge and Back," the band's first outing in four years, included concerts in Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Miami, Atlanta and Seattle. It was to close in Universal City, Calif., on Aug. 22.
Yes
Desk Sells At Auction
Charles Dickens
Christie's auction house says the writing desk and chair Charles Dickens used to write "Great Expectations" has sold for just over $850,000.
The buyer of the mahogany desk and walnut chair says he made his money in the tarot card psychic readings business.
The money raised at Wednesday's auction will go the Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London. Dickens was a close friend of the hospital's founder and spoke at its first fundraising dinner in 1858.
The furniture was passed down through the Dickens family and was recently donated to Great Ormond Street by Jeanne-Marie Dickens, the widow of Dickens' great-great grandson Christopher.
Charles Dickens
Fighting Foreclosure
Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon, who for decades appeared as Johnny Carson's sidekick on "The Tonight Show," is fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home, according to published reports.
The former "Star Search" host was $644,000 behind on payments on $4.8 million in mortgage loans when a unit of Countrywide Financial Corp. filed a default notice Feb. 28 with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office, The Wall Street Journal first reported late Tuesday.
McMahon, 85, has been a pitchman for the American Family Publishers' sweepstakes.
However, he has been unable to work as a pitchman for various products since he broke his neck 18 months ago, said his spokesman, Howard Bragman.
Ed McMahon
Pleads Guilty
Steve-O
Daredevil prankster Steve-O has pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine.
As part of Tuesday's plea deal, the case against Steve-O, whose real name is Stephen Glover, will be dismissed after he completes a drug rehabilitation program, his attorney Barry Gerald Sands said.
The co-star of MTV's "Jackass" was arrested for investigation of vandalism and drug possession at his Hollywood home March 3 following a dispute with a neighbor over a fence.
Steve-O
Unprofessional But Legal
'Faux and Friends'
A federal judge has thrown out a school superintendent's lawsuit against Fox News, saying the cable news channel acted unprofessionally but without malice when anchors on "Fox and Friends" reported a parody story about ham as fact last year.
The case was an outgrowth of an April 2007 prank in which a middle school student tossed a slab of leftover Easter ham onto a table surrounded by Somali Muslim youngsters, knowing the Muslims would be offended. Muslims consider pork unclean.
A few days later, a parody story spoofing the ham controversy was posted online. The story attributed numerous made-up quotes to Superintendent Leon Levesque, including the need to teach kids that "ham is not a toy" and references to developing an "anti-ham response plan." The joke story, written by freelancer Nicholas Plagman, falsely listed the Associated Press as the source of the information.
Among other things, the anchors had quoted Levesque as saying, "All our students should feel welcome in our schools, knowing that they are safe from attacks with ham, bacon, pork chops or any other delicious meat that comes from pigs."
The anchors also told viewers several times, "We are not making this up."
'Faux and Friends'
Police Recover 4 Paintings
Museum of Fine Arts
A French prosecutor says police have recovered four paintings stolen in August from a museum in southern France.
The prosecutor's office in Marseille announced the discovery Wednesday. It said about 10 people were arrested in southern France in the case.
One of the paintings is by Claude Monet and another is by fellow impressionist Alfred Sisley. Two are by Flemish master Jan Brueghel the Elder. The paintings were stolen from the Museum of Fine Arts in Nice by masked gunmen on Aug. 5.
Museum of Fine Arts
'The Mexico Option'
Euthanasia Tourists
Elderly foreign tourists are tapping Mexican pet shops for a drug used by veterinarians to put cats and dogs to sleep that has become the sedative of choice for euthanasia campaigners.
Tourists from as far as Australia have travelled to Mexico to buy liquid pentobarbital, which causes a painless death in humans in less than an hour, right-to-die advocates say.
Clutching photos of the bottled drug to overcome a lack of Spanish, they have maps sketched by euthanasia activists to locate back-street pet shops and veterinary supply stores near the U.S. border. There they can buy a bottle for $35 to $50, enough for one suicide, no questions asked.
Euthanasia campaigners call it "the Mexico option" and say they are willing to travel so far because pentobarbital is one of the few drugs that produces a reliable and tranquil death by sending a person to sleep before shutting down breathing.
Euthanasia Tourists
'Law & Order'
Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina has been charged with illegally having a gun in his luggage at Los Angeles International Airport.
The city attorney's office on Wednesday charged the "Law & Order" actor with three misdemeanor counts involving possession of a concealed and loaded weapon. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 2 1/2 years in jail and $3,000 in fines.
Farina was arrested three weeks ago when a .22-caliber handgun was found in his carry-on luggage. He publicly apologized and told police he forgot the weapon was there.
Dennis Farina
Knew Source Was Fake?
'Entertainment Tonight'
"Entertainment Tonight" aired a story about the birth of Angelina Jolie's twins despite being repeatedly told beforehand that the report was based on information from someone impersonating Jolie's assistant, according to documents and two people with knowledge of the exchange.
The celebrity newsmagazine denied Wednesday that it knew about an impostor before the broadcast. The identity of the impostor remained unknown.
"Entertainment Tonight" did not name its source at the time. It later revealed that the report was based on e-mails from someone it thought was Jolie assistant Holly Goline.
Shortly after the story was posted but several hours before the broadcast aired, Goline told "Entertainment Tonight" that she was not the person with whom they had been corresponding, a person with direct knowledge of the conversation told The Associated Press. That account was confirmed by another person close to Jolie.
'Entertainment Tonight'
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