'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Jazz From Hills
TrimmedBush and Hedges
A Rush in the Making
There's a cat who's syndicated, a good gig for a writer, by the name of Rich Lowry. Rich was so bothered by a sci-fi-flick called "The Day After Tomorrow" that he devoted a twenty-two paragraph article on how this could never happen, and that scaring people like this was the work of liberals who had no concept of global warming.
OK, let's follow Rich's line of argument here. That means "Godzilla" (ooh, scary stuff), "The Planet of the Apes" that starred that famous leftie ... , and "Shrek 2", a movie most people realize is based on fantasy, must have all been part of Bill Clinton's plan to turn this ountry into a socialistic nation.
Mr. Lowry attacks Al Gore for giving it a "thumbs up," apparently because fat old Al liked the movie..Ooohhh, it get's scarier. There is an actor who looks like our current unelected Vice-President acting as the REAL Vice President in the movie. Now, that's some scary shit, if you ask me, because I think Cheney looks like the big ole asshole that he is.
Mr Lowry is of the ilk that think people are too stupid to separate fact from fiction. That would mean all Edgar Allen Poe novels should be burned, all the Beatles music talking about seeing a girl in the sky with diamonds, all of this type of imagination should be banned.
Why? Because imagination might just spark people to think about unreality. Unreality is a good thing, some of the time. Imagine if there were no religions, no politicians, no hate between peoples of the earth, no wars, no murders, no rapes or thieves.
I think Lowry really ought to write about something unreal in a positive way. He believes, as does Dick Cheney, that global warming is not a reality. Tell that to the climatologists that measure the shit on a daily basis. Ask Mr. Lowry if Chicago is sinking. It's a phenomenon because of the geological connections to Canada, which happens to be rising, but we're talking millimeters per year. Hey, believe science who can prove things with measurable data, or believe the Book of Revelations, written by some fantastic poets and prose authors regarding the end of the earth.
It's a no-brainer. This earth was never set up to exist for eternity, nor was this universe as we know it. If "The Day After Tomorrow" made Mr. Lowry go poopy-pants, I would take him to the men's room at the theater and try and flush him down to the sewer lines where his brain belongs. Please, God, don't let this guy get a talk show like Rush has.
--
Posted by phillip vincent to to TrimmedBush
Reader Review
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Last Friday I was one of the many people who went to see the third
installment in the Harry Potter series. I went to the 5pm showing, to catch
the cheap $6.50 price, as opposed to $9.50. The theatre was packed with
parents and kids, and teenage girls, for the most part. But I tried to tune
them out.
First things first, there's too many freaking commercials and previews
before a movie nowadays.
And now, onto the movie. Having been a fan of JK Rowling's work, and having
read the books many times over, I was hesitant watching the movie. One
always starts comparing the book and the movie, and in most cases that's
always bad (except possibly for Godfather and LOTR movies, but that's just
me). Overall, Alfonso Cuaron did an excellent job. The movie is the best
out of the 3. Much darker, although it has it's funny parts. They did their
best following the book, but of course it's hard to get all of the details
in.
A couple of things that I didn't quite like, the transition between scenes
seemed a bit weird. Also, there were 2 things in the movie, the Marauder's
Map and Buckbeek's execution, that didn't have any pre-story (it wasn't
explained who were the 4 men who put together the map, and there wasn't much
discussion on how the trial came about, Hermoine's help to Hagrid in
preparation).
As far as the actors go, this movie just rocks. Robbie Coltrane, Emma
Thompson, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Dame Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon to
name a few, are absolutely amazing. And the Harry Potter trio give their
best performance in this movie. While they grow as individuals, they are
also growing up as actors. Although, there weren't enough scenes with
Sirius and Snape (Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman), but anytime these 2 were
on-screen, it was amazing.
Overall, I would recommend this movie to anyone, whether a Harry Potter fan
or no, whether you've read the books or not. It's a great story, and an
exciting movie.
~ Alex
Thanks, Alex!
This Week by Mr. Hawk
Blackadder
This weeks Blackadder shows that Halliburton has been in business for a very
long time. Seems that Captain Blackadder has been having to make a meal out
of the messenger pigeons that keep flying in. The big flap come when he is
read the lastest message strapped to his entré. Seems the killing of
messenger pigeons is now a courtmartial offense (must be like trying to
get a rack of ribs on the front lines in Iraq).
This is made worse by
Blackadder finding out that the pigeon was a very special pet to General
Melchette.
How will Blackadder avoid the firing squad? Well, let's just say
Dubya knows how.
Dissent is not Terrorism
Freedom is not Legislated
Thanks, Mr. Hawk!
Reader Suggestion
Barnard College Commencement Address
Author and social commentator Barbara Ehrenreich, in a speech to the Class of 2004 at Barnard College on Tuesday, May 18, called for a "new kind of feminism" to counter the images of American female soldiers abusing and humiliating prisoners in Iraq.
Reader Suggestion
Reagan, The Younger
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Reader Comment
Re: Carson Kressley
I guess HE likes 'em STUPID
In THIS case...REALLY stupid!
"I wouldn't kick President Bush out of my bed."
--Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley
Thanks, Terry C!
Reader Suggestion
The Curse
Reader Comment
Re: Reagan Dime?
Reagan dime?
With all the rush to put Reagan on the dime, $10 bill etc. It would be a
fitting tribute to put Bonzo on the back....
Thanks, Peter S!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast burned off around noon, leaving a breezy, sunny day.
The kid has a commencement exercise at 9am. Gotta keep it early tonight.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, left. and actor Denzel Washington pose for photographers at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America annual President's dinner Wednesday, June 9, 2004 in New York.
Photo by Tina Fineberg
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Film Industry Gives Film Ovation
'Fahrenheit 9/11'
Director Michael Moore's controversial anti-Iraq war film "Fahrenheit 9/11" won a standing ovation on Tuesday night from an audience of film industry professionals attending its West Coast debut at Academy Award headquarters.
After an audience of more than 600 people in the theater of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences cheered, whistled and laughed their way through the two-hour film, they jumped to their feet to give Moore a standing ovation as he took the stage.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Moore predicted "Fahrenheit 9/11" will do three times as well as his Columbine movie, which earned a record amount for a documentary film, $21.5 million.
Moore told Reuters afterward that "Fahrenheit" would open in between 500 and 1,000 theaters on June 25, an amazingly high number for a documentary.
'Fahrenheit 9/11'
Documentary Delayed
'The Hunting of the President'
The death of former President Reagan has prompted a one-week delay for the release of a Bill Clinton documentary based on the best-seller "The Hunting of the President."
The movie had been scheduled for release Friday, but Regent Entertainment postponed it until June 18. The movie's red-carpet premiere in New York City also was put off from Wednesday to June 16.
That movie will premiere in Little Rock, Ark., on June 15 at a $100 per person benefit that will feature Whitewater figure Susan McDougal.
'The Hunting of the President'
Streamers burst over the newly renovated Hollywood Bowl shell and stage Wednesday, June 9, 2004, during a dedication ceremony in Los Angeles. The ceremony, christening the revitalized landmark, celebrated completion of the project to rebuild the stage and improve the acoustic shortfalls of the previous structure. It is the fourth renovation in the venue's history, originally constructed in 1929.
Photo by Nick Ut
Visits Jell-O Museum
Bill Cosby
When he was a boy, Bill Cosby especially liked the taste of lemon-flavored Jell-O that had been sitting in the fridge for two weeks.
"It was rubbery and chewy! Remember?" the 30-year Jell-O pitchman said Tuesday, causing giggles in the crowd gathered for his first trip to the small-town museum dedicated to the dessert.
The 7-year-old Jell-O museum, which draws close to 10,000 visitors a year, highlights Jell-O's versatility, marketing and enduring popularity - 13 boxes of "America's Most Famous Dessert" are sold every second in the United States.
One corner is devoted to Cosby, who is billed as "the longest-tenured spokesman for any brand in history."
Bill Cosby
Re-Naming John Wayne?
'The O.C.'
A politician in Southern California's Orange County has suggested that the community's John Wayne Airport might be a more appealing destination for travelers and a better emblem of the region if it had a name that traded on a popular TV show: "The O.C. Airport."
"The O.C.," a drama about the lives and loves of some oversexed teenagers in the affluent, conservative region south of Los Angeles, became a breakout hit for broadcaster Fox this season.
Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby raised the idea before his colleagues of changing the name of the airport on Tuesday night. Though Norby has no problem with the rugged actor Wayne, after whom the airport was renamed in 1979, a spokeswoman for him said he would like to capitalize on growing recognition for the county, thanks to the TV show.
'The O.C.'
Gives Papers to Vanderbilt
John Seigenthaler
John Seigenthaler has announced that he will donate his papers to Vanderbilt University Library's special collections department.
The papers contain letters, manuscripts and photographs spanning Seigenthaler's life, including from his 43 years at The Tennessean in Nashville, and his later tenure at USA Today. He will also donate materials from his recent work as chair of the panel that investigated former USA Today reporter Jack Kelley.
Seigenthaler, a native of Nashville, has been a strong advocate for the First Amendment. While he edited The Tennessean, it won a Pulitzer Prize for a story about corruption involving union and management in the coal industry.
The Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt currently houses the First Amendment Center, which he founded in 1991.
John Seigenthaler
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Turns 70
Donald Duck
Donald Duck, the cantankerous and often unlucky Disney legend feted his birthday at Disneyland Paris on Wednesday by dancing on stage under a shower of confetti as hundreds of park revelers sang "Happy Birthday To You."
Donald made his acting debut on June 9, 1934, in a Silly Symphony movie titled "The Wise Little Hen." Since then, the lovable yet fussy fowl has appeared in hundreds of films, from the educational "Donald Duck in Mathematics Land" to the 1942 cartoon "Donald Duck Drafted."
Donald Duck
Donatella Versace and Sir Elton John meet prior to his concert in Reggio Calabria, southern Italy, Wednesday, June 9, 2004. Elton John dedicated his concert in memory of Donatella's late brother Gianni Versace.
Photo by Adriana Sapone
Settles FCC Indecency Cases For Chump Change
Clear Channel
Clear Channel Communications Inc., the biggest owner of U.S. radio stations, plans to admit it aired indecent material and pay a record $1.75 million penalty to settle numerous complaints, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The Federal Communications Commission had already proposed three fines against the radio giant and was investigating 14 other incidents, the source said, declining further identification.
The agency also had numerous other complaints against Clear Channel radio stations that it had not yet acted upon but the agreement, which could be released as early as Wednesday, would "wipe the slate clean," the source said.
But analysts who track Clear Channel shrugged off the settlement, saying it represented less than one cent per share in earnings.
While the penalty is the largest ever negotiated by the FCC for such violations, it would be dwarfed by the $116.5 million Clear Channel earned in the first quarter of 2004.
Clear Channel
Steps Down
Don Hewitt
One Sunday afternoon in the late 1960s, Mike Wallace got a call from Don Hewitt, who wanted to come over to talk about his idea for a television newsmagazine that became "60 Minutes."
CBS feted the 81-year-old Hewitt on Tuesday night at a party in the new Mandarin Oriental hotel. He's just stepped down as executive producer of the newsmagazine he started.
Hewitt received the traditional retirement gift - a gold watch - but CBS was quick to emphasize that he'll still be working on special projects for the news divisions.
Don Hewitt
Wrestler/Financial Analyst/Nazi
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
CNBC has dumped professional wrestler John "Bradshaw" Layfield as a financial analyst after he was observed making Nazi gestures during a World Wrestling Entertainment match in Munich.
Layfield, who has written a book on personal finance, had been a CNBC contributor for only three weeks.
"We find his behavior to be offensive, inappropriate and not befitting anyone associated with our network," CNBC spokeswoman Amy Zelvin said Wednesday.
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Catchphrase Tops British Poll
Doh!
Homer Simpson's emphatic exclamation "Doh!" has topped a British poll of favorite TV comedy catchphrases, easily beating an array of home-grown classics.
The bumbling hero of American animated TV series "The Simpsons" -- who often accompanies his trademark saying with a slap to the forehead -- topped Nuts Magazine's poll with 34 percent of the vote.
Doh!
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Settles Case of Gardener and Butler
Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor has reached an out of court settlement with a former landscaper who claimed he had been fired for refusing the sexual advances of the actress' butler, court officials said on Wednesday.
Willem Van Muyden had claimed breach of contract and sex discrimination in a lawsuit filed a year ago, along with unspecified damages for being fired by Taylor without being paid $294,000 he said he was owed for 10 years of gardening work.
A Los Angles Superior Court clerk said lawyers for both sides told the judge before a trial-setting conference on Wednesday that they had reached a settlement and would be filing papers to dismiss the case.
Elizabeth Taylor
Tim Rinne, state coordinator for the Nebraskans for Peace, prepares to distribute 'Impeach Cheney' signs prior to a rally outside the Nebraska State Capitol Wednesday, June 9, 2004, in Lincoln. Cheney, who will visit Lincoln on June 18, deserves to be impeached, members of a statewide peace organization said at a Wednesday rally. Impeachment is warranted because of Cheney's 'pattern of deceit regarding the war in Iraq, suspect business dealings with Halliburton and stonewalling of Congress over the fossil fuel and nuclear industries' influence on our national energy policy,'' the organization said in a prepared statement.
Photo by Bill Wolf
Charged with Assault
Courtney Love
Singer-actress Courtney Love faces an assault charge stemming from an altercation with another woman at the home of her ex-boyfriend in April, prosecutors said on Wednesday, only two weeks after she pleaded guilty to a drug offense.
She is accused of assaulting a woman with a bottle and a metal flashlight on April 25 at the Los Angeles residence of onetime manager and boyfriend Jim Barber, the same home where Love was arrested last October by police who found her breaking windows in the middle of the night.
Courtney Love
Clash on Deal Extension
Disney & Miramax
Miramax, the quirky film company that virtually created the independent film movement, is having a very public spat with its corporate parents, The Walt Disney Co., about its future. Both sides are engaged in sticky talks over extending the contracts of Miramax's founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein.
Their current deal expires next year, but Disney has an option to extend the contract through 2009.
At issue, according to two people familiar with the talks, is Disney's desire to pay the brothers less money and to impose caps on exploding budgets at Miramax, which made its reputation on marketing small, inexpensive films such as "Shakespeare in Love" and "Life is Beautiful."
Disney & Miramax
Time Inc. Brings Back
Life Magazine
Time Inc. said on Wednesday it will bring back one of its most storied brands, Life, as a weekend magazine inserted into daily newspapers starting in October.
The reincarnated Life will appear in newspapers on Fridays, rather than Sundays, avoiding direct competition with its two main competitors, Parade and Gannett Co. Inc.'s USA Weekend.
Life Magazine
Magnolia Pictures Presents
'CONTROL ROOM'
A Film by Jehane Noujaim
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2004
Winner, Grand Jury Prize for Best Film, 2004 Full Frame Documentary Festival
Opening June 11th!
In the early days of the war in Iraq, Americans could turn on their
television sets 24 hours a day and take a front row seat with coalition
troops careening across the desert. We could follow the action live as
precision bombers brought Iraqi cities to their knees and American POWs
returned home as heroes. But as Americans witnessed U.S. victory at home, a
different story unfolded on TV sets throughout the Arab world. Qatar-based
Al Jazeera broadcast graphic images of Iraqi civilian casualties and
American POWs that were taboo in the American media, drawing intense fire
from U.S. administration officials. Since it first burst onto the American
radar screen after Sept. 11, the network has become almost as adept at
making news as it is in covering it.
In CONTROL ROOM, award-winning Arab-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim
(co-director of Startup.com) travels to the Qatar headquarters of Al Jazeera
during the onset of the Iraq war to present a complex and surprising
portrait. The reporters and editors at the news network speak frankly about
their views of journalistic integrity, world politics and humanitarian
responsibility.
Control Room in the Village Voice
For Showtimes Near You
May Have Been Burned
Amber Room
A Russian veteran said Wednesday he saw fragments of the legendary Amber Room in the closing days of World War II, suggesting one of the world's greatest missing art treasures burned at a German castle after it was seized by the victorious Red Army.
The assertions by Leonid Arinshtein, a literature expert with the non-governmental Russian Culture Foundation, echo a recently published book that claims the fabled chamber vanished in a fire after the German city of Koenigsburg fell to the Soviets.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Arinshtein, 79, recalled seeing fragments of amber decoration in the Koenigsburg Castle but said he realized it was part of the lost treasure only years later.
For the rest, Amber Room
Posts Paintings
Uninvited Artist
Paintings of resident George W. Bush and former president Bill Clinton, accompanied by messages referring to the artist's bodily fluids, mysteriously appeared last week on the walls of two major city museums and reportedly at two other museums in Philadelphia and Washington.
The 23-centimetre-by-38-centimetre work, done on a frameless canvas, was affixed to the wall with double-sided tape. A label taped next to the painting said it was made with "acrylic, legal tender and the artist's semen."
For more, Uninvited Artist
A farmer harvests lotus seeds at a pond on the outskirts of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, June 9, 2004. The booming economy has led to the urban-rural income gap to further widen in China.
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