'Best of TBH Politoons'
TODAY
Erin Hart
Please join Erin Hart when she fills in for Jay Marvin on AM760 Progressive Talk,
today, Thursday, June 21st, from 6am - 10am mdt (8am - noon edt / 7am - 11am cdt / 5am-9am pdt).
Where is America? Where are we? Where are you?
The Erin Hart Show
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Dege Legg: Slipping Through the Cracks, A week of days and nights on the streets with Lafayette's homeless (theind.com)
You step onto the pavement of Highway 90 with $10 in your pocket. Backpack stuffed with one change of clothes. The wind howls a strange song in your ears, and immediately you are engulfed by a thunderous racket of enormous trucks. A siren in the distance. The trapeze nets of the power lines above you. Passing motorists occasionally yell insults.
Annalee Newitz: Megacorp Columbia Forces Frightening Legal Precedent
With a new lawsuit against file sharers, megacorp Columbia is attempting to do nothing short of changing the way evidence is gathered via the legal discovery process.
Chris Potter : GLBT Progress is Bright Spot in a Dismal Era (pittsburghcitypaper.ws)
If there's an upside to the mess we're in, it's this: We no longer have the luxury of indulging in our petty hatreds as if they were all that mattered.
Kevin Osborne: Cover Story: Fun with Gays and Lesbians (citybeat.com)
The closet couldn't possibly hold all this activity.
Lew Moores: Creation Museum Tells a Whopper of a Tale (citybeat.com)
The newly opened museum in Northern Kentucky offers exhibits that back a literal interpretation of Genesis and the Old Testament: the Earth is 6,000 years old; dinosaurs and humans lived together; and American society's rejection of such beliefs has led to abortion, pornography and homosexuality.
RICHARD ROEPER: Fox's slant on Moore enough to make you ill (suntimes.com)
Michael Moore doesn't make documentaries. He is a performance artist, working in the medium of nonfiction film.
J.R. Jones: You Know the Type (chicagoreader.com)
But do you know the social history behind the ubiquitous Helvetica?
Serene Dominic: 40 'Sgt. Pepper'-credited Innovations Exposed! (metrotimes.com/)
Many of Sgt. Pepper's accepted innovations are now known to come from somewhere else.
RICHARD ROEPER: C-list star sets table for Grade-A poker match (suntimes.com)
Actress Shannon Elizabeth was about 30 -- which is 45 in Hollywood years -- when she appeared in "Love, Actually," the 2003 classic starring Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, among many others.
Liz Spikol: Age Marks the Spot (philadelphiaweekly.com)
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, yon twentysomethings.
Reader Comment
Patron Saint of Computers
Marty,
Read about your problems with computers and you
mentioned using an old Saint Jude medallion to help
with your box. Well, in keeping with the times, the
Catholic Church brings you Saint Isadore, the patron
saint of computers:
Apparently he was good at keeping books and the Church
warped that into working with databases. Who knew?
And, for those who've not much to do, you can peruse
the complete listing of saints and their specialites.
Saint Elmo has a mixed bag to work with: explosive
workers and women in labor. Who says the Catholic
Church has no sense of humor. Again, who knew?
Mick
Thanks, Mick!
I'm also partial to St. Fiacre,
patron saint of gardeners and hemmorhoid sufferers.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Pleasant on the coast - hellish inland.
London Concert
Peace One Day
Stars such as Annie Lennox, Corinne Bailey Rae and James Morrison are to headline a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall calling for global peace.
The Peace One Day gig will take place on September 21 and will see David Beckham and Jude Law record special video messages for the event.
Former Eurythmics star Lennox, who will make her first public appearance of the year at the event, said: "Something that is of common interest to every man, woman or child on the planet must surely be the notion of peace. Without peace we cannot survive.
Supporters of the project include Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Pop Idol mogul Simon Fuller and Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson.
Peace One Day
Visits Africa
Lucy Liu
Unicef ambassador Lucy Liu has recently returned from a visit to the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
During her visit Liu met children who were formerly associated with armed-groups, survivors of sexual violence and communities of displaced people who have abandoned their homes to avoid the violence in the region.
The 38-year-old actress said: "I have to say that going on these trips I have seen so many beautiful people who give their entire lives to what they do so I would hand [any acclaim she receives] over to them."
Lucy Liu
VH1 & 'Save The Music'
Clintons
Former President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, will join Mariah Carey and others as honorees at the VH1 Save The Music Foundation's 10th-anniversary gala in September.
The Clintons have been active in past Save The Music campaigns. In 1998, then-President Clinton donated his saxophone to the foundation; the instrument went to a student musician.
The event is set for Sept. 20 at Lincoln Center in New York City. Performers will include Roger Waters, Jon Bon Jovi and John Mayer.
Clintons
The Detainees Speak
Poems From Guantanamo
Poems written by Guantanamo prisoners about their lives as captives of the United States have been compiled in a book that will be published this summer with an endorsement from a former U.S. poet laureate.
"Poems From Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak" is being published by the University of Iowa Press and will hit the shelves by August, the publisher said. The 84-page volume was assembled by lawyers representing captives held as suspected terrorists at the much-criticized U.S. Navy base in Cuba.
Marc Falkoff, an assistant law professor at Northern Illinois University who has represented 17 Yemeni prisoners at Guantanamo, compiled the poems. He said most expressed religious faith, nostalgia for childhood homes or yearning for family.
Robert Pinsky, U.S. poet laureate from 1997 to 2000, wrote a blurb for the cover, saying the prisoners' voices deserved attention, although not necessarily admiration.
Poems From Guantanamo
Rare L.A. Residency
Prince
Beginning this Saturday (June 23), Prince will perform seven shows he has dubbed the "3121 Sessions" at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's 200-seat Blossom Room.
Prince is expected to preview new material from his forthcoming album, Planet Earth, and invite special guests onstage to perform with him. Previous guests have included Elton John, Maroon 5, and Will.I.Am.
The evening will also include dinner in the hotel's Dakota restaurant prepared by Prince's personal chef. It will continue with Prince's two-hour performance, and conclude with a late-night jazz set featuring Prince and a jazz band.
A limited number of tickets will be sold at $3,121 per couple for VIP packages, and $312.10 for standing-room only tickets.
Prince
Gets His Own Action Figure
Stan Lee
Comic-book fans already know Stan Lee is a Marvel legend. Now Hasbro is making it official.
The company will pay plastic tribute to the 84-year-old creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, X-Men, Fantastic Four and other comic-book heroes by interpreting him as a 6-inch tall Marvel Legends action figure. The toy shows Lee's likeness wearing khaki pants, a blue windbreaker and eyeglasses.
The limited-edition, $14.99 toy will be introduced next month in San Diego at Comic-Con International, the annual comic-book convention.
Stan Lee
Back On La Scala Program
`Candide'
La Scala opera house has lifted its cancellation of a production of "Candide" that included a scene in which actors depicting resident Bush and other world leaders danced in their underwear.
Director Robert Carsen said there would be some modifications to the production, which was to open Wednesday night, but that the underwear scene would remain. He denied that censorship or political pressure played any role in the changes.
"I wouldn't be here now if there had been any pressure because that would be against the spirit of freedom in this opera," Carsen said, according to the news agency ANSA.
He said other changes were made to the show to conform with La Scala's musical tradition. Some of the choreography and dialogue - including a joke about pedophile priests - was cut along with two musical numbers to shorten the show because it was too long for La Scala.
`Candide'
Headed For Court?
TMZ.com
Lawyers for the family of Ron Goldman and a bankruptcy trustee say celebrity gossip Internet site TMZ.com should be held in contempt for posting a manuscript of O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" book.
The website and its lawyer contend the company did nothing wrong and that the manuscript was only posted briefly, though excerpts remained on the website Wednesday afternoon.
At an emergency hearing Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol said he would schedule a hearing later on whether to hold TMZ in contempt and suggested that the company - a joint venture between America Online Inc. and a Time Warner Co. subsidiary - could eventually be held financially liable for any violation.
Last week, Cristol ruled in favour of the Goldman family, which wants to rewrite the book and put it out under the title "Confessions of a Double Murderer." He ordered all copies of the manuscript and related materials turned over to a court-appointed trustee, partly to satisfy Simpson's debt to the Goldmans.
TMZ.com
Defends Fake Autobiography
Laura Albert
The woman who penned an "autobiography" under the pseudonym JT LeRoy testified Wednesday that the tale of life as a truck-stop prostitute was not real - but that does not mean it was a hoax.
San Francisco writer Laura Albert, the defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by a producer who bought the film rights to her book "Sarah," testified the boy in her book was as real to her as her own son. She told the court that she began assuming male identities after a childhood where she was sexually abused by men since age three.
The writer took the stand one day after Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, president of Antidote International Films, testified that he sued Albert because she defrauded him by selling the screen rights to an autobiographical novel that was actually fiction.
Levy-Hinte said he did not learn JT LeRoy was imaginary until reading articles about the case in early 2006 - six years after the book was published. He seeks US$110,000 along with attorney costs and other unspecified damages.
Laura Albert
Church Reverses
Kennedy Annulment
The Vatican reversed the annulment of former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II's first marriage, a union that had lasted 12 years and produced two sons.
Sheila Rauch on Wednesday confirmed a report on Time magazine's Web site that her appeal of the annulment to Rome has succeeded.
Rauch had sharply criticized the Catholic church for annulling her marriage, alleging in a 1997 book that the Kennedy family's influence in the church had made it possible.
Rauch said she was told of the Vatican's decision to reverse the annulment by officials from the Boston Archdiocese in May, although the decision was actually reached in 2005.
Kennedy Annulment
Identity Theft Victim
Herman Munster
Crooks in an underground chat room for selling stolen credit card numbers and personal consumer information offered pilfered data purportedly about Herman Munster, the 1960s Frankenstein-like character from "The Munsters" TV sitcom.
The thieves apparently didn't realize Munster was a fictional TV character and dutifully offered to sell Munster's personal details - accurately listing his home address from the television series as 1313 Mocking Bird Lane - and what appeared to be his MasterCard number. Munster's birth date was listed as Aug. 15, 1964, suspiciously close to the TV series' original air date in September 1964.
CardCops Inc., the Malibu, Calif., Internet security company that quietly recorded details of the illicit but wayward transaction, surmised that a Munsters fan knowledgeable about the show deliberately provided the bogus data.
Herman Munster
Japan Changes Name
Iwo Jima
Japan has changed the name of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, site of the famous World War II battle, to its original name of Iwo To after residents there were prodded into action by two recent Clint Eastwood movies.
The new name in Japanese looks and means the same as Iwo Jima - or Sulfur Island - but sounds different, the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute said.
The institute announced the name change Monday after discussing the issue with Japan's coast guard. An official map with the new name will be released Sept. 1.
Iwo Jima
Smuggling Racket Uncovered
Human Bones
Indian police have discovered a stash of hundreds of human skulls and thigh bones and arrested a gang for allegedly smuggling them to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for use in Buddhist monasteries.
"During interrogation they confessed that the hollow human thigh bones were in great demand in monasteries and were used as blow-horns, and the skulls as vessels to drink from at religious ceremonies," investigating officer Ravinder Nalwa said Tuesday.
It was the second cache of bones found in eastern India since April and police now believe the region could be the center of a much broader trade in human bones. They suspect some bones may even have ended up as far away as Thailand and Japan.
Both caches of bones appear to have originated in Varanasi, a Hindu holy city in northern India where millions of people are cremated every year on the banks of the Ganges.
Human Bones
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-Time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 11-17. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (28) "America's Got Talent," NBC, 11.82 million viewers.
2. (41) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Thursday), Fox, 10.64 million viewers.
3. (31) "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader," Fox, 9.97 million viewers.
4. (X) "NBA Finals Game 4," ABC, 9.91 million viewers.
5. (18) "NCIS," CBS, 9.79 million viewers.
6. (5) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 9.63 million viewers.
7. (X) "NBA Finals Game 3," ABC, 9.49 million viewers.
8. (18) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 9.38 million viewers.
9. (11) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 9.28 million viewers.
10. (21) "Cold Case," CBS, 9.03 million viewers.
11. (55) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Wednesday), Fox, 8.94 million viewers.
12. (69) "Hell's Kitchen," Fox, 8.85 million viewers.
13. (33) "Law and Order: SVU," NBC, 8.8 million viewers.
14. (18) "Without a Trace," CBS, 8.59 million viewers.
15. (25) "Shark," CBS, 8.46 million viewers.
16. (X) "The Price Is Right Prime," (Friday) CBS, 8.42 million viewers.
17. (X) "Daytime Emmy Awards," CBS, 8.33 million viewers.
18. (22) "CSI: NY," CBS, 8.01 million viewers.
19. (X) "Deal Or No Deal" (Wednesday), NBC, 7.98 million viewers.
20. (91) "Dateline NBC" (Monday), NBC, 7.41 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Ed Friendly
Veteran TV executive Ed Friendly, co-creator of the 1960s comic sensation "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and producer of the frontier family drama "Little House on the Prairie," has died, his publicist said on Tuesday.
Friendly, who was 85, died at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California, near San Diego, on Sunday after a yearlong battle with cancer, said spokesman Warren Cowan.
A New York native who worked at all three of the major broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- early in his career, he moved to California in 1967 to form his own company, Ed Friendly Productions, which launched his two best-known projects.
He was co-creator and executive producer, with George Schlatter, of the landmark sketch comedy show "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," which became an overnight hit when it debuted in 1968 and ran until 1973 on NBC.
A year after "Laugh-In" ended its run, Friendly scored another NBC success with "Little House on the Prairie," which starred Michael Landon, formerly of "Bonanza," as the father of a frontier family.
Ed Friendly
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