Special Bonus!
Disinfotainment Today
By Michael Dare
'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Dick Armey Making Sense?
Quote of the Week
<> <> <> Quote of the Week <> <> <>
"They (Republicans) have had control for 10 years, they've gotten arrogant, they demean the institution, they demean democracy by virtue of the heavy-handed way they run the House, minority rights are downtrodden, and it's time, Mr. and Mrs. America, to make a change."
-Former GOP Leader Dick Armey, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22/03.
www.dccc.org
Thanks, Astro!
Reader Link
More Kinzua
"It's gone," Kinzua State Park Manager Barrett Clark told the Republican in describing the scene at the bridge. "Most of it is missing."
Clark said the center portion of the 301-foot high bridge fell "from east to west" and crashed in the Kinzua Creek below. Ironically, the only parts left standing are those sections where renovation work has been completed. The bridge sat atop 20 lattice-like iron towers resting on concrete bases. All but eight towers fell Monday. The eight towers remaining include four on both sides of the gorge spanned by the nation's second highest railroad bridge. The bridge, built more than 100 years ago, had been the fourth highest in the world.
Thanks, Marianne!
Reader Comment
Re: Movies Featuring WTC
My favorite movie featuring the WTC is "Trading Places" with Dan Ackroyd and
Eddie Murphy. The climactic OJ futures trading scene takes place in the WTC,
on the floor of the Commodities Exchange.
I own the tape of that movie, and it took me months following 9/11 before I
could bear to watch it again.
Ann D
Thanks, Ann!
Reader Comment
Re: Movies Featuring WTC
Don't forget that the studio flacks decided the WTC
had to be deleted from the New York skyline before
Spider-Man could be released.
Cheers,
--AP
Thanks, AP!
Selected Reading
that Mad Cat, JD
From BAGnews
Saint Colin of Washington
By Michael Shaw
Why Does Colin Powell's Cup Continue To Run Over While Everyone Else Around Him Ends Up Answering To Higher Authorities?
The saintly perception of Colin Powell involves two traits that ultimately contradict each other. One is deep personal integrity. The other is deep loyalty to those he serves. Given the devilish and diabolical actions of the teams he's played for, however, its miraculous how Powell manages to look like he's cut from different cloth.
Whether the issue is the suppression of the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, the sheparding and cover-up of the Iran Contra affair, America's support of ruthless African overlords, the bloody crusade against the Nicaraguan government, the avoidable ground war in Gulf War I, and now the "misleadership" scandal surrounding the selling of Gulf War II, Powell seems to maintain his choirboy's innocence.
Yea, though the Secretary of State walks through the valley of the shadow of scandal, he fears no evil because… nobody ever associates him with it. And it's not as if he's simply perceived as an innocent bystander in these unholy activities. It's as if—like a phantom or a ghost—he was never there!
Even in the midst of the current scandal, his station remains blessed. Commentators, bearing witness to Powell's supposedly reverent principles, believe he might even resign on moral terms! And while the President is chastised and called to account over 16 words in the State of the Union, Powell's almighty speech to the U.N.—one that was far more evangelical and soulless than the President's was—has been largely overlooked.
If one cannot bestow honor on Powell for being a "team player," one has to feel some reverence for Powell for being a great player. To the extent the public and the press have come to confuse demeanor with character and discretion with moderation, Powell is the angel who never falls
This article can be found at Saint Colin of Washington
For more Michael Shaw, BAGnews
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still soggily humid.
Bright & early the city decided to top trees & start replacing the curbs. Lots of extra noise & a whole new layer of dust, too.
Saturday, the e-page will be 2 years old.
Tonight, Thursday, CBS starts the night with a FRESH 'The Amazing Race 4', followed by a RERUN
'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation', then a RERUN 'Without A Trace'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Sylvester Stallone, British Open champion Ben Curtis, and Queens of the Stone Age.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are John Leguizamo and Jennie Finch.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN 'Friends', followed by a RERUN 'Scrubs', then a
RERUN 'Will & Grace', followed by a FRESH to NBC (a RERUN if you watch 'Bravo'),
'Queer Eye For The Straight Guy', then a RERUN 'ER'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Luke Wilson, Paige Davis, and Toby Keith.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Joaquin Phoenix, Scott Thompson, and Cheap Trick.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Angelina Jolie and Kenna.
ABC begins the evening with the movie 'Road Trip', followed by 'PrimeTime Thursday'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Danny Provenzano, Vincent Pastore, and Michelle Branch, with this week's guest co-host Lil' Max$o.
The WB offers the movie 'Fear'.
Faux has a FRESH 'Keen Eddie', followed by 'The Pulse'.
UPN kills the night with 'WWE Smackdown!'.
A&E has 'Biography' (Ron Howard), followed by 'Columbo: Grand Deception'.
AMC offers the movie 'Tora! Tora! Tora!', followed by the movie 'The Hunter', and then the movie 'Young Guns'.
BBC -
[7pm] 'Ground Force' - Locklease;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - West Norwood;
[8pm] 'House Invaders' - Rhyl;
[8:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Newcastle U. Lime;
[9pm] 'Faking It' - Show Girl to Show Jumper;
[10pm] 'Faking It' - Lady Lisa;
[11pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Dollywood;
[12am] 'Faking It' - Show Girl to Show Jumper;
[1am] 'Faking It' - Lady Lisa;
[2am] 'House Invaders' - Rhyl;
[2:30am] 'House Invaders' - Newcastle U. Lime; and
[3am] 'So Graham Norton' - Dollywood. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has the movie 'The Package', followed by 'Queer Eye For The Straight Guy', then the movie 'The Package'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Joseph Wilson.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'History Of The Beach: The Turning Tides Of History', and more 'Modern Marvels'.
SciFi has the movie 'Encrypt', followed by the movie 'Fortress 2: Re-Entry'.
TCM celebrates men-kicking-ass all day & Jean Harlow all night.
[6am] 'Secret Service' (1931);
[7:15am] 'Suicide Fleet' (1931);
[8:45am] 'Roar Of The Dragon' (1932);
[10am] 'Captured' (1933);
[11:15am] 'Ace Of Aces' (1933);
[12:45pm] 'Hell Below' (1933);
[2:30pm] 'Men Must Fight' (1933);
[3:45pm] 'The Dawn Patrol' (1938);
[5:30pm] 'Sons Of The Sea' (1939);
[7:15pm] 'The Battle of San Pietro' (1945);
[8pm] 'The Girl From Missouri' (1934);
[9:15pm] 'Bombshell' (1933);
[11pm] 'Red Headed Woman' (1932);
[12:30am] 'Personal Property' (1937);
[2am] 'Hold Your Man' (1933);
[3:30am] 'Reckless' (1935); and
[5:30am] 'MGM Parade Show #17' (1955). (ALL TIMES EDT)
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, from left to right, Paul Carrack, Colin Hay, Ringo Starr, Sheila E., Mark Rivera and John Waite, pose during a press conference to launch their tour at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ontario, Wednesday, July 23, 2003.
Photo by Frank Gunn
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Concerts For Kucinich
Willie Nelson
Country music troubadour Willie Nelson will strum guitar and sing for Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich at benefit concerts in Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Venues and supporting performers haven't been chosen, but the first concert will be Labor Day in Des Moines, Iowa, campaign spokesman Jeff Cohen announced Wednesday. Two other shows are tentatively scheduled for early September in Kucinich's hometown of Cleveland and in Madison, Wis.
The Iowa concert, honoring workers and farmers, is to follow Nelson's two regularly scheduled performances in the state Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.
Willie Nelson
Sued for Age Discrimination
Oldies Station
A Denver radio personality, who has worked at several local stations
since 1964, is now suing one of his former employers for age
discrimination. Sixty-three-year-old Harold "Hal" Moore claims station
owner Infinity Radio let him go with no warning last year just one year
into a five-year contract with oldies station "Kool 105," or KXKL-FM.
Moore is trying to get not only his job back, but lost wages,
unspecified damages and benefits. He claims he was told he didn't have
the right "chemistry" for the target audience of 25- to 54-year-olds.
The lawsuit alleges the station hired a 48-year-old man to replace him.
Oldies Station
Thanks, Tim H!
Together Again
Cheech & Chong
Think the Cheech & Chong film franchise ended with 1984's "Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers?" Think again.
The comedy duo is reuniting after 20 years for a new feature set up at New Line Cinema that will catch up with Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong's wacky stoner personas in the present day.
The untitled project is in the early stages of development at New Line. Marin and Chong already have worked out a story line and will pen the script along with an additional writer to be recruited by New Line. Robbi Chong, one of Chong's daughters, will serve as a producer on the project.
Marin said that they are even considering doing a live performance to promote the movie, which is expected to shoot next year during Marin's hiatus from "The Ortegas."
Cheech & Chong
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Auction
Playboy
Manuscripts by James Bond author Ian Fleming and Beat poet Jack Kerouac, along with a vintage 1960s Bunny costume highlight the "Playboy at 50" collection to be auctioned at Christie's, the auction house said on Wednesday.
Photography, memorabilia, art from contributors such as LeRoy Neiman, Alberto Vargas and Gahan Wilson and a custom Mercedes limousine that belonged to publisher and founder Hugh Hefner will be included in the Dec. 17 sale, held in conjunction with Playboy magazine's 50th anniversary.
Advanced proofs of sections from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," published in Playboy in 1963, with notations by the author, were estimated to fetch $18,000 to $24,000.
Other items to be auctioned include works by Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, Vladimir Nabokov, Jean Paul Sartre and Hunter S. Thompson and letters from actress Joan Crawford.
Photos of original Playboy cover girl Marilyn Monroe from 1960 also are included in the collection.
Playboy
Wants to Own N.Y. NBA Team
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs wants to purchase the New York Knicks.
The hip-hop/fashion mogul and devout fan of Gotham's National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise proclaimed his interest during an appearance Tuesday on Howard Stern's syndicated morning radio show.
"I think I could do a good job," Combs said, admitting that his efforts to engage in talks with the team's current ownership have to this point been fruitless. "I'm publicly puttin' it out there, because they're not taking my calls.
"I think some new blood up in there... I'm not saying let's get rid of the owners, I'm saying put me down. Put me in the game... Because it's not going down right now."
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs
Backs Davis in Recall
Rob Reiner
Democratic activist and film director Rob Reiner said on Tuesday that he would not enter the race for California governor on a recall ballot this fall, labeling the Republican-led recall petition drive "bad for democracy."
Reiner, who heads a state commission on early childhood development, made the comments shortly after announcing his agency's approval of a $100 million grant intended to propagate free preschool programs for every California child.
The universal preschool program consumed years of Reiner's political life and he planned to spend the day in Sacramento and the San Francisco suburb of San Mateo talking up the program.
He expressed support for Davis and predicted the unpopular governor could hang onto his seat as long as Republican voters, who likely will turn out strongly for a recall ballot, were split between at least two candidates.
Rob Reiner
House Moves
FCC Rules
House lawmakers voted Wednesday to block a new regulation that would allow individual companies to buy up television stations reaching nearly half the nation's viewers.
The provision, included in a spending bill approved 400-21, would roll back part of a Federal Communications Commission decision overhauling decades-old restrictions governing ownership of newspapers and television and radio stations. That June 2 ruling by the Republican-dominated FCC was a victory for media companies who sought relaxed rules.
"It's extremely rare to be able to reverse a regulatory decision that gives away the store to the big boys," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chief sponsor of the provision to derail the FCC change.
Top Republicans are hoping that, with leverage from the threat of a first-ever veto by resident Bush, the final House-Senate compromise bill later this year will drop the provision.
FCC Rules
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Chicago Police Apologize
Ice Cube
The Chicago Police Department has apologized for issuing a community alert that described a man suspected in a series of sexual assaults as resembling hip-hop artist and actor Ice Cube after a local television station aired one of the rapper's videos during its evening newscast.
A police alert released Sunday described the man as a black male in his mid-20s who "resembles the popular rap artist 'Ice Cube.'"
The Chicago TV station owned and operated by CBS, WBBM-TV, subsequently broadcast one of Ice Cube's videos when it reported the story Monday night.
Elizabeth Shapiro, communications director for Channel 2, acknowledged that the station used the video.
"Chicago police had issued a community alert saying a suspect in a string of crimes in Wicker Park resembled rap artist Ice Cube," she said. "So our information was taken directly from the Chicago Police Department community alert."
Ice Cube
A Hindu with his body pierced by sharp objects marches in a religious celebration in the southern Indian city of Madras, July 23, 2003. The celebration is held to commemorate the birth of the Hindu god Murugan, the son of Lord Shiva. Devotees subject themselves to painful rituals during the festival, in a demonstration of faith and penance.
Photo by Lanantha Krishan
Awards Given
Medal of Freedom
Charlton Heston, the Academy Award-winning actor who headed the National Rifle Association and now has Alzheimer's, was awarded the Medal of Freedom on Wednesday by resident Bush.
An eclectic group received the nation's highest civilian award, including master chef Julia Child, whose television show brought gourmet cooking into millions of American homes, and the late Dave Thomas, the Wendy's hamburger magnate and philanthropist.
Others included nuclear bomb pioneer Edward Teller, concert pianist Van Cliburn, former Czech Republic president and playwright Vaclav Havel, former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, the late Hall of Fame baseball player Roberto Clemente and the late Supreme Court justice Byron White.
Still others were influential writer and historian Jacques Barzun and social commentator James Q. Wilson.
Medal of Freedom
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
To Mark Korean War
Ed McMahon
He is best known for his trademark "Heeeeeeere's Johnny," but long before he became famous as Johnny Carson's sidekick, Ed McMahon was a decorated fighter pilot during the Korean War.
This weekend, the television announcer, host, actor and pitchman will join thousands of other veterans in Washington marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the fighting.
McMahon was sent to Korea in 1953. He flew 85 combat missions as a Marine Corps pilot and was awarded the Air Medal for his service.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended with the armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the Koreas divided and technically in a state of war. More than 36,000 Americans were killed in the war.
Ed McMahon
50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee
The University of Missouri-Rolla solar-powered car crosses the finish line to win the American Solar Challenge as Robert Mitchell, left, dean of engineering at Missouri, waves the checkered flag Wednesday, July 23, 2003, at the end of the solar car race from Chicago to Claremont, Calif.
Photo by Damian Dovarganes
Verdict Dismissal Affirmed
'Jenny Jones'
The Michigan Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a lower-court decision that threw out a $29.3 million award against "The Jenny Jones Show" following the murder of a guest.
The lawsuit stemmed from the 1995 slaying of Scott Amedure, who was shot to death by Jonathan Schmitz three days after Amedure revealed an attraction to Schmitz during a taping of the show in Chicago. The show never aired.
'Jenny Jones'
Writes Picture Book
Jay Leno
Jay Leno, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show," said Tuesday he's written a picture book, "If Roast Beef Could Fly," based on a family cookout in which mischief led to a ruined rotisserie of meat.
"I was a little kid and I was fascinated by the roast beef going around the spit," Leno said. "So I took out my little plastic comb and stuck it in the meat. At one point the comb caught on the string used to tie the roast beef. So I went, `Oh, oh,' and I didn't want to break the motor. So I said, `OK,' and I walked away."
"When my dad brought the roast beef out, he started to cut it and then — clunk! — a big piece of plastic fell off and the meat was pink underneath," Leno said. "Of course everybody was — `Eww!' — sickened by this, and my dad started yelling in Italian, picked up the roast beef and threw it out the window."
Jay Leno
Polar Bear Turns Purple
Pelusa
A female polar bear at a zoo has turned purple after she was given a special treatment for a dermatological problem.
The bear, named Pelusa, was given the treatment for a skin infection and had to be separated from her mate, Arturo.
After a few days Pelusa will go back to her normal cream color and rejoin Arturo in the main polar bear enclosure at Mendoza City Zoo, 700 miles west of the capital, Buenos Aires.
Pelusa
A polar bear named Josefa reaches for fish in a new swimming pool at the Buenos Aires Zoo, July 21, 2003. Today was the first day of winter vacation for school children in Argentina and hundreds gathered to watch the bear.
Photo by Marcos Brindicci
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
The Ark Group discovers a final member from the last expedition in a place dominated by Murphy's Law.
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 5
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
