'Best of TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Jazz From Hills
Trimmed Bush and Hedges
BBC America Tonight
'The Young Ones'
This weeks episode on the beeb find our lads trying to bury something in a graveyard. The priest( played so drunkenly by Terry Jones) and the gravediggers suspect something may not be kosher in this. So the lads sit down to relate the tale.
Seems they borrowed a video machine from Harry the bastard. The plane is to stay up allll nightand watch video nasties. First come Vyv's fav, sex with the Headless Corpse and the Virgin Astronaut.
The only problem is that the machine doesn't work since Vyv poured dishwashing liquid in it to clean it.
Suddenly a knock comes at the door. Actually an explosion, and suprise, surprise somebody has left a very large box at their door.Neil come in to complain as someone has boarded up his bedroom, but he found this very nice little blue dress in Ricks room. After a few go arounds they find out the box is a vampire from the Transval. Well the bloodsucker chases them around until they finally get him into a convient coffin. We now flash back to the cemetary where the box pops open and "Its Harry the Bastard" and they boys owe him rental on the video.
On Labor Day one of your readers gave a very good list of Labor Day films, I would like to add one to it. "Bound for Glory" the story of Woody Guthrie, a real working class hero.
~ Mr. Hawk
Kerry/Edwards
At stake is our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor
Thanks, Mr. Hawk!
Woody Guthrie is one of my heroes, too.
Reader Comment
Michelle V
Reader Question
Re: Ken Jennings
Hey Marty -
Are Ken Jennings days over on 'Jeopardy'?
That's what AOL News is reporting.
Marian
Thanks, Marian!
They're just re-reporting this story from kotke.org (shame they give no credit).
Warning: big spoilers, but it has been corroborated by more than one source.
If you want to peek, take the link.
Weekly Link
Humor Gazette
Fresh satire from the Humor Gazette
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
Reader Suggestion
Franz Ferdinand
Hi Marty!
Here's a link to a Yahoo article about the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand winning the prestigious Mercury Music Award, which is awarded to the most artistic and innovative British or Irish band.
My daughter first learned of this group through the message boards of Scottish actor, Sean Biggerstaff, who played the character Oliver Wood in the first 2 Harry Potter movies.
She bought their CD and had me listen to it. Their music is catchy without being sappy and the tunes stick in your head for days.
I highly recommend their self-titled album to anyone who's tired of all this so-called pop music that's flooding the airwaves nowadays.
Pam
Thanks, Pam!
There's a picture of Franz Ferdinand with Sharon Osbourne if you scroll down the page a bit.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast & humid.
Got a note from Michael Dare - he's been driving a porcelain bus, so this week's issue of
Disinfotainment Today is running late - or maybe postponed til next week.
Author Stephen King, left, shares the stage with Maine Gov. John Baldacci before the arrival of Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards at a campaign rally at the University of Maine, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004, in Orono, Maine. King described the Bush administration as the 'most dangerous and unpleaseant bunch' to occupy the White House since the Nixon years.
Photo by Robert F. Bukaty
Fetches High Prices
Rare Album
Rare vinyl copies of the Electras' lone 1961 recording are fetching prices north of $2,000, even though the band tended to stray from the beat. Two separate CD versions of that same recording are being sold after some "Behind The Music"-style intra-band squabbling.
Of course, it's not musical chops that has renewed interest in this obscure garage rock recording; it's the bassist: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
The Electras were formed in the fall of 1960 at St. Paul's School, a tony private boarding school in Concord, N.H. The band was named for a cool looking Buick - not the Greek mythological character - and they played pre-Beatles standards by Eddie Cochran and the Ventures at local school dances.
The songs tend to sound like surf music with an overlay of boogie-woogie piano. Most tracks are instrumentals. Careful listeners can pick out the steady thump of Kerry's bass - nothing fancy, though the liner notes credit him as the "producer of a pulsating rhythm." (The same notes also call the diplomat's son a resident of Oslo, Norway.)
For a lot more, Rare Album
www.electrasrockandrollband.com
www.johnkerryandtheelectras.com
www.kerryrocks.com
To Go Public With Negative Research
Science Journals
Editors at 11 international science journals have imposed a new policy that will result in the public release of negative medical research that pharmaceutical companies often prefer to hide.
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors will require, as a condition for publication, that researchers register their studies in a public repository before undertaking clinical trials on volunteers.
The committee includes editors from the US-based New England Journal of Medicine, the Medical Journal of Australia and Britain's The Lancet, among others.
The policy was prompted by the tendency among pharmaceutical companies to hide negative research. A recent example was a non-published study on anti-depressants that could aggravate suicidal tendencies among adolescents.
Science Journals
Sharon Osbourne, center, presents Scottish band Franz Ferdinand with the award for Band of the Year during the 7th annual GQ Men Of The Year Awards at the Royal Opera House in London, Tuesday, Sept. 7 2004.
Photo by Ian West
Trail Leads to IFC
'Greg the Bunny'
"Greg the Bunny" is hopping back to television.
The puppet protagonist of the short-lived Fox sitcom will next year return to cable channel IFC -- where he was first discovered hosting a movie showcase in 2001 -- for a half-hour special that also is under series consideration. Also appearing in the program are former "Greg" co-stars Seth Green and Sarah Silverman.
"Greg" ran for seven episodes on Fox in 2002 before being canceled. That history is actually incorporated into the special, which finds a humiliated Greg reluctantly reuniting with fellow "fabricated Americans" Warren the Ape and Count Blah in Las Vegas. Also appearing in the special are Adam Goldberg, Lou Ferrigno and Jon Favreau, host of IFC's "Dinner for Five."
'Greg the Bunny'
Public Service Ads
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore wants to give children more time for their imaginations - and she's doing it one watch at a time.
The 43-year-old actress will appear in a public service campaign bearing the slogan, "Time is Precious: Use it Wisely," seeking to highlight the declining resources available for children's arts education programs and reverse the trend.
With each purchase of a Montblanc watch or pen, the luxury accessory brand will make a contribution to the National Arts Education Initiative, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF).
The EIF is the official charity of the entertainment industry. It also sponsors initiatives for cancer research, cardiovascular research and cessation of smoking.
Julianne Moore
Personal Memorabilia
Katharine Hepburn
Movie legend Katharine Hepburn's estate has donated a huge collection of her memorabilia, including photographs, personal letters and scrapbooks, to the organisers of the Oscars.
The haul of items once owned by the four-time Oscar winner ranks among the most comprehensive collections devoted to any single performer owned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, officials said.
The collection donated to the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library includes thousands of photos, Hepburn's personal copies of scripts and written exchanges with famed movie directors including George Cukor, John Huston and David Lean. The notoriously private Hepburn, who died in June last year at the age of 96, was meticulous about saving objects documenting her career, although she famously tossed her four Oscars into the back of a cupboard in her home.
The memorabilia also includes mementos of Hepburn's legendary ties with Hollywood greats such as Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, Tennessee Williams, Laurence Olivier, John Ford, Peter O'Toole, Henry Fonda, Vivien Leigh, Stanley Kramer and John Wayne.
Katharine Hepburn
DVD Release - Sept. 21
Star Wars
Did the cacophonous rebel-versus-Empire battle on the ice planet Hoth sound that amazing? What happened to the little black matte boxes that visibly framed the tie fighters during those space dogfights? No doubt about it. The original Star Wars movies haven't just been given a beauty treatment for their long-awaited Sept. 21 release on DVD. They've undergone an extreme makeover.
"There were scenes that had over a million pieces of dirt in them," says Kevin Kurtz, marketing manager for Lucasfilm, which oversaw the meticulous cleaning of the original negative elements for the Star Wars Trilogy. "We're proud about basically what was done. George (Lucas) has taken a look at these films and gone 'Wow, they in my opinion look better than when originally screened.' "
The titles, 1977's Star Wars (now known as Episode IV: A New Hope), 1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi, also now carry THX-mastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX audio tracks, something the original film didn't have even for its 20th anniversary re-release in 1997.
The result is a state-of-the-art package for what is, after all, the last and most-requested popcorn blockbuster franchise to make the less-than-light-speed jump to the DVD home video format. While many stories have circulated that creator-producer Lucas was too busy making the ongoing prequel trilogy to oversee these digital transfers, Kurtz says it was basically the lack of technology, the kind of computer power that was needed to make the audio and visual elements sparkle.
As a result, digital experts had to perform a frame-by-frame restoration, removing loads of dirt and scratches. One question that Kurtz refused to answer, however, deals with whether there's been anything more than just cosmetic improvements to the films, recalling how Steven Spielberg made some key content adjustments to scenes in E.T. when it came out on DVD. The films were already juiced up with more modern CGI F/X during the '97 theatrical and video releases and these new discs are described as those special editions.
Star Wars
James S. Brady, the namesake of the 1994 Brady Bill that banned sale of certain assault weapons, listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004, to Washington, D.C.'s Chief of Police Charles Ramsey, right, as they urge the renewal of the assault weapons ban which is set to expire Sept. 13. Brady, press secretary to President Ronald Reagan, survived a head wound in the 1981 shooting attack on Reagan, and later became a champion of gun control with his wife Sarah. Police Chief Joe Polisar, of Garden Grove, Calif., the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, stands at far left.
Photo by J. Scott Applewhite
Hollywood Reporter Hails
100-Episode Mark
Counting to 100 used to be so much easier for TV producers. The Hollywood Reporter is dedicating a 108-page issue Thursday to explore TV programs that have reached that benchmark, which determines whether the show will live on in syndication heaven after its network run.
The newspaper documented 296 shows that have crossed the threshold since the 1940s, but it's clear that it used to be much easier for programs to do well in the era of three TV television networks.
"Kraft Television Theatre," which started in 1947 had 585 episodes. "Dragnet" from 1952 had 342, and "The Beverly Hillbillies" from 1962 totaled 274.
Decades ago, the TV season also lasted longer - 39 weeks compared to the current 22.
100-Episode Mark
18th Annual Benefit
Bridge School
Paul McCartney, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tony Bennett, Sonic Youth, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Los Lonely Boys and Tegan & Sara will join event founder Neil Young on the bill for the 18th annual Bridge School Benefit. The shows will be held Oct. 23-24 at Shoreline Amphitheater outside San Francisco.
Performing as part of Bridge School's traditional acoustic format will be unfamiliar to a number of the artists, particularly McCartney. The former Beatle will be offering what is believed to be his first acoustic set since a 1991 taping for "MTV Unplugged," which was later released on CD.
Bridge School
Actor Sean Connery attends the unveiling of a statue in tribute to author Robert Louis Stevenson at the headquarters of Scottish & Newcastle brewery in Edinburgh, Wednesday Sept. 8, 2004. The sculpture is of the characters Alan Breck-Stewart and David Balfour from Stevenson's novel Kidnapped.
Photo by David Cheskin
Hosting News Emmys
Darrell Hammond
Saturday Night Live" cast member Darrell Hammond has been tapped to host the 25th annual news and documentary Emmy Awards. Unlike "SNL," the ceremony won't be live from New York. Instead, it will be taped at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Sept. 13 and then telecast on Sept. 25 on the Discovery Times Channel.
The Academy's lifetime achievement award for news and documentary will be presented to Tom Brokaw, who's retiring as the anchor of "NBC Nightly News" later this year.
Darrell Hammond
Wants Bush Out of the White House
The World
The world wants resident Bush out of the White House, according to a poll released on Wednesday that shows in 30 of 35 countries people preferred Democrat candidate John Kerry.
Kerry was particularly favored in traditionally strong U.S. allies and beat Bush on average by more than a two-to-one margin, 46 percent to 20 percent, the survey by GlobeScan Inc, a global research firm, and the University of Maryland, said.
The only countries where Bush was preferred in the poll of 34,330 people that was conducted mainly in July and August were the Philippines, Nigeria and Poland. India and Thailand were divided.
The World
Visitors walk beside the royal Swedish warship 'Vasa' in Stockholm September 8, 2004. The Vasa is the world`s only complete surviving ship from the 17th century, which sank in the year 1628. A new exhibition at the Vasa museum, which opens to the public on Thursday, will show for the first time skeletons of people who died onboard as the royal warship sank on August 10, 1628.
Photo by Fabrizio Bensch
'Traditional' Stand-Up?
New York Comedy Festival
Roseanne Barr, Drew Carey, Denis Leary, Paul Mooney, Mo'Nique and the shock-jock team Opie and Anthony will light up the inaugural New York Comedy Festival (Nov. 9-13), organizers said.
Barr's performance will help kick off the latest North American laugh fest, which was unveiled in March by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Organizers have said the event will -- at least initially -- target the general public rather than industry insiders, and focus mainly on traditional stand-up. More than 15,000 tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster beginning Sept. 15.
New York Comedy Festival
Wedding In Brunei
Sarah Salleh
A glittering array of foreign leaders and royal figures began arriving in Brunei for the grand wedding of the heir to the throne of the oil-rich sultanate.
Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah, 30, and 17-year-old university student Sarah Salleh, a commoner, will be married at the royal palace Thursday in Muslim ceremonies showcasing the Southeast Asian kingdom's ancient origins.
Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar -- Riyadh's ambassador to Washington -- and Prince Saud, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad were also scheduled to arrive Wednesday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, Bahrain's King Hamad and Malaysian sultans are to arrive on Thursday.
Many of the guests, including the duke, Japan's Naruhito, Bahrain's monuhito, Bahrain's monarch and the Southeast Asian leaders are booked at the palatial Empire Hotel, where toilet brushes and massive columns in the atrium are gold-plated.
Sarah Salleh
A butterfly hovers near flowers in a park in the Jordanian capital Amman September 8, 2004, where butterflies have been unusually plentiful this autumn.
Photo by Ali Jarekji
