I don't cry. I really don't. Never have. I'm not trying to say that's a good thing or a bad thing , or I'm a tough guy too tough to cry, but tears just don't emit from my tear ducts very often. I cried when my brother died, and I cried when I found out my non-familial brother found out he had cancer. When the man died, I was relieved in a way. I didn't even tear up very much. Too much relief on his part, he was in agonizing pain.
Maybe it was something in my childhood, listening to my parents scream at my friends as well as my brother's who were terrible people 'cause the only thing they did was play jazz. Maybe it was the drugs I took during my developmental adolescence, or maybe I should have been a gang member, I heard they are taught not to cry, too much death on a daily basis. They get cold hearts. Sometimes I tear up at some chick flick where everything works out for the couple and their kids, and my girlfriend will start to weep, but I'll just let out a tear or two.
However, when I read the plight reported in the AP News story of the Marine in Iraq whose squad is gone, that got to me on a semi-weepage level. I found it so decimating to one's soul it was probably too much to bare, but I read on about the brave sole survivor. He's the sole survivor of a twelve man squad of Marines, more specifically the 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment from Columbus, Ohio.
The man's name is Travis Williams, Marine Lance Corporal for the above-described squad of Marines. They had been described as one of the tightest squads in the Marines, treating every other man as a brother, as a family in a god-awful situation. And eleven of the dead Marines were the loss of Travis', the sole remaining survivor .
The squad got ambushed by a bunch of motherfucking Iraqi insurgents that rigged a roadside bomb that took out a total of fourteen Marines (three brave men from a different squad also fell). The road had been checked by engineers, trying to ensure the safety of the squad regarding mines and other explosives, however the bomb had been rigged under the road's asphalt, cleverly disguising the explosive device.
Captain Christopher Toland, platoon commander, had an uneasy feeling about the mission on August 3, sweeping into a small village to hunt down insurgents purportedly hanging around the area. Toland said to Travis their mission was too predictable for the insurgency and he stayed up all night uneasily pacing and talking to other awake squad members. Having his platoon do another dangerous mission in a predictable manner was stupid. Toland must have had a premonition, which, skeptics can call me a dunce, but I believe in. I think the Captain was terrified for his men, but unable to show it due to his unfaltering bravery, and his confidence in his brothers in the fight. Plus, a Captain doesn't show tears during a time like that.
The mission was to go in as an early morning surprise and for twelve hours in 120 degree heat, going house to house, trying to flush out the bad guys. The bomb went off and Travis lost eleven brothers at once. Jesus. I still can't imagine what went through Travis' mind. Think of the mental anguish, then guilt that would set in wondering why was he the only one alive. And where's the Commander-in-Chief to offer his condolences, at the very least?
With Bush's quasi-psychotic callousness to other humans (except unborn fetuses which may or may not be human depending on your point of view), Bush decided not to comment on this this man's bravery. It further proves to me that the capacity of Bush to comprehend the the similarities of Viet Nam and this war seem non-existent. Bush has seen so much fuck up during his beat I imagine he needs some intense therapy. And his ability to cry has been lost due to all the death he's responsible for. His heart has grown cold, even though he purports to be a Christian, yeah, right, you dumbshit flunkie.
But to further leave as his legacy more totalitarian mind control through the judicial process by nominating an evangelical Christian to replace Sandra Day O'Conner in the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, a woman who, praise Jeezuz!! has been reborn, is revolting. Two far right people (Miers and Roberts) that will be left behind for years to hinder progress of our country is too much for the Constitution to handle.
I hope Biden et.al. on the judicial committee have some epiphanies and come up with questions that will make her say that if the chance arose, she would reverse Roe vs. Wade. I saw the judicial committee try to make Roberts take a stand as he artfully dodged the committee's questions, but there has to be a way to trip them up. I hope so. Otherwise, five years down the road and back alley abortions may return due to federal law.
How does this relate to Travis' loss? It's just I don't think Bush cares much about life on earth. I think his evangelical teachings have taught him the same thing the Taliban's leaders have taught their followers, it will be better on the other side. But what if it's just a one shot-deal? That leaves generations of young people to clean up this mess. "Slackers" was a noun to describe the nineties kids and they're doin' alright, but they had eight years of Bill Clinton, a progressive intelligent intellectual as a presidential legacy. That's one thing the new millennium kids won't have. They'll have years of decompensation, debt to pay, and the increasing reality of nuclear holocaust. When I was younger, there were two superpowers staring at each other knowing better than to push any button that would decimate mankind. Now, we have seven and counting. And when the time comes, poof goes our species.
Silja J.A. Talvi: Alls or Nothings: The U.S. class divide deepens under Bush (inthesetimes.com)
Low worker pay, poorly funded pension plans and skillful tax dodging have allowed these companies to reap huge profits. Forty-six large corporations paid no federal income taxes in 2003, despite earning a collective $30 billion in profits. The CEOs of those 46 companies that skirted federal taxes (led by the pharmaceutical-giant Pfizer) earned an average annual salary of $12.6 million.
Army not punishing reservists who won't go to war
Seventy-three soldiers in a special reserve program have defied orders to appear for wartime duty, some for more than a year, yet the Army has quietly chosen not to act against them. "We just continue to work with them, reminding them of their duty," says Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman.
Paul Collins: Remember when Martin Amis was writing about Space Invaders? (villagevoice.com)
Actually, the writers of Casing the Promised Land, Invasion of the Space Invaders, and Fanshawe were all perfectly decent writers already. But they are not the Carr, the Amis, or the Hawthorne we think we know, not the writers that they want us to know. Their scorned vintages hide a curious and different bouquet. But as Annie Proulx advises for examining secondhand cider barrels: "Don't be shy. Put your nose right up to the bunghole." Words to live by, dear reader.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Mothers
Like her famous son, Mark Twain's mother was funny. As a boy, he was often ill and so had to take a lot of medicine. When his mother was 88 years old, he asked her about his early years, saying, "I suppose that during all that time you were uneasy about me?" She admitted that was true. Mr. Twain then asked her, "Afraid I wouldn't live?" His mother paused for a moment, then said, "No - afraid you would."
Purple Gene's review/rant of Ann Coulter on Bill O'Reilly's FOX - "No Spin Zone" :
SHE'S BAAAAAAAAAACK
The wackiest woman in the west weighing in on the world according to big bad Billy boy!!! And this time I'm agreeing with ONE thing she's saying….but not the reasons she's saying it…..
Tonight on the Bill O'Reilly show, while discussing President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers for a judge's seat on the Supreme Court, Ann Coulter said, "What stunning arrogance…picking his own personal legal counsel to become the next member of the Supreme Court….a precious position that occurs maybe once every decade! She is not qualified for such an important position!" Stop right here!!!!!
"Ann ….. I agree with you! but not for the same reasons!" "You want someone in that highest of all positions to be a proponent of your Pro-Life, Pro War, Pro Corporation political agenda….don't you?"
Bill O'Reilly , seemingly amused by the "Clown Princess of faux political punditry, tried to get a straight answer from her to no avail….after to listening to 15 minutes of vague, vacuous and vociferous vomit, Bill said "I love ya Ann…..there's so much gray area in your analysis!!!!"
WOW….two people that I love to hate…and they both actually said something that I agree with…WOW
Purple Gene gives the Bill and Ann show 2 spinning asinine talking heads out of 10 for finally telling "one iota of truth" !
Thanks to everyone who's dropped by the Guest Map.
Tonight, Thursday:
CBS opens the night with a FRESH'Survivor: Guatemala', followed by a FRESH'CSI: The Original One', then a FRESH'Without A Trace'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Jon Stewart and David Gray.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Henry Winkler, Aron Ralston, and Julie Gribble.
NBC begins the night with a 'Joey', followed by a FRESH'Will & Grace', then a FRESH'Apprentice', followed by a FRESH'ER' (starts 1 minute before the top of the hour).
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are George Clooney, Jesse James, and Blue Man Group.
Scheduled on a FRESHConan is U2.
Scheduled on a FRESHCarson Daly are Vanessa Marcil, sumo wrestler Musashimaru Koyo, and Tony Yayo.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Alias', followed by a FRESH'Nightstalker', followed by 'Primetime'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 9/26/05) are Clay Aiken, Scott Caan, and Weezer.
The WB offers a FRESH'Smallville', followed by a FRESH'Everwood'.
Faux has FRESH'Baseball - National League Series - Game 2', and follows it on the left coast with RERUN'Simpsons' and 'Malcolm'.
UPN has a FRESH'Everybody Hates Chris', followed by a FRESH'Love, Inc.', then a FRESH'Eve', followed by a FRESH'Cuts'.
A&E has 'American Justice', 'Cold Case Files', another 'Cold Case Files', and a FRESH'The First 48'.
AMC offers the movie 'Point Break', followed by the movie 'Clear And Present Danger', then the movie 'Firefox'.
BBC -
[2pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - The Ant, An Introduction;
[2:40pm] 'Coupling' - Flushed;
[3:20pm] 'Coupling' - Size Matters;
[4pm] 'Jonathan Creek' - The Chequered Box;
[5pm] 'Monarch of the Glen' - Episode 6;
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'House Invaders' - Newbold on Avon;
[7pm] 'The Benny Hill Show' - Episode 29;
[8pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Episode 10;
[9pm] 'Bodies' - Episode 2;
[10:15pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - Ep. 1 Whither Canada?;
[11pm] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - The Ant, An Introduction;
[11:40pm] 'The Office' - Episode 1;
[12:20am] 'The Office' - Episode 2;
[1am] 'Bodies' - Episode 2;
[2:15am] 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' - Ep. 1 Whither Canada?;
[3am] 'The Persuaders' - Overture;
[4am] 'The Persuaders' - The Gold Napoleon;
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'West Wing', 'Great Things About Being...', another 'Great Things About Being...'< and still another 'Great Things About Being...'.
Comedy Central has 'Comedy Central Presents', 'Reno 911!', last night's 'Jon Stewart', 'Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and a FRESH'Showbiz Show With David Spade'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Philip Seymour Hoffman.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Snipers', another 'Snipers', and yet another 'Snipers'.
IFC -
[6AM] The Sum of Us (1994);
[7:45AM] IFC in Theaters (2005);
[8AM] The Quiet Room (1996);
[9:45AM] Short: Shame No More (1999);
[10AM] IFC October Short Film Collection II (2005);
[12PM] Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990);
[2:15PM] Secret Ballot (2001);
[4:15PM] At The IFC Center (2005);
[4:45PM] Trust (1990);
[6:45PM] Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990);
[9PM] Persuasion (1995);
[11PM] Final (2001);
[1AM] The Sum of Us (1994);
[2:45AM] IFC in Theaters (2005);
[3AM] Final (2001);
[5AM] Running With The Bulls (2003);
[5:45AM] IFC in Theaters (2005). (ALL TIMES EDT)
SciFi has the movie 'Army Of Darkness', followed by the movie 'The Frighteners'.
Sundance -
[7AM] The Al Franken Show: (10/05/05);
[8:00AM] In This World;
[9:35AM] Osama;
[11AM] The Al Franken Show: (10/05/05);
[12PM] The Jimmy Show;
[1:45PM] Where The Buffalo Roam;
[3:30PM] Step Into Liquid;
[5PM] Held Hostage in Colombia;
[6PM] I Am NOT an ANIMAL: London Calling;
[6:30PM] Time Out;
[8:45PM] The Projectionist;
[9PM] Washington Heights;
[10:30PM] Saturn's Return;
[11PM] TransGeneration: Episode 3;
[11:30PM] The Al Franken Show: (10/06/05);
[12:30AM] When Night is Falling;
[2:05AM] Hermitage-niks: A Passion for the Hermitage: Episode 5 - The Remains of an Era;
[2:30AM] The Al Franken Show: (10/06/05);
[3:30AM] When Night is Falling;
[5:05AM] Evenhand. (ALL TIMES EDT)
British singer Elvis Costello answers questions during a news conference at the Copenhagen Opera House October 4, 2005. Costello talked about the new opera 'The Secret Arias' which will premiere on October 8 at the Copenhagen Opera House. Costello will perform in the opera. Picture taken October 4, 2005.
Photo by Kaare Smith
PBS said Wednesday it has hired veteran journalist Michael Getler as an ombudsman to examine network content issues and stay in contact with viewers who are concerned about what is being aired.
Getler, a former executive editor of the International Herald Tribune and longtime journalist at The Washington Post, is finishing a stint as the Post's ombudsman.
PBS President Pat Mitchell said establishing the position has been in the works for more than a year. National Public Radio's success in having an outsider comment on content was an inspiration.
Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said he was troubled that PBS was adding an ombudsman in response to political pressure from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He said Getler must understand PBS' mandate to air material not normally seen on commercial television.
British rockstar Elton John has donated 25,000 pounds to Nepal's only gay rights group, the Blue Diamond Society, to help fight HIV in the Himalayan nation.
The money will be used to help the society run a clinic for gays and lesbians infected with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, Sunil Babu Pant, chief executive of the Blue Diamond Society, said Wednesday.
Actor Jack Nicholson wears a Yankees cap as he watches Game 1 of the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005.
Photo by Mark J. Terrill
Beatle John Lennon produced lots of popular albums in his career. The one that is probably least known is going on display Thursday. It's his stamp album.
The album, purchased in June by the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, will remain on display at least until April 10.
The collection was begun by Stanley Parkes, Lennon's older cousin, who later gave it to the future Beatle when Lennon was 9 years old.
Expressing his budding artistic talent, Lennon drew beards and mustaches in blue ink on the likenesses of British monarchs, including Queen Victoria and King George VI, on the album's title page.
A Finnish spoof of the sci-fi classic "Star Trek" has boldly gone where no feature film has gone before, relying on free distribution over the Internet to reach more than 450,000 viewers in less than a week.
"Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning" is a full-length feature in Finnish with English subtitles. It was made over seven years by a group of students and other amateur film makers with a bare-bones budget and a few home computers to create elaborate special effects.
According to the Finnish Internet hosting firm Magentasites Oy, which is helping to distribute "Star Wreck," about 450,000 copies have been downloaded from the film's Web site since October 1, and an estimated 250,000 copies have gone out through various mirror sites.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are expecting a baby. Holmes' pregnancy was reported Wednesday by People magazine. The couple have been dating since April and became engaged in June.
"Tom and Katie are very excited, and the entire family is very excited," Lee Anne DeVette, Cruise's spokeswoman (& sister), told People.
Czech ex-president Vaclav Havel, right, poses with renowned psychologist and American Psychological Association (APA) President Philip Zimbardo, left, after he received the Vision 97 Foundation Award in Prague Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005. Vision 97, the Foundation of Dagmar and Vaclav Havel, awards people who, in their work, show that science is an indivisible part of general culture and use non-conventional methods in dealing with matters of knowledge and human existence.
Photo by Michal Kamaryt
Authorities investigating a car crash involving actress Lindsay Lohan said Wednesday that contrary to reports from some witnesses, paparazzi had nothing to do with the collision.
Lohan, 19, and a female passenger sustained minor injuries Tuesday after the actress's black Mercedes-Benz convertible collided with a van on a busy West Hollywood street.
The crash occurred because the driver of the van made a U-turn in front of Lohan, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The van's driver may be cited, he added.
A filmmaker has sued Sen. John Kerry and a one-time campaign aide, saying they defamed him as they sought to block the broadcast of an anti-Kerry documentary during the 2004 presidential election.
The lawsuit, filed this week on behalf of producer Carlton Sherwood and a Vietnam veterans group, is the latest salvo in the battle over the documentary "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal."
The Sinclair Broadcast Group, which as of last year owned 62 TV stations that reached a quarter of all U.S. households, canceled plans to air the documentary during the razor-close Bush-Kerry race last fall and instead showed only portions of it as part of a broader program.
Sherwood's suit alleges that Kerry directed the DNC to issue a statement that falsely said the film was produced and funded by "extreme right-wing activists."
Richard Thomas, right, and Jill Clayburgh pose for photographers during a photo call for Richard Greenberg's new comedy 'A Naked Girl on the Appian Way' Aug. 25, 2005 in New York. Thomas and Clayburgh play the the lead roles in the play, which opens at Broadway's American Airlines Theatre Oct. 6, 2005
Photo by Mary Altaffer
UPN said Wednesday it has ordered an additional nine episodes of "Everybody Hates Chris," its new hit comedy loosely based on the rough-and-tumble childhood of comedian Chris Rock.
With 13 episodes already ordered for the fall, that brings "Chris" to a full season. It marks the second new comedy to get the full 22 this season; NBC gave the go-ahead to the "back nine" for "My Name Is Earl" on Tuesday.
NBC has ordered a full season of "My Name Is Earl," the network announced Tuesday, making it the first fall comedy series to get 22 episodes.
Encouraged by healthy ratings in its first two weeks, NBC ordered nine episodes of "Earl" on top of the original 13. The show revolves around a crook (played by Jason Lee), who tries to atone for his past crimes.
Those numbers also make "Earl" the highest-rated new comedy among adults 18-49, though it did suffer a significant 25% drop from the first week to the second in that demo.
South African singer Miriam Makeba laughs during a news conference in Havana October 5, 2005. Makeba will give two concerts in Cuba.
Photo by Claudia Daut
Most Americans think of slavery as a Southern institution, but for close to 200 years, New York City served as a centerpiece in the African slave trade.
Slavery was an important part of New York's economy, as a new exhibition shows. "Slavery in New York," a massive, $5 million undertaking by the New-York Historical Society, opens Friday and runs through March 5.
Through documents, paintings, video and sculpture in over 9,000 square feet of exhibition space, the show focuses on just how vital slavery was to the building of the city and the state. Slavery was abolished in New York in 1827, but when the American Revolution began in 1776, the only city with more slaves than New York was Charleston, S.C.
The alligator has some foreign competition at the top of the Everglades food chain, and the results of the struggle are horror-movie messy.
A 13-foot Burmese python recently burst after it apparently tried to swallow a live, six-foot alligator whole, authorities said.
The gory evidence of the latest gator-python encounter - the fourth documented in the past three years - was discovered and photographed last week by a helicopter pilot and wildlife researcher.
The snake was found with the gator's hindquarters protruding from its midsection. Mazzotti said the alligator may have clawed at the python's stomach as the snake tried to digest it.
The Dubai Ski complex, seen here Wednesday Oct. 5, 2005, which has a 62 meter (203 feet) vertical drop and trails as long as 400 meters ( 1312 feet), will be open before the end of the year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The ski complex will be the third-largest of the world's almost 4 dozen indoor ski resorts, and the only one in the desert or the Middle East.
Photo by Kamran Jebreili
Rankings for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2. Each ratings point represents 1,102,000 households. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses.
1. NFL Football: San Francisco vs. Arizona (Sunday, 8:28 p.m.), ESPN, 5.2, 5.76 million homes.
2. "NFL Prime Time" (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), ESPN, 2.9, 3.21 million homes.
3. Movie: "Halloweentown II: Kalabar" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 2.8, 3.07 million homes.
4. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), Spike, 2.7, 2.92 million homes.
5. "WWE Raw Zone" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Spike, 2.5, 2.79 million homes.
6. "Nip/Tuck" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), FX, 2.5, 2.78 million homes.
7. College Football: Tennessee vs. LSU (Monday, 7:30 p.m.), ESPN2, 2.5, 2.76 million homes.
8. Major League Baseball: New York Yankees vs. Boston (Friday, 7 p.m.), ESPN, 2.5, 2.72 million homes.
9. Movie: "2 Fast 2 Furious" (Sunday, 7:59 p.m.), USA, 2.4, 2.6 million homes.
10. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.4, 2.6 million homes.
11. "Catscratch" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.3, 2.58 million homes.
12. "Fairly Odd Parents" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodoen, 2.3, 2.55 million homes.
13. "The O'Reilly Factor" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Fox News Channel, 2.3, 2.5 million homes.
14. College Football: Notre Dame vs. Purdue (Saturday, 7:41 p.m.), ESPN, 2.3, 2.5 million homes.
15. Movie: "Halloweentown" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 2.2, 2.46 million homes.
Piggies swim in a pool during a piggy sports contest held in the Yaohai Park in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005.
Photo by Liu Bingsheng
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
Do you have something to say?
Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better,
amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
I don't cry. I really don't. Never have. I'm not trying to say that's a good thing or a bad thing , or I'm a tough guy too tough to cry, but tears just don't emit from my tear ducts very often. I cried when my brother died, and I cried when I found out my non-familial brother found out he had cancer. When the man died, I was relieved in a way. I didn't even tear up very much. Too much relief on his part, he was in agonizing pain.
