'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jim Hightower: CALLING JOHN BOEHNER (jimhightower.com)
If members of congress are confused about why their public approval rating is down to only 33 percent, putting them dangerously close to the political nether world where Bush dwells, they might consider how out of touch they are with real people.
Geeta Sharma-Jensen: Bernstein steps back into spotlight (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Posted on popmatters.com)
You have a lot to live up to when you are part of a duo instrumental in changing White House history, have a movie made about your newspaper reporting that brought down a president and then write two bestsellers about the politics of the time.
Richard Roeper: Gore can be full of hot air, but passion is real (suntimes.com)
You look at the post-elected-office lives of Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, even Richard Nixon, and you see former presidents and vice presidents who were determined to continue fighting for their beliefs and causes. What the hell is Dubya gonna do?
Annalee Newitz: - Moaning Lisa: A Blow-Up Doll, Upgraded
Moaning Lisa demonstrates the videogame-like properties of the female body -- to give it an orgasm you have to follow different patterns every time.
Marcel Berlins: So now the experts say two glasses of wine a day is 'hazardous drinking'? (guardian.co.uk)
The government must not cry wolf about people's health. They run the risk of being disbelieved when they issue a warning on something that really does matter.
Roger Ebert: Doris Lessing comes to town (From October 15, 1969)
Sinking into an overstuffed chair in Studs Terkel's apartment with her legs curled beneath her, Doris Lessing looked small, vulnerable (and in the best sense) catlike. It was Sunday afternoon and she was sipping brandy and listening to stories about Studs' trip to South Africa. And you thought: So this, after all, is Doris Lessing. And the next moment you thought: Of course.
Music Video
Kirsten Price
Purple Gene Reviews
'Ong-Bak'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly overcast, and cool.
My computer wasn't healing itself of the strange noises, so finally took it in to the shop.
Several hours and a few $ later, it's quiet as a Prius.
And, so far, so goo
'Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House'
Valerie Plame
Four years after her CIA cover was blown in a newspaper column, Valerie Plame is settling scores with the Bush administration, Republican lawmakers and the journalists involved in the White House leak scandal.
Plame writes about the leak, the fallout and the perjury trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in her memoir, "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House." The book is to be released Tuesday.
She offers harsh words for resident Bush, whom she assails for administration "arrogance and intolerance." She also said criticism of her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, was a "dress rehearsal" for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth effort that impugned Sen. John Kerry's war record during his failed presidential campaign in 2004.
"It was classic Karl Rove: go after your enemy's strong point," Plame writes, saying Bush's former political adviser was behind both efforts. "In Joe's case it was that he told the truth; in Kerry's case, it was his exemplary military service."
Valerie Plame
Announces Presidential Pursuit
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert has announced his candidacy for president on "The Colbert Report," tossing his satirical hat into the ring of an already crowded race.
Colbert, 43, had recently satirized the coyness of would-be presidential candidates by refusing to disclose whether he would seek the country's highest office - a refusal that often came without any prompting.
Colbert said he would run as both a Democrat and Republican. He earlier explained the strategy: "I can lose twice." He claimed three running mate possibilities: Colbert-Huckabee, Colbert-Putin or Colbert-Colbert.
In a guest column for Maureen Dowd in Sunday's New York Times, Colbert wrote: "I am not ready to announce yet - even though it's clear that the voters are desperate for a white, male, middle-aged, Jesus-trumpeting alternative."
Stephen Colbert
Wagner Opera In Berlin
Daniel Barenboim
An opera by Richard Wagner - whose music and anti-Semitic writings influenced Adolf Hitler - will be performed at an open-air theater built under the Nazis by an orchestra made up of Israeli and Arab musicians conducted by a Jew.
Daniel Barenboim told Germany's Die Zeit newspaper that the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he co-founded, plans next year to perform the first act of Wagner's "Die Walkuere" at Berlin's Waldbuehne - an arena built by the Nazis as part of the complex for the 1936 Olympics.
"Can you imagine that?" Barenboim was quoted as saying in the interview, released Wednesday. "The Waldbuehne was built by Hitler. The music is Wagner. Played by us! Hitler and Wagner would turn in their graves."
Barenboim said the Divan Orchestra, made up of young musicians from Israel, the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries, is "clearly" the most important musical project of his life.
Daniel Barenboim
Author Applauds 'Kite Runner' Film Delay
Khaled Hosseini
"The Kite Runner" author Khaled Hosseini is commending the delayed release of the film adaptation of his novel over fears for the actors' safety.
Movie distributor Paramount Vantage delayed the debut for six weeks, until Dec. 14, after three of its adolescent male stars said they could be targeted for their participation in a homosexual rape scene. The studio - the art-house label of Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures - is moving the boys and their families from socially conservative Afghanistan, possibly until next spring.
"I applaud the studio for delaying the release of the film even though it goes against whatever commercial wisdom there is," the 43-year-old San Jose resident said Monday at a media event in San Francisco.
"Afghanistan has become a pretty violent place within the last year," said the Kabul native, who immigrated to San Jose in 1980. "If the boys and their families think there is a reasonable risk of threat to them, then you have to take all of the steps that you can to make sure they are OK."
Khaled Hosseini
Plans `Star Wars' TV Series
George Lucas
George Lucas is planning a live-action television series spinoff of the "Star Wars" film franchise.
Lucas told The Los Angeles Times he has "just begun work" on the series, which will not include the films' major characters Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.
"The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters," Lucas told the Times on Tuesday.
Lucas wouldn't reveal details, but joked that the series would be about "the life of robots."
George Lucas
Pulls Planned Parenthood Ads
WDUQ
A public radio station has pulled Planned Parenthood advertising and returned more than $5,000 donated after the station's license holder, Duquesne University, said the organization did not share the school's Catholic mission.
WDUQ began airing the Planned Parenthood messages Oct. 8. Two days later, officials were ordered by Duquesne to yank the broadcasts.
Duquesne spokeswoman Bridget Fare, citing Planned Parenthood's support of abortion, said the organization was not aligned with the university's Catholic mission and identity. The ads didn't mention abortion services.
The university holds the broadcast license for the radio station's 25,000-watt signal. Duquesne provides the radio station with six percent of its cash funding, and the WDUQ raises the rest of the money from outside the university, according to the station's Web site.
WDUQ
Oscar To Be Auctioned
Orson Welles
Orson Welles' 1941 Oscar for "Citizen Kane," considered one of the greatest movies of all time, will go on the auction block in December.
The Academy Award for Best Screenplay is estimated to sell for between $800,000 and $1.2 million, Sotheby's auction house said Tuesday.
The golden statuette, believed to have been once lost by Welles himself, resurfaced in 1994, and after an extended legal battle was returned to his estate. In 2003, it was acquired by the Dax Foundation, a Los Angeles-based charity. The proceeds will help fund the organization's worldwide efforts.
Orson Welles
Hospital News
Norman Mailer
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Norman Mailer, one of America's most renowned authors, is recovering in a New York City hospital after lung surgery, his editorial assistant said on Wednesday.
Dwayne Prickett said Mailer, 84, had surgery about a week ago and that his health was improving daily. "He is 84 so everyone is cautious," he added.
"He had some breathing problems and the doctors just felt it was necessary to go in and take care of some problems with a little bit of fluid build-up around his lungs," Prickett said.
Norman Mailer
Saves The Parade
L.A. City Council
Santa Claus will once again parade down Hollywood Boulevard.
Though, in March, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced will no longer sponsor the annual holiday parade, the Los Angeles City Council decided to throw its financial weight behind the effort and ensure that a procession will indeed be held in Hollywood.
The value of the city's sponsorship has not yet been determined, but City Councilman Tom LaBonge said other sponsors will be sought to help pay for the event. The Chamber of Commerce said it was dropping plans for the event after 75 years because it had lost about $100,000 staging the 2006 parade and losses were expected to double this year.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce owns the name "Hollywood Christmas Parade," so the revived event will be known as the "Hollywood Santa Parade." The new event will happen on the evening of Nov. 25 -- the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It will include the traditional mix of floats and bands. Bill Lomas of Pageantry Productions, based in Lynwood, will produce the parade.
L.A. City Council
Actor's Statements Dropped From Trial
Lillo Brancato Jr
Key statements that Lillo Brancato Jr. made to police will not be used against him in his upcoming trial in the fatal shooting of an off-duty police officer.
Prosecutors agreed not to introduce the statements because Brancato, known for playing an aspiring mobster in HBO's "The Sopranos," was questioned without his lawyer, Assistant District Attorney Theresa Gottlieb said Tuesday.
The statements were made shortly after the December 2005 shooting of Officer Daniel Enchautegui. Brancato is alleged to have told investigators co-defendant Steven Armento shot the officer, though Brancato urged him not to.
Lillo Brancato Jr
Wisdom Of Salomon
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson says she and Rick Salomon took their 17-year friendship to the next level during a poker game. "I left the table and Errol (Lyon, Anderson's driver) played in my place," the 40-year-old ex-"Baywatch" star tells OK! magazine. "I came back to find myself $250,000 in the hole to Rick!"
So Salomon - best known for making a sex tape with ex-girlfriend Paris Hilton - struck a flirty deal.
"Rick, being the gentleman, said he would wipe my debt if I gave him a kiss, so I have to thank Vegas for our relationship switching gears!" Anderson says in the magazine's latest issue, on newsstands Thursday. "It evolved into spending every day - and then nights - together."
Pamela Anderson
Return Showing
Chocolate Jesus
"My Sweet Lord," an anatomically correct milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ that infuriated Catholics before its April unveiling was canceled, returns Oct. 27 to a Chelsea art gallery, its creator said Tuesday.
"There is nothing offensive about this," Cosimo Cavallaro said of his controversial confectionary work. "If my intentions were to offend, if I did do something wrong, I wouldn't be doing this. But I didn't do anything wrong."
Cavallaro, who received death threats before the April show was canceled, said the vast majority of his mail was in support of his six-foot piece.
Chocolate Jesus
Getting More Religion
Lionsgate
Independent studio Lionsgate is set to announce Wednesday that it has struck a deal with Indelible Creative Group, the faith-based company behind "3:16 -- Stories of Hope," a DVD Lionsgate distributed last month.
The three-year Indelible Creative deal includes North American mass market distribution rights to the "Crave" franchise and children's series "Miss PattyCake," including three upcoming "Miss PattyCake" titles and nine previous ones that have already sold 500,000 copies.
Lionsgate's other forays into faith-based films includes the upcoming theatrical release, "Church Boy," based on the true story of gospel star Kirk Franklin, and a feature adaptation of the Thomas Kinkade painting called "The Christmas Cottage."
Lionsgate
Killer Not A Cannibal
Jose Luis Calva
A Mexican writer suspected of frying and eating pieces of his ex-girlfriend after strangling her has confessed to murdering the woman but denies being a cannibal, a government prosecutor said on Tuesday.
Police burst into Jose Luis Calva's Mexico City apartment last week and found fried human flesh on a dining table set with cutlery. They found more flesh in the refrigerator and an unfinished book by Calvo called "Cannibal Instincts."
Calva told prosecutors he killed Alejandra Galeana after an argument, then cut an arm and a leg off of her body so that he could dispense of it in parts.
"He denies having tasted her flesh," Mexico City's chief homicide prosecutor Gustavo Salas told reporters. "According to him, he thought it was better to cook the meat so he could feed it to the dogs."
Jose Luis Calva
Grey Cup's Halftime Show
Lenny Kravitz
There will be more than 20 bands playing throughout four days of festivals and enough parties to wear out even the heartiest of revellers in the lead-up to the 2007 Grey Cup in Toronto.
But the focal point for the entertainment hoopla that surrounds the Canadian Football League's annual championship game is always the halftime show and organizers believe they've set a new standard with this year's performer.
Rocker Lenny Kravitz will handle the duties Nov. 25 with a four-song set that will include two cuts from "It Is A Time For A Love Revolution," his eighth studio album due for release Feb. 5, 2008, and two of his other hits.
The performance will follow shows by Loverboy, Trooper, Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea, Lowest of the Low, Spirit of the West, Kim Mitchell, Sloan and Glass Tiger that help keep visiting and local fans entertained in the days and hours before the big game.
Lenny Kravitz
'Memorial Toilet' Proposed
Joe Orton
A trader proposing a new set of public toilets in a popular north London entertainment district has come up with a novel way to sell the idea -- name them after gay playwright Joe Orton.
Orton, celebrated in the 1987 film "Prick Up Your Ears", wrote a series of popular but controversial plays, including "Loot", "What the Butler Saw" and "Entertaining Mr Sloane".
In the era of "Swinging London", he was also know for his clandestine gay trysts in public toilets in and around his home in Islington at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain.
"He did what he did because it was the only place he could do it in those days and I think it would show how attitudes have changed," Mike Weedon told the weekly Islington Gazette.
Joe Orton
Heavyweight In Germany
Kevin James
Where U.S. sitcom giants from "Seinfeld" to "Friends" to "Everybody Loves Raymond" failed, "The King of Queens" conquered Germany.
The series finale of Kevin James' blue-collar show drew 8% of the total viewing public Monday -- an almost unheard-of figure for a U.S. comedy. The figure was twice the average for "Queens"' German channel Kabel1. "Queens" also drew 2.5 million viewers aged 14 to 49, for a market share of 16.4%.
The series has been a hit since it debuted here in March 2001, making James a star from Bonn to Berlin. In 2005, the actor took his fame to a new level with the romantic comedy "Hitch," in which he played a luckless nerd alongside Will Smith's silver-tongued date doctor. The movie was a massive hit in Germany, selling 4.2 million tickets for a EUR25.5 million ($36.1 million) box office gross.
Kevin James
Wage Dispute
Anthony Hopkins
Whether or not it's accompanied by fava beans and a nice Chianti, Anthony Hopkins wants his money. Samson, Inc., a company co-owned by Hopkins, is suing Merchant Ivory Productions for allegedly failing to pay the actor for his services.
Merchant Ivory owes Hopkins $750,000 for his work in a film called "The City of Your Final Destination," according to court documents filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Hopkins signed onto the film last October and was to be paid in full for his performance by Jan. 10, court documents claim.
Anthony Hopkins
Girlfriend Can't Collect From Estate
Elliott Smith
The girlfriend of dead rocker Elliott Smith cannot collect on his estate, despite his alleged pledge to take care of her financially for the rest of her life, because she acted as an unlicensed talent agent, a split California appellate court ruled Tuesday.
Jennifer Chiba sued the estate of the Oscar-nominated singer/songwriter in 2004 claiming she was entitled to a portion because they had lived together, shared equally their earnings and property and held themselves out to the public as husband and wife. Smith, she claimed, promised to support Chiba for the rest of her life.
She also claimed she acted as Smith's manager and agent, including booking gigs for him, and was entitled to 15% of all proceeds he earned. She sought more than $1 million.
But the state labor commissioner and later the trial court ruled Chiba was not allowed to make a claim on the estate because she acted as an unlicensed talent agent under the state's Talent Agencies Act.
Elliott Smith
Nielsen Cable
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Oct. 8-14. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses.
1. NFL Football: Cowboys vs. Bills (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), ESPN, 9.64 million homes, 13.03 million viewers.
2. MLB Division Series: Indians vs. Yankees, Game 4 (Monday, 7:30 p.m.), TBS, 6.69 million homes, 9.23 million viewers.
3. "Twitches Too" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 4.51 million homes, 7.00 million viewers.
4. MLB NLCS: Rockies vs. Diamondbacks, Game 1 (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.), TBS, 4.09 million homes, 5.29 million viewers.
5. "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Friday, 9:30 p.m.), Disney, 4.00 million homes, 5.93 million viewers.
6. MLB NLCS: Diamondbacks vs. Rockies, Game 3, (Sunday, 8:29 p.m.), TBS, 3.62 million homes, 5.16 million viewers.
7. "Hannah Montana" (Friday, 10 p.m.), Disney, 3.43 million homes, 4.99 million viewers.
8. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.06 million homes, 4.12 million viewers.
9. "Hannah Montana" (Friday, 10:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.03 million homes, 4.27 million viewers.
10. "Hannah Montana" (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), Disney, 2.99 million homes, 4.15 million viewers.
11. "High School Musical 2" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 2.94 million homes, 4.22 million viewers.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.92 million homes, 3.75 million viewers.
13. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 11:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.89 million homes, 4.05 million viewers.
14. "SportsCenter" (Monday, 12:01 a.m.), ESPN, 2.86 million homes, 3.55 million viewers.
15. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 11 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.85 million homes, 3.81 million viewers.
Ratings
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