Tonight on Dave Letterman
Yes, A Rerun
But With 'Garbage'
Reader Response
'Reba'
George Mullins
I have tried to watch this utter piece of crap, but I couldn't even get
through one episode. I ended up tuning out after just the opening segment
and theme song.
Reba, you lost me at hello. And yet the WB brain trust, in their finite
wisdumb(emphasis on dumb), prefers this to the recent attempt
at a prime-time version of "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl", which they turned
down. The WB said it "didn't fit" their target audience.
And they think 18-to-25-year olds prefer country music singers? The WB needs
to get its head out of its posterior, or at the very least, put a glass panel
in its stomach, so it can see where it is going with its head up its rear end!
~~ George Mullins
LOL, George---I take it you didn't like it much - well, I'm in the boat with you on
this one.
Between the philandering husband & the pregnant teenage daughter, boy-howdy, that's
real funny stuff....once again, city boys are snidely writing (by formula) what they believe is
the 'least objectional program' - and yes, that is really a TV term - aka: 'LOP'.
The term was coined by Newton Minnow, back when there was a real FCC & the American people still owned
the airwaves. Mr. Minnow called it a 'Vast Wasteland' - wonder what he'd call it now?
Koresh - I feel old!
Drudge, Page 6, And A Moran...
Nearly Verbatim...
Mark Giselson
Just noticed this near verbatim reprint of Drudge at the NYPost's Page Six site:
Smoke detector
THE reason why Sen. Hillary Clinton was booed at Madison Square Garden on
Saturday is the "claptrap that comes out of her mouth," says Mike Moran, the
hero firefighter whose brother, Battalion Chief John Moran, died at the
World Trade Center. Moran thrilled the Garden audience when he told Osama
bin Laden: "Kiss my royal Irish ass!" And yesterday, he explained the
crowd's hostile reaction to Hillary to Rush Limbaugh. "When times are good
and things are going well, people will sit there and listen to that kind of
claptrap . . . when it's serious times and serious men who actually suffered
losses, and she wants to get up and spew her nonsense - she doesn't believe
a word she says. She says whatever she thinks will fit the moment."
Smoke Detector
Sadly, I'm trying to 12-step my way out of posting and chatting in an effort
to address the fact that my post 9-11 business has dropped off considerably,
but it would be nice if someone would start collecting all the anti-American
rants from the hard right in the wake of the WTC-Pentagon attack.
Never forget that the current right began in response to the anti-Viet Nam
War movement, and that their biggest rallying cry was that the Left was
anti-American. We need to start publicizing the radical anti-American
rhetoric produced by the right. If nothing else, Democratic candidates could
use that documentation come the 2002 campaign season.
~~ Mark
Mark -
I also saw the same story -- and it's header 'smoke detector', when I flashed on another
term - 'bull shit detector' - and when it was engaged, the next thought was 'from which
orifice'...
It saddens me that hard-working, traditionally blue-collar guys are being made shills for
propagandists who would make Herr Goebbels blush, and who also believe that all
Catholics are going to hell.
Having spent 2 years at a fundamentalist Christian college (as a practicing Catholic [so we're talking 30 years, easily]),
yes, I have a few stories - bottom line is the fundamentalist faction is what scared the crap out of me (and I mean
any fundamentalist faction of any religion at this point in time).
In The Chaos Household
Wednesday Night's TV
Started out watching 'Enterprise', which was tolerable, once we got past the
horrible theme song, chessy sets & 'Timmy fell down the well' climax.
Have enough 'drama' in real life, so I lean toward the inane & insipid, and
will generally opt for the chance at a laugh. Instead of being 'smart' and watching
'The West Wing', it was 'Drew Carey', followed by 'Bob Patterson', where
William Shatner was doing a guest spot (that seemed to have potential for a recurring
character, if the series lasts that long).
So, today, there is a tribute to William Shatner...well, sorta, kinda...
Did anyone else notice the plethora (fancy word for 'crapper-load') of Disney hard
sell commercials on ABC last night? Yeah, like any real American woman wants to
schtupp Donald Duck (Professor Von Drake, maybe, but Donald---no effing way).
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
And He's Modest, Too
Will Smith
Will Smith has never been shy. But now that he's played Muhammad Ali, his ego has swollen to the size of a small planet.
"Making movies and music and entertainment [are] just a pit stop on the way to my true greatness,"
Smith declares in the December issue of Playboy. "I honestly think I could be the
President of the U.S. if I really wanted to."
While he bides his time in show business, he confesses he doesn't think much of his rap rivals.
"A lot of people who have been blessed with this forum aren't really smart," says Smith.
"I have educated myself beyond a lot of my peers."
He allows that Eminem "is really creative but so far over the top that it's clearly a farce."
He also taunts his Hollywood competition. "I want Tom Cruise to take movies that I turn
down. I want you to have to ask Tom Cruise, 'So what does it feel like to have to
wait until Will turns it down?' I want you to have to ask Tom Hanks, 'If Will turns
down the next whatever, will you take it?'"
Smith admits his movie "Wild Wild West" "wasn't any good." But he believes he was "born to
play" Ali: "I felt like there was nobody in the world who could do this but me."
Pumped and buffed into heavyweight perfection, he also boasts: "The average person
on the street, I will beat the living c--- out of."
The Ever-Modest Will Smith
Fun Link
Shatner Rocks!
Shatner Rocks
New! Updated!
BartCop Astrology
Check it out at BC Astrology.
This week, the official BartCop Astrologer has provided two charts.
One who's talent (and hearing, as well), is on loan from his god, and for contrast, an American visionary,
national treasure, and real-life role model, Helen Keller.
Very interesting reading!
Newest Show On 'Hiatus'
'Inside Schwartz'
NBC is expected to announce by week's end that its new sports fantasy sitcom ``Inside
Schwartz'' -- which airs in the desirable but seemingly jinxed time slot after the
hit series ''Friends'' -- is coming off its schedule for the first three weeks of
the important November ``sweeps'' period, according to sources at the network.
In the show's place, NBC is expected to air episodes of some of its more successful
series, including repeat episodes of ``Friends'' and ``Will & Grace'' and an original
episode of the new comedy ``Scrubs.''
``Schwartz,'' a series about a young wannabe sportscaster whose everyday life is
depicted in a series of sports fantasies, was launched with much fanfare by NBC
last month, but has received lukewarm reviews from critics.
It premiered on Sept. 27, when the show was watched by 22.8 million viewers, a
strong showing but still a large drop-off from the 31.7 million people who tuned
in to ``Friends'' in the preceding half hour, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The show's numbers have dropped steadily since then to 20.6 million viewers in its second
week, and then 15.1 million viewers in its most recent airing on Oct. 18.
The flagging numbers were an important factor behind NBC's decision to pull the show
for at least the first three weeks of the important November sweeps period, when ad rates
are set for the months ahead and networks typically put on their strongest programs.
``Schwartz's'' flagging fortunes make it the latest in a line of series to flounder
at 8:30 after ``Friends,'' giving the coveted time slot a reputation among industry
watchers as being jinxed.
Previous shows to fail in the time slot include ``The Single Guy,'' ``Boston Common,''
``Jesse,'' ``The Weber Show'' and ``Union Square.''
'Inside Schwartz' On Hiatus
More 'Canary In A Coal Mine'
Mavis Leno Online Tonight
Mavis Leno, Chair of the Feminist Majority's Campaign to Stop Gender
Apartheid in Afghanistan, will make a special appearance online this
Thursday, October 25th. Leno will chat live with student activists on the
Choices Campus Community, www.feministcampus.org, about ways to get
involved in the Campaign and to mobilize awareness and support for women
and girls in Afghanistan.
Leno has made appearances on the Tonight Show, NBC's Today Show, MSNBC,
and CNN's Larry King Live and has been interviewed by many other national
TV, radio, and print media outlets to educate and mobilize Americans about
gender apartheid and the growing refugee crisis in Afghanistan and
Pakistan. Leno has chaired the campaign since 1998, testifying before
members of Congress, exposing U.S. corporate business relations with the
extremist Taliban regime, and lobbying the State Department for increased
humanitarian aid.
Join in Thursday October 25th, 9pm EST,
www.feministcampus.org/chat.asp
http://www.feminist.org
'Treehouse Of Horror XII'
'The Simpsons'
The Simpsons face the their annual tricks and treats and Halloween freaks in The
Simpsons episode `Treehouse Of Horror XII.'
Thanks to World Series baseball on Fox TV, The Simpsons won't be making their
annual climb up the Tree House of Horror this Halloween. Instead the annual
instalment of horror humour from Homer and the gang will air in a Fox-Global
simulcast Nov. 6. But Global and the Comedy Network will do their best to make
up for what over the last decade has become a must-see Halloween TV event.
Simpsons
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' never seems to rest!
Every show on TV must be listed--days worth of reading there.
For an amazing variety of information on an astounding array of tv programs check out
BC TV!
Fun Link
Grimacing Shatner Clock [tm]
Grimacing Shatner Clock [tm]
The Emmy Awards
She's B-a-a-a-c-k
Joan Rivers is back on as co-host of E!'s Emmy pre-show coverage - but she's canning
her usual "I can't believe you wore that" attitude in light of current events.
Rivers and daughter Melissa Rivers had pulled out of the festivities after losing
several friends in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - saying they "felt it would be
inappropriate to take our traditional places on the red carpet this year."
But the Rivers gals have now had a change of heart about hosting E!'s annual
pre-show festivities.
Rivers, however, won't be skewering celebrities on their fashion choices - a highlight
of past shows which often left stars quaking in their boots when Rivers approached.
"This won't be about fashion - it will be about the entertainment industry coming
back strong," Rieber says. "Joan is going to ask celebrities questions that viewers
want asked, like the impact the [Sept. 11] tragedy has had on them and their
point of view of being in the entertainment industry.
"She's going to ask questions that are appropriate," Rieber says.
The twice-cancelled Emmys are now scheduled to air live from L.A.'s Schubert
Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 4, with host Ellen DeGeneres ("The Ellen Show").
E!'s coverage begins at 4 p.m. with a two-hour countdown show, followed by the
Rivers on the red carpet from 6 to 8 p.m.
Joan Rivers Is Back
Missing Tote With Computer & Passports
Harry Belafonte
There's a travel bag floating somewhere in this town with Harry Belafonte's name
all over it.
The calypso singer, movie star and social activist said his black, wheeled tote
bag was left in a yellow cab sometime between 11 a.m. and noon on Oct. 14 on a
ride from his West Side apartment to Penn Station.
The travel bag had both his U.S. and U.N. passports and a laptop computer. Among
the information stored on it was for an AIDS-awareness project he had undertaken
on behalf of UNICEF.
The computer included interviews with Nelson Mandela and others in Africa and the
Caribbean - and songs he'd recorded for an album.
"I have no backup," Belafonte, 74, told The Post yesterday. "It would take me
months to redo this. I desperately need to get it."
The renowned entertainer was on his way to Washington to host a PBS salute to Whoopi
Goldberg. Because of new anti-terrorism measures, Belafonte had gotten out of the
cab and walked to the entrance of Penn Station to get a redcap. Upon returning to
the cab, he found his wife curbside with four pieces of luggage.
As the cab took off, he realized something was missing. "Where's my tote?" he asked.
Belafonte briefly considered chasing the taxi, but just as quickly realized, "I'm
no Jesse Owens."
Now, he fears his labor of love is gone.
"I've got to retrieve that computer," he said. "I'd even be willing to give some
kind of reward."
Harry Belafonte
'Star Wars Episode Two
Attack Of The Clones'
Early word on "Star Wars Episode Two: Attack of the Clones" is that it has "The
Phantom Menace" beat by a mile. A spy at George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic
has hit aint-it-cool-news.com with a rave review of the flick's second edit,
gushing, "This is the 'Star Wars' you've been waiting for!"
Highlights include a light-saber battle featuring more than 20 Jedi knights
against an army of droids and monsters, and Natalie Portman showing off "her
half-exposed body." Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker gets a thumbs-up, but
veteran Christopher Lee steals the show as the evil Jedi Count Dooku, a.k.a. Darth Tyranus.
Star Wars Episode Two: Attack Of The Clones
Defying The Terrorists?
Dan Rather
CBS anchor Dan Rather says he won't be tested for anthrax or take antibiotics even
though the deadly germ was found in his office. It's his way of defying terrorists.
``We're not going to run scared and we're not going to work scared,'' he said Wednesday.
Rather said he's shown no symptoms of the disease and consults with experts daily.
The veteran CBS newsman said his decision was about more than his health.
``In wartime, I'm trying to respond to the situation with a mixture of good sense,
defiance and, when I am called upon to deliver it, as much bravery as I can muster,''
he said.
Rather believes the anthrax scare has gotten too much attention from television
news - CBS included - when compared to the U.S. military response to terrorism
and other fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks.
``I think the story should be covered,'' he said. ``My own sense of it is that it's
been overcovered, and I worry about that creating exactly what the people who spread
this terrible stuff want, which is spreading fear that they hope will result in panic.''
Rather said he's not even being yelled at by his wife for his stand.
``Not at all,'' he said. ``There's an old saying that you should marry a girl from
Texas because no matter how tough things get, she's tougher.''
Defiant Dan Rather
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To check out 'Train Station Chicken', and more (like 'Cranberry Autumn Tea'),
In The Kitchen With BartCop
Fun Link
Sim Shatner
Sim Shatner
Disney News
The 'Secret Lab'
Disney has become the latest studio to quit the live action visual f/x business, shuttering
its two-year-old Secret Lab, and preparing to lay off several hundred employees.
``We're not actively soliciting outside work under the banner of the Secret Lab
anymore,'' said Thomas Schumacher, president of Walt Disney Feature Animation.
``If the studio comes to me and says here's a movie that we have a special demand
for, then fantastic. But I don't need to set up a separate company to do that.
We're going to be reassigning our production capabilities. I'll tailor the people
I need for the work I need to get done.''
The entire Feature Animation group, including Burbank-based Secret Lab, employs
around 1,700 staffers, with that number expected to be reduced to 1,350, depending
on project demands.
Computer-generated work on ``Reign of Fire,'' a dragons-rule-the-earth actioner
that Disney is distributing next summer, and the Warner Bros. comedy ``Down and
Under,'' will likely be Secret Labs' last before the moniker is retired.
The Mouse House's move represents yet another inhouse f/x arm that a major studio
has shuttered over the years after Warner Bros. and Fox cut ties with or shuttered
their own facilities. Only Sony Pictures Imageworks remains.
It's also a sign of the times -- a slow period has hit the f/x world as studios
are greenlighting few f/x-filled pictures until sometime next spring.
The Secret Lab, formed in 1999 when Disney folded Dream Quest Images into its
feature animation group, was supposed to provide state-of-the-art CGI character
animation and f/x for Disney's live-action projects, in addition to producing
computer-animated features, which recently included work on ``Dinosaur.''
Even given its association with Disney, the Secret Lab was being awarded fewer
and fewer major films coming out of the studio, including ``Pearl Harbor.'' Those
projects instead went elsewhere, including to rival Industrial Light and Magic,
which is owned by George Lucas.
The shuttering of the Secret Lab is the last nail in the coffin for Dream Quest
Images, which was founded in 1979 to become a major player in the f/x biz and
won Oscars for its visuals in ``The Abyss'' and ``Total Recall.''
The company had operated as a division of the Walt Disney Co. since 1996, and
produced f/x for the studio's films including ``Armageddon,'' ``The Rock,'' ``George
of the Jungle,'' ``Flubber,'' ``Mighty Joe Young'' and ``Con Air,'' among other projects.
But work began drying up after ``Mission to Mars'' and ``Inspector Gadget'' and
Secret Lab saw itself relegated to smaller projects, such as removing spots from
puppies in ``102 Dalmatians.''
Still Disney is keeping its options open, with the Secret Lab's live-f/x staffers
still available to work on live action pictures, should they be needed. A new f/x
company could be created just to work on one specific picture, similar to how Warner
Bros. has set up Esc. Entertainment to handle f/x for the next two ``Matrix'' sequels.
``It's the studio's job to focus on live action and ask me to deliver what they
need for them,'' Schumacher said. ``But the live action studio was not asking us
to deliver live action movies for them and they were not asking us to deliver
work for their live action projects. If they want a live action movie, they can
come and get it.''
Disney Closes The 'Secret Lab'
Er Ist Ein Doktor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Dr. Terminator, if you please.
Bestowing an honorary doctorate in business administration on Austrian-born Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Imadec University in Vienna lauded his ``life achievements'' and
the work he's done to promote Austria's economy.
Schwarzenegger, whose ``Terminator'' films have cemented his Hollywood fame, was
thankful but unable to accept the degree in person, Austrian radio reported Tuesday.
It cited an e-mail from the star citing security concerns in the wake of the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Alluding to Schwarzenegger's modest film beginnings in bit parts in the 1970s, Imadec
University President Christian Joksch praised him Monday as ``a living example of
what a person starting from nothing can achieve.''
Herr Schwartenegger
The Other USC
Pat Conroy
Pat Conroy told students at the University of South Carolina that they can become
lifelong friends with their teachers.
``I revere the teachers of my life,'' said Conroy, who spoke Monday at USC.
University officials honored him for his achievements in literature.
He said his high-school English teacher made him believe that he could be a writer.
While Conroy was a student in Beaufort, his teacher Gene Norris introduced him to
Thomas Wolfe's books. Norris even traveled with Conroy to Wolfe's birthplace in
North Carolina, showing him rooms in the cottage that inspired scenes in Wolfe's books.
Conroy's novels include the best-selling ``The Prince of Tides'' which was made
into a 1991 movie starring Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte.
His seventh book, ``Our Losing Season,'' is due out later this year. It's based
on his senior year at The Citadel.
Pat Conroy
Fun Link
The William Shatner Experience
The William Shatner Experience
Lewisville (TX) Fire Department
John Travolta
The Lewisville Fire Department got a personal ``thank you'' from John Travolta for
its fund-raising campaign to help victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York.
``What happened in New York represented what every single fireman goes through every
day. They're willing to put their lives before everybody else, and they're the bravest
individuals in the world. To raise the money these guys have raised for the wives and
children of the rescue workers in New York is just an unbelievable thing,'' Travolta
said Tuesday.
He donned a red firefighter's hat and held both thumbs up, to cheers from the
firefighters and dozens of others who gathered at the main fire station in Lewisville.
Lewisville is a suburb in far northwest Dallas. Travolta was in the Dallas area
to promote his new film, ``Domestic Disturbance.''
John Travolta in Texas
Old Enough For Social Security
Bill Wyman
Former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman becomes the first British rocker of his generation
to qualify for a senior citizen's bus pass Wednesday.
But the bass player can celebrate his 65th birthday safe in the knowledge that
the other Stones aren't far behind him.
Next in line for his pension is drummer Charlie Watts, aged 60, followed by
58-year-old Mick Jagger.
Keith Richards, despite his ravaged looks, is one of the band's younger members
at 57, followed by Ronnie Woods at a youthful 54.
Wyman, 26 when he joined the group, was known as the ``quiet Stone.''
While the other band members were known for excessive drinking and drug taking, Wyman's
weakness was reported to be women. He claimed in a biography to have slept with an
estimated 1,000 women during his years on the road and has been married three times.
But he has put the brakes on his rock 'n' roll lifestyle since quitting the group
eight years ago.
He now professes to prefer spending time at home with his family than traveling
with his new band, the Rhythm Kings.
Indeed, he was said by newspapers to be celebrating his birthday ``quietly'' on
holiday with his third wife, actress Suzanne Accosta, and their children, Katie,
seven, Jessica, five, and Matilda, three.
Wyman, who looks younger than his 65 years, has in the past put his vigor down to
luck. ``I smoke, I eat a lot of red meat, have loads of sugar and loads of salt,''
he told Reuters in a 1997 interview. Other '60s rock and pop stars soon to be sent
their pension books are Sir Paul McCartney, who turned 59 in June, Ringo Starr, 61,
and Paul Simon, 60.
Bill Wyman, Senior Citizen
Fun Link
The First Church Of Shatnerology
The First Church Of Shatnerology
Dylan's Multi-Volume Autobiography
'Chronicles'
Bob Dylan is writing a multi-volume autobiography, titled ``Chronicles,'' the
first installment of which is due out next year.
Simon & Schuster spokesman Adam Rothberg declined to give details of the deal on
Wednesday, or say how many volumes Dylan will write.
``This is the big one,'' Rothberg said. ``It's covering his life and career. You'll
have to read the rest of it to find out.''
The 60-year-old singer-songwriter previously released a book of his lyrics, as
well as ``Tarantula,'' a collection of short pieces and poems he wrote while he
was touring in the mid-1960s.
Dylan's Autobiography
Going To The Dogs?
Universal Studios
Universal Studios, Universal Pictures, and now ... Universal Kennels?
All of Hollywood's movie studios have beefed up security in the post-Sept. 11 world,
sparing no expense to add concrete barricades, armed guards, X-ray machines for
packages and even explosives-sniffing dogs.
But with the duration of the war on terrorism looking more and more like months
or years, Universal has begun to look at ways to cut security costs: insiders
familiar with Universal's plans say the dogs are ``here to stay'' and that the
studio is planning to build an on-the-lot kennel to house the half-dozen currently
rented canine patrolers.
A spokeswoman for the studio would not confirm the kennel plan but did say that ``considering
the long-range aspects of our security plans, we're looking at all our options.''
New Security At Universal
As Promised
Bonus Page Link
Here are a couple of MP3 files from BC
Today's Horrible Story
Student Loans & Red Tape
Tired of the red tape involved in proving her son dead, a woman sent a baggie
containing some of his ashes to the company processing his student loans.
The baggie and accompanying letter arrived at Sallie Mae's office in Wilkes-Barre,
Pa., on Oct. 12 as concern was growing about anthrax-tainted letters.
"We treated it as it was an anthrax scare. It was a gray powdery substance," said
company vice president Joseph Bailey.
The 25-year-old college student died of a drug overdose in Georgia, leaving behind
about $35,000 in federal student loans, Bailey said. The loans are discharged if
Sallie Mae or the lender receives an original or raised-seal copy of the death certificate.
The woman, from Washington state, first contacted Sallie Mae about the death May 17
but apparently became frustrated that the loans had not been discharged, Bailey
said. He refused to name her.
"She wasn't mad. It was just a bizarre response," Bailey said.
Police and hazardous materials teams were called to the company, which has 800 employees
and handles over 100,000 pieces of mail a day at its office about 100 miles north
of Philadelphia. Several workers went to their doctors for tests.
"People were freaking out and going to the doctor thinking they had handled
anthrax," Bailey said.
A funeral director later confirmed the bag, with about two teaspoons of white-and-gray
flecked ashes, contained human remains. The company planned to return the remains
to the woman.
After 5 Months...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ooooooh -- Really Like This One....
"Boondocks" (22 Oct 01)
Still Really Like This One....
"Boondocks" (9 Oct 01)
Gonna let it ride for awhile.
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
