'Best of TBH Politoons'
Reader Correction
Re: Kestrel Albatross
Hi Marty
That's a Cormorant on the Wednesday, 11 January page, not a Kestrel Albatross.
Paul
Thanks, Paul!
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Daniel J. Stone: It's a benefit, but for whom? (latimes.com)
DANIEL J. STONE is a internist and associate medical director at Cedars-Sinai Medical Group.
AS A GERIATRIC medicine specialist, I am confronted daily by the chaos and confusion of Medicare's Part D drug benefit. The program should reflect President Bush's ideals of "compassionate conservatism." Compassion would mean user-friendliness and easy access to affordable drugs. And a conservative plan would maximize "bang for the buck." Instead, the priorities of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies have trumped these objectives.
FRANK DAVIES: How D.C. has changed in seven years (miami.com)
In the last seven years, the pharmaceuticals and health-products industries spent $800 million on lobbying and campaign contributions, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Is there any wonder why there is such consternation over the new Medicare drug benefit, with recipients angry and confused while drug companies quietly enjoy huge profits and an absence of any price controls?
Paul Krugman: The K Street Prescription (timworstall.typepad.com; scroll down. Dr. Krugman's words are in italics.)
The new prescription drug benefit is off to a catastrophic start. Tens of thousands of older Americans have arrived at pharmacies to discover that their old drug benefits have been canceled, but that they aren't on the list for the new program. More than two dozen states have taken emergency action.
Molly Ivins: Not. Backing. Hillary.
What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.
Know Your Right-Wing Speakers: David Horowitz (campusprogress.org)
Horowitz's "civil rights" activism has manifested itself in a twisted series of seemingly bigoted and clearly controversial attacks. Included in this list are his August 16, 1999, column in Salon entitled, "Guns don't kill black people, other blacks do" and his 1999 book, Hating Whitey and Other Progressive Causes.
Surviving Justice: Check out excerpts from the new McSweeney's book that tells the stories of 13 Americans who were wrongfully convicted (campusprogress.org)
Hundreds of men and women-including 120 on death row-have been released from America's prisons in the last several years after incontrovertible proof of their innocence emerged. In Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated, just out from McSweeney's, 13 exonerees describe their experiences-the events that led to their convictions, their years in prison, and the challenges facing them as they embark on their new lives outside. Each narrative is a stark account of our criminal-justice system's unforgivable flaws.
Tim Harford: The Mystery of the Rude Waiter: Why my favorite restaurant employs such a churlish lout (slate.com)
Intel introduced two versions of the old 486 computer chip; the cheaper version was the expensive version with some extra work done on the chip to reduce its speed. IBM's LaserWriter E, a low-end laser printer, turned out to be exactly the same piece of equipment as their high-end LaserWriter-except that there was an additional chip in the cheaper version to slow it down.
Josh Levin: The Naked Truth: A Slate investigation into unrated DVDs (slate.com)
Thanks to the proliferation of unrated DVDs, today's youth are promised boobs at the click of a button. The aisles of Best Buy overfloweth with unrated cuts of sex comedies and risqué foreign flicks. At this point, there's barely anything left to unrate: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Pantless Edition, anyone?
Alison Lurie: The Passion of C.S. Lewis (nybooks.com)
It is no surprise that conservative Christians admire these books. They teach us to accept authority; to love and follow our leaders instinctively, as the children in the Narnia books love and follow Aslan. By implication, they suggest that we should and will admire and fear and obey whatever impressive-looking and powerful male authority figures we come in contact with. They also suggest that without the help of Aslan (that is, of such powerful figures, or their representatives on earth) we are bound to fail. Alone, we are weak and ignorant and helpless. Individual initiative is limited-almost everything has already been planned out for us in advance, and we cannot know anything or achieve anything without the help of God.
Ellen Goodman: A million little memoirs: Confessionals sink lower and lower, cheapening real stories of survival
"I am an Alcoholic and I am a Drug Addict and I am a Criminal," wrote Frey eight times. Do bad-guy memoirists now hype up their records for street cred and sales, like a middle-class hip-hopper doing gangsta rap?
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Pornographer Exploiting Email Powers
Help NSA '202' this single and multi-level encryption to reveal the real George W?
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, windy & dry.
Had the front door open when a gust of wind blew out the pilot light in the living room furnace. That's never happened before.
Added 2 new flags - Honduras & Yemen.
Wins Producers Guild Award
'Brokeback Mountain'
Director Ang Lee's cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" solidified its status as the front-runner for Oscar glory on Sunday when it was named best picture of the year by the Producers Guild of America.
In 11 of the past 16 years, the winner has gone on take home the Academy Award for best picture. Last year was an exception with "The Aviator" winning the Producers Guild Award but losing the Oscar race to "Million Dollar Baby."
In other awards given out by the Producers Guild, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" was named the year's best animated movie and HBO's "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" was named best made for television film. ABC's "Lost" was named best television series and HBO's "Entourage" best television comedy series. Jeff Fager received the producer of the year award for producing CBS's "60 minutes."
Brokeback Mountain
Back on Stage
Don Ho
Hawaiian crooner Don Ho has returned to the stage, less than two months after undergoing a stem-cell procedure in Thailand to strengthen his heart.
The 75-year-old Ho sang for 90 minutes before a Sunday-night sellout crowd of 300 people at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel.
Wearing white pants, a blue velvet shirt and a white ginger lei, Ho sat behind an organ and kicked off a 10-song show with, "Night Life," followed by his signature tune "Tiny Bubbles."
For now, Ho will perform on Sundays only. He said he may add more shows at a later date.
Don Ho
Named Head of PBS
Paula Kerger
Calling public television a vital piece of the fabric of the American culture, Paula A. Kerger hopes to preserve "authenticity and quality" as the head of Public Broadcasting Service.
Kerger, named as PBS' president and chief executive officer, can expect to face an artistic, financial and political minefield when she starts work March 13.
But as a top executive with New York City's local public TV stations, she has gained experience in programming, fundraising and dealing with the national organization as well as with other local stations, she said Monday.
Kerger succeeds Pat Mitchell, who a year ago announced plans to step down after taking over in 2000, and will now head the Museum of Television & Radio.
Paula Kerger
Crossword Gurus Highlighted
'Wordplay'
They are self-professed word nerds. Their numbers include former President Clinton, Jon Stewart, the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls and New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina. Their idol is a guy named Will Shortz.
Crossword puzzles and the people who love them are the subject of the lively documentary "Wordplay," which premiered over the weekend at the Sundance Film Festival.
Shortz is the pastime's key figure, The New York Times crossword puzzle editor who's also heard on public radio.
The film uses Shortz's career as a focus, from his love of puzzles as a boy, to the creation of his own academic major - "enigmatology," or the study of puzzles - at Indiana University, through his professional work and his shepherding of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament each year in Stamford, Conn.
'Wordplay'
Chicken Pox
Jason Lee
Jason Lee has an excuse for missing work better suited for a fifth grader. He has the chicken pox.
Production on NBC's "My Name Is Earl" is being shut down for a couple of weeks "until he's feeling better and presentable to be on TV again," said Greg Garcia, the show's creator and executive producer.
NBC announced Sunday it was renewing "My Name Is Earl" and another Thursday comedy, "The Office," for a second season.
Jason Lee
U.S. May Get Version
'Top of the Pops'
"Top of the Pops," the long-running British music program famous for performances by artists from The Beatles to Nirvana, is making another attempt to cross the Atlantic.
The legendary TV show that features a countdown of the week's most popular songs with performances by top artists has been a staple in the United Kingdom for over 40 years. Though it has struggled in recent years, it has also spread to dozens of countries around the world.
"Top of the Pops" tried to make it in the U.S. in 1987 with Nia Peeples as host, but was canceled after one season. In 2002, the cable network BBC America also briefly broadcast the British show.
'Top of the Pops'
Buttafuocos & Amy Fisher
TV Reunion
More than a decade after 16-year-old Amy Fisher had a sexual relationship with a much-older car mechanic and shot his wife in the face, the one-time "Long Island Lolita" and Joey and Mary Jo Buttafuoco have agreed to appear together in a televised reunion.
All three have signed on for the appearance, which has yet to be sold to a network, television producer David Krieff told the New York Post for Monday editions.
TV Reunion
Launching at Cannes
'Da Vinci Code'
Case cracked: "The Da Vinci Code" will be the opening-night movie at the Cannes Film Festival in May, organizers said.
Based on Dan Brown's esoteric thriller about code-breaking and conspiracy, the movie will debut at the Riviera festival and in French theaters on May 17, the festival said Saturday. The rest of the world will have to wait two days, until May 19.
'Da Vinci Code'
Staying Open for Now
James Dean Museum
A museum chronicling the short life of James Dean that had been slated for closure will stay open after all - at least for the time being.
David Loehr, the owner of the James Dean Gallery, said he's received an outpouring of support and money since he announced plans last month to close the facility for good.
Loehr had worried that keeping the six-room museum open was too costly, but said he was able to "generate a little bit of money" during a recent trip to Los Angeles. Combined with an uptick in sales, he's been able to pay off debt and put money aside for operating expenses.
James Dean Museum
Cast Get Raises
'Lost'
The cast of ABC's "Lost" has even more to cheer about beyond the show's recent Golden Globe win for best drama series.
"Lost" producer Touchstone Television has offered all original members of the large ensemble cast a substantial salary bump in exchange for an additional year to the actors' current contracts. The studio's pre-emptive offer would see the actors earn almost $80,000 each an episode next season, the show's third, up from a range of about $20,000-$40,000 for most cast members this season.
All original cast members, including Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Naveen Andrews, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O'Quinn, Jorge Garcia, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim and Harold Perrineau, have been offered the same deal and are expected to take it. Fox, who plays the pivotal role of Jack, is said to have earned an extra bonus of at least $250,000.
'Lost'
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