'TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Froma Harrop: 'Working-stiff as capitalist - The hooey of the investor class' (smirkingchimp.com)
Some ordinary folk may respond to this with "Yes, the rich are getting most of the breaks, but why should I care?" Good question, but there is an easy answer: Because someone has to bear the cost of government. If people in the upper incomes are paying fewer taxes, others have to pay more.
Know Your Right-Wing Speakers: Ann Coulter (campusprogress.org)
Ann Coulter has been called "a bizarre sideshow," a "talking kite," and "just plain evil." But CampusProgress.org won't stoop to name calling. We promise not to sink to the sub-basement level of this venomous pundit, seemingly delusional storyteller, and popular conservative campus speaker as we offer you a brief profile.
Bill Berkowitz: Phyllis Schlafly's 50-year crusade
Smart, savvy and steadfast, anti-feminist conservative icon has used politics of accusation and paranoia to transform political landscape of U.S.
Joseph Epstein: Plagiary, It's Crawling All Over Me (weeklystandard.com)
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, what is plagiarism? The least sincere form? A genuine crime? Or merely the work of someone with less-than-complete mastery of quotation marks who is in too great a hurry to come up with words and ideas of his own?
ROGER EBERT; Samurai Rebellion (1967; A Great Movie)
Warning: This review discloses plot details. The tension in "Samurai Rebellion" is generated by deep passions imprisoned within a rigid social order.
Bryan Curtis: VH1: surreal network (slate.com)
As a cable network, VH1 arrived too early for its own good.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Rained all day and most of the night.
No new flags.
42nd Annual Awards
Cinema Audio Society
The rhythms of Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" won out over the sounds of invading aliens, an angry ape, Japanese geisha society and racial clashes at the 42nd annual Cinema Audio Society Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Rerecording mixers Paul Massey and Doug Hemphill and production mixer Peter F. Kurland thanked "Walk the Line"director James Mangold and their sound mentors for encouraging them to "tell the story through sound" when they accepted the top prize for the Oscar-nominated biopic. Also vying for the honor were "War of the Worlds," "King Kong," "Memoirs of a Geisha," and "Crash."
But the evening belonged to Quentin Tarantino, who received the inaugural C.A.S. Filmmaker Award and was on hand at the Biltmore Hotel event with his sound and picture editorial team, who were recognized for taking to new heights the use of sound in motion picture production.
The filmmaker heralded the talents of rerecording mixer Michael Minkler, this year's C.A.S. Career Achievement Award winner, and Minkler's partner, Wylie Stateman, who both worked with Tarantino and picture editor Sally Menke on "Kill Bill-Vol. 1" and "Kill Bill-Vol. 2."
Cinema Audio Society
'Memoirs of a Geisha'
Costume Design Guild
The lush hand-painted kimonos from "Memoirs of a Geisha" helped Colleen Atwood earn a top Costume Design Guild honor for the second year in a row.
Atwood, who won last year's award for excellence in film -- in period/fantasy for "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" -- nabbed the excellence in period film honor Saturday night for "Geisha" at the guild's eighth annual awards gala at the Beverly Hilton.
For the first time, a separate award was presented for excellence in fantasy film, a category that had been combined with period film. Isis Mussenden earned the distinction for the frosty winter wear from "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe."
Danny Glicker's win for excellence in contemporary film for the gender-bending togs worn in "Transamerica" rounded out the film categories. "I am so blown away. The budget for 'Transamerica' cost less than this award," Glicker joked, referring to the pricey Bulgari statuette.
Costume Design Guild
Donor Dollar$
Hollywood
The next big campaign is Election 2006. And who in D.C. is enjoying the entertainment biz's largesse this election year?
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group, it's -- no surprise -- Hillary Clinton, who has taken in $213,645 so far from movie, TV and music industry sources.
Second place is closely contested by two Teds: Ted Stevens, Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee ($100,500), and Ted Kennedy, of the Democratic family dynasty ($94,600).
At the corporate level, Time Warner has doled out the most cash so far: almost $612,000, 74% of which went to Democrats, the rest to Republicans. Viacom dropped $203,000 -- 48% to Dems, 52% to the GOP -- while Disney parted with $196,000: 44% to Dems and 56% to Republicans.
The individual contributor pack is led by Norman Lear, who's given Dems almost $75,000 for Campaign '06. Barbra Streisand has handed almost $40,000 to same. Ditto Rob Reiner to the tune of $24,000 and Haim Saban at $20,000, with almost half of that going to Clinton. Bob Iger has given a little over $15,000 to both Dems and Repubs.
Hollywood
Not a Good Month
Bush Radio
The Arbitrends for Los Angeles came out today, and Richard Mellon Scaife will probably want his money back - his messengers have lost listeners by the boatload. These are month-to-month extrapolated ratings (not rolling three-month average) for listeners 12+.
Limbaugh drew a 4.1 last month. This month he dropped to a 3.3.
Sean Hannity was at a 2.7 last month. He's now at a 1.8.
Laura Ingraham: 1.1 to 0.8.
Dennis Prager/Michael Medved: 1.2 to a 0.7.
Hugh Hewitt: 1.3 to 0.7.
How did KTLK, the Air America station do? Overall, 0.5 to 0.9, making it the only talk station in L.A. to score an increase. Stephanie Miller (mornings): 0.7 to 1.0. Franken (9 to noon) and Ed Schultz (noon to 3): 0.7 to 1.0. Randi Rhodes (3 to 7pm): again, 0.7 to 1.0.
For the rest, Bush Radio
'Da Vinci Code' Court Case Opens
Dan Brown
It's the latest twist for the mega-selling conspiracy thriller "The Da Vinci Code": a lawsuit against the book's publisher for breach of copyright that could taint the novel and delay the much-anticipated movie version.
Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of the 1982 nonfiction book "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," are suing publisher Random House, Inc. over the allegation that parts of their work formed the basis of Dan Brown's novel, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and remains high on best seller lists nearly three years after publication.
Brown, who rarely speaks to the media, sat attentively before a judge in London's High Court, a short walk from Temple Church - the place of worship founded by the Knights Templar - which figures in his novel. A New Hampshire native who still lives in his home state and has been working on a new novel, Brown is expected to give evidence here next week.
Dan Brown
Receives Neruda Award in Chile
Bono
President Ricardo Lagos gave Bono the country's highest award for the arts on Sunday and told the U2 singer he should learn to play the traditional Andean instrument known as the charango.
The arts medal is named after late Chilean Nobel Prize laureate Pablo Neruda, a poet Bono said he greatly admired.
During the ceremony at the La Moneda presidential palace, Lagos also presented Bono with a charango, a small lute-like instrument.
Bono
Oedipus Goes Hip-Hop
'The Seven'
Oedipus, the legendary Greek king who killed his father and married his mother, was "the original gangsta" and a "mack daddy" who looked like James Brown. At least that's how the story goes in a new hip-hop musical.
"The Seven" is an updated version of Aeschylus's tragedy "Seven Against Thebes," the story of the two sons of Oedipus who take up arms against each other after he curses them.
The program for the play includes a glossary explaining that "mack daddy" is slang for "a pimp; or a man who is popular with the ladies," and that Homer was the author of epic poems "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" before he became a cartoon character on "The Simpsons."
'The Seven'
Collecting Hip-Hop Relics
Smithsonian Institution
For nearly three decades, hip-hop relics such as vinyl records, turntables, microphones and boom boxes have collected dust in boxes and attics.
On Tuesday, owners of such items - including pioneering hip-hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Fab 5 Freddy - will blow that dust off and carry them to a Manhattan hotel to turn them over to National Museum of American History officials.
The museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is announcing its plans to embark on a collecting initiative, "Hip-Hop Won't Stop: the Beat, the Rhymes, the Life."
Smithsonian Institution
Paul Harvey's Fill-In
Fred Thompson
Former Sen. Fred Thompson, who has a recurring role on NBC's "Law & Order," has signed on with ABC News Radio as a host and commentator.
He will be based at ABC's Washington bureau and will host radio specials and provide commentary on politics, national security and current affairs, the network announced over the weekend. He also will fill in for Paul Harvey when the 87-year-old radio personality is on vacation.
Thompson's first show is scheduled for Memorial Day.
Fred Thompson
Universal Pictures Chief Leaving for DreamWorks
Stacey Snider
Facing pressure to decide on her future, Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider said Sunday she would join DreamWorks as co-chairman and CEO.
Over the weekend, Hollywood waited on tenterhooks as Snider chose between keeping her highly compensated job running Universal and its annual release slate of about 30 pictures and moving on to a new career phase, supervising a live-action slate of four to six pictures for the newly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures unit.
Snider will report to Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey and will share the chairman title with DreamWorks partner David Geffen. She will run the day-to-day operations of DreamWorks, where she will collaborate closely with Oscar-winning director-producer Steven Spielberg, whose latest film from Universal and DreamWorks, "Munich," is an Oscar contender. "It's all about Steven, it's not about anything else," one senior Universal executive said.
Stacey Snider
Says Arrest Was His Fault
George Michael
George Michael said his arrest for suspected drug possession in London this weekend was "my own stupid fault, as usual."
The 42-year-old pop singer was arrested Saturday after he was found slumped at the wheel of his car at Hyde Park Corner in central London.
He was bailed out and is to return to a police station next month.
"I was in possession of class C drugs which is an offense and I have no complaints about the police who were professional throughout," Michael - who rose to fame as half of the 1980s pop duo Wham! - said Monday in a statement.
George Michael
184-Proof Whisky
Bruichladdich Distillery
Following a 17th century recipe, one of the eight artisanal whisky producers on the tiny Scottish isle of Islay will produce a dozen barrels of 184-proof whisky, Bruichladdich distillery announced.
That's 92 percent alcohol, which is about as strong as whisky can get without being sold in a pharmacy.
"The first taste affects all the members of the body," a 1695 description of the elixir reads. "Two spoonfuls of this last liquor is a sufficient dose -- if any man should exceed this, it would presently stop his breath, and endanger his life."
Bruichladdich Distillery
In Memory
Octavia E. Butler
Octavia E. Butler, considered the first black woman to gain national prominence as a science fiction writer, died Friday. She was 58.
Butler, who had high blood pressure and heart problems, fell and struck her head on the cobbled walkway outside her home, said Leslie Howle, a longtime friend and employee at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle.
Butler's work used the genre's artistic freedom to explore race, poverty, politics, religion and human nature, Howle said. Some characters had extra sensory perception or fluid physiology.
Her first novel, "Kindred," in 1979 featured a black woman who travels back in time to the South to save a white man. She went on to write about a dozen books, plus numerous essays and short stories. Her most recent work, "Fledgling," an examination of the "Dracula" legend, was published last fall.
"Bloodchild and Other Stories" (1995) won Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995 Butler was the first science fiction writer granted a "genius" award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which paid $295,000 over five years.
Octavia E. Butler
In Memory
Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver, the diffident deputy Chester Goode in the TV classic western "Gunsmoke" and the canny New Mexico deputy solving New York City crime in "McCloud," has died. The actor was 81.
Weaver was a struggling actor in Hollywood in 1955, earning $60 a week delivering flowers when he was offered $300 a week for a role in a new CBS television series, "Gunsmoke." After nine years as Chester, who he played with a stiff-legged gait, he was earning $9,000 a week.
In 1966, Weaver starred with a 600-pound black bear in "Gentle Ben," about a family that adopts a bear as a pet. The series was well-received, but after two seasons, CBS decided it needed more adult entertainment and canceled it.
Next came the character Sam McCloud, which Weaver called "the most satisfying role of my career."
Weaver appeared in several movies, including "Touch of Evil," "Ten Wanted Men," "Gentle Giant," "Seven Angry Men," "Dragnet," "Way ... Way Out" and "The Bridges at Toko-Ri."
Weaver also was an activist for protecting the environment and combating world hunger.
The tall, slender actor came by his Midwestern twang naturally. He was born June 4, 1924, in Joplin, Mo., where he excelled in high-school drama and athletics. After Navy service in World War II, he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma and nearly qualified for the Olympic decathlon.
Weaver is survived by his wife; sons Rick, Robby and Rusty; and three grandchildren.
Dennis Weaver
In Memory
Otis Chandler
Former Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler, who turned a lackluster conservative daily into one of America's most influential newspapers, died on Monday at age 78, a family spokesman said.
Chandler, publisher of the paper from 1960 to 1980, died at his home in Ojai, California of Lewy body disease, a brain disorder that combines severe dementia with the tremors and impaired movements of Parkinson's disease.
The Chandler family took over the Times in 1882. Until Otis Chandler became publisher at age 31, it was known for its staunch Republican outlook, fierce anti-unionism and civic boosterism. As newspapers went, the Times was denounced by critics as a monument to mediocrity.
But according to David Halberstam in his book "The Powers That Be," "No publisher in America improved a paper so quickly on so grand a scale."
During Chandler's 20 years as publisher, the paper won 21 Pulitzer Prizes.
A fierce competitor who liked to surf, hunt big game and ride a Harley Davidson, Chandler reorganized the paper from top to bottom, bringing in new writers and editors and a different political tone. He made its Washington bureau one of the nation's best.
Otis Chandler
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