'Best of TBH Politoons'
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Fiscal Poison Pill (nytimes.com)
I realized that the tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration are, in effect, a fiscal poison pill aimed at future administrations.
Cyndi Lauper: Here's Where I'm Coming From (advocate.com)
Cyndi Lauper wanted to fight prejudice as a kid. But she had no power until she could vote. In this election, you have the power to vote. Will you use it?
Tim Miller: Queer Commencement (advocate.com)
Author and performance artist Tim Miller spends a lot of his time touring universities teaching students about performance art. In this essay he imagines the graduation speech he might one day give at the fictitious Queer U.
Nikki Tranter: "Thick-Skinned: An Interview with Ashlee Simpson" (popmatters.com)
Here's a shocker -- Ashlee Simpson is lovely. She spoke to PopMatters ... about critics, Chrissie Hynde, and finding solace in the arms of friends.
Cheryl Coward: Artist and Activist Sharon Bridgforth (afterellen.com)
The author of "the bull-jean stories" talks about her work.
Heather A. O'Neill: British Author Stella Duffy (afterellen.com)
The novelist talks about her latest book, the problem with historical lesbian fiction and more.
Colleen McCaffrey: Fantasy Author Kerrigan Valentine Enchants Us (curvemag.com)
Author Kerrigan Valentine's book, Legacy, is a modern-day, feminist fairytale. She explains how the story she began at age 14 turned into her post-college novel.
Danielle Riendeau: Interview With Jennie McNulty (afterellen.com)
The out comedian and pro-football player talks about doing stand-up in Iraq.
Marilynn Preston: Is Wii Worth It? Is Faux Fitness Better Than Nothing? (creators.com)
Wii is the dumbing down of sports and fitness, just as holding the Olympics in China is the dumbing down of freedom.
Laura Vanderkam: The Case Against the Victory Garden (huffingtonpost.com)
The home-garden micro-trend runs counter to the tidal wave of food outsourcing that's swept through grocery stores over the past 20 years.
Ted Rall: Cartoons and Rants (rall.com)
Sylvia, by Nicole Hollander
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Reader Report
Turkey Creek
Hey Marty,
I've been doing hikes with my dog for the last month or so, 4 miles on
average. I had the day off today and we were going to the lake when i saw
this sign that said "nature trail" and decided to take a chance.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny but not too hot.
Broadcsters In The Dark
Beijing Olympics
Broadcasters still do not know if they will be allowed to transmit live from outside venues or 'iconic' sites like Tiananmen Square during the August Olympics, according to a satellite service provider in Beijing.
China has consistently promised media the same freedom to report in August as they have enjoyed at previous Games, in line with the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
But just seven weeks before the opening ceremony, broadcasters have yet to learn whether they have been successful in their applications for licenses to transmit live from major landmarks, an integral part of coverage in the past.
Beijing Olympics
Launched Monday
Progressive Book Club
For the past five years, liberal books, especially the Bush-bashing kind, have been a thriving market. A new online club is betting that they can evolve from a market to a movement, long after the president has left office.
The Progressive Book Club, which officially launched Monday, combines the offerings of a traditional book club with the interactive features of an online social network and the ideals of a grass-roots political party.
Authors Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers and Barbara Kingsolver are among the editorial board members for the new club, which offers a selection of works each month, at discounts from 10 percent to 40 percent, and perhaps up to 80 percent. For most sales, the club will donate $2 on the member's behalf to a range of educational, environmental and other organizations.
The Web site, www.ProgressiveBookClub.com ", will also feature videos, audios, forums for debates, book reviews and recommendations.
Progressive Book Club
He's Big Bird
Caroll Spinney
On the street, Caroll Spinney is a 74-year-old of modest proportions. On the job, transformed into Big Bird, he stands eight foot two and is six years old.
Being Big Bird is sweaty, physical work. But Spinney, who has worked on Sesame Street for nearly four decades playing both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, has no wish to be anywhere else. "I can't imagine willingly walking away from Big Bird and Oscar," he said.
Spinney's workday transformation begins with a pair of orange furry jeans encircled in hot pink ridges. Next, manhole-size pink webbed feet made of foam - built around a pair of Hush Puppies loafers. Between takes, he protects them from his kindergarten co-stars with custom-made purple slippers.
Spinney tops off his ensemble with the familiar 11-kilogram top half of Big Bird, a combination of costume and puppet. He works Big Bird's mouth with his hand and the eyes with a coat hanger attached to his pinky finger.
Caroll Spinney
Get One Today
Firefox 3
Just more than 10 years ago, Mozilla threw its open-source code into the public domain. Today, its browser -- Firefox -- is preparing to launch its third major release in hopes of continuing to eat away at Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Firefox already has more than 18 percent of the global market, according to Net Applications. With the release of Firefox 3, Mozilla could see a boost in downloads and market share. Microsoft's next version of Internet Explorer won't come to market until later this year.
On June 17, Mozilla will release Firefox 3. After more than 34 months of active development and the contributions of thousands of people, Firefox 3 will be downloadable free from the Mozilla Web site. Mozilla is promising this is the best browser -- period.
Firefox 3
Wins Great American Think-Off
Craig Allen
An Oregon man is the winner of this year's Great American Think-Off, a national philosophy competition that gives ordinary people the chance to debate some of life's perplexing questions.
This year's question: "Does immigration strengthen or threaten the United States?"
Craig Allen, of West Lynn, Ore., won a gold medal Saturday after a live audience in New York Mills decided he was most convincing when arguing that the system of immigration and immigration policy is broken. He says it encourages an influx of illegal immigrants and poses a threat to the country.
The debate is held by the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the cultural and creative opportunities of rural Americans. New York Mills is a farming town of some 1,200 people in central Minnesota, about 170 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
Craig Allen
'Top Gear' Gig
Adam Carolla
NBC announced Monday morning what listeners to Adam Carolla's radio show have known for a while: The comedian will host the broadcaster's adaptation of the BBC's "Top Gear."
Carolla will join drift racer Tanner Foust and TV construction guru Eric Stromer as the show's presenters. "Gear" targets auto enthusiasts and mixes racing, stunts, challenges and celebrity guests.
The original "Gear" premiered in 1977 and is BBC 2's most-watched program in the U.K. The show is broadcast in more than 100 countries and has been airing on BBC America since 2007.
Adam Carolla
Army Probe Tainted
Reuters Journalist
U.S. soldiers who killed a Reuters journalist in Iraq acted within military rules, but the Army's probe of the incident was tainted by its failure to preserve evidence, a Pentagon investigation said on Monday.
The Defense Department's inspector general, the Pentagon's watchdog agency, found that U.S. soldiers who fired on a Reuters car in west Baghdad in August 2005, killing Reuters Television soundman Waleed Khaled, reasonably responded to what they thought was a threat.
But the inspector general criticized the Army investigator for losing a critical piece of evidence -- video from a Reuters cameraman in the car that captured events leading up to and including the shooting.
Reuters said it disagreed with the Pentagon agency's findings but appreciated its recommendation that the U.S. military work with news organizations on safety procedures to avoid similar incidents.
The U.S. military confiscated Kadhem's camera, which contained video of the shooting. The U.S. military showed the footage to Reuters staff but later lost that video, characterized by Reuters as a "key piece of evidence" and one that corroborated the Reuters version of events.
Reuters Journalist
Banned From Filming In Churches
Da Vinci Code
Rome's diocese said Monday it has barred the producers of "Angels & Demons" from filming in two churches for the prequel to the "The Da Vinci Code," the popular book and film that angered many Catholic leaders.
Producers of the film, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, were turned down because the movie "does not conform to our views," said Monsignor Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for the diocese.
The crew had asked to film in the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria, two architectural jewels in the heart of Rome that include paintings by Caravaggio, sculptures by Bernini and a chapel designed by Raphael.
Permission was denied in 2007, but the issue surfaced only now that filming is ongoing in Rome, Fibbi said. The Sony-produced film was put on hold during the Writers Guild of America strike that ended in February and is now scheduled for release in May 2009.
Da Vinci Code
Photographer At Fault
Britney Spears
A paparazzo who pressed charges against Britney Spears after her car allegedly ran over his foot was himself to blame for any injury it may have caused, prosecutors said in refusing to pursue the case.
After reviewing police records and a videotape of the incident last year, Deputy District Attorney Joseph D. Shidler wrote Friday that the "only way the victim's foot could have been where the video indicates it to be was by the victim placing it in that location."
The photographer, who was not identified in the report, filed a criminal complaint against Spears in early May, nearly six months after the alleged incident. A copy of the police complaint was not immediately available Monday, but it sought a felony charge of failing to stop after an accident involving an injury.
Britney Spears
Cutting Work Force By 10 Percent
McClatchy
U.S. newspaper publisher McClatchy Co plans to cut its work force by about 10 percent, or about 1,400 jobs, as part of a restructuring plan to deal with a damaging drop in advertising revenue.
The cuts will be the largest at McClatchy in recent history. They will be achieved through layoffs, buyouts and leaving jobs open, McClatchy said in a statement on Monday.
Like many U.S. newspaper publishers, McClatchy is dealing with a downturn in the wider U.S. economy and the migration of paying customers away from its papers. The primary result of these trends is a persistent decline in advertising revenue, particularly in real estate, automobile and employment.
McClatchy reported a 12.9 percent gain in online ad revenue in May as it attracted more readers online. Online audience growth rose 25 percent in 2007 and 41 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
McClatchy
Scientists Reverse Vasectomy
Przewalski Horse
Scientists at the National Zoo say they have reversed a vasectomy on an endangered horse - the first known operation of its kind on an endangered species.
Veterinarians revealed Monday that they successfully performed the procedure on the horse to allow it to reproduce naturally. The surgery was performed in October 2007 on a Przewalski horse named Minnesota. The horses are native to China and Mongolia.
Luis Padilla, the zoo veterinarian who performed the surgery, says the procedure was a first for this species and likely for any endangered species. The team worked with St. Louis urologist Dr. Sherman Silber, who pioneered the technique in humans.
Przewalski Horse
In Memory
Stan Winston
Stan Winston, the Oscar-winning special-effects maestro responsible for bringing the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" and other iconic movie creatures to life, has died. He was 62.
Winston died at his home in Malibu surrounded by family on Sunday evening after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, according to a representative from Stan Winston Studio.
Winston won visual effects Oscars for 1986's "Aliens," 1992's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and 1993's "Jurassic Park." He also won a makeup Oscar for 1992's "Batman Returns."
Winston was nominated for his work on "Heartbeeps," "Predator," "Edward Scissorhands," "Batman Returns," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "A.I."
At the time of his death, Winston was in the process of transforming his physical makeup and effects studio into the new Winston Effects Group with a team of senior effects supervisors.
As a child growing up in Virginia, Winston enjoyed drawing, puppetry and classic horror films. After graduating from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville in 1968, Winston moved to Southern California to become an actor but instead worked behind the scenes and completed a three-year makeup apprenticeship program at Walt Disney Studios in 1972.
Winston is survived by his wife, Karen; a son, daughter, brother and four grandchildren.
Stan Winston
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