Issue #62
Disinfotainment Today
By Michael Dare
'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, but not as hot as it's gonna get.
Had to bump some mail - page was getting too big. Guess that's why there's tomorrow. ; )
Had to make an extra run to Reptiles Unlimited for more crickets. Jo, the (remaining) lizard must be getting ready to molt, again.
Tonight, Tuesday, CBS starts the evening with the Season Premiere of 'Big Brother 4', followed by a
RERUN 'The Guardian', then a RERUN 'Judging Amy'.
On a RERUN Dave are Juliette Binoche, Joe Queenan, and Blur.
On a RERUN Craiggers are Carl Reiner and Kelly Clarkson.
NBC opens the night with a FRESH 'Dog Eat Dog', followed by a FRESH 'Last Comic Standing',
then 'Dateline'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are James Woods, Kristanna Loken, and Evanescence.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Jake Johannsen and Fran Drescher.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Famke Jassen and Finch.
ABC starts the evening with a RERUN '8 Simple Rules', followed by a RERUN 'Bonnie', then a RERUN
'Jim', followed by a RERUN 'Less Than Perfect', then a RERUN 'NYPD Blue'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Chris Spencer and Tower of Power Horns, with this week's guest co-host Zach Galifianakis.
The WB offers a RERUN 'Gilmore Girls' and a RERUN 'Smallville'.
Faux has a FRESH 'American Juniors' followed by a FRESH 'Keen Eddie'.
UPN has a FRESH 'America's Next Top Model', followed by the Season Finale of 'America's Next Top Model'.
A&E has 'Biography' (The Munsters), followed by 'Cold Case Files'.
AMC offers the movie 'Castle Keep', followed by the movie 'In Harm's Way', then the movie 'Midway'.
BBC -
[7pm] 'Ground Force' - Basingstoke;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Penistone;
[8pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Ashford;
[8:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Eltham;
[9pm] 'Ground Force' - Thuro;
[9:30pm] 'Ground Force' - Garforth;
[10pm] 'What Not To Wear' - Claire;
[10:30pm] 'What Not To Wear' - Hayley;
[11pm] 'So Graham Norton' - Cher, Jessica Wallace, Andrea Corr;
[12am] 'Ground Force' - Thuro;
[12:30am] 'Ground Force' - Garforth;
[1am] 'What Not To Wear' - Claire;
[1:30am] 'What Not To Wear' - Hayley;
[2am] 'Changing Rooms' - Ashford;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Eltham ; and
[3am] 'So Graham Norton' - Cher, Jessica Wallace, Andrea Corr. (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has the movie 'The Untouchables', followed by the movie 'The Untouchables'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Tony Snow.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'Deep Sea Detectives', 'Nature Tech', and more 'Modern Marvels'.
MTV has a FRESH 'The Osbournes'.
SciFi has 'In Search Of', followed by 'In Search Of', then 'Beyond Bizarre', followed by another 'Beyond Bizarre'.
TCM celebrates Texas by day & Charlie Chaplin all night.
[6am] 'Ride, Ranger, Ride' (1936);
[7:30am] 'Badman's Territory' (1946);
[9:30 am] 'Texas Carnival' (1951);
[11am] 'Lone Star' (1952);
[1pm] 'Boom Town' (1940);
[3pm] 'Terror In A Texas Town' (1958);
[4:30 pm] 'Giant' (1956);
[8pm] 'Chaplin Today: Modern Times' (2003);
[8:30pm] 'Modern Times' (1936);
[10pm] 'Chaplin Today: Limelight' (2003);
[10:30pm] 'Limelight' (1952);
[1am] 'Chaplin Today: The Gold Rush' (2003);
[1:30am] 'The Gold Rush' (1925);
[3am] 'Tramp and the Dictator' (2002); and
[4am] 'The Great Dictator' (1940). (ALL TIMES EDT)
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Earth, Wind, and Fire members, from left, Verdine White, Maurice White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson, leave their hand imprints at the Hollywood Rock Walk at a ceremony in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, Monday, July 7, 2003.
Photo by Matt Sayles
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
MSGOP Finally Fires
Michael 'Savage' Weiner
MSNBC on Monday fired Michael Savage for anti-gay comments.
"His comments were extremely inappropriate and the decision was an easy one," MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said.
The incident that resulted in his firing began innocently enough. Savage was taking viewer phone calls about airline horror stories, and a male caller began talking about smoking in the bathroom.
"Half an hour into the flight, I need to suggest that Don and Mike take your ..." the caller said, before he was cut off and his words became unintelligible.
"So you're one of those sodomists. Are you a sodomite?" Savage asked.
The caller replied: "Yes, I am."
"Oh, you're one of the sodomites," Savage said. "You should only get AIDS and die, you pig. How's that? Why don't you see if you can sue me, you pig. You got nothing better than to put me down, you piece of garbage. You have got nothing to do today, go eat a sausage and choke on it."
He asked for another phone caller who "didn't have a nice night in the bathhouse who's angry at me today."
Michael 'Savage' Weiner
video of Michael 'Savage' Weiner losing it
Defends Townshend
Roger Daltrey
Who vocalist Roger Daltrey has leapt to the defense of guitarist Pete Townshend, calling his arrest for child pornography a "witch hunt."
"If this was the Sixties, more people would see this witch hunt for what it is and start a protest," Daltrey told the Daily Telegraph in an interview on Monday.
"It's about having some control over our lives and not letting the police do whatever they want," he added.
"He was treated as though he was guilty of the worst crimes and crucified without a trial by people with no accountability. It's a disgrace. Everything they did to him was appalling."
Roger Daltrey
Lee, Viacom Settle Name Issue
Spike
Movie director Spike Lee and Viacom Inc . on Monday settled a legal fight over whether the U.S. media conglomerate can rename its TNN cable network "Spike TV," Lee's attorney said, apparently allowing Viacom to proceed with a name change.
Details of the settlement were not disclosed, with Lee's attorney, Terry Gross, saying only, "The case is settled."
At about the same time as the attorney made his statement, a New York judge lifted an injunction he issued last month that had barred Viacom from using the "Spike" name.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Walter Tolub issued the injunction blocking the name change on June 12.
Both sides were ordered to appear in court before Tolub Tuesday morning.
It was expected that details would be announced at that time, along with information about any connection between the judicial order and the settlement.
Spike
Former U.S President Bill Clinton addresses the media, after he and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern signed an agreement for cooperaion between the Government's aid programme, Development Cooperation Ireland and the Clinton Foundation on fighting HIV/AIDS in developing countries, at Government Buildings in Dublin, Monday July 7, 2003.
Photo by John Cogill
Of Boobs & Boots
Prince Charles
Prince Charles caused red faces all round when he made two right-Royal gaffes at the Party in the Park in London. First he told sexy R&B star Beyonce Knowles: "Between you and me I think Wills fancies you" then he asked Liberty X's Michelle Heaton: "How heavy are your boobs? Oh, sorry, I mean boots!"
Beyonce was next to him in the Royal seats when he told her: "Both of my sons have your album" and went on to spill the beans about 21-year-old William finding her bootylicious.
Charles' second heart-stopping moment came when he moved backstage to meet many of the other acts.
Michelle was wearing heavy army boots - and it is claimed he meant to ask her about them but got his "bs" and "ts" mixed up.
Prince Charles
Carrying On Father's Legacy
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau has set off on a six-week filmmaking expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, carrying on his father's legacy of bringing images of far-flung places into the homes of millions.
Cousteau and his 19-member crew left Sunday and will travel throughout the 1,200-mile island chain, filming for a public television special, "Voyage to Kure," expected to air in fall 2004.
His work continues the tradition of his father, Jacques Cousteau, whose films and television programs made him a household name. The elder discoverer died in 1997.
The Searcher will make stops at Midway Island, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef, Pearl and Hermes Atoll and Raita Bank, making its last stop at Kure Island.
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Ocean Futures Society
Supporting Kucinich
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson has pledged his support of Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, and plans to stage fundraising concerts for his campaign.
"He stands up for heartland Americans who are too often overlooked and unheard," Nelson says in a statement posted on the Ohio Congressman's campaign Web site (http://thespiritoffreedom.com/). "Big corporations are well-represented in Washington, but Dennis Kucinich is a rare Congressman of conscience and bravery who fights for the un-represented.
"Dennis champions individual privacy, safe food laws and family farmers," adds Nelson, who is the co-founder of Farm Aid along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp. The organization's annual fundraising concert will take place Sept. 7 in Germain, Ohio.
"I normally do not get too heavily involved in politics, but this is more about getting involved with America than with politics," he adds. "I plan to do concerts to benefit the campaign." No events in conjunction with the campaign have yet been announced.
Willie Nelson
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Crickey - Baby News
Maya Rose Corwin
Jeff Corwin, the host of Animal Planet's "The Jeff Corwin Experience" and his wife, Natasha, on Monday announced the birth of their daughter, Maya Rose.
The baby was born early Sunday morning in Massachusetts and weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces. It's the first child for Corwin, 35, and his 29-year-old wife, who've been married since 1994.
Maya Rose Corwin
Animal Planet Web site
Cast members of the 'Battle of Buccaneer Bay' show signal the crowd after the 16,334th and final performance of the famous show, at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, late July 6, 2003. About 35 million people have seen the show since it debuted on October 26, 1993. MGM Mirage announced it would replace the pirate battle in October with a revamped $2 million show, called 'Sirens of TI', featuring sexy women dueling renegade pirates. The change is part of a planned overall transformation of the resort so it will become thought of as more of an adult hotspot and less of a family destination. This plan includes the removal of the skull-and-bones marquee on the Las Vegas Strip and replacing it with a neon 'TI' sign.
Photo by Ethan Miller
1st Edition Found
'Pride And Prejudice'
A book expert working in Scotland has found a rare first edition of Jane Austen's best-known book "Pride And Prejudice," his second such find in a year.
John Sibbald made the find while sifting through thousands of books inherited by a London-based client.
He also found copies of Austen's "Northanger Abbey," second edition copies of "Sense and Sensibility" and early William Wordsworth poems.
Last year, Sibbald found a "Pride And Prejudice" first edition at a car boot sale which later sold for more than $66,000.
'Pride And Prejudice'
Wedding News
McComb - Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek, who starred as hopeless romantic Dawson Leery on "Dawson's Creek" for six years, married actress Heather McComb over the holiday weekend in an outdoor ceremony in Malibu.
Guests at Saturday's ceremony included Van Der Beek's "Dawson's Creek" castmates Michelle Williams, Meredith Monroe, Busy Philipps, Hal Ozsan and Mary-Margaret Humes, along with fellow actors Soleil Moon Frye, Teri Polo, Essence Atkins and Eric Balfour.
Van Der Beek's uncle, a recently licensed minister, performed the ceremony. The groom's brother, Jared, was the best man, and the bride's sister, Jennifer, was the maid of honor.
McComb - Van Der Beek
Comic Book Superhero
Princess Di
Britain's Princess Diana will be reincarnated as a mutant comic book superhero this fall, according to publisher Marvel Comics.
The character will appear in a five-series storyline called "Di Another Day" in Marvel's "X-Statix" monthly comic, a spinoff from its popular X-Men, Marvel spokesman Brian Reinert said on Monday.
The first of the comic books will go on sale on Sept. 10.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman has called the idea "utterly appalling" and a "cheap attempt to cash in on Diana's fame and the tragic circumstances surrounding her death."
Princess Di
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Remy Martin's Contribution
Space Cognac
Cognac fashioned for astronauts will be the drink of choice for Gilles Elkaim on his voyage to the Arctic, the French explorer told reporters in Moscow.
The cognac, produced by Remy Martin and dubbed Remy Space, is packed in a thermal-protected container equipped with a straw and a reducing agent that allow the cognac to be drunk in weightlessness or extremely low temperatures, Alain Fournier-Sicre of the European Space Agency (ESA) explained.
Elkaim, who had been travelling alone across the Arctic since May 2000, has already covered some 10,000 kilometers in a kayak and a sleigh, a voyage that he confessed to AFP lacked only two things -- "good Bordeaux wine and French cheese."
The explorer, whose efforts are funded by the ESA, is intent on crossing Europe and Asia by way of the North Pole and the Bering straits in three summers and three winters.
Space Cognac
A Chinese girl stands in a sculpture of a dinosaur's jaws at an exhibition of sculptures with the theme of environmental protection in Beijing Sunday July 6, 2003. About 100 sculptures are on display in the 30 day exhibition, which, organizers say, aims to encourage a 'spirit of harmonious coexistance with nature among the public.'
Photo by Greg Baker
Mold Forces Family From Home
Ted Nugent
Rocker Ted Nugent's family had to move to one of his northern Michigan cabins after their home became contaminated with mold, his wife said.
Shemane Nugent said the contamination apparently stems from a water leak in the roof of the home near Jackson where the family lived for more than a decade.
"It's been an absolute nightmare," Shemane Nugent, who moved with the couple's 12-year-old son, Rocco, told The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens. "We've been told that we can't go back in there, that there's mold ... throughout the house."
Ted Nugent
Diamonds Brighten Singer's Smile
Monica
Monica's smile is brighter than most, but it's not just because of her pearly whites — the singer had diamonds implanted in two of her teeth.
The 22-year-old R&B singer had diamonds placed on her lower teeth a couple years ago. While plenty of rappers have made gold or platinum teeth popular, diamonds seem a bit unusual, but Monica doesn't think it's a big deal.
"People up here (in New York) don't wear gold teeth, platinum teeth and all that stuff as much as we do in the South," the Atlanta resident told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
"It's kind of like our own thing that we do. But instead of me getting a gold tooth or platinum tooth, I just got a diamond tooth, because that's what I like."
Monica
In Memory
Traynor Ora Halftown
Traynor Ora Halftown, who was the host of a children's show on Philadelphia television for nearly half a century, died Saturday. He was 86.
WPVI-TV, the station that aired his show, "Chief Halftown," reported the cause of death as diabetes.
A Seneca Indian, Halftown was born in Buffalo, N.Y., grew up in Jamestown, N.Y., and served in the Army in World War II before moving to Philadelphia.
"Chief Halftown," which ran from the early 1950s to the late 1990s, featured Halftown in a feathered headdress and a brocaded vest introducing cartoons and live amateur acts. In between those segments, he tried to show children what American Indians are really like, noting that Western movies tended to offer unrealistic portrayals.
Traynor Ora Halftown
In Memory
Christian Rudolph 'Buddy' Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen, the loose-limbed dancer turned Hollywood actor who achieved stardom and riches in the television series "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Barnaby Jones," has died, a hospital official said Monday. He was 95.
Ebsen died Sunday morning at Torrance Memorial Medical Center in Torrance, said Pam Hope, an administrative nursing supervisor. He had been admitted to the hospital, near his home in Palos Verdes Estates, last month for treatment of an undisclosed illness.
Ebsen and his sister Vilma danced through Broadway shows and MGM musicals of the 1930s. When she retired, Ebsen continued on his own, dancing with Shirley Temple and turning dramatic actor.
Except for an allergy to aluminum paint, he would have been one of the Yellow Brick Road quartet in the classic "The Wizard of Oz." After 10 days of filming, Ebsen, playing the Tin Man, fell ill because of the aluminum makeup on his skin and was replaced by Jack Haley.
Television brought Ebsen's amiable personality to the home screen, first as Fess Parker's sidekick in "Davy Crockett."
As Jed Clampett, the easygoing head of a newly rich Ozark family plunked down in snooty Beverly Hills, Ebsen became a national favorite. While scorned by most critics, "The Beverly Hillbillies" attracted as many as 60 million viewers on CBS between 1962 and 1971.
Ebsen returned to series TV in 1973 as "Barnaby Jones," a private investigator forced out of retirement to solve the murder of his son Hal, who had taken over the business.
Ebsen, who was 6 feet 3, jerked sodas until he landed a chorus job in the 1928 "Whoopee," starring Eddie Cantor. The dancer sent for his sister Vilma and they formed a dancing team that played vaudeville, supper clubs and shows such as "Flying Colors" and "Ziegfeld Follies."
A screen test led to an MGM contract for the dance team, and they were a hit in "Broadway Melody of 1936." Buddy's style was far removed from that of the reigning dance king of films, Fred Astaire. The angular Ebsen moved with a smooth, sliding shuffle, his arms gyrating like a wind-blown scarecrow. He made a charming partner with the tiny Shirley Temple in "Captain January."
His other films of the '30s included "Banjo on My Knee," "Four Girls in White," "Girl of the Golden West" (Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy) and "My Lucky Star" (Sonja Henie). His first dramatic role was in "Yellow Jack" with Robert Montgomery.
Ebsen was earning $2,000 a week at MGM in 1938, when studio boss Louis B. Mayer summoned him and announced: "Ebsen, in order to give you the parts you deserve, we must own you."
The dancer recalled that he replied: "I'll tell you what kind of a fool I am, Mr. Mayer, I can't be owned." He quit his contract, returning to touring as a dancer and playing Chicago for more than a year in a farce, "Good Night, Ladies." He served three years in the Coast Guard during World War II.
Ebsen toured in "Show Boat," then returned to Hollywood. Producers asked his agent: "Why hasn't he been working in pictures?" His luck began to change when director Norman Foster recommended him to Walt Disney to play Davy Crockett.
Disney had already chosen a young Texan, Fess Parker, for the role but he hired Ebsen as Crockett's partner. When the Crockett episodes were shown on the "Disneyland" series in 1954-55, both Parker and Ebsen became heroes. Millions of children began sporting coonskin hats and singing "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." "Davy Crockett" was also released to theaters.
Ebsen's later films included "Attack," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "The Interns," "Mail Order Bride," "The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band."
In 1993, he made a cameo appearance as Barnaby Jones in the film version of "The Beverly Hillbillies."
He was born Christian Rudolph Ebsen in Belleville, Ill., on April 2, 1908. His father owned a dancing school, where the nicknamed Buddy learned the fundamentals. The family moved to Orlando, Fla., when the boy was 10, and he began pre-medical studies at the University of Florida and Rollins College. But family financial problems forced him to leave school and, at 20, he decided to try his luck as a dancer in New York.
Over the years, the actor also found time to write musical shows, "Turn to the Right" and "Champagne Dada," and a play, "The Champagne General." A lifelong sailor, he piloted his "Polynesian Concept" to victory in a Los Angeles-Honolulu race in 1968 and manufactured ocean-going catamarans.
In 2001, Ebsen started a new, unexpected career: fiction writing. His novel "Kelly's Quest," released by an e-book publisher based in Indiana, became a best seller. He also penned an autobiography, "The Other Side of Oz."
Ebsen was first married to Ruth Cambridge, Walter Winchell's "Girl Friday," and they had two daughters. The marriage ended in divorce, and he met and married his second wife, Nancy, while both were in the Coast Guard. They had four daughters and a son.
Christian Rudolph 'Buddy' Ebsen
The Beverly Hillbillies
Despite his mystification at the newfangled trappings of luxury, and the craven depths to which almost everyone around him sinks, Jed remains a bastion of homespun wisdom--very much the Lincolnesque backroads scholar. Virtually recycling his George Russel character, the sidekick in Disney's Davy Crockett series from the mid-1950s, Ebsen eventually carried the Lincoln conceit over into his private life, authoring a stage play in 1966 titled The Champagne Generation, in which he starred as the late president. (When Nancy Kulp, the birdwatching Vassar grad Miss Jane Hathaway, ran for a Congressional seat from Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, she only lost when Buddy Ebsen, a lifelong Republican, stepped in to actively campaign against her.)
Prime Time Politicians
The Race: U.S. Congress (Pennsylvania), 1984.
Candidate: Nancy Kulp (Democrat). Played Jane Hathaway, the sour-faced bank secretary on "The Beverly Hillbillies," for nine seasons.
Political Background: Worked for Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential race against Eisenhower; elected to the Screen Actor Guild's Bord of Directors in 1982. She also worked with the Democratic State Committee of Pennsylvania.
The Race: Kulp ran unopposed in the primary and won the Democratic nomination. But Buddy Ebsen, who played Jed Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies," campaigned against her in the general election. He taped a radio ad for Kulp's opponent, Bud Shuster, which said: "I dropped [Nancy] a note to say, 'Hey Nancy, I love you dearly but you're too liberal for me. I've got to go with Bud Shuster.'" Shuster beat Kulp by 117,203 to 59,449.
The Political Graveyard: Pennsylvania: U.S. Representatives, 1980s
A 3,500-4,000-year old mummified monkey is seen on display in the Egyptian Museum's new section for ancient mummified pets, on July 6, 2003. Ancient Egyptians loved their pets so much they even wanted to take them into the after life.
Photo by Aladin Abdel Naby
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
The Ark Group bids a sad farewell to one of their number as they contend with Purgatory's lowest courtroom.
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
