'Best of TBH Politoons'
Freshly Updated!
Dick Eats Bush
Reader Comment
Re: Biggest Hole
Saw your link to the hole in Siberia, but it is trumped by this one -
Bingham Copper Mine in Utah.
It's over 3/4 miles deep, or as deep as this mine is wide. Also, the trucks are bigger (only slightly), at over 23 feet tall instead of 21 feet tall (it doesn't list the other dimensions). At breadth, it is 2.5 miles instead of .75 miles.
It is not just a hole, but literally they have mined a mountain away -
here are some more pictures.
Best regards,
Billy
Thanks, Billy!
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
FRANK RICH: The Peculiar Disappearance of the War in Iraq (The New York Times)
AS America fell into the quagmire of Vietnam, the comedian Milton Berle joked that the fastest way to end the war would be to put it on the last-place network, ABC, where it was certain to be canceled. Berle's gallows humor lives on in the quagmire in Iraq. Americans want this war canceled too, and first- and last-place networks alike are more than happy to oblige.
Whose Video Is It, Anyway? (businessweek.com)
YouTube's runaway success has opened a Pandora's box of copyright issues.
Daniel Gross: The Not-So-Fantastic Four (slate.com)
Why Yahoo!, eBay, Amazon, and AOL are tanking.
Christie Keith: Queering Classic Love Songs (afterellen.com)
Everyone has her own personal romantic soundtrack, songs that will forever evoke some memory of love or heartbreak. And for much of the history of popular music, if you were a woman who lost her heart to another woman, your soundtrack involved a lot of pronoun-switching.
Michele Helberg: Batwoman's Lesbian Identity is No Secret to Comic Book Fans (afterellen.com)
When the latest press release from DC comics broke, the mainstream media, including the New York Times, took notice. It wasn't announcing another in a long line of television or film writers joining the comic ranks. It was about diversity. The character of Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, who hadn't been seen consistently in comic book pages since the mid-1960's, was returning in DC's latest, 52. What made the Kate Kane factor so central to a press release on DC's move to create more diverse characters in their projects? She was being re-imagined as a lesbian.
Bob Smith: Today's Comedians More Queer Eye than Homophobic (afterelton.com)
Comedians are itinerant prospectors always panning for new sources of fool's gold, but it's unlikely that ten years ago straight male comedians would have predicted they'd hit pay dirt with queer comedy.
Matthew Cole Weiss: Little Miss Sunshine: A Dark Comedy With a Gay Bent (afterelton.com)
In Little Miss Sunshine, Fox Searchlight's new family road trip dramedy, Steve Carell plays Uncle Frank, a gay man who recently attempted suicide after his lover left him for his arch rival. Seeing no point in living, Frank slits his wrists, only to survive and end up in a different type of hell: living with his sister and her family.
Cruising in style (guardian.co.uk)
George Michael loves it, but lesbians have never traditionally embraced casual sex. Now, a new generation of women are having erotic adventures, says Jaq Bayles.
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement National Resource Centre (lgcm.org.uk)
We are a UK-based international Charity who are praying for an inclusive church and you are welcome here.
Reader Suggestion
Arundhati Roy
Hi
There is a new Arundhati Roy Documentary on the web which is quite unlike anything that I've come across.
It can be found at www.weroy.org/.
An excerpt can be found at
YouTube - Arundhati Roy on the Palestinian / Israeli Conflict
Enjoy!
Scott
Thanks, Scott!
Someday, when I'm not dependent on a crappy dial-up, YouTube will be a lot more friendly.
Purple Gene Reviews
Too $hort
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Much improved weather.
No new flags.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers will receive a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Science at its annual news and documentary Emmy Awards ceremony in September, the academy said Monday.
Moyers, who has received more than 30 Emmys, currently has a seven-part PBS series on faith and reason.
The 72-year-old Moyers will receive the award at the ceremony Sept. 25 in New York.
Bill Moyers
Award of Excellence
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin will be the first female artist to receive the Award of Excellence from the United Negro College Fund.
The 64-year-old singer will receive the honor at the college fund's "An Evening of Stars," to be taped Sept. 8-9 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. The annual TV special will air nationwide in late January 2007.
Franklin is being honored for her work with the college fund to provide deserving students with access to higher education as well as for her activism and philanthropy on behalf of other causes.
Aretha Franklin
Three Billionaires Seek To Buy
L.A. Times
Three billionaires, including Hollywood mogul David Geffen, have expressed interest in buying the Los Angeles Times, but have been rebuffed for the time being by its owner, Tribune Co., the paper reported.
Geffen, property developer Eli Broad and supermarket investor Ron Burkle each wrote to the board of directors of the Chicago-based firm, which is under pressure from shareholders to boost its flagging share price, the paper said in its Saturday edition.
The paper said the trio have discussed buying the paper both together and individually. It noted, though, that Geffen and Burkle have a "chilly relationship."
L.A. Times
New Probe Begins
Notorious B.I.G.
Six veteran homicide detectives are leading a new police task force investigating the unsolved 1997 killing of Notorious B.I.G.
The new probe comes in the face of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the rapper's mother, Voletta Wallace, and other relatives, who claim rogue police officers were involved in the killing, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
The lawsuit filed by the Wallace family ended in a mistrial last year when it was discovered that a police detective intentionally hid statements by a jailhouse informant linking the killing to two former officers.
A judge ordered the city to pay $1.1 million in legal fees and other expenses to the rapper's family. A new trial was set for early next year.
Notorious B.I.G.
Settles Sexual Harassment Suit
Faux
Fox News has settled a lawsuit with four women who claimed a vice president sexually harassed them, creating a hostile workplace, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Monday.
The settlement, submitted for approval in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, includes $225,000 for the women, the EEOC said in a statement.
The settlement also requires that Fox News take steps such as providing training and revising its policies to prevent future discrimination and retaliation.
Three of the four women no longer work at Fox News.
Faux
From the company that keeps Bill O'Really in humus & loofahs...
'Ecce Cor Meum'
Paul McCartney
Former Beatle Paul McCartney is hoping classical music fans will sing along to his latest album -- in Latin.
A new full-length work of classical music by McCartney, "Ecce Cor Meum" (Behold My Heart), will be released on September 26 after eight years of work.
"Ecce Cor Meum," an oratorio in four movements, is scored for choir and orchestra with the text combining both English and Latin, which McCartney studied at The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys.
"Ecce Cor Meum" was commissioned by Magdalen College, Oxford in honor of the college's new concert hall.
Paul McCartney
Out Of 'Criminal Intent'
Nona Gaye
Actress Nona Gaye has left the cast of NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" shortly after she signed on to play the new assistant district attorney.
Sources cited creative differences for Gaye's hasty exit, which occurred soon after production began on the crime drama's sixth season.
Gaye, the daughter of late soul icon Marvin Gaye, was quickly replaced by Theresa Randle, whose first day on the set is expected to be Tuesday. Her deal covers just three episodes, with an option to continue on the show as a regular.
Nona Gaye
World Championships Open In Stockholm
Magic
The World Championship of Magic opened in Stockholm for a week of performances by the globe's masters of the art of mystification, organizers said.
The competition, held every three years, is open to magicians of a minimum level required by the International Federation of Magic Societies (FISM).
They will be judged on technical skills, handling, showmanship, presentation, entertainment value, artistic impression and originality, as well as their ability to create a "magic atmosphere".
Magic
Off To Rehab
Mel Gibson
An official police report on Mel Gibson's arrest on drunken driving charges substantiates claims that he made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened a deputy, a law enforcement official said Monday.
On Monday, Sheriff's Department officials sent prosecutors their case, which also says a tequila bottle was found in Gibson's car when he was pulled over on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Gibson was arrested after deputies stopped his 2006 Lexus LS 430 for speeding at 2:36 a.m. Friday. Whitmore said deputies clocked him doing 87 mph in a 45 mph zone.
A breath test indicated Gibson's blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, Whitmore said. In California, a driver is legally intoxicated at 0.08 percent.
Mel Gibson
Literary Lions Bare Fangs
'Brick Lane'
What began as a small protest by Bangladeshis in East London worried about how they would be portrayed in a low-budget film has escalated into a feud between literary heavyweights Salman Rushdie and Germaine Greer.
On Sunday, several dozen members of the Bangladeshi community of Brick Lane, a street renowned for its Asian restaurants, demonstrated against the filming of a novel by Monica Ali which they say portrays them as simple and ignorant.
Ali's 2003 novel, entitled "Brick Lane," is about a Bangladeshi woman who comes to Britain to live among the immigrant community and enters into an arranged marriage.
For the rest - 'Brick Lane'
Jewelery 'Disappears'
The Hermitage
More than 200 items of jewelery have disappeared in mysterious circumstances from the Hermitage museum here, it said.
The loss of the 221 items, worth around 130 million roubles (five million dollars, four million euros), was noticed during a routine inspection.
"There are many strange things in this affair. An employee working on the collection died suddenly at the beginning of the inspection. The other supervisors discovered the disappearance whilst continuing the inspection," a spokesman said without giving further details.
The Hermitage
Community Service
Boy George
Boy George will perform his court-ordered community service by picking up trash on city streets in the August heat, a sanitation spokesman said.
The one-time Culture Club singer will be issued a shovel, broom, plastic bags and gloves when he reports Aug. 14 for five days of work, said department spokesman Vito Turso.
"This is the epitome of community service," Turso told the Daily News for Monday editions. "It's not like he's going to be working in an air-conditioned office."
Boy George
Resolves 'Bat out of Hell' Suit
Meat Loaf
Veteran rocker Meat Loaf has resolved a dispute with songwriter Jim Steinman over trademark rights to "Bat Out of Hell," dropping a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over the title of the best-selling 1977 album.
"The two came to an amicable agreement that ensured that Jim Steinman's music would be a continuing part of the 'Bat out of Hell' legacy," Virgin Records said in a statement on Monday at an event to promote "Bat out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose," set for release on October 31.
The two have sold a combined total of more than 45 million copies and spawned such rock classics as "You took the words right out of my mouth" and "I'd do anything for love (but I won't do that)."
Meat Loaf
Auction A Prelude To Redecorating
Cher
Come October, the highest bidder can sleep in Cher's bed. It's one of 700 items from the superstar's Malibu home to be auctioned off in Beverly Hills.
Cher announced Monday that she plans to part with hundreds of her personal possessions - including furniture, artwork, jewelry, a 2003 H2 Hummer and original costumes by famed designer Bob Mackie - so that she can redecorate her home.
A "nice percentage" of the auction's proceeds will benefit the Cher Charitable Foundation, she said. The sale is expected to bring in more than $1 million, according to Lee Dunbar of Sotheby's, one of two firms administering the auction.
Cher
Brings Alaska Bears to the World
Bear Cam
Only a lucky few humans are allowed each summer to get up close and personal with the McNeil River bears, but thanks to the wilderness equivalent of the "Big Brother" show, the animals are available to the world.
A bear cam set up in their favorite spot of the 114,400-acre McNeil River State Game Sanctuary shows them brawling over salmon, cooling off in the falls, sunbathing on the rocks and fattening up for the long, Alaska winter.
The bear cam is turned on from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. Alaska Standard Time and has eight presets to zoom in on where the animals are likely to be at any given hour. During the afternoon, an interpreter at the museum controls the solar-powered camera to get the best views.
Bear Cam
Time Warner & Comcast Split Assets
Adelphia
Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. said on Monday they completed a deal to buy the assets of bankrupt cable operator Adelphia Communications Corp. valued at around $17 billion.
Time Warner's cable unit will take on 3.3 million Adelphia subscribers, bringing its total to 14.4 million, while Comcast will take on 1.7 million Adelphia subscribers, meaning it will have a total of 23.5 million subscribers.
As a result, Time Warner Cable will dominate in Los Angeles and strengthen its hold on New York, while Comcast will increase its market share in Florida, New England, Minneapolis and its home base of Pennsylvania.
Adelphia
Contradicts Science
Creation Museum
Like most natural history museums, this one has exhibits showing dinosaurs roaming the Earth. Except here, the giant reptiles share the forest with Adam and Eve.
That, of course, is contradicted by science, but that's the point of the $25 million Creation Museum rising fast in rural Kentucky.
"If the Bible is the word of God, and its history really is true, that's our presupposition or axiom, and we are starting there," museum founder Ken Ham said during recent tour of the sleek and modern facility, which is due to open next year.
Creation Museum
Military Airlift
Penguins
Brazil's air force and navy will transport more than 100 penguins to Antarctica next month after the flightless birds were stranded on Rio de Janeiro beaches.
Penguins arrive from the Antarctic Circle on ice floes that melt in the vicinity of Brazil's shore and the birds wash up on Rio beaches every winter. Typically many of the birds are sent to local zoos.
A plane carrying equipment for an Antarctic naval base will take the penguins to Brazil's southernmost region next month, an air force spokesman said on Monday. They will continue their journey on a naval ship, which will release them into the ocean in their Antarctic habitat.
Penguins
In Memory
Johnny Weissmuller Jr.
Johnny Weissmuller Jr., the son of Tarzan film star and five-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Johnny Weissmuller, died Thursday of liver cancer. He was 65.
Weissmuller Jr. died in a San Francisco hospital after being diagnosed in September with an inoperable tumor, Diane Weissmuller, his wife of 27 years, said Monday.
Weissmuller Jr. was an underwater demolition specialist in the Navy who went on to work as a stage actor and longshoreman in San Francisco in the 1970s.
He also penned a memoir about life with his father, who died in 1984 of pulmonary edema. "Tarzan, My Father" was published in 2002.
Johnny Weissmuller Jr.
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