'TBH Politoons'
Weekly Link
Sick Of This Crap!
Just one more week until Bush makes his annual hourlong Thanksgiving appearance in Iraq! Wow, that is honest to gosh support! Until then, engorge yourself on the following giblets:
* Fallujah Re-election Party!!!! Whoohoo! Troops Gone Wild!!
* Alberto Gonsalez - Out of the Ashcroft Frying Pan
* Arlen Specter - GOP "Moderate"'s days are numbered.
Join us won't you join us? We're just a click away....
Reader Contribution
H.L. Mencken
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and
more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day
the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and
the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." -
H.L.Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Thanks, Bill!
A great read in these dark days of the legitimization of 'creation science' and 'intelligent design' is
Scopes Trial - Mencken's Reports.
Reader Comment
Those "christian music" commercials
Has anyone ever seen those "Christian music" commercials?
I don't know what's funnier: the awful lyrics ("our god is an awesome god") or the crowds with their eyes shut, heads bobbing and their arms waving (the "I'm waiting for the spaceship to come get me" look).
My daughter says they remind her of the folks at those Nazi rallies in the 1930s.
And THESE are the people who decided the election?
Fucking scary!
Terry C
NJ
Thanks, Terry!
Weirdly, here in LA I've seen these commercials on the CBS network news on the weekends.
In the old days when I was gainfully employed in TV, that was a sign there's either difficulty selling the time (i.e. no ratings), or your sales department is particularly inept.
Koresh only knows what it means in today's corporate controlled climate.
Reader Suggestion
Pictures Not On The News
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A sunny 80°
Fight Breaks Out
Vibe Awards
The 2nd Annual VIBE music awards were marred by violence according to sources at Santa Monica Municipal Airport in Los Angeles, a fracas that resulted in a temporary stoppage of the event.
At some point, in the evening, Suge Knight allegedly got on stage and said, "F**k the G-Unit." He supposedly hurled insults at others in the crowd in addition to 50 Cent's crew.
Sources at the event told AllHipHop.com, "All hell broke loose tonight and a melee ensued involving Quincy Jones, Snoop, Dr. Dre, Suge Knight and G Unit. Someone sucker punched Dr. Dre while Snoop and Quincy were about to present him with a special award. All hell broke loose. Celebrities were running for cover."
The show was temporarily halted, but eventually resumed. The show is expected to be televised on Tuesday Nov. 16.
Vibe Awards
Glut Kills Ratings
Reality TV
Television networks are learning a harsh lesson in reality -- too many reality shows are a turn-off for viewers.
As broadcasters increasingly binge on unscripted shows starring ordinary folks willing to do almost anything for cash, romance or 15 minutes of fame, the burgeoning genre of reality TV appears to be wearing a bit thin with U.S. audiences.
"You had a few really good reality programs ... and now they turn them out like they were bad two-hour movies," veteran TV producer Bernie Brillstein told Reuters on Monday. "And they're not so cheap to make anymore."
In the end, however, the biggest limit to the commercial success of reality TV may be its limited shelf life in an industry whose business model hinges on the ability of producers to eventually sell their shows as reruns.
"Part of our business is to get (a show) to last so you can syndicate it," Brillstein said. "You can't syndicate this dreck."
Reality TV
Tyranny Of The Few
FCC Censorship
A BUZZMACHINE EXCLUSIVE!
With not much original reporting, I discovered that the latest big fine by the FCC against a TV network -- a record $1.2 million against Fox for its "sexually suggestive" Married by America -- was brought about by a mere three people who actually composed letters of complaint. Yes, just three people.
I filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Oct. 12 asking to see all of the 159 complaints the FCC cited in its complaint against Fox.
I just received the FCC's reply with a copy of all the complaints -- and a letter explaining that, well, there weren't 159 after all. William H. Davenport, chief of the FCC's Investigations and Hearings Divison, admits in his letter that because the complaints were sent to multiple individuals at the FCC, it turns out there actually were only 90 complaints. It gets better: The FCC confesses that they come from only 23 individuals.
But it gets even better: I examined the complaints and found that all but two of them were virtually identical. In other words, one person took the time to write a letter and 20 other people then photocopied or merely emailed it to the FCC many times. They all came from an automated complaint factory like the one I write about here. Only two letters were not the form letter.
So in the end, that means that a grand total of three citizens bothered to take the time to sit down and actually write a letter of complaint to the FCC. Millions of people watched the show. Three wrote letters of complaint.
Read the whole amazing story - FCC Censorship
Wingnuts Complain to FCC
'Ryan' Viewers
The Federal Communications Commission has confirmed it received complaints about the uncensored broadcast of Oscar-winning war movie "Saving Private Ryan" on ABC-affiliated stations last week.
An FCC official said several complaints were filed Friday, the day after the Veterans Day broadcast, but couldn't say how many or who or where they are from. The commission has to have a complaint before it can take action.
Groups affiliated with the American Family Assn., a conservative Christian group that monitors the airwaves, pledged Thursday to flood the FCC with complaints about the language and violence in Steven Spielberg's film.
Despite the fact that about 30% of ABC's stations pre-empted "Ryan," the film's ratings were strong enough to power the network's to its best performance in total viewers and the coveted adults 18-49 demographic this season. An audience of 7.7 million tuned in.
'Ryan' Viewers
Seek Asylum
Cuban Artists
The grim reality of life in Cuba was no match for Las Vegas' bright lights, excitement ... and freedom.
All but three of the current 44 Cuban cast members of "Havana Night Club" asked for political asylum this morning at the George Federal Building on Las Vegas Boulevard South.
One has decided to return to his native country. Two others are uncertain about their choice.
Seven more performers, including the show's lead singer, have been in Germany since September, awaiting the opportunity to join the production at the Stardust. They have already asked for asylum in the United States.
Cuban Artists
Retiring from 'NYT' Op-Ed Column
William Safire
William Safire, the conservative voice on the New York Times Op-Ed page for more than three decades, will end his regular column in early 2005, a Times spokeswoman said Monday.
"He's written it for a long time and has been talking to [Times Publisher] Arthur [Sulzberger Jr.] about this for a year and a half," said spokeswoman Catherine Mathis. "His last column will be Jan. 24."
Safire joined the paper in 1973 after working as a speechwriter for President Nixon, and he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1978 for distinguished commentary. He plans to continue his Sunday New York Times Magazine "On Language" feature, which began in 1979, Mathis said, but he will end his syndicated column.
William Safire
U.S. National Toy Hall of Fame
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe, an action-figure toy with a love-or-hate history, has received a salute from the National Toy Hall of Fame.
"Some people like this toy - a lot, and some don't like it - a lot," said the museum's chief executive, G. Rollie Adams, as the 40-year-old miniature soldier was enshrined last week, along with the rocking horse and Scrabble. They joined 28 classic playthings, from Barbie to Mr. Potato Head, Legos to Lincoln Logs, Slinky to Play-Doh and Crayola crayons, that have been inducted into the six-year-old Hall of Fame.
The museum boasts the world's largest collection of toys and dolls. One big qualifier for inclusion: toys need to have fostered learning and creativity for multiple generations.
G.I. Joe
Wedding In Japan
Princess Sayako
The news that Princess Sayako will wed at age 35 after years of hesitation was welcomed by many in Japan who fear that sagging marriage and birth rates has left the country headed for a demographic crisis.
Sayako, a bird-watcher who has said marriage is "not something to rush," is the last of Emperor Akihito's three children to wed.
Many younger women value their careers over Japan's often rigid family structure. Under royal rules, Sayako, who was a trusted adviser to Empress Michiko, leaves the imperial family after her marriage to a commoner.
Princess Sayako
Exhibit Opens
Marilyn Monroe
She was Playboy's first centerfold, and Joe DiMaggio's second wife. Marilyn Monroe possessed a knack for the big splash, particularly if there was a camera nearby - and it seemed there was always a camera nearby.
The actress turned enduring American icon was intoxicated by the pop of flashbulbs; during her too-short lifetime, she was photographed drinking and dining, smiling and sleeping, dressed and undressed.
More than 200 Monroe pictures from 39 photographers - including such celebrated lensmen as Richard Avedon, Gordon Parks, Robert Frank and Andy Warhol - are on view at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in a new exhibit, "I Want to Be Loved by You: Photographs of Marilyn Monroe."
Marilyn Monroe
Buried in U.S. to Be Honored
German POWs
They are foreign enemies buried thousands of miles from home, but they are not forgotten. Less than a week after U.S. soldiers were honored during Veterans Day, dignitaries on Wednesday are to gather and salute the hundreds of thousands of German prisoners of war taken to camps in the United States during World War II - most of them in the South.
"The minimum you can do is honor these soldiers who sacrificed," said Lt. Col. Herbert R. Sladek, a member of Fort Benning's German Army liaison team, which hosts "Volkstrauertag" - Germany's day of mourning.
The camps are an all-but-forgotten part of history, but the prisoners did leave some remnants behind in southern Georgia and throughout the country. Some of them went on to become leaders of postwar Germany.
During World War II, the United States, which had little previous experience with foreign POWs, hastily threw up 700 internment camps to detain 425,000 enemy soldiers, who were arriving sometimes at a rate of 30,000 a month.
About 860 of the German POWs are buried at 43 sites across the United States, according to the German War Graves Commission, a private charity based in Germany that registers, maintains and cares for the graves of the country's war dead abroad. They died from illnesses, accidents and other causes.
German POWs
German Prisoners of World War II
German POWs in the South
S.C. to Acquire Works
Jasper Johns
The Greenville County Museum of Art plans to spend $5.8 million on work by pop/abstract expressionist artist Jasper Johns. It is one of the largest art acquisitions by any museum in the Southern region.
Johns' work commands the highest prices of any living artist. One of his paintings sold for $17 million in 1988.
The museum will purchase an oil painting, two watercolors, a monotype print, a drawing and 30 prints directly from Johns. All the works are from the artist's personal collection, and the price is lower than the art could have brought on the open market, Styron said. Styron worked out the purchase with Johns, who lives outside New York.
Jasper Johns
Melting Threatens Alps
Swiss Glaciers
Switzerland's glaciers are melting faster than expected, shrinking by as much as one-fifth of their size over the 1985-2000 period alone, scientists at Zurich University said on Monday.
While Swiss glaciers shrank a meager one percent in the 12 years to 1985, they lost some 18 percent of their area in the 1985-2000 period, the research showed.
This suggests they are melting faster than earlier estimates which put the loss at 30 percent between 1980 and 2025.
Paul says that while a pattern of advancing and retreating glaciers was normal, temperature increases over the 1990s have stripped away swathes of ice which are needed to retain water, and in turn support plant and animal life in the mountains.
Swiss Glaciers
List Of Winners
American Music Awards
R&B singer Usher was the big winner at Sunday night's (11/14) American Music Awards, scoring wins in four of the five categories for which he was nominated.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony, which aired live on ABC-TV and featured performances by award-winners Usher, Chesney, Keith, Wilson and Alicia Keys, as well as Lenny Kravtiz, John Mayer, Maroon 5, Rod Stewart, Jessica Simpson and others.
Favorite Male Artist - Pop or Rock
Usher
Favorite Female Artist - Pop or Rock
Sheryl Crow
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop or Rock
OutKast
Favorite Album - Pop or Rock
"Confessions" (Usher)
Favorite Male Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music
Usher
Favorite Female Artist - Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music
Alicia Keys
Favorite Album - Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music
"Confessions" (Usher)
Favorite Male Artist - Country Music
Toby Keith
Favorite Female Artist - Country Music
Reba McEntire
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Country Music
Brooks & Dunn
Favorite Album - Country Music
"Shock'n Y'All" (Toby Keith)
Favorite Male Artist - Rap/Hip-Hop
Jay-Z
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Rap/Hip-Hop
OutKast
Favorite Album - Rap/Hip-Hop
"Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (OutKast)
Favorite Artist - Alternative Music
Linkin Park
Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary Music
Sheryl Crow
Favorite Artist - Latin Music
Marc Anthony
Favorite Artist - Contemporary Inspirational Music
MercyMe
Breakthrough - Favorite New Artist (All Genres)
Gretchen Wilson
Award of Merit
Bon Jovi
T-Mobile Text-In Award
Kenny Chesney
American Music Awards
