'Best of TBH Politoons'
Free Protest Music
The Swing States Road Show
The Swing States Road Show's new single: YELLOW RIBBON can be downloaded (for free) at www.LeaJonesMusic.com
The song features multi-WAMMIE winning instrumentalists Dave Giegerich
(dobro),
Seth Kibel (clarinet), Karyn Oliver (vocals), plus a verbal poke at DUBYA
and those
who think he's got a clue.
We currently have three FREE mp3 songs by THE SWING STATES ROAD SHOW on our
website for your downloading pleasure; please spread them around. Burn CDs
for
your friends for the holidays. Laughter is good for the soul and the abs.
Peace and love folks.
Lea
The Swing States Road Show
Thanks, Lea!
Reader Tip
Re: 'Nip/Tuck'
Nip/Tuck fans - check this out!
Check out this great site - it may give you a sneak peek into the identity of The Carver!
Joy
Thanks, Joy!
The Wall St. Poet
The Credit Card Holiday Song
In the old Soviet Union, the secret police had dossiers that chronicled everyone's political lives so dissidents could be quickly identified and punished. In today's America, credit bureaus have very detailed records of everyone's economic lives, and one false spending move brings out the dunners. Barbed wire kept dissidents from escaping Soviet political bondage. A newly 'reformed' bankruptcy law does the same for American debtors. Here's a seasonal ditty, sung to the tune of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," that sums up this new reality.
©2005
For more political and economic verse: www.wallstreetpoet.com
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Geov Parrish: When Presidents Lie (seattleweekly.com)
One by one, President Bush's lies are unraveling-the lies used to justify talk of mushroom clouds over America, the lies that led a majority of Americans to believe Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11. The yellowcake uranium in Niger. The weapons stories peddled by Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi's and Ahmad Chalabi's goons. The meeting between Mohammed Atta and Iraqi operatives in Prague. The aluminum tubes for processing uranium. All these are now known to be lies, intelligence that had been discredited and discarded by the CIA or State Department before being seized as war rationales by the eager chicken hawks of the White House Iraq Group.
Richard Reeves: IS GEORGE BUSH THE WORST PRESIDENT -- EVER? (news.yahoo.com)
He has taken the country into an unwinnable war and alienated friend and foe alike in the process; He is bankrupting the country with a combination of aggressive military spending and reduced taxation of the rich; He has deliberately and dangerously attacked separation of church and state; He has repeatedly "misled," to use a kind word, the American people on affairs domestic and foreign; He has proved to be incompetent in affairs domestic (New Orleans) and foreign (Iraq and the battle against al-Qaida); He has sacrificed American employment (including the toleration of pension and benefit elimination) to increase overall productivity; He is ignorantly hostile to science and technological progress; He has tolerated or ignored one of the republic's oldest problems, corporate cheating in supplying the military in wartime.
Traci Hukill: Following The Path of Service -- to Nature (Common Ground. Posted on Alternet.org)
Michael Green used his studies in Buddhism to launch an organization that's taking on toxics one by one -- and making major strides.
Poor Elijah (Peter Berger): This is Only a Test (irascibleprofessor.com)
Back in 2002 President Bush predicted "great progress" once schools began administering the annual testing regime mandated by No Child Left Behind. Secretary of Education Rod Paige echoed the President's sentiments. According to Mr. Paige, anyone who opposed NCLB testing was guilty of "dismissing certain children" as "unteachable." Unfortunately for Mr. Paige, that same week The New York Times documented "recent" scoring errors that had "affected millions of students" in "at least twenty states." The Times report offered a pretty good alternate reason for opposing NCLB testing. Actually, it offered several million pretty good alternate reasons.
James Renner: A Cleveland Story: Sex, Drugs, and Leg Lamps: Strange But True Tales About Your Favorite Holiday Film! (freetimes.com)
Twenty-two years ago, a director who has since become known for making the world's worst movie filmed his passion project on the West Side of Cleveland. The result was a film called A Christmas Story, which has since become one of the most beloved holiday movies of all time.
Dennis Lim: Joe Dante (Homecoming) Dante's Inferno (villagevoice.com)
In this horror film that should especially horrify Republicans, dead veterans crawl out of their graves and stagger single-mindedly to voting booths so they can eject the president who sent them to battle.
The Oscar Igloo
Hubert's Poetry Corner
CHRISTMAS AT BLUE RIVER
Reader Tip
Re: Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris Is Giving It Away!
She's trying to distance herself from the other crooks.
Colby
In A Frostproof Place
Thanks, Colby!
Reader Comment
Re: 'Ark Of Darkness'
Marty:
I picked up a copy of 'Ark Of Darkness' and I really enjoyed it! I loved the way it trashes fundamentalists of every type. It was scary and funny - I didn't see that great ending coming!
Houston Hank
Thanks, Hank!
Funny & scary is always good.
I've gotten a lot of mail saying the same. It makes a wonderful holiday gift (and I get a cut of every copy sold)!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, clear and very brisk at night.
The kid has his first dermatologist visit today.
My brother used to get these huge subcutaneous cysts, and it appears the kid is starting down that path.
His (understandably) self-conscious comment was if it got any bigger it'd need it's own zip code.
Comedy Central to Show Sketches
Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle is back on Comedy Central - well, kind of. The wildly popular comedian, who last spring walked off his show just weeks before its season premiere, will be on view in four episodes' worth of sketches he filmed before his startling exit, the cable channel announced Monday.
The four half-hours of "Chappelle's Show" will premiere in weekly showings next April, May or June, the network said.
A 2 1/2-minute preview of this never-before-seen footage will be included in "Comedy Central's Last Laugh '05" special, which premieres Sunday, 9 p.m. EST.
Still to be determined is how the sketches will be packaged, since Chappelle's on-stage introductions were never produced. A full season would have been between 10 and 13 episodes.
Dave Chappelle
Stanley Kramer Award
'Good Night, and Good Luck'
"Good Night, and Good Luck" is being recognized by the Producers Guild of America. The film will receive the 2006 Stanley Kramer Award, which honors movies that shed light on social issues, the guild announced Monday.
The film's producer and co-writer, Grant Heslov, will accept the prize at the 17th annual PGA Awards, scheduled for Jan. 22 in Los Angeles.
"There has never been a more appropriate moment to appreciate the legacy of Edward R. Murrow," PGA Awards co-chairs Bruce Cohen and Stacy Sher said in a statement.
'Good Night, and Good Luck'
'Wallace & Gromit' Leads Animation Nominees
Annie Awards
The claymation buddy film "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" scored a leading 15 nominations Monday, including best feature, for the 33rd annual Annie Awards.
The awards, presented by the International Animated Film Society, recognize the year's best in animation from film, television, commercials and short subjects.
Other contenders for best animated feature include "Chicken Little," "Corpse Bride," "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Madagascar."
Competing for the top honor in the animated television category are "Avatar: The Last Airbender," "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," "My Life as a Teenage Robot," "Star Wars: Close Wars II" and "The Batman."
Annie Awards
Super Bowl Pre-Game
Stevie Wonder
Motown fans miffed by the NFL's choice of the Rolling Stones for Super Bowl halftime entertainment are getting at least some satisfaction: Stevie Wonder will perform during the pre-game show at Ford Field.
Wonder will play three or four songs before the Feb. 5 game, Lori Lambert, vice president of strategic marketing for Universal Motown Records Group, told The Associated Press on Monday.
Other artists - still to be announced - also will be featured in the pre-game show, Lambert said.
The NFL's announcement last week that the Rolling Stones would provide the halftime entertainment prompted an uproar in Detroit, the original home of Motown Records, the label for artists such as Wonder, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes and the Four Tops.
Stevie Wonder
Using Prince Charles' Wedding Venue
Furnish - John
Pop star Elton John will "wed" his long term partner David Furnish at the same venue where Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in April in the royal town of Windsor.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead announced on Monday that the celebrity couple would formalize their 12-year relationship through a civil partnership ceremony on December 21 at the Guildhall, Windsor.
Monday was the first day same-sex couples could register their partnership and take advantage of a law giving them legal status, although they must wait two weeks for it to take effect.
Furnish - John
Pays Tribute to Hurricane Victims
Chucho Valdes
With blaring horns and pounding African drums, Grammy-winning pianist Chucho Valdes and other Cuban performers wrapped up an international music festival with an Afro-Cuban tribute to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, birthplace of American jazz.
The Sunday night concert ended Cuba's annual international jazz festival, Jazz Plaza 2005, and featured a new Valdes composition called "Canto a Dios," which he dedicated to hurricane victims.
"This is a song of love, a song of peace, a song to humanity," Valdes told the largely Cuban audience at a local Havana theater. "It's a tribute to New Orleans, an homage to the history of music, of blues, of ragtime, of the history of jazz."
Valdes said the piece also honored American jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong and brothers Wynton and Bradford Marsalis, who are New Orleans natives.
Chucho Valdes
Murder Trial To Begin April 24
Phil Spector
Phil Spector's murder trial for the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson back in 2003 will begin on April 24 in Los Angeles. Courttv.com reports that prior to the trial's opening, attorneys will be back in court to argue whether the prosecution will be able to allow into evidence a videotaped interview Spector gave for a civil lawsuit against his former attorney Robert Shapiro. Spector fired Shapiro back in 2004 and is now asking for a portion of his $1 million retainer fee to be returned.
Spector's defense team suffered a blow back in October, when Judge Larry Paul Fidler allowed that Spector's statements to police following Clarkson's death in Spector's Los Angeles home to be entered into evidence.
According to several officers, Spector told them after being detained that quote, "I didn't mean to shoot her. It was an accident." Spector remains free on $1 million bail.
Phil Spector
Installation Artist Wins
Turner Prize
Simon Starling, an installation artist who dismantled a shed and rode its pieces down one of Europe's main rivers before putting it back together again, has won the Turner prize, Britain's most controversial art award.
Starling, who describes his work as "the physical manifestation of a thought process," was presented with a check for $43,000 during a ceremony Monday night at London's Tate Britain gallery.
The favorite to win this year's prize had been Gillian Carnegie, a painter whose work includes still lifes, landscapes and a series of nudes she calls "bum paintings." She was the first nominee in five years who exclusively uses the medium of paint.
Turner Prize
Fox Sitcom In His Future
Harvey Fierstein
New York theater veteran Harvey Fierstein has joined forces with Fox to develop a "Roseanne"-style sitcom in which he would play a blue-collar mom.
Set in Seaside Heights, N.J., the show will be "a little outrageous and a little bit serious, too," said veteran comedy scribe David Richardson, who is writing the pilot with Fierstein.
"It will be 'Roseanne'-ish in nature, a real woman raising two kids," said Richardson. "There won't be any winking at the camera, no double-entendre jokes."
Harvey Fierstein
Had Concerns About Diet Pill Ads
Dr. Phil
"Dr. Phil" McGraw stated in e-mails that he had "no expertise" in making the diet pills he endorsed, according to court filings in a lawsuit alleging the TV psychologist made false statements about the products.
McGraw also insisted on "the STRONGEST of disclaimers" in the products' advertisements before putting his name on the now discontinued Shape Up! diet campaign, the New York Daily News reported Monday, citing e-mail printouts that are included in Los Angeles Superior Court filings.
McGraw jumped into the lucrative weight-loss market in mid-2003 with a campaign that included advice books, a prime-time special with NBC's Katie Couric on obesity and dieting, and his Shape Up! With Dr. Phil McGraw products.
Dr. Phil
Singing Helps Deal With Loss
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John said her singing is helping her cope with the mysterious disappearance of her longtime boyfriend.
Patrick McDermott, 48, failed to return from a June 30 fishing trip off the California coast. It is being investigated as a missing person case.
Newton-John told an Australian TV network that her grief was so intense she did not think she would ever sing again, but she said that was "terrifying." She said singing is her soul and music is a "very healing thing."
Olivia Newton-John
Tightens Submission Rules
Wikipedia
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia to which anyone can contribute, is tightening submission rules after a prominent journalist complained that an article falsely implicated him in the Kennedy assassinations.
Wikipedia will now require users to register before they can create articles, Jimmy Wales, founder of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Web site, said Monday. People who modify existing articles will still be able to do so without registering.
The change comes less than a week after John Seigenthaler, a one-time administrative assistant to Robert Kennedy, complained in an op-ed published in USA Today that a biography of him on Wikipedia claimed he had been suspected in the assassinations of the former attorney general and his brother, President John F. Kennedy.
Seigenthaler, USA Today's founding editorial director and a former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, said that after the op-ed was published Wikipedia's biography of him was changed to remove the false accusations.
Wikipedia
Photos Show Art Was Stolen
J. Paul Getty Museum
Prosecutors in the trial of a former curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum on Monday displayed photos seized from the warehouse of a convicted art trafficker they claimed were proof the Getty and other U.S. museums acquired stolen art from Italy.
Maurizio Pellegrini, an archaeological expert and a consultant testifying for the prosecution, compared about a dozen of the pictures with photos of what he claimed were the same pieces after they had been prepared for display in the Getty.
He said the photos showed that artifacts bought by the California museum had been smuggled out of Italy by Giacomo Medici, convicted in December and sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy in international trafficking in antiquities.
Former Getty antiquities curator Marion True and art dealer Robert Hecht are accused of receiving and conspiring to deal in illegally acquired antiquities. The defendants, both Americans, deny wrongdoing.
J. Paul Getty Museum
Strange, New Carnivore Species Sighted
Borneo
Environmental researchers are preparing to capture what they call a new, mysterious species of carnivore on Borneo, the first such discovery on the wildlife-rich Indonesian island in over a century.
Swiss-based environmental group WWF said on Monday its researchers photographed the strange animal, which looks like a cross between a cat and a fox, in the dense, central mountainous rainforests of Borneo.
The mammal, slightly larger than a cat with red fur and a long tail, was photographed twice by a camera trap at night.
Locals and wildlife experts who viewed photographs of the animal, which has very small ears and large hind legs, said they had never seen such a creature before and were convinced that it was a new species, WWF said.
Borneo
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