Who's Going To Hell This Week
Helen A. Handbasket
Alex's Entertainment Report
Alex
Busy Man With A Vision
The Worried Shrimp
The The Worried Shrimp has another new one!
ruck fush
Weekly Review
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW
19 March, 2002
Preparing for a potential strike against Iraq, the United States plucked
Vice President Dick Cheney out of hiding and sent him touring Arabia to
summon support from the region's leaders.
In the meantime, a special envoy
was sent to Israel to make peace between Ariel Sharon and Yasir Arafat
after a week of suicide bombings and other violence in which scores were
killed, including a Palestinian woman and her four children when a bomb
exploded near their donkey cart.
U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan called
on Israel to end its "illegal occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
and the Israeli army stopped a new practice of writing I.D. numbers on
detainees' foreheads and forearms; critics had compared the policy to Nazi
branding of concentration-camp inmates.
A report revealed that in the past
several months, the United States secretly extradited dozens of terrorism
suspects to other countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, where they can be
subjected to torture, threats to their families, and other interrogation
tactics that are illegal in the U.S.
The Pentagon revised the bounty for
Osama bin Laden after determining that the average Afghan could not
comprehend the magnitude of the previous reward, $25 million, rendering
the incentive meaningless. The new prize is "anything the Americans think
the Afghans would like to have," including cash, a flock of sheep, or help
in drilling a well.
President Bush reflected, "[Bin Laden] is . . . you
know, as I mention in my speeches, I do mention the fact that this is a
fellow who's willing to commit youngsters to their death, and he himself
tries to hide, if, in fact, he's hiding at all."
The Immigration and Naturalization Service
issued student visas for Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi six months
after they crashed planes into the World Trade Center; President Bush
reported that the imbroglio left him feeling "plenty hot."
People were
complaining about "The Fighting Whities," a basketball team at the
University of Northern Colorado whose white jerseys sport an image of a
white man in a suit above the slogan "Every thang's gonna be all white!"
Continued at www.harpers.org/weekly-review
--Margaret Cordi
[Roger D. Hodge is on vacation.]
From 'TBH Politoons'
Great Site!
Thanks, again, Tim!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Surfed between 'Watching Ellie' and 'Andy Richter Controls The Universe'. Ellie won.
Lex Luthor was on the KTLA morning 'news' today, so checked out some of 'Smallville'. Wasn't bad - will
watch again next week.
Dave was still whipping the 'Eagles Soar' video clip! Go Dave!
Tonight, Wednesday, CBS is fresh with 'Survivor: Marquesas', 'The Amazing Race 2',
and '60 Minutes II'.
NBC starts the night with 'Dateline', and then has reruns of 'The West Wing' and 'Law & Order'.
It's all fresh on ABC with 'My Wife & Kids', 'Jim', 'Drew Carey', 'The Job', and
'Downtown'.
The WB starts the night with a rerun 'Dawson's Creek', and follows with the season premiere (of the final season) of
'Felicity'.
Faux has reruns of 'That 80's Show', 'Grounded For Life' and 'Bernie Mac'. The evening is capped off with a
fresh 'Titus'.
UPN has 2 episodes of 'Enterprise'. The first one is fresh, and the 2nd one is a rerun (Trip gets knocked up).
AMC has 'The Grapes Of Wrath'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Your Tax Dollar$ At Work
$hilling For 'E.T.'
The crew of the international space station joined Steven Spielberg and Universal Studios Florida on Tuesday in celebrating the 20th anniversary of
the film "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial."
One of the 28 school children gathered at Universal Studios Florida's E.T. Adventure attraction in Orlando asked the astronauts how long it would take to get to E.T.'s home.
"As far as we understand it, the green planet is 3 million light years away," astronaut Daniel Bursch replied. "Using the engines, technology, that we
have today, it will only take about 75 billion years to get there. But hopefully, we'll be going a little bit faster soon."
Spielberg, joining them in a phone call from Los Angeles, said there will never be a sequel to "E.T." But the director noted that allowing movie fans to ride the
E.T. Adventure and to talk with orbiting astronauts "is absolutely an incredible sequel or follow-up to any film."
"E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" was released on June 11, 1982. It's being rereleased Friday with never-before-seen footage and computer enhancements.
Your Tax Dollar$ At Work
Received Star On The Hollywood Walk of Fame
Bonnie Raitt
Grammy-winner Bonnie Raitt gave her fans something to talk about as she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday.
Raitt's father, veteran Broadway singer John Raitt, was on hand to perform "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" and ended the song with "Everything is Going Bonnie's Way."
"I can't believe that in my 50s, I'm standing here with my Walk of Fame star," said Raitt, whose star was unveiled in front of her record label, Capitol.
"If someone proposed this to me 20 years ago, I would have said, 'No way,'" she said.
Several hundred fans celebrated with the singer-guitarist, whose music runs the gamut of blues, country, pop, and rock. Raitt, 52, has won
nine Grammys and recorded dozens of albums including "Give It Up," "Takin' My Time," and her 1989 breakout, "Nick of Time."
Bonnie Raitt
NFL Team For LA?
''The Los Angeles Democrats''?
The embarrassment of not having an NFL team in town may soon be ended for Los Angeles. I hear that 27-year-old Casey Wasserman, grandson of legendary
movie tycoon Lew and son of Lynne Wasserman, is heading up a new group which is determined to own and operate an Angelino franchise. (The Rams long
departed for St. Louis and the Raiders scuttled back to Oakland.) Casey already owns an arena football team, the L.A. Avengers, and is determined to
make it into the big leagues. He has assembled a group of local power brokers including billionaires Ron Burkle and Phillip Anshultz. Don't know what
they plan to call the new club - all the good names are taken - but the could possibly go for "The Los Angeles Democrats," given the party affiliation of most of the backers.
''The Los Angeles Democrats''?
Hot damn! Finally a team I can back.
Buh-Bye To 250 Animators
Walt Disney Co
Entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. told 250 employees at its animation unit on Monday that they were either being laid off or that their
contracts would not be renewed over the next 12 months, the New York Times reported in its online edition on Tuesday, citing Disney executives.
The job cuts come on the heels of layoffs at another Disney unit, Miramax Films, which last week said it would cut 75 jobs, or about 15
percent of the studio's worldwide staff, the newspaper reported.
Walt Disney Animation had a peak of 2,200 employees in 1999, the newspaper reported, citing the unit's president, Thomas Schumacher. The
division now has about 1,500 workers, the paper said.
Walt Disney Co
Appearing in ''Richard III''
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh was preparing Tuesday to return to the stage for the first time in 10 years. Performances were sold out and the production extended four days.
The Belfast-born actor reappears on stage in the lead role William Shakespeare's "Richard III," which was to open Tuesday night at the
Crucible Theater in the northern English city of Sheffield.
Branagh, 41, who last strode the stage as Hamlet in a 1992 Royal Shakespeare Company production, is being paid the same as all other cast members — slightly above the
$417 a week minimum demanded by the actors' union Equity, the spokesman said.
Branagh has now signed to play Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in the film adaptation of the second of J.K. Rowling's hit books, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."
Kenneth Branagh
Distinguished American Award
Harry Belafonte
Entertainer Harry Belafonte's lifelong work as an advocate for human rights and racial equality earned him a Distinguished American Award at the
John F. Kennedy Library.
"One of the country's best-loved entertainers, Belfonte has also been at the forefront of our nation's struggle for civil rights and the international
effort to promote human rights throughout the globe," the library said Friday.
In the 1950s, Belafonte starred in the film "Carmen Jones," and his album "Calypso" sold 1 million copies. Belafonte, now 75, refused to perform in the
South from 1954 until 1961 because of racial segregation, according to the library.
Past award recipients include former President George Bush, civil rights activist James Farmer and journalist Helen Thomas.
Harry Belafonte
Airs Again This Thursday On Faux
Celebrity 'Boxing'
Once was just not enough and this time "Celebrity Boxing" is gunning for "Friends."
Fox will air an encore presentation of the campy boxing special, which pitted washed-up TV stars and tabloid trash against each other in the ring, this Thursday at 8 p.m.
The ultra-competitive time slot will pit the second-run boxing special up against a repeat of "Friends," the highest rated show on television.
The all-star slug-fest - which pitted ''Partridge Family" buffoon Danny Bonaduce against "Brady Bunch" dud Barry Williams, "Diff'rent Strokes" star
Todd Bridges against Vanilla Ice and scandal-ridden skate-queen Tonya Harding against Clinton sexgate siren Paula Jones - was seen
by about 15.5 million viewers last Wednesday.
Fox sources say plans are already underway for a new "Celebrity Boxing" special that could air as early as May. Grade Z-level media personalities
like "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire" bride Darva Conger and Long Island's own Joey Buttofuoco are already pushing to be part of the next edition.
Celebrity 'Boxing'
Returning To Jamestown, NY?
Lucille Ball
Legendary comedian and actress Lucille Ball's remains could be returned to her hometown.
The actress' cremated remains are with the remains of her mother at a cemetery in Los Angeles. But daughter Lucie Arnaz has said she would like to see the
remains of both women moved to a cemetery here and interred with other family members.
Arnaz also has been visiting Jamestown, checking out locations to expand the current Luci-Desi Museum, also located here.
Recently, Arnaz said her family has bid on her mother's former home in the nearby Chautauqua County village of Celoron. It was Lucy's home from the time she
was 8 years old until she was midway through high school. The two-story house, which has become a tourist stop, was being offered on eBay for $98,500.
Lucille Ball
Started The Honeymoon On 'Larry King'
More Minnelli - Gest
Liza Minnelli and David Gest apparently didn't get quite enough media coverage at their wedding on Saturday. They're starting their honeymoon by doing
an interview tomorrow with Larry King. The CNN talkmeister will be chatting with the happy couple via satellite in London, where the two have gone to
get ready for Liza's performances next month at Royal Albert Hall.
The couple's mouthpiece, Warren Cowan, didn't know whether Liza and David would take a few days in Thailand before the shows, as had been reported. But
Cowan scoffed at talk that the newlyweds were planning to sell TV rights to their nuptials, the way they sold exclusive photos to Britain's OK! magazine.
Cowan said Minnelli did have their Marble Collegiate Church wedding videotaped "as a present to David." But he said there was no taping of the 42
artists who performed at their party afterward.
Started The Honeymoon On 'Larry King'
''Haunted Mansion''
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy, who has scored big with such family fare as "Shrek" and "Dr. Dolittle," is negotiating to star in Disney's "Haunted Mansion," a feature
based on the popular Disneyland attraction.
In addition to Murphy, Disney has begun informal talks with Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King") to direct. Production is expected to start in November.
In "Haunted," a father (Murphy) who has previously neglected his family encounters a ghost when he and his family visit a haunted house. The vision spooks
him into a profound awareness of the importance of family.
Eddie Murphy
Sitcom Pilot Scrapped
Norm Macdonald & Jon Lovitz
NBC scrapped a sitcom pilot starring Norm Macdonald and Jon Lovitz on Monday, following a dispute with its producers about potential syndication revenues.
"Leave Me Alone," which is being produced by Adam Sandler's film company, fell victim to controversial new wording in NBC pilot contracts designed to limit
the network's liability in lawsuits claiming that it did not maximize the rerun windfall for profit participants such as producers and actors.
Many network shows are produced by their respective studio arms, inviting "self-dealing" lawsuits from the likes of "X-Files" star David Duchovny and "NYPD Blue"
producer Steven Bochco alleging that the companies engineered lowball deals among themselves at renewal or syndication time.
NBC has thus removed language from its pilot contracts that requires its NBC Studios producing arm to seek "fair market value" and conduct "arm's length negotiations"
when selling the rerun or re-purposing rights to its shows, or when negotiating new license fees.
Such language, however, has virtually guaranteed litigation from profit participants since it's hard to prove a negotiation between NBC and NBC Studios is actually arm's length.
In its place, NBC has inserted a new clause requiring the network to act "in good faith" -- language that still leaves room for lawsuits if, say, NBC were to
sell rerun rights to an NBC Studios sitcom to NBC-owned stations at a ridiculously low price.
Sitcom Pilot Scrapped
To Unveil Statue In Minneapolis May 6
Mary Tyler Moore
Lady Liberty will forever welcome huddled masses to New York City. Abraham Lincoln will always keep a seat in Washington, D.C. And in seven
weeks, Minneapolis will have its own permanent declaration of independence.
Mary Richards, a symbol of women's liberation and great television in the 1970s, will be immortalized May 8 at the corner of 7th St. and the
Nicollet Mall, the spot where fans of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" still search for Mary's tossed-up tam.
"I can't believe it's going to be 8 feet tall," said Moore, who will be on hand to unveil the bronze statue capturing her character's most famous
moment. "I just hope it's vertical and not horizontal."
That's why TV Land, the cable outlet dedicated to classic TV, chose to make Mary Richards the second member of its TV Land Landmarks project. A
statue of Ralph Kramden, the bus driver created by Jackie Gleason in "The Honeymooners," was installed in front of New York City's Port
Authority bus terminal in August 2000.
For the rest, Mary Tyler Moore
Way back in the days when 'quad' (2'' video tape) was the dominant format, and ''Mary Tyler Moore'' was still aired from a film chain, the quad tape
machines needed 5 seconds to 'lock up' to stable audio & video. Mary's hat toss was the perfect 5 second visual cue.
2 More OBE's
Redgrave & Kingsley
Ben Kingsley was knighted on Tuesday, an honor that he told Queen Elizabeth II was far greater than receiving an Academy Award.
"I told the queen that winning an Oscar pales into insignificance. This is insurmountable," Kingsley said after the ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Lynn Redgrave, who first gained fame with the title role in "Georgy Girl" in 1966 and earned a 1998 Academy Award nomination for "Gods
and Monsters," was invested Tuesday as an Officer of the Order of British Empire, or OBE.
"I've lived in LA for over 20 years but I still feel very British. I don't think you can ever take the Brit out of a Brit," the 59-year-old actress said.
"I like my Englishness and loose-leaf tea and tea pots."
Redgrave & Kingsley
His Judge Is Pleased
Robert Downey Jr
A judge told Robert Downey Jr. Tuesday he was pleased with the actor's progress in drug rehabilitation as Downey prepares to restart a film career
derailed by his high-profile battle with addiction.
Downey, who has been arrested twice on drug charges since his release from prison in August 2000, appeared before Riverside County Superior Court
Judge Randall White for a brief hearing to review a status report prepared by the actor's probation officers.
The judge expressed satisfaction with the report, which Downey's lawyers and prosecutors said showed the actor had remained drug-free and in compliance
with the treatment program he entered last spring following his most recent arrest.
White ordered the actor to return to court for another review on July 19, at which time the judge may dismiss charges Downey pleaded no contest
to last year and lift his probation.
Robert Downey Jr
Busted
Sean Roderick Stewart
The son of rocker Rod Stewart was arrested near the Viper Room nightclub for allegedly possessing controlled drugs.
Sean Roderick Stewart, 21, was booked Saturday for investigation of possessing a controlled substance, possessing a controlled medication
without a prescription, disorderly conduct and public intoxication. He spent the night in jail and was freed on bail.
Stewart had a court hearing scheduled Tuesday for another confrontation in which he allegedly attacked someone at a Malibu restaurant in December.
Stewart was seen lying on the sidewalk near the Sunset Boulevard club shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, according to a report from the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Stewart "was stiff, shivering and incoherent. His eyes were droopy, his speech was slurred and mumbled," the report said. A bottle containing
what appeared to be the painkiller Vicodin, the sedatives Valium and Klonopin and an unknown substance was seized, the report said.
Sean Roderick Stewart
Back In Court
Peter Buck
R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck overturned a breakfast trolley, mistook a stranger for his wife and scuffled with crew members after getting
drunk aboard a trans-Atlantic flight, prosecutors said at his trial Monday.
Prosecution lawyer David Bate said Buck behaved like a "drunken lout" aboard the Seattle-to-London flight last April.
The 45-year-old guitarist denies charges of being drunk on an aircraft, committing assault and damaging British Airways crockery.
Bate said Buck, who was traveling to Britain to promote the Georgia band's album "Reveal," drank about 15 glasses of wine in the first
three hours of the flight. He became increasingly unruly, staggering up the aisle of the Boeing 747 and at one point becoming lodged
between two seats, the prosecutor charged.
After the crew refused to serve him more alcohol, Buck tried to take more bottles from the galley, Bate said.
He reportedly overturned a breakfast trolley — sending crockery and food flying — mistook a hostess trolley for a CD player, claimed a stranger
sitting on the plane was his wife and tussled with crew members, covering them with yogurt. He also punched a wall of the plane "with considerable
force" and tried to slip a knife up his sleeve, Bate said.
Peter Buck
In Memory
Rosetta LeNoire
Actress-producer Rosetta LeNoire, who was directed by Orson Welles in a landmark, all-black version of "Macbeth" in the 1930s and who received the National Medal of Arts in 1999, died Sunday in Teaneck, N.J., after a long illness. She was 90.
Known to TV audiences for her long-running role as Grandma Winslow on the television comedy "Family Matters," LeNoire founded the Amas Repertory Theatre in New York in 1968. The nonprofit organization, dedicated to developing musicals and new talent, produced such popular shows as "Bojangles" and Tony nominee "Bubbling Brown Sugar."
Born in New York City, LeNoire took music lessons from legendary jazzman Eubie Blake. By age 15, she was a chorus girl working with her godfather, dancing great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
She made her Broadway debut in "The Hot Mikado" in 1939, going on to appear in such shows as "A Streetcar Named Desire," "The Sunshine Boys" and "Lost In The Stars."
LeNoire also co-starred in the film version of "Anna Lucasta" with Sammy Davis Jr. and Eartha Kitt and appeared in such TV series as "Search for Tomorrow," "The Guiding Light" and "Gimme a Break."
She played Grandma Winslow on "Family Matters' from 1989 to 1997.
Rosetta LeNoire
BartCop TV!
Thanks To Fud
Hear The 'Trifecta' Statement
(quoting)
'' And we've got a job to do at home, as well. You know, I was campaigning in Chicago and somebody asked me, is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit? I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. (Laughter.) Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.) But we're fine. ''
Scroll down 31 paragraphs to read it for yourself.
Hear The 'Trifecta' Quote Here.
Many Thanks, to Fud, a loyal bartcopper : )
11 New Recipes!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Entertaining Site!
Great Animations, Too
Jeff Crook has updated Uncommon Sense, again!
This week's animations revolve around Cheney before Congress. ...LOL
Uncommon Sense...Check it out!
'Bob Woodward vs. John Belushi and Me'
Michael Dare - 'The Life and Death of Captain Preemo'
See It For Yourself
Sing Along With John Ashcroft
Sing Along With John Ashcroft
Yoo Hoo
From BartCop
Special Musical Bonus From BartCop
Freshly Updated
From BartCop
The Bush Rap (Sheet) - AKA The Scrodd Piece
