'Best of TBH Politoons'
M Is For MASHUP - March 21 2007
What Makes A Good Bootleg?
By DJ Useo
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
GOP Gave Joe A Boost (courant.com)
It's no secret that Joe Lieberman got strong support from Republicans last year, and that he has made strong overtures this year to Senate Republicans as he pursues a new, more bipartisan legislative path. But new data show the extent of the help he got from big GOP donors in the last weeks of his 2006 campaign, as they poured more than $1.5 million into his final pre-election push - with subtle but unmistakable help from the White House.
John F. Ince: Think the Nation's Debt Doesn't Affect You? Think Again (AlterNet.org)
In addition to borrowing from the world's poorest countries, Bush & Co. are secretly confiscating your hard-earned dollars to support their out-of-control spending habits.
Who Needs a Student Bill of Rights? Guest Commentary by Sanford Pinsker
This week our intrepid guest commentator Sanford Pinsker takes on David Horowitz's latest attempt at thought control in the academy under the guise of a "Students Bill of Rights."
Evan Rytlewski: Inner City Squalor as Home Entertainment
Shortly after the brawl begins, a clear winner emerges. One of the two dueling women is pinned to the ground, her opponent's knee pressed against her throat. A breast has fallen out of the downed woman's shirt and she appears to have wet her pants, but the woman on top does not let up. She grabs a fistful of the defeated woman's hair and uses it to pound her head into the pavement. A bystander cheers. The scene is a typical one from the Ghetto Fights 3, the latest in a series of DVDs compiling amateur footage of violent altercations.
The naked actor (arts.guardian.co.uk)
John Hurt talks to Harriet Lane about ambition, drinking, life-changing roles - and which of his rivals he'd like to push off a cliff.
Mike Seely: The F-Word (seattleweekly.com)
Dissecting hipster Seattle's most loathed,least defended figure: the frat boy.
Kim Ficera: A Chat With Rosie O'Donnell (afterellen.com)
Last January I argued in my column, Don't Quote Me, that the rancorous situation between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell is not, as the media so innocently calls it, a "feud," but rather a very public display of Trump's misogyny and homophobia. Despite Trump's many efforts to make O'Donnell look bad, all he did was make himself look worse. His eagerness to expose a side of his character that most people would try to hide proved that he not only lacks a mental edit function, but that he lacks a conscience, as well.
Ian Grey: BUFFY GOES GRAPHIC: Fans suck down new comics series (orlandoweekly.com)
"She is a complete hero," Joss Whedon said to this writer a couple years back. "She simply will not accept that things should be as bad as they are. And so she is someone who is at odds with this world."
Michael Jensen: Disney's Magic Kingdom Closed to Same-Sex Weddings (afterelton.com)
On the Feb. 20th episode of The View, well-known wedding planner David Tutera appeared on the talk show to promote his David Tutera Couture Wedding Collection at Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Fla. The collection allows the happy couple to choose between four elaborate wedding styles: classic elegance, simply chic, cocktail soiree and whimsical garden. But are those weddings available if there are two brides or two grooms? Short answer: no.
Bruce's Latest Book: The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 1
The doing of good deeds is important. As a free person, you can choose to live your life as a good person or as a bad person. To be a good person, do good deeds. To be a bad person, do bad deeds. If you do good deeds, you will become good. If you do bad deeds, you will become bad. To become the person you want to be, act as if you already are that kind of person. Each of us chooses what kind of person we will become. To become a hero, do the things a hero does. To become a coward, do the things a coward does. The opportunity to take action to become the kind of person you want to be is yours. This book collects 250 stories of good deeds from the arts, from religion, and from life.
Rosie O'Donnell's Blog
Margaret Cho's Blog
Cool Link
Jeff Crook
Check this out. This is a cave in Mexico. It's so fantastic, it doesn't look real.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Gray and overcast, but no rain.
Snail mail brought a summons for jury duty. Yee haw.
Takes Sick Day, Adam Sandler Fills In
David Letterman
David Letterman showed up for work, but had to go home sick Tuesday before taping the "Late Show." A stomach bug was to blame, a network spokeswoman said. Adam Sandler, one of the night's guests, was quickly enlisted to fill in as host.
The CBS late-night personality has had extended absences following heart surgery and a case of the shingles. But this was believed to be the first time Letterman showed up for work and couldn't go on.
He will have time to recover. Letterman had taped Wednesday's show in advance, and he's being pre-empted for NCAA basketball on Thursday and Friday.
David Letterman
Declares Pigboy 'Irrelevant'
Ahnold
After repeatedly being asked about his conservative critics, including talk-show host/drug-addict Rush Limbaugh, Gov. Arnold $chwarzenegger dropped his diplomatic veneer Tuesday and declared their views irrelevant to his work in California.
"All irrelevant. Rush Limbaugh is irrelevant. I am not his servant," the governor said on NBC's "Today" show.
Limbaugh (R-Viagra Dependent) then declared on his radio program that $chwarzenegger, lacking the communication skills to convince Californians of his Republican values, had sold them out.
Ahnold
Celebrates Stephen Colbert Day
Oshawa
This quiet working-class Canadian city came alive Tuesday to celebrate American comedian Stephen Colbert and his alter-ego, the buffoonish right-wing pundit who delights fans on both sides of the border with his vapid commentary on "The Colbert Report."
Colbert burgers, sandwiches and brews were on sale at various downtown restaurants mid-Tuesday in anticipation of the evening "Stephen Colbert Day" festivities at the gleaming General Motors Centre. More than 3,000 people had purchased tickets for the event featuring an appearance by hockey icon Don Cherry.
While Colbert, who bases his eyebrow-cocking pundit on Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, couldn't make it to the festivities in his honour, he sent along a taped message that was slated to be played on the arena's big screens for those in attendance.
Oshawa
Observe Arctic Sun Quirks
Inuit
Some Inuit say they hope scientists coming to Nunavut for research as part of International Polar Year can help shed light on changes they're seeing in the sun - particularly, how it's been showing up more often in the usually always-dark winters.
For the past several years, residents in the High Arctic have observed that the winter dark season is ending earlier than usual, with the sun coming up at a different place than what people are used to seeing.
"The people [are] talking about earlier sunrise, more light in the dark season, instead of being more total darkness than before," Grise Fiord resident Larry Audlaluk said Thursday, adding that he has heard similar observations from people in other Far North communities.
A bit further south, Igloolik Mayor Paul Quassa said hunters have noticed the same phenomenon.
Inuit
'Forces' Sweetheart' Turns 90
Vera Lynn
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher joined a chorus of "Happy Birthday" for wartime British singer Vera Lynn, who turned 90 on Tuesday.
Lynn, nicknamed the "Forces' sweetheart" who entertained the troops during World War Two, was honored at a small ceremony held at the Imperial War Museum in London where she joined guests in watching a short film about her life.
Katherine Jenkins, a young Welsh singer who has taken over the mantle of unofficial darling of British troops serving abroad, performed two of Lynn's most famous songs -- "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover."
Vera Lynn
Blasphemy Not Permitted
Elsrock Festival
A heavy metal rock festival hoping to hold an open-air concert in an area known as the Dutch Bible Belt received a permit on one condition: no cursing.
The Elsrock festival caused an uproar last year when it was held for the first time outside the small, heavily religious town of Rijssen, 75 miles east of Amsterdam.
Churches protesting a new concert this year were pacified only by "the stated readiness of the organizers to make sure that no blasphemous words are used, and that the honor of God's name is not besmirched," Mayor Bort Koelewijn wrote in a letter granting the permit, made public Tuesday.
Elsrock Festival
Dallas, Texas
Cathedral of Hope
Cathedral of Hope in Dallas makes one Texas-sized claim that few would expect in the conservative Bible Belt state -- it says it is the world's biggest gay church.
The church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, is a spiritual refuge for gay people of faith in a region associated with more conservative brands of Christianity.
Founded in 1970 by a dozen gays and lesbians who gathered in a home and decided they wanted a safe and tolerant place to worship, it has grown into a large and affluent institution centred on a cavernous church that can seat up to 900.
Cathedral of Hope
Suing Former Label
Bay City Rollers
The members of the Bay City Rollers, a Scottish teeny-bopper band that briefly enjoyed worldwide stardom in the 1970s, sued their former record label on Tuesday, seeking millions of dollars in unpaid royalties.
According to the suit against Arista Records, filed in the U.S. District Court in New York, the group said they sold at least 70 million albums worldwide but received only a single royalty payment of about $254,000 in more than 25 years.
The suit lists the five members who were in the band during its mid-70s heyday -- singer Les McKeown, guitarists Eric Faulkner and Stuart Wood, bass player Alan Longmuir and his brother, Derek. Also listed is Duncan Faure, who replaced McKeown in 1978 after the band's fortunes had faded.
The money could come in handy. McKeown tours small venues with a group dubbed Les McKeown's Legendary Bay City Rollers. Krumholz said Derek Longmuir is a nurse, while another former member is a plumber.
Bay City Rollers
Department of Revenue Boner
Alaska
Perhaps you know that sinking feeling when a single keystroke accidentally destroys hours of work. Now imagine wiping out a disk drive containing information for an account worth $38 billion.
That's what happened to a computer technician reformatting a disk drive at the Alaska Department of Revenue. While doing routine maintenance work, the technician accidentally deleted applicant information for an oil-funded account - one of Alaska residents' biggest perks - and mistakenly reformatted the backup drive, as well.
Nine months worth of applicant information for the yearly payout from the Alaska Permanent Fund was gone: some 800,000 electronic images that had been painstakingly scanned into the system months earlier, the 2006 paper applications that people had either mailed in or filed over the counter, and supporting documentation such as birth certificates and proof of residence.
And the only backup was the paperwork itself - stored in more than 300 cardboard boxes.
Alaska
Charged In Wine Warehouse Arson
Mark Anderson
U.S. prosecutors charged a California man Monday with stealing fine wine he stored for upscale clients and then burning down a warehouse holding 6 million bottles worth $200 million to $250 million to hide the scam.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California charged Mark Anderson with 19 criminal counts including arson, transporting fraudulently obtained property, mail fraud and tax evasion following the 2005 fire of the Wines Central warehouse in Vallejo.
The warehouse was south of Napa, one of the nation's best known and most expensive wine-growing regions, and the crime shocked the area where wine is big business.
The warehouse stored wine for 92 different wineries, including from elite Napa Valley wineries.
Mark Anderson
The Paparazzi & The Porsche
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves was behind the wheel of a Porsche that allegedly grazed a celebrity photographer standing in the path of the sports car, investigators said Tuesday.
The photographer fell to the ground and paramedics were called after Reeves' car allegedly struck the man at 7:30 p.m. Monday, said Deputy Ed Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
"He grazed a paparazzi standing in front of his Porsche and the man fell to the ground," Hernandez said. It wasn't known how fast the Porsche was traveling.
Keanu Reeves
130 Pounds Served In Virginia City
Mountain Oyster Fry
Hundreds of people waited in lines for up to an hour for a chance to taste something different at the 16th annual Mountain Oyster Fry.
Servers at five booths dispensed about 130 pounds of "fried oysters," or sheep testicles, at the Saturday event in this historic mining town about 25 miles southeast of Reno.
"People think, `Oh sheep testicles, gross,' but it was pretty good," said Amanda Palmer, 21, of nearby Carson City.
Mountain Oyster Fry
Berlin's Polar Bear Cub
Knut
Berlin Zoo rallied to the defence of Knut, a three-month-old polar bear cub, on Tuesday, rejecting demands that the animal be allowed to die after being abandoned by its mother.
The fate of "cuddly Knut" has gripped the German capital since his birth in December. Rejected by his mother Tosca, the cub was adopted by a zookeeper who moved into the animal's enclosure to care for him round the clock.
Some animal rights campaigners think this will humanise the bear too much and want the zoo to stop saving young animals.
Berlin Zoo said the animal would not be put down or left to fend for itself: "That's complete nonsense," a spokesman said.
Knut
Scapegoat Fired
KPPX-TV
A Phoenix television station says it has fired an employee suspected of adding about 30 seconds of pornography into a broadcast of a news show.
The unnamed worker for ION Media Networks' KPPX-TV "was immediately terminated and faces further legal action" after an investigation determined who was responsible for the March 12 incident, spokeswoman Leslie Monreal said in a statement.
Palm Beach, Fla.-based ION Media Networks, which offers family friendly programs, called the incident "an intolerable act of human sabotage" and apologized to viewers.
KPPX-TV
Nielsen Prime-Time
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for March 12-18. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (1) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 29.83 million viewers.
2. (1) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 26.18 million viewers.
3. (5) "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 22.68 million viewers.
4. (12) "Deal Or No Deal" (Monday), NBC, 16.77 million viewers.
5. (17) "Cold Case," CBS, 15.09 million viewers.
6. (25) "60 Minutes," CBS, 14.4 million viewers.
7. (10) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 14.36 million viewers.
8. (121) "`Til Death," Fox, 14.06 million viewers.
9. (25) "October Road," ABC, 13.93 million viewers.
10. (17) "Without a Trace," CBS, 13.05 million viewers.
11. (15) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 12.71 million viewers.
12. (6) "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" Fox, 12.56 million viewers.
13. (13) "Lost," ABC, 12.48 million viewers.
14. (22) "24," Fox, 12.39 million viewers.
15. (31) "Deal Or No Deal" (Sunday), NBC, 12.17 million viewers.
16. (45) "Amazing Race 11," CBS, 12 million viewers.
17. (17) "NCIS," CBS, 11.52 million viewers.
18. (27) "Rules Of Engagement," CBS, 11.47 million viewers.
19. (34) "Ugly Betty," ABC, 10.8 million viewers.
20. (17) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 10.79 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Vilma Ebsen
Vilma Ebsen, who danced in the film "Broadway Melody of 1936" with her brother Buddy long before he became famous on "The Beverly Hillbillies," has died. She was 96.
Vilma Ebsen, a dance instructor and co-owner of the former Ebsen School of Dancing in Pacific Palisades, died March 12 at the Thousand Oaks Health Care Center, her son Robert Dolan said.
As she grew up, she taught at her father's Orlando, Florida, dance school, then joined her brother in New York for the Broadway run of the musical "Whoopee."
They teamed up, and were featured in the vaudeville revue "Broadway Stars of the Future." The song- and-dance team of Vilma and Buddy Ebsen also appeared in the Broadway musical revue "Flying Colors," in which they introduced "A Shine on Your Shoes," and were featured in the 1934 edition of "Ziegfeld Follies," in which they sang "I Like the Likes of You."
They came to Hollywood the following year to appear in the 1935 MGM movie musical "Broadway Melody of 1936," in which the Ebsens introduced "Sing Before Breakfast" on a brownstone rooftop with Eleanor Powell. They also performed "On a Sunday Afternoon" and danced in the big "Broadway Rhythm" finale.
It was her only movie appearance.
Vilma Ebsen
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