'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Comment
Swashbuckler Alert
Couple of good swashbuckling actors on TCM, Thursday, Mar 25th. Errol
Flynn stars in "Santa Fe Trail" (along with argh! Ronald Reagan, Olivia de
Havilland & the Skipper's dad, Alan Hale Sr). This movie is not so much
about the actual trail but more about chasing John Brown around 'bloody
Kansas'. Flynn portrays J E B Stuart while Reagan is George Armstrong
Custer! Even with the presence of Red Ink Ronnie, this is a pretty good
action flick.
Then immediately following "Santa Fe Trail", is the classic
swashbuckler "The Mark of Zorro" starring Tyrone Power. This is perhaps
the best swashbuckling film of all time. The climatic duel between Power
and Basil Rathbone (aka Sherlock Holmes) is one of the best sword fights
you'll ever see. Rathbone was actually an excellent fencer and once stated
he could have injured or killed his opponents if he had wanted
to. Unfortunately, he usually played the 'bad guy' and was the one who
always died in the duels.
Check out both these films if you can. You'll be glad you did!
Pam
Thanks, Pam!
from Mark
Another Bumpersticker
The Wall Street Poet
Death Wish Environmentalism (A Poem)
This past week marked the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. While the world focused on this idiocy, however, reports chronicling mass species extinction caused by misguided environmental policies were largely overlooked. The dimensions of crimes here beggar the imagination...
Death Wish Environmentalism
We have this great new way to meet the challenge of pollution,
It's a market-friendly, business-loving, faith-based full solution;
When environmental moaners say "Protect it or restore it,"
We just answer "Can't afford it," then proceed to just ignore it.
'Bout greenhouse gas we reckon there's not really much to fear,
If folks would stop obsessing it would surely disappear;
Melting icecaps that cause problems for a present shoreline native,
Will create new inland beach fronts when swelled oceans get creative.
Ozone holes and fished out oceans, mercury in food and air?
Kindly spare us the details, for in truth we do not care;
Drill the Arctic, log old forests, let our western parks get seedy?
It's utilities and drillers and tree loggers we find needy.
We dodge most green concerns today, at this we're most proficient,
And we're skilled in ways that render useful programs less efficient;
Trim some budgets, stall enforcement, from hard choices deftly scurry,
Plant a cherry tree on Earth Day, do some p.r., what's to worry?
© 2004
**********
For more political verse: www.beltwaybard.com
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Freshly Updated!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Cooler & overcast.
The kid uses a rolling backpack for school - he knows it's not 'cool', but with the weight of the books he has to schlepp between home & school, it's quite functional.
Today, a wheel snapped off the plastic casing & there was no repairing it, so we spent several hours trying to find a new backpack. Seems they are out of season.
Neither Target or K-Mart were of any use - well, unless I wanted to spend over $80 for a rolling piece of Samsonite.
Finally found one at the neighborhood uniform shop. Guess I should have started there. Argh.
Tonight, Wednesday, CBS begins the night with a FRESH 'Survivor: All Stars', followed by a FRESH 'King Of Queens', then a
FRESH The Stones' (which makes 'Becker' seem like a Noel Coward comedy), followed by a RERUN 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Ricky Gervais and the winner of "America's Next Top Model".
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Jamie-Lynn DiScala, Kevin Smith, and Jeff Cesario.
NBC starts the night with its weekly regurgitation - er - RERUN 'Trumps Adventure in Avarice', followed by a FRESH 'West Wing', then a
FRESH 'Law & Order'.
On a RERUN Leno are Arnold Schwarzenegger, Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, and Tantric.
On a RERUN Conan (from 12/10/03), are Jude Law, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Branch
On a RERUN Carson Daly are Rob Schneider, Samaire Armstrong, andMelissa Etheridge.
ABC opens the night with a RERUN 'My Wife & Kids', followed by another RERUN 'My Wife & Kids', then a FRESH
'Extreme Makeover', followed by a FRESH 'Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Steven Weber, Jason Biggs, and N.E.R.D.
The WB offers a RERUN 'Smallville', followed by another RERUN 'Smallville'.
Faux has a FRESH 'That 70s Show', followed by a FRESH 'American Idol', then a FRESH 'The O.C.'.
UPN has a FRESH 'Game Over', followed by a FRESH 'The Mullets', then a RERUN 'Enterprise'.
A&E has 'American Justice', 'Biography' (Heidi Fleiss), 'American Justice', and 'City Confidential'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Boys In Company C', followed by the movie 'Navy SEALS', then the movie 'In Harm's Way'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'BBC World News';
[6:30pm] 'Cash in the Attic' - Gill Last;
[7pm] 'House Invaders' - Studley;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - St. Ives;
[8pm] 'The Life Laundry' - Alma Beattie: Birmingham;
[8:30pm] 'House Doctor' - Episode 11;
[9pm] 'The Thin Blue Line' - Night Shift;
[9:40pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 7;
[10:20pm] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 1;
[11pm] 'The Life Laundry' - Alma Beattie: Birmingham;
[11:30pm] 'House Doctor' - Episode 11;
[12am] 'The Thin Blue Line' - Night Shift;
[12:40am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 7;
[1:20am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 1;
[2am] 'House Invaders' - Studley;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - St. Ives;
[3am] 'The Thin Blue Line' - Night Shift;
[3:40am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 7;
[4:20am] 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 1;
[5am] 'The Life Laundry' - Alma Beattie: Birmingham;
[5:30am] 'House Doctor' - Episode 11; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'West Wing', 'Queer Eye', 'Kathy Griffin: The D-List', and 'Keen Eddie'.
Comedy Central has 'MAD TV', 'Crank Yankers', 'Insomniac', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and 'Chappelle's Show'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Jamie Foxx.
History has 'Modern Marvels', another 'Modern Marvels', and 'Car Tech Of The Future'.
IFC -
[3:30PM] 'IFC In Theaters';
[3:45PM] 'Ifc Short Film Collection 1';
[5:45PM] 'Haiku Tunnel' (2001);
[7:15PM] 'Delicatessen' (1991);
[9PM] 'The Anniversary Party' (2001);
[11PM] 'Box Of Moonlight' (1996);
[1AM] 'The Anniversary Party' (2001);
[3AM] 'Niagra, Niagra' (1997);
[4:45AM] 'IFC Short Film Showcase'; and
[5:45AM] 'IFC In Theaters' (ALL TIMES EST)>
SciFi has the movie 'Species', followed by the movie 'Species II'.
Sundance -
[3:45PM] 'Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth' (Director's Cut);
[5:30PM] 'A World Apart' (Feature);
[7:25PM] 'The Snapper' (Feature);
[9PM] 'El Mariachi' (Feature);
[10:30PM] 'For Earth Below' (Feature);
[11PM] 'Evenhand' (Feature);
[12:35AM] 'Black Picket Fence' (Documentary);
[2:15AM] 'Another Heaven' (Feature); and
[4:30AM] 'A World Apart' (Feature). (ALL TIMES EST)
TCM starts the day with a 5-film tribute to director
John Sturges, follows with a 3-film celebration of
Steve McQueen (who would have been 74 today), and
then devotes all night to Charlie Chaplin.
[6am] 'Right Cross' (1951);
[7:30am] 'Jeopardy' (1953);
[9am] 'Bad Day At Black Rock' (1955);
[10:30am] 'The Scarlet Coat' (1955);
[12:30pm] 'The Law And Jake Wade' (1958);
[2:15pm] 'Never So Few' (1959);
[4:30pm] 'The Honeymoon Machine' (1961);
[6pm] 'The Cincinnati Kid' (1965);
[8pm] 'Chaplin Today: City Lights' (2003);
[8:30pm] 'City Lights' (1931);
[10pm] 'Unknown Chaplin' (Episode 3) (1983);
[11pm] 'The Pilgrim' (1923);
[11:45pm] 'Chaplin Today: The Circus' (2003);
[12:15am] 'The Circus' (1928);
[1:30am] 'The Tramp and the Dictator' (2002);
[2:30am] 'The Great Dictator' (1940);
[4:30am] 'The Chaplin Revue' (1959). (ALL TIMES EST)
Delia Zee, 22, left, and Kristen Schultz, 20, second from left, students at the University of Southern California, join actors Kathy Najimy, third from left, and Maria Bello at a news conference Tuesday, March 23, 2004, in Los Angeles. During the 'Back Up Your Birth Control Day' news conference, they spoke in support of women's reproductive health and called for over-the-counter non-prescription access to emergency contraception for all women. Bello and Najimy encouraged students to join the March for Women's Liveson April 25, 2004, in Washington, D.C.
Photo by Ric Francis
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Continue to Be Big Sellers
Anti-Bush Books
Newsmaking allegations, White House rebuttals and a ready audience for anti-Bush books have helped make Richard A. Clarke's "Against All Enemies" a big best seller, publishing officials say.
Anti-Bush books have been popular since last fall, when liberal pundits Al Franken, Joe Conason and Molly Ivins were among those with best sellers. Now the best sellers are being written by historians such as Phillips and former Bush officials such as Clarke.
Books unfavorable to Bush will continue coming out, including "Worse Than Watergate," by John W. Dean, a former aide to President Nixon, and "The Politics of Truth," by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, who has criticized the White House's uses of intelligence before the Iraq war.
This fall, a book on the Bush family is due from Kitty Kelley, known for her gossipy best sellers about Nancy Reagan and Frank Sinatra.
Anti-Bush Books
Being Replaced As NPR Host
Bob Edwards
National Public Radio has bounced Bob Edwards, host of "Morning Edition" since its inception in 1979, out of his job.
The radio network announced Tuesday that Edwards, 56, will become senior correspondent of NPR News, with his reports being heard on various broadcasts, at the end of April.
He said he was given no specific reasons for his ouster. "It's the old `move the program in a new direction.' There was no Janet Jackson incident," he said.
Bob Edwards
The children of Spc. Lori Piestewa, Carla Piestewa, left, and Brandon Whiterock, carry the American and state of Arizona flags that will be raised during a sunrise service to remember the life and death of their mother, Tuesday, March 23, 2004, at Piestewa Peak, in Phoenix. Piestewa, a member of the Hopi Tribe, is believed to have been the first American Indian woman killed while fighting for the U.S. military.
Photo by Roy Dabner
Discusses Gay Marriage
Jesse Ventura
"We have a representative-style government. Represent your people and vote and stand by what you believe in," said Jesse Ventura, who as a professional wrestler was known for his flamboyant costumes. "Civil rights issues should not be put on the ballot."
Currently a fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics, Ventura appeared at the Statehouse alongside State Auditor Joseph DeNucci, a former boxer.
"We're two tough guys here to show support for a basic human right," DeNucci said.
Clad in jeans and sneakers and wearing a full beard and a shaggy ring of hair, Ventura asked, "How is my marriage under attack if two gays or lesbians down the street want to make a lifelong commitment to themselves?"
"Love is bigger than government. Think about that."
Jesse Ventura
Jackson Wanted to Play A Car
Kevin Smith
It's an odd idea for a movie, even for Michael Jackson. "Jersey Girl" director Kevin Smith says he once got an offer to direct the pop singer in a movie about a man who turns into a car that gets ridden around by a boy.
Smith tells Playboy magazine that Jackson wanted to play the car/man role. The proposed title of the film, and Smith says this is no lie, was "Hot Rod."
Smith calls it the "weirdest" script he was ever asked to direct.
Kevin Smith
'Disturbed' by Gibson's Crucifixion Film
Paul Schrader
The Hollywood screenwriter behind the last controversial film about Christ says Mel Gibson's new film on the crucifixion is violent and disturbing.
"It's a well-made movie but it's very violent and infused with a great sense of self-flagellation," Paul Schrader, screenwriter for "The Last Temptation of Christ," told Reuters.
"My film was essentially a humanist story about the struggle to find God in which Christ is used as a metaphor," said Schrader, who was raised in a strict Calvinist household and studied theology.
"But screenings of Gibson's film have been more like evangelical meetings. The audience comes into the film with such a powerful belief system that they think they have a religious experience. It's quite an interesting and disturbing phenomenon," he said.
Paul Schrader
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Two-Book Deal
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello has agreed to a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster, but don't expect any juicy music industry gossip.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the publisher said Costello had "resisted the rewards for writing a traditionally scurrilous and scandalous biographical memoir."
The first book, scheduled for fall 2005, will be a "series of intimate narrative chapters taking their cue from the styles, themes and characters found in a number of Costello's lyrics."
The second book will be a "work of comic philosophy" entitled "How to Play the Guitar, Sing Loudly and Impress Girls ... or Boys."
Elvis Costello
Brazilian artist Tonico Lemos Auad's untitled drawings on bananas are seen on show at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts for the Beck's Futures 2004 art prize, March 23, 2004. Auad is one of 10 short-listed artists vying for a large stake in the annual Beck's Futures prize worth 65,000 pounds sterling ($120, 217) which will be divided among the winners.
Photo by Peter Macdiarmid
Davy Crockett Cap Heading to Smithsonian
Fess Parker
Fifty years after his portrayal of frontiersman Davy Crockett caused an unprecedented rush on coonskin caps, Fess Parker is handing his cap over to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
"I didn't think my children would have any place for it better than I did, which was in my closet," said Parker, 79, who plans to officially turn the cap over during a ceremony next Tuesday in Washington.
He's also giving the Smithsonian the buckskin jacket, fringed boots, shirt and pants he wore when he portrayed another frontiersman, Daniel Boone, on television in the 1960s.
Fess Parker
Spending Birthday In Russia
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney will spend his 62nd birthday in Russia, where he will give a concert on June 20.
Two days later the former hearthrob will give a concert in Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg as part of his summer tour, organizers of his concert tour told the Interfax news agency Tuesday.
Paul McCartney
Bringing Peace to the Middle East
Muppets
Where countless politicians and diplomats have failed, Elmo, Cookie Monster and their "Sesame Street" buddies are on a mission to promote peace and tolerance in the Middle East.
Gary Knell, president and chief operating officer of Sesame Workshop, says in an interview that producers knew that not everybody would be open to the idea of Elmo & Co. teaching Israeli kids to respect Palestinians and vice versa.
"It's a highly charged environment, and the press is going to reflect some of that," Knell says. "Yes, some Israeli reports accused us of being lackeys of the Palestinians, while another article accused us of being lackeys of the Bush White House and charged that Elmo was carrying the will of the White House to the Middle East. A Jordanian Internet site accused us of being Zionist lap dogs."
"Sesame Stories" is now airing as three parallel productions on Jordan Television, the HOP! Channel in Israel and the Ma'an Network in the West Bank and Gaza.
Muppets
Wedding News
Curan - Goen
"Entertainment Tonight" anchor Bob Goen wed Home & Garden Television show host Marianne Curan in a private ceremony Saturday evening.
About 60 family members and friends attended the ceremony at a private residence in Southern California, said Goen's publicist Lee Wallman.
Curan - Goen
Retiring From Film Association
Jack Valenti
Jack Valenti, who oversaw the creation of Hollywood's movie-ratings system in the 1960s, said Tuesday he will step down as head of the Motion Picture Association of America, possibly within three months.
Valenti, 82, has hinted at retirement over the last two years. He made it official at ShoWest, an annual convention of theater owners. May will mark Valenti's 38th anniversary in the job.
Jack Valenti
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Sues Another 532 Over Swapping
Recording Industry
The recording industry sued 532 people Tuesday, including scores of individuals using computer networks at 21 universities, claiming they were illegally sharing digital music files over the Internet.
The latest wave of copyright lawsuits brought by the Recording Industry Association of America on behalf of recording companies marks the first time the trade group has targeted computer users swapping music files over university networks.
The RIAA filed the "John Doe" complaints against 89 individuals using networks at universities in Arizona, California, New York, Indiana, Maryland, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Washington. Lawsuits were also filed against 443 people using commercial Internet access providers in California, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and Virginia.
Recording Industry
A New Zealand road sign cautions drivers to be alert for kiwi's, a flightless bird native bird, in this undated photo. The runaway success of director Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy of movies, combined with the country's image as a safe haven from the world's troubles have turned this remote South Pacific nation into a must-see location for millions of travelers each year.
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FBI Investigating Stolen Jewelry
Elvis
The FBI is now involved in the case of the stolen Elvis jewelry. The FBI has joined the investigation into the robbery at the Elvis-A-Rama museum in Las Vegas on March 14. Thieves took more than $300,000 worth of Elvis Presley's jewelry from the museum, including his ruby diamond ring, a high school ring and a diamond pendant and chain.
With the FBI involved, authorities will be able to search a database used by law enforcement agencies throughout the world. The database provides information involving the theft of art or artifacts with significant historical or artistic importance.
Elvis
CNN Reporter Jumps to NBC
Martin Savidge
Veteran CNN reporter Martin Savidge has taken a job at NBC News, where he will be an Atlanta-based correspondent reporting for the network and its cable partners.
Savidge has been a news anchor and national correspondent for CNN since 1996.
Martin Savidge
Records Shed Light on Art Trial
John Lennon
A gallery owner who got into trouble in 1970 for selling sexually explicit lithographs by John Lennon may have escaped conviction because of concerns expressed by the art world, according to official files made public Tuesday.
The decision to charge gallery owner Eugene Schuster for displaying the eight lithographs by the former Beatle depicting himself and his wife, Yoko Ono, in various sexual poses led to one of the most sensational court cases in Britain that year.
Scotland Yard investigators had said the art being sold at the London Arts Gallery clearly had come from a "sick mind."
However, the prosecutors' original file, released for the first time by the National Archives in Kew, southwest London, on Tuesday, suggests that one reason may have been concerns about the implications that a successful prosecution would have on other art collections, including those of Queen Elizabeth II.
John Lennon
Republican Voter Drive
MTV
For young Americans who care more about G-Unit than the GOP, choosing their favorite music videos on MTV's "Total Request Live" may be as close as they've come to the democratic process.
Republicans are hoping to change that by sending their voter registration truck Thursday to two places where Republicans are usually in short supply: MTV and Times Square.
The National Republican Committee's Reggie the Registration Rig is scheduled to visit the "TRL" studio, where the current contest between resident Bush and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry usually takes a back seat to the vying videos of Usher and Clay Aiken.
RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie will be on hand, espousing the youths' right to vote for the right wing.
MTV
Sues Critic Over FCC Complaints
Erich "Mancow" Muller
As regulators crack down on indecency on the airwaves, a nationally syndicated shock jock struck back Tuesday, suing a man who has repeatedly complained about his radio show to the government.
Erich "Mancow" Muller said in the lawsuit that the complaints were malicious and untrue, and were designed to ruin him financially.
According to the lawsuit, David E. Smith and his group Citizens for Community Values of Illinois have filed more than 60 complaints with the Federal Communications Commission since 2000 alleging the shock jock violated broadcast standards.
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, asks for $3 million and an injunction barring Smith from making "spurious" complaints about Muller to the government.
Erich "Mancow" Muller
Village Has Presley Roots
Lonmay, Scotland
After six years' research, writer Allan Morrison says Elvis Presley was the direct descendant of blacksmith Andrew Presley who lived 300 years ago in the Aberdeenshire village of Lonmay.
Morrison found records showing that Andrew Presley married Elspeth Leg in Lonmay on August 27, 1713. Their son, also named Andrew, became the first Presley in America when he arrived in North Carolina in 1745.
Lonmay, Scotland
Fleet Street Dancer, a horse trained by Bobby Frankel gallops at the Nad al Sheba race track in Dubai March 23, 2004. Trainers are preparing their horses for the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup which will take place March 27th.
Photo by Caren Firouz
'The Osbournes'
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