'Best of TBH Politoons'
Reader Comment
Re: John Bolton
The proposed ambassadorship of John R. Bolton
To the U.N. is exceedingly joltin'.
His malevolence, half-assed,
If this nomination is passed,
Will truly be somethin' revoltin'.
~ D Baker
"Yeah, right... as if William F. Buckley had a sense of humor or a clue."
Thanks, David!
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Greening You Out of House and Home (Grist)
Robyn Griggs Lawrence, editor of Natural Home & Garden magazine, answers readers' questions.
Matthew Breen: Pop Goes the Homo (Out.com)
The editor of a queer guide to gay pop culture dishes on go-go dancing, Wonder Woman, and whether writing a book is as sexy as it sounds.
Eddie Shapiro: Broadway Royalty (Out.com)
Out.com Exclusive: Out actor Christopher Sieber talks about playing it straight (and playing a knight!) in the Broadway hit Spamalot.
Bruce's Video Recommendation: Notting Hill (Review by ROGER EBERT)
Well, of course, the moment we see Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant together on the screen, we want to see them snoggling, but a romantic comedy like "Notting Hill" is about delaying the inevitable.
David Bruce Wise Up: War (The Athens News)
War can be horrible. During World War I, French painter Edouard Manet reported that at the butcher shops people were buying dogs, cats, and rats. In addition, no cabs were running because the horses that pulled them had all been eaten.
©2005
**********The Wall Street Poet
The Tax-Free Nation Poem
The Tax-Free Nation Poem
Ollie Wendell Holmes once said
'Bout taxes in this nation,
They are the price we gotta pay
To have civilization.
But recently I'm thinking
That this rule we should relax,
'Cause I'd rather not be civilized
Then pay my income tax.
The money sinks of public ed,
The vet and welfare rolls,
The subsidies for geezer health,
Who needs these wasteful doles?
Our streets would have no pot holes
If we made them all toll roads,
Stock markets would go through the roof
Without dull legal codes.
To keep our armies solvent
We could send our soldiers plundering;
No revenue means Congress
Won't in spending realms be blundering.
Who needs a tax-based commonwealth?
For too long we've been scamed.
We'll each care for the things we like,
All other things be damned!
For more political and financial verse:
www.wallstreetpoet.com
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny & getting warm.
Talked to dear old Dad tonight. Sunday's snow melted in today's relative hot spell - 60°.
Major hints were dropped that we are expected to visit this summer.
4 Series Returning
ABC Renewals
ABC said Tuesday that freshman hits "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" will be back next year, as well as "Alias" and "Boston Legal."
"Desperate Housewives," a comedy-drama about suburban angst, is the network's top-rated series of the current season with 22.8 million weekly viewers and ranks fourth for the season to date among all shows.
"Lost" is winning its Wednesday time slot and is drawing 15.9 million weekly viewers, making it the 14th-ranked program in primetime, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"Alias," with Jennifer Garner as a fetching spy, will return for its fifth season after improving its ratings this year, ABC said.
"Boston Legal," a reworked version of the canceled "The Practice" with Emmy-winning stars James Spader and William Shatner, will get a second season after winning its Sunday time slot among total viewers.
ABC Renewals
Tapes VH1's 'Storytellers'
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen says sometimes all a song needs is a dictionary and a notebook. Some 350 people at The Two River Theatre watched "The Boss" perform during a taping of VH1's "Storytellers" series Monday night.
Springsteen launched the program with "Devils and Dust," the title track to his new disc, which is to be released April 26.
He said the song was written when U.S. troops entered Iraq, and deals with the struggle between the personal and the political. "What if we do destroy our ideals?" he asked.
The program is to air April 23.
Bruce Springsteen
Set To Return From the War Grave
Blackadder
A cunning plan is afoot to revive one of television's greatest cads. Edmund Blackadder, played by Rowan Atkinson, went "over the top" to almost certain death in the fourth series of the comedy 16 years ago.
Now, according to senior BBC sources, Blackadder is set to survive the first world war and appear in a new story with a strong anti-war message. The character may make his comeback as early as this autumn.
Senior executives at the corporation - including Jana Bennett, director of television, and Jane Lush, head of entertainment commissioning - are said to have discussed the idea at a meeting last month.
Tony Robinson, the television presenter and Labour politician who played Baldrick, Blackadder's foul-smelling skivvy, said that he had heard rumours of a return "bubbling up". He said that he would gladly take part and believes Atkinson is also more enthusiastic than in the past to revive the series.
Blackadder
Tape Found
Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane
The Library of Congress announced Tuesday the discovery of 55 minutes of tape made by Thelonious Monk's jazz quartet, including tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, in Carnegie Hall. The concert was not commercially recorded.
It was found by Larry Appelbaum, the library's jazz specialist and acting head of its magnetic recording lab, when he was making digital recordings of tapes recorded by the Voice of America in 1957 for broadcast abroad.
Monk's music was not among the 50 items chosen for the third annual addition to the National Recording Registry.
Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane
Scroll down for a list of the 50 recordings added to the National Recording Registry
August Cannon Shot
Hunter Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson's ashes will be blasted from a cannon mounted inside a 16-metre-high sculpture of the journalist's "gonzo fist" emblem, his wife Anita said Tuesday.
The cannon shot, planned sometime in August on the grounds of his Aspen-area home, will fulfil the writer's long-cherished wish. "It's expensive, but worth every penny," Anita Thompson said. "I'd like to have several explosions. He loved explosions."
The cannon shot will be part of a larger public celebration of Thompson's life. Some details remain to be worked out, including the exact date, what kind of cannon will be used and the specifics of the gonzo fist, Anita Thompson said.
She said planning for the fist has been guided by a video of Thompson and longtime illustrator-collaborator Ralph Steadman, recorded in the late 1970s when they visited a Hollywood funeral home and began mapping out the cannon scheme.
Hunter Thompson
Auction to Support GIs
'American Chopper'
Support the troops: buy a hog. Paul Teutul Sr. and his son, Paul Jr., whose Orange County Choppers shop is featured on the Discovery Channel's "American Chopper," will auction two custom-made motorcycles, with proceeds going to the families of troops who have been seriously wounded or killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The auction will be conducted by Guernsey's auction house May 6 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Proceeds will be donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Fisher House Foundation.
Built from scratch, the motorcycles are proclaimed "truly customized to some of the baddest steel that's ever roared down the road on two wheels." Teutul expects the bikes and other items to raise a "substantial amount of money" for the families.
Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and pro golfer Davis Love III will also participate, Teutul said.
'American Chopper'
May Bid For Paxson
Byron Allen
Television celebrity and businessman Byron Allen on Tuesday said his Entertainment Studios Corp. may bid $2.2 billion in cash to acquire struggling Paxson TV network and remake it for black audiences.
Allen, widely remembered as the star of 1980s TV show "Real People," told Reuters he is working with investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston and several undisclosed private equity firms to establish financing, but no company had yet committed to backing his company in an offer.
The network's parent, West Palm Beach, Florida's Paxson Communications Corp., owns 60 local TV stations that reach nearly 90 percent of all U.S. households.
But its family-oriented programing has failed to catch fire with audiences. Paxson has continually reported annual net losses and is embroiled in a legal tussle with its major stakeholder, General Electric Co.'s NBC TV network.
Byron Allen
Teaming Up for Tour
Eminem & 50 Cent
Eminem and 50 Cent are teaming up for a two-month tour that will end with two August shows in Eminem's hometown of Detroit.
The Aug. 12-13 concerts at 44,000-seat Comerica Park come two years after Eminem and 50 Cent played a pair of gigs at neighboring Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions.
The third installment of the Anger Management Tour kicks off July 7 in Indianapolis. It's the first road show Eminem has undertaken since the November release of his latest album, "Encore," which has sold 4 million copies in the United States.
Eminem & 50 Cent
Getting New Theme Song
'Today' Show
Bleary-eyed "Today" show watchers will soon wake up to a new voice in the mornings - country music star Phil Vassar singing the theme song.
"Today," the nation's top-rated morning show with 6 million viewers, is set in a couple of weeks to begin using "Live for Today," written by Vassar with his wife, songwriter Julie Wood, and Randy Wachtler.
The upbeat tune - with the chorus "Live for today/Live for today/Live for today/Yesterday's gone and tomorrow's on its way/So live for today" - will be produced in spots ranging from 10 seconds to 2 minutes.
'Today' Show
Shaking Down Cable
Kevin Martin
New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin prodded the cable industry on Tuesday to address concerns about racy content.
Martin, in his first public speech as chairman, told the annual convention of the cable industry that parents are more and more worried about coarse material on television.
Martin, an FCC commissioner since 2001 who was promoted to chairman by resident Bush last month to replace fellow Republican Michael Powell, also said he supports the vision set by Powell of establishing a level playing field for companies competing to offer consumer services.
Kevin Martin
Reality Series For UPN
Britney Spears
Pop singer Britney Spears and hubby Kevin Federline have said "I do" to star in a UPN reality series that documents their courtship, engagement and wedding.
Featuring what UPN bills as "exclusive, never-before-seen private home videos" of their "personal love story," the six-episode series is scheduled to premiere later this season. It picks up shortly after the pair met in Los Angeles and headed to Europe on tour, where Federline performed as a backup dancer for Spears.
UPN is also shooting new footage and commentary with the couple.
Britney Spears
Brits Retool Tabloid
National Enquirer
The racy National Enquirer is relaunching with a crack team of British tabloid reporters who are promising to "go for the jugular" -- though the editor insists they won't be making up stories.
With its reputation in the toilet after a string of libel suits and circulation falling, the magazine's newly appointed editor Paul Field promises less soft celebrity gossip, more national crime stories, pieces about "ordinary people doing extraordinary things" and health features crossing over into women's magazine territory.
And rather than trying to compete with more upmarket titles who take the "official story," the British reporters will "go for the jugular," Field said.
National Enquirer
Ex-Business Manager Suing Estate
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando's former business manager is suing his estate for sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
Jo An Corrales of Kalama, Wash., alleges that she was subjected to a hostile work environment and that Brando exposed his genitals, touched her inappropriately and insisted she watch pornographic movies with him.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. It demands 10 percent of the $5 million in residuals that Corrales claims Brando received during the time of her employment, which was from December 2000 through March 8, 2004.
She also claims that she was removed as co-executor of Brando's will 12 days before he died.
Marlon Brando
Restraining Order For 'Big Pussy'
Vincent Pastore
Vincent Pastore, the actor who played a gangster on the HBO hit series "The Sopranos," was ordered by a judge Tuesday to stay away from the girlfriend he was accused of beating last weekend.
Judge Karen Lupuloff told Pastore, 58, that he was to refrain from writing, e-mailing, calling or trying to see Lisa Regina, 44, the woman he allegedly assaulted in his car Saturday.
The prosecutor said Regina was treated at a hospital for cuts and bruises. He did not say why the alleged assault occurred, but published reports said the two argued because Regina was late for a trip they were to take.
Vincent Pastore
Changes Name to C Miller
C-Murder
Rapper C-Murder, in jail after a murder conviction in the 2002 killing of a teenager, has changed his stage name because he thinks he's been misunderstood. "I am not a murderer," the rapper, whose real name is Corey Miller, said in a statement released Tuesday.
He will now go by C Miller, said his publicist, Giovanni Melchiorre of New York-based Koch Records. Miller's statement said people had misinterpreted the C-Murder name, which he intended as a reflection of his upbringing in one of New Orleans' most violent housing projects.
Miller was convicted of second-degree murder Sept. 30, 2003, in the death of Steve Thomas, 16, a fan of the rapper who was shot to death inside a nightclub in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.
C-Murder
Back as 007 For Video Game
Sean Connery
Actor Sean Connery, the original James Bond of the big screen, has agreed to reprise his role as Agent 007 for Electronic Arts' upcoming video game version of "From Russia With Love."
Connery will record dialogue for the game, and his likeness will appear as it did in MGM's 1963 hit movie, his second outing as the suave British super spy.
He will be joined by other likenesses from the original film's characters, including Q (Desmond Llewelyn), Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw), Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), Kerim Bay (Pedro Armendariz) and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell).
Sean Connery
National Recording Registry
New Entries
The 2004 National Recording Registry (in chronological order):
1. "Gypsy Love Song," Eugene Cowles (1898).
2. "Some of These Days," Sophie Tucker (1911).
3. "The Castles in Europe One-Step ("Castle House Rag)," Europe's Society Orchestra (1914).
4. "Swanee," Al Jolson (1920).
5. Armistice Day broadcast by Woodrow Wilson (1923).
6. "See See Rider Blues," Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (1923).
7. "Charleston," Golden Gate Orchestra (1925).
8. "Fascinating Rhythm" from "Lady, Be Good!": Fred and Adele Astaire; George Gershwin, piano (1926).
9. NBC radio broadcast coverage of Charles A. Lindbergh's arrival and reception in Washington (1927).
10. "Stardust," Hoagy Carmichael (1927).
11. "Blue Yodel (T for Texas)," Jimmie Rodgers (1927).
12. "Ain't Misbehavin'," Thomas "Fats" Waller (1929).
13. "Gregorio Cortez," Trovadores Regionales (1929).
14. Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor: Rachmaninoff, piano; Leopold Stokowski, conductor, Philadelphia Orchestra (1929).
15. "The Suncook Town Tragedy," Mabel Wilson Tatro of Springfield, Vt. (July 1930).
16. Rosina Cohen oral narrative from the Lorenzo D. Turner Collection (1932).
17. "Stormy Weather," Ethel Waters (1933).
18. "Body and Soul," Coleman Hawkins (1939).
19. Sergey Prokofiev, "Peter and the Wolf": Serge Koussevitzky, conductor; Richard Hale, narrator; Boston Symphony Orchestra (1939).
20. "In the Mood," Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (1939).
21. Edward R. Murrow broadcast from London (1940).
22. "We Hold These Truths," radio broadcast (1941).
23. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 23, b-flat minor: Vladimir Horowitz, piano; Arturo Toscanini, conductor, NBC Symphony Orchestra (1943).
24. "Down by the Riverside," Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1944).
25. "U.S. Highball (Musical Account of a Transcontinental Hobo Trip)," Harry Partch, Gate 5 Ensemble (1946).
26. "Four Saints in Three Acts," composer Virgil Thomson and members of original 1934 cast (1947).
27. "Manteca," Dizzy Gillespie Big Band with Chano Pozo (1947).
28. Jack Benny radio program, March 28, 1948.
29. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (1949).
30. "Lovesick Blues," Hank Williams (1949).
31. "Guys and Dolls," original cast recording (1950).
32. "Old Soldiers Never Die" (farewell address to Congress), Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur (1951).
33. "Songs by Tom Lehrer" (1953).
34. "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man," Muddy Waters (1954).
35. "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)," The Penguins (1954).
36. Tuskegee Institute Choir Sings Spirituals, directed by William L. Dawson (1955).
37. Handel's "Messiah": Eugene Ormandy, conductor; Richard Condie, choir director; Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Philadelphia Orchestra (1958).
38. "Giant Steps," John Coltrane (1959).
39. "Drums of Passion," Michael Babatunde Olatunji (1960).
40. "Peace Be Still," James Cleveland (1962).
41. "The Girl From Ipanema," Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto (1963).
42. "Live at the Apollo," James Brown (1965).
43. "Pet Sounds," The Beach Boys (1966).
44. King James version of the Bible, Alexander Scourby (1966).
45. Remarks from Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong's broadcast from the moon (1969).
46. "The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East" (1971).
47. "Star Wars" (soundtrack), John Williams (1977).
48. Recordings of Asian elephants by Katharine Payne (1984).
49. "Fear of a Black Planet," Public Enemy (1989).
50. "Nevermind," Nirvana (1991).
New Entries
In Memory
Saul Bellow
Nobel laureate Saul Bellow, a master of comic melancholy who in "Herzog," "Humboldt's Gift" and other novels both championed and mourned the soul's fate in the modern world, died Tuesday. He was 89.
Bellow's close friend and attorney, Walter Pozen, said the writer had been in declining health, but was "wonderfully sharp to the end." Pozen said that Bellow's wife and daughter were at his side when he died at his home in Brookline, Mass.
Bellow was the most acclaimed of a generation of Jewish writers who emerged after World War II, among them Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and Cynthia Ozick. To American letters, he brought the immigrant's hustle, the bookworm's brains and the high-minded notions of the born romantic.
He was the first writer to win the National Book Award three times: in 1954 for "The Adventures of Augie March," in 1965 for "Herzog" and in 1971 for "Mr. Sammler's Planet." In 1976, he won the Pulitzer Prize for "Humboldt's Gift." That same year Bellow was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, cited for his "human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture." In 2003, the Library of America paid the rare tribute of releasing work by a living writer, issuing a volume of Bellow's early novels.
He had five wives, three sons and, at age 84, a daughter. He met presidents (Kennedy, Johnson) and movie stars (Marilyn Monroe, Jack Nicholson). He feuded with writers (Truman Capote, Mailer), and helped out others, notably William Kennedy, on whose behalf he lobbied to get his work published.
After teaching for many years at the University of Chicago, Bellow stunned both the literary and academic world by leaving the city with which he was so deeply associated. In 1993, he accepted a position at Boston University, where he taught a freshman-level class on "young men on the make" in literature.
Like his characters, Bellow's life was an evolution from the unbearable, but comic passion of the Old World, to the unbearable, but comic alienation of the New World.
The son of Russian immigrants, he was born Solomon Bellows in 1915, in Lachine, Quebec, outside Montreal. He dropped the final "s" from his last name and changed his first name to Saul when he began publishing his writing in the 1940s.
From the beginning, Bellow was determined to tell a different kind of American story, to depart from the tight-lipped machismo of Ernest Hemingway.
Bellow will have a private funeral, said Pozen. A public memorial is also planned.
Saul Bellow
