'Best of TBH Politoons'
M Is FOR MASHUP - May 2nd 2007
Media Particles for May
By DJ Useo
Reader Comment
Ewan McGregor
Marty
In the April 30th piece about Ewan McGregor and his Star Wars role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, you mention the stamp in the 15 special edition postal stamps designed to commemorate the series' 30th anniversary this month, of him fighting with Anakin Skywalker.
Here is a picture of that stamp, as well as the whole sheet of 15. Neat!
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Bill Moyers Interviews Jon Stewart (truthdig.com)
The veteran newsman probes "The Daily Show" host on the state of journalism, his recent showdown with Sen. John McCain and how he finally figured out the Bush administration.
Annalee Newitz: Stop Getting Things Done
Author Tim Ferriss' productivity strategy of working less and accomplishing more sounds great -- until you realize he does this by outsourcing his work to the developing world.
Boris Kachka: Are You There, God? It's Me, Hitchens (nymag.com)
Christopher Hitchens on religion (no thanks), Iraq (not a mistake), and his own loud reputation.
Michael Connelly: The folly of downsizing book reviews (latimes.com)
Newspapers that cut back on book coverage may be cutting their own throats.
Adam Williams: Open Letter to Lester Bangs (popmatters.com)
The fearless, arrogant, and very much missed rock writer has been gone from this world for a quarter century, now. Time to drop him a note.
Billy Manes: Richard Lewis Lights Up the Dark (orlandoweekly.com)
Say what you want about veteran comedian Richard Lewis, odds are he's already said it.
For your entertainment (guardian.co.uk)
Mainstream movies are getting darker and more violent. And as Quentin Tarantino's latest project, Grindhouse, demonstrates, the worst of the violence is often directed at women. Kira Cochrane on the rise of 'torture porn'.
Steve Miller: Johnny Ramone: Rebel in a rebel's world (washingtontimes.com; from 2004)
For 100 nights a year over three decades, punk-rock guiterrorist Johnny Ramone stood with his head down, face in an intense scowl of concentration, legs shoulder-width apart, hammering at his blue Mosrite with a blurry right hand. The cacophony was pure bliss, a white noise ringing that punched holes in all that was peaceful, shards of the power chords busting into little aural stars, like the lights you see when you smack your head, only in your ears.
Obituary: Johnny Ramone (telegraph.co.uk; from 2004)
Johnny Ramone, who has died aged 55, was the lead guitarist with The Ramones, the American band that was the chief influence on the development of punk rock. The importance of the group to punk was that they were the first to reduce music to its bare necessities of four chords, pointless lyrics and, above all, energy. What counted was attitude, not skill, although unlike the movement in Britain, theirs was a gesture principally to the disposability of pop rather than a call to arms.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Comedians (athensnews.com)
As a comedian, Margaret Cho has to be able to handle hecklers. When a drunk is preventing her from doing her job, she sometimes tells him, "Do I go to where you work and slap the d--k out of your mouth?"
The Richard Lewis Official Site
A Tribute to Melanie Safka
Melanie Safka: The Official Website
Follow Up
zEN mAN wONdEREd
"what kind of cocoon is this....the winning reader's answer gets a zEN mAN moment of mindful meditation"
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Marine layer hung around til nearly supper time.
Mark Twain Prize
Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal will be awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
He's the 10th recipient of the award, given annually by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It'll be presented Oct. 11 at a tribute performance that will be televised by PBS.
Past recipients of the Mark Twain prize include Goldberg, Neil Simon, Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. The first recipient was Richard Pryor in 1998.
Billy Crystal
Making Limoncello
Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito is taking a moment from ABC's "The View" and turning it into his own brand of limoncello, a lemon-flavored liqueur.
DeVito - who was promoting his new comedy, "Deck the Halls" - slurred his speech and used some bad language when joking about resident Bush during his appearance on "The View."
DeVito is now launching Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello, which was unveiled Monday at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla.
His 60-proof liqueur, to be launched later this year by Harbrew Imports Inc. of Freeport, N.Y., is the "best limoncello you ever tasted," DeVito said in a statement.
Danny DeVito
Sales Soar For New Tolkien Novel
'The Children of Hurin'
Two weeks after the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Children of Hurin," an unfinished novel edited by the late author's son, Christopher, more than 900,000 copies are in print worldwide, nearly double the original total, according to the U.S. publisher, Houghton Mifflin.
The new book, a prequel to Tolkien's mega-selling epic "The Lord of the Rings," was started by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1918, but eventually abandoned. The author died in 1973, and his son spent the next 30 years working on the manuscript. Excerpts from "The Children of Hurin," which includes the elves and dwarves of Tolkien's other works, had been published over the years, but there was never a single narrative until this spring.
"The Children of Hurin," which came out April 17, has topped numerous best-seller lists and Houghton Mifflin has increased its printing from 250,000 to 550,000. In Britain, copies in print have been raised from 250,000 to 360,000.
'The Children of Hurin'
From Behind The Orange Curtain
Ask a Mexican
Why do Mexicans use their car horns as a doorbell? Why is Mexican television so obsessed with dwarfs and transvestites? Why do they park their cars on the front lawn?
Do Mexican children get tamales at Christmas so that they have something to unwrap? What is it about the word "illegal" that Mexicans don't understand?
The chances are that you will know the answers to some of these questions if you live in the United States and read the wickedly funny "Ask a Mexican!" column syndicated in more than a score of weekly newspapers across the country.
The brainchild of a Mexican-American reporter, Gustavo Arellano, and his editor at the OC Weekly in Orange County, southern California, the column started out as a prank in 2004.
Ask a Mexican
Turns 70
Cinecitta
Rome's legendary Cinecitta film studio, home of "Ben-Hur" and practically synonymous with Federico Fellini, has survived through thick and thin to mark 70 years since its founding by Mussolini.
But Cinecitta has yet to recover from nearly two decades in the wilderness, despite recent US blockbusters such as "Gangs of New York" and "The Passion of the Christ".
Glittery festivities planned Friday will draw about 1,000 guests to the sumptuous set of the US-British television blockbuster series "Rome".
The sprawling Cinecitta (literally "cinema city"), conceived as a rival to Hollywood, was inaugurated on April 28, 1937, by the dictator Benito Mussolini, who saw its potential as a propaganda tool.
Cinecitta
Dubai Branch
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du soleil will develop a permanent show on The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai to open at the end of 2010, land developer Nakheel said Tuesday.
A unique 1,800-seat theatre will be built to stage the attraction, the first to be staged outside of North America, Japan and China. The show, with original music and costumes, would be presented for the following 15 years.
The new Cirque-Nakheel partnership was established following the success of the Cirque du soleil's touring show Quidam, which visited Dubai in January 2007 in the troupe's first ever season in the Middle East.
Cirque du Soleil
Musicians Unlock Mystery Melody
Rosslyn Chapel
A Scottish church which featured in the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" has revealed another mystery hidden in secret code for almost 600 years.
A father and son who became fascinated by symbols carved into the Rosslyn Chapel's arches say they have deciphered a musical score encrypted in them.
Stuart Mitchell said he and his father were intrigued by 13 intricately carved angel musicians on the arches of the chapel and by 213 carved cubes depicting geometric-type patterns.
Years of research led the Mitchells to an ancient musical system called cymatics, or Chladni patterns, which are formed by sound waves at specific pitches.
Rosslyn Chapel
Arrested On Assault Charge
Boy George
Boy George was arrested and released on bail after a 28-year-old man accused the former Culture Club frontman of "false imprisonment and common assault".
A police spokeswoman said he had been bailed to appear in July pending further inquiries.
Representatives for the singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, were not immediately available for comment.
But his brother Kevin was quoted by the NME music magazine as saying that George was not annoyed and found the allegations "hilarious".
Boy George
Woman Vacillates
Chris Rock
A woman who claims Chris Rock is the father of her 13-year-old son says she is seeking a DNA test because she's not completely sure he's the father.
Kali Bowyer filed court papers in Bulloch County in March claiming the comedian is her son's father.
Rock has acknowledged the two had a "limited relationship" and is willing to take a DNA test, Bowyer said.
Bowyer also said she's pursing the paternity claim because her son is ill. She wouldn't specify the illness.
Chris Rock
Suit Filed Against
Guns N' Roses
A New Jersey company claims Guns N' Roses owes it $107,000, plus interest, for handling gear and other services during the band's 2006 tour.
Repeated requests have failed to bring payment, according to a lawsuit filed in state Superior Court for Essex County by Speed of Sound, of Irvington.
The lawsuit was filed April 11 against the band, three companies affiliated with the band that handled tour arrangements, and members of the band, including singer Axl Rose.
Guns N' Roses
Melting 30 Years Ahead Of Forecast
Arctic Ice Cap
The Arctic ice cap is melting much faster than expected and is now about 30 years ahead of predictions made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.S. ice expert said on Tuesday.
This means the ocean at the top of the world could be free or nearly free of summer ice by 2020, three decades sooner than the global panel's gloomiest forecast of 2050.
No ice on the Arctic Ocean during summer would be a major spur to global warming, said Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the National Snow and Ice Center in Colorado.
Arctic Ice Cap
Why Donald Duck Doesn't Need Pants
Ducks
Several species of ducks have evolved complicated genitals in what appears to be an "arms race" between the sexes, researchers reported on Tuesday.
And females may be coming out ahead, said the team of biologists at Yale University in Connecticut and the University of Sheffield.
Their findings not only open a window into a little-studied area of biology, but could help shed light on how evolution works to help both males and females control their own breeding, the researchers said.
"Birds are the only group where it mostly has been lost -- 97 percent of birds do not have phalluses at all," Patricia Brennan of both Yale and Sheffield said in a telephone interview.
Ducks
Alligator Reappears In L.A.
'Reggie'
Reggie the alligator reappeared Monday after vanishing for 1 1/2 years in an urban lake where the reptile turned up in 2005 and repeatedly skunked would-be 'gator wranglers.
"After 18 months of hibernation or just eluding us, Reggie has decided to show himself," City Councilwoman Janice Hahn told a press conference next to Harbor Regional Park's Lake Machado.
Reggie was an illegal pet allegedly tossed into the 50-acre lake by a former Los Angeles policeman when it got too big. It was spotted in August 2005 and caused a stir until disappearing the following October.
A series of alligator experts tried and failed to capture Reggie.
'Reggie'
In Memory
Zola Taylor
Zola Taylor, who broke gender barriers in the 1950s as a member of The Platters, harmonizing with her male colleagues on hits like "The Great Pretender," has died, her nephew said Tuesday. She was 69.
Taylor, who later gained attention of a different sort as one of three women who claimed to be pop idol Frankie Lymon's widow, died Monday, said her nephew Alfie Robinson. She had been bedridden following several strokes and died at Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside County from complications of pneumonia, he said.
Founding Platters member Herb Reed said he spotted Taylor, the sister of Cornell Gunter of the Coasters, rehearsing with a girl group in 1955 and knew immediately she had the charisma and vocal chops the R&B group needed.
Taylor was back in the spotlight in the 1980s when she and two other women all claimed to be Lymon's widow and fought over his royalties. Lymon, a juvenile pop sensation in the 1950s with such hits as "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?," had died of a drug overdose in 1968 at age 25.
The courts eventually sided with one of the other women. The drama was a focal point in the 1998 Lymon biopic "Why Do Fools Fall in Love." Halle Berry played Taylor.
Robinson, Taylor's closest known living relative, said his aunt continued touring with other lesser-known acts until 1996 and wed two other times. Her last husband died in 1982, he said. She had no children.
Zola Taylor
In Memory
Dabbs Greer
Dabbs Greer, a veteran character actor who played the Rev. Robert Alden in the TV show "Little House on the Prairie," has died. He was 90.
Greer played "everyman" roles, from bus drivers to preachers and shopkeepers, in nearly 100 movies and hundreds of TV show episodes. He played a prison guard in the 1999 movie "The Green Mile."
He played storekeeper Mr. Jonus on "Gunsmoke" and also was the minister who married Mike and Carol Brady in 1969 on TV's "The Brady Bunch."
Born Robert William Greer on April 2, 1917, in Fairview, Mo., Greer moved to Anderson as an infant with his family. He was 8 when he began acting in children's theater productions.
Greer never married and had no survivors.
Dabbs Greer
In Memory
Tom Poston
Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as "Newhart" and "Mork and Mindy," has died. He was 85.
Poston, who was married to Suzanne Pleshette of "The Bob Newhart Show," died Monday night at home after a brief illness, a family representative, Tanner Gibson, said Tuesday. The nature of his illness was not disclosed.
Poston's run as a comic bumbler began in the mid-1950s with "The Steve Allen Show" after Allen plucked the character actor from the Broadway stage to join an ensemble of eccentrics he would conduct "man in the street" interviews with.
His movie credits included "Cold Turkey," "The Happy Hooker," "Rabbit Test" and, more recently, "Christmas With the Kranks," "Beethoven's 5th" and "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."
He made guest appearances on scores of television shows, including "Studio One," "The Phil Silvers Show," "The Defenders," "Get Smart," "The Bob Newhart Show," "The Love Boat," "St. Elsewhere," "The Simpsons," "Coach," "Murphy Brown," "Home Improvement," "Touched by an Angel," "Will & Grace," "Dream On," "Just Shoot Me!" and "That '70s Show."
Poston and his first wife, Jean Sullivan, had a daughter, Francesca, before their marriage ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Kay Hudson, after they met while appearing in the St. Louis Light Opera, and they had a son, Jason, and daughter, Hudson.
Poston and Pleshette, who had appeared together in the 1959 Broadway play "The Golden Fleecing," had had a brief fling before marrying other people. Both now widowed, they reunited in 2000 and married the following year.
Besides Pleshette, 70, Poston is survived by his children, Francesca Poston of Nashville, Tenn., Jason Poston of Los Angeles and Hudson Poston of Portland, Ore.
Tom Poston
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