'Best of TBH Politoons'
M Is FOR MASHUP - May 14th, 2008
The Professor Of Beats Hits the Disco Scene
By DJ Useo
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Ted Rall: No More Student Loans? Good
The credit card has made it harder to get college student loans. This is a silver lining of recession: a market-driven force that could push down skyrocketing tuition.
David R. Baker: Pray-in at S.F. gas station asks God to lower prices (sfgate.com)
Rocky Twyman has a radical solution for surging gasoline prices: prayer. Twyman - a community organizer, church choir director and public relations consultant from the Washington, D.C., suburbs - staged a pray-in at a San Francisco Chevron station on Friday, asking God for cheaper gas. He did the same thing in the nation's Capitol on Wednesday, with volunteers from a soup kitchen joining in. Today he will lead members of an Oakland church in prayer.
FROMA HARROP: A Perfect Calm for John McCain (creators.com)
John McCain has used these weeks of Republican calm to dive into the Democratic lunch pail. This strategy clearly assumes a Barack Obama candidacy. If demographics are destiny - as the political sages keep telling us - Democratic demographics may offer some choice cuts to the presumed Republican nominee. By dumb luck, Republicans have chosen their one candidate who projects a moderate image, hasn't alienated Latinos and offers an appealing life story to boot.
Susan Estrich: Playing Nice (creators.com)
There is an ugly tradition that has developed in politics in recent years, aided and abetted by the rules and exceptions that govern the financing of campaigns.
The candidate stays clean. Other people do the dirty work. Then the candidate is "shocked, shocked" to discover there is gambling in Casablanca, and that it is beyond his control.
Jim Hightower: BUSH'S RECESSION (jimhightower.com)
George W's mouth just can't seem to say the R-word. Rrr-rrr-rrr, he begins, but the word "recession" simply will not escape his lips. One wonders if it's even in his vocabulary.
Glenn Garvin: 10 years after Frank Sinatra's death, daughter Nancy helps keep the legend alive (McClatchy Newspapers)
It was 40 years ago, but the memory still shimmers: Exhausted and incognito, Nancy Sinatra was sitting at a back table at the Fontainebleau relaxing the best way she could imagine - listening to her dad sing. Suddenly the show took an unexpected turn. "My daughter's here, just back from Vietnam," Frank Sinatra told the audience. "Chicken, why don't you come up here and sing one?"
Brian McCollum: Lady Antebellum plays to a media-savvy generation (Detroit Free Press)
Lady Antebellum's chart-topping triumph thrills Hillary Scott for all the obvious reasons.
John Bungey: Happy birthday, Jethro Tull (entertainment.timesonline.co.uk)
Under the radar of the media, the band are embarking on an anniversary tour. Ian Anderson explains their success.
20 QUESTIONS: Tod A of Firewater (POPMATTERS)
What I've recently found works best is to put oneself as far away as physically possible from the source of the stress. Therefore, if you hate your job, quit your job. If you hate your government, find another. Things weighing you down? Sell them. Some would call it running away, others might call it aimless drifting. I call it happiness.
Mark Slutsky: "Garth Jennings & Nick Goldsmith on Their Affectionate Tribute to '80s Action Movies" (Montreal Mirror)
Much like Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind, Son of Rambow is the story of a group of inspired amateurs competing with Hollywood on a shoestring. It's a sweet and frequently hilarious film that overflows with the spirit of childhood derring-do.
Garth Pearce: "Kim Cattrall: work, lust and foreplay" (entertainment.timesonline.co.uk)
She's the one who put the sex into Sex and the City. But how close to reality is Kim Cattrall to man-eating Samantha?
Red State Update: Hillary Wins Pennsylvania (youtube.com)
Bad language. Crude stereotypes. Bruce loves it.
A: John Belushi
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Marine layer is finally moving on - more sun, warmer temps.
Having major problems uploading stuff - don't know if it's my isp, the ftp, or my computer. Heh - could be all 3.
Tops Gay-Friendly Survey
Bravo
NBC Universal's Bravo emerged as the most "gay-friendly" company, according to a survey from Prime Access and PlanetOut.
Four of the five top-ranked brands were from the media and technology sectors. Following Bravo were Apple, Showtime and HBO.
None of the companies perceived as least gay-friendly was in the media and technology sector. Top finishers on that list included BP, Gilette, Cadillac and Kraft.
Bravo
Readies "Fahrenheit 9/11" Follow-Up
Michael Moore
Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore has begun work on a "searing and provocative" follow-up to his 2004 political documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," with plans to release it next year, producers said on Tuesday.
The as-yet untitled movie is being co-financed and distributed by two small studios -- Overture Films, a subsidiary of John Malone's Liberty Media Corp, and Paramount Vantage, an art-house label of Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures.
Moore, the writer and director, began work on the project in recent months and agreed to a spring 2009 commercial release, deliberately choosing to launch the movie after this fall's U.S. presidential election, said Overture's chief operating officer, Danny Rosett.
Michael Moore
'Childish Superstition'
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday.
As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people".
"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.
"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.
Albert Einstein
Renewals
CBS
"The New Adventures of Old Christine," which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a divorced mother, is returning to the CBS schedule with a 22-episode order.
The network also has picked up the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," the action drama "The Unit" and the relationship comedy "Rules of Engagement."
The James Woods-starring crime drama "Shark" and cult favorite "Moonlight" were canceled.
CBS
Blindsided By Faux
Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer (R-Bombastic) said Tuesday that Fox is dropping his sitcom "Back to You," calling the decision a surprise and a shame.
"They have let it go," Grammer told The Associated Press. "We were told all this time we were in good shape and we were coming back."
On Friday, Grammer taped an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show promoting the series. When the veteran sitcom star ("Cheers," "Frasier") arrived home later that evening he received a call telling him that the show was canceled.
Grammer said he spoke with Fox executives Peter Liguori and Kevin Reilly on Saturday and that they didn't fully explain the decision. He speculated that their interest in the show had "waned" so they were unwilling to be patient with it.
Kelsey Grammer
The Electric Company, Too
Fraggle Rock
Kid-friendly TV series Fraggle Rock and The Electric Company are being steamrolled back into production, the former in a live-action musical film, and the latter in an updated run on PBS.
According to Variety, the Weinstein Co. secured rights to the puppet-starring Jim Henson brainchild, announcing plans for a Fraggle Rock movie reuniting Gogo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red. No plot has been revealed, though the big-screen adventure will take the characters outside their home turf, where they have brief interactions with humans whom they believe to be aliens.
Per the trade, PBS will begin airing 26 all-new episodes of The Electric Company, the reading-, music- and dance-friendly show in January, with a cavalcade of branded books, games and digital media to follow.
Fraggle Rock
Uninjured In Hit-And-Run Accident
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore was involved in a hit-and-run accident, but instead of staying put, she followed the other driver and took down the license plate number.
The 33-year-old actress wasn't injured when her car was rear-ended Monday in West Hollywood, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Kristin Aloma.
Aloma said Barrymore followed the other vehicle and got its license plate number, which she then handed over to sheriff's deputies.
Drew Barrymore
Hospital News
James Garner
James Garner's publicist says the veteran TV and film star has been hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering a minor stroke at his home last week.
Publicist Jennifer Allen said Tuesday that the star of "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files" was hospitalized Friday. Allen says Garner is doing well and will be going home soon.
Garner, who turned 80 last month, rose to prominence in the 1950s as "Maverick," a wry riverboat gambler who, unlike his TV contemporaries, would often run rather than fight.
James Garner
Gets 8 Years
Remy Ma
A weeping Remy Ma was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for shooting a woman outside a Manhattan nightclub. "I feel so bad for all the physical and mental pain you've gone through," the Grammy-nominated rapper told the victim. "This has taken a toll on us and both our families. I would never wish you harm and I pray the best for all of us."
The entertainer, whose real name is Remy Smith, had faced up to 25 years in prison for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion for shooting Makeda Barnes Joseph last July in a dispute over money.
Smith, 26, begged the judge for leniency for the sake of "my little boy," saying she grew up "surrounded by failure, violence and poverty," but "made something out of nothing" from her life.
State Supreme Court Justice Rena Uviller said she recognized that Smith had had a difficult childhood, but noted the victim had nearly died and will never be the same physically. Uviller called the rapper "a young woman whose anger is out of control."
Remy Ma
Ban TV
Taliban
Taliban insurgents have ordered residents of a province near the capital Kabul to stop watching television, saying the networks were showing un-Islamic programs, officials and local media said on Tuesday.
The order is the last in a wave of curbs that the resurgent militants have announced in areas they are active.
A senior Afghan information ministry official, Najib Manelai, said that dozens of masked men with weapons entered mosques in Logar province at the weekend and threatened residents against watching television
The Taliban have in recent months also ordered mobile phones operators to shut down the networks, saying foreign troops were using the phones to track them down. They have also warned girls in several parts of the south and east not to attend schools.
Taliban
Foreclosure Auction Canceled
Neverland Ranch
A foreclosure auction scheduled this week for Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was canceled after an investment company bought the loan.
Colony Capital LLC spokeswoman Caroline Luz said the loan purchase was recently made by Colony and the auction slated for Wednesday was off, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
In a statement released Sunday by a Jackson spokesman who identified himself as B. Michael, the singer said he was "pleased with recent developments involving Neverland Ranch ... that would allow me to focus on the future."
Neverland Ranch
American Media
Bonnie Fuller
High-profile celebrity magazine editor Bonnie Fuller is resigning as executive vice president and chief editorial director of American Media Inc, the publisher of the National Enquirer and Star magazines.
The company said on Tuesday that Fuller will resign effective May 14, and become editor-at-large at Star and serve as a consultant to Chairman and Chief Executive David Pecker.
Fuller, 51, said she was leaving because it is the "right time," but would not provide more details. She told Reuters that she was not pushed out of the job. "It was 100 percent my decision," she said.
Bonnie Fuller
Aliens Allowed
Vatican
Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.
The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.
In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.
The Bible "is not a science book," Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most "reasonable" explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.
Vatican
Spared Jail
'Darth Vader'
A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.
Arwel Wynne Hughes, 27, attacked Jedi church founder Barney Jones - aka Master Jonba Hehol - with a metal crutch, hitting him on the head, prosecutors told Holyhead Magistrates' Court.
He also whacked Jones' 18-year-old cousin, Michael Jones - known as Master Mormi Hehol - bruising his thigh in the March 25 incident, prosecutors said.
Hughes claimed he couldn't remember the incident, having drunk the better part of a 2 1/2-gallon (10-liter) box of wine beforehand.
'Darth Vader'
'Saturday Night Live'
McBush
Republican presidential contender John McCain will make a cameo appearance this week on NBC-TV's "Saturday Night Live," a comedy venue that most recently has been focused on the ongoing Democratic presidential contest.
Aides travelling with McCain on in the Pacific Northwest said the Arizona senator will appear on the program, to be hosted by comedian Steve Carell, although they were mum about the details of his sketch.
During his weekend in New York, McCain also plans a series of media interviews, including one with Glamour magazine.
McBush
Only 2 New Fall Shows
ABC-TV
ABC will introduce only two new series in the fall, one of them scripted, in a schedule the network admits was severely affected by the 100-day TV writers strike.
The new David E. Kelley-produced drama, "Life on Mars," is about a police detective transported back to 1973. ABC gave it a plum Thursday time slot following "Grey's Anatomy."
The second new series, "Opportunity Knocks," is a game where producers show up at a home with a truckload of prizes and quiz family members on what they know about each other.
ABC is also picking up the NBC comedy "Scrubs" for midseason. ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson, who has feuded with his NBC counterpart Ben Silverman, noted Tuesday that the comedy had 17 different time slots at NBC and received little promotion.
"Notes From the Underbelly," "October Road" and "Women's Murder Club" were left off ABC's schedule.
ABC-TV
Nepal's Monarch POs PETA
King Gyanendra
Nepal's King Gyanendra, facing imminent ouster from the throne, made perhaps his last royal public appearance at a shrine outside Kathmandu on Monday and offered annual prayers to Kali, the Hindu goddess of power.
The 60-year-old king was accompanied by Queen Komal to the temple of Dakshinkali perched by the side of a stream in a jungle-clad ravine 25 km (15 miles) south of Kathmandu.
Gyanendra, facing the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy after the Maoists emerged as the biggest party in assembly elections in April, offered prayers to the "family deity."
Earlier at the shrine, the king sat crossed-legged in front of the deity and offered prayers as five animals - a buffalo, a goat, a lamb, a duck and a rooster - were sacrificed to goddess Kali, a common practice among Hindus, to please the deity.
King Gyanendra
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-Time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for May 5-11. 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. (2) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 22.87 million viewers.
2. (1) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 21.76 million viewers.
3. (8) "Dancing with the Stars" (Tuesday) ABC, 18.38 million viewers.
4. (4) "Dancing with the Stars" (Monday), ABC, 18.1 million viewers.
5. (9) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 18.07 million viewers.
6. (11) "Grey's Anatomy, ABC, 16.03 million viewers.
7. (6) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 15.43 million viewers.
8. (18) "Without a Trace," CBS, 14.67 million viewers.
9. (15) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 14.11 million viewers.
10. (14) "NCIS," CBS, 14.04 million viewers.
11. (16) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 13.61 million viewers.
12. (24) "House," Fox, 13.48 million viewers.
13. (X) "Survivor: Micronesia Finale," CBS, 12.98 million viewers.
14. (23) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 12.88 million viewers.
15. (25) "CSI: NY," CBS, 12.73 million viewers.
16. (16) "Survivor: Micronesia," CBS, 12.62 million viewers.
17. (18) "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," ABC, 11.98 million viewers.
18. (25) "Hell's Kitchen," Fox, 11 million viewers.
19. (21) "Lost," ABC, 10.78 million viewers.
20. (35) "Brothers & Sisters," ABC, 10.69 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Robert Rauschenberg
Acclaimed American artist Robert Rauschenberg died at his home on Captiva Island in Florida at the age of 82, his gallery said on Tuesday.
Rauschenberg, labeled a "Titan" of American art by The New York Times, had been ill for a while and died Monday night, Jennifer Joy of the Pace Wildenstein gallery in New York said.
Rauschenberg, born in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1925, spearheaded a style in the 1950s he came to call "combines," which incorporated aspects of painting and sculpture and eventually included objects such as a stuffed eagle or goat and street signs.
He became one of the most influential artists reacting against Abstract Expressionism, according to a Guggenheim Museum biography, while a Pace Wildenstein biography said Rauschenberg's work was part of "virtually every important international collection of contemporary art."
In the 1960s, he began silk-screen paintings and then embarked on a period of more collaborative projects that included performance art, choreography, set design and art-and-technology combinations.
In 1970 Rauschenberg established a permanent studio on Captiva island, off Florida's Gulf coast, where he made his home.
Robert Rauschenberg
In Memory
Larry Levine
Larry Levine, the recording engineer who helped Phil Spector re-invent rock 'n' roll music with his "Wall of Sound" technique and won a Grammy for his work with Herb Alpert, died on his 80th birthday, his family said Tuesday.
Their first collaboration was on the teen anthem, "He's a Rebel," which Levine helped Spector record in 1962. It would bring stardom to the girl group, the Crystals, just as "Be My Baby" would do for the Ronettes.
Levine was the engineer on such Spector produced classics as "Da Doo Ron Ron" and the Righteous Brothers', "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling," the song cited by BMI as the most played in the history of U.S. radio.
Levine was born in New York on May 8, 1928, and grew up in Los Angeles. After serving in the Army during the Korean War he learned to be a recording engineer from his cousin, Stan Ross, who was co-owner of Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood.
Although Levine's name was indelibly linked with Spector in music history, Levine also worked with Eddie Cochran, the Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher, Wings, the Carpenters, Dr. John and Herb Alpert. He won a Grammy for best engineered recording for Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' 1965 hit, "A Taste of Honey."
Besides his wife Lynn, Levine is survived by his sons, Rick, Rob and Michael, four grandchildren and a sister, Joyce Black.
Larry Levine
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