'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Weekly Review
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW
June 17, 2003
Israelis and Palestinians were doing their best to slaughter
one another in a vigorous exchange of revenge attacks;
Israel's defense minister ordered security forces to "use
everything they have" to destroy Hamas; Hamas responded in
kind and released a statement calling on "all military cells
to act immediately and act like an earthquake to blow up the
Zionist entity and tear it to pieces."
Ariel Sharon, the
Israeli prime minister, ridiculed Palestinian leaders as
"crybabies" and said that Abu Mazen, the new prime minister,
was "a chick without feathers."
Iraqi civilians continued to
die in what Lt. Gen. David McKiernan called "a cycle of
action, reaction and counter-action"; among those who were
killed by mistake was a family of shepherds and a family
that was trying to put out fires in a wheat field that
were set by American flares.
The American soldiers looking
for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were running out of
places to look. "It doesn't appear there are any more
targets at this time," said Lt. Col. Keith Harrington.
"We're hanging around with no missions in the foreseeable
future."
President Bush was still "absolutely convinced"
that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Frank Luntz, the
Republican pollster, said that it doesn't matter whether WMD
are found, "because the rationale for the war changed.
Americans like a good picture. And one photograph of an
Iraqi child kissing a U.S. soldier is more powerful than two
months of debate on the floor of Congress."
Continued at www.harpers.org/weekly-review
--Roger D. Hodge
Reader Review
The Eagles
I saw the Eagles in concert Saturday, their first Tallahassee appearance
ever. They ran through note-perfect renditions of many of their greatest
hits.
It's been awhile since I'd last seen them (it was in Oakland Alameda in
1977) and awhile since I've been to any rock concert. Question: When did
it become popular (or even acceptable) for the audience to sing aloud along
with the musicians? When did these arenas turn into large, bad karaoke
bars?
On the other hand, when did people STOP singing aloud the national anthem in
favor of standing mute while some soulful soloist does his/her personal
rendition of it? Hey, you Jose Feliciano-wannabe: shut the fuck up. And
you in the stands, SING. It's called a national "anthem" for a reason,
right?
More important, somebody told me the Eagles' Joe Walsh has/had a recurring
role in the Drew Carrey TV show. Is/was this true? The guy has a naturally
funny face and ought to have his own show. Plays a mean axe too.
EJ2E
Thanks, Ed! Great job.
Yes, Joe Walsh has had a semi-regular recurring role on 'Drew Carey'. While it has been officially announced that 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' has been canceled, it doesn't
look very good for 'Drew Carey', either.
The ill-begotten sons of Johnny Cash and Angus Young
Jackdaw
Hello Marty,
Greetings from Buffalo, New York (the land the capitalist economy forgot). I'm emailing to acquaint you with the best band in this crumbling city -- Jackdaw.
They are celtic-influenced rock band with loads of charisma and a finely honed pop sensibility. (Imagine: the pogues filtered through the american working class experience). That, in a nutshell, is Jackdaw.
We have abandoned the idea of signing with a major label (as if they wanted us) and have decided to go it on our own. Given the nature of the corporate-dominated radio landscape we realize how difficult our mission will be.
Hopefully our musical mayhem is right up your alley.
kingsley
Turtopia
komix
Half blind...and spitting straight into the wind
More Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Reader Review
'The Big Country'
Ya know what we both missed? TCM did a run of "The Big Country" Monday night, presumably in honor of the late, great Greg Peck. I LOVE this movie, and for fans, it IS out on DVD.
For the more prescient, it pits the rightie-tightie Charlton Heston against Peck, the hero of the tale, presumably before their politics became widely known off-screen.
Brief synopsis: Young daughter of Western ranching scion, brings back a ship-captain beau from a trip "back-East". While new to the west-wilds, he is no stranger to the character of men. He becomes embroiled in a range-feud over water-rights between his intendeds' family and a rough-hewn clan led by a patiarch driven to truth, played superbly by the late Burl Ives.
Directed by the great William Wyler, the scope of the film is grand, and the politics evident are as clear as those espoused today;--- hugely contemporary.
It is more brightened by a supporting cast that includes Chuck Connors, as well as lively turns by women played by Jean Simmons and Carrol Baker.
A must view for any fan of Greg Peck, and a should view for all Republicans who think Heston is their poster-boy...
michelle
Thanks, Michelle - will keep an eye out for its repeat.
from Mark
Ask Dr. Paul
TBH Politoons is running some Free Presidential Advice toons. It got me
thinking about an Ask Dr. Paul series based loosely on Dr. Laura. It might
look something like this ...
Caller: "George" is just so aggressive, and always reeks of mendacity. He
has all these WMDs, and keeps lying about other people's WMDs. I just don't
know where to turn.
Dr. Paul: Tony, Tony, Tony! You're riding bitch on the motorcycle of life.
You must sublimate your needs and desires to those of the man in your life.
Don't make me drag out Leviticus on your ass.
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Overcast morning, sunny-breezy afternoon.
The kid's 'Terrarium O'Death' is blooming! The butterwort has a pale lavender flower, the sundew sent up a stalk with a bunch of little white flowers in a row, and the venus flytrap has a budlet, too.
Tonight, Wednesday, CBS starts the night with a RERUN 'Funny Flubs & Screw-Ups X', followed by '60 Minutes II', then '48 Hours'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Johnny Depp, Christine Todd Whitman, and B.B. King.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Nick Stahl and Jewel.
NBC opens the night with a FRESH 2-hour 'Fame', then a RERUN 'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Bernie Mac, Dwight Yoakam, and Teenage Wasteland.
Scheduled on a FRESH Conan are Kate Hudson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and O.A.R.
Scheduled on a FRESH Carson Daly are Jennifer Eccleston and Ludacris.
ABC begins the evening with a RERUN 'My Wife & kids', followed by a RERUN 'George Lopez', then another RERUN
'My Wife & Kids', followed by another RERUN 'George Lopez', followed by a RERUN 'Extreme Makeover'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jimmy Kimmel are Dick Clark and Rooney, with this week's guest co-host Perry Farrell.
The WB has the Series Premiere 'Boarding House: North Shore', followed by a RERUN 'Jamie Kennedy', then another RERUN
'Jamie Kennedy'.
Faux has a RERUN 'That 70's Show', followed by a FRESH 'American Juniors', then the Series Premiere
of 'Paradise Hotel'.
UPN has a RERUN 'Enterprise', followed by a RERUN 'Twilight Zone'.
A&E has 'Biography' (Carol Burnett), followed by 'American Justice', and then 'City Confidential'.
AMC offers the movie 'Young Guns', followed by the movie 'High Plains Drifter'.
BBC has 'Ground Force' - Drumoak (7pm),
'Changing Rooms' - Ireland (7:30pm),
'Homefront in the Garden' - Southgate (8pm),
'Homefront in the Garden' - Harbourne (8:30pm),
'Parkinson' - Michael Palin/ Ricky Gervais (9pm),
'The Office' - Episode 3 (10pm),
'The Office' - Episode 4 (10:40pm),
'The Office' - Episode 5 (11:20pm), and
'Parkinson' - Michael Palin/ Ricky Gervais (12am) (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo offers the movie 'Firefox', followed by the movie 'Raising Arizona'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart is Kelly Clarkson.
Discovery has 'Chased By Dinosaurs', followed by the debut of 'Walks With Cavemen'.
History has 'History Undercover', followed by 'Mouthpiece: Voice', then 'The XY Factor'.
SciFi has the movie 'Batman', followed by an infomercial for 'The Hulk'.
TCM offers the movie 'The Tender Trap', followed by the movie 'Thrill Of A Romance', and then the movie 'Anchors Aweigh'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Bill Helps With Book Signing
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was so mobbed at her New York book party that it seemed she'd never get around to signing all the books. Luckily, husband Bill was helping.
The former president, who until now has let his wife enjoy the spotlight as her memoir, "Living History," sells like hot cakes, smiled and signed away, his own autograph on the volume apparently in as much demand as hers.
Among those on hand to sample the hors d'oeuvres: TV personalities Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters and Charlie Rose; former White House aide and now TV host George Stephanopoulos; New York politicians Geraldine Ferraro, Andrew Stein and Mark Green; comedian and author Al Franken; actor Chevy Chase; and singer Judy Collins.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Eyeing Reunion Tour?
Simon & Garfunkel
Preliminary plans are underway for a Simon and Garfunkel reunion tour for the fall, sources tell Billboard.com.
The agents for Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are collaborating on "initial explorations" regarding a tour, which is tentatively set to play arenas.
Aside from a rendition of "The Sounds of Silence" at the Grammys earlier this year, the famed folk/pop duo hasn't performed together since the Concert Event of a Lifetime tour in early 1994. On that trek, the pair played to large crowds, including a sold-out run of 21 shows at the Paramount in New York.
Simon & Garfunkel
Cancels Tour's Opening Date
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza has canceled its opening date. Lollapalooza was to open July 3 in Ionia, Mich., but organizers have called off that date because of "staging and technical difficulties with the event site."
That's got Ionia officials hopping mad. Korina Haga of the Ionia Fair Association tells The Grand Rapids Press her office found out about the cancellation from a Lansing radio station, not from the tour. She says they were able to handle 25,000 Metallica fans a few years ago and they could easily handle that many Jane's Addiction fans.
Lollapalooza publicist Laura Cohen says the problem was with the size of the stage in Ionia. Jane's Addiction didn't think they could fit all their production onto it. She says slow sales were not behind the cancellation. About 4,000 tickets were sold for that stop. The tour will now open July 4 in Noblesville, Ind.
Lollapalooza
Actress Angelina Jolie is the latest celebrity to be featured in the 'Got Milk' advertising campaign, shown in this undated publicity photograph of the ad on June 16, 2003. Her ad will appear in the July 2003 issue of 'Spin' magazine. Jolie is featured wearing a milk mustache in an outfit from her new film 'Laura Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life', due out in theaters this Summer in the United States.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wedding News
William Petersen
William Petersen, who stars in CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," married his longtime girlfriend during a weekend ceremony in Italy.
Petersen, 50, and former schoolteacher Gina Cirrone were married Saturday in Petrignano, Italy, his publicist, Jennifer Allen, said Monday. There were no details about the ceremony.
The couple, who live in Los Angeles, were honeymooning in Europe, Allen said. Petersen, one of the show's producers, plays Gil Grissom on the TV series.
William Petersen
Recommeneded By Alex
'Tycoon: a New Russian'
Director Pavel Lounguine plays it refreshingly straight in this tough-talking gangster saga set in the Russia of Boris Yeltsin.
Longuine ("Taxi Blues," "The Wedding") avoids the irony and genre games that often characterize contemporary gangster films. Instead, he constructs a serious story that is part psychological analysis, part social critique and part hard-hitting actioner. The result, titled "Tycoon: A New Russian" for American release, would sit nicely between "The Godfather" and "The Public Enemy" on any crime lover's movie shelf.
It's a gripping film with a crystal-clear story line and should have no trouble attracting a specialized urban audience. If marketing plays down the politics in favor of frequent bouts of sharp and strong violence, it could also gain a second lease on life in video stores.
The story, inspired by the life of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, begins in the last years of Gorbachev's rule. Plato Makovski (Vladimir Mashkov), a charismatic academic, surveys the chaos of the last years of communism and decides that there's more money to be made in big business than mathematical equations.
For the rest, 'Tycoon: a New Russian'
Thanks, Alex!
Fest Goes Off Without a Hitch
Bonnaroo
Quickly becoming the biggest rock festival in the U.S., Bonnaroo wrapped early Monday morning near Nashville after a marathon set by the Dead.
The performance, the last of those on the festival's main stage, ended a sold-out, three-day festival marked by musical diversity and, more than anything else, incredibly supportive and enthusiastic crowds.
More than 80,000 people descended on the tiny Nashville suburb of Manchester for performances by the Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic, Neil Young, James Brown, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, G. Love & Special Sauce, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, the Wailers, the Flaming Lips, and Nickel Creek, among many others. More than 75 acts appeared throughout the weekend.
Torrential rains in the days preceding the event created logistical challenges, but the event still came off without a significant hitch.
For more, Bonnaroo
Criticizes Government
Paul Auster
Novelist Paul Auster voiced scathing criticism of the U.S. government, calling its policies stupid and expressing confidence that American voters will end what he called a shift to the extreme right.
Auster, on a vacation tour of Europe, gave a lecture Monday at the Circulo de Bellas Artes cultural foundation along with his publisher in Spain, Jorge Herralde.
"In the long run I don't think the American people are going to be asleep the way they are right now," Auster said. "I think eventually they are going to wake up."
Auster criticized the Bush administration on issues ranging from foreign policy and the Iraq war to education and the environment.
"The policies we are living through right now with the Bush administration seem to be so stupid, so counterproductive to any kind of healthy society that most Americans want to live in, that a moment will come when it will become intolerable and the right will be voted out of office," he added.
Paul Auster
Considers Releasing New Lennon Music
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono, the widow of the former Beatle John Lennon, is considering making public previously unreleased music by her late husband.
"I have to wait for the right moment," Ono, 70, told Germany's "Stern" magazine in its special Wednesday edition.
Ono, the jealous guardian of his legacy, said the taped material should not be released in its current condition.
Yoko Ono
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Viacom Losing $
'Spike TV'
Media giant Viacom Inc.'s TNN network told an appeals court on Tuesday it had lost nearly $17 million since film director Spike Lee last week blocked the cable channel from changing its name to "Spike TV."
The cable network, seeking an immediate stay of the injunction, said Lee's action had cost it $16.8 million.
Cable operators were told not to switch the logo icon to Spike TV as planned because of the injunction, which caused "substantial confusion, expense and disruption," according to TNN lawyer Clara Kim.
Kim said losses could mount for the revised station. If it is not allowed to "relaunch," Kim said the company could lose in excess of $42 million.
'Spike TV'
Snarks Carole King
Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire will begin work on a new studio album this summer in Nashville. The superstar recently wrote a few songs with Carole King with the new album in mind, however the fruits of their collaborations didn't make the grade, according to McEntire.
"We got together--Carole King and I did--to write some songs, and the songs that I heard, I'm gonna pass on," McEntire says. "I'm the type of person [that] I don't care who writes it, who produces it, where it comes from. I'm lookin' for the best songs for the new CD, and so, unfortunately, that didn't make the cut."
McEntire had also hoped to record a duet with King for the new project, but those plans have been put on hold. "Carole and I have not talked anymore about doin' a duet together, but hopefully someday we'll get to work on a project together cause I'm a huge fan of hers and we're great friends and she's a wonderful lady."
Reba McEntire
Comedian Rip Taylor strikes a pose for photographers at the world premiere of 'Alex & Emma,' in which he co-stars, Monday, June 16, 2003, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Rene Macura
Four Charged With Theft
Dali Sketch
Four veteran corrections officers staged a phony fire drill at Rikers Island jail to steal a $250,000 Salvador Dali sketch from the jail's lobby, then replaced the artwork with an unframed copy, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The untitled sketch of the crucifixion has not been seen since March 1, hours after a fire drill at the city jail gave the officers the chance to lift it from a locked display case, prosecutors said. The painting was replaced with a copy, with a frame drawn around its edges.
The mixed-media composition was displayed in the 14,000-inmate jail's dining room for 16 years before being moved to the lobby, where only officers and visitors are allowed. The painting was moved for fear that inmates would damage or destroy it, said Rose Gill Hearn, commissioner of the Department of Investigation.
"Who knew that it might have been safer left in the cafeteria?" Hearn said.
Dali Sketch
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
In The News
Sorkin & Dowd
The firings of top New York Times editor Howell Raines and his deputy, Gerald Boyd, haven't added much sizzle to Jayson Blair's supposed showbiz deals.
We hear that "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin - who coincidentally dates Times op-ed columnist and Raines favorite Maureen Dowd - has passed on a prospective TV miniseries about dysfunctional newsrooms for which Blair would have served as a consultant.
Sorkin & Dowd
Celebrity Snaps Raise Cash
Reporters Without Borders
Disposable cameras loaded with the stars' mystery photos have raised $76,730 to help journalists imprisoned around the world for speaking out against repressive governments.
Former Bond girl Sophie Marceau's camera raised about $5,300 for media support group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
As the champagne flowed, brassy French TV presenter Laurent Baffie drove up bids for his camera to almost $6,000, trumping Marceau as well as offers for the cameras of absent stars like Jodie Foster, Monica Bellucci and Claudia Schiffer.
The bulk of the cameras raised surprisingly little, however, with iconic actress Charlotte Rampling's camera, including self-portraits, fetching just $590 and heartthrob French actor Vincent Perez's selling for just $473.
Reporters Without Borders
A race-goer wears a hat covered in fake butterflies in the royal enclosure at Ascot, on the first day of the Royal Ascot horse race, Tuesday, June 17, 2003. The annual royal race meeting is a highlight in the royal calendar and social season.
Photo by John Stillwell
Famed Beatnik Mecca Turns 50
City Lights Bookstore
The beat generation writers have mostly faded away but the San Francisco bookstore where they gathered and its anti-establishment owner who helped make them famous show no sign of mellowing after 50 years.
As his legendary City Lights Bookstore marks a half century in business this month, 84-year-old poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti still shows the nonconformist streak that landed him in court in 1957 on obscenity charges for publishing Allen Ginsberg's ground-breaking poem "Howl."
In an interview Ferlinghetti quickly moved the conversation from the bookstore he co-founded in 1953 to a far more important topic for him these days -- what he calls a U.S. government crackdown on civil liberties.
When City Lights opened in what was then mainly an Italian neighborhood, the store became the first all-paperback bookseller in the nation (although now it also sells hardcover books). And it gained fame as a place where readers to this day can find titles from radical ends of the political spectrum not available at mainstream shops.
For a lot more, City Lights Bookstore
May Not Seek Re-Election
Melissa Gilbert
Screen Actors Guild president Melissa Gilbert hinted Monday that she may not seek re-election if the union's proposed consolidation with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) is voted down by members early next month.
"I have thought about it, and it is something I am considering," said the former "Little House on the Prairie" actress, whose two-year term expires at an as-yet-undetermined time in the fall because of the election schedule imposed by SAG's new governance structure. "But I won't have a final decision till after the vote comes in."
At a news conference Monday morning, Gilbert expressed confidence that the voting members will approve the controversial merger, which requires 60% approval. The results of the referendum are scheduled to be tallied and announced July 1.
"Once members can get their heads out of the minutiae of the details (of the plan), overwhelmingly I am hearing a positive response," she said. "I anticipate a positive outcome."
Melissa Gilbert
Man With An Opinion
Orrin Hatch
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet.
The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads.
During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said any such attack would violate federal anti-hacking laws.
"No one is interested in destroying anyone's computer," replied Randy Saaf of MediaDefender Inc., a secretive Los Angeles company that builds technology to disrupt music downloads. One technique deliberately downloads pirated material very slowly so other users can't.
"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."
The senator, a composer who earned $18,000 last year in song writing royalties, acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer."
"There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws," Hatch said.
Orrin Hatch
Prime-Time Nielsen List
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 9-15. 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) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 14.6 million viewers.
2. (8) "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 14 million viewers.
3. (12) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 12.8 million viewers.
4. (10) "Law & Order," NBC, 12.4 million viewers.
5. (19) "Still Standing," CBS, 12 million viewers.
6. (X) "NBA Final Game 6: - New Jersey vs. San Antonio," ABC, 11.6 million viewers.
7. (15) "Without a Trace," CBS, 11.4 million viewers.
8. (X) "Dateline NBC-Monday," NBC, 11.2 million viewers.
9. (63) "48 Hours Investigates," CBS, 10.8 million viewers.
10. (17) "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 10.5 million viewers.
11. (3) "Friends," NBC, 10.4 million viewers.
12. (X) "Law & Order," Wednesday 9 p.m., NBC, 10.3 million viewers.
13. (27) "Yes, Dear," CBS, 9.8 million viewers.
14. (67) "Last Comic Standing," NBC, 9.7 million viewers.
15. (40) "60 Minutes II," CBS, 9.7 million viewers.
16. (29) "The King of Queens," CBS, 9.7 million viewers.
17. (X) "NBA Finals Game 4: San Antonio vs. New Jersey," ABC, 9.7 million viewers.
18. (23) "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," NBC, 9.6 million viewers.
19. (14) "Will & Grace," NBC, 9.5 million viewers.
20. (19) "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.4 million viewers.
Ratings
Nielsen Media Research Web site
Tens of thousands of people have come over the last several days to view this image in a hospital window that many believe resembles the Virgin Mary at Milton Hospital in Milton, Massachusetts June 17, 2003. The Massachusetts hospital has asked the Catholic Church for help after being swamped by thousands of pilgrims seeking a glimpse of what they claim is a shimmering image of the Virgin Mary, officials said on Tuesday. Some 25,000 people flocked to Milton Hospital over the weekend to gaze up at a window in a medical office building where believers say the mother of Jesus Christ has appeared, a hospital spokesperson said.
Photo by Brian Snyder
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
