This week I have a fantastic interview with a well-known & strong talent in the bootleg scene - DJ M.i.F. I regularly hear his tracks on various mashup radio shows, & he's a huge fave of mine. Interview now commences.------------
Useo - Welcome DJ M.i.F. Thanks for sitting down & giving us some informative
dialogue with a premiere masher.
Q1: Certainly most of my readers have heard your tracks, but can you
tell us anything about who the man behind the mash is?
A1: Well, I'm just a regular guy born in 1981, working in a normal 9 to 5 job. I have been working with electronic music and dj-ing for the last 13 years, but I first began making mashups in 2005. Beside making music I love to cook, and have also worked at a few restaurants the last couple of years - I simply love to combine and mix things together, and no I don't give my recipes out haha!
Q2: Hahaha. Then I won't ask, lol. When do you most enjoy mixing up new tracks? Do you get inspiration
from being alone, or among people?
A2: It can be both. No matter where I go; for example, at my daytime job when I'm listening to radio. I automatically analyze all music I hear. It starts a kind of brainstorm. I don't really have that good of memory in general, but when it comes to chords, I easily recognize something, and I instantly think "hey, it's the same chord arrangement like 'that song'. Next I try to write all of them down. When I come home, I test them, and in most cases I'm right about the chords (sometimes a pitch is needed, but the chord arrangement is basically the same), but even if the chords are right, not everything is good enough to keep working with. Another way can be that I simply like a instrumental so much that I decide to work with it, and I will search through tracks to find a good one to fit.
Q3: Please grant us a few insights into what about the format interests you.
A3: Just all the musical freedom you can put into it, and constructing things the way you best like it without keeping strictly to a certain style. And I love to ruin your favourite Britney songs.
Q4: Lmao. What circumstances set you on the path to bootlegging? Who was involved, if anyone?
A4: Well, I had been listening to quite a few mashups, a year or 2 before, especially Soulwax's 'Intergalactic Mix' and some DJ Payroll tracks. There was this program on the Danish national radio "P3" where they played a lot of mashed songs. One day in December they started running a mashup competition, and I sent in my contribution, and they really liked it so much that I ended up at 3rd place. I started to send in more stuff, and got that played too. That's the kind of feedback that got me to continue.
Q5: Which of your tracks maintains the place of prominence as your favorite? Which track is a favorite of yours but didn't quite reach that big audience?
A5: It must be the "Wherever this message may roam (Grandmaster Flash vs Metallica)"
Q6: It varies from mixer to mixer so it's of keen interest to us - Do you have many unreleased tracks sitting on your hard drive, or do you release all new pieces?
A6: Before I release anything, I would send it around to friends for critism. I have quite a few unreleased, cause
I only release stuff when I have a full version ready. So watch out soon.
Q7: We've known you to mix in many different styles from trance to hip
hop to top 40 & even heard a hilarious novelty track on the IT IS
TO LAFF collection of humurous mashups. What music would we be
likely to hear you releasing in the future?
A7: The missy typewriter track was a kind of tribute to my big brother, who has always been good to supply and inspire me with his large musical taste.
I came up with the main idea in a short moment before we walked to the car, a Berlin roadtrip, visiting DJ Morgoth's "Mashup Your Bootz", later I did a large tweak of it.
I try not to put a certain label on the mashes I do. It can be everything, if I find it interesting enough, it's worth working with. Saying that, a large part of the future releases will be dancy tracks, but also some more power rock and more classical could be a good posibility.
Q8: The most fortunate of mashup afficianados have attended your live
performances at Bootie Munich or seen you DJ live elsewhere.Can you
share with us some of your live experiences, & perhaps how you
decide on the tunes you play.
A8: Bootie Munch was for sure a fun little gig. I haven't been djing to that many pure mashup nights, and that was for sure the biggest.
How do I decide? That depends on the audience. I try to read them, but sometimes I'm having fun first, see one crowd dancing to Christina A, and at the next moment they are going insane to Rammstein. If I'm doing a 1 hour set there will probably be alot of my own stuff than others, or stuff I know extremely well. The thing about mashups is that you can get away with playing a large scale of genres. I see Mashups aa a little like a tool that can bring back styles they usually wouldn't play at regular clubs, where only whats latest on the urban chart is posible, and it's our mission to change that!
Q9: Do you find where you live to have an effect on your music? Do you
get many requests to work with specific artists when cutting up a
new track?
A9: Not really, but sometimes I like a good challenge that can inspire me.
Q10: After a bit of participating in the bootleg scene, generally one
meets other mixers. Who does the M.i.F. count as associates, or pals
from the mashup world?
A10: People are, in general, very friendly and helpful to me. I count most of the gybo people as pals, and they sure know who they are. I haven't really met that many of them, but I have met a few bootleggers including Andrew (Morgoth), Adrian and the mysterious D, Ape, bush.no10, Mr Whitelabel, DJ Copycat, Tim Bear(DJ NoNo, Radioclash), Nik (Deep Disco Force), Pete (Juxtaposeur), James (ThriftshopXL), Lumpy, Matt Catt, Alex (Bootox), DJ Schmolli,Hahnstudios, FM24 and prob a few more that I can't remember the names of...
I could keep asking questions all day, so I'll let you go, perhaps with
the promise of another interview at a future date?
Thanks to a generous,talented DJ certain to continue to thrive in the
coming days.
Sorry for the delay with the Final June Mashup Challenge totals.
My Mother had heart surgery. She's doing well so far.
Here're the final results:
01 - Supakon - "You Know I Got'ta Work It Good"
(Amy Winehouse vs Amerie vs Missy Elliot) - 24 votes
02 - The Illuminoids - "Get It On At Le Disko"
(T. Rex vs Shiny Toy Guns) - 27 votes
03 - DJ Clive$ter - "Dare To Shout"
(Gorillaz vs Tears For Fears) - 15 votes
04 - DJ Matt Hite - "You Get Around(A Bad Name)"
(Bon Jovi vs Dragonettes) - 7 votes
Winner - THE ILLUMINOIDS
Thanks to all who voted.
----------------------
Mix of the Week - DJ Fac has an incredible recreation of his live set from his recent Bootie Munich appearance. The Bootie Set - bootie Munich 27.6.2008 (a reconstruction) is 106 minutes of crowd-pleasing fun. You'll hear tracks by the best bootleggers with a healthy dose of DJ Fac's best.
www.djfac.com/
Mashup Tip : Never mash any track bigger than your head.
PAUL CONSTANT: In a 'Star Trek' Outfit (How Not to Get Married) (thestranger.com)
I've been watching movies of the legally endorsed gay marriages in California, and for the first time in a very long while, I'm feeling hopeful about the future of this country. An America that embraces marriage equality is an America that, for example, would think twice before torturing as a standard procedure. But more selfishly, I'm hoping that the gays, by setting a good example, will save the breeders from themselves.
Colleen M. Lee: Our Kind of Indiana Jones (curvemag.com)
Egyptologist Dr. Kara Cooney spends her days dishing in the dirt-literally. The star of the Discovery Channel's Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen dishes to Curve about the cross-dressing female pharaoh, Hatshepsut.
Steve Carell heads a cast of improv comics in the movie version of "Get Smart" (artvoice.com)
"I improvised everything," deadpans Steve Carell about his starring role in the big screen adaptation of the classic 1960s sitcom Get Smart. This is after taking a moment to introduce the film's writer, seated down at the other end of the table here at a swanky Beverly Hills hotel.
20 QUESTIONS: Deborah Bonham (popmatters.com)
Sweetly soulful and powerful (think Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin), blues-rock singer-songwriter Deborah Bonham chats with PopMatters 20 Questions about Paul Rodgers, a beautiful ex-racehorse named Jack, and other inspirations in her life and music.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Education (athensnews.com)
Artist Beauford Delaney taught author James Baldwin how to see. They were standing together on a corner in Greenwich Village, and Mr. Delaney pointed down and told Mr. Baldwin, "Look." Mr. Baldwin looked and saw nothing but a puddle of water, so Mr. Delaney told him, "Look again." This time Mr. Baldwin really saw what was there: Floating on the water was some oil, and reflected in the oil was the city. Mr. Baldwin says, "It was a great revelation to me. I can't explain it. He taught me how to see, and how to trust what I saw. Painters have often taught writers how to see. And once you've had that experience, you see differently."
The trivia questions (Monday, yesterday, and today) are based on material from Robert Scheer's new book 'The Pornography of Power',
a copy of which, coincidentally (cough, cough), will be given away to the reader who answers the most questions correctly.
"GreatWhiteArabTribe of the North" is slang for
which company?
A: Boeing
B: Exxon
C: General Electric
D: Halliburton
E: Lockheed Martin
Source A and
Source B
Charlie was first, and correct, writing:
"of the North" was pretty much a giveaway as to Part 2,
Part 1 was tough.
Part 1:
Great White Arab Tribe of the North
Part 2:
A: Boeing
Buzzcook also replied correctly, with:
Great White Arab Tribe of the North
A. Boeing
I thought I knew a lot about Boeing, but that was a real test.
BTW I gotta say that the people who answer your trivia questions are
pretty darn smart. I had hoped to stump at least one or two with my
questions but they rocked them out.
Sally said:
Gad-zooks, Marty,
I've spent a big chuck of time trying to research an answer for today's quiz, to no avail.
Of course I don't have the book, "
The Pornography of Power ," (and now have blown off my chance to win it) but I did print out and read Scheer's interview with Amy Goodman (Democracy Now) and a huge (5-pg, tiny print) excerpt from the book on, "Peninsula Peace and Justice Center" to no avail. Therefore, I will make up my own, "Fill in the blanks: "Global War, American Tyranny (as in oppressive power) of the North."
I will attribute my phrase to:
Boeing (A) because the New York Times business section tells us about the good news of Boeing's revived chances to secure the refueling tanker contract. This deal, which would initially cost $35 billion but, as the Times pointed out, " ... could eventually grow to $100 billion to build a fleet of 179 refueling planes, is one of the most lucrative (Pentagon contracts) ever."
AND
Exxon (B) "Ever since 'we' invaded Iraq, most of us have gotten nothing to show for it other than an enormously increased national debt that we will be paying off for decades to come and an economy that is sputtering into recession...With oil bouncing up to $100 in the fourth quarter, Exxon recorded the highest corporate quarterly return ever."
AND
General Electric (C) because our participation in a war consumes GE's many outrageously priced, no-bid defense products. ...
AND
Halliburton (D) because of this essay: "The Banality of Greed"
AND
Lockheed Martin (E) because when it's stock was really slumping, they set out to capture the GOP and the Bush administration, as it's lobbyists and executives mobilized the country for war. As a reward, they saw their stock shoot up with the invasions (Afghanistan and Iraq).
This was a tough one for me (now watch, everyone else will get it in a snap...)
Oh well, can't win 'em all, but I TRIED!
PS Vic, I received your package today, and after this quiz, do I need a laugh! Will give you my review after the precious grandson and I watch. Thanks so much, you're a real Mensch, Kiddo!
And, Joe S ("Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
~~ Dwight D. Eisenhower) wrote:
I'm stumped! I can't find the information anywhere. I give up! I'm pretty sure the answer to part 2 is Boeing, but I can't prove it and I can't fill in the blanks. Waawaawaa!
Sorry about ratcheting up the difficulty level. There are too many smart people answering and only 1 book.
If necessary, there may be a tie-breaker question tomorrow, and it's, well, let's say it's not pretty. Heh.
Giant fiberglass humanoids menace America's highways. Are you ready to be
a Muffler Man Spotter?
Secondly...
To all and yours..have a Very Safe 4th of July !
Take Care,
KevKev in Apache Junction
Thanks, KevKev!
I recognize those Muffler Men!
There's one on the southbound 405 (San Diego) freeway, just south of the Harbor freeway interchange. He's at a golf course, or maybe it's a driving range, and holds a giant golf club (looks more like a wood than an iron or a putter).
There used to be another one on Sherman Way around Woodley out in the Valley. Haven't been out that way in a while - could still be there.
Hmmmm....maybe a field trip is called for.
CBS starts the night with a RERUN'The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular', followed by a RERUN'Criminal Minds', then a RERUN'CSI: The 3rd One'.
On a RERUNDave (from 6/2/08) are Adam Sandler, Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon, Donna Summer
On a RERUNCraig (from 5/13/08) are John Cusack and Parminder Nagra.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN'Baby Borrowers', followed by a FRESH'Baby Borrowers', then a FRESH'Celebrity Circus'.
On a RERUNLeno (from 6/12/08) are Mike Myers, Abigail Breslin, and David Cook.
On a RERUNConan (from 4/11/08) are Patrick Stewart, Oliver Hudson, and A.A. Bondy.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 6/10/08) are Maria Menounos, Benjamin Nugent, and Local H.
ABC begins the night with a RERUNWife Swap', followed by a RERUN'Supernanny', then 'Primetime: Crime'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 6/19/08) are Steve Carell and Jewel.
The CW offers a RERUN'America's Next Top Model', followed by a RERUN'Pussycat Dolls Present'.
Faux a FRESH 2-hour 'So You Think You Can Dance'.
MY has a FRESH'Under One Roof', 'Whacked Out Videos', a RECYCLED'Twilight Zone', followed by another RECYCLED'Twilight Zone'.
A&E has 'CSI: The 2nd One', 'The First 48', 'Dog The Bounty Hunter', and another 'CSI: The 2nd One'.
AMC offers the movie 'Striking Distance', followed by the movie 'Road House', then the movie 'Black Dog'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 10
[12:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 11
[1:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 1 La Parra de Burriana
[2:00 PM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 2 Burrington-Wheatley
[3:00 PM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 28 Wetherby 55
[3:30 PM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 29 Newark 64
[4:00 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 18
[4:30 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 1
[5:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 1
[5:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 2
[6:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 2 Walnut Tree
[7:00 PM] BBC World News America
[8:00 PM] My Secret Female Body
[9:00 PM] My Husband Is Gay
[10:00 PM] BBC World News America
[11:00 PM] My Secret Female Body
[12:00 AM] My Husband Is Gay
[1:00 AM] My Secret Female Body
[2:00 AM] My Husband Is Gay
[3:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 3 Joan Rivers and Julian McMahon
[4:00 AM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 28 Wetherby 55
[4:30 AM] Bargain Hunt - Ep. 29 Newark 64
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 3 Hinton
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 4 Guest
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Project Runway', another 'Project Runway', 'Shear Genius', followed by a FRESH'Shear Genius'.
Comedy Central has 'Scrubs', another 'Scrubs', an old 'Jon Stewart', an old 'Colbert Report', 'Futurama', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and 'Mind Of Mencia'.
On a RERUNJon Stewart (from 6/19/08) is Mike Myers.
On a RERUNColbert Report (from 6/16/08) are Kenneth R. Miller.
FX has the movie 'I, Robot', followed by the movie 'Torque', then the movie 'Torque', again.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'MonsterQuest', followed by a FRESH'MonsterQuest', and 'Ice Road Truckers'.
IFC -
[07:15 AM] The Final Cut
[08:55 AM] Bee Season
[10:45 AM] The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
[12:30 PM] The Legend of 1900
[02:45 PM] Bee Season
[04:35 PM] IFC In Theaters
[04:45 PM] The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
[06:30 PM] The Safety of Objects
[08:35 PM] The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman #203
[09:00 PM] Damage
[11:00 PM] Murmur of the Heart
[01:00 AM] Damage
[03:00 AM] Murmur of the Heart
[05:05 AM] The Safety of Objects (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[04:45 AM] A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
[07:00 AM] Stagedoor
[08:20 AM] In Short: Festival 8
[09:00 AM] Episode 7
[10:00 AM] Father and Son
[11:45 AM] The Guys
[01:15 PM] King of the Hill
[03:00 PM] The Event
[05:00 PM] The Hawk is Dying
[07:00 PM] Congorama
[09:00 PM] Episode 5
[09:30 PM] (Episode 1)
[10:00 PM] Down to the Bone
[12:00 AM] The Tulse Luper Suitcases: Part One - The Moab Story
[02:10 AM] The Hawk is Dying
[04:00 AM] Dr. John, LeAnn Rimes & Massive Attack
[05:00 AM] Radiant City (ALL TIMES EST)
In this photo released by the Chatelet theater on Tuesday, July 1, 2008, Canada's Daniel Okulitch performs in a scene of The Fly directed by David Cronenberg in Paris, France. Cronenberg's 1986 horror flick 'The Fly' has undergone a strange metamorphosis, and now it's an opera. The new incarnation of 'The Fly,' with tenor Placido Domingo conducting the orchestra and Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore behind the score, isn't as gory as the original.
Photo by Marie Noelle Robert
US resident George W Bush has signed a bill removing Nelson Mandela and South African leaders from the US terror watch list, officials say.
Mr Mandela and ANC party members will now be able to visit the US without a waiver from the secretary of state.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had called the restrictions a "rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela."
Canadian-American "starchitect" Frank Gehry will receive a Golden Lion award for his career at this year's architecture Biennale in Venice, organisers said Tuesday.
"Frank Gehry has transformed modern architecture," Biennale director Aaron Betsky said in a statement. "He has liberated it from the confines of the box' and the constraints of common building practices."
Gehry, 79, who was awarded the prestigious Pritzker prize for architecture in 1989, created the curvy, titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, considered a prime example of deconstructivism.
The biennial exhibition, to be held from September 14 to November 23, has the theme "Out There: Architecture Beyond Building" this year.
Conductor Peter Nero, far left, disc jockey Jerry Blavat, second left, recording engineer Joseph Tarsia, second right, and one of the performers in Boyz II Men, Nathan Morris, far right, talk before the Music Legends exhibition unveiling at the Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Tuesday, July 1, 2008. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, joined by several giants of the local music scene, unveiled an exhibition that spotlighted the city's contribution to American music.
Photo by Justin Maxon
A Beatles interview from the 1960s in which John Lennon and Paul McCartney discussed the way they composed songs together was broadcast on British radio Tuesday after it was found in a film can in a damp garage in south London.
The Beatles were at the height of their immense popularity when the tape was recorded at Scottish Television studios on April 30, 1964. The band had recently toured America, winning huge audiences on the Ed Sullivan show and shooting to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
The interview was only broadcast in Scotland and sat in a film canister until it was discovered by film historian Richard Jeffs, who was astonished to find the familiar Liverpudlian accents of the Beatles on the tape. It was not immediately clear who owned the garage or why the film was there.
The audio portion of the tape was found to be still usable for radio broadcast, allowing the British Broadcasting Corp. to showcase its interview 44 years after it was recorded.
Jazz vocalist Ernestine Anderson's home has been saved from foreclosure - for now. Thanks, in part, to music legend Quincy Jones and contemporary jazz artist Diane Schuur.
More than $43,000 poured in - including donations from Jones and Schuur - after recent news stories about the Seattle jazz legend's financial woes, said Carmen Gayton, a friend of Anderson's family.
The money to stop the foreclosure was delivered Monday, Gayton added. She declined to say how much Jones and Schuur had donated.
But Gayton said Anderson, 79, needs more money in order to be able to decrease the monthly payments on her principal loan balance of nearly $460,000. Gayton added that a financial manager is working pro-bono to look for ways to restructure Anderson's loan, which has monthly payments of more than $4,400.
The Australian hometown of the late actor Heath Ledger named a theater in his honor Tuesday for his commitment to acting.
The $87 million, 575-seat Heath Ledger Theater in Perth is a fitting tribute because Ledger was always supportive of other young actors, Western Australia state Premier Alan Carpenter said at a naming ceremony.
Kim Ledger, the actor's father, called the tribute a pleasant surprise.
Standing in the photo-lined hallway, you can almost hear the history. One picture shows Frank Sinatra crooning into a sleek, silver microphone, his fedora tipped back. In another, Nat King Cole sits in front of a music stand in a crisp, white V-neck sweater.
Both were taken only a few feet away, a half-century ago, in the wood and glass studios of Capitol Records' famed cylindrical tower in Hollywood - familiar to tourists from around the globe as resembling a giant stack of vinyl records.
But the large, three-room facility and its fabled subterranean echo chambers - whose sound, experts say, cannot be recreated - may soon be picking up some bad vibrations from an adjacent 16-story condominium and office project, part of downtown Hollywood's ambitious revitalization effort.
Buried more than 25 feet below the Capitol tower's parking lot, the studios' trapezoidal-shaped echo chambers, built out of 10-inch thick concrete walls, were co-designed by famed sound innovator Les Paul, who pioneered the electric guitar and helped develop multitrack recording.
The sculpture "Balloon Flower (Magenta)" by artist Jeff Koons is seen in this handout photo made available July 1, 2008. U.S. artist Jeff Koons set a new auction record when his polished pink sculpture "Balloon Flower (Magenta)" fetched 12.9 million pounds ($25.8 million), including commission, at Christie's late on Monday.
Germany's annual Bayreuth opera festival is going digital, streaming video and audio of its opening performance of "Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg" live via the Internet. The catch is the price - $77.
Organizers hope the online screening will draw new fans to an annual event devoted entirely to the 10 mature stage works by Richard Wagner, where fans often wait seven years or more for the opportunity to buy tickets.
While New York's Metropolitan Opera and Milan's Teatro alla Scala have offered high definition theatercasts in recent years, the price usually has been closer to $24. And many arts organizations have free audio streams of performances on their Web sites.
Culture Club singer Boy George, whose given name is George O'Dowd, has canceled his summer plans after U.S. authorities denied him a visa to enter the country.
O'Dowd, 47, had planned to officially kick off his 25-city tour in Aspen, Colo., on July 10, and was to throw in a free concert at the New York City Department of Sanitation's Family Day in August. He worked for the department in 2006 while performing court-ordered community service in a drug case.
"I was really hoping that the issue would be resolved and that some kind soul at the U.S. Visa Office would realize that if the police in the U.K. placed no restrictions on my movements, that should have been good enough for them," O'Dowd said in a statement Tuesday.
Youths sit in the fast food restaurant "Buns and Guns" in Beirut, Lebanon, June 27, 2008. The military themed restaurant opened this month in the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. The restaurant's chef wears a military outfit and its customers sit behind a wall of sandbags. Food is served under the slogan "a sandwich can kill you".
Photo by Cynthia Karam
As the Federal Communications Commission considers whether to allow the two U.S. satellite radio companies to combine in a controversial deal, all eyes are on FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate.
Tate, one of three Republican commissioners on the FCC, has emerged as the swing vote as the five-member commission weighs a proposal that would let Sirius Satellite Radio Inc acquire arch-rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.
Two weeks ago, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin (R-Rupert's Minion) proposed that the agency approve the deal monopoly after Sirius and XM agreed to abide by conditions to protect consumers and preserve competition.
Martin's other Republican colleague, Robert McDowell, is expected to vote in favor of the deal. Both Democratic commissioners are still skeptical, according to sources within the FCC.
A 42-year-old chimpanzee who is toilet-trained and can eat with a knife and fork is believed to be at large in a Southern California forest after escaping his cage.
The chimp called Moe disappeared Friday from Jungle Exotics, which trains animals for the entertainment industry. The chimp wandered into a house next door, surprising construction workers who saw him head for a nearby mountain.
St. James Davis brought Moe home from Tanzania in 1967 after the baby primate lost his mother to poachers. He and his wife, LaDonna, treated Moe as their surrogate son, toilet-training him, teaching him to eat with a knife and fork and letting him sleep in their bed and watch TV.
Over the Davises' protests, Moe was taken to an animal sanctuary. In 2005, when they took a cake to celebrate Moe's birthday with him, the couple was viciously attacked by two other chimpanzees who had escaped their cages.
A diner shows an ice cream dessert inside a miniature toilet bowl at a toilet-themed restaurant in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province June 29, 2008. The restaurant, which opened on June 1, features toilet seats as dining chairs and food served in miniature bathtubs and toilet bowls.
Photo by Steven Shi
A rare set of three works by painter Francis Bacon was sold Monday by Christie's auction house for $34.5 million.
Bacon painted the "Three Studies for a Self Portrait" in Paris in 1975. It is the first of a series of self portraits he painted around that time. It was bought by an unnamed buyer in 1976 and has since never been seen in public.
A sculpture called "Balloon Flower Magenta" by Jeff Koon also sold for $25.8 million. It is the highest price Koon has ever received at auction. Lucian Freud's "Naked Portrait With Reflection" sold for $23.5 million at the same sale.
In 2002, at a Johns Hopkins University laboratory, a business consultant named Dede Osborn took a psychedelic drug as part of a research project. She felt like she was taking off. She saw colors. Then it felt like her heart was ripping open. But she called the experience joyful as well as painful, and says that it has helped her to this day.
Scientists reported Tuesday that when they surveyed volunteers 14 months after they took the drug, most said they were still feeling and behaving better because of the experience.
Two-thirds of them also said the drug had produced one of the five most spiritually significant experiences they'd ever had.
The drug, psilocybin, is found in so-called "magic mushrooms." It's illegal, but it has been used in religious ceremonies for centuries.
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 23-29. 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. (21) "America's Got Talent," NBC, 11.68 million viewers.
2. (46) "Wipeout," ABC, 9.98 million viewers.
3. (21) "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.42 million viewers.
4. (17) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 9.22 million viewers.
5. (60) "Celebrity Family Feud," NBC, 8.82 million viewers.
6. (49) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Thursday), Fox, 8.63 million viewers.
7. (54) "Million Dollar Password," CBS, 8.49 million viewers.
8. (54) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Wednesday), Fox, 8.29 million viewers.
9. (15) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 8.19 million viewers.
10. (77) "I Survived A Japanese Game Show," ABC, 8 million viewers.
11. (77) "Baby Borrowers," NBC, 7.94 million viewers.
12. (21) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 7.94 million viewers.
13. (13) "NCIS," CBS, 7.85 million viewers.
14. (31) "Hell's Kitchen," Fox, 7.8 million viewers.
15. (28) "CSI: NY," CBS, 7.7 million viewers.
16. (91) "48 Hours Mystery" (Tuesday), CBS, 7.55 million viewers.
17. (98) "The Bachelorette," ABC, 7.52 million viewers.
18. (21) "House," Fox, 7.45 million viewers.
19. (77) "Dateline," NBC, 7.44 million viewers.
20. (10) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 7.33 million viewers.
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
Do you have something to say?
Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better,
amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
