'Best of TBH Politoons'
Reader Question
Re: Chimpy Photo
Did anyone else notice that, in that photo, Preznit Brainfart looks
as though he's wearing a skirt?
Terry C
NJ
Thanks, Terry!
That was the intent - BTW, if one 'saved' the pic, the title was a dead give-away.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Kevin Drum: ON NOT WORKING
But the most important lesson is: enjoy your free time!
Iraq envoy accuses US of killing (BBC News)
Iraq's ambassador to the UN has demanded an inquiry into what he said was the "cold-blooded murder" of his young unarmed relative by US marines.
"We blow up your country so they won't blow up ours."
The Bush administration have recently revived their "flypaper" theory of war, in which Iraq serves to attract terrorists so that we can kill them at a comfortable remove from our own back yards.
ROGER EBERT: 'Yes' is elegant, bold, original, erotic
When I interviewed Joan Allen and Sally Potter about their new film "Yes," I assumed everyone who saw it would love it as I do.
Allen Stairs: Phil-Eds Archives
The odd little term "Phil-Ed" was coined to mean a sort of philosopher's analogue of an Op-Ed. It's a brief essay trying to make a case on some topic of broad interest.
Patriot Boy
Republican Jesus Archives
Richard Roeper
Speaking of Faith
Richard D. Mohr Archives
Mick LaSalle - SF Chronicle
'War of the Worlds'
It's hard to imagine a better movie called "War of the Worlds" than this latest from Steven Spielberg. It is, simply, the alien-invasion movie to beat all alien-invasion movies: meticulously detailed and expertly paced and photographed, with sights so spectacular and terrible that viewers will have to consciously remind themselves to close their mouths when their jaws drop open.
Did you ever go to the movies when you were 10 or 11, sit close to the screen and hardly believe the amazing things you were seeing? "War of the Worlds" brings back that feeling. This is escapist entertainment of a high order, from John Williams' neoclassical score to the near-miracles wrought in special effects. Yet the escapism is grounded in a fairly sophisticated understanding of specifically modern fears. The scenes of urban destruction -- chaos in the streets, collapse in communications -- intentionally call to mind everyone's worst terrorism nightmares.
For the rest - Close encounters of the thrilling kind -- nothing cuddly about 'War of the Worlds'
Purple Gene Comments
'War of the Worlds' - Mick LaSalle
Mick
Were you on drugs...or drunk when you wrote your review of "War of the Worlds"?????
The little "Dude" is leaping out of his chair!!!!!!! Did your mouse skip????
I think the little "Dude" clapping....mildly would have been more accurate!
Here's why.......
1. Great special affects that went to waste because the story line was so skewed.....Did Tom Cruise, the dead beat Dad, survive such a disaster with his daughter only to deliver her back to her Mom?
2. Why did Tom Cruise's son (Dakota Fanning's brother) abandon his sister and dad to SEE the "Tripods" wreaking havoc (He seemed to have gotten blown up) and then at the end of the movie he's hiding under his mom's skirt?????
3. Enough close up shots of a terrified Dakota Fanning!!!!! I think she's great but give me a break!
4. This movie didn't scare me or anybody I know ..at all.
5. Are you a Scientologist???? Why would you give Cruise such a high mark? this is by no means his best effort!
6. Stephen Spielberg shouldn't be to proud of his Directing effort!
I think you're a great reviewer by you've got to change you rating on this one....I mean it !!!!
Purple Gene
'War Of The Worlds' Review - FS Chronicle
Mick LaSalle Responds
From: Micklasall@XXXXXX
Subject: Re: War of the Worlds
In a message dated 7/4/2005 5:47:11 PM Pacific Daylight Time, PurpleGene@XXXXXXX writes:
I think you're a great reviewer by you've got to change you rating on this one....I mean it !!!!
Purple Gene --
Dude. Calm down, man, you're turning purpler.
You know the distance between a clapping man and a leaping man is pretty close -- too close for me to get excited about it, and definitely not something you should be turning colors over.
By the way, I didn't think Cruise was so hot in the movie and I said so in the next to last paragraph.
Take care.
MICK
Purple Gene Reviews
Nelson - Simpson Duet
On Vacation
That Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny & under 80°.
Dear old Dad called tonight with big news.
Last Thursday night he was invited to my 21-year old niece's (my younger brother's only child & my Dad's only granddaughter) wedding the following day.
It wasn't a 'shotgun' wedding and no one was aware Kris was seriously dating anyone.
Being Dad, there are a lot of pertinent details lacking, like the groom's name & where he's from & how they met, but he's in the military and stationed at Fort Bragg.
He drove up for the wedding & misjudged how long it would take. The wedding was scheduled to start at 5pm, but that's when he was crossing the southern PA state line.
The groom, his mother, grandmother & grandfather arrived around 1am, and that's when the festivities got underway (although the bar had been open, & I gather well used, for hours).
While dear old Dad is way cool, my brother's neck isn't just red, it's flaming crimson and goes from the top of his pointy little head to the tips of his stubby little toes. Imagine Archie Bunker in the Spencer Tracy role in 'Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?'.
I'm impressed. Many congratulations & best wishes to Kris & her groom!
Sets Good Example
Miss Universe
A perfectly groomed Miss Universe took an AIDS test in a Johannesburg hospital on Tuesday and said she hoped her fame would persuade others to do the same.
Immaculate in a white suit, heels, low-cut top and a glittering smile, Russian-born Canadian Natalie Glebova said she wanted to use her time as the world's most famous beauty queen to raise awareness and fight stigma surrounding the pandemic.
"I think the fact that I had a public test will speak volumes," the 23-year-old motivational speaker said with a smile to cameras. "It will encourage a lot of young women to get out and get tested."
Glebova, who said she knew little about HIV until she was crowned in May, will also visit tiny Swaziland, which has one of the world's highest HIV rates, at almost 40 percent of adults.
Miss Universe
Ex-Stylist Must Return Clothes
U2
A former stylist for Irish rock band U2 must return to lead singer Bono a range of clothes, including a cowboy hat and earrings, and nearly 200 backstage photographs, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Dublin Circuit Court Justice Matthew Deery said he didn't accept Lola Cashman's claim that Bono gave her the clothes as gifts at the end of the U.S. leg of U2's 1987 tour. He ordered her to hand over the disputed property within a week.
Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton filed a lawsuit against Cashman after she tried to sell the clothes and photos at a London auction house in 2002. She then angered the band with her book, "Inside the Zoo With U2: My Life With the World's Biggest Rock Band."
The judge also ordered Cashman to hand over nearly 200 photographs she took backstage of band members, which he said violated her confidentiality agreement with U2.
U2
Live 8 Ratings Sucked
ABC
ABC's two-hour highlights special from the Live 8 concerts drew just 2.9 million viewers Saturday, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen Media Research, far fewer than the 5 million users who logged on for AOL's free live video streaming coverage.
The London and Philadelphia concerts also were carried earlier in the day on MTV and VH1, but the cable networks said ratings for the VJ-heavy broadcasts would not be available until Wednesday.
ABC's 8-10 p.m. special featured such heavy hitters as Paul McCartney, U2, the Who, Pink Floyd, Tim McGraw, Green Day, and Coldplay. But some of the performances were truncated, and naughty words were bleeped.
ABC
Preparing For Centennial Celebration
Jacques Tati
Newly restored copies of Jacques Tati's 1958 masterpiece "My Uncle" ("Mon Oncle"), including an original English version missing for decades, premiere in Paris on Wednesday, part of the run up to a centennial celebration of France's great comic film genius.
Inspired by the silent era gags of Buster Keaton and the wry humor W.C. Fields, both giants of American comedy, Tati forged in the 1940s and 1950s a comic universe all his own.
At its center is Tati's alter ego and anti-modern hero, the unflappable, unfailingly polite Monsieur Hulot.
The rights to the entire Tati oeuvre were purchased not long ago by relatives and friends of the film maker, who died in 1982 penniless after his later films -- critically acclaimed -- flopped at the box office.
Jacques Tati
Seasonal Usage
TiVo
Summer's here and the time is right for doing many things, but the recording of TV shows on digital video recorders may not be one of them.
An analysis of TiVo viewing data by New York-based media agency MPG finds that over the past two weeks, most of TiVo users' top 25 broadcast network shows weren't recorded but instead seen live.
The top 25 included live sports -- ABC's NBA basketball was seen throughout primetime -- but also first-run shows like ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" and Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and repeats of CBS's "CSI" and ABC's "Lost." Only four -- Fox's "Family Guy," "House" and "American Dad" along with The WB's "Beauty and the Geek" -- were primarily viewed time-shifted.
TiVo
Fired from Radio Show
Danny Bonaduce
Danny Bonaduce has lost his morning radio gig.
LA-Radio-dot-com says he lost his long-time job at K-Y-S-R in Los Angeles. And, the site says he lost it the way many radio people lose their jobs. He was let go when he got off the air Friday morning.
The last few months have been a roller-coaster ride for Danny Bonaduce. He started drinking again while V-H-One was filming a reality series about him.
He spent a month in rehab -- and was off the air at the radio station during that time. He'd been back for about a month when he lost his job.
Danny Bonaduce
Spanish Trial Over Fatal Accident
Farruquito
Flamenco dancing prodigy Farruquito went on trial in southern Spain on Monday on charges of homicide for a fatal hit-run accident in 2003.
Farruquito, a man People listed as being among its "50 most beautiful" people and whom The New York Times described as the best dancer to set foot in that city in 2001, faces prison sentences ranging from three to eight years. Five other people are also on trial on suspicion of covering up the accident.
The prosecution says Farruquito, whose real name is Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, had been driving without a licence or insurance on Sept. 30, 2003, when he hit Benjamin Olalla, 35, at a pedestrian crossing and then fled the scene. Olalla died later in hospital.
The 22-year-old dancer was arrested in March 2004. His admission to killing Olalla removed the blame from his 15-year-old younger brother, the dancer Farruco, who confessed to the crime after police traced the car.
Farruquito
Found in Alaska Park
Dinosaur Track
A track from a three-toed dinosaur thought to be about 70 million years old was discovered in Denali National Park by a University of Alaska Fairbanks student.
The track from a theropod, a meat-eater, is the first dinosaur evidence found in the park, and caused its first paleontology closure. The track was found near the park road 35 miles from the park entrance close to the Igloo Campground.
Anthony Fiorillo, curator of earth sciences at the Dallas Museum of Natural History, said the importance of the find was its location in Interior Alaska, far from a coastline.
An Interior dinosaur likely would experience more seasonal variation in annual climate than creatures to the north or south, Fiorillo said.
Dinosaur Track
Multi-Generational
Champion Spitters
Brian "Young Gun" Krause knows what it's like to out-spit dad. But now he's got to watch out for his own sons. For years, the Krause family has dominated the International Cherry Spitting Championship in southwestern Michigan, and this year Cole Krause became the youngest in a long line of cherry pit spitting champions.
The 3-year-old took first place in the 32nd annual competition Saturday, winning the 5 and younger category. He spit a distance of 12 feet, 4 inches.
His dad, 27, the reigning champ in the overall adult division, spit 53 feet, 4 inches, about 40 feet less than his world-record 93 feet 6 1/2-inch spit from 2003, the organization said.
For the rest, Champion Spitters
Found in Australia
New Dolphin Species
Australian researchers said Tuesday they have identified a new species of dolphin living in the coastal waters of northern Australia.
The Australian Snubfin Dolphin, which is related to Irrawaddy dolphins found along the coasts and major rivers of Asia and northern Australia, was formally identified as a new species thanks to genetic research carried out in California, Queensland state researchers said in a statement.
The dolphin's scientific name is Orcaella heinsohni to honor the work of James Cook University researcher George Heinsohn, who examined dolphin carcasses that were found stranded or caught in shark nets in the 1960s and 1970s. Those dolphins provided data that helped formally identify them as a separate species.
New Dolphin Species
In Memory
Ernest Lehman
Celebrated scribe Ernest Lehman, whose résumé included Oscar nominations for endangering Cary Grant in North by Northwest, matching up Hepburn and Bogart in Sabrina, engaging street gangs in West Side Story and heaping on the domestic turmoil in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, died Saturday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles following a lengthy illness, the Writers Guild of America announced Tuesday. He was 89.
A three-time cowriter of the Academy Awards telecast, Lehman never won a competitive Oscar as either a writer or a producer, a title he held on two Best Picture hopefuls, Hello, Dolly! and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
The Academy made it up to Lehman in 2001, presenting him with an honorary Oscar in appreciation of "a body of varied and enduring work."
True to the spiel that went along with the honorary Oscar, Lehman was versatile. He wrote big, showy prestige pictures, specializing in the stage-to-screen transformations of The King and I, West Side Story, The Sound of Music and Hello, Dolly!. He wrote stark black-and-white dramas, chiefly, Sweet Smell of Success, the arguable signature work, cowritten with Clifford Odets, that exposed the very dark underbelly of the publicity trade, Somebody Up There Likes Me, the biopic about boxer Rocky Graziano, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, yet another play adaptation. And he wrote North by Northwest, the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller.
As a writer-director hyphenate, Lehman brought Philip Roth's comic novel Portnoy's Complaint to the screen in 1972.
Born Dec. 8, 1915 in New York City, Lehman wrote for radio, a theater publicist and the literary world before breaking into Hollywood in 1948 with the story for the comedy, The Inside Story. His past work provided him and Hollywood with a wealth of material--his novella, The Comedian, begat a celebrated 1957 TV production; his former life as a lackey for a publicist provided the inspiration for J.J. Hunsecker and Sidney Falco, the slicksters of Sweet Smell of Success.
Lehman, who became a father for the third time in his late 80s, is survived by his children and wife Laurie. A private memorial service is scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles, the WGA said.
Ernest Lehman
In Memory
'Big' Al Downing
"Big" Al Downing, a singer-songwriter and pianist who had success in country, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll and even disco, died Monday after suffering from leukemia. He was 65.
Downing began his career as a keyboard player in rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson's band, performing on Jackson's biggest hit, "Let's Have a Party."
As a solo artist, he and his band the Chartbusters were on the charts with two rock songs in 1964. A soul duet with Little Esther Phillips made the charts in 1963, and a disco record charted in 1975, according to the Country Music Association's Encyclopedia of Country Music.
Downing, a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, performed "Mr. Jones" on the Grand Ole Opry in May.
Over the years, his songs were recorded by Fats Domino, Bobby Blue Bland, Tom Jones and Webb Wilder.
'Big' Al Downing
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