'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Weekly Review
HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW
December 3, 2002
United Nations weapons inspectors began their work in Iraq;
among the first installations to be inspected were Al Dawrah
and Al Nasr, two factories that Tony Blair and George W.
Bush, citing satellite photographs, had claimed were sites
of renewed production of nuclear, chemical, or biological
weapons. Inspectors found nothing but ruins. Another factory
(known as Al Furat) that the United States has cited as
evidence of a nuclear weapons program was also inspected and
showed no signs of illegal activity.
It was reported that
one of the weapons inspectors is the co-founder of Black
Rose, "a Washington-area pansexual S&M group"; a UN
spokesman admitted that no background checks were performed
before the inspectors were hired but said that the man is
"someone who has expertise in warheads and munitions, and
that's what's important."
American forces were preparing for
large-scale war games in Qatar, which is expected to be the
base for command and control operations during the invasion
of Iraq.
President Bush signed the Homeland Security bill
and named Tom Ridge as secretary. Many families of September
11 victims were appalled by the bill, which is laden with
pork.
A new report found that the Capitol complex was still
vulnerable to terrorist attack.
The Canadian official who
called George W. Bush a moron was forced to resign, and the
president, who tried very hard to prevent the creation of an
independent commission to investigate the September 11
attacks, named Henry Kissinger to be the commission's
chairman. Kissinger, who has been accused of committing war
crimes in Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor, and Chile, said he
did not expect to discover any conflicts of interest between
his work on the commission and his work as an agent for
various undisclosed transnational corporations and foreign
powers.
The Disney Magic cruise ship returned to port with
more than 180 vomiting passengers.
Continued at www.harpers.org/weekly-review
-- Roger D. Hodge
Reader Link
from Scott
I read your page pretty regularly and while our musical taste differ, I thought you might enjoy the new feature at my humble little MSN group:
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The weather is still quite acceptable, but really foggy at the moment.
The kid had a lot of homework tonight. Just for giggles, weighed his backpack - it was over 20 pounds - that's more that a third of his weight!
Had to take the kid's computer to the shop - it started sounding more like a sewing machine. Grateful that it's still under warranty.
Still no Ginger.
Tonight, Wednesday, CBS opens the evening with '60 Minutes II' and follows with a fresh 2-hour episode of 'The Amazing Race 3'.
On a RERUN Dave are Edward Norton and John Mayer.
On a RERUN Craig are Kiefer Sutherland, Emily Procter, and Uncle Kracker.
NBC starts the night with a fresh 'special' - 'Christmas In Rockefeller Center' followed by a RERUN 'West Wing' and a RERUN 'Law & Order'.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are Dennis Miller and John Mayer.
On a RERUN Conan are Sarah Michelle Gellar, Larry Hagman, and the Hives.
Scheduled on a fresh Carson Daly are Harvey Keitel and Tracy Chapman.
ABC has a fresh 'My Wife & Kids', then a fresh 'George Lopez', followed by a fresh 'Primetime Special Edition' (with Whitney Houston), and rounds out the night with a fresh 'MDs' (with a guest appearance by Macy Gray).
The WB has a fresh hour-long commercial - er - 'special' 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, Return To Miccle Earth'. A RERUN of 'Bird Of Prey' is scheduled, but my guide was printed before the show was cancelled. Expect a substitution.
Faux has a fresh 'Bernie Mac', then a fresh 'Cedric The Entertainer', and a fresh 'Fastlane'.
UPN offers a RERUN 'Enterprise' and a RERUN 'Twilight Zone'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Big Dog Watch Continues
Bill Clinton & The DLC
Former President Bill Clinton talks to the Democratic Leadership Council, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002, at New York University in New York. Clinton, addressing Democratic leaders
for the first time since their November election meltdown, urged the party to present a new, unified message with national security and a revived economy as priorities.
Photo by Suzanne Plunkett
Injury Forces Postponement
'New' Doors
Two of Jim Morrison's old pals from The Doors had hoped to debut a reconstituted version of the band next week, but they'll have to wait until next year because their
new drummer, Stewart Copeland, broke his arm.
Copeland, a former member of the Sting-fronted rock trio The Police, was injured during the Thanksgiving holiday when he fell from his bicycle on a path near his Los
Angeles home, the band's publicists said on Monday.
The accident has forced members of the Doors' new lineup to postpone their kickoff performance at the Palms in Las Vegas from Dec. 8 to Jan. 19.
The newly reformed Doors features two members of the original group, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and lead guitarist Robby Krieger. They are joined by Copeland, who replaces
founding member John Densmore on drums, and singer Ian Astbury of The Cult, filling the shoes of Morrison on lead vocals. Densmore was forced out of the reunion by a severe tinnitus.
'New' Doors
Visited In Iowa City
Bono
Irish rock star Bono said he came to the fertile farm state of Iowa to grow a new product — public momentum to help thwart the spread of AIDS in Africa.
This is the best soil in the world. We're told you can grow anything here," the lead singer of the band U2 told more than 2,000 students on the University of Iowa campus
Monday. "We've come here to grow a movement."
The stop in Iowa City was the second in a seven-day, seven-city tour of the Midwest for an organization called Debt, Aid, Trade for Africa.
He was joined by actress Ashley Judd and activists, musicians and dancers from Africa.
Bono
Which Is Better - The Movie Or The Play?
Mel Brooks
Which is better, the stage version of "The Producers" or the original 1968 movie?
Mel Brooks, who created both, says there's no question which one he favors.
"This little movie is the closest thing to my heart," the 76-year-old comedian said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The stage show is just standing on its shoulders, that's why it looks so big."
Brooks, however, hopes a new DVD set for release Tuesday will renew interest in the movie, which starred Gene Wilder
as the accountant and Zero Mostel as the flamboyant, felonious producer.
The story, Brooks said, was inspired by a real-life experience he had working for a producer who would sleep with elderly women as a pretext for talking them out of their wealth.
"He really would say, `Just make the check out to cash,' and they'd say, `That's a funny name for a play,' and he'd say, `So is The Iceman Cometh.'"
"The Producers" was the first directorial effort for Brooks, who was a writer in the 1950s for Sid Caesar's pioneering sketch-comedy TV program "Your Show of Shows" and the 1960s spy sitcom "Get Smart."
Brooks went on to make the classic comedies
"Young Frankenstein", "Blazing Saddles" and
"High Anxiety".
Mel Brooks
To Get Star On Walk Of Fame
Earl Scruggs
The Hollywood Walk of Fame will get its first star for a banjo-player, early next year.
Earl Scruggs will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 13th. He will be honored for his more-than-55 years of musical creation and performances, on records, radio, television and films.
Scruggs is best known for his Grammy-winning composition "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," and for recording the "Ballad of Jed Clampett" with his late partner Lester Flatt.
Earl Scruggs
Baby News
Mary Louisa Whitford
Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek have a new baby girl.
Mary Louisa Whitford was born at 9:32 a.m. Monday. She weighed 10 pounds, 3 ounces and was 21 inches long.
Kaczmarek, 46, the star of Fox's hit comedy "Malcolm in the Middle," and Whitford, 43, who plays deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman on the NBC political drama "The West Wing," have been married since 1992.
They also have a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son.
Mary Louisa Whitford
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Hollywood Reporter's List Of 100
Hollywood Power Women
Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart has been cut from it, Madonna slipped a few notches on it, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have moved up a tad.
The "it" is the Hollywood Reporter's annual list of the 100 most influential women in show business, unveiled in Tuesday's edition of the show business trade magazine.
The show business trade newspaper began ranking the 50 most powerful women 11 years ago and expanded it to include 100 women last year to celebrate the list's 10 year anniversary.
Sherry Lansing, who became the first female chairman of Paramount Pictures in 1992, regained the top slot on the list, after slipping from No. 1 to No. 2 last year.
On a more somber note, the Reporter notes that despite the ever-increasing number of women in Hollywood's executive ranks, the percentage of female writers dropped from 14 percent in 2000 to 10 percent in 2001
and female directors dropped from 11 percent in 2000 to a paltry 6 percent in 2001.
For more, Hollywood Power Women
Rob Schneider Premiere
Dick Gregory
Actor Rob Schneider (R) star of the new comedy film 'The Hot Chick' poses with cast member, activist and comedian Dick Gregory at the film's premiere in Los Angeles, December 2, 2002.
The film tells the story of a popular teen age girl who wakes up one day in the body of a 30 year old man played by Schneider, and opens December 13, 2002 in the United States.
Photo by Fred Prouser
Enjoys Burgers During Recovery
Julia Child
Gourmet chef Julia Child's knee-replacement rehabilitation hasn't curbed her appetite: her favorite In-N-Out burgers, as well as roasted chicken and vanilla ice cream, are being smuggled to her.
The 90-year-old television cook is recuperating from the Nov. 4 surgery at the Rehabilitation Institute, which is near her Montecito home, but Child doesn't think much of the in-house meals.
"I've been bringing in all kinds of stuff," Child's assistant Stephanie Hersh said. "In-N-Out burgers, homemade dinners, soup. We brought her Thanksgiving dinner."
Child underwent surgery after a 20-year-old knee replacement got infected. Doctors had to remove the old replacement in late August, leaving Mrs. Child "knee-less" until the November surgery, Hersh said.
Child is expected to return home in time for Christmas.
Julia Child
IN-N-OUT Burger
Going To Australia
Christopher Reeve
The Australian government is shelling out $75,000 to have Christopher Reeve speak at an event for the disabled. The paralyzed "Superman" star needs the first-class cabin of a
Qantas jet refitted to accommodate him and his medical staff in order to deliver the keynote speech at a forum on spinal-cord injuries next month, and the host country is happy
to foot the bill. "It's the second time Christopher Reeve has left the U.S." [since the accident], a government spokeswoman tells the Sydney Morning Herald. "It's a huge coup for Australia."
Christopher Reeve
Opens Up About New Album
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne never much cared for school and that's why her new album is called "Shut Up."
Osbourne, who dropped out of high school, just as both her parents did, said the title song is about her feelings toward her teachers in school. She admits
she's really bossy and doesn't like being told what to do.
Osbourne said people shouldn't expect anything from her album. She said she did it for herself and if people like it, that's great, and if they don't, "oh well."
Kelly Osbourne
Fetch Big Prices
Teddy Bears
A teddy bear sold for $51,520 at auction in London on Tuesday in a sale to mark the 100th anniversary of the cuddly creatures.
The bear, which doubles as a hot water bottle, was made by the German firm Steiff in 1907. It was snapped up by the Canadian museum, the Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation.
The top-priced bear stands 19 inches tall. It boasts blonde mohair, black button eyes, a clipped muzzle and a swivel head.
Among the other high-priced lots was a 1912 black Steiff bear which went to a private collector for about $44,000.
Steiff made the black bear for the English market to mark the national mourning following the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912.
Teddy Bears
Conductor Receives Austrian Cross
Seiji Ozawa
Conductor Seiji Ozawa has been awarded one of Austria's top honors for his contribution to the country's cultural life.
Ozawa, who directed the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 29 seasons, is now music director of the Vienna State Opera. He was presented the "Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, First Class" by Austrian President Thomas Klestil.
Seiji Ozawa
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Thanksgiving Box Office Sets Record
Broadway
Broadway fans had no problem devouring leftover Thanksgiving box office records, including its second-best week ever at the box office.
Last week's $18,640,797 for 33 shows represented Broadway's second-best session ever, right behind Dec. 25-31, 2000, when 28 productions brought in $19.47 million. The tally easily
surpassed the $16.03 million from two years ago for this holiday time frame. Even more impressive, the 266,425 paid attendance topped the 2000 figure by nearly 5,000. Overall box office was up 32.46% from last week.
Broadway's big musicals packed so much power last week that it took at least $800,000 in receipts for a show to make the top 10 and $1 million to make the top four. "The Producers"
led the way on grosses of $1.15 million, followed by "The Lion King" ($1.12 million), "Mamma Mia!" ($1.05 million) and "Hairspray ($1.01 million).
Broadway
Women who claimed to have been used as sex slaves for World War II Japanese occupation troops gag their mouths during a protest in front of the Japanese embassy
in suburban Pasay, south of Manila, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002. The elderly women said they were disappointed that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who
is currently visiting Japan, did not include their problem in her agenda with Japanese officials.
Photo by Aaron Favila
British Author ''Wins''
'Bad Sex in Fiction Prize'
A sex scene laced with medical jargon has won Britain's least coveted literary prize, the annual Bad Sex in Fiction Prize.
British author Wendy Perriam won with her description of a patient fantasizing about her foot surgeon in the darkly comic novel "Tread Softly."
Part of the winning extract reads: "Weirdly, he was clad in pin-stripes at the same time as being naked. Pin-stripes were erotic, the uniform of fathers, two-dimensional fathers.
"The jargon he'd used at the consultation had become bewitching love-talk: ... dislocation of the second MTPJ ... titanium hemi-implant ....
"Yes!' she whispered back. Dorsal subluxation ... flexion deformity of the first metatarsal ...'.
"Oh yes!' she shouted, screwing up her face in concentration, tossing back her hair. Yes, oh Malcolm, yes!'."
Perriam beat competition from Hollywood actor and author Ethan Hawke and nine other nominees.
'Bad Sex in Fiction Prize'
Takes Pounding in Ratings
WWE
Judged by the lines of loyal fans, who will stand in the cold for hours to witness the flying bodies, the explosions and especially the cheesy intrigue, World Wrestling Entertainment is doing just fine.
But lately WWE, a commercial empire with matches shown in 10 languages and 130 countries, had been taking a pounding in the television ratings on some of its key programs. The loss of some star performers
and competition from other wrestling outfits are weakening its hold on audiences, for whom its plots may be becoming too — is this possible? — outlandish.
Average viewership so far this season for the show "RAW" is 3.1 million households, down 14 percent from 3.6 million last season, 20 percent from 2000 and 35 percent from the 1999 season, according to figures
from Nielsen Media Research. "SmackDown!" has suffered a similar decline.
For a lot more, WWE
Singer Quits Midnight Oil
Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett, the energetic lead singer of Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has quit the band after 25 years.
With his distinctive bald head, wild dancing and strident voice, Garrett was one of the most recognizable Australian singers of the last generation.
Garrett, a committed and eloquent environmental activist, said it was "time for me to move on and immerse myself in those things which are of deep concern to me and which I have been unable to fully apply myself to up to now."
The remaining members of the band said they were committed to continue making music together "in another guise at some point down the track."
Peter Garrett
www.midnightoil.com/
Forgotten Work Unearthed
Pippi Longstocking
Fans of feisty freckle-faced heroine Pippi Longstocking have received an unexpected Christmas present with the discovery of a forgotten story by the late Astrid Lindgren, the author's publisher said on Tuesday.
The story, called "Pippi Longstocking Celebrates Christmas" was discovered by a member of staff at Sweden's Royal Library who was going through old pictures and correspondence of the author, who died in January this year aged 94.
A spokesman for Lindgren's publisher Raben & Sjogren said the rediscovery of the story, which was published in a children's magazine in 1949, was exciting and the company aimed to publish it next Christmas.
Pippi Longstocking
Acknowledges History of Drug Abuse
Whitney Houston
Pop diva Whitney Houston, confronting health and lifestyle questions that are clouding her career, acknowledges a history of drug and alcohol abuse but insists in a rare television interview that "the party's over."
In the interview with ABC television to be broadcast on Wednesday night, Houston also denied persistent rumors that she is suffering from eating disorders.
In it, the 39-year-old entertainer addressed a wide range of questions about her private life, including her stormy marriage to singer Bobby Brown, who was arrested last month in Atlanta
and charged with drug and traffic offenses.
Asked about her own history of substance abuse -- "Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana? Is it cocaine? Is it pills?" -- Houston answered, "It has been at times."
"All?" asked Sawyer, to which Houston replied, "At times. Uh-hm."
"My business is sex, drugs, rock and roll. You know? My friends, we have a good time. But as you get older and you get wiser ... you stop a lot of the kid stuff," Houston said. "Trust
me. I partied my tail off ... you get to a point where ... the party's over."
Houston insisted her religious faith would see her through tough times. "I'm on the right path ... I'm a very prayerful person, even in the midst of the trouble, of the battle."
Whitney Houston
Subject of Reality Series
Chuck Woolery
Have you ever wondered what Chuck Woolery does all day? The Game Show Network wants to show you.
Woolery will be the subject of a new reality series, "Chuck Woolery: Behind the Lingo."
The show, which is scheduled to begin airing in the spring, will follow the game show host on the set of the new word game "Lingo." Viewers also will see him at home
in Park City, Utah, and watch him interact with his wife and seven children.
Woolery, 61, has hosted shows including "Wheel of Fortune," "Love Connection," "Scrabble" and "Greed." He also sells bass fishing lures on the QVC home shopping channel.
Chuck Woolery
Wins Cybersquatting Case
Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton, American author of best-sellers "Jurassic Park" and "Rising Sun," has won a case against an alleged cybersquatter, arbitrators said on Tuesday.
The ruling, announced by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), ordered the Internet domain name be transferred to Crichton after ruling that he had common law trademark rights.
Crichton joins other authors who have won cases at WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Center, including Jeanette Winterson, Julian Barnes, Antony Beever and Helen Fielding, creator of the Bridget Jones novels.
Michael Crichton
The 2003 Slate
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival on Monday named much of its 2003 slate, including competition films and the directorial debuts of stars like Salma Hayek and Matt Dillon that surely will capture
attention at the top U.S. event for independent filmmakers.
Each January, Hollywood's top stars show up in the mountain town of Park City, Utah, where the festival, backed by actor Robert Redford, is held. But for 2003, as always, the festival's
focus will remain on up-and-comers looking for their big break among the 16 films each in drama and documentary competition.
The 2003 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 16 through 26, and annually it draws about 20,000 people to Park City, which is located east of Salt Lake City.
The following is a list of films in the drama and documentary competitions for the 2003 Festival:
DRAMA
"All the Real Girls"
"American Splendor"
"Die Mommy Die"
"The Mudge Boy"
"Quattro Noza"
"Thirteen"
"The United States of Leland"
"The Station Agent"
"What Alice Found"
"Camp"
"The Cooler"
"Rhythm of the Saints"
"Pieces of April"
"Party Monster"
"Dopamine"
"The Technical Writer"
DOCUMENTARY
"Capturing the Friedmans"
"My Flesh and Blood"
"The Weather Underground"
"What I Want My Words to Do to You"
"The Same River Twice"
"Bukowski: Born Into This"
"Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin"
"The Murder of Emmett Till"
"Stevie"
"The Education of Gore Vidal"
"A Certain Kind of Death"
"State of Denial"
"The Pill"
"Robert Capa: In Love and War"
"A Decade Under the Influence"
"Tom Dowd and the Language of Music"
Sundance Film Festival
In Memory
Mal Waldron
Mal Waldron, whose childhood dreams of becoming a great pianist took him through the golden age of jazz alongside such legends as Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, has died, his manager said Tuesday. He was 77.
Waldron enjoyed his heyday during the 1950s and early '60s, working first in New York before moving to Germany. He gained popularity as a performer throughout Europe and in Japan.
He had lived in Belgium for a decade before his death Monday, said his manager Rob Leurentop. Waldron died of complications caused by cancer, he said.
He played his last concert in Lille, France, only two weeks ago. His last recording, released in October, was called "One more Time."
Twice married, Waldron is survived by seven children, Leurentop said.
Waldron was easily recognizable in his later years for his mop of white hair and elegant posture. He became Billie Holiday's last accompanist in the 1950s, and played alongside her until she died in 1959. He also played in the bands of jazz greats Mingus and Coltrane.
His most famous ballad, "Soul Eyes," was originally written for Coltrane. It became a jazz classic, covered by musicians including Stan Getz and Anthony Braxton.
Waldron was born in New York City in 1925 and began studying piano when he was 8 years old. His focus quickly turned from classical music to modern jazz. He cited Coleman Hawkins' 1939 recording of "Body and Soul" as his seminal musical experience.
He studied music theory and composition at Queens College, and variations on music patterns became his trademark.
Funeral arrangements were not announced.
Mal Waldron
Berlin Zoo
Squirrel Monkeys
A common squirrel monkey carries her baby on her back in the Berlin Zoo, December 3, 2002. Since October 13, five squirrel monkey babies have been born at the zoo.
Photo by Alexandra Winkler
'The Osbournes'
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