'Best of TBH Politoons'
Cory!! Strode
Frank Miller
Frrank Miller is a comics creator that I have reviewed often ffor Bartcop-E, and I'm about to do it again. 300 is the latest comic by Miller that is going to be adapted as a movie. Miller's work is a favorite of moviemakers. The 1989 Batman movie took a lot of its tone and use of the Batman character from his "Dark Knight Returns" mini-series and "Sin City" was such a close adaptation that they used the same camera angles that Miller used in the comic.
300 was first published almost ten years ago, but with the movie coming out, it is showing up on more store shelves and in more mainstream bookstores than it has been on before. The book looks different from most graphic novels, as Miller was playing with the form of comics as he drew the book, making each page of the comic a "double page spread". That means that in its collected form, each page is twice as wide as most comic pages, giving the book the feel of a wide-screen movie and giving Miller more room to tell the story.
The story itself is one that had been re-told a number of times, and is set in ancient Greece. It tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartan warriors blocked the road the Persians were going to use to invade Sparta. The spartan warriors knew that they had to hold the road as long as possible to allow the rest fo their army to retreat, regroup and prepare for the invasion. The story has been told in the movie "The 300 Spartans" as well as the novel "The Gates of Fire" and various other tales.
Miller knows that the story has been told and retold, so instead of just going through the motions of telling about the most famous Last Stand in history, Miller both delves into the warriors and using amazing visual images to tell the story. Most of the pages are visually striking, using dark, bold lines to give the characters weight and strength, and each page can stand on its own as a visual image. Miller also shows through flashback how King Leonidas became the man who would not just be a man willing to sacrifice himself and his men for his city, but why it was the only choice for him.
300 is a book that can be read by people who have never read a comic book before, and is also so well done that both people familiar with the tale and those who know nothing about it will enjoy the read. The movie looks to be like Sin City, in that they are using the comic as the visual template for the story, but the reason to read the comic rather than wait for the movie is to see how Miller is able to use the art of cartooning to tell the story. It's well worth the money, and one of the best graphic novels of the last ten years. 300 gets a 5 out of 5 and is highly recommended.
Cory!! Strode has been reviewing comics longer than the world wide web has been around, and also writes essays, commentary, jokes for comedians and a news parody called the Weekly News Update that has just celebrated it's tenth anniversary. You can see all of it at
www.solitairerose.com.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Annalee Newitz: The Meaning of Spam (AlterNet.org)
An inside look at the "arms race" between spammers and anti-spam technology.
Will Durst: Crocodile Tears
Enough of the demonstrations from political pundits of fake concern for Sentator Johnson's health.
Joel Stein: Think Christmas has it bad? (latimes.com)
THERE IS A WAR on Hanukkah. I know this because, even by late last week, I had absolutely no idea it was Hanukkah. Usually my grandmother sends a card, or the radio plays that Adam Sandler song, or one of those Chabad people in a Mitzvah tank picks me out on the street as Jewish and hands me candles, causing me to worry that I'm balding and short and my nose is too big. Apparently, disseminating self-loathing is a mitzvah.
David Greenberg: A Very Ecumenical Christmas (slate.com)
Why conservatives despise the phrase happy holidays.
Troy Patterson: Pressing Their Luck (slate.com)
Two more game shows from NBC.
Neal Gabler: Walt Disney: man or mouse? (latimes.com)
Those who pigeonhole him as everyman or kitschmeister are missing the big picture.
Drink up your greens (guardian.co.uk)
Juicing fruit and veg is all the rage for detox, weight loss and even disease prevention. But how much good does it really do, asks Lucy Atkins.
Peta Bee" How to ... get rid of a double chin (guardian.co.uk)
1 Do try to rid your jaw line of excess fluid.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, clear and cold.
Accepts 'First Amendment Award'
Sean Penn
Sean Penn, the actor and occasional foreign correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle, hit the media and called for impeachment of the president in receiving the 2006 Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award from The Creative Coalition Monday night in New York City.
Turning to his views of resident Bush, Penn said, "Now, there's been a lot of talk lately on Capitol Hill about how impeachment should be 'off the table.' We're told that it's time to look ahead - not back...
"Our country has a legal system, not of men and women, but of laws. Why then are we so willing to put inconvenient provisions of the U.S. constitution and federal law 'off the table?'"
He also lamented how the U.S. public was tricked into backing the Iraq invasion and derided those media figures who did that, describing Rush Limbaugh as "high as a kite on OxyContin," Bill O'Reilly as "factually impaired," and Sean Hannity as "simply a whore to the cause of his pimps - Murdoch and Ailes?" He then rapped former Rep. Mark Foley, Sen. Joe Lieberman and even singer Toby Keith.
Sean Penn
Doors, Dead And Joan Baez
Honorary Grammys
Influential rock bands The Doors and the Grateful Dead will receive lifetime achievement Grammy Awards next year, along with jazz saxophone player Ornette Coleman and the late opera singer Maria Callas, organizers said on Tuesday.
Other honorees include folk singer Joan Baez, soul musicians Booker T. & the MG's, and late country music icon Bob Wills. The statuettes will be handed out during a ceremony leading up to the main Grammy Awards, which take place in Los Angeles on February 11.
The honorary awards generally allow organizers of the music industry's most prestigious event to give belated recognition to acts who were snubbed during their heyday. The only act to win a competitive Grammy was Booker T. & the MG's, in 1995. The group's guitarist, Steve Cropper, won a 1969 award for co-writing Otis Redding's "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay."
Honorary Grammys
Visits Troops In Iraq
Montel Williams
Montel Williams joined U.S. troops in Iraq for a two-part holiday edition of his syndicated talk show.
Williams, 50, visited the North Arabian Gulf and spent time with sailors aboard the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower earlier this month.
"During a season when it is all too easy to become immersed in our own hectic schedules, we wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the military men and women who are away from their families protecting our freedom," he said in a statement.
Montel Williams
Oscar For Visual-Effects Pioneer
Ray Feeney
Visual-effects pioneer Ray Feeney will receive an Oscar for his contributions to film.
The Gordon E. Sawyer Award, which honors technological advances that benefit the movie industry, was established by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1981.
Feeney will receive the Oscar at the Scientific and Technical Awards dinner Feb. 10 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. He is the 20th recipient of the prize.
Ray Feeney
Sue Wolfgang's Vault
Rockers
Some rock legends are taking a music memorabilia Web site owner to court, claiming he is illegally selling vintage recordings and memorabilia.
The plaintiffs - Grateful Dead Productions, Carlos Santana and members of Led Zeppelin and The Doors - filed a federal lawsuit Monday against William Sagan, operator of Wolfgang's Vault. The San Francisco-based Web site sells material Sagan obtained after purchasing some of the assets of Bill Graham, the famed concert promoter who died in a 1991 helicopter crash.
Graham's holdings included thousands of concert posters, shirts, photographs and recordings, which the artists never authorized for Sagan to distribute, according to the lawsuit.
The suit seeks a judge to block any more sales and award unspecified damages and attorneys fees.
Rockers
Sales Strong
'Bush's Last Day'
Some of the T-shirts bear only the date: 01.20.09. The others spell it out: "Bush's Last Day."
But both, along with an assortment of "Bush's Last Day" caps, mugs, bumper stickers, buttons, and other collectibles are seeing strong sales as politically minded U.S. gift givers stock up for this holiday season.
One of the most popular items is a pocket-sized clock that counts down the minutes -- and yes, seconds -- left in resident George W. Bush's final term in office.
The message is aimed at expressing frustration with, and opposition to, Bush's policies on the environment, the war in Iraq and an assortment of domestic issues.
'Bush's Last Day'
Sequel On The Way
'Peter Pan'
Two U.K. goverment-backed firms have joined forces with an independent producer to secure the film and television rights to "Peter Pan in Scarlet," the recently penned, officially sanctioned sequel to J.M. Barrie's classic children's tale "Peter Pan," they announced Monday.
The decision to grant the consortium rights to Geraldine McCaughrean's "Peter Pan In Scarlet" was made by the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity Trustees (GOSHCC), the beneficiary of Barrie's will.
The property will be developed by the U.K. Film Council, which aims to promote British moviemaking; BBC Films, the movie arm of state broadcaster BBC; and Headline Pictures, a company co-founded by former BBC executive Mark Shivas.
'Peter Pan'
AMC Remaking
'The Prisoner'
AMC is getting into the sci-fi business with a remake of the 1960s series "The Prisoner."
The sci-fi thriller will feature a similar story line to the original series, which starred Patrick McGoohan, who also was creator, producer, writer and director. It aired from 1967-68 on CBS.
Production on the hourlong series is scheduled to begin in the spring for a worldwide premiere targeted for January 2008.
'The Prisoner'
RIAA Drops Suit To Pursue Kids
Patti Santangelo
The recording industry is giving up its lawsuit against Patti Santangelo, a mother of five who became the best-known defendant in the industry's battle against music piracy.
However, two of her children are still being sued.
The five companies suing Santangelo, of Wappingers Falls, filed a motion Tuesday in federal court in White Plains asking Judge Colleen McMahon to dismiss the case. Their lead counsel, Richard Gabriel, wrote in court papers that the record companies still believe they could win damages against Santangelo but their preference was to "pursue defendant's children."
Patti Santangelo
Celebrates Turning 70
`Guiding Light'
The daytime drama "Guiding Light" will celebrate its 70th anniversary with a year of volunteering.
The CBS show's cast and crew will kick off the effort in January, spending a week in the Gulf Coast to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In conjunction with the volunteer organization Hands On Network, "Guiding Light" stars will take on service projects in a different city each month.
"Guiding Light" holds the Guinness World Record as the longest-running show in broadcast history. It debuted on radio in 1937 and moved to television in 1952.
`Guiding Light'
Off Mormon List
Simon Wiesenthal
In life, Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal was among the most famous Jews of the 20th century. In death, he wound up on a list of people eligible to be posthumously baptised as Mormons so they could enter heaven.
Bowing to protests from Jewish groups, The Church of Latter Day Saints said on Tuesday that it had removed Wiesenthal's name from its International Genealogical Index, a database of names of people who be could be baptised after death.
Rabbi Marvin Heir, the dean and founder of the group, said, "From their point of view they thought they were doing him a favour by making sure he can get into heaven. For us, it is very offensive. Simon Wiesenthal dedicated his whole life to Jews. I don't think he needs help getting into heaven."
Simon Wiesenthal
Camera Stolen
George Clinton
George Clinton is seeking the public's help in nabbing the thief who stole a video camera and other valuables during a music video shoot.
Footage of "Bounce 2 This" is contained in the camera that was stolen more than a week ago, said publicist Karen Sundell. The theft was recorded by a surveillance camera on the Los Angeles-area set, she said.
Clinton, 65, didn't immediately report the theft because he was shooting scenes for an upcoming horror movie, Sundell said.
George Clinton
Indicted, Jailed Without Bail
Koral Karsan
The chauffeur accused of trying to extort $2 million from Yoko Ono was indicted Tuesday on a charge of first-degree attempted grand larceny and jailed without bail because the judge said he is a potential flight risk.
Koral Karsan, 50, nattily dressed in a blue blazer with his hands cuffed behind him, pleaded not guilty before state Supreme Court Justice Michael Ambrecht.
The judge ordered Karsan held even though his friends posted $250,000 cash bail earlier this week. Ambrecht said Karsan, a native of Turkey, is a flight risk because he has ties abroad and there are unresolved questions about his immigration status.
Koral Karsan
Tableau Auctioned
Titian
A tableau authenticated recently as being by Italian Renaissance artist Tiziano Vecellio, better known as Titian, sold for its reserve price of 360,000 euros (470,000 dollars).
The owners had been unaware of its provenance when they had the previously unknown work valued last March. The work shows a young elegant woman of noble appearance with her head turned to the left and looking directly at the viewer.
Experts believe Titian produced the work, "Portrait of a Woman," around 1549-1550, at "the peak of his career."
Titian
Prime-Time Nielsen
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Dec. 11-17. 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. (13) "NCIS," CBS, 17.39 million viewers.
2. (11) "Deal or No Deal" (Monday), NBC, 16.70 million viewers.
3. (X) "Survivor: Cook Island Finale," CBS, 16.42 million viewers.
4. (16) "House," Fox, 16.13 million viewers.
5. (8) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 16.06 million viewers.
6. (6) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 16.00 million viewers.
7. (10) "CSI: NY," CBS, 15.83 million viewers.
8. (13) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 15.69 million viewers.
9. (7) "Sunday Night Football: Kansas City at San Diego," NBC, 15.26 million viewers.
10. (4) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 15.12 million viewers.
11. (18) "Survivor: Cook Islands," CBS, 14.55 million viewers.
12. (X) "NFL Sunday Post-Game," Fox, 14.41 million viewers.
13. (13) "60 Minutes," CBS, 14.18 million viewers.
14. (X) "Wonderful World of Disney: Santa Clause 2," ABC, 13.67 million viewers.
15. (28) "The Unit," CBS, 13.65 million viewers.
16. (X) "Survivor: Cook Island Reunion," CBS, 13.53 million viewers.
17. (27) "The New Adventures of Old Christine," CBS, 11.96 million viewers.
18. (62) "Biggest Loser 3," NBC, 11.73 million viewers.
19. (33) "Numb3rs," CBS, 11.23 million viewers.
20. (X) Movie: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," ABC, 10.96 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Debbie Maloney
Two women were stabbed to death by their 17-year-old neighbor after an argument over the teen's pit bull puppy, police said.
Joshua Ray Juarez was charged with capital murder Friday in the deaths of 53-year-old Deborah Maloney, and her mother, Lucy Maloney, 83.
The bodies of the two women were found in their suburban Houston home on Wednesday afternoon.
On the day of the killings, Juarez's dog got into the Maloney's backyard. After Juarez got his dog, he and Deborah Maloney got into an argument about the pet, police said.
Juarez told police he stabbed Deborah Maloney with a kitchen knife he carried always for protection. Lucy Maloney was stabbed to death after she walked out of her room to check on her daughter, said Houston police Sgt. Adolfo Carrillo.
Juarez then drove away in the older woman's car, which was recovered later Wednesday afternoon.
Debbie Maloney
Debbie grew up in Johnsonburg, PA, attended Holy Rosary elementary, and graduated with the Johnsonburg High School Class of 1971.
She was quiet, industrious, and had a wonderfully wicked sense of humor.
She will be missed.
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