Bartcop Entertainment News - Friday, 14 September, 2001

(Bartcop Entertainment)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday

14 September, 2001

Ribbon Wings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In The News


Bill Clinton In NYC

Same Picture, Different Address

Former President Bill Clinton hugs an unidentified boy on University Place in New York, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, while on his way to a vigil in Washington Square for victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks. Photo by Adam Forgash (AP)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Radio News

Robin Quivers Rules!

Taking Care Of Hank

Hank TADD

Robin Ophelia Quivers' efforts to establish a memorial college scholarship in the name of Hank the Angry, Drunken Dwarf is being thwarted by organized charity.

Quivers tells Pagesix.com that when she contacted the Little People of America about setting up the fund for the Howard Stern show regular, who died last week, "They were willing to take donations in his name but not to recognize him in any particular way."

Quivers assures us her crusade, funded in part by dough she won last weekend taping "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" will succeed. "I want his name to live on in perpetuity. I don't think he knew how much he was loved."

Also see: bcEnt 5 Sept., 2001

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Broadway!

"The Show Must Go On"


Broadway returned to its regular performance schedule Thursday night, as the theater industry, like the rest of the city, attempts to recover in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

The 23 shows on the boards canceled performances Tuesday and Wednesday, with most of those losing three shows including Wednesday matinees.

``It was a logistical question with regard to Broadway,'' said Jed Bernstein, president of the League of American Theaters & Producers. ``It was simply not possible to get casts and crews together for Wednesday performances here in the city.''

Meanwhile, in London, a city whose theatrical ties with New York have always run rich and deep, the show went on Tuesday night, albeit with a mournful nod across the Atlantic.

At the Lyric Theater, for instance, the company of ``Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' -- including American leads Brendan Fraser and Ned Beatty -- considered canceling the show but decided to go ahead.

``We had a brief discussion about it with the cast and decided that (to cancel) was really caving into terrorism,'' said Tom Siracusa, show's inhouse producer for West End impresario Bill Kenwright.

The performance played to about 75% capacity in the 900-plus seater.

Many U.S. road companies, which also were shut down Tuesday as the country reacted to the tragic events, resumed performances Wednesday, Bernstein said.

With the exception of the occasional theater strike, the three-performance gap represents the longest interruption in the Broadway performing schedule in recent memory. Following the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, Broadway theaters closed on Friday, Nov. 22, and Monday, Nov. 25, the day of the funeral, but remained opened for the intervening Saturday matinee and evening performances.

The immediate impact of the three-performance moratorium represented a loss of about $1.5 million for Broadway. Midweek performances often gross substantially less than weekend performances, with the exception of sold-out shows such as ``The Producers'' and ``The Lion King.'' (``Producers'' star Nathan Lane, who lives in the financial district, reportedly felt the shock of the World Trade Center attack but was unharmed.)

September is customarily Broadway's lowest-grossing month, with several shows having just closed (``Fosse,'' ``Riverdance,'' ``The Dinner Party'') and only two (``Hedda Gabler,'' ``Dance of Death'') set to begin previews later this month.

The exception is ``Urinetown,'' which canceled its official opening set for Thursday night. The new musical will play Thursday, but has not yet rescheduled its official opening date.

Broadway

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In The News

Photo Essay From Time Magazine


Shattered

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music News

John Lennon Museum In Japan


Halfway around the world from where John Lennon lived and died, a museum dedicated to him is attracting the kinds of crowds he enjoyed while performing with the Beatles more than three decades ago.

The John Lennon Museum, in the Tokyo suburb of Saitama, has had nearly 200,000 visitors since it opened on Oct. 9, which would have been Lennon's 60th birthday.

What they see when they travel north about 45 minutes from Shinjuku Station in downtown Tokyo is a serious, almost scholarly look at Lennon's life, from his birth to his final days in New York. His widow, Yoko Ono, cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony and has provided the museum with about 100 of the 130 items on display.

The location seems unlikely. The museum, which cost $16.6 million to build, occupies two floors of a new sports arena, concert hall and convention center, the $620 million Saitama Super Arena.

The displays are divided into chronological zones. They cover Lennon's childhood and his teenage years; his Beatle days and his early days with Ms. Ono; his peace efforts; the creation of the song "Imagine"; his life in New York; the "lost weekend" years of 1973 and 1974, when he and Ms. Ono lived apart; their reconciliation; and his return to writing and performing.

Several of Lennon's favorite guitars, including the Gallotone Champion he was playing on July 6, 1957, the day he met Paul McCartney, are on display. There is also his Rickenbacker 325, which he used in the Hamburg and early Liverpool days of the Beatles, as well as a replica of the white piano he played when he wrote "Imagine."

But many of Lennon's everyday items offer a more personal feeling, like three pairs of his round-framed glasses that are scattered among the displays. Near the end of the exhibition, in a section about Lennon's life in New York, there are a wallet, a wristwatch, a lighter and a leather cigarette case containing six cigarettes.

For those who identify him most with his words, there are several original lyric sheets handwritten by Lennon on hotel stationery, manila envelopes and lined notebook paper, including the words for "Julia," the song Lennon wrote about his mother.

Some lyrics appear with nothing changed or crossed out. Others show the work of this songwriter's mind. "Help," the title song from the Beatles' second film, is scrawled, as though Lennon was in a hurry.

One of his best known and most respected ballads, "In My Life," was written on the back of a manila envelope on display, just 16 lines on a torn, spotted envelope, but words known around the world.

"Imagine," perhaps the song most closely associated with Lennon, is there, written in brown ink on New York Hilton memo paper. There are no changes, as though Lennon wrote in one draft the song that became a documentary on his life.

Visitors can walk among them, examining them at their leisure. Finally they are asked to write their reflections about the museum on a piece of paper provided and to place it in one of several boxes adjacent to photographs of Lennon from particular times in his life. Some 60,000 of the visitors have offered comments.

Lennon Museum

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New! Updated!

Bartcop Astrology


Check it out at BC Astrology.

Have you ever checked out Jimi Hendrix or Michael Bloomfield's horoscope?

Pretty cool stuff!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music News

Bad, Bad Rumor


Pop singer Whitney Houston's spokeswoman on Thursday denied rumors that the superstar had died of an overdose.

``Whitney Houston is fine. This is a rumor and it's not true. She thanks everyone for their concern. She is fine and at home with her family,'' spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer said in a statement.

The source of the rumors was unknown. Said an official at Seltzer's office: ``It's a very, very bad rumor that happened at a very, very bad time.''

Houston, 38, performed during the tribute concert for Michael Jackson last Friday, when observers commented on her seemingly emaciated condition. She did not appear on the second night of the tribute the following Monday.

Whitney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New!

In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends

bartcook

Don't worry about the HTML, just send text, or rich text, or a Word document, photos, video, whatever you have, and Michele will take care of the rest. Don't hesitate to write with any questions you may have and bring on the recipes!

To check out 'Train Station Chicken', and more, In The Kitchen With BartCop

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TV News

Ellen


In the pilot episode of ``The Ellen Show,'' the hometown folks offer their congratulations when they learn that Ellen Richmond is gay.

``No need to harp on it,'' Richmond responds, with a smile.

Her attitude reflects an ease with sexual choice, a sense that it's part of a person, not the entire story.

DeGeneres likes the notion that ``don't harp on it'' sets the tone for her new show. This Ellen character leaves her high-powered executive career to return home to mother, sister and small-town life and values. She's gay, but that's not the primary focus.

``It should be a non-issue and it should not be something people harp on,'' she says, adding that her goal is ``to make this show a sweet little fantasy,'' like the good-natured sitcoms ``Mayberry R.F.D.'' and ``Petticoat Junction'' she enjoyed as a child.

Her former girlfriend Anne Heche, who recently married cameraman Coleman Laffoon, is pregnant. Heche also has been on the national talk-show circuit touting her memoir, ``Call Me Crazy.''

With sad, sweet dignity, she responds, ``I really don't want to talk about her, but I will say that nothing surprises me.''

Clearly the 43-year-old DeGeneres is coping. Despite a hint of sorrow in her trusting blue eyes, she looks happy, free of that ``trapped-in-the-spotlight'' look.

DeGeneres had considered doing a variety show instead of a sitcom, taking real situations from people on the street and doing ``ridiculous Carol Burnett-type sketches based on that.'' A pilot was shot last year for a midseason CBS series, but the concept was shelved.

``I just found it to be really hard to do quality stuff, especially as I don't do characters or dialects.''

Ellen

Ellen, The Show

Emmy Awards

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TV News

Fall Season Update & More


Network executives have started to comb through their fall fare, hoping to erase anything considered tasteless in light of Tuesday's tragedy.

The pilot to CBS' rookie drama ``The Agency,'' for example, includes a reference to terrorist Osama bin Laden as the mastermind of a plot to blow up Harrods department store in London.

CBS execs said Wednesday that the pilot would not air as is -- if at all -- next week. It's more likely the network will sub another episode of ``The Agency'' as the show's first, making a few tweaks to account for continuity issues. Promos for the series have been pulled.

``Agency'' exec producer Shaun Cassidy said it's still too soon to tell precisely what changes will have to be made.

Nonetheless, ``The world's a very different place today than it was,'' he said through a spokesman. ``We will have to make some adjustments.''

Industry executives are also wondering how Fox might handle its new drama ``24,'' which focuses on a CIA agent (Kiefer Sutherland) who has 24 hours to prevent a group of terrorists from assassinating a presidential candidate.

The pilot to ``24,'' which is produced by 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine TV, includes the explosion of a jumbo jet, which might be deemed in poor taste considering Tuesday's attack.

But Fox executives believe ``24'' focuses more on the relationship between the main character and his family than it does on any terrorism -- and that the show's assassination attempt is very different from what happened in the real world this week.

Fox has yanked all ``24'' promos for the time being. But the drama isn't scheduled to debut until late October, when the nation may feel more calm.

Beyond depictions of terrorist attacks, the networks have to be careful with any scenes of New York under siege. Fox, for example, has decided to pull its made-for-TV movie ``The Rats,'' originally scheduled for Monday, in favor of a repeat run of ``The Nutty Professor.''

Even skyline shots of New York will have to be changed now that the cityscape has been dramatically altered. NBC will edit out scenes of the World Trade Center from the opening credits of ``Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and an upcoming episode of its reality show ``Lost.''

Meanwhile, production continued on CBS' ``Big Brother 2,'' though it was still unclear when CBS will air the show's next episode.

The cousin of Monica, one of the houseguests, remained unaccounted for in New York late Wednesday. Monica has been kept up to date on the situation, said ``Big Brother'' executive producer Arnold Shapiro.

Bad TV

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BartCop TV Is Here!

BC TV

Visit the site at BC TV

The 'Vidiot', has updated, again!

There is even more to check!

The Vidiot.

You'll find an amazing amount of information, on an amazing variety of TV shows, thanks to our Vidiot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TV News

The Co$t$


The nation's media outlets will stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising this week as they provide expanded news coverage of the terrorist attacks.

The major broadcasters--NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox--dropped commercials and all regular programming Tuesday and Wednesday to provide nonstop coverage of the catastrophe. Newspapers across the country printed extra editions even as advertisers pulled their business because of the crisis.

Analysts estimated that television broadcasters alone are losing nearly $100 million a day in local and national advertising because of the extended news coverage. Cable networks are losing money as well. In addition to the cable news channels, such as CNN and MSNBC, ad-driven sports and entertainment networks including ESPN and MTV picked up the news feeds of their sister broadcast networks for the first time ever. By Wednesday, many of the cable networks and independent broadcasters had returned to normal programming.

Some non-news cable channels, including QVC, Home & Garden Television and the Food Network, eliminated all programming and commercials out of respect for the victims of national tragedy, with some returning to regular schedules on Wednesday.

"We have never before taken the service down, but it didn't seem right to run programming and commercials," said Ken Lowe, president and chief executive of E.W. Scripps, which owns newspapers, TV stations and cable channels including Home & Garden and the Food Network.

The networks are just now beginning to evaluate when to reinstate advertising and regular programming.

Turner Broadcasting spokesman Mark Harrad said the network had decided not to air financial services or airline ads until messages and phone numbers within the spots had been checked with sponsors.

In addition to losing ad revenue, the networks are also experiencing unexpected expenditures.

Most networks must rebuild transmitters located at the top of the World Trade Center towers, which were leveled Tuesday after airliners hijacked by terrorists crashed into them.

These transmitters cost between $5 million and $10 million apiece. With a second transmission tower atop the Empire State Building, CBS was the only major network broadcasting an over-the-air signal in New York on Tuesday, with the highest ratings in the city as a result.

Cost Of TV Business

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TV News

Petty Faux News


CNN and Fox News Channel took unusually harsh swipes at each other Wednesday while analyzing the ratings for their coverage of the terrorist assaults on New York and Virginia the previous day.

Fox News kicked off the attack when it responded to CNN's email to reporters putting out Nielsen ratings based on the top 51 ``metered'' markets for Tuesday.

``CNN has a reputation for distorting numbers, a despicable practice made more disappointing during a national tragedy such as this,'' said a Fox News memo emailed by the network's PR staff.

Fox News hates the metered-market comparison because CNN is fully penetrated in all 51 markets, whereas Fox News has spotty clearances in such major cities as Philadelphia, putting it at a household disadvantage.

In response to the Fox News memo, Brad Turell, head of corporate communications for CNN's Turner Broadcasting parent, said: ``(Fox News boss) Roger Ailes should be thanking us because Fox News used so much of our footage throughout the day. Instead, he follows his usual pattern of going on the offensive and using vile language against us.''

CNN vs. Faux

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Dare

The Great Collapse


Michael Dare

THE GREAT COLLAPSE

I can't say what it meant; I can only say what it meant to me.

The bus picks my son up for high school at 6:47AM, so I'm generally up at 5:30 with a cup of coffee, turning on the TV at six to wake him up. Together, we watched the whole thing. Now, my memory of seeing Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated live with my parents is joined by the memory of seeing thousands of deaths live with my son. I didn't have to look at the calendar to know what day it was because yesterday was my younger son's birthday, 9/10. It was 9/11. It was 911. It was the ultimate emergency call.

I feel an odd combination of emotions, unbelievable anger that something like this could happen, but unlike those people who heard about Pearl Harbor on December 7, nobody to specifically blame. At least they knew to hate the Japanese, but this event doesn't allow us to hate an entire country or class of people. There's only one person to hate, the mastermind, and though we can make a good guess, at this point there's no way to actually know.

Going out in the world, everyone was in a daze. The clerk at Vons was getting an update on her cell phone, saying "What? There was a fourth plane?" while ringing up my juice. We walk down the aisles and shake our heads at each other, we had all witnessed thousands of simultaneous deaths on live television. Fuck politics, life would never be the same. And the thought that keeps surfacing, despite my longing for some sort of justice, is What if they're right? What if their tactics are despicable but their cause is just? What would you do if you believed that the United States was systematically committing genocide against your people? Wouldn't you strike back?

At this point, all I had was TV for news since my computer had broken down. I went to The Desert Post Weekly who were kind enough to loan me a laptop. I thought Tuesday would be an interesting day to spend at a newspaper but it wasn't an interesting day to spend anywhere. I went home.

I had gone without e-mail for three whole days, so there were about 200 waiting for me the Tuesday of the great collapse -- the collapse of the buildings, the collapse any deep-rooted trust in the sanctity of life on earth, the collapse of my sense of safety in my homeland. I started surfing.

Wherever you go, you're confronted with stats. The buildings of the World Trade Center contained more than 200,000 tons of steel (that's 400,000,000 pounds), more than was used to construct the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

There were 425,000 cubic yards of concrete -- enough to build a five foot-wide sidewalk from New York to Washington DC. At a rough estimate, that much concrete would weigh close to 479,000 tons -- almost but not quite a billion pounds. There were 43,600 windows with an area of over 600,000 square feet of glass. If it were extruded into a ribbon one-inch wide, it would stretch 1,363 miles. Over 1.2 million cubic yards of earth was excavated for the structures, and this landfill was used to create 23.5 acres of new land now known as Battery Park City.

A lot of commentators misinterpreting rational statements from the Arab world as support for the terrorists. Sheikh Yassin, leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, said "no doubt this is a result of injustice the U.S practices against the weak in the world." From Gaza, Islamic Jihad official Nafez Azzam said, "what happened in the United States today is a consequence of American policies in this region."

Further surfing revealed a major month old article from The Atlantic called "The Counterterrorist Myth" at http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/07/gerecht.htm in which a former CIA operative explains why the terrorist Usama bin Ladin has little to fear from American intelligence, detailing the physical impossibility of infiltrating his stronghold. It says this: "Westerners cannot visit the cinder-block, mud-brick side of the Muslim world—whence bin Ladin's foot soldiers mostly come—without announcing who they are. No case officer stationed in Pakistan can penetrate either the Afghan communities in Peshawar or the Northwest Frontier's numerous religious schools, which feed manpower and ideas to bin Ladin and the Taliban, and seriously expect to gather useful information about radical Islamic terrorism—let alone recruit foreign agents."

Over at Slate.com, James Fallows rose the occasion with three fascinating articles, "How Good Were the World Trade Center Pilots?," "Why did the World Trade Center Towers Collapse?," and "What Liabilities Do Insurance Companies Face From Terrorist Acts?"

Buzzflash.com and drudgereport.com did excellent jobs of providing up to date links covering the entire story and background. Even Bartcop.com, a generally vicious anti-Bush site, saw fit to lay off for a day and give the pres a day off, agreeing we should huddle together in mutual sorrow, give blood, and leave off the Bush bashing for another day.

The net was full of anonymous postings. Some typical ones went like this: "I think it's safe to say religion is the problem here. Religion is always the problem" or "I'm no longer really interested in peace in the Middle East. I no longer have any sympathy for the Palestinians. I no longer want to see restraint by Israel or the US Government. Bush can really choose what tone to set when he finally speaks. If he calls for blood then he'll get support for anything. Do you see the danger here? Quite frankly, I don't have the stomach to oppose ANY response against bin Laden or the Taliban. As for Israel, they can do what they like and I won't complain. I wonder if this is how people felt about the Japanese after Pearl Harbor."

And this one: "This should be the end of SDI. The money Smirk wants to waste on ballistic missile defense should instead be spent building a much better airport security system and developing better intelligence. This is exactly what people like you and me have been saying could/would eventually happen. A space based laser defense wouldn't have been able to have stopped any of this from happening." A lot of people expressed sentiment like "I believe the WTC should, in a few years, be rebuilt. Show the bastards they can't keep us down."

There were people claiming NBC was totally irresponsible for showing Palestinians dancing in the streets with joy, but most typical of all was this: "If bin Laden claims responsibility for this (as it now seems he will) then he should be dead before I get home from work. If we do not take an immediate and decisive action today then Bush should be kicked out on his butt."

I subscribe to dozens of mailing lists, including one that sends me a quote from Buddha every day. I'm not a Buddhist, I'm just discovering that Buddha said a lot of far out things I didn't know he said. Everyone knows what Jesus said, so these quotes are all new to me. Today's Daily Words of the Buddha, "The worse of the two is he who, when abused, retaliates. One who does not retaliate wins a battle hard to win." Samyutta Nikaya I, 162

At first you rebel against this because a great wrong has been committed and you want to retaliate because you've got to do something other than sit there in a daze. Then you realize that it's the other way around. It's THEY who were retaliating against US. The score is even -- thousands of dead Americans vs. thousands of dead Palestinians. Now it's up to us to take the high road. We must rise to the occasion, not sink to it. We must seek justice, not retaliation.

I go back to the TV. I can't see it now because the smoke is still too thick, so I try to picture the New York Skyline without the World Trade Center. It's like trying to picture the Coachella Valley without Mt. San Jacinto. Imagine waking up one morning and Mt San Jacinto isn't there. How could it happen? Why would anyone want to deliberately destroy something of such beauty. It's like they blew up the Grand Canyon.

One of the spookiest moments for me was seeing all the TV stations asking us to give blood, except for CBS which showed mile long lines at the blood donation centers intercut with hundreds of doctors lined up to perform hundreds of operations, standing around the hospital entranceways with nothing to do because there weren't enough survivors to justify their presence. Everyone was dead, as everyone knew who watched the collapse of the buildings.

I feel strangely conflicted. If a gang of outraged Swedes blew up a building because "The English Patient" won the Academy Award for Best Picture, I'd have to condemn their actions while agreeing with them that "The English Patient" was crap. I'm simultaneously on their side and against them. If I saw gangs of outraged Americans pulling Swedish cabdrivers out of their taxis and beating them up, I'd have to step in to defend the Swedes. Just because some Swedes are crazy doesn't mean that all Swedes are crazy. I'd guess that roughly 10% of all Swedes are crazy because roughly 10% of mankind is crazy. You can't go blaming the sane ones for something done by the insane ones.

The word I keep hearing bandied about is cowardly. What a cowardly act this was, they all say. Have I lost my mind or were the actions of those pilots among the bravest I've ever seen? I guess when our soldiers give their lives for a cause we agree with, it's bravery, but when their soldiers give their lives for a cause we disagree with, it's cowardice. When we killed thousands of innocent civilians at Hiroshima in the cause of American freedom, it's bravery, but when they kill thousands of innocent civilians in New York in the cause of Palestinian freedom, it's cowardice. What hypocrisy.

Like the Japanese Kamikazes of WWII, these were acts that took amazing courage. They didn't just risk their lives; they gave them, just like the firemen gave their lives at street level. Only the motives differ, the bravery is the same. They both did things I wouldn't have the guts to do in a million years. When buildings collapse, I'm the one running FROM the building, not to it. The men on the ground gave their lives to save schmucks like me. I know what they died for. But the terrorists, the ones who flew the planes, what did they die for? The brilliance of their move is that they haven't told us. They're making us think about it. Why would we, the American people, the citizens of the land of the free and home of the brave, deserve such treatment? What have we done that angered them so? Do I have to tell you? Is the record of the United States so unblemished that you actually can't picture why someone would hate us? Far from cowardly, this was people fighting for their lives, willing to give up their own life in EXACTLY the same way that our soldiers are willing to give up theirs.

Whatever the terrorists are accusing us of we probably did. The most horrifying thing to face is that it's our fault. We chose sides. We turned the Palestinians into our enemy.

What if it was American Indians? They've got a score to settle, and the destruction of the World Trade Center doesn't even come close to settling it since The United States has wiped out hundreds of times more of them. Would the answer be to kill more Indians? Let's face it. The reason we feel so bad is because there's no one to take it out on. Nobody forced these people to do it. If I told you to kill yourself, would you do it? The only people totally to blame for this are the ones who did it, the ones who took over and piloted the planes, and there's nothing we can do to them but take revenge against their colleagues.

It's like the Colombine High School shootings. The real people to blame already killed themselves. No amount of security will ever prevent something like this from happening again because there's no way to plan against brilliant irrationality. Who knows what they'll do? Better metal detectors don't solve the problem. What solves the problem is not having them as an enemy. How do we get these two to stop fighting. The answer is NOT taking sides. The answer is being an impartial referee. If we'd been backing the Palestinians in this war, it would have been Israeli terrorists doing the same thing.

Four planes, four separate simultaneous acts. This was an effort incredibly difficult to coordinate, clearly requiring years of planning. Since they don't have might, they have to be clever, and today was fiendishly clever, more diabolical than a Bond film, revealing a masterful grand scheme.

You can stop singing God Bless America right now. This wasn't a strike against America or Democracy. It was only nine months ago that America proved to the world that it isn't a democracy. Courts don't appoint rulers in a democracy. This was a strike against our real system, Capitalism, and once again, to my horror, I find I'm on their side. Rule by the rich sucks. Our country is run by people who were born on third base but think they hit a triple, people whose compassion clearly only extends to those with the most wealth.

One month after we showed the world our missile defense system, whoever did this has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's totally useless because they're smarter than we are. Bin-Laden, or whoever the mastermind proves to be, has got ten times the brainpower of our leader in chief. If this were a game of Chess, they just took our Queen. While we spend billions of dollars on high-tech doodads, they destroy our national monuments and kill thousands of our people with some plastic knives and an airline schedule. They're brilliant. We're buffoons. No defense system on earth could have prevented what happened today. The problem can only be attacked at the roots. They give us no choice. We've got to stop giving people reason to hate us. America has to change as a society to one that lives and lets live, both inside and outside its borders.

The overriding message is that we've got a big problem. There's a group of people on this earth who are known as Palestinians, which is odd because there is no land known as Palestine. Israel has gobbled it up. We've got a people without a homeland. Doesn't everybody deserve a homeland? I say give them one. The magnanimous, the brilliant, the free-thinking and completely moral thing to do is simply to offer the Palestinians a new safe place to stay, where they'll be protected from the Israelis, where they'll feel at home. It's so obvious. What do you do with the homeless:? You offer them a home. I say give them Desert Hot Springs. Call it New Palestine. Let 'em do what they want with it. They can't fuck it up any more than it's already fucked up.

I'm serious. Think about it. Can you tell the difference between the Holy Land and the Sonoran desert? I can't. We'd be offering them a homeland with the exact same climate they're used to, with it's own water supply, hundreds of pre-existing HUD homes, and a built-in tourist trade.

Bush has made it quite clear that he will NOT meet with Yassar Arafat when he visits next week. I say he's got to make the PLO an offer. Would they refuse the offer? Of course, and the simple act of showing the world that we offered the homeless of the world a home and they refused to accept it would be a moral victory. It makes US appear reasonable. How can they complain about not having a home when they've turned one down, one that's actually much nicer than the one they're fighting for, a home in a land where they would be free to practice the religion of their choice without fear from the government (unless they're polygamous or smoke pot).

I say goodnight to my kids and try to actually pay attention instead of pretending when they go on and on about something important to them that I know is trivial in the grand scheme of things. Days like today make you think about the grand scheme of things.

America tends to think that might makes right, that just because you win a battle physically means you've won it morally, but there are too many cases of misguided tyrants who are far from right wringing despair from the people simply through the strength of their might. Does the ability of the Chinese army to squelch student activism and innocent exercise movements prove they're right? Of course not. Like the Chinese, we're equally capable of misusing our might, as we have in the mid-east.

And I keep thinking what if they were right? What if they've been mistreated, neglected, wiped out? What if we created a situation so hopeless for them that death seems the only solution? Do we solve the problem by wiping out more of them? No, that exacerbates the problem. We solve the problem by SOLVING THE PROBLEM. One of the lessons we were teaching the world with WWII was that you can't solve the problems of the world by wiping out an entire race of people. Hitler tried to wipe out the Jews because of that 10% of all Jews who really were crazy, just like the 10% of everybody who's crazy, forgetting that 90% of Jews are normal people, just like you and me, just like 90% of the Palestinians who are normal people, just like you and me, people you could invite into your home, people interested in nothing more that getting on with their lives, trying to live with the simple agreement we all share with the human race, that we all deserve to live, that we will leave you alone as long as you leave us alone.

We should be helping the Palestinians, not because of today's tragedy but despite it, because it's the right thing to do. Just because we despise the heartless tactics of a few renegade radicals doesn't automatically mean that we have to denigrate their motives because I'll say it once again, maybe they're right. I'm Jewish and I say to you right now that I don't have any greater right to live a peaceful life than any Arab, that the religion of my ancestors is just as outdated as theirs, that we should shake hands and go our separate but equal ways.

I've stood at the top of the World Trade Center and it felt so solid under my feet that I totally overcame my fear of heights. I was simultaneously petrified and overwhelmed with the view of the city beneath. To be able to stand on solid ground that high up was a profound experience, one I intended on sharing with my children. I looked forward to the day we would take our first trip to New York. We'd take the subway downtown from our hotel near the park and I'd lead them to the midpoint between the two buildings where Homer Simpson's car got booted and he had to go to the bathroom after drinking too much crab juice. I'd hold their hands on the elevator to the top. It would have been so cool. Why can't I have that dream any more?

Visit Michael Dare's home site, Michael Dare

'Management' may or may not agree, but, loves the fact that Michael is willing to put his opinion out there.
Please visit his site.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Memory

Berry Berenson


Actress and photographer Berry Berenson, 53, the widow of ``Psycho'' star Anthony Perkins, died aboard American Airlines Flight 11 on her way home to California from her summer home in Wellfleet.

Berenson, the sister of actress Marisa Berenson, had a short film career, appearing in such forgettable projects as ``Cat People,'' ``Winter Kills'' and opposite her late husband in the 1978 flick, ``Remember My Name.''

Berenson's 27-year-old son, Osgood Perkins, hit the big time playing David, Reese Witherspoon's dorky pal in ``Legally Blonde.''

In an interview in July, Oz said he never got any advice or encouragement from his famous father but that his mother ``loved everything'' he did.

A part-time hostess at Bubala's By The Bay in Provincetown, Berenson was a boyish-looking photographer who had shot for Vogue, Life and Newsweek when she married Perkins in 1973.

According to a biography of Norman Bates' alter-ego, Perkins, a closeted gay, saw a therapist to help him ``go straight,'' before he and Berenson tied the knot. They were married until his death from AIDS nine years ago yesterday.

Berenson had recently completed a book on fashion designer Halston. She is survived by her sons Osgood and Elvis, 25.

For more, Berry Berenson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Still MISSING


Over Vitebsk

Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome !


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?
Use your words to inform the rest of us.

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 (Britny and 'N Sync don't count, they piss off EVERYONE)?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
A picture of yourself clad only in panties and sitting on Marlon Jackson's lap?
This is your place.

Send it to Marty
( SuprmChaos@yahoo.com )

Don't send it to BC....



Or send it to this Marty
( SuprmChaos@aol.com )

Please, don't send it to BC!



Or send it to this Marty
( SuprmChaos@hotmail.com )
Please, Do NOT send it to BC!


Thank you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Previous Issue

BartCop Entertainment Archive

Home

Return to BartCop




"Management reserves the right to edit, yada yada."




















Established 26 July, 2001











































Heh heh heh