'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Reader Comment
Philly Reference
Hi Marty:
Today, when you wrote -
Thanks, heydee!
Hey - maybe somebody should attend Brian Battaglia's next party dressed as
an old-school organ-grinder, or maybe the more modern Philly model, shirt
open to the navel, or maybe a tank top showing epaulets of fur on the
shoulders, too many gold chains, socks stuffed in the crotchal-area, and
hair so greasy Cheney wants to stake a claim, all while humming the
'Tarantelle', I feel you need a correction.
First of all, Penn State is
about a 3-1/2 hour drive from Philly. It is in the central part of the state
and the reference to the "shirt open to the navel" is a bit outdated. I am
not condoning the behavior of that jackass at all, just please don't include
Philly in your assessment.
BTW, I have always liked the definition of
Pennsylvania as Philly and Pittsburgh with Alabama in the middle. Not so
sure how true it really is now, but when James Carville used that analogy
back in '92, I did get a kick out of it! Oh, and the Dems did win Pa. in the
last few elections....
Regards from snowy Philly!
Mark
Thanks, Mark!
I spent the first 17 years of my life along Route 219, about half-way 'tween Erie & Pittsburgh, in Johnsonburg - a paper mill town.
When I was in high school, our band participated in Penn State's Band Day - high school band directors who had graduated from Penn State were invited to bring their bands to State College & be the half-time show. The trip was the highlight of the band year.
Compared to my little town, University Park was a hotbed of liberals & social misfits. It gave me such hope!
As for my family back there, dad is first generation - his parents came from Cosenza, Italy.
The open-shirt, too many gold chains and occasional pair of platform shoes are still fashion statements at the annual family reunion.
Actually, the platform shoes are how I tell my Philly cousins from the Pittsburgh cousins. ; )
Reader Comment
Re: Billion
The next time you hear a politician use the words "billion" casually, think about whether you want that politician spending your tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective in one of its releases:
* A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
* A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
* A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the current rate Washington spends it.
Thanks, Steve B!
Thanks, Tim!
Reader Comment
Re: TCM listings
I think I got so tired and so crazed by all the snow up here in the D.C. area (6" yesterday, more today) that I didn't check your page yesterday. But I'm there today. And my reaction to the new TCM listings?
WOW! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. Love the vertical format that makes it easier to see what movies are on. LOVE the color coding to highlight featured people or movies.
Linda >^..^<
Thanks, Linda!
Reader Suggestions
Christmas Music
I've collected dozens of Christmas CDs over the past holiday seasons. Here are a few of my all time favorites that I never get tired of listening to. All are available through
Amazon. (no, I don't receive anything for promoting Amazon or any of these CDs, I just thought some of you may enjoy listening to them!)
[I changed the Amazon link above - use it & they'll donate to BartCop -marty]
Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, Part One
Label: Capitol
ASIN: B000002UFL
A perfect martini-and-mistletoe combo, Christmas Cocktails will gaily seduce you with its bevy of nostalgic and occasionally campy holiday fare. This CD is not for the faint-hearted or Christmas purists. It definitely requires a musical sense of humor. Well worth it if you have one!
1. Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo - Billy May
2. Winter Wonderland - Peggy Lee
3. Christmas Trumpets/We Wish You A Verry Merry... - Ray Anthony
4. Christmas Is - Lou Rawls
5. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town/White Christmas - Jimmy McGriff
6. I'd Like You For Christmas - Julie London
7. Holiday On Skis - Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani
8. (Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag - Kay Starr
9. Jingle Bells/Jingle Bell Rock - Hollyridge Strings
10. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Dean Martin
11. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus/Jingle Bells... - Eddie Dunstedter
12. Christmas Kisses - Ray Anthony
13. I'll Be Home For Christmas/Baby, It's Cold Outside - Jackie Gleason/Jack Marshall
14. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? - Nancy Wilson
15. Cha-Cha All The Way - Capitol Studio Orchestra
16. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) - Nat King Cole
17. The Nutcracker Suite - Les Brown & His Band Of Renown
18. Ring Those Christmas Bells - Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians
19. Bonus Track - Christmas Cocktails
20. Bonus Track - Christmas Cocktails
21. Bonus Track - Christmas Cocktails
Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Pt. 2
Label: Capitol
ASIN: B000002TLS
Leave it to the geniuses at Ultra-Lounge to put together the Christmas Album you always wanted but could never find. Christmas Music is perhaps the most mood-setting element in the holiday season. Perhaps even more than a brightly lit tree or a freshly baked batch of cookies; the music of the season defines its experience. Yet what about Christmas cocktail parties? The album is first and foremost F-U-N, with selections by Dean Martin, Lena Horne amoung others: one can expect only the most entertaining and finest quality lounge music.
1. Sleigh Ride/Jingle Bells - Al Caiola
2. Jingle All the Way - Lena Horne
3. Merry Christmas, Baby - Lou Rawls
4. Warm December - Julie London
5. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!/Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
6. Merriest - June Christy
7. Al I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) - Nat King Cole Trio
8. Christmas Waltz - Nancy Wilson
9. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm/Jing-A-Ling - Les Brown
10. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jimmy McGriff
11. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin
12. Snowfall/Snowfall Cha-Cha - Billy May
13. Jingle Bell Rock - Wayne Newton
14. Frosty the Snowman - The Ventures
15. Christmas Island - Bob Atcher
16. Exotic Night - Martin Denny
17. Happy Holiday - Peggy Lee
18. Sleigh Ride/Santa Claus' Party - Les Baxter
19. Auld Lang Syne - Guy Lombardo
20. What Is a Santa Claus? - Stan Kenton
Swingin' Christmas [Rhino]
Label: Rhino Records
ASIN: B00005NTQF
You expect holly and ivy at Christmas, but how about a two-olive concoction loaded with classic swing? Eighteen cuts deep, there are pieces here for every generation that ever dug the style, from the '40s to the music's rebirth in the '90s.
1. Shake Hands With Santa - Louis Prima
2. (Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man With the Bag - Kay Starr
3. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Woody Herman
4. Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong & The Commanders
5. Boogie Woogie Santa Claus - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra
6. Sleigh Ride - Tex Beneke
7. White Christmas - Esquivel
8. Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season (Medley) - Manhattan Transfer
9. That Swingin' Manger - Bob Francis
10. It's a Marshmallow World - Vic Damone
11. Christmas Night in Harlem - Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars
12. Mistletoe and Holly - Jack Jones
13. Christmas Blues - Jo Stafford
14. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Les Brown
15. Sleigh Ride - Jack Jones
16. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
17. Rootn' Tootn' Santa Claus - Tex Beneke & His Orchestra
18. Zat You Santa Claus - Louis Armstrong & The Commanders
Dr. Demento Presents: Greatest Christmas Novelty CD
Label: Rhino Records
ASIN: B00000348G
Dr. Demento's collection of Holiday novelty songs is a weird and wonderful find. Just about every holiday song parody and comedy sketch you can imagine is jimmied onto this hilarious, sprawling collection. The Doctor's specialty is unearthing the obscure, such as Wild Man Fischer's and you're likely to check your Christmas cookies for "special ingredients" after hearing Cheech & Chong's "Santa Claus and His Old Lady."
1. Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) - The Chipmunks
2. All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth - Spike Jones & His City Slickers
3. Jingle Bells - Singing Dogs
4. Twelve Gifts of Christmas, The - Allan Sherman
5. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - Gayla Peevey
6. Nuttin' for Christmas - Stan Freberg
7. Christmas Carol - Tom Lehrer
8. Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy
9. I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas - Yogi Yorgesson
10. Twelve Days of Christmas, The - Bob and Doug McKenzie
11. Green Chri$Tma$ - Stan Freberg
12. I'm a Christmas Tree - Wild Man Fischer
13. I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus - Kip Addotta
14. Santa Claus and His Old Lady - Cheech & Chong
15. Christmas at Ground Zero - Weird Al Yankovic
16. Christmas Dragnet - Daws Butler
Thanks, Astro!
Selected Sunday Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly cloudy day.
The kid is doing better. He was trying to convince himself he has SARs.
Running late - so what else is new?
Tonight, Sunday, CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by a FRESH 'Cold Case', then a FRESH made-for-tv-movie 'Undercover Christmas'.
NBC begins the night with 'Saturday Night Live Christmas 2003', a compilation show, followed by a RERUN 'Tracy Morgan', then the movie 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'.
ABC opens the night with 'America's Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH '10-8', then a FRESH 'Alias', followed by a FRESH
'The Practice'.
The WB offers the movie 'The Wizard Of Oz'.
Faux has a RERUN 'King Of The Hill', followed by a FRESH 'King Of The Hill', then a FRESH 'Simpsons', followed by a FRESH
'Bernie Mac', then a FRESH 'Malcolm', followed by a FRESH 'Arrested Development'.
UPN has the weekly RERUN 'Enterprise', followed by 'Stargate SG-1'.
A&E has the 2-hour 'Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration', followed by a RERUN of 'Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration'.
AMC offers the movie 'Risky Business', followed by the movie 'Risky Business' (again), and then the movie 'Crocodile Dundee'.
BBC -
[6pm] 'Monarch of the Glen' - Episode 5;
[7pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Camberwell;
[7:30pm] 'Changing Rooms' - Germany;
[8pm] 'Faking It' - Punk Rocker to Classical Conductor;
[9pm] 'The Office' - Episode 3;
[9:40pm] 'Coupling' - Jane and the Truth Snake;
[10:20pm] 'The Office' - Episode 2;
[11pm] 'Faking It' - Punk Rocker to Classical Conductor;
[12am] 'The Office' - Episode 3;
[12:40am] 'Coupling' - Jane and the Truth Snake;
[1:20am] 'The Office' - Episode 2;
[2am] 'Changing Rooms' - Camberwell;
[2:30am] 'Changing Rooms' - Germany;
[3am] 'The Office' - Episode 3;
[3:40am] 'Coupling' - Jane and the Truth Snake;
[4:20am] 'The Office' - Episode 2;
[5am] 'Faking It' - Punk Rocker to Classical Conductor; and
[6am] 'BBC World News'. (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Celebrity Poker Showdown', 'Inside The Actors Studio', and the movie 'La Bamba'.
Comedy Central has 'The Commies', hosted by Andy Richter.
History has 'Deep Sea Detectives', 'SS' (part 2), 'SS' (part 3), 'Mail Call', and another 'Mail Call'.
HBO has the first part (of 2) of 'Angels In America'.
SciFi has the movie 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day', followed by the movie 'Red Planet'.
TCM -
[7am] 'Katharine Hepburn: All About Me' (1993);
[8:15am] 'Adam's Rib' (1949);
[10am] 'Guys And Dolls' (1955);
[12:30pm] 'Holiday Affair' (1950);
[2pm] 'The Bishop's Wife' (1947);
[4pm] 'Arsenic And Old Lace' (1944);
[6pm] 'Force of Evil' (1948);
[8pm] 'Johnny Guitar' (1954);
[10pm] 'Fistful Of Dollars' (1964) [AKA: 'Per un pugno di dollari'] ;
[12am] 'Der Golem' (1920) [AKA: 'Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam'] SILENT ;
[1:30am] 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967);
[3:30am] 'Sweet Smell Of Success' (1957);
[5:30am] 'Festival of Shorts #13' (1998). (ALL TIMES EST)
Celebrity cook Nigella Lawson poses alongside a life-size chocolate sculpture of herself, part of the Christmas window display at Selfridges department store in London's Oxford Street, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003.
Photo by Andy Butterton
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Google Says It's Bush
Miserable Failure
A search for the phrase "miserable failure" on the popular search engine Google brings up the biography of George W. Bush on the official White House Web site, in one of the more prominent search-engine manipulations with political overtones.
The phrase appears nowhere in the bio. But computer users rigged the search engine results by posting the phrase on Web pages and linking it to the Bush bio, in a technique called Google bombing.
"I thought it was absolutely one of the funniest ideas I've ever heard," said Don Waller, owner of Don Waller Interactive, a Web design company in Islip Terrace and a blogger who joined the prank in late October.
For the rest, Miserable Failure
Reader Suggestion
Stealth Bomber
It was designed to evade detection, but the B-2 Spirit Stealth bomber will become a centerpiece of the Air Force Museum this month.
Museum officials will unveil a restored ground-test version of the batwing bomber on Dec. 16, the eve of the 100th anniversary of powered flight, the museum announced Tuesday.
The Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson manages the B-2 program. It was once one of the Air Force's most closely guarded secrets.
For the rest, Stealth Bomber
Thanks, Mick!
Miss Ireland Rosanna Davison (C) celebrates with first runner-up Miss Canada Nazanin Afshin-Jam (L) and second runner-up Miss China Qi Guan after winning the Miss World 2003 title in Sanya, on China's tropical island of Hainan December 6, 2003. China played host to the event on Saturday, putting the world's most populous country officially on the beauty pageant map.
Photo by Kin Cheung
A Real Dame
Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren visited Buckingham Palace to be honoured as a dame Friday and described the royal residence as "just the greatest theatre I have ever been in."
The Queen awards a series of titles twice a year on Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation to individuals in recognition of exceptional achievements or services to Britain. Friday's ceremony was performed by Prince Charles.
Born Ilynea Lydia Mironoff, the daughter of an exiled Russian aristocrat, Mirren received Oscar nominations for the Madness Of King George in 1994 and for Gosford Park in 2001. She also starred in this year's hit film The Calendar Girls.
Helen Mirren
Kucinich Fundraiser
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson's first fundraising concert for Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is scheduled for Jan. 3 at the Austin (Texas) Music Hall.
Billed as an evening of acoustic music with Nelson and friends, the event will feature frequent Dave Matthews collaborator Tim Reynolds and singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked.
Reynolds, who wore a "Kucinich for President" T-shirt during a recent "Saturday Night Live" appearance with Matthews, adds, "I believe Dennis Kucinich is the only clear voice for peace and compassion in an otherwise hopeless, fake, made-for-TV political arena. He is truly the embodiment of what a caring public servant can be, a man of principal above politics."
Willie Nelson
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Snow Scuttles Saturday Show
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen's small-scale show was postponed Saturday night, a day after The Boss staged the first of three holiday performances at the decrepit seaside resort where he rose to fame.
Making good on what has become a holiday tradition, Springsteen, 54, joined Max Weinberg and a slew of special guests to throw a festive, three-hour extravaganza in which he promoted the local Pop Warner football league, less-famous friends like Southside Johnny and Garland Jeffreys, and the merchants of Asbury Park itself, urging a sellout crowd of about 2,800 thawed-out fans to support them all.
His holiday shows aren't E Street Band concerts. Instead of "Born in the USA" and "Rosalita," Springsteen played rarities like "The Wish" and "None But the Brave," as well as holiday tunes.
Bruce Springsteen
Zack Ward, a cast member from 'A Christmas Story,' poses with a leg lamp
featured in the film, during celebrations in connection with the release of the 'Special Edition DVD Release of A Christmas Story,' at the Arclight Hollywood Theater in Los Angeles.
Photo by Ann Johansson
Wedding News
Fonda - Elfman
Actress Bridget Fonda and composer Danny Elfman were married last weekend, Fonda's publicist said Friday.
The wedding took place near Los Angeles, with the reception at a downtown restaurant, publicist Nancy Seltzer said. The newlyweds are on a two-week honeymoon.
Fonda - Elfman
Sweater Nets $26,000
Wayne Gretzky
The oldtimers game jersey donned by retired hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky at the National Hockey League's first outdoor event has netted 26,000 dollars in an internet auction.
The Edmonton Oilers jersey, which was autographed by the "Great One", was bought by a Canadian man who also paid 9,600 dollars on EBay for the jersey of Gretzky's former Oiler teammate Mark Messier.
The event, which featured Edmonton playing the Montreal Canadiens, marked the first time the NHL held a regular season game outdoors.
Wayne Gretzky
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Reader Contribution
Name That War
A drum roll, please: It's time to announce the results of
the Name That War Contest.
Hundreds of people offered "Bush's Folly," "Burning Bush,"
"Bush League War," "Bubba's War," "Shrub's War," "Operation
Quicksand" or "The Crawford Conflict." Then there were
zillions of "Iraqmire," "Iraqgate" and "Iraqnam."
Lois from New Zealand suggested "Operation Bushwhack Iraq."
Avie Hern of California offered "Bushkrieg."
Some people suggested that instead of Operation Iraqi
Freedom, this is "Operation Iraqi Liberation." I thought
they were hawks until I recognized the acronym: OIL. Also
on the petroleum front, Peter Wilson of Pennsylvania
offered "Mother of Oil Wars."
For the rest, Name That War
Thanks, Steve B!
John Robert Burck II, known as 'The Naked Cowboy,' doesn't let a snowstorm keep him from performing at his usual spot in New York's Times Square Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003. Burck entertains passersby by singing, playing his guitar and posing for photographs at 45th St. and Broadway.
Photo by Tina Fineberg
Music Creators in Court Battle
Hans Zimmer & Jay Rifkin
Hans Zimmer and Jay Rifkin, two childhood pals who created the award-winning film score for "The Lion King" have fallen out over what Rifkin described in a $10 million lawsuit as Zimmer's plot to take over their famed Santa Monica, California music studio.
In the lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Rifkin accused his longtime partner in Media Ventures Entertainment Group of plotting with the company's resident composers to hijack the business "in a textbook example of breach of fiduciary duty."
The partners collaborated in Hollywood for the first time on the soundtrack for the 1988 film, "Rainman," which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Hans Zimmer & Jay Rifkin
Penguins march on a snow-covered walkway at a zoo in Asahikawa, northern island of Japan Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003. They take a 500-meter-walk to reduce lack of exercise every business day during the winter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cops A Plea
Scott Bairstow
Actor Scott Hamilton Bairstow, originally charged with second-degree child rape in the case of a 12-year-old girl, pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge of second-degree assault, his lawyer said.
Under the modified guilty plea, the Party of Five actor maintained he is not guilty but conceded he would likely be convicted if the case went to trial.
Bairstow was originally charged in May. The girl was a relative of Bairstow's wife.
Scott Bairstow
In Memory
Ellen Drew
Ellen Drew, who went from working in a Hollywood Boulevard ice-cream parlour to appearing in scores of movies opposite many of the biggest stars of her day, died Wednesday of liver trouble. She was 89.
Known for her girl-next-door beauty, Drew moved to Hollywood from the U.S. Midwest after winning a local beauty contest. She had given up on becoming an actress and was serving hot fudge sundaes at C.C. Brown's on Hollywood Boulevard when one of her customers, character actor William Demarest, talked her into giving the movies another try.
Drew was hired as a $50-a-week contract player at Paramount Studios and had small parts in several movies until her breakthrough in 1938 opposite Bing Crosby in Sing You Sinners.
Her film credits included Christmas in July opposite Dick Powell; Buck Benny Rides Again, as straight woman to Jack Benny; If I Were King, scripted by Preston Sturges; and Reaching for the Sun, opposite Joel McCrea.
She also appeared on such early television shows as Ford Television Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Perry Mason and Schlitz Playhouse of Stars.
Born Esther Loretta Ray in Kansas City, Mo., she later moved to Chicago with her family and then to Hollywood.
Ellen Drew
A Siberian tiger rests in Tiger Mountain, a new three-acre exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, during a snow storm Friday, Dec. 5, 2003, in New York.
Photo by Julie Larsen Maher
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 5
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
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