Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Joshua Glenn: Grand Theft Politics (slate.com)
Should Democrats look to video games for inspiration?
Billionaires For Bush Respond to N.Y.P.D. Spying Report
"We guessed he was an undercover officer when he kept asking for stock tips." - Meg A Bucks, National Co-Chair.
Deb Price: For Gay Americans, There's Strength in Numbers
Gay people have always sensed that we're everywhere but, until now, have lacked the numbers to prove it.
Mark Morford: Starbucks Cranks Up The Evil (sfgate.com)
Coffee behemoth pushes music label, hopes to pummel nation to death, pleasantly
Annalee Newitz: Smoking Yahoo!'s Pipes
Pipes, Yahoo!'s latest technological experiment on the Web, may be over-hyped and could actually limit people's control over data.
Elayne Boosler: Yelling At The TV (huffingtonpost.com)
An instant knee-jerk reaction to today's top stories. Or, to be more accurate, something I do that has caused my husband to stay at work every day until after The Newshour ends: "Yelling At The TV".
Cole Smithey: Tarantino & Rodriguez Wang It Up Old-School
In their overzealous double bill homage to the cheap grungy urban cinemas of yore, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have created an unparalleled irreverent concoction of dueling films.
A quick gig - then bed (guardian.co.uk)
David Bowie loves them. Karen O has recorded with them. Yet they still have to be tucked up by nine o'clock. Ned Beauman tracks down Tiny Masters of Today.
THOMAS BARTLETT: The College Prank as Viral Video (chronicle.com)
Type "college prank" into YouTube and you will be greeted with hundreds of videos. Most will be really, really dumb. Many won't even be pranks at all. Some will make you furrow your brow, shake your head, and fear for the future of our country.
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
Critical Mass
Reader Suggestion
'638 Ways to Kill Castro'
Hi Marty,
I am not sure if you are familiar with the documentary "638 Ways to Kill Castro" that has been making it's rounds on the film festival circuit but I thought it might be something that would interest you and your readers.
The film explores the evolution of Cuban politics over the years and America's policies and interactions with Cuba over the years. Also as the film's title entails the film explores a few of the 638 assassination attempts that have been made of Fidel Castro.
Although it's a serious topic the film makers have done a great job of sneaking a little a tongue in cheek humor into certain elements of the film.......some of the assassination attempts are pretty out there, from poison pens to exploding cigars.
I have included some clips that give you a better idea of the film, including an interview with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (republican congresswoman from Florida) where she states that she welcomes the assassination of Fidel Castro and any other oppressive leaders.
The content itself is an incredible look into this nation's foreign policy history but it also rather timely, especially now it a time where we as a nations condemn terrorism but have been trying to end of the life of a foreign head of state for years.
The Death of Che Guervara
(Interview with Felix Rodriguez, who gave the order to kill Che Guevara, also a close friend of the Bush family over the years)
Jimmy Carter Interview
(Carter gives his thoughts on Castro and the Cuban government and social services)
Interview With Florida Congress Woman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
(In this Interview with the Republican Congress Woman she openly welcome the assassination of Fidel Castro)
Cheers,
Nicole
Thanks, Nicole!
'Best of TBH Politoons'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, but cool.
Had some computer problems and lost a lot of stuff. Not a happy camper.
Denies Snorting Dad's Ashes
Keith Richards
Off the cuff or up the nose? That was the question Wednesday as Keith Richards said he was joking when he described snorting his father's ashes along with a hit of cocaine.
"It was an off-the-cuff remark, a joke, and it is not true. File under April Fool's joke," said Bernard Doherty, a Rolling Stones spokesman, about Richards' quote in NME magazine.
But the magazine said on its Web site that the remark was "no quip, but came about after much thinking" by the 63-year-old guitarist.
"He didn't offer the information, I had to ask him a couple of questions to get the information out of him," said interviewer Mark Beaumont. "He didn't come straight out with that."
Keith Richards
Hollywood Walk O'Fame Star 2333
Halle Berry
Halle Berry has an Emmy, a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Now she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A teary-eyed Berry received the 2,333rd Walk of Fame star in a ceremony Tuesday in front of the Kodak Theatre.
"I am so emotional ... as soon as I saw the crowds of people and friends here, I started to cry," she said.
Berry won the best actress Academy Award in 2001 for her role alongside Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball." She won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her title role in "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge."
Halle Berry
Johnny Mercer Award
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton has been selected by the Songwriters Hall of Fame as this year's recipient of the Johnny Mercer Award.
The award is presented to a songwriter "whose body of work is of such high quality and impact, that it upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer," the organization said Tuesday in a statement.
Parton will be honored June 7 at the annual awards dinner in New York.
Dolly Parton
Piano's Peace Tour
John Lennon
John Lennon's piano, on tour as a symbol of peace, was to arrive Friday to commemorate the anniversary of the death of civil-rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Lennon composed his 1971 song "Imagine" on the Steinway upright piano, which was purchased by pop star George Michael in 2000 for $2.1 million.
Memphis is the second stop on the tour that will include the World Trade Center in Manhattan, the bombed federal building in Oklahoma City and the Branch Davidian compound destroyed in a fiery siege in Waco, Texas.
The first tour stop was Dallas, where President Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963.
John Lennon
NBC Renews
'30 Rock'
First-year sitcom "30 Rock," which earns rave reviews but low ratings, will get a second chance to prove it can win over viewers. The comedy created by and starring Tina Fey of "Saturday Night Live" fame has been renewed for the 2007-08 season, NBC announced Wednesday.
In a statement, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said the network expects the show to "continue to build its increasingly loyal audience and become another of NBC's classic comedy series."
Word that "30 Rock" was safe for next season came as the show prepared to move April 12 to a tough new time slot - at 9 p.m. EDT Thursday, putting it up against powerhouse dramas "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on CBS and "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC.
'30 Rock'
CNN's `American Morning'
New Talking Heads
CNN is revamping "American Morning" for the second time in two years, bringing in network newcomers John Roberts and Kiran Chetry to replace anchors Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
"American Morning" has lagged in the ratings while the rest of the news channel's schedule is up by double digits, CNN/U.S. President Jonathan Klein said in announcing the changes Wednesday.
Roberts has been a rising star at CNN, which he joined in February 2006 after a 14-year career at CBS. Besides serving as senior national correspondent, he's been host of the weekend show "This Week at War" and filled in as an anchor on "American Morning" and other programs.
As for Chetry, who joined CNN in February from Fox News Channel, "one look at her tells you why she deserves the spot," Klein said. "She's a terrific anchor who lights up the screen."
New Talking Heads
Gets Child Custody
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston's 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown will officially end this month, and she will get custody of their teenage daughter, a judge ruled Wednesday. The singer dabbed her eyes with a tissue as Orange County Superior Court Judge Franz E. Miller ruled that the divorce will become final April 24.
Brown's attorney, Ram Cogan, said he will seek to overturn the judge's decision.
Houston filed for divorce in October, citing irreconcilable differences. She was granted a default judgment in December to speed up the divorce. Miller's ruling Wednesday upheld the terms of that judgment.
Whitney Houston
Wesley Snipes' Tax Man Sentenced
Arthur L. Farnsworth
A man who contended that he was not required to pay income tax, and whose case led to an indictment against actor Wesley Snipes, was sentenced Tuesday to 27 months in prison.
Arthur L. Farnsworth, 43, of Sellersville, was also fined $500 and ordered to cooperate with Internal Revenue Service investigators in documenting his finances and beginning to pay his tax debt of almost $83,000, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on its Web site.
He told the jury that his own research had convinced him that federal tax payments were voluntary. Prosecutors argued that his research was created to cover his political beliefs.
Prosecutors said Farnsworth transferred his money to overseas bank accounts and put it into bogus trusts to try to hide his income. A raid on his home in 2002 found documents detailing some of the trust funds, leading to a nationwide probe of fraudulent trusts. That led to charges against other people, including Snipes, the star of the "Blade" movies.
Arthur L. Farnsworth
Lawsuit Filed
John Goodman
John Goodman has been sued by a German production company that claims the actor backed out of an agreement to star in one of its films.
Constantin Film Produktion alleges that Goodman agreed to receive $500,000 to appear in "Pope Joan," which was scheduled to begin filming in May, according to papers filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. On March 14, Goodman's representatives informed Constantin via e-mail that the actor would not be appearing in the film, the papers claimed.
The lawsuit seeks damages of about $3 million.
John Goodman
Remains Deemed Fake
Joan of Arc
Relics advertised as being remains of St. Joan of Arc are no such thing and may in fact be parts of an Egyptian mummy, Nature magazine reported on Wednesday.
The magazine quoted French researchers who analysed the relics and found they did not appear to be the burnt remains of anyone from the 15th century, but in fact dated to more than 2,000 years ago.
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431 in Rouen. The so-called relics were discovered in 1867 in a jar in the attic of a Paris pharmacy. The Roman Catholic Church formally recognised them and they are kept in a museum in Chinon, France, that belongs to the Archdiocese of Tours.
Carbon-14 analysis dated the remains to between 300 and 600 BC. The spectrometry profiles of the rib, femur and black chunks matched those from Egyptian mummies from the period and not those of burnt bones.
Joan of Arc
2 Hatch on Catalina Island
Bald Eagles
Two bald eagles have hatched in the wild on Santa Catalina Island for the first time since chemical contamination there wiped out the majestic birds decades ago, conservation officials said.
Biologists spotted the first eaglet Saturday and the second one Sunday, according to Catalina Island Conservancy officials. The eggs had been laid in a cliffside nest on the 76 square-mile island located off Los Angeles County.
The chicks belong to an 8-year-old female and a 21-year-old male introduced under a program aimed at restoring the island's bald eagle population.
The last time a bald eagle egg hatched in the wild there was in the 1940s.
Bald Eagles
Prime-Time Nielsen
Ratings
Prime-Time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for March 26-April 1. 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. (1) ''American Idol'' (Tuesday), Fox, 28.18 million viewers.
2. (1) ''American Idol'' (Wednesday), Fox, 26.89 million viewers.
3. (3) ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' CBS, 22.71 million viewers.
4. (7) ''House,'' Fox, 20.8 million viewers.
5. (3) ''Dancing With The Stars,'' ABC, 20.42 million viewers.
6. (8) ''Dancing With The Stars Results-Tuesday,'' ABC, 17.93 million viewers.
7. (27) ''Shark,'' CBS, 14.49 million viewers.
8. (100) '''Til Death,'' Fox, 14.46 million viewers.
9. (X) ''CBS NCAA Basketball Championship Sa-2,'' CBS, 14.37 million viewers.
10. (16) ''Survivor: Fiji,'' CBS, 13.7 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Robert Clark
Film director
Robert Clark, best known for the beloved holiday classic "A Christmas Story," was killed Wednesday along with his son in a head-on crash with an alleged drunken driver, the filmmaker's assistant and police said.
Clark, 67, and son Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were in an Infiniti that collided on Pacific Coast Highway with a GMC Yukon around 2:30 a.m., said Lt. Paul Vernon, a police spokesman.
The driver of the other vehicle, Hector Velazquez-Nava, 24, of Los Angeles and his passenger, described as a 29-year-old woman, were taken to UCLA Medical Center with minor injuries.
Clark specialized in horror movies and thrillers early in his career, directing such 1970s flicks as "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things," "Murder by Decree," "Breaking Point" and "Black Christmas," which was remade last year.
His breakout success came with the 1981 sex farce "Porky's," a coming-of-age romp that he followed two years later with "Porky's II: The Next Day."
In recent years, Clark made family comedies that were savaged by critics, including "The Karate Dog," "Baby Geniuses" and its sequel, "Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2."
Among Clark's other movies were "Rhinestone," "Turk 182!", and "Loose Cannons."
Robert Clark
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