'Best of TBH Politoons'
PURPLE GENE'S WEIRD WORD OF THE WEEK
TWITTERPATED
"TWITTERPATED"
ON LINE DEFINITION: That lovesick flight of fancy feeling
ON THE SCREEN: "Nearly everbody gets "Twitterpated" in the springtime" (from "Bambi" (1942))
SHAKESPEAREAN:
Be still oh beating heart
You were so ill-fated
From the the very start
To be totally "twitterpated" ! (by Purple Gene not Willie)
(Read BartCop Entertainment and learn a useless new word each Tuesday)
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
George Lakoff: There Is No Political Center, There Are No Centrists (AlterNet.org)
"Centrism" is the creation of an inaccurate self-serving metaphor which marginalizes the progressive cause, and it is time to bury it.
Frank Rich: He Got Out While the Getting Was Good (The New York Times)
Inquiring Rove haters wanted to know: Was he one step ahead of yet another major new scandal? Was a congressional investigation at last about to draw blood?
Jim Hightower: THE CLOCK IS TICKING IN IRAQ
On July 30th, six more U.S. soldiers were killed in George W's Iraq debacle. They hailed from California, Florida, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington State.
Andrew Tobias: LESS OPPRESSIVE WAGES (andrewtobias.com)
or
Andrew Tobias: LESS OPPRESSIVE WAGES (andrewtobias.com)
If you missed Saturday's Democratic radio address, it was delivered by a waitress from North Carolina: "Good morning. My name is Fawn Townsend and I am proud to deliver the Democratic radio address this week. I am a waitress working the night shift at a restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina and - like millions of other Americans - I have tried to make ends meet on the minimum wage."
Leah Samuel: Ghettonation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and the Home of the Shameless (The Progressive; Posted on AlterNet.org)
Is "ghetto" a term to embrace? Cora Daniel's new book, Ghettonation, looks at the usage of the word and its affect on the black community.
Beth Quinn: A 'simple' factor that makes men the happier sex
Men are simple. And by that, I don't mean stupid. Quite the contrary. They're just simple. As a result, men are happier than women. Women are far too complicated to be happy. Even stupid women are complicated. (recordonline.com)
Richard Roeper: Celebrity perfume fails the smell test (suntimes.com)
You'd think somebody at Estee Lauder would have raised a hand or sent an e-mail about the name the company and Gwyneth Paltrow came up with for Paltrow's signature scent.
Diane Solomon: 50 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint (metroactive.com)
EVEN though industry and governments are going to have to make earth-shaking changes to cool things down, there's plenty we can to do help. The basics of reducing our individual carbon footprints are to do what Henry David Thoreau said: "Simplify, simplify."
Reader Suggestion
Robbery
Insert your own "If they Outlaw Vibrators" joke here...OR you can insert your own "Insert Your Own" joke here
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still hot, still humid.
No Fan Of Bush
Lily Allen
Lily Allen is not the biggest fan of US resident George W Bush - something she chose to share with 85,000 fans.
The London songstress - who has been blocked from working in the States - aimed a tirade of abuse at Mr Bush during her performance at the V Festival at Weston Park.
Lily has been forced to cancel her American tour after immigration authorities revoked her visa over an alleged assault on a photographer.
The 22-year-old who admitted to be "a little drunk" during her 45-minute set at Weston Park, Staffordshire, used a number of expletives to describe the president.
Lily Allen
Launches Video Channel
Aniboom
Aniboom, an Internet home for animators to create and share original clips, is launching its own channel on video site YouTube with the aim of hatching the next animated blockbuster that could rival "The Simpsons" or "South Park."
A small startup founded in Israel last year, Aniboom offers professional and amateur animators a place to showcase their clips and test their popularity with Web audiences.
The company also provides tools for creating animations and has to date built a community of more than 2500 animators from more than 70 countries who use the site.
In addition to its own Aniboom.com site, the company will announce this week a dedicated channel on Google Inc.'s YouTube to gain a wider audience for its clips.
Aniboom
Renews 'Entourage' & 'Conchords'
HBO
HBO has renewed its Sunday comedies, bringing the rookie "Flight of the Conchords" back for a second season and handing out a fifth-season pickup to "Entourage."
Both shows are slated to return with original episodes in 2008.
While the renewal of the Hollywood-centered "Entourage" -- one of HBO's most popular series -- was widely expected, things weren't that certain for "Conchords," a quirky half-hour about two New Zealand musicians struggling to make it in New York.
HBO
Ohio School to Mark Birth, Work
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution has to go through its own survival of the fittest.
To commemorate Darwin's theory outlasting the scorn of 19th century clerics and the skepticism of the 21st century public, Case Western Reserve University is planning a celebration of Darwin. The celebration in 2008 and 2009 will coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his landmark "On the Origin of Species."
"You could say Einstein influenced people's basic understanding of the universe, but I think Darwin's impact was probably greater, in that he changed our view of what man is," said Dr. Neil Greenspan, a pathology professor at the Case Western Reserve University medical school.
Although the scientific evidence in support of Darwin's groundbreaking idea continues to pile up, opponents still push to have creationism-tinged alternative ideas about the origin of life taught in public schools. Polls show lay people have significant doubts about evolution, with a majority of Americans believing that God created humans in their present form.
Charles Darwin
$4 Billion Summer Box Office Record
Hollywood
Hollywood movie studios on Monday eyed a $4 billion summer record at U.S. and Canadian box offices after this weekend's strong opening for teen sex comedy "Superbad" and other recent films that topped forecasts.
"Superbad" opened at No. 1 with final domestic ticket sales of $33 million, up about 6 percent from Sunday's estimated $31.2 million.
Since late June, thriller "Transformers," animated comedy "The Simpsons Movie," musical "Hairspray" and animated "Ratatouille" all have beat expectations.
The summer season, which runs from early May through August and has two weeks remaining, is Hollywood's most lucrative period during which the studios can produce up to 40 percent of their annual revenues.
Hollywood
Bada Bing Club Selling Items
'The Sopranos'
Now that "The Sopranos" is over, the owners of the real-life club that played the part of the Bada Bing will auction off the 12-foot stripper poles and other relics from the HBO drama on eBay.
Other items going on sale later this week include a pool table, a disco ball and the fluorescent purple men's room sign often seen in the background as mob boss Tony Soprano conducted business.
Also up for sale: at least 10 standard-issue bar stools that James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano, and his crew sat on. An L-shaped slab of the bar where they watched dancers and drank also will be auctioned.
'The Sopranos'
Paramount To Drop Blu-Ray
HD DVD
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. will offer next-generation DVDs in the HD DVD format and drop support for Blu-ray, further complicating the race between the competing technologies.
Monday's announcement affects the upcoming DVD releases of the blockbusters "Shrek the Third" and "Transformers," along with movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films.
Movies directed by Steven Spielberg, however, will continue to be released in both formats.
Paramount, which owns DreamWorks Pictures and handles home sales for the separate company DreamWorks Animation, previously released movies in both Blu-ray and HD DVD.
HD DVD
Who Would Bob Hartley Waterboard?
US Psychologists
The nation's largest group of psychologists scrapped a measure Sunday that would have prohibited members from assisting interrogators at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. military detention centers.
The American Psychological Association's policy-making council voted against a proposal to ban psychologists from taking part in any interrogations at U.S. military prisons "in which detainees are deprived of adequate protection of their human rights."
Instead, the group approved a resolution that reaffirmed the association's opposition to torture and restricted members from taking part in interrogations that involved any of more than a dozen specific practices, including sleep deprivation and forced nakedness. Violators could be expelled and lose their state licenses to practice.
The association's vote follows reports that mental health specialists were involved in prisoner abuse scandals at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
US Psychologists
Hosting Emmy Awards
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest, host of top-rated television show "American Idol," has been picked to host the primetime Emmy Awards when they air in September.
The Emmys are the U.S. TV industry's top honors, and they are traditionally hosted by A-list TV stars including recent emcees Ellen DeGeneres and Conan O'Brien.
Fox, which broadcasts singing talent show "American Idol," also airs the Emmys this year.
The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, September 16, from Los Angeles.
Ryan Seacrest
A Healthier Diet
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is limiting its characters' appearance on children's food and drinks to healthy choices, the third company to do so in the past week.
Nickelodeon and Discovery Communications announced similar licensing guidelines last week; the Walt Disney Co. instituted nutritional changes to its licensing program last year. It comes as the companies -- and the marketers who advertise the products -- grapple with federal attention to advertising targeting children.
Cartoon Network's rules link its licensing program to government nutritional standards as well as input from two noted nutritionists. It includes product licensing and branded integration on its channels, online and on the products themselves. It takes effect January 1. Time Warner-owned Cartoon Network is home to such characters as the Flintstones and the Jetsons.
The new rules prohibit the use of its company-owned characters and series in food and drinks that don't meet caloric, fat and sugar limits. Main dishes need to have less than 600 total calories, with fat representing less than 35% of total calories; for main dishes, the limit is 360 calories per serving, with less than 35% of the calories coming from fat. An 8-oz. serving of beverages has to have fewer than 200 calories.
Cartoon Network
Volcano Preserved Mayan Field
Manioc
A volcanic eruption that buried a Mayan village 1,400 years ago preserved a manioc field -- the first evidence that the nutritious crop was cultivated by the ancient people, researchers said on Monday.
The discovery may help explain how the civilization prospered, the team at the University of Colorado at Boulder said. It is the first evidence for cultivation of the calorie-rich tuber in the New World.
"We have long wondered what else the prehistoric Mayan people were growing and eating besides corn and beans, so finding this field was a jackpot of sorts for us," anthropologist Payson Sheets, who led the expedition, said in a statement.
The manioc field lay under 10 feet of ash at the ancient village of Ceren, 15 miles west of San Salvador, Sheets said.
Manioc
Ice Shrinks To Record Low
Arctic Islands
Previously unknown islands are appearing as Arctic summer sea ice shrinks to record lows, raising questions about whether global warming is outpacing U.N. projections, experts said.
Polar bears and seals have also suffered this year on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard because the sea ice they rely on for hunts melted far earlier than normal.
"Reductions of snow and ice are happening at an alarming rate," Norwegian Environment Minister Helen Bjoernoy said at a seminar of 40 scientists and politicians that began late on Monday in Ny Alesund, 1,200 km (750 miles) from the North Pole.
"This acceleration may be faster than predicted" by the U.N. climate panel this year, she told reporters at the August 20-22 seminar. Ny Alesund calls itself the world's most northerly permanent settlement, and is a base for Arctic research.
Arctic Islands
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