'Best of TBH Politoons'
M Is For Mashup - Feb 7 2007
Beat-Boot-ique
By DJ Useo
Freshly Updated - Doubleheader!
Dick Eats Bush
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Frank Rich: Why Dick Cheney Cracked Up (The New York Times)
In the days since Dick Cheney lost it on CNN, our nation's armchair shrinks have had a blast. The vice president who boasted of "enormous successes" in Iraq and barked "hogwash" at the congenitally mild Wolf Blitzer has been roundly judged delusional, pathologically dishonest or just plain nuts. But what else is new?
Anthony Daniels: Orwell's "Catalonia" revisited (newcriterion.com)
With communism gone, Orwell's books seem less urgent. Maybe one day people will not even know what worried him. By then, they won't realize all their talk is Newspeak...
Gloria Goodale: Are Women Allowed To Be Funny? (Christian Science Monitor. Posted on AlterNet.org)
Comedy mirrors culture, and observers say that both sexes find attractive, aggressively funny women threatening.
Clive James: Kingsley without the women (tls.timesonline.co.uk)
In his early role as Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis declared the awkward essence of his personality: "I'm the boredom detector".
'I don't know what stability is' (guardian.co.uk)
As she returns to the screen, Mia Farrow tells Ed Pilkington about her ever-expanding family, how she failed Frank Sinatra - and why she doesn't regret the Woody Allen years.
The fun of filth (guardian.co.uk)
Hogarth may not have been a great painter, but who cares? The world he gave us is rich, rude, teeming with life - and wonderfully familiar, says Adrian Searle.
Fit for my age (guardian.co.uk)
We need more exercise, not less, as we get older. But, says Joan Bakewell, when you're in your 70s, it pays to pace yourself and know your limitations.
David Bruce: Wise Up: Problem-Solving (athensnews.com)
Tony Baines, a bassoonist for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, once made the error of showing up for the ballet in tails rather than black tie. No problem. He simply dipped his tie in black ink. Of course, it dripped all over his white shirt, but he declined to let it bother him.
Purple Gene
"Horses Ass Quote of the Week"
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, warm day, very foggy night.
Halftime Imagery Questioned
Prince
Prince's acclaimed performance included a guitar solo during the "Purple Rain" segment of his medley in which his shadow was projected onto a large, flowing beige sheet. As the 48-year-old rock star let rip, the silhouette cast by his figure and his guitar (shaped like the singer's symbol) had phallic connotations for some.
A number of bloggers have decried "Malfunction!" - including Sam Anderson at New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer. Daily News television critic David Bianculli called it "a rude-looking shadow show" that "looked embarrassingly rude, crude and unfortunately placed."
CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said Tuesday that the network has received "very few" complaints on Prince's performance. CBS last aired the Super Bowl in 2004 when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "wardrobe malfunction" sparked criticism and a subsequent crackdown on broadcast decency from the Federal Communications Commission.
Prince
Free Tickets
Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne, the wizard of the Ozzfest is going back on the road this summer and this time the tickets to his 25-city tour will be free.
Ticket prices for Ozzfest, which have ranged from $35 to $150, were beginning to rise beyond the reach of the rocker's loyal fans, his wife Sharon said, and he didn't want that to happen.
"It's not saying that I'm now Mother Teresa or that Ozzy is a saint, but you know what? He's been doing this a long time and his audience has been really good to him," Sharon Osbourne said. "So if he goes out one summer of his life and he doesn't get paid, big deal."
Osbourne has been wooing corporate sponsors to cover the cost of the tour. So far, his wife said, six have signed up.
Ozzy Osbourne
Now "Completely Heterosexual"
Ted Haggard
One of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual."
Haggard also said his sexual contact with men was limited to the former male prostitute who came forward with sexual allegations, the Rev. Tim Ralph of Larkspur told The Denver Post for a story in Tuesday's edition.
Ralph said the board spoke with people close to Haggard while investigating his claim that his only extramarital sexual contact happened with Mike Jones. The board found no evidence to the contrary.
Ted Haggard
World's Oldest Newspaper Goes Digital
Post-och Inrikes Tidningar
For centuries, readers thumbed through the crackling pages of Sweden's Post-och Inrikes Tidningar newspaper. No longer. The world's oldest paper still in circulation has dropped its paper edition and now exists only in cyberspace.
The newspaper, founded in 1645 by Sweden's Queen Kristina, became a Web-only publication on Jan. 1. It's a fate, many ink-stained writers and readers fear, that may await many of the world's most venerable journals.
The paper edition was certainly not some mass-market tabloid. It had a meagre circulation of only 1,000 or so, although the Web site is expected to attract more readers, Vikstrom said.
Post-och Inrikes Tidningar
Sues Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Country singer Keith Urban has filed a lawsuit against a painter of the same name, claiming that the lesser known Keith Urban's Web site infringes trademark and cyber-squatting laws.
Singer Urban filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday against the New Jersey painter who uses the Web site address www.keithurban.com to advertise oil paintings for sale.
Urban's own Web site address is www.keithurban.net.
The singer, 39, wants the other Web site to be shut down and its domain name transferred to his ownership. He also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Keith Urban
Warrant Issued
Daniel Baldwin
A judge issued an arrest warrant for actor Daniel Baldwin on Tuesday after he failed to appear in Orange County Superior Court on charges that he illegally took another person's car.
Baldwin, 46, had been free on bail since he was arrested at a Santa Monica hotel in November while driving a white 2003 GMC Yukon that had been reported stolen in Orange County.
"The car belongs to an acquaintance of Mr. Baldwin, but he had no permission to take it," sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said at the time.
Daniel Baldwin
Sued By Swiss Watchmaker
Charlize Theron
Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron.
In court papers filed late Monday in state Supreme Court, Weil said Theron signed an endorsement deal saying that from October 2005 through December 2006 she would only wear Weil's high-end watches.
Meanwhile, Theron had an endorsement deal to promote a Dior perfume, Weil's lawsuit said. The 31-year-old actress "was actually photographed wearing a watch from the Christian Dior line" at a March 14, 2006, news conference at a film festival in Austin, Texas, court papers said. A photo of her wearing the watch is included as an exhibit.
Charlize Theron
Leaving Kane
Holgate Toy Co.
Holgate Toy Co. is coming to Bradford, Dick Bly, president of the historic toy company said Tuesday the acquisition of his company by Pepperell Braiding Co. Inc. is a strategic move for both sides.
Bly said they will move into the Bradford Pepperell plant on High Street around mid-April and will be totally out of Kane by May. After the move, there will be no onsight museum or store selling toys like there is now in Kane. Bly suggested those interested should get over to Kane soon to make their purchases.
Bly said the factory store and museum once attracted thousands of visitors a year. He said the number of visitors has decreased recently, especially since the Kinzua Bridge was toppled by a tornado in 2003.
The trolley used on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" was created by Holgate.
Holgate Toy Co.
Two-Faced Calf
Star
Star, a calf born with two faces in December, has lost her battle to survive. Dairyman Kirk Heldreth said he found the calf's body when he went to the barn Friday morning, and presumes she died from complications related to her deformity.
Heldreth didn't expect the calf to live long after her birth Dec. 27, but he and his family grew attached to her as she struggled to live. Despite a malformed mouth with one upper jaw and two lower jaws, Star was able to feed from a bottle.
She had reached 80 pounds, and had seemed in good health in the days before her death, Heldreth said.
While he didn't want to put the calf on display while she was alive, Heldreth shipped the body by truck Monday to an upstate New York taxidermist to prepare it for display in one of the Ripley's Believe It or Not museums.
Star
Illuminates Secret Contracts
Water Deal
CIA officers operating in northern Iraq bought drinking water from a bottling plant there for years prior to the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
That changed soon afterward. A CIA officer handling logistics for the Middle East and other regions recommended that an American company provide water and other supplies, according to former government officials.
The U.S. contractor that benefited from the multimillion-dollar deal wasn't just anyone. The company had personal ties to the officer, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who would soon leave his logistics post in Frankfurt, Germany, and move to Washington to become the CIA's third-ranking official.
The water contract, while small on the scale of the billions that flowed into Iraq, raises questions about why U.S. taxpayer dollars went to well-connected businessmen rather than Iraqis who could have benefited from a share of postwar reconstruction business. And the case provides a window into the murky world of covert government business arrangements.
Water Deal
Prime Time Nielsen
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Jan. 29-Feb. 4. 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. (X) "Super Bowl XLI: Indianapolis vs. Chicago," CBS, 93.18 million viewers.
2. (X) Super Bowl Post-Gun Show" (9:59 to 10:04 p.m. ET), CBS, CBS, 81.54 million viewers.
3. (X) Super Bowl Post-Game Show" (10:04 to 10:26 p.m.), CBS, 57.34 million viewers.
4. (1) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 33.65 million viewers.
5. (2) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 31.85 million viewers.
6. (12) "House," Fox, 27.34 million viewers.
7. (X) "Criminal Minds" (Sunday), CBS, 26.31 million viewers.
8. (6) "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 24.18 million viewers.
9. (5) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 21.49 million viewers.
10. (11) "Deal or No Deal" (Monday), NBC, 16.92 million viewers.
11. (23) "Shark," CBS, 14.08 million viewers.
12. (21) "24," Fox, 14.04 million viewers.
13. (26) "Ugly Betty," ABC, 14 million viewers.
14. (25) "Heroes," NBC, 13.63 million viewers.
15. (8) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 13.54 million viewers.
16. (16) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 12.7 million viewers.
17. (68) "Bones," Fox, 12.4 million viewers.
18. (20) "NCIS," CBS, 12.25 million viewers.
19. (X) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," (Thursday, 8 p.m.), CBS, 11.93 million viewers.
20. (29) "ER," NBC, 11.79 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, the big-voiced singer whose string of hits made him one of the most popular entertainers of the 1950s, died Tuesday. He was 93.
With songs such as "That's My Desire," "Mule Train," "Jezebel," "I Believe" and "That Lucky Old Sun," Laine was a regular feature of the Top Ten in the years just before rock 'n' roll ushered in a new era of popular music.
Somewhat younger listeners may remember him best for singing the theme to the television show "Rawhide," which ran from 1959 to 1966, and the theme for the 1974 movie "Blazing Saddles."
He sold more than 100 million records and earned more than 20 gold records.
Laine was born Frank LoVecchio on March 30, 1913, in Chicago, the son of a barber who emigrated from Sicily.
He was married to Nan Grey, a leading lady in Hollywood films of the 1930s who died in 1993.
Survivors include his second wife, Marcia; a brother; and two daughters.
Frankie Laine
When Mel Brooks advertised in the show business trade papers for a "Frankie Laine-type" voice to sing the title song for Blazing Saddles (1974), he expected a good imitation of the real Laine. Instead, Frankie Laine himself showed at Brooks' office two days later, ready to do the job. He got the job and sang the Oscar-nominated title song again at the Academy Awards the following year. Source
In Memory
Tige Andrews
Tige Andrews, the Emmy-nominated character actor who portrayed a police captain in charge of a trio of hip, young crime fighters in "The Mod Squad," has died. He was 86.
The actor often played detectives during his television career, which spanned five decades and included appearances on more than 60 shows. His daughter said he was proud of his stint as Capt. Adam Greer on "The Mod Squad," which aired during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The popular TV drama starred three young actors - Clarence Williams III, Michael Cole and Peggy Lipton.
Tiger Andrews was born March 19, 1920, in Brooklyn, N.Y. His parents, following Syrian custom, named him after a strong animal to ensure good health for their son, his family said.
His mother died when he was 3, and his father, who ran a fruit stand, later remarried. Andrews was wounded while serving in the Army during World War II and, after returning home, graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
In 1955, Andrews appeared in the off-Broadway revival of "The Threepenny Opera." Later that year, director John Ford cast him in the film version of "Mister Roberts" after seeing his Broadway performance. Family members said Ford was a major influence on Andrews.
Tige Andrews
In Memory
Donfeld
Sad news arrived over the weekend: the death on Saturday of Donfeld, one of Hollywood's best costume designers of the recent past and one of the industry's best friends as well.
He was a witty, stylish and colorful gentleman who always reminded me of a walking tree (he stood 6-foot-5), someone who never failed to amaze those who met him with his knowledge of the film world's ancient history as well as what Russell Crowe said to Nicole Kidman last Friday. Donfeld knew it all. But, like Roddy McDowall, he could keep secrets.
The four-time Academy Award nominee -- "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962), "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (1969), "Tom Sawyer" (1973) and "Prizzi's Honor" (1985) -- was born Donald Lee Feld and began working in films as Don Feld (first movie: 1961's "Sanctuary," for which he did Lee Remick's costumes), after which he rarely stopped throughout the '60s, '70s and '80s. His professional name eventually melded into Donfeld.
He worked with everybody. Bette Davis insisted he do her clothes for "Dead Ringer," Ingrid Bergman asked for him on "Walk in the Spring Rain," he designed Ann-Margret's wardrobe for "Viva Las Vegas," Jill St. John's for "Diamonds Are Forever" and Natalie Wood's for "The Great Race" -- and he'd go anywhere Jacqueline Bisset wanted him, day or night, sun or storm, Europe or Pico Boulevard.
In the '90s, the work offers didn't stop, but Donfeld did, going into semi-retirement, only occasionally being tempted enough to again pull out the sketch pad and drawing pencils. Because of his great flair for life, unquenchable interest in films and overflowing humor, it seems unusual he would leave us so quickly and quietly, the victim of a heart attack at age 72.
Donfeld
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