'Best of TBH Politoons'
M Is FOR MASHUP - April 18 2007
COLLECTIONS YOU CAN DOWNLOAD
By DJ Useo
Reader Suggestion
Quiz
Take the quiz to see how much you know about Virginia gun laws.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
James B. Twitchell: Lux Populi (wilsoncenter.org)
Luxury spending in the United States has been growing more than four times as fast as overall spending, and the rest of the West is not far behind. You might think that modern wannabe Maries are grayhairs with poodles. Not so. This spending is being done by younger and younger consumers. Take a walk up Fifth Avenue, and then, at 58th, cross over and continue up Madison. You'll see who is swarming through the stores with names we all recognize: Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Dior, Coach. . . . Or cruise Worth Avenue or Rodeo Drive, and you'll see the same furious down-marketing and up-crusting. This is the Twinkiefication of deluxe.
PAUL KRUGMAN: Way Off Base (The New York Times)
Normally, politicians face a difficult tradeoff between taking positions that satisfy their party's base and appealing to the broader public. You can see that happening right now to the Republicans ....
Arianna Huffington: I See Dead People (huffingtonpost.com)
"I see dead people." So Nora Ephron told me earlier this week. And no, she wasn't having a supernatural experience. She was talking about people like Don Imus, Alberto Gonzales, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, Isiah Thomas, and John McCain.
Nora Ephron: Not About Imus (huffingtonpost.com)
The truth is, I have nothing to say about Imus. Not that that would have stopped me from writing -- after all, it doesn't seem to have stopped anyone else.
FRANK RICH: Everybody Hates Don Imus (The New York Times)
FAMILIAR as I am with the warp speed of media, I was still taken aback by the velocity of Don Imus's fall after he uttered an indefensible racist and sexist slur about the Rutgers women's basketball team.
David Hoppe: Web exclusive: God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut, and farewell (nuvo.net)
It was snowing the April morning that we heard Kurt Vonnegut died. Bits of snow blew through the open buds of our redbud tree like lost commuters wondering, "What are we doing here?"
Jennifer Makowsky: The Box Office Belletrist: We Like to Watch (popmatters.com)
Far more prescient today than it was 36 years ago, Jerzy Kosi?ski's darkly comic novel of media and politics lives on, thanks in part to Hal Ashby's marvelous 1979 motion picture adaptation.
Scott Juba: Leelee Sobieski: Wicker Woman (the-trades.com)
Sobieski talks about returning to acting after taking time off to attend college and discusses her future ambitions to direct a film.
By R.J. Carter: Mort Walker: Fifty Years of Beetle Bailey (the-trades.com)
In 1938, while comic books were just entering the Golden Age, Mort Walker staked his claim on the newspaper comic strip pages. He was 14 years old. The most notable of Mort's creations is undoubtedly Beetle Bailey ....
David Bruce: Wise Up: Prejudice (athensnews.com)
In 1951, Marty Links, cartoonist of "Teena," was nominated to become the first woman member of the National Cartoonist Society. She was blackballed. Why? The reason given was that the men wanted to "talk dirty." Protests followed. Al Capp, cartoonist of "Li'l Abner," walked out -- six years later, following changes for the better in the NCS, he returned. Milton Caniff, cartoonist of "Terry and the Pirates," made a speech supporting Ms. Links, and definitely not supporting the people who had blackballed her. Eventually, Ms. Links became a member in good standing, and she promptly nominated two other women cartoonists for membership in the NCS.
Give Bruce a Buck
Go to his storefront and buy a print copy of "The Funniest People in Movies" or "The Funniest People in Dance." (Free downloads.)
Reader Suggestion
Wedding News
Reader Suggestion
The You Tubes
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Nice marine layer - overcast til late afternoon.
6 Hour Set Sets Record
Dave Chappelle
Now that he's back on the standup circuit, Dave Chappelle has a lot to say. The comic, who walked out on a $50 million deal to continue his TV show and briefly took a respite in South Africa, shattered the Laugh Factory's endurance record by taking to the comedy club's stage for six hours and seven minutes on Sunday.
"He was absolutely amazing, for six hours making people laugh," the club's owner, Jamie Masada, said Tuesday.
Masada said the previous record of three hours and 50 minutes was accomplished earlier this month by Dane Cook. But until then the mark had stood at two hours and 41 minutes since Richard Pryor set it in 1980.
Dave Chappelle
ELLA Award
Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight will receive the 16th annual ELLA Award from the Society of Singers.
The honor, named after its first recipient, jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald, salutes entertainers for their musical successes and dedication to charitable and humanitarian causes.
Knight will receive the award Sept. 10. Past winners include Elton John, Frank Sinatra and Celine Dion.
Gladys Knight
Scoring Laughs With Web Fare
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell's production company is making a big splash on the Internet, partnering with a venture capital firm to launch the comedy video site FunnyOrDie.com.
Since quietly going up as a beta release Thursday, the site is off to a sizzling start. A two-minute video featuring Ferrell and production partner Adam McKay, writer-director of Ferrell vehicles including "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," has racked up more than 1.5 million page views.
FunnyOrDie also features user-generated comedy videos, allowing anyone to upload their clips. But unlike YouTube and other popular user-generated sites, the viewers' ratings for the videos determine their fate -- thus the name of the site -- with only the highly rated staying on. Those with negative reviews are banished to the "Crypt" section of the site.
Will Ferrell
Worried About TV Transition
FCC
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps on Tuesday called for greater efforts to educate the public about a government-mandated switch-over to digital television signals in two years.
Copps, appearing alongside fellow Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, told the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters that there was a possibility of serious disruptions when analog TV signals go off the air on Feb. 17, 2009.
When the change to digital television or "DTV" occurs, viewers who don't have digital-compatible televisions and use traditional antennas won't be able to view broadcast TV signals unless they have a digital converter box.
With the deadline less than two years away, concerns have been growing that not enough people are aware of the switch-over or what will need to be done to make sure their sets still work.
FCC
Follows The Family Trade
David Arquette
David Arquette is an entertainer of all trades.
Not only did he write, produce, direct and star in his new film, "The Tripper," he's also distributing and marketing it himself.
The 35-year-old is on a nationwide bus tour to spread the word about the movie, a bloody political satire about a serial killer with a thing for concert-going hippies. He's chronicling the trip on the movie's MySpace page with little films of assorted silliness.
Arquette talked with The Associated Press about his film, his famous family and his lifelong love of Liberace.
For the interview - David Arquette
Launches Metal Detector
Bill Wyman
The Rolling Stones' former bassist Bill Wyman is launching his own metal detector.
The Bill Wyman Signature Detector is a lightweight and adjustable implement and comes with a free informational DVD, according to the press release for the unlikely piece of rock 'n' roll merchandise.
"Metal-detecting is not just for anoraks or eccentrics; it's probably the best and the most enjoyable way of learning about our history," he said. "On any garden, country field, footpath, woodlands, beach, or moorland you can find a huge variety of historical objects, all easily located with this high-quality metal detector."
Bill Wyman
Cancel Show In Fan Dispute
Big & Rich
Big & Rich left fans disappointed after they backed out of an April 12 concert at the last minute because of a dispute over a young guest.
The country music duo of "Big Kenny" Alphin and former Lonestar singer John Rich had been set to perform at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino.
To accommodate the wishes of an ill 5-year-old girl, a local radio station had arranged for the young fan and her family to meet Big & Rich and see the show. But the casino, which bans anyone under 21, wasn't notified.
"While we are sympathetic to the request from the young fan, we are held accountable to the requirements that prevent anyone under the age of 21 from entering our facility at any time," Steve Lengel, director of casino operations, said in a statement.
Big & Rich then canceled the show.
Big & Rich
Fox Pulls Episode
'Bones'
In the wake of Monday's tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, Fox is taking no chances with its programming.
The network made the decision to pull a new episode of Bones from its Wednesday lineup, fearing that the plotline, which centers on the discovery of human remains on a college campus, would strike too close to home.
A Bones repeat will fill the gap in the schedule.
'Bones'
Ordered To Attend Hearing
Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton was ordered Tuesday to appear in court May 4 for allegedly violating her probation in a reckless driving case by driving with a suspended driver's license.
City prosecutors are seeking to revoke Hilton's probation on grounds that she violated its conditions, which could result in a sentence of up to 90 days in jail.
In January, Hilton pleaded no contest to alcohol-related reckless driving stemming from a Sept. 7 arrest in Hollywood and was sentenced to 36 months' probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.
On Feb. 28, she was ticketed for misdemeanor driving with a suspended license after her car was pulled over on Sunset Boulevard. Police said they saw her car speeding with its headlights off.
Paris Hilton
Says No Authority To Act On Imus
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission does not have the authority to fine or take other action about fired radio host Don Imus' racist comments, the agency head told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin (R-Corporate Tool) said Congress gave the FCC authority to issue fines only for the broadcast of indecent content, which is limited to sexual and excretory language, or for inappropriate children's programming.
"Imus' comments were obviously very offensive, more offensive than some of the indecent remarks we've fined people for in the past," Martin said during a budget hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee. "The commission doesn't fine based on whether or not something is offensive language."
FCC
Pleads Guilty
Rip Torn
Rip Torn, who beat drunken-driving charges three years ago, has decided not to fight this time.
The 76-year-old actor pleaded guilty Monday night to driving while impaired and agreed to pay $380 and give up his license for 90 days, said Trish Rubino, a clerk at North Salem Town Court.
Torn, who recently appeared on NBC's "30 Rock" and had big hits with the "Men in Black" movies, was arrested in December on a charge of driving while intoxicated after his car hit a tractor-trailer in North Salem, about 60 miles north of New York City. He refused a sobriety test.
He had been scheduled to go to trial in June before pleading guilty to the less serious charge.
Rip Torn
Desert Culture
Mauritania
Mey Mint struggles to carry her weight up the flight of stairs, her thighs shaking with each step. It will take several minutes for the 50-year-old to catch her breath, air hissing painfully in and out of her chest. Her rippling flesh is not the result of careless overeating, though, but rather of a tradition.
In Mauritania, to make a girl big and plump, 'gavage' - a borrowed French word from the practice of fattening of geese for foie gras - starts early. Obesity has long been the ideal of beauty, signaling a family's wealth in a land repeatedly wracked by drought.
Mint was 4 when her family began to force her to drink 14 gallons of camel's milk a day. When she vomited, she was beaten. If she refused to drink, her fingers were bent back until they touched her hand. Her stomach hurt so much she prayed all the animals in the world would die so that there would be no more milk.
Although Mauritania is the only culture known to force-feed girls, obesity is popular across much of the Arab world. Nomadic peoples struggling to survive the harsh desert came to prize fatness as a sign of health.
Mauritania
Avoiding Bermuda
R Family Vacations
A summer cruise for gay and lesbian families organized by Rosie O'Donnell has cut Bermuda from its planned itinerary because of possible protests by church groups in the British island territory.
O'Donnell's charter company said it wanted to avoid the type of protests that greeted passengers when one of its cruises stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2004.
The tour is scheduled to leave New York in July on a ship owned by Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line. But the charter company, R Family Vacations, said on its Web site that it would replace the Bermuda stop with two other ports of call in Florida.
R Family Vacations
Ex-`Buckwild' Host Sentenced
Kenneth Cecil Francis III
A former co-host of the defunct Playboy TV show "Buckwild" has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy that used models to smuggle Ecstasy tablets.
Kenneth Cecil Francis III, 38, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to import and distribute Ecstasy. Francis and Snoop Dogg were co-hosts of "Buckwild," which combined hip-hop and nudity.
Prosecutors said Francis took part in a drug smuggling ring that involved recruiting couriers to travel to Belgium and the Netherlands to pick up packages containing Ecstasy tablets.
The couriers told authorities they were told they were smuggling diamonds. The packages actually contained tens of thousands of pills that were brought into Los Angeles and New York in 2000 and 2001, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheryl Murphy.
Kenneth Cecil Francis III
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-Time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for April 9-15. 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" (Wednesday), Fox, 28.56 million viewers.
2. (1) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 26.78 million viewers.
3. (3) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 22.18 million viewers.
4. (8) "House," Fox, 21.57 million viewers.
5. (5) "Dancing With the Stars" (Monday), ABC, 18.84 million viewers.
6. (12) "Dancing With the Stars Results" (Tuesday), ABC, 17.32 million viewers.
7. (9) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 16.35 million viewers.
8. (10) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 16.11 million viewers.
9. (27) "Shark," CBS, 14.49 million viewers.
10. (17) "NCIS," CBS, 14.38 million viewers.
11. (17) "Without a Trace," CBS, 14.31 million viewers.
12. (16) "Survivor: Fiji," CBS, 14.25 million viewers.
13. (17) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 13.46 million viewers.
14. (53) "King of Queens," CBS, 13.41 million viewers.
15. (21) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 12.8 million viewers.
16. (23) "CSI: NY," CBS, 12.64 million viewers.
17. (6) "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 12.58 million viewers.
18. (27) "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.28 million viewers.
19. (21) "Cold Case," CBS, 12.2 million viewers.
20. (15) "Lost," ABC, 12.09 million viewers.
Ratings
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