Saturday - October 14, 2006

Barking Moonbat Of The Week

I’m sorry. I just don’t get it. Why uproot a child from his home country and take him away from his father, even if the country he lives in is dirt poor? Why not build the father and son a nice house, help him get started in a business of some kind, make sure the kid gets all his shots and pay for his education? Then the kid has a full-time natural father to learn his culture from, grows up healthy and well-educated and when he grows up he will be an asset to help his country climb out of poverty.

To me that would make more sense than dragging the kid out to a completely alien environment and left in the care of a nanny while his adoptive parents jet-set around the world on tour. Not to mention the fact that to the rest of the world it looks like a rich Westerner is buying a modern version of a black slave.

It’s all wrong on too many levels to enumerate. Coupled with Madonna’s ridiculous behavior in the past, we have no choice but to finger her with The Award this week. She is overdue for selection. Let’s hope and pray the kid’s first words don’t include “Massuh” ....

Madonna Leaves Malawi With
Adoption Order But Without Toddler
_{BLANTYRE (AFP) - Friday October 13, 08:09 PM}

“Queen of Pop” Madonna jetted out of Malawi, leaving behind the 13-month-old boy she plans to mother and a storm of protest from local rights groups over the fast-track adoption process.

The US diva left the administrative capital Lilongwe on a private plane after a judge granted her an 18-month interim order on Thursday allowing her to take David Banda, the son of an illiterate farmer, out of the country.

However the youngster will have to be reunited with the 48-year-old singer at a later date as vital paperwork was still to be sorted out. “She left Malawi without David because there was very little time to sort out passport and visa issues,” said Penston Kilembe, director of child welfare services in the ministry of gender, children and community services.

Kilembe said David would later join Madonna, who left addresses in London and Los Angeles, where government officials can reach her and monitor the boy’s progress in foster care for 18 months in line with the conditions in the order. The London-based Madonna, who already has two children of her own, must return at a later stage for the adoption to be given final approval.

The order will allow Malawi to hammer out a new law, due to be passed by parliament next year, to ease adoptions by foreign nationals. Under current laws, expatriates adopting a Malawian child have to live in the country for 18 months and are monitored by social workers before they get full adoption rights.

The swift granting of the interim order has angered some rights groups which called Friday upon the Malawian government to put the order on hold in the interests of the child’s future. “We have the opinion that the speedy process of adoption will not work for the best interests of the child David,” a petition signed by 13 rights groups said.

It urged the government “to put on hold or delay the implementation of the interim order granted to Madonna,” adding: “It’s not like selling property, it is about safeguarding the future of a human being who because of age cannot express an opinion.”

Tom Ligowe, senior assistant registrar at Lilongwe high court where a judge granted Madonna the order, said officials would track the child’s welfare and could revoke it if he was not well cared.

But children’s rights activist Maxwell Matewere, a spokesman of the group which petitioned the government on Friday, said orphans were at “high risk” of being alienated from their blood family and being mistreated by their adoptive one. Matewere, director of Eye of the Child charity, said David should be able to “enjoy full rights on adoption and not interim protection...he should be able to contact his father.”

Yohan Banda, the 32-year-old father of the latest addition to Madonna’s brood has told Britain’s The Sun newspaper that he was “very happy” that a celebrity was adopting his son, who would have a better life now.

Posted by The Skipper     on 10/14/2006 at 10:29 AM   
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   Sunday - September 10, 2006

The Decline Of Modern Civilization, Part III

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/10/2006 at 01:33 AM   
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   Wednesday - September 06, 2006

Hoopla

I have a confession to make - I have never watched the Today Show and the last time I watched CBS Evening News I believe Nixon was President. In fact, my viewing of broadcast television over the last three decades has been limited to the Tonight Show and an occasional sitcom like M*A*S*H or Cheers that caught my fancy momentarily.

Cable TV gave broadcast television its first killing blow back in the 1980’s and now the internet is finishing it off. The fact that there is not much other than mindless drivel on the three major networks nowadays also has a lot to do with it. Throw in lunatic newsmen like Dan Rather and it’s obvious why the networks are dying off.

With all that said, did any of you watch CBS Evening News and the much-hyped debut of “perky, loveable” Katie Couric last night? CBS spent a bundle to try to revamp the evening news and I was wondering if it was successful. Let me know what you think. If no one watched it but the media who report on the media, that will be answer enough.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Mary Mapes is rejoining Dan Rather in his new job down in Texas but hold the phone - Mapes denies it all. You may recall it was Mapes who produced the Rathergate report that got both of them “dismissed” from CBS. In the words of Walter Cronkite, “And that’s the way it is for Tuesday, September 5, 2006. Good night.”

Couric Debuts On Evening News
_{NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tue Sep 5, 2006 8:32pm ET}

Television sweetheart Katie Couric debuted on Tuesday as “CBS Evening News” anchor and the first woman to solo host a newscast on one of the country’s three major broadcast networks.

Following in the footsteps of hard newsmen Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, who separately anchored “CBS Evening News” from 1962 to 2005, Couric’s debut followed three months of hype since she left NBC’s “Today” morning show after 15 years.

Wearing a white jacket and black dress, Couric, 49, began her first program after switching from bubbly morning TV co-host to serious news anchor with an exclusive Taliban interview by CBS’ Afghanistan correspondent.

To ensure viewers stayed tuned in for the half hour, she also teased them with the Vanity Fair magazine cover photo of actor Tom Cruise’s baby Suri but didn’t show it until near the end of the newscast. Her performance on the show—which had a brighter, more modern set and sharper graphics than its predecessor—drew mixed reviews from media analysts.

”I couldn’t help feeling we’re watching a great presentation but on the Titanic,” Professor Paul Levinson, chairman of the Fordham University media department, said after Couric’s first broadcast on the evening news show.

“The band is playing well—the micro components are there—but I don’t think we’re seeing something that’s taking off and sailing into some kind of great, glorious future.”

Levinson said that while he liked some of the newscast’s new segments including snapshots from history and a chance for viewers to air their views, he does not believe the more relaxed format works.

- More from Reuters ...

_{Mike Lester - Rome News-Tribune (GA)}

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/06/2006 at 12:36 AM   
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   Monday - September 04, 2006

Crikey!

I have often wondered if Steve Irwin was playing with a full deck. The man seemed absolutely insane to get that close to dangerous animals, from crocodiles to poisonous rattlesnakes. It seemed to me to be a matter of when, not if, he would be killed. The thing is, you just had to love the guy anyway. He always seemed to be having so much fun while playing with dangerous animals. This kind of accident was predictable but I am still saddened regardless.

Like most of his fans, I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife and family. He will be missed. In spite of the crazy antics he seemed to get into at times, Steve seemed to have a good heart and taught us a lot about animals in the wild, carrying on the tradition of Marlin Perkins and others. Yes, the animals he “played with” were dangerous but his infectious humor served to educate us about animals in the wild and make us less fearful of them. That alone was a magnificent achievement.

His death should also remind us that although we should not fear the wild critters, we need to engage them with a healthy dose of respect. Something we humans would do well to practice when dealing with the most dangerous animals of all ... each other.

Rest in peace, Steve.

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin Killed
_{CAIRNS, Australia (WASHINGTON POST) - Monday, September 4, 2006; 6:14 AM}

Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the “Crocodile Hunter,” was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44. Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called “Ocean’s Deadliest” when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

“He came on top of the stingray and the stingray’s barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart,” said Stainton, who was on board Irwin’s boat at the time. Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.

Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword “Crikey!” in his television program “Crocodile Hunter.” First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity. He rode his image into a feature film, 2002’s “The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course” and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

“The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet,” Stainton told reporters in Cairns. “He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, ‘Crocs Rule!’” Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was “shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin’s sudden, untimely and freakish death.”

“It’s a huge loss to Australia,” Howard told reporters. “He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people.” Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots.

His ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally. News of Irwin’s death spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of society. At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they passed.

Stainton said Irwin’s American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and had told their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December. The couple met when she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin’s Australia Zoo; they were married six months later. Sometimes referred to as the “Crocodile Huntress,” she costarred on her husband’s television show and in his 2002 movie.

Steve’s Web Site: http://www.crocodilehunter.com

Posted by The Skipper     on 09/04/2006 at 06:13 AM   
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   Monday - August 14, 2006

Most Ridiculous Headline Of The Day

There isn’t much I can add to this headline. “Snarlin’ Boy George” takes to the streets today to sweep up the trash? Seems kinda redundant to me. Trash sweeping up trash while trash stands by taking pictures. Too much trash for me to handle. Get out the caterpillar and push all this trash off into the Hudson River ... if the EPA approves ...

Boy George Snarls At Media
During Trash Duty
80’s icon serving 5 days of community service
_{NEW YORK (CNN) - Monday, August 14, 2006 - 10:45 a.m. EDT (14:45 GMT)}

With a city-issued broom in his hand, Boy George started his court-ordered community service early Monday, sweeping leaves and trash off the sidewalks of New York. It took less than an hour for the former Culture Club frontman to get into a spat with the media.

“You think you’re better than me?” he yelled. “Go home. Let me do my community service.” Boy George took to the streets of Manhattan as a Department of Sanitation worker wearing an orange vest, dark capri pants, shoes without socks, and without the wild makeup and androgynous style that made him so recognizable as the ‘80s icon who sang “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”

“This is supposed to be making me humble. Let me do this,” he said. “I just want to do my job.” The singer, born George O’Dowd, was ordered to spend five days working for the Department of Sanitation after pleading guilty in March to falsely reporting a burglary at his lower Manhattan apartment. The officers who responded found cocaine instead.

At 7 a.m. Monday, a sport utility vehicle pulled up at a Lower East Side sanitation depot. The agency planned to issue the singer a shovel, broom, plastic bags and gloves for the job of picking up trash on the city’s streets.

In June, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara issued a warrant for O’Dowd’s arrest after he initially failed to complete the requirements of his plea deal. When O’Dowd appeared in court 10 days later, Ferrara called off the warrant but warned the singer he could not escape his community service commitment.

“It’s up to you whether you make it an exercise in humiliation or in humility,” Ferrara told O’Dowd. O’Dowd, 45, initially envisioned a service project more in line with his status as an ‘80s icon. He petitioned to spend the time helping teenagers make a public service announcement. Among his other proposals to the court: holding a fashion and makeup workshop, serving as a DJ at an HIV/AIDS benefit or doing telephone outreach.

- More on this trashy story at CNN ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/14/2006 at 12:21 PM   
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   Tuesday - August 08, 2006

Hicks Nix Chicks Ticks

“What’s wrong with those stupid hicks out there in the red states? Are they too stupid to buy our concert tickets?”

I can almost hear her now, saying those very words. Natalie Maines just doesn’t get it. Their new album hit the charts, climbed to about number five then started to disappear. Their fans are disappearing too. Yet Natalie just can’t seem to keep her mouth shut. In a recent “statement” slamming patriotism as something she has no use for, this gal is just digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole and absolutely refuses to stop digging.

I suppose she has a right to her opinions and she has a right to voice her opinions. This is America, after all. However, freedom of speech does not guarantee that her opinions will be either intelligent or accepted by others. That’s where she lost it and continues to lose it. This group will not last much longer if she keeps on spitting in her fans’ faces with these ridiculous rants that are angering her base - what there is left of it. It’s a pity. They used to be a fairly good group of musicians before they became a lousy group of politicians.

Dixie Chicks Cancel 14 Shows on Tour
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Aug 8, 7:11 AM (ET)

Several concerts on the Dixie Chicks’"Accidents & Accusations” tour have been canceled after slow ticket sales, but the group says it has replaced them with other dates. Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis, Memphis and Knoxville are among 14 cities no longer on the original schedule released in May, according to a revised itinerary posted Thursday on the Dixie Chick’s Web site.

Other shows, including Nashville, Los Angeles, Denver and Phoenix, have been pushed back to later dates. The North American leg of the tour kicked off July 21 in Detroit. Billboard magazine and other trade publications have reported lackluster sales in some markets, particularly in the South and Midwest.

Group spokeswoman Kathy Allmand said Monday that the total number of North American dates remains the same, with several Canadian cities added in place of the U.S. shows. The trio released a statement last week attributing the changes to attempts to “accommodate demand” and said more dates might be added next year.

The group also said the adjustments will allow them to promote the documentary “Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing,” for the Toronto International Film Festival in September. “We hope that our fans who were looking forward to a stop that is no longer on the tour will be able to join us at a nearby arena this fall, and we are sorry for any confusion or inconvenience these changes have caused,” the Dixie Chicks said.

Posted by The Skipper     on 08/08/2006 at 08:55 AM   
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   Sunday - June 18, 2006

On This Day In History

Paul McCartney Turns 64

James Paul McCartney was born to a working class family on 18 June, 1942, at Walton Hospital in Liverpool. His mother, Mary, had been a nursing sister at the hospital, and was given a bed in a private room for the birth. Sir Paul was baptised as a Roman Catholic, his mother’s faith, but religion did not play a strong part in his upbringing.

His father, Jim, was a gifted musician who played with a jazz band in the evening while holding down a day job as a cotton salesman. Both Sir Paul and his younger brother Michael received piano lessons during their early years, but neither kept up the instrument. The McCartneys moved several times during Sir Paul’s early life, but eventually settled in a terraced house in Liverpool’s Forthlin Road in 1955.

Just one year later, the family was struck by tragedy when Sir Paul’s mother died of breast cancer, aged 47. Her death had a huge impact on Sir Paul. He referred to her in the lyrics of Let It Be, singing: “When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me”. Soon after she passed away, Sir Paul asked his father to buy him a guitar, and the young musician learnt to play by imitating American R&B hits he heard on the radio.

In October 1957, Sir Paul auditioned for John Lennon’s band, The Quarrymen, at a church fair and was asked to join as the group’s third guitarist. The pair began writing songs together and several of their earliest hits were composed in the house on Forthlin Road, including Love Me Do and I Saw Her Standing There. It was also about this time that Sir Paul wrote When I’m 64, and the band are reported to have played it early concerts.

After decamping to West Germany to play a residency in the Indra Club in Hamburg, the band - now rechristened The Beatles - returned to Liverpool in 1960. It was at a gig in the Cavern nightclub that they were seen by Brian Epstein, who offered to become their manager. Epstein secured The Beatles an audition with Decca on New Year’s Day 1962, but the record company decided not to offer the band a contract.

However, the manager eventually persuaded producer George Martin to sign the group to Parlophone Records in May 1962. Beatlemania was not long coming. The group’s first single, Love Me Do, reached number four in October, and by August 1963 they spent seven weeks on top of the charts with She Loves You. By then, The Beatles were household names, with Sir Paul as the band’s main pin-up.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/18/2006 at 04:02 AM   
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   Saturday - June 17, 2006

Quote Of The Week

“A lot of pandering started going on, and you’d see soldiers and the American flag in every video. It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism.

The entire country may disagree with me, but I don’t understand the necessity for patriotism.

Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country… I don’t see why people care about patriotism.”

-- Natalie Maines of the Dixis Chicks, London - June 15, 2006

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/17/2006 at 10:55 PM   
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   Tuesday - June 13, 2006

Dixie Twits, Part Deux

_{Gary Varvel - The Indianapolis Star-News}

- Contra-Costa Times: “Dixie Chicks find tickets hard to sell”

Country music trio the Dixie Chicks, still taking heat for criticizing President Bush, are weathering sluggish ticket sales in several cities for their upcoming U.S. tour, industry watchers reported Thursday. While early ticket purchases for their first major tour in three years are generally robust in Northeastern cities, initial sales have fallen short of expectations in numerous markets, especially in the Midwest and South, forcing some dates to be scrubbed.

By contrast, the group’s latest album, “Taking the Long Way,” opened atop the U.S. pop charts last week, selling 526,000 copies during its first seven days and remaining No. 1 in its second week to notch one of the year’s strongest debuts. But with many country music stations denying the Chicks airplay, box office business is off to a slow start in places where the group has sold out in the past, said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of concert industry magazine Pollstar.

According to Pollstar, dates in Memphis, Tenn., Oklahoma City, Indianapolis and Fresno have been dropped from the tour schedule for now, while box-office sales also were canceled for Houston. Billboard magazine reported that ticket counts for shows that went on sale last weekend were averaging 5,000 to 6,000 seats per date in major markets, and less in secondary locales. Arena capacities on the tour generally top 15,000.

“Basically, they’re having to rethink the entire tour at this point,” Bongiovanni told Reuters. “Clearly their problems seem to be strongest in the red states,” he said, referring to those areas carried by Bush in the 2004 presidential election.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/13/2006 at 01:47 AM   
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   Thursday - February 09, 2006

Cindy is for Rent

No Joke

The journey toward truth often begins with one simple act of faith and determination.

Cindy Sheehan spent months searching for answers for why her son had to give his life in Iraq, and months traveling across the country wading through the spin and the lies seeking a truth that never came. When enough was at long last enough, Cindy went to Crawford, Texas and sat down.

And in that one quiet moment of determination, a ripple of truth became a great river, joined in its journey by the tributaries of thousands of others who could not ignore the simple power of one grieving mother asking, “Why?”

Cindy has become an inspiration to many who fight for truth. She is an example of the extraordinary power we each possess to make change in the world.

Because we in the progressive community are on this journey with her, Cindy is generously donating some of her time to help raise money for the YearlyKos Convention

You are bidding on a speaking engagement with Cindy Sheehan. Cindy will come speak to a group of your choice (within the continental US)*, and any speaking fees and transportation costs will be waived (your group will only need to provide lodging for the night).

This is a wonderful opportunity to treat your group to an evening of motivation, inspiration, truth, and the indomitable power of a mother’s love… and you get to help out the progressive cause, to boot! How great is that?

Bwaaaahahahahahaha

Oh wait.

Note: Because of the obvious potential for right-wing shenanigans, Cindy retains the right to refuse to speak to groups antithetical to her cause or offensive to her beliefs. If no group can be agreed upon, the winning bidder will receive a full refund

Rats.

Posted by Drew458     on 02/09/2006 at 10:53 AM   
Filed Under: • Celebrities • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Humor •  
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   Tuesday - January 17, 2006

Fudgepack Mountain

Hollywood has lost it. They couldn’t find the mainstream with a road map and GPS. Homosexual cowboys are now the most recent evidence of that fact. George Clooney also had to demonstrate to everyone his credentials as geopolitical strategist. I’m beginning to think Hollywood is being taken over by pod people from some strange planet. As Clooney said, I also have some tough questions to ask. Namely, who are they appealing to with these movies? I can remember when Hollywood was more interested in making money than in making political statements ...

‘Brokeback,’ ‘Walk the Line’ win top Golden Globes
BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters)

A heady mix of political drama and romance—both gay and straight—won major Golden Globe Awards on Monday with “Brokeback Mountain” earning the best film drama prize and “Walk the Line” best musical or comedy. “Brokeback,” which has wowed critics and found a sizable audience at box offices with its homosexual love story, walked off with four Golden Globes, more than any movie, including best director for Ang Lee, screenplay and song.

The movie entered the show a favorite among its rivals after having been nominated in a leading seven categories, and it now becomes a clear front-runner for Oscars, the U.S. film industry’s top awards that will be given out in March. But “Walk the Line,” about the long love affair between singers Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, may be a close No. 2. It earned three Golden Globes and won trophies for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as best actor and actress in musical or comedy, respectively.

Felicity Huffman was named best actress in a film drama playing a man on the verge of a sex change in “Transamerica,” and Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best film actor in a movie drama for his role as author Truman Capote in “Capote.” The film awards capped a night in which gay movies and characters dominated the winners circle, and the movies’ makers and actors urged audiences to see beyond the gay stories and into deeper themes of love, family ties and fearmongering.

“You can never categorize or stereotype a region or a place. People fall in love, period,” Lee said backstage. This is a universal story ... I just wanted to make a love story.” But politics played a major role at the Golden Globes, too, especially early in the evening when George Clooney was named best supporting actor in a film playing a veteran CIA agent in Middle East oil drama “Syriana.”

“This is early, I haven’t had a drink yet,” Clooney joked when he took the stage to accept his award, the first award of the night. But he turned serious when acknowledging the film’s writer/director Stephen Gaghan, as well as Warner Independent Pictures for releasing such a politically charged film. “These are tough questions to ask, and I’m very proud that the studios are willing to ask these questions,” he said about “Syriana’s” take on the Middle East and the politics of oil.

- More on this story here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/17/2006 at 07:18 AM   
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   Monday - January 09, 2006

Barking Moonbat Award

Harry Belafonte went to Venezuela on Saturday, along with Danny Glover and several other Commie friends, and had this to say ...

“No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we’re here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people ... support your revolution”

-- Singer Harry Belafonte, speaking to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/09/2006 at 05:44 AM   
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   Sunday - January 01, 2006

Ageless?

Just to set the record straight, Dick Clark was born on November 30, 1929. You do the math. Amazing. Simply amazing ...

Dick Clark Returns to TV to Mark New Year
NEW YORK (AP)

There was more to celebrate than the ball dropping in Times Square for Dick Clark — the personality who’s been ringing in the New Year for decades made his first television appearance since a stroke in late 2004. Clark, sitting behind a desk with the street scene in the background, sounded hoarse and occasionally was hard to understand, but he said, “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

“Last year I had a stroke,” he explained. “It left me in bad shape. I had to teach myself how to walk and talk again. It’s been a long, hard fight. My speech is not perfect but I’m getting there.” After his Dec. 6, 2004, stroke, Clark had to sit out “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” last year for the first time since starting it in 1972. Regis Philbin was his emergency sub.

Posted by The Skipper     on 01/01/2006 at 04:01 AM   
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   Sunday - December 11, 2005

Obituary

Richard Pryor
(1940 - 2005)

Richard Pryor startled audiences with his foul-mouthed routines, but his universal and frequently personal insights propelled him into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The pioneering comedian, whose audacious style influenced generations of standup artists, died Saturday of a heart attack at age 65, said his business manager, Karen Finch. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.

“By expressing his heart, anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form,"Steve Martin said. A series of hit comedies and concert films in the ‘70s and ‘80s helped make Pryor one of Hollywood’s highest paid stars, and he was one of the first black performers with enough leverage to cut his own deals. In 1983, he signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures.

His films included “Stir Crazy,” “Silver Streak,” “Which Way Is Up?” and “Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip.” Throughout his career, Pryor focused on racial inequality, joking as the host of the Academy Awards in 1977 that Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier were the only black members of the Academy. Pryor once marveled “that I live in racist America and I’m uneducated, yet a lot of people love me and like what I do, and I can make a living from it. You can’t do much better than that.”

Born in 1940 in Peoria, Ill., Pryor grew up in his grandmother’s brothel. His first professional performance came at age 7, playing drums at a night club. After two years of Army service, he honed his comedy in bars throughout the United States. By the mid-’60s, he was appearing in Las Vegas clubs and TV variety shows. Later in his career, Pryor used films as therapy. “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling,” was an autobiographical account of a popular comedian re-examining his life while lying delirious in a hospital burn ward. Pryor directed, co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the film.

In 1995, he played an embittered multiple sclerosis patient in an episode of the television series “Chicago Hope.” The role earned him an Emmy nomination as best guest actor in a drama series.

Despite his health troubles, he was happy and in good humor in his final days, said his wife Jennifer Lee Pryor. “He will be missed, but will forever live in thousands and thousands of hearts and continue to impact and inspire people with his truth and his pain, which he turned into comedy brilliantly,” she said.

Pryor was married six times. His children include sons Richard and Steven, and daughters Elizabeth, Rain and Renee.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/11/2005 at 10:40 AM   
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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