Wednesday, October 31, 2007

MOMBI MUMBO JUMBO

One last post appropriate for Halloween......

Thanks to 'Shirley Temple's Storybook', the world made famous by L. Frank Baum is a part of Toobworld (but an alternate dimension). "The Land Of Oz" was an episode in the series and related the story of how the witch Mombi turned Princess Ozma into a young boy named Tip. Also in the cast were the Tin Woodsman, the Scarecrow, Glinda the Good Witch, Nikkidik, Jack Pumpkinhead, and many other inhabitants of Oz.

With the episode, we can make a Theory of Relateeveety which could connect 'Shirley Temple's Storybook' - "The Land Of Oz" to 'Bewitched'.

Tabitha and Adam Stephens are the children of Samantha Stephens; Samantha is the daughter of Endora.

But who was Endora's mother?

I'm thinking Endora was not a witch native-born of Earth. I think she was born in the Land of Oz and that is where Maurice found her and fell in love with her, bringing her back to live on Earth Prime-Time. (Aunt Clara then would have been from his side of the family. Uncle Arthur we know was Endora's younger brother, so he was from Oz as well.)
So it is my contention that Endora was the daughter of Mombi the Witch.

BCnU!
Toby OB

NEWS BOOS

This soars to the top of the local news blooper reel!
My thanks to TVSquad.com for alerting us to this clip being shown by CNN of a local news team being terrorized by Halloween pranksters in the studio. I won't say anymore than that because I don't want to ruin the fun!

Click for the KXTV Halloween prank.

BCnU!
Toby OB

ALL HALLOWS

Happy Halloween!

There are two couples who are dear friends of mine, Mr. & Mrs. Asparaguy, and I.V. and the ADA. For the past month, we've been juggling our schedules, hoping to find a night when we all could get together for dinner. And Halloween finally worked out to be best for us all.

But I did have possible plans for Mischief Night - I would have gone out with the Likely Lads, Mark & Michael, in full costume.

And the costume I cobbled together?

My TV Land cap

My NBC Baseball jacket

My white sweatshirt with the red "As Seen On TV" logo

If I got lucky, the following clothing items would have been revealed:

Black t-shirt with the caption "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV"

My 'Twilight zone' underwear for the episode "To Serve Man" (I suppose if my fortunes had gone in either direction....)

And the final touch would have been those Times Square New Year's Eve sunglasses shaped like "2006"

And when asked what I was supposed to be?

"I am a TV Rerun."

BCnU!
Toby OB

ADDENDUM:
I learned later that the parade's theme was to be "Wings of Desire". So I amended my costume a bit.....

When asked, I would say that I was "a TV Rerun of 'Wings'".....

TDOY TA-DA!

It's been said that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. That wouldn't be such a bad thing in Television, probably more of an asset.

One of my go-to blogging buddies is Ivan G, who specializes not only in the Television of the past, but also in classic movies - especially the serials - and old time radio, which sparked his creation of the "Thrilling Days of Yesteryear" blog.

So this is just a notice that TDOY has moved to a new location online. In fact, Ivan's joined the Blogger community where Brent's "I Am A Child Of Television" and my own "Inner Toob" reside.

Check out "Thrilling Days" when you get a chance; it's always a blast from the past. You'll find the link to the left. And if you've previously ear-marked his site as a fave place, make sure you update your bookmark.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Navajo Women Saanii, life sparkling magic

By Brenda Norrell
A book came in the mail, "Navajo Women Saanii." This is no ordinary book, for it is written by Betty Reid, Navajo, with photos by Japanese photographer Kenji Kawano.
This book carries me back to when Betty and I lived in a log cabin in the Chuska Mountains on the Navajo Nation. We worked for the Navajo Times, which for a while was the daily Navajo Times TODAY in the early 1980s. Most days, I traveled across Navajoland for stories and usually Kawano was assigned to photograph those stories.
Our lives were filled with Saanii, Navajo women, who showed us how to spin sheep's wool into yarn and make kneeldown bread from fresh ground corn. There was always something for the women to laugh with us about, always a secret to whisper. They always showed us a gentler and more loving way to be. Stepping lightly on Mother Earth, with memories of trading posts and wagons, grinding blue corn and gathering wild tea, they always spoke to us with tenderness.
At home, in the log cabin on the mountain, we fed the woodstove with wood and dug out of deep snow. We drove down the mountain and struggled with computers, copy editors and deadlines. Those were sweet times and this new book, "Navajo Women Saanii" brings it all back, like Navajo women singing.
Some of the women we interviewed during those years are listed in Betty's new book in the section, "Twenty Noteworthy Navajo Women." One of those women was Claudeen Bates-Arthur, who died in 2004. She was the first Navajo Attorney General and the first female Navajo Chief Justice. One sentence Bates-Arthur said during an interview for Navajo Times is always with me. I asked her who made the most difference in her life and why. She said it was her mother. "She was always there for me," Claudeen said.
Another woman on the list of 29, is Annie Dodge Wauneka, who died in 1997. During her last years, she spent a day showing me her sheep and windmill, remembering how she spent her life. It wasn't the Presidential Medal of Freedom for helping eradicate tuberculosis, or the politics and travel, she remembered. It was her family, the sheep and the windmills.
In this book, "Navajo Women Saanii," Betty tells the stories of women living the quiet life of the Beauty Way and women balancing traditional and modern ways, from educators to rodeo riders. She writes of grandmothers, mothers and daughters. She writes for future generations.
"I remember chubby lambs in the spring and watching women snip wool off the sheep and goats by hand as they gossiped and laughed. I remember the flashlights we relied on for light during inky-black winter nights ..." Betty writes."Traditional Dine' (Navajo) elders say we live in the Fifth World. It sparkles with everything magical."
The mountaintop where we lived in Crystal, between the trading post and the lake, was magical. Looking out the front door, we could see all the journeys, the moon rise, the tracks of bobcats, deer and wild turkey in the snow and the changing colors of oak leaves with the breath of winter.
Life sparkled with everything magical.
Ahe'hee', thank you Betty.
.
"Navajo Women Saanii" is published by Rio Nuevo Publishers in Tucson. Betty Reid is a news reporter for the Arizona Republic. Kenji Kawano lives with his family on the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona.

OH, TIBER! FATHER TIBER....

"I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus... this, that and the other..."
Emperor Claudius
[opening lines]
'I, Claudius'

Once he was named assistant manager of the Buy More, we learned Harry's full name was Harold Tiberius Tang on this week's episode of 'Chuck' ("Chuck vs. the Sandworm"). That makes four Toobworld characters - that I know of! - who have Tiberius as their middle name.

The other three are:

Woodrow "Woody" Tiberius Boyd - 'Cheers'
Captain James "Jim" Tiberius Kirk - 'Star Trek'
Lieutenant William "Bill" Tiberius Rice - 'The Lieutenant'

One of the two main characters in my Toobworld novel is Tiberius Cooper, but everybody knows him as Toob Cooper. (The other is his twin brother, Thompson.)

BCnU!
Toby OB

WEATHER, CHANNELED

Toobworld is different from the real world in so many ways - towns that don't exist in our world, like Fernwood, Ohio, Twin Peaks, Hooterville, and Cicely and Elmo, Alaska; fictional countries like Svardia, Caronia, and the Isle of Mypos; and an underground realm known as Eternia. It's a world where the squirrels are intelligent petty thieves and the horses can talk.

Even the weather is different from our own.
This season, while the cops of 'K-Ville' grappled with the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina from several years ago, Larry David took in a family displaced by Hurricane Edna. Here in the real world, the "E"-named tropical storm Erin formed in early August but never developed into a full-blown hurricane. (Still it killed a number of people when it made landfall.)

Back in 2003, Hurricane Anthony struck Miami in an episode of 'CSI: Miami', but it was Hurricane Ana for us in the real world.

Another interesting weather development this season took place nearly fifty years ago in Toobworld. In the 'Jericho' mystery "The Hollow Men", London was beset by a killer smog that gripped the city for days. Although the same thing didn't happen in 1958, the year in which 'Jericho' takes place, it was reminiscent of "The Big Smoke" of 1952, which caused thousands of deaths in London between December 5th and December 9th of that year.

Extreme weather conditions have been great for crossovers on Toobworld. NBC used a hurricane to link together all of their Miami-based shows back in the 1990s, while ABC featured a giant snowstorm in some of their shows in order to bring attention to their Stephen King mini-series, "The Storm Of The Century".

It's definitely too soon, but I wouldn't put it past one of the networks to use the California wildfires to link together their shows which are set in the Los Angeles area......

BCnU!
Toby OB

STILLER WATCHING RUNS DEEP

During "The N Word", the latest episode of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', Ben Stiller met with Jeff Greene to see if they would make a good fit as manager and client. But Jeff's newly shorn head became an object of fixation to Stiller; he was probably too disturbed by the sight to work with Jeff.

Ben Stiller had been on the show before - he was supposed to be Larry David's co-star in the Broadway production of "The Producers". But Larry drove him crazy (and nearly blinded him!) and so he dropped out, to be replaced by David Schwimmer.

Stiller has put together quite a portfolio for the League of Themselves, even without including his stints on 'Saturday Night Live' and his own variety show. He directed a movie in England about genocide, which featured Andy Millman and Maggie Jacobs as 'Extras', for example.

Backstage at 'Primetime Glick!', host Jiminy Glick was shocked - shocked! - to find out that the hairbrush used by Stiller to control his back hair had been stolen by the kids on the show. (Stiller had appeared on Jiminy's talk show twice before and probably left it behind on one of those occasions.)

Back in 1997, the star of 'The Larry Sanders Show' was so obsessed with making the top ten list of sexiest men in People magazine that he even schemed against Ben Stiller to get him bumped from the list. And Stiller was supposed to be his guest on the show that week!

Ben Stiller is an actor with strong enough roots in sketch comedy so that he can be quite comfortable portraying himself. And there are several other TV shows in which he could plump up his League of Themselves resume:

'Samantha Who'
'30 Rock'
'Two And A Half Men'
'Dirty Sexy Money'
'How I Met Your Mother'
'Las Vegas'
'Entourage'

As a matter of fact, I'm rather surprised he has yet to appear in an episode of 'Entourage'. I would have thought that to be a natural......

At any rate, he's definitely a candidate for the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame, in the League of Themselves Wing.

BCnU!
Toby OB

TW IS FOR TOOBWORLD

Author Sue Grafton, known for her "alphabet" series of mystery novels ("O Is For Outlaw", "B Is For Burglar", etc.), now has a definite televersion of herself in Toobworld. She was at a book-signing in Scranton, Pa., about which Phyllis Vance told her boss Michael Scott. He sent her from 'The Office' to cajole Ms. Grafton into appearing in their "Local Ad" for the Dunder-Mifflin paper company.

Ms. Grafton didn't actually appear in the episode (and she refused to appear in their commercial). But even though Phyllis' interactions with her happened off-camera, she still exists in Toobworld.

Some other real world authors who have established televersions:

Anne Rice - 'Ellen'
'Stephen King' - 'The Simpsons'
Thomas Pynchon - 'The Simpsons', 'The John Larroquette Show'
Kurt Vonnegut - commercials for TIAA-CREF, Nissan Murano, Discover credit card
William Gibson - 'Wild Palms' (and looking very well preserved in the near future)
Alex Haley - 'Roots: The Next Generation' (although he was portrayed by James Earl Jones)

BCnU!
Toby OB

PORN IDENTITY*

Ted Mosby, architect, and his wingman Barney Stinson went to an adult film expo convention in New York. They were hoping to track down the porn star who also was named "Ted Mosby". All around them were posters from the trade, including from "Beef Party 7".

Of course, the cameras stayed focused on sticking with Ted and Barney while they talked to "Ted", but the convention wasn't cramped into one small section of that hall. I'm sure if we got inside our TV screens and wandered around that convention site, I think we would have found the presence of Ursula Buffay, star of "Buffay The Vampire Layer". (Pictured is one of the vampires she lays in the video.)

SHOWS CITED:
'How I Met Your Mother' - "I'm Not That Guy"
'Friends' - "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry"

The interesting plot point they have in common is that both shows had main characters who had porn stars taking their names to make x-rated movies. "Ted Mosby" used Ted's name in tribute to the 7th grader who saved him from bullies when he was in 4th grade back in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Meanwhile, Ursula Buffay was using her twin sister's name as her screen name without regard for what it might do to Phoebe.

Phoebe was upset at first - until the residual checks started coming to her instead......

BCnU!
Toby OB

*That's the name of a porn movie made by Julie Cooper in 'The O.C.'......

Monday, October 29, 2007

GRETSCH GRANDPA

While under the influence of "Blink", a drug created from a 4400 power, NTAC agent Tom Baldwin thought he was visited by the spirit of his dead father. (The man he knew as his Dad bore an uncanny resemblance to actor Brian Dennehy, by the way.)

But what if Mitch Baldwin was not his biological father?
During his time travel trips to 1975, San Francisco Register reporter Dan Vasser got to meet with his own father, who bore an amazing resemblance to Tom Baldwin. (And both Tom Baldwin and Frank Vasser look exactly like an actor named Joel Grestch. Howzabout that?)

Frank Vasser was a journalist who covered the Viet Nam war and who was gone from his family for very long stretches of time. Suppose not all of those trips away from his family in San Francisco had to do with his career? What if he was carrying on an affair farther north in Seattle with Tom Baldwin's mother, who would be cheating on Mitch Baldwin?

That would make Dan and Jack Vasser (his cop brother) half-brothers with Tom Baldwin. And it would mean Tom Baldwin had the stronger share of Frank Vasser's genetic make-up, if not his surname.

SHOWS CITED:
'The 4400'
'Journeyman'

BCnU!
Toby OB

Mohawk Women Title Holders: Notice on borders to invaders

Mohawk Nation News
Oct. 29, 2007.

The following position on the Border Issue is being presented by the Mohawk Women Title Holders on November 7, 2007 at the "Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas" at Tohono O'odham Nation which is claimed by foreign entities known as Mexico and the U.S. The corporate colonial franchises known as "Canada", "U.S." and "Mexico" are trying to illegally place physical and destructive restrictions on our movements over our ancestral lands. The Women Title Holder intend to serve notice to these immigrants and the world community that we refuse to tolerate it. Comments appreciated MNN Mohawk Nation News http://www.mohawknationnews.com/

NOTICE FROM:

The Kohtihon’tia:kwenio of the Kanion’ke:haka - Women Title Holders of the Mohawk Nation of the Rotino’shonni:onwe (Iroquois)

November 7, 2007

TO: The Invaders of North, Central and South America, all their criminal agencies and departments, their international terrorist allies and the useless members of the United Nations;

RE: Freedom of Rotino’shonni:onwe to traverse throughout Indigenous lands known as Onowaregeh, Turtle Island of the “ Western Hemisphere ” and beyond without hindrance from the invading aliens and their agents;

PRESENTED AT:

The Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas ,
San Xavier Community Center, 2018 West San Xavier Road, Tohono O’odham Nation whose territory is claimed by Mexico and the United States.

PREAMBLE:

Our land is who we are. We can never forfeit ourselves or our land as we are part of Creation on in these lands known as the “Western Hemisphere”, which includes North, Central and South America . We were never conquered by anybody. We survived outright murder, chemical and germ warfare, starvation, genocide by statute, lies and ignorance committed by fabricated colonial nations that are squatting on our Indigenous lands. Canada, United States, Mexico and all the other colonists are fictitious “nations”. They are corporate “franchises” of Europe , not governments. They do not and can never have title to our land. Only we, the original Title Holders, have sovereign authority.

WAMPUM 44 –
GREAT LAW OF PEACE, KAIANEREH’KO:WA

According to Wampum 44 of our law, the Kaianereh’ko:wa, the Great Law of Peace, we, the Kohtihon’tia:kwenio - Women Title Holders - are the caretakers of the land, water and air of “Onowaregeh” [Turtle Island]; and as trustees, our obligation is to preserve and protect the land for the future generations.

a)WHEREAS the Two Row Wampum Agreement and Wampum 58 of the Kaianereh’ko:wa, Great Law of Peace, stipulate that no one shall restrict our freedom of passage on our lands we call Onowaregeh and beyond; we will always reject these artificial borders that were created by the capitalist corporations known as “Canada”, “United States” and “Mexico” which are meant to illegally divide up lands and resources stolen from the Indigenous peoples; and we, the original people, will continue to make agreements and alliances among our nations as we see fit and as we have done since time immemorial.

b)WHEREAS regarding the northeastern area of Onowaregeh, the Kohtihon’tia:kwenio give notice that we reject the attempt by the colonists to make unlawful restrictions on our freedom of passage on our territory and beyond.

c)WHEREAS respect for our rights is entrenched in the constitutions of Canada and the United States .

d)WHEREAS the Charter of the United Nations requires respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples; and its members have signed a commitment to resolve differences peacefully without using force.

e)WHEREAS Canada, the United States and Mexico have ascribed to the internationally recognized standards for respecting political rights of the People as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, United Nations Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other international legal instruments.

f)WHEREAS General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV) requires the informed consent of the people before they are included in another state; and the international Court of Justice affirmed this Resolution in the Western Sahara case.

g)WHEREAS according to article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Sections 1 and 2, every nation has a right to its nationality; and no nation can change another nation’s identity by imposing legislation to restrict travel, trade and commerce which must be unhindered throughout our original pre-contact territories.

h)WHEREAS international law is committed to affirming the equal and inalienable rights of all peoples.

i)WHEREAS Canada, the United States, Mexico and all other colonial states must abide by the international law principles that there can be no arbitrary encroachment on Indigenous peoples; ignoring the true Indigenous people is now universally recognized as illegal; independent Indigenous people’s rights must be respected and heeded; and our perspectives on the issues must not be ignored;

j)WHEREAS the Indigenous peoples have our own constitutions, we cannot be arbitrarily turned into Canadian, American or Mexican citizens without our knowledge or consent; and we cannot be governed by foreign laws that have been arbitrarily imposed without our consent.

k)WHEREAS foreign nations that have invaded our territory cannot restrict our movements and make unlawful demands for us to carry foreign passports and other forms of alien identity; we have made agreements and means by which to traverse the lands of our Indigenous allies; and we have a form of identification, the “Red Card”, which are issued to us under our constitution, the Kaianereh’ko:wa. The “Haudenosaunee Passport” is for travel outside of Onowaregeh.

l)WHEREAS the “Red Card” and the “Haudenosaunee Passport” identifies that a person is a “Haudenosaunee”, Six Nations, of Onowaregeh; according to the Two Row Wampum Agreement we are free to pass and re-pass by land or inland navigation or by air onto our territories; we are free to continue to carry on trade and commerce with each other; it is illegal for taxes, duties or any fees whatsoever to be extracted from us by any foreigners; we are free to hunt and fish anywhere on our territory; and we shall have free passage over all toll roads and bridges that have been built on Onowaregeh.

m)WHEREAS the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that every human being has the inherent right to life and fundamental freedom; no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life or freedom; we demand that the United States stop the practice of murdering and detaining our people for crossing their illegally imposed economic border; this contravenes the internationally recognized principles of fundamental justice; life is sacred; and no product of the human imagination can justify these systemic detentions and murders. Human life may not be sacred to the invaders, but it is to us.

n)WHEREAS the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People has been adopted by a majority of 144 states; international law has affirmed that all Indigenous peoples are to be treated as equals to all other peoples; and we accordingly claim our right to the full enjoyment as collectives and as individuals to all the human rights and fundamental freedoms that have been recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international law, including the right to self-determination and the right to self-government in all our affairs without being subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of our culture.

o)WHEREAS states are required to provide redress for violations of our rights through effective mechanisms; we hereby notify Canada, United States and Mexico that their citizens have been violating our rights; we demand they disarm and stop them from detaining and shooting us; we demand that they stop harassing and charging us in their illegally imposed judicial system; and should they have any issues with us, they must bring their complaints to the legal representatives of our traditional governments.

p)WHEREAS we are aware that torture is an intentional act that is premeditated, systemic and scientific which is meant to break down our dignity, our social fabric and foment terror within our people; and these detentions are illegal and violations of fundamental human rights.

q)WHEREAS most of us have been subjected to illegal “puppet” tribal and band councils imposed by foreign colonial states, we demand that the colonizing states disband their puppet entities and restore proper diplomatic relations with our inherent traditional governments.

WE, THE KOHTIHON’TIA:KWENIO SEEK TO INFORM YOU THAT THIS IS FULL AND FAIR NOTICE THAT:

Canada, United States, Mexico and other colonial franchises must cease and desist their attempts to violate our authority; that they must deal with us on a nation-to-nation basis as required under both our law and international law; that any individual or foreign entity wishing to discuss any issues between our nations must provide full information through proper diplomatic channels, which are the Governor General of Canada and the Presidents of the United States and Mexico, who have a duty to inform us.

We, the Kohtihon’tia:kwenio, brought this matter to the attention of Canada in an action in the Supreme Court of Canada – Kanion’ke:haka Kaianereh’ko:wa Kanon’ses:neh v. Attorney General of Canada and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontarion, Court File: 05-CV-030785.

We, the Kohtihon’tia:kwenio, brought this constitutional jurisdiction issue before the U.S. Supreme Court. See No. 05-165: 2005. In the Supreme Court of the United States in re: Kanion’ke:haka Kaianereh’ko:wa Kanon’ses:ne, Non-party, Petitioner/Movant/Appellant, The Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians, Plaintiffs, Respondents v. The State of New York , Defendants, Respondents. Petition for Writs of Certiorari and Quo Warranto with Prohibition and Mandamus in Aid to Prevent Genocide. Rules 17.1 and 20.1.

FOR THE ABOVE REASONS, WE, THE KOHTIHON’TIA:KWENIO, AS MEMBERS OF THE ROTINO’SHONNI:ONWE – IN ORDER TO PROTECT OUR PHYSICAL INTEGRITY AND LEGAL RIGHTS – SAY AS FOLLOWS:

i)The Women Title Holders of the Rotino’shonni:onwe does not tolerate the violations of our constitution, ancient customs, traditions and agreements by Canada, U.S., Mexico or any franchises, corporations and agents violating our inherent rights by encroaching on our land.

ii)Murder and torture have no place in either internal or international relations of any peoples. It is a violation of the Great Law which is the first and only law of the Western Hemisphere .

iii) We invite Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to put away their guns and weaponry so we can resolve our differences in a mature and peaceful way, by rediscovering and brightening the spirit of the Two Row Wampum and the Covenant Chain that began our peaceful international relationship centuries ago.

iv)Should Canada , U.S. and Mexico continue to breach our rights, we shall take the necessary measures available to us in the international arena to correct the injustices that have been committed against us.

v)It has never been acceptable to abuse people on the basis of race, religion, nationality, belief or membership in a particular social group. We invite all members of the colonizing societies to become partners with us to end the cycle of abuse, stop the illegal criminalization of our people and extend dignity, equality and a voice to all peoples.

KOHTIHON’TIA:KWENIO, the Women Title Holders of the Kanion’ke:haka of the Rotino’shonni:onwe:

Katenies
Kahentinetha

Contact: P.O. Box 991 , Kahnawake of Mohawk territory [ Quebec , Canada ] J0L 1B0, kahentinetha2@yahoo.com katenies20@yahoo.com

Sunday, October 28, 2007

RETURN OF THE BIG GIANT HEAD

William Shatner isn't too pleased with the idea that the next 'Star Trek' movie - to be about the early days of the original crew at the Starfleet Academy - may be filmed without his participation.

Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock, will be in the movie, however. Apparently he'll "bookend" the movie, with the main story being his flashback memories.

According to the Associated Press, Shatner said in an interview, "I can't believe it, I'm not in the movie at all. Leonard, God bless his heart, is in, but not me. I thought, 'what a decision to make', since it obviously is a decision not to make use of the popularity I have to ensure the movie has good box office. It didn't seem to be a wise business decision."

Sounds a little egotistical to me.
Maybe his memory is failing him, but if the movie "real time" is during Mr. Spock's later years, then Shatner should realize his character is already dead by that point!

Unless they can work miracles with make-up, Spock should look the fifteen years older than he was when he met with Captain Picard on Romulus in a two-part episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. It was after that encounter that Picard met Captain Kirk and together they battled the mad scientist Soren which resulted in the death of Kirk.

As the movie is supposed to be focused on Spock's memories of their youthful days, there's definitely no place for Shatner in there either.

Big Baby....

BCnU!
Toby OB


"It was fun.... Oh, my -#"
James Tiberius Kirk
[final words]
"Star Trek: Generations"

Mohawk Nation News: Great Law and the Handsome Lake Code

BOOK ON "THE ON-GOING CONFUSION BETWEEN THE GREAT LAW AND THE HANDSOME LAKE CODE"

MNN. Oct. 28, 2007. MNN Mohawk Nation News has published another book in the "Mohawk Issues for Dummies Series". It's called "The On-Going Confusion Between the Great Law of
Peace and the Handsome Lake Code". Here are some comments from two people who read the book:

"Gees, I always thought I was "traditional" because of my belief in the "Creator"! It looks like I have to question how I relate to the natural world and my responsibilities to it", stated a Kanion'ke:haka youth who is always looking for answers.

"What a colonial conspiracy! This is the first time anyone took the Great Law philosophy and compared it with the Christian-based Handsome Lake Code ", said a surprised elder of Kahnawake. This book helps readers to understand the alarming turn of events at Six Nations over the land reclamation. For almost two years the Six Nations people, our friends and allies
successfully took back and held Indigenous land known as "Douglas Creek Estates", now called "Kanenhstaton." Read more ...
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/10/mohawk-nation-news-great-law-and.html

Saturday, October 27, 2007

FEMA scolded for phony news conference on fires

FEMA exposed: Used their own employees to stage phony PR for FEMA on fires

Since the Washington Post exposed the phony reporters, now there's a cleanup spin going on. But there's so many big questions, like why did television reporters allow the fire coverage to become all about praising politicians and FEMA. Also, there's Blackwater's pending training base on the border at Potrero, where the Harris fire started.
Some of the most biased news reporting that was ever broadcast assaulted viewers during the California fires last week, ignoring the magnitude of the tragedies, enormous loss of homes and evacuation of nearly a million people. The cameras focused on smiling Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Bush, and praising politicians, while people watched their homes burn and struggled for news of their loved ones.
FEMA's phony news reporters:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/27/fema_scolded_for_staging_phony_news_conference/

TARRYING AT "JERICHO"

With the 'Jericho' episode "The Hollow Men" (NOT the 'Jericho' series about a nuke-isolated town in Kansas!), London police detective Michael Jericho gave proof to my premise that some TV shows mentioned in the TV Universe are based on characters we know from our TV shows, but who exist in the TV Universe. These are not the same shows that we watch here in the Trueniverse.

Confusing, I know. Here's a good example: when Kramer was seen in an episode of 'Murphy Brown' during an episode of 'Seinfeld', we were watching the Toobworld version of 'Murphy Brown' which is not the same show as the one we watch. The Toobworld version of 'Murphy Brown' is based on the life of the "real" Murphy Brown who is just a fictional character to us.

I don't think that helped make it less confusing......

At any rate, Michael Jericho was prodded by his superiors to audition for a new TV show which would dramatize cases from the files of Scotland Yard. Jericho would have been the host, appearing as himself.

But he proved to be too stiff and unnatural on camera, so an actor, previously seen on TV as Robin Hood, hosted the show as Michael Jericho. So there was a TV character named Jericho who was based on the "real" Jericho who was just a TV character to us, portrayed by Robert Lindsay.
I'm just making it worse, aren't I?

BCnU!
Toby OB

RUMFORD'S CROSSING

With the previous post, I demonstrated a theoretical link between 'Doctor Who' and 'Star Trek' via "The Stones of Blood" episode. (There's at least one more connection between those shows and it's a biggie, but that's not the topic today.)

But "The Stones Of Blood" also can forge a link with 'Columbo' thanks to a "Theory of Relateeveety" which I'm proposing.

Professor Amelia Rumford may have had an older brother. It never comes up in her conversations with the Doctor (which were usually drone-fests about the history of the Standing Stones). If so, it could be that during World War One, her older brother was wounded and fell in love with an American nurse. He would have then emigrated to America to be with her.

Once married, they could have had a son, one that they named Lyle. He might have followed his father into the military, making it his career. Later in life, Colonel Lyle C. Rumford became the administrative commander of the Haynes Military Academy in Los Angeles, running it for a senior officer named Haynes whom Rumford served and admired.

(What happened during his tenure can be found in the 'Columbo' episode "By Dawn's Early Light".)

Because their relationship to each other was never germane to the circumstances which involved them, neither Amelia nor Lyle mentioned it. In fact, because their lives had taken such divergent paths, the two branches of the Rumford family were probably estranged.

BCnU!
Toby OB

VAMPIRE STONES (NOT ABOUT KEITH RICHARDS)

Overnight Thursday, my friends Mark, Michael, Kelly, and I went to Blood Manor, a haunted house (haunted condo?) in Manhattan. Afterwards, we trooped back to Apartment Gallifrey, M+M's (but not M&M's) headquarters in the East Village to watch "Little Shop of Horrors". Of course, being Apartment Gallifrey, M+M decided to follow up with the Tom Baker 'Doctor Who' story "The Stones Of Blood".

The Standing Stones of the title are known as the Ogri, and they serve as a link to 'Star Trek'. In the original 'Trek' series, there was a race of stone creatures called the Excalbians, who were introduced in the episode "The Savage Curtain". And it's the contention of Toobworld that the Ogri are the vampiric form of the Excalbians.

They were called the Ogri because their race had been banished to the planet of Ogros, forbidden to ever return to Excalbia (at least in my imagination). I'm not sure if the vampire stones were originally Excalbian in "physiology" and then turned vampiric, or if they were an evolutionary off-shoot like the Excalbians from their common ancestors - the Horta of 'Star Trek' - "The Devil In The Dark". (All of them are silicone-based organisms.)
None of this was established in either 'Doctor Who' or 'Star Trek', nor is it likely to be; just the type of plot point that's perfect for this kind of theory.

If you've got the stones to propose it, that is.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

Friday, October 26, 2007

BITCHIN' ABOUT PITCHIN'

Here's what I just wrote to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times:

How come FOX isn't showing the ceremonial first pitch before the games? I suppose it's possible I wasn't paying attention and thus missed it; but when the first night had Yaz and about ten others from the 1967 Dream Team of Boston on the mound, and the second night had the heart-warming image of a very young Boston fan who just had a heart transplant a month ago, I would think that took far longer than a blink and you'll miss it moment.

FOX was probably too busy touting the Tacos.

I've always loved the ceremonial first pitch in the Series, and it's something that the network should be covering. It's not going to take that much time away from their yada-yada and shilling (not Schilling).

Toby O'B

SUPER-COMPUTER!

This week's episode of '30 Rock' helped a lot with support for my premise that the Toobworld versions of TV shows are not the same shows seen by us in the Trueniverse.

According to Jenna, disparate NBC shows like 'Highway To Heaven', 'Miami Vice', 'The Cosby Show' and 'Cheers' were all spun off from a fictional NBC series named 'Super Computer'. It's doubtful any of them could have had the same plots as their real world counterparts and yet still share a common ancestry.

Well, maybe 'The Cosby Show'......

I just wish I could hear what the mid-70s theme song might be for 'Super Computer'!

"If it's crime you want to neuter
You must call Super-Computer
!"

BCnU!
Toby OB

Solidarity: Photos of Mohawks and Zapatistas at encuentro


More photos from Zapatistas' encuentro in Sonora, Mexico:

Special thanks to Angela Sterritt and the Indigenous Free School for the photos!
Angela was among the Native youth there, including Dustin from Redwire Native Youth Media and Gord from Warrior Publications. More photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indigenous-encuentro/
.
Special thanks to Redwire Native Youth Media for sending those photos. Read more about Redwire:
http://www.redwiremag.com/


The Vícam Declaration: “We will defend Mother Earth with our lives”
by Hermann Bellinghausen

Originally published in La Jornada
Translation by Zapagringo

... The participants in the encuentro proclaimed their historic right to free self-determination, “respecting the different ways that, for the exercise of this, our people decide, according to their origin, history and aspirations." Also, they reject “the war of conquest and capitalist extermination imposed by the transnational companies and the international financial organizations in complicity with the great powers and nation states.
"They express their rejection of “the destruction and sacking of mother earth by means of the occupation of our territories for industrial, mining, agribusiness, touristic, savage urbanization and infrastructure activities, as well as the privatization of the water, land, forests, oceans and coasts, biological diversity, the air, the rain, traditional knowledge and all that is born of mother earth."
Read more ...
http://zapagringo.blogspot.com/2007/10/vcam-declaration.html

Read more at Narco News:

"Mohawks in solidarity with Zapatistas at Encuentro"
Revolution begins with Awakening
by Brenda Norrell
http://www.narconews.com/

"O'odham: Awakening at the Encuentro"
by Brenda Norrell
http://www.narconews.com/

Thursday, October 25, 2007

San Diego Harris fire began at controversial Blackwater site

The Harris fire, that is still burning in San Diego Country, began near Potrero, where one man was killed in the fire on Sunday. Potrero is where Blackwater plans to build a military-style training facility near the border. Now, four more burned bodies have been found. The fire is only 20 percent contained and 97 homes have been lost with many injuries.

San Diego Fires: A Good Reason To Stop Blackwater
23 hours ago by Rosemary
If you have been following the efforts of Blackwater to create a facility in Potrero, you will know that many San Diegans have been blindsided by the plans for the mercenary corporation to build here. These fires are just another reason ...

...Beyond the damage and destruction to life and property, the timing of this wildfire could not be much worse. This fire exploded just as the people of Potrero were preparing for a recall election on December 11 to kick out the planning group members who approved Blackwater's base. With ballots scheduled to be mailed in early November to less than 600 registered voters in this historic vote-by-mail recall, Potrero residents were preparing for an intense campaign over the next six weeks.

Four more burned bodies found near Potrero:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071025-1757-bn25fires2.html

TROUGHTON FISHING IN AMERICA

Have you ever taken one of those online quizzes that determines what character you are from a certain TV show or movie or novel? I know there's a quiz out there that can tell you what Jane Austen novel you are!

Well, I stumbled across one that can figure out which of the incarnations of the Gallifreyan Time Lord known as The Doctor from 'Doctor Who' you are. And the questions were phrased in such a way so that I could maneuver the answer to be what I wanted:

I'm one of those people who can get lost for hours online by clicking from one link to another, until I've totally forgotten what I was searching for in the first place.

I was assuming as I wrote this up that you'd be able to click on the pic and be taken to the website so that you can find out which of The Doctors you are. But Blogger didn't allow it. I suppose it was a problem I could have fixed, had I known how. But as I'm more of a compudorq than a compugeek, you'd be better off finding that site by clicking
here.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Somewhere on the border

By Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

SOMEWHERE ON THE BORDER -- For a couple of years now, I've had this romantic image of a journey from the southern border of the United States, to the northern tip of Alaska. In a perfect world, I would get in my very own camper truck and drive out of Tucson, then to the border at Lukeville, Arizona, and finally to San Diego, before heading north.

In a not-so-perfect-world, I began this journey five days ago, in a rental car with a discount coupon and really sick with a lung infection. Of course, I could have never imagined that when I reached San Diego, a few small fires would turn into all of southern California engulfed in flames. However, when I arrived Sunday afternoon, it was the hurricane force winds tossing the car around on canyon bridges that was the most terrifying.

Still, in just five days along the border, I've learned how extremely complex and different each region is, from Lukeville, Ajo and Yuma in Arizona, to the port of entry at Quechan. Then, there's my new personal favorite, Calexico, California. Driving through town, I had to ask myself, "I wonder if the Minutemen get in their faces here." Later, hanging out around the border wall west of town, a border agent wandered over. Looking at the border wall, he said, "They jump it pretty easy."

Looking back over the past five days, there's two things that stand out in my mind now: If you want to terrify a biologist on the federal payroll -- just ask how the border wall will effect the endangered jaguars, bats and Sonoran Pronghorns migrating along the border. (Their minds seem to take a quick accounting: "Will I be able to get unemployment?") They are terrified to speak the truth.

Second, there's a reason that the people of San Diego are often voted the most beautiful in the United States. There's a beauty of spirit within the people. While evacuees were watching their homes burn, or waiting without any news of homes and loved ones, there was a gentleness and sweetness of spirit that is rare. Yes, they said, they would rebuild. The place is too beautiful to leave.

Last night, I tried to drive back to Viejas to write about the humanitarian efforts there, but the dark smoke, blowing out to the east from the fires, was too heavy to breathe. So, I'm back to asking those questions about the border wall, jaguars, bats and Pronghorns.

And, I'm back on the road.

Photo: On the border near Calexico, California/Photo Brenda Norrell

ACROSS THE VIEW-NIVERSES

Here is a frame grab from Frank Capra's last movie, "Pocketful of Miracles", in which Peter Falk and Thomas Mitchell share the screen.

Mitchell played Lt. Columbo in a Broadway-bound play by Levinson & Link called "Prescription Murder" (with Joseph Cotton as the killer). Sadly, the great character actor died while on tour with the show, before it ever could open on Broadway. "Columbo" was his last character.

"Prescription Murder" was later broadcast live as an episode of 'Suspense'. It ran only an hour, and there were changes made, especially to the ending. This time it was entitled "Enough Rope" and starred Richard Carlson as Dr. Flemming with Bert Freed as Columbo.

Of course, Peter Falk was the second person to play 'Columbo' on TV and he is the actor we will forever identify in the role. His first appearance was in "Prescription Murder" with Gene Barry playing the murderous psychiatrist.

In the last few days, I've found another picture that reminded me of that first picture with Falk and Mitchell. Here is Dick Powell and David Janssen in a publicity pose for 'Richard Diamond'. Powell played the role on radio, but declined to make the transfer to TV. As one of its producers, Powell had a hand in the selection of Janssen to take over the role for Toobworld.

If I ever get around to working out the plotline for a third Toobworld novel, several of my characters will meet their counterparts from other universes based on Mankind's creative imagination. (For example - Thom Cooper and his wife Maggie will come face to face with their doppelgangers from the Rock 'N' Roll Universe, Tommy and Maggie May.)

Anyway, wouldn't it have been cool to see more of an interaction between Peter Falk and Thomas Mitchell during an episode of 'Columbo'? Falk loved the chance to "play" in his scenes with certain actors, and I think Mitchell's over-the-top bravura could have kept him entertained as much as Vito Scotti did in his scenes with Falk.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

(My thanks to this fantastic Columbo site for the pictures of Mitchell and Freed as Columbo.)

Super duper hilarious!!!

Have you guys seen this video yet?

IT IS FUCKING HILARIOUS LA!!!!!!!!!!



I laughed until I almost died ok!!!


Watch watch!!


MY LOONY BUNS IS HOT BENNY LAVA!!!!!!!!!!

It's damn fucking funny lar!

The writer of the English lyrics is someone called Buffalax (I googled him and he seems like just some WoW addict) and he is amazingly talented!!

I don't know how he can actually hear English within all these languages.

He also did a few more funny videos, here's a Japanese one:



SHIT! I knew your son!! MUAHAHA

Got a Russian one too!!



PORCELAIN IS THE SUREST PLAN!!!!!!!

PLEASE RESPECT THE CAVIAR!!


That's as logical as it can get!



Can't wait for Buffalax to do a Chinese one!

His talent lies in doing this man, he should set up a website and just keep doing it, everyday.

His job occupation? Subtitler.

'We were left behind,' Rincon Indians lose 65 structures

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071025/news_2m25tribes.html

YEAR OF THE BUNNY ZONK

Over at TV.com, this mistake was pointed out from last week's episode of 'Journeyman', "The Year Of The Rabbit":

Goof: When Dan leaps to 1994 it's announced as the year of the rabbit, but in the Chinese Zodiac 1994 is the year of the dog.

Here's what actually happened: Dan walked into that Cafe Luna (where all the hip timesters meet) and saw his future wife, Katie Barron, doing a report on Channel 9 News. In her closing, she said that 1939 was the Year of the Rabbit, which was the year in which the topic of her report - some small company - first started. The owner of that company hoped that the next year of the rabbit wouldn't be its last.

That's when Dan looks at the paper and sees that it's November 8, 1994.

Even if Katie Barron was referring to the coming year, How could such a simple mistake not be noticed when it was still in the script development stage? It took less than a minute for me to find at least three pages that gave me the details I was looking for when it came to the Chinese Zodiac. (One thing's cool - I found out that my sister and her son - who share the same birthday - also share the Year of the Monkey.) They got the 1939 one right, so obviously he did the research. Why then did he screw up when it came to 1995?

Probably because "The Year Of The Pig" didn't have the same oomph as "Rabbit".

So now we have to go in and fix the temporal glitch.

I'm not about to suggest that in Toobworld, the Chinese Zodiac is different from the one used by us in the Trueniverse. Then I'd have to go through the whole thing and realign all of the years, and for what? Someday another show will come along and point out the correct Chinese Year and throw it all off again.

Instead, it's time to wield Occam's Razor.

Katie was just as screwed up as the author of the episode. She made a mistake. She should have said "Year Of The Pig" if she was referring to next year, "Year Of The Dog" if she was referring to that current year.

But maybe the store's owner was simply referring to the store having to close within the next couple of years, and therefore maybe it was a reference to 1999, the next Year of the Rabbit.

Simple.

But then, why the urgency in doing a TV news report - even if it's a puff piece - at that point in time? No, it has to be that Katie Barron has to take the fall for the script-writer's screw-up. She made a mistake on the air with her closing.

What happens within the Toobworld reality has no bearing on the episode title which is there for our benefit watching at home. If the author chose "Year Of The Rabbit" as the title because it does sound cooler than "Year Of The Dog" and wanted them to align, then he should have changed the show's "leap" to 1987.

BCnU!
Toby OB
(Born in a Year of the Sheep/Ram)

CHUCKING IRONSIDE

During the 'Chuck' episode "Chuck vs. The Sizzling Shrimp", agent John Casey got the drop on Ben Lo Pan in his inner sanctum, while the wheelchair-bound Chinese Mafia leader was reading.

"Put down the book, Ironside," Casey snarled.

For us at home, this was supposed to be just a reference to the TV series which starred Raymond Burr as Robert T. Ironside, the San Francisco Chief of Detectives who continued working on the Force - despite being paralyzed by a sniper's bullet.

But within the "reality" of Toobworld, it was a reference to the actual Chief Ironside. Forty years after its premiere, and the legend of Ironside in law enforcement would have been well-known throughout not only the police departments across the country, but also in the intelligence-gathering organizations like the FBI, the NSA, the CIA and SID. (In fact, if I'm remembering the show correctly, he did work for one of those organizations at one point or another during his eight year career seen on the Toob.)

Whether or not Ben Lo Pan understood the reference to Ironside, I don't think Casey gave a good God-bleep.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Navajo and Hopi coalition urges global action for Maoris

Black Mesa Water Coalition in solidarity: Global Day of Action for Maoris

In the spirit of Tino Rangatiratanga, we as Indigenous Peoples of the Americas are calling for International Indigenous solidarity with Indigenous Maori brothers and sisters of Aotearoa (New Zealand) who currently being detained by the Crown and Prime Minster of New Zealand under the guise of "Anti-terrorism law". On October 15, 2007-New Zealand police raided the homes and community spaces across Aotearoa (North Island and Christchurch) under New Zealand anti-terrorism legislation. Seventeen arrests have been made; among those who were arrested and questioned are vocal community leaders of Indigenous Peoples rights movement, environmental justice and peace activists. The Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 is in response of U.S. 9/11 events. It is still unclear what conditions can be defined as "terrorism". This act has given the grounds to allow over 300 police raids, invasion of privacy, relinquishing civil liberties of Maori citizens and could easily be used against those engaging in political or industrial protest action. In September 2007 the UN General Assembly adopted the, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a non-binding declaration protecting the human, land and resources rights of the world's 370 million indigenous people, despite opposition from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The vote in the assembly was 143 in favor and four against. Eleven countries, including Russia and Colombia, abstained "A violation of human rights to one group of Indigenous Peoples is a violation to all Indigenous Peoples worldwide. Indigenous Peoples have struggled and resisted for hundreds of years against countless forms colonialism and oppression through man-made laws and government regimes whose objective has been to dehumanize and ignore Indigenous Peoples right to live." Black Mesa Water Coalition, Wahleah Johns "As Indigenous Peoples here in the Southwestern United States when we stand up to protect our Mother Earth--when we stand against contaminated snow making on our sacred mountain, or we stand against the extraction of fossil fuels from our lands, or the taking of water from beneath our people -- when we stand up for our basic human rights, will we soon be labeled as terrorists? This is what is happening to our Maori brothers & sisters!" Black Mesa Water Coalition, Enei Begaye What: Please join us locally to observe the Global Day of Action at the "Cultivating the Seeds of Tomorrow Fundraiser Benefit". This event is dedicated to the human rights struggle in New Zealand, come by and learn what you can do to help. Who: Members of Black Mesa Water Coalition and Native Movement Collective
When: October 27, 2007 7 pm-12pm
Where: 113 S. San Francisco Flagstaff, AZ
###Tena koutou katoaIn a wave of massive state repression, 300+ Police, in many casesarmed, raided houses around Aotearoa / NZ on October 16th making 17arrests. Search warrants were carried out in Auckland, Whakatane,Ruatoki, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch.Police are also seeking up to 60 people for questioning. The arresteesare all activists in the Tino Rangatiratanga / Mana Motuhake, peaceand environmental movements.Ka whawhai tonu matou ake ake ake!
For a History on Tuhoe see http://www.conscious.maori.nz/news.php?item.28.6
For more info see http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nzterror.htm

Blackwater at the border

The small town of Potrero on the California/Mexico border was where one of the first fires broke out on Sunday (see photo) before the whole county became engulfed in fires. Potrero, southwest of Campo, is where the first person died in the San Diego fires. Potrero is also where Blackwater is planning to build a border training camp. (Photo of smoke from Potrero area fire, known as the Harris fire, viewed from a hilltop south of Campo on Sunday afternoon/Brenda Norrell)

Blackwater's run for the border
Salon
October 23, 2007

The notorious security contractor has plans for a military-style complex near the U.S.-Mexico border. Critics worry the firm's "mercenary soldiers" could join the U.S. Border Patrol.
By Eilene Zimmerman
There are signs that Blackwater USA, the private security firm that came under intense scrutiny after its employees killed 17 civilians in Iraq in September, is positioning itself for direct involvement in U.S. border security. The company is poised to construct a major new training facility in California, just eight miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. While contracts for U.S. war efforts overseas may no longer be a growth industry for the company, Blackwater executives have lobbied the U.S. government since at least 2005 to help train and even deploy manpower for patrolling America's borders. Blackwater is planning to build an 824-acre military- style training complex in Potrero, Calif., a rural hamlet 45 miles east of San Diego. The company's proposal, which was approved last December by the Potrero Community Planning Group and has drawn protest from within the Potrero community, will turn a former chicken ranch into "Blackwater West," the company's second-largest facility in the country. It will include a multitude of weapons firing ranges, a tactical driving track, a helipad, a 33,000-square-foot urban simulation training area, an armory for storing guns and ammunition, and dorms and classrooms. And it will be located in the heart one of the most active regions in the United States for illegal border crossings.
Read more ...
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/10/23/blackwater_border/index.html?source=newsletterer/index.html?source=newsletterer/index.html?source=newsletter

CRAVIN' THE CHUNK

'30 Rock' introduced us to a new perfume designed specifically for the plus-sized woman. It's called "Enormè" and Jenna Malone appeared in its TV commercial.

The way things are going, '30 Rock' might have to be shipped out of the main TV dimension, out of sheer desperation, for all of the Zonks it generates. (I haven't even worked up the energy/courage yet to deal with the examples of "Seinfeld-Vision" from this season's premiere!)

But for the time being, let's just say it is in the main Toobworld, Earth Prime-Time.

So....

Do you think Enormè could be a product that is produced by Reveal Cosmetics, one of the corporations from 'Big Shots'?
If the fortunes of that ABC series continue as they are, we probably won't ever have to worry about such a theory being debunked.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

Scooby the dog, evacuating the San Diego fires

Scooby is among the animals fleeing the San Diego fire with their human friends. Scooby and his friends evacuated and are waiting near the California/Arizona border, waiting to hear if their homes have been burned. Photo Brenda Norrell

San Diego evacuees to Schwarzenegger: Stop bragging & shut up!

Another message from evacuees to politicians: Stop comparing the fires to the aftermath of Katrina

San Diego evacuees fleeing the fires have a message for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, following appalling television news broadcasts centered on his praise: "Stop bragging and shut up!"

San Diego fire evacuees at the California/Arizona border are still waiting to hear if their loved ones are safe and if their homes have burned. The last thing they want is to watch news coverage of the governor bragging about himself and others "kissing up" to him for political reasons.

To Gov. Schwarzenegger, one evacuee said, "If you going to glorify yourselves for something you didn't do right, there's something wrong with that."

The evacuees also said it is unfair to compare the fires' disaster to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"San Diego has beautiful weather and everyone has a car. Even the teenagers have their own vehicles. It is unfair to compare the victims of Katrina to the victims in San Diego. San Diego residents have the advantage of being able to get in their cars, travel to the shelters, then go about as they please in the days.

"They don't have sewage at their feet," the evacuee said remembering the floods after Hurricane Katrina. Evacuees pointed out that some San Diego shelters are even providing yoga, massage and health food for evacuees.

"Where else would that happen except in southern California."

They said there's a great deal of wonderful humanitarian aid and charitable giving going on, like at Viejas. News reports should focus on those, and exactly what is burning now and when people can return to their homes, rather than glorifying politicians, including President Bush, evacuees said.

A careful examination of the facts is likely to show that few state officials were working on Sunday afternoon and little was done at the crucial moments to prevent widespread disaster, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. That is the time when a few fires were first fanned by hurricane-force winds in San Diego County, signaling a pending, large scale disaster.

The leaves and grasses were extremely dry from the drought. Here's the latest from Democracy Now! on how the Bush administration censored the reports on global warming:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/24/1525214

CHUCKED McCANN

Good news, Everyone!

Last night's 'Boston Legal' was pre-empted for ABC coverage of the California wildfires.

Now, I might have mentioned here that I decided to part company with 'Boston Legal' after this season's premiere. And I don't mean to imply I'd rather watch people's properties and the surrounding realms of Nature burn.

But it wasn't until after it would have aired that I found out from Mark Evanier's blog (link to the left) that Chuck McCann was supposed to be on in the first half of a two-parter as a judge. (It's probably the same judge he played back in the season finale in May, presiding over the case about a priest who gave an illegal alien sanctuary in his church.)

I loves me some Chuck McCann!

So my serendipiteevee and the Powers That Be came through for me so that I won't miss both parts after all!

Um... and I am sorry about the wildfires.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Indigenous Border Summit responds to human rights crisis

Indigenous Peoples' Border Summit of the Americas, Nov. 7 -- 10, focuses on human rights and right of mobility

By Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

SAN XAVIER, TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION (Arizona) -- A human rights crisis for Indigenous Peoples living along borders in the Americas threatens their survival, with rapidly expanding militarization and new laws which limit their mobility in their ancestral territories.
Responding to this crisis, the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation will host the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas II, Nov. 7- 10, with support from the International Indian Treaty Council.
Mike Flores, Tohono O'odham summit organizer, said, "It is necessary for Tohono O'odham and other Indigenous Peoples of the border regions to collectively address the adverse impacts that are increasingly occurring on tribal lands. The Border Summit of the Americas II will provide us the opportunity to do just that," Flores said.
San Xavier District Chairman Austin Nunez joins Flores in welcoming Indigenous Peoples to the Border Summit on Tohono O'odham land, located near South Tucson.
"Welcome," Nunez said, "Our community is pleased to be hosting this year's conference."
The Border Summit will host a human rights workshop by the International Indian Treaty Council. The summit will be broadcast live on the Internet at http://www.earthcycles.net/ as was done in 2006.
From the southern Andes to the northern Arctic, corporations intent on seizing natural resources have increased the oppression and displacement of Indigenous Peoples, resulting in their forced mobility across national borders. Further, free trade agreements, mining and exploitative development have forced Indigenous Peoples into exile in the Americas, displaced from their lands where they farmed, hunted or fished for survival.
In the United States, corporate profiteering for private migrant prisons, experimental spy technology, poorly trained border agents, privatized security and new laws for immigration threaten the right of mobility in ancestral territories.
The human rights crisis at the southern border of the United States and Mexico has resulted in over 4,000 migrant deaths in recent years, including deaths of women from Guatemala on Tohono O'odham tribal land in Arizona who died walking with their children in 2007.
Migrants, including Indigenous Peoples from Mexico and Central America, die of dehydration and severe temperatures while walking in search of a better life. The Border Summit speakers will include Tohono O’odham Mike Wilson, who puts out water for migrants on tribal land.
“No one should die for want of a drink of water,” Wilson said.
The privatization of prisons, including the T. Don Hutto Residential Center and Raymondville migrant tent encampment, both near Austin, Texas, reveals the sinister motivation of profiteering from the plight of migrants. Hutto imprisons migrant and refugee infants and children. Speakers will include Jay Johnson-Castro, Sr., of Texas, among those organizing protests against the prisons.
In May, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for migrants, Jorge Bustamante, was denied entrance into Hutto, and Johnson-Castro helped organize the human rights protests that followed.
The border wall and border vehicle barriers along the southern border have resulted in the removal of ancestors’ remains of the Tohono O'odham and Kumeyaay from their final resting places. Further, the barrier wall on Tohono O'odham land is a barrier interfering with an ancient annual ceremony.
Since ceremonial leaders from Mexico often lead ceremonies in the United States, new immigration laws threaten the survival of ceremonies, culture and languages. Because many Indian people are born at home, or lack funds for visas and passports, crossing the border has become a harsh ordeal.
Further, at both the northern and the southern borders of Canada and Mexico, federal border agents ransack and violate ceremonial items.
Speakers on the right of mobility at the northern border include a delegation of Mohawks, including Mohawk Women Title Holders.
With the increased militarization and surveillance at the borders, the dangers from speeding border agents, aerial vehicle crashes and abuse and harassment by border agents increase.
Women, children and elderly along the border are most often the victims of oppression and suffer most often from the lack of food, safe drinking water and medicines.
With the militarization and oppression increasing for Indigenous Peoples around the world, the Border Summit of the Americas invites Indian people to offer their testimony while receiving information and training on human rights.
The International Indian Treaty Council will present a human rights training, following the United Nations adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The US will be examined by the UN Committee for Racial Discrimination (CERD) Committee in March of 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland.
“This workshop will provide information as to how Indigenous Nations, tribes and organizations can use this historic opportunity to inform the CERD Committee on the true state of racial discrimination in this country and how it affects Indian Nations, Peoples and communities. This information will be very important to help the UN CERD experts get a more accurate picture of racial discrimination in the US and hold the US accountable to their obligations under international human rights law,” IITC said.
“An additional focus will be on strategies to defend our human rights, border rights, and protecting our sacred sites and traditional land rights using the newly-adopted UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from the local to the international levels.”
The human rights workshop presenters will be Bill Means, Lakota cofounder of the Treaty Council; Andrea Carmen, Yaqui and Treaty Council executive director; Ron Lameman, Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, and Francisco Cali, CERD Member and Treaty Council board president.

More information:
bordersummt2007@yahoo.com
http://indigenousbordersummitamericas2007.blogspot.com/