It was a time, it was a time… hard rain’s gonna fall,.. but don’t think twice it’s alright, it’s all gonna be alright babe… Mary Travers, has passed the bar at age 72 from leukemia after a bone marrow transplant gave her three more years. The long blonde-haired original was the female contralto voice in the American folk group, Peter, Paul and Mary which rose to prominence...

I just found out, via TPM, that Mary Travers, of the 1960s and ’70s trio Peter, Paul, and Mary, has died of cancer at the age of 72.

NOTE: “Kenya” in original title has been changed to “Kanye”. – TS Last night, for his bad manners at the VMA. Terry Moran let it slip in a tweet… Now, an ABC spokesperson explains to POLITICO what happened: “In the process of reporting on remarks by President Obama that were made during a CNBC interview, ABC News employees prematurely tweeted a portion of those remarks...

If you read nothing else online this week, read Jonathan Chait’s book review (of two new biographies of Ayn Rand) cum extended essay on Rand’s philosophy and continuing influence on the American right. It’s a long article, but don’t let that stop you — I usually get restless reading lengthy pieces on the Internet, but this one had me riveted.

In case you missed it, (and judging by the early overnights at TV By the Numbers, plenty of you did) Jay Leno premiered last night for his experiment in moving late night television into prime time. The Washington Post gave the square jawed funnyman a fairly charitable review, soothing fears on the part of some viewers that “the new Jay” would be terrible. It was, they note, the same old Jay Leno. Leno’s...

Not exactly surprising news given his grim diagnosis, but actor Patrick Swayze has died after a two year long battle with cancer at the age  of 57. Deepest sympathies to his friends and family.

Jeralyn on last night’s MTV Music Video Awards: The MTV-VH1 Music Video Awards were tonight. They sure have changed. Madonna, looking relaxed, calm and very pretty, opened the show with a quiet and actually quite moving speech in tribute to Michael Jackson [link]. After noting they were born the same year, she mentioned she lost her mother when she was a young girl. But she says Michael he got the short...

I don’t know what to say about this. Obviously, it’s extraordinary, disturbing, deeply depressing, that the one country in the world that for so long was known for innovation and technological brilliance — a nation that was founded on Enlightenment principles of reason and open intellectual inquiry — is now sliding back into a primeval muck of ignorance, superstition, and religious zealotry:

This Guest Voice special appreciation is by skippy the bush kangaroo, a popular blogger who writes in lowercase — and who offers this piece on the late comedy-writer great Larry Gelbart. He offers this caption for the above photo: skippy and dick benjamin laugh it up, while (left to right) leonard stern, stanley rubin, larry gelbart and carl reiner yawn. rip larry gelbart by skippy the bush kangaroo tony...

I didn’t see the outburst that cost Serena her semi-final match, but I saw (as in, television saw) her smash her racket after losing the first set. Even that was pretty jarring. Strange. A sport where the crowd watches in respectful silence, while a champion smashes expensive equipment that most fans would be grateful to own. Cross-posted at Conventional Folly

As part of my summer reading feast, I recently finished the biogrophy of ubiquitous television host, Tom Bergeron, called “I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can!” If you watch any television at all, there’s a fair chance that you’re already familiar with Tom. He is the host of the very highly rated “Dancing With the Stars” as well as the long running ABC hit, America’s...

I expect many are familiar with the now legendary Pachelbel Rant but I think this video is even more brilliant

My wife and I bought a GameBoy for our son when he was in his early teens, some fifteen years ago or so. Phil is out of the house. But the GameBoy has remained with us and is far from being exiled to the Island of Unwanted Toys. Many a night while watching the evening news or catching something else on the tube, my wife and I play Tetris. Now, comes evidence that this addictive game “may boost the size...

I must admit that when it comes to the man and his work, my views are somewhat mixed. I find some of Jerry’s stuff is absolutely brilliant but much of his slapstick humor goes a bit silly for me. I’ve also heard that when it comes to Jerry Lewis the man he’s not exactly the nicest human being and can often be quite a jerk. But when it comes to Labor Day weekend I can say nothing but God Bless...

David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Just watched the first episode of (the new) Battlestar Galactica. I wanted to try it, but assumed it would keep my interest for only a few episodes. My wife only agreed to watch because she is a gracious and generous woman. For the first thirty minutes, she made snide remarks. At the sixty minute mark she asked me if an hour had really gone by. At the eighty minute mark, I told her we had to go to sleep...

A TV milestone: PBS’s Reading Rainbow is coming to an end due to not just funding but a change in philosophy: Reading Rainbow comes to the end of its 26-year run on Friday; it has won more than two-dozen Emmys, and is the third longest-running children’s show in PBS history — outlasted only by Sesame Street and Mister Rogers. The show, which started in 1983, was hosted by actor LeVar Burton. (If...

Sometimes its happenstance…other times its due to an incredible lack of judgment and bad taste LIKE THIS.

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

So we now have the news that the Duggar family will be having yet another child, making it 19 kids in all. This one will have the unique experience of being younger than his or her niece because oldest Duggar child Josh and his wife will have their first child (a girl) in October while the newest child for the parents will be born next year. I’m not sure what to think of this family. On the one hand they...

Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Errors begin to tell the story… The Independent: In our article, “Annie get your lawyer: Leibovitz sued over $24m loan” [link] (1 August 2009) we quoted an anonymous source who said that Art Capital Group were ‘pretty scary guys, they are predatory lenders’. The article also included a statement from Annie Leibovitz’s publicist that the lawsuit brought by Art Capital Group is part of its continued...

The Leopard Hat: A Daughter’s Story, by Valerie Steiker, Random House, 2002 Tolstoy’s novel, Anna Karenina, famously opens with the sentence, “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

His Vanity Fair pieces were a guilty pleasure for me. From his CNN obit: Called “Nick” by his friends, Dunne was putting the finishing touches on his final novel, which he said he planned to call “Too Much Money,” when his health took a turn for the worse. He flew to Germany earlier this month for another round of stem cell treatments at the same Bavarian clinic where the late Farrah...

Here. I would say, “Everybody’s a critic,” but truth is the government’s dislike of the festival has nothing to do with music and everything with the Methodist Church’s opposition to the coup which brought the government to power. [Sort of crossposted on my personal blog.]