Fashion Bits Plenty of Bling

The Venice Film Fest is just one of several events drawing celebs in high fashion. It's also time for the runway shows. Our friends at the Diamond Center sent us this:

(New York, NY-September 8, 2004) Summer may have just ended, but warm
weather is just around the corner for designers showing their Spring 2005
collections during New York Fashion Week. Fashionistas from around the
globe will be blinded by rare and expensive diamonds, ranging from big
baubles for your right hand to dramatic diamond riviere necklaces. The
following is a sneak peak of this year’s spring bling.

The Ice Man Cometh
Diamond right hand rings and celebrities galore will rule the runway at the
Chris Aire Diamond Fashion Show, with a fierce collection of designs from
the “Ice Man” at his debut runway presentation. Aire will showcase a
dripping selection of oversized rocks on the right hands of his electric
runway cast, including hip-hop stars Nelly and 50-Cent, supermodels Naomi
Campbell, Carmen Kass, and Tyson Beckford, and NBA hot shots Vince Carter
and Antwon Jamison. In addition to gutsy diamond earrings and necklaces,
as well as the Ice Man’s signature diamond dog tags, expect to see right
hand ice cooling down Aire’s uber-hot runway, as diamonds prove yet again
to be the ultimate fashion accessory.

Beach Baubles
Who says that diamonds are just for evening gowns? Over $30 million
dollars and 500 carats of rare, large and colored diamonds from Vivid
Collection will be paired with barely-there swimwear at Gottex’s spring
2005 runway show. Show-stopping diamond looks include right hand rings
weighing over 20 carats each, featuring a Fancy Vivid Yellow internally
flawless diamond weighing over 28-carats. Excitement will peak with an
exceptional grand finale when the most expensive bathing suit in the world
will make its debut- a one-of-a-kind diamond swimsuit with over $18 million
worth of diamonds surrounding the 103-carat Golconda Diamond. A true
miracle of nature, the pear-shaped D Flawless Golconda Diamond is one of
the most rare and most expensive diamonds in the world.

Old Is New Again
Hot new designer Thakoon will be showing his very first fashion week
presentation with rough and organic vintage diamond jewelry from Fred
Leighton. Juxtaposed with his feminine and sophisticated designs there will
be a focus on rose cut and old mine cut diamonds as well as diamonds set in
oxidized metals highlighting the new “dirty diamond” trend.

Natural Woman
Fashion darling Tracy Reese will be showing nature-inspired, flowing
designs paired with Lockes Diamantaires diamond jewelry. Her earth-friendly
palette with wood accents will be complemented by the rare and natural
beauty of both yellow and white diamonds radiating like the sun.

When the Clock Strikes Midnight
Inspired by their muse, Cinderella, identical twin sister’s Kathy and Lindy
Jones will feature over $5 million dollars of whimsical diamond looks from
the House of Graff in Palmer Jones’s spring 2005 runway show. “When the
clock strikes midnight”, models will dance down the runway wearing a
fanciful selection of diamond watches, brooches, and right hand rings.

Actress Nicole Kidman waves to photographers outside Venice's Hotel Des Bains the day before the presentation of her latest movie 'Birth' at the 61st edition of the Venice Film Festival, northern Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2004. (AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)  

004 Venice Film Festival - Nicole Kidman At Hotel Des Bains
Venue: Hotel Des Bains
Location: Venice, Italy
Date: September 7, 2004 

Jamie Lee Curtis Signs her new Book "Its Hard to Be Five"
September 7, 2004 - Barnes and Noble, Lincoln Center
New York, New York United States 

Naomi Campbell wearing Tamsen Spring 2005 at Olympus Fashion Week Spring 2005 - Tamsen - Show and Backstage
September 7, 2004 - The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers Pier 61
New York City, New York United States 

A new look for Reese Witherspoon -- deep brown -- and she looks GORGEOUS. She's in Venice promoting Mira Nair's "Vanity Fair." Looking forward to seeing the film, loved the Brit mini-series starring Natasha Little as Becky Sharp (Little actually has a role in the Nair/Witherspoon film, too). The Little version is available on DVD and is delightful. 

This is the Dior logo satchel Lisa Ling was carrying today. BTW, she got into a "five" series BMW in steel blue-grey. 

Celeb Sightings

Jamie Lee Curtis pulled a black cardigan sweater around her as she purposely strode through Cedars Sinai hospital yesterday. She was by herself, wearing slacks and no make-up.

Lisa Ling is planning on getting some net. The former "View" star was at the Sports Chalet in West Hollywood (on La Cienega), California, wearing Birkenstock-style Gizah sandals in silver (the thong style) by Steve Madden, a baby-blue Nike zipper sweatshirt and flare-bottomed Levis. She was picking up a tennis racket and tennis gear. She carried a vintage-styled Christian Dior logo satchel in navy blue and wore a digital camera around her neck (held by a grey cord).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jessica Simpson and her famous breasts. A source tells us she wanted to spend even more big bucks on her 98-degree lovin' hubby Nick Lachey.

Jessica Simpson Gossip, PBS, Barbie and More

VMA Gossip: A source who was there reports to BeansTalk: [that] "after attending the "Style Villa" at the Sagamore, where trimspa had the most famous bike in the world (The trimspa Orange County Chopper) on display, Jessica Simpson "put a bid on it" for Nick. That bike is valued over $1,000,000, but since trimspa was the sponsor for her (and ashlee's) post-VMA party, maybe she thought she would get a good deal.... I could see her really spending the $1,000,000 on the bike (kinda like she did with the Jacob [the Jeweler] watch) and Nick making her return it because it was so expensive. ;-) Also, at their post party, there was a HUGE fight which some say turned to a shooting because so many people wanted to get in. The party was also being web cast live, and after only 10 minutes....the server crashed due to volume of people trying to log on! Sounds to me like mixing Jess, Ash & Nick with trimspa was just too hot for Miami!" We love when our friends dish with us.

Pure New and Fun: Some great products repped by our friends at Pure Consulting (get links to the company’s sites here: http://www.pureconsultinginfo.com/clients.html)

Bettina Angelli
Precious jewelry featuring superior craftsmanship and magnificent gems.

Brad Byrd
Singer/Songwriter

Colleen Quen Couture
Custom-made evening gowns and cocktail dresses.

Jelessy Collection
Novelty dye clothing with customizable lining and superb cutting.

Jünker
Rock 'n' Roll fashions for men and women.

Kiki Stash
One-of-a-kind handcrafted ensembles, along with lingerie, travel bags, and purses.

Kinky Chinky
Whimsical and fun one-of-a-kind and limited edition designs.

Nataya
Theatrical and folkloric womenswear.

Reese Li Baby
This is no ordinary diaper bag: functional and pretty.

Reo Starr Denim
Lived-in, hand-sanded, and Rock 'n' Roll-inspired denim.

Szulika
Contemporary women’s design - day and evening fashions.

Yvonne’s Pecans
Scrumptious pieces of sweet and spiced pecans.

Who’s Wearing What: Nicole Miller dressed Shaun Robinson of “Access Hollywood” for the 5th Annual Latin Grammys. Ms. Robinson chose a chartreuse green silk gown with a crissed-cross back and lightly pleated train. This gown is a sneak peek at Miller’s new Signature Collection. Nicole Miller will debut her Signature Collection during this year’s New York fashion week on September 9, 2004 at 7 p.m. The higher-priced line will consist of luxurious fabrics in Italian jersey and silk as well as beautiful embroidered gowns and luxurious linen jackets.

The Return of RuPaul: RuPaul's new album, RuPaul Red Hot marks RuPaul's return to the entertainment industry after a four-year hiatus, and is the No.1 breakout single on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play for the week of September 4, 2004. The album has also been the number one album downloaded on iTunes' dance section since it debuted last Tuesday, with four of the six songs from the Remix album on the top 100 most downloaded dance tracks. RuPaul had several modeling contracts including a cosmetic deal with M.A.C, a top-rated morning drive radio show in NYC, a talk show on VH1, and acting roles in over 17 motion pictures, and has helped to raise $30 million for people living with HIV/AIDS.

PBS Programming for October:

FRONTLINE “The Choice 2004” Tuesday, October 12, 9 to 11 p.m. (National repeat broadcasts on Thursday, October 14, 2004 and Monday, November 1, 2004). As Americans prepare to choose their next president, FRONTLINE offers viewers a special two-hour dual biography of the two candidates who hope to lead the nation for the next four years. The fifth installment in FRONTLINE’s continuing election series pairs filmmaker Martin Smith and correspondent Nicholas Lemann, who go beyond sound bites and political rhetoric to explore how the candidates and their values have been shaped by family background, history, victory and defeat. By eschewing political pundits in favor of insightful comments from friends, families, colleagues and political adversaries, “The Choice 2004” offers viewers — and voters — a chance to see the candidates in a fresh light before the campaign reaches its climax on Election Day.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2004 7 to 8 p.m. AMERICAN FAMILY — JOURNEY OF DREAMS -- PBS’ widely acclaimed drama chronicles the multigenerational saga of one family’s pursuit of the American dream. The new miniseries, AMERICAN FAMILY — JOURNEY OF DREAMS, interweaves the Gonzalez family’s courageous escape from the Mexican Revolution to seek a better life in America with the sacrifices the family made in the 1990s to send their first-born son to medical school and the consequences of those sacrifices as seen through the war in Iraq. The series stars Edward James Olmos (Jess), Constance Marie (Nina), Yancy Arias (Conrado), Jesse Borrego (Shady), Patricia Velasquez (Adela), Kate del Castillo (Ofelia), Parker Torres (Cisco), Austin Marques (Pablito) and Raquel Welch (Dora), with special guest stars Esai Morales (Esteban), Lynn Whitfield (Major Hall) and Rachel Ticotin (Vangie), and special appearances by Sonia Braga (Berta). #211 -- “The Child” (R) (OB: 6/27/04) -- Dora throws a surprise baby shower for Ofelia. In flashback to 1990, Alicia goes to the Gonzalez home looking for Conrado; Jess tells her Conrado never wants to see her again. In the Mexican Revolution, Roberto and Evangelina are serving dinner to the renegades when Roberto grabs a knife and runs away.

October 10, 2004, 8 to 9 p.m. NATURE -- Television’s longest-running weekly natural history series, NATURE has won more than 200 honors from the television industry, parent groups, the international wildlife film community and environmental organizations, including the only award ever given to a television program by the Sierra Club. #1604 -- “John Denver: Let This Be a Voice” (R) (OB: 3/3/02) -- Songwriter John Denver’s popular work was suffused with a deep and abiding kinship with the natural world. In the months just prior to his death in a plane accident in 1997, Denver was filming an episode of NATURE, centering on the natural wonders that inspired many of his best-loved songs. The result is a poignant and melodic film that records his final journeys into the wilderness and contains his last song, composed while rafting along the Colorado River with his son and young daughter. /TV-G/

Octorber 10, 2004, 9 to 10:30 p.m. -NEW- MYSTERY! -- “The nation’s foremost oasis for whodunits” (Los Angeles Times) delivers its unique brand of murder and mayhem. Seasoned sleuths, dogged detectives and amazing amateurs return to PBS. WGBH BOSTON: “Death in Holy Orders” -- As the leaves begin to fall so do the bodies in this new adaptation from the pen of Britain’s Queen of Crime, P.D. James. When a seminary student is smothered, his wealthy father moves heaven and earth to force Scotland Yard to re-examine its verdict of accidental death. Commander Adam Dalgliesh (Martin Shaw) is summoned to a scenic coastal college where he unearths an unholy litany of sinister motives lurking beneath the surface of piety and penance. #2412 -- Episode Two -- Dalgliesh uncovers a wealth of suspects for the Crampton murder. Almost everyone, resident and visitor to St Anselm’s, had a motive. Father Sebastian, the college warden, bitterly opposed plans to close the college. The rest of the staff — Father Martin, Father Peregrine, Father John and lay tutors Emma and George Gregory — also stood to lose their homes and livelihood. Father John had an added reason to hate Crampton: he had been instrumental in sending him to prison. There’s a visiting police inspector, convinced Crampton murdered his first wife, and odd-job man Eric Surtees — did Crampton know his secret? Glamorous tutor Emma Lavenham, one of the few women at the retreat, also arouses Dalgliesh’s attention, and not just as a potential murder suspect. In the closed and claustrophobic atmosphere of the college, Dalgliesh slowly unravels his most complicated case to date. /TV-PG/

October 10, 2004, 10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.-NEW-VISIONES: LATINO ART AND CULTURE -- Latino artists across the United States take center stage in this groundbreaking six-part television series. Viewers experience the world of Latino artistic _expression as the series journeys throughout the country, capturing rich stories about theater, music, dance, spoken word and the visual arts. From New York City’s hip-hop culture to mural painters in Los Angeles and Chicago to theater in Texas, the series offers a unique cross-section of Latino artists working today. #106 -- Episode Six -- The final episode features the history of salsa music and dance in Philadelphia, the first Mexican-American Prima Ballerina Evelyn Cisneros, Tejana music pioneer Lydia Mendoza and the father of Chicano music and National Medal of Arts recipient, Lalo Guerrero. The salsa segment includes commentary on renowned performers Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. Lydia Mendoza was part of the early emerging recording industry in the United States. At a time when Spanish language music was exclusively imported from Mexico and Latin America, she began recording the original music in Texas. She along with Lalo Guerrero made a mark in American music. Guerrero is best known for his musical parodies.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2004 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.: ANTIQUES ROADSHOW -- The series presents a winning lineup of shows with host Lara Spencer. /TV-PG/ (series) #806W -- “San Francisco” (Hour Three) (R) (OB: 2/9/04) -- ANTIQUES ROADSHOW host Lara Spencer and appraiser Gary Sohmers of Wex Rex Collectibles flash back to the1960s and San Francisco’s psychedelic music and art scene with a visit to a North Beach poster shop. Back at the Moscone Convention Center, everything’s groovy, including a remarkable set of autographed pictures of the hottest Hollywood starlets circa 1942 — Veronica Lake, Rita Hayworth and Lucille Ball among them; a 1920s Art Deco engagement ring with a perfect “azure” cut diamond; and a Picasso-designed souvenir jug worth an unforgettable $5,000.

9 p.m. to 11 p.m.: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE -- Television’s longest-running, most-watched history series, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that helped form this nation. Now in its 16th season, the series has produced over 150 programs and garnered every major broadcast award, most recently three Emmys, for “Ansel Adams: A Documentary Film,” “Seabiscuit” and “The Murder of Emmett Till.” #1507 -- “Transcontinental Railroad” (R) (OB: 1/27/03) -- On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, a boisterous crowd gathered to witness the completion of one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century: the building of the transcontinental railroad. The electrifying moment marked the culmination of six years of grueling work. A remarkable story of greed, innovation and gritty determination, “Transcontinental Railroad” reveals why the railroad was built and how it would shape the nation. /TV-PG/

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2004: 8 to 9 p.m. -NEW- NOVA -- PBS’ premier science series helps viewers — men, women and children of all ages — explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA programs demystify science and technology, and highlight the people involved in scientific pursuits. #3115 -- “The Most Dangerous Woman in America” -- Interweaving biography and social history, this episode tells the extraordinary story of Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary. She gained this notoriety by being the first person in North America to be identified as a healthy carrier of typhoid fever. Despite her indignant protests of innocence, she was incarcerated for years on an island in the East River. Mary Mallon’s saga throws into vivid relief the emerging science of public health, and the social, ethical and legal dilemmas it posed to its pioneers at the turn of the 20th century. /TV-PG/

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2004 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.: CAPTURING THE KILLER CROC (R) (OB: 5/12/04) -- In the heart of Africa, a killer is on the loose. Over the past few years, more than 200 people in the vicinity of Lake Tanganyika have disappeared. It was thought at first their disappearance was the result of tribal warfare or a serial killer. In fact, the killer is a giant, predatory crocodile estimated to be 30 feet long and nearly a century old. This program documents the mission to catch and relocate the croc to safe waters — before he kills again. /TV-PG/

9 p.m. to 11 p.m. DEBATES 2004: A NEWSHOUR SPECIAL REPORT “Presidential Debate” -- The third general election debate between presidential candidates President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry is broadcast live from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Bob Schieffer — CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator, “Face the Nation” — moderates the 90-minute debate. Post-debate commentary and coverage are provided by the NEWSHOUR team of correspondents. /EXEMPT/ (series)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2004 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.-NEW- THE NEW THIS OLD HOUSE HOUR -- America’s favorite home improvement series, the Emmy Award-winning THIS OLD HOUSE, airs in the first half hour of THE NEW THIS OLD HOUSE HOUR. In the second half-hour, ASK THIS OLD HOUSE, host Kevin O’Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey and landscape contractor Roger Cook address specific, viewer-driven home maintenance and repair questions in a dynamic, interactive Q&A format with in-studio demonstrations, new product reviews and “house call” visits. #302 -- Thanks to an accepted bid, THIS OLD HOUSE is now the proud owner of a classic New England farmstead in Carlisle, Massachusetts. To be sure that the house will have all the right amenities, host Kevin O’Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram meet with local real estate agent Laura Baliestiero to see what buyers are looking for in Carlisle. Then, Kevin asks architect Jeremiah Eck to do the design work, and also checks in with the town’s Board of Appeals to understand the bylaws affecting the project. In the second half of the hour, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey makes a House call in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to help homeowner Ziad Tarawneh replace the trap under his bathroom sink. Back in the loft, landscape contractor Roger Cook shows Kevin a few design options for laying out a brick walkway. Later, general contractor Tom Silva shows homeowners Rudd Coffey and Melissa Liazos of Watertown, Massachusetts, how to make their cracked plaster ceiling look like new by covering it with drywall.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2004, 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.-NEW-WASHINGTON WEEK #4416 -- PBS’ longest-running public affairs series features Washington’s top journalists analyzing the week’s top news stories and their effect on the lives of all Americans. Gwen Ifill hosts.

8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.: -NEW-WALL $TREET WEEK WITH FORTUNE #317 -- Geoffrey Colvin, editorial director of Fortune, and veteran business reporter Karen Gibbs co-host WALL $TREET WEEK WITH FORTUNE. Each week, a panel of leaders in business, finance and government joins them to discuss what’s ahead for the financial markets.

9 p.m. to 10 p.m.:-NEW- NOW WITH BILL MOYERS #341 -- Bill Moyers, one of the most recognized and respected journalists in America, anchors this weekly news program, which includes documentary reporting, in-depth one-on-one interviews and articulate commentary to offer viewers relevant and diverse perspectives on the events, issues and ideas that are shaping their world. Flexible in format from week to week, the series also draws on the editorial resources and journalistic strength of NPR News to tap public radio’s brightest talents every week.

10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.-NEW- TUCKER CARLSON: UNFILTERED #117 -- This weekly half-hour public affairs series combines serious, in-depth analysis with the lively wit and commentary of its host and managing editor. Incorporating newsmaker interviews, roundtable discussions with thinkers from across the political spectrum, packaged production briefs and weekly commentaries from Carlson’s unique perspective, the series promises a fast-paced, provocative half hour that will enlighten, engage and inform, encompassing political, social and cultural issues.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2004 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.-NEW- AUSTIN CITY LIMITS -- AUSTIN CITY LIMITS continues its longstanding tradition of showcasing the best of original American music and beyond. Musical styles range from contemporary and traditional pop, rock, country, blues, bluegrass, Latin, folk, roots and more. All find a home on the AUSTIN CITY LIMITS stage. /TV-G/ (series) #3003 -- “Damien Rice/Patty Griffin” -- AUSTIN CITY LIMITS gets introspective as the series brings viewers singer/songwriters Damien Rice and Patty Griffin. Rice is well known in his native Ireland for his intense and category-defying songs. Griffin crafts deeply personal songs that become universally emotional through her graceful voice.

SCHEDULING NOTE RE: PRESIDENTAL DEBATE October 13, 2004: The third planned presidential debate is on October 13. If the major candidates agree to appear, the debate will occur from 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET. If the debate does not occur, PBS will present an encore of JOURNEY OF MAN on October 13, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET. Description below. If the debate does occur on October 13, JOURNEY OF MAN will be softfed for stations who wish to air it (check local listings). 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.: JOURNEY OF MAN (R) (OB: 1/21/03) -- Today, some six billion people are spread across the planet. But there was a time when the human species numbered only a few thousand and the world was a single continent: Africa. Then a small group left their African homeland on a journey into an unknown, hostile world. Against impossible odds, these extraordinary explorers survived and went on to conquer the earth. Their story can finally be told through the science of genetics. Dr. Spencer Wells, a 33-year-old geneticist, has been disentangling this epic story from evidence all people carry with them — in their DNA — inherited from those ancient travelers. Wells travels to every continent in search of the people whose DNA holds humanity’s secret history, including Namibian Bushmen, Chukchi reindeer herders of the Russian Arctic, Native Americans and Australian aborigines. /TV-PG/

Updates from previous listings: September 23, 2004 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. 9/23/04: 9:00-10:00 PM:-NEW- WIDE ANGLE -- With documentaries on Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, France and Colombia, among others, this award-winning international documentary series brings to life the international events and issues that are urgently relevant to Americans today. Through stories of real people affected by current events around the globe, WIDE ANGLE shows viewers the humanity behind the headlines. Mishal Husain, “BBC World News” anchor, hosts the series’ third season. #309 -- “Red Lines and Deadlines” -- Twenty-five years after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the struggle for political reform is the big story. With rare access, WIDE ANGLE films behind the scenes with the young reporters of one of Iran’s leading reformist newspapers. Founded less than a year ago and already Iran’s fourth largest daily, the Shargh newspaper (its name means simply East) has quickly built a loyal readership among Iran’s intellectuals, opinion makers, politicians and the young. Its photography and design borrow from The New Yorker and London’s Independent; its chief economics editor is 23 years old. With such a youthful staff (the average age is 28), with more female journalists than any other paper, and committed to professional journalism and neutral reporting, Shargh is a lightning rod for censorship. Indeed, its own editors evaluate constantly what stories to print without crossing an indefinable line. Authorities have closed the paper down once already, on the eve of the February 19 election, for printing an open letter from reformist MPs to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei criticizing the disqualification of more than 2,000 reformist candidates. The program documents three weeks in the life of this remarkable newspaper, following reporters out on stories ranging from Saddam Hussein’s first appearance in court; to a horrific bus collision that exposes Iran’s abysmal road safety record; to the trial of a professor sentenced to death for criticizing the ruling clerics; to the death of Marlon Brando. The story of these daring journalists, who struggle to report the news without incurring the “blade of censorship” they say is an ever-present threat, offers powerful insight into the complexities of today’s Iran.

Barbie Sings and Dances (Yes, She Does): The world's most famous fashion doll, Barbie, is coming to DVD in her first animated musical, Barbie as The Princess and The Pauper, featuring songs by Megan Cavallari and Amy Powers. One of the music industry's only female composer/songwriter teams, Cavallari & Powers created music for the movie that will support a "smarter and more empowered" Barbie for children and their parents. Featuring Martin Short, Barbie as The Princess and The Pauper will be released domestically and internationally in 21 languages on September 28, 2004. The DVD package includes a bonus soundtrack CD.

Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper is a computer-animated movie showcasing for the first time Barbie’s singing talents. Barbie plays dual roles as the princess and the pauper. Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper teaches girls lessons of self-empowerment and delivers the message that "every person has a gift and in that gift lies his or her destiny." Barbie, Ken and friends are all brought to life by Mainframe Entertainment's amazing CGI animation.

Cavallari & Powers' original music has been featured in productions for FOX, HBO, Warner Bros., Paramount, Miramax, Showtime, Disney, Disneytunes, Disney Channel, Hanna-Barbera and DIC. They are presently writing songs for Mattel's Little People.

Cavallari and Powers met at the BMI Musical Theatre workshop in New York, where they developed The Game, a critically acclaimed musical based on the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a production successfully tested for Broadway in August 2003 at the Barrington Stage Company. In addition to being commissioned to write music for projects, Cavallari and Powers also create and produce new work in TV, animation, musical theatre and film.

Megan Cavallari began her music career as Danny Elfman's music and vocal assistant on six motion pictures, most notably Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and Dolores Claiborne. She has worked as a songwriter, score and song composer, music producer and orchestrator on television shows including Happily Ever After and Captain Kangaroo, and on films such as A Christmas Carol starring Whoopi Goldberg, All Dogs Go To Heaven and Oliver Twist. Cavallari has received numerous awards including the ASCAP Film Music Award, the BMI Film Music Award and the Dramatists Guild Musical Theater Award.

Amy Powers' first published songs, "As if We Never Said Goodbye" and "With One Look" achieved international renown in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard. Her first film effort, "When We Were Kings," was the title track to the Academy Award-winning movie of the same name. A writer for pop and country as well as musicals and animation, her work has been recorded by multi-platinum artists including Barbra Streisand, Brian McKnight, Diamond Rio, Alabama and OV7. Powers has written opening and end title songs for films including Ella Enchanted and Sweet Home Alabama.

Very Interesting Piece from Salon.Com on The Bush Family: George W. Bush's missing year: The widow of a Bush family confidant says her husband gave the future president an Alabama Senate campaign job as a favor to his worried father. Did they see him do any National Guard service? "Good lord, no."

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Mary Jacoby

Sept. 2, 2004 | NEW YORK -- Before there was Karl Rove, Lee Atwater or even James Baker, the Bush family's political guru was a gregarious newspaper owner and campaign consultant from Midland, Texas, named Jimmy Allison. In the spring of 1972, George H.W. Bush phoned his friend and asked a favor: Could Allison find a place on the Senate campaign he was managing in Alabama for his troublesome eldest son, the 25-year-old George W. Bush?

"The impression I had was that Georgie was raising a lot of hell in Houston, getting in trouble and embarrassing the family, and they just really wanted to get him out of Houston and under Jimmy's wing," Allison's widow, Linda, told me. "And Jimmy said, 'Sure.' He was so loyal."

Linda Allison's story, never before published, contradicts the Bush campaign's assertion that George W. Bush transferred from the Texas Air National Guard to the Alabama National Guard in 1972 because he received an irresistible offer to gain high-level experience on the campaign of Bush family friend Winton "Red" Blount. In fact, according to what Allison says her late husband told her, the younger Bush had become a political liability for his father, who was then the United States ambassador to the United Nations, and the family wanted him out of Texas. "I think they wanted someone they trusted to keep an eye on him," Linda Allison said.

After more than three decades of silence, Allison spoke with Salon over several days before and during the Republican National Convention this week -- motivated, as she acknowledged, by a complex mixture of emotions. They include pride in her late husband's accomplishments, a desire to see him remembered, and concern about the apparent double standard in Bush surrogates attacking John Kerry's Vietnam War record while ignoring the president's irresponsible conduct during the war. She also admits to bewilderment and hurt over the rupture her husband experienced in his friendship with George and Barbara Bush. To this day, Allison is unsure what caused the break, though she suspects it had something to do with her husband's opposition to the elder Bush becoming chairman of the Republican National Committee under President Nixon.

"Something happened that I don't know about. But I do know that Jimmy didn't expect it, and it broke his heart," she said, describing a ruthless side to the genial Bush clan of which few outsiders are aware.

Personal history aside, Allison's recollections of the young George Bush in Alabama in 1972 are relevant as a contrast to the medals for valor and bravery that Kerry won in Vietnam in the same era. An apparent front group for the Bush campaign, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, has attacked Kerry in television ads as a liar and traitor to veterans for later opposing a war that cost 58,000 American lives. Bush, who has resisted calls from former Vietnam War POW John McCain, R-Ariz., to repudiate the Swift Boat ads, has said he served honorably in the National Guard.

Allison's account corroborates a Washington Post investigation in February that found no credible witnesses to the service in the Alabama National Guard that Bush maintains he performed, despite a lack of documentary evidence. Asked if she'd ever seen Bush in a uniform, Allison said: "Good lord, no. I had no idea that the National Guard was involved in his life in any way." Allison also confirmed previously published accounts that Bush often showed up in the Blount campaign offices around noon, boasting about how much alcohol he had consumed the night before. (Bush has admitted that he was a heavy drinker in those years, but he has refused to say whether he also used drugs).

"After about a month I asked Jimmy what was Georgie's job, because I couldn't figure it out. I never saw him do anything. He told me it basically consisted of him contacting people who were impressed by his name and asking for contributions and support," Allison said.

C. Murphy Archibald, a nephew of Red Blount by marriage and a Vietnam veteran who volunteered on the campaign from September 1972 until election night, corroborated Allison's recollections, though he doesn't recall that the Bush name carried much cachet in Alabama at the time. "I say that because the scuttlebutt on the campaign was that Allison was very sharp and might actually be able to pull off this difficult race" against the incumbent Democrat, Sen. John Sparkman, Archibald said. "But then no one understood why he brought this young guy from Texas along. It was like, 'Who was this guy who comes in late and leaves early? And why would Jimmy Allison, who was so impressive, bring him on?'"

Bush, who had a paid slot as Allison's deputy in a campaign staffed largely by volunteers, sat in a little office next to Allison's, said Archibald, a workers compensation lawyer in Charlotte, N.C. Indeed, when Bush was actually there, he did make phone calls to county chairmen. But he neglected his other duty: the mundane but important task of mailing out campaign materials to the county campaign chairs. Archibald took up the slack, at Allison's request. "Jimmy didn't say anything about George. He just said, 'These materials are not getting out. It's causing the candidate problems. Will you take it over?'"

While Kerry earned a Silver Star and a Bronze Star after saving a crewmate's life under fire on the Mekong River in Vietnam, by contrast, the Georgie that Allison knew was a young man whose parents did not allow him to live with the consequences of his own mistakes. His powerful father -- whom the son seemed to both idolize and resent -- was a lifeline for Bush out of predicaments. After Bush graduated from Yale in 1968, his slot in the Texas Air National Guard allowed him to avoid active duty service in Vietnam. The former speaker of the Texas state House, Democrat Ben Barnes, now admits he pulled strings to get Bush his coveted guard slot, and says he's "ashamed" of the deed. "60 Minutes" will air an interview with Barnes next Wednesday, but George H.W. Bush denounced Barnes' claims in an interview aired on CBS. "They keep saying that and it's a lie, a total lie. Nobody's come up with any evidence, and yet it's repeated all the time," the former president said, in what could just as well describe the playbook for the Swift Boat Veterans ads.

Yet, after receiving unusual permission to transfer to the Alabama Guard from Texas, Bush has produced no evidence he showed up for service for anything other than a dental exam. Later, Bush would trade on his father's connections to enter the oil business, and when his ventures failed, trade on more connections to find investors to bail him out. Linda Allison's story fills in the details about a missing chapter in the story of how George Bush Sr.'s friends helped his wastrel son. The Bush campaign, decamped to New York for the convention, did not return a phone call by late Wednesday.

A graceful blonde with a Texas drawl, Linda Allison now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in an apartment decorated in the dusky tones of Tuscany with a magnificent view of the high-rises framing Central Park. I visited her there Monday on the opening night of the Republican National Convention as she related publicly for the first time her long and ultimately painful history with the Bush family. On the table between us were two photographs of her late husband -- an elfin man with curly hair, shown in animated conversation. From her drawers she pulled out old letters and notes from Barbara Bush, George H.W. Bush and even one from George W. Bush, written to Jimmy in 1978 as he was dying of cancer.

Jimmy Allison's family owned the Midland Reporter-Telegram and other small-town newspapers, and they were part of the establishment in the West Texas oil town where Bush senior made his fortune and Bush junior grew up. Still, Allison has been almost completely forgotten in the semi-official stories of the Bush dynasty's rise; his role as political fixer and family friend has been airbrushed out of Barbara Bush's autobiography and other accounts. But he was one of the originators of what evolved into the GOP's "Southern strategy," helping George H.W. Bush win election to Congress in 1966 at a time when Republicans in Texas were virtually unheard of.

The Blount Senate campaign he ran against the Democrat, Sparkman, in 1972 was notable for a dirty racial trick: The Blount side edited a transcript of a radio interview Sparkman had given to make it appear he supported busing, a poison position at that time in the South. When Sparkman found an unedited script and exposed the trick, the Blount campaign was finished. But it was an early introduction for Bush to the kinds of tricks that later Republican strategists associated with the Bush political machine, from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove, would use against Democrats, often to victorious effect.

After Bush won a House seat in 1966, Allison followed his patron to Washington as the top staffer in his congressional office and served as deputy director of the Republican National Committee in 1969 and 1970 under President Nixon. It was Allison who advised George W. Bush to return to Midland after Harvard Business School to seek his business fortune in the booming oil industry, advice that Bush recalled fondly in a 2001 speech in Midland. When Allison died at age 46, after an agonizing battle with lymphoma, both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush served as pallbearers.

"Aide, confidant, campaign manager, source of joke material, alter ego -- Allison and Bush were bonded by an uncommon loyalty," former Reagan White House deputy press secretary Peter Roussel, who got his start in politics when Allison invited him to work for Bush's 1968 congressional reelection campaign, wrote in a 1988 newspaper column dedicated to Allison.

Linda, too, had a long, though not as close, relationship with the Bushes. She remembers watching Bush in 1964 at a campaign appearance at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, when she was 32 years old and he was running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. "He was so appealing to me. He said all the things that I believed in, and he wasn't like all the other Republicans running in Texas at that time, who were real right-wingers. He had a bigger vision of what the Republican Party could be. I volunteered for his campaign that day, and that's how I ended up being his Dallas County headquarters chairman." Over the years, Linda kept volunteering with the local Republican Party. "And they gave me bigger and bigger things to do. They appreciated me. And I felt like I belonged to something," she said.

But it was also this sense of being connected to a larger, more powerful force that seduced the Allisons -- a trap that many aides and friends of important politicians fall into. The dynamic allowed the Bushes -- Barbara especially, Allison said -- to manipulate the friends and supporters they needed to further their ambitions, a lesson she says could not have been lost on the young George. "They had a way of anointing you, then pushing you out," she said. "It was like a mind game. It was very subtle, very hard to describe. But when you were out, you wanted desperately to be let back in." It was how she and Jimmy felt when, in 1973, they experienced a strange and, to Allison, never fully explained rupture with the Bushes, which took place against the backdrop of boorish behavior by their son that persisted during the time he was nominally under the Allisons' care.

The break happened not long after a boozy election-night wake for Blount, who lost his Senate bid to the incumbent Democrat, John Sparkman. Leaving the election-night "celebration," Allison remembers encountering George W. Bush in the parking lot, urinating on a car, and hearing later about how he'd yelled obscenities at police officers that night. Bush left a house he'd rented in Montgomery trashed -- the furniture broken, walls damaged and a chandelier destroyed, the Birmingham News reported in February. "He was just a rich kid who had no respect for other people's possessions," Mary Smith, a member of the family who rented the house, told the newspaper, adding that a bill sent to Bush for repairs was never paid. And a month later, in December, during a visit to his parents' home in Washington, Bush drunkenly challenged his father to go "mano a mano," as has often been reported.

Around the same time, for the 1972 Christmas holiday, the Allisons met up with the Bushes on vacation in Hobe Sound, Fla. Tension was still evident between Bush and his parents. Linda was a passenger in a car driven by Barbara Bush as they headed to lunch at the local beach club. Bush, who was 26 years old, got on a bicycle and rode in front of the car in a slow, serpentine manner, forcing his mother to crawl along. "He rode so slowly that he kept having to put his foot down to get his balance, and he kept in a weaving pattern so we couldn't get past," Allison recalled. "He was obviously furious with his mother about something, and she was furious at him, too."

Jimmy, meanwhile, had larger issues on his mind. According to Linda, he was hoping to use the visit in Florida to convince Bush to turn down the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee because he didn't trust Nixon or his palace guard. "He had been so appalled at the Ehrlichman, Haldeman, Colson group, and he thought they'd sacrifice George. He just wanted to warn him, as a friend," Allison told me.

Apparently, Jimmy Allison's advice was not appreciated. In Hobe Sound, Bush senior kept trying to avoid talking with Jimmy about the RNC, Allison said. Then later, as the Allisons took their leave, Barbara "thanked" them for their Christmas present with unexpected cruelty. "She said, 'I'm so sorry, but we've been so busy this year that we didn't have time to do anything for our political acquaintances.' I swear to God, I'll never forget those two words as long as I live. For her to say that was absolutely appalling. Mind you, Jimmy was an old, old friend. And I had stayed as a houseguest with the Bushes, been invited in my pajamas into their bedroom to read the papers and drink coffee while Bar rode her exercise bicycle.

"Big George was just stricken by this," Allison continued. "There was a wet bar in the hall on the way to the front door. He grabbed this moldy bottle of Mai Tai that he said had been given to him by the president of China, and he said we just had to have it. Then he plucked this ostrich egg in a beaded bag from a shelf that he said had been given to him by the ambassador to the U.N. from Nigeria or someplace, and gave it to us. Can you imagine how embarrassing that was?" (The alcohol was likely a bottle of Mao-Tai, a strong Chinese liquor.)

The Allisons found they were no longer being invited to the Sunday cookouts the Bushes held to chew over the week's political events. And though Jimmy had once been deputy chairman of the RNC, when Bush chaired the committee, he "couldn't even get invited to a cocktail party there," Allison said. The freeze-out was subtle and surgical. "It took us some time to realize we'd been lopped off," she said. At home, the Allisons once decided to try that dusty bottle of Mao Tai from China that Bush had thrust into their hands in Hobe Sound. They were unable to drink the liquor. "It was so foul. The smell that came out of that thing! We just looked at each other," Allison said.

By 1978, Jimmy was dying. Whether out of guilt, genuine affection for old times or a desire to maintain appearances with a revered member of the Midland establishment, the Bushes responded with warmth. Jimmy's heart soared, Allison said.

George W. Bush, then running unsuccessfully for Congress, wrote his old mentor a letter. "Every person I see in Midland asks about you and sends their regards," Bush wrote. "Like a younger brother, I have treasured your advice, your guidance and most importantly your never selfish friendship." And shortly before he died, George H.W. Bush -� by then an executive at a bank in Houston after having served as head of the Central Intelligence Agency -� invited Jimmy back to his home. Elated, Jimmy persuaded the doctors to discharge him for the visit, Linda said. But Linda, who was not consulted, was incensed. Though she drove him to the Bushes, she refused to go in. "I was so furious. I had no way to take care of him. He was so weak, and they had taken him off the morphine, and he was in great pain," she said.

In a letter to the editor of Allison's newspaper in Midland after his death, Bush recalled that day: "He swam and relaxed. He was very weak but the warm water soothed him. He gave us hope. 'I'm going to make it,' he said."

But soon after Linda picked him up, Jimmy crashed. "He was in so much pain. It was unreal." At the emergency room, he waited 10 hours for medical attention. "I begged them to do something. I begged," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. "He was in so much pain. I was so angry." Jimmy died about a week later.

More than a quarter century later, George W. Bush is running for reelection as a "war" president. At the Republican Convention, delegates pass out Purple Heart stickers mocking Kerry's Vietnam wounds as "a self-inflicted scratch," and George H.W. Bush, speaking on CNN, lauds the Swift Boat Veterans' claims against Kerry as "rather compelling." Karl Rove tells the Associated Press that Kerry's opposition to a war that Bush avoided had served to "tarnish the records and service of people who were defending our country and fighting communism." Barbara Bush tells USA Today: "I die over every untruth that I hear about George -- I mean, every one."

Linda Allison watches it all from her New York apartment. About George W. Bush's disputed sojourn in Alabama, she asks simply: "Can we all be lying?"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

About the writer Mary Jacoby is Salon's Washington correspondent.

Today's Unfortunate Stall

Due to the surgery today of a BeansTalk family member, it's likely the newsletter will be post-poned. If there's time, one will appear. Thanks much!

BBC's Alistair Appleton of "Cash in the Attic" (btw, how CUTE is he?) 

Sparkly Bags, Singers and Dissin' the GOP

Cool Quote: "George W. Bush is running on a platform of tragedy — the single
greatest failure of national defense in our history, the attacks of 9/11 in
which 19 men with box cutters put this nation into a tailspin, a failure the
details of which the White House fought to keep secret even as it ran the country
into hock up to the hubcaps, thanks to generous tax cuts for the well-fixed,
hoping to lead us into a box canyon of debt that will render government impotent,
even as we engage in a war against a small country that was undertaken for the
president's personal satisfaction but sold to the American public on the basis
of brazen misinformation, a war whose purpose is to distract us from an enormous
transfer of wealth taking place in this country, flowing upward, and the deception
is working beautifully." From, "We're not in Lake Woebegon anymore," by Garrison Keillor

Who’s Wearing (or Carrying) What: Hilary Duff, star of A Cinderella Story,

carried an evening bag by Daniel Swarovski to the MTV Video Awards.

She set off her black ensemble with a brown velvet clutch covered with

bronze and gold Swarovski crystals in varying shapes and sizes.

The following celebs were carrying these Judith Leiber bags to the VMAs:

Lil Kim
Style O40004
Crystal Minaudiere in white $1,045

Ashanti
Style O40058J
Slender Curved Minaudiere in Red $1,495

Carmen Electra
Style O40047J
Crystal Minaudiere $1,235


BBC Shows: Practical jokes, a hidden camera and a few unsuspecting victims - the laughs are on BBC AMERICA this fall in an all-new hidden camera comedy premiere, Just For Laughs, Saturdays and Sundays beginning October 2 and October 3, 2004 at 2 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. PT.

Getting married should be the best experience of a person's life - but for Mel Cook (Sarah

Alexander, Coupling, Smack The Pony) and Howard Steel (Ben Miller, The Prince and Me,

Johnny English) it turns into the week from hell... All the tension, mishaps and nightmares

that befall a bride and groom during the week leading up to their wedding are explored to

hilarious effect in BBC AMERICA's latest original comedy premiere, The Worst Week of

My Life, Sundays from September 26, 2004 at 9 p.m. ET\PT.

BBC AMERICA turns clutter into cash and dreams into reality in an all-new season of Cash in
the Attic, premiering Tuesdays beginning September 28, 2004 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Alternating
hosts Alistair Appleton and Lorne Spicer join forces with antiques experts, Jonty Hearndon and Paul Hayes, as they delve into more attics, closets, basements and cupboards to uncover hidden treasure in people's homes. The items then go under the hammer at an auction house and, with any luck, bring in enough money to help fund a family's dream.

BBC AMERICA presents a mountain rescue drama about life and love on the edge - Scotland's Nevis mountain range can take your breath away. But its awesome beauty can have a cruel heart - as all too many have tragically discovered. The hauntingly beautiful mountains of Scotland's Highlands serve as the backdrop for BBC AMERICA's captivating new mountain rescue drama Rockface, premiering Fridays beginning October 1, 2004 at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT. Set in the fictitious town of Glentannoch in the Highlands of Scotland, Rockface follows the lives and loves of a volunteer Mountain Rescue Team brought together by their passion for the hills and dedication to saving lives.

Duran Duran Update: DURAN DURAN’S “SUNRISE:” “A BLAST OF FRESH AIR” FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN 21 YEARS ‘ASTRONAUT’ SET FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 12, 2004 ON EPIC New York, NY-- There’s no stopping Duran Duran, who have reunited for their first studio album in 21 years on October 12, 2004 (Epic) entitled ‘Astronaut.’ “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise,” the band’s first single, “is a blast of fresh air,” exclaims Billboard in an “Essential Review” of the single on newsstands this week. “The uptempo dance/ rock track has a thrilling, uplifting chorus....Simply put, this is a new day for Duran Duran. The group, along with producer Don Gilmore, has captured a mood and spirit sure to bring a smile to fans' faces.... “

"(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" – which was one of the first tracks to be written for the band's new album during a month-long writing and pre-production session in the South of France over a year-and-a-half ago - is a classic Duran Duran anthem in-the-making - a real feel-good record that comes to life with boundless energy and emotion. Rich with the distinctive sound of LeBon’s powerful vocals, Nick Rhodes’ familiar keyboard landscape and the reunited Taylor Trio rhythm and bass grooves, ‘Sunrise’ has a signature Duran Duran sound for the new millennium.

“(Reach Up For The) Sunrise” was written by Duran Duran and recorded at London’s Sphere Studios with producer Don Gilmore (Good Charlotte, Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne, Pearl Jam). Jeremy Wheatley (Massive Attack, Sugababes and The Dandy Warhol’s) mixed the track at Olympic Studios in London.

Yellowcard: Yellowcard has won the "MTV2 Award" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, held in Miami. The winner of the MTV2 Award is chosen by the network's viewers through online voting in the weeks leading up to the awards broadcast. Additionally, Yellowcard's live performance of their hit "Ocean Avenue" was an awards highlight. Yellowcard's third single, "Only One," is now a Modern Rock hit and will go to Mainstream Top 40 tomorrow. The Phil Harder-directed video, which stars frontman Ryan Key and actress Rachel Miner, is top ten at MTV's "TRL" and can be seen here: http://www.yellowcardrock.com/onlyone

JESSI ALEXANDER: “LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME!” Singer/songwriter Jessi Alexander's new single is "Make Me Stay or Make Me Go." Delivered to radio stations this past week, the bittersweet song is from her debut album 'Honeysuckle Sweet' (Columbia). According to Alexander, the single reflects "the endless struggle most of us felt at one time or another; LOVE me or LEAVE me!!!" "Make Me Stay or Make Me Go" was co-written with producer Gary Nicholson and Al Anderson (The Mavericks, Etta James, and others). "Al brought the infectious groove, [and] Gary put the words in just the right places," continues Alexander. The daughter of an artist and musician in Jackson, Tennessee, Alexander was named for outlaw country star Jessi Colter. She traces her passion for music to the days and nights she spent with her father and his musician friends in the clubs of Memphis. While studying social work at Middle Tennessee State, Alexander found the pull of nearby Nashville and its wealth of music impossible to ignore. She left school and soon became a staff writer for Warner-Chappell before she was discovered by Sony Music Nashville president John Grady. Jessi Alexander continues a promotional tour this fall including performances at BB Kings Blues Club in NYC on September 16th, the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on October 20th opening for Joe Ely and the Borderline in London on November 16, 2004. ‘Honeysuckle Sweet’ will be released on Columbia Records on January 25, 2005. www.jessialexander.com or www.shorefire.com/artists/jalexander

What the Republicans Are Up To: Not sure of the original origin of this, but this sked was sent to me via e-mail:

Republican Convention Schedule, Revised (9:47 EST)


6:00pm - Opening prayer
6:15pm - Supplementary opening prayer
6:30pm - Prayer in thanks of first two prayers
6:45pm - New energy policy presented by Exxon
7:00pm - Canonization of Reagan
7:15pm - Additional prayers
7:30pm - Opening remarks by Halliburton
8:00pm - Prayer for the safety and well-being of Ken Lay
8:15pm - Additional remarks by Halliburton
8:30pm - Stoning of the first homosexual
8:45pm - New healthcare polices presented by HMO leader, Kaiser Permanente
9:00pm - Invasion of Iran or North Korea,.... perhaps both (TBA)
9:15pm - Halliburton contributes 1.4 billion to Republican party
9: 30pm - Reagan elevated to savior, Holy Trinity now referred to as "the quads"
9:45pm - Bush undergoes plastic surgery to look more like Reagan
10:00pm - Cheney runs into Ron Reagan, Jr. Tells him to go fuck himself
10:15pm - Recall of troops from accidental invasion of South Korea
10:30pm - Burning at the stake of 16 year-old Jenny Williams, who had an
illegal abortion after being raped by her cousin
10:45pm - Dancing around the golden calf
11:00pm - Stoning of the partner of the first homosexual
11:15pm - New forestry policy presented by Weyerhaeuser
11:45pm - Thanking God for his wisdom in choosing Bush as president
12:00pm - Closing prayers (lasting until 2:00am)
2:00 am - Hookers arrive for all delegates

New Designers Intro: Neiman Marcus is touting the arrival of designs by new designers, including Walter (trendy jackets), Ernest Swann (denim), Ilsli (sequined tops), Cris Sweaters, Franklin Elman (footwear), Rene Caovilla (evening shoes), Tanner Kroll (handbags).

Resigning Ronald’s Home: TLC star designer Doug Wilson is rolling up his shirtsleeves to work on a special project. During the week of September 12, 2004 Wilson and a team of workers will redesign the family room at the Grand Rapids, Michigan Ronald McDonald House. The makeover inaugurates a one-year national partnership between Discovery Networks and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) announced in April 2004 that includes a specific partnership between TLC’s TRADING SPACES: FAMILY and Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

Wilson will lead a team of craftspeople and volunteers to completely transform the family room in the Grand Rapids Ronald McDonald House, currently home to 17 families. Resident families will see the redesigned room for the first time on Saturday, September 18. The makeover will be chronicled in a series of eight on-air vignettes that tell the story of the Ronald McDonald House and will air during TRADING SPACES: FAMILY throughout October. Wilson will also tape a public service announcement (PSA) encouraging viewer donations to RMHC.

“Extending our talent, resources and brand to contribute to such an amazing cause is an important part of TLC’s mission and vision,” Roger Marmet, general manager, TLC, said. “We’re proud to partner with Ronald McDonald House Charities on such a worthwhile initiative.”

"Among the hundreds of rooms I’ve designed on Trading Spaces, this one holds a very special place in my heart," Wilson said. "I can't wait to bring new energy and vibrance to the Ronald McDonald House in Grand Rapids through design that will hopefully touch the spirits of the families who call it home." Wilson appears on TLC’s TRADING SPACES and TRADING SPACES: FAMILY, and will soon host upcoming series AMERICA’S UGLIEST (premieres October 24 from 9-11PM ET/PT) and MOVING UP (premieres in January 2005).
"We are excited to partner with TLC's TRADING SPACES: FAMILY and Doug Wilson on this makeover project," said Ken Barun, president and CEO, Ronald McDonald House Charities. "Our Ronald McDonald Houses are designed to bring comfort to families whose children are receiving care at nearby hospitals. Doug's creativity and style will certainly make the family room a fun and enjoyable space for guests."

The Ronald McDonald House of West Michigan opened on March 23, 1990. All hospitals and treatment programs in Grand Rapids are welcome to refer parents who have children 21 or younger receiving inpatient or outpatient care. The RMHWM will provide a Home Away From Home, where the ever-changing needs of children and families receiving pediatric services will be met with people and programs of compassion, commitment and integrity. The house itself is a 19,000 square foot farm style home with 17 bedrooms, private baths, large family kitchen, dining room, playroom, recreation room with big screen television and pool table, laundry, great room, and sun room on five acres of park-like yard.

Now in its second season, TRADING SPACES: FAMILY provides two neighboring families with $1,000 each, a professional designer, a carpenter, and 48 hours to redo a room of their choice. But there’s a catch – they have to switch houses, and they have no say in how their own room will look. After two days of grueling work, the rooms are totally transformed. How will they react to their brand new rooms? TRADING SPACES: FAMILY is hosted by Joe Farrell and airs on TLC Sunday nights at 7PM ET/PT.

Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most - right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children's lives through its global network of 181 local Chapters in 48 countries and its three core programs: the Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Family Room and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded more than $400 million in grants to children's programs around the world. For more information, visit www.rmhc.org.