• Gracie Allen could make a stand when a stand was necessary. A dry cleaner ruined a dress that she had taken to him, but he refused to pay for the dress. That evening, in the middle of the vaudeville act she performed with her husband, George Burns, she told the audience about the dry-cleaning incident and recommended that they not patronize that particular establishment, then she went on with the act. The next day, the dry cleaner paid her the money for the dress he had ruined.
• Impressionist/comedian George Kirby wanted a job with Count Basie. Therefore, Mr. Kirby went to a concert by Count Basie and his orchestra. Count Basie used to sit at a piano, plink a note and have his drummer enter, plink another note and have another band member enter, and so on until the entire band was on stage. Mr. Kirby, without authorization, walked on stage, and impersonated Count Basie to the audience’s delight. Count Basie also enjoyed the joke, and he hired Mr. Kirby.
• Jackie Gleason was known for drinking heavily. A friend locked up his liquor cabinet to keep Mr. Gleason from getting loaded, but when he came home, he discovered that Mr. Gleason was drunk. Remarkably, even though the liquor cabinet was still locked, the booze containers were empty. (Mr. Gleason had used a screwdriver to remove the back of the liquor cabinet. After drinking the liquor, he screwed the back of the cabinet on again.)
• Rags Ragland played big, dumb guys in forties movies. While he was working in burlesque, a young comic kept trying too hard to get laughs and steal the scene from him, so Mr. Ragland warned the comic to stop stepping on his lines or he would nail him to the floor. The young comic ignored him, so Mr. Ragland got a hammer and nails and nailed the soles of the comic’s shoes to the floor, then left him on stage as the other acts performed.
• British comedian Benny Hill suffered from stage fright, so when he had to appear live, he often carried a heavy book to keep his hands from shaking.
Rehearsals
• Jimmy Durante and Carol Channing rehearsed and rehearsed a comedy scene for his show. Finally, a bystander interrupted them and said, “What are you still rehearsing for? Both of you know the scene. I think maybe you’re just a little nervous.” Mr. Durante simply smiled at Ms. Channing and said, “Ah, the confidence of the amateur.”
• Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle spent decades making people laugh. After Mr. Berle had guested on Mr. Gleason’s TV show, Mr. Gleason said, “We did good, Milton,” and Mr. Berle replied, “We did good, Jackie.” Then Mr. Gleason said, “How could we be bad? I’ve been rehearsing for 35 years—and you 50.”
Revenge
• Once an older comic asked comedian Henny Youngman to give him some jokes, saying he would pay him for the jokes later that evening. Mr. Youngman agreed, gave him the jokes, and showed up for their rendezvous later that day. The older comic drove up in his fancy car, but ignored Mr. Youngman, leaving him unpaid on the pavement while the older comic went inside a fancy restaurant to dine with his friends. However, Mr. Youngman was able to get revenge. He saw some sign painters working nearby, so he told them that he was almost broke and had decided to sell his car. He then hired them to paint “For Sale—$25” on the older comic’s fancy car.
• Some sexist comedians make jokes about forcing their girlfriends to sleep on the “wet spot” following sex. Canadian comedian Meg Soper responds by saying that if her boyfriend ever tries to make her sleep on the wet spot, she is going to give him no further opportunities to make wet spots.
• It wasn’t smart to mess with silent film comedian Mabel Normand. She once got into a major argument with movie executive Abraham Lehr, so she backed him into a corner, sprayed him with her perfume, then told his wife that she had seen him leaving a high-class, very expensive cathouse.
In the adventure novel Treasure Island (originally The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys) by Robert Louis Stevenson, what is the name of Long John Silver's parrot?
Cocking a snook is a sign of derision or contempt, made by putting the thumb on the nose, holding the palm open and perpendicular to the face, and wiggling the remaining fingers. It is used mostly by schoolchildren, often combined with verbal insults, sticking out the tongue or blowing a raspberry.
It is also known as thumbing the nose, Anne's Fan or Queen Anne's Fan.
The phrase can be used figuratively: the Oxford English Dictionary cites a 1938 usage "The Rome–Berlin axis..cocked the biggest snook yet at the League of Nations idea" by Eric Ambler in his Cause for Alarm.
Source
Billy in Cypress was first, and correct, with:
Thumbing the nose
Mark. said:
Thumbing one's nose.
Randall wrote:
the raspberry?
Alan J answered:
A Raspberry.
Jacqueline responded:
Five finger salute.
Mac Mac replied:
Five finger salute
Dave said:
Thumbing the nose. More often the middle finger is displayed to show contempt in America. That said it seems that assholes like Turd Blossom and the English Trump sometimes employ it.
Roy, the socially distant libtard snowflake in Tyler, TX wrote:
Yeah, those Brits know how to call it what it is. When you cock a snook, you place your hand so
that your thumb touches your nose and your fingers are spread out, in order to express contempt.
Deborah, the Master Gardener responded:
In the U.S. it’s also known as a “Five-finger Salute.” Touch your thumb to your nose, open your palm, wiggle your fingers and blow a raspberry. I haven’t done that since I was a kid.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, said:
Thumbing your nose
Cal in Vermont wrote:
Thumb on nose fingers all a-wiggle?
DJ Useo answered:
Where I grew up in Southern Michigan near the Indiana border, it was known as "razzing", & was a joke insult.
Not nearly as offensive as "giving the middle finger'. Normally it was accompanied with a tongue plimpf.
Joe replied:
I don't know, but I think it's thumbing your nose. I could be right, I'm just guessing. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.
mj took the day off.
Jon L took the day off.
Stephen F took the day off.
John I from Hawai`i took the day off.
Rosemary in Columbus took the day off.
Barbara, of Peppy Tech fame took the day off.
Leo in Boise took the day off.
Daniel in The City took the day off.
David of Moon Valley took the day off.
Dave in Tucson took the day off.
Bob from Mechanicsburg, Pa took the day off.
Michelle in AZ took the day off.
Kevin K. in Washington DC took the day off.
Ed K took the day off.
Doug in Albuquerque, New Mexico, took the day off.
-pgw took the day off.
Kenn B took the day off.
Micki took the day off.
Angelo D took the day off.
Harry M. took the day off.
George M. took the day off.
Gary K took the day off.
Roy the (now retired) hoghead (aka 'hoghed') ( Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. ~Frank Zappa ) took the day off.
Saskplanner took the day off.
Gateway Mike took the day off.
Steve in Wonderful Sacramento, CA, took the day off.
MarilynofTC took the day off.
Paul of Seattle took the day off.
Brian S. took the day off.
Gene took the day off.
Tony K. took the day off.
Noel S. took the day off.
James of Alhambra took the day off.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
“Streetcar Conductors began in 2013 as the solo project of singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Moore. Over the years it has evolved into a band consisting of two guitars, bass, drums and synthesizers. THE VERY BEST OF STREETCAR CONDUCTORS is a collection of personal favorite songs from throughout Jonathan’s two-decade journey of songwriting and performing. The idea was to create an album that sounds like a greatest hits collection, culled from various releases spanning the time period from the 1990’s through today, with each song standing alone as its own individual production. For all its variety, there is a consistent pop sensibility to it all — catchy melodies, overdriven guitars, male-female sing-along vocals, and analog synthesizer leads. The album is a timeless collection set to become the sing-along soundtrack of many summers to come.”
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $8 (USD) for 14-track album
CBS opens the night with a FRESH'The Neighborhood', followed by a (F) 'Bob Hearts Abishola', then a FRESH'All Rise', followed by a FRESH'Bull'.
Scheduled on a FRESHStephen Colbert are Stacey Abrams, RuPaul, and Maren Morris.
Scheduled on a FRESHJames Corden, OBE, are Rosario Dawson and Ingrid Andress.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'Ellen's Mean Game Of Games', followed by another FRESH'Ellen's Mean Game Of Games', then a FRESH'The Wall'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Gordon Ramsay, Vanessa Kirby, and Sturgill Simpson.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are Amy Poehler, Burna Boy, and Chris Coleman.
On a RERUNLilly Singh (from 12/18/19) is Malala Yousafzai.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'The Bachelor', followed by a FRESH'The Hustler'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt James, and Machine Gun Kelly.
The CW offers a RERUN'Whose Line Is It Anyway?', followed by another RERUN'Whose Line Is It Anyway?', then a RERUN'Penn & Teller: FU'.
Faux has a FRESH'LA's Finest', followed by a RERUN'The Masked Dancer'.
MY recycles an old 'L&O: SVU', followed by another old 'L&O: SVU'.
AMC offers the movie 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', followed by the movie 'Breakfast At Tiffany's'.
BBC -
[6:00AM - 11:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
[12:00PM - 4:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
[5:00PM - 11:00PM] LAW & ORDER
[12:00AM] AMERICAN HUSTLE
[3:00AM - 5:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (ALL TIMES ET)
Bravo has 'Below Deck', another 'Below Deck', followed by a FRESH'Below Deck', then a FRESH'Watch What Happens: Live'.
FX has the movie 'Spider-Man: Homecoming', followed by the movie 'Jason Bourne'.
History has 'Pawn Stars, another 'Pawn Stars', followed by a FRESH'Pawn Stars', then another FRESH'Pawn Stars'.
IFC -
[6:00am - 9:30am] Parks And Recreation
[10:00am - 1:30pm] Community
[2:00pm - 5:30pm] Three's Company
[6:00pm - 12:30am] Two And A Half Men
[1:00am - 3:30am] Community
[4:00am - 5:30am] Parks And Recreation (ALL TIMES ET)
Sundance -
[6:00am - 5:00pm] hogan's heroes
[5:30pm] saturday night fever
[8:00pm] american hustle
[11:00pm] american hustle
[2:00am - 5:30am] gomer pyle, u.s.m.c. (ALL TIMES ET)
SyFy has the movie 'Olympus Has Fallen', followed by the movie 'Jumanji'.
TBS:
On a RERUNConan (from 11/16/20) is Ricky Gervais.
The ongoing controversy over the money left behind by Prince when he died without a will is heating up again after Internal Revenue Service calculations showed that executors of the rock star’s estate undervalued it by 50%, or about $80 million.
The IRS determined that Prince’s estate is worth $163.2 million, overshadowing the $82.3 million valuation submitted by Comerica Bank & Trust, the estate’s administrator. The discrepancy primarily involves Prince’s music publishing and recording interests, according to court documents.
Documents show the IRS believes that Prince’s estate owes another $32.4 million in federal taxes, roughly doubling the tax bill based on Comerica’s valuation, the Star Tribune reported.
The IRS also has ordered a $6.4 million “accuracy-related penalty” on Prince’s estate, citing a “substantial” undervaluation of assets, documents show.
NBC moderator Chuck Todd grilled Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., on Sunday about the GOP lawmaker's support for the latest far-fetched bid to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
Johnson is one of 11 senators and senators-elect who have said they will challenge the results on Wednesday when Congress meets to certify Biden's win. The states have already chosen electors representing a solid majority for the Democratic ticket; the process of counting the Electoral College votes in Congress is essentially a formality, but the Republicans in the House and Senate are mounting a quixotic effort to disqualify enough electors to throw the election to President Trump.
Neither the Republican legislators nor Trump’s legal team have presented evidence of widespread voter fraud, but Johnson argued Sunday on "Meet the Press" that the extraordinary effort to undermine the election is warranted by the tens of millions of people who believe that the results are unfair.
Todd pointed out the circular logic, as Trump is the one who has aggressively promoted the false notion that Biden did not win.
“You have failed to offer specific evidence of that widespread fraud. But you’re demanding an investigation on the grounds that there is widespread fraud. So essentially, you’re the arsonist here. President Trump is the arsonist here. You’ve started this fire,” he told Johnson.
British comedian Eddie Izzard, who recently asked to be identified with “she” and “her” pronouns, is coming out in defense of author J.K. Rowling’s stance on transgender issues.
“I don’t think J.K. Rowling is transphobic. I think we need to look at the things she has written about in her blog,” Izzard, 58, told the Daily Telegraph in a new interview.
“Women have been through such hell over history,” the star added in reference to the controversy surrounding the Harry Potter author’s comments. “Trans people have been invisible, too. I hate the idea we are fighting between ourselves, but it's not going to be sorted with the wave of a wand. I don't have all the answers. If people disagree with me, fine — but why are we going through hell on this?”
Rowling has received significant criticism after taking issue with an online article which described “people who menstruate.”
Izzard’s response to Rowling’s statements came as a surprise, particularly since the comedian has openly requested to be identified with “she” and “her” pronouns. After a long history of wearing makeup and dresses, Izzard appeared on the Sky Arts series Portrait Artist of the Year last month and made her first public request to be referred to by female pronouns.
In its second weekend in U.S. theaters, “Wonder Woman 1984” earned an estimated $5.5 million in ticket sales according to studio estimates Sunday. It’s a 67% drop for the superhero sequel, which is simultaneously playing on 2,151 screens and streaming free for HBO Max subscribers.
“Wonder Woman 1984” has made $28.5 million to date from the U.S., where about 39% of theaters are open and most major markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, are closed. Internationally, it added $10.1 million, bringing its global total to $118.5 million.
While $5.5 million would be a terrible second weekend for a $200 million movie in a pre-pandemic world, under the unique circumstances it was enough to top the domestic charts. In second place is Universal’s “The Croods: A New Age,” which saw a 25% increase in ticket sales in its sixth week in theaters. It’s made $34.5 million since it opened at Thanksgiving and is also now available to rent on premium video on demand.
Disney and Pixar’s “Soul,” which skipped U.S. theaters and is available for free for Disney+ subscribers, added $16.5 million internationally — a 114% increase from its opening in the same markets last weekend. The film featuring the voices of Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey has done particularly well in China, where it more than doubled its opening sum and added $13.7 million this weekend. The studio attributed the gains to strong social media reactions and word of mouth.
Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic “Alien” also opened this weekend through Disney’s 20th Century Studios. It made $75,000 from 505 locations.
America’s top infectious disease expert shot down Donald Trump (R-Grifter) when asked to respond to the US president’s tweets saying that there could be variations in the number of Covid-related deaths. Mr Trump tweeted that the numbers of deaths were “fake news”.
Asked to respond to this, Dr Anthony Fauci said: “The deaths are real deaths.
“All you need to do is go out into the trenches, go to the hospitals, see what the healthcare workers are dealing with, they are under very stressed situations,” Dr Fauci told ABC News.
“In many areas of the country, the hospital beds are stretched, people are running out of beds, running out of trained personnel who are exhausted right now. That’s real, that’s not fake, that’s real.”
Mr Trump responded on Twitter attempting to take credit for the work of Dr Fauci, a man he has often been at odds with during the pandemic. Mr Trump tweeted that Dr Fauci “works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work”.
Thousands of minority-owned small businesses were at the end of the line in the government’s coronavirus relief program as many struggled to find banks that would accept their applications or were disadvantaged by the terms of the program.
Data from the Paycheck Protection Program released Dec. 1 and analyzed by The Associated Press show that many minority owners desperate for a relief loan didn’t receive one until the PPP’s last few weeks while many more white business owners were able to get loans earlier in the program .
The program, which began April 3 and ended Aug. 8 and handed out 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion, helped many businesses stay on their feet during a period when government measures to control the coronavirus forced many to shut down or operate at a diminished capacity. But it struggled to meet its promise of aiding communities that historically haven’t gotten the help they needed.
Congress has approved a third, $284 billion round of PPP loans. While companies that did not get loans previously have another chance at help, according to a draft of the legislation, businesses hard-hit by the virus outbreak will be eligible for a second loan.
Loan data analyzed according to ZIP codes found that in that first round of funding, six loans were approved for every 1,000 people living in the 20% of ZIP codes with the greatest proportions of white residents, nearly twice the rate of loans approved for people living in the 20% of ZIP codes with the smallest proportions of whites.
The defense team for the two white men charged in the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery - Travis and Gregory McMichael - filed multiple motions last month to ask for the word "victim" not to be used in court and to not allow spectators to wear BLM related attire during their trial.
The McMichaels - whose attorneys asked that their jail calls not be utilized as evidence during their trial- were arrested and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in May for the shooting of Arbery, an unarmed Black man, while he was out for a run in his Georgia neighborhood on February 23. The duo said they mistook Arbery for being involved in neighborhood break-ins, Insider previously reported. Both Travis and Gregory pleaded not guilty and were denied bond.
The attorneys for the McMichaels are calling to ban the usage of the word "victim" in regards to Arbery during court proceedings, according to a motion filed to the Superior Court of Glynn County that was first reported by TMZ and CNN.
In addition, the attorneys call on the court to prohibit spectators from sporting any clothing or facemasks with messages like "Black Lives Matter," "I Can't Breathe," "I Run with Maud" and "Justice for Ahmaud" inside of the courtroom, according to the documents. The attorneys also request that one photo of Arbery is used in the trial and that an individual unrelated to Arbery ID's him in the picture.
Hundreds of dead birds, mostly starlings, littered the streets of Rome, Italy, following a fireworks display on New Year's Eve.
Although the cause of the deaths is uncertain, the International Organisation for the Protection of Animals (OIPA) said it was likely to result from fireworks from a nearby leafy, green neighborhood that many birds use to roost, according to the Associated Press.
Loredana Diglio, a spokesperson from the organization, told AP: "It can be that they died from fear. They can fly up together and knock against each other or hit windows or electric power lines. Let's not forget they can also die of heart attacks."
The New Year's Eve display was in breach of a fireworks and firecrackers ban between 31 December 2020 until midnight on 6 January 2021 imposed by the city's mayor, Virginia Raggi.
A group of middle-aged and elderly women looked up in adoration at the tall 39-year-old Ramil who arrived in their Moscow suburb with several crowbars and a circular saw.
Ramil, who asked his last name to be withdrawn for security reasons, is not a builder but a volunteer making rounds to rescue cats trapped in the basements of Soviet-era blocks of flats which often serve as the only shelter for stray cats in winter’s cold.
Russia is a world beater when it comes to cat ownership. A GfK poll in 2016 showed that 57 per cent of households have at least one cat, the world’s highest.
Russians have only recently been waking up to the reality of stray cats, estimated at hundreds of thousands in Moscow alone, who badly need shelter as temperatures in the capital typically stay below zero for the most part of winter.
Guided by local women who appear to know every stray cat in town by name, the activists went around several addresses in the sleepy, snowcovered neighbourhood to inspect the vents.
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was first, and correct, with:
has returned to semi-retired status.
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