HENRY ROLLINS: AMERICAN SNIPER AND THE FATE OF OUR VETERANS (LA Weekly)
I have found the passion and intensity with which We the People are responding to the film American Sniper to be a fascinating look into America and Americans. The film has become somewhat of a stethoscope, a licked finger determining the wind's direction. (Warning: spoilers ahead.)
Gail Collins: Politics by Restaurant Review (NY Times)
Today, we're going to talk about "God, Guns, Grits and Gravy," Mike Huckabee's entry into the presidential book-writing sweepstakes. These tomes are going to be piling up soon, and remember: We read them so you don't have to.
Gail Collins: 'American Sniper' Moral (NY Times)
You know the movie, right? It has not only been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar; it could wind up selling more tickets than the other seven nominees combined. Plus, it's triggered a left-right controversy that makes the old dust-up over "Duck Dynasty" seem like a tiny cultural blip.
Robert Evans, Anonymous, David Prescott, Dr. James Cantor: 5 Ways We're Making Pedophilia Worse (Cracked)
Before we get started, can we all agree that there's a difference between trying to understand something and condoning it? … Talking about a subject like pedophilia isn't going to make it worse. But refusing to talk about it -- or accusing those who do of glorifying it or normalizing it -- definitely will. No problem has ever been solved with ignorance.
Phoenicia was an ancient Semitic civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent and centered on the coastline of modern Lebanon. All major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean, some colonies reaching the Western Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme.They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of their alphabets (or abjad), from which almost all modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
Phoenicia is really a Classical Greek term used to refer to the region of the major Canaanite port towns, and does not correspond exactly to a cultural identity that would have been recognised by the Phoenicians themselves. The term in Greek means 'land of purple', a reference to the valuable murex-shell dye they exported. It is uncertain to what extent the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single ethnicity and nationality. Their civilization was organized in city-states, similar to ancient Greece.
Source
Charlie was first, and correct, with:
Land of purple.
They were into it before this guy
or this guy
Lois Of Oregon wrote:
Visit lovely Phoenicia, "land of purple" rains, hazes, and
home to consonants, vowels, and strange symbols.
Alan J said:
Tyranian Purple.
Randall replied:
Although it SOUNDS like the answer should be "Phoenix", accordion to Wiki...
"The term in Greek means 'land of purple', a reference to the valuable murex-shell dye they exported."
Marty, I'll be gone til next weekend - Vonnie and I are going to Las Vegas(!) because it's just too damned COLD here.
C-ya inna bout a week or so...
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
purple
Adam answered:
'Land of Mel's Diner?' No...'Land of Purple'.
Deborah said:
The rain thrums on my patio cover, my coffee warms me, and then I had to look up the answer to your question.
Land of Purple, according to the all-knowing Wikipedia.
Happy Sunday!
Marian replied:
purple
DanD responded:
"Sea People"? As I remember reading about it, the Phoenicians (who
were a great maritime power) were also the first "Palestinians," long
before Darius invented the Jewish religion. When the Persian king
came into his own as an extra-regional power, he then transplanted his
own 'Nation-of-Priests' amongst those proto-Palestinians who were
ultimately intended to substitute -- mostly as a tax-base -- for the
fantasy remains of 11 other fictional tribes.
How Darius Founded Judaism.
After the Greeks stomped Darius's butt, they then Hellenized the
Judaic reinterpretation of that Zoroastrian spin-off.
Hmmm, but apparently, Phoenicia itself was technically considered the
land of date palm / palm trees (at least, that's what the inner-vas
deferens say ...) .
DJ Useo answered:
I do okay with color trivia answers, so I say "Purple"!
MAM wrote:
'Land of Purple', a reference to the valuable murex-shell dye they exported.
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Scheduled on a FRESHCBS opens the night with a FRESH'2 Broke Girls', followed by a FRESH'Mike & Molly', then a FRESH'Scorpion', followed by a FRESH'NCIS: The Expendable One'.
Dave are Steve Carell, Adam Silver, and Dr. Cornel West.
Scheduled on a FRESHLate, Late Show, with this week's middle-aged guy guest host, Wayne Brady, are T.J. Miller, and Robert Glasper.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'Fluffing T-rump', followed by another FRESH'Fluffing T-rump', then a FRESH'State Of Affairs'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Jamie Dornan, the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit cover model, and Sheppard.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are Bobby Moynihan, Eugene Levy, Daniel Levy, and the Bots.
Scheduled on a FRESHCarson 'The Scab' Daly it's TBA.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'The Bachelor', followed by a FRESH'Castle'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Bill O'Reilly, Kelly Osbourne, and Morris Day & the HAIM..
The CW offers a FRESH'The Originals', followed by a FRESH'Jane The Virgin'.
Faux has a FRESH'Gotham', followed by a FRESH'Sleepy Hollow'.
MY recycles an old 'L&O: SVU', followed by another old 'L&O: SVU'.
AMC offers 'Breaking Bad', another 'Breaking Bad', 'Better Call Saul', followed by a FRESH"Better Call Saul'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] BBC World News
[7:00AM] BBC World News
[8:00AM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 3 - Ep 11 - The Hunted
[9:00AM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 3 - Ep 12 - The High Ground
[10:00AM] Doctor Who - Season 5 - Ep 4 - The Time of Angels
[11:00AM] Doctor Who - Season 5 - Ep 5 - Flesh and Stone
[12:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares UK - Season 3 - Ep 2 - The Fenwick Arms
[3:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 5 - Ep 15 - Zocalo
[4:00PM] Top Gear: Best Of 13-14 - Episode 3
[5:00PM] Top Gear: Best Of 13-14 - Episode 4
[6:00PM] Top Gear - Season 22 - Episode 1
[7:30PM] Top Gear - Season 22 - Episode 2
[8:30PM] Top Gear - Season 22 - Episode 3 NEW
[10:00PM] Mud, Sweat & Gears - Season 1 - Ep 3 - Delivery NEW
[11:00PM] Top Gear - Season 22 - Episode 2
[12:00AM] Top Gear - Season 22 - Episode 3
[1:30AM] Mud, Sweat and Gears - Season 1 - Ep 3 - Delivery
[2:30AM] Top Gear - Season 22 - Episode 3
[4:00AM] Top Gear: Best Of 13-14 - Episode 3
[5:00AM] Top Gear: Best Of 13-14 - Episode 4 (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Vanderpump Rules', another 'Vanderpump Rules', followed by a FRESH'Vanderpump Rules', then a FRESH'Watch What Happens Live', followed by a FRESH'Friends To Lovers?'.
Comedy Central has 'South Park', 'Tosh.0', 'Key & Peele', another 'Key & Peele', 'South Park', another 'South Park', still another 'South Park', and yet another 'South Park'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Patricia Arquette.
Scheduled on a FRESH@Midnight are Greg Proops, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Emo Philips.
FX has the movie 'Snow White & The Huntsman', followed by a crapper load of 'Mike & Molly'.
History has 'Swamp People', another 'Swamp People', followed by a FRESH'Swamp People', then a FRESH'Appalachian Outlaws'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] JAWS 3
[8:15AM] JAWS THE REVENGE
[10:15AM] JAWS 2
[1:00PM] JAWS 3
[3:15PM] JAWS THE REVENGE
[5:15PM] JAWS
[10:45PM] LETHAL WEAPON
[1:30AM] LETHAL WEAPON
[4:00AM] THE BIRTHDAY BOYS-WOMEN ARE FUNNY
[4:30AM] THE BIRTHDAY BOYS-FRESHY'S
[5:00AM] THE BIRTHDAY BOYS-LOVE DATE HUMP
[5:30AM] THE BIRTHDAY BOYS-GETTING PREACHY (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] Love Lust-Love Lust & Make-up
[6:15AM] Waking Ned Devine
[8:15AM] The Lost Boys
[10:15AM] The Fly
[12:15PM] Donnie Brasco
[3:00PM] Law & Order-Helpless
[4:00PM] Law & Order-Self-Defense
[5:00PM] Law & Order-Prince of Darkness
[6:00PM] Law & Order-Causa Mortis
[7:00PM] Law & Order-I.D.
[8:00PM] Law & Order-Good Girl
[9:00PM] Law & Order-Survivor
[10:00PM] Law & Order-Corruption
[11:00PM] Law & Order-Double Blind
[12:00AM] Law & Order-Deadbeat
[1:00AM] Babylon-Episode 5
[2:00AM] Law & Order-Family Business
[3:00AM] Twelve Monkeys (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'The Adjustment Bureau', followed by the movie 'Never Let Me Go'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Timothy Olyphant, Rebecca Frankel, and Punch Brothers.
Co-hosts Miles Teller, left, and Margot Robbie pose together before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 87th Scientific and Technical Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Photo by Chris Pizzello
Two weeks before the glamour of the Oscars, the film academy hosted its annual "night of the nerds" honouring software engineers, digital projection innovators and a former sound guy for Frank Zappa and the Kinks who helped modernize movie audio.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized 58 men and one woman for their behind-the-scenes science and technical work, including creation of a camera rig used in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and development of software that forms the realistic hair seen in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes."
Actors Miles Teller and Margot Robbie hosted the ceremony on Saturday night in Beverly Hills with a light comedic touch. Robbie, who just completed filming the effects-heavy "Tarzan," made a drinking game of the word "voxels." Teller, starring as Mr. Fantastic in this summer's "Fantastic Four" reboot, laughed off his inability to pronounce "diodes."
The academy handed out two actual Oscar statuettes. One went to Dolby executive David W. Gray, the former rock sound engineer who has led that company's surround-sound advancements. The other went to Larry Hornbeck, who in the late 1980s helped invent the optical semiconductor at the heart of most digital projectors.
From left, Julianne Moore, winner of the Leading Actress award, Mike Leigh winner of the special award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema, Patricia Arquette, winner of Best Supporting Actress and J.K. Simmons winner of the Best Supporting actor pose on the stage, during the British Academy Film and Television Awards 2015, at the Royal Opera House, in London, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015.
Photo by Jonathan Short
Song of the Year: "Stay With Me," Sam Smith
Album of the Year: Beck, Morning Phase
Best Country Album: Miranda Lambert, Platinum
Best R&B Performance: "Drunk in Love," Beyonce feat. Jay Z
Best Rock Album: Beck, Morning Phase
Best Comedy Album: Weird Al Yankovich, Mandatory Fun
Best Spoken Word Album: Joan Rivers, Diary of a Mad Diva
Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Inarritu won the top Directors Guild Award on Saturday for "Birdman," his satirical take on show business, raising his and his film's chances for Oscars in two weeks.
The Directors Guild of America's award for feature film director has correctly predicted the best director Academy Award for 10 of the past 11 years.
Inarritu thanked the room of Hollywood directors for backing the risky film, which stars Michael Keaton as a washed up, former superhero actor trying to make an improbable comeback with his own Broadway play.
Inarritu, 51, prevailed over four other nominees: two-time DGA best feature director winner Clint Eastwood for Iraq war drama "American Sniper," Richard Linklater for coming-of-age tale "Boyhood," Morten Tyldum for British World War Two story "The Imitation Game" and Wes Anderson for colourful caper "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
The Academy Awards will be held on Feb. 22 and voting concludes on Feb. 17.
Performer Darlene Love (L) accepts the award for Best Music Film for "20 Feet From Stardom" along with producer Caitrin Rodgers and the children of producer the late Gil Friesen during the pre-telecast awards at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 8, 2015.
Photo by Lucy Nicholson
Slow-cooked coming-of-age tale "Boyhood" took the best film and director trophies at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, while Wes Anderson's candy-colored comedy "The Grand Budapest Hotel" won the biggest haul of prizes, with five.
Both are unusual works by distinctive directors, and there were also multiple trophies for the Stephen Hawking biopic "The Theory of Everything" and the jazz-drumming drama "Whiplash" at an event that proved small, personal films could emerge as winners.
Awards-season high-flyer "Birdman" had its wings clipped, taking only a cinematography prize from 10 nominations. And World War II code-breaking drama "The Imitation Game" won nothing despite nine nominations.
Richard Linklater, who spent 12 years making "Boyhood," was named best director, and Patricia Arquette won the supporting-actress trophy as a struggling mother in the film.
"The Theory of Everything" was named best British film, and won an acapted-screenplay award for Anthony McCarten.
The retrial of two Al Jazeera journalists jailed in Egypt will start on Feb. 12, the lawyer for one of the defendants said on Sunday.
Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were sentenced to seven and 10 years in jail respectively last year on charges including spreading lies to help a terrorist organization -- a reference to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
A third Al Jazeera reporter, Australian national Peter Greste, was sentenced alongside them, but was unexpectedly freed last Sunday and deported after spending 400 days in prison.
Following Greste's release, Egyptian security officials said Fahmy, who held joint Egyptian-Canadian nationality, might soon be deported, raising hopes he would avoid a retrial. However, his fiancé told Reuters on Sunday that she had no information about his possible release.
Amal Clooney, one of Fahmy's lawyers, wrote to Sisi requesting a meeting to discuss the case, according to a letter dated Feb. 6 that was shown to reporters by his family.
British actor Sir Ian McKellen (L) and US actress Laura Linney during a photocall of the film "Mr Holmes" presented at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin, on February 8, 2015
Photo by John MacDougall
The towers of Disney's planned Magic Kingdom in Shanghai are wreathed in scaffolding and mystery after the US entertainment giant pushed back the opening of its first mainland China theme park to 2016.
On a tightly-guarded, 3.9-square-kilometre site east of China's commercial hub, a grey turret of the unfinished "Enchanted Storybook Castle" rises into the sky.
There is no Disney branding at the main entrance, only a sign reading: "Shanghai International Tourism and Resort Zone".
It was originally due to be transformed in time to open this year, but Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger last week announced a delay, pushing the opening back to next spring.
Co-founder of The Beach Boys, US singer Brian Wilson (L) and his wife Melinda Ledbetter pose during a photocall for 'Love and Mercy' at the 65th annual Berlin Film Festival, in Berlin, Germany, 08 February 2015. The movie is presented in the Berlinale Special section of the Berlinale, which runs from 05 to 15 February 2015.
Photo by Lukas Schulze
About 100 people attended a vigil outside the Roman Catholic cathedral in San Francisco on Friday to protest the local archbishop's move to require teachers at four Catholic high schools to lead their public lives inside the classroom and out in accordance with church teachings on homosexuality, birth control and other hot-button issues.
The protest, which also included songs and prayers, came as Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was holding mass for teachers from parochial schools throughout the three-county Archdiocese of San Francisco and then meeting with high school teachers to answer questions about changes he wants to make to their faculty handbook and employment contract.
Cordileone this week presented teachers at the four high schools owned by the archdiocese with a detailed statement of faith affirming that Catholic school employees "are expected to arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny" church doctrine on matters related to sexuality, marriage and human reproduction.
The statement, which the archbishop said would be added to the faculty handbooks, outlines the church's teaching that using contraception is a sin and that sex outside of marriage, whether it is in the form of adultery, masturbation, pornography or gay sex, is "gravely evil."
"Weird Al" Yankovic poses in the press room with the award for best comedy album for "Mandatory Fun" at the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Chris Pizzello
Hawaii island is seeing more frequent heavy storms, and climate change may be the reason, according to two University of Hawaii researchers.
Ying Chen, a UH-Manoa graduate student at the time of the study, and Pao-Shin Chu, professor of atmospheric sciences at UH-Manoa, in a paper published in the International Journal of Climatology also conclude that heavy rain storms are occurring less frequently on leeward Oahu and central Maui, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
The study notes that climate is changing and public officials may need to reconsider current flood-control standards and other guidelines tied to rain.
The study found that through 1960, storms that dropped 12 inches of rain on the Big Island occurred once every 20 years.
By 2009, however, the storms increased in frequency and severity. They were striking the island every three to five years and pouring down more than 16.5 inches of rain, the researchers said.
Leading China's anti-corruption campaign, President Xi Jinping warned Macau last December that the world's biggest gambling hub needs to be about more than baccarat. Now, the reform drive has new champions - the casino operators.
The firms that lead the former Portuguese colony's $44 billion-a-year gaming business are pledging to spend billions of dollars on opening more amenities like convention centers and theaters, and touting their credentials as good employers.
The stakes are high as Xi's reforms squeeze revenue growth to a low since the industry was liberalized in 2001. Officials set to review Macau's 35 casinos will examine how operators have diversified away from gambling in deciding who gets the most gaming tables in a new strip modeled on Las Vegas, and who hangs on to concessions set to expire from 2020.
"We promoted just under 2,500 employees, 90 percent of whom were Macau locals. As one of the largest employers in Macau, if not the largest, we take our responsibly to the community very seriously," Sands founder Sheldon Adelson told investors in a Jan. 29 conference call.
Singer Johnny Mathis and composer Fred Mollin arrive at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California February 8, 2015.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
Despite a scientific consensus that human activity is causing the planet to warm up, ingrained attitudes among Americans mean policy changes on global warming are unlikely, academics said in a new study.
Improving dialogue between believers and skeptics on the importance of human activity for climate change is the best way to foster consensus among ordinary people, according to the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
"Strategies for building support for (climate) mitigation policies should go beyond attempts to improve the public's understanding of science," Ana-Maria Bliuc, a professor at Australia's Monash University who co-wrote the study, said in a statement.
Both groups generally agree that climate change is real, according to the study based on an Internet survey of U.S. residents. But the two camps differ on whether human activity is causing warming.
Animal rights activists, some wearing headbands with plastic bull horns and partially clothed, hold protest signs during a demonstration against bullfighting, demanding the sport be banned in Mexico, at the Benito Juarez Hemicycle, in Mexico City, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015.
Photo by Marco Ugarte
"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" finally unseated Clint Eastwood's runaway hit "American Sniper" at the weekend box office, while a pair of high-priced fantasies flopped.
Paramount Pictures' "SpongeBob Movie" earned $56 million in North America, a huge debut for the animated Nickelodeon big-screen transfer, according to estimates Sunday. That finally pushed "American Sniper" off the top spot after a three-week reign. The Navy SEAL drama took in $24.2 million in its fourth week of wide release.
The Wachowskis' lavish science-fiction adventure "Jupiter Ascending" opened with just $19 million, a meager amount for a $175 million production. Warner Bros. delayed the release of the movie, starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis, from last summer.
Universal's "Seventh Son," a supernatural thriller set in medieval times, debuted with a scant $7.1 million. The film, produced by Legendary Pictures and starring Jeff Bridges, cost nearly $100 million to make.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," $56 million ($16.2 million international).
2. "American Sniper," $24.2 million ($6.5 million international).
3. "Jupiter Ascending," $19 million ($32.5 million international).
4. "Seventh Son," $7.1 million ($900,000 international).
5. "Paddington," $5.4 million ($1.3 million international).
6. "Project Almanac," $5.3 million ($1 million international).
7. "The Imitation Game," $4.9 million ($6 million international).
8. "The Wedding Ringer," $4.8. million.
9. "Black or White," $4.5 million.
10. "The Boy Next Door," $4.2 million.
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