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Three Senate Races
Really, I want the
election to be over so we can get on with our lives and I can go back
to reviewing music. But no. In the immortal words of Monty Python's
Mary Queen of Scots, "Not dead yet." Missouri hasn't been officially
called, and a few House races remain in limbo, but I mainly want to
talk about the three Senate races that are, as yet, undecided.
Interestingly, at least for me, all three are undecided in different
ways.
If the Democrats win all three, which is possible but
not likely then President Obama will have a fillibuster proof Senate.
If all the Democrats stay in line. And if Lieberman is still a
Democrat. And if no Republican decides to switch parties.
Possibilities abound, and we won't be sure for weeks, possibly
months, just how the Senate will play out.
Franken vs.
Coleman
I live in Minnesota and voted for Franken. I've
been following the counting fairly closely, and will pay attention to
the recount. According to the lastest report by the Mpls
StarTribune, Coleman
vs. Franken: The Recount, Coleman is ahead by 206 votes, out of
nearly 2.9 million votes cast. That will trigger an automatic
recount, which will be much more thorough than the unofficial hand
count done so far.
Obama beat McCain by ten percentage
points in Minnesota, winning by nearly
300,000 votes. McCain, in losing, got more votes than
either Sentate candidate. What happened?
Many people came
out to vote for Obama and the downticket races were an afterthought,
or at least not as important. I suspect that Franken will pick up
undervotes and discarded ballots that get a second
look.
Meanwhile, kudos to the Clintons. Both Bill and
Hillary came and campaigned for Franken as well as Obama. I was at the
rally where Bill held forth on the need to get out all the
vote for all Democrats. Given the attempts at voter
suppression by the Republicans, for a Democrats to win, they have to
overcome the cheating with a larger effort.
The recount will
last until mid-December.
Begich vs. Stevens
Something's rotten in
the state of Alaska. No, not Gov. Sarah Palin. I should say, not
only Gov. Sarah Palin. It's not much of a story as yet, but
pre-election polls were pretty accurate almost everywhere... except
Alaska, where polls were waaaaaay off. By about 10%. Fewer
people voted than said they would, a win for the Democrat in the
House race turned into a win for the Republican, and a big win for
the Democrat in the Senate race has turned into a squeaker. The
votes are sill being counted, but it smells bad.
Alaska's a
big state, and many citizens vote by mail. Not only are some of the
precincts far away, but the state has to allow all the ballots with a
correct postmark to arrive. And then count them
all.
We
political humorists are rooting for convicted felon Stevens to win so
we can watch the fun. He may resign, and Gov. Palin would appoint
his successor (which can't be her). He could try to bull his way
through, like other convicted Republicans, and the Senate could
censure him. Or he could be impeached, led by members of his own
party. Any one of anumber of hilarious scenarios can play
out.
But we political pragmatists want Begich to win
outright.
And we want Obama to appoint honest people to be US
attorneys to investigate what's going on up in Alaska.
Martin vs.
Chambliss
Of all the repugnant Republicans in Congress,
Sen. Saxby Chambliss can best be described as "evil" for his
mean-spirited and shameful ads comparing war hero Max Cleland to
Osama bin Laden. Even
John McCain was disgusted... a the time. In 2002, the ads were
"worse than disgraceful," said McCain. "It's reprehensible." Now, in
an abrupt flip-flop, McCain is putting America Second and his party
above all else.
Georgia
law says that if no candidate gets 50% of the vote, it's a redo. The
election was close, with Chambliss leading, but he didn't get to 50%.
Now, both
candidates are stumping for votes for the Dec. 2 runoff. Almost
certainly, fewer people will vote in the runoff than voted in the
presidential election. Whether that will help or hurt Martin is an
interesting question. McCain won Georgia, so the whatever coattails
McCain had will be gone. On the other hand, 97% of African-Americans
voted for Obama, and fewer of them might show up.
Right now,
Obama
has sent his Ohio organization to help in Georgia, which bodes
well. McCain, who didn't have much of an organization in Georgia, is
sending McCain. Given his condemnation of Chambliss' previous
campaign, this may not be a complete plus for the incumbent.
Obama won and
Democrats won, but the two weren't closely linked
On one
hand, this election, coupled with the 2006 election, shows a huge
shift to Democrats and to liberals. More than just a referendum on
the failed policies and lack of moral compass in the Bush
administration, voters have soundly rejected conservative policies
that began with Reagan and have now shown to be literally bankrupt.
On the other, the Democrats can't crow too loudly right now. Obama's
personal magnetism did not have the coattails for the whole party.
While Obama is in a significantly better position than Ronald Reagan
after the 1980 election, the Democrats still need to rally around a
central core of ideas and policies.
Obama may yet pull this
off and become the leader of the Democratic Party as well as the
leader of the nation, but he has a precarious balancing act: He has
to govern from the weakened position that Bush left him, and campaign
from the strengthened position that the election gave him. Reagan
was the beneficiary of Carter's policies, which took a while to work,
but did work. Gingrich/Bush/Cheney left a mess for Obama, and
whoever follows Obama, and probably several presidents after
that.
zEN mAN (observing the growing confidence and impending canonization of our new President.... Barack Obama.....although I am enjoying the new voter HIGH and the old voter surprise....I am thinking of Obama as the Greatest Garbage man in the history of the world...considering the mess he will inherit and ultimately become responsible for cleaning up.....he will need a halo)
Susan Estrich: Sarah Palin Mattered (creators.com)
For years I've been dining out on the story of the 1988 vice presidential debate, where Lloyd Bentsen literally cleaned Dan Quayle's clock - "You're no Jack Kennedy" - resulting in a huge increase in his own approval ratings and virtually no bump at all for the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket.
Froma Harrop: America Doesn't Need 'Rebranding' (creators.com)
I'm delighted that Barack Obama has been elected president and that foreigners are delighted, too. But I never viewed eliciting delight from non-Americans a reason for choosing a president, including one of color. No other people so fervently seek the admiration of others as do Americans.
Sally Lodge: Jerry Spinelli's "Stargirl" Inspires Societies (publishersweekly.com)
In his 2000 "Stargirl," Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli introduced a creative, free-spirited teenager whose acts of kindness affected many. Readers clearly connected with "Stargirl": the Knopf novel has sold more than a million copies in North America alone and has been published in 27 countries. This character, in fact, has so deeply touched some teens that they've been inspired to start Stargirl Societies, school groups with the goal of emulating Stargirl's values.
SUZANNE FRIEDMAN: Stargirl Shines On (timeforkids.com)
... Newbery Award-winning author Jerry Spinelli introduced readers to Stargirl Caraway. The ruffled-skirt-wearing, ukulele-strumming, rat-owning teenager won readers' hearts. She dared to be different at a school full of cliques, where everyone else strove to be the same. Stargirl's narrator, Leo, accepts Stargirl at first, but later urges her to be more like everybody else.
"Culture Clash: Dread Meets Punk Rockers" by Don Letts: A review by Gerry Donaghy
You may not know who Don Letts is, but you've probably felt his impact in a variety of ways. As a film director, he has directed documentaries on punk rock and music videos by the likes of The Clash, The Pretenders, and Elvis Costello. As a tastemaker, he bridged racial differences and helped shaped the political and musical consciousness of young punks like Johnny Rotten and Joe Strummer by turning them onto reggae.
Roger Ebert: "Dolly Parton: 'The real truth would curl your hair'"
Update, 2008: This 1980 interview is all quite true, but it entirely misses something. It must have happened at a different time, and I can't track down the piece. Here's what I remember. I had a one-on-one interview with Parton in a hotel suite. As we spoke, I found myself enveloped by her presence. This had nothing to do with sex appeal. Far from it. It was as if I were being mesmerized by a benevolent power. I left the room in a cloud of good feeling. Next day, Siskel and I were sitting next to each other on an airplane. "This will sound crazy," he said, "but when I was interviewing Dolly Parton, I almost felt like she had healing powers."
Virginia Madsen: "Robert Altman (1925 - 2006): His dangerous angel remembers" (suntimes.com)
Working with Robert Altman was one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever had. Each day on "A Prairie Home Companion," I would come to work at call time, get half-way ready with make-up and hair and just sit next to Bob or hang out watching Lily and Meryl, or the guys singing with the band in between takes, and wait to see if he needed me.
Is that a spanner in your pocket ... (guardian.co.uk)
From mourners in a funeral parlour to a delivery boy and his 'big sausage' pizza, why is it so easy to spot the opening scenes of porn films, asks Tim Dowling.
Roger Ebert: LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (R; 3 1/2 stars)
I look at young people who affect the Goth look. I assume they want to keep a distance and make a statement. The leather can be taken off, the tattoos not so easily. It is relatively painless to pierce many body areas, not all. But what would it feel like to be pierced by a vampire's fangs? That would be more than a Look, wouldn't it? And you wouldn't want to advertise yourself as a vampire.
A Pearl S. Buck
B Bucky Dent
C Buckminster Fuller
D Buck Owens
E Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson
Source
Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller (July 12, 1895 - July 1, 1983) was an American architect, author, designer, futurist, inventor, and visionary. He lends his name to a family of complex carbon structures called
Buckminsterfullerene also known as Bucky Balls.
Source
vilstef was first, amd correct, with:
Easy as breathing, C-Buckminster Fuller
Charlie replied:
Too easy.
Bucky Balls, usually referring to a molecule consisting of 60 carbon atoms, which is one form of fullerene, are, of course, named for
C Buckminster Fuller
because of the resemblance to the geodesic dome.
We could spend a lot of time on either Fuller or carbon chemistry, but I'll just give a quote from page 17 of a marvelous popular book on chemistry, The Periodic Kingdom, by P. W. Atkins (BasicBooks, 1995):
"Carbon is a particularly mediocre element, easygoing in the liaisons it forms. Unlike fluorine, which is only a few regions to the east of it, carbon is not a reactive prima donna. In chemistry as in life, this unpretentiousness has rewards, and in its mediocre way carbon has established itself as king of the Periodic Kingdom. Carbon, of course, is the element of organic compounds: the extraordinary and complex property we term "life" stems almost in its entirety from this black northern region of the kingdom."
Alan J answered:
C Buckminster Fuller
mj responded:
He did tend to like rounded shapes
C, Mr. Fuller. The balls, structures composed of packed carbon atoms, were named for their resemblance to Mr. Fuller's domes, his suggestions for space and energy efficient buildings. I believe he eventually settled in Stonington, ME.
Sandra H said:
c. fuller
maw replied:
C. Buckminster Fuller
Jim from CA responded:
Buckminster Fuller......
Wanda wrote:
Buckminster Fuller
Adam in NoHo answered:
C- Buckminster Fuller- physicist, or whatever...
Marian the Teacher responded:
Buckminster Fuller
Bob C replied:
The answer is Buckminister Fuller who was one of the
real "maverick" futuristic inventors of my youth.
John O said:
I knew this one without looking it up. It's "C," Buckminster
Fuller. My son and I got some redwood pieces with plans to assemble two balls.
We both had great difficulty and eventually both of them flew apart. Bucky Balls
sounds like a condition suffered by rodeo bull riders.
Kevin in Portland Answered:
Bucky Balls are named after Buckminster Fuller.
Vic in AK (who isn't currently) wrote:
Answer is indeed C-Buckminster Fuller. It's a newly found form of Carbon and resembles Buckminster's Geodesic domes , they think the discovery might lead to super strong strands. A molecule wide and as strong as dimond without dimonds tensile weakness....great fishing line!!!
I was reading an article
" Stevens is a Scandalous Taint" I'm printing the bumper sticker as I type...want one?
Sally said:
Bucky Balls are named after American architect R. Buckminister Fuller who designed a geodesic dome - that I think had something to do with his, "Bucky Balls" handle.
PS: I've had trauma - it was warm and humid outside yesterday, so I opened my back screen door and TWO bloody live squirrels chewed a hole through the screen and came in! (Bad acorn crop this year, and they are very hungry.)
After some hair-raising, overnight experiences with the two culprits, a friend brought over his two corgi dogs who hunted them out and eliminated the problem today. I now have the bodies hanging outside, by their sorry-assed tails, as an example to any other creature who may think breaking and entering, PLUS destroying property, is a good idea...
PPS: Okay, I'm talking trash here - the dogs did get the squirrels, and kill them, but the guy took the corpus' far, far away. I really didn't want to kill them, but they were wrecking my house, and I was scared shitless (hope I can say this here). I have yet to recover from my trauma.
socdan replied:
Bucky balls are named for Buckminster Fuller, who either invented them or first posited the possiblity of their existence. I think they are hollow spheres composed of a shell of carbon one atom thick, sort of like two teensy-weensy geodesic domes glued together. I haven't a clue for what they might be used. Didn't Bucky also invent geodesic domes or promote their use in architecture? Fullerenes are also named for Fuller (they might be the same thing - I can't remember). I look forward to whatever pictures are put up with the answers to the question (if I ever learn how to use the intertubes highway, I will find and post pictures myself. In the meantime I will rely on the kindness of strangers).
And, Joe S ("Let architects sing of aesthetics that bring Rich clients in hordes to their knees; Just give me a home, in a great circle dome Where stresses and strains are at ease."
~ Buckminster Fuller ) wrote:
C Buckminster Fuller
You know, my first dog was named Bucky.
Thanks to Charlie, Joe S, Jimmy West and Martha G for the pictures.
CBS opens the night with a FRESH'Big Bang Theory', followed by a FRESH'How I Met Your Mother', then a FRESH'2½ Men', followed by a FRESH'Worst Week', then a FRESH'CSI: The 2nd One'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Emma Thompson, fox attack survivor Michelle Felicetta, and Purple Reign.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Poppy Montgomery and Nick Hornby.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'Chuck', followed by a FRESH'Heroes', then a FRESH'My Own Worst Enemy'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Kiefer Sutherland, Lisa Lampanelli, and Barry Manilow.
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Snoop Dogg, Brian Regan, and Blitzen Trapper.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 10/1/08) are Wayne Brady and P.O.D.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Dancing With The Stars', followed by a FRESH'Samantha Who?', then a FRESH'Boston Legal'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 10/14/08) are Chris O'Donnell, "Dancing with the Stars" castoff Rocco DiSpirito, and Kanye West.
The CW offers a FRESH'Gossip Girl', followed by a FRESH'One Tree Hill'.
Faux has a FRESH'Sarah Conoor Chronicles', followed by a FRESH'Prison Break'.
MY recycles an old 'Twilight Zone', then another old 'Twilight Zone', followed by a FRESH'Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed'.
A&E has 'CSI: The 2nd One', 'Intervention', another 'Intervention', and 'The First 48'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Godfather, Part II', followed by the movie 'The Last Samurai'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? US - Episode 1
[12:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 4
[1:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 2 Piccolo Teatro
[2:00 PM] Cash in the Attic - Ep 2 Farmer
[3:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? US - Episode 7
[3:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 5
[4:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 1 Lanterna
[5:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 6
[6:00 PM] Dragons' Den - Episode 5
[7:00 PM] BBC World News America
[8:00 PM] Top Gear: Best Of 06-07 - Episode 2
[9:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 8
[10:00 PM] BBC World News America
[11:00 PM] Top Gear: Best Of 06-07 - Episode 2
[12:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 8
[1:00 AM] Top Gear: Best Of 06-07 - Episode 2
[2:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 5
[3:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 6 David Tennant and Jo Brand
[4:00 AM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 11
[4:30 AM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 12
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 39 Brown
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 40 Boyle
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Top Chef', another 'Top Chef', followed by the FRESH'First Class All The Way', then 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta'.
Comedy Central has 'Scrubs', another 'Scrubs', an old 'Jon Stewart', an old 'Colbert Report', 'Futurama', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and 'Futurama'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart it's TBA.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report are Tom Brokaw and Malcolm Gladwell.
FX has the movie 'The Sentinel', followed by the movie 'White Chicks', then the movie 'Little Man'.
History has 'Modern Marvels', another 'Modern Marvels', and the FRESH'Einstein'.
IFC -
[6:50 AM] Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
[9:00 AM] Picture Bride
[10:45 AM] Three Times
[1:05 PM] IFC in Theaters
[1:15 PM] Does Your Soul Have a Cold?
[2:45 PM] Picture Bride
[4:25 PM] IFC News Special
[4:35 PM] Three Times
[7:00 PM] Restoration
[9:00 PM] The Sea Inside
[11:15 PM] The New World
[1:35 AM] The Sea Inside
[3:45 AM] The New World (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[06:00 AM] Friends With Money
[07:30 AM] Father and Son
[09:00 AM] House of Boateng: Episode 7
[09:30 AM] Big Girl's Blouse: Episode 5
[10:00 AM] Rosetta
[11:45 AM] Sunset Bollywood
[12:45 PM] I for India
[02:00 PM] Eco Documentaries - Season 2: Genesis
[03:30 PM] Body of War
[05:00 PM] Runnin' Down a Dream: Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
[09:00 PM] Carny
[10:30 PM] Site Specific: Seville
[11:00 PM] The Education of Ms. Groves: Episode 2
[11:30 PM] Architecture School: Episode 1
[12:00 AM] Iconoclasts - Season 4: Venus Williams + Wyclef Jean
[01:00 AM] Save the Green Planet!
[03:00 AM] Songbirds
[04:00 AM] Flying: Confessions...: Part 1
[05:00 AM] Jump Tomorrow (ALL TIMES EST)
U.S. actor Edward James Olmos waves after arriving in Vina del Mar city, about 75 miles (120 km) northwest of Santiago, November 16, 2008. Olmos, who acted in The Golden Age, is attending the 20th International Festival of Cinema in Vina Del Mar.
Photo by Eliseo Fernandez
Chile's military dictatorship of the 1970s so hated a mural by painter Roberto Matta that it covered the work with 16 coats of paint.
Now the surrealist mural is back on display at the La Granja city hall outside Santiago after three years of restoration work.
It cost about $43,000 to repair the 4-by-24-metre mural titled "The First Goal of the Chilean People."
The painting that officially went on public display Sunday celebrates the 1971 victory of Socialist president Salvador Allende. He was toppled by a military coup in 1973 led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who ruled until 1990.
U.S actress Sigourney Weaver waves as she introduces Ridley Scott's movie "Alien" to the open-air crowd on the Jemaa el Fna square in Marrakesh November 16, 2008. The Marrakesh 8th International film Festival pays a tribute to Weaver and runs from November 14 - 22.
Photo by Jean Blondin
Paul McCartney says it's time an experimental Beatles track saw the light of day.
McCartney says he wants to release "Carnival of Light," a 14-minute experimental track the Fab Four recorded in 1967 but never released.
The band played the recording for an audience just once, at an electronic music festival in London. It reportedly includes distorted guitar, organ sounds, gargling and shouts of "Barcelona!" and "Are you all right?" from McCartney and John Lennon.
"I like it because it's The Beatles free, going off piste," McCartney told the BBC in a radio interview to be broadcast Thursday. Extracts of the interview were published Sunday in The Observer newspaper.
The final "ER" season is bringing back some of its original stars for guest shots, but Julianna Margulies won't be among them. She was invited, she says, but declined.
Margulies, who played nurse Carol Hathaway on the NBC hospital drama from its 1994 premiere, exited after six seasons. Her character left Chicago's County General for Seattle, settling down with Dr. Doug Ross, who had been played by George Clooney.
"I feel like I left Carol Hathaway in the best scenario possible," Margulies said Saturday, laying to rest speculation about her return. "I can't imagine making it any better than that."
In the farewell lap of its 15-season run, "ER" last week featured Anthony Edwards reprising his role of Dr. Mark Greene. NBC has announced upcoming appearances by fellow alums Noah Wyle and Eriq La Salle, who will also direct an episode.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has hit a milestone in any politician's career - she was parodied on "Saturday Night Live."
The brief impersonation by cast member Kristen Wiig came during host Paul Rudd's opening monologue.
Rudd discussed the show's popular political impersonations and assured the audience there were plenty of good impressions left to do.
Wiig then came out donning Napolitano's hairstyle - short and black with a gray spot in the front. She walked offstage awkwardly after giving an oversimplified answer on how she would secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
This winter, New Year's Eve revelers will have a close-up view of Times Square's first environmentally friendly billboard powered entirely by wind and sun.
Construction on the 35,000-pound sign advertising Ricoh Americas Corp. is to begin this month across the avenue from the building where the ball drops on New Year's Eve.
Powered by 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels, the sign is expected to save $12,000 to $15,000 per month in electricity costs. Ricoh, an office equipment and document storage supplier, estimates the sign will also keep 18 tons of carbon out of the environment.
The billboard will be lit by floodlights rather than light-emitting diodes. It won't have a backup generator, so it could go dark during a long period with little wind or sun.
The view of Delicate Arch natural bridge - an unspoiled landmark so iconic it's on Utah's license plates - could one day include a drilling platform under a proposal that environmentalists call a Bush administration "fire sale" for the oil and gas industry.
Late on Election Day, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a Dec. 19 auction of more than 50,000 acres of oil and gas parcels alongside or within view of Arches National Park and two other redrock national parks in Utah: Dinosaur and Canyonlands.
The National Park Service's top official in the state calls it "shocking and disturbing" and says his agency wasn't properly notified. Environmentalists call it a "fire sale" for the oil and gas industry by a departing administration.
Officials of the BLM, which oversees millions of acres of public land in the West, say the sale is nothing unusual, and one is "puzzled" that the Park Service is upset.
In a devastating week for Myanmar's democracy movement, dozens of its members have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, as the military-ruled government locks away writers and Buddhist monks - as well as musicians, a poet and at least one journalist.
By the weekend, more than 80 had received sentences of up to 65 years - a move that seemed designed to keep them jailed long past upcoming elections, activists and analysts said Sunday.
News of the sentences came mostly through activists and analysts. The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since 1962 did not comment on the sentences, most of which were handed down in closed-door proceedings. It was not known why the prisoners were sentenced now, although many analysts concluded the move was made to eliminate opposition ahead of the election that the junta has described as part of its "roadmap to democracy." Opposition groups and other critics dismiss it as a sham meant to perpetuate military rule.
Rupert Murdoch (R-Fascist) on Sunday dismissed the suggestion that newspapers are a dying breed, but the global medial mogul said the ideas of some editors and journalists were obsolete in the digital age.
The Australian-born Murdoch, whose News Corp empire includes The Times in Britain and the Wall Street Journal, said media companies, like other businesses, faced new competition from the Internet.
But while other industries saw the web as a potential boon, "among our journalistic friends are some misguided cynics who are too busy writing their own obituary to be excited by the opportunity."
Murdoch, who was 22 when he inherited his first paper in Australia, acknowledged that traditional sources of revenue such as classified adverts were drying up, but refused to accept that papers would die.
A model presents a creation by Belarussian designer Ekaterina Evdokimova during the Festival of Vanguard Art, Mammoth 2008, in Minsk November 16, 2008.
Photo by Vladimir Nikolsky
Gadget makers love to sell us on all the things their devices can do, whether it's letting us chat with distant friends at any time or watch movies on our commute. But can anyone fix this stuff when it breaks?
That's a question raised by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which discovered in a survey released Sunday that 15 percent of people who had some piece of technology break down in the previous year were never able to get it repaired.
The figure was even higher for certain products. Almost a quarter of cell phone users said they never managed to get their device fixed. And among those who did resolve an issue, a higher percentage either corrected the problem themselves or sought help from friends or relatives rather than call customer service.
James Bond's quantum of the weekend box office: $70.4 million. "Quantum of Solace," with Daniel Craig returning as Bond for the first direct sequel in the spy franchise, pulled in nearly $30 million more over opening weekend than its predecessor, 2006's "Casino Royale," according to studio estimates Sunday.
DreamWorks Animation's "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," which debuted at No. 1 the previous weekend, slipped to second place with $36.1 million, raising its 10-day total to $118 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Quantum of Solace," $70.4 million.
2. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," $36.1 million.
3. "Role Models," $11.7 million.
4. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," $5.9 million.
5. "Changeling," $4.2 million.
6. "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," $3.2 million.
7. "Soul Men," $2.43 million.
8. "The Secret Life of Bees," $2.4 million.
9. "Saw V," $1.8 million.
10. "The Haunting of Molly Hartley," $1.6 million.
With snow beginning to fall, a squirrel hangs on tight to a tiny branch to nibble on the tree's last remaining leaves in Moreland Hills, Ohio on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008.
Photo by Amy Sancetta
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
Do you have something to say?
Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better,
amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
Charlie replied:
