Andrew Tobias: Water and Oil (andrewtobias.com)
Saudi Arabia is a big place (756,985 square miles), so maybe that's not a problem. World oil reserves are estimated on the order of a trillion barrels, of which Saudi Arabia has perhaps 10% - 27 years' worth at the current extraction rate.
By Joel Stein: On the trail of the next big bubble (latimes.com)
Like most Americans, I hear about foreclosures and other tragedies of the housing bubble and think: Why didn't I make money off this? I felt the same sense of devastating loss in 2000, when tech stocks crashed and I didn't benefit. Also, unlike my sister, I choked on exploiting that period of generosity right after our parents' divorce.
PAUL CONSTANT: Text Message from Los Angeles (thestranger.com)
On the demented, celebrity-crazed, surrender-happy, endlessly-on-the-verge-of-being-wiped-off-the-planet publishing industry. (Note to panicked book lovers: Everything is going to be okay.)
Clive Stafford Smith: Welcome to 'the disco' (guardian.co.uk)
For US interrogators seeking to disorientate and break Iraqi prisoners it's 'torture lite' - rock music played at excruciating volumes. But while the song choices may sometimes verge on the unintentionally funny, this appropriation of music by the military is anything but a joke.
Mike Farley: A Chat with Paddy Case (bullz-eye.com)
"I think Irish people are a little bit looser and they dance a bit easier. I think Americans listen a lot more, which is kind of cool in itself because it's sometimes nice to not have to fight the crowd a bit. I think Irish people are just are determined to have their own buzz of it. They're going to enjoy it no matter what."
mj was first, but wrong, writing:
Just like Europe
The best families of all the best cities intermarried. It's been a while since I read this stuff back in elementary (yes elementary) school, but I'm pretty sure Helen came from Mycenae and married Agamemnon of Sparta. She was abducted (or ran off with, stories vary) Paris of Troy. I'm going with C. I think her birth nation and some kinship was how they got Menelaeus (sp?) on board, so to speak.
Chuck wrote:
Helen of Troy was from our favorite place, D. Sparta. Here is a painting of Helen of Troy by A. Sandys In my opinion this face can launch a thousand ships, Away from her as fast as they can.......
Dan D replied:
Well, if I remember the story right, Agememnon -- to whose son Helen was officially betrothed -- was based out of Mycenae before the great earthquake that utterly destroyed that early civilization. Of course, since Agememnon had conquered virtually all of the Greek homeland EXCEPT for Troy, by default he was the superimposed leader of all that was Greek. But Helen, whose unfaithfulness to that powerful tyrant's son was the ultimate reason (or excuse) for the trickier-than-Dick destruction of Troy -- where her own doomed true love was quite selectively chosen -- actually came from Sparta. While history claims this early adventure of Greek Genocide to be a problem of true love, I prefer to see it more as Agememnon's Honey-trap extravaganza.
This is where the phrase "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts" comes from, I believe.
So I guess the answer is "D."
Sheesh, Greek tragedies, more twists and turns than an ancient, unbroken strand of dreadlock hair!
Sally said:
Legend has it, that the exquisitely beautiful vixen, "Helen of Troy" came from (D) Sparta.
Of course it's difficult to assess her actual beauty, because her portrait's have been portrayed by Caucasian artists who have captured her beauty in the, "Nicole Kidman School of Beauty," rather than that of Paula Abdul (another hot babe) who would have been a lot more realistic...
Off to prepare for the Solstice (June 20, 2008 at 7:59 PM EDT) when I shall be frolicking naked in the backyard under the full moon (unless it rains) candle in one hand, a chocolate bar in the other,
PS: When it came time for that 'sex' talk in my childhood home, my parents (who were highly educated, but alas, often exchanged it for better judgment) used a, "Children's Illustrated" version of, "The Odyssey" in lieu of a sex manual. There, I learned the story of Helen's parents (Zeus and Leda). I studied the pictures of Zeus, taking the form of a swan (when chased by an eagle) and hiding behind Leda. Unfortunately, the nuts and bolts of the story seem to have been omitted, but it was implied that the two, "Mated." Somehow, Leda then produced an egg, from which Helen was born. "The End."
What delightful nonsense, I remembered it to be. Of course, I told MY children that babies are brought to us by the stork - as that was the modern myth at that time...
Here is an artist's rendition of the fetching Helen of Sparta, "The face that launched a thousand ships..."
Marian the Teacher responded:
Sparta
And, Vic in AK answered:
Lets see, her dad was Zeus and her mom was Leda and Leda was the queen of Sparta, so I have to say..........Algermissen, near Hildesheim, Germany.
Sal, I was SOOO disappointed when having moved to Alaska years ago I discovered that there were NO penguins up here, I decided to stay though.
wait!!!! The actress who played Helen is from Algermissen....Helen was from Sparta...D
Good guesses on the which one is me in the pic thingy. I added a pic today of me with a puppet a fan made of my character...eerie likeness huh?
The ones who guessed right, even if you didn't put your answer online win a copy of my show .Just send your info to my Nigerian scam e-mail address and I will send off a DVD copy with the several millions of dollars a great benefactor left for you from his or her international lottery winnings.
Seriously though if ANYONE wants a copy I will send one free of charge...its really some funny Sh*t
Thanks to Sally, Charlie, Chuck, and Vic for the pictures.
Thanks to Buzzcook for today & yesterday's questions.
zEN mAN (observing my beloved brother (tHAT mAD cAT, JD) John with a medical device up his right nostril to stop a bloody nose....apparantly he was watching FOX News and a blood vessel blew when he got pissed off (again) at Michelle Malkin....or Ann Coulter....or Dick Morris......or Karl Rove.....or Sean Hannity....or......He was right....FOX News is bad for your health....HEEEE HAAAW)
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'NCIS", followed by a RERUN'The Unit', then '48 Hours'.
NBC opens the night with FRESH'US Olympic Trials', followed by a RERUN'Law & Order: Criminal Intent'.
SNL is a RERUN, of course, with Tina Fey hosting, music by Carrie Underwood.
ABC fills the night with the RECYCLED-from-cable movie 'Camp Rock', and a shitload of Disney infomercials.
The CW a couple old 'Friends', followed by a couple old 'Sex & The City'.
Faux has the traditional 'Cops', 'Cops', and 'America's Most Wanted'.
MY fills the night with the movie 'Adrift In Manhattan'.
A&E has 'The Andromeda Strain, Part 1', followed by 'The Andromeda Strain, Part 2', and 'The Sopranos'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Last Samurai', followed by the movie 'Alexander'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 17
[12:30 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 1
[1:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 8 La Gondola
[2:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 1 Glasshouse
[3:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 1 La Parra de Burriana
[4:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 7
[5:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 6
[6:00 PM] Doctor Who - Ep 7 The Idiot?s Lantern
[7:00 PM] Doctor Who - Ep 8 The Impossible Planet
[8:00 PM] Robin Hood - Ep 7 Show Me the Money
[9:00 PM] Robin Hood - Ep 8 Get Carter
[10:00 PM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 8 Gordon Ramsay
[11:00 PM] Robin Hood - Ep 7 Show Me the Money
[12:00 AM] Robin Hood - Ep 8 Get Carter
[1:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 8 Gordon Ramsay
[2:00 AM] Robin Hood - Ep 7 Show Me the Money
[3:00 AM] Robin Hood - Ep 8 Get Carter
[4:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 8 Gordon Ramsay
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Episode 11
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Episode 10
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Top Chef', followed by the movie 'Training Day'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'National Lampoon's Van Wilder', followed by the movie 'Just Friends'.
FX has the movie 'Fantastic Four', followed by the movie 'The Day After Tomorrow'.
History has 'Modern Marvels', 'How The Earth Was Made', and 'How Life Began'.
IFC -
[06:10 AM] Waking Life
[08:00 AM] Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy
[10:15 AM] Dinner Rush
[12:00 PM] Johnny Stecchino
[01:45 PM] Mistress
[03:45 PM] Dinner Rush
[05:30 PM] Waking Life
[07:15 PM] Stay
[09:00 PM] Mother Night
[11:00 PM] Shopping
[12:45 AM] L'Auberge Espagnole
[02:55 AM] IFC News: 2008, Uncut
[03:00 AM] Mother Night
[05:00 AM] Shopping (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has the movie 'King Of The Lost World', followed by the movie 'A Sound Of Thunder'.
Sundance -
[05:45 AM] Loggerheads
[07:30 AM] Southern Belles
[09:00 AM] Mike Myers + Deepak Chopra
[10:00 AM] Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton
[11:30 AM] Binta and the Great Idea
[12:00 PM] Crooklyn
[02:00 PM] Episode 3 - Chicago
[02:30 PM] (Episode 3)
[03:00 PM] Part 2
[04:00 PM] Marvelous
[05:30 PM] Binta and the Great Idea
[06:00 PM] Mary J. Blige, Dashboard Confessional & James Blunt
[07:00 PM] Half Nelson
[09:00 PM] Episode 1
[09:30 PM] Episode 3
[10:00 PM] The Event
[12:00 AM] The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
[01:45 AM] Jude
[04:00 AM] Close Your Eyes
[05:45 AM] Gimme Shelter (ALL TIMES EST)
Guitar legend Les Paul throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the first inning of a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, June 20, 2008, in Milwaukee.
Photo by Morry Gash
In some American Indian tribes, when important matters are being discussed a "talking stick" is handed around. Whoever holds it is the only one who may speak, while the others listen. Hence the name of the Talking Stick Film Festival.
More than 100 films are scheduled to be shown during the inaugural event, which will be held Saturday through June 26 in Santa Fe.
There will be panels and workshops as well, with such notables as actor Wes Studi, director Chris Eyre - whose supernatural thriller "Imprint" will be shown during the festival - and actor Gary Farmer, who'll do double-duty leading a workshop and playing with his bluesy band.
The films were largely written, directed or produced by Indians from the U.S. and Canada, with some offerings from indigenous people of Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Samoa.
Add a musical composition to all the tributes at next year's 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
Ramsey Lewis has been commissioned to compose a new work inspired by Lincoln's life. It's being commissioned by the Ravinia Festival, a musical festival north of Chicago. Ravinia has already asked choreographer Bill T. Jones to create a dance theater work as part of the seasonlong celebration of Lincoln.
In announcing the jazz pianist's new untitled work, Ravinia said it will present programs focusing on Lincoln's life and musicians of his day.
Lewis also said it is appropriate that Lincoln's story should be told through the "purely American music" of jazz.
A couple of new rules governing the Academy Awards could result in the foreign-language film category becoming more inclusive and the original song category becoming more competitive.
In the past two years, 2006's "Dreamgirls" and 2007's "Enchanted," dominated the song race with three nominations each -- although neither film took home the statuette. A new rule stipulates that only two tunes per movie may be nominated for original song.
In the foreign-language race this year, such critically applauded features as Romania's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and France's "Persepolis" failed to score a nomination. In future, an executive committee will be able to rectify any glaring omissions by adding three films to a shortlist of six. As it has done in the past two years, another committee will then winnow the enlarged shortlist to five nominees.
Nominations for next year's Oscars will be announced January 22, and the awards will be presented on February 22.
The sale by Julien's Auctions in Las Vegas on Saturday features more than 400 memorabilia items ranging from actress Pamela Anderson's sports car to a piece of wedding cake from the marriage celebration of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
But the 47-minute film of Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable preparing for scenes in 1961's "The Misfits" has drawn a lot of interest ahead of the sale and could bring $50,000 to $100,000, said Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions.
The auction will feature items from other Hollywood icons, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando. There are some 250 lots of major studio photos and other images as well as paintings of animation art.
Video streaming from the auction will play live over the Internet on AuctionNetwork.com. The site allows viewers to join in bidding as if they themselves were there, which is a new advancement, Julien said.
Funny man and former talk show host Dick Cavett came home to talk about depression, what he called "the worst agony devised for man."
The 71-year-old Cavett struggled with depression for years, even when he was one of the most well-known figures in television.
He spoke on Thursday at NET Television Studios to a group of mental health professionals participating in a statewide summit on depression. He was also back in Nebraska to participate in the first Great American Comedy Festival, which is being held this week in Norfolk.
Inductee John Sebastian and his wife arrive at the 2008 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday, June 19, 2008, in New York.
Photo by Peter Kramer
The auction house thought the portrait was a 17th century Rembrandt knockoff, and valued it at just $3,100. But the British buyer who paid about 1,500 times more than that apparently knew what he was doing.
Experts have confirmed "Rembrandt Laughing" - bought for a bargain price of $4.5 million at an English auction house in October - is a self-portrait by the Dutch master himself, depicted with his head tilted back in easygoing laughter.
William Noortman from Noortman Master Paintings, specializing in Dutch and Flemish masters, said it's worth $30 million to $40 million, adding: "I'm very surprised it didn't make more at auction."
The 9 1/2-inch-by-6 1/2-inch painting will hang in the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam through June 29, on loan from the anonymous Briton who bought it at the auction by Moore, Allen and Innocent in Gloucestershire and had it cleaned and examined by British experts.
Celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart has been denied entry to Britain because of her 2003 U.S. conviction for lying about a stock sale.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc, the company founded by Stewart, said the 66-year-old business woman had been planning to travel to Britain for business meetings.
A spokesman for Britain's Home Office, which runs the UK Border Agency, said it does not comment on individual cases.
"We continue to oppose the entry to the UK of individuals where we believe their presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good or where they have been found guilty of serious criminal offenses abroad," he said.
Japanese immigrants wave Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito before his speech before the National Congress in Brasilia, on June 18. Prince Naruhito arrived in Brazil on a 12-day visit to attend ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration in the South American country.
Photo by Joedson Alves
Temperamental model Naomi Campbell was sentenced to 200 hours of community service Friday after pleading guilty to assaulting two police officers after an "air rage" incident at Heathrow Airport.
She was also ordered to pay 200 pounds ($400) to each of the police officers she attacked and 150 pounds ($300) to Miles Sutherland, the captain of the British Airways plane she disrupted, in addition to a 2,300 pound ($4,600) fine.
She could have received six months' jail time and a heavy fine for the six offenses stemming from a violent spat in April with British Airways cabin crew and police who removed her from a flight in handcuffs while waiting on the tarmac at Heathrow.
Prosecutors said Campbell used foul language, kicked and spat at police, accused airline personnel of racism and threatened to sue them after she was told that one of her bags had not been placed on the flight to Los Angeles in April.
Italian car maker Fiat has apologized to China over a television commercial featuring Hollywood actor Richard Gere and a reference to Tibet.
The Fiat ad features the Delta, a new car under the Lancia brand. It can be seen on the website, with Gere driving from Hollywood to Tibet, where he steps out to make handprints in the snow with a child.
The ad run began in Italy last week and will be aired elsewhere as the Delta is rolled out across Europe.
Lancia does not sell cars in China but Fiat operations there include parts, engines, cars, vans, and trucks with a number of partners.
A model displays a creation from the Cavalera Spring/Summer collection during Sao Paulo fashion week in Sao Paulo June 20, 2008.
Photo by Paulo Whitaker
The Bush administration wants to rewrite the official evidence against Guantanamo Bay detainees, allowing it to shore up its cases before they come under scrutiny by civilian judges for the first time.
The government has stood behind the evidence for years. Military review boards relied on it to justify holding hundreds of prisoners indefinitely without charge. Justice Department attorneys said it was thoroughly and fairly reviewed.
Now that federal judges are about to review the evidence, however, the government says it needs to make changes.
The decision follows last week's Supreme Court ruling, which held that detainees have the right to challenge their detention in civilian court, not just before secret military panels. At a closed-door meeting with judges and defense attorneys this week, government lawyers said they needed time to add new evidence and make other changes to evidentiary documents known as "factual returns."
Detainees' attorneys who have reviewed the records criticized much of the evidence as hearsay cobbled together from bounty hunters and border guards who accused people of being terrorists in exchange for reward money.
Citibank is suing Ed McMahon, seeking to recoup nearly $200,000 lent to the financially strapped Hollywood icon, court records show.
Citibank filed the lawsuit against McMahon in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 9, according to the documents. The bank's suit seeks at least $179,687 in damages as well as attorney's fees on debt incurred within the past four years.
The former "Tonight Show" sidekick and "Star Search" host has faced mounting money problems since it was revealed earlier this month that he was $644,000 behind on payments on his Beverly Hills home. The lender, Countrywide Financial Corp., filed a default notice on the home in late February.
McMahon's publicist Howard Bragman said Friday that the McMahons had not yet been served with the lawsuit and will not comment on their personal finances.
People drink wine at the unveiling ceremony of an enema syringe in a sanatorium in the southern Russian spa town of Inozemtsevo June 18, 2008. A health spa in Russia has unveiled a bronze monument of three cherubs carrying an enema, a design inspired by the 15th century Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli.
Photo by Eduard Korniyenko
Tourists gaped at six stunning wedding dresses displayed at Ripley's Believe It or Not! in New York's Times Square.
The fashionable white frocks were fashioned entirely of toilet paper.
The judges from Ripley's Believe it or Not!, Charmin and Cheap-Chic-Weddings.com crowned this year's winner, Katrina Chalifoux of Rockford, Ill. She spent two weeks creating a sheath dress with a raised flower pattern from molded toilet paper.
Terri Glover of Marlin, Texas, was a second prize winner. Ann Lee, of Honolulu, Hawaii, placed third in the annual dress competition, which just celebrated its fourth year.
UFO enthusiasts got a boost Friday when Welsh police confirmed that one of their helicopter crews had spotted an "unusual aircraft" flying over Cardiff earlier this month.
An investigation into the sighting had been launched, they said.
The police clarification came after tabloid newspaper The Sun reported a UFO had "attacked" a police helicopter, following it for several miles over the Bristol Channel.
At the time of the incident, the helicopter with three men on board was waiting to land at the St Athan RAF base near Cardiff. The sighting reportedly took place at 00:40 am (23:40 GMT) on June 8.
Indeever the young Snowleopard cub, is seen in Zuerich Zoo, after his first vaccinations on Friday, June 20, 2008. Indeever was born on April 27, 2008.
Photo by MARTIN RUETSCHI
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