Roger Ebert's Journal: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
Although most religions forbid it, human societies throughout history have accepted suicide as a reality. Sometimes, as in Japan, it was seen as a matter of personal honor. Usually it was seen as an act of despair, or a manifestation of insanity. It can also be seen as a rational act, and to assist someone in committing it can be seen as an act of mercy.
Paul Krugman: To the Limit (New York Times)
In about a month, if nothing is done, the federal government will hit its legal debt limit. There will be dire consequences if this limit isn't raised. At best, we'll suffer an economic slowdown; at worst we'll plunge back into the depths of the 2008-9 financial crisis.
Andrew Tobias: Let The Bush Tax Cuts Expire
Oh, for God's sake, people: let the Bush tax cuts expire - were the Bush years really so good for most people? - and let's grow up about cutting the deficit (to do that, you need more revenue). Were the Clinton/Gore years, despite those tax rates, really so terrible?
Jim Hightower: The Frightened Rich
It turns out that the rich are not so different from you and me, for we're all filled with anxiety. You and I are scared by what they're doing to our middle-class future, and they're scared of what we might do to them for what they're doing to us.
Dan Coughlin and Kim Ives: "WikiLeaks Haiti: Let Them Live on $3 a Day" (The Nation)
Contractors for Fruit of the Loom, Hanes and Levi's worked in close concert with the US Embassy when they aggressively moved to block a minimum wage increase for Haitian assembly zone workers, the lowest-paid in the hemisphere, according to secret State Department cables.
Barbara Demick: China wrestles with food safety problems (Los Angeles Times)
From steroid-spiked pork to glow-in-the-dark meat to recycled cooking oil collected from sewers, a series of illnesses and scandals linked to tainted food has put officials on guard. But tougher measures have had little effect amid an official culture of secrecy.
Tim Johnson: Silenced voices: Languages dying off around the globe (McClatchy Newspapers)
Ayapanec isn't alone in its vulnerability. Some linguists say that languages are disappearing at the rate of two a month. Half of the world's remaining 7,000 or so languages may be gone by the end of this century, pushed into disuse by English, Spanish and other dominating languages.
"What Technology Wants" by Kevin Kelly: A review by David E. Nye
'What Technology Wants' is a book for people who believe, or want to believe, that technology is a coherent whole, that it grows out of nature and natural law, that it has its own trajectory, that it expresses a beneficent intentionality, that the sequence of its forms is inevitable, that the direction of its growth is predetermined and leads toward ever greater complexity and diversity, and that human beings have benefited and will continue to benefit as the technium accelerates. I am not convinced that any of these propositions are true,…
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is the application of a hand saw as a musical instrument. The sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin.
Sawists often use standard wood-cutting saws, although special musical saws are also made. As compared with wood-cutting saws, the blades of musical saws are generally wider, for range, and longer, for finer control. They do not have set or sharpened teeth, and may have grain running parallel to the back edge of the saw, rather than parallel to the teeth. Some musical saws are made with thinner metal, to increase flexibility, while others are made thicker, for a richer tone, longer sustain, and stronger harmonics. A typical musical saw is 5" wide at the handle end and 1" wide at the tip. A saw will generally produce about 2 octaves regardless of length. A bass saw may be 6" at the handle and produce about 2˝ octaves.
Source
Marian was first, and correct, with:
2
Alan J wrote:
Depending on the saw width about 2 and 1/2 octaves.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
A saw will generally produce about 2 octaves regardless of length.
Adam answered:
A saw will generally produce about 2 octaves regardless of length.
Charlie replied:
Two octaves.
Sally said:
Don't know about a 'msuical' saw (love ya Ms Marty), but a musical saw produce generally about 2 to 2.5 octaves.
I think I have one of these in my garage??
PS: Love your term, "over-the-air" TV and 'sub channels.' I get "Antenna TV" and love it, thanks for the schedule. I had been getting "HOT" TV AND "Retro" TV as sub channels of CBS (channel 2 here in the NYC area), and they are great - all the old crime shows, and some half-hr comedies but after a few weeks, they are gone? (Too good to be true, huh?) Wish I knew if they are coming back... Oh, there were 2 religious shows too, and they are gone as well... :(
And, Joe S replied:
A typical musical saw is 5" wide at the handle end and 1" wide at the tip. A saw will generally produce about 2 octaves regardless of length. A bass saw may be 6" at the handle and produce about 2˝ octaves.
I used to play the saw, I played guitar, I played drums, I played the mouth bow too. I used to do a lot of things I don't do anymore.
I think this is George Cloony's girlfriend.
My great-grandmother's 2nd husband, a very formal and dour gentleman, surprised us one Christmas by playing the saw after dinner.
He was a practicing Seventh Day Adventist, while my great-grandmother was a hardcore Methodist, and they seemed to try to see who was the more pious.
He died when I was little, and it was only after my great-grandmother died (30+ years later) that I found out Mr. Wheeler, as she called him, had been a
Vaudevillian with a saw and spoon-playing act.
Never did get to hear the whole story.
Where did the phrase 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet. Bursting with fascinating facts, the series looks at how English grew from a small tongue into a major global language before reflecting on the future of English in the 21st century.
CBS begins the night with a FRESH'Chaos', followed by a RERUN'CSI: The 3rd One', then '48 Hours'.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN'Minute To Win It', followed by a RERUN'L&O: CI', then a RERUN'L&O: LA'.
Of course, 'SNL' is a RERUN, with Helen Mirren hosting, music by Foo Fighters.
ABC starts the night with a RERUN'101 Ways To Leave A Game Show', followed by a RERUN"Expedition Impossible', then a RERUN'Rookie Blue'.
Jimmy Kimmel
The CW offers an ld 'Family Guy', followed by another old 'Family Guy', then an old 'American Guy', followed by another old 'American Dad'.
Faux has all 'Cops' all night.
MY recycles an old 'House', followed by another old 'House'.
AMC offers the movie 'Flight Of The Phoenix', followed by the movie 'Titanic'.
BBC -
[6:00 AM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ep 13 Deja Q
[7:00 AM] Battlestar Galactica - Miniseries (120) - Night 1
[9:00 AM] Battlestar Galactica - Miniseries (120) - Night 2
[11:00 AM] Battlestar Galactica - Ep 1 - 33
[12:00 PM] Battlestar Galactica - Ep 2 - Water
[1:00 PM] Battlestar Galactica - Miniseries (120) - Night 1
[3:00 PM] Battlestar Galactica - Miniseries (120) - Night 2
[5:00 PM] Battlestar Galactica - Ep 1 - 33
[6:00 PM] Battlestar Galactica - Ep 2 - Water
[7:00 PM] Battlestar Galactica - Ep 3 - Bastille Day
[8:00 PM] Battlestar Galactica - Ep 4 - Act of Contrition
[9:00 PM] Outcasts - Episode 3
[10:00 PM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 11 - Kim Catrall, Jessie Wallace, The Saturdays
[11:00 PM] The Inbetweeners - Episode 3
[11:30 PM] Come Fly With Me - Episode 3
[12:00 AM] Outcasts - Episode 3
[1:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 11 - Kim Catrall, Jessie Wallace, The Saturdays
[2:00 AM] The Inbetweeners - Episode 3
[2:30 AM] Come Fly With Me - Episode 3
[3:00 AM] Outcasts - Episode 3
[4:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 11 - Kim Catrall, Jessie Wallace, The Saturdays
[5:00 AM] The Inbetweeners - Episode 3 (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has all 'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills' all night.
Comedy Central has 'Gabriel Igesias: Hot & Fluffy', 'Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious', 'Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny', and 'Dane Cook: Vicious Circle'.
FX has the movie 'Marley & Me', '2½ Men', another '2½ Men', still another '2½ Men', and yet another '2½ Men'.
History has 'Ax Men', 'How The States Got Their Shapes', another 'How The States Got Their Shapes', and still another 'How The States Got Their Shapes'.
IFC -
[5:45 AM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[6:00 AM] City of Men
[8:15 AM] Pride
[10:30 AM] The Three Stooges
[10:55 AM] The Three Stooges
[11:20 AM] The Three Stooges
[11:45 AM] The Three Stooges
[12:10 PM] The Three Stooges
[12:35 PM] The Three Stooges
[1:00 PM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[1:15 PM] Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings
[1:45 PM] City of Men
[4:00 PM] Twelve and Holding
[6:00 PM] Good Guys Wear Black
[8:00 PM] Sin City
[10:30 PM] Sin City (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:35 AM] The Hip Hop Project
[8:05 AM] Love Comes Lately
[9:30 AM] Jellyfish
[10:50 AM] Music Rising
[11:35 AM] The Hip Hop Project
[1:05 PM] Love Comes Lately
[2:30 PM] ALL ON THE LINE - Dana-Maxx (Episode 5, Season 1)
[3:30 PM] Love Lust & The Undead
[4:30 PM] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - Halloween (Episode 9, Season 1)
[5:30 PM] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - Other People's Mothers (Episode 10, Season 1)
[8:00 PM] Man On Wire
[9:40 PM] Right Foot, Left Foot
[12:00 AM] PLEASURE FOR SALE (Episode 5) (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'The Devil's Advocate', followed by the movie 'The Hills Have Eyes'.
The rock group 'The Eagles' perform at a concert in honour of Prince Albert II and his fiancee Charlene Wittstock at the Stade Louis II stadium in Monaco June 30, 2011.
Photo by Benoit Tessier
Jon Stewart has unseated Jay Leno to take the late-night ratings crown in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic during the second quarter.
It is the first time in ten years -- or 40 consecutive quarters -- that NBC's "The Tonight Show" has not won the closely watched race. Advertisers pay a premium to reach viewers in this elusive age range.
Comedy Central's one-two punch of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" also finished the quarter as the top-rated late-night shows on all of television among viewers aged 18-34 as well as male viewers (18-34 and 18-24).
It is quite an achievement for Comedy Central; the network's late-night franchises have been popular with younger viewers, but the 18-49 crown has remained elusive as broadcast late-night shows routinely pull in larger overall audiences.
Director of the movie Seth Gordon (R) poses with cast members (from L-R) Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis and Julie Bowen at the premiere of "Horrible Bosses" at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California June 30, 2011. The movie opens in the U.S. on July 8.
Photo by Mario Anzuoni
The Federal Election Commission said Thursday that comedian Stephen Colbert can use his TV show's resources to boost his political action committee, but he must disclose some major expenses as in-kind contributions from the show's corporate owners.
Colbert played it straight during his appearance before the commission, letting his attorney do most of the talking while saving his trademark quips for a crowd that gathered outside the commission building after the meeting.
Colbert, who plays a conservative TV pundit on "The Colbert Report," is forming Colbert Super PAC, a type of political action committee which will allow him to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions and individuals. The money will be used to support or oppose candidates in the 2012 elections through independent expenditures such as TV ads.
The FEC decision comes amid a broader erosion of campaign finance regulations in the wake of recent court rulings and with Republicans on the Federal Election Commission and elsewhere pushing for a rollback to give corporations and other wealthy donors stronger sway in financing campaigns.
Television writers saw their earnings increase in 2010, but the total number of writers reporting income fell -- and movie writers' income fell by nearly 10 percent -- according to a report the Writers Guild of America West released on Friday.
According to the WGAW annual report, the total earnings for WGAW writers fell 2.9 percent from 2009 to 2010 -- from $955.8 million to $928 million.
On the television side, earnings grew from $517.3 million in 2009 to $532.1 million in 2010.
Total television employment fell 1.1 percent, though, to 3,142, for the year. That's down from 3,176 in 2009 but slightly up from 3,100 in 2008.
It's a 19.5 percent drop from the all-time high of 3,903 in 2000.
A view of lighting display over the main port in Monaco as a concert by French musician Jean-Michel Jarre takes place, Friday, July 1, 2011. The concert is part of the three day celebration that will include the wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Princess of Monaco.
Photo by Francois Mori
Supermodel Kate Moss married rocker Jamie Hince in a celebrity-packed ceremony on Friday, in a quiet English village with an army of photographers kept far away.
For one of the world's most-photographed women, the 37-year-old was remarkably camera-shy as she married The Kills guitarist Hince in the Cotswolds, a picturesque chain of rolling hills in southwest England.
The wedding took over the village of Southrop, with roads closed and a large police presence.
Moss wore a sleeveless ivory dress, a long veil and a floral headband, while Hince wore a grey suit.
The U.S. government has sued a former NASA astronaut to recover a camera used to explore the moon's surface during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission after seeing it slated for sale in a New York auction.
The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court on Wednesday, accuses Edgar Mitchell of illegally possessing the camera and attempting to sell it for profit.
In March, NASA learned that the British auction house Bonhams was planning to sell the camera at an upcoming Space History Sale, according to the suit.
The item was labeled "Movie Camera from the Lunar Surface" and billed as one of two cameras from the Apollo 14's lunar module Antares. The lot description said the item came "directly from the collection" of pilot Edgar Mitchell and had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 to $80,000, the suit said.
California Gov. Jerry Brown signs the state budget surrounded by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, D-Los Angeles, left, and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, right, on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at the state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif..
Photo by Hector Amezcua
Time's slipping away on a deal for iconic U.S. country singer Willie Nelson's misdemeanor drug charge.
County Judge Becky Dean-Walker said on Friday she wouldn't sign off on a plea deal that reduced the charge to the same as a speeding ticket.
Nelson agreed in June to plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia, pay a $500 fine and court costs of about $280.
But Dean-Walker said she considered it a more serious offense, and would not approve the deal. She signed it, then scratched her name out when she realized it was such a small punishment, she said.
The judge said she had nothing against the singer, but that any other person in the same situation would face a tougher penalty. Nelson's case remained pending on Friday.
Stop the presses! Someone has filed a sexual harassment claim against a member of the Flynt family -- and it isn't Larry!
In papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, former Hustler West Coast District Manager Steven Prescott claims that he was harassed by the Hustler publisher's daughter, Theresa, who works for Hustler's retail arm.
According to Prescott, Flynt made unwanted sexual advances toward him, including a late-night text message reading, "I want you...Now." The suit also claims that Flynt "often and repeatedly touched Mr. Prescott inappropriately in a sexual manner."
The suit claims that, when Prescott objected to the advances he was subjected to an increasingly hostile work environment.
Demonstrators hold up signs during a rally in front of the State Building in San Francisco, Friday, July 1, 2011 to support prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison. Inmates in an isolation unit at Pelican Bay State Prison are on a hunger strike to protest conditions that they describe as inhumane. Advocates say several dozen inmates in the Security Housing Unit declined to eat their morning meal on Friday. The unit holds about a third of the 3,100 inmates at the Northern California prison.
Photo by Paul Sakuma
Actress Bai Ling said she is confronting a dark chapter from her past: sexual abuse she suffered as a teenager at the hands of Chinese army officers.
Bai, 44, who was a soldier in a People's Liberation Army performance troupe from age 14 to 17, told The Associated Press in a recent interview that she was "opening a wound that was very secret to myself, that even my parents don't know."
Therapy she received during a U.S. reality TV series helped her understand what she endured in the 1980s and the psychological marks it left on her, Bai said.
She was pressed to have sex with her superiors, with one encounter leading to pregnancy and an abortion under an assumed name, Bai said, adding that other women serving with her in Tibet were also forced into sex and regularly plied with alcohol.
Bai stressed that she blames individual officers and not the Chinese government for events that have haunted her life and work.
Zynga, the online game maker behind "FarmVille" and other popular Facebook pastimes, is going public, the latest in a crop of high-valued Internet IPOs expected after LinkedIn Corp. showed that the online networking craze is a hot commodity on Wall Street.
Zynga Inc. hopes to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering that follows LinkedIn's sizzling stock market debut last month. The amount of money Zynga is seeking in its IPO will likely change as its bankers determine how many shares should be sold and at what price. That process typically takes three to four months.
There's pent-up demand for the stock of large social media companies because so few of them have gone public, even as they have been steadily expanding their reach for several years. The opening of the floodgates could culminate next year in a long-awaited IPO of Facebook, the biggest social network of them all.
Because of Zynga's size, strong financials and potential for a valuation of $20 billion or more at the start, the 4-year-old company's IPO is already drawing comparisons to another high-profile stock-market debut.
Goyang, a 12-year-old male orangutan, plays with the bubbles placed into a water filled plastic swimming pool placed into its containment area at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium on Friday, July 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh. The zoo staged what they called an orangutan beach party with the pool, plastic chairs, and beach towels to promote family week at the complex.
Photo by Keith Srakocic
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