Mary Beard: Education, education, education? (TLS)
Part of Sajid Javid's spending review was to announce that the minimum spending per head for pupils in state secondary schools was to rise to £5,000 per year. In some ways you can't knock it. But we ought to stop for a moment and compare what the spending is per capita in independent schools. It is at least twice per head.
Mary Beard: Roman precedent? (TLS)
Just to continue the Roman theme, I have been wondering about how those ancient guys clipped the corners of the constitutional rules, and what the effects were in big time politics. It is a story of the intersections between rules, politics and (in Rome) religion, with a sideways glance on us. At the back of my mind is the arguable legitimacy of Johnson's prorogation (we wait to see), and what the precedents are for that edge-on ruling, and what long term history those questions have.
The 100 best albums of the 21st century (The Guardian)
We polled 45 music writers to rank the definitive LPs of the 21st century so far. Read our countdown of passionate pop, electrifying rock and anthemic rap - and see if you agree. 1. Amy Winehouse. Back to Black.
Neal Spencer: Keeping up with Jones (The Guardian, from 2004)
Jazz? Pop? Soul? It really doesn't matter any more. Norah Jones's phenomenal success has blurred music's traditional categories and opened the way for a stream of young, gifted and British divas.
The 100 best films of the 21st century (The Guardian)
Gangsters, superheroes, schoolkids, lovers, slaves, peasants, techies, Tenenbaums and freefalling astronauts - they're all here in our countdown of cinema's best movies since 2000. 1. There will be Blood.
A drey is the nest of a tree squirrel or a flying squirrel. Dreys are usually built of twigs, dry leaves, and grass, and typically assembled in the forks of a tall tree. They are sometimes referred to as "drey nests" to distinguish them from squirrel "cavity nests" (also termed "dens"). In temperate regions, dreys become much more visible in the autumn, when leaf-fall reveals new nests built the previous summer or in early fall.
A favoured site for a drey is a tree crotch about 30 to 45 feet (9.1 to 13.7 m) above ground level. Squirrels may also nest in attics or exterior walls of buildings, where a drey may be regarded as a fire hazard, as some squirrels have a habit of gnawing on electrical cables. At other times, squirrels may inhabit a permanent tree den in the hollow of a trunk or large branch.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
Squirrel.
Alan J answered:
A Squirrel.
Dave said:
Squirrels, specifically squirrels that sleep in trees. A drey is built of interlocking twigs and are lined with grass to insulate the den. Dreys are usually placed high (30-40 feet up) in the limbs of trees, where most ground predators can't follow and birds of prey can't see them. Tree squirrels typically sleep alone, although they may share a nest during periods of mating or during very cold weather. These nests are easiest to see from the ground after the leaves drop in the autumn. Squirrels will also opportunistically nest in tree cavities or inside human buildings, where their presence is unwelcome because the squirrel damages the structure, and the nest may be a fire hazard.
zorch wrote:
A "drey" is a nest of squirrels.
Rosemary in Columbus responded:
Nest of squirrels
Mac Mac replied:
Squirrel
Jim from CA, retired to ID, said:
A drey - or dray - is a nest of a tree squirrel or a flying squirrel.
Adam answered:
A tree squirrel or flying squirrel.
John I from Hawai`i says,
"Squirrel."
Cal in Vermont wrote:
Flying Squirrels. But not walking ones.
Daniel in The City replied:
Squirrels
Deborah responded:
A drey is the nest of the flying squirrel. Reminds me of Rocky.
Joe S said:
That is the nest of large work horses, which are vast nests of dry grasses and other soft vegetation. These nests are huge to accommodate the largest of the horse breeds, commonly called dray horses. ........What?......Oh, "drey." ......That's squirrels.
Randall wrote:
flying squirrel
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BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
• In August of 1975, five-year-old Debbie Gibson, future pop singer and writer of "Lost in Your Eyes," celebrated her birthday at her favorite restaurant - one that her family ate at twice a year: Christmas and Debbie's birthday. The restaurant allowed kids under age 12 to eat free, and Debbie ordered a very big, very expensive lobster, which she ate all by herself. She says that she looked a lot fatter walking out of the restaurant than she did walking in. She remembers, "Next time we went back, they had a special kids' menu. They wouldn't let little kids order from the big menu anymore - and that was because of me!"
• Run-DMC performed all over the world, including Amsterdam, which has much more lenient drug laws than the United States. In an Amsterdam smoke shop, Jam Master Jay sampled the chocolate chip cookies, which were delicious, so he kept eating more and more of them, since he was not aware that they had a very special ingredient. When DMC noticed what Jay was eating, he told him, "Do you know what those are? Those are space cookies. Magic cookies. You're gonna be stoned for two days!"
• Johannes Brahms enjoyed good food. One day, his doctor ordered him to stop eating rich food. The very next day, the doctor saw Mr. Brahms in a Viennese restaurant eating a feast of very rich food. After listening to his doctor's criticisms, Mr. Brahms replied, "Do you suppose I'm going to starve to death just to be able to live a few more years?"
• As a young woman traveling from town to town to make money by singing, Emma Abbott was often forced to eat less than she should. Once, she was so hungry that she sold her long hair in order to get money to buy food. Fortunately, she was discovered by opera singer Clara Louise Kellogg, who helped make her rich and famous.
Friends
• Friends can be a big help when help is needed. While Jimi Hendrix was in the United States Army and stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, some of his fellow soldiers did not like him and even beat him up once. One of Jimi's friends from Seattle, Washington, where he had been born, was also stationed there: Raymond Ross, the heavyweight boxing champion for the 101st Airborne. Raymond hit a few heads, and Jimi's fellow soldiers decided not to beat Jimi up anymore. As a young musician in Nashville, Tennessee, Jimi sometimes could not afford to replace his guitar's strings when they broke. As Jimi was trying to play his guitar without an E string, Larry Lee, a Nashville bass guitarist, gave him an E string. They became friends. When Jimi decided to go to New York City, he lacked a coat; Larry gave him one. By the way, much later Jimi asked Larry to play rhythm guitar for him at Woodstock. Also by the way, an element of luck is involved in becoming a member of a famous rock group such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Noel Redding, a white man, became bass guitarist for the group in part because he was a guitarist who had never played bass guitar before and so would not be limited by preconceived ideas about how to play bass guitar - more importantly, Jimi chose him because he liked Noel's Afro hairdo. Mitch Mitchell and another man were competing for the drummer position - Mitch got it because he won a coin toss.
• When he was a young man, Leonard Bernstein met a man named Adolph Green, who later became big on Broadway and in Hollywood. When they met, each quizzed the other on his knowledge of music. They quickly discovered that neither was a fake and both would admit when they did not know something. Lenny played a few bars of music, said that they were by Dmitry Shostakovich, and asked Adolph to name the piece. Adolph said that he could not name the piece. Actually, the piece was by Lenny himself. Adolph then requested Lenny to play the piece titled Puck by Debussy. Lenny replied that he did not know that piece. Actually, no such piece existed. After the musical quizzing was over, the two became close friends. Betty Comden, who collaborated with Adolph for six decades, was impressed by Lenny when she first met him. She went home and woke up her mother and told her, "Mom, I've met my first genius." Her mother replied, "That's nice, dear," and then she went back to sleep.
My 'good' computer crapped out (again) tonight, so if there's no page tomorrow, you'll know why.
Since my long-time, super-reliable computer repair place is now a pot-supplies shop, it may take even longer - have no idea of where to go now.
Regardless, I'm just not in the mood to deal with it (but I will).
Sigh.
Tonight, Saturday:
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'NCIS', followed by '48 Hours'.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN'America's Got Talent', followed by 'Dateline'.
Of course, 'SNL' is a RERUN with John Mulaney hosting, music by Thomas Rhett.
ABC fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap.
The CW offers a buncha '2½ Men'.
Faux fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap.
MY recycles an old 'Major Crimes', followed by an old 'Rizzoli & Isles'.
A&E has 'Live PD', followed by a FRESH'Live PD: Rewind', and 'Live PD'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Fugitive', followed by the movie 'The Green Mile'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 11 - EPISODE 1-The Woman Who Fell to Earth
[7:30AM] A BRONX TALE (1993)
[10:00AM] FIELD OF DREAMS (1989)
[12:30PM] GHOST (1990)
[3:30PM] FIELD OF DREAMS (1989)
[6:00PM] GHOST t (1990)
[9:00PM] NATURE'S GREAT EVENTS - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 4-The Great Tide
[10:10PM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 10-Primates
[11:20PM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 6-Insects
[12:30AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE
[1:40AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE
[2:50AM] NATURE'S GREAT EVENTS - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 4-The Great Tide
[4:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 10-Primates
[5:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has the movie 'Madea's Family Reunion', followed by the movie 'Madea's Family Reunion', again.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Old School', followed by the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'.
FX has the movie 'The Emoji Movie', followed by the movie 'Pacific Rim'.
History has 'Ancient Aliens', followed by a FRESH'Ancient Aliens: Declassified'.
IFC -
[6:00A] Batman - Come Back, Shame
[6:33A] Batman - It's the Way You Play the Game
[7:06A] Batman - The Penguin's Nest
[7:39A] Batman - The Bird's Last Jest
[8:12A] Batman - The Cat's Meow
[8:45A] The Three Stooges - Woman Haters
[9:15A] The Pink Panther 2
[11:15A] The Pink Panther
[1:15P] Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
[3:15P] Hall Pass
[5:45P] Baby Mama
[8:00P] We're the Millers
[10:30P] Baby Mama
[12:45A] We're the Millers
[3:15A] Hall Pass
[5:45A] The Three Stooges - Income-Tax Sappy (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:05am] The Andy Griffith Show
[6:40am] The Andy Griffith Show
[7:15am] The Andy Griffith Show
[7:50am] The Andy Griffith Show
[8:25am] The Andy Griffith Show
[9:00am] The Andy Griffith Show
[9:30am] The Andy Griffith Show
[10:00am] The Andy Griffith Show
[10:30am] The Andy Griffith Show
[11:00am] M*A*S*H
[11:30am] M*A*S*H
[12:00pm] M*A*S*H
[12:30pm] M*A*S*H
[1:00pm] M*A*S*H
[1:30pm] M*A*S*H
[2:00pm] M*A*S*H
[2:30pm] M*A*S*H
[3:00pm] M*A*S*H
[3:30pm] M*A*S*H
[4:00pm] M*A*S*H
[4:30pm] M*A*S*H
[5:00pm] M*A*S*H
[5:30pm] M*A*S*H
[6:00pm] M*A*S*H
[6:30pm] M*A*S*H
[7:00pm] M*A*S*H
[7:30pm] M*A*S*H
[8:00pm] M*A*S*H
[8:30pm] M*A*S*H
[9:00pm] Cast Away
[12:00am] Cast Away
[3:00am] Exiled: A Law & Order
[5:00am] Law & Order (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2', followed by the movie 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'.
Sir Ringo Starr has teamed up with Sir Paul McCartney to record a version of a lost demo written by John Lennon less than a year before his death.
Lennon penned Grow Old With Me during the sessions for Double Fantasy, the final record he made before he was shot and killed outside his Manhattan apartment on December 8, 1980.
The former Beatles drummer, 79, was introduced to the song by record producer Jack Douglas, who produced the Grammy-winning album, which is also credited to Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.
Sir Ringo enlisted the help of Sir Paul, 77, to play bass on the track, which he admitted had brought him to tears when he first heard it.
The track features on Sir Ringo's 20th solo album, What's My Name, out on October 25.
Beatles fans are able to make a journey to a place immortalized in song -- Strawberry Fields.
The Salvation Army gardens that were the inspiration for The Beatles' hit "Strawberry Fields Forever" will open to the public on Saturday, the BBC reported.
An interactive exhibit on John Lennon's early years, as well as the Fab Four, will also be open to visitors.
When Lennon was young, he would jump over the wall of the former children's home in Woolton, Liverpool, to find sanctuary.
James Corden used his platform as host of "The Late Late Show" on Thursday night to address Bill Maher directly over a segment he did last week arguing that "fat-shaming" should be encouraged.
"As I was watching it, I was like, 'Oh, man. Somebody needs to say something about this. If only there was somebody with a platform who knew what it was actually like to be overweight,'" Corden said. "Then I realized, 'Ah, that'll be me.'"
Corden repeatedly stated that he likes and respects Maher, but had issues with this particular segment of his HBO show. "Any time I've met Bill Maher in person, he's been nothing but pleasant and kind and nice, which is why I found it so surprising that he or anybody thinks that fat-shaming needs to make a comeback because fat-shaming never went anywhere. Ask literally any fat person. We are reminded of it all the time."
In the Sept. 6 episode of "Real Time With Bill Maher," the outspoken political commentator noted that it was "controversial" to say "being fat is a bad thing" and commented on the idea of "fat acceptance": "We shouldn't taunt people about it … but there's no 'smoking acceptance' or 'drunk acceptance.'"
"There's a common and insulting misconception that fat people are stupid and lazy and we're not," Corden said Thursday. "Look, we get it and we know. We know that being overweight isn't good for us and I've struggled my entire life trying to manage my weight and I suck at it. I've had good days and bad months. I've basically been off and on diets since as long as I can remember and, well, this is how it's going. But here's the thing: We're not all as lucky as Bill Maher. We don't all have a sense of superiority that burns 35,000 calories a day."
Shortly after comedian Shane Gillis was named one of the newest cast members of "Saturday Night Live," videos showing him making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks immediately went viral. Now, Gillis is attempting to apologize for the comments as fans call for him to be fired.
NBC announced Gillis, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang as the newest SNL cast members Thursday. Just hours later, a video went viral on Twitter in which Gillis mocks Chinese people, using several racial slurs during an episode of his podcast last year.
In a now-deleted YouTube video, Gillis and his co-host, Matt McCusker, shared a slew of racist "jokes" against Chinese-Americans, mocking their accents and culture. The page for "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast" is now completely devoid of content.
"Let the f---ing ch---- live there," Gillis said, referring to New York City's Chinatown neighborhood. The two go on to mock Chinatown's architecture and food, complaining extensively about MSG and calling noodles, "nooders."
In the same video, Gillis and McCusker joke about going to Thailand to "party with ladyboys" and complain about other ethnicities being racist against white people.
A rare phenomenon causing "the strongest Antarctic warming on record" is set to deliver more pain to dought-stricken Australia, scientists said Friday.
The unusual event, known as "sudden stratospheric warming", started in the last week of August when the atmosphere above Antarctica began heating rapidly, scientists at Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said in a report.
The upper atmosphere above the South Pole has heated up from close to minus 70 to about minus 25 degrees Celsius, bureau climatologist Andrew Watkins told AFP.
Sudden stratospheric warming is common in the northern hemisphere but has only been recorded on one other occasion, in 2002, in the southern hemisphere.
The impacts of the Antarctic event in Australia will start to arrive in the coming weeks, and be particularly felt in October before the weather pattern is expected to break down in December or January.
Music publishers have asked a federal judge to let them double their lawsuit against Peloton Interactive Inc to $300 million, saying the maker of stationary bicycles has streamed more than 2,000 workout videos used without permission.
The National Music Publishers' Association, a trade group, said on Friday that since suing Peloton in March for copyright infringement, publishers have found a trove of additional songs that the New York-based company knowingly and recklessly offered to customers without first getting required licenses.
These allegedly included songs from Adele, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, John Legend, Maroon 5, Meek Mill and Taylor Swift, as well as classics such as The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There," Ray Charles' "Georgia On My Mind" and The Who's "I Can See For Miles." Publishers want to add 1,324 songs to their lawsuit, the trade group said.
The proposed complaint was filed two days after Peloton said it planned to raise up to $1.33 billion in an initial public offering, by offering 46 million shares priced between $26 and $29 each.
Founded in 2012, Peloton sells stationary bicycles starting at $2,245, in packages requiring memberships to access live and on-demand classes from home. Unlimited access costs $39 a month.
Russia's Ministry of Transport said on Friday the state had bought passenger carriages and locomotives for a new rail route linking Russian cities to Crimea, but declined to say who had supplied the new rolling stock.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and European Union sanctions ban European citizens and companies from investing there, including in the peninsula's transport and infrastructure.
The United States has not introduced similar sanctions, but risk-averse Russian companies, including Russian Railways, try to avoid opening subsidiaries in Crimea or having dealings with Crimean firms.
The new Crimean rail route, which replaces an earlier pre-annexation route which ran through Ukraine, is due to open at the end of this year and cross a bridge that Moscow built to link southern Russia with Crimea, long a draw for tourists.
Apparently wary of sanctions risk, the ministry declined to say who had supplied the rolling stock and at what price and on what terms they would be handed over to Crimean Railways.
Two ancient skeletons nicknamed "the Lovers of Modena" as they were buried holding hands were both men, researchers have discovered.
The pair, believed to have died between the fourth and sixth centuries, had until now been thought to be a man and a woman.
But when the bones were found near Modena in northern Italy in 2009, scientists could not be sure of their sexes because they were badly preserved.
Now a new technique, using tooth enamel proteins, has revealed they were both male. However, the relationship between the men remains a mystery.
The way in which the pair were buried represents "a voluntary expression of commitment between two individuals" and was not a common burial practice, according to the research, which was published in the Scientific Reports journal.
From the depths of Russia's "Atlantis" - a famed archaeological site in southern Siberia that lies underwater for most of the year - archaeologists emerged with what looks like a like a jewel-studded case for an iPhone.
But the black rectangle, which measures about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long and around 4 inches (9 cm) wide, is no electronics accessory; it's an ancient belt buckle made of jet - a gemstone made from pressurized wood - inlaid with small beads of mother-of-pearl, carnelian and turquoise, The Siberian Times reported.
Scientists with the Institute for the History of Material Culture at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) found the object in a woman's grave, where it lay upon the skeleton's pelvis. The researchers nicknamed the woman "Natasha" and dubbed the artifact "Natasha's iPhone," according to The Siberian Times.
Although the buckle was discovered years ago, it recently drew renewed attention because Pavel Leus, one of the dig's archaeologists and an RAS researcher, shared the image on Instagram, Leus told Live Science in an email.
The grave that held the so-called iPhone lies in the Siberian territory of Tuva, near the border of Mongolia. There, archaeologists identified two burial sites - Terezin and Ala-Tey - dating to the Xiongnu period around 2,000 years ago, according to a study co-authored by Leus and published in 2018 in the journal Asian Archaeology.
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said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
