Jonathan Chait: Paul Ryan Departing Washington in a Blaze of Fraudulence (NY Mag)
Somehow [Paul Ryan] has managed to pose as a figure who has fought rising deficits with only partial success, rather than having been largely responsible for their growth. "I think history is going to be very good to this [Republican] majority," he proclaimed. Only if historians are as gullible as the news media.
Mary Beard: Grade Inflation (TLS)
For years we have had published criteria for getting a First versus getting a 2.1… the students know these and we mark to them. This is transparency, and rightly. Some of us (as occasionally I am almost tempted to do) may say that this is almost a template for getting a first… just follow the rules. But it is hard to stick up for the old system in which getting a first was mystical. And, to be honest, if you tell clever students what the criteria are for getting a First, they will go out and do it. That's what being clever IS. So let's just be careful about deploring grade inflation.
Mary Beard: "The Macron report: what should go back, where and when" (TLS)
The question is which works of art should move and, even more to the point, on what criteria. Time, in practice, is often one that lets some objects off the hook. I don't know of anyone who suggests that the figures in the pediments of the temple of Apollo Sosianus in Rome should be returned to Greece (even though they were almost certainly removed from there by fair means or foul - and probably the latter - in the first century BCE).
Tony Wolf: "'Smilin' Stan' - the legacy of Marvel's Stan Lee" (New Statesman)
Lee's wife famously advised him to stop focusing on what he thought would sell, and to write something he really believed in. The result was the creation of The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. It's a lesson that many writers around the world can still benefit from.
On what children's TV series would you find a shipwrecked boy named Jimmy, his magic talking flute, Freddy, a wicked witch named Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo, and a friendly and helpful anthropomorphic dragon?
What was the name given to the loose collective of session musicians based in Los Angeles whose services were employed for thousands of studio recordings in the 1960s and early 1970s, including several hundred Top 40 hits?
The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of session musicians based in Los Angeles whose services were employed for thousands of studio recordings in the 1960s and early 1970s, including several hundred Top 40 hits. The musicians were not publicly recognized in their era, but were viewed prestigiously by industry insiders. They are now considered one of the most successful and prolific session recording units in music history.
Most of the players associated with the Wrecking Crew had formal backgrounds in jazz or classical music. The group had no official name in their active years, and it remains a subject of contention whether or not they were referred to as "The Wrecking Crew" at the time. Drummer Hal Blaine popularized the name in a 1990 memoir, attributing it to older musicians who felt that the group's embrace of rock and roll was going to "wreck" the music industry.
The unit coalesced in the early 1960s as the de facto house band for Phil Spector, contributing to the development of his Wall of Sound production methods. They subsequently became the most requested session musicians in Los Angeles, playing behind many popular recording artists such as Jan & Dean, Sonny & Cher, the Mamas & the Papas, the 5th Dimension, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Sinatra. The musicians were sometimes used as "ghost players" on recordings credited to rock groups, such as the Byrds' debut rendition of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965), the first two albums by the Monkees, and the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds.
The Wrecking Crew's contributions to so many hit recordings went largely unnoticed until the publication of Blaine's memoir and the attention that followed. Keyboardist Leon Russell and guitarist Glen Campbell were members who became popular solo acts, while Blaine is reputed to have played on more than 140 top-ten hits, including approximately 40 number-one hits. Other musicians who formed the unit's ranks were drummer Earl Palmer, saxophonist Steve Douglas, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, and keyboardist Larry Knechtel, who became a member of Bread. Blaine and Palmer were among the inaugural "sidemen" inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and the entire Wrecking Crew was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. In 2008, they were the subject of the documentary The Wrecking Crew.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
The Wrecking Crew.
Randall wrote:
The Wrecking Crew
Kevin K., in Washington, DC, answered:
That was "The Wrecking Crew". In the all-around fantastic movie about Brian Wilson, "Love and Mercy", there are scenes re-creating Wilson recording parts of "Pet Sounds" with the Wrecking Crew while the rest of The Beach Boys toured Japan singing the old hits about surfing and cars.
Gene said:
The Wrecking Crew
George M. responded:
Marty, I know this one by heart - they're known as the Wrecking Crew - who, if my memory serves me well, played to back up Nancy Sinatra!
Dave replied:
The Wrecking Crew. The loose group of session musicians wasn't formally named or organized into a band. Other unofficial names besides Wrecking Crew was The First Call Gang and The Clique. The Wrecking Crew was used extensively by Phil Spector when he was producing his Wall of Sound recordings. The Wrecking Crew was employed when producers thought the rock band's regular musicians weren't talented enough, or when the group was in the middle of a long tour but still wanted to make recordings for release during the tour. Most of the virtuoso musicians remained obscure (and uncredited on most recordings) but some that made solo careers were Glen Campbell, Leon Russell and Dr. John. The Wrecking Crew played on records by artists as varied as Dean Martin, Simon and Garfunkle and The Byrds.
David of Moon Valley said:
i'm guessing The Wrecking Crew...but it's early and i haven't had my coffee yet so...
Adam answered:
I think it was called 'The Wrecking Crew'
Jim from CA, retired to ID wrote:
The Wrecking Crew
Deborah replied:
I looked this one up: The group was called the Wrecking Crew. Studio musicians are so talented; they're the workmen behind your favorite songs.
My husband is using 4 weeks of vacation to ease into retirement. During the recent rainy weather he's found some interesting Netflix movies. Last night we watched the Coen Brothers' latest, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs." It's both wildly entertaining and disturbing, typical for the Coen Bros. I highly recommend it.
TGIF!
Billy in Cypress responded:
Per Wiki, "The Wrecking Crew", but the "The New Wrecking Crew(11-9-2016)" is based in Washington, D.C. and they are busy destroying everything they can, as fast as they can, for as long as they can, since they are only good at hating, lying and destroying.
Daniel in The City said:
The Wrecking Crew
Dave in Tucson wrote:
Today's answer is The Wrecking Crew. At the time they were starting as
session musicians, it was the norm for session musicians to work wearing
coats & ties. By breaking that norm the newer session musicians were
known as The Wrecking Crew.
Micki responded:
The Wrecking Crew, although some called it "The Clique" or "The First Call Gang."
Alan J answered:
The Wrecking Crew.
Cal in Vermont replied:
The Wrecking Crew. If not for the Wrecking Crew, there would not have been Music To Neck By coming out of the radio speaker of the family Buick or my 396 Impala Wagon four-on-the-floor and all and etc.
• Soul singer James Brown got his big break after he and his band, the Flames, took the stage without authorization during an intermission in a Little Richard concert in Macon, Georgia, in 1955. They wowed the crowd, and they wowed Little Richard's road manager, who gave them the telephone number of the man who managed most Mason-based R&B acts: Clint Brantley. Sure enough, they showed up to audition for Mr. Brantley that Saturday. Unfortunately, Mr. Brantley was hung over and at first requested that they leave, but he relented enough to let them sing one song. They sang "Looking for My Mother," and Mr. Brantley recalled, "Goddamn, man, them sons-of-bitches, they looked for her, too. All under the tables, all under the damned seats. Everywhere. When they got through, I said, 'Boys, y'all can sing!'" And, of course, he signed the group.
• Early in their career, the Ramones played in London on July 4, 1976. Some cool kids who called themselves The Clash hung around during a sound check before the concert and talked to the members of the band, mentioning that they played music too but weren't good enough to play in public. Johnny Ramone told them, "Are you kidding? I hope you're coming tonight. We're lousy. We can't play. If you wait until you can play, you'll be too old to get up there. We stink, really. But it's great." (Of course, this is a great example of punk rock's DYI-Do It Yourself-attitude.) The concert made headlines. A tabloid used the headline "Glue Sniff Shocker" because one Ramones' song was titled "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." This amused bass player Dee Dee Ramone, who said, "I hope they really don't think we sniff glue. I quit when I was eight."
• When the teenaged Lou Reed started riding a motorcycle with a guitar on his back and a sneer on his face, his parents forced him to undergo a series of shock treatments before he started his senior year in high school. The shock treatments erased many memories and strengthened his desire to shock his parents. He once brought home a nice Jewish girl whom his parents loved. A year later, the nice Jewish girl was still his girlfriend, but her new name was "Miss Trash," and she dressed like her name. Mr. Reed, of course, was a founding member of the Velvet Underground and he recorded the music he wanted to record, not the music that he thought would be popular.
• Atlantic Records' Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson once combed the backwaters of New Orleans looking for musical talent. They even walked to places where white taxi drivers feared to take them. Eventually, they found Professor Longhair playing in a shack and singing old-time blues. They listened for a while, and then Mr. Ertegun told Mr. Abramson, "My God, we've discovered a primitive genius." They then approached Professor Longhair, and Mr. Ertegun introduced himself and said, "You won't believe this, but I want to record you." Professor Longhair replied, "You won't believe this, but I just signed with Mercury."
• Bill Wyman, bass player for the Rolling Stones, grew up poor. His family owned only one toothbrush, which they shared, and food was often lacking. Later, when the Rolling Stones were just getting started, he was able to join the band despite a lack of enthusiasm from the other members because he enjoyed a little material prosperity. He explains, "They didn't like me, but I had a good amplifier, and they were badly in need of amplifiers at that time. So they kept me on."
• Before becoming a science fiction writer, Anne McCaffrey worked as an advertising copy layout artist for Liberty Music Shops. While in an elevator, she heard a salesperson tell actress Tallulah Bankhead that a new record player could play up to four hours and a half of music. Ms. Bankhead often played romantic music on her record player, so she turned to her boyfriend and asked mischievously, "Dahling, do you think that will be long enough?"
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'The Neighborhood', followed by a RERUN'Happy Together', then a RERUN'SWAT', followed by '48 Hours'.
NBC on the East Coast, opens the night with 'Dateline', followed by a RERUN'SNL'.
NBC on the left coast, opens the night with 'Dateline', followed by a LIVE'SNL', followed by a RERUN'SNL'.
'SNL' is FRESH, with Claire Foy hosting, music by Anderson.Paak.
ABC fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap, and maybe 'Nightline In Prime'.
The CW offers an old 'Friends', followed by another old 'Friends', then an old '2½ Men', followed by another old '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', then a FRESH'Live PD'.
AMC offers the movie 'Elf', followed by the movie 'Elf', again.
BBC -
[6:00AM] THE X-FILES - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 8-Tunguska
[7:00AM] THE X-FILES - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 9-Terma
[8:00AM] THE X-FILES - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 10-Paper Hearts
[9:00AM] THE X-FILES - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 11-El Mundo Gira
[10:00AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 1-The Man Trap
[11:10AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 2-Charlie X
[12:20PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 3-Where No Man Has Gone
[1:30PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 4-The Naked Time
[2:40PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 5-The Enemy Within
[3:50PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 6-Mudd's Women
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 7-What Are Little Girls Made Of?
[6:10PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 8-Miri
[7:20PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 9-Dagger of the Mind
[8:30PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 10-The Corbomite Maneuver
[9:40PM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 14-Balance of Terror
[10:50PM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 11 - EPISODE 8-The Witchfinders
[12:00AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 1-The Man Trap
[1:10AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 2-Charlie X
[2:20AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 3-Where No Man Has Gone Before
[3:35AM] STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 4-The Naked Time
[4:50AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 11 - EPISODE 8-The Witchfinders (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Married To Medicine', another 'Married To Medicine', followed by a FRESH'Married To Medicine', then the movie 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'The Waterboy', followed by the movie 'That's My Boy'.
FX has the movie 'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon', followed by the movie 'Transformers: Age Of Extinction'.
History has 'Forged In Fire' and 'Forged In Fire: Cutting Deeper'.
IFC -
[6:00A] Night Flight-Avant-Garde Experimenters and the Blues
[6:15A] Baroness Von Sketch Show-Buffin' Your Muffin
[6:45A] Pee-wee's Playhouse-Just Another Day
[7:15A] Pee-wee's Playhouse-Beauty Makeovers
[7:45A] Pee-wee's Playhouse-The Restaurant
[8:15A] Pee-wee's Playhouse-Ants in Your Pants
[8:45A] Resident Evil
[11:00A] Resident Evil: Extinction
[1:00P] Resident Evil: Retribution
[3:00P] Ghost Rider
[5:30P] I, Robot
[8:00P] The Day After Tomorrow
[10:30P] The Day After Tomorrow
[1:00A] I, Robot
[3:30A] Ghost Rider (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:00am] the rifleman
[6:30am] the rifleman
[7:00am] the rifleman
[7:30am] the rifleman
[8:00am] the rifleman
[8:30am] the rifleman
[9:00am] the rifleman
[9:30am] the rifleman
[10:00am] the rifleman
[10:30am] the rifleman
[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] the departed
[12:30am] pulp fiction
[3:30am] firestarter (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire', 'LEGO: Jurassic World', 'LEGO: Jurassic World', then the movie 'Iron Man'.
TBS:
On a RERUNConan - 'Conan Without Borders: Japan'.
A study has found the most influential film of all time to be The Wizard of Oz.
The Judy Garland classic, featuring beloved son "Over the Rainbow", was found by researchers to be more influential than its closest rivals Star Wars and Psycho.
A total of 47,000 films were calculated in the study which was conducted at the University of Turin, with each entry listed based on how often it was referenced by a later film.
The results showed that the top 20 most influential films were all produced before 1980, mostly in the US.
The researchers, whose findings are reported in the journal Applied Network Science, cautioned that IMDb data was strongly biased towards films produced in western countries.
When you are making a film about Shirley Chisholm, you are making a film about a black woman icon who was not afraid to see her own power and go for what she wanted. It only makes sense to cast an actress that has the teeth to make us feel that pride, power and persona onscreen.
Amazon Studios has acquired the rights to The Fighting Shirley Chisholm, and they have announced that Oscar, Golden Globe, Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Viola Davis will not only star in the title role, but help produce the film as well.
With a script written by Emmy-nominated writer Adam Countee (Silicon Valley, Community, Mindy Project), the film will tell the true story of U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who was both the first woman and the first person of color to seek a major American political party's nomination for president. Although her bid for the presidency drew ridicule and bigoted backlash, Chisholm did not back down.
Countee had long been interested in telling the story of Chisholm's bid for the presidency, and his research led him to write the feature script on spec.
The Fighting Shirley Chisholm will be produced by Stephanie Allain (Hustle & Flow, Dear White People) and Mel Jones under Homegrown Pictures and Viola Davis and Julius Tennon under their JuVee Productions banner. Maggie Betts (Novitiate) will direct the project.
Facebook is playing the nostalgia card in its latest bid to drive up video viewing and video ad sales: using TV reruns.
The social-media giant is launching every episode of Joss Whedon's supernatural drama "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and spinoff "Angel" along with sci-fi show "Firefly" on Facebook Watch for free to users the U.S. All 268 episodes of the shows will be available to watch starting Friday, Nov. 30, under a licensing pact with 20th Century Fox Television.
Facebook has set up dedicated show pages for each of the series: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will be available at this link; "Angel" is available at this link; and "Firefly" is streaming here.
The trio of shows, which aired on TV more than 15 years ago, is not exclusive to Facebook: All seasons of the three also are available on Hulu's subscription service.
But Facebook believes the cult-favorite shows - particularly "Buffy" - will drive up watch time by letting fans experience the series in a brand-new, social way (along with the fact they're free to watch). This week it expanded the Watch Party co-viewing feature to everyone on Facebook, making it possible for users to start Watch Parties from their Timeline or from any public video on Facebook. The company's hope is that "Buffy," "Angel" and "Firefly" will spawn thousands of Watch Party sessions.
A giant blimp depicting President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Grifter) as a baby that he said made him "feel unwelcome" when it greeted him in London in July has followed him to the G20 summit in Argentina.
Of the 20-foot (6-meter) balloon, which hovered 100 feet above Parliament in London during his visit on July 13, the president told the British newspaper The Sun, "I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London."
The balloon is now above the Congressional Plaza in Buenos Aires, where the president landed on Thursday to begin critical talks held as part of the G20 summit on Friday and Saturday.
Trump is staying for only 48 hours because he prefers his own bed and likes to keep his routines, according to The Associated Press. His tight schedule has forced a one-on-one meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into a "trilateral" with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the AP said.
The blimp cost £5,000 (about $6,000) to make and was the brainchild of Matt Bonner, 36, from London.
A majority of Republicans now admit that climate change does exist, according to a new poll.
The Monmouth University survey revealing a growing number of Americans acknowledge climate change is happening, and that most of them believe it's becoming an issue.
Almost two-thirds of Republicans, 64 per cent, believe global warming exists. That number has increased from 49 per cent three years ago.
The poll also found the majority of Americans believe there is time to reverse the effects of climate change to prevent the devastating consequences of global warming. Most Americans believe the government is incapable of making an substantial efforts to stop global warming.
About 82 per cent of Democrats believe climate change is a "very serious" issues. Only 25 per cent of Republicans agree however.
Measles cases worldwide jumped more than 30 percent last year compared to 2016, with increases recorded in wealthy European countries like Germany where vaccination coverage has historically been high, the UN said Thursday.
The World Health Organization said the worrying trend of resurgent measles cases was a near global phenomenon, but the causes varied among regions.
In Europe, experts blamed the problem in part on complacency and misinformation about a vaccine proven to be both effective and safe.
Martin Friede, WHO's director of immunisation, vaccines and biologicals told reporters that "supposed experts making accusations against the vaccine without any evidence" has had an impact on parents' decisions.
But cases have also spiked in Latin America, partly due to "a collapsing health system in Venezuela," the head of the vaccine alliance Gavi, Seth Berkley, said in a statement.
The "Murphy Brown" reboot continues to get in its licks at President Donald Trump. Thursday's episode took aim at the president's hostility toward the press and how many believe it has encouraged physical violence against reporters. Remember when Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Montana) body-slammed The Guardian's Ben Jacobs and Trump later expressed admiration for the assault at a rally?
Art imitated life somewhat on the CBS comedy when Murphy's colleague Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) covered a fictional Trump rally and paid a dear price for merely doing his job.
First, Trump (voiced by an actor) calls out newswoman Murphy (Candice Bergen) and her "flunky friends" for "planting their big fake stories." Then he points out "Fibbin' Frank Fontana" to the crowd. "Maybe a good body slam, waddya say?" Trump snipes in the clip below.
Murphy later sees Frank's swollen face in the hospital and remarks: "I guess when you major in journalism these days, you have to minor in kickboxing."
Frank explains to Murphy that he left the press area to interview some of the attendees. "Next thing I know, I'm surrounded by a sea of red hats."
A Cleveland radio station has stopped playing a popular Christmas song that's been around since the 1940s, CBS Cleveland affiliate WOIO reports. Star 102 Cleveland listeners raised concerns about the lyrics of the song "Baby It's Cold Outside," with some saying the words send the wrong message in the era of the #MeToo movement.
Radio host Glenn Anderson wrote about the station's decision to stop playing the song. "We used to play the song 'Baby It's Cold Outside,' but you're the Christmas Executive Officer at Star 102 and you told us it's no longer appropriate," Anderson wrote on Tuesday. I gotta be honest, I didn't understand why the lyrics were so bad...Until I read them."
The song is sung as a duet between a man and a woman. The woman makes it clear she is worried about being with the man late into the night, while he adamantly tells her to say with him because, "Baby, it's cold outside."
Anderson shared the song's lyrics, which include lines like: "Say, what's in this drink?", "I really can't stay / Baby don't hold out" and "I ought to say no, no, no / Mind if I move in closer?" The woman also wonders aloud what others might think of her if she stays.
The song was written by popular Broadway composer Frank Loesser, who originally performed it as a humorous number with his wife. But the lyrics, in today's context, have taken on somewhat more sinister connotations. After the "Me Too" movement gained momentum last year, more women have been speaking out about sexual harassment and assault, and society has become more aware than ever of how widespread the problem really is. The suggestive lines in the song now drum up images of men like Harvey Weinstein, who's been accused of preventing women from leaving hotel rooms, and Bill Cosby, who was convicted of drugging and sexual assaulting a woman.
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said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
