• At age 13, Mikita Brittman, author of The Solitary Vice: Against Reading, took part in a school debate in which students portrayed famous people trapped in a hot-air balloon from which gas was leaking. One of the passengers had to be overthrown overboard in order to save the other passengers, and each of the passengers had to make the case that he or she was so important that someone else should be thrown overboard. Mikita, of course, being good with words, was able to convince the other children that her character — Bela Lugosi, star of Dracula — was so important that one of the other characters ought to be thrown overboard instead of Mr. Lugosi. Those other characters included Winston Churchill, King Henry VIII, and Margaret Thatcher.
• The writer J.I.C. Clarke once introduced Mark Twain and very highly praised the stories Mr. Twain had set in Yuba Dam, saying that they were the best things Mr. Twain had ever written. Mr. Twain then stood up and enthusiastically praised a German girl for 10 minutes — to no point, it seemed. Finally, Mr. Twain said, “Gentlemen, I suppose you are wondering what my story of that German girl has to do with Mr. Clarke’s speech and his reference to Yuba Dam. Well, nothing at all, and that’s just it. I never wrote about Yuba Dam. Mr. Clarke is thinking of Bret Harte.” Everyone, including an embarrassed Mr. Clarke, laughed, then Mr. Twain and Mr. Clarke shook hands.
• Lesbian author Gail Sausser occasionally used to be invited to go into classrooms and talk, then answer questions about her life and sexuality. At such times, she behaved with excellent etiquette and grace, even when facing teachers and students who thought she was going to hell. Ms. Sausser says that she was following the advice of her Aunt Pansy, a southern lady, who told her, “If you remain charming, you make your opponent look like an *sshole.”
• G.K. Chesterton was a huge man. Once, while lecturing in America, he heard a gasp at his enormous size as he rose to walk to the podium. Standing behind the amplifier, he told his audience, “At the outset I want to reassure you I am not this size, really — dear no, I’m being amplified.”
Publishers
• In 2007, Fantagraphics published an 878-page book titled Laura Warholic: or The Sexual Intellectual, which is the first novel written by Alexander Theroux in 20 years. Of course, Fantagraphics usually publishes comic books and graphic novels, not envelope-pushing novels, but Mr. Theroux had published two monographs with Fantagraphics: The Enigma of Al Capp and The Strange Case of Edward Gorey. Because Fantagraphics was the only publisher willing to publish such a long novel without excessive editorial meddling, Mr. Theroux was happy to have Fantagraphics as the novel’s publisher. However, he does acknowledge that his pay for writing the novel is not much. According to Mr. Theroux, “For this novel I earned less than a Burger King tweenie in a paper hat. But nowhere should you compromise. You have to find plenitude in your work and redemption in your dreams.”
• When J.K. Rowling wrote her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, her agent sent it to Bloomsbury Publishing, where an editor named Barry Cunningham wanted to publish the book. However, he needed to get the permission of the company’s directors to do so. A colleague of his, Rosemund de la Hay, came up with an idea to get the company’s directors to consider the book carefully. They enclosed a package of Smarties candy with each manuscript that they sent to the company’s directors. Because the Smarties Prize is awarded to the best children’s book published in Great Britain each year, this was a way of indicating that they thought that the book was good enough to win that prize. In fact, after the book was published, it did win the Smarties Prize.
Located in the middle of the Bering Strait between the Alaska mainland and Siberia, are Little Diomede Island (US), and about 2.33 miles to the west is Russia's Big Diomede Island. What imaginary line runs between the two islands?
Little Diomede Island or “Yesterday Isle” (formerly known as Krusenstern Island, Russian: Ostrov Kruzenshterna) is an island of Alaska, United States. It is the smaller of the two Diomede Islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between the Alaska mainland and Siberia.
Little Diomede's neighboring island, Big Diomede, is about 2.33 miles (3.75 kilometers) to the west, but is part of Russia and west of the International Date Line. Unlike its larger Russian neighbor, Little Diomede retains a permanent native population. As of the 2010 census, Little Diomede had a population of 115, down from its recorded peak of 178 in 1990. The entirety of the island is in the City of Diomede (named I'aliq as well). The island is not part of any organized borough, so some services are provided directly by the state. For census purposes, it is included in the Nome Census Area.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
The International Date Line.
Jon L wrote:
That's gotta be The International Dateline.
Alan J answered:
The International Date Line.
Stephen F said:
International Dateline
mj replied:
Off the top of my head
And Mr. Fallon's geography class, I'd say the IDL, International Date
Line, which, when crossed from east to west one loses a day.
Jacqueline responded:
The International Date Line runs between these two islands that are only 2.4 miles apart.
John I from Hawai`i says,
International Date Line
Billy in Cypress replied:
International Date Line
Deborah, the Master Gardener wrote:
I’m going with a WAG: The International Date Line. I can’t think of anything else it could be in such a cold, remote place.
Hope you aren’t experiencing smoky air, Marty. Also hope you don’t have to evacuate. Stay safe.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, said:
Instead of the Iron curtain of Europe....this is the Ice Curtain
Daniel in The City answered:
International Date Line
Michelle in AZ responded:
International Date Line
DJ Useo replied:
This is probably a tough question for many, but I knew this already. The "International Date Line". I met my first 3 wives on there. ;)
Joe ( -- Vote Blue, No Matter Who -- ) wrote:
International Date Line. We have all kinds of lines to divide up the globe, this one of the least obnoxious.
Kevin K. in Washington DC took the day off.
Roy, keeping his social distance in Tyler, TX took the day off.
Leo in Boise took the day off.
David of Moon Valley took the day off.
Dave in Tucson took the day off.
Rosemary in Columbus took the day off.
Mac Mac took the day off.
Cal in Vermont took the day off.
Barbara, of Peppy Tech fame took the day off.
Doug in Albuquerque, New Mexico, took the day off.
-pgw took the day off.
Kenn B took the day off.
Micki took the day off.
Ed K took the day off.
Angelo D took the day off.
Harry M. took the day off.
George M. took the day off.
Gary K took the day off.
Roy the (now retired) hoghead (aka 'hoghed') ( Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. ~Frank Zappa ) took the day off.
Saskplanner took the day off.
Gateway Mike took the day off.
Steve in Wonderful Sacramento, CA, took the day off.
MarilynofTC took the day off.
Paul of Seattle took the day off.
Brian S. took the day off.
Gene took the day off.
Tony K. took the day off.
Noel S. took the day off.
James of Alhambra took the day off.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Record Company: Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More Records
Record Company Location: Sweden
Info: This album has 128 tracks by various artists.
“Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More! is a radio show promoting new and established artists in the fields of Power Pop, Mod, Surf, Punk, New Wave, Northern Soul and more.
“Albums featured here are part of an ongoing project to help promote the bands further in Ice Cream Man Presents ….”
Price: 56 SEK (Swedish Krona); around $6.55 (USD) for 128 tracks
Marty, don't you think it's about time someone asks those laughing assholes if they feel at all RESPONSIBLE for the number of infections and deaths from Corona Virus?
Randall
Thanks, Randall - in a word, yes.
But expecting morally responsible behavior from people with no shame and a hard-on for money is as likely as finding the a piece of the true cross at Dollar General.
CBS begins the night with the FRESH'Kid Of The Year', followed by the FRESH'Play On: Celebrating The Power Of Music To Make A Change', then '48 Hours'.
NBC starts the night on the East Coast with with a RERUN'Ellen's Game Of Games', followed by a RERUN'The Wall', then an old 'SNL' (from 12/09/2000) with Val Kilmer hosting, music by U2.
NBC starts the night early on the left coast with a RERUN'Ellen's Game Of Games', followed by a LIVE'SNL', hosted by Jason Batemen and music by Morgan Wallen, then an old 'SNL' (from 12/09/2000) with Val Kilmer hosting, music by U2.
'SNL' is FRESH with Jason Bateman hosting, music by Morgan Wallen.
ABC fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap.
The CW fills the night with 'DIVAs Simply Singing'.
Faux fills the night with LIVE'College Football', then pads the left coast with local crap.
MY recycles an old 'Weather Gone Viral', followed by an old 'Storm Of Suspicion'.
A&E has the movie 'White House Down', followed by the movie 'Olympus Has Fallen'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Year Without A Santa', followed by the movie 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation', then the movie 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] CHIMPS OF THE LOST GORGE
[7:00AM] SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET - NORTH AMERICA: EXTENDED
[8:00AM] SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET - SOUTH AMERICA: EXTENDED
[9:00AM] SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET - ASIA: EXTENDED
[10:00AM] SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET - AUSTRALIA: EXTENDED
[11:00AM] SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET - EUROPE: EXTENDED
[12:00PM] SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET - AFRICA: EXTENDED
[1:00PM] PLANET EARTH: A CELEBRATION
[2:00PM] PLANET EARTH II - CITIES
[3:00PM] PLANET EARTH II - ISLANDS
[4:00PM] PLANET EARTH II - MOUNTAINS
[5:00PM] PLANET EARTH II - JUNGLES
[6:00PM] PLANET EARTH II - DESERTS
[7:00PM] PLANET EARTH II - GRASSLANDS
[8:00PM] BABY CHIMP RESCUE - MIRACLES CAN HAPPEN EXTENDED
[9:15PM] PLANET EARTH II - ISLANDS
[10:15PM] PLANET EARTH II -MOUNTAINS
[11:15PM] PLANET EARTH II - JUNGLES
[12:15AM] PLANET EARTH II - DESERTS
[1:15AM] BABY CHIMP RESCUE - MIRACLES CAN HAPPEN EXTENDED
[2:30AM] PLANET EARTH II - GRASSLANDS
[3:30AM] PLANET EARTH II - CITIES
[4:30AM] PLANET EARTH II - THE MAKING OF PLANET EARTH II
[5:30AM] HIDDEN HABITATS - AUSTRALIA'S RED CENTRE (ALL TIMES ET)
Bravo has the movie 'Coyote Ugly', followed by the movie 'Burlesque', then the movie 'Burlesque', again.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Meet The Fockers', followed by the movie 'Wedding Crashers', then the movie 'Get Hard'.
FX has the movie 'Daddy's Home 2', followed by the movie 'Office Christmas Party'.
History has 'History's Greatest Mysteries', followed by a FRESH'History's Greatest Mysteries'.
IFC -
[6:00am] Saved By The Bell
[6:30am] Saved By The Bell
[7:30am - 11:00am] Saved By The Bell: The College Years
[11:30am - 1:30pm] Community
[2:00pm] The Devil Wears Prada
[4:30pm] The Intern
[7:15pm] Twister
[9:45pm] Twister
[12:15am] The Intern
[3:00am] The Devil Wears Prada
[5:30am] Saved By The Bell: The College Years (ALL TIMES ET)
Sundance -
[6:00am - 10:30am] the andy griffith show
[11:00am - 2:00pm] hogan's heroes
[2:30pm] nanny mcphee
[4:30pm] snow day
[6:30pm] jack frost
[9:00pm] the polar express
[11:00pm] the polar express
[1:00am] nanny mcphee
[3:00am] joyful noise
[5:30am] monk - Mr. Monk Gets Fired (ALL TIMES ET)
SyFy has the movie 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse', followed by the movie 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1'.
Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins and other luminaries have formed a new crowd-funding fellowship to raise $6 million to buy the Oxford home of "The Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien.
Actors Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman, stars of Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning film adaptations, have joined the "Project Northmoor" campaign to turn the sprawling house into a museum in honour of the fantasy writer.
With seven bedrooms and a spacious garden, 20 Northmoor Road in Oxford is a far cry from the modest hobbit dwelling at Bag End inhabited by the Baggins clan.
Tolkien and his family moved into the house in 1930 and lived there for 17 years while he was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University.
He wrote "The Hobbit" and the bulk of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy there.
Stevie Nicks has sold a majority of her publishing catalog to publisher and talent management company Primary Wave, the company announced Friday, with the Fleetwood Mac star becoming one of the highest-profile artists to capitalize on the booming song publishing acquisition market to date.
Primary Wave didn’t share financial details of the sale, but The Wall Street Journal reported that Nicks sold an 80% stake in the catalog, valuing the deal at about $100 million. The deal includes several of Nicks’s biggest hits as a solo artist and member of Fleetwood Mac including “Landslide,” “Edge of Seventeen” and “Dreams,” the last of which returned the charts for the first time in 40 years after resurfacing on TikTok.
Primary Wave has previously purchased stakes in several prominent artist catalogs like Disturbed and Ray Charles.
Along with the catalog purchase, Primary Wave also has access to Nicks’s name and likeness, and has established a partnership with the singer to allow her to sign new songwriters in a joint venture.
The songwriting acquisition game has grown exponentially in recent years, with companies like Primary Wave and Merck Mercuriadis’s Hipgnosis Songs Fund buying up catalogs at significantly higher multiples than the previous norm. Sources familiar with these deals have said they’ve seen purchases for as high as 30 times a catalog’s value.
The co-hosts on Rupert's Fox "News" Channel’s The Five went to a remote format Thursday, with reports that Juan Williams tested positive for the coronavirus.
Williams, who had been in studio on Wednesday socially distanced from the show’s four other panelists, told The Daily Beast that “I’m not great but I’m not dying or anything. I’m worried about myself and my family. My wife doesn’t want me to come back to the house right now. On lots of levels it’s concerning.”
A Fox Media spokesperson declined comment, citing employee privacy and confidentiality of health records. The New York Times reported that Williams left for vacation on Nov. 18, returned to Fox News studio on Monday and received the positive result on Thursday afternoon. He was quarantining and not among the co-hosts featured on Thursday’s show.
The Fox Media spokesperson issued a statement that said, “Since the start of the pandemic, Fox News Media has implemented strict company-wide protocols adhering to all CDC and state guidelines, including regular testing of all in studio on-air personalities, mask mandates and daily health assessments for all employees entering the building. We will continue to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our staff, including broadcasting The Five via home studios for the foreseeable future.”
A fan of James Bond just couldn’t say no to owning a piece of movie memorabilia used by the late Sean Connery in the first James Bond film.
A Walther PP pistol used by Sean Connery in the 1962 film Dr. No sold for $256,000 at auction on Thursday, Julien’s Auctions said. The sale price topped expectations of a sale between $150,000 to $200,000 prior to the event.
The deactivated semi-automatic Walther PP pistol and its smaller model, the PPK, became one of the best-known images from the film. Its collector’s value was perhaps enhanced by Connery’s death on Oct. 31.
The winning bidder asked to remain anonymous, according to Julien’s. However, they were described as an American who had seen every James Bond movie with his or her children.
Even with coronavirus vaccines on the way, many epidemiologists do not expect their lives to return to pre-pandemic normal until most Americans are vaccinated. In the meantime, most have eased up on some precautions — now going to the grocery store or seeing friends outdoors, for example — but are as cautious as ever about many activities of daily life.
In a new informal survey of 700 epidemiologists by The New York Times, half said they would not change their personal behavior until at least 70% of the population was vaccinated. Thirty percent said they would make some changes once they were vaccinated themselves.
A minority of the epidemiologists said that if highly effective vaccines were widely distributed, it would be safe for Americans to begin living more freely this summer.
But most said that even with vaccines, it would probably take a year or more for many activities to safely restart and that some parts of their lives may never return to the way they were.
Epidemiologists are worried about many unknowns, including how long immunity lasts; how the virus may mutate; the challenges of vaccine distribution; and the possible reluctance to accept the vaccine among some groups.
A Kansas son's obituary paying tribute to his father who died of Covid-19 is going viral for excoriating mask refusers.
In the death notice, Courtney Farr, the son of the late Dr. Marvin J. Farr, who died December 1 at Park Lane Nursing Home in Scott City, Kansas, wrote that his father was "preceded in death by more than 260,000 Americans infected with Covid-19."
Describing his late father as a man born into the Great Depression and having survived World War II amidst great sacrifice, Courtney Farr said Marvin "died in a world where many of his fellow Americans refuse to wear a piece of cloth on their face to protect one another."
"He died in a room not his own, being cared for by people dressed in confusing and frightening ways. He died with Covid-19, and his final days were harder, scarier and lonelier than necessary. He was not surrounded by friends and family."
The result of a local election in Namibia is capturing attention far beyond the African nation's borders due to the name of the victor: Adolf Hitler Uunona.
Uunona was elected councilor in the Ompundja Constituency, which is located in the Oshana region in the northern part of Namibia, winning roughly 85% of the vote. In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Uunona said he did not have any connections to the infamous Nazi dictator with whom he shares a name.
"It was a completely normal name for me as a child. It wasn't until I was growing up that I realized: This man wanted to subjugate the whole world. I have nothing to do with any of these things," he said. "My father named me after this man. He probably didn't understand what Adolf Hitler stood for."
Uunona goes by "Adolf Uunona" in public, and said it's "too late" to change his name because it's on "all official documents."
Adolf is not an entirely uncommon name in Namibia, which is a former German colony (German South West Africa), according to Bild.
The Islands of the Four Mountains are a volcanic archipelago in the central Aleutian arc comprised of six closely spaced stratovolcanoes (Carlisle, Cleveland, Herbert, Kagamil, Tana and Uliaga).
One of them, Mount Cleveland, is one of the most persistently active volcanoes in North America over the past 20 years with eruptive activity characterized by small explosions that produce ash clouds that rise 4.5 to 9 km (15,000-30,000 feet) above sea level.
Dr. Diana Roman, a researcher at the Carnegie Institution for Science, and her colleagues have been studying Mount Cleveland trying to understand the nature of the archipelago.
They have gathered multiple pieces of evidence showing that the islands could belong to one interconnected caldera.
Unlike stratovolcanoes, which tend to tap small- to modestly-sized reservoirs of magma, a caldera is created by tapping a huge reservoir in the Earth’s crust.
The first commercially printed Christmas card is up for sale — a merry Victorian-era scene that scandalized some who denounced it as humbug when it first appeared in 1843.
The card, being sold online starting Friday through a consortium run by Marvin Getman, a Boston-based dealer in rare books and manuscripts, depicts an English family toasting the recipient with glasses of red wine.
“A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You,” it reads. But for teetotalers — and there were plenty of those in the 19th century — the imagery included a bit too much holiday cheer: In the foreground, a young girl is pictured taking a sip from an adult’s glass.
That didn't sit well at the time with the puritanical Temperance Society, which kicked up such a fuss it took three years before another Christmas card was produced.
“They were quite distressed that in this ‘scandalous’ picture they had children toasting with a glass of wine along with the adults. They had a campaign to censor and suppress it,” said Justin Schiller, founder and president of Kingston, New York-based Battledore Ltd., a dealer in antiquarian books who is selling the card.
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replied:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
