Roger Ebert: Two-Star Review of "Valentine's Day"
"Valentine's Day" is being marketed as a Date Movie. I think it's more of a First-Date Movie. If your date likes it, do not date that person again. And if you like it, there may not be a second date.
Susan Estrich: A Health Care Plague on Both Their Houses (creators.com)
My friend Ethel is mad as hell, but she has no choice but to keep taking it. She's mad at her health insurance company, and she's mad at the administration and Congress. She's equally mad at Democrats and Republicans. It's not partisan; it's personal.
John Timpane: Plotting out a new free press for the Web world (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
In the Internet world, all info is everybody's info. That has made media freedom a global issue as never before - think of Google in China. But it has also threatened that freedom, as old business models fall apart for newspapers and TV networks, threatening the big newsgathering institutions the world needs.
"City Boy: My Life in New York During the 1960s and '70s" by Edmund White: A review by Benjamin Moser
Edmund White's 'City Boy: My Life in New York During the 1960s and 70s' is a book so witty, so insightful, so bristling with gossip, that one almost fails to notice that it is an essential chronicle of a revolution in many ways no less important than the fall of Communism: the gay liberation movement, in which White was both an actor and a privileged spectator, from the time he arrived in New York after college, when "there was no 'gay pride' ...there was only gay fear and gay isolation and gay distrust and gay self-hatred."
Ol' Lonely, or "the lonely repairman", is a character in Maytag advertisements, created for Maytag by copywriter Vincent R. Vassolo of the Leo Burnett advertising agency.
Source
Marian the Teacher was first, and correct, with:
The Maytag Repair Man
BadtotheboneBob wrote:
The Maytag Repairman... I have a Maytag washer/dryer set and have never had the occasion to call him... Damn'd fine appliances, they are, and that's a fact!
Alan J answered:
The Maytag Repair Man
DanD responded:
Without even searching and using only one hand to type with, the MAYTAG Repairman!
*He was so lonely, guess what he was usually using both hands for?
(*Two-handed typing now.)
Answer: Solitaire
Charlie wrote:
The advertising icon played by Jesse White, the Maytag repairman.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, replied:
I am torn between George Gobel and the Maytag Repair Man
Sally said:
I do believe that "The loneliest man in town" is our own Vic from Alaska, up thar in his cabin in Moose Pass, Alaska. But wait - that can't be, he has his gal up there to keep him company this year... "Hey Vic!"
Okay, it must be the guy who formed the Irish band, "The Mary Jane's." His one and only album was released after he died (circa 2001) and that song was one of the cuts on it. His name was Mic Christopher and the album was "Skylarkin."
Here's Mic and friend
Mic Christopher was born in the Bronx, New York in 1969 to Irish parents. In 1972 they moved back to Dublin, Ireland, BTW.
PS: Am I the only one out here watching the Olympics? Love those Winter Games!
Titus replied:
The Maytag Repair Man
MAM answered:
"The loneliest man in town" was the Maytag Repair Man.
Jesse White, one of many.
PS I really blew yesterday's question!
And, Joe S responded:
Jesse White, the real Maytag repairman.
Jesse White retired from the role in 1988 after playing the part for 21
years; Gordon Jump retired in 2003 after starring in the role for 15
years; and Hardy Rawls, took Jump's place in 2003 and played the part
through 2007.
"At ease men! Now, you men have all volunteered to be Maytag Repairmen and
so I'm gonna give it to you straight. Maytag washers and dryers are built
to last. That makes the Maytag Repairman the loneliest guy in town!"
Millions of people take French lessons every year and soon discover that their tutors are unwilling or forbidden to teach them the copious amounts of swear words in this marvellously expressive language. This can put people at a real disadvantage when they visit the country and deprives them of one of the real pleasures of acquiring a new language - learning the naughty words. So, here is a quick tutorial - after this you will be able to swear in French quite fluently.
It may be a little late for this year, but could there possibly be any more romantic a Valentine's Day destination than an island shaped like a heart? You may not think such a place exists but thanks to satellite and aerial photography we can now see them for ourselves.
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by a FRESH'Amazing Race 16', then a FRESH'Undercover Boss', followed by a FRESH'Cold Case'.
NBC fills the night with FRESH'Olympics'.
ABC begins the night with a FRESH'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'.
The CW fills the night with the movie 'Species'.
Faux has a RERUN'Til Death', followed by a FRESH'Til Death', then a FRESH'Simpsons', followed by a FRESHCleveland Show', then a FRESH'Family Guy', followed by a FRESH'American Dad'.
MY recycles an old 'That 70s Show', followed by another old 'That 70s Show', then an old 'House', followed by another old 'House'.
A&E has 'CSI: The 2nd One', 'Criminal Minds', another 'Criminal Minds', and yet another 'Criminal Minds'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Godfather', followed by the movie 'The Godfather: Part II'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] Last Restaurant Standing - Episode 6
[1:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[2:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 2
[3:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 11
[3:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 1
[4:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 2
[4:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 3
[5:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 4
[5:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 5
[6:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 6
[6:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 7
[7:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 8
[7:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 9
[8:00 PM] Doctor Who: The End of Time
[11:00 PM] Doctor Who: The End of Time
[2:00 AM] Doctor Who: The End of Time
[5:00 AM] BBC World News
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has all 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' all night.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Employee Of The Month', followed by the movie 'Waiting...'.
FX has the movie 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend', followed by the movie 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'.
History has 'Ax Men', another 'Ax Men', still another 'Ax Men', followed by a FRESH'Ax Men'.
IFC -
[6:25 AM] The Last Wave
[8:15 AM] Picnic at Hanging Rock
[10:05 AM] The Honeymoon Killers
[12:00 PM] Arrested Development
[12:30 PM] Arrested Development
[1:00 PM] Arrested Development
[1:30 PM] Arrested Development
[2:00 PM] Arrested Development
[2:30 PM] Arrested Development
[3:00 PM] The Last Wave
[4:45 PM] Night Watch
[6:45 PM] Near Dark
[8:25 PM] Shadow of the Vampire
[10:00 PM] Arrested Development
[10:30 PM] Arrested Development
[11:00 PM] Indie Sex II: Censored
[12:15 AM] Night Watch
[2:15 AM] Near Dark
[3:50 AM] Spider
[4:00 AM] Shadow of the Vampire
[5:35 AM] The Honeymoon Killers (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[06:20 AM] Love Songs
[08:00 AM] Flight Of The Red Balloon
[10:00 AM] Is Your House Killing You?: Is Your House Killing You?: Episode 7
[10:30 AM] Eco Documentaries - Season 2: Contested Streets
[11:30 AM] West Bank Story
[12:00 PM] Iconoclasts - Season 4: Archbishop Desmond Tutu + Sir Richard Branson
[01:00 PM] The Red Carpet Issue
[02:00 PM] Be Good Johnny Weir: Be Good Johnny Weir - Episode 3
[02:30 PM] Be Good Johnny Weir: Be Good Johnny Weir - Episode 4
[03:00 PM] A Prairie Home Companion
[05:00 PM] Savile Row - Part 1: Love Thy Neighbor
[06:00 PM] Savile Row - Part 2: Foreign Affairs
[07:00 PM] Savile Row - Part 3: New Blood
[09:00 PM] Lagerfeld Confidential
[10:30 PM] Changing Times
[12:00 AM] Signe Chanel: Signe Chanel Episode 4: Sleepless Nights
[12:00 AM] Signe Chanel: Signe Chanel Episode 5: The Collection
[12:15 AM] The Last Mistress
[02:15 AM] Love Songs
[04:00 AM] A Prairie Home Companion (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Boogeyman', followed by the movie 'Cold Creek Manor'.
Actor George Lopez wears a mask as he chips on to the 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links during the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament in Pebble Beach, Calf., Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010.
Photo by Tony Avelar
The revamped "We Are the World" made its world premiere Friday during NBC's coverage of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, and a simultaneous worldwide screening of the full, seven-minute version of the music video is planned for Saturday.
The worldwide simulcast on 53 domestic and international channels is planned for 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) Eastern time.
A three-minute version of the video aired Friday. Filmed by Oscar winner Paul Haggis, the video shows images of devastation from the island nation after the January 12 earthquake that has claimed more than 200,000 lives.
It also shows some of the 85 artists who gathered in Los Angeles earlier this month to re-record the 1985 charity anthem.
Allan Cumming models at Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief - Haiti fashion benefit, shown during Fashion Week in New York, Friday, Feb. 12, 2010.
Photo by Stuart Ramson
More than 2,000 cult film fans braved snow for an outdoor screening of "Metropolis," Fritz Lang's chilling, monumental vision of mechanized society, in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Friday.
The 1927 dystopian classic, including 30 minutes from the original feared lost forever, was also shown at a gala performance for 1,800 accompanied by a live orchestra and beamed simultaneously to the outdoor crowd in the heart of Berlin.
"Metropolis," which now runs for more than 2-1/2 hours, forged a template for generations of science fiction cinema and its enduring influence has been cited on films from "Blade Runner" to "Fahrenheit 451" and "Star Wars."
"Metropolis" -- depicting a tumultuous class struggle in a vast, urban society -- was the first film to be entered into UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, which aims to preserve cultural achievements of outstanding significance.
This Sunday, Feb. 14, marks a new year according to the Chinese calendar, which will be moving from the reign of the Ox to the year of the Tiger.
Each year on the Chinese calendar is assigned an animal from the Chinese zodiac, which rotates on a 12-year cycle. People born during a specific year are thought to have attributes of their animal - tigers are confident, daring and unpredictable, for example.
The Chinese calendar is thought to have been formulated around 500 B.C., though elements of it date back at least to the Shang Dynasty around 1,000 B.C.
This system of measuring time is based on the lunar calendar, with months that are roughly the length of one moon cycle, or one swing around Earth - 29.5 days. One Chinese year usually includes 12 months, alternating between 29 and 30 days. Because this adds up to a year of 354 days, occasional leap months are added to keep the calendar aligned with the solar cycle (our planet's complete orbit around the sun) as well, where one year is closer to 365 days.
Left-wing activists dressed as characters from the movie "Avatar" to draw attention pose for the media during a protest against Jewish settlement activity in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Arab East Jerusalem February 12, 2010.
Photo by Ronen Zvulun
Looks like Ellen DeGeneres won't be replacing Oprah Winfrey on ABC stations anytime soon.
Her daytime talk show will continue to be broadcast on NBC's 10 owned-and-operated stations, snuffing speculation that she might switch to ABC stations in the wake of Winfrey's announced departure.
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has renewed Telepictures' "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" for three additional seasons on the owned-and-operated stations of the NBC Local Media Division.
An interior designer is suing CNN anchor Anderson Cooper after she took an unusual fall at an old New York City firehouse that he is converting into a new home.
Killian O'Brien, of Brooklyn, says in her suit that she plunged 17 feet through the hole that once held the station's fire pole. The pole had been removed, but the hole was uncovered.
The accident happened in September. Her lawyer, Neil Greenberg, says she is lucky to be alive.
The Manhattan firehouse was built in 1906. It was the former home of a unit of the Fire Patrol, a private firefighting organization backed by the insurance industry.
A papier-mache figure representing the statue of liberty and U.S. President Barack Obama on a carnival procession float is seen during a preview in Cologne February 9, 2010. The carnival procession will take place on Rose Monday, February 15, when hundreds of thousands of people all over Germany will celebrate.
Photo by Ina Fassbender
The Holy See's newspaper Saturday published its picks for pop rock paradise, ranging from Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" to Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" and the Beatles' "Revolver."
What L'Osservatore Romano calls a semiserious guide on the road to good music will take you to "Graceland" - Paul Simon's album made the cut. And it does get into the "Supernatural" by Carlos Santana.
The newspaper calls them classics to pack for a desert island. The other picks are David Crosby's "If I Could Only Remember My Name;" "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac, Donald Fagen's "Nightfly," the U2's "Achtung Baby," and "(What's The Story) Morning Glory" by the Oasis.
German prosecutors said Friday they have charged a member of all-female pop group No Angels with causing bodily harm for failing to inform sexual partners that she was HIV positive.
Nadja Benaissa, 27, had sex on five occasions between 2000 and 2004 with three people and did not tell them she was infected, even though she had known since 1999, according to the charge sheet.
One of the three had since been confirmed as being infected with the HIV virus, which causes AIDS, prosecutors added.
No Angels shot to fame in 2000 thanks to a television talent show and had a string of hits in central Europe before splitting up in 2003. They reformed in 2007 and competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 23rd.
State officials in Maine say witnesses who reported seeing a drowning snowmobiler on a lake were probably looking at an otter enjoying a snack.
On Thursday, three people reported seeing a snowmobiler wearing all black and a black helmet struggling in Moosehead Lake. Officials used an airboat and flew overhead on both Thursday and Friday, but found no evidence that a person had gone through the ice.
Cpl. Mike Joy of the Maine Warden Service tells the Bangor Daily News that authorities did find pieces of crawfish and a small bloodstain on the ice, indicating that at least one otter had been feeding there. He says the animal would have appeared black to those onshore, given the distance and the sun's glare off the ice.
A cat living at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz has caused fur to fly between an animal care group and Polish authorities refusing to allow a shelter to be built for it.
The grey and white cat, known variously as Rudolf or Bruno despite being female, can often be seen sitting near the notorious "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work sets you free") sign at the entrance to the camp.
The museum that runs the camp has rejected a call from the group For Animals to build a cat shelter, saying other animals also live at the site and that visitors are its main priority.
The cat is believed to have arrived at the camp about six months ago and started to attract the attention of visitors after Polish newspapers and websites reported on the animal's attachment to the site and the campaign to build a shelter.
Gareth Wigan, a London-born talent agent, film producer and studio executive credited with steering the success of such films as "Star Wars," died on Saturday in his home at Los Angeles at the age of 78 after a brief illness.
Early in his career as an agent in the United Kingdom, Wigan represented directors John Schlesinger and Richard Lester, among many others. In the mid-1960s, he formed the own agency Gregson & Wigan Ltd with partner Richard Gregson, which became the first UK agency to open offices in Los Angeles and New York.
The agency was sold to EMI in 1970 and by the mid-1970s Wigan had moved to California to work at Twentieth Century Fox, now owned by News Rupert Corp, to serve as a production executive on "Star Wars" and other critically acclaimed films like "All That Jazz," "The Turning Point" and "Alien."
In 1979, Wigan formed The Ladd Co, a unit of Warner Communications, with fellow Fox executives Alan Ladd Jr. and Jay Kanter, and the trio developed and produced hit films such as Best Picture Oscar-winner "Chariots of Fire" and Oscar-nominated "The Right Stuff."
Wigan joined Sony's Columbia Pictures as a consultant in 1987 and in January 1997 was named as co-vice chairman of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. In 2008, Wigan stepped back from day-to-day operations but remained on as strategic advisor.
Wigan is survived by his wife, Pat Newcomb, four children and seven grandchildren.
The Iris parade winds its way through a large crowd during its march through the streets of New Orleans Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010. This is the last full weekend of parades before Tuesday's all day celebration of Mardi Gras.
Photo by Bill Haber
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
The idea is to have fun.
Do you have something to say?
Anything that increased your blood pressure, or, even better, amused or entertained?
Do you have a great album no one's heard?
How about a favorite TV show, movie, book, play, cartoon, or legal amusement?
A popular artist that just plain pisses you off?
A box set the whole world should own?
Vile, filthy rumors about Republican hypocrites?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
answered:
