Lili Loofbourow: This Is Joe Biden's Moment (Slate)
He doesn't have much of a pitch or a plan. But in our horrifying world, amid our broken politics, the former vice president seems to have an odd trump card.
Dahlia Lithwick: We're Now Living the American Carnage Trump Promised Would End at His Inauguration (Slate)
Donald Trump is not responsible for the American carnage we are now facing. But he is wholly responsible for his failure to prepare for it, to respond to it, to rise to it, and to deal honestly and even-handedly and effectively with it. Instead, he and his confederates and cronies will profit from it, while blaming those who suffer the most for failing to show appropriate gratitude. If you didn't recognize the country he described in 2017, you'll see it now. That first inaugural was less a diagnosis of what had come before than a pledge of what was to come. Today's American carnage transcends rusted out factories and inner cities and gangs. We are all American carnage now.
John Stanton: The Bars of New Orleans Are Closed. They're Still Getting the City Through This. (Slate)
In a time when greed and cruelty seem to rule the day and keeping away from everyone around you means survival, these small acts of cultural caregiving are critically important. Keeping alive the communion of breaking bread, even from afar, helps give people hope that this, too, will end. And that soon enough we'll be out back at BJ's, elbow to elbow, enjoying the sun and Johnny's dark crawfish magic.
Mary Beard: The books in the B team (TLS)
It would be not unfair to describe our house as a large book stack - to which a couple of years ago we added what seemed back then like a lot more shelves to keep us going for ever (actually, they are pretty well full already).
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Northeastern, Great Lakes, Appalachian, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle. The Commonwealth is bordered by Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.
The U.S. chocolate industry is centered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, with Mars, Godiva, and Wilbur Chocolate Company nearby, and smaller manufacturers such as Asher's in Souderton, and Gertrude Hawk Chocolates of Dunmore. Other notable companies include Just Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, makers of Hot Tamales, Mike and Ikes, the Easter favorite marshmallow Peeps, and Boyer Brothers of Altoona, Pennsylvania, which is well known for its Mallo Cups. Auntie Anne's Pretzels began as a market-stand in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and now has corporate headquarters in Lancaster City.
Source
According to the US Census Bureau, Pennsylvania is the state that produces the most chocolate. The state's best known chocolate manufacturer is The Hershey Company, but Pennsylvania is also home to Wilbur Chocolate Company, itself the producer of 150 million pounds (70 million kg) of chocolate per year. Pennsylvania's chocolate production is about half of the United States' total chocolate output.
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
Pennsylvania.
Mark. said
Pennsylvania. (Probably has something to do with Hershey, Pennsylvania.)
mj wrote:
I'm going with the home of Chocolatetown, USA
Also known as Hershey, PA. I believe Mars is also at least headquartered
here.
Randall answered:
Pennsylvania
Dave responded:
Pennsylvania. Hershey Company is based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. William Penn founded the British colony as a refuge for religious minorities after his own persecution as a Quaker in England. Unlike most colonies, where the Church of England was the state religion, Pennsylvania offered the religious freedom which has become a codified right in the US constitution.
Cal in Vermont replied:
Unsurprisingly, Pennsylvania. Burlington VT, home to Lake Champlain Chocolates, makes the absolute best.
zorch said:
Pennsylvania.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, wrote:
Happy Easter everyone......Pennsylvania
Dave in Tucson replied:
Guessing it's Pennsylvania as the state is the home to Hershey
Chocolate, made in Hershey, PA.
Barbara, of Peppy Tech fame wrote:
The answer is Pennsylvania.
Happy Easter to those who celebrate the holiday!
Billy in Cypress U$A said:
Pennsylvania, the home of multiple chocolate candy makers.
Jacqueline answered:
Pennsylvania.
Deborah responded:
I'm going with Pennsylvania, home of Hershey…my Girl Scout troop took a trip there when I was 10-ish and I've always remembered the smell of the factory, the huge vats of melted chocolate. Yum.
Drier and warmer, feeling quite like April. With so few cars on the roads bike riding has become more fun, since we don't have to dodge as many idiots as usual. We noticed on this morning's ride (9 people, 7 bikes) more sheriff's cars in the country than we usually see. They're probably cracking down on people who want to use the closed parks. They waved and we waved and there was no jackassery to be found in 30+ miles.
Oh, and happy Easter to you and yours, Marty. I hope you dry out this weekend.
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~~~~~
I'm surprised at how so many are surprised that president Trump has done/is doing little to nothing about the pandemic.
This is what the Republicans believe in: small government.
Remember Norquist and "small enough to drown in a bathtub"?
They do as little as possible after disasters like in Puerto Rico, Bush's lackluster response to Katrina, and now the sit-on-their-hands response to Covid-19.
IT IS WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN: SMALL GOVERNMENT.
It is what they RUN on: small government.
They say the states should handle it on their own: small government.
They say the emergency stockpile is "theirs" and not the states'.
In other words: don't depend on us, it's not our job because we believe in SMALL GOVERNMENT.
Reagan said the most terrifying words are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"
It is what they BELIEVE. It is what they STAND FOR. It is what they RUN ON.
Why are you all surprised then, when that's how they govern?
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy, and his father made him tour throughout Europe, exhibiting his gifts on the piano. While returning home to Austria, Mozart played for the border guards, who then allowed him and his family to cross the border without paying the duty on the presents that had been given to Mozart by appreciative listeners.
Programs
• Early in his career, James W. Morrissey hired Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein to give a series of concerts in New York. Seeking something that would appeal to the public, Mr. Morrissey arranged for a program of light music by Johann Strauss. However, when Mr. Rubinstein saw the program shortly before he was scheduled to perform, he absolutely refused to go on stage, explaining that he was a serious artist and would be disgraced if he were ever to play such music. Fortunately, Mr. Morrissey was able to arrange a substitute program of suitable serious music.
• Pianist Josef Hoffman traveled much, giving recitals around the world. At the beginning of one recital, he had forgotten what he was supposed to play, so he walked over to a woman seated in the first row and asked to see her program.
Rehearsals
• Even as a young conductor, Arturo Toscanini felt strongly about his art. When he was scheduled to conduct his first concert in Turin, he first rehearsed the orchestra in the orchestra pit, but he also wanted to rehearse the orchestra on the stage because that was where the orchestra would be during the concert and he wanted to make sure the orchestra would sound right from that location. However, the manager of the theater felt that rehearsing on the stage was not necessary, so Maestro Toscanini said that he would not conduct without the rehearsal. When the time of the concert came, Maestro Toscanini was home in bed. The manager came looking for him, but Maestro Toscanini still refused to conduct. The concert was given at a later date - after Maestro Toscanini had rehearsed the orchestra on the stage.
• Wilhelm Pitz, chorus master of the Philharmonica Choir, did not believe in wasting rehearsal time. If the conductor were late or otherwise absent, Mr. Pitz would himself rehearse the choir. When Sir William Walton was in the middle of conducting his Belshazzar's Feast for a recording, he needed to leave to listen to a playback of a section that he had just recorded. When he returned, he found Mr. Pitz at the conductor's podium, guiding the choir in the production of beautiful music. Sir William listened until Mr. Pitz noticed him and left the podium. Sir William climbed up to the podium, and then sadly addressed the choir: "Why can't you do it like that for me?"
• Operatic tenor Leo Slezak was known for his practical jokes during rehearsals. During a dress rehearsal of Tannhäuser, several horses were brought on stage, and all of them proceeded to behave badly, filling the stage with dung. After the rehearsal, Mr. Slezak in a hurt voice told the conductor of the opera, Herr Hertz, a man vehemently opposed to his practical joking, "You see how unjust you are. You don't say a word to the horses, but if I had done it, there would be the usual complaint - Slezak is interfering with the rehearsal!"
• The indefatigable Sir Henry Wood insisted on having an adequate number of rehearsals when he conducted. Arturo Toscanini once conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in London, and very shortly thereafter Sir Henry decided to conduct the Ninth using the same orchestra and the same soloists that Toscanini had used. Sir Henry insisted on having five rehearsals, but the powers that be said that three would be enough - after all, Toscanini had had only three rehearsals. Sir Henry replied, "Really - perhaps he gets tired."
Some sun, some rain, and on the nippy side (for these parts).
Tonight, Sunday:
CBS starts the night, as usual, with '60 Minutes', followed by a FRESH'God Friended Me', then a FRESH'NCIS: The Expendable One', followed by a FRESH'NCIS: The 3rd One'.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN'JC Superstar: Live In Concert', followed by 'Dateline'.
ABC begins the night with a RERUN'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'American Idol', then a FRESH'The Rookie'.
The CW offers a RERUN'Batwoman', followed by a RERUN'Supergirl'.
Faux has a RERUN'The Simpsons', followed by the RERUN'Ice-Age: The Great Egg-Scapade', then a RERUN'The Simpsons', followed by a RERUN'Duncanville', then a RERUN'Bob's Burgers', followed by a RERUN'Family Guy'.
MY recycles an old 'How I Met Your Mother', followed by another old 'How I Met Your Mother', then an old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by another old 'Big Bang Theory', then still another old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by yet another old 'Big Bang Theory'.
A&E has 'Dolly Parton: 50 Years At The Opry', 'Biography' (Dolly Parton), and 'Willie Nelson: American Outlaw'.
AMC offers the movie 'White House Down', followed by a FRESH'Killing Eve', then the movie 'Killers'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] SEASONAL WONDERLANDS - Extended
[7:00AM] ALONG CAME A SPIDER
[9:30AM] A KNIGHT'S TALE
[12:30PM] OCEAN'S ELEVEN
[3:00PM] OCEAN'S TWELVE
[6:00PM] OCEAN'S THIRTEEN
[9:00PM] KILLING EVE - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 1
[10:01PM] OCEAN'S ELEVEN
[12:30AM] OCEAN'S TWELVE
[3:30AM] KILLING EVE - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 1
[4:30AM] DOCTOR WHO - The Woman Who Fell to Earth (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Atlant', another 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', then a FRESH'Watch What Happens: Live'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Wedding Crashers', followed by the movie 'Blended', then the FRESH'This Is Stand-Up Combined'.
FX has the movie 'Trolls', followed by the movie 'Trolls', again.
IFC -
[7:45A] Mission: Impossible
[10:15A] Mission: Impossible II
[1:15P] Safe
[3:15P] American Sniper
[6:15P] Blade
[9:00P] Blade II
[11:30P] Blade: Trinity
[2:00A] Blade II
[4:30A] The Three Stooges
[5:00A] The Three Stooges
[5:30A] The Three Stooges (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:30am] Law & Order
[7:30am] Law & Order
[8:30am] Law & Order
[9:30am] Law & Order
[10:30am] Victor Frankenstein
[1:00pm] Mommie Dearest
[4:00pm] Rear Window
[6:30pm] Psycho
[9:00pm] The Birds
[12:00am] Psycho
[2:30am] Vertigo
[5:30am] Hogan's Heroes (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Fast & Furious', followed by the movie 'The Goonies'.
White House infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has a dream candidate if Saturday Night Live decides to portray him in a sketch when it returns this weekend.
Fauci was appearing on CNN's New Day when he was pressed as to who he'd like to be the faux Fauci. He hedged at first, saying he didn't want anyone, but when Alisyn Camerota pressed him, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases faced a difficult choice.
To ease his path, Camerota suggested Ben Stiller or Brad Pitt.
Kevin Smith sold his first movie, "Clerks," to Harvey Weinstein out of the Sundance Film Festival in 1994.
Weinstein, who ran Miramax at the time, shelled out $227,000 for the black-and-white movie set in a video store. But their agreement allowed for Smith to receive a backend if the movie became profitable.
That fall, "Clerks" grossed $3.2 million in North American theaters. And it generated tens of millions more on VHS, as it became a cult hit.
Now, in a recent interview with Variety, Smith reveals that it took Weinstein seven years to pay him back some of the royalties that he was owed. And even then, Weinstein deployed sketchy accounting tactics, like billing "Clerks" for the costs associated with renting a yacht for "Pulp Fiction" at the Cannes Film Festival.
Weinstein, who is serving 23 years in prison after being convicted in February of a criminal sex act and rape, could not be reached for comment, according to a representative.
While we're quarantined in our homes, we can use all the entertainment we can get. And now that Tiger King's long behind us (well, kind of), what are we going to watch now? Amy Schumer and her professional chef husband Chris Fischer's new self-filmed Food Network show tentatively titled Amy Schumer Learns to Cook, that's what.
Amy Schumer Learns to Cook is a new series that, as the title suggests, shows Schumer in her very own kitchen learning how to cook comfort food dishes. And by "cook," we actually mean "mix cocktails," as Variety reports that Fischer will actually do most of the cooking "using farm fresh ingredients," while Schumer sticks to drinks.
The series, entirely shot by the couple at their home, will consist of eight half-hour episodes that will not only tackle different culinary themes, like pasta night, brunch, tacos, fridge cleanup, and more, but will also give a behind-the-scenes look at their life.
As if all of that didn't sound great enough, the best part is when it's slated to release: later this spring. Production started this week.
Bill Maher has stirred the social media pot with a simple question: "Why should China get a pass?"
Maher posed that question Friday to point out the hypocrisy of ignoring the Wuhan, China wet market origin of the coronavirus when so many diseases are named after places.
"There are people who would rather die from the virus than call it by the wrong name," Maher said, reeling off a list of diseases that were named after spots, including MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome,) Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and the Spanish flu.
"It's not racist to point out that eating bats is batshit crazy," he said, adding, "We should blame China. Not Chinese Americans. If the sun was exploding, Twitter would pile on the first guy who called it a dwarf star."
"This has nothing to do with Asian-Americans. We don't have the luxury of indulging a country whose habits cause problems. Viruses come from China like shortstops come from the Dominican Republic."
Michael Avenatti, the former Stormy Daniels attorney, would-be presidential candidate, CNN pundit and convicted felon, , has been temporarily released from prison.
A federal judge in California said today that the pandemic concerns required that Avenatti should be released from a federal detention center in New York for 90 days.
He will be in quarantine for 14 days before moving to Los Angeles. Avenatti won his release when attorneys argued a recent bout with pneumonia left him vulnerable to the coronavirus.
The judge required Avenatti to post a $1 million bond, wear an electronic monitoring device and shelter in place at a friend's house in Venice. Avenatti cannot open bank accounts or credit cards nor use computers and the internet during his release.
A federal disaster loan program offering up to $2 million in relief is now capping out at $15,000 - and is leaving some borrowers wondering if they'll even get that.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, an offshoot of the Small Business Administration's emergency funds system, has faced an unprecedented number of requests amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and is having trouble keeping up and following through with promised loan amounts, The New York Times reports.
Several applicants reportedly said SBA representatives told them funding for the program was running out. Deb Wood-Schade, a chiropractic wellness business owner, told the Times she had been approved for a nearly $25,000 loan, but was given documents on Wednesday telling her the loan had been cut to less than a third of that amount.
As part of the $2 trillion relief bill signed by President Trump (R-Grifter) last month, applicants to the program were also supposed to be made eligible for a $10,000 advance in the form of a grant that would not have to be repaid, and the money was reportedly supposed to be distributed within three days of applying. According to the Times, that money has yet to be dispensed.
The sudden onslaught of requests caused by the virus has handed the SBA a "historic influx of loan applications," The Washington Post reports, leading to a major applicant backlog. The $10 billion in federal funding provided by the CARES act would cover the $10,000 advances of around one million businesses. But in three days, the program reportedly received more than three million applicants.
With the coronavirus pandemic wiping clean much of the calendar of public events in Germany, the memorial at the Buchenwald former concentration camp marked the 75th anniversary of its liberation on Saturday in a new way.
It published online a "Declaration of Thüringia" -- in German, English and French -- warning that "human rights, democracy and freedom can by no means be taken for granted" as "right-wing radicalism and authoritarianism are on the rise".
Signed by figures from politics and civil society, including Thuringia state premier Bodo Ramelow and Auschwitz and Buchenwald survivor Ivan Ivanji, the text described as a grave threat "a form of populism emboldened by a racially motivated superiority complex, nationalism and the undermining of European unity".
The website also published brief statements from people who survived Buchenwald, where around 56,000 people perished in the main camp and 20,000 in the satellite installation Dora between 1937 and a prisoners' uprising in April 1945.
Other memorials around Germany, including Ravensbrueck, Sachsenhausen and Bergen-Belsen, plan similar online events in the coming days.
here won't be a Burning Man festival this year in Nevada, at least not physically.
Marian Goodell, the festival's CEO, announced in a video statement Friday Burning Man would be virtual this year and take place in the multiverse because of the ongoing threat of coronavirus.
From the looks of it, a virtual Burning Man means a lot of live streaming dance and art exhibits, yoga classes and other forms of artistic training.
The annual nine-day festival would've taken place August 30 to September 7 in the temporarily constructed city known as Black Rock City, in the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada.
"Burning Man is a culture, it's a movement," she said. "We are not by defined by one aspect of Burning Man, we're defined by what we bring to Burning Man."
The discovery of the oldest known direct evidence of fiber technology - using natural fibers to create yarn - is reported in Scientific Reports this week. The finding furthers our understanding of the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals during the Middle Palaeolithic period (30,000-300,000 years ago).
Bruce Hardy and colleagues discovered a six-millimeter-long cord fragment consisting of three bundles of fibers twisted together and adhering to a 60-millimeter-long, thin stone tool. The authors speculate that the cord was wrapped around the tool as a handle or was part of a net or bag containing the tool. They date the cord fragment, which they discovered in Abri du Maras, France, to between 41,000-52,000 years ago. Using spectroscopy and microscopy, they identified that the cord likely consists of fibers taken from the inner bark of a non-flowering tree such as a conifer.
The authors suggest that production of the cord would have required extensive knowledge of the growth and seasonality of the trees used. They also speculate that Neanderthals may have needed an understanding of mathematical concepts and basic numeracy skills to create bundles of fibers (yarn), the three-ply cord and rope from multiple cords.
Prior to this discovery the oldest discovered fiber fragments in the Ohalo II site in Israel dated back to around 19,000 years ago. The findings of the new study suggest that fiber technology is much older, and that the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals may have been more similar to those of modern humans than previously thought.
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