There's an old fashioned thing called a copy editor and
fact checker that newspapers used to have and I was one of them. The job
involves splitting yourself in two. As a copy editor, I don't give a damn what
the writer is saying, I'm just verifying it's in proper English - spelling
and grammar - that's it. First test of being a good copy editor, doing it from
the bottom up, paying no attention to content, just making sure there isn't a
their that should be a they're or dash that should be a comma. Then you're done
copy editing.
Then you start fact checking, or you can do it the other
way around if you've got both jobs, but in the old days, it was two different
people.
So this putz film critic has declared that The
Godfather is the worst movie ever made. This, in your opinion, is not a
fact, it is an opinion, an opinion that will go on forever as a representation
of the magazine or newspaper paying your salary. Should you call the writer and
maybe ask him to reconsider the statement, maybe add "one of" or "in my
opinion," something other than a statement of fact that will making everyone at
the paper a laughingstock. A statement of fact is a dangerous thing in the
golden age of litigation, not to mention the potential of no more advertising
dollars from a distribution company that bears a grudge.
As a fact checker, it is your job to question the
veracity of absolutely everything, you're like a personal Wikipedia where
everything has to be proven. This was a tough job before Wikipedia.
So as a fact checker, I say the bin Laden assassination
story is full of holes. Not gaping, just little places where the pieces don't
fit. It seems to me that if you don't believe in evolution because of a single
missing link in a vast chain of empirical evidence, you can't believe the bin
Laden story for the exact same reason. There are missing links.
So the first thing I "fact check" is the traditional
Muslim method of burial, which mentions in the ground by sunset with the head
pointed towards Mecca and nothing of having your picture taken then moved to the
nearest ocean and being dumped off a U.S. destroyer.
As long as there was a way to bury bin
Laden in the ground with his head towards Mecca,
the burial at sea was distinctly NOT according to Muslim tradition. The obvious
answer, the U.S. didn't want him buried, knowing the site would become an
an attraction to the enemy, and ignoring the obvious, that surveillance of such
a site would allow them to keep track of the enemy.
All it would have taken was one single country to allow
the burial of bin Laden and there would have been no need for a burial at sea,
according to Muslim tradition. You wanna tell me there wasn't single lunatic
dictator in some backwoods African no-man's-land that wouldn't have taken bin
Laden's body just for a tourist attraction? Did the U.S. actually ask every
country if they wanted him? That would have been more in line with Muslim
tradition than a burial at sea as long as his head was pointed towards
Mecca.
Yet the media has blindly repeated Obama's line on this,
it was according to Muslim tradition, when it was no such thing.
There. Now you know why I'm not working as a fact
checker at any major news organization.
Mark Shields: A 2012 Prediction You Can Count On (Creators Syndicate)
While the U.S. is becoming more racially diverse (Obama won 80 percent of the 27 percent of the electorate that is Asian-African American-Latino-and other), Republicans have become an increasingly more white party in an increasingly less white nation.
Michael Chabon: 'The Phantom Tollbooth' and the Wonder of Words (nybooks.com)
First published in 1961, 'The Phantom Tollbooth' describes the comical-epic journey of Milo, a rather etiolated young fellow awash in grade school ennui who, one day, under mysterious circumstances, finds himself in receipt of a package containing the eponymous tollbooth.
CYNTHIA CROSSEN: "Dear Book Lover: Critically Acclaimed but Almost Forgotten" (Wall Street Journal)
When I purged my bookshelves a few years ago, I kept my six Barbara Pym novels, among them "Excellent Women," a 1978 hardcover. A year earlier, in 1977, two members of the British literati had independently nominated Pym, in a Times Literary Supplement survey, as one of the most underrated novelists of the 20th century. That brought "Excellent Women," first published in 1952, and some of Pym's other novels back to life.
LIDIA YUKNAVITCH: The Urgent Matter of Books (The Rumpus)
So this guy I know, a guy I like, whose brain has not atrophied or anything, says to me the other night, "Books have lost their social relevance; they have been entirely subsumed by economy, and their material form is fast approaching its own demise."
Steve Dollar: Gods, Monsters and Guitars (Wall Street Journal)
Former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas is looking ahead to the May 10 release of "The Ordeal of Civility," a new album with his band Gods and Monsters, and a release party Saturday at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.
Krist Novoselic and the beatification of Nirvana (Guardian)
Once the enfants terribles of the Seattle rock underground, Nirvana have now been exalted by the city elders. Bassist Krist Novoselic talks to Keith Cameron about becoming a museum exhibit.
David Bruce has 41 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $41 you can buy 10,250 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
The modern waterbed was created by Charles Prior Hall in 1968, while he was a design student at San Francisco State University in California. Fellow SFSU students Paul Heckel and Evan Fawkes also contributed to the concept. Hall originally wanted to make an innovative chair. His first prototype was a vinyl bag with 300 pounds (136 kg) of cornstarch, but the result was uncomfortable. He next filled it with Jell-O, which had an unfortunate "tendency to decompose". Ultimately, he abandoned working on a chair, and settled on perfecting a bed.
Hall was granted a patent on his waterbed, which he originally called "the pleasure pit", in 1971.
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
The Waterbed
Adam answered:
Oooooo, the water bed.
Marian responded:
waterbed mattress
Sally said:
The modern waterbed was created by Charles Prior Hall in 1968. Who knew?
I was looking for a rental, circa 1990, and can still remember the ads in the paper saying, "No Pets; No Water Beds." Apparently, they ruin floors...
PS: Survived the plant sale, but now have flats of flowers to actually plant - outside, in the ground. I also started several vegetable plants AWA some morning glories all to be planted as well. Unfortunately, I've also hurt my shoulder, so I am counting on the precious gks to help gamma. :)
Charlie replied:
The modern waterbed.
MAM wrote:
Reinvented the waterbed mattress and called it the 'Pleasure Pit'.
And, Joe S answered:
The modern notion of the water bed. Who knew? I mean besides Marty.
Lil' Ricky Santorum was one of five debaters in the "First Debate of '12 Race": GREENVILLE, SC., hosted by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party, on Thur. May 5th. The other four debaters were Herman Cain, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
Santorum was predictable: Anti Abortion, Anti Gay, and Pro Torture. He got into it with Mr. Paul over enhanced interrogation techniques and the war in Afghanistan. When Mr. Paul said techniques like waterboarding didn't help the search for bin Laden, Mr.
Santorum jumped it.
"It's simply not true, Ron," he said, though the Obama administration has said it's unclear if enhanced interrogations aided the bin Laden hunt.
I found the most disturbing part of the debate was when the moderator asked for a show of hands from the debaters as to who was for waterboarding. Three debaters, including Santorum, raised their hands. The crowd applauded the supporters of waterboarding. So much for not shredding the Constitution.
Torture In The First Debatehttp://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/05/torture-in-the-first-debate.html>
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by the SEASON FINALE'Amazing Race', then the SEASON FINALE'CSI: The 2nd One'.
NBC opens the night with 'Dateline'FRESH'T-rump's Ego On Parade'.
ABC begins the night with a FRESH'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition', then a FRESH'Desperate Housewives', followed by a FRESH'Brothers & Sisters'.
The CW offers an old 'Friends', followed by another old 'Friends', then the movie 'The Rookie'.
Faux has an old 'Simpsons', followed by a FRESH'American Dad', then a FRESH'Simpsons', followed by a FRESH'Bob's Burgers', then a FRESH'Family Guy', followed by a FRESH'Cleveland Show'.
MY has an old 'How I Met Your Mother', followed by another old 'How I Met Your Mother', then an old 'The Closer', followed by another old 'The Closer'.
A&E has 'Criminal Minds', another 'Criminal Minds', still another 'criminal Minds', followed by a FRESH'Breakout Kings'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Interpreter', followed by a FRESH'The Killing'.
BBC -
[6:00 AM] Doctor Who - 1 - The Eleventh Hour
[7:00 AM] Doctor Who - 2 - The Beast Below
[8:00 AM] Doctor Who - 3 - Victory of the Daleks
[9:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 2
[10:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[11:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[12:00 PM] Doctor Who - Ep 1 Partners in Crime
[1:00 PM] Doctor Who - Ep 2 The Fires of Pompeii
[2:00 PM] Doctor Who - 2 - Day of the Moon
[3:00 PM] Doctor Who - Episode 3
[4:00 PM] Great Natural Wonders of the World
[5:00 PM] Where Do Monkeys Come From?
[6:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[7:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[8:00 PM] Superman II
[11:00 PM] Superman II
[2:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[3:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[4:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 3
[5:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 4 (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of NYC', 'Real Housewives Of OC', another 'Real Housewives Of OC', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of OC'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Joe Dirt', followed by the movie 'Scary Movie 2'.
FX has the movie 'The Day After Tomorrow', followed by the movie 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'.
History has 'Ax Men', another 'Ax Men', followed by a FRESH'Ax Men', then a FRESH'Inspector America'.
IFC -
[6:00 AM] The Gate
[7:45 AM] Last Days
[10:00 AM] Vatel
[12:15 PM] The Ben Stiller Show
[12:45 PM] The Ben Stiller Show
[1:15 PM] The Ben Stiller Show
[1:45 PM] The Ben Stiller Show
[2:15 PM] Invincible
[5:00 PM] The New World
[8:00 PM] Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
[11:00 PM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[11:30 PM] Onion News Network
[12:00 AM] Freaks and Geeks
[1:00 AM] Undeclared
[1:30 AM] Mr. Show With Bob and David
[2:05 AM] Bullet
[4:05 AM] Onion News Network
[4:35 AM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[5:05 AM] Undeclared
[5:35 AM] The Whitest Kids U'Know
[5:50 AM] Nosebleed (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:05 AM] Kate! The Making of an Icon
[7:05 AM] Man in the Chair
[9:00 AM] BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET: Communities (Season 3)
[9:30 AM] BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET: Games (Season 3)
[10:00 AM] Cities On Speed - Mumbai Disconnected (Episode 2, Season 1)
[11:00 AM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Hangs With the Cool Kids (Episode 9, Season 1)
[11:30 AM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Gets a Magazine Cover (Episode 10, Season 1)
[12:00 PM] ALL ON THE LINE - Dana-Maxx (Episode 5, Season 1)
[1:00 PM] ALL ON THE LINE - Jedda Kahn (Episode 6, Season 1)
[2:00 PM] Shot in Bombay
[3:45 PM] Kate! The Making of an Icon
[4:45 PM] Man in the Chair
[6:35 PM] Neal Cassady
[8:00 PM] Angel
[10:00 PM] Happy Endings
[12:15 AM] ALL ON THE LINE - Jedda Kahn (Episode 6, Season 1)
[1:15 AM] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - Dancing in the Dark (Episode 2, Season 1)
[2:15 AM] ALL ON THE LINE - Jedda Kahn (Episode 6, Season 1)
[3:15 AM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Hangs With the Cool Kids (Episode 9, Season 1)
[3:45 AM] THE COMEBACK - Valerie Gets a Magazine Cover (Episode 10, Season 1)
[4:15 AM] Angel (ALL TIMES EST)
Actress Mia Farrow speaks after receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters at University of Connecticut's School of Fine Arts commencementceremony in Storrs, Conn., Saturday, May 7, 2011.
Photo by Jessica Hill
Singer Lady Gaga says she doesn't agree with Arizona's tough immigration law and wrote the song "Americano" as a response to it.
Lady Gaga is in Mexico City for two concerts.
She said during a news conference Friday she has a strong relationship to Mexican culture, then added: "I don't stand by many of those unjust immigration laws in my country."
Hard rock stars Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi, famous for playing with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, launched a charity record on Friday to raise money for a music school in ex-Soviet Armenia.
Proceeds from the record by singer Gillan and guitarist Iommi's band WhoCares are intended to help rebuild the impoverished school in the Armenian city of Gyumri, which was hit by a massive earthquake in 1988 that killed 25,000 people.
The record, "Out of My Mind", is accompanied by a film about the British musicians' long-term involvement with the small Caucasus republic.
Deep Purple played a concert in Armenia in 1990 to raise funds after the earthquake, and another charity show for 10,000 people in Yerevan last year.
Deep Purple remain hugely popular across the former Soviet Union, counting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev among their fans as well as the Armenian prime minister.
Paula Abdul will be back at the judging table with Simon Cowell, this time on Fox's "The X Factor," a person familiar with the negotiations said Saturday.
Though widely expected, confirmation of Abdul's joining the new singing contest was held up as negotiations continued until the eve of the show's first taping, according to the person familiar with the talks. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because Fox and the show's producers had not authorized public comment.
Abdul will be on hand for Sunday's taping in Los Angeles of the first judging session for "The X Factor." This will reunite her with fellow judge Cowell, her former sparring partner on the "American Idol" judging panel. Other previously announced judges include British pop superstar Cheryl Cole and Grammy-winning producer Antonio "L.A." Reid.
"The X Factor," based on Cowell's hit British show, will debut this fall on Fox.
Jillian Michaels has signed a multiyear deal that will see "The Biggest Loser" trainer join "The Doctors" as a co-host next season.
In addition, Michaels will become a special correspondent on "Dr. Phil," which like "Doctors," is produced by CBS TV Distribution.
Michaels will focus on wellness, prevention and lifestyle dynamics in addition to other health-related issues, producers said.
Michaels announced in December that she'd be leaving "The Biggest Loser" at the end of Season 11 to take a year off and focus on becoming a mom and doing more charity work.
Authorities say David Beckham was behind the wheel of a car that rear-ended another vehicle on a Southern California freeway.
The California Highway Patrol said Saturday the soccer great was not hurt in Friday morning's crash, but the other car's driver was hospitalized after complaining of neck pain.
The patrol says Beckham's Cadillac struck a Mitsubishi stalled in the carpool lane of the 405 Freeway in Torrance.
T
he other driver, a 40-year-old Los Angeles man, was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure. His name was not released.
A slippery fight has emerged between the maker of high-end latex clothing worn by Katy Perry and Lady Gaga and a former employee turned competitor.
The Stockroom Inc. sued Abigail Greydanus in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, claiming she is using some of its designs and disrupted its business relationship with Perry.
Stockroom is the maker of a high-end latex clothing line called SYREN. The company states the SYREN line has created form-fitting suits that have appeared in such as "The Watchmen," "Batman Returns" and "Men in Black II."
The company is seeking an injunction blocking Greydanus from selling latex clothing and costumes, claiming she is using designs she acquired during her nearly three years as a latex assembler.
A Francis Bacon masterpiece painted at the height of the British artist's impassioned affair with a former World War Two fighter pilot is expected to fetch up to 9 million pounds ($15 million) when it is auctioned for the first time in June, auction house Sotheby's said on Friday.
Bacon's 1961 oil on canvas "Crouching Nude" is one of his large-scale paintings and is feted for its ominous, brooding atmosphere in which the distorted female model grins grotesquely.
Bacon never used life models for his existential masterpieces, instead relying on clippings, photographs and memories of the faces and bodies of those around him as inspiration.
The pilot, Peter Lacy, was one such muse, and conducted a fraught relationship with the artist until his death from drink in 1962, which Bacon learned about via telegram on the eve of his 1962 retrospective.
Models display accesories by Romanian brand Benvenuti at the Bucharest Fashion Week in Bucharest, Romania, late Friday, May 6, 2011. The annual event spansover three nights and gathers Romanian and international designers and brands.
Photo by Vadim Ghirda
The room is large and airy, the stone floors clean and cool - a welcome respite from the afternoon sun. Until your eyes take in the horror that it holds. Ten severely malnourished children - nine of them girls.
The starving girls in this hospital ward include a 21-month-old with arms and legs the size of twigs and an emaciated 1-year-old with huge, vacant eyes. Without urgent medical care, most will not live to see their next birthday.
They point to a painful reality revealed in India's most recent census: Despite a booming economy and big cities full of luxury cars and glittering malls, the country is failing its girls.
Early results show India has 914 girls under age 6 for every 1,000 boys. A decade ago, many were horrified when the ratio was 927 to 1,000.
The discrimination happens through abortions of female fetuses and sheer neglect of young girls, despite years of high-profile campaigns to address the issue. So serious is the problem that it's illegal for medical personnel to reveal the gender of an unborn fetus, although evidence suggests the ban is widely circumvented.
Villagers in national dresses take part in a pagan ritual celebrating Yurya in the village of Pogost, about 250 km (155 miles) south of Minsk, May 6, 2011.People believe that the pagan god Yurya protects their harvest and the annual tradition is devoted to plentiful future harvests.
Photo by Vasily Fedosenko
U.K. game developer David Braben set his game programming aside for a short while to create an amazingly affordable personal computer that he hopes will prompt an overhaul of computer education programs. The mini PC, called the Raspberry Pi, is no bigger than a standard USB memory stick, and runs a version of Linux, an open-source operating system.
The diminutive device has a single USB input for a keyboard or mouse (or a USB hub to expand those options), HDMI monitor output, 128MB of memory, and an SD card slot for storage. The pint-sized PC is capable of web browsing, word processing, email, and many other standard computer features. None of this would be particularly impressive, if not for the fact that the device costs just $25.
Braben plans to introduce his creation to school systems throughout the U.K. in hopes of overhauling what he sees as a computer education program in need of a refresh. He is currently in the processes of refining the Raspberry Pi prototype in anticipation of getting it manufactured on a larger scale, and projects that the tiny device will be formally introduced within 12 months.
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.
wrote:
answered:
