Andrew Tobias: The Vanishing Deficit
It's falling - not only in dollars terms but, much more meaningfully, relative to the size of our economy. According to the CBO, the deficit Obama was handed by Bush as he took office four months into the 2009 fiscal year was 10.1% of our GDP. For the current year, a deficit of just 4% of GDP is projected - falling to 2.1% by 2015.
Paul Krugman: Obamacare Will Be A Debacle - For Republicans (New York Times)
… it looks as if we're going to see blue-state residents reaping the benefits of a functional health care system, while red-state residents are denied many of those benefits, for what looks like no better reason than mean-spirited spite - because what's going on is, indeed, mean-spirited spite.
Charlie Jane Anders: "Epic: This is what a good children's film looks like" (io9)
So yeah, Epic isn't just a good kids' movie, it's also a good fantasy film in which the origin of a hero is done well and heroism is celebrated. (And the scientist father ends up being treated well, and science isn't demonized, yay.) Epic actually lives up to its title, and might wind up being one of the summer's better action-adventure films.
Rob Bricken: Amazon Is Going to Start Selling Fan Fiction - Legal Fan Fiction (io9)
This is completely insane, people. Amazon has just figured out how to make fan fiction legal, and get the original creators paid for it, the authors of the fan fics paid for it, and themselves paid for it. And it's going to work. I have zero doubt about this.
Lucy Mangan: "The Borribles by Michael de Larrabeiti" (Guardian)
Do you remember the episode of Friends in which it is revealed that Joey finds the Stephen King novel The Shining so terrifying that he keeps his copy in the freezer? Well, The Borribles is my freezer book. Not to put too fine a point on it, it scared the living crap out of me when I first read it and I didn't embark upon a re-reading this week without making sure all the lights were working and there was a cat in the house to support me.
Bob Dylan said, "I heard a record of hers in a record store. Right then and there, I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar, a flat-top Gibson. ... [That album was] just something vital and personal. I learned all the songs on that record."
Who was the woman Dylan was talking about?
Bonus question: What was the album?
Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 - December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a civil and human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement".
Odetta influenced Harry Belafonte, who "cited her as a key influence" on his musical career; Bob Dylan, who said, "The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta. I heard a record of hers Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues in a record store, back when you could listen to records right there in the store. Right then and there, I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar, a flat-top Gibson. ... [That album was] just something vital and personal. I learned all the songs on that record."
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
Odetta Holmes (Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues)
Jim from CA, retired to ID, wrote:
Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues
Charlie responded:
The Artist was Odetta. I thought it probably was upon reading the question, but I wasn't sure.
The Album was Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues. I had no idea.
Then, a few years later
Sally said:
I'm gonna guess that Dylan was a fan of Odetta, and the album, "Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues."
I remembered that Dylan was a fan of Odetta, but had to look up the album.
PS: Here is a follow-up on by allergy medication caper. When I went of the senior bus food shopping last Thursday, of course I had to share my experience of needing a photo ID in order to buy OTC sinus medication. Well, let me tell you, my fellow senior bus riders shared their frustrations with me! One lady goes to her doctor (pays a co-pay to see him) to get a prescription so she can, "avoid the ID crapola!" Others have friends/family members purchase it for them, A couple got it through the mail (at outrageous prices). I used my passport, but most of these folks don't have one. Jersey has a "State ID" with photo but to get it, you have to go several towns away, and the public bus service here is awful. And, it requires 6 points of ID (birth certificate, rent receipt/mortgage pmt/ state tax proof, etc.) to qualify for it. Oh, and it also costs about $50.
I am wondering if it is the same in other states, or just on the East coast? I have about 25 of the $20 pills left, and I plan to treat them like gold! (Guess I'll all them in the will, with the books and records...) Kidding aside, this is appalling.
Adam answered:
Odetta, 'Odetta Simgs Ballads amd Blues'.
Dale of the Diamondy Springy, replied:
It's Odetta Holmes, one of the most strikingly, stunning singers of my generation. Her voice melted me down with its power and beauty! My Mom had Odetta records from the 50's and 60's.
PS:
The name of the album was Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues. I also called my Mom and she said that Dad and her used to see her at the "hungri i" in SF in the 50's and early 60's.
MAM wrote:
Odetta was the womon that Dylan was talking about.
'Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues' was the album.
Marian responded:
Odetta and the album was Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues
BttbBob is offline.
And, Joe S answered:
Who was the woman Dylan was talking about? Odetta (I LOVE ODETTA!)
Bonus question: What was the album? Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues
Spiritual Trilogy Easy Rider
Sally, I share your sentiments concerning The Ramones. They may not be good but they're loud.
PS Carla's home. yea
As an at least third-generation pack rat, I am heir to a large collection of the family's music books, song sheets, and recordings. (Michael Feinstein, if you're interested....) Anyway, thought I'd try to add more to what your regulars had to say about Bob Dylan's use of non-original sources for his lyrics.
In Alan Lomax's book, THE FOLK SONGS of NORTH AMERICA, # 238 is a song called Many Thousands Gone, which goes,
"No more auction block for me,
No more, no more,
No more auction block for me,
Many thousands gone."
Except for several more verses (No more driver's lash for me, etc.), that's it! And except for the first six notes (amounting to "How many roads must a") the melody for BITW seems to be all Dylan. Must be, because his verses are much longer.
This is not to say that Dylan never used other sources for his melodies. Case in point, Masters of War. An old Elektra LP, Kentucky Mountain Songs, sung by Jean Ritchie includes a song of olde- English origin called Nottamun Town which is note for note the melody of MoW. Richard Farina wrote A Swallow Song for his sis-in-law (Joan Baez) using a Ladino Jewish melody of Spanish-Portuguese origin.
I don't see a problem with this type of borrowing. Musical recycling often creates beauty (and, yes, sometimes works of genius) for another era. Just wish they would give proper attribution to their sources. Did Eric Carmen ever reveal Rachmaninoff as a melodic source for All By Myself? See? It's not just the folkies who do it.
Aside to Sally: Am creeped out by your Walgreen's encounter. What ingredients in your allergy meds could you possibly save up to concoct a terroristic threat? Sheesh!
Best to you, Marty, and to all your regulars, and to all your readers who love your blog.
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by a RERUN'NCIS: The 2nd One', then a RERUN'The Good Wife', followed by a RERUN'The Mentalist'.
NBC opens the night with a RERUN'The Voice', followed by a FRESH 2-hour 'Smash'.
ABC begins the night with a RERUN'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a RERUN'Wipeout', then a RERUN'Motive', followed by a RERUN'Rookie Blue'.
The CW fills the night with what passes for local news and other fluffery.
Faux has LIVE'NASCAR Sprint Cup', then pads the left coast with local crap.
MY has 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 'Big Bang Theory', and yet another old 'Big Bang Theory'.
A&E has 3 hours of old 'Duck Dynasty', 'Storage Wars', and another 'Storage Wars'.
AMC offers 'Mad Men' marathon with a FRESH'Mad Men' at it's regular time.
BBC -
[6:00AM] COPPER - Season 1 - Ep 1 - Surviving Death
[7:00AM] COPPER - Season 1 - Ep 2 - Husbands and Fathers
[8:00AM] WILD THINGS WITH DOMINIC MONAGHAN - Season 1 - Ep 7 - Giant Malaysian Honey Bees
[9:00AM] WILD THINGS WITH DOMINIC MONAGHAN - Season 1 - Ep 8 - Guatemalan Beaded Lizard
[10:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 6 - The Bells of Saint John
[11:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 7 - The Rings of Akhaten
[12:00PM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 8 - Cold War
[1:00PM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 9 - Hide
[2:00PM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 10 - Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS
[3:00PM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 11 - The Crimson Horror
[4:00PM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 12 - Nightmare in Silver
[5:00PM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 13 - The Name of the Doctor
[6:00PM] DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTORS REVISITED - THE FIRST DOCTOR
[6:30PM] DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTORS REVISITED - THE SECOND DOCTOR
[7:00PM] DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTORS REVISITED - THE THIRD DOCTOR
[7:30PM] DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTORS REVISITED - THE FOURTH DOCTOR
[8:00PM] DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTORS REVISITED - THE FIFTH DOCTOR NEW
[11:00PM] DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTORS REVISITED - THE FIFTH DOCTOR
[2:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 6 - The Bells of Saint John
[3:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - Season 7 - Ep 7 - The Rings of Akhaten
[4:00AM] COPPER - Season 1 - Ep 1 - Surviving Death
[5:00AM] COPPER - Season 1 - Ep 2 - Husbands and Fathers (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Married To Medicine', followed by a FRESH'Married To Medicine', then a FRESH'The Kandi Factory'.
Comedy Central has 'Futurama', another 'Futurama', still another 'Futurama', yet another 'Futurama', 'South Park', another 'South Park', still another 'South Park', and yet another 'South Park'.
FX has the movie 'Iron Man', followed by the movie 'Battle: Los Angeles', then the movie 'Battle: Los Angeles', again.
History has 'Hatfields & McCoys' (part 1), 'Hatfields & McCoys' (part 2), and 'Hatfields & McCoys' (part 3).
IFC -
[6:00AM] The Lives of Others
[9:00AM] Dilbert-The Merger
[9:30AM] Dilbert-Hunger
[10:00AM] Dilbert-The Off-Site Meeting
[10:30AM] Dilbert-The Assistant
[11:00AM] Out There-Salem, My Salem
[11:30AM] Out There-Viking Days
[12:00PM] Arrested Development-Making a Stand
[12:30PM] Arrested Development-S.O.B.s
[1:00PM] Arrested Development-Fakin' It
[1:30PM] Arrested Development-Family Ties
[2:00PM] Arrested Development-Exit Strategy
[2:30PM] Whitest Kids U'Know
[2:45PM] Bad Boys
[5:30PM] Poltergeist
[8:00PM] The Shining
[11:00PM] Maron-Dominatrix
[11:30PM] The Shining
[2:30AM] Saw III
[4:45AM] Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)-The Much Funnier Second Episode (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] The Waiting Room
[8:00AM] Being John Malkovich
[10:00AM] The Color of Money
[12:00PM] Rescue Dawn
[2:15PM] Grizzly Man
[4:00PM] Rectify-Always There
[5:00PM] Rectify-Sexual Peeling
[6:00PM] Rectify-Modern Times
[7:00PM] Rectify-Plato's Cave
[8:00PM] Rectify-Drip, Drip
[9:00PM] Rectify-Jacob's Ladder
[10:00PM] The Color of Money
[12:00AM] Bottle Rocket
[1:30AM] Less Than Zero
[3:15AM] Holy Rollers
[5:00AM] David Bailey, Four Beats to the Bar and No Cheating (ALL TIMES EST)
Actress Kim Novak poses on the red carpet as she arrives for the screening of the restored print of the film "Vertigo" by Alfred Hitchcock during the 66th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 25, 2013.
Photo by Eric Gaillard
Organizers say two million people marched in protest against seed giant Monsanto in hundreds of rallies across the U.S. and in over 50 other countries on Saturday.
"March Against Monsanto" protesters say they wanted to call attention to the dangers posed by genetically modified food and the food giants that produce it. Founder and organizer Tami Canal said protests were held in 436 cities in 52 countries.
Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But some say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment. The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe.
The 'March Against Monsanto' movement began just a few months ago, when Canal created a Facebook page on Feb. 28 calling for a rally against the company's practices.
Actor Alain Delon reacts on stage during a tribute for his career before the screening of the restored print of the film "Plein Soleil" by Rene Clement during the 66th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 25, 2013.
Photo by Yves Herman
The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.
This Memorial Day weekend, the hulking metal come-ons are once again glinting and shimmering at night.
The Neon Museum, where Sin City's most iconic signs go to retire, has begun aiming more than 100 multicolored spotlights on its outdoor collection of 150 signs. It's also extending hours for nighttime tours, and a handful of signs have been fully restored with new bulbs.
Since October, visitors have been able to meander past the Silver Slipper, Aladdin's lamp, the Stardust marquee and dozens of other signs saved from the wrecking ball. But the museum closed at 5:30 p.m., meaning that tourists had to squint through the desert sun to glimpse the old guardians of this nighttime city.
For the first time Friday, visitors were able to behold the fully restored signs in all their luminescent glory. The dozens of other markers were bathed in custom-designed spotlights, like true Vegas showgirls.
An auctioneer says one of Apple's first computers - a functioning 1976 model - has been sold for a record 516,000 euros ($668,000).
German auction house Breker said Saturday an Asian client, who asked not to be named, bought the so-called Apple 1, which the tech company's founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built in a family garage.
Breker claims it is one of only six known remaining functioning models in the world. Breker already sold one last year for 492,000 euros.
It says the computer bears Wozniak's signature. An old business transaction letter from the late Jobs also was included.
U.S. actor Michael Douglas gestures at the Ferrari paddock before the qualifying session of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix May 25, 2013.
Photo by Stefano Rellandini
Tavis Smiley has stood out in 20 years in broadcasting, and he has no intention of changing his style or substance.
He's the rare black host with national TV and radio platforms, one who sees his job as challenging Americans to examine their assumptions on such thorny issues as poverty, education, and racial and gender equality.
In other words, he doesn't squander his opportunities on PBS' daily talk show "Tavis Smiley," which marks its 10th year this month, or on public radio's "The Tavis Smiley Show" and "Smiley & West," the latter a forum for commentary he shares with scholar and activist Cornel West.
Smiley, marking two decades in broadcasting this year, considers himself engaged in a calling as much as a career: "This is the kind of work I think needs to be done. I'm trying to entertain and empower people."
The tornado that hit Moore, Okla., on Monday (May 23) killed an estimated two dozen people and caused devastating property damage. Residents had advance warning of the storm, thanks to weather forecasts. But with forced budget cuts in effect, forecasters may not be adequately prepared for future natural disasters.
In March, $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester, took effect. The cuts slashed 8.2 percent from the 2013 operating budgets of most federal agencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suffered a 7 percent reduction in its fiscal year 2013 budget as a result of sequestration. Thinned-out staffs and under-maintained equipment could hinder the agency's ability to give timely and accurate weather forecasts, experts say.
"It really highlights the game of chicken we're playing with the nation's safety," said J. Marshall Shepherd, president of the American Meteorological Society.
Like many government agencies, NOAA is considering implementing agencywide furloughs, or mandatory leave days. The agency has proposed up to four furlough days per employee through Sept. 30, 2013.
Director Jim Jarmusch (L) and cast member Tilda Swinton attend a news conference for the film "Only Lovers Left Alive" during the 66th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 25, 2013.
Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier
Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.
The festival, he says, is "for snobs," and when he meets a reporter from his native land, he exhales, "It's so nice to hear an American." To him, Cannes isn't an epicenter of rabid Lewis fandom, it's simply "business," he says, chomping on gum.
And at 87, Lewis is back in business. Nearly two decades since his last film, he's at Cannes with "Max Rose," a modest independent film in which he stars as an elderly man reconciling himself to life without his late wife.
"I'm very happy to relax and stay home with my family, and if something comes up, I'll consider it," Lewis, in an interview, said of his return to movies. "That's the nice part about 87. You just tell people: Oh, you're very tired."
U.S. director and actor Ron Howard walks in the paddock before the qualifying session of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix May 25, 2013.
Photo by Stefano Rellandini
Russia's leading online social network was briefly banned on Friday, in a move dismissed as a "mistake" but which follows intensifying official pressure on the company as President Vladimir Putin consolidates his power.
VKontakte, Europe's largest homegrown social network with 210 million registered users, was put overnight on a "black list" of sites barred from distributing content inside Russia. Hours later, the ban was lifted.
The company's founder Pavel Durov has clashed with the authorities in the past for providing a forum for opposition activists to organize protests against Putin.
Durov, 28, founded VKontakte in his native St Petersburg in 2006 and his success in building the network - which attracts 47 million users daily who log on to share news, views and photos - has drawn comparisons to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.
Durov refused to comply with an order by the Federal Security Service, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB, to close groups used by activists to organize protests over the December 2011 parliamentary election, which handed victory to Putin's ruling United Russia party.
Cast member John Hurt gestures as he poses during a photocall for the film "Only Lovers Left Alive" at the 66th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 25, 2013.
Photo by Yves Herman
Here's a tidbit you probably didn't know: Gonorrhea is the second-most frequently reported "notifiable" disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (That means that if you have it, your doctor or local health official needs to report it to the federal government so they can track it; gonorrhea is beaten out only by chlamydia.)
Though gonorrhea-being a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and all-doesn't come up in conversation too often, it's way more prevalent than you probably think. It's also a superbug, meaning it's grown resistant to the usual treatments because the gonorrhea bacteria has mutated to become stronger than ever. In fact, earlier this month you may have seen alarmist headlines ("Sex Superbug Could be 'Worse Than AIDS,'" said CNBC.com) about drug-resistant gonorrhea. The CDC was quick to respond, quelling fears about the bug's presence in the U.S. Many reports were referring to gonorrhea strain H041, which is very resistant to ceftriaxone-the drug widely recommended for treating gonorrhea. That strain, though, hasn't ever been reported in the U.S., said the CDC.
Gonorrhea is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a gram-negative bacterium (which means the cells have a double cell lining). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 62 million people get gonorrhea every year. To get it, you have to have contact with the mouth, penis, vagina, or anus of an infected sexual partner. Once N. gonorrhoeae bacteria have been transmitted, they infect mucosal surfaces in the genitals and throat.
For a while, gonorrhea could be treated easily with penicillin and sulfa drugs. In the late 1960s, though, studies began showing that gonorrhea was rapidly increasing its resistance to penicillin. It beat the antibiotics by making an enzyme-penicillinase-that made penicillin totally ineffective. Then, in the 1980s, strains of gonorrhea that did not produce penicillinase began showing resistance; they showed up in the U.S. in 1980 during an outbreak in North Carolina. This meant that certain strains of gonorrhea had undergone a genetic mutation: They had picked up a chromosome that allowed them to be resistant in a different way. (As a reminder, antibiotics target certain structural components in bacteria to defeat them. If these structural components change, even just a little bit, this change affects the susceptibility of the bacteria to an antibiotic.) What we learned in the '80s was that not only did some strains of gonorrhea produce an enzyme that destroyed penicillin, other strains were shifting so that penicillin couldn't affect them.
Models present creations by French lingerie Label Maison Close while passing under a bridge on the catwalk on a canal cruise boat of the Floating Fashion Week in Amsterdam, May 25, 2013. The Amsterdam floating fashion week is the first fashion week with a floating catwalk show.
Photo by Cris Toala Olivares
The body of King Richard III was buried in great haste, a new study finds - perhaps because the medieval monarch's corpse had been out for three days in the summer sun.
The new research is the first academic paper published on the discovery of Richard III, which was publicly announced in February 2013. A team of archaeologists from the University of Leicester found the body beneath a parking lot in Leicester that was once the site of a medieval church. The full study will be available online on Friday evening (May 24).
The archaeological analysis contains details only alluded to in the initial announcement of the findings. In particular, the archaeologists found that Richard III's grave was dug poorly and probably hastily, a sharp contrast to the neat rectangular graves otherwise found in the church where the king was laid to rest.
The study also delineates the 10 injuries on the corpse's skeleton. Most are likely battle wounds, including two fatal blows to the back of the head. Two wounds on the face, one to the ribs and one to the buttock were likely delivered post-mortem, after Richard III was stripped of his armor, the researchers wrote. These "humiliation wounds" may have been designed to disrespect the king in death.
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?
wrote:
is offline.
answered:
