Clive James: 'Australia's grammar is a vestige, a mere gesture' (The Guardian)
I can't prove it, but I suspect that in all the nations where the English language is collapsing, it collapses quickest in those nations where they eat the most meat. During the second world war, the US forces in the Pacific area issued their troops with a booklet indicating how much their allies ate. The booklet said that the Australians ate even more meat per week than the Americans.
Anonymous: What I'm really thinking: the eldest child (The Guardian)
It's down to me, it seems, to take the lead in caring for our parents. Everything I was made to learn about sharing no longer seems to apply. The others are too busy, too far away, too unconcerned. So dutifully I crisscross the country for hours to provide care and support. Requests to my siblings to help out more fall on deaf ears. To me, the dutiful first born, it feels like the right and only thing to do: to be there for our parents as they were for us. Sadly, that feeling isn't shared by the second, third or fourth.
Howard Hampton: "Ghost World: Séance in Wowsville" (Criterion)
We're predisposed to love some films because they speak to our sensibilities-they wear our hearts (or our discontents) on their sleeves. Others catch us unawares in a whirlwind of surprise and glee. Clear-cut yet fabulously mutable, Ghost World did both things, fulfilling many high hopes and expectations while at least half its pleasure lies in the craggy, melancholy detours Terry Zwigoff takes getting us there-adding unexpected twists to already twisted material.
Little Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and made its debut on August 5, 1924, in the New York Daily News.
The plot follows the wide-ranging adventures of Annie, her dog Sandy and her benefactor Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Secondary characters include Punjab, the Asp and Mr. Am. The strip attracted adult readers with political commentary that targeted (among other things) organized labor, the New Deal and communism.
Source
Mark. was first and correct with:
Little Orphan Annie's dog is named Sandy.
Gene wrote:
Sandy is Little Orphan Annie's constant companion.
zorch said:
Sandy. Arf! goes Sandy.
Billy in Cypress responded:
Sandy
DJ Useo replied:
Never quite got into the Lil' Orphan Annie craze, but I know enough to say her dog is named "Sandy".
A popular name as I can mention other "Sandys" very easily.
Joe S answered:
I'm Little Orphan Annie, I live in a shoe,
This is my dog Tige, he lives in there too!
No... Wait... Spot? Scruffy? Cujo?
Deborah took the day off.
Kevin K. in Washington, DC took the day off.
Daniel in The City took the day off.
Dave in Tucson took the day off.
Dale of Gloomy (as in overcast and cloudy) Diamond Springs, Norcali took the day off.
Stephen F took the day off.
John I from Hawai`i took the day off.
David of Moon Valley took the day off.
Sally has retired.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Forget the article that went with this! Look at the attached picture of Predator! Is he horking up a big old phlegm ball?! On the grass?! Or the sidewalk? I hate nasty people who spit indiscriminately!
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by the FRESH'The 71st Annual Tony Awards'.
NBC fills the night with LIVE'2017 Stanley Cup Final', then pads the left coast with local crap and maybe an old '20/20'.
ABC begins the night with a RERUN'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'Celebrity Family Feud', then a FRESH'Steve Harvey's Funderdome', followed by a FRESH'The $100,000 Dollar Pyramid'.
The CW offers an old 'Person Of Interest', followed by an old Elementary', then 2½ hours of what passes for local news and other fluffery.
Faux has a RERUN'Bob's Burgers', followed by a RERUN'Last Man On Earth', then a RERUN'The Simpsons', followed by a RERUN'Bob's Burgers', then a FRESH'American Girl'.
MY has an old 'Anger Management',followed by another old 'Anger Management', 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'.
AMC offers 'Fear The Walking Dead', followed by a FRESH'Fear The Walking Dead', then a FRESH'Talking Dead'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 1-Challenges of Life
[7:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 2-Reptiles and Amphibians
[8:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 3-Mammals
[9:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 4-Fish
[10:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 5-Birds
[11:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 6-Insects
[12:00PM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 7-Hunters and Hunted
[1:00PM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 8-Creatures of the Deep
[2:00PM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 9-Plants
[3:00PM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 10-Primates
[4:00PM] WEIRD SCIENCE (1985)
[6:00PM] THE PRINCESS BRIDE
[8:00PM] THE PRINCESS BRIDE
[10:00PM] WEIRD SCIENCE (1985)
[12:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 1-Challenges of Life
[1:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 2-Reptiles and Amphibians
[2:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 3-Mammals
[3:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 4-Fish
[4:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 5-Birds
[5:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 6-Insects (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Potomac', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Potomac', then a FRESH'Invite Only Cabo', 'Real Housewives Of Potomac', followed by a FRESH'Watch What Happens Live'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Wedding Crashers', followed by the movie 'Wedding Crashers', again, then the FRESH'Jordan Klepper Solves Guns'.
FX has the movie 'Jack Reacher', followed by the movie 'Lucy'.
History has a FRESH'Forged In Fire: Cutting Deeper', followed by the FRESH'Hamilton: Building America'.
IFC -
[7:45AM] GREEN ZONE
[10:15AM] THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS
[12:15PM] HOMEFRONT
[2:30PM] GREEN ZONE
[5:00PM] SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
[9:00PM] SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
[1:00AM] EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS
[4:30AM] COMEDY BANG! BANG!-T-Pain Wears Shredded Jeans and a Printed Shirt
[5:00AM] COMEDY BANG! BANG!-Aubrey Plaza Wears a Velvet Off-the-5:30AM
[6:00AM] COMEDY BANG! BANG!-T-Pain Wears Shredded Jeans and a Printed Shirt (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[7:30AM] The Cowboys
[10:30AM] The Dirty Dozen
[2:00PM] Fargo
[4:00PM] Casino
[8:00PM] Pulp Fiction
[11:00PM] Pulp Fiction
[2:00AM] Casino (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'Ghost Rider', followed by the movie 'Salt', then the movie 'Blade'.
It turns out Warner Bros. made a major error while making "Wonder Woman," and the studio is likely to pay for it.
Though Warner Bros. is overjoyed by the box-office success and acclaim of its latest DC Comics Extended Universe release, according to reports, it didn't sign on the movie's director, Patty Jenkins, for a sequel. Now the studio is under fire from fans who want to see Jenkins return to continue telling the adventures of Diana Prince (played by Gal Gadot).
It looks as if the studio undershooting how well "Wonder Woman" would perform, along with its making plans to develop "Justice League Dark" and a Batgirl movie, led to its lack of attention to a "Wonder Woman" sequel.
One sign of the studio's surprise at the overwhelmingly positive reaction to "Wonder Woman" was its decision to move up the review embargo. For most movies, especially blockbusters, studios give critics a date and time when they can go live with reviews. After early press screenings of the movie, Warner Bros. shifted that date to a few days earlier, making it clear it was confident in how the movie would be received.
Warner Bros. would have better footing in its sequel negotiations had it locked down Jenkins before the release of "Wonder Woman," but now the leverage is clearly on Jenkins' side.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) doubled down Friday his accusation of perjury against Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R-Racist), re-asserting that the Alabama Republican and the nation's top lawyer lied to Congress during his confirmation hearing earlier this year.
The former Saturday Night Live writer was asked by NBC's Meet The Press Daily host Chuck Todd if he thought Sessions, who's come under fire both from the public for his meetings with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. and Donald Trump (R-Buffoon) for recusing himself from any Trump-Russia investigation, was fit to run the Justice Department.
"I think he did not answer truthfully under oath," Franken said according to Mediaite.
Todd reiterated, asking if Franken thought Sessions had lied to Congress during his confirmation hearing.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand used salty language Friday to express her frustration with Washington politics.
"If we are not helping people, we should go the f--- home," the Democrat declared in a speech to activists.
It's extraordinarily rare for members of Congress to swear in public, but it's not the first time for Gillibrand. The 50-year-old New Yorker cursed several times in her 2014 book and used the f-word in a recent magazine interview.
The mother of two young children also lashed out at Republican Donald Trump (R-Pinocchio) for failing to follow through on promises to improve health care and the tax system for working families.
"Has he kept any of his promises?" she asked. "No. F--- no."
In keeping with traditional practice, Colonel Geoffrey Godbold, the City of London Corporation's Common Cryer and Serjeant-at-Arms reads out the Proclamation of the Summons for a new Parliament on the steps of the Royal Exchange, in the City of London, Thursday, May 4, 2017. All 650 seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs in the June 8 election.
Photo by Matt Dunham
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., allowed herself a bit of nostalgia Friday, yearning for the days of an administration friendlier to Democrats: that of former resident George W. Bush.
Pelosi was touting her bipartisan bona fides on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," citing her relationship with former President Bush as proof of her willingness to reach across the aisle. When an interviewer suggested she's "missing him now," Pelosi conceded she did.
"I wish [George W. Bush] were president now," she said, laughing. "I wish Mitt Romney were president. I wish John McCain were president."
She also recounted her first White House meeting with Trump, in the company of other House and Senate leaders.
"First thing he says, to open the meeting, 'You know, I won the popular vote,'" she recalled.
The FBI chief he fired called the president a liar, but the response from many Republicans was a collective shrug. The GOP still needs Donald Trump (R-Crooked) if it has any hope of accomplishing its legislative agenda and winning elections, and it's going to take more than James Comey's testimony to shake them.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Weasel) on Friday boasted of the GOP's accomplishments under Trump thus far, and promised more to come, making no mention of Comey in a speech. A group of House conservatives discussed taxes and the budget, with no reference to Comey or the federal investigations into Russia's election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
Elsewhere, there were few outward signs of concern from the top Republican officials, donors and business leaders who gathered largely behind closed doors in Park City, Utah, for a conference hosted by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
It all underscored what's become a hardening dynamic of the Trump presidency: Republicans on Capitol Hill and off are mostly sticking with the president despite the mounting scandals and seemingly endless crises that surround him.
Though some are privately concerned, and frustration is regularly voiced about the president's undisciplined administration and the distractions he creates, Republicans have scant incentive to abandon him now. Trump's signature remains key to the still-nascent GOP agenda, and he has the ability to appoint judges to lifetime appointments, a thrilling prospect for conservatives.
The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election, in London, Thursday, June 8, 2017.
Photo by Markus Schreiber
The jury at Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial heard from the comedian without him actually taking the stand Thursday as prosecutors read into the record his lurid, decade-old testimony about what he said were several sexual encounters with Andrea Constand that culminated in him giving her pills and then reaching into her pants.
Jurors sat riveted and took notes as they heard the TV star say that as he touched Constand's body during one encounter at his suburban Philadelphia home more than a decade ago, "I don't hear her say anything. And I don't feel her say anything. And so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection."
Cosby testified in 2005 as part of a lawsuit brought against him by Constand, who said in court this week that she rejected Cosby's advances and would have fought him off again during the January 2004 encounter had the pills not left her paralyzed and semi-conscious.
Cosby eventually settled the case for an undisclosed sum, and his deposition was sealed for years, until a judge released parts of it in 2015 at the request of The Associated Press.
Constand, 44, testified this week that Cosby penetrated her with his fingers against her will after giving her pills that left her so limp that she was unable to push him away or tell him to stop.
White House social media director Dan Scavino violated the law when he used an official-looking Twitter account for campaign purposes, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel has concluded, issuing Scavino a letter of admonishment.
The agency also warned that if Scavino engages in prohibited political activity again, it will be considered "a willful and knowing violation of the law, which could result in further action."
The agency concluded that Scavino, one of Trump's most trusted aides, violated the Hatch Act, which bars most executive branch officials from using their government positions to influence elections.
The decision came in response to a complaint from the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington over a tweet from Scavino calling for the defeat of Rep. Justin Amash in a GOP primary.
Scavino is one of the president's most loyal and longest-serving aides in the White House. He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of Trump's golf courses, and was part of the small group of staffers who traveled with the president across the country for the entirety of the campaign.
Beginning Sunday, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will be closed and drained so it can be cleaned. This is being done because of a water-borne parasite that has killed 80 ducks there since late May, according to NPR .
The National Park Service hopes to refill the Washington, D.C. pool by June 19.
The ducks' deaths were likely caused by high levels of the parasite cercarial dermatitis, which grow in and are released by snails that live in the pool, the park service said Friday.
That same parasite causes swimmer's itch in humans, and is found in some inland lakes in Northern Michigan.
The Top 20 Global Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows Worldwide. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
1. Drake; $1,959,318; $90.37.
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers; $1,391,503; $88.62.
3. Bon Jovi; $1,389,061; $87.24.
4. Elton John ; $1,289,990; $101.74.
5. The Weeknd; $1,263,162; $71.38.
6. Olly Murs; $1,088,455; $60.17.
7. Tim McGraw / Faith Hill; $1,083,830; $86.98.
8. John Mayer; $1,047,122; $76.00.
9. Iron Maiden; $992,591; $71.07.
10. Eric Church; $904,531; $60.92.
11. Ariana Grande; $868,743; $74.71.
12. Stevie Nicks; $843,404; $94.60.
13. Kings Of Leon; $727,654; $63.74.
14. Blake Shelton; $723,045; $62.11.
15. Green Day; $692,317; $60.08.
16. Journey; $662,910; $86.64.
17. Chance The Rapper; $644,252; $55.32.
18. Jerry Seinfeld; $562,301; $97.48.
19. Twenty One Pilots; $551,599; $48.16.
20. Jack Whitehall; $539,652; $40.01.
Adam West - an actor defined and also constrained by his role in the 1960s series "Batman" - has died. He was 88. His rep said that he died after a short battle with leukemia.
With its "Wham! Pow!" onscreen exclamations, flamboyant villains and cheeky tone, "Batman" became a surprise hit with its premiere on ABC in 1966, a virtual symbol of '60s kitsch. Yet West's portrayal of the superhero and his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, ultimately made it hard for him to get other roles, and while he continued to work throughout his career, options remained limited because of his association with the character.
The origins of the "Batman" series are actually quite complex, but the project eventually landed at 20th Century Fox, which handed it to producer William Dozier, who devised the show's camp comedy sensibility.
Both West and Lyle Waggoner were considered for the part of Batman before West was cast, playing alongside Burt Ward as his sidekick Robin.
With actors like Cesar Romero (Joker) and Burgess Meredith (Penguin) comprising Batman's rogue's gallery of villains, the show became an almost instant success, urging viewers to tune in for the next episode at the "Same Bat-time." The series spawned a movie - pitting the Dynamic Duo against a team-up of villains - before being canceled after three seasons due, primarily, to its high production costs.
West found serious film work scarce following the series, though he remained in demand for personal appearances as the character and voice work, including a recurring stint on "Family Guy" and animated versions of Batman. Other roles ranged from "The Happy Hooker" and "Hooper" to the Michael Tolkin-directed "The New Age."
Born William West Anderson in 1928 in Walla Walla, Wash., the actor later adopted his stage name, and began his career in earnest when he moved to Hawaii in the 1950s to star in a local children's program.
He is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
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has returned to semi-retired status.
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