Marc Dion: Dying for a Fluff Piece (Creators Syndicate)
When new reached our newsroom that a couple of television reporters were gunned down in Virginia, somebody made a joke. Reporters pride themselves on what we inevitably call "gallows humor." Somebody HAD to make a joke, to live up to our self-anointed reputation for toughness. It was not a funny joke. Most jokes you have to reach for are not funny.
Peter Rexford: The Ideal Postal Tribute to 'Cool Hand' Paul Newman (Creators Syndicate)
Top of the list is his famous "Hole In The Wall Gang Camp." Named after the gang from the film, Newman created it in the image of an old west town and setting. Believing that everyone should be able to enjoy the magic of summer camp, Newman designed it expressly for children's and families coping with cancer, sickle cell anemia and other serious terminal or life-threatening illnesses. Newman wanted the camp to be an oasis for kids where they could enjoy childhood and feel free to, "raise a little hell."
Peter Rexford: After 5,000 Years, Cash Is Still King (Creators Syndicate)
In the eyes of financial and budgeting consultants, reliance on cash is a good thing. In fact, they suggest those in debt switch almost exclusively to cash. That's because, when someone sees actual money tangibly leaving their hands, they often don't make frivolous purchases and thus spend less.
Marc Dion: I'm Casual About Mangoes Now (Creators Syndicate)
I was embarrassed, and I quit drinking straight olive oil. A week later, I told my 75-year-old mother what happened. "One of the women at work said she didn't know how I could drink a shot glass of olive oil with throwing up," I told Ma. My mother took this as an insult to her son. "You tell her my son can drink ANYTHING if it's in a shot glass," she said. The family honor was saved.
Stephen King: Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (NY Times)
THERE are many unspoken postulates in literary criticism, one being that the more one writes, the less remarkable one's work is apt to be. Joyce Carol Oates, the author of more than 50 novels (not counting the 11 written under the pseudonyms Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly), understands perfectly how little use critics have for prolific writers. In one of her journals she wrote that she seemed to create "more, certainly, than the literary world allows for a 'serious' writer."
Bubbles (born 1983) is a common chimpanzee, known for being the one-time pet of American recording artist Michael Jackson, who bought the primate from a Texas research facility in the early 1980s. The animal was a frequent travel companion to the singer, whose attachment to the animal led to media mockery and, among other factors, to a public perception of Jackson as an eccentric. During the Bad World Tour, for example, Jackson brought Bubbles with him to Japan, where they both drank tea with the mayor of Osaka.
Bubbles was initially kept at the Jackson family's home in Encino, Los Angeles, but was moved to Neverland Ranch in 1988. There, he slept in a crib in Jackson's bedroom, used the singer's toilet and ate candy in the Neverland movie theater. In 2003 the public learned that, like many captive chimpanzees, Bubbles had matured into a large and aggressive adult chimp unsuitable as a companion animal. He was sent to a California animal trainer. When the trainer closed his operation in 2004, Bubbles was moved to the Center for Great Apes, a sanctuary in Wauchula, Florida, where he has lived since 2005.
Source
Randall was first, and correct, with:
Bubbles
mj wrote:
In some circles
His welfare generated more concern than that of Jackson's young
sleepover guests. Bubbles was his hairy buddy.
Alan J said:
Bubbles.
Lemur-like Lois Of Oregon replied:
OMG, Poor Beverly Sills, and Poor Unknown Chimp who was raped repeatedly by Michael Jackson, shared the same nickname...Bubbles! As did a poor pilot whale enslaved by Marine Land way back in the sixties until he got so ole and feeble he kept missing his cues to leap through a hoop and instead beached himself in the fifth row and spewed ambergris on a kid from the Make A Wish Foundation.
Kevin K. in Washington, DC responded;
MJ's Pet Chimp's name was the as yesterday's Opera SInger: Bubbles.
Deborah replied:
Then name of Michael Jackson's pet chimp was Bubbles.
So there's a theme here, eh?
Today: cloudy, cool, light mist. It feels and smells wonderful.
Hope it cools off in SoCal too.
Marian answered:
Bubbles which is also Beverly Sills nickname.
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 a FRESH'Big Brother', then a RERUN'Madam Secretary', followed by a RERUN'CSI: One Too Many'.
NBC fills the night with LIVE'NFL Preseason Football', then pads the left coast with local crap and maybe a RERUN'Hollywood Game Night'.
ABC begins the night with a RERUN'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'Bachelor In Paradise', then a FRESH'Save My Life: Boston Trauma'.
The CW offers a RERUN'Monopoly Millionaires' Club', followed by an old 'Friends', then another old 'Friends', followed by 2½ hours of what passes for local news and other fluffery.
Faux has a RERUN'Bob's Burgers', followed by another RERUN'Bob's Burgers', then a RERUN'The Simpsons', followed by a RERUN'Brooklyn Nine-Nine', then a RERUN'Family Guy', followed by a RERUN'The Last Man On Earth'.
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 old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by yet another old 'Big Bang Theory'.
A&E has 'Intervention', followed by a FRESH'Intervention', then a FRESH'Intervention: Then & Now', followed by a FRESH'Intervention'.
AMC offers the movie '300', followed by 'Fear The Walking Dead', then a FRESH'Fear The Walking Dead', and another 'Fear The Walking Dead'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] Planet Earth: Africa-Ep 6 - The Future
[7:00AM] Planet Earth: The Making of Africa
[8:00AM] Planet Earth: Human Planet-Ep 6 - Grasslands - Roots of Power
[9:00AM] Planet Earth: Human Planet-Ep 7 - Rivers - Friend and Foe
[10:00AM] Planet Earth: Human Planet-Ep 8 - Cities - Surviving the Urban Jungle
[11:00AM] The Matrix
[2:00PM] The Matrix Reloaded
[5:00PM] The Matrix Revolutions
[8:00PM] The Green Mile
[12:00AM] The Green Mile
[4:00AM] Top Gear: Best of Jeremy-Ep 1 - Best of Jeremy
[5:00AM] Top Gear: Winter Olympics - Special Season 7 (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Married To Medicine', an other 'Married To Medicine', followed by a FRESH'Bravo First Looks', then a FRESH'Married To Medicine', followed by a FRESH'Don't Be Tardy ... ', then a FRESH'Manzo'd With Children'.
Comedy Central has 'Gabriel Iglesias: Aloha Fluffy', 'Gabriel Iglesias: Hot & Fluffy', and 'Gabriel Iglesias: Aloha Fluffy'.
FX has the movie 'Battleship', followed by a FRESH'The Strain'.
History has 'Pawn Stars', another 'Pawn Stars', 'Ice Road Truckers', followed by a FRESH'Ice Road Truckers', and 'Power & Ice'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] POLTERGEIST
[8:30AM] MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR
[10:45AM] RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II
[1:00PM] RAMBO III
[3:30PM] MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR
[5:45PM] THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN
[8:15PM] BAD BOYS
[11:00PM] DOCUMENTARY NOW!-DRONEZ: THE HUNT FOR EL CHINGON
[11:30PM] DOCUMENTARY NOW!-SANDY PASSAGE
[12:00AM] THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN
[2:30AM] BAD BOYS
[5:15AM] MARON-ANTI-DEPRESSED
[5:45AM] COMEDY BANG! BANG!-CRAIG ROBINSON (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[8:00AM] The Manchurian Candidate
[11:00AM] Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter-Drama Showrunners
[12:00PM] Conan the Barbarian
[2:30PM] Back to the Future Part III
[5:00PM] Jerry Maguire
[8:00PM] Field of Dreams
[10:30PM] Jerry Maguire
[1:30AM] Back to the Future Part III
[4:00AM] Buried (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Indiana Jones & the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull', followed by the movie 'The Bourne Ultimatum'.
Musican Bruce Springsteen, from left, former U.S President Bill Clinton, musician Jimmy Buffett, screenwriter Barry Levinson, and actor Bill Murray attend the Hamptons Sneak Screening of Open Road Films' "Rock the Kasbah" after party on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015 in East Hampton, N.Y.
Photo by Scott Roth
An Egyptian court sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to three years in prison on Saturday for broadcasting "false news," sparking an international outcry and underlining how authorities are trampling over free speech just over a year into general-turned-politician Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's presidency.
The men are now seeking a pardon from el-Sissi, who has personally expressed regret over the long-running trial and the damage it has done to Egypt's international reputation - saying it would have been better to simply deport the journalists. Al Jazeera said it will also appeal the verdict, once the court releases its full ruling in the next 30 days.
Canadian national Mohammed Fahmy, Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed's case had embroiled their work into the wider political conflict between Egypt and Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is based, following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
The verdict comes just weeks after el-Sissi issued a new anti-terrorism law, which sets a sweeping definition for who could face a harsh set of punishments, including journalists who don't toe the government line. The new law, like Saturday's verdict, has drawn criticism from diplomats, press freedom advocates and human rights organizations.
Musician John Mellencamp arrives at the Hamptons Sneak Screening of Open Road Films' "Rock the Kasbah" on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015 in East Hampton, N.Y.
Photo by Scott Roth
A cache of Atari game cartridges dug up in a New Mexico landfill last year has generated more than $100,000 in sales over the last several months.
The April 2014 dig ended speculation surrounding an urban legend that Atari had discarded hundreds of games, including "E.T. The Extraterrestrial," more than 30 years ago, reported The Alamogordo Daily News.
A film crew documented Joe Lewandowski as he dug up the Atari cartridges. In addition to the "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" cartridges, Lewandowski found more than 60 other titles.
Atari's E.T. game, based on the Steven Spielberg film, was released in 1982 after only 34 days of development. It earned a reputation as the worst video game ever created.
One of Oregon's first hemp farmers says a lack of seed is making it tough to get going.
Josephine County Commissioner Cheryl Walker says that fertile seed is expensive and hard to come by, because the federal government prohibits imports. Harvesting machinery is expensive, and there is no plant in Oregon to process the plants into fiber, seed and oil.
"We are at the beginning stages of an industry," she said. "It will probably be years before you see significant production. It might take five to seven years from that before we have an operating industry."
This is the first year Oregon farmers can grow hemp, following the Legislature's approval in 2009. Growing hemp without a federal permit was banned in 1970 due to its classification as a controlled substance and relation to marijuana. Hemp that is grown must contain less that 3 percent THC, the compound found in marijuana that makes you high.
Nile Rodgers performs on stage during the 2015 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards at the Saban Theatre on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Photo by Paul A. Hebert
Vin Scully will be back for a record 67th season in the broadcast booth for the Dodgers, who revealed the news Friday night in the second inning of their game against the Chicago Cubs.
Magic Johnson, a co-owner of the team, appeared on the Dodger Stadium video board to tell the crowd that Jimmy Kimmel had a major announcement.
Late-night TV host Kimmel appeared and without a sound used cue cards to explain Scully would return for another season "at least," read one of the cards.
The 87-year-old Scully stood up and waved from his booth as the crowd cheered.
The Hall of Fame announcer's consecutive years of service make him the longest-tenured broadcaster with one team in sports history.
Rebekah Brooks will return to her old job heading Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper division, the Financial Times reported, just over a year after being cleared of criminal charges in a phone-hacking scandal.
Her return to News Corp could be as soon as early September, the Financial Times said on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Reuters reported in March that Brooks, the former editor of the News of the World tabloid and seen as Murdoch's protege, was in talks about returning to News Corp.
If confirmed, the return to one of the biggest jobs in the British media would mark a stunning turnaround for Brooks who became one of the most talked about figures in British public life when the phone-hacking scandal broke.
A public inquiry which ran through 2011 and 2012 heard of the close ties between senior executives at Murdoch's newspapers, the police and leading politicians, including Prime Minister David Cameron.
Samba dancers in colorful costumes perform on the streets during the Asakusa Samba Carnival parade in Tokyo, Japan, 29 August 2015. Some 5,000 participants took part in the 34th edition of the Samba Carnival.
Photo by Christopher Jue
At least 38 young women have died in a road accident in Swaziland on their way to an annual ceremony where the king might have chosen one of them as his wife, an advocacy group said on Saturday.
Trucks transporting scores of young women to the traditional Umhlanga Reed Dance collided on Friday near the town of Matsapha on Swaziland's major highway, the Times of Swaziland reported.
"According to inside sources, a total of 38 young girls have been pronounced dead, with more than 20 others seriously injured," said Lucky Lukhele, spokesperson for the Swaziland Solidarity Network, an advocacy group based in neighbouring South Africa.
The Umhlanga Reed Dance has in the past involved bare-breasted young Swazi women dancing and singing in beaded mini-skirts to catch the eye of King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch.
Participants of the 18th European Marksmen's festival pose for the photographer on the shooting grounds in Peine, Germany, 29 August 2015. The participants have to hit a wooden owl, which is the emblem of Peine. Abour 10,000 participants are expected to attend.
Photo by Peter Steffen
A thief swapped a $220,000 diamond with a fake at a luxury jewellery store in Hong Kong, police said Saturday, as the city wrestles with an uptick in shop theft.
The diamond, valued at around HK$1.7 million ($219,000), was taken by a man in his 30s on Friday from a store in Hong Kong's Central financial district, police said.
"From CCTV footage, it was found that a man posing as a customer arrived at the shop and picked out one of the items and then was suspected to have swapped the diamond with a fake," a police statement said.
The fake diamond was discovered by one of the store's employees, who reported the case to the police. No arrests have been made.
Naked Hindu holy men wait to bath in the Godavari River during Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, India, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Hindus believe taking a dip in the waters of a holy river during the festival, will cleanse them of their sins. According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over a nectar that would give them immortality.
Photo by Rajanish Kakade
Poland said on Friday it was almost certain it had located a Nazi train rumored to have gone missing near the close of World War Two loaded with guns and jewels.
Photographs taken using ground-penetrating radar equipment showed a train more than 100 meters (330 feet) long, the first official confirmation of its existence, Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski said.
The vehicle was armored, suggesting it was carrying a special cargo, "probably military equipment but also possibly jewelry, works of art and archive documents," he told journalists in Warsaw.
Zuchowski said the initial source of the stories was a man who said he had helped hide the train. "On the death bed, this person communicated the information together with a sketch, where this might possibly be," he said, without going into more details.
Local news reports say the train went missing in 1945, carrying loot from the then-eastern German city of Breslau, now called Wroclaw and part of Poland.
A Russian SU-35 S performs at the Moscow International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2015 in the city of Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, 29 August 2015. The International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS 2015 take place from 25 to 30 August.
Photo by Yuri Kochetkov
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. The Rolling Stones; $7,836,716; $174.50.
2. U2; $7,618,637; $117.10.
3. Taylor Swift; $4,752,793; $109.05.
4. Fleetwood Mac; $2,831,516; $122.18.
5. Kenny Chesney; $2,301,631; $86.40.
6. Luke Bryan; $1,440,211; $61.94.
7. Neil Diamond; $1,375,616; $105.85.
8. Shania Twain; $1,268,535; $96.75.
9. Bette Midler; $1,262,788; $127.37.
10. Ed Sheeran; $1,179,473; $64.10.
11. Maná; $1,138,505; $101.43.
12. Rush; $1,134,603; $85.80.
13. Dave Matthews Band; $1,009,635; $57.83.
14. Herbert Grönemeyer; $958,492; $57.49.
15. Phish; $853,524; $56.42.
16. Maroon 5; $783,712; $57.73.
17. Romeo Santos; $717,996; $87.91.
18. New Kids On The Block; $673,195; $61.06.
19. Barry Manilow; $641,050; $71.78.
20. Florida Georgia Line; $638,975; $34.97.
A Congo-born nurse was laid to rest in a quiet corner of Belgium on Saturday, surrounded by emissaries from the King and the United States, politicians and a military honor guard.
Augusta Chiwy - Belgium's "forgotten angel" - was buried at Bastogne, the scene of one of the most ferocious battles of World War II where at great personal risk she helped save countless American lives.
As Europe celebrates the selfless act of civilians who thwarted an attack on a high-speed train a week ago, Chiwy, who died on Aug. 23 aged 94, was a unique kind of hero.
Defying challenges of gender and race, she displayed a particular kind of bravery that has won her the gratitude of one of the U.S. military's most storied fighting outfits, the 101st Airborne.
Her actions are recounted in books, a documentary, and the television series "Band of Brothers."
Bastonge, southern Belgium was the backdrop for the Battle of the Bulge during the final stages of World War II, which ended almost exactly 70 years ago.
In desperation, Adolf Hitler ordered a massive attack on allied forces in the Ardennes. About 80,000 American soldiers were killed, captured or wounded in a matter of weeks.
But this diminutive Congo-born nurse left the shelter of her uncle's cellar on Dec. 21, 1944 to come to the aid of the army doctor in Bastogne, Jack Prior.
Most people struggled with the decision of whether to keep the American flag over their door or put the Nazi Swastika back up, Prior wrote years later, let alone risk taking sides.
Medical supplies were scarce but Chiwy, working on despite lack of food and rest, "was always in the thick of the splinting, dressing and hemorrhage control," Prior said.
At one point, a shell blew her through a kitchen wall, killing several injured troops and the only other nurse, Renee Lemaire. But Chiwy was back at work the next day.
Martin King, a military historian who drew attention to her bravery through a book and documentary titled "The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne," noted that during the war black nurses could not treat white servicemen, and that some men refused her aid.
"The doctor told them: 'She takes care of you, or you die.' That is a great leveler," said King.
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wrote:
took the day off.
, has returned to semi-retired status.
