• When writer Dick DeBartolo began writing for MAD magazine, he quickly discovered that the employees engaged in a lot of good-natured ribbing. For example, he once brought a comic article to his boss, Nick Meglin, who laughed and laughed while reading the article. However, when Mr. DeBartolo asked which jokes he had laughed at most, Mr. Meglin replied, “None of the jokes. I was laughing at the typos. God, are you an awful speller!” (Don’t feel bad for Mr. DeBartolo — for a span of several years, every issue of MAD included at least one article by him.)
• As a child, Mark Twain used to play a practical joke on his mother. He would go to a cave (McDowell’s Cave, which served as the model for McDougal’s Cave in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), capture a bat, put it in his pocket, take it home, and then tell his mother that he had something for her in his pocket. In his Autobiography, Mr. Twain marveled that his mother never learned to like bats: “The more experience she had, the more she could not change her views.”
• When artist Neysa McMein went to Paris, she asked writers Alexander Woollcott and Heywood Broun for the name of a good, cheap hotel she could stay in. Unfortunately, after she had arrived at the “hotel” and checked in, her friends Grace Moore and Cole Porter visited and revealed to her that she was staying in a brothel.
• While attending Cornell University, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., was required to take ROTC. At an ROTC inspection, Mr. Vonnegut once wore on his military uniform every medal he could borrow — he wore Boy Scout medals, medals for swimming, and even medals for Sunday School attendance.
Prejudice
• David Klass, children’s book author of California Blue and You Don’t Know Me, had a college professor father who embarrassed him when he was a child by volunteering to be his assistant baseball coach in a summer league. Some of the other fathers were racists and homophobes, including one father who played a discriminatory “game” while driving the children to an away baseball game. The “game” consisted of the father pretending his hand was a gun and cocking his finger then aiming at non-white people and saying “bang.” At least, the father was non-discriminatory in his hatred. Black, Hispanic, Asian didn’t matter to him — if someone was non-white, he aimed his “gun” at them and said “bang.” One day, when David’s professor father had his turn driving some children to an away game, one of the children saw two men walking together along the side of the road. The child rolled down the window and yelled, “Homos!” David’s professor father stopped the car by the side of the road, then he told the child, “Just for your information, homo- is a Greek root. It means ‘equal’ or ‘like.’ As in homogeneous. It also means ‘man,’ from the Latin. As in Homo sapiens. So if you were trying to say those two guys are alike, or that they’re both men, you were right. Otherwise you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then he drove on. Today, Mr. Klass realizes how lucky he was to have a father like that.
• Emma Lazarus, a Jewish-American poet whose poem “The New Colossus” graces the base of the Statue of Liberty, was a defender of her people. When the Century magazine published an article by an important Russian scholar, Zinaida Alexievna Ragozin, Ms. Lazarus knew that the article had to be refuted because it stated that the Jewish people had brought the then-current, late 19th-century pogroms in Russia upon themselves through being “worshippers of the Golden Calf,” caring only about money, and plotting to destroy Russia. Ms. Lazarus asked the editor of the Century, Richard Watson Gilder, who would respond to and rebut the article, and Mr. Gilder responded, “You, of course.” Ms. Lazarus did exactly that.
Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". 'Auspices' is from the Latin auspicium and auspex, literally "one who looks at birds." Depending upon the birds, the auspices from the gods could be favorable or unfavorable (auspicious or inauspicious). Sometimes politically motivated augurs would fabricate unfavorable auspices in order to delay certain state functions, such as elections. Pliny the Elder attributes the invention of auspicy to Tiresias the seer of Thebes, the generic model of a seer in the Greco-Roman literary culture.
This type of omen reading was already a millennium old in the time of Classical Greece: in the fourteenth-century BC diplomatic correspondence preserved in Egypt called the "Amarna correspondence", the practice was familiar to the king of Alasia in Cyprus who needed an 'eagle diviner' to be sent from Egypt. This earlier, indigenous practice of divining by bird signs, familiar in the figure of Calchas, the bird-diviner to Agamemnon, who led the army (Iliad I.69), was largely replaced by sacrifice-divination through inspection of the sacrificial victim's liver—haruspices—during the Orientalizing period of archaic Greek culture. Plato notes that hepatoscopy held greater prestige than augury by means of birds.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
Birds.
Billy in Cypress U. $. A. said:
Billy in Cypress
Randall wrote:
BIRDS
Alan J answered:
Birds.
Dave responded:
Birds. It is easy to laugh at the primitive cultures but since the US has a measurable minority of fools who actually believe the QAnon conspiracy theories, I can’t see where we have room to talk.
Mac Mac replied:
Birds
Cal in Vermont wrote:
Birds. How they flew, the noises they made and etc. These were omens that needed interpretations by augurs. There were originally four augurs who would debate these omens and then hand down decisions as to important stuff like when to have a festival or start a war: "It is auspicious to go to our neighbors and steal their horses, rape the women, kill the children and enslave those who survive! Huzzah!" In 300 BC the number of augurs was increased from the original four patricians to nine, five of whom were to be plebians. If this is starting to sound familiar, it should because over the intervening millenia we seem to have learned nothing at all.
Deborah, the Master Gardener responded:
Wait, wasn’t this a question recently? Or is it the same answer, but to a different question? What day is this? Who’s on first?
The answer is birds. As an Audubon Society member since I was in 1st grade (and a bird watcher/lover since before then) I approve of observing birds, but I’m not sure I’d trust them to provide omens. When I see a raven drop walnuts on the roads so cars can smash them, I give it credit for being smart, and probably hungry, too. Not sure I’d look at a flock of migrating birds and think, “I’d better GTFO.”
Joe ( -- Vote Blue, No Matter Who -- ) replied:
Oh that's easy, it's the observed behavior of augers. There are several different kinds of augers. There are the kind that drill holes in the earth, the kind that drill holes in wood, and the kind that drill holes in ice. In the olden days the augers were powered by hand and in modern days they are driven by machinery. But even now each type of auger has its own distinct sound. Of course some are still driven by hand and those are the best. I can tell you this, somebody told me about augers. Lots of people are talking about this.
mj took the day off.
Stephen F took the day off.
Kenn B took the day off.
Barbara, of Peppy Tech fame took the day off.
Dave in Tucson took the day off.
Kevin in Washington DC took the day off.
Michelle in AZ took the day off.
David of Moon Valley took the day off.
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Roy, a little dot of blue in bright red Gohmertstan (Tyler), TX took the day off.
Doug in Albuquerque, New Mexico, took the day off.
Leo in Boise took the day off.
Ed K took the day off.
Jon L took the day off.
Angelo D took the day off.
Harry M. took the day off.
George M. took the day off.
Gary K took the day off.
Roy the (now retired) hoghead (aka 'hoghed') ( Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. ~Frank Zappa ) took the day off.
Saskplanner took the day off.
Gateway Mike took the day off.
Steve in Wonderful Sacramento, CA, took the day off.
MarilynofTC took the day off.
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Gene took the day off.
Tony K. took the day off.
Noel S. took the day off.
James of Alhambra took the day off.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Info: Amber Tucker, a fan, wrote, “This is the album I listen to when it’s 6am and I can’t sleep for too many thoughts. these sweet songs begin to dissolve them. Favorite track: ‘Goodnight, Irene’ (feat. Roger Waters).”
Lucius is one of economist Paul Krugman’s favorite bands.
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $9.99 for 10-track album
Another soupy day without the sun breaking through.
Tonight, Sunday:
CBS starts the night, as usual, with '60 Minutes', followed by a RERUN'The Neighborhood', then the movie 'Scream'.
NBC fills the night with LIVE'Sunday Night Football', then pads the left coast with local crap, and maybe an old 'Dateline'.
ABC begins the night with a FRESH'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a FRESH'Supermarket Sweep, then a FRESH'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?', followed by a FRESH'Card Sharks'.
The CW offers a FRESH'Pandora', followed by a RERUN'Whose Line Is It Anyay?', then another RERUN'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'.
Faux fills the night with LIVE'What's Passing As The World Series'.
MY recycles 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 the movie 'The Magnificient Seven', followed by the movie 'Jack Reacher: Never Go Back'.
AMC offers the movie 'Halloween: H20: 20 Years Later', 'Fear The Walking Dead', followed by a FRESH'Fear The Walking Dead', then a FRESH'The Walking Dead: World Beyond'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - MAMMALS
[7:00AM] PLANET EARTH: LIFE - PRIMATES
[8:00AM] ANIMAL BABIES - SAFARI BABIES (EXTENDED)
[9:00AM] ANIMAL BABIES - WATER BABIES (EXTENDED)
[10:00AM] ANIMAL BABIES - MOUNTAIN BABIES (EXTENDED)
[11:00AM] TOTAL RECALL
[1:30PM] THE FIFTH ELEMENT
[4:30PM] INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
[8:00PM] TOP GEAR
[9:00PM] INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
[12:30AM] THE FIFTH ELEMENT
[3:30AM] TOTAL RECALL (ALL TIMES ET)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Potomac', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives of Potomac', then another FRESH'Real Housewives Of Potomac', followed by a FRESH'Watch What Happens: Live'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Old School', followed by the movie 'We're The Millers', then the movie 'Kicking & Screaming'.
The Daily Show
FX has the movie 'Happy Death Day', followed by the movie 'A Quiet Place', then a FRESH'Fargo'.
IFC -
[6:00am] The Three Stooges - Wee Wee Monsieur
[6:15am] Blackhat
[9:15am] Braveheart
[1:15pm] Scarface
[5:00pm] American Hustle
[8:00pm] My Cousin Vinny
[10:30pm] My Cousin Vinny
[1:00am] Soulmates
[2:01am] Braveheart (ALL TIMES ET)
Sundance -
[6:30am] columbo - Make Me A Perfect Murder
[8:45am] columbo - The Conspirators
[11:00am] rocky
[1:30pm] rocky ii
[4:00pm] rocky iii
[6:30pm] rocky iv
[8:30pm] rocky balboa
[10:45pm] rocky balboa
[1:00am] the running man
[3:15am] love lust - Love Lust & Breakfast
[3:30am - 5:30am] hogan's heroes (ALL TIMES ET)
SyFy has the movie 'Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2', followed by the movie 'Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 1'.
Sacha Baron Cohen has responded to criticism aimed at him from President Donald Trump (R-Uniquely Dysfunctional) following the release of the new Borat sequel, which features the president's former attorney Rudy Giuliani.
On Friday, Trump told reporters that he thought Cohen was a "phony guy" and "a creep" when asked if he has watched the new Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
"I don’t know what happened. But years ago, you know, he tried to scam me and I was the only one who said no way. That’s a phony guy and I don’t find him funny," Trump told reporters, according to journalist Steve Herman. "To me, he’s a creep."
"Donald—I appreciate the free publicity for Borat! I admit, I don’t find you funny either. But yet the whole world laughs at you," The Trial of the Chicago 7 star said. "I’m always looking for people to play racist buffoons, and you’ll need a job after Jan. 20. Let’s talk!"
Legal threats from Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner aimed at the Lincoln Project’s Time Square billboards that associates them with the Trump administration’s failed COVID-19 response isn’t scaring the anti-Trump organization one bit.
“Please peddle your scare tactics elsewhere. The Lincoln Project will not be intimidated by such empty bluster,” attorney Matthew Sanderson wrote in a lengthy response to Trump and Kushner’s lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz.
The billboards on the corner of 44th Street and Broadway in the heart of Times Square feature the president’s daughter and son-in-law, with one of Ivanka Trump smiling and gesturing towards the national and New York state numbers of COVID-19 deaths, and the other of Kushner smiling alongside a quote that reads “[New Yorkers] are going to suffer and that’s their problem.”
The Lincoln Project — a political action committee formed by Republicans whose goal is to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump — posted the letter from Kasowitz Friday evening, calling it, “Nuts!” and quickly responded with a statement, saying in part, “Jared and Ivanka have always been entitled, out-of-touch bullies who have never given the slightest indication they have any regard for the American people. We plan on showing them the same level of respect.”
But Sanderson’s comments went further in a three-page response to Kasowitz Saturday night, saying that Trump and Kushner are “public officials” and have been such “since President Trump, in a gross act of nepotism, awarded” them White House positions in 2017.
When the Wisconsin Democratic Party announced a cast reunion of Happy Days for this Sunday, all to raise money for the final sprint until election day, one member was noticeably absent: Scott Baio (R-Spokesmodel).
The Donald Trump (R-Tainted) supporter wrote on Twitter that the show was being used as a “political pawn.”
The result, though, was more attention for event, which in fundraising circles is just what is wanted in the final weeks of a presidential campaign, a time when donors are inundated with online appeals.
The idea seemed to take off last month, when the Wisconsin Democratic Party hosted a cast reading of The Princess Bride, raising $4 million and drawing 100,000 donors. That was more than the party raised in all of 2016.
A busking musician whose guitar was smashed by a passerby received a surprise this week when he was given a new guitar purchased for him by Jack White.
Matt Grant, a 26-year-old busker in Edinburgh, Scotland, started a GoFundMe page earlier this week after his instrument was destroyed by a drunk woman he encountered on the street.
The GoFundMe soon went viral, with over $5,500 raised to replace Grant’s acoustic guitar. Somehow, the fundraiser also came to the attention of Jack White.
“On the morning that Matt came into the store we received a call from a third party suggesting somebody wanted to buy a guitar for Matt as a gift,” Guitarguitar shop manager Chris Cunningham told CNN. “They had been phoning around the Edinburgh music stores looking for him. Matt was over the moon.”
The “third party” was on behalf of White, whose U.K. representative confirmed to CNN that the rocker purchased the new guitar – a custom Fender Stratocaster – for Grant.
Republican claims that Democrats would expand the U.S. Supreme Court to undercut the conservative majority if they win the presidency and control of Congress has a familiar ring.
It's a tactic the GOP already has employed in recent years with state supreme courts when they have controlled all levers of state political power.
Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia have signed bills passed by GOP-dominated legislatures to expand the number of seats on their states’ respective high courts. In Iowa, the Republican governor gained greater leverage over the commission that names judicial nominees.
“The arguments being advanced now by Republican leaders — that this is an affront to separation of powers, that this is a way of delegitimizing courts — those don’t seem to be holding at the state level,” said Marin Levy, a law professor at Duke University who has written about efforts to expand state high courts.
Academics, journalists and First Amendment lawyers are rallying behind New York University researchers in a showdown with Facebook over its demand that they halt the collection of data showing who is being micro-targeted by political ads on the world’s dominant social media platform.
The researchers say the disputed tool is vital to understanding how Facebook has been used as a conduit for disinformation and manipulation.
In an Oct. 16 letter to the researchers, a Facebook executive demanded they disable a special plug-in for Chrome and Firefox browsers used by 6,500 volunteers across the United States and delete the data obtained. The plug-in lets researchers see which ads are shown to each volunteer; Facebook lets advertisers tailor ads based on specific demographics that go far beyond race, age, gender and political preference.
The outcry over Facebook’s threat was immediate after The Wall Street Journal first reported the news Friday considering the valuable insights the “Ad Observer” tool provides. It has been used since its September launch by local reporters from Wisconsin to Utah to Florida to write about the Nov. 3 presidential election.
“That Facebook is trying to shut down a tool crucial to exposing disinformation in the run up to one of the most consequential elections in U.S. history is alarming,” said Ramya Krishnan, an attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which is representing the researchers. “The public has a right to know what political ads are being run and how they are being targeted. Facebook shouldn’t be allowed to be the gatekeeper to information necessary to safeguard our democracy. “
France has expelled a Bosnian family who had beaten and shaved the hair of an adolescent girl who wanted to marry a young Serbian man, the interior ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said five members of the girl's family in the eastern city of Besancon had been deported to Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Saturday morning.
"This expulsion from the national territory is the consequence of unacceptable behaviour on the part of the family in August, notably beatings and the shaving of an adolescent girl who was in love with a young Serbian man of another religion," the ministry said.
It added that the girl, a minor, will be taken care of by social services and will obtain the right of residence in France when she reaches majority.
French media reported in August that a 17-year old Bosnian Muslim woman in Besancon had been beaten by her family and her hair had been forcefully shaved off because she wanted to marry a 20-year old Serbian Christian.
Beverly Hills will shut down its famed Rodeo Drive on Election Day in anticipation of potential looting and vandalism of the pricey shopping area if results anger individuals.
Terming the move a “hard closure,” Beverly Hills Assistant Chief of Police Marc Coopwood said the plan is to close Rodeo Drive to drivers and pedestrians between Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards Nov. 3-4.
“So we are going to have the K-rail cement-type barricades, where it’s not going to allow any vehicle or traffic into the Rodeo Drive area,” Coopwood said.
Retail stores in the area will not be required to close, but are being asked to voluntarily comply. Coopwood said the BHPD is still working on how to accommodate medical offices who may have patients with appointments.
A pair of aggressive male giant pandas roar ferociously on the ground beneath a female perched in a tree, in the first-ever footage of panda courtship and mating in the wild.
For nearly three years, nature filmmakers Yuanqi Wu and Jacky Poon followed pandas in China's Qinling Mountains, hoping to capture evidence of elusive behavior that was unseen in captive animals, which are mated under controlled conditions that do not include competitions between males.
Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are popular for their comically round body shape and adorable antics, and videos of captive pandas playing in snow; rolling around like giant balls; using their heads to climb; or even accidentally face-planting, are undeniably enchanting. But when these bears are seen in their natural habitat, "there's nothing cute and cuddly about them," Jacky Poon, "Born to be Wild" filmmaker, said in the documentary.
Adult male pandas can weigh as much as 300 lbs. (136 kilograms) and are nearly 7 feet (2 meters) tall when standing upright on their hind legs, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Pandas are highly territorial, and males usually interact with females only during mating season between March and May, WWF says.
In the tense standoff between the dominant, older male panda and an eager rival, the younger male eventually retreated, but when the female came down from her perch, she fought with the victor and escaped. For weeks, the two males trailed her, their growling challenges becoming more frequent and culminating in another tense confrontation. But a week later, when the female was finally ready to mate, just one suitor remained — the younger male.
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said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
