zEN mAN (observing the 15 minutes of fame for "Joe the Plumber", John McCain's ridiculous "everyman" was asked by Laura Ingraham (Repug slut and Ann Coulter look a like)about running for Congress in 2010....heeeee haaaw)
Garrison Keillor: Eye-opener weekend
Spent a weekend in Abilene, Texas, a town that voted 75 percent for the Current Occupant in 2004, and nothing bad happened to me at all, they were as friendly as could be. Any time I sat down, they put food in front of me, and all in all they were witty and well-spoken and good to be around. So it would've been rude to ask them, "Why did you vote to re-elect that dope?" But I thought it.
Andrew Tobias: THE NUB OF THEIR ARGUMENT (andrewtobias.com)
And as if all that weren't a grand enough vision to win your vote, Senator McCain says he "knows how to get Bin Laden" - and he'll do it if elected President. Leading one to recall President Bush's similar vow to get him, dead or alive . . . and to wonder why, if McCain does know how to get Bin Laden, he hasn't told someone.
GAIL COLLINS: Confessions of a Phone Solicitor (nytimes.com)
Opening for a McCain rally in North Carolina last weekend, Representative Robin Hayes said he wanted "to keep the crowd as respectful as possible." In order to pursue that goal as efficiently as possible, Hayes then announced that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God." This was an especially unfortunate turn of phrase given the fact that he had begun his remarks by saying he wanted to "make sure we don't say something stupid."
Garrison Keillor: Sense of clarity
The Scripture reading in church Sunday gave me a jolt-Exodus 32, which refers to the "chosen people" wearing earrings, men as well as women, and I twitched when the lector read it. Yikes! Moses got his ears pierced? What else didn't we know?
DIANE ROOT: The Artful Dodger (nytimes.com)
My maternal uncle, Robert Albinelli, was a slight, dapper man with a patrician profile. He took me, at age 12, to "grown-up" restaurants, the sun-drenched ones with terraces overlooking the Mediterranean that proliferated in Nice, where he lived. He bought me clothes that my father wouldn't - I remember a butter-yellow bustier number that he gave me when I barely had a bust to support it. But above all I loved him because he knew and worked with Picasso on the artist's ceramics. He was the one who fired them in the kilns, responsible for any minor mishaps or major imperfections that might be visible to the Master. Tonton Robert boasted that no vase or plate had ever cracked on his watch.
What book series featured Bert & Nan and Freddie & Flossie?
A The Bobbsey Twins
B Cheaper By The Dozen / Belles On Their Toes
C The Dana Girls
D The Hardy Boys
E Mrs. Wiggins of the Cabbage Patch
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
A The Bobbsey Twins
Charlie answered:
I don't think I was actually exposed to any of them, but they were the two sets of
A The Bobbsey Twins
The question helps me clarify the origins of the related expressions, but it doesn't tempt me to read any of the books
Jim from CA replied:
The Bobbsey twins
Marian the Teacher answered:
The Bobbsey Twins
Sally, in rainy northern Jersey, said:
This is the easiest trivia question to date - at least it is for me. I have only to glance up at my bookshelves to my left, and there I see a whole set of (A) "Bobbsey Twin" books (there are approximately 72 volumes, published between 1904 - 1979) and I have about half of them lined up in a row - waiting for the darling g/daughter to read as did her Mom and g/Mom back in their day.
The books were written under the non de plume, "Laura Lee Hope," and featured the adventures of a double set of twins in one family (Nan and Bert; Freddie and Flossie). This was an unbelievable family feat to me, the, "only" child reading the books in the 1950s.
The true authorship of the series is attributed to several writers throughout the years of their original publication. It is thought that Edward Stratemeyer wrote the first book, his wife the next two, and thereafter I've lost track of the various subsequent authors. Stratemeyer was a shrew businessman however, and he patented the series name (AWA many other popular series of that era) under, "The Stratemeyer Syndicate." Upon his death (circa 1931) his daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, took over the business and continued producing, "Bobbsey Twins" books under the name Laura Lee Hope. She died in 1984, and was working until the very day of her demise. I love these books.
PS" Hey Vic, you are still one of Marty's "Cool Kids" as far as I'm concerned :)
MAM responded:
A. The Bobbsey Twins featured Bert & Nan and Freddie & Flossie.
The Bobbsey Twins live in the "eastern city" of Lakeport, which is clearly in the Northeast because it snows a lot there, at the head of Lake Metoka. Mr. Bobbsey is a prosperous lumber merchant. Mrs. Bobbsey is a housewife. Bert and Nan are the older twins, and Flossie and Freddie are the younger set. Created in 1904 by "Laura Lee Hope." pseudonym of Edward Stratemeyer.
Edward Stratemeyer also wrote "Rover Boys", "Tom Swift ", "Hardy Boys", "Nancy Drew"!
And, Joe S (the retiree who voted for Obama yesterday) wrote:
Something else I'm not personally acquainted with, A: The Bobbsey Twins
Thanks to Charlie, Marianne and Joe S for the pictures.
I'm collecting medieval pick-up lines and was hoping your readers could help out. So far, I have:
Do you have a joust today or are you just happy to see me?
They don't call me Lance-a-lot for nothing?
Hey, my little damsel, does that chastity belt have a time lock?
I need more. You must help.
Willow
Sally responded:
Hi Willow,
Off the top of my head, this is the best, "Be impressed for this is MY PROFESSION," pickup line that I have ever read:
Approaching the maiden on his wooden leg, and sporting the traditional black patch over his eye, he tipped his plumed hat and confidently said: "Fair day." "I am a semi retired Pirate, and survivor of eleven years. If God be pleased, I be merchanting at Renfaires."
Bet that would turn a fair head or two, would it not?
Best,
Sally P
PS: As I recall studying (NOT remembering it mind you ): The upper class did not speak as did the lower, common people. After the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons into England, the nobles spoke more French, while the lower classes spoke English. Remember that the lower class were not as educated, and that includes the way they spoke - and, the lower classes could be quite crude (alas, some things never change...)
Then there's:
'I'm Chandler, want to light my wick?'
Or,
'I'm a candlemaker - want to burn it at both ends?'
Or,
'I'm Cooper, want to pet my chicken?'
Or,
'I'm Cartwright - want to roll in the field?'
Its been eight long years since the boys said wassup to each other.
Even with the effects of a down economy and imminent change in the White
House,
the boys are still able to come together and stay true to what really
matters.
Have the Bartcop E editors determined yet whether they will continue to manually delete the "P" in the word "president" (as they have over the last 8 years) in front of the name of John McCain 2009-2013? It seems to me that doing this must have been and would continue to be a tremendously time-consuming job.
If yes -- the editorial policy would indeed continue during the entire McCain administration -- perhaps Bartcop E could outsource this high-precision work to an economically depressed area, say, Pennsylvania. I understand the state produces fairly intelligent people who could be relied on to carry out this important work.
Also, will future references to Mr. Bush use the phrase "former resident (sic)" vs. "former president"? This would affect the historical record, you know.
Hope all is well..
Nobama -- Keep the Change,
EJ2E
Indeed, Mr. 2E!
After conferring with my large, handsomely remunerated staff (all of whom have relocated from western PA), we have decided that in the future, we will refer to President Obama as President Obama - with a capital P.
Accordingly, we will refer to Senator McCain, as the angry loser from Arizona, unless, of course, the totally unbiased (cough, cough) Supreme Court gets involved again, and gives it to your candidate.
Of course, we see no irony in the 'sanctity of marriage' party represented by a philanderer.
As to Mr. Bush, future references will likely mention his status as an unindicted war criminal.
CBS starts the night, as usual, with '60 Minutes', followed by a FRESH'Amazing Race 13', then a FRESH'Cold Case', followed by a FRESH'The Unit'.
NBC opens the night with a recycled 'Monk', followed by the movie 'The 40-Year Old Virgin', then a RERUN'The Office'.
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 a FRESH'In Harm's Way', followed by a FRESH'Valentine', then a FRESH'Easy Money'.
Faux has LIVE'World Series Baseball - Game 4', then pads the left coast with local crap.
MY has an old 'Bernie Mac', followed by an old 'Raymond', then an old 'House', followed by another old 'House'.
A&E has 'The Cleaner', 'CSI: The 2nd One', another 'CSI: The 2nd One', and still another 'CSI: The 2nd One'.
AMC offers the movie 'Constantine', followed by the movie 'Panic Room', then a FRESH'Mad Men'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 4
[1:00 PM] Dragons' Den - Episode 3
[2:00 PM] Doctor Who - Ep 10 Blink
[3:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 2 The Fenwick Arms
[4:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 3 The Priory
[5:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 4 Morgan's
[6:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 5 The Curry Lounge
[7:00 PM] Primeval - Episode 12
[8:00 PM] My Fake Baby
[9:00 PM] Skins - Ep 11 Sketch
[10:00 PM] Skins - Ep 12 Sid
[11:00 PM] My Fake Baby
[12:00 AM] Skins - Ep 11 Sketch
[1:00 AM] Skins - Ep 12 Sid
[2:00 AM] My Fake Baby
[3:00 AM] Skins - Ep 11 Sketch
[4:00 AM] Skins - Ep 12 Sid
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 20 Burrows
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 21 Hayes: Barbour
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has all 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' all night.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Just Friends', followed by 'Scary Movie 4'.
FX has the movie 'Radio', followed by the movie 'Invincible'.
History has 'The Haunted History Of Halloween', 'Gangland', followed by a FRESH'Cities of the Underword', and 'Ancient Discoveries'.
IFC -
[7:00 AM] Chop Socky: Cinema Hong Kong
[8:00 AM] The Ghost of Yotsuya
[9:20 AM] IFC in Theaters
[9:30 AM] Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell
[11:00 AM] The Flower of Evil
[12:45 PM] Fall Time
[2:15 PM] Once Upon a Crime
[4:00 PM] The Flower of Evil
[5:45 PM] Fall Time
[7:20 PM] The Pope of Greenwich Village
[9:30 PM] Strangeland
[11:00 PM] Z Rock
[11:30 PM] Z Rock
[12:00 AM] Foxy Brown
[1:35 AM] The Fighting Cholitas
[2:00 AM] Z Rock
[2:30 AM] Z Rock
[3:00 AM] Strangeland
[4:35 AM] The Pope of Greenwich Village (ALL TIMES EST)
SciFi has the movie 'Jeepers Creepers II', followed by the movie 'The Pumpkin Karver'.
Sundance -
[04:30 AM] Everything's Gone Green
[06:15 AM] La Moustache
[08:00 AM] Live From Abbey Road - Season 2: Matchbox Twenty, The Script & Def Leppard
[09:00 AM] Terminal City: Episode 4
[10:00 AM] The Drug Years: Teenage Wasteland
[11:00 AM] Marvelous
[12:45 PM] Hotel Infinity
[01:00 PM] Iconoclasts - Season 4: Stella McCartney + Ed Ruscha
[02:00 PM] Big Ideas for a Small Planet - Season 2: Food
[02:35 PM] Eco Documentaries - Season 2: Burning the Future: Coal in America
[04:05 PM] Outrageous Wasters: Episode 2
[05:00 PM] The Hill: Episode 1: Fighting the Good Fight
[05:30 PM] The Hill: Episode 2: Less Feeling Please... More Doing
[06:00 PM] The Hill: Episode 3: Putting In My Two Cents
[06:30 PM] The Hill: Episode 4: What Should Democrats Be Saying?
[07:00 PM] The Hill: Episode 5: Nothing Is Fun In A Hurricane
[07:30 PM] The Hill: Episode 6: It's Time To Be Mad As Hell
[08:00 PM] Pulling: Episode 2
[08:30 PM] The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle: Episode 2
[09:00 PM] My Big Fat Independent Movie
[10:30 PM] Binta and the Great Idea
[11:00 PM] The Ghost of Mae Nek
[01:00 AM] Pangea Day
[02:00 AM] Big Girl's Blouse: Episode 2
[02:30 AM] Nimrod Nation: Episode 8
[03:00 AM] Marvelous
[04:35 AM] Mutual Appreciation (ALL TIMES EST)
Magicians Penn Jillette, kneeling at left, and Teller, kneeling at right, are among those posing atop the newly renovated star of legendary illusionist Harry Houdini on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 24, 2008. Standing from left to right are actress Tippi Hedren, Magic Castle co-founder Irene Larson, actress JoAnne Worley, Magic Castle co-founder Milt Larsen, actor Neil Patrick Harris, and Houdini's great nephew Hardeen Houdini and his wife Cyrene.
Photo by Chris Pizzello
South Korea's Defence Ministry, which maintains a force of about 670,000 troops to fend off an invasion from the communist North, also feels threatened by the likes of American linguist Noam Chomsky.
The ministry said Friday it may punish some officers for harming "the military's mental power" by trying to bring books it considers too leftist onto its bases.
The ministry earlier this year banned 23 books from the country's military facilities include two volumes by Chomsky and the best seller "Bad Samaritans" by a Korean professor at Cambridge University, Chang Ha-joon.
The comments followed Defence Minister Lee Sang-hee's warning Thursday that the officers made a mistake in taking action against the military rule designed to ensure soldiers are equipped with the mental strength as well as combat readiness.
From left, actor and director Ed Harris, screenplayer Robert Knott and actor Viggo Mortensen pose during a photo call to present their movie 'Appaloosa' at the third edition of the Rome Film Festival, in Rome, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008. The third edition of the Rome film festival is scheduled to run until Oct. 31.
Photo by Andrew Medichini
Researchers have discovered that honey bees can count to four, a report said here on Sunday.
A researcher from the University of Queensland put five markers inside a tunnel and placed nectar in one of them, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio reported.
Honey bees placed in the tunnel flew to the marker with the food, and would still fly to the same marker stripe when the food was removed.
"We find that if you train them to the third stripe, they will look subsequently in the third stripe," researcher Mandyam Srinivasan said.
"If you train them to the fourth stripe, they will look the fourth stripe and so on. But their ability to count seems to go only up to four. They can't count beyond four.
Tom Cruise was a surprise guest at Friday's Friar's Club roast of "Today" show host Matt Lauer. He joined Martha Stewart, Brian Williams, Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira to sling insults, proving some of TV's sunniest personalities could work blue.
Cruise said Lauer was the man "we wake up to every morning - only because we had the channel on NBC before we fell asleep."
Cruise joked that Lauer had given him some advice before his interview with Winfrey: "Go crazy. Trust me. Trust me. People will love you for it."
Apparently Cruise didn't have time to spare, since he made for the exit shortly after his speech. That led Lauer to call after him.
"Tom, can you stay?" Lauer said. "I'll get a booster seat."
Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee poses in a Hong Kong street Friday, Oct. 24, 2008. Lee said she's happy that China has embraced her father with a 50-part prime-time TV series on his life even though the late action star was no fan of communism.
Photo by Vincent Yu
These days, most celebrities trade on their fame for fashion lines, fragrances, reality shows and blogs. Now, some 40 famous folks - from Scarlett Johansson to Jared Leto - will be able to trade their fame with each other.
A new line of celebrity trading cards - yes, the little cardboard ones baseball fans used to hoard - officially sanctioned by the stars themselves is being launched by entertainment product company A-List Global Media.
The star power in the celebrity trading card collection is sprinkled with tween powerhouses (Cole and Dylan Sprouse, Ashley Tisdale, Raven-Symone), starlets (Megan Fox, Jessica Biel, Hayden Panettiere, Jessica Alba, Christina Ricci) and a few leading men (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Anton Yelchin, Giovanni Ribisi, Chris Evans).
PopCardz will be sold in stores in five-card packs beginning in November. Proceeds will given to the celebrities' charities. Each card will have a unique 10-digit access code printed on it that will provide additional online content at PopCardz.com.
Jerry Lewis made an anti-gay slur on Australian television similar to one he apologized for using on his annual telethon a year ago.
Following a news conference in Sydney Friday, Lewis, 82, was asked by a Network Ten national TV reporter for his opinion on the Australian nation sport of cricket.
"Oh, cricket? It's a f-- game. What are you, nuts?" Lewis replied.
The network broadcast the comment in full on its Friday evening news bulletin along with footage of Lewis handling an imaginary cricket bat with an effeminate gesture.
Artists Hilary Ross, left, and her husband Jim Lennox stand in the couples rural Shickshinny, Pa., property Friday, Oct. 24, 2008, in the middle of a giant replica of artist Shepard Fairey's Barack Obama Hope poster. The replica was created with the help of 13 others, and took 60 hours to complete.
Photo by Jimmy May
Like most major pop acts, Alvin and the Chipmunks have big plans for their anniversary.
Fifty years after the release of their first single, "The Chipmunk Song," the animated trio will release "Undeniable," an album of covers (Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll," Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer," Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds"), new songs and remixes on the Razor & Tie label.
The Chipmunks, who have released 44 albums, came back into fashion last year with the CGI and live-action movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and its soundtrack, which sold 886,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Seven Puget Sound killer whales are missing and presumed dead in what could be the biggest decline among the sound's orcas in nearly a decade, say scientists who carefully track the endangered animals.
"This is a disaster," Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist at the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, said Friday. "The population drop is worse than the stock market."
While the official census won't be completed until December, the total number of live "southern resident" orcas now stands at 83.
Among those missing since last year's count are the nearly century-old leader of one of the three southern resident pods, and two young females who recently bore calves. The loss of the seven whales, Balcomb said, would be the biggest decline among the Puget Sound orcas since 1999, when the center also tracked a decline of seven whales.
Three separate undated photos show the restoration process of Italian artist Raphael's 1506 oil-on-wood painting "Madonna of the Goldfinch", which had been shattered into 17 pieces then nailed back together following a house collapse in Florence. After 10 years of painstaking study and restoration that tested both cutting edge technology and human patience, one of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance is returning to the public. Raphael's "Madonna of the Goldfinch" is a survivor.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, renowned for colourful insults of world leaders, called U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin a confused "beauty queen" on Friday after she said he was a dictator.
Chavez, a leftist who often mocks U.S. resident George W. Bush, invoked the advice of Jesus Christ on how to handle the slights by Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska and a former beauty pageant entrant.
"I saw the vice presidential candidate, there she was talking about 'the dictator Hugo Chavez.' The poor thing, you just feel sorry for her," he said during a televised broadcast.
"She's a beauty queen that they've pulled out to be a figurehead. We need to say as Christ did: Forgive her, she knows not what she's saying."
U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama might be betting he can win November's election, but he could really hit the jackpot in Colombia.
A Colombian lottery seller has printed Obama's face on tickets hoping to snag attention while celebrating Afro-Colombians with a nod to the Democrat's African heritage.
Less than two weeks before the election, street vendors and stores in steamy Meta province are selling the lottery stubs showing Obama smiling in a suit and tie. The average weekly top prize for the tickets -- around $300,000 (186,000 pounds).
"We thought he's someone with worldwide recognition," Meta lottery director Magdalena Gonzalez told Reuters. "Hopefully someone so famous helps us sell more, but if we do not sell more then at least it is pays some homage."
A Chacoan peccary, a species from the wild similar to a pig, and her four infant offspring share a pumpkin breakfast Friday, Oct. 24, 2008, at the Los Angeles Zoo.
Photo by Nick Ut
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 musicians?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
This is your place.
Charlie answered:
MAM 
responded:
