zEN mAN (observing the return of the elusive antivirus tycoon, 67 year old John McAfee, who faked a heart attack in Guatemala to avoid being returned to Belize to face questioning over the murder of a neighbor....and fleeing back to the beloved U S of A....small problem....he left his beloved 20 year old Belizian sweetheart, Samantha, in Guatemala...rumor has it that she is in hiding with a 2nd "Mac Man" girlfriend (who is said to be 17 years old)....he has all his lawyers on it.....there will be a book and a movie about...the "Mac Man")
Gail Collins: Looking for America (New York Times)
"I'm sorry," said Representative Carolyn McCarthy, her voice breaking. "I'm having a really tough time." She's the former nurse from Long Island who ran for Congress in 1996 as a crusader against gun violence after her husband and son were victims of a mass shooting on a commuter train.
Connie Schultz: Brace Yourself, Michigan (Creators Syndicate)
"I need a pair of goggles," she told the woman behind the counter. Coral figured the woman to be about her age, 45. She explained why she needed eye protection, and the woman handed her one of the better goggles in stock. "Use these," she told Coral. "They'll seal tightly. No gas will get in." Coral nodded. "I can't believe this," she told the woman as she waited for her receipt. "I can't believe I'm a high school English teacher and I'm buying goggles because I might get pepper-sprayed."
Terry Savage: Holiday Gifts Can Teach Kids About Money (Creators Syndicate)
The Allowance Game. The holiday season is exactly the right time to prep your preteens for earning an allowance starting with the new year. And this board game is designed to make the entire concept fun and educational. It's created by Lakeshore Learning Materials, which says: "Players race around the game board doing chores to earn their allowance ... then save it or spend it on things they want, learning to make change, handle money and more." Price is $16.95, on Amazon.com or LakeshoreLearning.com.
Amazing Basketball Player Has Only One Hand (YouTube)
"16-year old Zach Hodskins of Milton High School in northeastern Georgia was born with only one hand. But he's so good that have to watch carefully to even notice."--Neatorama
Christmas Sweatz (YouTube)
"He's so festive, he's going to get himself arrested! Rhett & Link are singing the praises of sweatshirts and sweatpants for Christmas -and other holidays!"--Neatorama
Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 - December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist and poet widely known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 13 studio albums. Noted for his powerful singing voice with its wide range, Van Vliet also played the harmonica, saxophone and numerous other wind instruments. His music blended rock, blues and psychedelia with avant-garde and contemporary experimental composition. Beefheart was also known for exercising an almost dictatorial control over his supporting musicians, and for often constructing myths about his life.
During his teen years in Lancaster, California, Van Vliet developed an eclectic musical taste and formed "a mutually useful but volatile" friendship with Frank Zappa, with whom he sporadically competed and collaborated.
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
Captain Beefheart
Sally said:
US avant-garde musician and painter Don Van Vliet is better known by the stage name Captain Beefheart.
I have never heard of him, but when I read "avant-garde" and "painter" in the same description, I'm pretty sure why...
My heart is just not in it today, Marty,
Charlie wrote:
The late Captain Beefheart (1941-2010)
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
Captain Beefheart
And, Joe S said:
Captain Beefheart. I remember Captain Beefheart. The music was really great for the most part, until someone attempted to sing then it all turned to crap.
This picture is for BttbBob, it's Manistee's floating museum. An old car ferry and a Coast Guard vessel. Not a really good picture because of the motor home in front, but you get the idea. In normal times the lake would be ice covered but this year the ice fishermen are launching boats.
I'm sure you noticed that the NRA symbol Zen Man used yesterday was for the New Deal National Recovery Act, not the National Rifle Association.I understand he could have done it on purpose because of the "we do our part" bit, but it's still looks out of place to me.
BTW I've come to the conclusion that the conservatives love gun debates in the same way that they love abortion. It activates the base and when we're talking about guns we aren't talking about other means of reducing violent crime.
There is a direct link between violent crime and income inequality. There is a direct link between violent crime and the lack of mental health care.
I'd bet conservatives would rather throw away all the guns rather than address either of those topics.
buzz cook
Thanks, Buzz!
Had kind of a bumpy upload yesterday, followed by a good old-fashioned brain fart.
Hate when that happens.
Unfortunately, it is way too late to talk about gun control in this country. Like the wars on poverty, illiteracy, and drugs, this one's also been lost. Those who invoke the 2nd Amendment, including the NRA and SCOTUS, have completely misunderstood the amendment, focusing solely on the second half of that simple sentence.
Look at that amendment, if you will, and then please educate me about exactly what today's insanity has to do with having a well-regulated Militia.Our Founding Fathers could never in their wildest dreams have imagined the kind of weapons available to the mentally ill today.
Back when they wrote the 2nd Amendment, the advanced technology of the day was a musket, which fired ONE shot at a time and involved a meticulous process of reloading.
So it's about time SCOTUS ruled that the second amendment only applies to owners of muskets, and all musket owners must be members of a well-regulated militia.
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by hours of FRESH'Survivor'.
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 RERUN'America's So-Called Funniest Home Videos', followed by a RERUN'Wipeout', then a FRESH'Bachelorette'.
The CW fills the night with what passes for local news and other fluffery.
Faux has a RERUN'The Cleveland Show', followed by FRESH'The Cleveland Show', then a FRESH'The Simpsons', followed by a FRESH'Bob's Burgers', then a FRESH'Family Guy', followed by a FRESH'American Dad'.
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'.
AMC offers the movie 'Prancer', followed by the movie 'A Christmas Carol', then the movie 'A Christmas Carol', again.
BBC -
[6:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 10 - Episode 6
[7:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 10 - Episode 7
[8:00AM] HAMMERHEAD
[9:00AM] JUNGLE: UNDERWORLD
[10:00AM] RICHARD HAMMOND'S CRASH COURSE - Season 2 - Ep 8 - Rocket Scientist/Bike Messenger
[11:00AM] TOP GEAR TOP 40-Episode 5
[12:00PM] TOP GEAR TOP 40-Episode 6
[1:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES REVISITED UK - Season 1 - Ep 3 - Moore Place
[2:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES UK - Season 3 - Ep 2 - The Fenwick Arms
[3:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - Season 1 - Ep 8 - Peter's
[4:00PM] THE SHINING
[7:00PM] DISTRICT 9
[9:30PM] DISTRICT 9
[12:00AM] THE SHINING
[3:00AM] TOP GEAR TOP 40-Episode 4
[4:00AM] TOP GEAR TOP 40-Episode 5
[5:00AM] TOP GEAR TOP 40-Episode 6 (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Shahs Of Sunset', 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', then a FRESH'Shahs Of Sunset'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Grandma's Boy', followed by the movie 'Get Him To The Greek', then the movie 'Zack & Miri Make A Porno'.
FX has the movie 'Salt', followed by the movie 'Taken'.
History has 'Ancient Aliens', 'Ax Men', followed by a FRESH'Ax Men', then a FRESH'Bamazon'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] Bunk
[6:30AM] Bunk
[7:00AM] Whitest Kids U'Know
[7:15AM] Cop Land
[9:30AM] Dilbert-Charity
[10:00AM] Dilbert-Holiday
[10:30AM] Dilbert-The Infomercial
[11:00AM] Dilbert-The Gift
[11:30AM] Dilbert-The Shroud of Wally
[12:00PM] Comedy Bang! Bang!-Seth Rogen Wears a Plaid Shirt & Brown Pants
[12:30PM] Arrested Development-Pilot
[1:00PM] Arrested Development-Top Banana
[1:30PM] Arrested Development-Bringing Up Buster
[2:00PM] Arrested Development-Key Decisions
[2:30PM] Creepshow
[5:00PM] Event Horizon
[7:00PM] Friday the 13th -- A New Beginning
[9:00PM] Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
[11:00PM] Whisker Wars-The O'Connors Strike Back
[11:30PM] Portlandia-Winter in Portlandia
[12:00AM] Friday the 13th -- A New Beginning
[2:00AM] Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
[4:00AM] Event Horizon (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00A] Junebug
[7:45A] French Roast
[8:00A] A Year Ago in Winter
[10:15A] Bootmen
[12:00P] Fish Tank
[2:15P] Wordplay
[3:45P] Junebug
[5:35P] Oktapodi
[5:45P] Good Morning, Vietnam
[8:00P] Little Children
[10:15P] Angel Heart
[12:15A] The Center of the World
[2:00A] Little Children
[4:15A] Visual Acoustics
[5:45A] Always Crashing In The Same Car (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans', followed by the movie 'Blade II'.
This photo taken Dec. 8, 2012, shows the Gavle Goat (known in Swedish as Julbocken i Gävle or Gävlebocken), located at Slottstorget "Castle Square" in central Gavle, a giant version of a traditional Swedish Yule goat figure made of straw. Not even a layer of ice was enough to keep three people from torching the giant straw goat in the Swedish town where the annual challenge of charring it to the ground has become an unusual Christmas tradition for vandals. The 13 meter (43 foot) high and 3.6 ton heavy straw goat in the Swedish town of Gavle, meant to symbolize the seasonal spirit, was engulfed in flames for the 26th time overnight Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, after the assailants crossed the fence surrounding it before setting it on fire.
Photo by Fredrik Sandberg
If you're a fan of Seinfeld, type "Festivus" into Google for a search results surprise "for the rest of us."
Google is known for hiding visual messages in its search when certain keywords are used, such as "Christmas," "Hanukkah," "Kwanzaa" and "let it snow." This year it's embracing the spirit of made-up holiday Festivus.
Created by the father of Seinfeld character George Costanza, Festivus falls on Dec. 23. It became a running joke throughout the show and is still referenced by fans. The holiday is celebrated with an aluminum pole, instead of a Christmas tree, and includes traditions such as "airing of grievances" and a wrestling match.
"If you're not big on the holidays, don't forget there's a Festivus for the rest of us," a Google spokesperson told Mashable. "No tinsel, just a sturdy pole."
Visitors walk across the Capilano Suspension Bridge decorated in Christmas lights in North Vancouver, British Columbia December 10, 2012. Originally built in 1889, the bridge stretches 135 metres across and 70 metres above the Capilano River.
Photo by Andy Clark
A substitute teacher from California was found to be the only heir to a fortune of gold coins discovered by a cleaning crew in the home of a reclusive cousin who quietly stashed away a treasure of more than $7 million before he died this year.
A court hearing in Carson City is scheduled Tuesday, when a judge is expected to certify first cousin Arlene Magdon as the lone heir to the treasure valued at $7.4 million found in the home of Walter Samaszko Jr., Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover told the Nevada Appeal.
Samaszko, 69, lived a quiet life in Nevada's capital city since the late 1960s and no one apparently knew of his wealth. Records show he withdrew just $500 a month from his stock accounts to pay modest bills, Glover said, who was handling Samaszko's affairs as public administrator.
Samaszko apparently had no living family in Carson City, so genealogical researchers went to work to find relatives elsewhere. They found Arlene Magdon is the only living heir to what appraisers say is an estate worth more than $7.4 million. Magdon could not immediately be reached for comment.
A crew hired by Glover to clean up the man's house discovered the eye-popping stash: boxes of gold coins and bullion in the garage. More boxes were later found, and Glover said the gold coins, some neatly wrapped in foil and plastic cases, were enough to fill two wheelbarrows.
They are seen as the progenitors of Chicano rock 'n' roll, the first band that had the boldness, and some might even say the naiveté, to fuse punk rock with Mexican folk tunes.
It was a group called Los Lobos that had the unusual idea of putting an accordion, a saxophone and something called a bajo sexto alongside drums and Fender Stratocaster guitars and then blasting a ranchera-flavored folk tune or a Conjunto inspired melody through double reverb amps at about twice the volume you'd normally expect to hear.
To the guys in Los Lobos, however, the band that began to take shape some 40-odd years ago in the hallways of a barrio high school is still "just another band from East LA," the words the group has used in the title of not one but two of its more than two dozen albums.
As a yearlong celebration of Los Lobos' 40th anniversary gets under way, having officially begun on Thanksgiving, much is likely to be made of how the band began as a humble mariachi group, toiling anonymously for nearly a decade at East LA weddings and backyard parties before the unlikely arrival of rock stardom.
A mother and child look at a decorative bear at a country house estate in the village of Grabovnica near Cazma, central Croatia December 12, 2012. The seven-hectare estate owned by the Salaj family is lit with 1.3 million Christmas lights and turns into a winter wonderland every December, attracting thousands of visitors.
Photo by Antonio Bronic
The sounds of a classical guitar come from two big jelly cans. Used X-rays serve as the skins of a thumping drum set. A battered aluminum salad bowl and strings tuned with forks from what must have been an elegant table make a violin. Bottle caps work perfectly well as keys for a saxophone.
A chamber orchestra of 20 children uses these and other instruments fashioned out of recycled materials from a landfill where their parents eke out livings as trash-pickers, regularly performing the music of Beethoven and Mozart, Henry Mancini and the Beatles. A concert they put on for The Associated Press also featured Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and some Paraguayan polkas.
Word is spreading about these kids from Cateura, a vast landfill outside Paraguay's capital where some 25,000 families live alongside reeking garbage in abject poverty.
The youngsters of "The Orchestra of Instruments Recycled From Cateura" performed in Brazil, Panama and Colombia this year, and hope to play at an exhibit opening next year in their honour at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.
Sara Stevenson spends her working hours surrounded by Republicans, namely the married men who work alongside her in a Denver oil and gas firm company. But after hours and on weekends, she usually spends her time with other single women, and there's not a Republican in sight among the bunch.
"There was just no way I could have supported any Republican this year," said Stevenson, 31. "They skew so much to the religious right. ... They focused so much on taxes. It's not something that women in my demographic really care about. I've never heard my friends lament their taxes."
As Republicans dust off their Election Day drubbing last month, their party must confront the reality that the ranks of unmarried women are growing rapidly, and these voters overwhelmingly have backed Democrats for decades.
Republicans have spent the past month tallying up all their demographic weak spots, including with Hispanics and Asian-Americans. But some warn that single women, already one-quarter of the electorate, represent the most serious threat to the party's viability.
In 1960, the average American woman married at age 20. Now it's 27. That reflects, and is partly the cause of, a boom in solo living, with nearly one-third of all U.S. households comprised of single people living alone, according to Eric Klinenberg, a New York University sociologist and author of a book on the subject. In 1950, it was 9 percent.
Actress Amanda Bynes has resolved a misdemeanor hit-and-run case after entering into a civil settlement with other drivers.
Court records show Bynes entered a civil compromise to end the case and her attorney informed a Los Angeles court on Thursday. Bynes was charged with leaving the scene of accidents in April and August without providing the proper information.
Defendants in certain California misdemeanor cases are allowed to enter civil settlements to resolve criminal cases.
City Attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan says prosecutors objected to the dismissal, noting other instances in which Bynes has been cited for driving without a license and her pending driving under the influence case.
The U.S. premiere of the Tom Cruise action movie "Jack Reacher" is being postponed following the deadly Connecticut school shooting.
Paramount Pictures says "out of honor and respect for the families of the victims" the premiere won't take place Saturday in Pittsburgh, where "Jack Reacher" was filmed.
The premiere would've been Cruise's first U.S. media appearance since his split from Katie Holmes over the summer. It was to be more contained with select outlets covering and a location away from Hollywood or New York.
A proclamation ceremony for Cruise had been planned with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
An Aldabra giant tortoise feasts on food treats at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney December 14, 2012. Animals at the Taronga Zoo were given food treats as part of their Christmas celebrations.
Photo by Daniel Muno
Thousands of jumbo squid have beached themselves on central California shores this week, committing mass "suicide." But despite decades of study into the phenomenon in which the squid essentially fling themselves onto shore, the cause of these mass beachings have been a mystery.
But a few intriguing clues suggest poisonous algae that form so-called red tides may be intoxicating the Humboldt squid and causing the disoriented animals to swim ashore in Monterey Bay, said William Gilly, a marine biologist at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, Calif.
Each of the strandings has corresponded to a red tide, in which algae bloom and release an extremely potent brain toxin, Gilly said. This fall, the red tides have occurred every three weeks, around the same time as the squid beachings, he said. (The squid have been stranding in large numbers for years, with no known cause.)
"It's not exactly a smoking gun, but it's pretty circumstantial evidence that there is some link," Gilly told LiveScience.
The floors, the staircases, and even the bathrooms are imbued with math at the new National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath), set to open Saturday (Dec. 15).
The country's first museum dedicated to math, the two-floor facility is aimed at the whole family, and will open to the public just north of Madison Square Park at 11 E. 26th St. The museum features more than 30 exhibits, every one interactive and colorful, that communicate the many ways math plays a role in our world and our everyday lives.
Visitors can create video fractals with their own bodies by posing in front of a camera that multiplies their form over and over again. Kids can ride a tricycle with square wheels that manages to roll smoothly because of a specially curved track. And the cool, eerie connections between numbers are revealed by a 23-foot (7-meter)-tall multiplication experiment that occupies the main staircase. [Museum of Math: Photo Tour ]
The museum is meant to engage New Yorkers of all ages in the joy of math. An adult math tournament called MoMath Masters will be held annually, and kids clubs and camps are planned. The museum will even offer custom math tours of any area of New York City for groups.
A large cloud of gas that has spawned dense internal knots which gravitationally collapsed to form stars is seen in this NASA handout image from the Hubble Space Telescope released December 13, 2012. Many young stars are visible in this image, along with what is left of the initial gas cloud. Some stars were so massive they have already evolved and exploded in a supernova.
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:
took the day off.
said:
