• Before W.C. Fields left for Australia on a vaudeville tour, he had a bookseller fill a large trunk with classic books. Australia in those days had little to offer in the way of entertainment, and sea voyages to Australia took a long time, so the books were a necessity. Mr. Fields, by the way, became a great fan of Charles Dickens, and apparently was influenced by Dickens’ comedy. It’s impossible for many people to read the words of Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield without hearing those words being spoken by Mr. Fields.
• Gay comedian Bob Smith eagerly read through the J.R.R. Tolkien Middle Earth books in the 10th grade, ignoring his homework for a while, and even reading the books in class. Teachers never became angry at him for reading in class, but they would say, “Excuse me, Bob,” a few times to get his attention, then add something such as, “I know that an English teacher should encourage reading … but, Bob, would you mind putting your book away?”
• When comedian Kate Clinton was a teacher, she bored her class by teaching them how to make plurals of nouns—mouse/mice, etc.—something that annoyed them because an exception seemed to exist for every rule. Finally, she asked one youngster, “Steve, spell the plural of leaf.” He looked at her, then answered, “T-R-E-E.”
• A recent fad is to collect the high-school yearbooks of famous people. Anyone who collects comedian Robin Williams’ yearbook won’t be surprised to see his name listed in a column of students thought to be “Most Humorous,” but they may be surprised to see his name listed in the column of students thought to be “Least Likely to Succeed.”
Food
• Celebrities have an advantage over other people in that they can get into crowded restaurants quickly by mentioning their name. While Groucho Marx and his family were waiting in line to get into a crowded restaurant, his wife asked him to let the headwaiter know who he was so they would be seated quickly. (This was in the days before Groucho grew a real mustache, and so he had not been recognized.) Groucho didn’t want to reveal his name because he didn’t like the kind of restaurants that catered to celebrities. In fact, Groucho had given the headwaiter a fake name: Sam Jackson. However, his wife was persistent, so finally he tapped the headwaiter on the shoulder and said, “My wife wants me to tell you who I am. My name’s not really Jackson. It’s Abe Schwartz, and I’m in the wholesale plumbing business. And this is Mrs. Schwartz, and all the little Schwartzes.”
• Will Rogers had a little son named Jimmy who loved cake—lots of cake. Jimmy was invited to a party, and his parents cautioned him to take only one piece of cake, and he promised to obey. After the party, they asked how many pieces of cake he had eaten, and he said just one, adding that the hostess had wanted him to eat more than one piece: “Mrs. Jones kept pushing it at me, and I kept saying, ‘No,’ and I don’t think she liked it. She said, ‘Why, Jimmy, everybody likes my cake!’” Finally little Jimmy had found a way to keep her from tempting him with more cake: “I thought of what Dad says sometimes, so I told her, ‘You just better take that damn stuff out of here.’”
• Comedian Jay Leno grew up in a working-class family, and he declines to pay excessive prices for food, despite being a multi-millionaire. When he was a struggling comedian in New York, he used to eat at the Stage Deli, where he would buy a hamburger for $1.10, because he didn’t want to spend $4.50 for a roast beef sandwich. After becoming hugely successful, he took his wife, Mavis, to the Stage Deli, where he planned on finally eating a roast beef sandwich. However, the price had changed—the roast beef sandwich was now $9.50. Mr. Leno said, “I’m not paying $9.50! It used to be only $4.50! I didn’t want it that much.”
What short story by O. Henry, first published in 1905, tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money?
"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been popular for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time. The plot and its twist ending are well-known, and the ending is generally considered an example of comic irony. It was allegedly written at Pete's Tavern on Irving Place in New York City.
The story was initially published in The New York Sunday World under the title "Gifts of the Magi" on December 10, 1905. It was first published in book form in the O. Henry Anthology The Four Million in April 1906.
On Christmas Eve, Della Young discovers that she has only $1.87 to buy a present for her husband Jim. She visits the nearby shop of a hairdresser, Madame Sofronie, who buys Della's long hair for $20. Della then uses the money to buy a platinum pocket watch chain for Jim. When Jim comes home from work that evening, Della admits to him that she sold her hair to buy him the chain. Jim gives Della her present-- a set of ornamental combs, which she will be unable to use until her hair grows back out. Della gives Jim the watch chain, and he tells her that he sold the watch to buy the combs. Although Jim and Della are left with gifts that they cannot use, they realize how far they are willing to go to show their love for each other and how priceless their love really is. The story ends with the narrator comparing these sacrificial gifts of love with those of the biblical Magi.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
The Gift of the Magi.
Alan J answered:
The Gift of the Magi.
Mac Mac said:
Gift of the Magi
mj wrote:
I think it was Mr. Reed's English class
Where we read the Gift of the Magi. He was a gift of a teacher.
Randall replied:
The Gift of the Magi
Jacqueline responded:
The Gift Of The Magi. Love this story.
Kevin K. in Washington DC wrote:
The Gift of the Magi.
Dave responded:
Gift of the Magi. William Sydney Porter wrote 381 short stories (if Wikipedia is to believed) during an eight year period ending with his death in 1910. When Porter lived in Texas, he was indicted and was to stand trial for embezzlement from a bank, but fled to Honduras for 6 months. That is where he coined the term “Banana Republic.” Eventually Porter returned to Texas and was sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing $854, but only served 3 years. I guess $854 was a lot of money in 1905?
John I from Hawai`i says,
Gift of the Magi.
Deborah, the Master Gardener replied:
My favorite O. Henry story: “The Gift of the Magi.”
I knew yesterday’s answer was the 3 wise men and got distracted away from answering. Nice seasonally-appropriate trivia questions, Marty.
zorch said:
Gift of the Magi.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, wrote:
The Gift of the Magi.......she sold her hair to buy a watch chain for him.....he sold his watch to buy combs for her hair.
Michelle in AZ answered:
"The Gift of the Magi"
Dave in Tucson replied:
If I recall she had beautiful hair and he had a gold watch. For the Christmas Eve gift exchange she gave him a gold fob for his watch and he gave he a silver comb for her hair. Unfortunately he had sold his watch to pay the comb and she had sold her hair to pay for the watch fob. Also unfortunately, I don't remember the story's title. Die Hard?
Billy in Cypress responded:
"The Gift of the Magi"
Joe wrote:
I believe that's "Gift of the Magi." Or something like that, I may not have the name exactly but you get my drift. I love O. Henry, I started reading him at an early age. I could look it up, but I'm pretty sure that's the name.
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BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
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CBS starts the night, as usual, with '60 Minutes', followed by the FRESH'Garth & Trish Live! A Concert Holiday', then the FRESH'The 22nd Annual A Home For The Holidays', then a RERUN'NCIS'.
NBC fills the night with LIVE'Sunday Night Football', then fills the left coast with local crap and maybe a RERUN'The Wall'.
ABC fills the night with the movie 'The Sound Of Music'.
The CW offers a RERUN'Masters Of Illusion', followed by a FRESH'The Outpost'.
Faux has a RERUN'The Simpsons', followed by a RERUN'Bob's Burgers', then a RERUN'The Moodys', followed by a RERUN'Bob's Burgers', then a RERUN'Family Guy'.
MY recycles an old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by another old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by still another old 'Big Bang Theory', then yet another old 'Big Bang Theory'.
A&E has the movie 'White House Down', followed by the movie 'The Magnificient Seven'.
AMC offers the movie 'Elf', followed by the movie 'Elf', again.
BBC -
[6:00AM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - EMPEROR PENGUINS (EXTENDED VERSION)
[7:00AM] THE OUTSIDERS
[9:00AM] THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
[11:30AM] THE OUTSIDERS
[1:30PM] THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
[4:00PM] BRAVEHEART
[8:00PM] TAKEN 2
[10:00PM] TAKEN 2
[12:00AM] BRAVEHEART
[4:00AM] UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS (ALL TIMES ET)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', then a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Potomac', followed by a FRESH'Watch What Happens: Live'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Grown Ups 2', followed by the movie '50 First Dates'.
FX has the movie 'Daddy's Home', followed by the movie 'Office Christmas Party', then the movie 'Office Christmas Party'.
IFC -
[6:00am - 9:30am] Saved By The Bell
[10:00am - 1:00pm] Three's Company
[1:30pm] National Lampoon's European Vacation
[3:30pm] Vegas Vacation
[5:30pm] Vacation
[7:45pm] National Lampoon's Vacation
[10:00pm] Vegas Vacation
[12:00am] National Lampoon's Vacation
[2:15am] Vacation
[4:30am - 5:30am] Parks And Recreation (ALL TIMES ET)
Sundance -
[6:00am] love lust - Love Lust & The Little Black Dress
[6:15am] monk - Mr. Monk And The Election
[7:15am] monk - Mr. Monk And The Secret Santa
[8:15am] monk - Mr. Monk Meets His Dad
[9:15am] monk - Mr. Monk And The Man Who Shot Santa
[10:15am] monk - Mr Monk And The Miracle
[11:15am] the outlaw josey wales
[2:30pm] unforgiven
[5:30pm] ghostbusters
[8:00pm] twister
[10:30pm] twister
[1:00am] ghostbusters
[3:30am] ghostbusters ii (ALL TIMES ET)
SyFy has the movie 'John Wick: Chapter 2', followed by the movie 'Robin Hood'.
In an unusual move, Fox News is airing a segment to counter previous remarks made by its conservative hosts and pro-Trump guests that voting software firm Smartmatic was involved in election fraud.
The taped segment where a voting technology expert shoots down the many claims the conservative-leaning cable news channel presented about the London-based Smartmatic first aired Friday on Fox Business Network's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" and will be repeated on Jeanine Pirro's show "Justice with Judge Jeanine" on Saturday night and Maria Bartiromo's program "Sunday Morning Futures."
The three-minute interview with Eddie Perez, a nonpartisan expert from the Palo Alto-based Open Source Election Technology Institute, is an apparent response to a Dec. 10 letter from attorneys for Smartmatic. The letter accused Fox News of airing numerous false and defamatory statements about the company in numerous segments on President Trump's baseless claims that widespread voter fraud and tampering with voting machines are what led to his loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
Smartmatic said in the letter that Fox News has aided "a concerted disinformation campaign" presenting unsupported claims that the company conspired to change the results of the vote to benefit Biden. While Fox News journalists have repeatedly reported there is no evidence to back Trump's claims, its pro-Trump commentators — some of whom confer with the president off-camera — have continued to give it some credence.
Smartmatic's attorneys have sent similar letters to conservative news channels Newsmax and One America News which have been even more vociferous in presenting Trump's election fraud claims and in commentary that gives them validity.
Jim Carrey will no longer play President-Elect Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live, passing the torch to a new generation of political impersonators.
“Though my term was only meant to be 6 weeks, I was thrilled to be elected as your SNL President...comedy’s highest call of duty,” the actor, 58, tweeted on Saturday. “I would love to go forward knowing that Biden was the victor because I nailed that sh*t. But I am just one in a long line of proud, fighting SNL Bidens!”
Replacing Jason Sudeikis, Carrey joined Season 46 in October, portraying Biden with his signature aviator sunglasses alongside Maya Rudolph, who plays Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris and Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump. In November, when Trump lost the U.S. presidential election, Baldwin, who won an Emmy for the gig, tweeted that he was overjoyed to “lose a job.”
Aside from Sudeikis, John Mulaney and Woody Harrelson have all depicted Biden on Saturday Night Live.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, authors of Star Wars novels received royalty checks for their work. But that practice apparently ended around 2012.
Now, the empire is poised to strike back, as a group action by authors of the Star Wars adaptations and other franchises are going public. They claim that Disney has refused to pay royalties on book contracts since it absorbed Lucasfilms in 2012 in a $4 billion deal, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
These writers say Disney has either delayed dealing with their complaints or stiffed them on checks that rarely total a few thousand bucks apiece. And the Star Wars franchise isn’t the only source of trouble.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America association claims other authors of books tied to projects from Indiana Jones to Buffy the Vampire Slayer came forward with similar stories of non-payment, all under similar circumstances to the Star Wars issue. Once Disney acquired the properties, the checks were no longer in the mail.
At least a half dozen writers across a range of Disney-owned properties have reported that no checks have been received, said Mary Robinette Kowal, president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch (R-Evil Incarnate) has received the coronavirus vaccine.
The 89-year-old was among the first in the world to be inoculated, receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech jab near his home in South Oxfordshire.
According to a statement on his behalf, the Australian-born US citizen was administered the vaccine “at his local GP's surgery after he received a call saying he was eligible”.
“He has been isolating in the UK since the summer, with his wife Jerry Hall Murdoch,” said the statement issued by News UK.
It came as Tucker Carlson, one of the highest-profile hosts on Mr Murdoch’s Fox News channel in the US, used his primetime Thursday night slot to sow doubt over the country’s inoculation campaign.
Mr Murdoch’s titles in the UK have thrown their weight behind coronavirus vaccination, with The Times on Thursday publishing a comment piece headlined “It’s time to get evangelical about the vaccine”, which stated below: “The sooner we are inoculated, the sooner we’ll get back to normal life in all its quotidian glory.”
The leader of the Proud Boys says he is “not ashamed” of burning a Washington DC church’s Black Lives Matter sign.
The right wing group’s chairman Enrique Tarrio says he was responsible for setting the banner on fire after a MAGA rally in the city last weekend.
The disturbing incident is being investigated as a potential hate crime and a religious leader has compared it to “cross burnings.”
The BLM sign was taken from the Asbury United Methodist Church, one of the oldest Black churches in Washington DC, during a night of violence after the pro-Trump rally.
Mr Tarrio took to conservative social media site Parler to post a picture of himself and other men using lighters to torch the sign.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday said Amazon's jobs are a "scam" because they're not creating financial security for workers.
"A 'job' that leaves you homeless & on food stamps isn't a job. It's a scam," she said on Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez referenced a Bloomberg News report detailing how many Amazon warehouse workers struggle to pay bills, with as many as 4,000 on food stamps.
The report said Amazon has turned logistics work from a professional career option to "entry-level" work for many. As Amazon's workforce has soared during the pandemic, safety conditions in its warehouses have failed to keep pace, according to the report.
"This is why 'Amazon jobs' aren't it & we should instead focus our public investments + incentives on small businesses, public infrastructure, & worker cooperatives that actually support dignified life," said Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.
When President-elect Joe Biden takes the oath of office on January 20, he'll be sworn in using a huge Bible that's been in his family since the Gilded Age.
During an interview with Stephen Colbert on Thursday, Colbert asked whether future first lady Jill Biden had been "working out" because of the heavy lifting she'll have to do at the inauguration to present the Bible for her husband.
President-elect Biden explained that the Bible has been in the family since 1893 and comes from his father's side.
He's used it for all seven of his swearing-in ceremonies as a US senator and twice for the oaths of office he took as President Barack Obama's vice president.
It was also used by his late son, Beau, when he was sworn in as attorney general of Delaware.
In 2013, Obama's inaugural committee said that Biden's family Bible is five inches thick and has a Celtic cross on its cover, according to USA Today.
The famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska will not run to Nome in 2021, a drastic change called necessary to protect the mushers from the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce its spread in rural Alaska, race officials announced on Friday.
Instead, the 2021 Iditarod race route will take racers and dogs to the halfway point - the abandoned gold-mining town of Iditarod for which the trail is named. Then they will double back to the starting point.
“The board, after thoughtful deliberation has determined that the highest standards of safety can be maintained for the canine and human athletes, volunteers, and communities, so we are excited for the unique setting and challenges of this year’s race,” Mike Mills, president of the Iditarod’s board, said in a statement.
The total distance of what is now dubbed the “Gold Trail Loop” is about 860 miles, close to the nearly 1,000 miles of the traditional route.
The change for the world’s most famous sled-dog race will skip the mostly Native communities along the Yukon River and Bering Sea that are normally checkpoints on the northern half of the trail.
Were platypuses just the beginning? In October, researchers reported that the already perplexing animals fluoresce a psychedelic blue-green color under black light. The species joined a short list of mammals known to do this, including opossums and flying squirrels.
When he heard about the platypus discovery, Kenny Travouillon, curator of mammals at the Western Australian Museum, borrowed a black light lamp from the arachnology department. (They normally use the lamps to find scorpions, which also fluoresce.)
After confirming that their preserved platypuses glowed, he and his colleagues moved on to the rest of the collection. “We just went around for a bit of fun,” he said. “Putting the torch on all of them and let’s have a look.”
What they saw was encouraging. Bilbies — endangered marsupials with long snouts and rabbit-like ears — had orange and green accents. The quills of hedgehogs, porcupines and echidnas shone bright white, as if dipped in correction fluid.
Some specimens were more reserved: Of two wombat species they examined, only one fluoresced, and “kangaroos didn’t seem to do very much at all,” Travouillon said. The museum plans to team up with a nearby university to do a more systematic study, with better equipment, early next year.
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has returned to semi-retired status.
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