If America had $100 and 100 people...
Here's an easy way to look at income distribution and how it has changed over the years. Let's pretend America has 100 people in it and that the total income for all of America is $100. If everyone made the same per year, everyone would get $1.00 each.
Garrison Keillor: Victims of class warfare (chicagotribune.com)
As a member of the board of directors of the American International Group, I am pained by the hailstorm of fecal matter raining on our company for the $450 million in bonuses we are paying out to the traders in credit derivatives after receiving billions from the U.S. Treasury to rescue us from going over the cliff that the derivative traders were driving us toward.
Drake Bennett: "Ready, aim ... fail: Why setting goals can backfire" (boston.com)
IN THE EARLY years of this decade, General Motors had a goal, and it was 29. Determined to boost its flagging profits and reverse a long, steady fall from postwar dominance, the automotive giant did the natural thing: it set a goal. The company pledged to recapture 29 percent of the American market, the share it had ebbed past in 1999. The number 29 became a corporate mantra, and some GM executives took to wearing lapel pins with the number emblazoned on them.
Will Harris: A Chat with Chris Cornell (bullz-eye.com)
On meeting with Timbaland: "He recited a line from 'Disappearing One,' from Euphoria Morning, which I was kind of shocked by. I mean, it took me a second to realize what song he was reciting lyrics from! I just sort of expected something like, 'Yeah, I've heard of you, I remember you from "Black Hole Sun."
The New York Times, in an article Sunday, Administration Is Open to Taxing Health Benefits - NYTimes.com , reports that the Obama Administration is open to the idea of taxing certain employer provided health benefits as a way to help finance health care for the uninsured. Would you support such an approach?
On the old TV series, "Batman," Robin often prefaced statements with the phrase "Holy __(fill in the blank)__".
How many variations of the phrase "Holy __(fill in the blank)__" were used by Robin?
A Total of 352 "Holy" words were used by Robin from "Holy Agility" to "Holy Zorro".
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
C 352
mj answered:
Guessing again
I'm torn between A and B, but since he didn't usually say it more than once an episode, I'll go with A, 187. It was only on a couple of years (3?) when I was in Jr. High, and I don't think it ran more than 200 episodes. It was fun at the beginning, but got boring rather quickly, especially with two exposures per week.
Marian the Teacher answered:
352
Sally said:
Okay, this is how it is: Back in the early 1960s (An insanely busy decade of my life), I was studying for my MS, working, and traveling (a lot) when, this insipid show appeared on TV entitled, "Batman." Suddenly, here-to-for "intellectual" friends, and classmates - who were deeply committed to good literature, and science - all-the-while entrenched in the causes of, "Civil Rights," and "Anti War," AWA "Woman's Lib" and protesting - were running around campus spouting phrases like, "Holy Jumping Jeepers, Batman," or "Holy Cow Over the Moon, Batman..." Within months, they - the "Intelligencia" of the youth movement, were being turned into Batman imbeciles... Needless to say - Batman is not a subject that provokes good memories for me!
Of course, I COULD have merely said, "I don't know," but that would have been too easy - now wouldn't it??
PS: My frustration level is peaking with the nasty messages I have been receiving from my hard drive. Since I haven't had much time to attend to said hardware threats, and yesterday being my FAVORITE holiday (St Patty's Day) I decided to take the night off and go out with friends to celebrate!! 'Twas a good night, it was, too...
And, Joe S ("I want to be Robin to Bush's Batman."
~ Dan Quayle) replied:
A total of 352 "Holy" words were used by Robin from "Holy Agility" to "Holy Zorro". My favorite is "Holy Crap!" Ok, I made that up.
We got a WINNER ...a storm towards the end of the race had Musher type folks hunkered down with their puppies....I miss Nome, lived there for almost 4 years....cool and spacey place....lotta fun and funky people.
Used to eat breakfast at the Polar Cub, great little restaurant attached to a sleazy lil bar ...I sat at what is referred to as the "Liars Table" It's where any president/governor/senator...blah blah would sit at when they came to town on a stump tour...even tho there aren't any trees in Nome to make stumps ,that is other than the Nome "Forest" which springs up after X-mas every year.
Vic in AK
Thanks, Vic!
I used to know the guy who built the PBS station in Nome. He's also the one who talked me into moving to Alaska.
Wonder where Norman is these days - last I heard he was a pilot in Juneau.
Obama's helicopter (and escort) flew over the house a little after 5:30 tonight.
Wouldn't have noticed but the windows started making the sustained maracha-like rattling noise that ususally accompanies a good-size earthquake.
Tonight, Thursday:
CBS is taken over by LIVE'March Madness', then pads primetime on the left coast with local crap.
On a RERUNDave (from 1/12/09) are Billy Crystal, Kara DioGuardi, and a Top Ten List presented by Owen Wilson.
On a RERUNCraig (from 7/31/08) are Will Ferrell and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'My Name Is Earl', followed by a RERUN'The Office', then a FRESH'The Office', followed by a FRESH'30 Rock', then a FRESH'ER'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are President Barack Obama and Garth Brooks.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Jaime Pressly, Steven Ward, and Eric Church.
Scheduled on a FRESHCarson 'The Scab' Daly are Adhir Kalyan and Iglu & Hartly.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Ugly Betty', followed by a FRESH'Grey's Anatomy', then a FRESH'Private Practice'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are John Cena, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and the Duke Spirit.
The CW offers a FRESH'Smallville', followed by a FRESH'Supernatural'.
Faux has a FRESH'House', followed by a FRESH'Hell's Kitchen'.
MY fills the night with the movie 'Lethal Weapon'.
A&E has 'The First 48', another 'The First 48', still another 'The First 48', followed by a FRESH'The Beast'.
AMC offers the movie 'Catwoman', followed by the movie 'Road House', then the movie 'An Officer And A Gentleman'.
BBC -
[12:00 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 2
[12:30 PM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 3
[1:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? US - Episode 19
[1:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 7
[2:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 2 Piccolo Teatro
[3:00 PM] Gordon Ramsay's F Word - Episode 1
[4:00 PM] How Clean Is Your House? US - Episode 20
[4:30 PM] How Clean Is Your House? - Episode 8
[5:00 PM] Gordon Ramsay's F Word - Episode 2
[6:00 PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares - Ep 1 Lanterna
[7:00 PM] BBC World News America
[8:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 1
[9:00 PM] 100 Men Own My Breasts - 100 Men Own My Breasts
[10:00 PM] BBC World News America
[11:00 PM] Top Gear - Episode 1
[12:00 AM] 100 Men Own My Breasts
[1:00 AM] Top Gear - Episode 1
[2:00 AM] 100 Men Own My Breasts
[3:00 AM] The Graham Norton Show - Ep 5 Elle Macpherson, Frankie Boyle and KT Tunstall
[4:00 AM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 2
[4:30 AM] You Are What You Eat - Episode 3
[5:00 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 13 Vita
[5:30 AM] Cash in the Attic - Ep. 14 Jenkinson
[6:00 AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Millionaire Matchmaker', another 'Millionaire Matchmaker', still another 'Millionaire Matchmaker', followed by a FRESH'Millionaire Matchmaker'.
Comedy Central has 'Scrubs', another 'Scrubs', last night's 'Jon Stewart', last night's 'Colbert Report', 'Futurama', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and 'Reno 911!'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Bruce Springsteen.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report is John McCardell.
FX has the movie 'Superman Returns', followed by the movie 'The Prestige'.
History has 'Modern Marvels', another 'Modern Marvels', followed by a FRESH'Gangland', then a FRESH'Warriors'.
IFC -
[7:15 AM] Picnic at Hanging Rock
[9:05 AM] Trauma
[10:45 AM] Antwone Fisher
[12:45 PM] Picnic at Hanging Rock
[2:35 PM] Trauma
[4:15 PM] Antwone Fisher
[6:25 PM] Trainspotting
[8:00 PM] Trapped in the Closet
[9:30 PM] Moulin Rouge
[11:45 PM] Dogville
[2:45 AM] Léolo
[4:35 AM] Trapped in the Closet (ALL TIMES EDT)
SciFi has the movie 'Final Destination', followed by the movie 'Jeepers Creepers II'.
Sundance -
[06:00 AM] It's Not Easy Being Green Season 2: Episode 4
[06:30 AM] Big Ideas for a Small Planet - Season 1: Furnish
[07:00 AM] A Woman Under the Influence
[09:30 AM] Approaching Union Square
[11:00 AM] Pulling - Season 1: Episode 6
[11:30 AM] The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle: Episode 2
[12:00 PM] Nimrod Nation: Episode 3
[12:30 PM] One Punk Under God: Episode 3
[01:00 PM] It's Not Easy Being Green Season 2: Episode 4
[01:30 PM] Big Ideas for a Small Planet - Season 1: Furnish
[02:00 PM] A Woman Under the Influence
[04:35 PM] Approaching Union Square
[06:05 PM] Avenue Montaigne
[08:00 PM] Spectacle: Bill Clinton
[09:00 PM] Sin City Law: Episode 3
[10:00 PM] Heavy Metal in Baghdad
[11:30 PM] Hometown Baghdad
[01:15 AM] No End in Sight
[03:00 AM] Spectacle: Bill Clinton
[04:00 AM] The Ghost of Mae Nek (ALL TIMES EDT)
Actresses Blythe Danner, left, and daughter actress Gwyneth Paltrow attend the premiere of 'Valentino: The Last Emperor' at The Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2009 in New York.
Photo by Evan Agostini
The TV show "Extreme Makeover Home Edition", the drama "Brothers and Sisters" and the 2008 "Stand Up to Cancer" charity fund-raiser were among eight programs named on Wednesday for exemplifying "television with a conscience."
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said the eight programs singled out by its Television Honors Committee made a significant impact on issues ranging from racial integration to adoption, tolerance and the environment.
The programs were chosen from almost 150 submissions and had one thing in common. "They used the power of television to enlighten, educate, create awareness and instigate positive change," John Shaffner, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Also honored were the PBS play "God on Trial", the life-swap FX reality show "30 Days", the HBO documentary "Breaking the Huddle" about the impact of college football on the civil rights movement, Animal Planet series "Whale Wars" and the CBS annual special "A Home for the Holidays" which focuses on adoption.
Stephen Colbert is taking his Comedy Central show to the Persian Gulf.
"The Colbert Report" will tape four shows performed for troops as part of a USO tour.
Colbert, who announced the trip on Tuesday's show, said in a statement that he couldn't reveal his exact overseas destination, adding, "the fact that I can't tell you where I'm going should tell you where I'm going."
Dates and the location of Colbert's Persian Gulf visit were withheld for security reasons at the USO's request.
Actor Richard Dreyfuss, center, waits to speak a at news conference with the Civil War Preservation Trust in Washington, on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. The group released its annual report on 10 battlefields that it says are deteriorating due to neglect, land development and other threats.
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin
Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, John Mellencamp and Emmylou Harris are among the dozens of musicians who will celebrate American folk music legend Pete Seeger's 90th birthday with a gala concert at Madison Square Garden on May 3.
The event, dubbed "The Clearwater Concert: Creating the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders," will raise funds and awareness for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an environmental organization founded by Seeger in the 1960s to preserve and protect the Hudson River.
Other artists scheduled to appear include Steve Earle, Joan Baez, Juanes, Richie Havens, Kris Kirstofferson, Tom Morello, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti and Ben Harper.
Celebrations honoring Seeger's musical legacy and social activism will go on throughout the year. The Madison Square Garden birthday concert is part of a series of 90th birthday events benefiting Clearwater, which is also marking its 40th anniversary.
NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker fired back at comedian Jon Stewart on Wednesday, saying it was "unfair" and "absurd" for the funnyman to criticize CNBC and question its coverage of financial news.
Zucker's comments are the latest salvo in a war of words with Stewart, who hosts the mock news program "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on the Comedy Central cable television network owned by Viacom Inc.
Stewart has blasted CNBC's reporting of the financial market meltdown, saying the channel was too cozy with corporate chiefs and key government officials.
Zucker, speaking at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit in New York on Wednesday, said that CNBC's reporters and commentators had done a "terrific" job and the network remained a "go-to" place for financial news.
CBS says it's reached deals to keep the comedies "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory" on the air for several more seasons.
"Two and a Half Men," TV's top-rated sitcom, has been renewed for three more years, through the 2011-12 season. "The Big Bang Theory," which has shown double-digit ratings growth, will got a two-year pickup, through 2010-11, CBS and Warner Bros. Television announced Wednesday.
"Two and a Half Men," which stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, is produced by Warner with Chuck Lorre Productions Inc. and the Tannenbaum Co. The show is in its sixth season.
"The Big Bang Theory," starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco, is in its second season and produced by Warner and Lorre Productions.
In this photo released by Starpix, actress Isabella Rossellini, left, poses with her half sister Pia Lindstrom at a screening of 'Green Porno 2,' in New York, Tuesday, March 17, 2009.
Photo by Amanda Schwab
A spokesman for Stacy Keach says actor was recovering after having a mild stroke.
Publicist Dick Guttman said Wednesday the 67-year-old actor "experienced a very mild stroke with no impairment whatsoever of his motor or speech abilities. He remains today in a Los Angeles hospital for observation and routine precautionary procedures."
Keach had been starring as Richard Nixon in the Center Theater Group's production of "Frost/Nixon" at the Ahmanson Theatre. In a statement, Guttman said "the producers of 'Frost/Nixon' look forward to his speedy recovery and to his return to the show as soon as he is able."
The Obama administration on Wednesday formally endorsed a U.N. statement calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality, a measure that former President George W. Bush had refused to sign.
The move was the administration's latest in reversing Bush-era decisions that have been heavily criticized by human rights and other groups. The United States was the only western nation not to sign onto the declaration when it came up at the U.N. General Assembly in December.
"The United States supports the U.N.'s statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity and is pleased to join the other 66 U.N. member states who have declared their support of the statement," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
Los Angeles city prosecutors have charged Kanye West with misdemeanor battery, grand theft and vandalism over the videotaped destruction of a paparazzo's camera.
West was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport days after performing at the MTV Video Music Awards in September. The celebrity gossip site TMZ shot video that showed West breaking the flash of a photographer's camera inside a terminal, and his manager breaking the camera itself and accosting TMZ's videographer.
West faces two and a half years in jail if convicted.
Remember the baby boom? No, not the one after World War II. More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any other year in the nation's history - and a wedding band made increasingly little difference in the matter. The 4,317,119 births, reported by federal researchers Wednesday, topped a record first set in 1957 at the height of the baby boom.
Behind the number is both good and bad news. While it shows the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, a healthy trend, the teen birth rate was up for a second year in a row.
The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent, continuing a trend that started years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.
Meanwhile, U.S. abortions dropped to their lowest levels in decades, according to other reports. Some have attributed the abortion decline to better use of contraceptives, but other experts have wondered if the rise in births might indicate a failure in proper use of contraceptives. Some earlier studies have shown declining availability of abortions.
Artwork entitled "Hatsuhana prays under a waterfall" by Japanese artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi is seen in this undated handout photograph received in London March 18, 2009. A new exhibition dedicated to the 19th century woodblock print master Kuniyoshi, opens at London's Royal Academy on Saturday and runs until June 7.
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of March 9-15. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.74 million homes, 5.64 million viewers.
2. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.45 million homes, 5.16 million viewers.
3. "Hannah Montana" (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.25 million homes, 4.42 million viewers.
4. "NCIS" (Monday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.24 million homes, 4.22 million viewers.
5. "NCIS" (Thursday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.14 million homes, 4 million viewers.
6. "NCIS" (Tuesday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.07 million homes, 3.98 million viewers.
7. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.06 million homes, 4.24 million viewers.
8. "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Sunday, 8:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.05 million homes, 4.16 million viewers.
9. "Sonny With a Chance" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3 million homes, 3.99 million viewers.
10. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 12:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.97 million homes, 3.98 million viewers.
11. "ICarly" (Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.95 million homes, 3.87 million viewers.
12. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 7 p.m.), USA, 2.93 million homes, 3.84 million viewers.
13. "Comedy Central Roast" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), Comedy Central, 2.9 million homes, 4.07 million viewers.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 12 noon), Nickelodeon, 2.88 million homes, 3.96 million viewers.
15. "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.), Fox News Channel, 2.84 million homes, 3.61 million viewers.
Natasha Richardson, a gifted and precocious heiress to acting royalty whose career highlights included the film "Patty Hearst" and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of "Cabaret," died Wednesday at age 45 after suffering a head injury from a skiing accident.
Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson's husband Liam Neeson, confirmed her death Tuesday night in a written statement.
"Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."
The statement did not give details on the cause of death for Richardson, who suffered a head injury when she fell on a beginner's trail during a private ski lesson at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She was hospitalized Tuesday in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York City.
Jack Lawrence, who wrote the lyrics for Frank Sinatra's first hit recording "All or Nothing at All" as well as standards sung by stars such as Dinah Shore and Bobby Darin, has died. He was 96.
"He had no musical training at all to speak of," his son, Richard Lawrence said. "He just started writing songs. He just loved what he did."
Jack Lawrence's work reached the stage, the movie screens and even the U.S. Merchant Marine, where he served during the second World War.
Lawrence was born Jacob Schwartz on April 7, 1912, in Brooklyn, New York, into an Orthodox Jewish family. He earned a doctorate in podiatry in 1932, the same year he wrote his first hit song, "Play, Fiddle, Play" with Arthur Altman and Emery Deutsch.
Lawrence quickly gave up podiatry for a songwriting career, dropping his last name when he started publishing songs.
He wrote the Ink Spots' 1939 smash recording of "If I Didn't Care," and the song that introduced Shore to the American radio audience, "Yes, My Darling Daughter."
Other songs included the much-recorded standard, "Tenderly" with music by Walter Gross that helped re-ignite the career of Rosemary Clooney; and "Linda," a major hit for the Ray Noble Orchestra with Buddy Clark in 1947, according to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. "Linda" was written for entertainment attorney Lee Eastman's young daughter, who grew up to become Paul McCartney's wife.
During the second World War, Lawrence served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and wrote that service branch's official theme song, "Heave Ho! My Lads! Heave Ho!" He wrote new lyrics for what became "Beyond the Sea," popularized by Bobby Darin.
In the 1980s, Lawrence was co-producer of the off-Broadway hit, "Other People's Money" and on Broadway, he co-produced "Lena Horne, The Lady and Her Music" and "Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," which introduced Cher and Kathy Bates to Broadway.
Lawrence, who lived in West Redding, is survived by his adopted son, Richard Lawrence, also of West Redding.
A white peacock flares out its plumage at the Giza zoo in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, March 17, 2009. White peacocks are often mistaken for albinos but are in fact a color variation of the Indian Blue peacock, and are considered rare.
Photo by Ben Curtis
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
Make yourself home, take your shoes off...
Go ahead, scratch it if it itches.
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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.
On the old TV series, "Batman," Robin often prefaced statements with the phrase "Holy __(fill in the blank)__".
How many variations of the phrase "Holy __(fill in the blank)__" were used by Robin?
wrote:
See Robin's Page
