Paul Krugman: Cowboys, Aliens, and Stimulus (NY Times Blog)
Some years ago I facetiously suggested that we should invent a fake threat from space aliens as a way to break the destructive obsession with deficits and get the fiscal stimulus the economy needed. (It was actually an episode of The Outer Limits, not The Twilight Zone.) My suggestion was not followed up. But something along the same lines is now going on in Texas.
Mark Bittman: The Trans Fats That Won't Leave (NY Times)
It may be really expensive for Big Food to replace partially hydrogenated oils - the F.D.A. itself estimates the cost at $6 billion - mainly because trying to mimic their performance is going to be tricky. Tough luck. No one can possibly estimate the profits that these oils have garnered or their damage to the public. The agency's analysis also estimates that health care and other costs will decline by $140 billion in the next 20 years as a result of declining trans fat consumption.
Ben Sisario: With a Tap of Taylor Swift's Fingers, Apple Retreated (NY Times)
In an age of depressed record sales, her albums sell by the millions. Her tours fill arenas around the world. And a complimentary tweet to her nearly 60 million followers can help kick-start another singer's career. But as Taylor Swift's victory in a one-day battle against Apple this week showed, she also has a rare power to influence the music business itself, at a time of deep anxiety among artists big and small about the value of their work.
Mark Morford: How to pulverize Christie Brinkley. You know, for laughs (SF Gate)
It is good to know that not everything needs to be louder, crueler, more "extreme" to sell. But the bad news is, a lot of it sure seems to - and, as is so often the case, women usually take the brunt of the abuse. Next up: A remake of "Breakfast Club," in which the clever banter is replaced by the kids chasing each other around the school with shotguns. Should be awesome.
Mark Morford: We're No. 137! The myth of America's awesomeness (SF Gate)
But goddamn if the good parts do often seem in the minority, buried deep and far between, increasingly difficult to locate. America's childish "We're No. 1!" macho posturing is a sad international joke. We do not seem to manufacture, inspire, create, lead in any vital way. We are not number one in any serious, helpful measure you can name. Hell, we're not even number 20.
Mark Morford: Nearly $1 million for this forsaken SF fixer-upper - corpse not included. Hurry! (SF Gate)
… according to SocketSite, the Hoarder House, stuck somewhere out 4th Ave in a nondescript part of SF's Lake District (wait, there's a lake?), is back on the market! After a quick de-corpsing, debris incineration and (presumably) someone to come and sage the living hell out of the place, this only mildly terrifying "as-is" "major-fixer" can be yours for a mere… wait for it… $928,000.
Adam Wears: The 6 Stupidest Acts Of Journalistic Fraud Ever Attempted (Cracked)
When a local Fox affiliate aired footage of a protest held in the wake of the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, two young black men killed by police officers under questionable circumstances, viewers were shocked to hear the crowd chanting, "We won't stop, we can't stop, so kill a cop," like a Miley Cyrus / Ice-T mashup remix. […] As it turned out, the protesters were actually chanting, "We won't stop, we can't stop, 'til killer cops, are in cell blocks." The news report left out those crucial last four syllables. This was not an accident.
Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She had limited exposure to secular music during her childhood and pursued a career in gospel music as a teenager. Perry signed with Red Hill Records and released her debut studio album Katy Hudson in 2001. She moved to Los Angeles the following year to venture into secular music. After being dropped byThe Island Def Jam Music Group and Columbia Records, Perry signed a recording contractwith Capitol Records in April 2007.
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
Katy Perry.
Randall wrote:
Katy Perry
Jim from CA, retired to ID, said:
Katy Perry
Adam answered:
The lovely and talented Katy Perry.
Marian responded:
Katy Perry
Deborah replied:
Katy Perry.
I've never seen her in concert and I've heard she puts on quite a show.
Ding Dong Daddy Dale of Passion Springs of Diamonds, Norcali said:
Katy Perry, pop singer.
Heading up to a Hunnert degrees today.
Dale of Hot Diamondy Springs, Norcali
Lois Of Oregon answered:
I have NO IDEA who this person is but when I googled the name on my new HIGH SPEED INTERNET this picture came up. It frightens me 'cause it looks a little like my fourth grad picture taken at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School and I don't remember ever being a member of the Nazi party. But now at least I can be unfunny in a fraction of the time! Hal-a-lou-ya!!!
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
CBS opens the night with a FRESH'Big Brother', then a FRESH 2-hour 'Under The Dome'.
The programming geniuses at CBS are filling Dave's hour with reruns of 'Elementary'.
On a RERUNJames Corden, OBE (from 5/19/15) are Lisa Kudrow, Zach Woods, and Ashima Shiraishi.
NBC begins the night with 'Dateline', followed by a FRESH'Aquarius', then a FRESH'Hannibal'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Mark Wahlberg, Chris Colfer, and Morrissey.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are Seth MacFarlane, Bella Thorne, and Greg Poehler.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 5/11/15) are George Miller, Halsey, and Solomon Georgio.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'The Astronaut Wives Club', followed by a FRESH'Mistresses', then a FRESH'Rookie Blue'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Jada Pinkett Smith, Jai Courtney, and Nate Ruess.
The CW offers a FRESH'Beauty & The Beast', followed by a RERUN'The Vampire Diaries'.
Faux has a FRESH'BOOM!', followed by a FRESH'Wayward Pines'.
MY recycles an old 'The Mentalist', followed by another old 'The Mentalist'.
A&E has 'Beyond Scared Straight', followed by a FRESH'Beyond Scared Straight: Back Talk', then a FRESH'Beyond Scared Straight', followed by a FRESH'American Takedown'.
AMC offers the movie 'I Am Legend', followed by the movie 'Field Of Dreams', then the movie 'Caddyshack'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] Cash in the Attic - Season 18 - Ep 37 - Saxby NEW
[7:00AM] Cash in the Attic - Season 18 - Ep 38 - Graham NEW
[8:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 4 - Ep 11 - Oceana
[9:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 4 - Ep 10 - Zeke's
[10:00AM] Atlantis - Season 2 - Ep 2 - A New Dawn (Part 2)
[11:00AM] Atlantis - Season 2 - Ep 3 - Telemon
[12:00PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1 - Ep 11 - Haven
[1:00PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1 - Ep 12 - The Big Goodbye
[2:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares UK - Season 3 - Ep 1 - La Parra de Burriana
[3:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 6 - Ep 9 - Nino's Italian Restaurant
[4:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 2 - Ep 4 - Black Pearl
[5:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 6 - Ep 10 - Mill Street Bistro, Part 1
[6:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 6 - Ep 11 - Mill Street Bistro, Part 2
[7:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 4 - Ep 5 - DownCity
[8:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 7 - Ep 3 - Old Neighborhood
[9:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 7 - Ep 4 - Kati Allo NEW
[10:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 4 - Ep 7 - Kingston Cafe
[11:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 7 - Ep 3 - Old Neighborhood
[12:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 7 - Ep 4 - Kati Allo
[1:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares UK - Season 3 - Ep 1 - La Parra de Burriana
[2:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 6 - Ep 9 - Nino's Italian Restaurant
[3:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 2 - Ep 4 - Black Pearl
[4:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 6 - Ep 10 - Mill Street Bistro, Part 1
[5:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares US - Season 6 - Ep 11 - Mill Street Bistro, Part 2 (ALL TIMES EST)
Comedy Central has 4 hours of old 'It's Always Sunny In Philly'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Richard Lewis.
Scheduled on a FRESH@Midnight are David Koechner, Will Sasso, and Kate Micucci.
FX has the movie 'Green Lantern', followed by the movie 'Ted', then a FRESH'The Comedians', followed by another FRESH'The Comedians'.
History has 'Mountain Men', another 'Mountain Men', followed by a FRESH'Mountain Men', then a FRESH'Alone'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] THE THING
[8:30AM] UNDERCOVER BROTHER
[10:30AM] THE BLUES BROTHERS
[1:30PM] UNDERCOVER BROTHER
[3:30PM] BASEKETBALL
[5:45PM] EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
[8:00PM] FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
[10:00PM] MARON-MARC'S NIECE
[10:31PM] FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
[12:30AM] MARON-THE NODE
[1:00AM] MARON-MARC'S NIECE
[1:30AM] BASEKETBALL
[3:45AM] JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] Love Lust-Love Lust & Holiday Feasts
[6:15AM] The Staircase-Last Chance - Final Appeal
[7:15AM] I Heart Huckabees
[9:30AM] Waking Ned Devine
[11:30AM] Cyrus
[1:30PM] The Graduate
[3:45PM] Being John Malkovich
[6:15PM] Midnight Run
[9:00PM] Stripes
[11:15PM] Stripes
[1:30AM] American Psycho
[3:45AM] American Psycho (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Underworld', followed by a FRESH'WWE Steroid SmackDown', then a FRESH'Killjoys'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Adam Scott, Jason Schwartzman, Natasha Lyonne, and Mark Normand.
Lauren Graham and Peter Krause seen at the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer "MAX" Los Angeles Premiere on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.
Photo by Eric Charbonneau
Let's say you're Donald Trump and you're running for president despite the fact that a huge majority of the country hates you. How would you attract supporters to your rallies? Well it turns out that you can pay people to come cheer you on during speeches, and there's a company out there that's been founded specifically to help political campaigns fill up their events with fake supporters.
After hearing Jeb Bush's announcement last week, Liberty Chat contacted a company called Crowds on Demand, pretending to be an employee of a GOP candidate running for office and looking for such "rent a crowd" services.
As it turns out, the company does provide paid actors for political rallies. These actors are apparently very discrete, as they are tied to the company by binding non-disclosure agreements and they're ready to cheer and support any would-be candidate.
"We have worked with dozens of candidates in the U.S. primarily but not exclusively Republican," Crowds on Demand founder and CEO Adam Swart said, presenting his company's services. "Mostly they are candidates who suffer from lack of enthusiasm/turnout at rallies and in need of a 'game change' (sorry, that's a loaded term now!). The candidates have been primarily congressional/senate candidates. We've only worked with one (serious) presidential candidate thus far.
As Liberty Chat points out, the company was founded in September 2012, meaning that this supposed "serious" presidential candidate is likely running in this year's election.
Musician Lenny Kravitz stands in front of some of his photographs during the opening of his exhibition in the gallery of German camera manufacturer Leica in its headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany, Tuesday, June 23, 2015. The exhibition 'Flash by Lenny Kravitz' will run through August 1.
Photo by Frank Rumpenhorst
After a 45-year wait, legendary singer/songwriter James Taylor has earned his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with Before This World. The album, which was released on June 16 through Concord Records, arrives atop the chart dated July 4 - more than 45 years after Taylor arrived on the list with Sweet Baby James (on the March 14, 1970 list).
The new album launches atop the Billboard 200 with 97,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending June 21, according to Nielsen Music. Of its start, pure album sales equated to 96,000 copies sold -- Taylor's best debut week for an album since his last studio effort, 2002's October Road, launched at No. 4 with 154,000 sold.
Taylor surpasses Black Sabbath for the second-longest wait for a No. 1 -- the rock band's first chart-topper, 2013's 13, came 43 years after their self-titled debut bowed on Aug. 29, 1970. Tony Bennett's 54-year wait for his first No. 1 remains the longest -- between the Feb. 23, 1957 debut of Tony and the No. 1 launch of Duets II on Oct. 8, 2011.
Notably, Taylor achieves his first No. 1 after racking up a staggering 11 previous top 10-charting albums. Among all acts, only Neil Diamond accrued more top 10s before his first No. 1: 14 leading up to the chart-topping bow of 2008's Home Before Dark.
PBS put its "Finding Your Roots" series on hold Wednesday after determining an episode that omitted references to Ben Affleck's ancestor as a slave owner violated its standards.
The public television service said it is postponing the show's third season and delaying a commitment to a fourth year until it is satisfied with improvement in the show's editorial standards.
PBS launched its investigation after it was reported that Affleck requested the program not reveal his ancestor's slave-holding history in the 2014 episode. The Associated Press examined historical documents and found that Affleck's great-great-great-grandfather owned 24 slaves.
The review found that co-producers violated PBS standards by allowing improper influence on the show's editorial process and failed to inform PBS or producing station WNET of Affleck's efforts to affect the program's content.
Affleck's request came to light last spring in hacked Sony emails published online by whistleblower site WikiLeaks.
SoCal natives and designers Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent, right, interact with 3D art to celebrate the launch of #VisitAnaheim and the city's revitalization campaign, Wednesday, June 24, 2015, in New York. Brought to life by renowned 3D street artist Joe Hill, Anaheim is home to some of California's most exciting attractions, entertainment and sports venues, theme parks and brew scene. To learn more go to www.visitanaheim.org.
Photo by Diane Bondareff
Shia LaBeouf has received stitches to his head and hand after injuring himself on the North Dakota set of the film "American Honey."
A publicist for LaBeouf on Wednesday said the actor's injuries were "minimal." The accident occurred Tuesday evening during a scene in which LaBeouf was to put his head through a glass window.
He was treated at a hospital for cuts to his head and hand. He's to return to shooting Thursday.
Australia said Wednesday it will join the new Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member, contributing Aus$930 million (US$719 million) in paid-in capital over five years.
Australia is the latest US ally to sign up to the bank, which has been shunned by Washington and Tokyo, the world's largest and third-largest economies respectively.
The AIIB has 57 prospective members, and will have a paid-in capital of US$20 billion and total authorised capital of US$100 billion, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Treasurer Joe Hockey said in a joint statement.
The bank, expected to be operational later this year and based in the Chinese capital, has been viewed by some as a rival to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, two institutions under strong US influence.
Its success has caught the US off guard, after it led a high-profile attempt to dissuade allies from taking part, and now finds itself increasingly isolated.
Filipino Catholic devotees covered in mud and dressed in dried leaves, attend the holy mass to mark the 'Taong Putik' (Mud People) Festival and the feast of Saint John the Baptist at the farming village of Bibiclat in the town of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija province located 120 kilometers north of Manila, Philippines, June 24, 2015. Hundreds of devotees perform the annual rites in the hopes of having their wishes granted mostly on bountiful harvest in farming. Devotees cover themselves in mud and leaves as part of a more than 100-years-old ritual to honor their patron saint and to ask for favors through prayer.
Photo by Ritchie B. Tongo
Fox News has ended its relationship with former half-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R-Quitter) as a political contributor.
A Fox News Channel representative on Wednesday confirmed a report on Politico.com that said the cable network had not renewed its contract with the 2008 U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate. The relationship ended June 1, Politico said.
Palin, whose conservative stands have made her a favorite of the Tea Party movement, is expected to make occasional guest appearances on Fox News Channel or its sister outlet, Fox Business Network, Politico reported.
Palin, 51, had been a regular contributor and political commentator on Fox News for the past five years, often appearing through a camera installed in her Alaska home.
Confederate flags are as easy to find at NASCAR races as cutoff jeans, cowboy hats and beer.
They fly over motorhomes. They adorn clothing. They are regular fixtures, just like Ford and Chevrolet, and that is unlikely to change any time soon.
NASCAR probably would like to see them go away.
The sanctioning body for the motorsports series backed South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's call to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds in the wake of the Charleston church massacre. NASCAR issued its statement Tuesday, the same day South Carolina lawmakers agreed to discuss removing the flag and one day after Haley said "the time has come" to take it down. And that is as far as NASCAR appears willing to go for now.
International Speedway Corp., NASCAR'S sister company that owns a majority of the tracks, echoed the sanctioning body's response.
A woman dances next to a bonfire during the traditional San Juan's (Saint John) night on the beach in Gijon, northern Spain, June 24, 2015. Fires formed by burning unwanted furniture, old school books, wood and effigies of malign spirits are seen across Spain as people celebrate the night of San Juan, a purification ceremony coinciding with the summer solstice.
Photo by Eloy Alons
A spike in earthquakes across Oklahoma is forcing the state's energy regulator to urgently consider tougher restrictions on drilling activity, a spokesman said on Wednesday, calling it a "game changer."
From June 17 to 24, there have been 35 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in the state, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey. Particularly worrying for regulators, some of the recent quakes occurred in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, where there are no high-volume wastewater injection wells.
The spike in quakes comes roughly two months after new rules governing the disposal of briny wastewater from drilling took full effect. Drillers were ordered by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), which regulates the oil and gas industry, to stop disposing wastewater below the state's deepest rock formation, believed to be one of the main causes of the quakes, and to reduce the depth of wells that already go that deep.
It was not immediately clear why there was a spike in quakes in the last eight days. Prior to this period, quakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater typically hit Oklahoma once or twice a day, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Prior to 2009, there were only one or two such quakes in the state in a year.
The provocative dance that gained global fame thanks to an attention-grabbing performance by Miley Cyrus has been admitted to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary - and lexicographers say its origins go back almost 200 years.
The dictionary now describes twerking as dancing "in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance."
It had previously listed the word, but then to refer to a twisting or jerking movement or twitch. Researchers found it used as a noun with that meaning in 1820, spelt "twirk." It became a verb by 1848, and the "twerk" spelling was popularly used by 1901.
Hollywood composer
James Horner, who scored the Oscar-winning film "Titanic" and its mega-hit theme song "My Heart Will Go On", died in a plane crash in southern California on Monday, U.S. media reported.
The aircraft came down in the Los Padres National Forest, north of Los Angeles, triggering a fire that charred more than an acre of brush, local fire authorities said.
Horner, 61, won two Academy Awards for his work on "Titanic", one for the score and one shared with lyricist Will Jennings for best original song - "My Heart Will Go On", performed by Celine Dion.
The Ventura County Fire Department said the plane crashed at 9:30 a.m. (1230 EDT Sunday) and there were no survivors. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
A baby hippopotamus swims in the zoo of Karlruhe, Germany, June 24, 2015. The was baby born on June 17, 2015, the day that marks the opening of the 300th anniversary celebrations of Karlsruhe, will be named Karoline after Caroline of Baden or Karl Wilhelm after the founding father of the city, depending on its gender still currently unknown to the animal care attendants as they are not allowed to approach the baby animal.
Photo by Uli Deck
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