• Political cartoonist Thomas Nast was also famous for his drawings of Christmas and of Santa Claus, and he was responsible for many of the ideas we associate with Santa Claus - the red and white suit of clothing, the workshop at the North Pole, and the reading by Santa Claus of letters sent to him by children. In a drawing titled Christmas Flirtation, Mr. Nast drew Julia, his daughter, standing under some mistletoe. In England, boys followed the custom of kissing a girl, then removing a berry from the mistletoe. Once the berries were gone, the boys no longer were allowed to kiss the girl. The mistletoe that Julia is standing underneath is heavily laden with berries.
• In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy sometimes dispensed psychiatric help in a booth for 5 cents. One winter Benjamin Weininger, a psychiatrist at the Southern California Counseling Center in Los Angeles, followed her example. He sat in a lemonade stand bearing the sign, "In the Xmas Spirit … Counseling 5 cents." However, Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts, pointed out that the sign was not entirely correct - when it's cold, Lucy raises her price to 7 cents.
Clothing
• Early in her career, photographer Margaret Bourke-White had little money to spend on clothing. Her professional clothing consisted of one grey suit, with red accessories and blue accessories. She alternated the use of the red accessories and the blue accessories, and she kept notes of what she was wearing when she met with customers. If she had worn the red accessories the last time she had met a particular customer, she made sure to wear the blue accessories the next time she met that particular customer.
• Gertrude Stein was able to buy paintings by Picasso and other famous artists early in their careers partly because she economized on clothing. In a conversation with Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, she advised Hadley to buy clothes for durability and not for style, and to buy paintings with the money thus saved. During the conversation, Hadley had a difficult time refraining from looking at Ms. Stein's eccentric and decidedly unfashionable clothing.
• Mexican artist Diego Rivera knew what was important in life. While he was living in Paris, a fire broke out in his apartment one night as he was sleeping. Mr. Rivera ran around, gathering paintings and taking them outside to safety. Only after he had saved several paintings did he discover that he wasn't wearing any pants.
Collectors
• A man who had become rich through cheating the customers who shopped at his chain of stores spent millions to acquire works of art that he hung on his walls and gloated over. He often invited people to his mansion and asked them to point out anything that was not refined, but no one ever did. One day, the rich man invited a Buddhist monk to view his art collection. The monk said, "Your art collection is really exquisite and refined, but one thing is not in harmony with it." Surprised, the rich man asked, "What is that?" The monk replied, "You."
• An Australian artist knew that soprano Frances Alda collected art, so he booked passage on a ship he knew she was sailing on, and he set up an exhibition in the ship's lounge. The captain of the ship invited her to the art exhibition, but unfortunately for the artist Ms. Alda was knowledgeable about art. She entered the ship's lounge, glanced at the paintings on display - then uttered "Good God!" and walked out.
In 1968, Richard Harris was the first to record this song, written and composed by Jimmy Webb. A subsequent version by Waylon Jenning won a Grammy, and Donna Summer's disco arrangement hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. What is the title of this song?
"MacArthur Park" is a song written and composed by Jimmy Webb. Richard Harris was the first to record it in 1968; his version peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number four on the UK Singles Chart. "MacArthur Park" was subsequently covered by numerous artists, including a 1969 Grammy-winning version by country music singer Waylon Jennings and a number one Billboard Hot 100 disco arrangement by Donna Summer in 1978.
In 1967, producer Bones Howe had asked Webb to create a pop song with classical elements, different movements and changing time signatures. Webb delivered "MacArthur Park" to Howe with "everything he wanted", but Howe did not care for the ambitious arrangement or unorthodox lyrics and the song was rejected by the group The Association, for whom it was originally intended.
"MacArthur Park" was written and composed by Jimmy Webb in the summer and fall of 1967 as part of an intended cantata. Webb initially brought the entire cantata to The Association, but the group rejected it.
The track was recorded on December 21, 1967, at Armin Steiner's Sound Recorders in Hollywood. String, woodwind, and brass overdubs were recorded over two sessions on December 29 and 30. The musicians in the original studio recording included members of the famous "Wrecking Crew" of Los Angeles-based studio musicians who played on many of the hit records of the 1960s and 1970s. Personnel used included Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass guitar, and Tommy Tedesco and Mike Deasy on guitars, along with Webb himself on harpsichord.
Source
Dave responded:
MacArthur Park. After The Association rejected MacArthur Park, Webb didn't have any plans for the song. But at a chance meeting with Irish film actor Richard Harris, Harris expressed his interest in recording an album of pop songs. Harris wasn't really known as a singer but he had recently starred in the movie musical Camelot and sang a bit. Also, Harris was very famous which would be good for sales. Anyway a Hollywood recording session was set up with members of the Wrecking Crew, and Harris gave it a go, although he for some reason sang the lyrics as "MacArthur's Park." In due course, it was released as a single from Harris' 1968 album A Tramp Shining.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, replied:
MacArthur Park
Stephen F said:
MacArthur Park
Micki wrote:
MacArthur Park is melting in the dark, all the sweet green icing melting down. Someone left the cake out in the rain, and I don't know if I can take it, because it took so long to bake it, and I'll never have that recipe again.
The title of the song refers to an actual place, but the rest of the lyrics sound like a weird dream.
David of Moon Valley answered:
Macarthur Park (i didn't look this one up or anything, it's just one of those song nightmares that 'creeps' in at awful times, like long elevator rides or something)…jeez i Hate that song…who leaves a freakin' cake out in the rain anyway?!
Harry M. responded:
MacArthur Park
Mac Mac replied:
MacArthur Park
Deborah, the Master Gardener, wrote:
I'm going with "MacArthur Park" and if that's the right answer, I'm sure glad I didn't hear the Waylon Jennings version. I like his music well enough, but cannot imagine a countrified "…someone left the cake out in the rain…".
Cooler and quite nice. Tuesday evening I walked my neighborhood with a friend who's running for city council. It was lovely, and I caught up with a couple neighbors whose paths don't often cross with ours.
John I from Hawai`i says,
MacArthur Park
Daniel in The City answered:
MacArthur Park
Barbara, of Peppy Tech fame replied:
The answer is "MacArthur Park."
Rosemary in Columbus responded:
MacArthur Park
Dave in Tucson wrote:
Today's answer is the excruciating MacArthur Park.
DJ Useo replied:
"MacArthur Park". At'sa pretty good song. I personally think it hasn't been recorded the best yet, but perhaps soon.
I'll see if I can mash the words to some newer music.
Billy in Cypress U$A answered:
MacArthur Park
Joe ( -- Vote Blue, No Matter Who -- ) replied:
MacArthur Park I believe. or something like that anyway.
(I'm back) Yea! Welcome back - you were missed!
Roy, the retired Enemy of the People in Tyler, TX took the day off.
Kevin in Washington DC , took the day off.
Michelle in AZ took the day off.
Kenn B took the day off.
Jon L took the day off.
Ed K took the day off.
Saskplanner took the day off.
Gateway Mike took the day off.
Steve in Wonderful Sacramento, CA, took the day off.
Gary K took the day off.
Leo in Boise took the day off.
PGW. 94087 took the day off.
MarilynofTC took the day off.
George M. took the day off.
Paul of Seattle took the day off.
Peter W took the day off.
Brian S. took the day off.
Gene took the day off.
Tony K. took the day off.
Noel S. took the day off.
James of Alhambra took the day off.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Music: "In Your Hands" from the album ALL OUR DAYS
Artist: Bruce Dennis
Artist Location: Hamilton, New Zealand
Info: "Bruce is a NZ-based singer/songwriter who has played and toured with a number of Australasian and International artists. After working extensively with blues icons Midge Marsden and Sonny Day, Bruce's passion for 'roots' music coupled with his emergence as a songwriter led to him becoming an in-demand opening act for artists like US alt-country bluesmen Bo Ramsey, the Warratahs and Wayne Mason."
Price: $1 (USD) or $8 (USD) for 10-track album
Genre: Country. Country Rock. Country Blues. Singer-Songwriter.
An unseasonal marine layer rolled in and hung around most of the day.
Tonight, Thursday:
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'Young Sheldon', followed by a RERUN'The Unicorn', then a RERUN'Mom', followed by another RERUN'Mom', then a RERUN'NCIS: The Expendable One'.
Scheduled on a FRESHStephen Colbert are Ava DuVernay and Ben Folds.
On a RERUNJames Corden, OBE, (from 4/28/20) are Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, and Billie Joe Armstrong.
NBC begins the night with a RERUN'Ellen's Game Of Games', followed by a FRESH'Blindspot', then a RERUN'L&O: SVU'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Will Arnett, Michaela Coel, and H.E.R.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are Al Gore, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nikki Glaspie.
On a RERUNLilly Singh (from 12/11/19) is John Legend.
ABC starts the night with a RERUN'Holey Moley', followed by a RERUN'Don't', then a RERUN'To Tell The Truth'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel, with guest host Sean Hayes, is Jason Bateman.
The CW offers a FRESH'Killer Camp', followed by a RERUN'Masters Of Illusion', then another RERUN'Masters Of Illusion'.
Faux has a FRESH'Celebrity Watch Party', followed b a RERUN'Beat Shazam'.
MY recycles an old 'L&O: CI', followed by another old 'L&O: CI'.
A&E has 'The First 48', another 'The First 48', followed by a FRESH'The First 48', then a FRESH'Court Cam', followed by another FRESH'Court Cam'.
AMC offers the movie 'Demolition Man', followed by the movie 'White House Down', then the movie 'John Wick'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] CHIMP SANCTUARY
[7:00AM] LIFE STORY - First Steps
[8:00AM] LIFE STORY
[9:00AM] LIFE STORY
[10:00AM] LIFE STORY
[11:00AM] LIFE STORY - Courtship
[12:00PM] LIFE STORY
[1:00PM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Lion
[2:00PM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Chimpanzee (Extended Version)
[3:00PM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Tiger
[4:00PM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Painted Wolf (Extended Version)
[5:00PM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Emperor Penguins (Extended Version)
[6:00PM] PLANET EARTH: ONE AMAZING DAY
[8:00PM] SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET - The Best of Seven Worlds, One Planet
[10:00PM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Lion
[11:00PM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Chimpanzee (Extended Version)
[12:00AM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Tiger
[1:00AM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Painted Wolf (Extended Version)
[2:00AM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - Emperor Penguins (Extended Version)
[3:00AM] PLANET EARTH: DYNASTIES - The Making Of
[4:00AM] PLANET EARTH: ONE AMAZING DAY (ALL TIMES ET)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of NYC', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of NYC', then another FRESH'Real Housewives Of NYC', followed by a FRESH'Watch What Happens: Live'.
FX has the movie 'Daddy's Home 2', followed by the movie 'Blockers'.
History has 'Mountain Men', another 'Mountain Men', followed by a FRESH'Mountain Men', then a FRESH'Alone'.
IFC -
[6:00A] Life of Brian
[8:00A] Monty Python and the Holy Grail
[10:00A] Smokey and the Bandit II
[12:30P] Summer Rental
[2:30P] The Longest Yard
[5:00P] Two and a Half Men
[5:30P] Two and a Half Men
[6:00P] Two and a Half Men
[6:30P] Two and a Half Men
[7:00P] Two and a Half Men
[7:30P] Two and a Half Men
[8:00P] Two and a Half Men
[8:30P] Two and a Half Men
[9:00P] Two and a Half Men
[9:30P] Two and a Half Men
[10:00P] Two and a Half Men
[10:30P] Two and a Half Men
[11:00P] Two and a Half Men
[11:30P] Two and a Half Men
[12:00A] Two and a Half Men
[12:30A] Two and a Half Men
[1:00A] Two and a Half Men
[1:30A] Two and a Half Men
[2:00A] Two and a Half Men
[2:30A] Two and a Half Men
[3:00A] Two and a Half Men
[3:30A] Two and a Half Men
[4:00A] Two and a Half Men
[4:30A] Two and a Half Men
[5:00A] Two and a Half Men
[5:30A] Two and a Half Men (ALL TIMES ET)
Sundance -
[6:00am] law & order
[7:00am] law & order
[8:00am] law & order
[9:00am] law & order
[10:00am] law & order
[11:00am] law & order
[12:00pm] law & order
[1:00pm] law & order
[2:00pm] law & order
[3:00pm] law & order
[4:00pm] law & order
[5:00pm] a few good men
[8:00pm] rambo: first blood part ii
[10:00pm] oblivion
[1:00am] the bank job
[3:30am] oblivion (ALL TIMES ET)
SyFy has the movie 'Clash Of The Titans', followed by the movie 'The Bourne Identity'.
Dave Grohl may be known more for writing song lyrics than op-eds, but the Foo Fighters frontman penned a piece for The Atlantic Tuesday defending teachers amid the debate over whether to reopen schools as the coronavirus pandemic rages.
Grohl has a personal connection with teachers; his mother is a retired public school educator. In his piece, Grohl outlined the challenges she faced: raising children on a meager salary, working a demanding job, and educating large classes with few resources. He wrote, "over the years, I have come to notice that teachers share a special bond, because there aren't too many people who truly understand their unique challenges-challenges that go far beyond just pen and paper. Today, those challenges could mean life or death for some."
Grohl's mother provided a list of reopening-related challenges educators will face when trying to serve kids as the pandemic continues: "masks and distancing, temperature checks, crowded busing, crowded hallways, sports, air-conditioning systems, lunchrooms, public restrooms, janitorial staff."
"Most schools already struggle from a lack of resources; how could they possibly afford the mountain of safety measures that will need to be in place? And although the average age of a schoolteacher in the United States is in the early 40s, putting them in a lower-risk group, many career teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers, nurses, and janitors are older and at higher risk. Every school's working faculty is a considerable percentage of its population, and should be safeguarded appropriately," he explained.
He concluded, "Until you have spent countless days in a classroom devoting your time and energy to becoming that lifelong mentor to generations of otherwise disengaged students, you must listen to those who have. Teachers want to teach, not die, and we should support and protect them like the national treasures that they are."
When the Rolling Stones rolled out details of their upcoming Goat's Head Soup box set earlier this month, one of the most exciting elements was a previously unreleased song recorded with Jimmy Page titled "Scarlet." The package isn't coming out until September 4th, but on Wednesday, the band released the highly anticipated track.
The song was cut in October 1974 with Keith Richards and Page both handling guitar duties and Traffic's Ric Grech on bass. "My recollection is we walked in at the end of a Zeppelin session," Richards says in a statement. "They were just leaving, and we were booked in next and I believe that Jimmy decided to stay. We weren't actually cutting it as a track; it was basically for a demo, a demonstration, you know, just to get the feel of it, but it came out well, with a lineup like that, you know, we better use it.'"
In 1975, Page told Rolling Stone's Cameron Crowe that he thought the track was supposed to be a Stones B-side. "It sounded very similar in style and mood to those Blonde on Blonde tracks," Page said. "It was great; really good. We stayed up all night and went down to Island Studios where Keith put some reggae guitars over one section. I just put some solos on it, but it was eight in the morning of the next day before I did that. He took the tapes to Switzerland and someone found out about them. Keith told people that it was a track from my album."
The new edition of Goat's Head Soup also features the previously unreleased tracks "Criss Cross" and "All the Rage," along with rare demos, alternate takes and mixes, and a complete concert taped at a 1973 gig in Belgium previously released as A Brussels Affair.
Thirteen hostages in Ukraine have been released unharmed after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed to the kidnapper's demand that he recommend an animal rights documentary narrated by Joaquin Phoenix.
The hostage-taker was armed with guns and a grenade when he took over a bus, sparking a 12-hour standoff with police.
According to local reports, the state security service identified him as 44-year-old Maksym Kryvosh, an animal rights activist with a criminal record for gun possession.
In a bizarre twist, one of his demands was that Zelenskiy promote 2005 documentary Earthlings, a critique of mankind's use of animals as pets, food, clothing, entertainment and for scientific research.
The Ukrainian President did so via a six-second clip posted on the presidential Facebook page, which was subsequently deleted.
Former White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci has accused Donald Trump (R-Grifter) of covertly imploring the arrested socialite Ghislaine Maxwell not to reveal what she knows about him.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Scaramucci wrote: "She has the goods on him. He is signaling 'please don't talk.'"
Mr Scaramucci has several times tweeted in support of Epstein-related conspiracy theories, and specifically the idea that the billionaire paedophile was murdered in prison. Among the sources he has retweeted on this subject is far-right male supremacist agitator Mike Cernovich.
Mr Cernovich previously helped propagate the "Pizzagate" theory, which held that Hillary Clinton and her associates were running a child sex ring out of the basement of a Washington pizza restaurant, Comet Ping Pong. (The restaurant does not in fact have a basement.)
A Canadian court on Wednesday ruled invalid a bilateral pact that compels asylum seekers trying to enter Canada via the American border to first seek sanctuary in the United States, saying U.S. immigration detention violates their human rights.
Under the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), asylum seekers who arrive at a formal Canada-U.S. border crossing going in either direction are turned back and told to apply for asylum in the first country they arrived in.
Lawyers for refugees who had been turned away at the Canadian border challenged the pact, saying the United States does not qualify as a "safe" country under President Donald Trump.
Federal Court Judge Ann Marie McDonald ruled that the agreement was in violation of a section of Canada's Charter of Rights that says laws or state actions that interfere with life, liberty and security must conform to the principles of fundamental justice.
McDonald suspended her decision for six months to give Parliament a chance to respond. The agreement remains in place during that time.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Robert "Woody" Johnson, told multiple colleagues at the U.S. Embassy in London that President Donald Trump (R-Corrupt) had asked him to see whether the British government could help get the British Open played at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland, a former State Department official with firsthand knowledge told NBC News.
The former official said the ambassador's deputy twice told him not to make the request because it would be unethical but that Johnson raised the issue with the British official responsible for Scotland during a meeting in 2018 anyway. The former official added that it was a waste of political capital because the British government has "zero influence" on where the tournament is played, a decision that lies with the British equivalent of the PGA.
The British golf association had already decided not to host a tournament at the Trump property because of security and political concerns, the former diplomat said of the issue, which was first reported by The New York Times.
The U.S. ambassador to the U.K. is typically a political appointee with business ties. Johnson, the billionaire owner of the New York Jets football team and a scion of the Johnson & Johnson family, donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration eight months before he was nominated to the diplomatic post in 2017.
The State Department backed the ambassador without directly addressing the allegation. "Ambassador Johnson is a valued member of the team who has led Mission UK honorably and professionally. We stand by Ambassador Johnson and look forward to him continuing to ensure our special relationship with the UK is strong."
New, Non-Cuttable Material Is Virtually Indestructible
Proteus
A new material called Proteus is billed as just 15 percent the density of steel, but completely resistant to being cut through. That means cyclists around the world may be blessed with truly inviolable locks for the first time ever.
People who want to steal the outdoor furniture from restaurant patios will have to cut the furniture now instead of the cable lock. Most importantly, TV writers will have to work even harder to make it seem easy to get into a locked electrical storage or nuclear facility.
Researchers in Germany and the U.K. have teamed up to make a material they say uses harmony and vibration to thwart any attempts to cut it. "Our architecture derives its extreme hardness from the local resonance between the embedded ceramics in a flexible cellular matrix and the attacking tool, which produces high-frequency vibrations at the interface," they explain in their paper.
When an angle grinder or water jet cutter hits the ceramic microspheres in the Proteus material, the "attack" is thwarted by strong vibrations or simply dispersal of the stream of water. "The angle grinder achieved only a partial incision and subsequently experienced high wear," the scientists explain, meaning the angle grinder wore out and dulled before it did meaningful damage.
In a world of bland hexagonal honeycombs, a small group of rebellious Australian bees has chosen to build spiral staircases.
Meet the bees of the genus Tetragonula. These Aussie pollinators have no stingers, but make up for their defensive deficiencies by building mesmerizing fortresses of wax whose beauty has long captivated the Internet.
These spiral structures are actually giant, swirly nests called "brood combs." Each little circular cell is an egg chamber, built by a wax-secreting worker bee, provisioned with regurgitated food by a nurse bee, then filled with an egg by the queen herself. When one cell is done, workers move on to the next one, building outward and upward in a spiral pattern that can sometimes reach 20 stories tall, Tim Heard, an entomologist with The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia, previously told Live Science.
So, how did the Tetragonula bees become the Frank Lloyd Wrights of the insect world? Does each colony employ its own master architect, charged with guiding his comb's construction - or does each worker bee merely follow an unconscious set of individually-encoded building rules? According to a study published today (July 22) in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, the answer could lie in crystals.
"These combs follow the same basic rules that cause crystals to grow up in a spiral pattern," study co-author Julyan Cartwright, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) who studies mathematical patterns in nature, told Live Science. "Each bee is basically following an algorithm."
You have reached the Home page of BartCop Entertainment.
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?
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
