zEN mAN (observing famed country music singer Randy Travis ("3 Wooden Crosses"...."Forever and Ever Amen"...."On the Other Hand"...was arrested for DUI after crashing his Pontiac Trans Am into a tree....when the police found him laying in the middle of the road he was both belligerent ...and naked ....OH MY!)
Suw Charman-Anderson: "Mark Coker: Make Yourself Findable" (Forbes)
So marketing is important, but not as important as authors think. If you're getting ready to release your book and you have $3,000 burning a hole in your pocket, and you can either invest that in a marketing campaign or editing, I'd say invest it in editing. It's all about writing a book that sells itself.
Mark Coker: The Future of Ebook Publishing at RWA (Romance Writers of America) 2012 (Smashwords)
The indie movement has gone mainstream with romance authors, and it's transforming the lives of writers for the better. I left the conference with firm conviction that the future of book publishing is brighter than ever for those authors who place themselves on the right side of history. Authors who delay their embrace of indie publishing will find themselves sidelined by those who have already seen the light.
Henry Rollins: In a Rut (LA Weekly)
A few Saturdays ago, I paid tribute on my radio show to a band called The Ruts. The band's vocalist, Malcolm Owen, died of a heroin overdose on July 14, 1980, at age 26. Since the anniversary happened to land on Saturday, when my show airs, I decided that lots of Ruts songs were in order.
Alexis Petridis: What a bunch of pirates did for the arts in Britain (Guardian)
Pirate radio is an essential part of British musical history, but you never hear much about its televisual cousin. Pirate TV stations were harder to set up, and their content harder to provide. Furthermore, they belong to the past: even before the digital switchover, there was no need for pirate TV in a world where YouTube had turned everyone into a potential broadcaster.
Roger Ebert: A few calm words about The List
The king is dead. Long live the king. Welles' "Citizen Kane" has been dethroned from the Sight & Sound list of the greatest films of all time, and replaced by Hitchcock's "Vertigo." It's not as if nobody saw this coming. The list first appeared in 1952, and "Vertigo" (1958) made the list for the first time only in 1982. Climbing slowly, it placed five votes behind "Kane" in 2002. Although many moviegoers would probably rank "Psycho" or maybe "North by Northwest" as Hitch's best, for S&S types his film to beat was "Notorious" (1947).
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
The Maneki-neko (literally "Beckoning Cat"; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money Cat, or Fortune Cat) is a common Japanese figurine (lucky charm, talisman), usually made of ceramic, which is believed to bring good luck to the owner. The figurine depicts a cat (traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail) beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed-many times at the entrance-in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, and other businesses. Some of the sculptures are electric or battery-powered and have a slow-moving paw beckoning.
Due to its popular presence within Chinese communities it is frequently mistaken for being Chinese in origin rather than Japanese and is mistakenly referred to as a Chinese Lucky Cat or j?nm?o (Golden Cat).
Source
Charlie was first, and correct, with:
Cat
Alan J responded:
Cat
DanD wrote:
Well, I spent almost three years in Okinawa Japan at Kadena Air Base
back in the 70s, and in that I did try (at least for a while) to learn
the language, I do remember "neko" as being the word for "cat." Now,
what "maneki" stands for I can't rightly remember so
(googlegooglegoogle) ah yes, a beckoning or welcoming cat ... or in
other words, just a slight precursor to "Hello-Kitty!"
Jim from CA, retired to ID, replied:
The Maneki-neko, literally "Beckoning Cat"; also known as Welcoming Cat,
Lucky Cat, Money Cat, or Fortune Cat) is a common Japanese figurine (lucky
charm, talisman), usually made of ceramic, which is believed to bring good
luck to the owner.
John I from Hawai`i says,
"A Cat!"
Sally said:
The Maneki-neko is a Japanese lucky charm in the cat form with one paw raised.
"Blackie" is not impressed by the Tchotchke...
PS: According to "DRUDGE," who denies Global Warming with a vengeance, this July was the warmest on record - since the records were kept. I knew that - groan...
Dale of Diamond Springs answered:
Straight out of wiki: The Maneki-neko (literally "Beckoning Cat"; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money Cat, or Fortune Cat) is a common Japanese figurine (lucky charm, talisman), usually made of ceramic , which is believed to bring good luck to the owner.
Adam took the day off.
Marian took the day off.
BttbBob is communing with nature.
MAM wrote:
Cat ~ literally "Beckoning Cat"; also known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money Cat, or Fortune Cat.
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'Big Bang Theory', followed by a RERUN'2½ Men', then a FRESH'Big Brother', followed by a RERUN'Person Of Interest'.
On a RERUNDave (from 7/9/12) are Ray Romano and Tom Waits.
On a RERUNCraig (from 5/29/12) are D.J. Qualls and Wolfgang Puck.
ABC starts the night with a RERUN'Wipeout', followed by a FRESH'Wipeout', then a FRESH'Rookie Blue'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 7/24/12) are Jeremy Renner, Aaron Paul, and Nas.
The CW offers a RERUN'The Vampire Diaries', followed by a RERUN'The LA Complex'.
Faux has a RERUN'Raising Hope', followed by another RERUN'Raising Hope', then a RERUN'Glee'.
MY recycles an old 'Without A Trace', followed by another old 'Without A Trace'.
A&E has 'The First 48', another 'The First 48', followed by a FRESH'The First 48', then a FRESH'Cajun Justice', followed by another FRESH'Cajun Justice'.
AMC offers the movie 'Geronimo: An American Legend', followed by the movie 'The Last of the Mohicans', then the movie 'Hidalgo'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[7:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[8:00AM] THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW - SEASON 8-Ep 15 - Sigourney Weaver, Brian Cox, Sandi Toksvig, Sugarland
[9:00AM] THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW - SEASON 11-Ep 13 - Season 11 Compilation
[10:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 5-Ep 7 - Amy's Choice
[11:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 5-Ep 8 - The Hungry Earth
[12:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - SEASON 4-Ep 4 - Davide
[1:00PM] THE BRIT LIST: 20 COOLEST
[2:00PM] THE BRIT LIST: 20 BADDEST
[3:00PM] THE BRIT LIST: 20 SEXIEST
[4:00PM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 4-Ep 11 - Turn Left
[5:00PM] BATTLESTAR GALACTICA-Ep 5 - The Ties That Bind
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 4-Ep 23 - The Host
[7:00PM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 13-Episode 5
[8:00PM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 4-Episode 2
[9:00PM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 8-Episode 2
[10:00PM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 17-Episode 5
[11:00PM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 2-Episode 9
[12:00AM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 8-Episode 2
[1:00AM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 17-Episode 5
[2:00AM] TOP GEAR - SEASON 2-Episode 9
[3:00AM] RICHARD HAMMOND'S CRASH COURSE - SEASON 1-Ep 6 - Salvage Yard
[4:00AM] RICHARD HAMMOND'S CRASH COURSE - SEASON 1-Ep 5 - Demolition
[5:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of NYC', another 'Real Housewives Of NYC', then still another 'Real House Of NYC', and 'Watch What Happens Live'.
Comedy Central has last night's 'Colbert Report', last night's 'Jon Stewart', 'Chappelle's Show', 'South Park', another 'South Park', and 'The Comedy Central Roast Of Charlie Sheen'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJon Stewart is Joanna Brooks.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report is Woody Harrelson.
FX has '2½ Men', another '2½ Men', still another '2½ Men', yet another '2½ Men', 'Anger Management', followed by a FRESH'Anger Management', then a FRESH'Wilfred', then a FRESH'Louie', followed by a FRESH'BrandX With Russell Brand'.
History has 'Ancient Aliens', 'Pawn Stars', another 'Pawn Stars', still another 'Pawn Stars', yet another 'Pawn Stars', followed by a FRESH'Great Lake Warriors'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] Beautiful Girls
[8:30AM] Bride & Prejudice
[11:00AM] Comedy Bang! Bang!-Adam Scott Wears a Red Oxford Shirt & Jeans
[11:30AM] Bunk
[12:00PM] Widows' Peak
[2:15PM] Beautiful Girls
[4:45PM] The Three Stooges-Gypped in the Penthouse
[5:10PM] The Three Stooges-He Cooked His Goose
[5:35PM] The Three Stooges-Hot Ice
[6:00PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Reese's Job
[6:30PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Lois' Makeover
[7:00PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Company Picnic
[7:30PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Company Picnic
[8:00PM] The Devil's Rejects
[10:15PM] Saw II
[12:15AM] The Devil's Rejects
[2:30AM] Saw II
[4:30AM] Onion News Network-Real America
[5:00AM] Mr. Show With Bob and David-Now, Who Wants Ice Cream
[5:35AM] The Three Stooges-He Cooked His Goose (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:00A] Love Lust & Chocolate
[7:00A] Prodigal Sons
[8:30A] MAN SHOPS GLOBE - Australia (Episode 3, Season 2)
[9:00A] Paris
[11:10A] Freezing
[12:45P] Prodigal Sons
[2:15P] Paris
[4:30P] Freezing
[6:00P] Love Lust & Holiday Feasts
[7:00P] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - So-Called Angels (Episode 15, Season 1)
[8:00P] Looking for Eric
[10:00P] Uncertainty
[11:50P] French Roast
[12:00A] Cadaver
[2:00A] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - So-Called Angels (Episode 15, Season 1)
[3:00A] Last Stop 174
[5:00A] Love Lust & Chocolate (ALL TIMES EDT)
Musician Mick Jagger, left, and Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games attend an evening session of athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012.
Photo by Matt Slocum
A Moscow judge wrapped up the trial of three feminist punk rockers on Wednesday and said she would issue a verdict in the controversial case next week.
Prosecutors have called for three-year prison sentences for the Pussy Riot band members, who have already been in custody for five months after giving an impromptu performance in Moscow's main cathedral to call for an end to Vladimir Putin's rule.
The three women - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23; Maria Alekhina, 24; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 - high-kicked and danced as they belted out their "punk prayer" in Christ the Savior Cathedral in February.
They were charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
The trial has been seen as part of the widening government crackdown on dissent that followed Putin's election in March to a third presidential term.
Feminist punk group Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova sits in a glass cage at a court in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. Prosecutors on Tuesday called for three-year prison sentences for feminist punk rockers who gave an impromptu performance in Moscow's main cathedral to call for an end to Vladimir Putin's rule, in a case that has caused international outrage and split Russian society.
Photo by Misha Japaridze
In honor of what would have been Julia Child's100th birthday, it will be a week of "Bon Appetit" at restaurants nationwide.
From Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., to New York's Union Square Cafe, restaurants are serving up dishes through Aug. 15 based on recipes by the famous cookbook author and television personality. Child, born Aug. 15, 1912, died in 2004 just before her 92nd birthday.
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Wednesday that the menus were chosen by a panel of "culinary luminaries" that was chaired by Child's longtime editor, Judith Jones.
Recording label EMI Classics said Tuesday it is releasing a compilation of classical music that inspired the author of the erotic "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy.
In a statement, it said the 15-track album of pieces referenced in EL James' best-sellers will be available in North America digitally from August 21 and in CD format on September 18.
"I am thrilled that the classical pieces that inspired me while I wrote the 'Fifty Shades' trilogy are being brought together in one collection for all lovers of the books to enjoy," said James in the EMI statement.
EMI said the books' references to classical music have spurred sales of such otherwise little-known pieces as "Spem in Alium," a 16th-century motet for 40 choral voices by the English composer Thomas Tallis.
Other tracks -- drawn from EMI's rich back catalog -- will include "Flower Duet" from Lakme, Pachelbel's "Canon" in D and the aria from Bach's "Goldberg Variations."
South African jazz singer Judith Sephuma, left, invites U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to dance with her to African music at a gala dinner hosted by South Africa's Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, not pictured at the Sefako M. Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012.
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin
British actor Bob Hoskins says he is retiring after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
In a statement released Wednesday through his agent, the 69-year-old performer thanked his fans and said he had had a "wonderful career."
The statement said Hoskins was diagnosed with the degenerative nerve condition last fall.
The London actor - a specialist in tough guys with a tender streak - starred in British classics including "The Long Good Friday" and "Mona Lisa" as well as the Hollywood hit "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
Randy Travis is accused of driving while intoxicated and threatening to kill state troopers after the country singer crashed his car and was found naked and combative at the scene.
A mug shot released on Wednesday by the Grayson County Sheriff's Office shows a battered-looking Travis in a T-shirt, with a black eye and dried blood on his face. He later walked barefoot out of the county jail wearing scrubs and a University of Texas ball cap.
The sheriff's office in Grayson County, located in far North Texas along the border with Oklahoma, received a 911 call at 11:18 p.m. Tuesday about a man seen lying in a road west of Tioga, where the entertainer lives.
Texas troopers responding to the scene said a Pontiac Trans Am registered to the 53-year-old Travis had been driven off the road and struck several barricades in a construction road.
Travis was not wearing clothes at the time of his arrest and made threats against the Texas troopers, said Tom Vinger, a Department of Public Safety spokesman. He said the singer refused sobriety tests, so a blood specimen was taken.
In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama works at her studio, filled with wall-sized paintings throbbing with her repetitive dots, in Tokyo. Kusama's signature splash of dots has now arrived in the realm of fashion in a new collection from French luxury brand Louis Vuitton - bags, sunglasses, shoes and coats. The latest Kusama collection is showcased at its boutiques around the world, including New York, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore, sometimes with replica dolls of Kusama.
Photo by Itsuo Inouye
Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries -- Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found.
In 2007, health spending was $7,290 per person in the United States, more than double that of any other country in the survey.
Australians spent $3,357, Canadians $3,895, Germans $3,588, the Netherlands $3,837 and Britons spent $2,992 per capita on health in 2007. New Zealand spent the least at $2,454.
This is a big rise from the Fund's last similar survey, in 2007, which found Americans spent $6,697 per capita on healthcare in 2005, or 16 percent of gross domestic product.
A D.C. police captain who was demoted after actor Charlie Sheen received a police escort to his comedy show has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the department.
Hilton Burton claims he was punished for telling the D.C. Council that police escorts for celebrities were a common practice, putting him at odds with Police Chief Cathy Lanier. The chief said Sheen's escort last year broke police protocol and that such escorts were generally reserved for government officials.
Lanier has said the demotion was not connected to the escort or to Burton's remarks and was instead a reflection of his performance. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Burton was later transferred out of the special operations division, which he led, and demoted two ranks from commander to captain. He remains with the police department but is detailed to the fire department, where he's involved in internal affairs investigation.
School children dressed as Hindu Lord Krishna take part in a function held ahead of "Janamashtmi" celebrations in the southern Indian city of Chennai, August 8, 2012. Janamashtmi is the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna which will be celebrated on August 10.
Photo by Babu
A federal judge has denied reggae singer Buju Banton's request for a new trial, saying there's no need because of a previous appeals court ruling.
In June, the federal appeals court upheld the Jamaican singer's 2011 conviction on cocaine conspiracy and trafficking charges. The three-judge panel also sided with a jury's conviction of Banton on a gun possession charge, which the trial judge tossed at his sentencing.
The appeals court rules that there was sufficient evidence to convict the singer, whose real name is Mark Myrie, on the gun charge.
Banton is serving a 10-year prison sentence. The gun charge carries an additional five-year sentence.
Police were called to a Costco store in a Los Angeles suburb after comedian Joan Rivers handcuffed herself to a shopping cart to protest the store, which is not selling her latest book.
The 79-year-old "Fashion Police" host was being filmed by a camera crew Tuesday as she complained that the store in Burbank, Calif., had refused to carry her book, "I Hate Everything... Starting With Me."
Burbank city spokesman Drew Sugars says the store manager called police, who sent officers to the scene because they were uncertain of the scale of the situation.
They ended up escorting Rivers from the store, and she and her crew left without incident.
Vietnamese performers wear the traditional 'ao dai' dress while dancing with hats during a cultural exchange night to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Government Guesthouse in Hanoi August 8, 2012.
Photo by Kham
The Monkees will perform their first live shows since star Davy Jones died in February.
Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork announced Wednesday that the group will launch a 12-date U.S. tour in November. It's the band's first tour since 1997.
The tour kicks off Nov. 8 in Escondido, Calif. It wraps on Dec. 2 in New York. It will highlight Jones "in the show's multimedia content."
Britain's Ashmolean Museum says it has raised almost 8 million pounds ($12.5 million) to buy an Edouard Manet masterpiece and keep it on public display.
"Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus" was sold to a private foreign buyer last year, but the British government blocked the sale under rules that allow public institutions the chance to buy works "of outstanding cultural importance" at knock-down prices.
The Oxford-based museum said it had raised 7.83 million pounds, enough to buy the painting. Most of the money came from lottery proceeds earmarked for cultural projects, with 1 million pounds from individual and institutional donations.
The portrait by the French Impressionist master has been in Britain since the artist's death in 1884.
Dozens of flower growers, known as Silleteros, carry decorative garlands of flowers during the parade in Medellin August 7, 2012.
Photo by Albeiro Lopera
It's the latest prescription for extreme ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who shun contact with the opposite sex: Glasses that blur their vision, so they don't have to see women they consider to be immodestly dressed.
In an effort to maintain their strictly devout lifestyle, the ultra-Orthodox have separated the sexes on buses, sidewalks and other public spaces in their neighbourhoods. Their interpretation of Jewish law forbids contact between men and women who are not married.
The ultra-Orthodox community's unofficial "modesty patrols" are selling glasses with special blur-inducing stickers on their lenses. The glasses provide clear vision for up to a few meters so as not to impede movement, but anything beyond that gets blurry - including women. It's not known how many have been sold.
For men forced to venture outside their insular communities, hoods and shields that block peripheral vision are also being offered.
Cast aside all fantasies of your house cat frolicking through flower-filled fields in the afternoon sun. When kitty scratches at the door begging to go outside, it's the killing hour.
USA Today reports that a study of outdoor feline behavior found that cats kill far more prey than previously believed. Research compiled by the University of Georgia found that 30 percent of roaming house cats kill an average of two animals per week.
"The previous estimates were probably too conservative because they didn't include the animals that cats ate or left behind," University of Georgia researcher Kerrie Anne Loyd says.
Teaming up with National Geographic (creators of the Crittercam) for the study, 60 volunteers attached the so-called kittycams to breakaway collars that were placed around the necks of the cats. Each day, the previous evening's activities were downloaded and sent to the university research team.
The university study found that cats ate about 30 percent of their kills, brought home another 25 percent and left 49 percent of their prey to simply decay.
A bird walks under a bridge on the Han River where green algae is seen in central Seoul August 8, 2012. Yonhap reported on Wednesday that cases of green algae have been rising at an alarming rate since late June, and the Seoul city government is contemplating issuing an algae alert after finding that the green tides have even spread to the upper streams of the Han River, the source of drinking water for the capital city. Since the sweltering heat began after a rainy season that was shorter than the year before, the cumulative rainfall in the country from July 21 to Monday totaled 7.6 millimeters, a mere 5.9 percent of the previous year's 128.8 mm, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Yonhap reported.
Photo by Kim Hong-Ji
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.
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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 hypocrites?
Just plain vile, filthy rumors?
wrote:
answered:
