Garrison Keillor: Thoughts from the back row of the memorial
I learned a new word last week: "anonymized." It means just what it says, "made anonymous," and was used in reference to government reports obtained by the Washington Post that contained truthful revelations about our 18-year war in Afghanistan that the government was lying to the American people about while spending a trillion dollars to achieve something that nobody in the Pentagon could quite define.
Steve Rose: "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review - death is not the end in new trilogy's laborious exit" (The Guardian)
The big questions get answered, but cannot be discussed further, for the time being. Let's just say some old Star Wars traditions die hard. As do old Star Warscharacters. There are so many returning old faces in this movie, you start to wonder if anyone ever actually dies and stays dead in this far-away galaxy. But if you're going to do a send-off this huge, there are a lot of goodbyes to say, and a lot of loose ends to tie up. The fact that The Rise of Skywalker manages most of them and within a vaguely coherent story is something of an achievement in itself.
Pauline Esther "Popo" Phillips (née Friedman) and her identical twin sister Esther Pauline "Eppie" Lederer (née Friedman) were two of the most widely syndicated newspaper columnists in the world at one time. By what names are they better known?
Three Dog Night is an American rock band. They formed in 1967 with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sneed (drums). The band registered 21 Billboard Top 40 hits (with three hitting number one) between 1969 and 1975. Because Three Dog Night recorded many songs written by outside songwriters, they helped introduce mainstream audiences to writers such as Paul Williams ("An Old Fashioned Love Song") and Hoyt Axton ("Joy to the World").
The official commentary included in the CD set Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story, 1964-1975 states that vocalist Danny Hutton's girlfriend, actress June Fairchild (best known as the "Ajax Lady" from the Cheech and Chong movie Up In Smoke) suggested the name after reading a magazine article about indigenous Australians, in which it was explained that on cold nights they would customarily sleep in a hole in the ground while embracing a dingo, a native species of wild dog. On colder nights they would sleep with two dogs and, if the night were freezing, it was a "three dog night".
Source
Randall was first, and correct, with:
Three Dog Night
Mark. said:
Three Dog Night.
Micki wrote:
Three Dog Night.
Alan J answered:
Three Dog Night.
mj replied:
They did bring some joy to the world
Three Dog Night.
Jon L responded:
That would have to be 3 Dog Night.
Dave wrote:
Three Dog Night. That one I knew.
If you happen to be in Helena, Montana on Dec. 28th you could see the current lineup of Three Dog Night in concert.
Dave in Tucson wrote:
The answer is Three Dog Night.
Deborah said:
Oh, I have no idea…Duran Duran?
Daniel in The City answered:
I'm gonna guess Three Dog Night
Michelle in AZ responded:
3 Dog Night
Billy in Cypress U$A wrote:
I do not have a clue to the answer today, but I will be glad to learn what it is tomorrow.
Mac Mac said:
3 Dog Night
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• Ray Romano was happy when his TV sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond premiered. His wife, Anna, was in New York, and Ray was in Los Angeles. Ray decided to celebrate with a friend named Kevin James in Las Vegas, and he telephoned Anna to tell her, "Hey, my show aired last night. You know what? Millions and millions of people saw me on TV." Ray admits that at the time, "I'm just goofing around with this bravado." He then added in his conversation with Anna, "OK? So that's why I'm doing what I'm doing, 'cause I am a TV STAR." She told him, "You're still the d**k I married." Ray laughs and says, "That's good for me. There's somebody in my life you get the truth from." By the way, when the producer of The Late Show with David Letterman telephoned him to express interest in developing a TV sitcom around him - the sitcom that became Everybody Loves Raymond - the producer said, "Just want you to know we're interested. Don't sign with anybody else because we're interested." Ray replied, "There IS nobody else."
• The Bob Newhart Show is a much-beloved TV sitcom featuring Mr. Newhart as psychologist Bob Hartley and Suzanne Pleshette as Emily, his wife, a schoolteacher. In the sitcom, Bob and Emily are childless because Mr. Newhart did not want a show where the children use big words and are much more intelligent than their lovable but bumbling father. However, for the 6th season of the show, Mr. Newhart read a script in which Emily announced that she was pregnant. When he was asked what he thought about the script, he replied, "I think it's a very funny script - who are you going to get to play the part of Bob?"
• Performers in television need to make their marks; that is, they need to stand in certain spots so that the camera operators can properly do their jobs. However, some performers in the days of live television declined to worry about making their marks. For example, comedian Jackie Gleason moved where the spirit moved him. When a camera operator complained, Mr. Gleason told him, "Well, pal, since I'm the star of this show, and your camera has wheels, just who in the h*ll do you think is going to move their *ss?"
• Tommy Smothers, one of the two famous Smothers Brothers, was a genius at overcoming censorship. Back when satirist Pat Paulsen was running for President, network censors were very nervous about what Mr. Paulsen might do and say. As a producer, Tommy made Mr. Paulsen fidget during tapings, thus accomplishing two things: 1) making Paulsen the politician appear shifty, and 2) making editing the tapes impossible because of the technological limitations of the 1960s.
• Groucho Marx could be cynical about such things as politicians and marriage, but when satirist Paul Krassner asked him what gave him hope, Groucho answered, "People." Of course, Groucho met many people as the host of You Bet Your Life, and his favorite contestant was an elderly gentleman who was happy. Groucho asked what made him happy, and the elderly gentleman replied, "Every morning I get up, and I make a choice to be happy that day."
• Comedian Martin Short has created many characters, including his favorite, talk-show host Jackie Rogers, Jr., whom he created when he was just a kid. Often, he would perform a variety show with Mr. Rogers as host. The venue was his family's attic, and the audience was a tape recorder. Mr. Short says, "In my mind, I would see this show airing on NBC-TV at 8:30 on Thursday nights. But it was only every other week because I was far too hip for weekly TV."
Was Lumpy trying out a new shade of orange in Michigan?
Tonight, Thursday:
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'Young Sheldon', followed by a RERUN'The Unicorn', then a RERUN'Mom', followed by a RERUN'Carol's Second Act', then a RERUN'Evil'.
Scheduled on a FRESHStephen Colbert are Jennifer Hudson, Jonathan Pryce, and Sharon Van Etten featuring Norah Jones.
Scheduled on a FRESHJames Corden, OBE, are Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo, Francesca Hayward, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tom Hooper.
NBC begins the night with the FRESH, but atavistic, 'The 2020 Miss America Competition', followed by a RERUN'Gwen Stefani's You Make It Feel Like Christmas'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Kate McKinnon, Noah Baumbach, and Dua Lipa.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are John Lithgow and Ana Gasteyer.
Scheduled on a FRESHLilly Singh is Charlize Theron.
ABC starts the night with the FRESH infomercial 'Disney's Prep & Landing', followed by another infomercial 'Disney's Prep & Landing: Naughty Vs. Nice', then a FRESH'The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Margot Robbie, Gov. John Kasich, and White Reaper.
The CW offers the FRESH'iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2019', followed by a RERUN'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'.
Faux has a RERUN'Last Man Standing', followed by a RERUN'Prodigal Son'.
MY recycles an old 'L&O: CI', followed by another old 'L&O: CI'.
A&E has 'Live PD Presents: PD Cam', another 'Live PD Presents: PD Cam', followed by a FRESH'Live PD Presents: PD Cam', then a FRESH'Court Cam', followed by another FRESH'Court Cam', then a FRESH'Live PD: Wanted'.
AMC offers the movie 'Elf', followed by the movie 'Four Christmases', then the movie 'Love The Coopers'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 5 - EPISODE 20-Cost of Living
[7:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - SEASON 5 - EPISODE 21-The Perfect Mate
[8:00AM] STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)
[10:30AM] STAR TREK: GENERATIONS (1994)
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996)
[3:30PM] STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)
[5:30PM] STAR TREK: NEMESIS (2002)
[8:00PM] STAR TREK (2009)
[10:45PM] STAR TREK (2009)
[1:30AM] STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)
[3:30AM] STAR TREK: NEMESIS (2002) (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of OC', 'Project Runway', followed by a FRESH'Project Runway', then a FRESH'Watch What Happens Live'.
FX has the movie 'Deadpool', followed by the FRESH made-for-cable 'FXs A Christmas Carol'.
History has 'Forged In Fire', followed by a FRESH'Forged In Fire: The 12 Cuts Of Christmas'.
IFC -
[6:00A] Dark Skies
[8:00A] Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
[10:00A] Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
[12:15P] Halloween
[2:15P] Gremlins
[4:45P] Ernest Saves Christmas
[6:45P] Tommy Boy
[9:00P] The Year Without a Santa Claus
[10:15P] Rudolph's Shiny New Year
[11:30P] Frosty's Winter Wonderland
[12:00A] The Year Without a Santa Claus
[1:15A] Rudolph's Shiny New Year
[2:30A] Frosty's Winter Wonderland
[3:00A] Coach Carter (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00am] M*A*S*H
[6:30am] M*A*S*H
[7:00am] M*A*S*H
[7:30am] M*A*S*H
[8:00am] M*A*S*H
[8:30am] M*A*S*H
[9:00am] M*A*S*H
[9:30am] M*A*S*H
[10:00am] Mad Max
[12:00pm] Braveheart
[4:00pm] Law & Order
[5:00pm] Law & Order
[6:00pm] Law & Order
[7:00pm] Law & Order
[8:00pm] Law & Order
[9:00pm] Law & Order
[10:00pm] Law & Order
[11:00pm] Law & Order
[12:00am] Law & Order
[1:00am] Pulp Fiction
[4:00am] Hap and Leonard: The Two-Bear Mambo - T-Bone Mambo
[5:00am] Hap and Leonard: The Two-Bear Mambo - Senorita Mambo (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'xXx: Return Of Xander Cage', followed by the movie 'Star Trek Beyond', then the movie 'The Last Witch Hunter'.
Wakanda's free trade agreement with the United States wasn't forever.
Until Wednesday afternoon, the fictional country from the popular 2018 Marvel superhero movie "Black Panther" was listed as a free trade agreement partner of the United States on the Agricultural Tariff Tracker maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.
Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru are still listed.
The USDA said they had used Wakanda when testing the system behind the tracker and had forgotten to remove Black Panther's home country.
There were hundreds of data inputs for Wakanda, a nation that first appeared in the July 1966 Marvel comic Fantastic Four #52. Different commodity groups offered on drop-down menus range from fresh vegetables and unroasted coffee beans to essential oils and livestock.
More than 700 American historians have called for the impeachment and removal of Donald Trump.
"We are American historians devoted to studying our nation's past," began an open letter posted to Medium, "who have concluded that Donald J Trump has violated his oath to 'faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States' and to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States'."
Brenda Wineapple, author of The Impeachers, about the Johnson trial, signed the open letter, as did Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland, and Sidney Blumenthal, a former Clinton aide and author of The Clinton Wars and so far three volumes of a five-volume life of Abraham Lincoln.
"President Trump's numerous and flagrant abuses of power are precisely what the framers had in mind as grounds for impeaching and removing a president," the historians wrote.
Among other signatories who cited revolutionary authorities including George Mason and Alexander Hamilton were Ron Chernow, Pulitzer prize-winning author of biographies of Hamilton, George Washington and Ulysses S Grant; Eric Foner, the author of seminal works on slavery; David Blight, author of a Pulitzer prize-winning life of Frederick Douglass; and Erica Armstrong Dunbar, author of Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge and She Came to Slay, a new biography of Harriet Tubman.
"Collectively," the historians wrote, "the president's offences, including his dereliction in protecting the integrity of the 2020 election from Russian disinformation and renewed interference, arouse once again the framers' most profound fears that powerful members of government would become, in Hamilton's words, 'the mercenary instruments of foreign corruption'."
Singer R. Kelly on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to bribing an official to get a fake identification document for singer Aaliyah, then 15, the day before he married her, the latest charge in a criminal case accusing him of running a years-long scheme to recruit underage girls for sex.
Kelly, known for such hits as "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Bump N' Grind," entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn federal court by video conference from Illinois, where he is currently jailed.
The 52-year-old R&B singer, whose full name is Robert Kelly, was arrested on separate sets of charges brought by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and Chicago, and pleaded not guilty. The allegation involving Aaliyah, who died 18 years ago, was added in a superseding indictment in Brooklyn on Dec. 5.
Prosecutors said that on Aug. 30, 1994, Kelly caused another person to offer a bribe to a government official to create a fake ID for a person identified by the pseudonym "Jane Doe #1." The person is Aaliyah, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Kelly, then 27, married Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Haughton, the following day. The marriage was annulled in 1995. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in 2001.
Archaeologists have discovered two iron ship anchors off Mexico's Gulf Coast that they say date back 500 years and could have belonged to Spaniard Hernan Cortes' fleet, which landed in 1519 before overthrowing the Aztec empire.
The anchors, found on the ocean floor near the former Spanish settlement of Villa Rica in southeastern Veracruz state, are well preserved and resemble those made in the 1500s, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said on Monday.
Their discovery, along with an anchor believed to be from the 15th century that was found last year, has reassured archaeologists that they are on track to find more artifacts documenting the European invasion of Mexico.
They have identified 15 other sites that may also turn up anchors, which could help pinpoint the spot where other Spanish galleons under Cortes' command might have sunk and increase the odds of finding wooden hulls and other remnants.
Cortes famously burnt the first ships he and his crew used to sail to Mexico, forcing his small army of treasure-hunters to march inland.
Mexican officials concerned about the health of Mexican asylum seekers including around 200 young children sleeping in the open near the U.S. border in Ciudad Juarez tried to move people to shelters on Wednesday, as temperatures dropped below freezing.
In recent months, Ciudad Juarez has seen a rapid increase in Mexicans seeking to apply for asylum in the United States, leading to a backlog in the city as U.S. border officials limit the number of asylum cases they receive at the port of entry each day.
A waiting list contains about 1,200 people, of which about 550 are staying in camps near the bridge to the United States, the Chihuahua state government said. Nearly half of those in the camps are children under the age of 12.
Weather forecasts predict freezing temperatures in the Ciudad Juarez-El Paso area through the weekend.
Policies under U.S. President Donald Trump (R-Demented) aimed at reducing the number of new arrivals in the United States have led to tens of thousands of mainly Central American asylum seekers living for months in Mexico as they await U.S. court dates or interviews with border officials.
After the sudden death of their daughter last week, one family has taken the unusual step of enlisting others at a California megachurch to attempt to bring the child back to life.
Since Saturday, members of Bethel Church in Redding, have been using prayer, music and singing in the effort.
Andrew and Kalley Heiligenthal's 2-year-old daughter, Olive Alayne, died early Friday morning after she stopped breathing. One Instagram post about Olive had more than a quarter-million views within six hours Tuesday.
On Saturday, the child's parents asked that "friends, family, and others from the church gather to pray for a miracle of resurrection (the basis for which is modeled by Jesus in the New Testament of the Bible)," Bethel Church leaders said in a statement Tuesday.
"Bethel Church believes in the stories of healing and physical resurrection found in the Bible (Matthew 10:8), and that the miracles they portray are possible today," the statement said.
A $2.2 billion industry to help people lose weight through artificial sweeteners may be contributing to type 2 diabetes, according to researchers from the University of South Australia.
A recently published review led by UniSA Professor Peter Clifton reveals that people who use low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) are more likely to gain weight, the exact opposite of what consumers expect.
There has been a 200 per cent increase in LCS usage among children and a 54 per cent increase among adults in the past 20 years, Prof Clifton says.
Low calorie sweeteners are used in place of sucrose, glucose and fructose. They have an intense sweet flavour without the calories, but recent studies have highlighted potential adverse health effects.
Prof Clifton says a US study of 5158 adults over a seven-year period found that those who consumed large quantities of artificial sweeteners gained more weight than non-users.
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