Let It Snow
Google has installed another Easter egg, except this one's more appropriate at Christmas than Easter. Go to Google search and type in Let It Snow, and watch your wish come true!
Go to Google Maps.
Click on 'Get directions.' Click on the pedestrian. Type 'the shire' in box A and 'mordor' in box B. Click on the blue 'get directions' button.
Two Lesbians Raised A Baby And This Is What They Got (YouTube)
Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student spoke about the strength of his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Wahls has two mothers, and came to oppose House Joint Resolution 6 which would end civil unions in Iowa. The fight to keep marriage equality in Iowa continues, help us support Iowans like Zach.
Hector Tobar: Immigrants' road has grown longer and rougher (LA Times)
A columnist returns to the East Hollywood apartment where his parents settled after arriving from Guatemala in 1962. Over the years, each wave of newcomers who followed them into that building found a little less opportunity.
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 kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi in many parts of the world, is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia.
Also known as the Chinese gooseberry, the fruit was renamed for export marketing reasons in the 1950s; briefly to melonette, and then later by New Zealand exporters to kiwifruit.
Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
Kiwi
Jim from Ca, retired to ID, wrote:
The kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi
Adam answered:
Kiwifruit...mmmmm....
John I from Hawaii says,
Kiwi fruit.
Charlie responded:
Kiwifruit
Dale of Diamond Springs replied:
Happy Holidays
Kiwifruit. Easy one.
Kiwifruit tree with Blossom Real Kiwifruit One Source of Kiwifruit
Sally said:
HAPPY HANUKKAH!!
Kiwi fruit originated in China as macaque peaches. Other names have included Macaque pear, Vine pear, Sunny peach, Wood berry, and Chinese Gooseberry.
Nothing to do with Kiwi, but it is cute...
PS: The gift wrap fairy suggested lots of tissue paper and gift bags. Whoa, good on GW Fairy!
PPS: Your pledge is in the PayPal!!
The December solstice will occur at 05:30 (or 5:30am) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on December 22, 2011.
The winter solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's polar hemisphere is farthest away from the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. More evidently from high latitudes, a hemisphere's winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest.[2] Since the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as midwinter, the longest night or the first day of winter.
Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.
Pyongyang, December 20 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il died on a train from great mental and physical strain caused by his ceaseless journey of field guidance for building a prosperous and powerful country...
Wherever he visited, he had made tireless efforts, saying it is the will and determination of the Workers' Party of Korea to provide the people with the best things.
He valued and loved the people very much and always shared woe and weal with them in the whole period of his protracted revolutionary guidance...
I stop by the KCNA web site from time to time when I need a 'gratitude reality check'. It works every time...
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'Big Bang Theory', followed by a RERUN'Rules Of Engagement', then a RERUN'Person Of Interest', followed by a RERUN'The Mentalist'.
Scheduled on a FRESHDave are Anderson Cooper, Lindsey Vonn, and Childish Gambino.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Kyra Sedgwick and Frankie Ballard.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'Who's Still Standing?', followed by a RERUN'The Office', followed by a RERUN'Whitney', then a RERUN'Prime Suspect'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are Jonah Hill, Chris Paul, and Il Volo.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Jerry O'Connell, David Alan Grier, Jeff Musial, and the Rockettes.
Scheduled on a FRESHCarson 'The Scab' Daly are Gavin Rossdale, Lloyd Kaufman, and Laura Marling.
ABC starts the night with a RERUN'Disney's Prep & Landing', followed by 'Disney's Prep & Landing 2: Naughty Vs. Nice', then 'I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown', followed by a RERUN'Grey's Anatomy'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 12/8/11) are Jeremy Renner, Judy Greer, and Chevelle.
The CW offers a RERUN'Vampire Diaries', followed by a RERUN'The Secret Circle'.
Faux fills the night with a FRESH'X Factor'.
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'Beyond Scared Straight'.
AMC offers the movie 'A Christmas Carol', followed by the movie 'A League Of Their Own'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] BBC World News
[7:00AM] BBC World News
[8:00AM] Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Christmas-Episode 1
[9:00AM] Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Christmas-Episode 2
[10:00AM] Gordon Ramsay's F Word-Episode 2
[11:00AM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares-Ep 4 The Fish and Anchor
[12:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares-Ep 11 - Fleming
[1:00PM] Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Christmas-Episode 1
[2:00PM] Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Christmas-Episode 2
[3:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares Revisited-Episode 2
[4:00PM] Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares-Ep 5 The Mixing Bowl
[5:00PM] Star Trek: The Next Generation-Ep 26 The Best of Both Worlds (Part 1)
[6:00PM] Doctor Who-Ep 5 Evolution Of The Daleks
[7:00PM] Top GearEpisode 5
[8:00PM] Top GearEpisode 5
[9:00PM] Top Gear: Best Of 06-07-Episode 6
[10:00PM] Top Gear Top 40-Episode 7
[11:30PM] Top Gear Top 40-Episode 8
[1:00AM] Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
[4:00AM] Doctor Who-Ep 5 Evolution Of The Daleks
[5:00AM] BBC World News (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Top Chef', 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', 'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills', and another 'Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills'.
Comedy Central has '30 Rock', another '30 Rock', 'Futurama', another 'Futurama', still another 'Futurama', 'Workaholics', another 'Workaholics', and still another 'Workaholics'.
On a RERUNJon Stewart (from 12/5/11) is Ben Lowy.
On a RERUNColbert Report (from 12/6/11) is The Black Keys.
FX has 'How I Met Your Mother', another 'How I Met Your Mother', '2½ Men', another '2½ Men', still another '2½ Men', yet another '2½ Men', followed by a FRESH'The League', then another FRESH'The League'.
History has 'Big Shrimpin', another 'Big Shrimpin', 'Swamp People', followed by a FRESH'Big Shrimpin'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] Cache
[8:30AM] An American Haunting
[10:30AM] The Skeptic
[12:30PM] Cache
[3:00PM] An American Haunting
[5:00PM] Freaks and Geeks-Girlfriends and Boyfriends
[6:00PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Future Malcolm
[6:30PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Baby
[7:00PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Baby
[7:30PM] Malcolm in the Middle-Day Care
[8:00PM] Chaos
[10:15PM] Valhalla Rising
[12:15AM] The Shining
[3:15AM] Valhalla Rising
[5:15AM] The Larry Sanders Show-The Breakdown
[5:50AM] Nosebleed (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00A] ALL ON THE LINE WITH JOE ZEE - Kathy & Erik Wilson: It's Like Interview with the Vampire (Episode 3, Season 2)
[7:00A] ALL ON THE LINE WITH JOE ZEE - Nicole Miller: Fashion Week (Episode 4, Season 2)
[8:00A] GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS - The Sex Video (Nashville)
[8:30A] GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS - He Sucks Me In (Nashville)
[9:00A] Picture Me
[10:30A] Prodigal Sons
[12:00P] The Matador
[1:15P] Picture Me
[2:40P] Prodigal Sons
[4:10P] The Matador
[5:25P] The Clearing
[7:00P] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - On the Wagon (Episode 14, Season 1)
[8:00P] THE MORTIFIED SESSIONS - Parks and Rec's Nick Offerman & Will & Grace's Megan Mullally
[8:30P] THE MORTIFIED SESSIONS - SNL's Will Forte & Dirty Dancing's Jennifer Grey
[9:00P] Domino
[11:10P] Enter the Void
[1:35A] Accomplices
[3:10A] Domino
[5:20A] Smile Pinki (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian', followed by the movie 'Batman Forever'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Thomas Haden Church, Claire Smith, and Glen Campbell.
Kermit the frog front is "interviewed" by Australian actress and singer Kellie Crawford during the premier of the Muppet Movie in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.
Photo by Rob Griffith
Al-Jazeera's good year just got a whole lot better.
The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism rewarded Al-Jazeera English with a 2011 duPont Award for "Fault Lines, Haiti -- Six Months On," a documentary portraying "the ongoing vulnerability of civilians in Haiti and the inaction of international agencies."
The duPont awards reward excellence in broadcast and digital reporting and are awarded by the same school that hands out the Pulitzer Prizes. Several of the winners -- like HBO, CBS News and NBC News -- were expected, but Al-Jazeera's award caps off a triumphant year for the network in the United States.
It has drawn a great deal of attention for its comprehensive reporting of international stories, and while one would first think of its strong coverage of the Arab Spring uprisings, this award recognizes its reporting on an area miles from its home in Doha, Qatar.
Laser beams creating the image of a large lit Hanukkah menorah are projected on the Hiriya landfill, a former waste disposal site, now called the Ariel Sharon Park, near Tel Aviv, Israel, on the second eve of Hanukkah, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. The Jewish festival of light, an eight-day commemoration of the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against the Greek-Syrian kingdom, which had tried to put statues of Greek gods in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, started Tuesday.
Photo by Ariel Schalit
Only a year is left before Dec. 21, 2012, when some believe the Maya predicted the end of the world.
While some doomsday theorists may suggest putting together survival kits, people in southeastern Mexico, the heart of Maya territory, plan to throw a yearlong celebration. And to make a profit while they party.
Mexico's tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors over the coming year just to the five states richest in Maya heritage. Mexico as a whole is expected to lure just 22 million foreigners this year.
Cities and towns in the Mayan region are starting the yearlong countdown on Wednesday. The city of Tapachula on the Guatemalan border will start an 8-foot (2.5-meter) digital clock in its main park to begin the countdown exactly a year before the date.
Top US scientists on Wednesday defended their bid to stop details of a mutant bird flu virus from being published and called for global cooperation to ward off an uncontrollable pandemic.
Meanwhile, scientists involved in the experiments said they are cooperating with government officials and the editors of the journals Science and Nature to pare down their research for publication in the coming weeks.
The controversy arose when two separate research teams -- one in the Netherlands and the other in the United States -- separately found ways to alter the H5N1 avian influenza so it could pass easily between mammals.
The recommendations from a non-governmental advisory panel that key details of the newly altered virus be withheld drew fire from some scientists who saw it as censorship of material that is essential for surveillance and the hunt for vaccines.
People walk through Phoenix Zoo Wednesday, Dec 21, 2011 while viewing the annual ZooLights display. The 3.5 million-light display runs through Jan 8, 2012, is one of the largest holiday light shows in the Southwest and the biggest & brightest ZooLights show in the country.
Photo by Matt York
The Vatican is determined to avoid limiting the number of visitors to the Sistine Chapel with its Michelangelo frescoes, despite harmful buildup of dust and other pollutants, the director of the Vatican Museums said Wednesday.
"We will try to keep it open" without putting a limit on the growing number of visitors to the chapel, "in the conviction that it is possible to do so without risk to the paintings," Antonio Paolucci wrote in the Holy See's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.
Paolucci, who also is one of Italy's most renowned art restoration experts, said the Vatican was working to give the chapel where popes are elected an "updated and efficient air conditioning system able to ensure the refreshing of the air and the combating of pollutants in both solid and gas forms."
Some 4 million people visit the Museums annually, with the chapel the highlight - or even the sole aim of the visit - for countless numbers of them. Ticket sales are a big moneymaker for the Vatican.
A judge called the imprisoned son of actor Michael Douglas reckless and irresponsible as he nearly doubled his prison sentence Wednesday from five years to 9½ years for repeated drug offenses.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan cited Cameron Douglas' "history of reckless behavior" as he imposed a new punishment that was more than double what prosecutors were seeking for Douglas' guilty plea to drug charges that arose from his successful efforts to smuggle drugs into prison.
Berman added 4½ years to the five-year term he gave Douglas last year for his guilty plea in connection with his sales of methamphetamine in July 2009 from a high-end Manhattan hotel.
The judge said he had never had a case before in which a defendant "has so recklessly, wantonly, flagrantly and criminally acted in such a destructive and manipulative fashion as Cameron Douglas has."
The judge also criticized the government for being too lenient on Douglas after he repeatedly violated prison rules by arranging to get drugs. The judge said the violations included four instances in which a lawyer smuggled anti-anxiety prescription drugs into prison for Douglas in her bra. The lawyer entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that enabled the charges against her to be dropped if she stayed out of trouble for six months.
A Tibetan monk lights butter lamps at the Jokhang Temple during the Butter-lamp Festival in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, December 20, 2011. Tibet on Tuesday embraced its annual Butter-lamp Festival, which falls on the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar every year in commemoration of Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, Xinhua News Agency reported. Picture taken December 20, 2011.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to reduced battery domestic violence and harassment charges before a Las Vegas judge.
The 34-year-old Mayweather also was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine.
The plea deal avoids trial on felony allegations that he hit his ex-girlfriend and threatened two of their children during an argument at her home in September 2010.
The judge said she was swayed by Mayweather's admission that he hit Harris and twisted her arm, and that two of their children, ages 9 and 10 witnessed the attack.
Judge Melissa Saragosa noted that police reported Mayweather threatened to kill or make Harris "disappear," and that their 10-year-old son ran from the house and jumped a back gate to fetch security. Mayweather had taken cellphones belonging to Harris and the two boys, she said.
A judge has ruled that companies owned by financier Bob Yari owe Paul Haggis, Brendan Fraser, producer Mark Harris and screenwriter Bobby Moresco $12 million for "Crash," which won the best picture Oscar in 2006.
Back in July, Judge Daniel J. Buckley of the Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that Yari's companies had breached contracts with the four individuals by withholding profits owed to them from the film. "Crash" grossed more than $100 million at the global box office and millions more in DVD sales and other home entertainment platforms.
In this latest decision, dated December 15, Buckley ruled on the damages and said he would consider a motion holding Yari and his Davand holding company personally liable. Buckley said that Yari unjustly charged items like Oscar tickets to the film, reducing the pool of profits for the writer/director, actor and co-writer.
"Instead of conducting a proper accounting, Yari engaged in a practice of manipulating assets way from Crash Distribution to prevent recovery by plaintiffs."
Three of four newly born white lion cubs lie next to their mother in their enclosure in Belgrade's Zoo December 21, 2011. The four white lions cubs, an extremely rare subspecies of the African lion have become the zoo's greatest attraction. Another four white lion cubs were born in April earlier this year.
Photo by Ivan Milutinovic
The editor of a Dutch fashion magazine has been fired after the publication used a racial slur to refer to Barbados-born Rihanna, setting off a social media furor and prompting an outraged response from the singer.
Eva Hoeke, editor of "Jackie," and the magazine's publisher said in a joint statement on Facebook that the misuse of a racial slur - "although without malicious intentions" - was cause for Hoeke's departure after eight years on the job.
The slur was used in an article about how to dress your daughter like a pop star. Responding to criticism that flashed across the ocean, Hoeke said at first that her use of the term was meant as a joke.
Hoeke said she was unaware the word she used was so loaded because "you hear it all the time on radio and TV."
Rihanna unloaded on the editor of a popular Dutch magazine this week -- furious over an article that referred to her as a "N**gaB*tch."
In the original article that ran in "Jackie" magazine -- editor Eva Hoeke approved copy that read, "Rihanna, the good girl gone bad, is the ultimate n**gab*tch and displays that gladly."
Rihanna was PISSED -- and responded with a Twitter message to Hoeke which read, "I hope u can read english, because your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights!"
She added, "I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!! You ran out of legit, civilized information to print! There are 1000's of Dutch girls who would love to be recognized for their contributions to your country, you could have given them an article. Instead, u paid to print one degrading an entire race!"
A top evangelical leader in Iowa tried to convince Michele Bachmann to drop her bid for the Republican presidential nomination and back Rick Santorum in the race.
Family Leader president Bob Vander Plaats phoned Bachmann last Saturday to ask her to rethink her 2012 bid in hopes of uniting social conservatives behind one candidate in Iowa.
In an interview with CBS's Early Show, Bachmann confirmed the call.
"Yes, there was a call that was made," Bachmann told CBS. "But it didn't make sense, because my numbers have always been above those of Sen. Santorum's. It makes no sense for me to drop out."
Vander Plaats publicly endorsed Santorum in a news conference Tuesday, but he emphasized it was a "personal" endorsement. The Family Leader had planned to endorse as an organization, but the group announced it would remain neutral in the race because of disagreements among board members over which candidate to support.
A Tasmanian Devil treads lightly around a Christmas treat placed in some snow in his enclosure during festive celebrations at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.
Photo by Rob Griffith
Two Muslim men who were kicked off an airplane in May are suing Delta Air Lines Inc. and a regional carrier that operated the flight from Memphis to Charlotte, N.C.
The suit was filed Monday in federal court against Delta and Atlantic Southeast Airlines Inc.
It said Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul went through several security checks. It claims the pilot wanted them off the plane because he thought their presence would make other passengers uncomfortable. The men are described in the suit as having beards and "traditional Arabic clothing." It seeks compensation for losses and injuries as well as punitive damages.
The two were traveling to a conference on anti-Muslim discrimination.
A New York court has dismissed a lawsuit by a man dubbed the "Flying Rabbi" against TV network ABC and late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live" over its use of the man's image in a parody involving basketball star LeBron James.
At a taping for the ABC show on August 10, 2010, host Kimmel told audiences that James had met with Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto to seek "business advice" -- a meeting which had in fact occurred that month, according to the website TMZ.
Kimmel then told the audience he too met with Pinto, and he showed a video of himself in a car talking with an individual dressed in Jewish religious clothing and speaking in a different language.
In fact, Kimmel never spoke with Pinto. The footage of the conversation was assembled using a video of Kimmel in his car spliced together with footage of the plaintiff, Brooklyn, New York's David Sondik, taken from a series of YouTube videos showing Sondik greeting people on the street and talking animatedly. The videos refer to Sondik as the "flying rabbi."
Because "Jimmy Kimmel Live" is produced and filmed in California, Sondik sued under California law -- which recognizes a common-law right to sue based on an invasion of a person's right to privacy.
But in a ruling December 14, Justice David Schmidt disagreed and dismissed the suit, holding that it must be brought under New York law because Sondik lives in New York and the alleged injury took place in the state. New York law does not recognize common-law actions based on violations of privacy or publicity rights, Schmidt noted.
Director Yoshimitsu Morita, whose films depicted the absurdity and vulnerability of everyday life in conformist Japan, has died. He was 61.
Morita, who won international acclaim over his prolific 30-year career, died Tuesday of acute liver failure at a Tokyo hospital, said Yoko Ota, spokeswoman at Toei Co., the film company behind his latest work.
Morita's movies were distinctly Japanese, depicting the fragile beauty of the nation's human psyche and visual landscape while daringly poking fun at its ridiculous tendency for rigid bureaucracy and ritualistic hierarchy.
Morita made a splash among global film buffs with 1983's "Family Game," starring Yusaku Matsuda of "Black Rain" as an offbeat tutor who forms a heartwarming relationship with a young man in a stereotypical middle-class family.
Its striking cinematography, focusing on rows and rows of identical apartments and people dining solemnly sitting side by side, was an exhilarating parody of Japanese family values.
His works were shown at many international film festivals, including Berlin and Montreal.
They included "Tsubaki Sanjuro," a 2007 remake of the 1962 classic by Akira Kurosawa, as well as works based on novels such as Soseki Natsume's poetic "Sorekara" and Junichi Watanabe's "Shitsurakuen."
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