Froma Harrop: Getting More for Less in Health Care (Creators Syndicate)
Sad, sad, sad that in talking about budget cuts, we use painful words like "extracting billions from Medicare" or "slashing the Medicare entitlement." Has it ever occurred to the gladiators that improving the quality of health care can also save money? If Medicare spends less on a patient because the hospital does a good job the first time, that's what we call a win-win situation.
Froma Harrop: The Politics of Threat (Creators Syndicate)
The Fiscal Cliff is a phony crisis dropped on us by the politics of threat. Rather than further their goals through the normal process, so-called conservatives are using threats against the economy to get what they want. They tried it during the debt-ceiling fiasco of 2011. They're trying it now.
Connie Schultz: We Did What We Could (Creators Syndicate)
Dad came from the "show, don't tell" school of parenting. He supported his family and shoveled the snow from the walkway before any of us were out of bed. His love was to be understood.
Froma Harrop: Online and in Your Face (Creators Syndicate)
… if you think Internet shopping is a hassle-free environment overseen by invariably polite computers, you probably haven't done much of it. No one escapes. Online merchants have mastered the science of getting in your face
Swamped: 7 Amazing Islands Overrun By Animals (WebEcoist)
Island ecosystems are easily unbalanced by the introduction, accidental or otherwise, of invasive species. The results can range from mildly amusing to full-fledged ecological disasters. These 7 amazing islands overrun by animals provide us with a wealth of environmental test cases offering valuable lessons for the human stewards of our rapidly shrinking Island Earth.
Dick Shawn (December 1, 1923 - April 17, 1987) was an American actor and comedian.
Shawn was born as Richard Schulefand in Buffalo, New York and raised in adjacent Lackawanna. The best known roles of his career was that of Sylvester Marcus, son of Mrs. Marcus (Ethel Merman), in Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Lorenzo St. DuBois/Adolf Hitler in the musical Springtime for Hitler, the play within the movie The Producers.
Source
Shawn won a huge fan base, however, touring in one-man stage shows which contained a weird mix of songs, sketches, satire, philosophy and even pantomime. A bright, innovative wit, one of his best touring shows was called "The Second Greatest Entertainer in the World." During the show's intermission, Shawn would lie visibly on the stage floor absolutely still during the entire time. By freakish coincidence, Shawn was performing at the University of California at San Diego in 1987 when he suddenly fell forward on the stage during one of his spiels about the Holocaust. The audience, of course, laughed, thinking it was just a part of his odd shtick. In actuality, the 63-year-old married actor with four children had suffered a fatal heart attack. A not surprising end for this thoroughly offbeat and intriguing personality.
The irony of his death on stage is that it went "unnoticed" because of Shawn's strict instructions to stage crews. He would tell all concerned that he was liable to do anything at any time, including pratfalls, and that they were not to react to this. At his last performance, it did not occur to anyone that something tragic had happened until it was felt that his lying motionless on stage had run the joke rather thin. It was only then that Shawn was discovered to have died doing what he did best; enthralling his audience with his marvelous humour.
"I can't work places like Vegas or the Catskills where people are belching. Maybe I belong in colleges. At least if I die, I die in front of intelligent people who know what I'm talking about. "Source
Alan J was first, and correct, with:
Dick Shawn
Charlie wrote:
Dick Shawn
Sally said:
Dick Shawn was born as Richard Schulefand in Buffalo, New York.
The face is vaguely familiar, but I really never heard of him...
PS:
Leaving my home, he was heard to exclaim:
"A Merry Christmas to Sally, and a better one for me!"
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
Betty White yesterday and Dick Shawn today
Adam answered:
Dick Shawn.
Marian replied:
Dick Shawn
Dale of Diamond Springs said:
Dick Shawn. An uproarious over the top comedian if there ever was one. Saw "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" in "Cinerama" in the City in 1963. It's still one of my favorite films.
With Giovanna Ralli On the Tonight Show
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
MAM wrote:
Dick Shawn ~ Known as an unusual comic performer, Dick Shawn had both TV and film roles, including in Mel Brooks' The Producers and the sitcom Three's Company. He is supposedly the first person to ever execute a 'high five' in a movie.
BttbBob took the day off.
And, Joe S replied:
Dick Shawn.... I never would have guessed this because I'm totally unaware of Dick Shawn. His pictures in Wikipedia looked vaguely familiar and I did see It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World a few times, (really like it) but Dick Shawn.....meh.
Peace --Joe
Idle No More, now that's important.
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'Big Bang Theory', followed by a RERUN'2½ Men', then a RERUN'Person Of Interest', followed by a RERUN'Elementary'.
On a RERUNDave (from 12/4/12) are Matt Damon, Martin Freeman, and J.D. McPherson.
On a RERUNCraig (from 10/1/12) are Ethan Hawke and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
NBC begins the night with a RERUN'30 Rock', followed by a RERUN'Up All Night', then a RERUN'The Office', followed by a RERUN'Parks & Recreation', then 'Rock Center'.
On a RERUNLeno (from 12/13/12) are Hugh Jackman, Justin Willman, and J.D. McPherson.
On a RERUNJimmy Fallon (from 12/3/12) are Keira Knightley and Dave Matthews.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 12/10/12) are "The Voice" finalists Terry McDermott, Cassadee Pope, Trevin Hunte & Nicholas David, and the Hives.
ABC starts the nigh with the chestnut 'Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!', followed by a RERUN'Grey's Anatomy', then a RERUN'Scandal'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 12/10/12) are Ted Danson, Emilia Clarke, and Larry Gee.
The CW offers a RERUN'The Vampire Diaries', followed by a RERUN'Beauty & The Beast'.
Faux has a RERUN'The Mindy Project', followed by another RERUN'The Mindy Project', then still another RERUN'The Mindy Project', followed by yet another RERUN'The Mindy Project'.
MY has an old 'White Collar', followed by another old 'White Collar'.
A&E has 'The First 48', another 'The First 48', still another 'The First 48', followed by a FRESH'Beyond Scared Straight'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Poseidon Adventure', followed by 'Poseidon'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[6:30AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[7:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[7:30AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[8:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 1 - The Best of Both Worlds (Part 2)
[9:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 2 - Family
[10:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 3 - Brothers
[11:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 4 - Suddenly Human
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 5 - Legacy
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 6 - Remember Me
[2:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 7 - Reunion
[3:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 8 - Future Imperfect
[4:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 9 - Final Mission
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 10 - The Loss
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 11 - Data's Day
[7:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 12 - The Wounded
[8:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 13 - Devil's Due
[9:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 14 - Clues
[10:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 15 - First Contact
[11:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 16 - Galaxy's Child
[12:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 17 - Night Terrors
[1:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 18 - Identity Crisis
[2:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 19 - The Nth Degree
[3:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 20 - Qpid
[4:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 21 - The Drumhead
[5:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 22 - Half a Life (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Miami', 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Miami', and another 'Real Housewives Of Miami'.
Comedy Central has 'Futurama', another 'Futurama', still another 'Futurama', 'Tosh.0', another 'Tosh.0', still another 'Tosh.0', and 'The Comedy Central Roast Of Pamela Anderson'.
Jon Stewart is pre-empted.
Colbert Report is pre-empted.
FX has '2½ Men', another '2½ Men', followed by the movie 'What Happens In Vegas', then the movie 'Extract'.
History has 'Most Extreme Airports', 'Pawn Stars', another 'Pawn Stars', still another 'Pawn Stars', yet another 'Pawn Stars', and 'Bamazon'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] Whitest Kids U'Know
[6:15AM] Phantoms
[8:15AM] Narrow Margin
[10:15AM] Night of the Living Dead
[12:15PM] Phantoms
[2:15PM] Narrow Margin
[4:15PM] Night of the Living Dead
[6:15PM] Open Water
[8:00PM] Bound
[10:15PM] Domino
[1:00AM] Transporter 3
[3:15AM] Open Water
[5:00AM] Mr. Show With Bob and David-If You're Going to Write a Comedy Scene, You're Going to Have Some Rat Feces in There
[5:35AM] The Three Stooges-Dizzy Pilots (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00A] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - The Zit (Episode 5, Season 1)
[7:00A] How to Be
[8:30A] All Around Us
[11:00A] Paris
[1:15P] Mammoth
[3:30P] MY SO-CALLED LIFE - The Zit (Episode 5, Season 1)
[4:30P] How to Be
[6:00P] ALL ON THE LINE WITH JOE ZEE - Ina Soltani (Episode 7, Season 3)
[7:00P] ALL ON THE LINE WITH JOE ZEE - Nicole Richie (Episode 8, Season 3)
[8:00P] Good Morning, Vietnam
[10:15P] Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
[12:15A] Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
[2:15A] Good Morning, Vietnam
[4:30A] How to Be (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Jeepers Creepers', followed by the movie 'Jeepers Creepers II'.
TBS:
On a RERUNConan (from 8/8/12) are Steve Carell, Rona Rousey, and Ziggy Marley.
A woman wears a traditional carnival outfit as she attends a winter party at the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum in Riga December 26, 2012. The museum, situated in a forest park area beside a lake just outside the capital, showcases collections of daily items from various ethnic groups in Latvia housed within traditional farmsteads of farmers, craftsmen and fishermen.
Photo by Ints Kalnins
A strong Christmas-day box office performance by musical "Les Miserables" and western "Django Unchained" put Hollywood on pace to set an all-time box office record with $10.8 billion in annual revenue, box-office tracker Hollywood.com said on Wednesday.
Universal Pictures' star-studded "Les Miserables" took in a weekday Christmas record of $18.2 million in the United States and Canada when it opened on Tuesday, according to studio estimates of weekday ticket sales.
Quentin Tarantino's spaghetti western "Django Unchained," starring Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio, hauled nearly $15 million for The Weinstein Co.
Studios "are definitely on the road to a record year with $10.8 billion expected (up 6 percent over last year and beating the previous record of $10.6 billion in 2009)," Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Reuters in an email, adding that the number of tickets sold should climb 6 percent from 2011 to 1.36 billion.
A Tharu woman dressed in traditional attire smiles as she participates in a parade marking an Elephant Race event at Sauraha in Chitwan, about 170 km (106 miles) south of Kathmandu December 26, 2012. Elephants and mahouts from Chitwan will participate in the Elephant Race event, which begins Wednesday and ends on Friday, where elephants will play in an exhibition soccer match and various other sports and activities.
Photo by Navesh Chitrakar
Patrick Dempsey says he wants to rescue a coffee house chain and more than 500 jobs.
The "Grey's Anatomy" star said Wednesday he's leading a group attempting to buy Tully's Coffee. The Seattle-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.
Dempsey said he's excited about the chance to help hundreds of workers and give back to Seattle.
Tully's has 47 company-run stores in Washington and California, as well as five franchised stores and 58 licensed locations in the U.S.
Lyubov Valiyeva, a member of the "Cryophil" winter swimming club, plays with the snow by the bank of the Yenisei River with the air temperature at minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Farenheit) in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, December 26, 2012.
Photo by Ilya Naymushi
The Titanic star secretly exchanged vows with boyfriend Ned Rocknroll in New York earlier this month.
Her representative has confirmed the happy news, telling Eonline.com, the private nuptials were "attended by her two children and a very few friends and family".
Winslet has been dating billionaire businessman Richard Branson's nephew, birth name Abel Smith, for just over a year.
District of Columbia police say they are investigating an incident in which NBC News reporter David Gregory displayed what he described as a high-capacity ammunition magazine on "Meet the Press."
Gun laws in the nation's capital generally restrict the possession of high-capacity magazines, regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm.
"NBC contacted (the Metropolitan Police Department) inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and their request was denied. This matter is currently being investigated," police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said in a written statement. She declined to comment further on the investigation.
While interviewing National Rifle Association CEO spokeswhore Wayne LaPierre (R-Lacy Panties) for Sunday's program, Gregory held an object, apparently as a prop to make a point, and said it was a magazine that could hold 30 rounds.
A man dressed in a Santa Claus costume walks past sand sculptures of Santa Clauses created by the artist Sudarshan Pattnaik and his students as part of Christmas celebrations on a beach in Puri, located in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, December 25, 2012
Google released a new feature for its music service last week that can scan a computer's entire library of music and match up to 20,000 songs in the cloud. The service is free to use, unlike similar services from Apple or Amazon, and allows users to stream matched music at 320 kbps. Some users are reporting problems when attempting to match explicit songs from their library, however.
According to a report on Droid-Life, it would appear the service is having trouble differentiating between the clean and explicit version of songs or albums and is matching explicit content with clean versions, a problem Apple ran into earlier this year when it launched its iTunes Match service. Interestingly enough, other users have reported the exact opposite and are seeing Google replace clean songs with explicit versions.
Google did not immediately respond for a request to comment.
Steinway Musical Instruments Inc, the famous manufacturer of pianos, saxophones and trumpets, said on Wednesday it had decided not to sell itself following a 17-month-long exploration of strategic alternatives.
An American icon synonymous with handmade grand pianos, Steinway has struggled to keep its production margins competitive amid stagnant sales, and has seen its shares plunge 10 percent year-to-date. Still, its third-quarter earnings last month offered signs that cost-cutting was paying off.
In a statement on Wednesday, Steinway said it had received several non-binding indications of interest in buying the company, following talks with other companies in the sector as well as private equity, yet these did not offer more value than its own strategic plan.
An in-principle agreement to sell its band instrument division to an investor group led by two of its board members, Dana Messina and John Stoner, was also scrapped in light of the current operating performance of the band division, Steinway said.
China on Wednesday opened the world's longest high-speed rail line that more than halves the time required to travel from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.
The opening of the 2,298 kilometer (1,428 mile)-line was commemorated by the 9 a.m. departure of a train from Beijing for Guangzhou. Another train left Guangzhou for Beijing an hour later.
Trains on the latest high-speed line will initially run at 300 kph (186 mph) with a total travel time of about eight hours. Before, the fastest time between the two cities by train was more than 20 hours.
The opening of the new line brings the total distance covered by China's high-speed railway system to more than 9,300 km (5,800 miles) - about half its 2015 target of 18,000 km.
Dozens of lions that used to entertain tourists at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas now have a new day job.
The Las Vegas Sun reports Keith Evans recently opened his Lion Habitat Ranch in nearby Henderson, Nev., about a year after the Las Vegas Strip casino shuttered its own lion attraction to make way for renovations.
Evans has been keeping big cats at his ranch for more than 40 years. He transported them to the MGM Grand each day for 11 years until the closure.
His new attraction includes glass enclosures and safety barriers to accommodate about 40 lions, including seven cubs that were born in November.
The habitat is open weekends. Admission is $20 for adults, while one child under the age of 12 gets in free for each paying adult.
Gerry Anderson, puppetry pioneer and British creator of the sci-fi hit "Thunderbirds" TV show, has died. He was 83.
Anderson's son Jamie said his father died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday at a nursing home near Oxfordshire, England, after being diagnosed with mixed dementia two years ago.
Anderson's television career launched in the 1950s. Once "Thunderbirds" aired in the 1960s, "Thunderbirds are go!" became a catchphrase for generations. It also introduced the use of "supermarionation" - a puppetry technique using thin wires to control marionettes - and made sci-fi mainstream, according to Jamie Anderson.
He said the TV show was perhaps his father's proudest achievement - along with the cross-generational appeal of his body of work, which also included TV shows "Stingray" and "Space: 1999," among others.
Anderson also worked as a consultant on a Hollywood remake of his 1969 series "UFO."
In recent years, Anderson and his son had become active supporters of Britain's Alzheimer's Society.
Anderson is survived by his wife, Mary, and four children.
A baby Japanese Macaque, or snow monkey, eats during a snowfall at a wildlife zoo in Hefei, Anhui province December 26, 2012. A fresh cold snap will hit most parts of China in the coming three days, according to the National Meteorological Center's forecast on Wednesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Photo by Jianan Yu
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Who was born Richard Schulefand?
wrote:
took the day off.
replied:
