Ted Gioia: "Gratuity: Who Gets Paid When Art Is Free" (Image Journal)
Artistic or creative pursuits, endeavors that are typically pursued for the intrinsic joy of sharing one's gifts, are also frequently commoditized and placed on the market. Are they part of the gift economy or the transaction economy?
Daniel Politi: Trump Repeatedly Dismissed Coronavirus Warnings as Alarmist for Weeks Before Crisis (Slate)
The wasted weeks are hardly a surprise as several outlets, including the Washington Post, have taken looks at how President Donald Trump ignored several efforts by his officials to take action that could have saved lives. But the Times story published Saturday manages to shed new light into the disfunction that existed in the first months of the year and puts on full display just how many warnings Trump and his allies ignored for weeks. It also makes clear how many in the administration knew full well the extent of the crisis that was on the country's doorstep yet could not get the right people to pay attention.
Zaria Gorvett: "Covid-19: Can 'boosting' your immune system protect you?" (BBC)
Wellness products aside, there are some approaches you can take to help support your immune system. They aren't especially sexy, and you won't see many wellness influencers selling them in a bottle. They are, however, proven to work - and they don't require shelling out your hard-earned cash: get enough sleep, exercise, eat a balanced diet, and try not to be stressed. Failing that, there is one sure-fire way to improve your immunity to certain pathogens: vaccination.
Trinitrotoluene (TNT), or more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. This yellow solid is sometimes used as a reagent in chemical synthesis, but it is best known as an explosive material with convenient handling properties. The explosive yield of TNT is considered to be the standard measure of bombs and the power of explosives. In chemistry, TNT is used to generate charge transfer salts.
Source
Mark. was first, and correct, with:
TNT.
Roy, the socially distant Libtard in Tyler, TX wrote:
Trinitrotoluene is the full chemical name for what we more commonly know as TNT. Its most well-known user of the stuff was Wile E. Coyote, in his fruitless quest to catch that doggone roadrunner.
Alan J answered:
TNT.
Dave said:
TNT. A high explosive that is stable until a detonator starts the process. A high explosive is one that the explosive shock travels through the material at supersonic speed.
Photos: TNT blocks for demolition
David of Moon Valley wrote:
i'm a-goin with TNT…..and one of my favorite lines from he movies…"think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"
Jacqueline said:
Seems TNT fits.
Kenn B answered:
T N T
Daniel in The City replied:
TNT
Deborah responded:
Going with a WAG - TNT.
Even with a 0% chance of rain two little squalls blew through late yesterday afternoon, wetting the pavement and reminding us of Nature's capriciousness. At least it waited til we Zoomed with the family, trying to keep our family traditions going for as long as we can, whatever it takes.
John I from Hawai`i says,
TNT
Jim from CA, retired to ID, wrote:
TNT
Harry M. said:
TNT
DJ Useo answered:
I was stumped at first, but after renewed observing, I realized the answer is "TNT".
I used to sometimes watch a cable channel by that name. They aired "Ultraman",
a show in which things blew up a lot.
May y'all experience safety during this continued crisis.
Dave in Tucson responded:
Guessing the acronym is TNT?
Billy in Cypress U$A replied:
Tri-Nitro-Toluene is commonly known as TNT and this was an easy one for me..
Barbara, of Peppy Tech fame took the day off.
Stephen F took the day off.
Michelle in AZ took the day off.
Rosemary in Columbus took the day off.
Gateway Mike took the day off.
Doug in Albuquerque took the day off.
Joe ( -- Vote Blue, No Matter Who -- ) took the day off.
Saskplanner took the day off.
Ed K 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 hsd returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
• Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler took the tempo of Wagner's Ring cycle quicker than the London Philharmonic Orchestra was used to, and this almost led to a triangle player not performing. In Rheingold, triangle player Charlie Turner had a long wait before he played, so he used to disappear into a nearby bar while keeping a close eye on the time so he could get back to the orchestra and play. One night, the members of the orchestra were getting quite worried because Mr. Turner had still not made an appearance with only a few bars to go. Suddenly, they heard running footsteps. Just in time, the door to the orchestra pit opened and a hand reached out and struck the triangle, and then disappeared again. The next day, Mr. Turner had his stopwatch out, timing the faster-tempo music to make sure that he would arrive at the pit with time to spare.
• Alexandra Danilova was getting ready to dance in Cimarosiana one night when a good-looking, well-dressed man said to her, "Good evening. What tempo will you be dancing tonight?" She replied, "I'm sorry. I don't talk to strangers, and I don't believe we've been introduced." While dancing on stage, she saw the man again - he was conducting the orchestra. Thomas Beecham, who was supposed to conduct, was ill, and so this man - Malcolm Sargent - had filled in for him. Ms. Danilova says that Mr. Sargent set a "perfect" tempo for her.
• While Jimmy Stein and other members of the band were playing Latin American music in a restaurant, a waiter grabbed the maracas and started shaking them - out of tempo. Mr. Stein stopped playing and asked the waiter, "What do you think you're doing?" The waiter said that he always played the marimbas during Latin American music, but Mr. Stein told him, "Not with my instruments, you don't." As the waiter was leaving, Mr. Stein called after him, "I don't come into your kitchen and play with your bloody knives and forks, do I?"
Travel
• After a long night of traveling, soprano Adelina Patti stopped at 5 a.m. for a few hours rest in Warsaw. Unfortunately, at 6 a.m. what sounded like a racket to the tired soprano broke out next door as someone began to play a piano. Outraged, Ms. Patti sent a servant to ask the noise-maker to stop playing the piano - at least until 8 a.m. The noise-maker stopped, and Ms. Patti's husband, the Marquise de Caux, sent his card to him in thanks. A moment later, the noise-maker himself appeared at Ms. Patti's door to ask politely about her. The famous soprano and her husband were shocked to learn that the noise-maker was the eminent pianist Hans von Bülow.
• After soprano Marjorie Lawrence appeared as Brünnhilde in St. Louis, she left the theater in full costume and makeup because her train was scheduled to leave quickly. Unfortunately, even though she left the theater and went to the train station right away, the train pulled out just as she reached the station. Therefore, she was driven to the next train stop, where - still wearing her Brünnhilde makeup and costume - she boarded the wrong car. Walking through several cars until she reached her car, she startled the passengers, and one person called out, "It must be a holdup!"
CBS begins the night with a FRESH'NCIS', followed by a RERUN'FBI', then a FRESH'FBI: Most Wanted'.
Scheduled on a FRESHStephen Colbert are Dr. Jonathan LaPook and Cate Blanchett.
Scheduled on a FRESHJames Corden, OBE, are Dan Levy and Meghan Trainor.
NBC starts the night with a FRESH'Ellen's Game Of Games', followed by a FRESH'New Amsterdam' (runs 10 min. long), then a FRESH'NBC News Special Report: Coronavirus Pandemic'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Michael Shannon, JJ Watt, and Rita Ora.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers is Billy Eichner.
Scheduled on a FRESHLilly Singh is Nikki Glaser.
ABC opens the night with a FRESH'The Conners', followed by a FRESH'Bless This Mess', then a FRESH'mixed-ish', followed by a FRESH'black-ish', then a FRESH'For Life'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel is George Stephanopoulos.
The CW offers a RERUN'The Flash', followed by a RERUN'DC's Legends of Tomorrow'.
Faux has a RERUN'The Masked Singer', followed by a FRESH'Empire'.
MY recycles an old 'Chicago PD', followed by another old 'Chicago PD'.
AMC offers the movie 'Top Gun', followed by the movie 'Speed'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Bar Association
[7:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Accession
[8:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Rules of Engagement
[9:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Hard Time
[10:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Shattered Mirror
[11:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - The Muse
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - For the Cause
[1:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - The Quickening
[2:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Apocalypse Rising
[3:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - The Ship
[4:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Looking for Par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - ... Nor the Battle to the Strong
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Trials and Tribble-ations
[7:00PM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - The Assignment
[8:00PM] THE PATRIOT
[11:30PM] THE PATRIOT
[3:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - ... Nor the Battle to the Strong
[4:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - Trials and Tribble-ations
[5:00AM] STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE - The Assignment (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Vanderpump Rules', another 'Vanderpump Rules', followed by a FRESH'Vanderpump Rules', 'Family Karma', then a FRESH'Watch What Happens: Live'.
FX has the movie 'The Equalizer', followed by the movie 'The Equalizer', again.
History has 'The Curse Of Oak Island', followed by a FRESH'The Curse Of Oak Island: Digging Deeper', then a FRESH'The Curse Of Oak Island', followed by a FRESH'The Secret Of Skinwalker Ranch'.
IFC -
[6:00A] That '70s Show
[6:30A] That '70s Show
[7:00A] That '70s Show
[7:30A] 1408
[9:45A] Sinister
[12:15P] Grindhouse Presents: Death Proof
[2:45P] Cloverfield
[4:30P] Halloween
[7:00P] AVP: Alien vs. Predator
[9:00P] Predators
[11:30P] AVP: Alien vs. Predator
[1:30A] Predators
[4:00A] Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00am] The Andy Griffith Show
[6:30am] The Andy Griffith Show
[7:00am] The Andy Griffith Show
[7:30am] The Andy Griffith Show
[8:00am] The Andy Griffith Show
[8:30am] The Andy Griffith Show
[9:00am] The Andy Griffith Show
[9:30am] The Andy Griffith Show
[10:00am] The Andy Griffith Show
[10:30am] The Andy Griffith Show
[11:00am] Victor Frankenstein
[1:30pm] Zodiac
[5:00pm] Se7en
[8:00pm] Safe
[10:00pm] Safe
[12:00am] Eraser
[2:30am] Sniper
[4:45am] The Andy Griffith Show
[5:15am] The Andy Griffith Show
[5:45am] The Andy Griffith Show (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets', followed by the movie 'Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHConan is Keegan-Michael Key.
The Disney classic "Splash" arrived on its streaming service Disney Plus back in February and waves are being made over how the Ron Howard-directed film has been updated for modern audiences.
The 1984 film stars Tom Hanks as a young man who falls in love with a mermaid named Madison, played by Daryl Hannah, after she saves him from nearly drowning. She has the ability to change into a human, and when she gets wet, she starts to transform.
For those who saw the original uncensored version, the film was originally rated PG and featured nude scenes. According to IMDB, the film rating was given because, "There are many scenes of nudity in this movie, mostly female, but in one case male as well. This movie nevertheless gets a PG rating because the nudity is all non-sexual nudity, and it is all essential to the plot. All parts of the body are visible at one point or another except for pubic areas or genitalia, which we never see clearly."
In one scene, Madison walks up to the Statue of Liberty nude. In another, she dives into the ocean, showing her rear after giving Hanks' character a kiss.
The version edited for Disney Plus conforms to the studio's more rigorous standards for family entertainment, but fans are noticing that the effects used to cover the nudity appear to have about the same quality level as the "digital fur technology" used in the "Cats" movie debacle.
It's déjà vu for Seth MacFarlane and Fox Corp. Family Guy creator MacFarlane slammed Fox News host Laura Ingraham Monday for a comment she made in a tweet in which she shared a Washington Post story about experts saying it may be unrealistic to reopen the U.S. economy by May 1.
Ingraham, who has more than 3.2 million followers, wrote above a link to the story: "The Washington Post is rooting for the shut down to continue indefinitely."
In response, MacFarlane tweeted, "I really cannot fathom that we produce content for the same corporation. Laura, that is an insane remark. Everyone wants this to end. The sane among us are only trying to follow the lead of responsible science with regard to the timing. Please use your platform more responsibly."
MacFarlane has been critical of Fox previously, notably in 2018 when he said he was "embarrassed" to work for the network, after Fox News' host Tucker Carlson told his viewers not to believe anything reported by his news network rivals.
The Trump administration task force working on supply chains for medical and personal protective equipment, run by Jared Kushner and his friends and allies has "pushed aside federal emergency management response teams that had long-established methods for engaging assistance from the public and private sectors" and instead "first reached out to personal contacts," NBC News reported Sunday.
"Jared and his friends decided they were going to do their thing," a senior government official involved in the response effort told NBC News of the group collectively called "the children" inside the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters where they worked. "It cost weeks."
CBS News' 60 Minutes spoke with Peter Navarro, Trump's trade adviser and newly minted supply-chain manager, about why the Trump administration appeared to be caught flat-footed by the pandemic. "In his new role, Navarro is in charge of the federal response of getting personal protective equipment, or PPE, for America's medical workers," Bill Whitaker said to set up a clip in 60 Minutes Overtime. "Navarro was at times more interested in questioning 60 Minutes' record than in discussing preparations the Trump administration made for this global pandemic."
Navarro issued 60 Minutes a specific challenge, in fact: "I challenge you: Show me the 60 Minutes episode a year ago, two years ago, or during the Obama administration, during the Bush administration, that said, 'Hey, global pandemic's coming, you gotta do X, Y, and Z, and by the way, we would shut down the entire global economy to fight it.' Show me that episode, then you'll have some credence in terms of attacking the Trump administration for not being prepared." Whitaker showed that, by Navarro's standards, 60 Minutes had plenty of credence to criticize Trump's level of preparedness.
Donald Trump's campaign sued a Rhinelander, WI, TV station on Monday after it continued to air an ad from a pro-Joe Biden super PAC that attacks the president's response to the coronavirus crisis.
The spot features a graph mapping coronavirus cases in the U.S. over the past two months, with audio of comments Trump has made downplaying the threat of the virus.
Trump's campaign filed the lawsuit on Monday in the state of Wisconsin circuit court against WJFW-TV, an NBC affiliate, claiming that the ad "takes audio clips of candidate Trump and pieces them together to manufacture a false statement that was not made by the president: 'The coronavirus, this is their new hoax.'"
The lawsuit was filed after the campaign fired off cease and desist letters to stations across the country threatening them with legal action if they continue airing the ad. Trump's campaign also has warned not just of lawsuits but that they could "put your station's license in jeopardy."
But the lawsuit immediately triggered concerns that the campaign was singling out smaller stations in battleground states that do not have high financial resources. Many local TV outlets have been hit hard by the crisis, as major local businesses like car dealers and retailers cut back on their advertising spending. Stations that are part of major groups like Hearst TV and Tegna have continued to air the spot.
Imagine: You work hard your whole life in the French defense industry, and when it's time to retire, your co-workers want to give you something more memorable than a gold watch or a set of golf clubs. So they set up a coveted back-seat ride in a Dassault Rafale B fighter jet, the kind of perk that requires serious connections.
Just one problem: nobody asked one particular 64-year-old civilian whether he ever wanted such a ride, or showed him much about what to expect. Next thing you know, the French Investigation Bureau for State Aviation Safety (BEA-E) is issuing a report explaining how Monsieur Newbie came to experience not only the Dassault, but also its Martin-Baker MK16 ejection seat.
Well, mistakes were made. Lots of them. Since this treat was to be a surprise, the recipient didn't get much of a briefing on what to expect. His g-suit pants weren't on correctly, his seat harness wasn't tight, and his helmet-and oxygen mask-were unbuckled as the plane taxied to the runway at Saint-Dizier 113 air base. He was so nervous that his heartbeat was around 140 beats per minute just from climbing into the plane. Our reluctant Goose did get medical clearance from a doctor, but only four hours before the flight, and with an important stipulation: no negative g's. The way the rest of this was unfolding, do you want to guess whether there were negative g's? Mais oui.
The fighter pilot, being a fighter pilot, probably thought he was taking it easy as he pulled into a 47-degree climb and generated a 3.7-g load. (Which, incidentally, was also beyond the doctor-ordered limit of 3 g's.) On the climb, both pilot and passenger were crushed down into the seat. But when the plane started to level off, things got real panicky in the rear seat, as a negative 0.67-g load caused the ill-buckled passenger to feel like he was about to fly out of the cockpit. Which, shortly thereafter, he did.
Apparently the quick and dirty safety briefing failed to properly emphasize the fact that the black-and-yellow striped loop in the middle of the seat, between his legs, was not a grab handle but the trigger for the ejection seat. The good doctor's g-load recommendations were surely exceeded as pyrotechnics blasted a hole in the canopy and rocket motors fired the seat and its terrified denizen out into the slipstream high above the French countryside.
Ten foreigners who broke a coronavirus lockdown in an Indian town made famous by the Beatles, were forced to repent by writing "I am so sorry" -- 500 times, officials said Sunday.
The nationwide lockdown was imposed near the end of March, with residents permitted to leave their homes only for essential services such as buying groceries and medicine.
The travellers -- from Israel, Mexico, Australia and Austria -- were caught taking a walk in Rishikesh, where the Beatles sought spirituality at an Ashram in 1968.
Local police officer Vinod Sharma said they were each made to write "I did not follow the rules of lockdown so I am so sorry" 500 times.
More than 700 foreign tourists from the US, Australia, Mexico and Israel staying in the area had flouted the lockdown rules, Sharma said, adding the unusual punishment was handed out to teach them a lesson.
The tradition of dangerous, coast-to-coast driving record attempts has its most visible roots in the 1970s' Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, presented as a drunken, fraternizing party on loud, colorful wheels in the 1981 comedy "Cannonball Run."
A team of three anonymous people is believed to have taken the sport to the other extreme by using a relatively low-profile, unmarked, family-size sedan and taking advantage of freeways emptied by the coronavirus. They set what is believed to be a new transcontinental record of 26 hours, 38 minutes.
Atlanta car enthusiast Ed Bolian, who says he has seen documentation of the run and has therefore become the main source of news for the new record claim, says another asterisk for the coast-to-coast drive is that it was done amid an unprecedented lack of traffic. Is that fair?
Bolian, who set a record in 2013 by reaching speeds of up to 158 mph in a 2004 Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG, said in a March 24 video on his Vinwiki YouTube channel that the national shutdown would be "the perfect time to go out and try to set the Cannonball record."
Nearly a month before the Chinese government acknowledged the virus in late December, a trio in a 2015 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG sedan set the last record, this one going from the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan to the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, California, which is the traditional Cannonball start and finish, in 27 hours, 25 minutes.
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?
hsd returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
