Annalee Newitz: Is America Becoming the New Russia (io9)
For decades, Russia was represented in Hollywood as a shadowy power where secret police spied on citizens and freedom was illusory. But thanks to Snowden's revelations and the subsequent political fallout, Americans are starting to realize that their country has been an even more powerful surveillance state than the USSR ever was. And now, Russia is granting asylum to an American citizen who dared to reveal how much surveillance was actually going on in the States. It seems like a weird historical about-face.
Ted Rall: Calvin, Hobbes and Anthony Weiner
What people really hold against Anthony Weiner is his lack of control. Clearly this man has a compulsion. All he had to do to become mayor of New York City was to stop sexting for 18 months. Clearly he couldn't help himself.
Henry Rollins: Treating Our Citizens Like Dogs (LA Weekly)
If there is one set of laws, one Constitution for every citizen, its protections hopefully applied equally to all, then why do the results seem to differ so radically? What do you call that? Look around, you're living in it.
Adam Tod Brown: "4 'Victims' It's Time to Stop Feeling Sorry For (Part 2)" (Cracked)
People love to play the victim these days. And why not? There are plenty of roles to go around. Be it a con artist preying on the kindness of others or a natural disaster wreaking havoc where it doesn't usually wreak, there seems to be an endless supply of new and exciting ways to turn regular people into marks and statistics.
Roy Rogers called him "Cookie," Wild Bill Hickok (Guy Madison) called him "Jingles," and Jack Benny called him "the mayor of Van Nuys." What is his name?
Divine (October 19, 1945 - March 7, 1988), born Harris Glenn Milstead, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Associated with independent filmmaker John Waters, he was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical appearances, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career; People magazine described him as the "Drag Queen of the Century".
Source
Charlie was first, and correct, with:
Divine
Alan J wrote:
Divine
John A. responded:
Divine?
Sally said:
"Divine," was born Harris Glenn Milstead in Baltimore, Maryland in 1945.
Yuck!
I remember her in my peripheral memory.
Drag queens, however, are not my cup of tea, especially when the medium in which they perform renders them extremely vulgar!
PS: In the early 1990's I had occasion to party with the, "San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus" after their performance in Denver, CO. IMHO, they are the best, probably because so many of their members are professional performers. Many of their member also prefer drag (not performing with the chorus though) and showed up at the party which I attended as so. What a difference, in taste and refinement compared to Divine... They were (excuse the pun) gentlemen, and knew how to have a good time while partying hardly! Divine put a black mark on the venue which I find hard to erase.
Adam answered:
The glorious Divine, I do believe.
DJ Useo replied:
I don't know much about this actor, but an online friend did! So, I found out the trivia answer is DIVINE!
Big props to youse, Marty, for the recent TOUGH trivia questions.
Personally, I'd rather be wrong than find out from a search.
But, to each his own. The trivia section here is a fine lure.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
Divine (October 19, 1945 - March 7, 1988), born Harris Glenn Milstead, was
an American actor, singer and drag queen.
Marian is off on an adventure.
Dale of Diamond Springs, Norcali, answered:
On 19th October, 1945, Harris Bernard Milstead and Frances Milstead of Baltimore, Maryland, had a baby boy. He was christened Glen Milstead. They had every reason to dote on him since he was a product of a lot of failed pregnancies. He also remained their only child. Though all parents feel that their child is special, this set of parents was actually right. Glen grew up to become Glen Milstead, Divine, legendary drag performer who was recognized for his excellent comic skills and acting talent, which was complemented by his musical abilities. Divine starred in John Waters movies, like 'Eat Your Makeup', 'Mondo Trasho', 'Multiple Maniacs' and 'Pink Flamingo'. These movies never went mainstream because of their explicit sexual content and shock value, but ended up becoming cult classics. In spite of the weird roles that he did, Divine was recognized for being a brilliant comic artist who had the gift of slapstick.
Hey, guess what I saw on a bumper yesterday? A "Ted Nugent for President" sticker. Man, we gots some real Redneck Stumpjumpers up here in El Dorado County. We have a bunch of Hillbillies up here spread out from Grizzly Flats to Georgetown!!!!
Kevin K in Washington DC replied:
Harris Glenn Milstead became: Divine.
You might remember her from such hits as "Pink Flamingos", "Lust In The Dust", and the original "Hairspray". I saw Divine live at the 930 Club in DC just weeks before her death. Tragic.
MAM wrote:
Divine ~ 1945 - 1988 American actor, singer and drag queen.
In Summer 1968, I went from Southern California to camp at Big Sur.
That year, Reagan was, alas, governor.
At Big Sur, rangers were under orders not to permit group singing
without their chosen lyrics having first been approved by Sacramento -
really!
But the Reagan political wagon would roll on into even weirder realms,
such as Preventative Detention, particularly of males with XYY
chromosome patterns, etc., etc.
James in Alhambra
Thanks, James!
When I was at Pepperdine, we had to cut all "profane" language, including damns & hells, from all the scripts in the theater department.
It did wonders for Odet's Waiting for Lefty and
Albee's The American Dream. < /sarcasm>
Crime writer
Elmore Leonard suffered a stroke a week ago and remains hospitalized at an undisclosed Detroit area hospital, his longtime researcher Gregg Sutter confirmed today...
...With 45 novels under his belt, if Leonard, 87, had slowed down his writing schedule prior to the stroke, it's only compared to his prolific earlier days. He's been working on his latest book. "He's very much into his 46th novel," Sutter said, "working very hard."
With his knack for snappy dialogue, many of Leonard's works have been turned into movies, including "Hombre" (starring Paul Newman), "Get Shorty," "Out of Sight" and "Jackie Brown" (based upon his "Rum Punch")...
Elmore means to Michigan what Stephen King means to Maine... A state treasure. Furthermore, just as the actor Jeff Daniels has, he has chosen to reside here when his fame and fortune would allow him to live anywhere.
See the last two paragraphs of the article... "Get Shorty" is my all time fa-vo-rite and I love (beyond measure, it's perfect) the film. I view it every chance I can... Get well, Dutch...
Called So Cal Ed again, and was told there would not be an outage on Tuesday, either.
And, in fact, the hanger was left mistakenly.
WTF?
They paid someone to walk the 'hood, placing hangers on every door, with a bad date, and as it turns out, a bad reference number, and it was all a mistake?
Gotta hope the work crews are more conscientious than the corporate personnel.
Tonight, Tuesday:
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'NCIS', followed by a RERUN'NCIS: The 2nd One', then a RERUN'Person Of Interest'.
On a RERUNDave (from 7/10/13) are Salma Hayek Pinault, Tony Hale, and Houndmouth.
Scheduled on a FRESHCraig are Diane Kruger and Tony Hale.
NBC starts the night with a RERUN'Hollywood Game Night', followed by a FRESH'America's Got Talent'.
Scheduled on a FRESHLeno are President Barack Obama and Patti LaBelle.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Jane Fonda, Steve Ward, the Head & the Heart, and Nile Rodgers.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 3/1/13) are Tom Colicchio, "The Dinner Party Download", and Walk the Moon.
ABC opens the night with a FRESH'Extreme Weight Loss', then a RERUN'Body Of Proof'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Kimmel are Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nick Offerman, and Michael Kiwanuka.
The CW offers a FRESH'Whose Line Is It Anyway', followed by a RERUN'Whose Line Is It Anyway', then a FRESH'Capture'.
Faux fills the night with a FRESH'So You Think You Can Dance'.
MY recycles an old 'House', followed by another old 'House'.
A&E has 'Storage Wars', another 'Storage Wars', still another 'Storage Wars', yet another 'Storage Wars', followed by a FRESH'Storage Wars New York', then another FRESH'Storage Wars New York', followed by a FRESH'Barter Kings'.
AMC offers the movie 'Demolition Man', followed by the movie 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?', then the movie 'Mercury Rising'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[7:00AM] BBC WORLD NEWS
[8:00AM] MASTERCHEF UK: THE PROFESSIONALS - Season 4 - Episode 3
[9:00AM] MASTERCHEF UK: THE PROFESSIONALS - Season 4 - Episode 4
[10:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 7 - Ep 24 - Preemptive Strike
[11:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 7 - Ep 25 - All Good Things..., Part 1
[12:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 7 - Ep 26 - All Good Things..., Part 2
[1:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - Season 2 - Ep 12 - Casa Roma
[2:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES REVISITED US - Season 4 - Ep 1 - Down City, Classic American, Davide
[3:00PM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES UK - Season 1 - Ep 1 - Bonapartes
[4:00PM] MASTERCHEF UK: THE PROFESSIONALS - Season 4 - Episode 3
[5:00PM] MASTERCHEF UK: THE PROFESSIONALS - Season 4 - Episode 4
[6:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 9 - Episode 3
[7:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 9 - Episode 4
[8:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 16 - Episode 4
[9:00PM] HOT FUZZ
[11:30PM] HOT FUZZ (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of NJ', another 'Real Housewives Of NJ', followed by a FRESH'Interior Therapy With Jeff Lewis', 'Real Housewives Of OC', and a FRESH'Watch What Happens Live'.
Comedy Central has last night's 'Colbert Report', last night's ' Jon Stewart John Oliver', 'Tosh.0', another 'Tosh.0', still another 'Tosh.0', yet another 'Tosh.0', followed by a FRESH'Drunk History', then a FRESH'The Jeselnik Offensive'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jon Stewart John Oliver is Liam Hemsworth.
Scheduled on a FRESHColbert Report is Daft Punk.
FX has '2½ Men', another '2½ Men', followed by the movie 'Something Borrowed', then the movie 'Something Borrowed', again.
History has 'Pawn Stars', another 'Pawn Stars', still another 'Pawn Stars', yet another 'Pawn Stars', followed by a FRESH'Shelby's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1', then a FRESH'The Legend Of Shelby The Swamp Man', followed by another FRESH'The Legend Of Shelby The Swamp Man'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] The Gate
[7:45AM] Joy Ride
[9:45AM] Mimic
[12:00PM] The Gate
[1:45PM] Joy Ride
[3:45PM] Mimic
[6:00PM] Don't Answer the Phone
[8:00PM] Slumdog Millionaire
[10:45PM] Slumdog Millionaire
[1:30AM] The Grifters
[4:00AM] The Virginity Hit (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] Wordplay
[7:30AM] Sicko
[10:15AM] The Art of the Steal
[12:00PM] Joy Division
[1:45PM] Sicko
[4:30PM] The Spine
[4:45PM] Barry Lyndon
[8:00PM] One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
[10:30PM] All the President's Men
[1:00AM] One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
[3:30AM] All the President's Men (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has 'Face Off', another 'Face Off', followed by a FRESH 2-hour 'Face Off'.
TBS:
Scheduled on a FRESHConan are Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, and Leven Rambin.
Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon attend director Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' New York film premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York August 5, 2013. Carey dislocated her shoulder.
Photo by Andrew Kelly
The Andy Warhol Museum is launching a live video feed from the pop artist's gravesite to honor his 85th birthday.
The project, a partnership with the EarthCam webcam network, was to go live Monday at midnight, the museum said.
Warhol museum director Eric Shiner said the project is titled "Figment" because of a Warhol quote in which the artist said, "I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say, 'Figment.'"
The suburban Pittsburgh gravestone has Warhol's original surname, Warhola, the dates of his birth and death and a cross. Warhol's 85th birthday would have been Tuesday.
Shiner said the museum, which is based in Pittsburgh, Warhol's hometown, decided that the gravesite webcam "would be a really fantastic way to put Andy on the air 24/7 and plug in to our global audience."
U.S. director Oliver Stone (C) offers flowers on an altar for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing, in the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima August 6, 2013, on the 68th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing on the city.
Photo by Kyodo
Al Jazeera America continued to staff up in preparation for its August 20 launch, announcing on Monday that Patricia Sabga, Duarte Geraldino and Stacey Tisdale will join the new news channel as correspondents on "Real Money with Ali Velshi."
"I'm thrilled to be working with these three experienced journalists who will help me connect the economy to the daily lives of Americans," said Velshi.
All three are experienced business reporters. Sabga has appeared on various CNN shows and had a stint as a Middle East correspondent for NBC News. Geraldino has worked at Bloomberg TV and on public radio's "Marketplace." Tisdale last served as the financial correspondent on PBS's "Need to Know" and had a similar role on "The Today Show" and several CBS News shows.
Once Al Jazeera America launches, it will be American audiences' only opportunity to watch Al Jazeera content; the network recently confirmed that it would pull its Al Jazeera English livestream when the cable network premieres.
Portraits by Bob Dylan are going on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The 72-year-old singer-songwriter has been exhibiting his artworks for the past six years, but these 12 new pastel sketches have not been shown before.
The display is a departure for the gallery, which showcases portraits of prominent Britons. The gallery says Dylan's images are "an amalgamation of features the musician has collected from life, memory and his imagination and fashioned into people, some real and some fictitious."
President Paul Hurley, third left, of the United Restaurant and Tavern Owners Assn., leads a protest by dumping Russian vodka on a New York street, Monday, Aug. 5, 2013. The association is joining with LGBT activists to push for a ban on all Russian spirits, liquors and food in bars, cafes, taverns and restaurants around the city.
Photo by Richard Drew
The Republican National Committee charged Monday that NBC and CNN are promoting a potential presidential candidacy by Hillary Rodham Clinton, threatening to blackball them from future GOP primary debates if they air upcoming programs on the former secretary of state.
RNC chairman Reince Priebus (R-Prissy) called a planned NBC miniseries on Clinton and a CNN documentary on the first lady an "extended commercial" for a future Clinton presidential campaign. In separate letters to the networks, he urged them to cancel "this political ad masquerading as an unbiased production."
In making the charge, the RNC was raising a common complaint meme among Republican activists that news and entertainment industries favor Democratic candidates. Republicans have also used a potential Clinton campaign as a fundraising tool in recent months as both parties begin to assess the crop of candidates to succeed President Barack Obama.
In the letters, Priebus said the RNC would refuse to partner with the two networks on future Republican primary debates or sanction any debates which CNN or NBC may sponsor if they continued with their Clinton programs. Unless the networks comply, he plans to push for the sanctions at an RNC meeting in Boston beginning on Aug. 14.
Since Mitt Romney's loss to Obama in last year's elections, Republicans have pushed to limit the number of primary debates. A large field of Republicans participated in about 20 debates in 2011 and 2012 and some party leaders argued that it hurt their ability to stay unified against Obama. An audit by the RNC released earlier this year called for about 10 to 12 primary debates during the 2016 campaign, with the first occurring no earlier than Sept. 1, 2015.
Yves "Jet Man" Rossy parachutes safely to the ground during his afternoon performance for aviation enthusiasts from more than 60 countries during the EAA AirVenture at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin August 4, 2013.
Photo by Darren Hauck
Former Pink Floyd star Roger Waters has defended his decision to beam a Star of David symbol onto a flying inflatable pig at a recent concert, insisting there is no Anti-Semitic intent behind his art.
The rocker, who called for a boycott of Israel earlier this year, came under fire from Jewish groups and the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles when a fan posted footage of the moment Waters flashed the Israeli symbol on his porcine stage prop during a The Wall Live Tour concert in Belgium online.
Simon Wiesenthal Center official Rabbi Abraham Cooper responded by stating Waters is "an open hater of Jews" and urged other artists to "denounce his anti-Semitism and bigotry".
Waters has since taken to his Facebook page to fight back, and in an open letter he writes, "I also use the Crucifix, the Crescent and Star, the Hammer and Sickle, the Shell Oil Logo and The McDonald's Sign, a Dollar Sign and a Mercedes sign (in the show)..." and points out his circle of friends include Wiesenthal's nephew and his daughter-in-law.
He also takes aim at Israeli policies in his online rant, stating, "In a functioning theocracy it is almost inevitable that the symbol of the religion becomes confused with the symbol of the state, in this case the State of Israel, a state that operates Apartheid both within its own borders and also in the territories it has occupied and colonized since 1967."
The next big national elections may not be for another year, but Hollywood types aren't sitting on their wallets until then - Jeffrey Katzenberg, J.J. Abrams, Alan Horn, Tom Rothman and James L. Brooks are among those already donating big bucks to political organizations and candidates of their choice.
The Top 20 showbiz donors have already shelled out an estimated $1.45 million collectively this year, according to an analysis provided to TheWrap from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Florida music producer Bill Edwards and his wife Joanne led the list with $164,800 donated to Republicans, according to the latest figures for the year. But most of the Hollywood money has gone to Democrats.
Jeffrey "Sparky" Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn, the second largest givers, have forked over $137,600 to Democratic campaigns and committees - including $100,000 to the Senate Majority Political Action Committee, which seeks to elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate.
"Star Trek" and "Star Wars" director Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, have given $117,200 -- the third largest -- all to Democrats.
Riva aged 6, poses for photographs beside a pair of large-scale Victorian leather "Ivy Brand" Exhibition Balmoral boots, circa 1880, during a photocall at Christie's auction house in London, Monday, Aug. 5, 2013. The boots, are estimated to fetch between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds ($15,352 to $18,423 and 11,564 to 13,876 euro) in an "Out of the Ordinary" sale on September 5.
Photo by Matt Dunham
Ryan Seacrest has been named host of NBC's upcoming "The Million Second Quiz" that gives contestants the opportunity to compete for the largest prize in game show history, the network announced Monday.
The show involves contestants playing head-to-head trivia bouts inside a massive outdoor hourglass-shaped structure in midtown Manhattan and competing non-stop for a million seconds (11 days, 13 hours, 46 minutes and 40 seconds).
Each bout consists of one player sitting in the "money chair," where they try to remain seated for as much time as possible by answering trivia questions against a rival sitting in an opposite chair. Each second a player holds the money chair is worth $10, giving them the potential to earn millions.
"The Million Second Quiz" premieres September 9 and continues through September 14. It will resume on Sep. 16 and will air each night until the finale on September 19 when the winner will claim the largest guaranteed prize in game show history.
An NBC News reporter best known for his "Dateline NBC" reports featuring him confronting would-be child sex predators is leaving the network.
Chris Hansen stepped from the shadows in the long-running "To Catch a Predator" series to confront men lured to houses thinking they were about to meet minors they had contacted online for sex. NBC on Monday confirmed a TV Guide story saying Hansen is leaving after 20 years.
Hansen says through NBC he's looking forward to pursuing new opportunities on air and as a producer. He says new projects will be announced in the next few months.
A boy makes an effigy of demon Ghantakarna before it is burned to symbolize the destruction of evil during the Ghantakarna festival at the ancient city of Bhaktapur August 5, 2013. According to legend, the demon Ghantakarna is believed to "steal" children and women from their homes and localities.
Photo by Navesh Chitrakar
Want to build a new home for Homer or try out a new hairstyle for Marge?
Danish toy company Lego on Monday confirmed it will launch a special series themed on "The Simpsons" family globally in 2014.
Lego spokesman Roar Rude Trangbaek wouldn't give any details about what characters would be included, but said the company hopes the series will "appeal to fans of 'The Simpsons' family."
Lego, a privately held Danish company, has seen its sales soar in recent years after it started making series based on popular movies such as "Star Wars" and "Ninjago."
A study of gags by late-night comics during the first half of the year found an abrupt change from 2012. Now Obama and Democrats are providing the lion's share of punchlines.
Obama was the target of 288 monologue jokes made by Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, Craig Ferguson and Jimmy Kimmel, according to an analysis released Monday by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University.
The next most joked-about individual was New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, at 120. His numbers are likely to jump fast, since the study period was before the second round of Weiner's sexting scandal.
Democrats were the target of 713 jokes between January and June 2013, compared to 417 gags about Republicans, the study said. The only Republicans among the top 10 joke targets were former resident George W. Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the CMPA said.
Fallon was the toughest comic on Democrats, targeting them 240 times compared to 76 for Republicans. Letterman had 139 jokes about Republicans and 102 about Democrats, the CMPA found.
A white Bengal tiger cub plays with a journalist during a press presentation at Huachipa's private zoo in Lima August 5, 2013. The 41-day-old, yet unnamed cub was born at the park and is the first white Bengal tiger in Peru to have been born in captivity.
Photo by Mariana Bazo
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