M Is FOR MASHUP - January 16th, 2019
By DJ Useo
I was hoping she'd recover, but our beloved cat, Mara, has passed away today.
I'm not interested in sending an article. Next week, I expect. -D
Mara
Deepest condoloences, Petrushka and Konrad.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Donald Trump and His Team of Morons (NY Times)
Nobody left besides those with no reputation to lose.
Greg Sargent: Democrats cannot give Trump what he wants. Just look at the incentives and the demographics. (Washington Post)
As Roll Call reports, Democrats are keenly aware that if they give into Trump's extortion this time, it will only get worse, and there are battles looming over fiscal priorities and the debt ceiling.
Greg Sargent: Trump is doing immense damage. He has a hidden helper. (Washington Post)
Two new blockbuster scoops about President Trump's relations with Russia - combined with fresh signs that Trump will drag out the government shutdown indefinitely - should renew our focus on the quiet but critical role that Mitch McConnell has played in enabling the damage that Trump is doing to the country on so many fronts.
Matt Ford: Trump's Impeachment Trial Is Already Underway (New Republic)
Impeachment is supposed to be reserved for serious abuses of power, or when the office-holder threatens the integrity of American democracy. There's a strong case to be made for impeaching Trump on those grounds. The New York Times' David Leonhardt laid out four specific reasons last week: for using the presidency to enrich himself and his businesses, for violating campaign-finance laws during the 2016 election, by obstructing justice during the Russia investigation, and by subverting the nation's democratic structures throughout his presidency.
Andrew Lambirth: It's a lifetime of hard work being an artist (Spectator)
Studio Voices: Art and Life in 20th-Century Britain by Michael Bird reviewed.
James Delingpole: I could watch Marie Kondo forever (Spectator)
Obviously, being a man, I was initially highly resistant to being exposed to such girlie bilge. Especially the kind of girlie bilge which might encourage one's wife/girlfriend/partner to engage in the activity all men most fear: being forced to organize one's special places - book shelves, clothes draws, shed, man-cave etc. - and chuck out all the things that are unnecessary.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Stats
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• In February 2011 protesters massed in Madison, Wisconsin, in response to Wisconsin's union-busting governor, Scott Walker, a Republican, who gave massive tax cuts to businesses, then declared a fiscal emergency and tried to make ordinary employees be the ones to pay for the tax cuts. His way of doing that was to remove the collective bargaining rights of many public employees. According to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, some public employees - the kind who tend to be Republicans - would still retain their collective bargaining rights. Being a protester means staying on the scene for long periods of time, and of course protesters get hungry. Ian's Pizza in Madison, Wisconsin, received a request at 3:30 a.m., asking if it had any leftover pizza. It did, and so the hungry protesters got fed. Word got around that Ian's Pizza had gone above and beyond what an ordinary place of business would probably do at 3:30 a.m., and soon orders flooded in from people who wanted to order pizzas to be given to the protesters - a way of showing support for them. On Saturday, February 19, Ian's delivered more than 300 pizzas to the protesters. The calls to order pizzas for the protesters came from both near and far. The far places included Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the UK. Ian's Facebook page thanked the people who wanted to feed the protesters and added, "Believe us when we say we are not really accustomed to getting pizza orders from the entire country (let alone internationally!)"
• In 2007, while standing in line in Victoria station in London, a man named Gareth Edwards, who describes himself as a "big, stocky bloke with a shaven head," noticed a well-dressed businessman cutting in line behind him. (Apparently, Mr. Edwards is so big that the businessman did not want to cut in line ahead of him.) Some people politely remonstrated with the businessman, but the businessman ignored the protests. So Mr. Edwards asked the elderly woman who was behind the businessman line-cutter-in, "Do you want to go in front of me?" She did, and Mr. Edwards then asked the new person standing behind the businessman line-cutter-in, "Do you want to go in front of me?" Mr. Edwards did this 60 or 70 times, so he and the businessman kept moving further back in line. Finally, just as the bus pulled up, the elderly woman whom he had first allowed to go ahead in line, yelled back to him, "Young man! Do you want to go in front of me?"
• In November of 2010, tens of thousands of students protested in England over cuts in funding for education and higher fees for tuition that could keep them from getting a university education. Some students in London even attacked a police van, but a group of schoolgirls stopped the attack by surrounding the van and linking hands. Guardian journalist Jonathan Jones wrote, "Some who were at the student protests this week accuse police of deliberately leaving a solitary van in the middle of the 'kettled' crowd to invite trouble and provide incriminating media images of an out-of-control mob attacking it." (According to
• In 1977, future punk critic Steven Wells and some other punks wanted to go to a Mekons concert. However, the student rugby player who was at the door did not like the way that the punks were dressed and so refused to let them inside. The punks formed a picket line without any pickets and informed everyone who came by what had happened and asked them not to cross the picket line. No one did. Twenty minutes went by, and the person who had organized the show came outside to find out why no one was going inside. The punks explained to him what had happened. The organizer then fired the student rugby player and the punks enjoyed a good concert. (Rugby in England is class conscious. In the South, Rugby Union is played by the posh. In the North, Rugby League is played by the working class. The Mekons concert happened in the South.)
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Reader Comment
Current Events
Longass ties
Evidently Christie's book that's coming out solves the mystery of Predator's longass ties (but not the tacky Scotch tape on the back):
Trump also repeatedly and non-ironically advised Christie to lose weight if he wanted to go anywhere in politics. During the 2016 election, Trump the fashion plate suggested that wearing longer ties would make Christie look thinner. (It would not.)
DO checkout the link-it's a tweet by The Hill making fun of the Illiterate-in-Chief
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Weather caused the landing pattern at the local airport to be reversed. Jumped real good a couple of times - when you're accustomed to hearing the sounds of take-off, something in-coming kinda gets your attention.
Hosting 2019 Grammy Awards
Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys knows a thing or two about the Grammys, having won 15 of them herself.
Now she'll be taking the stage at next month's telecast -- not to perform -- but to host the proceedings.
"I know what it feels like to be on that stage, and I'm going to bring that vibe and energy," Keys said in a statement that announced her hosting duties.
"I'm so excited to be the master of ceremonies on the biggest night in music and celebrate the creativity, power and, magic. I'm especially excited for all the incredible women nominated this year! It's going 'UP' on February 10!"
The 61st annual Grammy Awards air Feb. 10 on CBS.
Alicia Keys
Spike Lee and The Killers Unite
"Land Of The Free"
In a collaboration that nobody saw coming, The Killers have released a new single accompanied by a short film directed by Spike Lee. "Land Of The Free" finds the normally apolitical band-lead singer Brandon Flowers declined support either Barack Obama or fellow Mormon Mitt Romney in 2012-taking a hardline stance against Donald Trump's proposed border wall, drawing parallels between Mexican immigrants seeking asylum and the immigrants who came through Ellis Island in centuries past. The song touches on many topics, including institutionalized racism and gun control-divisive subjects, if you consider human rights to be a political stance.
Beginning with lone piano chords, the tune explodes into Jim Steinman- inspired, bombastic rock 'n' pop style. With its gospel choirs and lyrics about America's heartland, the song at times recalls '80s roots rockers like John Hiatt and, of course, Killers patron saint Bruce Springsteen. The lyrics are decidedly unsubtle-Flowers sings, "we got a problem with guns" and "if you're the wrong color of skin, you grow up looking over both your shoulders"-making Spike Lee the perfect choice to direct the accompanying music video.
The video finds Lee documenting the state of affairs at the U.S. Mexico border, featuring the faces of the families who "just want the things we do" attempting to make their way into the "Land Of The Free," before being tear gassed by border agents. "It's a Spike Lee joint," explains Flowers. "I never thought that I would be a part of a Spike Lee joint." He adds, "It was just an incredible thing to collaborate with him. He's a master, obviously. Some of these issues are obviously very close to his heart, and he just hit it out of the park."
It's all very on the nose, but in these troubled times, being brash and blatant is the only way to get the message through. "Land Of The Free" is currentlystreaming on Spotify and iTunes, and The Killers are planning to release a new album in 2020.
"Land Of The Free"
The Rolling Stones, Katy Perry, and More
50th Jazz Fest
It's official, The Rolling Stones will perform at Jazz Fest on Thursday, May 2. They're among many other musical acts to take the stage during the multi-day festival.
Other acts include Katy Perry, Pitbull, and Dave Matthews. However, news The Rolling Stones will take the stage brings 'Satisfaction.'
"When you think about it you can see The Stones wherever and that's one act," said Donaghey. "But if you get a ticket to this you have 15 stages. It's so worth it, it really is."
Speaking with people, some have 'Mixed Emotions ' because the hottest concert in town costs $185 (plus additional fees), on the festival's first Thursday.
You can find more information at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival's website .
50th Jazz Fest
Jason Reitman To Direct Sequel
Ghostbusters
Ivan Reitman is passing the Ghostbusters torch to his son.
Four-time Oscar nominee Jason Reitman is set to direct a new installment in the Ghostbusters series for Sony Pictures set to come out in the summer of 2020. Reitman tweeted Tuesday night that he's "finally got the keys to the car."
Ivan Reitman directed and produced the original "Ghostbusters," which came out in 1984, and its sequel in 1989.
The studio says that this new Ghostbusters will be going back to its roots and will be the next chapter in the original story. Sony attempted to reboot Ghostbusters in 2016 with gender-flipped leads, but the costly film disappointed at the box office.
Ghostbusters
More Costly Than Expected
Shutdown
The government shutdown is hurting the U.S. economy more than the Trump administration originally thought.
"The Trump administration had initially estimated the shutdown would cost the economy 0.1 percentage point in growth every two weeks that employees were without pay," Reuters reported. "But on Tuesday, there was an updated figure: 0.13 percentage points every week because of the impact of work left undone by 380,000 furloughed employees as well as work left aside by federal contractors," a White House official said.
In a statement to reporters, the official broke it down: "That includes the effect of work not done by 380,000 furloughed Federal workers (0.08 p.p. per week) plus the work not done by Federal contractors (0.05 p.p. per week)," the official said.
Given that the 0.1% hit on growth happens every week instead of every two weeks, the cost of the shutdown has essentially doubled.
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Grifter) has thus far not indicated willingness to compromise or be moved by the cost of the shutdown. Speaking with reporters on Monday evening, he said that he would "never back down" from the fight.
Shutdown
White House Banquet
'Over 1000 Hamberders'
Donald Trump has praised members of college football champions the Clemson Tigers for eating "over 1,000 hamberders" at his White House fast food banquet, in a misspelled early morning Twitter ourburst.
"Great being with the National Champion Clemson Tigers last night at the White House," he tweeted. "Because of the Shutdown I served them massive amounts of Fast Food (I paid), over 1000 hamberders etc. Within one hour, it was all gone. Great guys and big eaters!"
The US president apparently meant to type "1,000 hamburgers", though he told reporters in the White House on Monday evening he had only ordered in 300.
Amid a government shutdown now in its 25th day, many presidential staff remain furloughed, forcing Mr Trump - a spokesperson said - to set the menu for the visit of the Clemson Tigers, who won the national championship last year.
His inflated fast food claims came after a series of tweets in which Mr Trump floated a conspiracy theory about the FBI, railed against the media for not reporting his choice of news, and asserted a "big new" caravan was heading for the US without providing evidence.
'Over 1000 Hamberders'
Working At A School
Mother
Karen Pence (R-Stepford), wife of Vice President Mike Pence (R-Obsequious), started at a job this week teaching art at Immanuel "Christian" School in Northern Virginia. It's not a school where everyone is welcome. In a "parent agreement" posted online, the school says it will refuse admission to students who participate in or condone homosexual activity. The 2018 employment application also makes candidates sign a pledge not to engage in homosexual activity or violate the "unique roles of male and female."
"Moral misconduct which violates the bona fide occupational qualifications for employees includes, but is not limited to, such behaviors as the following: heterosexual activity outside of marriage (e.g., premarital sex, cohabitation, extramarital sex), homosexual or lesbian sexual activity, polygamy, transgender identity, any other violation of the unique roles of male and female, sexual harassment, use or viewing of pornographic material or websites," says the application.
The "parent agreement" asks parents to cooperate in its "biblical morality" policy. Under this policy, parents are to acknowledge the sanctity of marriage as a strictly heterosexual practice. Families who condone, practice or support "sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity" go against the principles of the school, per the document.
Immanuel "Christian" School, which is private, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Karen Pence will reportedly teach at the school twice a week until May.
In Virginia and dozens of other states, it is legal for private employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual and gender identity.
Mother
17 Different Ways
Happiness
Human beings can configure their faces in thousands and thousands of ways to convey emotion, but only 35 expressions actually get the job done across cultures, a new study has found.
And while our faces can convey a multitude of emotions -- from anger to sadness to riotous joy -- the number of ways our faces can convey different emotions varies. Disgust, for example, needs just one facial expression to get its point across throughout the world. Happiness, on the other hand, has 17 -- a testament to the many varied forms of cheer, delight and contentedness.
The differences in how our faces convey happiness can be as simple as the size of our smiles or the crinkles near our eyes, the study found.
The study also found that humans use three expressions to convey fear, four to convey surprise, and five each to convey sadness and anger.
"Happiness acts as a social glue and needs the complexity of different facial expressions; disgust is just that: disgust," Martinez said.
Happiness
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Jan. 7-13. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. NFC Playoff: Dallas at LA Rams, Fox, 33.4 million.
2. College Football Playoff National Championship: Alabama at Clemson, ESPN, 24.7 million.
3. NFC Kickoff: Dallas at LA Rams, Fox, 24.1 million.
4. NFC Playoff Post-game: Philadelphia at New Orleans, Fox, 22.8 million.
5. College Football Bowl Pre-game show, ESPN, 15.9 million.
6. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 13.5 million.
7. "NCIS," CBS, 12.1 million.
8. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 12.06 million.
9. "America's Got Talent: The Champions," NBC, 9.97 million.
10. "Mom," CBS, 9.4 million.
11. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 9.1 million.
12. "Chicago Med," NBC, 8.6 million.
13. "God Friended Me," CBS, 8.3 million.
14. "The Simpsons," Fox, 8.2 million.
15. "60 Minutes," CBS, 8.12 million.
16. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 8 million.
17. "Hawaii Five-0," CBS, 7.9 million.
18. "Hannity," Fox News Channel, 7.14 million.
19. "The Masked Singer," Fox, 7.1 million.
20. "Chicago PD," NBC, 6.9 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Carol Channing
Carol Channing, who won over audiences with her giddy, guileless charm in signature roles in Broadway's "Hello, Dolly!" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," died in her California home on Tuesday at the age of 97, according to her publicist.
Channing died of natural causes in Rancho Mirage after having suffered multiple strokes last year, publicist Harlan Boll said.
In a career that spanned seven decades, the saucer-eyed, raspy-voiced musical-comedy star never shook her association with the role of matchmaker Dolly Levi in the 1964 musical "Hello Dolly!" or gold digger Lorelei Lee in Anita Loos' "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
Channing played each role for years on Broadway and on tours around the world, taking the stage as Dolly more than 3,000 times. As recently as 1996, at age 75, she returned to Broadway following a national and world tour of "Dolly."
Channing was born in Seattle on Jan. 31, 1921, and got her first taste of the theatrical life as a small child at public speaking engagements of her father, a journalist.
She worked at resorts in the Catskill Mountains in New York and at Macy's department store before landing the role of the fortune-hunting Lorelei Lee in the 1949 musical "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." She was an unlikely choice for the role.
"Everybody was saying, 'She's not 5-foot-2, eyes of blue. She's over 6 feet tall and has muddy brown eyes,'" Channing said. "But Anita (Loos) stuck to it."
She saw both of her signature stage roles go to younger Hollywood actresses when film versions of the plays were made. Marilyn Monroe played Lorelei Lee and Barbara Streisand had the title role in the 1969 film "Hello Dolly," a colossal flop often blamed for ending the classic era of Hollywood musicals.
Channing won an Emmy and several nominations for television variety specials but her film career was sporadic at best, although she received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for her part in the Julie Andrews musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 1967.
The star and her second husband, Canadian football player Alexander Carson, had a son, Channing, who is a newspaper cartoonist.
She married her third husband, producer-writer Charles Lowe, in 1956, and he guided her career for 40 years. The couple separated in 1997 and she accused Lowe of emotional abuse and mishandling her finances, leaving her practically broke. Channing said the couple's marriage was a sham, with only two sexual encounters in 40 years, leading Lowe to countersue for defamation. He died in September 1999.
In 2003, Channing married her junior high school sweetheart, Harry Kullijian, a California developer, who contacted Channing after learning that she had written fondly about him in her autobiography. He died in 2011.
Carol Channing
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