Paul Krugman: The Populist Imperative (New York Times)
"The outstanding faults of the economic society in which we live are its failure to provide for full employment and its arbitrary and inequitable distribution of wealth and incomes."
John Maynard Keynes wrote that in 1936, but it applies to our own time, too. And, in a better world, our leaders would be doing all they could to address both faults.
Andrew Tobias: So I Lent A Guy $5,323.15
Lesson #1 - Never borrow at 18%, let alone 2% a month.
Lesson #2 - Lending money to a friend or acquaintance generally turns out to be giving them money - and, often, losing the friend.
John Cheese: 5 Tips for Awkward People Looking to Make New Friends (Cracked)
Meeting new people sucks. Well, at least it does for people like us -- people who would rather eat a bar of soap than endure the awkward juggling of social rules and misreading of body language that comes with human contact. Confident, practiced people will tell you it's as easy as walking up to a stranger and saying hello, but it's not that simple for us. We don't have their charisma or their gift of being able to blow off the throbbing sting of rejection. For us, that throb is always there. And for once, I'm not talking about genitals. Mostly.
Andrew Tobias: Doodles!
I'm certainly not suggesting you "invest" in art. Except maybe that really nice Cezanne I keep linking to, if you've got $260 million you can truly afford to lose.
Global Wage Calculator (CNN)
"This is simple. Just enter your annual income, and what country you are in, and the Davos2014 Wage Calculator from CNN will let you know how you stack up against your other countrymen and against the rest of the world. Do you make as much money as a teacher in Ethiopia? A medical doctor in Greece? Or the Queen of England? (I don't think so.)" - Neatorama
Frick and Frack were two Swiss skaters who came to the U.S. in 1937 and joined the original Ice Follies show as comedy ice skaters. "Frick" was Werner Groebli (April 21, 1915 - April 14, 2008), born in Basel. "Frack" was Hansruedi (Hans Rudolf) Mauch, (May 4, 1919 - June 4, 1979), also born in Basel. Frick and Frack were known for skating in Alpine Lederhosen and performing eccentric tricks on ice, including the "cantilever spread-eagle", created by Groebli, and Mauch's "rubber legs", twisting and bending his legs while skating in a spread eagle position. Only a few skaters have successfully performed the duo's routines since.
Michael Mauch, the son of Hans, once described the origin of their names: "Frick took his name from a small village in Switzerland; Frack is a Swiss-German word for a frock coat, which my father used to wear in the early days of their skating act. They put the words together as a typical Swiss joke."
Source
Charlie was first, and correct, with:
Although the names refer to many different things now, the original Frick and Frack were a pair of ice skaters.
Alan J said:
Skaters
Lois On Thin Ice In Oregon wrote:
Frick and Frack was an expression my parents used which I
never understood until now. Two extremely flexible Swiss
Skaters who made their mark on the world and inspired a
slightly (no, totally) gay Will Ferrell vehicle many years
later. I salute you, Frick and Frack!
PS. I think Dale has gone all Norman Bates on us and
developed an alter ego named Deborah...but who am I to
judge?
kEN responded:
ICE SKATERS WHO PERFORMED A COMEDY ROUTINE
Jim from CA, retired to ID, replied:
Frick and Frack were two Swiss skaters who came to the U.S. in 1937
and joined the original Ice Follies show as comedy ice skaters
Adam answered:
Professional ice skaters from Switzerland.
Sally said:
Today's question asks, "What was the profession of Frick and Frack" as if we had the reply on the tips or our tongues.
Well, I didn't but Mr Goggle did. Apparently they were professional ice skaters, whose venue was comedy. I can only imagine...
Oh yeah, I knew it, Laurel and Hardy on ice...
Oy Vey...
PS: @Lois, I can't believe that your were not a Lennon Sister's fan?? Sadly, I must ask you to put the scissor down, and hand the cut-outs over the ME!! Even though I am a bit past those days, I would still love them!! (Cut-outs should NOT be given to Tom-boys!!) (Love ya, Lois, even though...)
Marian responded:
ice skaters
Dale ode da Diamond Springs, Nowinternorcali, replied:
They were ice skaters in the original Ice Follies. Never saw those guys in the Ice Follies. They used to have the Ice Follies at Winterland in the City, which later became one of the trippiest places on Mother Earth. Ice Skaters must include the beauty Katarina Witt and the beast Tonya Harding. They could be the Frick and Frack of ice skating. Doesn't Sochi sound like some kind of STD?
DJ Useo answered:
You stumped me completely. I think that's really funny, since I've posted 6 volumes in my "FRIKKENFRACK" strange mashup series.
I named it that because it's a regular expression I hear often. "Don't act like a frikkenfrack".
Congrats to youse for such a tough question.
Re: BTTB Bob & your concept of a Lady Gaga / Pussy Riot mashup. If I can create it, look for it in my M IS FOR MASHUP article next week. :)
MAM wrote:
Ice Skaters ~ Frick & Frack are the professional names of Hans Mauch and Werner Groebli. Dubbed "the Clown Kings of the ice", by Life magazine, they were stunningly talented acrobats,
performing demanding and daring stunts-several of which have scarcely ever been replicated. They have frequently been cited as two of the best skaters in history.
Frick and Frack
Long ago I had two kittens that were named Frick and Frack because they were such clowns!
And, Joe S said:
There have been many-a Frick and Frack, I think Erma Bombeck had two sons with those names, But when I think of Frick and Frack I think of Frick and Frack, the Tappet Brothers. That would make them either radio talk show hosts, stars of NPR's Car Talk, or mechanics, or both. Boy I loved that show....What? What? Oh, they were Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers? Never mind.
So, could they have been Professional Ice Skaters from Switzerland? Or are they Music Professional running a day camp for young kids, producing Broadway style musicals? Let's go with the skaters.
Another Adrian Legg, just for the hell of it.
I didn't want to be the only one to not post cat pictures, but still, another Frick and Frack.
CBS begins the night with a RERUN'Mike & Molly', followed by a RERUN'2½ Men', then a RERUN'NCIS', followed by '48 Hours'.
NBC opens the night with the FRESH'Shaun White: Russia Calling', followed by a RERUN'The Blacklist', then an hourlong RERUN'SNL'.
'SNL' is FRESH, with Jonah Hill hosting, music by Bastille.
ABC starts the night with the movie 'Flushed Away', followed by '20/20'.
The CW offers an old '2½ Men', followed by another old '2½ Men', then an old 'Family Guy', followed by another old 'Family Guy'.
Faux fills the night with LIVE'UFC On FOX', then pads the left coast with local crap.
MY has an old 'Burn Notice', followed by another old 'Burn Notice'.
A&E has 'Duck Dynasty', another 'Duck Dynasty', still another 'Duck Dynasty', yet another 'Duck Dynasty', 'Wahlburgers', and 'Crazy Hearts: Nashville'.
AMC offers the movie 'The Godfather', followed by the movie 'The Godfather: Part II'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 17 - Episode 5
[7:00AM] TOP GEAR - Season 17 - Episode 6
[8:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES REVISITED US - Season 2 - Ep 2 - Revisited: Handlebar, Casa Roma, The Black Pearl
[9:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - Season 3 - Ep 1 - Mojito's
[10:00AM] RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES US - Season 3 - Ep 2 - PJ's Steakhouse
[11:00AM] JAMES MAY'S MAN LAB - Season 2 - Episode 5
[12:00PM] TOP GEAR: BEST OF 07-08 - Episode 2
[1:00PM] TOP GEAR: BEST OF 07-08 - Episode 3
[2:00PM] TOP GEAR - Season 10 - Episode 8
[3:00PM] TOP GEAR INDIA SPECIAL - Season 17 - Top Gear India Special
[5:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 8 - Future Imperfect
[6:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 9 - Final Mission
[7:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 10 - The Loss
[8:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 11 - Data's Day
[9:00PM] ATLANTIS - Season 1 - Episode 10 NEW
[10:00PM] THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW - Season 14 - Episode 14 NEW
[11:00PM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 11 - Data's Day
[12:00AM] ATLANTIS - Season 1 - Episode 10
[1:00AM] THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW - Season 14 - Episode 14
[2:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 8 - Future Imperfect
[3:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 9 - Final Mission
[4:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 10 - The Loss
[5:00AM] STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Season 4 - Ep 11 - Data's Day (ALL TIMES EST)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of BH', another 'Real Housewives', followed by the movie 'The Family Man'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Role Models', followed by the movie 'Grandma's Boy'.
FX has the movie 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine', followed by the movie 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] I Think I Love My Wife
[8:00AM] The Spoils of Babylon-The War Within
[8:30AM] The Spoils of Babylon-Kicking the Habit
[9:00AM] The Spoils of Babylon-The Rise of the Empire
[9:30AM] The Three Stooges-Slippery Silks
[9:55AM] The Three Stooges-Sock-a-Bye-Baby
[10:20AM] The Three Stooges-So Long Mr. Chumps
[10:45AM] The Three Stooges-Some More of Samoa
[11:10AM] The Three Stooges-Squareheads of the Round Table
[11:35AM] The Three Stooges-Tassels in the Air
[12:00PM] Batman Returns
[2:45PM] Batman Forever
[5:15PM] Batman & Robin
[8:00PM] Batman Begins
[11:00PM] Batman Begins
[2:00AM] Batman
[4:45AM] Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)-And Now, the Sordid Personal Bits (ALL TIMES EST)
Sundance -
[6:00AM] Confidence
[8:00AM] Brothers
[10:15AM] Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
[12:30PM] Kingpin
[3:00PM] Law & Order-Right to Counsel
[4:00PM] Law & Order-Night and Fog
[5:00PM] Law & Order-Promises to Keep
[6:00PM] Law & Order-Mother Love
[7:00PM] Law & Order-Conduct Unbecoming
[8:00PM] Law & Order-Animal Instinct
[9:00PM] You've Got Mail
[11:30PM] Bulworth
[1:45AM] Barney's Version
[4:45AM] Love Lust-Lingerie
[5:45AM] This Way Up (ALL TIMES EST)
SyFy has the movie 'Stargate', followed by the movie 'Skyline'.
Clive Davis, chief creative officer of Sony Music, and singer-actress Jennifer Hudson pose at The Beverly Hilton during press day on Thursday, January 23, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Hudson will be performing at Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Los Angeles.
Photo by Casey Curry
It was an old-school party at will.i.am's annual pre-Grammy charity concert as veteran rap stars like Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh rocked a capacity crowd along with the likes of Bell Biv Devoe, Chaka Khan and Sergio Mendes.
The "Trans4m" event on Thursday raised more than $2.4 million for the rapper-producer's i.am.angel Foundation, according to event organizers. The group provides educational support for students in the underprivileged section of East Los Angeles, where will.i.am grew up.
As he waited backstage to introduce various performers, will.i.am said the event, which has become a Grammy-week staple, attracts other stars because they want to support the cause.
Previous performers at his charity concerts have included his own Black Eyed Peas, James Brown, Jackson Browne, Bobby Brown, Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men. This year, Scarface, Busta Rhymes and Chaka Khan were among those who had the Avalon bumping until the early-morning hours.
Actor Hugh Jackman and his wife actress Deborra-Lee Furness pose on the observation deck of the Empire State Building after flipping the switch to green and gold in honor of Australia Day, which falls on January 26, in New York, January 24, 2014.
Photo by Shannon Stapleton
Jay Leno is handing over "The Tonight Show" torch to Jimmy Fallon on February 17th, something he has come to terms with but is acknowledging for the first time that it was not his decision to exit.
The 63-year-old is breaking his silence in an interview with "60 Minutes" airing this Sunday about NBC's decision to have Jimmy Fallon host the late-night show.
"It's not my decision," he revealed. "I think I probably would have stayed if we didn't have an extremely qualified young guy ready to jump in."
The car enthusiast may not be bent out of shape about leaving this time around, but he didn't seem to feel the same about what happened in 2009, when NBC decided to replace him with Conan O'Brien. The comedian admitted that he felt blindsided, and he compared it to feeling a lot like a breakup.
"I was blindsided. ... [NBC executives said] 'You're out...' and I went 'OK,'" he said, about the first time he learned Conan would be taking over. "You know, you have a girl [who] says, 'I don't want to see you anymore.' Why? You know, she doesn't want to see you anymore, OK?"
Don't use the D-word around Patti LaBelle. The two-time Grammy winner and 2003 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee had some interesting things to say about what it means to be a diva these days -- and why she doesn't want to associate herself with that label anymore.
"That word is used so loosely that I don't even consider myself a diva," the 69-year-old singer said in an interview with PrideSource. "I always considered myself a woman who sings her heart out and who gives 120 percent. 'Diva' is a word that I wouldn't wanna call myself because it's so loosely used. It's not cute anymore."
Asked whether there's negative connotation to it now, she replied, "Yeah, because all these little heifers who can't sing are called divas! It doesn't mean anything to me and probably to some of the other ladies who have been doing it for as long as I have: Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick. You know, I'm speaking for me -- I don't know if they like to be called divas -- but I know I wouldn't call them divas, because it's not in good company."
LaBelle went on to note that being called a "diva" used to mean something -- but no longer. It was respectable "for opera singers and for ladies who earned it, but that was way, way back when," she told PrideSource. "Now you can look up to them, but you might not see what you wanna see. A hot mess! People who are doing it and doing it with about 40 people onstage with them to hide their pitifulness -- that's not a word, but you know what I mean."
Between packing lunches, slugging kids to school, doing laundry and cooking dinner, the time stay-at-home mothers spend juggling tasks is enough to make anyone feel a little crazy. Yet is seems as though, unless there is a dollar amount attached to their work, society continually downplays just how valuable their work is.
By contrast, the average "salary" of a working mom was estimated to be just $74,000 -- only two-thirds that of a stay-at-home mother.
The Salary.com survey polled more than 6,000 working and non-working mothers asking them to list their top ten time-consuming tasks.
The salaries were calculated based on how much a housekeeper or other professional would be paid to do those household tasks, while taking overtime into account.
Labor union membership as a percentage of the U.S. work force stabilized at 11.3 percent in 2013 after several years of declines, government figures showed on Friday.
In an era of diminished power for unions in the economy, the Labor Department reported that there were 14.5 million union members last year, about level with 2012.
By comparison, in 1983, the first year for which the department published comparable data, union membership was 20.1 percent, with 17.7 million U.S. union workers.
Union membership in the private sector grew slightly in 2013 to 6.7 percent from 6.6 percent. This was offset by a drop in the percentage of public-sector employees belonging to unions to 35.3 percent in 2013 from 35.9 percent in 2012, data showed.
In the private sector, utilities had the highest union membership at 25.6 percent, followed by transportation and warehousing at 19.6 percent.
A jury says Courtney Love did not defame one of her former lawyers in a 2010 Twitter post.
Friday's verdict comes after an eight-day trial that centred on Love's statements against San Diego-based lawyer Rhonda Holmes.
Love hired Holmes to pursue a case against the estate of her late husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The case was never filed and Holmes said Love fired her.
The singer's tweet suggested that Holmes had been "bought off."
Black holes are the source of endless fascinating and speculation. Do they hold the secrets of the universe and perhaps even the key to time travel itself?
A man holds a hot air balloon during a night glow before the traditional lake Tegernsee Hot Air Balloon "Montgolfiade" in Bad Wiessee January 24, 2014.
Photo by Michael Dalder
Last week's depressed ratings for the season premiere of "Duck Dynasty" might not have been a fluke.
The second episode of the season dropped steeply from the season premiere, shedding nearly 2 million viewers.
Wednesday's "Duck Dynasty" drew 6.7 million total viewers - off considerably from last week's premiere haul of 8.5 million total viewers.
Wednesday's ratings were also the lowest-rated episode since the Christmas-themed Season 2 finale in December 2012, which brought in 6.5 million total viewers.
Corey was the attorney who prosecuted Zimmerman in the trial for the shooting death of 17-year-old Treyvon Martin.
"George Zimmerman clearly directly copied an AP photo to create his painting of Florida State Attorney Angela Corey," AP spokesman Paul Colford said in a written statement posted to the AP site.
Zimmerman fired back via his Twitter account on Friday, threatening to sue the AP:
No worries AP, I'll just take whatever U sue me for off your tab when I'm done suing you :-) Or... I could put out how much U offered me 2..
The Mormon church has issued a sweeping defense of Utah's famously strict liquor laws, drawing a line against tourism, restaurant and bar industry advocates who have helped ease alcohol regulations in recent years.
Ahead of the upcoming legislative session, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted to its website a hefty multimedia policy statement urging lawmakers to uphold rules that church leaders say are "closely tied to the moral culture of the state."
The posting features an explanation of the church's stance, a video interview with one of the faith's top leaders and graphic presentations of supporting statistics.
Experts say church leaders are flexing their considerable political muscle with a move that could have a chilling effect on efforts to change state liquor laws this session.
Utah's rules governing the sale of beer and alcohol have slowly loosened as tourism and business leaders have worked to "normalize" the laws to make the state more friendly to out-of-state visitors. In 2009, for example, the state did away with a requirement for bars to operate as members-only social clubs.
Scientists have found a new species of river dolphin that's been living in Brazil's Araguaia River - the first such discovery in nearly 100 years - and their research may settle some long-standing arguments about other dolphin species as well.
This new species, named Inia araguaiaensis or simply the Araguaia river dolphin, was discovered after a team of Brazilian and UK scientists collected DNA samples from various dolphins living in the Amazon and Araguaia river basins. Since these two river basins have been mostly isolated from one another for the past two million years or so, the researchers were interested in seeing how this separation changed the species that inhabit them. By analyzing the DNA samples, and examining physical differences (such as size of braincase and number of teeth), the researchers found that although the dolphins living in the Araguaia River look very much like the two other known species (Amazon and Bolivian), there are enough differences between them to set them apart as a brand new species.
This is now one of only five known species of river dolphin in the world
"It was something that was very unexpected," Dr. Tomas Hrbek, the lead author of the study from the Federal University of Amazonas, told BBC News. "It is an area where people see them all the time, they are a large mammal, the thing is nobody really looked. It is very exciting."
Divers perform an underwater dragon dance next to Chinese sturgeons to welcome the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year at Beijing Aquarium in Beijing, January 24, 2014. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year, which welcomes the year of the horse, falls on January 31.
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wrote:
took the day off.
said:
The Associated Press has accused George Zimmerman of copyright infringement, demanding he cease the planned sale of a recent painting of Florida state attorney Angela Corey.
