Marc Dion: Marrying the Russians (Creators Syndicate)
The Russians appear to have been wooing President Donald Trump for a while, but Trump's outraged response to the idea that laws may have been broken indicates that there may have been a secret marriage.
Bim Adewunmi: Why I love… Céline Dion (The Guardian)
You know what genre of celeb will always have a special place in my heart? The wildly famous, hugely successful, but inherently uncool superstar. I feel a kinship, and will abide no snark directed at them. The epitome of this breed is Canadian singer Céline Dion. Slander her in my presence at your peril.
Jonathan Jones: Is this Basquiat worth $110m? Yes - his art of American violence is priceless (The Guardian)
It is a painting that bleeds history. Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (1982) portrays a black skull scarred with red rivulets, pitted with angry eyes, gnashing its teeth, against a blue graffiti wall on which someone has been doing their sums. Perhaps the street mathematician was calculating how many Africans died on slave ships in the 18th century, or how many people lived in slavery in America, or how many young black men have been killed by police guns in the last few years.
A Wes Anderson-Inspired Tourism Campaign For The Latvian Capital Of Riga (Neatorama)
Whenever a director establishes their signature style other directors are bound to copy it, either because they're hacks or because they want to channel that director's iconic style into their own film. The folks from ad agency DDB who created the Wes Anderson-inspired tourism campaign for Latvia's capital city Riga clearly wanted to add a bit of Wes' signature symmetry and cool use of color to their production.
A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (2 weeks). The word derives from the Old English: feowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights".
Some wages, salaries, and social security benefits are paid on a fortnightly basis; however in North America it is far more common to use the term biweekly. Neither of these terms should be confused with semimonthly, which divides a year into exactly 24 periods (12 months × 2), instead of the 26 (?52 weeks ÷ 2) of fortnightly/biweekly.
Source
Randall was first and correct with:
1 fortnight = 2 weeks = 14 days
Alan J said:
Fourteen.
Sandra in Maine wrote"
14
Stephen F responded:
Stephen Fung
mj replied:
We once had to calculate
The speed of light in furlongs per fortnight (about 1.8 trillion if I
remember). A fortnight is two weeks, 14 days.
Dave in Tucson said:
Believe there's twenty days in a fortnight.
DJ Useo answered:
Since I was a lad in the cub scouts, I've known a fortnight is 2 weeks. Which was an eternity for me at that young age.
FYI- My wife had a severe heart attack, after weeks of symptoms. She had procedures, & is finally home again, & resting.
She is expected be well, soon. All in all, we're blessed at how it's going. It could be much worse.
Gene responded:
Fourteen. Oddly enough, I first heard this term on a variety show sketch in the 60s. Two of the celebs in the sketch were the somewhat unlikely pairing of Gene Berry and Engelbert Humperdinck. Berry was teaching Humperdinck to be suave and elegant.
Deborah said:
As I understand a fortnight, it's two weeks, so I'm guessing 14 days.
Bought peppers, cucumbers, squash, lime basil today and after watching the lead-up to the Preakness and the race (we had the tv on but read and napped until Kevin Spacey called "Riders Up!". Then we planted the new veggies and herbs (so much basil!). We put out 4 bowls of Kirkland Light beer (the snails, slugs, and various insects love it) and scattered snail & slug bait and harvested a big fat Purple Sun carrot for our salad. In two months I predict the I will be begging people to come help us out with our yield. Meanwhile, it feels good to have made so much progress.
I'm counting on Sunday includes a bike ride…Thursday I had X-rays of my painful left knee and discovered I have a crack in my patella. !!!!!!! My Orhto doc and I spent time discussing the hows and whys and what's next. Forbidden: Anything that hurts. My PT shared an "ancient Chinese secret" for restoring bone health. I'm already doing more than half of it, and we'll what happens in the next 4 weeks until my next X-ray and consult.
This aging stuff isn't for the faint of heart...
Joe S wrote:
Fourteen. Who would have guessed? But I know this because I watch a lot of English TV shows, mostly English mysteries but other stuff too. Mostly mysteries. I really enjoy the English stuff because you can go through an entire series without ever hearing a gunshot unless some one is hunting. That doesn't mean the English bad guys don't think up diabolical, insidious, and sinister ways to kill people, but they rarely shoot them. And the policemen don't carry guns. Also it's fun to watch people get in the passenger side of a car and drive off on the wrong side of the road. Mostly I find the English insufferable, but I do like their TV shows. Have you ever watched Doc Martin? It's a hoot. Do you know they weigh people in stones? Do you know how much weight a stone is? No? Neither do I.
Jim from CA, retired to ID, replied:
14 days.
David of Moon Valley took the day off.
Kevin K. in Washington, DC took the day off.
Dutiful Dale of Diamond Springs, Norcali took the day off.
Billy in Cypress took the day off.
Mark. took the day off.
Daniel in The City took the day off.
MAM took the day off.
Marian took the day off.
BttbBob has returned to semi-retired status.
~~~~~
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
CBS starts the night with '60 Minutes', followed by a FRESH'Madam Secretary', then a FRESH'Elementary'.
NBC opens the night with 'Dateline', followed by a FRESH'Shades Of Blue'.
ABC fills the night with LIVE'2017 Billboard Music Awards'.
The CW offers an old 'Person Of Interest', followed by an old 'Elementary', then 2½ hours of what passes for local news and other fluffery.
Faux has a (R) 'Bob's Burgers', followed by a FRESH'Bob's Burgers', then a FRESH'The Simpsons', followed by a FRESH'Making History', then a FRESH'Family Guy'.
MY recycles an old 'Anger Management', followed by another old 'Anger Management', then an old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by another old 'Big Bang Theory', then still another old 'Big Bang Theory', followed by yet another old 'Big Bang Theory'.
AMC offers 3 hours of old 'Into The Badlands', followed by a FRESH'Into The Badlands'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] HIDDEN HABITATS - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 9-Amazon
[6:30AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 1 - Episode 7 (03-002)
[7:30AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 1 - Episode 8 (03-003)
[8:30AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 4 - Episode 1
[9:30AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 4 - Episode 2
[10:30AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 4 - Episode 3
[11:30AM] KING ARTHUR (2004)
[2:00PM] KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005)
[5:00PM] GLADIATOR (2000)
[8:30PM] GLADIATOR (2000)
[12:00AM] KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005)
[3:00AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 4 - Episode 1
[4:00AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 4 - Episode 2
[5:00AM] NATURE'S WEIRDEST - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 3-Episode 3 (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Real Housewives Of Potomac', followed by a FRESH'Real Housewives Of Potomac', then a FRESH'Invite Only Cabo', 'Real Housewives Of Potomac', followed by a FRESH'Watch What Happens Live'.
Comedy Central has the movie 'Joe Dirt', and 2 hours of old 'South Park'.
FX has the movie 'Prometheus', followed by the movie 'World War Z', then the movie 'World War Z', again.
History has 'Forged In Fire', followed by a FRESH'Forged In Fire: Cutting Deeper', then another FRESH'Forged In Fire: Cutting Deeper'.
IFC -
[7:15AM] DANCES WITH WOLVES
[11:15AM] BROCKMIRE -It All Comes Down to This
[11:45AM] HOMEFRONT
[2:00PM] SAFE
[4:00PM] THE TOURNAMENT
[6:00PM] THE TOWN
[9:00PM] THE TOWN
[12:00AM] INCEPTION
[3:15AM] SAFE
[5:15AM] BROCKMIRE -It All Comes Down to This
[5:45AM] COMEDY BANG! BANG! -Simon Helberg (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:15AM] The Toy
[8:30AM] The Shakiest Gun in the West
[11:00AM] Three Amigos!
[1:30PM] Fletch
[3:30PM] Turner & Hooch
[6:00PM] King Kong
[9:00PM] King Kong
[1:00AM] King Kong
[4:00AM] Hap and Leonard: Mucho Mojo -Pie a la Mojo
[5:00AM] Hap and Leonard: Mucho Mojo -No Mo' Mojo (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse', followed by a FRESH'12 Monkeys', then another FRESH'12 Monkeys', followed by yet another FRESH'12 Monkeys'.
Norway is repairing the entrance of a "doomsday" seed vault on an Arctic island after an unexpected thaw of permafrost let water into a building meant as a deep freeze to safeguard the world's food supplies.
The water, limited to the 15 meter (50 ft) entrance hall in the melt late last year, had no impact on millions of seeds of crops including rice, maize, potatoes and wheat that are stored more than 110 meters inside the mountainside.
Still, water was an unexpected problem for the vault on the Svalbard archipelago, about 1,000 km (620 miles) from the North Pole. It seeks to safeguard seeds from cataclysms such as nuclear war or disease in natural permafrost.
"Svalbard Global Seed Vault is facing technical improvements in connection with water intrusion," Norwegian state construction group Statsbygg, which built the vault that opened in 2008, said in a statement on Saturday.
"The seeds in the seed vault have never been threatened."
A participant runs through colored powder as she takes part in the 'Get Rainbowed' run in Prague, Czech Republic on May 20, 2017.
Photo by David W. Cerny
They were just a bunch of old business records belonging to New Mexico's oldest and largest sign-making shop, the last of the manufacturers from neon's midcentury heyday.
No longer needed and deemed a fire hazard, the file drawers were moved outside and placed on pallets under a tree.
Ellen Babcock spotted them during one of her many visits to Zeon Signs as part of her interest in sign-making and the installation of public artwork on unused signs in Albuquerque.
The University of New Mexico sculpture professor found hundreds of yellowing envelopes containing folded drawings of some of the memorable neon signs on Route 66, one of the first roads in the U.S. highway system. It spanned more than 2,400 miles, from Chicago to the West Coast.
The sketches detailed signage for gas stations, motels, burger joints, bowling alleys, dry cleaners and coffee shops. In some cases, they were the only records left of the beacons that lit the famous highway from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Be warned, this cat is not for the inexperienced or faint hearted.
The Cat People of Melbourne are hoping someone will adopt an adorably evil looking cat named Lord Bigglesworth or Mr. Biggles, for short.
The group warns not to be fooled by his "slinky shiny black fur and big yellow eyes" as he has a tendency to nip at unwanted advances and is prone to throw a "catty tantrum if he can't go outside when he wants to be let out."
"Mr Biggles (also known as Lord Bigglesworth) is an utter, utter, utter bastard."
However, Mr. Biggles does have a softer side as he enjoys playing with kittens, snores a bit while sleeping, and cuddles with humans, but only on his terms. The group explains that Mr. Biggles needs an owner who doesn't take nipping personally but also won't let him get away by being a bad kitty.
A U.S. Navy military aide carries the "president's emergency satchel," also know as "the football," with the nuclear launch codes, as he walks to Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, May 19, 2017. President Donald Trump is departing for his first overseas trip.
Photo by Alex Brandon
"Saturday Night Live" is losing cast member Vanessa Bayer following this weekend's season finale.
Bayer is finishing her seventh season with NBC's comedy institution, and her memorable impressions include Miley Cyrus, Rachel from "Friends" and Jonah the Bar Mitzvah Boy. She's been with the show longer than any other female cast member.
Bayer, who's acted in movies recently including "Trainwreck," announced her departure on Instagram Saturday. She said her tenure has been a dream come true.
Another veteran cast member, Bobby Moynihan, is leaving for a role on a CBS sitcom.
Amid the turmoil and a rising number of developments in the White House this week, Vice President Mike Pence (R-Handmaid's Tale) launched an independent Political Action Committee (PAC) called "Great America Committee," to reportedly aid his future political interests and mainly aimed at assisting Republican candidates ahead of the 2018 midterm elections as well as the 2020 elections, reports said Thursday.
The committee filed official paperwork with the FEC on Wednesday, marking the first time a sitting Vice President in the history of the United States created his own PAC, just six months into the president's term. Pence is expected to use funds from the committee to, among other things, pay Air Force Two costs as he travels to campaign for Republican candidates, NBC reported.
Donald Trump's (R-Corrupt) long time adviser, Roger Stone (R-Pervy) tweeted his reaction following the news.
A source close to the vice president said the organization will "provide resources for the vice president to actually support candidates who are supportive of the president's agenda."
Nick Ayers and Marty Obst, two of Pence's top aides will head the new organization. Ayers added the planning for this PAC began long ago when the administration was being changed from former President Barack Obama to Trump and that "the president on down have been aware of this for many, many months. It surprised no one in his inner circle."
Former FBI Director James Comey told a friend he tried to hide among the curtains at a White House ceremony earlier this year to avoid an awkward interaction with Donald Trump (R-Crooked).
Comey's friend Benjamin Wittes, editor of the Lawfare blog, told the New York Times that during an event to honor law enforcement officials on Jan. 22, Comey, then the FBI director, attempted to blend into the drapes in the White House's Blue Room to avoid Trump's gaze. According to Wittes, Comey was uncomfortable with the president's attempt to build a personal relationship, but he attended the event to represent the FBI.
"He thought he had gotten through and not been noticed or singled out, and that he was going to get away without an individual interaction," said Wittes.
Comey, who is 6'8", failed in his attempt at camouflage.
As seen in video coverage of the event, Trump spotted Comey in the back of the room, in front of dark-blue curtains that were similar to the shade of his suit, and said, "Oh, there's Jim. He's become more famous than me." Comey then approached for a handshake before being pulled into an awkward half-hug by the president.
Alabama lawmakers of Friday approved sweeping protections for Confederate monuments, names and other historic memorials, as some Southern cities rethink the appropriateness of keeping such emblems on public property.
The measure "would prohibit the relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or other disturbance of any architecturally significant building, memorial building, memorial street, or monument" that has stood on public property for 40 or more years," it reads. Changes to names or memorials installed between 20 and 40 years ago would need permission from a new state commission.
African-American lawmakers opposed the bill at every step of the legislative process, saying argued that solidifies a shameful legacy of slavery.
"You say we are protecting history. We are not protecting history. We are protecting monuments that represent oppression to a large part of the people in the state of Alabama," said Sen. Hank Sanders, an African-American Democrat from Selma.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey added an amendment, which lawmakers approved, to clarify that schools could change locations and do renovations, but not change names. The amendment came after lawmakers raised concerns that schools, which are often named for people, could not do renovations or relocate under the bill's directive.
A serviceman crawls in the final stage of the combat reconnaissance contest on the Sergeyevsky military range in Russia's Eastern Military District in Primorye Territory, Russia on May 20, 2017.
Photo by Smityuk Yuri
Newly discovered artifacts are evidence of humans living in Australia between about 46,000 and 51,000 years ago, researchers say, making them some of the earliest traces of aboriginal settlement there.
The artifacts included what was left of a shellfish meal and were found in a cave on Barrow Island off the coast of northwestern Australia, according to a study in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews. They paint a picture of a society that adapted to its surroundings and made use of the resources available.
While it's more isolated now, at the time the ancient aboriginal people migrated to Australia and up until several thousand years ago, Barrow Island was a coastal desert connected to the mainland by a land bridge that is now underwater.
In the limestone Boodie Cave, researchers found charcoal, shell and other animal remains and stone artifacts, the researchers say, and the thousands of items the early humans left behind show they adapted to a changing, arid environment. The hunter-gatherers started to use marine creatures in their diet 42,500 years ago, the earliest known time this happened in Australia, and "despite fluctuating sea levels and dramatic extensions of the coastal plain," the people kept using those marine resources.
A rare working Apple-1, the first computer produced by Steve Jobs' world-beater-to-be company four decades ago, sold for less than expected at auction in Germany on Saturday.
One of only eight working models in the world, the machine fetched 110,000 euros ($125,000), well below the expected 180,000-300,000 euros -- suggesting that a spike in prices after Jobs' 2011 death is definitely over.
"From our point of view we are back at normal levels. Five years after the death of (Apple co-founder) Steve Jobs the 'hype' has settled back," Uwe Breker, who oversaw the auction in Cologne, told AFP.
Breker's auction house, which specialises in the sale of technical antiques, had also been involved in a 2013 sale of another Apple-I -- which fetched 516,000 euros.
The model auctioned off Saturday and whose original owner was a Californian engineer, still had its receipt, its operating manual and other documents.
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wrote:
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
