November 2010 archive

Amazing Race.  Giants @ Eagles (I undestand my local team is in a sporting contest).  New Simpsons, Cleveland, Family Guy, American Dad.  More premiers.  Awards (ugh).

71 – 51 over Georgia Tech.  81 and counting.

• ABC Family– Holiday in Handcuffs, Snowglobe
• AMC– From Dusk Till Dawn, The Walking Dead (last week’s and new x 3)
• Bravo– Real Housewives marathon (with premier)
• Comedy– Futurama marathon (including Holiday premier!)
• Disney– Good Luck Charlie, Shake it Up!, Sonny With a Chance (premiers)
• Discovery– Dirty Jobs x 2 (premiers), Brew Masters (Series Premier)
• Food– Next (penultimate and Season Finale), Iron Chef America (premier)
• History– Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear (premiers)
• Lifetime– The Devil’s Teardrop, One Angry Juror (again)
• National Geographic– Great Migrations marathon
• Sci Fi– The Grudge 3, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
• TBS– Shrek, Shrek 2
• TLC– Sarah Palin’s Alaska
• Turner Classic– Room for One More, Every Girl Should Be Married (Cary Grant night)
• TNT– The Bucket List x 2
• Toon– Clone Wars x 2, Sym-Bionic Titan (this week’s)
• Vs.– Point Break x 2

Later-

• FX– Vantage Point
• Lifetime– Sleeping With the Enemy
• Sci Fi– House of the Dead 2, The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations
• TBS– The School of Rock, Men in Black
• Turner Classic– The Viking (the first feature-length film that featured a soundtrack, also the first time a feature used the Technicolor process)
• TV Guide– Weeds marathon (useless)
• USA– The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Fourth Season Finale of The Venture Brothers, 1 hour special Operation P.R.O.M.

This season’s summaries-

• Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel
• Handsome Ransom
• Perchance to Dean
• Return to Malice
• The Revenge Society
• Self-Medication
• The Better Man
• Pinstripes & Poltergeists

• The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider
• Pomp & Circuitry
• Every Which Way But Zeus
• Everybody Comes to Hank’s
• Bright Lights, Dean City
• Assisted Suicide
• The Silent Partners
• Operation: P.R.O.M.

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Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 World leaders scramble for funds to save the tiger

by Olga Nedbayeva, AFP

Sun Nov 21, 11:18 am ET

Rachel Maddow calls out Politico for not reporting ‘real news’

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 40 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1934, Ella Fitzgerald wins Amateur Night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. A young and gangly would-be dancer took to the stage of Harlem’s Apollo Theater to participate in a harrowing tradition known as Amateur Night. Finding herself onstage as a result of pure chance after her name was drawn out of a hat, the aspiring dancer spontaneously decided to turn singer instead-a change of heart that would prove momentous not only for herself personally, but also for the future course of American popular music. The performer in question was a teenaged Ella Fitzgerald, whose decision to sing rather than dance on this day in 1934 set her on a course toward becoming a musical legend. It also led her to victory at Amateur Night at the Apollo, a weekly event that was then just a little more than a year old but still thrives today

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the “First Lady of Song” and “Lady Ella,” was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (Db3 to Db6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a “horn-like” improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

She is considered to be a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Over a recording career that lasted 59 years, she was the winner of 14 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.

286 Stories served.  40 per day.

This is actually the hardest diary to execute, and yet perhaps the most valuable because it lets you track story trends over time.  It should be a Sunday morning feature.

• Sunday 11/14
• Monday 11/15
• Tuesday 11/16
• Wednesday 11/17
• Thursday 11/18
• Friday 11/19
• Saturday 11/20

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Punting the Pundits”.

The Sunday Talking Heads:

This Week with Christiane Amanpour: Since the goal post for starting troop withdrawal has been moved to 2014, Ms. Amanpour’s interview with he Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen should be interesting.

The cholera outbreak kills hundreds in Haiti and puts thousands of people at risk. With 1.5 million Haitians still living in tents, “This Week” has a report from the cholera hot zone on the frantic medical effort to contain the outbreak.

The roundtable with George Will, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, Ed Luce of the Financial Times and former Labor Secretary and author of “Aftershock,” Robert Reich will discuss General Motors’ historic IPO returning billions of taxpayer dollars to the treasury.

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Mr. Scheiffer’s guest will be Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Majority Leader and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The Chris Matthews Show: Sitting in for Mr. Matthew’s, who is on vacation, will be Nora O’Donnell. This week’s guests Katty Kay, BBC Washington Correspondent, Dan Rather, HDNet Global Correspondent, Rick Stengel, TIME Managing Editor and Kelly O’Donnell, NBC News Capitol Hill Correspondent who will discuss these questions:

Will Republicans Restrict Any Compromise with President Obama?

Americans on Marriage: Who Needs It?

Meet the Press with David Gregory: Mr. Gregory will host Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and an exclusive interview with Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal.

The Roundtable will discuss the post election landscape with  Robert Draper, who takes us “Inside Sarah Palin’s Inner Circle” in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gigot, Tea Party-backed Rep.-elect Allen West (R-FL) and Richard Wolffe, author of the new book “Revival: The Struggle for Survival Inside the Obama White House.”

State of the Union with Candy Crowley: Moving forward in Afghanistan. How to wrap our heads around a 2014 security hand-off in 2010–the deadliest year for U.S. troops since the war began. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joins us to look ahead.

Then, Thanksgiving flyers might not be so thankful for their holiday pat-down from one of their local airport’s TSA agents. Are these new measures too invasive? Or are they a necessary new reality to flying in the 21st century? What’s the right balance between security and privacy?

John Pistole, the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, joins us to defend the system; and Florida Rep. John Mica, the ranking member on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, will join us to explain his plan to reform the agency.

Fareed Zakaris: GPS: The deficit. Fareed says it’s the most important issue facing Americans today. But will American politicians listen to the recommendations of the U.S. Fiscal Reform Commission? Maybe. Fareed’s Take on how to fix the deficit.

Then, a fascinating and exclusive look at the inner workings of the Iranian Regime. Fareed sits down with a member of one of Iran’s most powerful political families — often referred to as the “Kennedys of Iran.” The Iranian government’s human rights commissioner, Mohammed Javad Larijani Discusses not only Iran’s human right’s record, but also his nation’s nuclear ambitions and whether Tehran is ready to sit down at the table and negotiate with the U.S.

And you might be asking “What in the World?” has the U.S. government done right lately? How about bringing the largest U.S. automaker back from the brink of death to the largest IPO in American history?

Next up, 2014 is the new date for combat troops to be out of Afghanistan. Is that possible? How DOES the coalition get out of Afghanistan? And what will Afghanistan look like after they leave? We’ve gathered a panel of experts from all sides of the debate.

And finally, a last look at a real clown elected to congress.

North Koreans Unveil Vast New Plant for Nuclear Use



By DAVID E. SANGER

Published: November 20, 2010

WASHINGTON – North Korea showed a visiting American nuclear scientist earlier this month a vast new facility it secretly and rapidly built to enrich uranium, confronting the Obama administration with the prospect that the country is preparing to expand its nuclear arsenal or build a far more powerful type of atomic bomb.

Whether the calculated revelation is a negotiating ploy by North Korea or a signal that it plans to accelerate its weapons program even as it goes through a perilous leadership change, it creates a new challenge for President Obama at a moment when his program for gradual, global nuclear disarmament appears imperiled at home and abroad. The administration hurriedly began to brief allies and lawmakers on Friday and Saturday – and braced for an international debate over the repercussions.

Were I inclined to view things as a zero sum game between Republicans and Democrats instead of a tri-cornered contest between those who care about the soul of America, corporatist lickspittle lackeys, and batshit insane racist radicals, I’d take more schadenfreude glee over the demise of Dancing with the Stars than I do.

Not because I think any reality show is anything but an excuse to put up the cheapest and most exploitative programming possible, although Dancing is a little more athletic than some, but because it’s a prime public example of freepers doing what they do best which is stealing elections.

You know, Freeping.

If you don’t know the backstory Bristol Palin is a horrible dancer, really, really bad.  She has survived to the finals despite clearly being the worst in every evaluation of the judges only because of the jackbooted thuggery of Mama Grizzly’s stormtrooper keypad commandos.

I fully expect her to win.

This doesn’t bother me as much as others because it’s all kind of silly in any event, but in case you care about ‘artistic integrity’ I thought I might let you know.

The ongoing, albeit amusing, battle to save Bristol

Amanda Marcotte on 11/17 02:44 PM

I’ve rarely seen such a clean-cut example of the conservative tendency to say up is down and black is white.  Or, more precisely, to bemoan how oppressed white, rich, and highly privileged people are.  First of all, has the poor girl in school ever won Prom Queen?  Was that in some 80s movie somewhere?  As someone actually in the dork caste in my high school, I can assure you that the boundaries of who got those kind of awards were closely monitored, usually by people like Bristol Palin, who had powerful parents, lots of money, and super jock boyfriends.  But it was telling of what a cipher the Palin family has become.  They’re obscenely rich millionaires who run small town feuds on a level beyond what I ever saw with people trying to establish fiefdoms in the small town of my youth, but in the imagination of their fans, Sarah Palin is basically Dolly Parton—a scrappy poor girl who grew up with no shoes but became a big star on talent alone.  And Bristol Palin, too, though more as an afterthought.

Upset! High-scoring Brandy axed from ‘Dancing’

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer

Wed Nov 17, 6:13 am ET

LOS ANGELES – Brandy earned a perfect score for her Argentine tango on Monday’s “Dancing With the Stars,” only to learn Tuesday it would be her final dance in the competition.

…

The Internet has been abuzz in recent days about how Palin, who has consistently landed at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, has been able to remain on the show. Some have suggested that voters – particularly supporters of Sarah Palin – have been voting in blocs and manipulating the system.

DWTS Future Jeopardized by "Operation Bristol"

By Jeralyn, Talk Left

Posted on Sat Nov 20, 2010 at 12:54:48 PM EST

I’m not the only one who thinks politics has run Dancing With the Stars into the ground. According to Popeater, AOL’s online entertainment news site, Dancing With the Stars producers and ABC and other TV insiders believe the show will be permanently ruined if Bristol Palin wins, and they fear she might, due to her mother’s fan base and campaigning.

I never went to cooking school or took home economics in high school, I was too busy blowing up the attic with my chemistry set. I did like to eat and eat stuff that tasted good and looked pretty, plus my mother couldn’t cook to save her life let alone mine and Pop’s, that was her mother’s venue. So I watched learned and innovated. I also read cook books and found that cooking and baking where like chemistry and physics. I know, this is Translator’s territory, but I do have a degree in biochemistry.

Cooking a turkey is not as easy as the directions on the Butterball wrapping looks. My daughter, who is the other cook in the house (makes the greatest breads, soups and stews) is in charge of the Turkey for the big day. Since we have a house full of family and friends, there are four, yeah that many, 13 to 15 pound gobblers that get cooked in the one of the two ovens of the Viking in the kitchen and outside on the covered grill that doubles as an oven on these occasions. Her guru is Alton Brown, he of Good Eats on the Food Network. This is the method she has used with rave reviews. Alton’s Roast Turkey recipe follows below the fold. You don’t have to brine, the daughter doesn’t and you can vary the herbs, the results are the same, perfection. My daughter rubs very soft butter under the skin and places whole sage leaves under the skin in a decorative pattern, wraps the other herbs in cheese cloth and tucks it in the cavity. If you prefer, or are kosher, canola oil works, too.

Bon Appetite and Happy Thanksgiving

Not enough College Throwball for your eyes?  Florida State @ Maryland or Nebraska @ Texas A&M or USC @ Oregon State.  Oh, and Army @ Notre Dame.  John Legend fans will want to watch Austin City Limits.

Why is the rum always gone?

Oh… that’s why.

• ABC Family– Ratatouille x 2
• AMC– Open Range x 2
• Bravo– House marathon
• Comedy– Superhero Movie
• Disney– Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
• Discovery– Wreck Chasers marathon
• E!– Coyote Ugly
• ESPN– College Throwball, Arkansas @ Mississippi State
• ESPN2– College Throwball, Oklahoma @ Baylor
• Food– Thanksgiving
• FX– What Happens in Vegas
• History– Swamp People marathon
• Lifetime– Reviving Ophelia, One Angry Juror
• Oxygen– Titanic
• Sci Fi– Impact
• TBS– Shrek 2, Meet the Fockers
• Turner Classic– San Francisco, Up the River (Spencer Tracy night)
• TNT– What Women Want, The Holiday
• Toon– Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 film)
• USA– The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• Vs.– College Hoopies Wisconsin @ UNLV
• MTV– The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Later-

• Oxygen– The Perfect Man
• Sci Fi– Post Impact, Earthstorm
• TBS– Glory Daze (Series Premier repeat)
• Turner Classic– Plymouth Adventure (more Spencer)
• TNT– City of Angels
• True– Glory Daze (Series Premier repeat)
• USA– Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

SNL- Anne Hathaway and Florence and the Machine.  GitS: SAC 2nd Gig, Natural Enemy, Inductance (Episodes 4 & 5).

Gentlemen… what do keys do?

Keys unlock… things?

And whatever this key unlocks, inside there’s something valuable. So we’re setting out to find whatever this key unlocks!

No. If we don’t have the key, we can’t open whatever it is we don’t have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don’t have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?

So we’re going after this key!

You’re not making any sense at all.

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