Monday, February 28, 2011

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Amongst all the pomp, circumstance, and glamor, the Oscars were presented for the 83rd time by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The major winners were:
*The King's Speech: Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Original Screenplay (David Seidler)
*Natalie Portman for Best Actress in The Black Swan
*Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for Best Supporting Performers in The Fighter
*Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Picture and Best Original Song, "We Belong Together" by Randy Newman; and
*The Social Network for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Musical Score.

Meanwhile, the night before saw what others considered the WORST from Hollywood with the presentation of the 31 Golden Raspberry Awards, more commonly known as the 'Razzies'.
Amongst the "winners" were:
*The Last Airbender for Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor (Jackson Rathbone) Worst Screenplay, Worst Director (both M. Night Shyamalan), and Worst (Eye-Gouging) Use of 3-D, a new category.
*Sex and the City 2 for Worst Actresses (a tie amongst all the female leads), Worst Prequel/Remake/Ripoff and/or Sequel, and the entire cast for Worst Screen Couple/Ensemble
*Ashton Kutcher for Worst Actor; and
*Jessica Alba for Worst Supporting Actress

Remember though folks, we at The Free Choice E-zine are only reporting the winners after the fact and had nothing to do with the respective outcomes.

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Hello Everybody. Autumn the Puppy here.
In all honesty, I've been scratching my head (and a few fleas) trying to figure out what I could post for this week's Sunday Funnies.
In the end, I decided to dig up this old chestnut.
It might not be as famous as say, Bud Abbot and Lou Costello's classic "Who's on First?" routine, but it does have some infamy in its own right.
Anyway...

A man takes his dog into a talent scout's office and proudly announces "I have here the world's first and only talking dog."
The talent agent has this skeptical look on his face and says "Prove it."
The owner looks at his dog and says, "Rover, what's on top of a house?"
The dog replies, "Woof."
The owner asks Rover, "See? He said roof. Rover does talk."
The talent agent is in doubt and says, "It sounded like regular dog talk to me. Try another."
The owner turns to the dog and asks, "What does sandpaper feel like?"
Rover answers, "Ruff."
Then the man asks, "Who's the greatest baseball player of all time?"
Rover just sits on his hind legs and stares at his owner.
The man repeats the question. "Rover, who's the greatest baseball player of all time?"
The man and the talent agent both look intently at Rover, who looks deep in thought. Then the dog looks at both of them and says, "What position?"

Always leave your audience guessing. That's what I say to anyone who might have heard the classic version of this routine before and wonder why mine is different.
Anyway, for those who asked, I am a pure blood golden retriever.
Don't believe me?
Bring me some gold and I'll retrieve it for you!

In any event, it's time for me to make like a tree and leave.
But remember, whenever you encounter a dogwood tree, it's bark is worse than its bite.

Take care. Have a great week, and we'll be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!-AtP.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: FEBRUARY 20-26, 20

Amongst events that have happened around the globe this past week:

IN LIBYA:
*Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi is the latest ruler being asked to leave by his subjects following recent events in Egypt. However the disenfranchised populace might not have as peaceful a time protesting as their predecessors. Libya has already denied public access to the Internet through any device and is closely monitoring its media outlets. If Gaddafi stays in power, he is allegedly grooming his son to take over after his death.
*Meanwhile, all American citizens had to be evacuated by boat after the runways at the Benina International Airport were destroyed, while other the media of other country's report serious military action against protesters, with unconfirmed statistics as to death tolls and wounded. The United States and the European Union have since announced sanctions against the country.

ELSEWHERE:
*A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has devastated parts of New Zealand, leaving 115 confirmed dead.
*Two Somalia pirates will killed and thirteen arrested in an attempt to avoid capture. Afterwards, authorities discovered the pirates had already killed the four American hostages on a Bible giving charity mission, hence the escape attempt.
*Protesters are no longer allowed inside the Wisconsin state capital. Meanwhile, the controversial action that will eliminate union's collective bargaining option has passed the Wisconsin House, but cannot officially be considered in their Senate because the Democratic minority is still in absentia to prevent a vote. The Free Choice E-zine has been keeping a close eye on the situation and will be posting a more in-depth focus soon.
*Despite pledges to do so and goodwill promoting commercials claiming they are working on the problem, investigators has discovered that British Petroleum to date have hardly spent any of the $20 Billion US Dollars set aside to pay claims resulting from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
*The observation of new tunnels being dug by North Korea has South Korea concerned that their neighboring country is preparing for a new, as yet announced, nuclear test.
*Jeremey Bernard will be the White House's next Social Secretary after current Secretary Julianna Smoot goes on to participate in President Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.
*Former White House Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel is the newly elected Mayor of Chicago, Illinois after that city's election earlier this week.
*The Space Shuttle Discovery has launched upon its 39th and final mission, to resupply the International Space Station.
*A new Toyota recall, involving the accelerator, is underway.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*Actor Kelsey Grammer married his fiance Kayte Walsh Friday night on the same stage where he just completed his participation in a new production of La Cage Aux Folles.
*The 83rd annual presentation of the Academy Awards will be held Sunday night.
*Production has officially ended for the season on the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men after comments made by actor Charlie Sheen. Although the series was originally renewed through the end of the 2014 season, there is no word on its fate.
*The Bellamy Brothers are allegedly looking into the possibility of taking legal action against Brittany Spears because her new song "Hold It Against Me" is too akin to their hit "If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?"

For more news at any time, either scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 26, 2011

Hello everybody. With the Academy Awards telecast tomorrow night, thought it would be appropriate to close out February with our annual Oscar-ish quiz, with all NEW questions! Ready?

01. Although this distinguished performer was nominated EIGHT times, he never won a Best Actor award!
02. What year was the very first Academy Awards ceremony held?
03. What movie won Best Picture that year?
04. What three awards from that very first ceremony have NOT been presented since?
05. What was the very first musical to win the award for Best Picture?
06. Do you remember what movie won the award for Best Picture last year (2010)?
07. What year was the first televised Academy Awards ceremony?
08. What movie won Best Picture during that broadcast?

We'll open the envelopes and announce the results next weekend. Now let's peek into THE ANSWERS BOX to discover who's who from the February 19 Puzzle Corner African American month quiz.

01. He had a dream. Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior
02. She stood up for what's right by staying seated. Rosa Parks
03. The current President of the United States of America. Barack Obama
04. The man accredited as "The Founder of Black History". Doctor Carter G. Woodson
(Told you they would start getting harder.)
05. This is considered the predecessor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The Niagara Movement, a conference held and started on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
06. He founded Tuskegee University. Booker T. Washington
07. He was a famous agricultural researcher. George Washington Carver
08. He discovered how to safely store blood, although the story of his final fate is sometimes told wrong.
Doctor Charles Drew. Some people believe that he was denied medical treatment after a car crash because the closest facility was a 'whites only' hospital. While this has been disputed by others with Doctor Drew at the time, the urban legend persists. His injuries from the crash led to his death, not a lack of treatment.
09. Although already a well established entertainment personality by this point, he received a Doctor of Education degree in 1976. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Junior
10. A noted scholar, author, and philosopher originally known as Arthur Lee Smith, Junior. Moleti Kefe Asante

Sunday, February 20, 2011

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: FEBRUARY 20, 2011

Hello alls nice peoples of this website.
My name is Lazlo Dragon. I am 2 years old and live with my human Mama Tap-Tap.
I call her that because she is on kom-pewter all day long writing.
Mister Lee, the Ed Indian Chief of this place asked me to come back and tell more punny funs to you.

The roundest knight at King Arthur's table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .

A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a peach.

Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'

I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

A backward poet writes in reverse.

Hope readers liked puns as much as Lazlo did. Maybe next time I gets to tell knock-knock jokes.
Have good week and come back again for more Sunday Funnies.-l.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: FEBRUARY 13-19, 2011

Amongst events happening around the world this past week:

THE LATEST FROM EGYPT:
*Authorities are investigating the disappearance of several pieces of art from the Egypt Museum after the recent uprising over former President Hosni Mubarak.
*Some of Mubarak's former cabinet, including the Ministers of the Interior, Tourism, and Housing; have been arrested on charges of corruption.
*Meanwhile, pundits are wondering about the status/future of other autocracies after recent events in Egypt.

ELSEWHERE:
*United States Congressional Republicans want to take the concept of budget cuts much farther than President Barack Obama proposed in his current budget, including eliminating ALL government funding for the Public Broadcasting System, National Public Radio, and Planned Parenthood.
*The English government's solution to the mice problem at #10 Dowling Street? A new cat.
*Australia is cooperating with the United States to see if any of its citizens had any involvement with the WikiLeaks scandal.
*Hawaii is the latest state considering approval of same-sex marriages. However, 1996 Defense of Marriage Act considers those "second class marriages", denying couples the same benefits of traditional unions; pending legal proceedings over the Act's constitutionality.
*As reported earlier this week in more detail on this website; Watson, IBM's latest computer innovation, defeated Jeopardy! champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*Amongst the Grammy winners this past Sunday night: Lady Antebellum for Record/Song of the Year ("Need You Now"), Arcade Fire for Album of the Year ("The Suburbs") and Esperanza Spalding as Best New Artist of the Year.

IN SPORTS
*Lance Armstrong has officially retired from professional cycling.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 19, 2011

Amongst other things this month, February celebrates African-American (Black) History. So let's see how aware of these noted figures in history you might be.

01. He had a dream.
02. She stood up for what's right by staying seated.
03. The current President of the United States of America.
(Don't worry, they are about to get more difficult.)
04. The man accredited as "The Founder of Black History".
05. This is considered the predecessor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
06. He founded Tuskegee University.
07. He was a famous agricultural researcher.
08. He discovered how to safely store blood, although the story of his final fate is sometimes told wrong.
09. Although already a well established entertainment personality by this point, he received a Doctor of Education degree in 1976.
10. A noted scholar, author, and philosopher originally known as Arthur Lee Smith, Junior.

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's peek into THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of our "Love Songs" quiz from February 12's Puzzle Corner.

01. The Witch Doctor (by David Seville, with or without Alvin and the Chipmunks) advised the lovelorn "Ooh, ee, ooh, ah, ah, ting, tang, walla, walla, bing, bang".
02. Frankie Valli prayed to Venus for the girl of his dreams.
03. While there is more to romance than that, the Starland Vocal Band hoped for a little Afternoon Delight.
04. Barry White realized when you find your one true love You're My First, My Last, My Everything.
05. The Temptations realized they had sunshine on a cloudy day with My Girl.
06. What musical question did Bryan Adams ask Don Juan DeMarco?
"Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?"
07. Paul McCartney was once accused of filling the world with Silly Love Songs. Not that there's anything wrong with them.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

JEOPARDY! VERSUS WATSON

It's an age old question: Who is smarter? The human(s) who invented the computer, or the computer that can outhink the human(s) that invented it?

During an exhibition match to be shown over the next three episodes of the syndicated game show Jeopardy!, February 14-16, 2011; there might be an answer to that question.

Within the basic two game grand championship format of the program, where the scores from the first game are added to the scores of the second after that one is completed to decide the overall winner, the contestants are:
Ken Jennings: Jeopardy's longevity champion, who competed in 74 straight games before being defeated. Between his original run and championship tournament appearances since, he has won over $2.5 million US Dollars to date.
Brad Rutter: The overall highest prize winning player (to date) in Jeopardy! history, with $3.25 million US Dollars so far between his original run and championship tournaments since.
WATSON:  The computer system, named after IBM's founder Thomas John Watson, Senior and not Alexander Graham Bell's assistant Thomas Augustus Watson. Created to think and respond verbally to questions like any human being, it is the company's latest explorations in the field of artificial intelligence. While IBM has high hopes for its success in the competition and any future technological developments, Watson still needs to be told the questions through standard electronic methods, although such input is closely monitored so it is only presented the clues as they appear to any other player.

Because of the unit's overall size, requiring ten banks of computer memory storage terminals maintained within an environmentally controlled room, the experimental/exhibition match is being conducted at the IBM laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York where Watson was developed. The computer itself is represented in a mock up of the Jeopardy! studio by an avatar on a display panel, with a color scheme designed to show its thought process. Confidence/correctness is in green, uncertainty in yellow, and red represents being incorrect/not knowing/not having an answer in time.
It has been interesting to see Watson in action, for a display at the bottom of the screen shows the results of its thought process to each question, whether or not it attempts a response during the three seconds allowed players before host Alex Trebek reveals the answer and moves on to the next clue. By means of an electronically controlled mechanism, Watson can physically push a buzzer to attempt ringing in to respond in time like any other competitor.

The contestants are playing for both various charities, and in the humans' case, themselves.
Jennings will split his winnings with Village Reach, an organization that helps with health care in under resourced areas around the world.
Rutter is sharing his winnings with the Lancaster County Community Foundation of Pennsylvania.
On behalf of Watson, IBM is splitting whatever it wins between World Vision, a relief and development organization, and the World Community Grid, an organization that provides computer resources to public and non-profit organizations.

While Jeopardy! was chosen and approached for its cooperation because the syndicate game show represents a true challenge to human intelligence, this is not the first time IBM has pitted one of their computer developments against human skills. In 1997, a computer named "Deep Blue", programmed with every known bit of knowledge of masters past and present, won a chess tournament, although someone had to physically move the pieces on the board for it and some players complained that it was just finding the proper moves from reference material and not truly "thinking".

The Free Choice E-zine covered this event as each episode aired, and this post was updated accordingly.
NOTE: ALL SCORES ARE IN US DOLLARS.

GAME ONE>ROUND/EPISODE ONE: FEBRUARY 14
Because of all the background and introductory material that needed to be presented, only the opening round of the first game was completed in Episode 1.
Watson had a good early lead, maybe because Jennings and Rutter were amazed watching it in action. But then the computer stumbled on a question in the category "Name that Decade" because, not having any audio input processors, it repeated an already given incorrect response instead of its second choice, which was the correct answer.
As the humans came from behind, at the end of the first Jeopardy! round, Brad and Watson were tied for first place at $5000 while Ken was third at $2000.

GAME ONE>ROUND/EPISODE TWO: FEBRUARY 15
I have heard some criticism that these first two days of play were not true Jeopardy! but more akin to an IBM infomercial. I will grant you that with the rest of the background/documentary material presented, only the Double and Final Jeopardy rounds of the first game were completed in this installment.
There were a couple of instances whereupon either all three contestants got the answer wrong, or else did not know the proper response.
At the end of the traditional Double Jeopardy round, Ken Jennings was in third place with $2400.
Brad Rutter was in second place with $5400, and Watson was in the lead with $36, 681 How the computer managed to find all the Daily Doubles between the two rounds in the first game, let alone why it chose the odd amounts it did in betting, is debatable.
The Final Jeopardy category was U.S. CITIES. Both Jennings and Rutter responded correctly, while Watson answered "What is Toronto?????" with the multiple question marks representing the fact that somehow it was confused about either some part of or the overall question itself: "This major U.S. city has one airport named for a World War 2 hero, and another named for a famous battle site of that war."
The correct response was "What is Chicago?", with O'Hare and Midway being the respective airports.
Apparently Watson had too many options to choose from to give the correct response, but even a properly programed computer should have known that Toronto is a city in Canada, not the United States. And why its bet was such an odd figure ($947) is debatable, any Jeopardy! player with that big a lead would never risk a major amount, no matter what the category was.
In any event, at the end of the first game, the scores stood at:
Ken Jennings: $4800, third place
Brad Rutter: $10400, second place
Watson: $35734, first place
The final game of the two game exhibition event will be played in the traditional half hour Jeopardy! format tomorrow, with the contestants starting fresh at $0 and the Game One totals added in to whatever their Game Two final scores are to determine the overall winner.


EPISODE THREE/GAME TWO: FEBRUARY 16
Ken Jennings took and early lead and kept it to win the Jeopardy, finding the Daily Double and successfully doubling his score. Both Jennings and Brad Rutter rallied to have Watson finish third in the first half.
However Watson came back in the Double Jeopardy round, finding both Daily Doubles, but only getting the second one correct.
At the end of regulation play, the score was:
Ken Jennings, $18200
Watson, $23440 and
Brad Rutter $5600, with the Final Jeopardy category being "19th Century Novelists" and the correct respone of "Who is Bram Stroker?"
While all three contestants answered correctly; for whatever reason, Kennings only risked $1000 to up his score to $19200.
Rutter successfully doubled his winnings to $11600, and Watson, with an odd bet of $17793, won the game with $41413.
Adding in the scores from Game One, Watson won with a combined score of $77147 and its charities splitting a $1 million US Dollar purse.
Ken Jennings came in second with a combined total of $24000 and splits $300000 with his charity.
Brad Rutter finished third with $21600 and splits $200000 with his charity.

CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that computers are wonderful things. IBM's Blue Gene helped map the human genome of DNA.
Yet artifical intelligence still has a long way to go if it is ever to understand organic intelligence.
If Jennings had not answered before Watson, the computer would have given an incorrect response during the "Mouse-tery" category with "What is Pinky and the Brain?" instead of just "What is the Brain?" since the clue asked for the specific character that Maurice LaMarche voiced and not the series.
(And for those curious, Rob Paulsen voiced Pinky. Narf!)

In the end, Watson is a great computer and a fantastic search engine. But it is the etheral qualities that compose human life which makes us special.
The computer still does not truly 'think', yet.
But someday, even if it has to be held back in the Yorktown Heights facility because of its size; it would be interesting to see a rematch between Watson and Jeopardy!
Perhaps a true test of Watson would be to start from the beginning of a traditional Tournament of Champions competition as a contestant like everyone else and see if it can work its way up to the final rounds.
In any event, I for one would truly like to see a rematch, someday.

Monday, February 14, 2011

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

The song claims a kiss is just a kiss, but some are definitely a LOT more memorable than others.
Here's hoping your Valentines Day is special too!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: FEBRUARY 13, 2011

Hello all you lucky people! You have both Autumn the Puppy AND Waxy Dragon here because since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, we are here to talk about love.

Autumn: I'm thinking we should start by reviewing some of the famous lovers of the past.
Waxy: I'm thinking we should just tell romantic jokes.
Autumn: How can a joke be romantic?
Waxy: Like this. What happened when the two vampires met?
Autumn: I don't know. What?
Waxy: It was love at first bite.
Autumn: Okay. My turn. What do you think of Romeo?
Waxy: As in Romeo and Juliette?
Autumn: Yes.
Waxy: Well, there is no doubt that they truly loved each other, but I just HATE the ending.
Autumn: Agreed.
Waxy: Okay. I've got one. What about Mike Brady?
Autumn: Who?
Waxy: The father on The Brady Bunch. A widower with three sons who married a widow with three daughters.
Autumn: He must have loved the woman very much to do so. But considering when that show was originally made, it was definitely ahead of its time discussing the subject of blended families.
Waxy: Do you have to be so smarty sounding all the time? It's like talking to a book.
Autumn: Well, Velma Dinkley is one of my idols.
Waxy: I would of thought you more of a Scooby-Doo fan.
Autumn: While I'm a big fan of all the dog stars, I do crush more on Snoopy from Peanuts. Now there's a beagle who can do it all.
Waxy: Oh... Kay. Moving right along. What happened when the two bed bugs fell in love?
Autumn: I don't know. What?
Waxy: They were married in the Spring.
Autumn: I get it. What do you think our chances are finding love are?
Waxy: Maybe someday when we're older. After all, to the humans we're just kids.
Autumn: While it would be nice, I'm not holding my breath on ever becoming Mrs. Snoopy.
Waxy: I might have to hold my breath if my crush ever became reality.
Autumn: Oh yeah? Who do you have a romantic crush on?
Waxy: Promise not to laugh if I tell you.
Autumn: Yeah. Who?
Waxy: Pepe Le Pew.
Autumn: The French skunk?
Waxy: Yeah. That accent is just dreamy.
Autumn: Well, I will agree with you about that, but...
Waxy: But what?
Autumn: What about the smell?
Waxy: Hey, I eat over ripe road kill at times and you dig in garbage and sniff other things.
Autumn: Well, I AM a dog.
Waxy: I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Autumn: Agreed.

Well, that's all the time and space we have today. Be kind to your loved ones, especially tomorrow, have a great week, and be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: FEBRUARY 6-12, 2011

Amongst events that have happened around the world this past week:

THE LATEST FROM EGYPT:
*After almost three weeks of relatively peaceful protests on the part of the demonstrators, President Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down late Friday night, although the fact that it was shortly after the Swiss government agreed to freeze all his accounts until it could be determined what was legitimately his and what actually belonged to Egypt might just be a coincidence.
*FACTOID: Being President of Egypt officially only pays the equivalent of about $900 US Dollars a month. Even with being President for 30 years, that only accounts for roughly $324000 US Dollars of Mubarak's total assets, currently estimated at somewhere between $40 to $70 MILLION US Dollars!
*Meanwhile, free elections are tentatively scheduled for this September while the military oversees the country in the interim. How all of this will affect Egypt's relationship(s) with other countries remains to be seen.

ELSEWHERE:
*United States Homeland Security is preparing for a possible increase in terrorist activity as America approaches the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack.
*NASA's Stereo satellite system (which has nothing to do with audio) has completely photographed the surface of the sun.
*In their latest computer development, IBM's WATSON, a system based upon voice recognition software, is scheduled to take on Jeopardy's two greatest all time players: longevity champion Ken Jennings, who played 74 consecutive games, and the highest actual prize winner: Brad Rutter, who won over $3.2 million US Dollars. The competition is scheduled to begin Monday on the syndicated game show. Check local listings for time and channel.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*Activision/Blizzard has announced that it will not release any more volumes within its Guitar Hero franchise.
*Although highly anticipated by gamers, no release date has been set by Nintendo for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. When released, this will be the most physically active title within the Zelda franchise yet, requiring the Wii Motion Plus remote to play.

IN SPORTS
*The Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31 to 25 to win the 45th Super Bowl in American Football.
*Spring training for professional American Baseball is scheduled to begin next weekend.

For more news at any time, just either scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any reputable news source.

AND A FRIENDLY REMINDER FOR ALL THOSE IN LOVE: VALENTINE'S DAY IS THIS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14th!

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Monday is Valentine's Day as we continue our salute to love by looking at some of the more romantic ballads of the past in the following quiz.

01. Whose advice to the lovelorn is "Ooh, ee, ooh, ah, ah, ting, tang, walla, walla, bing, bang"?
02. Who did Frankie Valli pray to for the girl of his dreams?
03. While there is more to romance than that, what did the Starland Vocal Band hope for?
04. What song title did Barry White realize when you find your one true love?
05. The Temptations realized they had sunshine on a cloudy day with who?
06. What musical question did Bryan Adams ask Don Juan DeMarco?
07. What was Paul McCartney once accused of filling the world with? Not that there's anything wrong with them.

We'll reveal all next weekend. But meanwhile, let's peek into THE ANSWERS BOX for the results of February 5, 2011.

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
Out of the letters in the word ROMANCE, you can also form the words: a, ace, acme, acne, acorn, acre, am, an, arc, are, arm, came, can, car, care, come, core, corn, cream, ear, earn, mace, man, mane, manor, mar, mare, more, name, near, no, nor, oar, on, one, or, ore, race, ream, roam, roan, (and) Roman.
More than the 42 words listed above might be possible.

TRIVIA TIME
Although she was not officially named until her appearance in 1995's Carrotblanca, Penelope Pussycat is the hapless feline femme fatale that Pepe Le'Pew usually winds up chasing.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

FUN WITH JEOPARDY!

Long time fans of the answers and questions game show Jeopardy! know that the program has developed a fine sense of humor over the years; from themed category boards to outright outrageous individual clues and their results.
But today, someone at Jeopardy!.com has taken it to a new level on their website.
Members of the Jeopardy! Premier Club, like myself, have always been able to earn points by correctly guessing the "Final Jeopardy" category from a multiple choice list, but my hat is off to whoever wrote today's selection.
The "Final Jeopardy" choices were COMEDIANS, REPTILES, and the correct answer: POLITICAL PARTIES, from the program that aired yesterday, February 9, 2011.

To everyone involved with the show: KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: FEBRUARY 6, 2011

Hello Everybody! Autumn the Puppy here!
You know, for such a short one, February is a very busy month, packed with a lot of events and observances in only 28 days.
And one of those, at least here in the United States, is Groundhog's Day.
Now why groundhogs need a day to themselves is beyond me. I've never personally seen one myself outside of that movie with Bill Murray, and Sonic in the video games is a HEDGE hog.
But then again, being a puppy, what do I know?
Anyway, there is one groundhog in Pennsylvania named Punxsutawney Phil who makes an annual weather prediction based upon whether or not he sees his shadow on February 2.
This year, Phil did NOT see it, so we are supposed to have six weeks of mild weather and an early Spring despite the fact that a blizzard passed through that part of the country February 3.
Anyway, The Free Choice E-zine's esteemed Editor-In-Chief Lee Houston, Junior wrote the following little skit that I thought I'd share with everyone.

“Is this the law firm of Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe?” asked the lady as she walked in my front door.
“Yes it is,” I replied. “I’m Howie Cheatum. And you are--?”
“Susan Woo,” she replied, “but you can call me Sue.”
“Okay Sue. And what can I do for you today?”
“I want to engage your services to represent myself as I initiate a law suit.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. Who do you want to sue?”
“Punxsutawney Phil.”
“You want to sue who?” I asked in disbelief.
“Not myself silly. Punxsutawney Phil.”
“The groundhog?” I asked, trying to confirm what I heard the first time.
“Yes, that filthy animal,” replied Sue.
“Why?”
“Because this year he/it claimed we would have six weeks of relatively mild weather and an early spring. None of that came true. I couldn’t break out my spring wardrobe when I wanted to. I hurt my back shoveling the driveway myself because I dismissed the snow plow service early thinking I wouldn’t need them any more this season. Should I go on?”
“No, I get the idea. And on what grounds would you like to initiate this lawsuit?”
“Don’t you think at a courthouse would be best?” she asked.
“What I meant was, for what reasons did you want to sue?”
“I figured breach of promise at the very least, and whatever else is applicable,” she replied. “The late winter has just totally ruined spring, and who knows just how that is going to affect summer. The trees are barely beginning to bud as it is. Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if fall arrives on time anyway and cuts whatever is left of spring and summer short this year.”
“I see,” I said, pausing momentarily to wonder why I always got stuck with the live ones. “Let me look up some reference material on the subject,” I said, before turning to use my computer terminal. After a couple of minutes on Wikipedia, I said, “You do realize that this is all just traditional superstition dating back to at least the 1800s in America and at least the fifth century in Europe.”
“So, that means that Punxsutawney Phil should have been a lot more accurate in his prediction than he actually was, right?”
“Well, that’s one way of looking at it,” I agreed while reading the data some more. “While he only has a 39% accuracy rating, it says here that Punxsutawney Phil isn’t the only one who is used to predict the weather.”
“Oh?”
“There's Jimmy the Groundhog in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; Holtsville Hall and Dunkirk Dave, wherever they reside, all said that there would be six more weeks of winter. Phil and a bunch of others on this list all predicted an early spring,” I said, showing her what it said on my computer monitor.
“Good. Let’s start a class action suit and go after all of them!”
“It just doesn’t quite work that way. The animals themselves never specifically said what the weather would be. Humans just interpreted the situational conditions as best they could.”
“Well let’s sue them,” said Sue.
“That doesn’t work either. None of them were trained professionals paid to do that job. It would be like me trying to predict the weather just by looking out the window.”
“Then are you suggesting that I should sue the weathermen?”
“Actually, you don’t have a case against anybody involved with Groundhog’s Day predictions. That’s all they were, just predictions. None were legally binding.”
“Then can I sue you?”
“For what?” I asked in disbelief.
“For not taking my case.”
While it would not actually get far in the court system, in this day and age, I’d be surprised if she didn’t find somebody willing to take the case.

Autumn back again folks. The puppy, not the season. Hope you liked the above.
Meanwhile, I've got to get ready to watch the Super Bowl tonight.
Just wish I was there in person. I love romping around a big field and chasing balls.
Anyway, have a great week, stay warm and dry, and we'll be back next weekend with more Sunday Funnies.-AtP.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: JANUARY 30-FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Amongst events around the world this past week...

THE LATEST FROM EGYPT
*Other countries are keeping an eye on the situation and evacuating civilian nationals as protests continue.
*The Egyptian military has announced that they will NOT use violent force against the protesters, but otherwise will do their duty to curtail the unrest.
*Egyptian citizens have been denied access to the Internet, Google, mobile zone services, and Twitter. It is unknown if access has been reestablished as of this post.
*Meanwhile, Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as the leader of his political party, he is refusing to resign as President of Egypt before the end of his current term this September.

ELSEWHERE
*The Health Care Reform Act has been ruled unconstitutional by Florida District Court Judge Roger Vinson. However, the law stays in effect as the appeal process begins. Meanwhile, the Republican effort to repeal the Act in Congress died in the Senate.
*Ken Feinberg, who is currently overseeing the compensation fund established after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast is ALSO working for British Petroleum, and has been ordered by the court system to admit his connection whenever performing his fund duties.
*NASA's Kepler Mission (probe) has found evidence of over 1200 possible new planets in the universe, 54 of which could possibly sustain life.
*The United Nations has ruled alleged WikiLeaks whistle blower Bradley Manning is being unfairly treated by the United States government because he has been kept in solitary confinement since his arrest.
*Chinese National Television has been shown to recently use footage from the movie Top Gun in lieu of actual footage of their Air Force.

IN SPORTS
*Super Bowl 45 tomorrow night features a classic match up, pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Green Bay Packers. For those interested, the Black Eyed Peas are the scheduled half-time entertainment and Christina Aguilera is to sing the National Anthem.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Ah, le'amour.
Valentine's Day is approaching, so I thought we'd spend the season of the heart with some romantic puzzles this weekend and next.
To wit:

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
There are many different ways to express love. But how many other words can you make out of the letters in ROMANCE?

TRIVIA TIME
What is the formal name of the hapless feline femme fatale usually purrsued by Pepe Le Pew?

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's peek into THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from the January 29 Puzzle Corner.

TRIVIA TIME
Everyone who e-mailed me claiming that this trivia question was way too easy also got it wrong when they said Tim Matheson's first acting role was voicing the title character in the classic Jonny Quest series.
Matheson first appeared as Roddy Miller in the 1961-62 season of Window on Main Street.

COMMON BONDS
Group 1. Don't Worry, Be Happy and Kokomo both appeared in the movie Cocktails.
Group 2. Both songs appeared within in Back To The Future trilogy. Power of Love appeared in the first and third installments, while Double Back appeared in Part 3.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

For those of our readership who celebrate, this is the year of the rabbit within the Chinese zodiac, so HOPPY NEW YEAR!