(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Odds & Ends: News/Humor (with a "Who Lost the Week?" poll) [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-12-17 I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers". OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted. CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead. ART NOTES — an exhibition entitled The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. through January 15th. Steven Yazzie, 2003 PROGRAMMING NOTE — I’ll be travelling for the Yuletide: thus, there will neither be a Friday C&J post, nor a normal Sunday Odds & Ends next week (though I will have a “Who Lost in MAGA World ?!?!?” poll). If you celebrate it: Merry Christmas. And I’ll see you all on the New Year’s weekend. YOUR WEEKEND READS are two essays (somewhat related theme) — one by Amanda Marcotte on the Hallmark movie genre — which many others have analyzed — looking at how the audience for these flicks support policies that encourage women to leave small towns … the other by Timothy Noah in The New Republic on the red state brain drain, caused by the effects of the culture war. THURSDAY's CHILD is named Sandy the Cat — a sixteen year-old Tennessee kitteh who survived a tornado that leveled his family’s home (when they were away) yet discovered in the rubble and is recuperating well. Sandy the Cat ENVIRONMENTAL NOTES — after suffering through a 2011 bout of flooding from torrential rains, Copenhagen, Denmark has sought to rebuild itself as a sponge city — able to absorb water more efficiently and release it more slowly. FILM NOTES — moviegoers in Italy have seen one of their own works edge Barbie in 2023 box office receipts — C'e' Ancora Domani (There's Still Tomorrow) is a black-and-white film of an abused housewife in post-war Rome and confronting issues of patriarchy in the year Italian women got to vote for the first time. FRIDAY's CHILD is named Smokey the Hero Cat — an Australian kitteh who in 2018 detected a woman’s illness and kept head-butting her, leading to her calling an ambulance in time before her organs began shutting down from colon disease. Smokey the Hero Cat BRAIN TEASER — try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… while this week’s New York Times quiz .. is a Faces of 2023 quiz. THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at three former GOP members of Congress whom their caucus supported one day … but not the next. Reader suggested SEPARATED at BIRTH — (from Audri) — TV star Melinda Clarke (The O.C., CSI series) and film star Fairuza Balk (Almost Famous, The Waterboy). Whaddya think? Melinda Clarke (b. 1969) Fairuza Balk (b. 1974) ...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… my annual tribute to a performer that one reviewer declared to be "the most listened-to jazz pianist of all time" and with the Yuletide season upon us: if true, it should be noted that Vince Guaraldi achieved that status - in a quiet way - due to a certain comic strip of note. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/17/2210906/-Odds-amp-Ends-News-Humor-with-a-Who-Lost-the-Week-poll?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/