The voice of Siri is no longer anonymous
We now know the face behind the voice. The voice of "Siri", the helpful digital assistant that is part of the iPhone. That face belongs to Susan Bennett, a long-time voice-over actress who lives in Atlanta.
One has to wonder if she would have chosen to remain anonymous if Apple wasn't changing the female voice of Siri on the latest version of their operating system, iOS7. I think she might have. She's going to get a lot of publicity and she may not want it.
* * *
The Republicans in the House are continuing to claim they are "willing to negotiate" to make a deal to end the government shutdown. But they are only willing to do this if it involves defunding Obamacare, or in the alternative, delaying the individual mandate for one year and ending the tax on medical device purchases. Their piecemeal approach to end the shutdown of several federal government functions isn't going to fly and they know it. They believe they can fool the American people into thinking it is the Democrats who are intransigent.
It is very interesting to consider just how the "suicide caucus" among the (mostly) Tea Party Republicans came into being. Democrats were part of the creation of the problem. While the U.S. continues to become more diverse, the districts represented by Republicans in general; and these more conservative members of that group, have actually become less diverse. Data compiled by David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report shows that Republican congressional districts became 2% more "white" on average last year. Incumbents from both sides of the aisle work together in most states, red and blue, to gerrymander after every "zero-year" Census, in order to preserve their own places at the government trough they feast at. The entire lot of blame cannot be placed on just the Republicans. Democrats eager to save themselves from facing an election challenge helped to make those Tea Party districts what they are.
80 members of the House signed the now famous letter written by Rep Mark Meadows of North Carolina. Meadows' district is SO Republican, Mitt Romney carried it in November of 2012 by a margin of 61% to 38% for President Obama. It should be noted that 76 of the people who signed that letter are male. 79 of them are white.
A group of 79 men and one woman, almost entirely white, is holding the entire United States federal government hostage. They do not represent the real America, a melting pot of race, religion, gender and so on. They represent white people who are scared of the changes in our nation's demographics. They represent people who bitch about self-reliance, as long as they get tax cuts and tax-favored treatment for their businesses.
It's disgusting. I watch these buffoons on the news programs spewing forth their talking points to try and sell this load of bullshit they are pitching and I want to vomit.
Sadly, because of the political apathy of the average American, things are not likely to change in my lifetime.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Would someone please tell Sinead O'Connor her 15 minutes were up a long time ago?
Would the same person please tell Miley Cyrus that O'Connor is right on target when she said the music industry doesn't like her antics, they're just exploiting them?
Is it blasphemy for a Chicago burger joint to be selling a burger garnished with an unconsecrated communion wafer and a red wine reduction sauce?
The sports writer who suggested a three-point shooting contest among current NBA executives would be a fun thing to watch is right on the money. Chris Mullin, Larry Bird, Joe Dumars, Jon Paxson, Danny Ainge, Danny Ferry and Jason Kidd would make it a very watchable event.
Steve Harvey doesn't like Kenan Thompson's SNL impression of him? Get a sense of humor, Steve.
Should you be found guilty of a crime if someone else puts money into your bank account and you withdraw it and spend it?
The ratings for ABC's "Super Fun Night" seem to suggest people like "fat jokes". Do you?
Do the Jody Reed award winning members of Congress realize that if they don't raise the debt ceiling, and they allow the U.S. to default on its debts, it will make the financial collapse of 2008 look like a picnic?
John McAfee says he is only a little insane. I'd like a second opinion on his sanity from a professional, please.
Chris Pine as "Jack Ryan" in the next movie featuring Tom Clancy's most iconic character? I can see that. It may work quite well. It could also suck.
* * *
This Date In History:
23 – Rebels capture and sack the Chinese capital Chang'an during a peasant rebellion. They kill and decapitate the emperor, Wang Mang, two days later.
610 – Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor.
1227 – Assassination of Caliph al-Adil.
1363 – End of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat that of his rival, Chen Youliang, in one of the largest naval battles in history.
1511 – Formation of the Holy League of Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Papal States and the Republic of Venice against France.
1535 – The first complete English-language Bible (the Coverdale Bible) is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
1582 – Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.
1597 – The first Guale uprising begins against the Spanish missions in Georgia.
1636 – The Swedish Army defeats the armies of Saxony and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock.
1693 – Battle of Marsaglia: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
1725 – Foundation of Rosario in Argentina.
1777 – Battle of Germantown: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.
1779 – The Fort Wilson Riot takes place.
1795 – Napoleon Bonaparte first rises to national prominence with a "Whiff of Grapeshot", using cannon to suppress armed counter-revolutionary rioters threatening the French Legislature (National Convention).
1824 – Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic.
1830 – Creation of the Kingdom of Belgium after separation from the Netherlands.
1853 – Crimean War: The Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia.
1876 – Texas A&M University opens as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, becoming the first public institution of higher education in Texas.
1883 – First run of the Orient Express.
1883 – First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.
1895 – The first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship administered by the United States Golf Association is played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
1917 – The Battle of Broodseinde fought between the British and German armies in Flanders.
1918 – An explosion kills more than 100 and destroys the T.A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant in Sayreville, New Jersey. Fires and explosions continue for three days forcing massive evacuations and spreading ordnance over a wide area, pieces of which were still being found as of 2007.
1927 – Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore.
1940 – Meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini at the Brenner Pass.
1941 – Norman Rockwell's Willie Gillis character debuts on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
1943 – World War II: U.S. captures Solomon Islands.
1957 – Space Race: Launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
1957 – Avro Arrow roll-out ceremony at Avro Canada plant in Malton, Ontario.
1957 – Leave It To Beaver premieres on CBS.
1958 – Fifth Republic of France is established.
1960 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes after a bird strike on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 of 72 on board.
1963 – Hurricane Flora, kills 6,000 in Cuba and Haiti.
1965 – Pope Paul VI arrives in New York, the first Pope to visit the United States of America and the Western hemisphere.
1966 – Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho.
1967 – Omar Ali Saifuddin III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
1974 – Founding of the New Democracy party in Greece.
1976 – Official launch of the Intercity 125 High Speed Train (HST).
1983 – Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h), driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
1985 – The Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, United States.
1988 – U.S. televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted for fraud.
1991 – The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
1992 – The Rome General Peace Accords ends a 16 year civil war in Mozambique.
1992 – El Al Flight 1862: an El Al Boeing 747-258F crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground.
1993 – Russian Constitutional Crisis: In Moscow, tanks bombard the White House, a government building that housed the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Boris Yeltsin rally outside.
1997 – The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs at the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Loomis, Fargo and Company. A Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation eventually results in 24 convictions and the recovery of approximately 95% of the $17.3 million stolen cash.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Louis X of France
Richard Cromwell
Antoine Arbogast
Rutherford B. Hayes
Damon Runyon
Buster Keaton
Frankie Crosetti
Jan Murray
Charlton Heston
Alvin Toffler
Jackie Collins
Steve Swallow
Anne Rice
Christopher Stone
Tony La Russa
Chuck Hagel
Susan Sarandon
Armand Assante
Stephen Gyllenhaal
Christoph Waltz
Russell Simmons
Jon Secada
A. C. Green
Liev Schreiber
Abraham Benrubi
Alicia Silverstone
Rachael Leigh Cook
Tony Gwynn, Jr.
Jered Weaver
Dakota Johnson
Movie quotes today are from "The Five Year Engagement", because Dakota Johnson was in it:
Suzie Barnes-Eilhauer: This is supposed to be exciting. It's your wedding - you only get a few of these!
#2
Tom Solomon: How could you do this to me?
Winton Childs: I haven't done anything to you, Violet did something to you; not me. If a woman wants to kiss me I'm going to fucking kiss her. Underneath all that polite bullshit we're all running on caveman software. If she's got a husband, or a fiancé, or a boyfriend it's on her conscience, not mine.
Tom Solomon: You should run.
Winton Childs: Look Tom, this is ridiculous. Let's just put a stop to this now, please. Come on, I'm sorry. I really am.
Tom Solomon: Winton, if you feel bad at all for what you did then you'll run from me.
Winton Childs: Well, okay, I'll keep running. I'm off.
#3
Alex Eilhauer: I feel like I'm drinking out of Chewbacca's dick.
#4
George Barnes: The first important thing to remember about marriage is that it requires commitment. The second important thing to remember about marriage is that so does insanity.
One has to wonder if she would have chosen to remain anonymous if Apple wasn't changing the female voice of Siri on the latest version of their operating system, iOS7. I think she might have. She's going to get a lot of publicity and she may not want it.
* * *
The Republicans in the House are continuing to claim they are "willing to negotiate" to make a deal to end the government shutdown. But they are only willing to do this if it involves defunding Obamacare, or in the alternative, delaying the individual mandate for one year and ending the tax on medical device purchases. Their piecemeal approach to end the shutdown of several federal government functions isn't going to fly and they know it. They believe they can fool the American people into thinking it is the Democrats who are intransigent.
It is very interesting to consider just how the "suicide caucus" among the (mostly) Tea Party Republicans came into being. Democrats were part of the creation of the problem. While the U.S. continues to become more diverse, the districts represented by Republicans in general; and these more conservative members of that group, have actually become less diverse. Data compiled by David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report shows that Republican congressional districts became 2% more "white" on average last year. Incumbents from both sides of the aisle work together in most states, red and blue, to gerrymander after every "zero-year" Census, in order to preserve their own places at the government trough they feast at. The entire lot of blame cannot be placed on just the Republicans. Democrats eager to save themselves from facing an election challenge helped to make those Tea Party districts what they are.
80 members of the House signed the now famous letter written by Rep Mark Meadows of North Carolina. Meadows' district is SO Republican, Mitt Romney carried it in November of 2012 by a margin of 61% to 38% for President Obama. It should be noted that 76 of the people who signed that letter are male. 79 of them are white.
A group of 79 men and one woman, almost entirely white, is holding the entire United States federal government hostage. They do not represent the real America, a melting pot of race, religion, gender and so on. They represent white people who are scared of the changes in our nation's demographics. They represent people who bitch about self-reliance, as long as they get tax cuts and tax-favored treatment for their businesses.
It's disgusting. I watch these buffoons on the news programs spewing forth their talking points to try and sell this load of bullshit they are pitching and I want to vomit.
Sadly, because of the political apathy of the average American, things are not likely to change in my lifetime.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Would someone please tell Sinead O'Connor her 15 minutes were up a long time ago?
Would the same person please tell Miley Cyrus that O'Connor is right on target when she said the music industry doesn't like her antics, they're just exploiting them?
Is it blasphemy for a Chicago burger joint to be selling a burger garnished with an unconsecrated communion wafer and a red wine reduction sauce?
The sports writer who suggested a three-point shooting contest among current NBA executives would be a fun thing to watch is right on the money. Chris Mullin, Larry Bird, Joe Dumars, Jon Paxson, Danny Ainge, Danny Ferry and Jason Kidd would make it a very watchable event.
Steve Harvey doesn't like Kenan Thompson's SNL impression of him? Get a sense of humor, Steve.
Should you be found guilty of a crime if someone else puts money into your bank account and you withdraw it and spend it?
The ratings for ABC's "Super Fun Night" seem to suggest people like "fat jokes". Do you?
Do the Jody Reed award winning members of Congress realize that if they don't raise the debt ceiling, and they allow the U.S. to default on its debts, it will make the financial collapse of 2008 look like a picnic?
John McAfee says he is only a little insane. I'd like a second opinion on his sanity from a professional, please.
Chris Pine as "Jack Ryan" in the next movie featuring Tom Clancy's most iconic character? I can see that. It may work quite well. It could also suck.
* * *
This Date In History:
23 – Rebels capture and sack the Chinese capital Chang'an during a peasant rebellion. They kill and decapitate the emperor, Wang Mang, two days later.
610 – Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor.
1227 – Assassination of Caliph al-Adil.
1363 – End of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat that of his rival, Chen Youliang, in one of the largest naval battles in history.
1511 – Formation of the Holy League of Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Papal States and the Republic of Venice against France.
1535 – The first complete English-language Bible (the Coverdale Bible) is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
1582 – Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.
1597 – The first Guale uprising begins against the Spanish missions in Georgia.
1636 – The Swedish Army defeats the armies of Saxony and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock.
1693 – Battle of Marsaglia: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
1725 – Foundation of Rosario in Argentina.
1777 – Battle of Germantown: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe.
1779 – The Fort Wilson Riot takes place.
1795 – Napoleon Bonaparte first rises to national prominence with a "Whiff of Grapeshot", using cannon to suppress armed counter-revolutionary rioters threatening the French Legislature (National Convention).
1824 – Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic.
1830 – Creation of the Kingdom of Belgium after separation from the Netherlands.
1853 – Crimean War: The Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia.
1876 – Texas A&M University opens as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, becoming the first public institution of higher education in Texas.
1883 – First run of the Orient Express.
1883 – First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.
1895 – The first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship administered by the United States Golf Association is played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
1917 – The Battle of Broodseinde fought between the British and German armies in Flanders.
1918 – An explosion kills more than 100 and destroys the T.A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant in Sayreville, New Jersey. Fires and explosions continue for three days forcing massive evacuations and spreading ordnance over a wide area, pieces of which were still being found as of 2007.
1927 – Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore.
1940 – Meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini at the Brenner Pass.
1941 – Norman Rockwell's Willie Gillis character debuts on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
1943 – World War II: U.S. captures Solomon Islands.
1957 – Space Race: Launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
1957 – Avro Arrow roll-out ceremony at Avro Canada plant in Malton, Ontario.
1957 – Leave It To Beaver premieres on CBS.
1958 – Fifth Republic of France is established.
1960 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes after a bird strike on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 of 72 on board.
1963 – Hurricane Flora, kills 6,000 in Cuba and Haiti.
1965 – Pope Paul VI arrives in New York, the first Pope to visit the United States of America and the Western hemisphere.
1966 – Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho.
1967 – Omar Ali Saifuddin III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
1974 – Founding of the New Democracy party in Greece.
1976 – Official launch of the Intercity 125 High Speed Train (HST).
1983 – Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h), driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
1985 – The Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, United States.
1988 – U.S. televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted for fraud.
1991 – The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
1992 – The Rome General Peace Accords ends a 16 year civil war in Mozambique.
1992 – El Al Flight 1862: an El Al Boeing 747-258F crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground.
1993 – Russian Constitutional Crisis: In Moscow, tanks bombard the White House, a government building that housed the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Boris Yeltsin rally outside.
1997 – The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs at the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Loomis, Fargo and Company. A Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation eventually results in 24 convictions and the recovery of approximately 95% of the $17.3 million stolen cash.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Louis X of France
Richard Cromwell
Antoine Arbogast
Rutherford B. Hayes
Damon Runyon
Buster Keaton
Frankie Crosetti
Jan Murray
Charlton Heston
Alvin Toffler
Jackie Collins
Steve Swallow
Anne Rice
Christopher Stone
Tony La Russa
Chuck Hagel
Susan Sarandon
Armand Assante
Stephen Gyllenhaal
Christoph Waltz
Russell Simmons
Jon Secada
A. C. Green
Liev Schreiber
Abraham Benrubi
Alicia Silverstone
Rachael Leigh Cook
Tony Gwynn, Jr.
Jered Weaver
Dakota Johnson
Movie quotes today are from "The Five Year Engagement", because Dakota Johnson was in it:
Suzie Barnes-Eilhauer: This is supposed to be exciting. It's your wedding - you only get a few of these!
#2
Tom Solomon: How could you do this to me?
Winton Childs: I haven't done anything to you, Violet did something to you; not me. If a woman wants to kiss me I'm going to fucking kiss her. Underneath all that polite bullshit we're all running on caveman software. If she's got a husband, or a fiancé, or a boyfriend it's on her conscience, not mine.
Tom Solomon: You should run.
Winton Childs: Look Tom, this is ridiculous. Let's just put a stop to this now, please. Come on, I'm sorry. I really am.
Tom Solomon: Winton, if you feel bad at all for what you did then you'll run from me.
Winton Childs: Well, okay, I'll keep running. I'm off.
#3
Alex Eilhauer: I feel like I'm drinking out of Chewbacca's dick.
#4
George Barnes: The first important thing to remember about marriage is that it requires commitment. The second important thing to remember about marriage is that so does insanity.
posted by me at 4:02 PM
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