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Everybody knows the modern world lacks enchantment. As a premise, that assertion is unprovable, but movies and TV shows have been saying it forever, so we just accept it as a trope, like, “The suburbs are shallow” and “When the railroads came, the Wild West became civilized.” Any program built around it is therefore better off not dwelling on it, and focusing its energies instead on other, more basic pleasures: characterization, plot, atmosphere. Two new network shows are built around fairy tales and the absence of magic in modern life — ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” which debuted Sunday at...

Welcome to Storybrooke, Maine where the townsfolk are fairy tale characters - but they don't know it. The fantasy series Once Upon a Time premiered last night on ABC. Who watched it? Read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia. Watch the pilot online at ABC.com. Review at The Hollywood Reporter. Analysis at The Hollywood Reporter. IMDb

<p>The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was mostly unchanged last week, evidence that the struggling economy isn't generating many jobs.</p> <p>Unemployment line The Labor Department says unemployment benefit applications ticked down 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 428,000.</p> <p>Applications have topped 400,000 for 12 straight weeks.</p>

Adapted by Barry Rubin from Jean Hersholt's translation of Hans Christian Andersen's story, "Keiserens nye Klæder" Many years ago there was a man who wanted to be Emperor, for according to the peculiar customs of that country of which I speak, the Emperor was elected. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for many others, the man met a couple of political consultants who saw him as the ideal client. Together they would ride to the heights of power. To become Emperor, they explained, required a good image, a fine manner of speaking, and a handsome appearance. But in those days before...

August 29, 2009 — Today’s Evolutionary Just-So Story is brought to you by New Scientist: “Girls Are Primed to Fear Spiders.” Once upon a time, while cavemen were out hunting and gathering, the women back home had to learn to avoid dangerous animals. David Rakison of Carnegie Mellon University put this all into evolutionary terms for the rest of us:...

ATLANTA (AP) -- Eric Mongerson's kids couldn't meet his partner of two years, much less join the couple for ice cream. His friends couldn't cheer on the children at concerts or Little League games. The divorced dad spent thousands of dollars fighting an unusual ban imposed by a county judge in 2007 that kept the three minors from having any contact with his gay friends or partners.

- see the video - The president proved yesterday he will not tolerate distractions from his hefty political agenda -- at least not those coming from pesky insects. President Obama addressed issues ranging from health care to financial industry reform in a lengthy interview on CNBC on Tuesday, but he was interrupted by a fly persistently buzzing around his head. "Hey! Get out of here," Mr. Obama said. After a few irritated swats, the president zeroed in on the pest and patiently waited for it to land on his hand. He gave it a quick smack and watched it fall...

President Barack Obama’s rapid race into socialism is creating an escalating tax revolt. With a never-ending stream of stimulus packages and new entitlement programs, the Americans who will be stuck with the bill are shouting a clear message: “Enough!” Many organizations are calling for a Tax Day Tea Party (http://taxdayteaparty.com/) on April 15. To Democrats, “the rich” aren’t paying their “fair share,” but many of the top 20 percent of wage-owners who pay 83 percent of the income taxes are taking to the streets. Yes, Obama is my president, and as Warren Buffett said, “We’re all in the same boat.”...

Ye Are the Salt of the EvolutionMarch 11, 2009 — Salt is good, the good book says (Mark 9:50). Another good thing it may do for you, according to Science Daily, is act as “Nature’s Antidepressant.” Presumably it’s hard to have a good mood about a steak with no salt on it. In the midst of this article about the mood-enhancing effects of salt, an evolutionary tale appeared out of nowhere:...

LONDON (Reuters) - Air travelers are paying vastly differing prices to offset their contribution to climate change, in some cases three times market levels, despite efforts to increase transparency in an unregulated market. Under a regulated carbon market, countries and companies buy offsets to help them meet binding international climate targets. Prices have halved in recent weeks as recession reduces industrial output and expected emissions. But prices which consumers pay in an unofficial market have lagged behind those falls. Carbon offsetting is offered to tourists and business travelers by many airlines and offset developers so as to allow people to...

Who’s qualified to hold high political office? According to The New York Times, that depends on whether you’re a Kennedy or a mere mortal. A December 16 news story, “Caroline Kennedy Is Seeking Seat Held by Clinton,” couldn’t have been more fawning if it was written by a public relations firm. In terms of breathless wonder, The Times revealed that Ms. Kennedy, “the deeply private daughter of America’s most storied political dynasty, will seek the United States Senate seat in New York being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton” (emphasis added). David Paterson, who became Governor of New York when his...

Nearly seven years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the war on terror in this city has evolved into a quiet struggle against a phantom foe.

NEW YORK - Former President Bill Clinton says his comment about Barack Obama telling a "fairy tale" about opposing the war in Iraq has been misconstrued as a criticism of the senator's run for the Democratic nomination. "There's nothing 'fairy tale' about his campaign. It's real, it's strong, and he might win," Clinton said in a phone interview for the Rev. Al Sharpton's Radio One network talk show. Clinton said his "fairy tale" remark on the eve of the New Hampshire primary — won by his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — was only intended to describe Obama's claim to...

Then Sir Chuck of Norris rode forth pushing the earth down before him. Now the way would be paved! "I'll watch the border, just get things in order!" He lowered his sword and knighted Friar Mike, "I give you Sir Mike-A-Lot who we all Like a lot! He's the only one we can trust to slay the Slaughter Dragon and the wicked Slaughter Queen. Now that he's lean, he's a fighting machine!" Sir Don-of-the-Wild rode forth on his steed. "I'm ready to lead!" he said. "Sir Mike-A-Lot will protect all the tots from slaughter and make sure each has a...

"We couldn't let such a nice prison burn down," Ronny Stenberg said after he and fellow inmates at Arendal Prison in Fyresdal chose to fight flames rather than run. "I don't dare think what would have happened if the prisoners themselves hadn't discovered the fire and helped fight it," prison guard Daniel Trollsås told newspaper Agderposten. When firefighters arrived after about 40 minutes, a prisoner sleeping near the blaze had been pulled out to safety and the fire halted, with damage limited to only one barracks. In appreciation of the effort, the prison threw a party last Wednesday after the...

Disney opens Fairy Tale Weddings to gay couples Thu Apr 5, 2007 7:11 PM ET By Gina Keating LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co. has changed its policy to allow same-sex couples to participate in a popular Fairy Tale Wedding program it runs mainly at its two U.S. resorts and cruise line, a Disney spokesman said on Thursday. Disney previously had allowed gay couples to organize their own weddings or commitment ceremonies at rented meeting rooms at the resorts, but had barred them from purchasing its Fairy Tale Wedding package and holding the event at locations at Disneyland...

LEXINGTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The crown prince rejects a bevy of beautiful princesses, rebuffing each suitor until falling in love with a prince. The two marry, sealing the union with a kiss, and live happily ever after. That fairy tale about gay marriage has sparked a civil rights debate in Massachusetts, the only U.S. state where gays and lesbians can legally wed, after a teacher read the story to a classroom of seven year olds without warning parents first. A parents' rights group said on Monday it may sue the public school in the affluent suburb of Lexington, about 12...

Uniformed Mexicans with guns, bulldozer seize drug-bust truck from Border Patrol U.S. Border Patrol agents were backed down this week by armed men, dressed in what appeared to be Mexican military uniforms and carrying military weapons, who seized a captured dump truck filled with marijuana from the U.S. agents and dragged it across the border into Mexico with a bulldozer. The border incident occurred Thursday evening when Border Patrol agents attempted to pull over a dump truck on Interstate 10 in Hudspeth County, Texas. The driver fled from the agents, exiting the freeway and driving toward the Rio Grande which...

This was just posted to a web forum hosted by my local newspaper. Before I comment on it to the poster (who has posted before that he's a registered Republican, but who is a frothing liberal), I want to find out if anyone here knows anything about this. If Freepers really did this, I'm ashamed. But I have a hard time believing that, especially since DU is mentioned. In fact, as I re-read it I notice that there are no checkable or verifiable facts here. What can you all tell me about this? Here then is the post: This is...

I live in a college town in North Carolina, and recently I went into a coffee shop to innocently purchase a cup of coffee. What I instead found was a veritable den of sin, filled with Marxists and DemocRATS. To wit: -The entire place stunk of patchoulli -Patrons were reading 'Tropic of Cancer', 'The Communist Manifesto', and 'Stupid White Men' -- titles that I would never want my good G*d-fearing children getting a hippie's length away from (of course, not a Bible to be found) -Two women were kissing (of course, I could only tell they were women upon further...