You can’t get away from it these days. Subprime loans. The banking crisis. The Fed and Interest rates. The financial news continues to get more complex and troublesome with each headline.
Does anyone have the answers? American Public Media puts your financial skills to the test with Budget Hero.
Tax cuts, policy changes. They are all in your control. Find out how your plan will impact the country’s financial picture in the next 10 years.
If the results are positive, there are two candidates running for president who might want to speak with you.
Like one of her famous plot twists, Agatha Christie has given her fans an unexpected ending.
Just days before the 118th anniversary of her birth, the New York Times is reporting the discovery of a cache of audio tapes of Christie discussing her life and literary works. The tapes – 27 reels running a total of more than 13 hours – were discovered by Christie’s grandson, Matthew Prichard, in a cardboard box in one of her former houses.
An unguarded Christie talks at length about some of her most famous characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot – and her audience’s suggestion that the two meet.
According to the New York Times article, Christie’s estate is considering releasing part of the tapes or publishings a new, updated autobiography.
Christie fans can also look forward to a feast next year on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery!. David Suchet will reprise his signature role as the suave Belgian super sleuth Hercule Poirot in two new episodes. Acclaimed British actress Julie McKenzie will take over the iconoic role of the sprinster sleuth Miss Marple in three new episodes.
And what of the possible meeting of Marple and Poirot? Christie made it very clear on the audiotapes. “But why should they meet?,” said Christie. “I’m sure they would not like meeting at all. I shall not let them meet unless I feel a really sudden and unexpected urge to do so.” Post Your Comments Below.
It is a first-of-its-kind opportunity. And you can watch it unfold. A chance to see the emergence of a sport in a nation that once considered baseball “cultural pollution.” (Baseball was outlawed by Mao Tse Tung during the Cultural Revolution in China during the 1970s.)
It all started five years ago in China. As host nation for the Beijing Olympics, all of its teams would be allowed to participate. In the past, the Chinese had not fielded a good baseball team. With the Olympics on their home turf, they wanted to make a good showing in America’s game. So representatives from the Chinese Baseball Association turned to Major League Baseball for help.
Jim Lefebrve, former player and coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was working for Major League Baseball’s International Division at the time. He had such a strong background in baseball fundamentals as a coach, MLB officials believed he could give the Chinese players what they needed to become winners.
Jim picked Bruce Hurst, Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame pitcher, to be his pitching coach.
Along with a handful of other retired pros, Lefebrve and Hurst took on one of the toughest tasks of their careers – transforming China’s fledgling national baseball team into a contender in the 2008 Olympic Games. See the story unfold as the team trains and competes in Arizona, Italy, Japan and China. Watch
Out of Left Field: The Making of the Chinese Olympic Baseball Team airing Thursday, August 14 at 10 PM on PBS.
Any other MLB greats you would pick to coach the Chinese team? Create your own dream team coaching staff.
How do you think the 2008 Presidential VP sweepstakes strategy will play out? Should Arizona Senator John McCain counter any age or conservative concerns the voters might have with someone younger and more to his right — former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney or Mississippi Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Should the Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, make a strong play for party unity by adding New York Senator Hillary Clinton to the ticket? The latest Cronkite-Eight poll shows that may actually hurt his chances with Arizona voters. Would Virginia Senator Jim Webb or Delaware Senator Joe Biden offer a stronger balance for international politics?
What would you suggest to the candidates?
Both candidates are touting energy solutions. Read the latest reporter’s blog from The NewsHour: McCain is challenging the industry to develop a car battery that exeeds those currently available in cost, size and power. Obama promises to strengthen government oversight of energy traders. Which do you think would offer consumers the fastest results? Check out photos from the 2008 campaign trail: McCain | Obama Then post your comments below.
Maybe it is reflective of the music of the times, or the music fans, but not one song was repeated in our top five responses. Don McLean, Grateful Dead, John Lennon, Queen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Jackson Five. All on the list. (No Donna Summer, though.) So the Eight Blog Editorial Board selected the following Top Ten (five just wasn’t enough) from your responses:
1. Hotel California / Eagles
2. Night Fever / Bee Gees
3. Love the One You’re With / CSNY
4. American Pie / Don McClean
5. Born to Run / Bruce Springsteen
6. Everybody’s Everything / Santana
7. Dream On / Aeorsmith
8. I’ll Be There / The Jackson Five
9. We will Rock You / Queen
10. It’s Too Late / Carole King
If this has you longing for more 1970s sound, check out the new two-part Soundstage special featuring Peter Frampton. Classics like “Show Me the Way” and “Nassau/Baby I Love Your Way” on Friday, June 13. Then a cover of George Harrison’s “My Guitar Gently Weeps” and other showstoppers on Friday, June 20. Watch them both on Eight/KAET.
It wasn’t all disco music and Donna Summer (Who is back on the Billboard charts, by the way.) Some of rock’s biggest artists came of age in the 1970s. Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Elton John, Grand Funk. In Arizona, Alice Cooper, The Tubes, Stevie Nicks were helping to shape the sound of the decade. You will hear from them and more in the Eight/KAET production, Arizona Memories from the ’70s. Along with the now legendary story of KDKB. With Bill Compton as music director, the fledgling radio station changed Arizona’s radio and music scene forever. Local artists and celebrities – Jerry Riopelle, Marty Manning, Russ Shaw, Hans Olson – recall the groundbreaking format, of no format. Jazz. Rock. Funk. KDKB disk jockeys were given carte blanche for free-from radio. Interesting side note. The director’s cut of the film Almost Famous includes an interview with KDKB disk jockey Toad Hall.
Join the conversation.
What would you select as the top 5 singles of the 1970s? (Check out the top Billboard songs.) Share your memories of music in the 1970s.
Post your comment below. Then check back, we will be posting the top 5 of everyone’s top 5.
Fascinating facts, as well. Did you know “The buck stops here” was not coined by Truman? The sign on his desk was a gift from a friend. Truman referred to it so often enough that it became his unofficial motto. Great for history buffs and political junkies, or anyone voting this year. Post your comments below.
Has it been a wild ride? No doubt. This election year is putting even the savviest pundits to the test. Heated debates. Dramatic revelations. Explosive accusations. And a possible brokered convention for the Democrats. Every week there is some new contentious issue brewing.
Is this any way to select the leader of the free world?
The reality is though, this truly is nothing new in American politics. We have survived worse.
A few from the record books: the 1968 Democratic convention | the Republican convention in 1948 and 1940. Or even further back in history, the famed election of 1800. (That year, when the electoral votes were tallied there was a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The election was ultimately decided in the House of Representatives.)
As usual, perspective can offer some comfort. But it makes one wonder. How might history treat today’s front-runners? Clinton, McCain and Obama. Who will be remembered, and for what? And who might soon be forgotten? Post your comments below.
