CBS Continues to Dominate Ratings Game

CBS’ dominance of prime-time television this season has reached a new height.

Nielsen said Tuesday that CBS had its largest margin of victory this season in prime-time viewership last week. Fourteen of the 16 most popular programs were on CBS. The exceptions were NBC’s Sunday night football game and its pregame show.

It helped that reruns and specials dominated the schedules of its main broadcast rivals last week.

“NCIS” was the week’s most popular show. It was followed by “60 Minutes,” in the newsmagazine’s highest ranking since 2009.

Here’s the list of last week’s most popular TV shows, according to the latest Nielsen ratings.

   1. “NCIS,” CBS

   2. “60 Minutes,” CBS

3. NFL Football: Baltimore at San Diego, NBC

   4. “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS

   5. “Two and a Half Men,” CBS

   6. “The Mentalist,” CBS

   7. “Survivor: South Pacific Finale,” CBS

   8. “Person of Interest,” CBS

   9. “Criminal Minds,” CBS

   10. “Mike & Molly,” CBS

   11. “2 Broke Girls” (Monday, 8 p.m.), CBS

   12. “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” CBS

13. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick,” NBC

  14. “Unforgettable,” CBS

   15. “Hawaii Five-0,” CBS

   16. “Survivor: South Pacific,” CBS

17. “The X-Factor” (Wednesday), Fox

   18. “2 Broke Girls,” CBS

   19. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS

   20. “Survivor: South Pacific Reunion,” CBS

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.)

A Brief History of Eggnog

Eggnog really makes you wonder: How did humans first think chugging a spiced and spiked egg-yolk-and-milk mixture was a good idea? It’s a bit like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast: “Now that I’m grown, I eat five dozen eggs, so I’m roughly the size of a barge!” Yet despite its “love it or hate it” fame, eggnog has charmed drinkers for nearly a millennium.

While culinary historians debate its exact lineage, most agree eggnog originated from the early medieval Britain “posset,” a hot, milky, ale-like drink. By the 13^th century, monks were known to drink a posset with eggs and figs. Milk, eggs, and sherry were foods of the wealthy, so eggnog was often used in toasts to prosperity and good health.

Eggnog became tied to the holidays when the drink hopped the pond in the 1700s. American colonies were full of farms—and chickens and cows—and cheaper rum, a soon-signature ingredient. Mexico adopted the very eggnog varietal “rompope,” and Puerto Rico enjoys the “coquito,” which adds coconut milk. The English name’s etymology however remains a mystery. Some say “nog” comes from “noggin,” meaning a wooden cup, or “grog,” a strong beer. By the late 18^th century, the combined term “eggnog” stuck.

Eggnog purists argue that those who don’t like the Yuletide drink have simply never tasted the real thing. Sugar-laced supermarket versions can’t hold a candle to the homemade goodness, especially since the US Food and Drug Administration permits that the drink can be made from as little as 1% egg yolk. That often borders on “milknog” or egg flavoring.

Our founders would have had none of that. George Washington even penned his own famous heavy-on-the-alcohol eggnog recipe. Only one problem: he forgot to record the exact number of eggs. Cooks in his era estimated a dozen would do:

One quart cream, one quart milk, one dozen tablespoons sugar, one pint brandy, 1/2 pint rye whiskey, 1/2 pint Jamaica rum, 1/4 pint sherry—mix liquor first, then separate yolks and whites of eggs, add sugar to beaten yolks, mix well. Add milk and cream, slowly beating. Beat whites of eggs until stiff and fold slowly into mixture. Let set in cool place for several days. Taste frequently.

So as you enjoy your holiday cheer, please drink responsibly. Not just for the alcohol, but also for the calories: eggnog can pack in upwards of 400 big ones per cup.

From Time Magazine

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/21/a-brief-history-of-eggnog/#ixzz1hE7a33XO

Welles’ Oscar for ‘Citizen Kane’ Sells for $861,000

The Academy Award statuette that Orson Welles won for the original screenplay of “Citizen Kane” has been auctioned for more than $861,000 in Los Angeles.

Nate D. Sanders Auctions spokesman Sam Heller says bidders from around the world, including David Copperfield, vied for the Oscar.

The 1942 Oscar was thought to be lost for decades. It surfaced in 1994 when cinematographer Gary Graver tried to sell it. The sale was stopped by Beatrice Welles, Orson’s youngest daughter and sole heir.

Copperfield was outbid in the auction. He says he admires Welles not only for his cinematic successes, but because he, too, was a magician.

Welles hosted Copperfield’s first television special.

The auction house declined to release the highest bidder’s name.

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.)

Iconic Yahoo billboard in San Francisco Comes Down

 AFP/Getty

A familiar piece of San Francisco’s urban landscape is coming down.

The purple, neon-lit Yahoo billboard that greeted motorists as they approached the Bay Bridge was dismantled Wednesday, after decking the busy highway for 12 years.

The ad resembled a retro motel vacancy sign, sporting the slogan, “Yahoo! Where the world checks in daily.” It went up in 1999, when the Sunnyvale-based Internet search company was still in its youth and leading the dot-com boom.

But facing tougher competition and shrinking revenue, Yahoo has pulled out of the prime advertising spot.

A Yahoo spokesperson told the San Jose Mercury News that the company is focused on “new and innovative ways” to market itself.

Clear Channel, which manages the space, began offering it for as little as $65,000 a month starting Dec. 1.

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.)