Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Sir Terry Pratchett remembered by his daughter, Rhianna Pratchett (The Guardian)
My father talked about death a lot. He believed that we should be more like our Victorian forebears who, although rather bashful when it came to talking about sex, regarded death as a much more comfortable topic of conversation. It's the great unifier. No matter who you are, one day the reaper will come for you.
Henning Mankell remembered by Kenneth Branagh (The Guardian)
The actor starred as the Swedish crime writer's detective Kurt Wallander. Here, he recalls his last meal with the man he came to know as a good friend.
Ornette Coleman remembered by Neneh Cherry (The Guardian)
The singer-songwriter recalls the 'quiet intensity' of the American saxophonist who with her stepfather, Don Cherry, took jazz in wild new directions.
Tom Danehy: Tom gives us his version of the year-in-review, celebrating favorites like… Donald Trump? (Tucson Weekly)
I'm blessed to have grown up with soul music. Could there possibly be a greater song (written or performed) than "My Girl"? Still, if I live another 50 years, there's a good chance that "Uptown Funk" will be my favorite song of all time. It's smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy.
Astronomy Picture of the Day: PLUTO (NASA)
As the robotic New Horizons spacecraft moves into the outer Solar System, it is now sending back some of the highest resolution images from its historic encounter with Pluto in July. Featured here is one recently-received, high-resolution image. On the left is al-Idrisi Montes, mountainous highlands thought composed primarily of blocks of water ice. A sharp transitional shoreline leads to the ice plains, on the right, that compose part of the heart-shaped feature known as Sputnik Planum, which contains ices including solid nitrogen. Why the plains are textured with ice pits and segmented is currently unknown.
TANYA SOMANADER: "Weekly Address: Top 10 Things that Happened in 2015" (whitehouse.gov)
Summary: President Obama's top 10 things that happened in 2015 that should make every American optimistic about 2016.
Ben Child: Carrie Fisher blasts Star Wars body shamers on Twitter (Guardian)
The actor and writer says her male co-stars from original trilogy have faced little criticism on social media for their appearance in The Force Awakens.
Ben Child: "Attack of the moans: George Lucas hits out at 'retro' Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (The Guardian)
Film-maker defends his six Star Wars movies, saying he constantly tried to innovate 'with different planets, different spaceships.'
Adam Tod Brown: 5 Awful People We Were Forced to Know In 2015 (The Guardian)
… 2015 was so full of awful that it seemed to just leap out at us from the shadows unexpectedly at every turn, often in the form of terrible people whose names we'd never heard before that moment.
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"Doug's Most Shared Facebook Post" Today
wrote:
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Correction
the new year
I think you missed the new year on your posting:
Friday - 01/01/15
TCM:
[6:45 AM] Things To Come (1936)
[8:30 AM] Soylent Green (1973)
Billy in Cypress
Thanks, Billy!
Jeez, I totally missed it.
Fixed the template - thanks!
Flooded Apartment Update
The Useos
We're about 1/3 through the home repairs. The net is on again.
Will be around as normal from now on.
Honestly, it's a miracle we didn't end up on the street.
Thanks for all.
-D
Yippee!
And Happy New Year!
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
HI EVERYBODY. I'M MOVING!
THE COMPUTER WILL BE DOWN FOR A WHILE. I'LL BE BACK WHEN I GET IT UP AND RUNNING.
I WISH EVERYONE PEACE AND LOVE AND A HAPPY, PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.
JD
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Reruns of Johnny Carson begin tonight on Antenna TV - from 01/01/82, with Eddie Murphy & McLean Stevenson. 11pm ET/8pm PT & 2am ET/11pm PT
Apologizes For 'White Slavers'
George Lucas
George Lucas has apologized for criticizing Disney's handling of "Star Wars" and saying he had sold his characters to "white slavers" in a recent interview with Charlie Rose.
In a statement issued Thursday, Lucas says he misspoke and used a "very inappropriate analogy." It was not clear what the "Star Wars" creator meant by the "white slavers" comment, and Rose did not ask a follow-up question on his PBS show that aired Dec. 24. The charged words nonetheless sparked ire when the interview was posted online Wednesday.
"I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions," said Lucas in his statement.
He sold his company, Lucasfilm, to the Walt Disney Co. in 2012 for $4.06 billion, and the studio charged ahead in developing "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" with director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Disney has laid plans for two more "Star Wars" films and three anthology films set in the Star Wars universe over the next few years.
George Lucas
Female WWII Pilots Barred
Arlington National Cemetery
The ashes of World War II veteran Elaine Harmon are sitting in a closet in her daughter's home, where they will remain until they can go to what her family says is her rightful resting place: Arlington National Cemetery.
Harmon piloted aircraft in World War II under a special program, Women Airforce Service Pilots, that flew noncombat missions to free up male pilots for combat. Granted veteran status in 1977, the WASPs have been eligible to have their ashes placed at Arlington with military honors since 2002.
But earlier this year, then-Secretary of the Army John McHugh reversed course and ruled WASPs ineligible.
After Harmon died in April at age 95, her daughter, Terry Harmon, 69, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was dismayed to learn that the Army had moved to exclude WASPs. She said her mother had helped lead the effort to gain recognition for WASPs.
McHugh's memo, which Terry Harmon obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, says Army lawyers reviewed the rules in 2014 and determined that WASPs and other World War II veterans classified as "active duty designees" are not eligible for inurnment - placement of their urns in an above-ground structure at Arlington. The largest group affected by the memo is actually the Merchant Marine, nearly 250,000 of whose members served during World War II.
Arlington National Cemetery
Returns To Wild
California Condor
Banking into the wind and then gliding out of sight, a male California condor flew back into the wild after a captive breeding program that helped save North America's largest species of land bird.
The 35-year-old bird named AC-4 soared out of his open pen earlier this week at a canyon rim inside the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, in central California's Kern County. He had been one of just 23 condors left in the world in the 1980s.
It was the bird's first free flight since 1985, when a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service team captured him near the same spot. It was part of a last-ditch attempt to stop the extinction of the California condor, which has a wing span of more than 9 feet.
AC-4 needed only a few minutes to get his bearings before flying out of the pen and over the canyon, said Joseph Brandt, a lead condor biologist with the wildlife service. Brandt was sitting on a hilltop nearby to watch the release.
In all, AC-4 sired 30 condor chicks that have been successfully released into the wild.
California Condor
Targets Government Workers
Attack Owl
An owl that achieved notoriety last winter for attacking joggers in an Oregon park has returned and is now turning its talons on government workers, state officials said on Wednesday.
The barred owl has clawed at least three people outside the state Capitol in Salem in a series of attacks since late November, city parks department spokeswoman Tibby Larson said.
"It's silent. You're just walking along, minding your own business, and an owl comes silently at you from behind," Larson said.
Although rare, owl attacks are not unheard of across the United States. Several attacks on joggers were reported in a Maryland park in October, and an owl attacked a Louisiana police officer on Christmas Eve, according to media reports.
Salem's aggressive barred owl first struck local residents last January and February in incidents that inspired MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow to unveil an "attack owl" street sign on her program.
Attack Owl
Staffers Quit
Ben Carson
Several top aides to Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson (R-Pyramid) resigned on Thursday, citing frustration with the influence of the retired neurosurgeon's business manager and questioning his readiness for the White House.
Barry Bennett and Doug Watts, both seasoned political operatives, stepped down with less than five weeks before voters in Iowa begin the nominating process with the state's Feb. 1 caucuses.
Bennett was Carson's campaign manager. Watts was communications director. But Bennett said Carson's longtime business manager, Armstrong Williams, is the adviser who has Carson's ear, even though Williams does not have a formal role in the campaign.
Carson is "one of the smartest men I've ever worked for," Bennett said, but added that he believes Carson has become Williams' "script reader."
Ben Carson
Rejects Book For School Curriculum
Israel
Israel has refused to include a novel about a love affair between a Jewish woman and a Palestinian man in the country's high school curriculum, reportedly over concerns that it could encourage intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews.
The rejection of "Borderlife," a novel published last year, created an uproar in Israel, with critics accusing the government of censorship.
The incident was first reported by the Haaretz daily and confirmed in a statement by the Education Ministry to The Associated Press on Thursday.
The ministry said a panel had debated adding "Borderlife" to the high school reading curriculum but decided against it. Israeli media said teachers had requested its inclusion on the student reading lists.
Earlier, Haaretz cited a letter by ministry official Dalia Fenig, who wrote that the book, which this year received Israel's prestigious Bernstein literary prize, was excluded because its content was deemed unfit for high school students.
Israel
Grizzly Bear Population
Yellowstone
The number of grizzly bear deaths or removals in the Yellowstone region climbed to an all-time high in 2015, but biologists say they're not worried about the animal's long-term survival in the area.
The known or suspected deaths of 55 bears shouldn't interfere with plans to remove the region's grizzlies from protection under the Endangered Species Act, Frank van Manen, leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, said Wednesday.
"This year should be considered within the context of what we've seen in terms of the long-term trend," van Manen said.
The team of state and federal scientists and biologists estimates more than 700 grizzlies live in the Yellowstone region spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. That's up from about 600 in 2010 and around 200 in the early 1980s.
One reason for this year's high number of deaths: Poor production of wild berries, possibly because of late high country frosts and snow, caused bears to wander far in search of food.
Yellowstone
Gray Wolf
Oregon
Environmental groups have sued Oregon wildlife officials for removing gray wolves from a list of state-protected endangered species, officials said on Thursday.
Three environmental groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity filed a brief petition for judicial review with the Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
"It's not rocket science that roughly 80 wolves in 12 percent of suitable habitat in Oregon does not equal a recovered population," Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the Diversity group, said in a statement announcing the legal challenge.
The petition, which Greenwald said is the first step in a lawsuit, comes a month after the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to remove the wolves from the list. The state said the wolves had recovered in sufficiently healthy numbers and no longer faced the threat of extinction.
The wolves, roam the wilds of Oregon in 16 packs, are loathed by many ranchers and hunters who say they threaten cattle and elk herds, among other reasons. In his statement, Greenwald said the delisting was "plain political kowtowing to the livestock industry."
Oregon
Magnitude-4.8 Earthquake
Washington State
A magnitude-4.8 earthquake in Canada jolted residents across northwest Washington state, but no major damage or injuries were reported, authorities said Wednesday.
The quake struck around 11:40 p.m. Tuesday 11 miles northeast of Victoria, Canada, and was 31 miles deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It's not unusual for an earthquake of this size to hit along the West Coast and Vancouver Island in British Columbia because there's a large subduction zone in the area that produces lots of seismic activity.
The city of Vancouver said there were no known reports of damage. Washington residents said pictures fell off shelves and the shaking woke them up.
Washington State
In Memory
Wayne Rogers
Wayne Rogers, whose Trapper John McIntyre on "M.A.S.H." was among the most beloved characters on one of the most popular shows of all time, died Thursday.
The actor was surrounded by family when he died in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia at age 82, his publicist and longtime friend Rona Menashe told The Associated Press.
Rogers was on the show for just the first three of its 11 seasons on CBS, but his run, and his character, are especially revered by show devotees.
An Alabama native and Princeton graduate, Rogers had parts on many short-lived shows before "M.A.S.H.," specializing in westerns like "Law of the Plainsman" and "Stagecoach West."
In the years after MASH he returned to TV regularly, with a recurring role in the early 1990s on "Murder, She Wrote."
He moved beyond acting to see serious success later in life as a money manager and investor. In 1988 and 1990 he appeared as an expert witness before the House Judiciary Committee to speak in favor of maintaining the Glass-Steagall banking laws of the 1930s.
In recent years he was a regular panelist on the Fox News stock investment show "Cashin' In."
Rogers is survived by his wife Amy, two children, Bill and Laura, and four grandchildren.
Wayne Rogers
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