Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: Welcome to Tom's 2012 political preview (Tucson Weekly)
There are election years that are set apart, like outcroppings of rock standing up stubbornly in a rushing stream with the flow of history bending around them.
Paul Krugman: The Mendacity of Dopes (New York Times)
Look, economic policy matters. It matters for real people who suffer real consequences when we get it wrong. If I believe that the doctrine of expansionary austerity is all wrong, or that the Ryan plan for Medicare would have disastrous effects, or whatever, then my duty, as I see it, is to make my case as best I honestly can - not put on a decorous show of civilized discussion that pretends that there aren't hired guns posing as analysts, and spares the feelings of people who are not in danger of losing their jobs or their health care. This is not a game.
Ronald Searle: Now let's have some fizz (Guardian)
Ronald Searle was a cartoon genius - as generous with his advice as he was with pricey champagne. Gerald Scarfe remembers his friend and childhood hero.
Michael McNay: Ronald Searle obituary (Guardian)
Artist and cartoonist best known for St Trinian's and Molesworth.
Nicholas Carr: Books That Are Never Done Being Written (Wall Street Journal)
Digital text is ushering in an era of perpetual revision and updating, for better and for worse.
Olympic fencer who played Darth Vader dies at 89 (USA Today)
[Bob] Anderson, who has died at age 89, donned Darth Vader's black helmet and fought light saber battles in two of the three original "Star Wars" films, "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi."
Roger Ebert: Review of "The Artist" (4 stars; PG)
I also love black and white, which some people assume they don't like. For me, it's more stylized and less realistic than color, more dreamlike, more concerned with essences than details. Giving a speech once, I was asked by parents what to do about their kids who wouldn't watch B&W. "Do what Bergman's father did to punish him," I advised. "Put them in a dark closet and say you hope the mice don't run up their legs."
13 Simpsons Jokes That Actually Came True (Ranker)
One of the most iconic television shows of all time, as well as one of the most quoted properties in pop culture history, The Simpsons has made hundreds of jokes that we all know, remember and reference on a daily basis. Often times, these jokes revolve around extremely absurd concepts that could only happen in a cartoon or a satire -- according to the writers at the time. Sometimes, these jokes underestimate just how low humanity (and often, America) can go.
Oscar shorts: Pixar takes on new poetic tone with 'La Luna' (LA Times)
"La Luna" tells the mystical coming-of-age story of a young Italian boy who accompanies his father and grandfather to work for the first time. (Watch a clip of the short below.) With a running time of almost seven minutes, the film is Pixar's longest theatrical short; it will screen in front of "Brave," the studio's 2012 feature. "Let it breathe" was Casarosa's approach to the film's pacing.
Bill Gibron: The Top 10 Films of 2011 That You Never Heard Of (PopMatters)
A list of 10 alternative titles that you may not have heard of, but definitely deserve consideration as some of 2011's very best.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
M Is FOR MASHUP - January 4th, 2012
TV QUIZ
By DJ Useo
Howdy y'all. I trust the new year is already a big improvement.
I ain't gonna take up too much of your time, but I do have a quick fun tv quiz that wont task the brain & is just perfect for the early-year mindstate we are all adjusting to.
Simply tell us the relevance of each television show picture.
01 - Who lives in this house?
02 - What show does this man speak on?
03 - What town is this?
04 - Who lives in this house?
05 - Who performs behind this wall?
06 - Why do these people look so strange?
07 - Who is wearing these rather jazzy sunglasses?
08 - Name this tv show announcer & the show he is in.
09 - Who is this guy with his brain in a bowl?
10 - What is Curly dreaming about?
11 - What show advertises this bizarre product?
12 - Name this rarely seen tv show employer & the show he is on.
13 - What did PFC Gomer Pyle just blow up?
14 - Who works making what in this factory?
Send your responses to Marty by 6pm (pst) Sunday, 9 January, 2012.
Results Monday, 10 January, 2012.
There are no prizes.
Bosko Suggests
Most Colorful Cities
Have a great day,
Bosko.
Thanks, Bosko!
wrote:
replied:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
BadtotheboneBob
Auto Bailout
From the 'Conservatives said the auto bailout was a waste' File...
Reader Suggestion
Julie Andrews
This is fun - Julie Andrews at 12!
12 year old Julie Andrews - Polonaise from "Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas
Sharon in Tejas
Thanks, Sharon!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and kinda heat-wavy.
On The Way Out At Current TV?
Keith Olbermann
It sounds all too familiar: Keith Olbermann, who left ESPN in a huff in the 1990s and bailed on MSNBC last year after publicly feuding with his cable bosses, is at odds with network executives again. The newsman, who hosts Countdown and is chief news executive at Current TV, has been off the air for several crucial days during the network's coverage of the Iowa caucuses. Current's president says. Olbermann chose not to anchor the election night coverage, with the cable star pushing back, claiming he was "not given a legitimate opportunity to host under acceptable conditions." The rift has reportedly escalated to the point where Olbermann, upset with the network's production values and his own "level of influence," is attempting to get out of his $10-million-per-year contract with Current. Is Olbermann really going to burn yet another bridge?
Yes. His days are numbered: The Countdown host has "made an art form of leaving jobs in a cloud of flying debris," says Jeff Bercovici at Forbes. In this case, the tension most likely comes from a power struggle at the top. When he was hired as chief news officer, Olbermann bragged about being in charge. Since then, Current has hired a president who is now calling the shots. "You can bet the family farm that Olbermann's tenure at Current will end" soon, with "the host and his network only too happy to be rid of each other."
But Olbermann has a point: The conditions at Current really are "unacceptable," says James Poniewozik at TIME. Half a year in, Countdown was still subject to "graphic foul-ups and the lights going out" during live broadcasts. It's unfathomable why Current would spend so much money hiring Olbermann without setting aside a production budget that's up to par. The host may very well be right to demand higher standards - which would help "build the channel into a credible news competitor."
Keith Olbermann
'The Birds of America' To Auction
John James Audubon
A rare first edition of John James Audubon's sumptuously illustrated "The Birds of America," depicting more than 400 life-size North American species in four monumental volumes, is going on the auction block for an estimated $7 million to $10 million.
Considered a masterpiece of ornithology art, the 3½ -foot-tall books feature hand-colored prints of all the species known to Audubon in early 19th century America. Audubon insisted on the book's large format - printed on the largest hand-made sheets available at the time - because of his desire to portray the birds in their actual size and natural habitat.
The set, being sold by the heirs of the 4th Duke of Portland, will be auctioned by Christie's Jan. 20. It will be accompanied by a complete first edition five-volume set of Audubon's "Ornithological Biography." They will be on view at Christie's Rockefeller Center galleries Jan. 14-19.
Experts estimate that 200 complete first edition copies were produced over an 11-year period, from 1827-1838. Today, 120 are known to exist; 107 are in institutions and 13 in private hands. They consist of 435 hand-colored, life-size prints of 497 bird species, made from engraved copper plates based on Audubon's original watercolors.
Another complete first edition of "The Birds of America" sold at Sotheby's in London in December 2010 for $11.5 million, a record for the most expensive printed book sold at auction.
John James Audubon
Turning 70
Stephen Hawking
British scientist Stephen Hawking has decoded some of the most puzzling mysteries of the universe but he has left one mystery unsolved: How he has managed to survive so long with such a crippling disease.
The physicist and cosmologist was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease when he was a 21-year-old student at Cambridge University. Most people die within a few years of the diagnosis, called motor neurone disease in the U.K. On Sunday, Hawking will turn 70.
To mark his birthday Sunday, Cambridge University is holding a public symposium on "The State of the Universe," featuring talks from 27 leading scientists, including Hawking himself. For 30 years, he held a mathematics post at the university previously held by Sir Isaac Newton. Hawking retired from that position in 2009 and is now director of research at the university's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
Hawking achieved all that despite being nearly entirely paralyzed and in a wheelchair since 1970. He now communicates only by twitching his right cheek. Since catching pneumonia in 1985, Hawking has needed around-the-clock care and relies on a computer and voice synthesizer to speak.
A tiny infrared sensor sits on his glasses, hooked up to a computer. The sensor detects Hawking's cheek pulses, which select words displayed on a computer screen. The chosen words are then spoken by the voice synthesizer. It can take up to 10 minutes for Hawking to formulate a single sentence.
Stephen Hawking
Developers To Receive Oscar
Arrilaser
The first Oscar recipients of the new year were announced Thursday by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The developers of the Arrilaser film recorder, produced by Germany's venerable Arri camera company, will receive an Award of Merit Oscar at the academy's Scientific and Technical Awards banquet at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Feb. 11. They include Franz Kraus, Johannes Steurer and Wolfgang Riedel.
The Arrilaser film recorder is used in the post-production phase of a motion picture to convert film to a digital format for editing and blending of visual effects and other elements. It is also used for restoring old films.
The academy also announced 25 recipients of plaques and certificates honoring various other technical movie-making achievements. Portions of the Scientific and Technical Awards presentations will be included in the Feb. 26 Academy Awards ceremony.
Arrilaser
Newest Face Of Dior
Mila Kunis
"Friends with Benefits" actress Mila Kunis is the latest celebrity to become the face of Dior, the French fashion label said on Thursday.
"I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Dior. The brand is iconic in so many ways. It defines fashion, elegance and sophistication," Kunis said in a statement.
Kunis, 28, will be the model for the Miss Dior handbag collection in the brand's Spring/Summer 2012 advertising campaign, appearing worldwide this month.
The "Black Swan" actress is joining her Oscar-winning co-star Natalie Portman, who is the face of the Miss Dior Cherie perfume, along with Charlize Theron, who is the face of the J'Adore Dior fragrance and French actress Marion Cotillard, who models the Lady Dior handbags. Theron and Cotillard are also recent Oscar winners.
Mila Kunis
Unveils New 'Celebrity Apprentice' Crew
T-rump
Mob boss widow Victoria Gotti, singer Clay Aiken and IndyCar champ Michael Andretti are on tap for the next edition of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice."
Host Donald Trump announced the new batch of contenders on Wednesday's "Today" show. They also include "Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast member Teresa Guidice, comedian Lisa Lampanelli, former Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, rock star Dee Snider and "America Chopper" star Paul Teutul Sr.
Other contenders include radio host Adam Carolla, comedian Arsenio Hall, singer-actress Aubrey O'Day and magician Penn Jillette.
Rounding out the rivals are model Cheryl Tiegs, singer Debbie Gibson, "Star Trek" star George Takei, singer Tia Carrere, actress-model Patricia Velasquez and "Incredible Hulk" Lou Ferrigno.
T-rump
Hotel Room Broken Into
Mike Tyson
Life imitates "The Hangover"? Almost -- but not nearly so punchy.
Mike Tyson's Las Vegas hotel room was broken into on Saturday night, by an intruder who apparently harbors a profound death wish, TMZ reports.
Luckily for the criminal, Tyson was asleep at the time of the break-in, and thus avoided being pummeled into a pile of mush by the notoriously volatile boxing legend.
Tyson was staying at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where he attended Stevie Wonder's New Year's Eve concert earlier in the evening. According to TMZ's sources, Tyson was awoken by rustling sounds made by the intruder and spotted his flashlight, but the criminal escaped before Tyson realized what was occurring.
Whoever the culprit is, he certainly made out better than Zach Galifianakis' "Hangover" character Alan, after Tyson found out that he and his cohorts had made off with his tiger.
Mike Tyson
Arrested Again
Griffin O'Neal
Griffin O'Neal, the son of actor Ryan O'Neal, is facing more legal trouble.
U-T San Diego reports Thursday that 47-year-old Griffin O'Neal was arrested at his suburban San Diego home on New Year's Eve on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery. He's being held at San Diego Central Jail on $10,000 bail.
Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Melissa Aquino tells the newspaper that a family member called 911 to report a disturbance due to someone drinking too much at the Ramona home.
O'Neal is to be sentenced next week in a separate case in which he drove under the influence of drugs in August, causing a head-on collision that injured another motorist.
Griffin O'Neal
Warner Bros. Shuts Down Production
"Akira"
Warner Bros. has shut down production of "Akira," its take on the Japanese manga hit, TheWrap has confirmed.
The studio said that producers and director Jaume Collet-Serra will spend the next few weeks trying to work out issues with the script.
An individual close to the project told TheWrap that Warners still wants to make the movie, budgeted around $90 million. The problems appear to be related to -- as these things tend to be -- budget and casting.
The project has had a bumpy ride at Warners. The studio had the rights to the movie, let them lapse and then snagged them again for a seven-figure sum in a 2008 bidding war.
"Akira"
Marine Biologist Accused Of Feeding Whale
Nancy Black
A marine biologist who runs popular whale-watching tours on California's Monterey Bay has been indicted for violating federal laws that protect marine mammals, though her attorneys said her interactions with the creatures were scientific research.
Nancy Black, a marine scientist whose work has been featured on PBS, National Geographic and Animal Planet, was charged Wednesday with four violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
She was accused of feeding killer whales in 2005 and misleading investigators by editing video footage of her encounters with whales, and then lying about it.
Prosecutors say the charges were filed after an investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition to her scientific work, Black owns Monterey Bay Whale Watch and operates two commercial whale-watching vessels. Black has also worked with federal agencies on the study of whales, including the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, which is part of NOAA.
Nancy Black
Top Cultural Institutions Shutting Down
Bosnia
Bosnia's oldest and most prestigious cultural institutions have begun closing their doors one after another, thanks to long-standing disputes among politicians from its three ethnic groups and dwindling state funding.
In 2011, the seven institutions - among them the 125-year-old National Museum whose collection includes the famed 600-year-old Jewish manuscript known as the Sarajevo Haggadah - received virtually no funding from authorities in the Balkan nation and can no longer finance their work or even cover their utility bills.
The National Library is due to close its doors Friday, just days after the Historical Museum closed. The National Gallery shut down last summer, while the National Museum expects to close piece by piece in coming weeks after its power supply is cut off over unpaid bills.
A main reason for the closings is the failure by political leaders of the country's Serb, Croat and Bosniak peoples to agree on what to do with Bosnia's shared historical and cultural heritage, and whether to even preserve it.
Bosnia
Attacked Painting
Carmen Tisch
Investigators are trying to determine why a woman caused $10,000 worth of damage to a large expressionist painting at the Clyfford Still Museum by punching and scratching it, then removing her pants and sliding down the artwork.
Carmen Tisch, 36, faces charges of criminal mischief in the Dec. 29 attack on the painting, said district attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough.
The painting, referred to as 1957-J-No. 2, is valued at more than $30 million. The large montage of black, white and burnt orange swaths with a sliver of yellow is from Still's middle period.
Museum officials said they believe security is adequate for the facility and that they regularly evaluate security to protect the collection and visitors. Museum spokeswoman Regan Petersen said in a statement that its guards "acted swiftly and appropriately; the police were summoned immediately and the offender was taken into custody."
Carmen Tisch
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:
1. NFL Football: Atlanta vs. New Orleans (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), ESPN, 10.53 million homes, 15.64 million viewers.
2. College Football: Washington vs. Baylor (Thursday, 9 p.m.), ESPN, 5.06 million homes, 6.92 million viewers.
3. "The Closer" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 4.49 million homes, 6.16 million viewers.
4. "Rizzoli & Isles" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNT, 4.23 million homes, 5.79 million viewers.
5. College Football: Virginia vs. Auburn (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.), ESPN, 4.13 million homes, 6.16 million viewers.
6. College Football: Florida State vs. Notre Dame (Thursday, 5:27 p.m.), ESPN, 3.76 million homes, 5.228 million viewers.
7. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 3.54 million homes, 5.227 million viewers.
8. College Football: Iowa vs. Oklahoma (Friday, 10:15 p.m.), ESPN, 3.45 million homes, 4.81 million viewers.
9. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10 p.m.), History, 3.39 million homes, 5.06 million viewers.
10. NBA Basketball (Tuesday, 8:16 p.m.), TNT, 3.27 million homes, 4.55 million viewers.
11. "iCarly: iPsycho 2," (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.24 million homes, 5.51 millon viewers.
12. College Football: Texas A&M vs. Northwestern (Saturday, 11:57 a.m.), ESPN, 3.082 million homes, 3.90 millon viewers.
13. College Football: California vs. Texas (Wednesday, 8:06 p.m.), ESPN, 3.081 million homes, 4.26 million viewers.
14. "NCIS" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.06 million homes, 4.06 million viewers.
15. College Football: Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest (Friday, 6:49 p.m.), ESPN, 3.05 million homes, 4.21 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Eve Arnold
Eve Arnold, a world-traveling photojournalist whose subjects ranged from the poor and dispossessed to Marilyn Monroe, has died, the Magnum photo agency said Thursday. She was 99.
Born in Philadelphia in April 1912 to Russian immigrant parents, Arnold lived on Long Island when she became interested in photography while working in a photofinishing lab.
After taking a six-week photography course at the New School for Social Research in New York, she began her career in the 1940s, working for publications including Picture Post, Time and Life magazine during a golden age of magazine photojournalism.
Her subjects included migrant laborers, New York bartenders, Cuban fishermen and Afghan nomads; celebrities such as Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Taylor; and political figures including Jacqueline Kennedy, Malcolm X and Margaret Thatcher.
Arnold was renowned for her rapport with those she photographed.
Her most famous shots include portraits of Monroe - both vulnerable and glamorous - taken over a decade and collected in her book "Marilyn Monroe: An Appreciation."
"Themes recur again and again in my work," Arnold once said. "I have been poor and I wanted to document poverty; I had lost a child and I was obsessed with birth; I was interested in politics and I wanted to know how it affected our lives; I am a woman and I wanted to know about women."
Arnold joined the Magnum agency in 1951- the first woman admitted to the cooperative - after her images of fashion shows in Harlem caught the attention of photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Arnold settled in London in the 1960s, working for the Sunday Times Magazine and other publications. In the 1970s she photographed and filmed Dubai's ruling family for "Behind the Veil," and was one of the first American photographers to work in China.
The photos she took there were exhibited in her first solo show, at the Brooklyn Museum in 1980, and published as "In China." Other volumes of her work included "In America" and "The Great British."
Her work was exhibited at Britain's National Portrait Gallery and was the subject of a retrospective show at the Barbican in London in 1996.
Arnold was a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and in 1995 was named Master Photographer by New York's International Center of Photography.
In 2003 she was named an officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, by Queen Elizabeth II for services to photography, and in 2009 received a lifetime achievement prize from the Sony World Photography Awards.
Long divorced from husband Arnold Arnold, she is survived by her son, Frank, and three grandchildren. Funeral details were not immediately available.
Eve Arnold
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