Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Barbara Ehrenreich: Rich Get Poorer, Poor Disappear (ehrenreich.blogs.com)
Ever on the lookout for the bright side of hard times, I am tempted to delete "class inequality" from my worry list. Less than a year ago, it was the one of the biggest economic threats on the horizon, with even hard line conservative pundits grousing that wealth was flowing uphill at an alarming rate, leaving the middle class stuck with stagnating incomes while the new super-rich ascended to the heavens in their personal jets. Then the whole top-heavy structure of American capitalism began to totter, and -poof!-inequality all but vanished from the public discourse.
Scott Burns: Fearless Forecasts, 2009 (assetbuilder.com)
In case you hadn't noticed, the fortune-tellers and trend-spotters are falling behind. This is a problem. Life is moving so fast, they just can't keep up. That's not good news for you and me because we won't have any trendy words for what we are experiencing.
Helen Thomas: History Cannot Save Him
...Bush says he isn't concerned about how history will view his militant eight years in the White House, telling ABC News that he "won't be around to read it." Well, they say that journalism is the first draft of history. So I am going to predict that those future historians will not deal kindly with the Bush presidency.
Amy Goodman: History Cannot Save Bush (Democracy Now!; Posted on AlterNet.org)
Goodman: Finally, what advice do you have for young journalists?
Thomas: Go for it. It's the greatest profession in the world. You're making a real contribution to democracy by keeping people informed. And have some courage to tell the truth. I think it's difficult at times. There are many barriers, but go for it. It's a great, great profession.
Susan Patron: Don't discount the Newbery (latimes.com)
Children's books that deal seriously with serious issues can change readers' lives.
Garrison Keillor: She saw her pale reflection in the window. A.k.a. torture
I like this government report saying that more Americans than before are reading novels and short stories, 113 million, in fact. Too bad, though, that the report was issued by the National Endowment for the Arts. A deep-down aversion to a-r-t is one big reason half of America stays away from fiction.
David L. Ulin: The NEA's take on reading (latimes.com)
A new report says reading is on the rise among Americans.
Will Harris: A Chat with Bill Kinison, Brother of the Late, Great Sam Kinison (bullz-eye.com)
I said, "Sam, I want you to forget that your dad was a preacher, your brother's a preacher, all your friends are preachers. Now I want you to look down in your heart and really, really find out what you really want to do." I really thought it would take a few days, but it took about five seconds, and he said, "I've always wanted to be a standup comedian." And so I said, "Well, set a date."
Johann Hari: "George Michael: An Exclusive Interview" (huffingtonpost.com)
George Michael is telling me a strange story -- where he walks on stage before a billion people and privately panics, "I am becoming one of the biggest stars in the world -- and I think I might be a poof. This cannot end well."
Hannah Pool: 'I'm old school soul' (guardian.co.uk)
reland isn't known for its big black voices - but Laura Izibor has already got Aretha Franklin and Al Green excited.
Patricia Zohn: Culture Zohn Off the C(H)uff: Sophie Calle (huffingtonpost.com)
There are only a handful of artists who are able to live up to the personas they have created through their art. Sophie Calle is one of those stars.
Robin Eggar: Woody on "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (timesonline.co.uk)
The veteran American film maker Woody Allen latest is set in Spain and is a sparkling return to form. So why's he still so gloomy?
The Weekly Poll
Break Time
I'm gonna take a break for a week or two to catch up from the holidays and focus on some personal affairs (mainly relocation closer to my immediate family).
I'll be back soon, I assure you!... Meanwhile, don't let the bastards get ya down!
BadToTheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
Charlie replied:
responded:
Sally said:
MAM 
responded:
Reader Suggestion
Commercial
This commercial is farking FUNNY!!! Of course it could never be aired in the good ole U.S. of A. Land of the blah blah blah....
Vic in AK
Thanks, Vic!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Not as hot, but still 15°s above seasonal.
Sees Change Coming
Robert Redford
Robert Redford is happy to see the end-credits rolling on the George W. Bush administration.
President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration Tuesday falls in the middle of Redford's Sundance Film Festival, which the actor has occasionally used as a platform to criticize Bush in past years.
"I'm personally excited just because I'm glad to see the gang that couldn't shoot straight get out of there. I'm glad to see them gone," Redford said Thursday at a news conference hours before the opening of the 11-day festival. You've got a lame-duck guy going out, but he sure has done a lot of quacking in the last while. So therefore, the sooner they're gone, the better, and therefore, I'm very excited by the change that's coming."
Redford said he hopes federal funds for the arts might eventually rise under the Obama administration, adding that the National Endowment for the Arts has been hobbled by politics.
Robert Redford
Ending Bush's `Great Moments'
Letterman
The end of the Bush administration also marks the end of "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches," an enduring feature on David Letterman's "Late Show" that pokes fun at the resident's less eloquent moments.
"Late Show" writer Tom Ruprecht may remember it as the time he was sprung - from hours spent in his office watching Bush speeches to find those magic moments.
Friday's show will feature a retrospective of the best "Great Moments," as when the resident talked of the right hand not knowing what the left was doing, while motioning with the incorrect hand.
Ruprecht was something of a student of Bush's speaking style. "I first noticed that he would often say things in the cadence of a joke, but it wasn't a joke," he said, "but the audience would laugh."
Letterman
Lawmaker Seeks 3-Month Delay
Digital TV
A senior Democratic senator introduced legislation on Thursday to delay until June 12 the transition from analog to digital television, saying more time is needed to help consumers get ready.
The congressionally mandated shift is now set for February 17. Owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals must buy a converter box, replace their TV with a digital TV, or subscribe to satellite or digital cable service.
"Over 2 million Americans are waiting to receive a coupon to help them offset the cost of equipment that will help them manage the transition. Millions more don't have the proper information they need," Sen. John Rockefeller of West Virginia said in a statement. Rockefeller is the incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Delaying the transition by three months would give the federal government time to fill a backlog of consumer requests for $40 coupons to help defray the cost of an analog converter box. It would also give the government and the Federal Communications Commission more time to prepare for the change, Rockefeller said.
Digital TV
Buys Massachusetts General Store
Steve Carell
Steve Carell, who plays bumbling boss Michael Scott on the NBC sitcom, recently bought the Marshfield Hills General Store. The 45-year-old actor is a part-time resident of the town on Massachusetts' south shore, 25 miles south of Boston.
He put sister-in-law Tish Vivado in charge, but said customers should not be surprised to see him working there on occasion.
He said the purchase was more of an "emotional investment than a business one" and an opportunity to preserve a piece of Americana.
The store's previous owner, Sherry Bechtold, said she and her husband, Bob, sold the 155-year-old building and business to Carell after being convinced he wanted it "for the right reasons." She said she wanted to make sure the new owner retained the store's character.
Steve Carell
2009 Inductees
Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
Tommy Lee Jones and Barry Corbin are being inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The actors are among 600 people expected to attend the Thursday night gala at the museum in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.
The 62-year-old Jones won the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in "The Fugitive." His other awards include an Emmy for the made-for-TV movie "The Executioner's Song." His films include "Coal Miner's Daughter," "JFK," "Batman Forever" and "Men in Black."
The 68-year-old Corbin was nominated for an Emmy twice for his "Northern Exposure" performance and has appeared in numerous TV series, including "Dallas," "Reba," "The Closer" and "One Tree Hill." Corbin's films include "Urban Cowboy," "WarGames" and "Stir Crazy."
Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
Detained At LAX
Johnny Knoxville
Authorities detained Johnny Knoxville on Thursday for allegedly bringing an inert grenade into Los Angeles International Airport. After security screeners spotted the grenade in the "Jackass" star's carry-on luggage, a bomb squad determined it lacked a firing pin or explosive. Police say Knoxville was later released and allowed to board an American Airlines flight to Miami.
Prosecutors will decide whether to charge the 38-year-old with bringing a prohibited item into a secure area of the airport, a misdemeanor. An e-mail to Knoxville's publicist was not immediately returned.
Knoxville, whose real name is Philip John Clapp, told officers the grenade was a prop he forgot to remove from his bag, Airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.
Johnny Knoxville
Long-Running Vegas Revue Closing
'Les Folies Bergere'
The topless revue "Les Folies Bergere" is hanging up its feathers after 49 years at the Tropicana hotel-casino.
Casino executives announced Thursday that the show will close March 28 to make room for an undisclosed new production.
The closing will leave Bally's "Jubilee!" as the last full-scale showgirl revue left on the Las Vegas Strip.
"Folies" came from Paris in 1959 and opened under then-Tropicana entertainment director Lou Walters, the father of newswoman Barbara Walters.
'Les Folies Bergere'
Citibank Wins Judgment
Ed McMahon
Citibank has won an $180,000 judgment against Ed McMahon.
A judge in Santa Monica ruled Thursday that McMahon owes the bank for debt incurred over four years.
Citibank sued the former "Tonight Show" sidekick in June. McMahon never responded, and Judge John H. Reid finally ended the case.
Ed McMahon
Artist Duped Czech Government
David Cerny
A Czech artist behind a mosaic that uses stereotypes to depict EU member states said he had deceived the government over the work, commissioned to mark the Czech Republic's EU presidency.
The Czech government said it was reviewing what to do with the work, due to be officially unveiled in Brussels Thursday, and condemned artist David Cerny for his actions.
The 8-tonne puzzle, entitled "Entropa," was supposed to be the work of 27 artists from all the EU member states and was presented to the government with a brochure on each artist.
The puzzle formed by geographical shapes of EU states decorates a building where EU leaders hold their summits and shows France as being on strike, Romania as a Dracula theme-park and Bulgaria as a rudimentary toilet.
David Cerny
Have-Mores Vs. Have-Even-Mores
Los Angeles
The multimillion-dollar battle between the haves and the have-even-mores over who gets to use access gates to enter their luminary-studded enclave is over - for now.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled that "guests and invitees" of South Beverly Park can now use the gates at North Beverly Park, ending an almost three-year dispute.
The exclusive quarrel erupted in 2006 when residents of 64-home North Beverly Park, who include Denzel Washington, Reba McEntire, Eddie Murphy and media moguls Haim Saban and Sumner Redstone, barred nannies, gardeners and others traveling to adjoining South Beverly Park from using northern gates, citing security costs and concerns.
That meant the visitors had to detour seven miles to get to the 16 homes on the southern end.
The southerners, including Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson and producer Richard Zanuck, sued, saying the policy was arbitrary, capricious and "downright unneighborly."
Los Angeles
Wins Libel Damages
Sharon Osbourne
A tabloid newspaper has apologized to Sharon Osbourne for a story that falsely accused her of overworking her rock star husband Ozzy.
The Sun agreed to pay undisclosed damages and Osbourne's legal costs.
Osbourne took the paper to Britain's High Court over an October 2007 story that claimed she was "driving her frail husband Ozzy Osbourne to destruction."
Sharon Osbourne
Settles Lawsuit
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell has ended her legal tussle with a former maid who accused the supermodel of hitting her and calling her names.
Terms of the settlement are confidential, but a lawyer for the 38-year-old Campbell says both sides were pleased with the outcome.
A lawyer for Gaby Gibson, who worked for Campbell from November 2005 through January 2006, didn't immediately return a message asking for comment.
Naomi Campbell
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