Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: Tom's modest proposal for a rewrite of the DREAM Act bill (Tucson Weekly)
(Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act came up. It had just been defeated in the United States Senate. (Actually, in the arcane workings of that body, the Senate voted in favor of it, but not by enough, effectively putting it back on the shelf for another two years, barring some stunning change of circumstances.)
Connie Schultz: It's About Rights, Not Warfare (Creators Syndicate)
If you work for somebody else for a living and you resent unions, the solution for what ails you isn't to derail the hard-earned gains of organized labor. What you need to do is to join a union so that you, too, will be treated with the fairness and respect every hardworking human being deserves.
Susan Estrich: A Mother's Search (Creators Syndicate)
There has been a whole spate of memoirs lately by young mothers searching for meaning. They go off looking for happiness in yoga and personal trainers and spiritual gurus. These are intelligent women, women with fancy educations who either don't work or make a living as writers, which is (if you ask me) pretty great when your kids are little.
Jim Hightower: CONGRESS' BUDGET-CUTTING IMMORALITY
If President Obama had lunch with Republican leaders and kindly asked one of them to pass the salt, the whole bunch would denounce the very idea of passing anything he wanted, accuse him of overreaching his Constitutional authority, and declare the sharing of salt to be socialism.
Bob Herbert: When Democracy Weakens (New York Times)
While millions of ordinary Americans are struggling with unemployment and declining standards of living, the levers of real power have been all but completely commandeered by the financial and corporate elite. It doesn't really matter what ordinary people want. The wealthy call the tune, and the politicians dance.
MARK BITTMAN: How to Make Oatmeal ... Wrong (New York Times)
McDonald's takes a venerable ingredient and turns it into expensive junk food.
Making Your Own Homemade Oatmeal Packets: A Visual Guide and Cost Analysis (thesimpledollar.com)
I love oatmeal. I eat it for breakfast probably five days a week. It's a very healthy fuel to get your motor running for the day, plus it can be very tasty if it's made well.
"The English Opium Eater: A Biography of Thomas de Quincey" by Robert Morrison: A review by Laura Marsh
In a gesture of admiration, Charles Baudelaire devoted half of his Artificial Paradises to a translation of Thomas De Quincey's memoirs. "The work on opium has been written," he explained, "and in a manner so dazzling, medical and poetic all at once, that I would not dare add anything to it."
John Jurgensen: There's Something About Brothers (Wall Street Journal)
The Farrelly brothers talk about "Hall Pass" and their Three Stooges project.
Dana Stevens: "Unknown" (Slate)
Liam Neeson is a gentle, hulking, and lovable action hero.
Jon Bream: Lucinda Williams rediscovers the joys of singing alone (Star Tribune)
You know how it goes. You bring your new spouse to your parents' hometown. You're feeling happy. You want to make a good impression. And, if you're Lucinda Williams, the avatar of Americana music, that means you get roped into playing an unplanned solo gig - with a Gibson borrowed from a local Guitar Center.
Otis R. Taylor Jr.: Moving from genre to genre, Toro Y Moi creates style that's hard to label (McClatchy Newspapers)
"I Will Talk to You," the Toro Y Moi tour-only song, begins with a thick, punchy bass line that is accented by waterfall keys perhaps lifted from one of Hall & Oates' greatest hits. A piano bass line intercepts the groove, causing the song to switch tempo, mood.
David Bruce has 40 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $40 you can buy 10,000 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
wrote:
is either running late or took the day off.
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny, still brisk.
ABC Contract Extend Through 2020
Oscars
The Oscars are staying at ABC.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and ABC announced Thursday that they have extended their contract to domestically broadcast the Oscars through 2020. This extends their previous agreement by six years.
ABC has broadcast the Oscars for 36 consecutive years, including Sunday's ceremony. Academy executive director Bruce Davis says ABC has "consistently demonstrated an understanding of what makes us unique."
No plan was announced to extend international rights, which are contracted to Walt Disney International through 2014. The Walt Disney Co. owns ABC.
Oscars
German Cross-Eyed Opossum
Heidi
Germany's superstar cross-eyed opossum Heidi will travel to Hollywood for the Academy Awards after all, appearing as a plush toy in celebrity "goodie bags" at Sunday's annual awards show.
German toymaker Koesener struck a deal at a recent toy fair in New York to get its toy of the white-haired marsupial into gift bags at the Oscars.
Heidi became a star in Germany when her photo appeared in the mass-circulation newspaper Bild in December, but her international following has blossomed into appearances on U.S. television and a Facebook following of more than 315,000.
"This is a great opportunity for a small firm like us," Helmut Schache, who runs the century-old firm with his daughter Constance, told Reuters.
"My wish is that one of the celebrities will hold the toy up to the camera, but we'll see if that happens," he said.
Heidi
Overtakes Lady Gaga On Facebook
Eminem
It's official -- Eminem is the most "liked" living artist on Facebook.
The Detroit rapper overtook Lady Gaga this week for the distinction, currently coming in at over 28,883,000 'likes' as opposed to Gaga's 28,872,000.
Eminem, 38, is currently averaging over half a million 'likes' a day, according to Famecount. At this rate, he will soon surpass Michael Jackson as the most 'liked' artist on Facebook, as the King of Pop currently sits at 29.1 million 'likes.'
However, in the broader picture of social influence, Gaga is far ahead of Eminem in terms of Twitter followers, with over 5 million more followers than he; he also goes through long dark periods. And earlier this week, the rapper reached 1 billion plays on YouTube, making him only the third artist to pull off the achievement. However, he still trails both Gaga and Justin Bieber in the category by over 190 million and 340 million plays, respectively.
Eminem
Dog Portrait To Be Auctioned
Jamie Wyeth
A menagerie of animals has wandered in and out of Jamie Wyeth's art studio on his Delaware farm over the years, including his late yellow Labrador, Kleberg. But when the pooch got too close to his easel back in the 1980s, Wyeth painted a black circle around the dog's eye - a la Pete the Pup of the old comedy "Little Rascals."
The unusual marking became so "endearing" that the lab became the subject of numerous studies and paintings, the artist said. One of those works, "Study of Kleberg," is scheduled to be sold at Christie's on March 3 for an estimated $40,000 to $60,000. The 1984 mixed media work went on exhibit there on Thursday.
Wyeth is the son of the great American painter Andrew Wyeth and the grandson of classic novel illustrator N.C. Wyeth. He paints the animals, people and landscapes in and around his studio and homes in Pennsylvania and Maine.
He said he was a big fan of the series of comedy short films "Our Gang," also known as "The Little Rascals," that featured a pit bull with a black circle around one eye called Pete the Pup.
Jamie Wyeth
General Ordering Probe
Psy Ops
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is ordering an investigation into charges that an army unit trained in psychological operations was improperly told to manipulate American senators to get more money and troops for the war.
A senator allegedly targeted said Thursday that he's confident there will be a review of the facts, but played down the idea that he was manipulated.
The staff of Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, head of the effort to train Afghan security forces, ordered the information operations unit to compile profiles, voting records and other information on visiting lawmakers to leverage in a campaign to get more assistance, said a story Thursday on Rolling Stone's website. It says the campaign also improperly targeted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and others.
Caldwell's office denied that the command used information operations cell to influence distinguished visitors. But a press statement from Kabul said that the commander of forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus would order a probe "based on the information" in the article.
Those singled out in the campaign included Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Al Franken, D-Minn., and Carl Levin, D-Mich. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., of the House Appropriations Committee; the Czech ambassador to Afghanistan; the German interior minister, and a host of influential think-tank analysts, the story said, without identifying the international figures by name.
Psy Ops
CBS, Warner Pull Plug On Season
Charlie Sheen
CBS and Warner Bros. Television say they are ending production on this season of "Two and a Half Men" in the wake of incendiary remarks by star Charlie Sheen.
In a statement Thursday, the network and studio said they were basing their decision on the "totality of Charlie Sheen's statements, conduct and condition."
Earlier Thursday, the studio and Sheen's publicist had said the show would resume production next week after a hiatus intended to allow Sheen to seek rehabilitation.
But in a rambling, often vitriolic radio interview, Sheen blasted "Two and a Half Men" producer Chuck Lorre, along with other targets including Alcoholics Anonymous.
Charlie Sheen
Judge Grants Restraining Order
Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone obtained a restraining order Thursday against a man who Los Angeles police say was found in her home earlier this month, claiming the home was given to him by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Bradly Gooden, who a police detective described in court filings as delusional and possibly schizophrenic, was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Stone's house and her three children. The actress' filings state Gooden was found trespassing at her home on Feb. 11 and police placed him on a psychiatric hold.
He was released earlier this week, the filings state.
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Jeff Dunn wrote in a declaration that Gooden believes Stone's home was given to him by Clinton and that he penned the screenplay for the Academy Award-nominated film "The King's Speech."
Sharon Stone
25 Years
"South Park"
A Virginia man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for trying to help a Somalia militant group and threatening writers of the satirical "South Park" television show for their depiction of the Prophet Mohammad, the U.S. Justice Department said.
A federal judge in Virginia handed down the sentence for Zachary Chesser, who pleaded guilty to making threats, soliciting others to threaten violence and material support to the group, al Shabaab.
Chesser admitted he ran numerous websites and called for violence against Americans. In one instance he published the home addresses for the writers of "South Park" after they lampooned Mohammad and he urged readers to "pay them a visit."
The episode last year on the cable channel Comedy Central showed Mohammad in a bear suit. Most Muslims consider any depiction of the founder of Islam as offensive.
"South Park"
Judge Extends Restraining Order
Mickey Rooney
A Los Angeles judge has extended a restraining order Mickey Rooney obtained against his stepson through April, but says the actor must appear if he wants continued protection.
The judge ordered Christopher Aber to stay away from the veteran Hollywood actor until a hearing scheduled for April 5. City News Service reported Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz told Rooney's attorneys that the 90-year-old actor would have to come to court if he wanted the orders extended for three years.
A conservatorship has been established to protect the Oscar-nominated actor's money, which he claims have been mismanaged by Aber. Rooney has also accused his stepson of preventing him from leaving his home and verbally threatening him.
Rooney is scheduled to speak Wednesday to a U.S. Senate committee that is investigating elder abuse.
Mickey Rooney
Neighbors Bid To Save Workhouse
'Oliver Twist'
It's a battered brick building behind a high wall in London - austere, overlooked and slated for demolition.
Look closer, and it's linked to one of Britain's greatest authors as well as to a shameful period in the nation's social history.
Two centuries ago this neglected London edifice was a workhouse, where the city's destitute labored for rations of gruel. Their plight inspired social reformers - including a neighbor, Charles Dickens, who likely used the building as inspiration for his novel "Oliver Twist."
Advocates hope the newly discovered link to the novelist will help them win their uphill battle to save the building from developers who plan to tear it down and build new apartments and a local lawmaker who has branded it an ugly relic of an inhuman institution.
Built in the 1770s atop a paupers' burial ground, it once was home to 500 unfortunate citizens who could not afford to feed themselves and had to rely upon the meager charity of the state. Under a stone carving exhorting them to "avoid idleness and intemperance," they worked at menial tasks, ate watery gruel and lived in quarters half the size of jail cells.
'Oliver Twist'
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Feb. 14-20. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:
1. 2011 NBA All-Star Game (Sunday, 8:46 p.m.), TNT, 5.97 million homes, 9.09 million viewers.
2. "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 5.55 million homes, 7.64 million viewers.
3. "NBA All-Star Saturday Night" (Saturday, 8:30 p.m.), TNT, 5.12 million homes, 8.13 million viewers.
4. "American Pickers" (Monday, 9 p.m.), History, 4.42 million homes, 6.47 million viewers.
5. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 4.28 million homes, 6.03 million viewers.
6. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10 p.m.), History, 4.27 million homes, 6.15 million viewers.
7. "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.3 million homes, 5.12 million viewers.
8. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.25 million homes, 4.82 million viewers.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.24 million homes, 4.71 million viewers.
10. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.19 million homes, 4.59 million viewers.
11. "Gold Rush: Alaska" (Friday, 10 p.m.), Discovery, 3.14 million homes, 4.54 million viewers.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.13 million homes, 4.34 million viewers.
13. "NBA All-Star Tip Off" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), TNT, 3.11 million homes, 4.7 million viewers.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.05 million homes, 4.14 million viewers.
15. "NCIS" (Thursday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.04 million homes, 3.81 million viewers.
Ratings
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