Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Steve Jobs: Commencement Address at Stanford University, delivered on June 12, 2005 (stanford.edu)
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
Tom Danehy: More on the DREAM Act and the fact that it's not fair to get a free pass (Tucson Weekly)
Being a liberal shouldn't mean being a chump. Yet that's how many on the right choose to paint liberals, and infinitely worse, that's how some latter-day liberals choose to lead their lives.
Connie Schultz: Another 3-Ring Statehouse (Creators Syndicate)
Any politician who still thinks it's a keen idea to go after the collective bargaining rights of public employees ought to come over to Ohio. You know the old saying: As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. It doesn't take much of a stroll through the Buckeye State to see that somebody sorely underestimated regular Americans' fondness for the freedoms of regular Americans.
David Weigel: Creative Destruction (Slate)
Republicans' spending cuts could cost the country hundreds of thousands of jobs. They're OK with that.
Jim Hightower: CORPORATE LAWSUIT ABUSE
Dan Snyder is stamping his tiny little feet and having a screaming tantrum! That's unpleasant to witness when a three-year-old does it, but it's truly troubling to see a 45-year-old, billionaire owner of a pro football team throw a public hissy fit. Snyder owns the once-great-but-now-terrible Washington Redskins, whose on-field ineptness during his ten-year tenure has made long-suffering fans almost insanely mad.
Associated Press: Woman dies trying to stop repossession of her car
A woman died Tuesday after apparently trying to stop a tow truck driver from repossessing her vehicle, authorities said.
Kevin Helliker: College Cries Foul Over a Copycat (Wall Street Journal)
Plagiarism by students is a concern at colleges across the country. But at Reed College in Oregon the problem has reached another level: the copying of an entire school. The website of a fictitious school called the University of Redwood features a faculty directory and photographs of a campus-most of which in fact belong to Reed. Now, officials are struggling to stop the fraud.
Paul Krugman's Blog: Trains and Freedom (New York Times)
A bit more on this subject - not serious, just a personal observation after a long hard day of reading student applications. (My suggestion that we reject all applicants claiming to be "passionate" about their plans was rejected, but with obvious reluctance.)
Mark Bittman: Don't End Agricultural Subsidies, Fix Them (New York Times)
There's nothing wrong with agricultural subsidies, but plenty wrong with how they're used.
Susan Estrich: Who cares about the Oscars? (Creators Syndicate)
Not quite as many people as last year, it turns out, but more than the two years preceding that, at least as measured by the ratings for the ABC telecast.
Jane Russell: Mean! Moody! Misunderstood! (Guardian)
Fixated by her pneumatic figure, Hollywood sold her as a smouldering sexpot. But there was so much more to Jane Russell than that, writes Kira Cochrane.
Steve Dollar: New York's Naughtiest Festival (Wall Street Journal)
Aiming to bring artistic perspective, sociological insight and frisky candor to a media subculture branded NSFW (or "not safe for work," for Internet tenderfoots) CineKink NYC returns Tuesday for its eighth year of blurring genre and gender. True to its name, the weeklong festival surveys an assortment of dramatic, documentary and experimental films that adopt outré sexuality as a theme.
David Bruce has 41 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $41 you can buy 10,250 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Recommendation
gary in pa
i don't know what to say... spiderman's new car? spidermobile?
Spidermobile?
gary in pa
Thanks, Gary!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Gray and gloomy.
DreamWorks Options Rights
WikiLeaks
The DreamWorks studio has optioned movie rights to a pair of books about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his controversial Website that is bent on revealing government secrets, company officials said on Thursday.
One of the books is "WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy" by journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding of The Guardian, the British newspaper said in an article.
The other is "Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website" by Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a defector from the organization.
Director Steven Spielberg, a principal partner at DreamWorks along with co-chairman and CEO Stacey Snider, is not personally working on the project.
No director or producer has yet been attached to make a movie, and filming may not start for years, if at all.
WikiLeaks
Musicians Band Together
Detroit
Musicians from four U.S. orchestras plan to wear bracelets during performances this weekend to support the striking members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a national musicians' union said Thursday.
American Federation of Musicians spokeswoman Honore Stockley said that players are participating from the Colorado Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. The navy blue bracelets read "AFM Solidarity," which refers to the national federation that is coordinating the effort.
Stockley said talks are under way with other orchestras.
Detroit
Judge Orders Hit Documentary Film Pulled
Mexico
A judge in Mexico City ordered authorities to temporarily halt screenings of an acclaimed documentary about the failings of Mexico's justice system after a prosecution witness who appears in the film alleged that his privacy rights were violated.
The ruling is the latest round in a heated debate over reform of Mexico's secretive, antiquated justice system, which critics say routinely violates the rights of defendants or fails to convict those who are guilty.
"Presunto Culpable," or "Presumed Guilty," centers on 26-year-old Antonio Zuniga, who was convicted of a 2005 murder on scant evidence. Zuniga's conviction was eventually overturned, a process documented by his lawyers, who filmed the hearings with the permission of the judge.
The film opened across Mexico on Feb. 18 to wide acclaim. A complaint filed by chief prosecution witness Victor Manuel Reyes Bravo, a relative of the victim, alleges that his right to privacy was violated, the federal Judiciary Council said.
Mexico
NBC "Special"
4 US Presidents
Four former U.S. presidents are joining forces for a TV special saluting public service and volunteerism.
NBC said Thursday that George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush will gather for the hourlong "All Together Now: A Celebration of Service," which will air March 28.
The gala, to be held at the Kennedy Center the week before the special airs, also will spotlight the first President Bush's legacy.
President Barack Obama, scheduled to be abroad when the gala is held, will narrate a short film on the history and value of service in the country, NBC said.
4 US Presidents
Goes 3D In 2012
"Star Wars: Episode I"
Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox will release the 3D version of "Star Wars: Episode I:The Phantom Menace on February 10, 2012."
George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic is supervising the 3D conversion, with an eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions.
Lucas hopes that releasing the film early in the year, outside of summer blockbuster season, will give it an open run at the box office and also set up the opportunity to sell merchandise through the balance of the year.
If the first in the series meets with success, the remaining five films would follow a year apart on comparable dates. However, depending on how the first release performs, the companies could also decide to open the subsequent entries in different spots on the calendar.
"Star Wars: Episode I"
Dog Picture Sells For $218,500
Jamie Wyeth
A Jamie Wyeth work depicting his yellow Labrador with a black circle around his eye has sold for $218,500 in New York City.
Christie's said "Study of Kleberg" brought more than five times the $40,000 pre-sale estimate.
It was purchased Thursday by private art dealer Ann Richards Nitze on behalf of a client who was not identified.
Wyeth said he painted the circle around Kleberg's eye in the 1980s after the pooch got too close to his easel. Wyeth's a big fan of the old comedy "Little Rascals," which featured a pit bull with the same marking.
Jamie Wyeth
Settles Lawsuit
Courtney Love
Rocker Courtney Love has settled the lawsuit brought against her by a fashion designer who claims she was defamed in a series of Twitter messages.
The settlement with Dawn Simorangkir (a.k.a. the "Boudoir Queen"), which sources say was being finalized Thursday and will be announced next week, will cost Love about $430,000. The first payment of cash is due Thursday, followed by a series of payments to Simorangkir stretched out until 2014.
The settlement ends a case that was watched as closely for the unique legal issues in play as the often-erratic behavior of the defendant. Simorangkir, who became embroiled in a dispute with Love over a $4000 payment for clothing, accused the Hole frontwoman of ruining her business with a series of allegedly defamatory tweets posted during a 20 minute rant in 2009. The trial, which was originally scheduled for late January but was postponed when the parties began talking settlement, would have been the first high-profile courtroom showdown over what constitutes defamation on Twitter.
Love argued that her rantings were merely an expression of opinion and that Simorangkir could not prove how they damaged her. The fashion designer, on the other hand, pointed to Love's influence as an entertainer and the power of social media to disseminate damaging comments, including that Simorangkir was an "asswipe nasty lying hosebag thief."
Courtney Love
Officially Rupert's Bitch
Lou Dobbs
Former CNN news anchor Lou Dobbs (R-Gabacho) will debut his "Lou Dobbs Tonight" TV show for the Fox Business Network on March 14, Fox said on Thursday.
Dobbs, who joined the Fox Business Network last November, will appear weeknights at 7 p.m., breaking down the day's top stories and how they impact the economy.
Dobbs will be joined by a variety of experts, and the program will also feature a "Lou Dobbs' Moneyline" segment highlighting emerging financial trends, Fox Business said.
Both the "Moneyline" and "Lou Dobbs Tonight" titles are the same as those he used on CNN.
Lou Dobbs
Seeks Lawsuit's Dismissal
Kathryn Bigelow
The Oscar-winning director and screenwriter of "The Hurt Locker" have asked a federal judge to dismiss an Iraq war veteran's lawsuit alleging the film is based on him.
Attorneys for director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal wrote in a motion filed Wednesday that Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver cannot prove he is the basis for the bomb technician portrayed by Jeremy Renner in the film. They also argue that the movie is protected by California law and the First Amendment, and that Sarver cannot win the case.
Sarver sued Bigelow, Boal and the film's producers and distributor in March 2010, just days before the movie won best picture at the Academy Awards. Bigelow and Boal also received Oscars for their work on the film, which portrays a U.S. bomb technician defusing improvised explosive devices during the Iraq War.
Boal was embedded with Sarver's unit in Iraq in 2004 and wrote a story for Playboy titled, "The Man in the Bomb Suit" that profiled the West Virginia native.
Kathryn Bigelow
Widow Inherits Estate
Bobby Fischer
An Icelandic court said on Thursday the widow of former world chess champion Bobby Fischer should inherit his estimated $2 million estate, which has been in dispute since his death in 2008.
Fischer spent the last years of his life as a fugitive from U.S. authorities because he defied international sanctions against the former Yugoslavia, spending time in the Philippines and Japan before moving to Iceland, where he was offered citizenship in the mid-2000s.
Miyoko Watai of Japan had claimed before the court she was Fischer's wife and heir while two of the chess master's nephews had questioned the legitimacy of the marriage.
On Wednesday Reykjavik's municipal court judge Ingridur Eiriksdottir ruled the marriage was legal and declared that Fischer's nephews must pay Watai 6.65 million Iceland crowns ($57,520) in costs. Fresh documentation was provided for the latest judgment.
Bobby Fischer
Owner Used Mice Vs Competition
Nina's Bella Pizzeria
The owner of a suburban Philadelphia pizza shop was arraigned on Tuesday on charges he schemed to plant live mice in competing pizza parlours in hope of putting them out of business.
Nickolas Galiatsatos, owner of Nina's Bella Pizzeria in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, is accused of putting bags of mice at nearby competitors on Monday afternoon, according to Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.
The owner of Verona Pizza watched Galiatsatos go into his restroom carrying a bag but emerge empty-handed, and alerted two patrol officers who were in the restaurant, Chitwood said.
The officers found a bag of mice and footprints on a toilet seat, suggesting someone had been trying to reach the ceiling tiles, he said.
The officers then found Galiatsatos near another pizza place, Uncle Nick's, where he was seen putting something in a trash can. There, police found a bag containing five mice, Chitwood said.
Nina's Bella Pizzeria
Beverly Hills Bull Shit
Charo
Charo says she has a beef with her neighbors.
The Spanish-American guitarist and entertainer says she had to give up her pet bull after a neighbor in Beverly Hills, Calif., complained about the smell of its feces.
Charo says she adopted the bull calf after they filmed an anti-bullfighting video together for the animal rights group PETA in 2009. She says now the bull has grown "Beverly Hills people complain" about the aroma.
Charo says the bull is named Manolo. She says it lives at a Malibu horse farm but is still allowed to visit her.
Charo
'Chemically Castrated' As Child?
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson may have been more prince than king of pop, a French doctor says in a new book alleging his wide-ranging voice resulted from a childhood chemical castration to fight acne.
"When he died, I realised that he was an unusual phenomenon," Alain Branchereau, an opera buff and professor of vascular surgery at Timone University Hospital in France's Mediterranean port of Marseille, told AFP.
"I said, 'That's the voice of a castrato!'."
After discussing the voice with his colleagues, including endocrinologists, Branchereau ended up with the theory of chemical castration through the synthetic anti-male hormone drug Cyproterone.
Once the treatment is finished, the patient "keeps a child's larynx all his life in a man's body," said Branchereau.
Michael Jackson
Releases UFO Files
Britain
Britain Thursday released 35 previously classified files documenting sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by the military and members of the public dating back to the 1950s.
The files contain around 8,500 pages which mainly cover the period from 1997 to 2005 and include photographs, drawings and descriptions of flying saucer sightings, as well as letters the Ministry of Defense (MoD) sent eyewitnesses in response to their accounts.
Policemen, a soldier, a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and members of the public report sightings of objects including a "chewy mint shaped solid craft" and aerial objects resembling a "ring," a "jellyfish" and a "silver voile spin top."
Other highlights include a UFO policy file from 1997 which reveals how the Ministry of Defense handled UFO reports and a file detailing the only full debate about UFOs ever to be held in Britain's House of Lords -- in January 1979.
Britain
Odd Couple Raise Funds
Fisher House
President Barack Obama and conservative TV host propagandist Bill O'Reilly (R-Loofah Enthusiast) might seem like an odd couple to some, but they recently put aside any political differences and teamed up to raise nearly $750,000 for U.S. military families.
Heading into his pre-Super Bowl interview with Obama -- the second time O'Reilly had grilled the president -- the commentator thought his notes might have some future value.
After the end of their televised talk, which at times put the two at odds, O'Reilly asked Obama if he would sign his research notes as long as O'Reilly used the document and signature to raise money for a charitable cause.
The president agreed and suggested O'Reilly give the money to Fisher House, a non-profit group that builds and maintains "comfort homes" on the grounds of U.S. military medical centers where families stay while their loved ones are being treated.
"He is a regular guy," O'Reilly said of the president. "He gets it right away. He was like, 'Fisher House,' and boom, I was right there" with him.
Fisher House
England's 17th Century Witch Chronicles Online
Nehemiah Wallington
A 350-year-old notebook which documents the trials of women convicted of witchcraft in England during the 17th century has been published online.
The notebook written by Nehemiah Wallington, an English Puritan, recounts the fate of women accused of having relationships with the devil at a time when England was embroiled in a bitter civil war.
The document reveals the details of a witchcraft trial held in Chelmsford in July 1645, when more than a hundred suspected witches were serving time in Essex and Suffolk according to his account.
Wallington also recounts the experiences of Rebecca West, a suspected witch who confessed to sleeping with the devil when she was tortured because "she found her selfe in such extremity of torture and amazement that she would not enure (endure) it againe for the world." Her confession spared her.
Nehemiah Wallington
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Feb. 21-27. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:
1. "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 5.48 million homes, 7.72 million viewers.
2. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.857 million homes, 5.89 million viewers.
3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.853 million homes, 5.82 million viewers.
4. "NCIS" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.68 million homes, 5.06 million viewers.
5. "NCIS" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.41 million homes, 4.74 million viewers.
6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.22 million homes, 4.77 million viewers.
7. NBA Basketball: New York vs. Miami (Sunday, 8 p.m.), ESPN, 3.174 million homes, 4.21 million viewers.
8. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.170 million homes, 4.18 million viewers.
9. "Royal Pains" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.04 million homes, 4.05 million viewers.
10. "NCIS" (Monday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.02 million homes, 4.01 million viewers.
11. "Big Time Rush" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.99 million homes, 4.23 million viewers.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.967 million homes, 4.39 million viewers.
13. "NCIS" (Thursday, 7 p.m.), USA, 2.964 million homes, 4.15 million viewers.
14. "Teen Mom II" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 2.95 million homes, 4 million viewers.
15. "NCIS" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), USA, 2.94 million homes, 3.95 million viewers.
Ratings
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