Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Helaine Olen: How the United States became a 'can't do' society (Washington Post)
The United States is an optimistic society. Problems need to be framed in terms of solutions. Self-help, as I am forever pointing out, is all but a national state religion. To be told you have a "bad attitude" is a deadly insult. So how is it that we increasingly can't seem to get anything done?
Andrew Tobias: You Do Know He Never WANTED To Be President, Right?
It's been a while since I veered off into the culinary - long-time readers now I am slowly simmering Volume One of Cooking Like A Guy™ - so let me just note two things I've recently learned. First, not only is broccoli good for you - broccoli stalks are just as nutritious as the florets. So snack on the florets, raw; but boil the stalks to eat hot or cold with salt and pepper. You will live longer and healthier, for which I expect credit.
Jordan Weissman: So Far, Donald Trump's Trade War Is an Utter Failure (Slate)
The agreement shaping up between China and the U.S. is looking like even more of a disappointment. In return for lowering tariffs, China would buy more U.S. agricultural goods and lower some barriers that keep U.S. companies from operating there. It would do nothing regarding issues like intellectual property theft that are of much greater concern to U.S. corporations. Trump started an unprecedented trade war, and all we're gonna get are some lousy soybean sales.
Ruth Graham: Wolves (Slate)
A YA sensitivity reader watched his own community kill his debut novel before it was ever released.
Dana Stevens: Finally, Women Have Their Own Mediocre Marvel Movie (Slate)
Captain Marvel is just as formulaic as countless other superhero films. That's a triumph.
Terry Teachout: The Man Who Wasn't Gershwin (Commentary)
Oscar Levant…classical musician?
Greg Sargent: In stiff-arming Fox News, Democrats get one big thing right (Washington Post)
[ ... ] All of which has led the Democratic Party to nix the possibility of any Democratic primary debates hosted by Fox News[…] But a key part of the motivation behind this decision is a recognition that Fox News is fundamentally in the business of spreading disinformation, as opposed to conservative reportage. And the recognition that as such, Fox is at the throbbing core of something that has become a major blight on American political life is correct and important.
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from Bruce
Anecdotes - Kissing
• Q: What do you say when you're on a date with a woman who has just eaten worms on Fear Factor? A: "I don't believe in kissing on the first date - or any date."
• When Ashton Kutcher, one of the stars of That 70s Show, was growing up, his older sister, Tausha, played practical jokes on him. For example, she would put make-up on him as he slept. Ashton says, "Can you imagine how scary that was for a little kid, to wake up with lipstick, eye shadow and mascara?" Of course, he grew up and had girlfriends, both for real and on the movie screen. For example, Piper Perabo played his girlfriend in the movie Cheaper By the Dozen. When she met Ashton's real-life girlfriend, Demi Moore, on the set, she said, "Hi, you're gorgeous! I'll be kissing your boyfriend in about 10 minutes." Ms. Moore, who has kissed several actors in her own movies, was amused.
• While on tour in Edinburgh, Scotland, John Gielgud played the lead role in Macbeth. Unfortunately, he found a matinee of Scottish schoolchildren very difficult, as they giggled during the performance and threw paper cups. However, Mr. Gielgud was astonished when they laughed when his character kissed Lady Macbeth at breakfast. When he made a speech a few days later, he mentioned his astonishment at the laughter, and the next day a letter in The Scotsman appeared which explained the laughter: "We do understand Mr. Gielgud's feelings, but perhaps he did not realise that husbands and wives in Scotland do not kiss at breakfast-time"!
• Phyllis Diller's first movie with Bob Hope was Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! In it, her character was supposed to ride a motorcycle, but her stunt double was unable to do this because she had broken her leg. Therefore, a short stunt man doubled for Ms. Diller, wearing her fright wig and funny clothing. Unfortunately for the male stunt double, Ms. Diller's husband visited the set, saw the male stunt double from behind, thought the male stunt double was Ms. Diller, and spun the male stunt double around and planted a big kiss on his lips.
• Faron Young recorded Willie Nelson's "Hello Walls" and had a huge hit. Because Mr. Nelson needed money, he offered to sell the song to Mr. Young for $500. Mr. Young declined to buy the song, saying to Mr. Nelson, "You're crazy! That song has already sold more than that. Here's the five hundred. Pay me back when you have it." Later, Mr. Nelson received his first royalty check - it was for $20,000. Mr. Nelson immediately went in search of Mr. Young, and when he found him, he gave him a big kiss right on the mouth.
• One of the best movies by Mel Brooks is The Producers, starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. Mr. Mostel was hired first, and he attended Mr. Wilder's audition. Before the audition, Mr. Mostel reached out his hand as if he were going to shake Mr. Wilder's hand, then suddenly he grabbed Mr. Wilder, pulled him close, and kissed him on the lips. Before the kiss, Mr. Wilder had been nervous, but after the kiss, he relaxed. (By the way, both Mr. Mostel and Mr. Wilder are straight.)
• Before modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan went to Russia, she visited a fortune teller, who told her that she would get married - something that Ms. Duncan, who was philosophically opposed to marriage, scoffed at. However, she met a handsome Russian poet and soon was shocking her elderly language tutor by saying to her, "You'd better teach me what I ought to say to a beautiful man when I want to kiss him." And yes, she and the handsome poet were married.
• When African-American Duke Ellington reached his 70th birthday, he celebrated it at the White House at the invitation of then-President Richard Nixon. In the receiving line, Mr. Ellington kissed each person four times - twice on each cheek. When President Nixon asked him about it, Mr. Ellington replied, "One for each cheek, Mr. President." When President Nixon gave him the Medal of Freedom at the birthday celebration, Mr. Ellington kissed him four times.
• Famed photographer Yousuf Karsh once played tennis with a partner who promised him a kiss from "one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood" if he were to win the match. Motivated greatly by this promise, Mr. Karsh did win the match, and as promised Joan Crawford kissed him and served him cocktails. In addition, she always sent him a handwritten personal note on such occasions as his birthday and important holidays.
• While performing live, Whoopi Goldberg played the part of a little girl who was dying. In the character of the little girl, Ms. Goldberg stepped off the stage, walked up to a man in the front row of the theater, gave him a hug and a kiss, and asked him to pass it on. The hug and the kiss traveled down the front row as audience members passed the hug and the kiss on to the next audience member.
• After ice skater Peggy Fleming won her gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games, she was given both her medal and a kiss by Avery Brundage, the aged chair of the International Olympic Committee, who was vigilant in making sure that the athletes participating in the Olympics were amateurs. After Ms. Fleming got her medal and kiss, reporters asked her what Mr. Brundage was like as a kisser. She replied, "He was an amateur."
• When Renata Tebaldi received her first kiss, she was disappointed. Her biographer, Victor Seroff, asked if the disappointment stemmed from the youth and inexperience of the man kissing her. She replied, "Too young and inexperienced at twenty-five? Not in Italy." (Fortunately, the second time he kissed her, she liked it.)
• Thomas d'Esterre Roberts (1893-1976) was a Catholic Archbishop. Once, a woman approached him and asked for permission to kiss his ring. Archbishop Roberts said, You may kiss my ring, madam, but I must warn you that it is in my hip pocket."
• When he was a young man acting in England, Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) preferred to kiss actresses on stage who used very little makeup. That way, he didn't risk getting a mouthful of carmine or powder.
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Entire Motion Picture Library
Disney+
The Walt Disney Co.'s new streaming service Disney+ will include movies from Disney's vault that have been periodically withheld from public purchase, CEO Bob Iger confirmed during the company's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.
By the end of 2019, Disney+ will become available to consumers. It was previously announced that the streaming service will feature new content from "Star Wars" and Marvel. However, it was unclear if Disney would be releasing classic films that have been locked away in the past like "Cinderella," "Bambi" or "Peter Pan."
On Thursday, Iger confirmed that it would at some point put its entire motion picture library on the service, including movies that have traditionally been kept in its archives.
Disney has long had a policy of only allowing animated features to be available for a limited time and then putting them in a "vault" for several years before releasing them again for purchase.
Disney+'s launch is going to cost Disney $150 million because it will no longer be licensing its content to Netflix. "Captain Marvel" will be the first film withheld from any output deals, Iger said during the company's February earnings call.
Disney+
Pulls Episode
'The Simpsons'
An episode of The Simpsons featuring the voice of pop singer Michael Jackson is being pulled from circulation amid the fallout from HBO's shocking Leaving Neverland documentary.
"I'm against book burning of any kind," producer Jim Brooks told the The Wall Street Journal. "But this is our book, and we're allowed to take out a chapter."
The 1991 Season 3 episode, "Stark Raving Dad," has Homer sent to a mental institution after being mistaken for an anarchist. While confined, he befriends a hulking, gentle-voiced man who believes he's Michael Jackson, before the fellow inmate finally admits he's Leon Kompowsky, a bricklayer from Paterson, NJ.
After years of fan speculation, series creator Matt Groenig revealed that Jackson actually voiced Kompowsky. The voice credits went to a pseudonym, John Jay Smith. Even though Kompowsky sang a few Jackson numbers in the episode, Jackson was contractually bound not to sing, so a soundalike, Kipp Lennon of the band Venice, was used. Jackson did write the song "Happy Birthday Lisa" for the episode.
'The Simpsons'
Reading Fest Hospital Gown
Kurt Cobain
The hospital gown Kurt Cobain famously wore during Nirvana's headlining set at Reading Festival 1992 is currently up for auction via RR Auction. The gown is part of the Marvels of Modern Music Auction, which started March 7th and ends March 14th. Cobain's hospital gown is estimated to be worth $50,000 or more.
Nirvana's 1992 set at the Reading Festival remains one of the band's most famous live performances, and it was released as a concert film and live album in 2009 after being a cherished bootleg for years. Cobain famously wore the hospital gown as a way to poke fun at rumors about his health. To complete the bit, Cobain not only had music journalist Everett True push him on stage in a wheelchair, but he opened the performance by warbling a few notes of Bette Midler's "The Rose" before pretending to collapse.
In the years since Cobain's death in 1994, the gown has been in the possession of a fan, who said they received it from Courtney Love at a Seattle vigil following Cobain's suicide. "Late that evening, Courtney Love showed up accompanied by Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland with a bag of Kurt's clothes," the fan recalled. "She was visibly grief-stricken and proceeded to pass the clothes out while asking trivia about Kurt's life… She handed me his hospital gown from the legendary Reading Festival performance from 1992. She then cried on my shoulder for a while. I tried to say something reassuring about his love for her and she pushed me away, insisting that he only loved Frances… The entire incident was sad. And weird. And it blew my teenage mind."
Along with Cobain's hospital gown, the Marvels of Modern Music Auction also boasts items like Keith Moon's annotated address book, an angry letter John Lennon wrote to Beatles producer George Martin and Prince's customized VOX guitar from the 3RDEYEGIRL era.
Kurt Cobain
New Killer Whale Found
Type D
An international team of scientists working off the coast of southern Chile spotted a new species of killer whale, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
The joyous discovery almost didn't happen as the team spent more than a week waiting out storms near Cape Horn.
Dubbed Type D, scientist said this species has a distinctly different color pattern and body shape. Type D whales were only previously known about through a beach stranding more than 60 years ago, fishermen stories, and tourist photos.
"We are very excited about the genetic analyses to come. Type D killer whales could be the largest undescribed animal left on the planet and a clear indication of how little we know about life in our oceans," NOAA researcher Bob Pitman said.
Compared to other killer whales, Type D have more rounded heads, a narrower and more pointed dorsal fin, and a tiny white eyepatch.
Type D
Judge Dismisses Case
Stormy Daniels
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to end a hush-money agreement she had with U.S. President Donald Trump, court papers showed.
U.S. District Judge James Otero dismissed the lawsuit because Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen have agreed not to enforce the nondisclosure agreement against Daniels, court documents showed.
"The Court specifically found that Stormy received everything she asked for in the lawsuit - she won," said Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, in a Twitter post.
In his ruling, Otero sent the lawsuit back to California Superior Court, essentially ending the case. He said the case "lacks subject matter jurisdiction."
Stormy Daniels
Civil War-Era Underground Tunnels
Alcatraz
Alcatraz was America's most well- known federal prison for the nearly 30 years it operated off the coast of San Francisco.
But the notorious prison was hiding a secret that's now come out more than 55 years after the federal penitentiary closed its doors.
Archaeologists and researchers from Chico State University, Binghamton University in New York, and Texas A&M have recently confirmed historians' long-time suspicion that Alcatraz was built over a Civil War-era military fortification with a series of tunnels and buildings under the prison's recreation yard.
A study published last week in "Near Surface Geophysics" said archaeologists used ground-penetrating radar and laser scans as well as historical maps and photographs to locate the fully buried tunnels, structures and ammunition magazines.
"These remains are so well preserved, and so close to the surface," study author Timothy de Smet, an archaeologist at Binghampton University said. "They weren't erased from the island - they're right beneath your feet."
Alcatraz
2,700-Year-Old Tattoo Kit Found
Polynesia
A set of four tiny combs from the Polynesian kingdom Tonga might be among the world's oldest tattoo kits.
The tools had been sitting in storage in an Australian university for decades. A team of researchers recently reassessed the artifacts and found that the combs - two of which are made from human bone - are 2,700 years old.
Archaeologists have known that tattooing was practiced in several cultures since prehistory. Mummies from Siberia to Egypt have been found with tattoos visible on their flesh. Ötzi the Iceman, a 5,000-year-old mummy found in the Alps, has dozens of tattoos on his body, which some researchers think were inked on for therapeutic purposes.
It's only recently that archaeologists have begun to recognize prehistoric tools that were used to make tattoos. In 2016, archaeological experiments showed that 3,000-year-old volcanic glass tools were likely used for tattooing in the Solomon Islands. Last year, another team reported that they found ink-stained tattoo needles carved out of turkey bones from a 3,600-year-old Native American grave in Tennessee. And just last week, archaeologists reported that a 2,000-year-old artifact in museum storage had been identified as a tattooing tool; that needle was made from prickly pear cactus spines by the ancestral Pueblo people in what is now Utah.
The small combs from Tonga were found in an ancient dump during an excavation at an archaeological site on the Tonga island of Tongatapu in 1963. The artifacts had been in a storage facility at the Australian National University in Canberra, and then were assumed lost after a fire. But when the artifacts were found intact in 2008, researchers decided to carbon-date the tools to determine their age.
Polynesia
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