Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Amy Goodman: Chomsky and Zinn on Patriotism in America (Democracy Now!; Posted on AlterNet.org)
An interview with two of America's leading dissidents on how the highest act of patriotism would be opposing the war in Iraq and calling for a withdrawal of our troops.
Bill Gallagher: Bush Best Buddy bin Laden Ever Had, as Iraq War Goes from Bad to Worse
... one of the women answered with a request that ought to be repeated to every member of Congress and included in every statement they make about Iraq: "The most important thing that anyone could do is to help collect the bodies that line the streets in front of our homes every morning. No one dares to touch them, but for us it is unbearable to have to expose our children to such images every day as we try to bring them to school."
Tom Heneghan: Anglican head Williams says anti-gays misread Bible
PARIS (Reuters) - The spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans has said conservative Christians who cite the Bible to condemn homosexuality are misreading a key passage written by Saint Paul almost 2,000 years ago.
Mark Morford: You Cannot Save The Earth (sfgate.com)
Does buying that cute recycled organic lip balm really do any good? Your government snickers.
Annalee Newitz: The Trouble with Twitter
New technology such as Twitter reflects the accelerating pace of our lives. But is living in 'Twitter time' really sustainable?
John Hooper: Whatever happened to la dolce vita? (guardian.co.uk)
According to a recent survey the happiest citizens of the old, 15-member EU are the Danes, and the least content are the Italians. The British finish a dishonourable 10th, just behind the Spanish, but ahead of the Germans and French.
CARLIN ROMANO: Remembering, Emotionally, a Philosopher of Emotion (chronicle.com)
Robert Solomon exuded appetite, endless appetite, for philosophy that matters, problems, in the Jamesian sense, that make a difference for real people. Carlin Romano on a dear friend...
Wesley Strick: Lana Clarkson's fade to black (latimes.com)
The slain actress at the center of the Phil Spector trial joins a tragic cast of women swallowed up by noir Hollywood.
Taking on the Big Man (telegraph.co.uk)
Michael Moore is used to dishing the dirt. But he turns strangely coy when the cameras are turned on him. Debbie Melnyk recalls the obstruction she faced when she tackled a taboo subject.
Touchy Subject (telegraph.co.uk)
After a lifetime of anger and anxiety, the actress Gillian Anderson says she is at last feeling happy. Not that you'd know it. John Preston has a close encounter with Scully of "The X Files."
Gregory Rodriguez: The kindness of Kurt Vonnegut (latimes.com)
A personal experience with the novelist left the impression of a daft, kind old man.
Joel Bleifuss: Thank You Mr. Vonnegut (inthesetimes.com)
With the April 11 death of Senior Editor Kurt Vonnegut, In These Times lost a dear friend. And the world lost a man who kept his moral compass always pointed in the right-excuse me, left-direction.
Kurt Vonnegut: Cold Turkey (inthesetimes.com)
"For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. 'Blessed are the merciful' in a courtroom? 'Blessed are the peacemakers' in the Pentagon? Give me a break!"
Reader Suggestions
John McCain
Does the White House give John McCain a deck of Cards to play with?
Is McCain a Queen of Diamonds Manchurian Candidate ?
Reader Comment
Re: Minke Whale
Marty
Kim Durham, the rescue program director for the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, which arranges for rescues of dolphins and other sea animals, said the dying whale apparently beached itself after hitting rocks near an oil refinery - here and here.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and cool.
Finally bought the kid his first shaver. Been putting it off, but he's somewhere between Aunt Philomena and Uncle Spuck, so it's time.
Who Is Sexy List
Victoria's Secret
Another day, another list. But what the heck, this one is a "What is Sexy?" rundown from Victoria's Secret. "SexyBack" singer Justin Timberlake is sexiest male musician; Jessica Alba, who starred in "Sin City," is sexiest actress; and David Beckham, who has three sons with his wife, Victoria, is sexiest dad.
The list of sexy entertainers and athletes was announced Thursday. It was compiled by a team of Victoria's Secret executives, designers and supermodel spokeswomen, including Heidi Klum and Karolina Kurkova. Klum and Kurkova were to host a party in Las Vegas on Thursday to celebrate the list-makers.
Other sexy celebs: Eric Dane (actor), Carrie Underwood (female musician), speed racer Danica Patrick (female athlete), Yankee Derek Jeter (male athlete), Kate Hudson (mom), and Jay-Z and Beyonce (couple).
Sienna Miller won props for her trendsetting style, Josh Duhamel for his smile and Adrian Grenier for his eyes. Cameron Diaz has the sexiest legs, while Jennifer Hudson was singled out in the lips category.
Victoria's Secret
Every Issue On DVD
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone magazine will release its entire printed history on DVD in the fall, coinciding with the celebration of its 40th anniversary.
Archive software firm Bondi Digital Publishing is scanning over 115,000 pages from more than 1,000 issues, using a proprietary platform previously used for the New Yorker and currently being deployed for Playboy. Bondi will publish the DVD under an exclusive licensing arrangement with Wenner Media, the closely held parent of Rolling Stone.
The DVD, "Rolling Stone Cover-to-Cover: The First 40 Years," will cost $119.99. It will allow users to search for every article, photograph and review that appeared in print, even the infamous five-star love letter that editor Jann Wenner gave his friend Mick Jagger's last solo record in 2001.
Rolling Stone
Moves To LA
American Black Film Festival
The American Black Film Festival is switching coasts. After five years in Miami, the festival is moving to Los Angeles, founder Jeff Friday announced Thursday.
The 11th annual festival will be held October 25 to 29, with events in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.
Founded in 1997, the festival's mission is "to strengthen the black filmmaking community through resource-sharing, education, artistic collaboration and career development," according to its Web site.
American Black Film Festival
Opera Tells How Georgia Racism Backfired
'A Scholar Under Siege'
"A Scholar Under Siege," composed by Georgia Southern University music professor Michael Braz, tells the true story of how segregationist Gov. Eugene Talmadge in 1941 fired the college's president amid suspicions that he supported integrating the school.
The opera, which opens on campus Friday and runs through the weekend, was written for the university's 100th anniversary celebration this year.
Talmadge ruled Georgia politics in the 1930s and early 1940s with a style that mixed profanity-laced stump speeches, pocketbook populism and unabashed racism. He typified the Southern demagogue long before it could be stereotyped.
But Talmadge's racist politics backfired on the three-term governor in 1941 when he orchestrated the firings of Marvin Pittman, president of Georgia Teachers College, which later became Georgia Southern, along with Walter Cocking, dean of education at the University of Georgia.
'A Scholar Under Siege'
Woman With an Opinion
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne has said she hopes Queen Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme "gets syphilis and dies" after he criticised her husband Ozzy's Ozzfest tour.
Homme responded to a comment in this month's Blender magazine made about his bands decision to never take part in Ozzfest again because "they treat the bands like sh*t."
Now Sharon, who created the Ozzfest tour in 1996, has responded with the following statement: "I hope he gets syphilis and dies. I hope his dick fuckin' falls off so his mother can eat it."
Sharon Osbourne
Jury Selected For Trial
Phil Spector
A jury of nine men and three women was sworn in Thursday to decide whether music producer Phil Spector murdered actress Lana Clarkson four years ago.
The panel of 12 - many appearing startled when they realized they were the jury - stood, raised their hands and were sworn in to serve on the case.
A panel of six alternates remained to be selected. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler ordered that process to continue on Monday, followed by opening statements on Wednesday.
Phil Spector
DC Humorfest
WHCA Dinner
Embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales may have been the subject of congressional grilling Thursday over the controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys, but come Saturday he will be the guest of USA Today at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner.
As in the past, only members of the White House Correspondents Association may purchase tickets to the event, which comedian Rich Little is slated to emcee and resident George Bush is expected to attend. Because of that restriction, news outlets commonly buy tickets and bring notable guests.
That approach makes for some interesting mixing of newsmakers and those who cover them. Along with USA Today and Gonzales, this year's guest list has Newsweek bringing presidential contender Mitt Romney; ABC News inviting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Sen. Fred Thompson; Time hosting singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill; The Washington Moonie Times with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; and Bloomberg News bringing former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
Then there is People magazine, with three tables that will include the likes of Valerie Bertinelli, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and recently dumped American Idol contestant Sanjaya.
WHCA Dinner
Face Rabies Risk
Flagellants
Dozens of men who whipped and cut their backs for a gory Good Friday ceremony in the Philippines risk contracting rabies after a fellow flagellant died of the virus earlier this month.
The men shared a blade to rip their skin before flaying it to a pulp with a bamboo whip in the northern province of Pampanga. The ritual, which also involves voluntary crucifixions, is meant to mark the suffering of Jesus Christ.
Dr Maria Clara Aquino, a government doctor in Pampanga, said Tuesday that anti-rabies vaccines had been give to 103 people who could have been exposed to the virus.
Flagellants
Sets Breathalizer Record - .47
Deana F. Jarrett
A woman arrested following two car crashes last week registered a .47 blood-alcohol content on a breath test - nearly six times the legal intoxication threshold and possibly a state record.
Deana F. Jarrett, 54, was taken to Evergreen Hospital as a precaution following her arrest April 11, the Washington State Patrol said Wednesday. No one was injured in the accidents.
Jarrett blew the .47 on a portable breath tester after she collided with two other vehicles in quick succession, the patrol said. A check of all 356,000 breath tests administered since 1998 in Washington turned up only 35 above .40 - and none of those was higher than .45.
Deana F. Jarrett
Controversial Portrait Fails To Sell
Jane Austen
A controversial portrait offered for sale as the only existing painting of English author Jane Austen failed to find a buyer when it went up for auction in New York on Thursday.
The painting, which depicts a young woman in a full-length white dress holding a green parasol, failed to reach its reserve price, Christie's auction house said. It had been expected to fetch between 400,000 and 800,000 dollars. The so-called Rice Portrait, described by Christie's as one of the world's most intriguing literary portraits, was believed to have been painted by British painter Ozias Humphry and is owned by Austen's direct descendants.
The controversy over the portrait goes back to the 1940s, when leading Austen scholar R.W. Chapman said that the fashions in the picture dated from 1805 or later, and not from the late 1780s, when it was supposedly painted.
Jane Austen
Cable Top 15
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of April 9-15. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses.
1. "The Sopranos" (Sunday, 9:03 p.m.), HBO, 4.78 million homes, 7.42 million viewers.
2. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodoen, 4.04 million homes, 5.54 million viewers.
3. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.88 million homes, 5.24 million viewers.
4. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.87 million homes, 5.9 million viewers.
5. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.79 million homes, 5.64 million viewers.
6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 11 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.74 million homes, 5.35 million viewers.
7. "I Love New York" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), VH1, 3.6 million homes, 5 million viewers.
8. "Charm School" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), VH1, 3.56 million homes, 5.07 million viewers.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.43 million homes, 4.66 million viewers.
10. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.37 million homes, 4.98 million viewers.
11. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.19 million homes, 4.17 million viewers.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.04 million homes, 4.14 million viewers.
13. "Planet Earth" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Discovery, 3 million homes, 4.92 million viewers.
14. (tie) Movie: "National Treasure" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), USA, 2.929 million homes, 4.35 million viewers.
14. (tie) "Planet Earth" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), Discovery, 2.929 million homes, 4.56 million viewers.
Ratings
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