Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: From California to Alabama, these folks deserve a good cuffing (tucsonweekly.com)
Here are some people who deserve, in the words of Frasier Crane, a good cuffing: The member of the Jackson 5 who named his son Jermajesty. Yes, Jermajesty.
Susan Estrich: Smaller Government, Anyone? (creators.com)
Maybe not this week. With the oil spilling in the Gulf, it's hard to find too many people calling for less government and more reliance on the private sector.
Connie Schultz: What Happens in Arizona Is Everybody's Business (creators.com)
The argument goes something like this: If you don't live in Arizona, you have no business meddling in its immigration problems.
Tony Barrell: Meet the world's cheekiest publisher (timesonline.co.uk)
With publishing in the doldrums, Taschen's high-end art books and coffee-table porn are turning over tens of millions a year.
JOSEPH EPSTEIN: Why Cry Over Split Milk? (weeklystandard.com)
I was reading along in an article in the 'New York Times Magazine' about a woman who reacted to being fired from a rather cushy job by working out her depression through overeating, when I came upon the following sentence: "I put the plate of peanut better, a half bottle of wine, a glass and a linen napkin on a tray and climbed back to my bedroom." Ah, thought I, "peanut better, what can be butter?"
Joshua Sandoval: "Book review: 'The Bedwetter' by Sarah Silverman" (latimes.com)
The star of 'The Sarah Silverman Program' writes a memoir 'because I am a famous comedian.' It's irreverent, funny and sometimes winningly serious.
Robin Eggar: "Miranda: teaching the world to sing" (timesonline.co.uk)
Created by Colleen Ballinger, Miranda is a hilariously off-key vocal coach who's a YouTube sensation with her own show.
Lesley Goldberg: Interview with Sarah McLachlan (afterellen.com)
The musician talks to us about Lilith Fair, her new album, Laws of Illusion, and why sexual orientation "doesn't matter."
Editorial: In praise of Iggy and the Stooges (guardian.co.uk)
We say Iggy Pop was the Stooges' singer but he was more like a human shock absorber.
David Bruce: The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 4 (Lulu.com)
Free download. This 4th book contains 250 anecdotes about good deeds.
The Sounds - Hit Me! (youtube.com)
The Weekly Poll
New Question(s)
The 'Double-Trouble' Edition...
This past week has brought two significant issues to our (ahem) attention that begs to be commented upon. (I'm pretty sure you all have opinions on these matters, haha...)
The 'What does that even mean?' Question...
In the aftermath of the enactment of Arizona's 'Papers, please' law, various and sundry administration officials, politicians and activists have said that this event only proves the need for immediate "Comprehensive Immigration Reform". However, specific details were lacking and
Mr. Obama has shied away from the issue by saying congress has no appetite for that political 'hot potato' with the fall mid-term elections looming. So, here's your opportunity to give them your input (or a piece of yer mind, if that works). I trust (cough) Rahm reads Bartcop E*...
What would you like (or not like) CIR to include and when (or) should it be done?
The 'Drill, Baby... Spill!' Question...
Not a month has passed after President Obama proposed increased off-shore oil drilling operations when karma bit him in the ass with the BP platform disaster. (Hello? 911? Gaia calling!)
Should Mr. Obama rescind or modify (how?) his decision?
Send your response to
replied:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
RE: Deep Throat
Dear Marty:
In my past life I was an entertainer in San Diego in the late 70's and through the 80's. For a short time I worked at a restaurant in downtown San Diego called the "Backstage Restaurant". We waited the tables and did two shows a night. It was in a formerly seedy part of San Diego, 3rd and "F" Street, that was eventually razed. If you wanted to use the rest rooms, you had to go next door to the adjoining movie theatre. The theatre had been playing "Deep Throat" for years. My dressing room was the last one up the hall and right next to my dressing room, through the wall was the theatre screen. I didn't "see" Deep Throat, but I "heard" parts of it through the wall many times. My mother would have been horrified if she had known. But it was an interesting time of my life that I wouldn't trade for anything. I could tell stories……….
MAG in TN
Thanks, MAG!
My mom was pretty embarrassed, but she thought she was hiding it well.
Ex-Boyfriend #4
Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin's former maid says Ricky Martin had an ongoing relationship with legendary Spanish pop star Miguel Bosé from 1989-1990. From the article:
Ricky suffered because he didn't get to see Miguel very often. He wanted to go live with him, but his manager Diana Tello and [his "girlfriend"] Rebeca de Alba wouldn't let him. They thought he was sacrificing his career for a man who was a always traveling.
Read the whole article here: Guanabee | Ricky Martin Ex-Boyfriend #4: Miguel Bosé
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Honors
"Television With A Conscience"
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the group behind the annual Emmy awards, paid tribute to what it called "television with a conscience" at its third-annual Television Academy Honors.
"I sort of call it, 'The night where we see that television chooses its power to do good vs. evil,'" said event host Dana Dalany ("Desperate Housewives"). "We've seen a lot of crap on TV and this (event honors) shows that really enlighten the world," she continued.
Among honorees at the Wednesday night ceremony: individual episodes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Private Practice" and "Glee." Former U.S. vice president Al Gore accepted a statuette for his Current TV network's "Vanguard" series, which documented effects of prescription-drug abuse.
"Television With A Conscience"
Heads Venice Film Festival Jury
Quentin Tarantino
The Venice Film Festival says Quentin Tarantino will head the jury that will award the coveted Golden Lion at this year's festival.
The festival called the director "one of the major creative figures in contemporary cinema" in an announcement of his appointment on Thursday. It runs from Sept. 1-10.
The festival cited Tarantino's highly original filmmaking style, work as a character actor in such moves as 'Sukiyaki Western Django," films that have launched and relaunched acting careers and his dedication to young filmmakers in his work as a producer.
The festival says Tarantino is "perhaps the only American auteur to be adored world wide like a rock star."
Quentin Tarantino
First Non-Latin Names Activated
Internet Domains
Three Mideast countries have become the first to get Internet addresses entirely in non-Latin characters.
Domain names in Arabic for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were added to the Internet's master directories on Wednesday, following final approval last month by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. It's the first major change to the Internet domain name system since its creation in the 1980s.
Until now, websites had to end their addresses with ".com" or another string using Latin characters. That meant businesses and government agencies still had to use Latin characters on billboards and advertisements, even if they were targeting populations with no familiarity with English or other languages that use the Latin script.
A suffix for Russia in Cyrillic is expected to be added to the master list soon, having received ICANN's final clearance last month as well.
Internet Domains
Launches Online Radio Station
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is taking the more-is-more approach to sharing its music this spring: the band has just announced that the shows on its current 2010 world tour will be released as official bootlegs, started a preorder audio release of a quartet of Philadelphia shows from October, and launched Pearl Jam Radio.
All three of the new offerings are available via PearlJam.com.
The latest instalment of the band's decade-long official bootleg series, the 2010 Bootleg Program offers full-concert soundboard recordings in a choice of three formats beginning in mid-May.
And in the spirit of instant gratification, the busy Seattle band has launched Pearl Jam Radio. The player, which lives on PearlJam.com, offers a constant stream of live, rare and studio tunes from throughout the group's two-decade career.
Pearl Jam
Stockholm Film Award
Gus Van Sant
Organizers of the Stockholm film festival say director Gus Van Sant has been named the winner of this year's visionary award, hailing him as one of modern cinema's greatest American filmmakers.
Van Sant is expected to visit Stockholm in November to pick up the award - a 16-pound bronze horse.
Festival director Git Scheynius said Thursday that Van Sant's depiction of an alternative America "is a celebration of film art," adding that his films have been a part of the annual festival throughout its 20-year history. Van Sant's films include "Good Will Hunting" and "Milk."
Gus Van Sant
Release Free New Song
Bachman & Turner
Randy Bachman and Fred Turner are giving fans a sneak peek at their first new material in years.
Bachman & Turner have posted their new track, "Rock n' Roll is the Only Way Out," on their website as a free download.
Fans need to enter an email address and the new tune will then be offered up for downloading.
The '70s Winnipeg stalwarts authored such hits as "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," "Takin' Care of Business" and "Roll on Down the Highway" when they were still called Bachman-Turner Overdrive, a name that is now the subject of a lawsuit.
Bachman & Turner
E=MC2 On Display
Albert Einstein
Two pages of the original manuscript of Albert Einstein's famed "General Theory of Relativity" were unveiled Thursday at Shanghai's World Expo, state media reported.
The priceless documents were shown off by Israel's finance minister Yuval Steinitz at his nation's pavilion, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The two pages, selected from a total of 46, contain the famous physicist's E=mc2 equation, which describes mass-energy equivalence, it added.
Written in Einstein's home in Berlin in 1916 and donated to Jerusalem's Hebrew University when it opened in 1925, the document redefined mankind's understanding of the fabric of our existence -- space, time and gravity.
Albert Einstein
Makes It Official
Chaz Bono
Chaz Bono is officially a man and has his new name.
A judge on Thursday granted a request to change the name and gender of the 41-year-old writer, activist and reality TV star. Chaz Bono was born a girl to Sonny Bono and Cher and underwent a gender-change operation last year.
Bono was represented in court by attorney Kristina Wertz of the Transgender Law Center. Wertz says the judge's order is an important step in Chaz Bono's transition and will allow him to reflect his new identity on a variety of official documents.
Chaz Bono
TV's Biggest Revenue Generator
"American Idol"
"American Idol" rakes in $8.1 million in ad sales each half-hour it is on the air, making it TV's biggest revenue generator, according to the list-makers at Forbes Magazine and data from Kantar Media.
Because the intention of Forbes is to determine which shows are commanding the most ad dollars, it makes no claim as to how profitable each show is. Forbes broke everything into 30-minute increments to ensure that half-hour sitcoms and hourlong dramas and reality shows are compared equally.
Coming in a distant second was the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men," which Forbes and Kantar said brings in $3.1 million during each half-hour episode. The show starring Charlie Sheen is the only sitcom to crack the top 10.
In third was the Fox drama "24," which is generating $3 million every 30 minutes in its final season.
"American Idol"
Court Won't Reconsider Ruling
Anna Nicole Smith
A federal appeals court panel has rejected a bid by the late Anna Nicole Smith's lawyers to reconsider its ruling that gave her none of the fortune from her late billionaire husband.
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel ruled Wednesday it would not rehear the case. It also denied a request for a hearing before all members of the San Francisco-based court.
The appellate court ruled in March that a Houston jury was correct when it said J. Howard Marshall was mentally fit and under no undue pressure when he wrote a will leaving nearly all of his $1.6 billion estate to his son, E. Pierce Marshall. Lawyers for Smith's estate have said they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Anna Nicole Smith
Sues Indie Label
Google
Google has taken the rare step of asking a California judge to declare that by linking to copyright-infringing works on Rapidshare, the search giant is not facilitating the illegal distribution of copyrighted songs.
Last year, Blue Destiny Records, a small blues-oriented music label, sued Google, Microsoft and Rapidshare in Florida. The label claimed that Rapidshare was running "a distribution center for unlawful copies of copyrighted works," and that Google and Microsoft's Bing search engine were helping to prop up the company. The label argued that users can easily find copyrighted songs on file-hosting websites by doing a simple search query.
But in late March, Blue Destiny voluntarily withdrew its lawsuit. Google then asked the company to waive the right to pursue its copyright allegations. According to Google, the label refused, preserving its option to refile its claims.
Now Google has decided that it wants the court battle. The company has filed a 96-page complaint with the California district court, asking for a declaratory judgment that it's not infringing Blue Destiny's copyrights.
Google
PM Facing Drug Charges
`Deadliest Catch'
Police in the Alaska fishing town of Unalaska say a production manager for the hit cable TV show "Deadliest Catch" who bragged about his ability to deliver large amounts of cocaine is facing felony drug charges.
Police say 22-year-old Matthew Schneider delivered about $300 worth of cocaine to an undercover officer on March 20.
Court documents say Schneider talked about large amounts of cocaine from California being distributed at "Deadliest Catch" parties in Unalaska.
Schneider is not in custody and police don't know his whereabouts.
`Deadliest Catch'
Americans "Bombarded"
Cancer
Americans are being "bombarded" with chemicals, gases and radiation that can cause cancer, and the federal government must do far more to protect them, presidential cancer advisers said on Thursday.
Although most experts agree that as many as two-thirds of cancer cases are caused by lifestyle choices like smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise, the two-member panel said many avoidable cancers were also caused by pollution, radon gas from the soil and medical imaging scans.
"The incidence of some cancers, including some most common among children, is increasing for unexplained reasons," the report reads.
Cancer
Carlyle Gift
Library of Congress
David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group equity firm on Thursday announced a $5 million pledge to the Library of Congress to ensure the National Book Festival continues on the National Mall for years to come.
Former first lady Laura Bush began the festival with the library in 2001, modeling it after events she had held as first lady in Texas.
The National Book Festival has grown from about 30,000 attendees a year to more than 130,000 in 2009 as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted the event. The festival regularly draws historians, fiction writers, NBA stars and such furry characters as Elmo from "Sesame Street."
Rubenstein is a co-founder and managing director of the Washington-based Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms.
Library of Congress
Probe Won't Be Public
W.Va. Mine Accident
Federal regulators have decided not to convene a public hearing in the early stages of their investigation into the deadly explosion at a West Virginia coal mine.
The announcement Thursday from the Mine Safety and Health Administration means officials will not have subpoena power to compel witnesses to testify during the initial part of the probe.
It also means that family members of the 29 miners killed in the April 5 explosion won't be present for early interviews with mine workers and officials from Massey Energy Co., which owns the mine.
The agency plans to conduct much of its initial investigation behind closed doors, then later hold two public hearings and other forums for public input. MSHA will use its subpoena power to compel witnesses to testify at the later hearings if necessary.
W.Va. Mine Accident
Reaction Low Key
"Los Suns"
Suns fans wore "Los Suns" jerseys and T-shirts and a group of four even entered the arena with sombreros for their team's playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs.
There was a lone protester holding up a homemade sign outside the arena who was against the idea of the "Los Suns" jerseys Phoenix wore Wednesday night for Game 2 of its second-round series.
The Suns made headlines the day before with their decision to wear "Los Suns" jerseys on the Cinco de Mayo holiday. A new Arizona immigration law has drawn widespread criticism from Latino organizations and civil rights groups that say it could lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. President Barack Obama has called the law "misguided."
The protester, who identified herself only as Karen from Glendale, held a sign which read The Phoenix Suns support drug runners; armed coyotes; drop houses; extradition; forced labor; forced prostitution of illegals; murder of Arizona citizens on their own property; assault on law enforcement officers.
"Los Suns"
Candles Offer A Whiff
White Castle
Fans of White Castle's oniony hamburgers have a new way to indulge without any calorie guilt: a scented candle infused with the burgers' aroma.
The Columbus, Ohio-based fast-food chain this week introduced candles that smell like its Slider burgers in a promotion with Autism Speaks. Proceeds from the sale of the $10 candles will benefit the New York-based charity.
The candles resemble a packaged White Castle burger and are being sold at the company's restaurants and on its website. The wax is encased in a ceramic holder that looks like a Slider's cardboard sleeve.
White Castle
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of April 26-May 2. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. NBA Playoffs: Boston vs. Cleveland (Saturday, 8:04 p.m.), TNT, 3.88 million homes, 5.7 million viewers.
2. NBA Playoffs: L.A. Lakers vs. Oklahoma City (Friday, 9:43 p.m.), ESPN, 3.58 million homes, 4.83 million viewers.
3. NBA Playoffs: Oklahoma City vs. L.A. Lakers (Tuesday, 10:50 p.m.), TNT, 3.57 million homes, 4.68 million viewers.
4. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.43 million homes, 4.47 million viewers.
5. "ICarly" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.33 million homes, 4.86 million viewers.
6. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.32 million homes, 4.98 million viewers.
7. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.25 million homes, 4.99 million viewers.
8. NBA Playoffs: Chicago vs. Cleveland (Tuesday, 8:05 p.m.), TNT, 3.23 million homes, 4.24 million viewers.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.1 million homes, 4.09 million viewers.
10. "Pawn Stars" (Sunday, 8:30 p.m.), History, 3.038 million homes, 4.33 million viewers.
11. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.030 million homes, 3.86 million viewers.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), 2.92 million homes, 3.7 million viewers.
13. NBA Playoffs: Dallas vs. San Antonio (Thursday, 8:05 p.m.), TNT, 2.75 million homes, 3.59 million viewers.
14. "Penguins of Madagascar" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.728 million homes, 3.66 million viewers.
15. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.722 million homes, 3.66 million viewers.
Ratings
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