Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Matt Stopera: The 30 Best Anti-Westboro Baptist Church Protest Signs (Buzzfeed)
Here's a trend we can all get behind: people making counter-protest signs at Westboro Baptist Church rallys.
Gay Donor Pulls Support From Mitt Romney Over Gay Marriage, Asks For Money Back (Huffington Post)
"You have chosen to be on the wrong side of history and I do not support your run for president any longer."
Tom Danehy: Tom ponders TV news, credit derivatives and Canadian cash (Tucson Weekly)
Am I the only one who is dismayed by local TV-news people calling in "body-language experts" to try to discern whether there's something fishy about the way the parents of missing 6-year-old Isabel Celis are acting? You've got people going over the footage of press conferences, freezing frames and saying, "Oh, look, her eyes went up 22 degrees above horizontal. That means something." Yeah, maybe a fly buzzing around in the lights caught her attention, or maybe she was stifling a sneeze.
James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead
Dedicated to making kids readers for life.
Scott Eyman: Why does James Patterson care about our kids' reading habits? (Palm Beach Post)
He is one of the most successful writers in the world, so he knows how to grab attention, but then that's a primary reason he's one of the most successful writers in the world.
Froma Harrop: Silicon Slumming (Creators Syndicate)
… Wal-Mart last year paid taxes at a rate of 24 percent on its worldwide profits. Apple was taxed at a rate of 9.8 percent. Had Apple not routed the dough through certain foreign addresses, its check to the IRS last year would have been $2.4 billion higher than it was, according to economist Martin A. Sullivan, formerly of the Treasury Department. Nonetheless, Apple's late founder, Steve Jobs, dressed in his trademark jeans and black turtleneck, would complain bitterly about the taxes his company paid.
Roger Ebert: Women are Better Than Men
Women are nicer than men. There are exceptions. Most people of both sexes are probably fairly nice, given the nature of their upbringing and opportunities. But in terms of their lifelong natures, women are kinder, more empathetic, more generous. And the sooner more of them take positions of power, the better our chances as a species.
Matthew Yglesias: Why Are Teen Moms Poor? (Slate)
Surprising new research shows it's not because they have babies. They have babies because they're poor.
Cara Hoffman: Bad Advice from Kurt Vonnegut (Truthout)
But the biggest influence Vonnegut exacted over me was at this reading, where he told the students in the audience they didn't need to go to school and could just as well drop out.
Ed Pilkington: "The wrong Carlos: how Texas sent an innocent man to his death" (Guardian)
Groundbreaking Columbia law school study sets out in shocking detail the flaws that led to Carlos DeLuna's execution in 1989.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Nice little Coastal Eddy setting up shop, cooler weather ahead.
Sowed Seeds Of Hacking Scandal
Rupert
Rupert Murdoch sowed the seeds of the phone hacking scandal that has tarnished his reputation by forcing Britain's most respected newspapers into "a Faustian bargain" with the powerful, a former editor of the UK's Times newspaper said on Thursday.
Harry Evans told a British media inquiry how as editor of the Times he battled attempts by Murdoch to compel him to support British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
At the Leveson inquiry last month, Murdoch denied influencing the editorial stance of the Times papers. News Corp could not be immediately reached for comment on Evans' comments.
Expressing disgust at a fall in journalistic standards that he said Murdoch helped stoke by fostering a culture of trifling scandal, Evans said reporters needed principles to prevent them getting too close to the powerful.
Evans edited the Sunday Times from 1967-1981. He agreed to edit the Times when offered the job by Murdoch but he only lasted a year. He stood down in 1982 in protest against what he saw as Murdoch's interference in editorial policy.
Rupert
World's First Wikipedia Town
"Monmouthpedia"
A small Welsh town where English King Henry V was born is about to make history again by becoming the world's first "Wikipedia town."
Visitors from Saturday will be able to use smartphones to scan barcodes at points of interest in Monmouth in Wales' southeast, instantly bringing up a Wikipedia page about the landmark on their phones, in whatever language they are set to.
Wikimedia UK -which works to support, develop and promote Wikimedia Foundation projects such as Wikipedia - says hundreds of articles about the life and history of the town will be available online in more than 26 languages, from Hindi to Hungarian.
Around 1,000 different bar codes plaques and stickers now decorate its schools, museums, historical sites and even pubs.
The project - dubbed "Monmouthpedia" - has been in the works for six months, helped along by the local council's installation of town-wide free WiFi.
"Monmouthpedia"
Huge Statue Arrives In Palm Springs
Marilyn Monroe
A massive statue of Marilyn Monroe has arrived in the desert resort city of Palm Springs.
The Los Angeles Times says the 26-foot-tall, 34,000-pound statue arrived Monday morning.
Chamber of Commerce CEO Nona Watson says the statue of the "Some Like it Hot" star is still being assembled.
The artwork was previously in Chicago, and it took about a week and $40,000 to transport the statue.
Marilyn Monroe
Mark Twain Lifetime Achievement Award
Hal Holbrook
Actor Hal Holbrook has been performing as Mark Twain for six decades. Now, he's getting an award named after the author and humorist.
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Mo., said Wednesday that Holbrook is the first-ever recipient of the Mark Twain Lifetime Achievement Award to honor those whose life's work has furthered the legacy of the literary icon.
Holbrook will be presented the award when he appears at Hannibal High School on Nov. 17 to perform "Mark Twain Tonight!"
Holbrook has been portraying Twain since 1954, and won a Tony award for "Mark Twain Tonight!" in 1966. He authored a memoir, "Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain."
Hal Holbrook
Purple, Red and Yellow Leaving
The Wiggles
Three members of the children's music quartet The Wiggles will be hanging up their colorful outfits and leaving the Australian band this year, with the Blue Wiggle the lone original member left dancing.
Jeff Fatt (Purple Wiggle), Murray Cook (Red Wiggle) and Greg Page (Yellow Wiggle) will leave after the group wraps up a "Celebration Tour" that begins this month and ends in Australia in December, the band said in a statement Thursday. The trio will no longer perform but will take on backstage, creative roles.
Three replacements have already been chosen to join Anthony Field (Blue Wiggle), who helped found the group in 1991. Since then, the group has earned worldwide renown with dozens of pop-influenced children's albums, concert tours and a television show featuring singing, jumping, dancing and skits with recurring characters like Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus.
Page, Field and Cook had studied early childhood education before they founded The Wiggles in Sydney in 1991. The band has sold more than 23 million DVDs and 7 million CDs worldwide, and its TV shows are broadcast in more than 100 countries, according to The Wiggles' website.
The Wiggles
Bans Native American Mascots In Schools
Oregon
Eight Oregon high schools will have to retire their Native American mascots after the Board of Education voted Thursday to prohibit them, giving the state some of the nation's toughest restrictions on Native American mascots, nicknames and logos.
The 5-1 vote followed months of passionate and emotional debate about tolerance and tradition.
The schools have five years to comply with the order or risk losing their state funding. Another seven high schools identified as the Warriors will be allowed to keep their nickname but will have to change mascots or graphics that depict Native Americans. An unknown number of elementary and middle schools also will be affected.
The ban doesn't apply to colleges, but none in Oregon have Native American mascots after Southern Oregon University and Chemeketa Community College dropped them.
Since the 1970s, more than 600 high school and college teams across the country have done away with their Native American nicknames, including 20 in Oregon.
Oregon
Case To Appeals Court
'Three Cups'
Four people who bought Greg Mortenson's books are taking their claims of fraud against the humanitarian to a federal appeals court.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon dismissed their lawsuit that alleged that Mortenson, his publisher, his co-author and his charity lied in his books "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones Into Schools" to boost sales and donations.
Haddon had called the allegations flimsy, speculative and "fraught with shortcomings."
On Wednesday, attorneys for the readers from Montana, California and Illinois filed a notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
'Three Cups'
Judge Gives Boost To Ex-Stunt Man
'Spider-Man'
Producers of Broadway's "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" were ordered Thursday to turn over any relevant information to a stuntman who claims he suffered a concussion, whiplash and two holes in his knees while performing as the comic book hero.
Justice Ellen M. Coin of State Supreme Court in Manhattan granted Richard Kobak's request that 8 Legged Productions, the producers of the $75 million show, hand over any memos, emails or any other evidence as he weighs pursuing a negligence lawsuit.
Kobak, who was one of multiple actors playing Spider-Man on stage from December 2010 to April 2011, claims he suffered the leg injuries in 2010 while filling in for another injured stuntman at the most expensive show in Broadway history.
He alleges that the rigging he used for the show's aerial acrobatics wasn't recalibrated for him and, as a result, he made 70 hard landings on stage during performances and rehearsals. He says the hard landings created a 1.4-millimeter hole in his right knee and a 9-millimeter hole in his left knee.
He also alleges that a computer program controlling one of his jumps from a balcony sent him flying into a wall on April 5, 2011. He says he suffered two herniated discs, whiplash and a concussion.
'Spider-Man'
Postpones More Than 30 Concert Dates
Van Halen
Rock band Van Halen on Thursday postponed more than 30 concert dates of their U.S. summer tour, leading to speculation the "Runnin' with the Devil" group was feuding again.
The band's official website, van-halen.com, took down all its dates after June 26, listing only 15 more shows, ending in New Orleans. Closely-watched fan site, Van Halen News Desk, said 31 dates had been postponed, starting on July 7 in Uncasville, Connecticut and ending on September 25 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
A spokeswoman for the group had no official statement about the postponements and declined further comment. The band began the current tour in mid-February.
Rolling Stone said a source with knowledge of the tour told the magazine, "the band is arguing like mad. They are fighting." But that could not be confirmed and throughout its current tour there have been no public reports of the band mates arguing.
Van Halen
Burst Into Flames In OC
Beach Rocks
Beach rocks that burst into flames in a San Clemente woman's pocket were being tested, authorities said Thursday.
The 43-year-old woman, whose name was not released, was hospitalized for second- and third-degree burns. She had collected seven colored rocks, known by locals as trestles, while visiting San Onofre State Beach with her family on Saturday, Orange County fire officials told KABC-TV.
She had returned home for about an hour when, apparently because of the friction, the rocks caught fire, igniting her shorts.
When the rocks fell to the floor, they continued to burn the wood floor of her house. Her husband's hands were also burned as he tried to help her, and the "rocks were still smoking when firefighters took them to the hospital," Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone told the Orange County Register.
Orange County officials told KABC that the incident remained under investigation, and authorities from the county health agency said two of the rocks contained a "phosphorus substance," a chemical element that can be highly flammable.
Beach Rocks
Art, Jewels Auctioned
Van Cliburn
Art, jewelry and furnishings collected by the pianist Van Cliburn has fetched over $4.3 million at an auction in New York City.
Christie's auction house says Thursday's sale featured more than 150 items including English furniture, Russian art, silver and jewels.
The highlight of the sale was a pair of George II giltwood mirrors attributed to Mathias Lock. They were sold for over $464,000. They had been estimated to bring between $150,000 and $250,000. The price includes the buyer's premium.
Born in Louisiana and raised in Texas, Cliburn says in a news release that he collected some of the pieces to remind him of concerts in various cities around the world.
Van Cliburn
Top 20
Concert Tours
The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
1. (1) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; $2,031,105; $91.27.
2. (2) Cirque du Soleil - "Michael Jackson: The Immortal"; $1,908,669; $113.67.
3. (3) Elton John; $1,295,560; $115.62.
4. (4) Jason Aldean; $634,861; $44.72.
5. (5) Brad Paisley; $584,391; $51.02.
6. (7) Lady Antebellum; $551,272; $50.03.
7. (6) The Black Keys; $548,987; $47.33.
8. (9) Miranda Lambert; $367,869; $44.00.
9. (8) Blake Shelton; $364,085; $47.68.
10. (10) Jeff Dunham; $302,913; $44.94.
11. (11) Eric Church; $275,531; $35.74.
12. (13) Kelly Clarkson; $197,147; $54.10.
13. (12) Yanni; $172,925; $58.68.
14. (14) Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles; $166,221; $49.46.
15. (16) "Mythbusters"; $159,242; $51.54.
16. (20) The Moody Blues; $131,632; $61.62.
17. (New) Bassnectar; $131,452; $33.86.
18. (18) Peter Frampton; $131,036; $64.55.
19. (21) Casting Crowns; $126,485; $28.60.
20. (19) "Winter Jam" / Skillet; $126,126; $11.26.
Concert Tours
In Memory
Warda
Legendary Algerian singer Warda has died in Cairo from a heart attack. She was 71.
Egypt's state-owned MENA news agency says Warda died Thursday and will be flown to Algeria on Friday for burial.
Along with Lebanon's Fayrouz and Egypt's late Umm Kalthoum, Warda was one of the giants of Arab song.
She lived in Egypt on and off since 1960. She earned both her cinematic and singing breakthroughs in Egypt, and gained fame throughout the Middle East.
Warda Aldjazairia, or the Algerian Rose, was born in France in 1940 to an Algerian father and Lebanese mother, according to her official website. She traveled to Algeria for the first time in 1962 after the country gained independence from France.
Warda
In Memory
Donna Summer
Like the King of Pop or the Queen of Soul, Donna Summer was bestowed a title fitting of musical royalty - the Queen of Disco.
Yet unlike Michael Jackson or Aretha Franklin, it was a designation she wasn't comfortable embracing.
"I grew up on rock 'n' roll," Summer once said when explaining her reluctance to claim the title.
Indeed, as disco boomed then crashed in a single decade in the 1970s, Summer, the beautiful voice and face of the genre with pulsating hits like "I Feel Love," ''Love to Love You Baby" and "Last Dance," would continue to make hits incorporating the rock roots she so loved. One of her biggest hits, "She Works Hard for the Money," came in the early 1980s and relied on a smoldering guitar solo as well as Summer's booming voice.
Summer, real name LaDonna Adrian Gaines, was born in 1948 in Boston. She was raised on gospel music and became the soloist in her church choir by age 10.
Before disco, she had already reinvented herself several times. She sang Motown songs with local groups in Boston as a teenager, then dropped out of school in the late 1960s and switched to pyschedelic rock after hearing Janis Joplin. An attempt to get a part in the musical "Hair" led her to get the principal role in Munich. She stayed in Germany for five years, worked in other productions and modeled.
Meanwhile, she was performing in operas, singing backup for Three Dog Night and other groups and releasing songs of her own. A marriage to Helmuth Sommer didn't last, but the singer did hold on to her ex-husband's last name, changing it to "Summer." By 1974, she had met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte and released her first album, "Lady of the Night," to success in Europe.
Then came "Love to Love You Baby," her memorable U.S. debut. Through the rest of the disco era she burned up the charts: She was the only artist to have three consecutive double-LPs hit No. 1, "Live and More," ''Bad Girls" and "On the Radio." She was also the first female artist with four No. 1 singles in a 13-month period, according to the Rock Hall of Fame, where she was a nominee this year but was passed over.
Summer later became a born-again Christian and was accused of making anti-gay comments in relation to the AIDS epidemic - a particular problem for a woman who was and remains a gay icon. Summer denied making the comments, but became the target of a boycott.
Summer released her last album, "Crayons," in 2008. It was her first full studio album in 17 years. She also performed on "American Idol" that year with its top female contestants.
Donna Summer
In Memory
Doug Dillard
Doug Dillard, an influential banjo player who helped shape rock 'n' roll and introduce the nation to bluegrass music during a popular run on "The Andy Griffith Show," died Wednesday in Nashville. He was 75.
Lynne Robin Green, president of Dillard's publishing company, said he died due to a lung infection.
Dillard, a founding member of family band The Dillards out of Salem, Mo., was influential in several ways. Dillard, his brother Rodney and two band mates moved west in 1962, rather than taking the usual route to Nashville. They discovered the burgeoning folk scene in Southern California and helped inspire the country rock movement. They were among the first to attempt to modernize bluegrass music, electrifying their instruments and experimenting with rock elements.
Dillard also helped introduce bluegrass to TV viewers as a member of the unusual family band "The Darlings," who made multiple appearances on "The Andy Griffith Show" in the mid-1960s. He split with the band in the late '60s and eventually began a solo career.
The Dillards were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2009.
The group influenced and worked with key members of the Southern California rock scene who spread their ideas to bands like The Eagles, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Doug Dillard
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