Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Josh Vorhees: SCOTUS Hands Two Landmark Victories to Gay Marriage Push (Slate)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday handed down its long-awaited rulings on both the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8. In short, the justices struck down a key provision in the federal law as unconstitutional and dismissed the state case, clearing the way for gay marriage to again be legal in California. It wasn't a clean sweep for gay rights advocates and their allies, but it was nonetheless a historic day.
Paul Krugman: The Better Angels of Our Nature (NY Times)
Just an aside: I'm sitting in a coffee shop near the hospital, waiting for word, and they have news TV on in the corner, so I'm watching coverage of the Supremes on marriage out of the corner of my eye (along with "New Jersey woman unaware of pregnancy, gives birth on front lawn"). Not my department, of course; but also of course, I'm very much for equality, and gratified by the tone of the coverage, which clearly is that this is normal, natural, and inevitable.
Hadley Freeman: Jeremy Forrest is no Romeo, but neither is he a 'pervert' (Guardian)
To describe this sordid tale in the same terms used to discuss cases such as Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall skews the problem.
Val McDermid: "Don't disrespect Julia Gillard - knitters are not to be messed with" (Guardian)
We knitters wield a lot of power with our needles and yarn. My own knitting career began with an act of defiance and now I have graduated on to the hard stuff.
Hermione Hoby: "Patricia Clarkson interview: 'I'd love to play an action hero!'" (Guardian)
From Six Feet Under to Far from Heaven, Patricia Clarkson is the great scene-stealer. Here she talks about fame, dating - and why she's dying to don a black latex suit.
Clai Byrne: Simpsons parody upset Fox News, says Groening (Guardian)
Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel threatened to sue the makers of the Simpsons over a spoof news ticker, the show's creator Matt Groening has claimed.
Abby Ohlsheiser: "Gateway Episodes: The X-Files" (Slate)
The "Pusher" is Robert Patrick Modell (Robert Wisden), who seems to have the ability to talk his victims into harming or killing themselves.
Sally Tamarkin: "Gateway Episodes: Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (Slate)
Ultimately "Earshot" is about the dissonance between our inner lives and what we show the world-and the way we come to trust others without ever really knowing for sure their true intentions and motivations.
Byron Boneparth: "Gateway Episodes: Doctor Who" (Slate)
… most fans would agree that Tom Baker's wacky and magnetic portrayal is a safe bet for a novice. This leaves only the most important question: Which story to start with? With seven seasons of generally first-rate Who, there is a solid amount of material from the Tom Baker era to choose from. I recommend that you start with the wonderfully accessible City of Death, from the show's 17th season.
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PS: Great old pictures, MAM!
PPS: My laptop is acting up, and a storm is blowing in. (When it rains it pours...)
is taking some time off.
wrote:
took the day off.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Hot & sticky.
Wednesday In Burbank
Saturn Awards
You might not know about the Saturn Awards, much less that they were first given out in 1972 as a way to honor achievements in sci-fi fantasy and horror-genres that often were overlooked and underappreciated by mainstream critics.
But the 39th Saturn Awards ceremony on Wednesday night in Burbank, Calif., showed just how far genre fare has come. While the red carpet featured such eclectic stars as Ewok and R2-D2, mingling in the crowd were Oscar-winning directors William Friedkin and Quentin Tarantino and actor Bryan Cranston.
The celebratory night, however, began on a somber note with a tribute to legendary writer Richard Matheson, 87, who died on Sunday. The author of "I Am Legend" and classic episodes of "The Twilight Zone" was scheduled to receive a lifetime achievement award at the ceremony. His son, R.C. Matheson, accepted the award on his behalf.
"He was so looking forward to being here tonight," Matheson said, lifting the award above his head. "Thank you, Richard Matheson," he added softly before walking offstage.
There were other emotional moments throughout the ceremony as well. "Breaking Bad" star Cranston won the award for best actor in a television drama and spent the entirety of his speech thanking series creator Vince Gilligan for conceiving the critically acclaimed series. "He's dragged me along for six years," Cranston told the audience. Gilligan was given his own legacy award for his work on shows like "The X Files," in addition to "Breaking Bad."
Saturn Awards
Class of 2014
NEA Jazz Masters
Pianist Keith Jarrett says "only music excites me, and awards and ceremonies do not." But the pianist says he feels honored to receive the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award, joining many past recipients who've influenced him.
The NEA announced Thursday that its 2014 Jazz Masters - the nation's highest jazz honor - also include avant-garde saxophonist-composer Anthony Braxton, bassist-educator Richard Davis, and educator Jamey Aebersold.
Jarrett was cited by the NEA for his work in both the jazz and classical fields. His latest release, "Somewhere," marks the 30th anniversary of his trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. His recording of J.S. Bach's "Six Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard" with violinist Michelle Makarski is due out in September.
NEA Jazz Masters
Concert In Marrakesh
Stevie Wonder
U.S. singer Stevie Wonder will give a concert in Marrakesh on Friday, honoring his promise to perform if negotiators concluded an international treaty boosting access to books for blind and visually impaired people worldwide.
The "Isn't She Lovely" star, who has been sightless since birth, lobbied hard for the pact approved on Thursday by more than 600 negotiators from 186 states, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said in a statement.
"This is a legacy, a gift to future generations. So let's finalize a new agreement that opens doors to the world's written treasures and moves towards a future where there are no barriers to the expansion of knowledge and enjoyment of culture," Wonder, said in a recorded video sent to the meeting this week.
"Let's get this signed, sealed, delivered, and I'm yours," he said, borrowing a verse from one of his hit songs. "Do this and I will come to Marrakesh and we will celebrate together."
The Wonder concert at the Palais des Congres, limited to participants of the diplomatic conference, is set for 2000 GMT on Friday.
Stevie Wonder
26-Vity 'Radio Romance Tour'
Garrison Keillor
Humorist Garrison Keillor won't be taking a summer vacation.
Instead, the creator and host of "A Prairie Home Companion" kicks off a 26-city "Radio Romance Tour 2013" next month.
Keillor wraps up the current season of his popular public radio variety show on Saturday from Tanglewood in Massachusetts. Then he's launching his coast-to-coast bus tour July 8 in Spokane, Wash.
Keillor will be joined by comedian Fred Newman, who does sound effects, and pianist Richard Dworsky and the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band featuring guitarist Pat Donohue and violinist and mandolinist Richard Kriehn. The shows will run more than two hours and will offer duet singing, with either singer Aoife O'Donovan or singer and fiddle player Sara Watkins.
Garrison Keillor
Mormon Church-Owned NBC Affiliate Joins 20th Century
KSL
A Mormon church-owned NBC television station in Utah plans to begin showing first-run "Saturday Night Live" episodes this fall after years of refusing to air the sketch comedy show.
The decision is part of the station's plan to make the lineup stronger and improve its relationship with NBC, said Tami Ostmark, KSL-TV's vice president of marketing, research and promotion.
KSL is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has not aired certain shows over the years due to content it deems inappropriate. But Ostmark says content was never the issue with "SNL." She says the station didn't want to bump a popular sports show that aired at the same time.
New episodes of "SNL" will air at 10:30 p.m. Saturdays on KSL starting Sept. 28, Ostmark said. The station has been airing re-runs for the past year at an earlier time slot Saturday evenings.
First-run episodes of SNL have previously aired on Utah's CW network affiliate, KUCW. KUCW executive Richard Jones said he was taking the loss in stride.
KSL
ND Considers Buying Childhood Home
Lawrence Welk
The State Historical Society of North Dakota is considering buying the boyhood home of Lawrence Welk, though some worry the farmstead may not draw many tourists because most of the famed champagne music bandleader's fans have died or will do so soon.
So the organization proposes to use Welk's home in the tiny town of Strasburg to also highlight the importance of agriculture and the region's German-Russian heritage.
The idea comes two decades after Congress earmarked $500,000 to develop a tourist industry in Strasburg, including a museum of German-Russian heritage to draw visitors to Welk's birthplace. Embarrassed lawmakers later withdrew the money when the idea was mocked nationally as a symbol of wasteful spending.
Welk's nieces, Evelyn Schwab, 84, and Edna Schwab, 80, have given tours of the farmstead since it was restored with private funds in the early 1990s. Welk donated about $140,000 for the restoration before his death in 1992 at age 89, Evelyn Schwab said.
Not a fan of farm life, Welk left North Dakota when he was 21 after performing at barn dances and other community events. His big break came when ABC picked up his eponymous television show in 1955. The show, famous for its bubble machine and Welk's phrases "Ah-one, an' ah-two" and "wunnerful, wunnerful" in his German accent, ran until 1971 and is still shown in reruns.
Lawrence Welk
China Lifts Ban On Photos
Dalai Lama
Chinese officials have lifted a ban on Tibetan monks displaying photographs of the Dalai Lama at a prominent monastery, a rights group said on Thursday, an unexpected policy shift which could ease tensions in the restive region.
The decision concerning the Gaden monastery in the Tibetan capital Lhasa - one of the most historically important religious establishments in Tibet - reversed a ban introduced in 1996, the Britain-based Free Tibet group told Reuters, citing sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
It was made as similar changes are being considered in other Tibetan regions of China, and may signal authorities are contemplating looser religious restrictions and a policy change over Tibet, three months after President Xi Jinping took office.
Chinese officials in western Qinghai province are also considering lifting a ban on Tibetans displaying pictures of the exiled spiritual leader, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, a U.S.-based advocacy group.
Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a violent separatist. The Dalai Lama, who is based in India, says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.
Dalai Lama
States Pressed For Limits
Gray Wolf
Wildlife officials from western states lobbied for strict limits on federal protections for gray wolves before the Obama administration proposed to take the animals off the endangered list across most of the Lower 48 states, documents show.
During private meetings with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state officials threatened lawsuits and legislation as they pressed to exclude Colorado and Utah from a small area in the West where protections would remain in place.
The documents suggest the animal's fate was decided through political bargaining between state and federal officials, said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The nonprofit group obtained the records through a freedom of information lawsuit and provided them to The Associated Press.
Gray Wolf
Ancient Tomb Discovered
Peru
Archaeologists in Peru on Thursday said they have unearthed a massive royal tomb full of mummified women that provides clues about the enigmatic Wari empire that ruled the Andes long before their better-known Incan successors.
"For the first time in the history of archeology in Peru we have found an imperial tomb that belongs to the Wari empire and culture," lead archeologist Milosz Giersz said.
The mausoleum, unearthed a few months ago at a coastal pyramid site called El Castillo de Huarmey 185 miles north of Lima, contained gold pieces, ceramics and 63 skeletons about 1,300 years old.
Researchers said most of the bodies found in the burial chamber were mummified women sitting upright - indicating royalty and suggesting Wari women held more power than previously thought.
Historians believe the Wari, who ruled between 600 and 1100 A.D., were the first people to unite diverse tribes into a sophisticated network across most of today's Peruvian Andes.
Peru
Officially Extinct
Western Black Rhino
The western black rhino has officially become extinct, reports CNN. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which compiles an annual Red List of Threatened Species, this subspecies of the African rhinoceros was last spotted in 2006.
The two greatest threats facing the western black rhino, the report notes, have been increased poaching and a lack of conservation efforts. According to a statement released by the IUCN, rhino poaching shot up by almost 50 percent between 2011 and 2012, with nearly 2,400 killed by hunters across Africa since 2006.
The IUCN, the world's largest conservation network, also warned that Africa's northern white rhino and Asia's Javan rhino could face similar fates if preventive measures are not taken immediately.
Such conservation efforts have paid off in the past, the group says. The southern white rhino was threatened by extinction in the late 19th century, but conservation measures, which included the maintenance of their natural habitats, helped revive the dwindling population to an estimated 20,000.
Western Black Rhino
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) The Rolling Stones; $7,969,276; $346.08.
2. (2) Taylor Swift; $2,072,961; $84.02.
3. (3) Kenny Chesney; $1,829,281; $76.47.
4. (4) Bon Jovi; $1,622,485; $106.01.
5. (New) Fleetwood Mac; $1,426,254; $111.75.
6. (5) Maroon 5; $879,457; $62.99.
7. (6) Jason Aldean; $754,571; $51.28.
8. (7) Brad Paisley; $578,398; $36.74.
9. (8) Carrie Underwood; $497,868; $62.07.
10. (9) Leonard Cohen; $489,734; $106.77.
11. (10) Green Day; $469,164; $50.47.
12. (11) Motley Crue; $332,400; $78.37.
13. (New) Widespread Panic; $281,496; $42.36.
14. (12) Bassnectar; $179,128; $36.44.
15. (13) Diana Krall; $176,499; $83.60.
16. (15) Chris Tomlin; $163,206; $28.29.
17. (17) Shinedown / Three Days Grace; $156,081; $39.40.
18. (16) Il Divo; $152,184; $76.21.
19. (19) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds; $142,644; $52.23.
20. (20) Willie Nelson; $133,423; $55.67.
Concert Tours
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