Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Connie Schultz: Every College Student Should Own a Passport (creators.com)
Most of us have favorite movie scenes, for any number of reasons.
Garrison Keillor: A parent's prayer
A perfect shiny summer day and a crowd of jittery children in clusters on the corner, about to board a yellow bus, their backpacks in a pile, their mothers giving urgent last-minute reassurances, and I stop and stare at this Large Life Event.
Susan Estrich: The Supreme Charade (creators.com)
Supreme Court confirmation hearings are nothing but a charade. "Balls and strikes" is what John Roberts said he'd call. Sonia Sotomayor, no fool she, said the same. Elena Kagan, ditto, is going to be a neutral arbiter. She isn't a "progressive." She will be fair and open.
Robert Lanza, M.D.: What Are We? New Experiments Suggest We're Not Purely Physical (huffingtonpost.com)
The world was once wondrous. As a boy I remember mounting the stairs that led to the legendary Harvard Medical School. The huge granite slabs were worn by past generations of scientists.
Jim Hightower: "BP" STANDS FOR BANNING THE PRESS (jimhightower.com)
One thing the [BP] ad campaign has studiously avoided mentioning is the corporation's aggressive effort to keep reporters and photographers away from the story. Journalists trying to do their job of informing the public - free of the self-serving bias in BP's ads - have repeatedly been denied access to the well site, public beaches, and other areas affected by the spewing and spreading oil.
Peter Beinart: Obama's Unbelievable Winning Streak (thedailybeast.com)
So he hasn't plugged the leak, and his poll numbers are sagging. Truth is, Obama has exceeded in 18 months what Clinton and Carter achieved in a combined 12 years.
Tom Danehy: "Many Democrats agree: So far, Obama has been a disappointment" (tucsonweekly.com)
I will not be the first nor the last to state this, but as a lifelong Democrat of a fairly liberal bent, I feel that, thus far, the Obama administration kinda stinks out loud. It's almost stunning how disappointing the whole bunch has been.
RICHARD ROEPER: Good riddance to gun ban that wasn't working (suntimes.com)
If we could start at Square One, with only law enforcement and the military in possession of guns, great. But that's Utopia, not Chicago. In Chicago, any gang-banging thug who wants a gun can get a gun. A lot of people can get a gun more easily than they can get a credit card.
Hadley Freeman: "To Kill a Mockingbird: the backlash" (guardian.co.uk)
The backlash against Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is as inevitable as it is stupid. It's payback for her being so reclusive.
Paula Cocozza: An interview with Harper Lee! At last! (guardian.co.uk)
Author Harper Lee is famously shy of talking to the press. So imagine the excitement when one newspaper flagged its "interview" . . .
John Timpane: Klingon and other 'crazy ideas' in book about invented tongues (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Arika Okrent was studying languages at the University of Chicago. The languages people use and how they work. The rules, the changes, the charts. She was in the library, poking around.
"The Arsenic Century: How Victorian Britain Was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play" by James C. Whorton: A review by Colin Fleming
'The Arsenic Century' isn't meant to be an overt cautionary tale, but it does offer a sage warning for the present era. Given the rate with which new chemicals are introduced into work and home environments each year -- often, as with arsenic, before their potential repercussions are fully grasped -- we might well bear in mind the lesson of Victorian England's pernicious killer.
The Weekly Poll
Summer Sabbatical
I've decided to take a short 'sabbatical' from the Poll thing for some R&R (fishing, easy hiking, campfires... that sort of thing) and spend some time contemplating the errors of my ways, haha... You might see, from time to time, trivia responses and the odd article or picture from me. I have a laptop and an 'air-card' so if I can get a cell signal, I can access the web. Do not despair though (yeah, right!)... I'm like a bad penny. I'll turn up again...
As always, Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
wrote:
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Less marine layer, more heat. Wah.
74 Recipients
Order of Canada
Known for his acting, but also for his more recent battles against against Parkinson's disease, Michael J. Fox has been appointed to the Order of Canada.
The British Columbia actor is among 74 recipients of the order announced Wednesday by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean.
A statement from Jean's office says Fox is receiving the honour for his contributions as an advocate for those with Parkinson's disease, and as an actor in film and on television.
Others named to the Order today include John Furlong, who headed the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee, and astronaut Julie Payette.
Order of Canada
Tops Century Beauties Poll
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn has been named the most beautiful woman of the past century, beating stars such as Cheryl Cole and Angelina Jolie.
The actress - who died in 1993 - narrowly held off the nation's 21st century crush, Cheryl Cole, who took the runner-up spot.
Third place went to Some Like It Hot siren Marilyn Monroe, famed for her pout and classic curves.
Angelina Jolie was fourth and another classic silver screen beauty, Grace Kelly, made an appearance in fifth position.
Audrey Hepburn
DNA Map
Ozzy Osbourne
Alcohol and drug abuse has killed too many rock stars to mention, but at 61, Ozzy Osbourne is going strong.
Now DNA researchers in St. Louis say they're part of a team working to determine why decades of substance abuse didn't take down the Prince of Darkness.
Jon Armstrong is chief marketing officer for St. Louis-based Cofactor Genomics. He said Wednesday that Osbourne has asked a Massachusetts human genomics company to map his DNA. Cofactor is partnering in the effort.
Armstrong says the mapping may not offer definitive answers about the longtime Black Sabbath front man's relative longevity. But it could help understanding of the relationship between DNA and the environment.
Ozzy Osbourne
Poses For Polaroid Picture
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is lending star power to Polaroid and the MIT Museum.
The pop star known for her outlandish wardrobe posed Wednesday for a Polaroid at the museum run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In January, she was given the title of creative director for the company that owns the iconic photography brand.
The museum had recently taken possession of thousands of Polaroid inventions that revolutionized photography in the 20th century, including the 20- by 24-inch camera that was used to snap the photo of Lady Gaga wearing a low-cut black lace dress. Lady Gaga has concerts in Boston on Thursday and Friday nights.
Lady Gaga
Russian Mathematician Rejects $1 Million Prize
Grigory Perelman
Grigory Perelman, a reclusive Russian mathematics genius who made headlines earlier this year for not immediately embracing a lucrative math prize, has decided to decline the cash.
Perelman's decision was announced Thursday by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Mass., which had awarded Perelman its Millennium Prize.
The award honors his solving of the Poincare conjecture, which deals with shapes that exist in four or more dimensions.
Jim Carlson, institute president, said Perelman's decision was not a complete surprise, since he had declined some previous math prizes.
Grigory Perelman
'Silver Liz' Fetches £6.7M
Andy Warhol
An Andy Warhol portrait of screen legend Dame Elizabeth Taylor has sold at auction for more than £6.7 million.
The work, Silver Liz, was created in 1963 and had not been seen in public for more than 20 years until it went on display at Christie's in London earlier this month ahead of the sale.
It was expected to sell for between £6 million and £8 million and went to an anonymous bidder for £6,761,250, including buyer's premium.
Andy Warhol
Home Shopping Network Debut
Liza Minnelli
With velveteen and sequined clothes, Liza Minnelli has brought some glamour to the Home Shopping Network.
Minnelli joined the HSN broadcast for two hours Wednesday to debut her new clothing line, The Liza Collection. Minnelli seemed to enjoy herself, chatting with callers, directing the models and informing viewers that her clothes don't need selling, "It sells you."
A highlight reel of Minnelli's appearance circulated online Thursday featuring some of the actress's loopier moments. The video also strung together Minnelli's repeated explanation of a jewelry piece: "I just started to work with clay."
Liza Minnelli
Hospital News
Dean McDermott
Reality star Dean McDermott is being treated for a punctured and collapsed lung after a motorcycle accident.
Publicist Meghan Prophet says McDermott will remain in intensive care "for a few more days" but is expected to make a full recovery.
McDermott and his wife, Tori Spelling, star in the Oxygen reality show "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood."
Dean McDermott
Raving Religious Racist
Mel "Sugara Tits" Gibson
Oscar-winning director and actor Mel Gibson, who caused a media storm four years ago over an anti-Semitic statement, is again making headlines for using an apparent racial slur in an argument with his ex-girlfriend.
Celebrity news website Radaronline.com Thursday published excerpts of an audiotape of Gibson telling Oksana Grigorieva, whom "The Passion of the Christ" director is battling in court, that they way she is dressed made her look like a "pig in heat."
"If you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault," Radaronline reported Gibson as shouting at Grigorieva during an argument she taped, apparently using an expression that is deeply insulting to African Americans.
Gibson, a staunch Catholic, made headlines worldwide in 2006 for a drunk driving arrest in Malibu during which he launched into an anti-Semitic tirade that shocked Hollywood.
Mel "Sygar Tits" Gibson
Subpoenaed In War Crimes Case
Naomi Campbell
An international court Thursday subpoenaed reluctant supermodel Naomi Campbell to testify this month in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor about a rough diamond Taylor allegedly gave her in 1997.
The court warned the supermodel that she could be jailed for up to seven years if she refuses to testify.
Prosecutors want Campbell to say whether Taylor gave her a rough, or uncut, diamond as a gift during a celebrity-packed 1997 reception in South Africa hosted by then-President Nelson Mandela. They contend her testimony will support their contention that Taylor lied when he testified that he never possessed rough diamonds.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone issued the order forcing Campbell to testify after she avoided prosecutors for a year and made it known she had no wish to be part of the case.
She was ordered to appear in court in The Hague on July 29 at 9 am "or to show good cause why you cannot comply with this subpoena."
Naomi Campbell
Showing Contempt For State Employees
$chwarzenegger
Gov. Arnold $chwarzenegger on Thursday ordered about 200,000 state workers to be paid the federal minimum wage this month because the state Legislature has not passed a budget, but the state controller is refusing to comply.
Department of Personnel Administration Director Debbie Endsley sent the order in a letter to the state controller, who refused a similar order two years ago. The matter is tied up in the appellate courts, leading the controller to say he will abide by whatever final ruling emerges, which could be years down the road. He said he can't follow the order now due to technical and legal issues.
$chwarzenegger's order does not affect the 37,000 workers, including California Highway Patrol officers, who are in unions that recently negotiated new contracts with the administration. Those contracts included pay cuts and pension reforms that will save the state money.
Some of the state's roughly 250,000 employees would be exempt, including doctors and attorneys, because minimum wage laws do not apply to those professions. Under the order, they would not get paid at all until a budget deal is struck, said Lynelle Jolley, spokeswoman for the Department of Personnel Administration.
$chwarzenegger
Portland Police Reopen Probe
Al Gore
A spokeswoman for former US vice president Al Gore refuted accusations that he groped a masseuse in Oregon in 2006 and said a newly reopened police probe into the matter would clear his name.
"Further investigation into this matter will only benefit Mr. Gore," said the statement by Kalee Kreider, the Gore family spokeswoman, issued late Wednesday.
The statement was issued as police in the US state of Oregon announced on Wednesday that they had re-opened the four-year-old investigation into the allegations.
A statement on the Portland Police Bureau website said investigators would re-examine the allegations after an earlier inquiry stalled when the Nobel laureate's accuser declined to be interviewed by police.
Al Gore
Judge Rejects Actor's Bid
Jeremy London
A judge rejected actor Jeremy London's request to bar his mother and twin brother from giving interviews about the actor after a brief hearing Thursday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Irving Shimer said the comments made by London's family were protected by the First Amendment right to free speech and he would not prevent them from giving future interviews.
London, who starred in the television series "Party of Five," sued his mother, Deborah Nielsen and his twin brother, Jason, on Wednesday. He also named Jason London's fiancee, Sofia Karstens.
The lawsuit claimed comments by the trio may jeopardize a police investigation into London's alleged kidnapping in Palm Springs, Calif., on June 10. One person has been arrested and London's lawsuit states police are investigating two others.
Jeremy London
More Republican Family Values
Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer and his third wife are divorcing after almost 13 years of marriage, the former "Frasier" star said in a message posted on Twitter on Thursday.
"Hello everyone thank you for ur support and yes it's true Camille and I are divorcing. I ask U 2 respect our privacy," Grammer's message said.
Celebrity news website TMZ.com said Camille Donatacci, a former Playboy model and dancer, filed the divorce papers citing irreconcilable differences. The couple married in 1997 and have two children. Grammer, 55, has two other marriages behind him.
Donatacci, 41, is rumored to be among the cast of the upcoming reality TV show "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills".
Kelsey Grammer
Secret Tapes Halt Fraud Trial
L'Oreal
A French court on Thursday halted indefinitely the trial of a photographer accused of defrauding France's richest woman after the case got tangled up in a political scandal.
Celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier, 63, went on trial accused by the daughter of L'Oreal cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt, 87, of cheating her aging mother out of one billion euros (1.2 billion dollars).
The court adjourned the case so that judges could examine sensitive new evidence: secret recordings of Bettencourt talking to aides, which sparked a scandal that has embarrassed the French government.
Defence lawyer Herve Temime said Banier could not get a fair trial in what he called a "nauseating and impossible" case, tainted by the political scandal and the clandestine recordings.
L'Oreal
Launches Global 24-Hour English TV News
China
The news agency run by China's ruling Communist Party launched a global English-language television channel Thursday as part of efforts to expand its influence abroad.
Experts say China's media expansion also results from unhappiness with much of the international coverage of sensitive events in China such as Tibet and human rights. The government has accused international media organizations of being biased and focused on negative news.
China Xinhua News Network Corp. (CNC) began broadcasting its first English TV service, CNC World, around the clock on Thursday, including news segments, feature stories, weather updates and special bulletins, the official Xinhua News agency said.
CNC World will have about 70 percent international news and 30 percent news about China - with a wide range of topics such as breaking news, travel shows, sports, and weather, Wu said.
China
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of June 21-27. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. "BET Awards Show" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), BET, 4.45 million homes, 7.35 million viewers.
2. World Cup Soccer: U.S. vs. Algeria (Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.), ESPN, 4.05 million homes, 5.39 million viewers.
3. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 3.83 million homes, 5.38 million viewers.
4. "Royal Pains" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.82 million homes, 5.29 million viewers.
5. "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.79 million homes, 5.33 million viewers.
6. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10 p.m.), History, 3.72 million homes, 5.37 million viewers.
7. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.63 million homes, 5.37 million viewers.
8. "Deadliest Catch" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), Discovery, 3.54 million homes, 5.36 million viewers.
9. Movie: "16 Wishes" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.5 million homes, 5.6 million viewers.
10. "NASCAR Post Race Show" (Sunday, 4:08 p.m.), TNT, 3.426 million homes, 5.11 million viewers.
11. "NCIS" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.425 million homes, 4.49 million viewers.
12. Auto Racing: Sprint Cup/Loudon (Sunday, 1 p.m.), TNT, 3.41 million homes, 4.9 million viewers.
13. "American Pickers" (Monday, 8 p.m.), History, 3.38 million homes, 4.84 million viewers.
14. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.36 million homes, 4.87 million viewers.
15. "NCIS" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.21 million homes, 4.25 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Elliott Kastner
Elliott Kastner, the American producer of Hollywood films including "Where Eagles Dare" and "A Little Night Music," has died of cancer. He was 80.
Kastner's stepson, actor Cary Elwes, says Kastner died Wednesday in London. He declined to provide more details.
The producer based his work at London's Pinewood Studios for years. Some of his best-known movies include his big screen adaptations of the Raymond Chandler novels "The Long Goodbye" in 1971 and "The Big Sleep" in 1978.
Elliott Kastner
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