Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: Tom is actually happy with his homeowners association-but he's a little skeptical about the Tucson City Council (Tucson Weekly)
If the city doesn't take in enough money to cover all the basic necessities, the council members should do what they can with what they have and then take their case to the people-to ALL the people-that they need more money to make their community the place everybody wants it to be. There are always going to be naysayers who think that "no new taxes" is a mantra to live by. But most people will do the right thing if they know that their money is going to be spent the right way.
Dana Stevens: Toothpaste and Soap (Slate)
It's not clear what extenuating circumstance could ever make it the case that kids don't require soap, toothpaste, love, or freedom, but the important point to those in power is that these children not be provided these things, and that this denial be vehemently defended in public.
Ruth Graham: "Why Catholics Are Up in Arms Over the 'Hostile' California Confession Bill" (Slate)
Because of the nature of the confessional, the only information about how it has actually been used by pedophiles is anecdotal. In 2003, an Australian priest said in an affidavit that he had confessed to 30 priests more than 1,000 times over many decades that he had molested children. (He pleaded guilty and served six years in prison.) But it's not at all clear that such confessions are common. Priest Stephen Rossetti, a professor at the Catholic University of America who has written about priests' psychology and wellness issues, told the National Catholic Register that in his 35 years as a priest, he has never heard anyone confess to abusing a minor, nor heard of anyone else who has. Rossetti opposes the California bill, calling it "a dangerous precedent."
Noah Berlatsky: The Genocide of the Vampires (Medium)
Lack of moral nuance in a popular genre threatens to make us the monsters.
Sam Levin: "'We're anti-influencer': ice-cream truck makes Instagram 'stars' pay double" (The Guardian)
Joe Nicchi has had enough of self-proclaimed influencers wanting free cones for publicity. Now he's the one going viral.
Laura Snape: Taylor Swift's lawyer says she was never given opportunity to buy masters (The Guardian)
Donald Passman refutes Big Machine label head Scott Borchetta's claim that Swift 'had every chance' to own her recordings.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
"The Handmaid's Tale"
Hi Marty,
Is it a coincidence that Episode 6 of Season 3 of "The Handmaid's Tale" dropped last week, so close to the 4th of July? Here are a couple of scenes depicting the show's version of Washington, D.C.
Barbara
Thanks, Barb!
I'm certain the producers of "The Handmaid's Tale" knew exactly when that episode would air, and hoped for a boost from the holiday.
What really kicked it up a notch was the announced-within-the-last-couple-weeks-Rally-for-republicans at the Lincoln Memorial.
They couldn't have written a better hook.
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• Back in the old days, people seldom engaged in PDAs - Public Displays of Affection. Once, an elderly married couple went on a train trip together. Grandpa got hungry, so he jumped off the train at a station to buy some cheese and crackers, but he was late in returning and the train pulled out of the station without him. Frantic, he contacted the station agent, who wired ahead to have Grandma get off at the next station and wait until Grandpa could take the next train and catch up with her. Everything worked out fine, and as their granddaughter tells the story, when Grandpa got off the train at the next station and saw Grandma, "They were so happy to see each other they shook hands."
• Anna Russell is a famous singer of parodies of opera arias. During one of her early tours, she reached a low point during a lumbermen's stag night at a hotel in Chicago. The featured performers of the evening were strippers, so when Ms. Russell appeared, the lumbermen began to yell, "Take it off!" However, being a comedian, Ms. Russell responded, "I shall not take it off. I shall put it on!" Then she went from table to table, grabbing tablecloths and wrapping them around her body, and strewing broken glass behind her. She managed to leave the scene with her honor intact, but because of the bill for breakage, she made no money that night.
• Jewish law recognizes the duty of "onah" - regular sexual intercourse between husband and wife. In fact, ancient Jewish law prescribed the minimum requirement of "onah" for couples whose husbands worked at then-common occupations - or who did no work at all. According to ancient Jewish law, people who are wealthy enough to not have to work for a living should have sexual intercourse every day; laborers should have sexual intercourse twice a week; ass-drivers, once every 7 days; camel-drivers, once every 30 days; sailors, once every 6 months. Husbands who don't fulfill their duty of "onah" can be fined.
• Nooners aren't new, as this story shows. Al Greene never ate lunch. When he was 20, he got married to a woman with a wonderful shape. The telegraph office where he worked was near his home, so on his lunch break he got on his bike, and pedaled furiously home to his wife. Then, with five minutes left on his lunch break, he climbed on his bike and went back to work. He didn't eat lunch for a year, and after that year, he continued not to eat lunch because he had gotten out of the habit.
• Henry Cadbury, an early 20th century scholar, professor, and Quaker wit, stayed away from telling risqué humor with one exception. Sometimes he told about staying in a hotel room in which a Bible had been placed. In the Bible was a listing of verses for various problems, including "Worried? See verse so and so. Troubled? See verse so and so. Lonely? See verse so and so." After the listing for lonely, someone had written: "Still lonely? Call Mabel at 123-4567."
• The British tongue-in-cheek spy series The Avengers was noted for its attractive female leads and its incipient feminism. In the episode "Escape in Time," it appears that Mrs. Emma Peel has been sent back in time. In 1570, she is put in the stocks, then accused of being "a heretic, a bawd, a witch - designed to drive a man to lust." Hearing this, she replies, "You should see me in 400 years."
• A couple of old maids lived with their cats. The old maids were very protective of their cats and never let them out. One day, one of the old maids met a man. They fell in love, got married, and went away on their honeymoon. After the wedding night, the old maid who had stayed at home received a telegram from her friend: "I don't care what you do with your cat, but let my cat out."
• Dancer Isadora Duncan once propositioned playwright George Bernard Shaw, saying that they should have a child together because he had a wonderful brain and she had a wonderful body. Mr. Shaw turned her down, saying, "Suppose it has my body and your brain?" She also propositioned Maurice Maeterlinck, who also turned her down, saying, "I am honored, Madame, but you must consult my wife."
• After casting the leads in The Dick Van Dyke Show, Carl Reiner introduced Mary Tyler Moore (who played Mr. Van Dyke's TV wife, Laura Petrie) to Dick Van Dyke, then joked that since the chemistry between their characters was important to the show's success, "I would appreciate it if you would go spend the weekend together somewhere." (They didn't, of course.)
• Comic writer Robert Benchley knew how to stop sexual harassment. At a gathering in his Hollywood bungalow, a drunk writer was trying to get over-friendly with an absent bandleader's wife. Just as the writer put his hand on the woman's knee, Mr. Benchley asked the wife quietly, "I'm sorry. Is my friend becoming offensive?" The writer quickly left.
• A little girl had the habit of sucking her thumb. To get her to quit, her mother told her, "If you don't quit sucking your thumb, you will swell up and burst." Later that day, the little girl saw a pregnant woman. She looked at the pregnant woman's stomach, and then said, "I know what you've been doing."
• Harpo Marx was interested in painting, at one point creating several nudes. He once telephoned a model agency, but he forgot to say that he wanted a nude model. When the model arrived, he asked her to take off her clothes, but she declined, so Harpo stripped to his underwear and painted her as she wore his painter's smock.
• "I'll tell you what, I'll go home to your wife and, outside of the improvement, she'll never know the difference." - Groucho Marx.
• Augustine of Hippo - who was later Saint Augustine - once prayed to God, "Give me chastity, but not yet."
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Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Don't often get a chance to not be a slave to an alarm clock, so I slept in and missed the earthquake.
Ending Publication After 67 Years
MAD Magazine
The long-running satirical publication MAD magazine will be leaving newsstands this fall. The illustrated humor magazine will still be available in comic shops and through mail to subscribers - but after its fall issue it will just reprint previously published material.
The only new material will come in special editions at the end of the year. DC, the division of Warner Brothers that publishes the magazine, said MAD will pull from nostalgic cartoons and parodies published over the magazine's 67-year run.
From its debut in 1952, Mad Magazine became an iconic pop cultural reference for generations of Americans, young and old alike. Its recurring illustrated features like Antonio Prohías' "Spy vs. Spy" and Dave Berg's "The Lighter Side of..." gave the magazine intellectual credibility while remaining comedic, as one played on Cold War tensions with Russia while the other looked at American culture through a sarcastic lens highlighting misunderstandings between the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers.
Illustrators and comedians, including one-time guest editor "Weird Al" Yankovic, mourned the magazine's effective closure.
"I can't begin to describe the impact it had on me as a young kid - it's pretty much the reason I turned out weird," Yankovic said. "Goodbye to one of the all-time greatest American institutions."
MAD Magazine
Five Years
Roger Daltrey
More than 50 years and 10 albums later, the iconic voice of The Who may soon go silent. In a recent interview, frontman Roger Daltrey predicted he will lose his singing abilities sometime in the next few years.
"Obviously within the next five years I think my voice will go," Daltrey told Billboard. "Age will get it in the end."
However, he was quick to add that "it's still there at the moment." And Daltrey has certainly been busy making the most of it as of late. Not only did he release last year's As Long as I Have You, his first solo album in over two decades, but he and The Who have been on the road performing night after night as part of their "Moving On! Tour".
While it's sad to think of Daltrey's voice being long gone, fans can still look forward to at least one more Who album with the legendary singer. The 73-year-old frontman and Pete Townshend have been diligently working on a new record, the long-awaited follow-up to 2006's Endless Wire.
Roger Daltrey
Apologizes for Promotional Video
Alitalia
Italian airline Alitalia has apologized for a promotional video that featured an actor in blackface portraying former US President Barack Obama.
The video was made as part of an advertising campaign for the flag carrier's new Rome-Washington route, and was posted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The airline has removed the video and apologized after receiving complaints.
"Alitalia deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the promotional video on our Washington route," tweeted Alitalia.
"It has since been removed. For our company, respect for everyone is mandatory, it was never our intention to hurt anyone and we will learn from what has happened."
Alitalia
Bans Hairstyle Discrimination
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Wednesday a bill making California the first state to ban workplace and school discrimination against black people for wearing hairstyles such as braids, twists and locks.
The law by Democratic Sen. Holly Mitchell of Los Angeles, a black woman who wears her hair in locks, makes California the first state to explicitly say that those hairstyles are associated with race and therefore protected against discrimination in the workplace and in schools.
"We are changing the course of history, hopefully, across this country by acknowledging that what has been defined as professional hair styles and attire in the work place has historically been based on a Euro-centric model - based on straight hair," Mitchell said.
California's new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, is significant because federal courts have historically held that hair is a characteristic that can be changed, meaning there's no basis for discrimination complaints based on hairstyle. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear the case of an Alabama woman who said she didn't get a job because she refused to change her hair.
The issue burst into public view last December, when a black high school wrestler in New Jersey was told by a referee that he had to cut off his dreadlocks if he wanted to compete. California's Democratic governor said the video was a clear example of the discrimination black Americans face.
California
Migrant Detention Centres
'Concentration Camps'
Let's get right to the point: They are f**king concentration camps.
There is an ongoing debate over how to refer to the migrant detention centers at the border, which began this past Monday, when Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said that the Trump administration "has established concentration camps at the southern border." The emerging debate has been rhetorical cacophony regarding historical accuracy and proper terminology.
I see no reason to squander hundreds of words on those semantics, when there is a perfectly good Wikipedia entry for Godwin's Law. We may have different interpretations of the extent to which this moment is a 2019 remix of that Martin Niemöller poem, but when it comes to our collective culpability, the most pressing question is whether we should be as terrifically uncomfortable when the words "concentration camps" are uttered. In terms of public apathy allowing for government-perpetrated atrocities, the answer is yes.
To be quite clear: None of the hard facts on this matter are up for the debate. The inhumane conditions at migrant detention centers have been corroborated by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General. According to the New York Times, official government findings depict "standing-room-only cells, children without showers and hot meals, and detainees clamoring desperately for release." All of that is to say nothing of the emotional horrors at stake.
Instead of wondering whether those conditions warrant the term "concentration camps," we must ask ourselves whether we are comfortable with this as a country, and, more importantly, how we make things right. Truly, where the hell is our soul, America? I do hope that we find it soon. That will only happen once we reckon with the reality that no one is coming to save us from this mess.
'Concentration Camps'
Sculpture Sells For $6 Million
King Tut
A sculpture of King Tut's head was sold at Christie's for $6 million Thursday. However, Egypt claims the relic of the famed pharaoh was stolen.
After 3,000 years it's showing some wear and tear, but it's definitely the face of the world's most famous pharaoh. "As you can see here, the eyes, the eyebrows, are completely carved and the lips are extremely sensual," said Laetitia Delaloye of Christie's.
If only those lips could talk. Maybe he could explain how he found himself on an auction block at Christie's.
The story begins in the 1920's, when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb. Christie's contends the bust has been under the ownership of a private collection in Germany since 1985 after passing through several hands since the 1960's.
Up close it's exquisite, and instantly recognizable as the face of King Tut. Christie's says ancient objects like this, by their nature, are impossible to trace back thousands of years. Delaloye said the auction house has done everything it could to prove its provenance.
King Tut
Ancient Tree With Record of Magnetic Field Reversal
New Zealand
An ancient tree that contains a record of a reversal of Earth's magnetic field has been discovered in New Zealand. The tree-an Agathis australis, better known as its Maori name kauri-was found in Ngawha, on New Zealand's North Island, during excavation work for the expansion of a geothermal power plant, stuff.nz reports.
The tree, which had been buried in 26 feet of soil, measures eight feet in diameter and 65 feet in length. Carbon dating revealed it lived for 1,500 years, between 41,000 and 42,500 years ago.
"There's nothing like this anywhere in the world," Alan Hogg, from New Zealand's University of Waikato, told the website. "This Ngawha kauri is unique."
When the magnetic field reverses-or attempts to-it gets weaker, leading to more radiation from the Sun getting through. Previously, scientists have linked extinction events to magnetic field reversals.
The newly discovered kauri tree's rings contain a complete record of a near-reversal-the first time a tree that lived during the entire event has ever been found. "It's the time it takes for this movement to occur that is the critical thing...We will map these changes much more accurately using the tree rings," Hogg told stuff.nz.
New Zealand
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