Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy (tucsonweekly.com)
Tucson used to have an identity; now it has an identity crisis
When I first came here to go to college, a battle for Tucson's soul was raging between the "Let's grow like Phoenix" crowd and the "Let's stay Tucson" enthusiasts.
Mark Alton: Who Should Care? (irascibleprofessor.com)
I recently read with interest a mother's commentary that was published in our local newspaper. The piece, "When Teachers Show They Care," complimented a particular public school teacher who was having a major impact on her son's success in school.
Daniel Gross: The Miracle Deficit Cure? Growth (slate.com)
So far this fiscal year, the federal government is $1 trillion in the red. Why this is good news.
Mark Morford: Mel Gibson's 10 tips for sexist monsters (sfgate.com)
Many have asked, how does Mel do it? What does it take to become such a gargantuan, sexist, possibly racist, potentially violent monster, or at least give a very convincing appearance of same? Can I do it, too?
Connie Schultz: "Breaking News: LeBron Is Gone, and Cleveland Still Is Standing" (creators.com)
The morning after LeBron James announced that he was leaving Cleveland, parents began calling local pediatrician Shelly Senders' office. "I talked to a lot of people on the phone and in the office," Senders said. "It was clear that a lot of people, especially children, were suffering. Parents were saying, 'His room is festooned with LeBron posters. What do we say? How do we explain this?'"
Susan Estrich: Women on Top (creators.com)
The likely (and much deserved) confirmation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court creates an opening for one of the "Top 4" positions in the Justice Department. While there are many qualified candidates, the fact is that Kagan was the only woman in the top ranks at Justice. Even below that, men substantially outnumber women.
Harry Shearer: Another Katrina Myth Busted...by Science (huffingtonpost.com)
As we approach the five-year anniversary of the Katrina flooding next month, it becomes increasingly clear that almost every piece of information spread about the event by the national media has turned out to be wrong.
Jim Hightower: THE CORPORATE REALITY OF CARLY AND MEG (jimhightower.com)
Big news in California politics: The Golden State's GOP has nominated a pair of golden gals to try to take the state's top two political offices.
Gayatri Devi, M.D.: 12 Strategies to Boost Brain Health (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)
One of three Americans over age 80 develops Alzheimer's. Patients often ask me what can be done to keep the brain healthy. I've created a list of what's important in maintaining brain health.
Randy Lewis: Los Lobos at 37 (and counting) (Los Angeles Times)
David Hidalgo stood on a concrete loading dock outside the tiny recording studio where he and the other members of Los Lobos were working feverishly on the final track for their new album, "Tin Can Trust."
Mari Herreras: "ˇSalvador!: The life and mythology of Tucson's stomp-box king" (tucsonweekly.com)
He has a paintbrush in one hand, and a guitar in the other. To Salvador Duran, these aren't mutually exclusive tools; they're one in the same.
"I paint my music and sing my paintings," Duran says in Spanish, the language he spoke during most of our conversations.
roger ebert's journal: The image of a man you do not see
Much modern architecture has grown tiresome to me. It does not gladden the heart. It doesn't seem to spring from humans. It seems drawn from mathematical axioms rather than those learned for centuries from the earth, the organic origins of building materials, the reach of hands and arms, and that which is pleasing to the eye. It is not harmonious. It holds the same note indefinitely.
David Bruce: The Funniest People in Movies
A Kindle Book: $1.
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime' Edition
ST. PETERSBURG - Three homeless men bearing cardboard signs near Interstate 275 were not pleased when they read the newspaper Friday morning. That's how they learned the City Council, with the mayor's support, unanimously voted to ban street solicitation on St. Petersburg's busiest streets...
Panhandlers say St. Petersburg street solicitation ban will make things worse - St. Petersburg Times
Do you give money to panhandlers?
a.) Yes, always, there but for fate go I...
b.) No, never, they're just lazy bums and it only goes to their substance abuse...
c.) Sometimes, depends on the circumstances...
Send your response to
wrote:
replied:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
BadtotheboneBob
S'mores
S'mores have endless variations
Ah, s'mores -- the summertime dessert you're never too old for. Appearing in a 1927 Girl Scout publication, s'mores have become so popular they're celebrated every Aug. 10 (National S'mores Day). And it's easy to see why...
• RECIPE: Antioxidant Dark Chocolate S'mores
• RECIPE: Homemade Marshmallows
• RECIPE: Baked S'mores
• RECIPE: Caramello S'mores
S'mores have endless variations | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Wicked hot.
Long-Lost Film To Debut
Charlie Chaplin
A short silent comedy that was lost for decades holds a big surprise for film buffs and historians when a familiar face emerges from the bushes in police uniform and that unforgettable mustache.
The 1914 film, "A Thief Catcher," was missing for so many years that everyone forgot Charlie Chaplin made a brief cameo as a buffoon Keystone cop, with all his familiar twitches and gestures.
Out of nowhere, the 10-minute film turned up late last year at an antiques sale in Taylor, Mich. Film historian Paul Gierucki thought he was buying just another Keystone Studios comedy and didn't watch the 16mm print for months.
Then, in March, he saw Chaplin bumble onto the screen and slap around some hooligans in the film starring Ford Sterling, Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy. Chaplin is on screen for all of three minutes.
Charlie Chaplin
Fetches $35K At Auction
Bullet
Roy Rogers' stuffed and mounted dog, Bullet, fetched $35,000 on the second day of an auction of the movie cowboy's belongings in New York City.
An executive of Nebraska cable TV network RFD-TV says the company bought Bullet to accompany Roger's horse Trigger, which the company snagged Wednesday for more than $266,000. RFD-TV chief financial officer Steve Campione says the network hopes to start a museum one day.
The preserved remains of Rogers' wife's horse, Buttermilk, also were auctioned Thursday. Buttermilk sold for $25,000 - less than a tenth of Trigger's price. Christie's has not yet released information on Buttermilk's new owner.
Bullet
Action Figures
Alvin Greene
Alvin Greene action figures are here - thanks to a South Carolina minor league baseball team.
The Charleston RiverDogs will give out statues of the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate at Saturday's game. Greene, who shocked the political establishment by winning the primary without campaigning, has suggested manufacturing action figures of himself could spur economic growth in a state with chronically high unemployment.
The statues are actually male Statue of Liberty figures the team planned to give away as a different promotion based on a Georgia group's plan to build a mate for New York's Lady Liberty on the South Carolina coast. But after hearing Greene's idea, the RiverDogs decided to put a picture of his face on the statues instead.
The RiverDogs are a Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees known for wacky promotions, thanks in part to president Mike Veeck, whose father was famous major league baseball promoter Bill Veeck.
Alvin Greene
Spain Wants Him
Paul, The Oracle Octopus
Madrid zoo made a transfer bid for Paul the oracle octopus on Thursday, telling his aquarium in Germany it would outbid all others and give him a warm welcome in gratitude for predicting Spain's World Cup win.
Paul, credited variously with psychic powers or incredible insight into football, even for a species considered the cleverest of all invertebrates, became a celebrity for managing a perfect eight-for-eight record tipping winners in South Africa.
Paul earned Spain's affection for accurately tipping them to beat the Dutch in the final, but in Germany he became the butt of bitter jokes about grilled octopus and 'pulpo a la gallega' after predicting its defeats to Serbia and Spain.
The Zoo Aquarium in Madrid said that in response to "dozens of petitions from all over Spain" it had contacted Sea Life in the town of Oberhausen "to ask them to transfer the animal" and making the Germans an offer they could not refuse.
Paul, The Oracle Octopus
Advertising Extends Beyond Social Media
Old Spice
Old Spice hasn't issued any press releases lately. It doesn't have to, with the success of the Old Spice Guy. His face is plastered across television, movie theaters (before the film starts), and now YouTube.
Isaiah Mustafa, better known as the Old Spice Guy, is the centerpiece of what some are calling one of the most brilliant ad campaigns ever -- and that was before he became a social-media sensation. Mustafa, who presents himself in commercials as the perfect man, is now responding directly to questions from Twitter and Facebook followers via 30-second videos posted on a YouTube channel.
"The campaign has two magical ingredients. One is a very silly, but charismatic, individual spokesman. The second is the vehicle that allows him to interact with people," said Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis. "When I look at this, I see the barriers that exist between corporations and consumers tumbling down. It's as if Mustafa is just some other schmo on the Internet engaging with his fans."
Even social media's mavens are giving Mustafa the nod -- or receiving a nod from him. Twitter cofounder Biz Stone tweeted Tuesday night about how he was cracking up at Mustafa's videos. Mustafa also made a video specifically for Digg cofounder Kevin Rose, who apparently was under the weather. But the bigger hit has been interacting directly with his new fans.
Old Spice
Couple Convicted In Extortion Case
John Stamos
A Michigan couple were convicted Thursday of trying to extort $680,000 from actor John Stamos by threatening to sell old photos of him with strippers and cocaine to the tabloids unless he paid up.
Allison Coss, 24, and Scott Sippola, 31, were found guilty of conspiracy and using e-mail to threaten a person's reputation - charges that could land them in prison for up to five years.
FBI agents arrested the two in a sting in December at an Upper Peninsula airport after Stamos' lawyer complained that the actor was the target of an extortion attempt.
Coss, who met Stamos in Florida in 2004 at age 17, said she had a photo of him with cocaine but that it disappeared during an FBI raid on her home. Agents denied it.
John Stamos
Penthouse Makes Offer
Playboy
The owner of Penthouse magazine on Thursday offered to buy rival Playboy Enterprises Inc for $210 million, making a bid that was 13 percent above the buyout proposal from Playboy's iconic founder Hugh Hefner earlier this week.
To sweeten the deal, Penthouse publisher FriendFinder Networks said Hefner is welcome to retain editorial control of Playboy magazine and to continue to reside in the Playboy Mansion -- a property valued at roughly $40 million, including art, according RBC Capital Markets estimates.
A company synonymous with bunny ears and centerfolds, Playboy has been struggling to put its business back on course as circulation and advertising revenues decline with people flocking to the Internet for free pornography.
FriendFinder proposed to give Playboy shareholders $6.25 a share, above the $5.50 per share, or $185 million, from Hefner and his partner Rizvi Traverse Management.
Playboy
Authorities Point Fingers
Roman Polanski
The Roman Polanski case took another strange turn Thursday, with American prosecutors disputing who was responsible for an apparent miscommunication about sealed transcripts requested by Swiss authorities.
Swiss officials said their request to see the transcripts was denied - a choice that led them to free the director against U.S. wishes.
The Justice Department insisted that it notified Los Angeles prosecutors about its decision to reject the Swiss request. But Los Angeles officials said they never heard from Washington.
Loyola University law professor Stan Goldman said the current flap was mostly about attorneys "pointing fingers at each other."
Roman Polanski
Enters Rehab
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan was reported on Thursday to have moved into a sober living facility in Los Angeles, less than a week before she is due to start a 90-day jail term.
Celebrity news site X17online.com posted photos of the actress entering the building late on Wednesday and of her mother Dina, sister Ali, and former girlfriend DJ Samantha Ronson turning up later, apparently to visit her.
Lohan, 24, who is currently wearing a court-ordered alcohol monitoring bracelet, is due to begin a 90-day jail term on July 20 for missing alcohol education classes that were part of her probation on a 2007 drunken driving charges.
Lohan's lawyer quit the case unexpectedly last week and the actress is reported to have hired famed defense lawyer Robert Shapiro to mount an appeal.
Shapiro, who was a member of the legal team that successfully defended football player O.J. Simpson on charges of murdering his wife in 1994, is the owner of the facility now reportedly housing Lohan.
Lindsay Lohan
Sues Marriott Hotels
Erin Andrews
Erin Andrews, an ESPN reporter and recent contestant on television show "Dancing With the Stars," on Thursday sued Marriott International Inc and several hotels affiliated with it.
The lawsuit, filed in Chicago, stems from a series of incidents in which a man videotaped Andrews naked through hotel room peepholes and posted the footage on the Internet.
Also named in the lawsuit is the man who took those videos, Michael Barrett. In March, the Chicago insurance salesman was sentenced to 30 months in prison for committing the crime.
She claims the hotels provided Barrett with her reservation information, including her room numbers, before allowing Barrett to check-in to adjacent rooms. Once there, Barrett subsequently modified the peephole devices from the hotel doors and videotaped her surreptitiously with his mobile phone.
Erin Andrews
NBC, CBS Reject Propaganda Ad
Ground Zero
Two major broadcasters have rejected an advertisement that urges viewers to protest a mosque being constructed two blocks from Ground Zero.
NBC and CBS have refused to air the one-minute commercial, sponsored by the National Republican Trust PAC.
The ad -- labeled inflammatory by critics -- mixes images of 9/11 and Muslim militants while slamming a controversial proposal to build a mosque and Muslim community center in lower Manhattan.
"To celebrate that murder of 3,000 Americans, they want to build a monstrous 13-story mosque at Ground Zero," says the narrator over images of the destroyed World Trade Center. "This ground is sacred, where we weep, they rejoice ... that mosque is a monument to their victory."
Ground Zero
Judges Limit Raw Footage
Joseph Berlinger
A federal appeals court in New York has limited the amount of raw footage a filmmaker must release from his documentary about a legal fight between Chevron and Ecuadoreans over oil contamination.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced in an order Thursday that filmmaker Joseph Berlinger must turn over only some raw footage from the documentary "Crude."
A judge previously ordered Berlinger to turn over all 600 hours of raw footage he used to make the film, which came out last year. Berlinger appealed the order and arguments were heard Wednesday.
The appeals court said Berlinger must turn over footage showing lawyers for Ecuadoreans, private or court-appointed experts and current or former Ecuadorean officials.
Joseph Berlinger
Revises Rules
Vatican't
The Vatican revised its in-house rules to deal with clerical sex abuse cases Thursday, targeting priests who molest the mentally disabled as well as children and doubling the statute of limitations for such crimes.
Abuse victims said the rules are little more than administrative housekeeping since they made few substantive changes to current practice, and what is needed are bold new rules to punish bishops who shield pedophiles.
Women's ordination groups criticized the new rules because they included the attempted ordination of women as a "grave crime" subject to the same set of procedures and punishments meted out for sex abuse.
The rules, which cover the canonical procedures and penalties for the most serious sacramental and moral crimes, were issued as the Vatican confronts one of the worst scandals in recent history: revelations of hundreds of new cases of priests who raped and sodomized children, bishops who covered up for them, and Vatican officials who stood by passively for decades.
Vatican't
Scandals Expose Shady Underbelly
Sumo
Sumo is more than a sport to Japan. It's like a religion, a bastion of traditional culture and a matter of national pride. Wrestlers aren't just athletes - they are icons, role models and, often, larger-than-life heroes.
Causing Japan much consternation, recent police investigations have exposed the colorful sport's cozy connections to the "yakuza" underworld, outside-the-ring violence and widespread recreational drug use, dragging sumo's venerable image through the dirt and prompting many to wonder if it can stand up to modern scrutiny.
Sumo's unrelenting scandals have gotten so bad that Japan's public broadcaster, for the first time since 1953, has pulled its ongoing tournament from the air, scrapping three hours of live, daily coverage for a 20-minute program of taped highlights.
Sponsors have bolted and fans are staying away in droves. At the 15-day contest now under way, where the stands are only about half full, police officers are prowling entrances under signs saying "Gangsters Keep Out."
Sumo
CA May Dump 'State Rock'
Serpentine
In 1965, California lawmakers named serpentine the state rock because it symbolized the Gold Rush years and contained a mineral being put to myriad industrial uses.
Nearly half a century later, attitudes toward that mineral - asbestos - have changed, and one state lawmaker wants serpentine stripped of its status.
"This is a question of health and public awareness," said Democratic state Sen. Gloria Romero of Los Angeles, who proposed the bill. "We know that California has the highest rates of mesothelioma deaths in the nation and we don't think it's appropriate to be celebrating as the state rock something which contains asbestos."
Romero's proposal to remove serpentinite, as the jade-green rock is formally known, as the state rock has hit a wall of opposition from geologists and industry advocates. Contending the rock is being unfairly maligned, they have started a social-media crusade on Twitter and blogs to stop the proposal.
Serpentine
Study Questions 'Extra Virgin' Claims
Olive Oil
Many of the olive oils lining supermarket shelves in the United States are not the top-grade extra-virgin oils their labels proclaim, according to a report from the University of California, Davis.
Researchers analyzed popular brands and found 69 percent of imported oils and ten percent of domestic oils sampled did not meet the international standards that define the pure, cold-pressed, olive oils that deserve the extra virgin title.
"Consumers, retailers and regulators should really start asking questions," said Dan Flynn, executive director of UC Davis' Olive Oil Center, which conducted the study in partnership with the Australian Oils Research Laboratory, in South Wales.
Although the survey's sample size was relatively small and selected at random - 19 widely distributed brands purchased from retailers in San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Los Angeles - the study held the claims on their labels to a scientifically verifiable standard, said Flynn.
Olive Oil
NY To Vegas
Bullrun Live Rally
Colorado authorities say five drivers were ticketed and another was arrested for speeding during a luxury auto rally from New York City to Las Vegas. The Colorado State Patrol said it received several complaints as the Bullrun Live Rally passed through Colorado on Wednesday. Authorities said the driver who was arrested was going more than 40 mph over the speed limit of 65 mph near Idaho Springs on Interstate 70. The driver faces charges of reckless driving and excessive speed.
Trooper Heather Cobler said five other drivers were also ticketed and several others received warnings. She says several of the cars in the rally had police scanners.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman participated in the 2005 rally and was also ticketed for speeding in Colorado.
Bullrun Live Rally
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of July 5-11. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. "LeBron: The Decision" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), ESPN, 6.96 million homes, 9.94 million viewers.
2. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10:30 p.m.), History, 4.46 million homes, 6.34 million viewers.
3. "Pawn Stars" (Monday, 10 p.m.), History, 4.29 million homes, 6.13 million viewers.
4. "Hannah Montana Forever" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.71 million homes, 5.72 million viewers.
5. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.59 million homes, 5.18 million viewers.
6. "Deadliest Catch" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), Discovery, 3.49 million homes, 5.26 million viewers.
7. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.46 million homes, 5.1 million viewers.
8. "American Pickers" (Monday, 9 p.m.), History, 3.4 million homes, 5 million viewers.
9. "Good Luck Charlie" (Sunday, 8:30 p.m.), Disney, 3.34 million homes, 5.02 million viewers.
10. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.19 million homes, 4.46 million viewers.
11. Auto Racing: Sprint Cup/Chicago (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.), TNT, 3.17 million homes, 4.6 million viewers.
12. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.1 million homes, 4.04 million viewers.
13. "True Blood" (Sunday, 9:02 p.m.), HBO, 2.92 million homes, 4.68 million viewers.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.82 million homes, 3.97 million viewers.
15. "Family Guy" (Tuesday, 11:30 p.m.), Adult Swim, 2.81 million homes, 3.61 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras, a gifted musician who conducted some of the world's leading orchestras, has died at the age of 84 after suffering from cancer, his agent said Thursday.
Born in New York state to Australian parents, Mackerras was raised in Sydney but spent large parts of his adult life in Britain where he conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and was music director at the English National Opera.
He returned to Sydney for the opening concert in the new Sydney Opera House in 1973 in which he conducted the Sydney Symphony with soprano Birgit Nilsson.
Mackerras was an authority on the music of Mozart and helped to popularize the music of Czech composer Leos Janacek.
A much-traveled figure, Mackerras made frequent appearances at the San Francisco Opera and also had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Charles Mackerras
In Memory
Hank Cochran
Hank Cochran, a consummate songwriter who composed a string of country hits including "Make the World Go Away" for Eddy Arnold, died Thursday. He was 74.
Martha E. Moore, his publicist, said Cochran died at his home in Hendersonville north of Nashville. He had been in declining health in recent years, and suffered an aortic aneurysm in March. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago.
He co-wrote the following No. 1 hits: Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces"; George Strait's "Ocean Front Property"; and "Set 'em Up Joe" by Vern Gosdin.
He also wrote the No. 1 hits: "Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me" by Ronnie Milsap; "He's Got You" by Cline and Loretta Lynn; "I Want to Go With You" by Arnold; and "That's All That Matters to Me" by Mickey Gilley.
Survivors include his wife, three sons and a daughter. A private memorial service will be held later. His ex-wife is Grand Ole Opry singer Jeannie Seely.
Cochran was born in Isola, Miss., and worked the New Mexico oilfields as a young man.
He arrived in Nashville in 1960, and got a job as a staff songwriter with Pamper Music for $50 a week, hired by country singer Ray Price.
Shortly after that, Cochran helped Willie Nelson get a songwriting job with Pamper. Nelson went on to write classics such as "Crazy," sung by Cline, and his own singing career.
Cochran was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.
Hank Cochran
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