Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Longest Basketball Bank Shot World Record (6 seconds, YouTube)
David Crawford successfully banked a basketball shot off wall 42 feet away from the basket.
Amazing Rhythmic Gymnast? No an amazing Ribbon Eel! (YouTube; 26 seconds)
Blue Ribbon Eel free swimming, Lembeh, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Louie Ludwig: These Guys (Bleeped Version; YouTube)
This is a bleeped (safe for work) version of the original ad "These Guys," which can be viewed at youtu.be/KrC2pFaaR70.
Michael Kinsley: Paul Ryan prepares to lead, guided by Ayn Rand (LA Times)
With an eye for spotting sniveling weaklings, Vice President Paul Ryan gets ready to take the country in a new direction.
So, Mitt, what do you really believe? (Economist)
Too much about the Republican candidate for the presidency is far too mysterious.
Togo Sex Strike: Women's Group Plans To Withhold Sex In Effort To Unseat President Faure Gnassingbe (Huffington Post)
The female wing of a civil rights group is urging women in Togo to stage a week-long sex strike to demand the resignation of the country's president.
Scott Burns: The New Wealth Scoreboard (AssetBuilder)
OK, alpha dogs, want to know where you stand in the wealth heap?
John Vidal: Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists (Guardian)
Water scarcity's effect on food production means radical steps will be needed to feed population expected to reach 9bn by 2050.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce's Blog
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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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still hot, humid and unpleasant.
CW First In LGBT Programming
GLAAD
There's good and bad news for CBS in GLAAD's latest network responsibility index, which tracks portrayals of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in primetime.
The CW, which CBS co-owns with Warner Bros., was again ranked number one in the quantity, quality and diversity of images of LGBT people on primetime broadcast TV. But CBS, the most-watched network, ranked last and received a "failing" rating.
ABC, home to "Modern Family," was ranked second in the study, with GLAAD finding 27 percent of its primetime hours to be LGBT-inclusive. It bumped Fox, ranked second last year, to third this year, with 24 percent. ABC's "Modern Family" broke ground in primetime by prominently featuring a gay couple, Mitchell and Cameron, with an adopted child. Fox's "Glee" features prominent gay characters and has addressed issues including homophobia and bullying.
NBC remained in fourth with 19 percent. The network's new season includes "The New Normal," a show about a gay couple adopting a child.
Among cable networks, Showtime (46 percent inclusive), ABC Family and TNT (both 34 percent) and HBO (33 percent) all received "good" ratings. MTV (23 percent), which received an "excellent" score two years ago, received an "adequate" this year, as did FX, TLC, and USA. GLAAD highlighted ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars" as that network's "strongest series in terms of LGBT representation and diversity."
GLAAD
FBI Files
Ray Bradbury
The FBI gave Ray Bradbury a mixed review.
According to documents declassified recently through the Freedom of Information Act, the bureau investigated the "Fahrenheit 451" author in the 1950s and 1960s because of suspected communist sympathies.
One informant warned agents that Bradbury, who died June 5 at age 91, wrote stories that were "definitely slanted" against capitalism. The informant added that science fiction itself could so terrify readers that they would succumb to "incompetence bordering on hysteria" and would be helpless during a third world war.
The bureau noted Bradbury's opposition to Sen. Joe McCarthy and other anti-Communists and his support for civil rights. But it concluded that Bradbury had never been in the Communist Party and that interviewing him was unnecessary because he did not have "informant potential."
Ray Bradbury
Winners Announced
PEN Literary Awards
Playwrights Christopher Durang, Will Eno and Adam Rapp are among the recipients of the 2012 PEN Literary Awards, announced Wednesday.
Durang, a 2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist for "Miss Witherspoon," received PEN's Master American Dramatist award, which carries a $7,500 prize.
Will Eno and Adam Rapp shared PEN awards for American Playwright in Mid-Career, which also carries a $7,500 prize.
Among the other winners of PEN Literary Awards is Susan Nussbaum, author of "Good Kings Bad Kings." Nussbaum also received the $25,000 Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, which goes to the writer of an unpublished novel that addresses issues of social justice.
Vanessa Veselka, author of "Zansen," received the $25,000 Robert W. Bingham Prize, which goes to a fiction writer whose debut work, published in 2011, "represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise."
PEN Literary Awards
Russian Channel To Censor
'The Simpsons'
A Russian national channel said Thursday it would censor "The Simpsons" cartoon series to comply with a new law banning scenes of violence, drinking and smoking before a late evening watershed.
The 2x2 channel, aimed at young adults, told AFP it would cut scenes where the Simpsons family watches a spoof ultra-violent cartoon called "The Itchy & Scratchy Show" after the law comes into force on Friday.
"Under the new law we cannot show 'The Itchy & Scratchy Show' from 'The Simpsons'" before 11 pm, said general director Lev Makarov.
Makarov added that the channel would move all its showings of another US cartoon, "South Park", to after the watershed because of a recurring joke about one of the characters being murdered each episode.
'The Simpsons'
Change Rule For Best Original Song
Oscars
There will be more songs vying for Oscars at next year's Academy Awards.
The motion picture academy said Thursday that there will be a minimum of five nominees in the original song category at next year's ceremony.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says that the five nominated songs receiving the highest number of votes from music branch members will be up for the final award. The voting process previously only allowed songs that earned an average score to be nominated.
Only two songs were nominated for the trophy earlier this year for the first time in Oscar history, with "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" winning the prize.
Oscars
Stick A Fork In It
'Jersey Shore'
MTV gave the last call for "Jersey Shore" on Thursday, saying the raucous reality show will conclude after its upcoming sixth season, which begins Oct. 4.
The series, whose roots lay in a party house in Seaside Heights, N.J., has given rise to stars such as Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, just two from a cast of characters who were over-tanned, over-loud and always pumped up. It popularized the terms "guido" and "guidette" and the mantra "Gym, tan, laundry" while trying the patience of local residents with its party-hearty antics.
On Sept. 6, MTV will launch its season-spanning cavalcade of farewell "Jersey" fare with a retrospective special, "Gym, Tan, Look Back." The party isn't over yet.
'Jersey Shore'
Hospital News
Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen has undergone emergency surgery for a digestive disease and is canceling his tour in Japan to recover.
His representative said Thursday that the guitarist had a "severe bout of diverticulitis," a painful condition that involves the formation of pouches on the outside of the colon. He is expected to recover in four to six months.
The rep added that the 57-year-old will not require more surgeries to treat the disease.
Eddie Van Halen
Catholic TV Star Defends Child Sex Abusers
Rev. Benedict Groeschel
A well-known Catholic priest who hosts a weekly religious television show said in an interview this week that child sex abusers are often seduced by teenage boys and should not go to jail on a first offense.
The Rev. Benedict Groeschel, 79, who hosts a weekly show on Catholic television network EWTN, made the comments in an interview with the National Catholic Register. He also referred to convicted pedophile Jerry Sandusky as a "poor guy."
"People have this picture in their minds of a person planning to - a psychopath. But that's not the case. Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster -- 14, 16, 18 -- is the seducer," Groeschel is quoted as saying in the interview, which is no longer available on the paper's website.
"Well, it's not so hard to see. A kid looking for a father and didn't have his own -- and they won't be planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing, perhaps sleeping, but not having intercourse or anything like that. I's an understandable thing, and you know where you find it, among other clergy or important people; you look at teachers, attorneys, judges, social workers," he said.
"Here's this poor guy -- Sandusky -- it went on for years. Interesting: Why didn't anyone say anything? Apparently, a number of kids knew about it and didn't break the ice. Well, you know, until recent years, people did not register in their minds that it was a crime. It was a moral failure, scandalous; but they didn't think of it in terms of legal things," Groeschel said.
Rev. Benedict Groeschel
Legal Action Threatened
"Mark Owen"
The Pentagon warned on Thursday that it was considering legal action against a former U.S. Navy SEAL for material breach of non-disclosure agreements with his first-hand account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
In a letter obtained by Reuters, and subsequently released by the Pentagon, the Pentagon's top attorney also warned that it was also considering legal options against anyone "acting in concert" with the author.
The letter, addressed to "Mark Owen," the pseudonym under which the book was written, identified two separate non-disclosure agreements he signed with the Navy that legally committed him to never divulge classified information.
U.S. officials said last week they were surprised by the book, which was not vetted by government agencies to ensure that no secrets were revealed.
"Mark Owen"
MGM Wins Suit
"Raging Bull"
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that MGM controls the rights to "Raging Bull," rejecting a challenge by the daughter of a screenwriter on whose work the film was based.
Paula Petrella's father Frank Petrella - also known as Peter Savage - penned a 1963 screenplay about boxing champion Jake LaMotta, his former boyhood friend. The 1980 Martin Scorsese film was based on a book and a screenplay by Petrella but he did not get screenplay credit in the film.
His daughter claimed that, when her father died in 1981, the rights to "Raging Bull" reverted to her as her father's heir. She said the copyright had not expired at the time of his death. She was also sued MGM for $1 million in unjust enrichment and accounting claims.
In upholding a district court decision, the Pasadena-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found that Petrella knew of her right to sue in 1991 but waited 18 years to file suit. The court ruled that time period was excessive and that it nullified her claim.
"Raging Bull"
'Spider-Man' Suit Settled
Julie Taymor
Like in any great theater production, the conflict between director Julie Taymor and the producers of the Broadway production of "Spider-Man" peaked in intensity just before the resolution.
A tentative deal settling a dispute over her role in the musical was disclosed in a document filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. It said the case could be reopened within two months if the agreement breaks down. Settlement terms were not released.
Dale Cendali, lead attorney for the producers, said she could not comment on the agreement in principle, except to confirm that it was reached Thursday.
The stage seemed set for a January trial.
Julie Taymor
Paramount And Heirs Clash
'The Godfather'
The lawyer for the late creator of "The Godfather" stories told a judge Thursday that Paramount Pictures broke a nearly half-century-old deal with the writer and should no longer get exclusive rights to make movies based on books his heirs commission.
Attorney Bertram Fields told a federal judge in Manhattan that Paramount broke a 1969 contract when it went to publishers of the newest "Godfather" book and claimed the family did not have rights to publish it. "The Family Corleone" was published in May, though proceeds remain in an escrow account pending outcome of litigation.
A Paramount lawyer, Richard Kendall, countered that the company was only asserting its rights when it contacted publishers in December.
He said letting an assertion of rights nullify a longstanding contract would be holding companies such as Paramount "hostage to catastrophic consequences anytime they assert their rights."
U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan did not immediately rule.
'The Godfather'
Cimino's New Director's Cut Unveiled
"Heaven's Gate"
Hollywood legend Michael Cimino spoke with emotion at theVenice film festival on Thursday as he unveiled a new director's cut of his "Heaven's Gate" -- one of the biggest flops of all time.
Cimino's 1980 film was panned when it came out after his Oscar-winning "The Deer Hunter" and it helped bring down Hollywood giant United Artists.
But many now blame harsh editing and the digitally remastered version of the epic Western shown for the first time on Thursday was overseen by Cimino.
"Being infamous is not fun. It becomes a weird occupation in and of itself," said Cimino, who has lived as a virtual recluse in Hollywood for many years.
"Because of the digital technology that did not exist at the time, I was able to make editorial changes, colour changes.... Seeing it through the digital equipment, it was like a new movie," the spiky-haired Cimino said.
"Heaven's Gate"
Making Wrong Kind Of History
"Oogieloves"
A new movie for toddlers, "Oogieloves in The Big Balloon Adventure," is making the wrong kind of box-office history.
The movie opened Wednesday at 1,500 theaters and brought in $60,000 total. That's a sippy-cup-sized $40 per screen for the independently distributed G-rated cartoon.
It has a shot at recording one of the worst wide-opening weekends ever. Last year's "Creature" set the standard when it averaged $217 on 1,507 screens. "Oogieloves" is scheduled to be on 2,160 screens for the weekend, but theater owners who've seen Wednesday's numbers may want to reconsider.
"Oogieloves" is the brainchild of first-time filmmaker and marketing whiz Kenn Viselmann, who helped bring "The Teletubbies" and "Thomas the Tank Engine" to American TV.
"Oogieloves"
Shooting Gulls To Save Whales
Argentina
What began as bizarre bird behavior has turned into something out of a horror film for threatened whales in Argentina, where seagulls have learned that pecking at the whales' backs can get them a regular seafood dinner.
Seagull attacks on southern right whales have become so common now that authorities are planning to shoot the gulls in hopes of reducing their population.
Environmentalists say the plan is misguided and that humans are the real problem, creating so much garbage that the gull population has exploded.
Seagulls around the city of Puerto Madryn discovered about a decade ago that by pecking at the whales as they come up for air, they can create open wounds. Then, each time the whales surface, it's dinner time: Gulls swoop down and dig in, cutting away skin and blubber with their beaks and claws.
The problem has only grown more severe since then as more gulls caught on and the bird population exploded due to easy access to human detritus - not only open-air garbage heaps but fish parts as well, dumped directly into the water by fishermen and a seafood packing plant.
Argentina
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) Kenny Chesney / Tim McGraw; $4,384,494; $88.87.
2. (2) Roger Waters; $2,305,507; $112.13.
3. (3) Cirque du Soleil - "Michael Jackson: The Immortal"; $1,575,139; $110.00.
4. (4) Dave Matthews Band; $1,403,010; $54.48.
5. (5) Phish; $1,143,659; $54.39.
6. (New) Enrique Iglesias / Jennifer Lopez; $1,066,408; $77.80.
7. (6) Brad Paisley; $793,459; $45.27.
8. (7) Drake; $793,339; $55.44.
9. (9) Jason Aldean; $752,071; $38.08.
10. (8) Nickelback; $697,794; $66.14.
11. (10) Rascal Flatts; $635,328; $36.10.
12. (11) Iron Maiden; $634,286; $55.04.
13. (12) The Beach Boys; $564,354; $65.52.
14. (13) One Direction; $499,246; $43.06.
15. (14) Lady Antebellum; $477,672; $39.30.
16. (16) Wiz Khalifa / Mac Miller; $454,817; $26.14.
17. (18) "Vans Warped Tour"; $440,373; $31.87.
18. (15) Blue Man Group; $400,910; $56.93.
19. (20) Il Divo; $362,030; $89.50.
20. (21) John Mellencamp; $345,769; $78.74.
Concert Tours
In Memory
Steve Franken
The wife of Steve Franken says the veteran film and television actor has died.
Jean Franken says her husband, who starred in the 1960s TV series "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" and as the drunken waiter in the film "The Party," died Aug. 24 after battling cancer.
The 80-year-old appeared in dozens of roles, ranging from guest appearances in TV series "Bewitched" and "Seinfeld" to film roles in "Nurse Betty" and 2009's "Angels and Demons." He was also a stage actor.
A public memorial is scheduled for Sept. 22 at Theatre West in Los Angeles.
Born in Queens in May 1932, Franken remained in LA throughout his career. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.
Steve Franken
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