Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Muslim Sign in Harwin Central Mall: An Urban Legend
The Martyrdom of Imam Ali.
and
Muslim Sign in Harwin Central Mall: An Urban Legend
The Martyrdom of Imam Ali.
and
Muslim Sign in Harwin Central Mall: An Urban Legend
The Martyrdom of Imam Ali.
BENEDICT CAREY: Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits (nytimes.com)
The findings can help anyone, from a fourth grader doing long division to a retiree taking on a new language. But they directly contradict much of the common wisdom about good study habits, and they have not caught on. For instance, instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single thing.
Michael Moore: Happy F**kin' Labor Day!
Then a Republican fired all the air traffic controllers, a Democrat gave us NAFTA and millions of jobs were moved overseas (hey, didn't you work in that White House, too? "Fuck the UAW, baby!"). Unions got scared and beaten down, a frat boy became president and, like a drunk out of control, spent all our fucking money and our children's money, too. F**k.
Matt Miller: Listen to My Wife
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world," wrote George Bernard Shaw. "The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." Or maybe on the unreasonable woman. Take my wife.
Kathy M. Kristof: Low-cost dates can be fun, generous, classy (latimes.com)
The date that turned John Owens' girlfriend into his wife didn't cost much. He filled a cooler full of beer and sandwiches and took her on a night-fishing trip with another couple.
Emily Yoffe: Bare-Naked Lady (slate.com)
My vacation at a nudist camp.
Froma Harrop: Parties Mean Little in Governors' Races (creators.com)
Professional partisans see every race as a mark on their team's scoreboard. But these activists err in treating the win of a state governorship and U.S. Senate seat as similar victories. Voters might care which party runs Congress, but why would they fret over whether their state's chief executive is a Republican, Democrat or something else? Truth is, most don't.
Connie Schultz: A Nation United in Ridicule (creators.com)
Gen. David Petraeus is so concerned about the safety of our men and women in battle that he has publicly warned against a Florida pastor's plan to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America. "It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort (in Afghanistan)," Petraeus told 'The Wall Street Journal' on Monday.
Susan Estrich: Book Burning (creators.com)
Here's a really bad idea: Burn the Koran to send a message.
Timothy Noah: The United States of Inequality ( slate.com)
Trying to understand income inequality, the most profound change in American society in your lifetime.
Jim Hightower: WHAT'S BEHIND THE EGG RECALL?
To make an omelet, you've gotta break some eggs - and half a billion eggs would make a mighty big omelet. That's how many the Food and Drug Administration has recalled after salmonella contamination was found in the products of two massive egg factories in Iowa. Once again, what we have here is a sickening example of the price we pay for two inherently-disastrous policies foisted on us by corporate profiteers.
Andrew Tobias: SNAKE OIL
You may have heard radio ads for a $248 "platinum gas saver" guaranteed to make your car engine at least 22% more fuel efficient - all but government certified. Rightwing radio talk show host Michael Savage (Michael Weiner) endorses it … The only problem … : it doesn't work. Or so says Consumer Reports. (If it did work, wouldn't most manufacturers build it into their cars to get the higher fuel rating?)
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Odd Bedfellows?' Edition...
On Labor Day, the Michigan's largest construction trade union (Carpenters and Millwrights with 18,000 members) broke ranks with other major unions (UAW, AFL-CIO, AFSCME) and endorsed the GOP candidate, Rick Snyder, for governor instead of the Democratic candidate, Virg Bernero.
Breaking with Dems, carpenters union planning to back Snyder | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Is it ever appropriate for a Union to back a GOP candidate?
(Please feel free to comment with yer response)
1.) No! Never! _________
2.) Yes, sometimes _______
Send your response to
wrote:
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Detroit Zoo
Wallaby Joey
Rock-a-bye wallaby: Detroit Zoo coddles orphan
She sleeps during the day and plays at night. She needs to be fed every three hours and spends most of her day peeking out from a cozy baby sling.
Sounds like a typical newborn, yet the baby wallaby at the Detroit Zoo has been an eye-opening, educational experience for 10 members of the staff who are working around the clock to keep the little joey named Coral alive...
Rock-a-bye wallaby: Detroit Zoo coddles orphan | detnews.com | The Detroit News (with video)
Awwwwww....
~ BadtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A little more sun, a little warmer.
Deemed Top TV Word
"BP Spillcam"
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the success of the TV show "Jersey Shore" made words like "BP Spillcam" and "Guido" among the most used words of the 2009-2010 TV season, according to a global language survey released on Thursday.
"BP Spillcam" topped the list by the Global Language Monitor due to the live camera feeds of the ruptured deep sea well that caused the world's biggest offshore spill. The murky pictures of the well were watched by millions of viewers on television, the Internet and mobile devices.
In second place was the term "dysfunctional" thanks to the success of the Emmy-winning television comedy "Modern Family."
"Guido" -- the popular but largely pejorative slang word for young Italian-Americans -- came in third due to New Jersey-centric TV reality shows such as MTV's pop culture hit "Jersey Shore."
"BP Spillcam"
Kennedy Center To Feature
They Might Be Giants
The Kennedy Center plans to launch its new arts education website with a concert by the rock band They Might Be Giants.
The center announced the free Oct. 2 concert Wednesday. The event marks the revamp of the center's national K-12 arts education website and a series of mobile apps for iPhone and Android smart phones.
They Might Be Giants has gained attention in recent years for its educational projects for children. The band won a Grammy for Best Children's Album last year for "Here Come the 123s." Their current release is titled "Here Comes Science."
Their music also is heard nightly in the opening theme for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Comedy Central.
They Might Be Giants
Launches TV Station
Youssou Ndour
You would be forgiven for thinking that the launch of this country's newest TV station was an event backed by Senegal's government.
The prime minister arrived in a cortege of cars, their sirens blaring. So did numerous other ministers, flanked by bodyguards. They all made their way to the front of a stage where under the purple spotlights they warmly embraced the station's owner, pop star Youssou Ndour.
But Senegal's ruling party has forbidden Ndour from doing newscasts on his channel, and his license allowing him to do "cultural programming" was only granted after a two-year stalemate. A petition protesting the delay was signed by 2 million of his countrymen, nearly one-fifth of the population.
Outside Senegal, the 50-year-old chart-topping artist is best known for his grooving beat and his emotive voice which won him a Grammy and such a following that he sold out the 17,000-seat Bercy stadium in Paris. His music is constantly pulsing out of boomboxes here, but Ndour is also known in his own country for his scathing critique of the ruling party.
He already owns a private radio station that holds regular debates featuring government critics and has a newspaper that routinely highlights corruption allegations involving the country's ruling elite, including the family of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. He recently interrupted his own concert in the Dakar nightclub he owns to unleash a tirade against the country's leadership whom he called "completely inept."
Youssou Ndour
`Project Runway' Finale Judge
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson took her seat as guest judge at Thursday's "Project Runway" show at New York Fashion Week in a super-short, sparkly silver minidress, but she had nothing on the models, who wore an extraordinary number of hot pants.
Ten aspiring designers showed their collections to Simpson, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, although several knew they already didn't make the cut and won't be the Season 8 winner. But because the Lifetime show takes advantage of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week backdrop for its finale, extra designers needed to participate to keep secret the winners and losers of episodes that haven't yet aired.
"Project Runway" was one of the big events on the day's roster at Lincoln Center, the new home for the seasonal fashion previews. Christian Siriano, an alum of the show, was to show his spring styles later in the day.
Opening the show, Klum, wearing a bright red menswear-style pantsuit and blouse, said she was particularly fond of this group. "I have never gotten so emotional or attached to the designers."
Jessica Simpson
Denies Harassment Claims
Britney Spears
Britney Spears denied a bodyguard's accusations that she sexually harassed him and abused her children, saying Thursday in a statement on her website that authorities looked into his claims but found no reason to act.
The statement said the pop singer and her attorney expect Fernando Flores' sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress lawsuit to be dismissed.
"This lawsuit is another unfortunate situation where someone is trying to take advantage of the Spears family and make a name for himself," the statement read. "The Department of Children and Family Services conducted a proper investigation surrounding Mr. Flores' accusations and have closed the case without further action."
Spears did not say when the investigation was conducted and the department doesn't release details of its inquiries.
Britney Spears
Woman Accuses
Vince Neil
A woman has lodged a complaint alleging Motley Crue singer Vince Neil grabbed her arms in an elevator at the Las Vegas Hilton, police said Thursday.
Neil, 49, wasn't arrested after police took statements Sunday from the woman and two other people regarding the misdemeanor battery complaint, Las Vegas police Officer Barbara Morgan said.
There was no indication Neil knew the woman, and she didn't report being physically injured, Morgan said.
Neil owns tattoo shops and bars in Las Vegas, including a cantina at the Hilton.
Vince Neil
Pulls Plug On Nutjob
Rackspace Hosting
The obscure Christian pastor who plans to mark the ninth anniversary of September 11 attacks by burning copies of the Koran has had his website pulled from the Internet, the hosting company said on Thursday.
Dan Goodgame, a spokesman for popular web host Rackspace Hosting, said two websites operated by the Dove World Outreach Centre, the tiny Gainesville, Florida church run by pastor Terry Jones, were shut down late on Wednesday.
One of two websites, used to drum up publicity ahead of Jones's planned Koran book-burning on Saturday, used the domain name "Islam is of the Devil."
Goodgame said Dove World Outreach Centre had violated "hate speech" provisions of its contract with Rackspace.
Rackspace Hosting
Co-Owner Of Missing Painting Charged With Fraud
"Portrait of a Girl"
A con man carried out an "inartful fraud" when he fooled an art collector into thinking they were partners in the $1.1 million purchase of a missing painting but was actually ripping the investor off, a federal prosecutor said Thursday.
Thomas Doyle, 54, was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud in the dealings over a century-and-a-half-old painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot entitled "Portrait of a Girl."
Doyle took advantage of an investor's enthusiasm for the painting by arranging in June for the investor to pay $880,000 for an 80 percent ownership share of a painting that was worth $500,000 to $700,000, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
The FBI began investigating after Doyle's girlfriend, Kristyn Trudgeon, filed a lawsuit alleging that she had been a victim of fraud in the disappearance of the painting when a man entrusted with helping to sell it claimed he lost the art in New York City in July when he was intoxicated. The lawsuit, which alleged she was a part owner of the masterpiece, has since been withdrawn.
"Portrait of a Girl"
Austrian Kidnap Victim
Natascha Kampusch
An Austrian woman kidnapped at age 10 says she was repeatedly beaten, starved and forced to do housework half-naked during her 8 1/2 years at the mercy of a man who admired Hitler and considered himself an Egyptian god.
In a new book about her ordeal, Natascha Kampusch also describes how her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil, shaved off all her hair and shackled her to him on his bed once she turned 14.
Priklopil snatched Kampusch off a Vienna street on her way to school in 1998 and held her prisoner in a dungeon under his suburban home until she fled in August 2006. He committed suicide within hours of her escape. The case horrified Austrians and made headlines around the world.
In "3,096 Days," penned with the help of two authors, Kampusch describes Priklopil as a paranoid, unpredictable and cleanliness-obsessed man who systematically tormented her physically and verbally.
Natascha Kampusch
A Whole Different Channel
Playboy
Suzi Hanks reads Playboy magazine for the articles. And the jokes. And the letters and cartoons. And yes, for the pictures.
Each week, for an hour, Hanks snuggles close to a microphone in a tiny soundproof closet, reading - and describing in great detail - portions of the latest Playboy issue for the blind.
"I don't have to try to read it sexy," laughs Hanks, one of about 200 volunteers at Houston-based Taping For The Blind, Inc. "I just read it, and I'm a woman, and that's pretty much sexy."
Hanks, a tall, blonde California native whose regular job is reading the news for a classic rock station in Houston, declined to disclose her age, but said she once "chickened out" of an offer to pose for Playboy for a feature on women in radio.
Playboy
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 5. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. "The Closer" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 5.76 million homes, 7.6 million viewers.
2. "Rizzoli & Isles" (Monday, 10 p.m.), TNT, 4.94 million homes, 6.42 million viewers.
3. Movie: "Camp Rock 2: Final Jam" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 4.7 million homes, 7.95 million viewers.
4. "Jersey Shore 2" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 4.66 million homes, 6.53 million viewers.
5. "Covert Affairs" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.95 million homes, 5.26 million viewers.
6. Auto Racing: NASCAR Sprint Cup (Sunday, 7:30 p.m.), ESPN, 3.91 million homes, 5.51 million viewers.
7. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.63 million homes, 5.34 million viewers.
8. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.34 million homes, 4.75 million viewers.
9. "White Collar" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.26 million homes, 4.44 million viewers.
10. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.24 million homes, 4.36 million viewers.
11. "Jersey Shore After Hours" (Thursday, 11 p.m.), MTV, 3.22 million homes, 4.35 million viewers.
12. "Project Runway" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), Lifetime, 3.12 million homes, 4 million viewers.
13. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.11 million homes, 4.23 million viewers.
14. "The O'Reilly Factor" (Monday, 8 p.m.), Fox News, 3.06 million homes, 3.97 million viewers.
15. "Real Housewives of New Jersey" (Monday, 10 p.m.), Bravo, 2.98 million homes, 3.85 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Rich Cronin
Rich Cronin, former lead singer of the boy band LFO and the writer of its 1999 hit "Summer Girls," died on Wednesday after a battle with leukemia, celebrity news site TMZ reported. He was 35.
The news was also reported via Twitter by Lance Bass, a former member of 'N Sync, who described Cronin as "an amazing guy." It was not clear where Cronin died.
The Boston native co-founded LFO -- short for "Lyte Funky Ones" -- in 1995 with Brad Fischetti and Brian Gillis (who was later replaced by Devin Lima). They signed a deal with Lou Pearlman, the now-imprisoned pop impresario behind 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
But Cronin sought to differentiate his band from other male vocal groups, which relied on outside songwriters and producers to deliver soulful pop hits. LFO introduced hip-hop and rock into the equation, and hit No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart with the inescapable summer anthem "Summer Girls."
The follow-up, "Girl on TV," reached No. 10, but subsequent singles failed to crack the top 40. The band broke up in 2003.
Rich Cronin
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
