Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Laura Barnett: "Dr Crippen: Just don't try giving me the swine flu vaccine" (guardian.co.uk)
If something goes wrong, we could have a major medical disaster.
Tom Danehy: Anyone who believes in Richard Florida's 'Creative Class' believes in shoddy scholarship (tucsonweekly.com)
In defense of Regina Romero (yeah, you read that right): A couple of weeks back, I chided our loquacious, yet seldom-compelling member of the City Council for having used the term "creative class." In her defense, she did not make up that stupid-*ss term; she obviously just heard it from someone else and was passing it along.
Xan Brooks: Michael Moore's 'Capitalism' Flick Rips into Crimes of Wall Street (The Guardian)
Moore's latest documentary drew tumultuous applause at the Venice film festival, suggesting that the veteran tub-thumper has lost none of his power to whip up a response.
Andrew Tobias: "Stay In School, Kids: You'll Learn the Difference Between a Shovel and a Hammer" (andrewtobias.com)
THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS TO OUR KIDS. In case you missed it: ...
The teen bloggers who took over the internet (guardian.co.uk)
Some of the web's most influential voices now belong to bloggers as young as 13. John Crace investigates the rise of the super young e-scene and profiles its biggest names.
Hadley Freeman: Sexual abuse of models is fashion's dirty secret (guardian.co.uk)
Instead of getting worked up over a little tummy fat the industry should tackle the issue of rape.
Smack Down! (curvemag.com)
It's Perry vs. Foster in the battle over lezzie lyrics.
Gail A. Hornstein: "Prune That Prose: Learning to write for readers beyond academe" (chronicle.com)
Academics are not embarrassed by writing that's impenetrable. We're taught to feel like doctors castigated for poor penmanship. Producing turgid prose is part of how we define ourselves as professionals.
Dahlia Lithwick: Saving Face? Or Losing My Mind? (slate.com)
I'm going to try to write a chick-lit novel in real time. In less than a month. And I really need your help.
Morris Dickstein: Facing The Music (theamericanscholar.org)
What 1930s pop culture can teach us about our own hard times.
Jonah Weiner: The Last Sellouts (slate.com)
Pearl Jam's brilliant new single, brought to you by Target.
Lewis Beale: The winners and losers of summer '09 at the movies (Newsday)
Summer movie season 2009, version 1 - wretched. ... Summer movie season 2009, version 2 - loved it! ...
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'So Says Michael' Edition
Capitalism is evil. That is the conclusion U.S. documentary maker Michael Moore comes to in his latest movie "Capitalism: A Love Story," which premiered at the Venice film festival Sunday.
Do you agree with his assessment? (No need to respond, SallyP(al), we KNOW what you think!... Well, OK, go ahead... But, try keeping it to no more than novella length, eh? LOL...)
Send your response to
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Alaska Vic
OH BOY!!!!
I'll be gone to hell!!!
Alaska Permanent Fund this year should be over $1300 for every man, woman and child who reside in the state...I'm gonna buy me a Beater With a Heater
OOOORRRAAAHHHH!!!!!!
Vic in AK
Excellent, Vic!
Don't forget to splurge on an extra-long extension cord, too.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Back to sunny and warm.
Megan Fox & U2
`Saturday Night Live'
Actress Megan Fox and U2 will give "Saturday Night Live" an attention-getting season opener when it returns on Sept. 26.
U2's third appearance on the NBC show comes just after two sold-out gigs at Giants Stadium on Sept. 23-24. Fox is known for her breakout role in "Transformers."
"Saturday Night Live" will open with four new shows in a row. Ryan Reynolds is the host on Oct. 3, with musical guest Lady Gaga. Drew Barrymore and Gerard Butler are hosts in the following two weeks. Regina Spektor and Shakira bring the music.
`Saturday Night Live'
Brings Message of Hope
Kim Phuc
It's a photo that many credit with helping to end the Vietnam War: A 9-year-old girl, naked and in obvious pain, runs through a street after suffering napalm burns over much of her body.
What the iconic photo -- snapped in 1972 by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut -- doesn't show is the girl's struggle to survive and thrive in the aftermath of that day.
Now 46 years old, Kim Phuc Phan Thai (Kim Phuc to most) spoke recently at a conference of burn survivors and burn care specialists in New York City on the physical and psychological struggle that she went through over the ensuing decades.
Phuc has come far and is now a public speaker, peace activist, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, child welfare advocate, married mother of two, and inspiration to burn injury survivors worldwide. She lives in Toronto, her home since seeking political asylum in Canada in the early 1990s.
Kim Phuc
Cookbook Not Illegal Copycat
Jessica Seinfeld
A New York judge has tossed out a cookbook author's claim that comedian Jerry Seinfeld's wife was a culinary copycat when she came out with one of her own.
Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Thursday threw out a lawsuit brought against the Seinfeld couple by author Missy Chase Lapine.
The judge said there were many significant differences between Lapine's book and a book written by Jessica Seinfeld. Both books were best-sellers.
Lapine's book is titled: "The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals." Seinfeld's cookbook is titled: "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food."
Jessica Seinfeld
Replaces Paula On "American Idol"
Ellen DeGeneres
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, one of the top U.S. talk show hosts, was named on Wednesday as the new fourth judge on "American Idol," replacing Paula Abdul, who quit the most-watched American television show last month.
Fox television executives and the producers of the hit singing talent show had been searching for a permanent, new judge to sit in Abdul's seat when the ninth season of the show returns to TV in January 2010.
DeGeneres, whose award-winning talk show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" is in its seventh season, described herself as a longtime fan of the show.
Ellen DeGeneres
Goes On Display
Leonardo's Atlantic Codex
The entirety of Leonardo da Vinci's 1,119-page Atlantic Codex is going on public display for the first time.
The Atlantic Codex is considered an encyclopedia of technical knowledge from the Renaissance, representing not only Leonardo's own creations but technology as it existed.
The entire collection will be shown in a series of 24 exhibitions spanning six years.
The first exhibition featuring 45 drawings and called "Fortresses, Bastions and Cannons" opens Thursday at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana and the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, which also holds Leonardo's fresco "The Last Supper."
Leonardo's Atlantic Codex
Belongings At Stockholm Auction
Ingmar Bergman
A writing desk, film cameras and Golden Globe awards belonging to Swedish film legend Ingmar Bergman are attracting a huge interest from collectors as they go up for auction in Stockholm.
Auction house Bukowskis says the 337 Bergman items for sale include the chess pieces most probably used in the director's 1957 film "The Seventh Seal" and a 1960s portrait of Bergman by Irving Penn.
Bukowskis spokeswoman Charlotte Bergstrom says the Sept. 28 auction has drawn such huge interest the limited-edition auction catalog has become a collector's item in its own right.
Bergstrom said Thursday that Bergman insisted in his will that the assets be auctioned instead to prevent them from being caught up in some "kind of emotional hullabaloo."
Ingmar Bergman
Finally Joins Ruptert's Lineup
John Stossel
ABC anchor John Stossel is jumping to Fox.
Stossel is a libertarian whose work won both headaches and viewers for ABC during his 28 years at the network. He'll anchor a weekly program on the Fox Business Network and appear regularly on Fox News Channel.
His new show on the business network will explore consumer issues and libertarianism. Stossel was known for his "Give Me a Break" stories on ABC, which he turned into a best-selling book.
John Stossel
Record Companies Sue
'Ellen'
Some of the world's largest recording companies are suing "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," claiming producers violated their copyrights by playing more than 1,000 songs without permission.
Many of the songs were played during the show's popular dance segment.
According to the suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Nashville, when representatives of the recording companies asked defendants why they hadn't obtained licenses to use the songs, defendants said they didn't "roll that way."
Warner Bros. Entertainment spokesman Scott Rowe says the company has been working with the record labels for months to resolve the issue and remains willing to resolve it on "amicable and reasonable terms." Rowe says the issue does not involve host Ellen DeGeneres.
'Ellen'
And He's Modest, Too
Silvio
Silvio Berlusconi declared on Thursday that he was "by far the best" Italian prime minister of the last 150 years after a journalist asked him if he should resign over a string of scandals.
Berlusconi also insisted again that he has never paid for sex after Italian newspapers published excerpts from prosecutors' interrogations of a businessman who said he had brought prostitutes to parties hosted by the premier.
"I think I am by far the president of the council in 150 years of Italian history," Berlusconi said during a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in Sardinia.
The 72-year-old billionaire has pointed to his government's accomplishments as he seeks to prevent the allegations from hurting his conservative majority and his relations with the Roman Catholic church.
Silvio
Greenland
Helheim Glacier
Suddenly and without warning, the gigantic river of ice sped up, causing it to spit icebergs ever faster into the ocean off southeastern Greenland.
Helheim Glacier nearly doubled its speed in just a few years, flowing through a rift in the barren coastal mountains at a stunning 100 feet (30 meters) per day.
Alarm bells rang as the pattern was repeated by glaciers across Greenland: Was the island's vast ice sheet, a frozen water reservoir that could raise the sea level 20 feet if disgorged, in danger of collapse?
Half a decade later, there's a little bit of good news - and a lot of uncertainty.
Helheim Glacier
Fake Big Brother House
Turkey
Nine women tricked into thinking they were reality TV show contestants and lured into an Istanbul villa were rescued by Turkish military police after two months confinement, a police spokesman said Thursday.
Cameras in the villa filmed the women 24-hours a day, providing a live stream of images for Internet users who had paid to access the footage, the spokesman said.
The women, all from Turkey, according to the Turkish press, had answered an advert seeking contestants for a "Big Brother"-style television show. They passed an audition and selection process before entering the house.
According to Turkish media, the women had signed a contract agreeing they would have no contact with their families and would face a fine of 50,000 Turkish lira if they left early.
Turkey
Stops Italians
H1N1
Fear of H1N1 flu will stop devout Neapolitans from performing the time-honored ritual of kissing the blood of their patron Saint Gennaro when the city's annual festival begins later this month.
The decision to forbid kissing of the glass vial containing the saint's blood was taken reluctantly by ecclesiastical and city authorities Monday, and has brought protests from local politicians.
The vial will be put on display in the city's cathedral for a week from September 19 and the faithful will be allowed to touch it only with their foreheads.
In one of Italy's best-known festivals, Saint Gennaro's dried blood is said to liquefy twice a year, 17 centuries after his death. Some Neapolitans fear disaster may strike the city if the "miracle" does not occur.
H1N1
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Aug. 31-Sept. 6. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. NFL Exhibition Football: Minnesota vs. Dallas (Monday, 8 p.m.), ESPN, 5.94 million homes, 7.91 million viewers.
2. Auto Racing: NASCAR Sprint Cup/Atlanta (Sunday, 7:45 p.m.), ESPN, 4.05 million homes, 5.8 million viewers.
3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.63 million homes, 5.17 million viewers.
4. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.58 million homes, 5.08 million viewers.
5. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.43 million homes, 4.5 million viewers.
6. "NCIS" (Monday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.24 million homes, 4.22 million viewers.
7. College Football: Brigham Young vs. Oklahoma (Saturday, 7 p.m.), ESPN, 3.22 million homes, 4.56 million viewers.
8. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.16 million homes, 4.03 million viewers.
9. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.14 million homes, 3.99 million viewers.
10. College Football: Navy vs. Ohio State (Saturday, 12:01 p.m.), ESPN, 2.95 million homes, 3.87 million viewers.
11. "College Gameday Scoreboard" (Thursday, 10:04 p.m.), ESPN, 2.895 million homes, 3.89 million viewers.
12. College Football: Oregon vs. Boise State (Thursday, 10:13 p.m.), ESPN, 2.892 million homes, 3.85 million viewers.
13. "Penguins of Madagascar" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.87 million homes, 3.85 million viewers.
14. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), USA, 2.8 million homes, 3.68 million viewers.
15. "Suite Life on Deck" (Friday, 8:30 p.m.), Disney, 2.78 million homes, 3.71 million viewers.
Ratings
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