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from Bruce
Infographic: How Much More Will the Romney-Ryan Medicare Plan Cost You?
Learn how much you and your family would have to pay.
Increased Costs During Retirement Under the Romney-Ryan Medicare Plan
By repealing the Affordable Care Act, the Romney-Ryan plan would raise health care costs in retirement by $11,000 for the average person who is 65 years old today.
Charlie Jane Anders: The Most Overhyped Science Fiction Novel of the Year? (io9)
So I was really curious to read 'Age of Miracles' - and sadly, it's not that great. And it's the ultimate example of that mythical beast: the literary novel by someone who apparently thinks doing science fiction is easy.
Julia Turner: 'Sneakers' Is a Masterpiece (Slate)
Why the movie inspires such bizarre devotion in its fans.
Stephen Tobolowsky: Memories of the 'Sneakers' Shoot (Slate)
I can't remember ever having so much fun on a movie.
Roger Ebert: "'Cloud Atlas' and a new silent film"
I know I've seen something atonishing, and I know I'm not ready to review it. "Cloud Atlas," by the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer, is a film of limitless imagination, breathtaking visuals and fearless scope. I have no idea what it's about. It interweaves six principal stories spanning centuries--three for sure, maybe four. It uses the same actors in most of those stories. Assigning multiple roles to actors is described as an inspiration by the filmmakers to help us follow threads through the different stories. But the makeup is so painstaking and effective that much of the time we may not realize we're seeing the same actors. Nor did I sense the threads.
Roger Ebert: And the Winner is …
The winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture will be Ben Affleck's tense new thriller "Argo." How do I know this? Because it is the audience favorite coming out of the top-loaded opening weekend of the Toronto Film Festival. Success at Toronto has an uncanny way of predicting Academy winners; I point you to the Best Pictures of the last five years in a row: "No Country for Old Men," "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Hurt Locker," "The King's Speech" and "The Artist."
Roger Ebert: Victory at Any Price?
Ramin Bahrani, the best new American director of recent years, has until now focused on outsiders in this country: A pushcart operator from Pakistan, a Hispanic street orphan in New York, a cab driver from Senegal working in Winston-Salem. NC. His much-awaited new film, "At Any Price," is set in the Iowa heartland and is about two American icons: A family farmer and a race car driver.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Names (Athens News)
When he was a child, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders had a dog named Foffy, which in its old age ate too much of everything. When Timothy's first child, Isca, was born, her eating habits resembled those of the elder Foffy, and soon Isca had a nickname: Foffy. Fortunately, when Isca became older and wanted to know where her nickname of Foffy had come from, she thought the explanation was funny.
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."
"Doug's Most Shared Facebook Post" Today
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Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still too hot, but a lot less humid.
Doubles Down On Skid Row Pledge
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas has doubled his Los Angeles Skid Row pledge for homeless women to $10 million - surprising even his wife, for whom the effort is named.
Kirk and Anne Douglas made the initial $5 million pledge in July for continued support of the Anne Douglas Center for Women at the Los Angeles Mission, which opened two decades ago on Valentine's Day.
The 95-year-old actor also gave his wife an award Wednesday for her work at the shelter.
Kirk Douglas says his wife told him she was determined to do something for her country when they married 57 years ago and he says she has never stopped.
Kirk Douglas
Selling Painting
Eric Clapton
Should Eric Clapton ever decide to hang up the guitar, he might try his hand at art dealing.
The 67-year-old British rocker is selling an abstract painting by German artist Gerhard Richter at Sotheby's next month which is expected to fetch $14-19 million.
The price itself may raise barely an eyebrow in auction housecircles, where Richter has long been one of the world's most sought after living painters with an auction record of $21.8 million set in New York in May.
But even amid soaring prices for top contemporary art, Clapton has done exceptionally well - the canvas on offer is one of three the former Cream musician acquired at Sotheby's in 2001 for a total cost of $3.4 million.
The work, more than two meters square and called "Abstraktes Bild (809-4)", "ranks alongside the very highest tier of Richter Abstracts housed in museums internationally," said Sotheby's, which is selling it.
Eric Clapton
Unhappy With Samsung Verdict
Steve Wozniak
It's hard not to be happy over winning $1 billion dollars, even if the windfall came from a controversial court case. But not everyone at the world's largest company is happy about the verdict that Samsung copied Apple's design: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak went on record today with Bloomberg saying, "I don't think the decision of California will hold," adding that he doesn't believe Samsung deserved to lose its case.
Recently, smartphone patent wars between Apple and Samsung have gone nuclear, with companies filing numerous suits and court requests that phones be banned from sale. But while former Apple CEO Steve Jobs may have had a bloodlust for taking down Google, his former partner Steve Wozniak doesn't. "I hate it," says Woz of the constant patent fights. "I wish everybody would just agree to exchange all the patents and everybody can build the best forms they want to use everybody's technologies."
Steve Wozniak
May Expand To 5 Festivals
Coachella
Coachella will stretch out over five weekends throughout the year if concert promoter Goldenvoice gets its way, according to a new proposal on the city of Indio's website.
As of now, the city has authorized two Coachella festivals, as well as the country-focused Stagecoach Festival - all of which span three-day weekends in the spring.
Under the new plan, there could be an additional Coachella festival in the fall, followed by another smaller festival comparable to Stagecoach in size.
Goldenvoice, the Los Angeles-based concert promoter, filed the proposal with Indio city officials, who then uploaded their website to gauge community response. It was just two months ago that it looked as though the festival might be on its way out of Indio due to a new admissions tax, but the lawmaker who introduced the tax then backed away.
The new proposal would also raise the attendance limit and increase the land available for the festivals. The three larger festivals (Coachellas) could now host 99,000 as opposed to the current limit of 95,000. The smaller festivals (like Stagecoach) would jump from 65,000 to 75,000.
Coachella
Sued For 'Pink Slime' Defamation
ABC News
Beef Products Inc. sued ABC News, Inc. for defamation Thursday over its coverage of a meat product that critics dub "pink slime," claiming the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing it is unhealthy and unsafe.
The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 "false and misleading and defamatory" statements about the product officially known as lean, finely textured beef, said Dan Webb, BPI's Chicago-based attorney.
The 257-page lawsuit names American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., ABC News, Inc., Sawyer and ABC correspondents Jim Avila and David Kerley as defendants. It also names Gerald Zirnstein, the USDA microbiologist who named the product "pink slime," Carl Custer, a former federal food scientist, and Kit Foshee, a former BPI quality assurance manager who was interviewed by ABC.
Richard McIntire, a spokesman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, declined to comment and attempts to reach Foshee were unsuccessful. A spokesman for the Food Integrity Campaign, a whistleblower advocacy group that has worked with Foshee, said Thursday that he would attempt to contact Foshee. Spokesman Dylan Blaylock also said the Washington-based group may release a statement.
ABC News
$50 Million Write-Down
Disney
Walt Disney Co will record a $50 million write-down at its movie studio division after shutting down production on an animated film, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
The untitled stop-motion film was being directed by Henry Selick and due for release in October 2013, the source said. Selick has directed "Coraline," "James and the Giant Peach" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo announced the amount of the write-down in remarks to analysts atBank of America Merrill Lynch conference. "That will be a very short fourth quarter impact for us," Rasulo said.
He also said the entertainment and theme park giant did not see the type of advertising rebound it had expected over the summer after the Olympics ended.
At the ABC broadcast network and the affiliates that Disney owns, "we just didn't see the bounce back after the Olympics that we thought we would," Rasulo said.
Disney
Arrest On Suspicion Of DUI
Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and was expected to spend the night in a hospital, authorities said.
Madsen was pulled over for driving erratically in a red Pontiac GTO shortly before 3 p.m. Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
In a preliminary test Madsen had a blood alcohol level of .21, more than twice the legal limit of .08, Whitmore said.
While he was being booked, Madsen complained of a medical problem and was taken to a hospital, where doctors said he should spend the night. Deputies then cited and released him.
It was the second arrest in six months for the "Reservoir Dogs" actor.
Michael Madsen
Charged With DUI
Sally Struthers
Police in Maine say actress Sally Struthers has been charged with drunken driving.
Police say Struthers was arrested early Wednesday morning after being pulled over on U.S. Route 1 in the southern Maine resort town of Ogunquit. She was charged with criminal operating under the influence and posted $160 bail.
The 65-year-old actress has been performing at the Ogunquit Playhouse in the musical "9 to 5."
Struthers is best known for her role as Gloria Stivic in the 1970s TV sitcom "All in the Family" and later for heart-tugging ads seeking money for children's charities.
Sally Struthers
Warrant Issued
Mickey Hart
Police in Kentucky have a warrant for the arrest of former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart stemming from an alleged assault after a recent show.
Harrodsburg Police Lt. Chad Powell told The Associated Press on Thursday that the warrant stems from an incident Saturday after a performance by the Mickey Hart Band at Terrapin Hill Farm in Harrodsburg.
In an email from his publicist, Hart says he is "totally baffled" by the assault claim and says it is completely false and without any basis.
Powell says that the investigation is ongoing and that the paperwork could not be released. Mercer County Attorney Ted Dean was in court Thursday morning and did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Mickey Hart
Admits Wildlife Stunts Are Staged
Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted that some of his most famous media adventures with wildlife have been carefully staged but has said they were worthwhile because they drew the public's attention to important conservation projects.
His macho appearances with everything from tigers to whales have been a staple of Russian state TV for years, cementing his image as a man of action but drawing mockery from critics who have likened them to Soviet-style propaganda.
Although Putin's spokesman has previously revealed that at least one of the stunts was a set-up, Putin until now has appeared to play along with the exercises, allowing state media to present them as they seem rather than how they really are.
But in a rare meeting with a Kremlin critic after his latest wildlife stunt - taking to the skies in a light aircraft with a group of cranes last week - Putin admitted he had often taken part in media exercises which were carefully staged.
"Of course, there are excesses. And I am enraged about it," he told Masha Gessen, a journalist and Putin critic whom he had invited for a meeting in the Kremlin after she was sacked from her job editing a travel magazine for refusing to send reporters to cover the crane flight.
Putin
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; $4,387,560; $88.86.
2. (New) Coldplay; $2,294,022; $83.31.
3. (2) Roger Waters; $2,292,270; $112.09.
4. (3) Cirque du Soleil - "Michael Jackson: The Immortal"; $1,683,362; $110.60.
5. (4) Dave Matthews Band; $1,605,773; $53.84.
6. (New) Neil Diamond; $1,199,421; $101.00.
7. (5) Phish; $1,185,807; $54.81.
8. (New) "Gigantes Tour" / Marc Anthony / Marco Antonio Solis / Chayanne; $1,098,839; $105.25.
9. (6) Enrique Iglesias / Jennifer Lopez; $1,022,357; $76.50.
10. (8) Brad Paisley; $832,460; $46.30.
11. (9) Jason Aldean; $730,312; $37.93.
12. (12) Iron Maiden; $634,286; $55.04.
13. (11) Rascal Flatts; $633,836; $35.75.
14. (14) One Direction; $480,747; $42.84.
15. (15) Lady Antebellum; $465,102; $40.11.
16. (16) Wiz Khalifa / Mac Miller; $454,817; $26.14.
17. (17) "Vans Warped Tour"; $440,373; $31.87.
18. (19) Il Divo; $350,883; $87.70.
19. (20) John Mellencamp; $345,769; $78.74.
20. (21) "American Idols Live"; $334,432; $56.49.
Concert Tours
In Memory
Pedro Guerrero
Photographer Pedro Guerrero, whose 20-year association with architect Frank Lloyd Wright launched a long fine-arts career that included capturing images of American artists, has died at age of 95.
Pedro Guerrero is mostly known for his images of Wright and the architect's work, but he also photographed the lives and works of artists Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson.
After attending the Art Center School in Los Angeles, Guerrero got his first photography job after he visited Wright's home near Scottsdale in 1939. His 15-minute interview with Wright opened up doors for him professionally for years to come. "He was open sesame, wherever I went," Guerrero told the Casa Grande Dispatch in 2001.
He worked as a photographer at the architect's homes in Scottsdale and Wisconsin for a year. Then, after serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he returned to his work as Wright's photographer until the architect's death in 1959.
He published books on Wright, Calder and Nevelson and did freelance work for magazines such as House and Garden, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
Guerrero is survived by three children and his wife, Dixie L. Guerrero.
Pedro Guerrero
In Memory
Stanley Long
British filmmaker Stanley Long, whose cheap-and-cheerful soft-core romps saw him dubbed the "king of sexploitation," has died at the age of 78.
Long's family says he died Monday of natural causes in Buckinghamshire, southern England. The exact cause of death was not specified.
A producer, director and cinematographer, Long created movies with titles like "Nudist Memories" and "The Wife Swappers" before scoring his biggest success with "Adventures of a Taxi Driver" and other 1970s' sex comedies.
The mix of bawdy humor and nudity in "Adventures" was a hit. The film was sold to 36 countries and spawned two sequels.
Long also set up the post-production company Salon, which has worked on big-budget movies including "V for Vendetta" and "Batman Begins."
Stanley Long
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