Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Randall Lane: Meet Warren Buffett's Secret Hero (Forbes)
Warren Buffett has made some $50 billion doing things his own way, so it was completely consistent that at The Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy, held at the iconic main branch of the New YorkPublic Library, rather than take a book out of the building, he brought one in.
The Question - Obama For America TV Ad
He keeps saying it... "This President cannot tell us that you're better off today than when he took office." - Mitt Romney Here's where we were in 2008: "Worst financial collapse since the great depression." ?
SECRET VIDEO: Romney Tells Millionaire Donors What He REALLY Thinks of Obama Voters (Mother Jones)
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax."-Mitt Romney
Paul Krugman: The Real Romney (New York Times)
Actually, if you look at the facts, you learn that the great bulk of those who pay no income tax pay other taxes; also, many of the people in the no-income-tax category are (a) elderly (b) students or (c) having a bad year, having lost a job - that is, they're people who have paid income taxes in the past and/or will pay income taxes in the future. The idea that half of Americans are just grifters is grotesque.
Josh Barro: Today, Mitt Romney Lost the Election (Maybe)
Romney is the most opaque presidential nominee since Nixon, and people have been reduced to guessing what his true feelings are. This video provides an answer: He feels that you're a loser. It's not an answer that wins elections.
Froma Harrop: Buckle up for the Robot Revolution (Creators Syndicate)
Robots don't take bathroom breaks, and that's one reason why, all else being equal, they may make better factory workers than the human version. But all else is getting less equal. New generations of super "smart" robots are doing more and more complex tasks, their needle arms going into tiny spaces the most delicate human hand can't reach. And just as the machines leap forward in sophistication, their price is coming down.
Jessica Yadegaran: Self-publishing or vanity press? The answer may surprise you (Contra Costa Times)
If author Tina Folsom let big publishing stand in her way, she never would have become a millionaire. In 2010, after more than 30 literary agents and publishers rejected "Samson's Lovely Mortal," the first in her series about lusty vampires, the San Francisco romance writer decided to self-publish her book on Amazon.com.
David Weir: New York Times Bestselling Author Lyla Sinclair Shares Secrets to Writing Successful Erotica (Smashwords)
Early in August, indie author Lyla Sinclair hit the New York Times Bestseller List with her erotic novella Training Tessa. In an interview with David Weir, Sinclair shares her insights into the pragmatic techniques for success as an independent, self-publishing author, writing under a pseudonym. She talks about the challenges and opportunities faced by female erotica writers, why women (and men too) read erotica, how 50 Shades of Grey has helped erotica come out of the closet to mainstream acceptance, and how she's building her writing career.
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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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
(Infographic)
America's Food Fight
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Falling Mitt
Falling Mitt Romney in his Temple Garments Screensaver
Drag him around with your mouse
Sharon in Tejas
Thanks, Sharon!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Jury duty is done.
Behind The Music
Farm Aid
Farm Aid is synonymous with star-studded rock concerts, like the one expected to draw 30,000 people to southeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday. But the real work of the organization happens mostly behind the scenes across rural America every day.
Singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, president and co-founder of Farm Aid, believes the group's commitment to protecting farmland puts it on "the right side of history."
With more than $40 million raised through the musical performances and private contributions since the first Farm Aid concert in 1985, the organization works to keep family farmers on their land by awarding modest cash grants to groups that help small- and medium-size farms across the country. Farm Aid awarded nearly $308,000 to 42 organizations last year.
Saturday's nine-hour concert at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, 14 miles east of Pennsylvania's capital, is designed to reinforce the Farm Aid message.
Scheduled performers include Nelson and fellow Farm Aid board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, as well as Jamey Johnson, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Jack Johnson, ALO, Pegi Young and The Survivors, and Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real. Four of Willie Nelson's children - musicians Lukas, Micah, Amy and Paula - will join him on stage.
Farm Aid
Sundance To Honor
Roger Ebert
Critic Roger Ebert is receiving an award from Robert Redford's Sundance Institute for his support of independent cinema.
Sundance leaders said Thursday that Ebert will receive their Vanguard Leadership Award at a benefit for the institute June 5 in Los Angeles.
Redford says Ebert was one of the institute's first supporters when Sundance was founded in 1980 to support independent film.
The 70-year-old Ebert has been reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967 and was the nation's foremost movie critic on television on shows such as "Sneak Previews" and "At the Movies."
Roger Ebert
Takes Issue With Comments
Eddie Vedder
Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder isn't singing Republican Mitt Romney's praises.
Vedder said during a Thursday performance at a fundraiser for President Barack Obama that he was upset by Romney's caught-on-tape comments from last spring that 47 percent of Americans consider themselves victims and entitled to government help.
"It's very upsetting to hear a presidential candidate be so easily dismissive of such a ginormous amount of the population," Vedder told the Obama donors. He said if Romney were to win the White House, "none of those 47 percent of people would have a voice."
Vedder told the audience that he struggled as a young man and credited a government training program with helping him learn the skills he needed to become a security guard in San Diego, a job that helped support his rock 'n roll ambitions.
Eddie Vedder
Donates $30 Million
Steve Bing
"Shine a Light" producer Steve Bing has pledged $30 million to the Motion Picture & Television Fund, the fund said Thursday.
The donation goes toward MPTF Foundation chairman Jeffrey "Sparky" Katzenberg's campaign to raise $350 million for the fund.
The 90-year-old MPTF serves as a charitable organization provides services and financial assistance for entertainment-industry members in their time of need.
In July, actor Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne pledged $20 million to the non-profit organization. Media mogul Barry Diller also donated $30 million earlier this year.
The MPTF has faced tumultuous times in recent years, with its long-term care unit facing closure at one point. Now free from the fear of closure, the facility recently began admitting new patients for the first time since 2009.
Steve Bing
Supporters Seeking US Sanctions
Pussy Riot
The husband of one of the imprisoned members of the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot is seeking U.S. sanctions against Russian officials involved in prosecuting the musicians.
Petya Verzilov met Thursday with lawmakers and aides involved in drafting legislation that would target Russian officials linked to human rights abuses. Verzilov is married to band member Nadia Tolokonnikova.
The punk band members were sentenced in August to two years in prison for performing an irreverent song mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn) inside Moscow's main cathedral.
Verzilov said he hopes the legislation could be used to pressure Russia to release his wife and others. He says they are afraid of having their bank accounts shut off.
Pussy Riot
Renewed For Season 5
"Tosh.0"
Comedy Central has renewed Daniel Tosh's highly rated "Tosh.0," months after the comedian ignited outrage with jokes about rape.
The show, the highest-rated and most-watched on Comedy Central, will be back for a 30-episode season 5 in 2013.
"Tosh.0" begins its fourth season on Tuesday, September 25, and is scheduled to air its 100th episode on Tuesday, November 27.
"Tosh.0"
Opens New Resort In Macau
Sheldon Adelson
U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson (R-Bebe) opened his latest resort in Macau on Thursday, adding to a string of casinos in the world's largest gambling destination that has helped the high-profile donor to the U.S. Republican party earn most of his multi-billion dollar fortune.
Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp and its Macau unit, Sands China Ltd, presided over the opening of his Polynesian-themed casino and Sheraton Macau hotel, adding to his Sands Cotai Central property, which opened in April.
The new casino can only add new gambling tables starting in 2013 due to government regulations, so Adelson compensated by moving close to 200 tables from his existing Venetian and Sands Macau casinos.
The impact of Sands' fifth casino in Macau, the only place where Chinese nationals can legally casino gamble, will be relatively muted due to the lack of new tables, analysts said.
Sheldon Adelson
LA County Film Permit
"Desert Warriors"
The makers of an anti-Muslim film that sparked violent protests had a one-day permit to shoot parts of the movie at a Los Angeles County ranch and were allowed to use animals and fire.
In the document released Thursday by FilmLA, the group that handles permits for the county, the movie later known as "Innocence of Muslims" is listed as "Desert Warriors" and its production company as Media for Christ.
A $1,195 permit allowed a shoot at Blue Cloud Ranch with 20 actors and 20 crew. Also allowed were the use of animals within regulations and burning torches and barrels to "simulate a building on fire."
Names of the producer, director and others were redacted before the permit was released.
"Desert Warriors"
Judge Denies Request
Cindy Lee Garcia
A judge Thursday refused to order YouTube to take down the film trailer that has inflamed the Muslim world, rejecting a plea from an actress who says she was duped into appearing in the project.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin rejected the request from Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appears in the clip, in part because the man behind it was not served with a copy of the lawsuit. Also, Garcia wasn't able to produce any agreement she had with filmmakers, Lavin said.
The judge also cited a federal law that protects third parties from liability for content they handle.
The judge's ruling means the 14-minute trailer for "Innocence of Muslims," which has been blamed for sparking deadly violence, can continue to be viewed online.
YouTube, which is owned by Internet search giant Google, has blocked users in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt from viewing the clip. It also has blocked the video from being viewed in Indonesia and India because it violates laws in those countries.
Cindy Lee Garcia
Arrested In West Texass
Fiona Apple
Singer-songwriter Fiona Apple has been arrested for hashish possession at a West Texas town after a Border Patrol drug-sniffing dog detected marijuana in her tour bus.
Hudspeth County sheriff's office spokesman Rusty Flemming says Apple spent Wednesday night in the county jail and was released Thursday on a $10,000 bond.
Fleming says Apple "had a little tiny amount of pot and hash." Fleming says marijuana possession in small amounts is a misdemeanor, while hashish in any quantity is a felony in Texas.
The Sierra Blanca checkpoint inspects thousands of vehicles daily and sends the town thousands of drug cases yearly. Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and actor Armand Hammer have been arrested in Sierra Blanca on marijuana charges.
Fiona Apple
Hate Crimes
Amish
A federal jury on Thursday convicted an Ohio Amish sect leader and 15 of his followers on federal hate crimes charges in connection with several beard- and hair-cutting attacks on Amish people that shocked the state last fall.
Samuel Mullet Sr. and each of his followers were found guilty on multiple charges for the attacks on nine Amish men and women. The jury in federal court in Cleveland began deliberating last Thursday.
Prosecutors contended the crimes were motivated by religious disputes between Mullet, the leader of a sect in Berholtz, Ohio, and other Amish religious leaders who had accepted into their communities people Mullet had excommunicated from his.
The defendants each face a minimum of 210 months in prison. The defendants who were out on bond during the trial will remain so. Others, including Mullet were being held without bond.
Amish
Universal Pulls Director
"47 Ronin"
Universal has pulled the editing of Japanese epic "47 Ronin" from its director Carl Rinsch as the budget of the project has ballooned to $225 million, individuals close to the project told TheWrap.
The troubled 3D megaproduction has been taken over by Universal co-chairwoman Donna Langley, who is now overseeing the editing of the movie instead of the director, one of those individuals said.
The movie wrapped up a series of reshoots in London about one week ago, the purpose of which was to recapture key close-ups of lead actor Keanu Reeves and put him back in the center of the action in the film's most climactic scene.
"47 Ronin" fictionalizes one of Japan's most legendary samurai tales, the story of a group of 18th century warriors who aim to avenge their master's death. Reeves, in his first starring role in a tentpole project since "The Matrix" trilogy, plays the lead in a mainly-Japanese cast.
The cost of Rinsch's tale has now climbed past $225 million, an individual with knowledge of the production told TheWrap. Factoring in both the budget and the millions the studio will spend to market the film, Universal would need more than half a billion dollars at the global box office just to break even.
"47 Ronin"
Unveils Islamic Art Wing
Louvre Museum
The Louvre Museum is unveiling a new wing and galleries dedicated to the arts of Islam, culminating a nearly €100 million ($130 million), decade-long project coming to fruition amid tensions between the Muslim world and the West.
The new dragonfly-shaped building marks the famed Paris museum's greatest development since its iconic glass pyramid constructed 20 years ago. The Department of Islamic Art will exhibit much of the Louvre's 18,000 works, hoping also to foster cultural understanding.
Mosaics from the Damascus mosque and a 15th-century Mamluk porch are among works spanning from 632 to 1800 A.D. Donors included Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Saudi Prince Waleed Bin Talal's foundation.
The Louvre opened a department of Islamic art in 2003, under former President Jacques Chirac, who said he wanted to highlight the contributions of Muslim civilizations on Western culture. Chirac, who vigorously opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, constantly pushed for the idea of a "dialogue of cultures" to break down the misunderstandings between the West and the Muslim world.
Louvre Museum
Painting To Auction
Edward Hopper
An oil painting of a Cape Cod autumn scene by Edward Hopper - one of the last paintings by the American artist remaining in private hands - will be offered for sale in November for a pre-sale estimate of $8 million to $12 million, Christie's auction house said Thursday.
"October on Cape Cod" will be sold on Nov. 28 as part of Christie's American paintings sale, and will coincide with a major retrospective of Hopper's work at the National Galleries of the Grand Palais in Paris, opening in October.
Hopper's "Hotel Window" currently holds the record for the artist. It sold for $26.8 million in 2006 at Sotheby's.
Christie's noted that painting had a pre-sale estimate of $10 million to $15 million.
Edward Hopper
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; $4,410,146; $88.62.
2. (3) Roger Waters; $2,346,983; $111.70.
3. (2) Coldplay; $2,294,022; $83.31.
4. (4) Cirque du Soleil - "Michael Jackson: The Immortal"; $1,751,151; $111.32.
5. (5) Dave Matthews Band; $1,464,839; $55.63.
6. (7) Phish; $1,166,104; $54.45.
7. (9) Enrique Iglesias / Jennifer Lopez; $1,114,513; $79.70.
8. (8) "Gigantes Tour" / Marc Anthony / Marco Antonio Solis / Chayanne; $1,098,839; $105.25.
9. (11) Jason Aldean; $725,612; $37.60.
10. (10) Brad Paisley; $648,225; $39.16.
11. (12) Iron Maiden; $634,286; $55.04.
12. (13) Rascal Flatts; $623,763; $35.64.
13. (New) Journey; $530,058; $60.64.
14. (New) Def Leppard / Poison; $511,058; $63.35.
15. (14) One Direction; $460,853; $41.13.
16. (16) Wiz Khalifa / Mac Miller; $454,817; $26.14.
17. (15) Lady Antebellum; $444,992; $43.27.
18. (17) "Vans Warped Tour"; $440,373; $31.87.
19. (18) Il Divo; $361,634; $85.90.
20. (19) John Mellencamp; $345,769; $78.74.
Concert Tours
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