Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Health Care Panic, Again (New York Times)
Liberals favored health reform both because it would work and because it might enhance their ability to push for other policies; conservatives were and are determined to kill health reform even though it would work - in fact, precisely because it would work - because it might weaken the rest of their agenda. Basically, liberals wanted to do something good that would enlighten the public; conservatives want to prevent something good because they want to keep voters in the dark.
Paul Krugman: Republican Health Care Panic (New York Times)
"So will Republicans actually take us to the brink? If they do, it will be crucial to understand why they would do such a thing, when their own leaders have admitted that confrontations over the budget inflict substantial harm on the economy. It won't be because they fear the budget deficit, which is coming down fast. Nor will it be because they sincerely believe that spending cuts produce prosperity." - from July 2013
Paul Krugman: CEOs All at Sea (New York Times)
It's not just Fox News watchers who live in a bubble; sometimes, wealth and power can have the same effect.
Mark Morford: You will die itchy and a little fat (SF Gate)
… the only things that ever truly achieve such goals are the same as they've always been: Eat well, not too much. Exercise every day. Meditate. Have lots of sex. Get outside. Love like you mean it. Quit whining. Read a book. Never vote Republican.
Suzanne Moore: David Bowie's top-100 reading list is virtually poetry in itself (Guardian)
From Yukio Mishima to George Orwell, Angela Carter, James Baldwin and Viz, the rock icon's top-100 book list has actually managed to make me love him even more.
The Wall Slid Down Again (Neatorama)
It's the architectural equivalent of the saggy pants fashion. Please get a belt. Your interior walls are showing.
Interpretaitve Dance (Neatorama)
Remember the viral "I Quit" video by Marina Shifrin, who quit her job at the Taiwanese animation company in style? She submitted her resignation video showing her dancing to Kanye West's "Gone". She claimed that her boss only cared about the quantity of pageviews the videos she produced got, not their quality.Well, her boss over at Next Media Animation has just responded ... by posting a video response …
Janice Joplin's Final Interview (Neatorama)
Village Voice journalist and radio personality Howard Smith interviewed Janis Joplin by phone on September 30, 1970. No one knew it would be her last interview, and four days later, the 27-year-old singer was dead. Now PBS Digital Studios presents that short interview in animated form.
Corpse Bride Cosplay (Deviantart)
Photo by Kafir. Rei-Doll as the Corpse Bride. Predator as Victor.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E. Suggests
Modern Travel
David
Thanks, Dave!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Team Coco
Conan
CONAN: Visit A Park That's Unaffected By The Shutdown
Yellowstone might be shuttered right now, but the scenic beauty of El Paseo de Cahuenga Park is open to all.
(Available in Select Nations Only)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Marine layer hung around way past lunchtime.
NBC Grand Prize
"Space Race"
NBC is planning a competition show with a grand prize that's out of this world: a ride into space.
The network said Thursday it is teaming with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and veteran TV producer Mark Burnett on "Space Race," a competition where the winner gets a ride on the space liner that is expected to begin commercial flights sometime next year.
"The term 'trip of a lifetime' has for once been delivered on," said Paul Telegdy, NBC's president of alternative and late-night programming. "This will be a remarkable experience for anyone who has looked at the night's sky and dared to dream of space flight."
Virgin has been testing its rocket-powered space vehicle this year, with pilots reaching a height of 69,000 feet on a Sept. 5 flight that landed in the Mojave Desert near Virgin Galactic's facility there. Virgin has said the goal is to begin commercial flights next year, with Branson and his family taking the first ride.
"Space Race"
'The Simpsons'
Guillermo Del Toro
Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro is bringing his dark, ghoulish style to Fox's long-running animated series "The Simpsons" on Sunday, when his take on popular monsters and villains will be featured in the show's opening sequence.
In the "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Del Toro directed the 2-1/2 minute opening sequence in which the Simpson family runs from evil forces overtaking their town and back to the comfort of their couch in front of the TV.
Police chief Clancy Wiggum becomes a giant Cyclops inspired by the creations of Ray Harryhausen, a pioneer of movie visual effects; baby Maggie chases after Milhouse in a sleek black car, which Del Toro said he modelled on his favourite horror B-movie, 1977's "The Car;" and father Homer becomes a nuclear mutant.
Del Toro said there are about 30 to 40 direct horror film references in his opening, including Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film "The Birds" and his own 2006 film "Pan's Labyrinth," which closes out the sequence. In total, there are nearly 100 subtle homages to iconic moments from the genre.
Guillermo Del Toro
Cast Gets Mannequin Treatment
'Scandal'
"Gladiators in suits" is the term for the characters of ABC's "Scandal" who work for Kerry Washington's character, Olivia Pope, but Wednesday in New York it was all about gladiators in stores.
Cast members gathered for both a party and the unveiling of mannequins inspired by their characters in the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue.
"It's thrilling," said Washington, who curated the installation with the television show's costume designer, Lyn Paolo. "When I landed at one in the morning I came straight here from the airport because I was dying to see the final product from all these phone calls and brainstorming sessions, and it's really thrilling."
Washington and actor Scott Foley even stepped inside the window displays to check out their mannequins, much to the delight of those passing by who quickly started snapping photos.
'Scandal'
Chinese Billionaire Plans To Rebuild
Crystal Palace
A Chinese billionaire said on Thursday he planned to spend 500 million pounds ($810 million) rebuilding London's Crystal Palace, a huge glass and steel building that captivated the world before it burned down almost eight decades ago.
Ni Zhaoxing, chairman of the ZhongRong Group real estate investment firm, hopes to recreate the 19th century palace that was the world's largest glass structure before it was destroyed in a fire in 1936 that could be seen across London.
The original Crystal Palace was designed by Joseph Paxton to host the 1851 Great Exhibition, held when Britain sought to awe other nations with spoils from its empire and the wonders of industrialization.
Originally located in Hyde Park, it was moved to south London in 1854, and Ni now wants to build a replica there to the original dimensions of about 500 meters (1,640 ft) long and 50 meters high.
Crystal Palace
13 Members Indicted
Anonymous
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted 13 members of the Internet hacking group Anonymous for allegedly carrying out cyber-attacks worldwide, including targets that refused to process payments for WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website founded by Julian Assange.
The U.S.-based members of Anonymous are accused of zeroing in on the computers of governments, trade associations, law firms, financial institutions and other institutions that oppose the philosophy of Anonymous to make all information free for everyone, regardless of copyright laws or national security considerations.
The indictment filed in federal court in Alexandria, Va., says that from September 2010 to January 2011, Anonymous members participated in a campaign they called Operation Payback, using software known as the Low Orbit Ion Cannon to flood websites with huge amounts of Internet traffic to shut them down.
Anonymous focused on websites that were either critical of WikiLeaks or had refused to process payments for WikiLeaks, among them MasterCard and Visa. The targets even included the Swedish prosecutor's office, in connection with arrest warrants for sexual crimes issued for Assange.
According to the indictment, Anonymous then moved against others such as ACS:Law, a British law firm helping clients to protect intellectual property rights; Anti-piracy.nl, the website for the BREIN foundation, a Dutch trade association fighting intellectual property theft; and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft.
Anonymous
Indian Re-Make Of '24'
Jack Bauer
American action hero Jack Bauer is set for an Indian makeover later this week as the hit series "24" undergoes its first foreign adaptation featuring one of Bollywood's biggest stars.
Stepping into the shoes of Los Angeles-based anti-terrorism fighter Bauer -- played by Kiefer Sutherland in the original -- is "Slumdog Millionaire" star Anil Kapoor as Indian agent Jai Singh Rathod.
Ahead of the television premiere on Friday night, Kapoor said the writers of the show had retained the backbone of the original -- in which each season covered 24 hours in the life of Bauer -- but with a definite Indian twist.
"The flesh and blood is Indian. In India we are definitely much more melodramatic and conservative," Kapoor, who also produces the series, told AFP while ruling out any of the lavish song-and-dance routines for which Bollywood is famous.
He leveraged his contacts and understanding of the US show to obtain the rights for the Hindi remake -- put together with just five percent of the US budget, yet making it one of the most expensive shows on Indian television.
Jack Bauer
Fans Face 'Divine Retribution'
Elton John
A leading Russian Muslim cleric warned Thursday that fans who attend upcoming concerts by openly gay singer Elton John face divine punishment, after the star spoke out in support of Russian gays.
"The only thing we can do as believers is to call the people not to give into the temptations of the devil and not attend Elton John's Russian concerts," Seidzhagfar Lutfullin, the imam of a mosque in the Volga city of Kazan told the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily.
"Divine retribution for taking part in a hotbed of sodomy will fall both on those who attend the concert and those who perform there," said the cleric from the Zakaban mosque in Kazan, a city with a large ethnic Tatar Muslim community.
John is set to perform concerts in Moscow and Kazan in December. He told Britain's Guardian newspaper last month that as a gay man he felt he had to go and support Russian gay people despite uncertainty about his reception.
Elton John
Dress Code Protest
University of Kaposvar
Students and a professor at a university in southern Hungary took off their clothes in class to protest the new dress code introduced by the institution's president.
Thursday's protest by around 10 male and female students and their speech instructor at the University of Kaposvar's arts school was prompted by rules announced this week including a ban on dresses showing too much cleavage, miniskirts, excessive makeup and flip-flops.
Some of the students undressed down to their underwear, while other seemed to be naked in a video of the protest posted online by a local news site.
Students said they plan to continue their protest and attend classes in flip-flops and beach towels on Monday.
University of Kaposvar
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) Taylor Swift; $2,789,937; $84.88.
2. (2) Kenny Chesney; $2,564,447; $76.71.
3. (3) Beyonce; $1,680,005; $113.64.
4. (4) Phish; $1,590,139; $50.54.
5. (5) Justin Bieber; $1,237,129; $80.67.
6. (6) Dave Matthews Band; $1,138,232; $57.56.
7. (7) Jason Aldean; $1,084,344; $47.22.
8. (8) Bruno Mars; $1,029,185; $70.03.
9. (New) "Honda Civic Tour" / Maroon 5 / Kelly Clarkson; $895,674; $47.71.
10. (9) Michael Buble; $887,667; $82.24.
11. (11) New Kids On The Block; $709,942; $59.64.
12. (10) Rush; $697,666; $72.32.
13. (New) Luke Bryan; $674,316; $37.38.
14. (New) John Mayer; $658,798; $49.42.
15. (12) Blake Shelton; $655,010; $35.38.
16. (14) Brad Paisley; $622,244; $43.13.
17. (13) Rascal Flatts; $593,931; $37.31.
18. (15) Miranda Lambert; $468,732; $35.51.
19. (16) Widespread Panic; $376,802; $46.44.
20. (New) Train; $364,132; $31.90.
Concert Tours
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