from Bruce
Anecdotes
Live Television
• Cliff Robertson stayed true to the character of Charlie Gordon, the main character of Daniel Keyes’ story “Flowers for Algernon.” In the story, a mentally retarded man undergoes a medical procedure that makes him a genius for a while before he slips back into mental retardation. Of course, that ending is powerful, and of course, many Hollywood types wished to change that ending to a sappy ending in which Charlie retains his genius. In the television version (before the later movie version), Cliff Robertson was supposed to look at a copy of Paradise Lost, which the character Charlie had lost the ability to read, and then act surprised — as if he could read it and his genius ability was returning. However, when the time came, despite orders to make the ending happy, Mr. Robertson played the scene without the sappiness. And since the television version — on The U.S. Steel Hour — was live, no one could make him re-shoot the scene. (Of course, Mr. Robertson was told that he would never work on TV again, but after rave reviews and an Emmy nomination poured in, he started hearing congratulations, not threats.)
• The very first guest of Edward R. Murrow’s live TV show Person to Person was Dodger catcher Roy Campanella. The show debuted on Saturday, Oct. 2, 1953, the day that the Dodgers were playing in the third game of the World Series. Following a rehearsal that Friday, Mr. Murrow joked, “All you have to do, Roy, is hit a home run tomorrow and then come on in my first show.” That Saturday, in the eighth inning, when the score was a 2-2 tie, Mr. Campanella hit a home run to drive in the winning run. His appearance on Person to Person made an impressive debut for what turned out to be a long-running TV series.
• On live TV, mistakes did happen. For example, in the “Better Living Through TV” episode of The Honeymooners, Jackie Gleason plays the Chef of the Future while advertising a modern gizmo on TV. At the end of the scene, Jackie accidentally hit a flat that had been painted to represent a wall. The “wall” fell down, Jackie fell down, then Ed Norton (played by Art Carney) fell down, and today you can view the whole scene during the re-runs. Even the accidents were recorded when you were doing live TV. Fortunately, the audience thought the accident was hilarious.
Meetings
• In 1971, David Davis and Lorenzo Music were asked to present an idea for a new TV series at CBS. When they met with CBS executive Alan Wagner, Mr. Music remembers, “We said that our idea was — that we didn’t have an idea.” Mr. Wagner replied, “I like it — tell me more.” This was a wise answer, for Mr. Davis and Mr. Music created The Bob Newhart Show.
• Carl Reiner, George Shapiro, and Allan Burns once held a meeting in a sauna, where of course they were naked and dripping with sweat. Mr. Reiner came up with a brilliant idea, and filled with enthusiasm, Mr. Shapiro turned to Mr. Burns and said, “Write that down!” Mr. Burns replied, “With what — sweat?”
Mishaps
• In the early days of television, Paul Ritts directed a program about dogs on a local station. He recognized that he had a problem even before the program aired — live — because the man who would host the program frequently used the word “bitch” to refer to female dogs. In fact, the program host was hard of hearing, so he spoke loudly — so loudly that during the course of their meeting Mr. Ritts received a telephone call from a female employee complaining about the language coming from Mr. Ritts’ office. Of course, Mr. Ritts explained to the TV host that broadcast standards would not permit the use of the word “bitch” on the air, and the TV host promised to try to restrain himself. And so he did, although during rehearsal he said “bit … female” twice and “bitch” three times. Fortunately, during the live broadcast he didn’t use the words “bitch” or “bit … female” at all. Unfortunately, during the live broadcast, a large dog bit one of the cameramen, and TV viewers at home saw the cameraman walking across the stage while dragging the dog — which still had its teeth in his leg. The cameraman was also yelling — “SON OF A B*TCH!”
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "La Danza de los Muertos"
Album: THE HAUNTED SHORES OF THE NORTH SEA
Artist: The Anacondas
Artist Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Record Company: North Sea Surf Radio
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Info:
“North Sea Surf Radio is a commercial free radio station funded by listener donations. The mission of North Sea Surf Radio is to make good quality surf music freely available worldwide 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
“This compilation features 13 classics from the Halloween Top 66, the list with the spookiest and most horrifying surf instrumentals broadcast by North Sea Surf Radio during Halloween weekend.”
Sidecar Bob, a fan, wrote, “Cool music and it supports North Sea Surf Radio.”
Price: €13 (EURO) for 13-track album by various artists; tracks cannot be purchased separately
Genre: Surf. Horror.
Links:
THE HAUNTED SHORES OF THE NORTH SEA
The Anacondas on Bandcamp
North Sea Surf Radio
Other Links:
Bruce’s Music Recommendations: FREE pdfs
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Florida Man
Wonderful take down of yet another deplorable Florida Man that DeathSantis has dug up:
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Very strange day - while running errands, got stuck in the beginnings of a police action that involved over 20 suvs, multiple ambulances, firetrucks, motorcyle cops - all with sirens & lights, got home to find a guy trying to break into the garage, then a few hours ago, someone was shrieking outside - half the neighbors showed up - turned out to be a kid pitching a grand slam hissy.
All things considered, I prefer boring days.
‘Black-ish’
Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama is set to make her mark on ABC’s Black-ish as the former First Lady is set for a guest star spot when the comedy returns for its eighth and final season in 2022.
The series, created and executive produced by Kenya Barris, will continue to tell stories that shine a light on current events through the lens of the Johnson family, including the global pandemic, voting, systemic racism, and the movement for social justice and equality.
She is set to appear as herself, however details about when she will drop by the Johnson’s world have not been revealed.
Black-ish stars include Anthony Anderson as Andre “Dre” Johnson, Trace Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, Yara Shahidi as Zoey Johnson, Marcus Scribner as Andre Johnson Jr., Miles Brown as Jack Johnson, Marsai Martin as Diane Johnson, Laurence Fishburne as Pops, Jenifer Lewis as Ruby, Peter Mackenzie as Mr. Stevens, Deon Cole as Charlie Telphy, Jeff Meacham as Josh and Katlyn Nichol as Olivia.
Michelle Obama
Rupert's Alternate Facts
Alternate Reality
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) called out Fox News for plans to air a documentary on the January 6 insurrection, as she said that the network was giving its top rated host “a platform to spread the same type of lies that provoked violence” on that date.
Carlson introduced the trailer on Wednesday, with plans to debut the three-part series on the Fox Nation streaming service starting on Sunday.
In the trailer, there is a suggestion that the January 6 attack on the Capitol was a “false flag” operation. In the trailer, one of the talking heads is heard saying, “False flags have happened in this country … one of which may have been January 6th,” as images of the unrest on that date are shown. Politifact has called that claim baseless and false multiple times.
Among those who also called out the trailer was Geraldo Rivera, the Fox News personality, who called its claims of false flags “Bulls—.”
Rivera told The New York Times about his tweet, “The record to me is pretty damn clear, that there was a riot that was incited and encouraged and unleashed by Donald Trump.” He declined to say whether he would call in Fox News to reconsider plans to show the special.
Alternate Reality
Adds 455 New Words
Merriam-Webster
Amirite, or amirite? As the world evolves, words follow, which is why Merriam-Webster has added 455 new ones to the dictionary this month.
TBH, many have emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic that has shaped so much of people’s lives over the past 20 months.
In 2020, the English word of the year was not surprisingly “pandemic.”
This year, “digital nomads” who want to avoid “super-spreader” events where they might incur a “breakthrough” infection can circle the globe with their “vaccine passports” and hopefully avoid “long Covid.” And Merriam-Webster says that’s all OK, as far as the new winning Scrabble words go.
As uncertain as such a life might be, there’s a fresh menu of dishes highlighted in the latest dictionary additions that can help ease transitions into a post-pandemic world, although some may be wary of developing a “dad bod.” (Yes, that’s in there, too).
The new words are grouped into categories for online culture and communications, the coronavirus, tech and science, pop culture, medicine, politics and food.
Merriam-Webster
Barred From Attending
Morgan Wallen
An asterisk appears next to the two nominations Morgan Wallen has for this year’s American Music Awards. Scroll down far enough and you can find the meaning for that asterisk: It sounds like they’re all but posting his picture at the stage door.
“Morgan Wallen is a nominee this year based on charting,” reads a statement attributed to MRC Live & Alternative. “As his conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity (performing, presenting, accepting).”
The statement goes on to suggest that they’re leaving the door half-open, but still aren’t satisfied with the statements the country superstar made since he was caught saying the N-word on video in March.
It also offers an explanation of why the AMAs, as an awards show with nominations based on data and not qualitative judgments, did not feel there was any way to leave Wallen out of his rightfully earned nominations.
But, it also notes, “The AMA winners are voted entirely by fans” — which leaves the door wide open for a pair of Wallen wins, since he the most popular album of the year so far in any genre, and its massive success has been unaffected by the shame heaped on him by large swaths of the music industry.
Morgan Wallen
$17 Million
Damages
A federal jury awarded $17 million in damages on Wednesday to the family of a mentally disabled man who was fatally shot by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer inside a Costco in Corona.
The jury's verdict came a day after U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal found that Officer Salvador Sanchez used excessive and unreasonable force in June 2019 when he shot and killed 32-year-old Kenneth French. The shooting followed a brief confrontation between the two men in line to sample sausages.
After four hours of deliberations Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Riverside, the jury of six women and two men found that Sanchez acted within the scope of his LAPD employment when he fired 10 shots at the French family. That finding effectively made the city of Los Angeles liable for damages.
Russell French, who lost a kidney, his gallbladder and part of his intestines, was shot on his back right side, and his wife was shot in the lower back, Galipo said.
The couple's son was shot in the right lower back, the left lower back, the buttocks and the left arm, he said. The trajectory of all the bullets was back-to-front in all three bodies, he said, and four bullets did not hit anyone.
Damages
US Returns Antiquities
India
U.S. authorities returned about 250 antiquities to India on Thursday in a long-running investigation of a stolen art scheme.
The items, worth an estimated $15 million, were handed over during a ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York City. The centerpiece is a bronze Shiva Nataraja valued at $4 million, authorities said.
The ceremony stems from a sprawling probe by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The investigation has focused on tens of thousands of antiquities allegedly smuggled into the United States by dealer Subhash Kapoor, who has denied the allegations.
Authorities say Kapoor — jailed in India and facing charges there pending a U.S. extradition request — used his Arts of the Past gallery in New York to traffic looted treasures from India and various countries in Southeast Asia. The investigation has resulted in the recovery of 2,500 artifacts valued at $143 million and convictions of six Kapoor co-conspirators, Vance said.
The Shiva Nataraja bronze was sold by the mother of Nancy Wiener, a gallery operator who pleaded guilty in the case this month to charges of conspiracy and possession of stolen property, authorities said. Nancy Wiener sold looted items to major museums in Australia and Singapore, they said.
India
Lake Tuz Dries Up
Turkey
For centuries, Lake Tuz in central Turkey has hosted huge colonies of flamingos that migrate and breed there when the weather is warm, feeding on algae in the lake’s shallow waters.
This summer, however, a heart-wrenching scene replaced the usual splendid sunset images of the birds captured by wildlife photographer Fahri Tunc. Carcasses of flamingo hatchlings and adults scattered across the cracked, dried-up lake bed.
The 1,665 square kilometer (643 square mile) lake — Turkey’s second-largest lake and home to several bird species — has entirely receded this year. Experts say Lake Tuz (Salt Lake in Turkish) is a victim of climate change-induced drought, which has hit the region hard, and decades of harmful agricultural policies that exhausted the underground water supply.
“There were about 5,000 young flamingos. They all perished because there was no water,” said Tunc, who also heads the regional branch of the Turkish environmental group Doga Dernegi. “It was an incredibly bad scene. It’s not something I can erase from my life. I hope I do not come across such a scene again.”
Several other lakes across Turkey have similarly dried up or have receded to alarming levels, affected by low precipitation and unsustainable irrigation practices. Climate experts warn that the entire Mediterranean basin, which includes Turkey, is particularly at risk of severe drought and desertification.
Turkey
Artificial Vision
Brain Implant
A 'visual prosthesis' implanted directly into the brain has allowed a blind woman to perceive two-dimensional shapes and letters for the first time in 16 years.
The US researchers behind this phenomenal advance in optical prostheses have recently published the results of their experiments, presenting findings that could help revolutionize the way we help those without sight see again.
At age 42, Berna Gomez developed toxic optic neuropathy, a deleterious medical condition that rapidly destroyed the optic nerves connecting her eyes to her brain.
In just a few days, the faces of Gomez' two children and her husband had faded into darkness, and her career as a science teacher had come to an unexpected end.
Then, in 2018, at age 57, Gomez made a brave decision. She volunteered to be the very first person to have a tiny electrode with a hundred microneedles implanted into the visual region of her brain. The prototype would be no larger than a penny, roughly 4 mm by 4 mm, and it would be taken out again after six months.
Brain Implant
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