Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Palm Ad - Business As Usual (YouTube; 31 seconds)
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Michael Moore: Last Thoughts Before the Turkey Comes Calling
As I head off for Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a final thought with you about this past week's news regarding the health care executives who sat around that table in Philadelphia four years ago and decided on a course of action to, if need be, "push Michael Moore off a cliff." … They were, in fact, scared of you. They were afraid YOU would end up pushing them over their own greedy cliff.
Tom Danehy: From the 'Civil Rights Amendment' to the 'Five-Year Plan,' it's all false advertising (Tucson Weekly)
Whatever happened to truth in advertising? People and institutions say and do odd things these days, and they try to cloak them in such obvious euphemisms. While it is certainly their right to do so, it is also the responsibility of everybody else to recognize and point out that behind the lipstick is a pig.
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN: U.S.G. and P.T.A. (New York Times)
If you want to know who's doing the parenting part right, start with immigrants, who know that learning is the way up. Last week, the 32 winners of Rhodes Scholarships for 2011 were announced - America's top college grads. Here are half the names on that list: Mark Jia, Aakash Shah, Zujaja Tauqeer, Tracy Yang, William Zeng, Daniel Lage, Ye Jin Kang, Baltazar Zavala, Esther Uduehi, Prerna Nadathur, Priya Sury, Anna Alekeyeva, Fatima Sabar, Renugan Raidoo, Jennifer Lai, Varun Sivaram.
Jim Hightower: WALL STREET TAKES ITS SOB STORY TO THE SUMMIT
This is at least a six-hankie story, so pull that box of tissues up close to you.
Hadley Freeman: Welcome to America, where you get yelled at when you arrive and felt up when you leave (The Guardian)
Fig-leaf underpants - the new weapon against America's airport body scanners.
Martha C. White: America's Looming Tourism Crisis (Slate)
How U.S. policies are driving away foreign visitors, and harming the American economy.
Bethany McLean: Unbudging Budget (Slate)
Why the federal deficit reminds me of Enron.
Charlotte Shane: Why I'm Happy I Became a Prostitute
Some of the nicest men I've ever met were my clients. We must move beyond cartoonish depictions of villainous, lustful men victimizing vulnerable women.
Interview by Laura Barnett: "Portrait of the artist: Andrea Bocelli, tenor" (The Guardian)
'Listen to what others say. If you're only singing to please yourself, you might as well just sing in the shower.'
Jamie Cullum: Dave Brubeck and me (The Guardian)
As jazz giant Dave Brubeck turns 90, Jamie Cullum salutes the man who was the soundtrack to his childhood.
Lucy Mangan: Oh, Buffy! I don't know whether to weep or cheer (The Guardian)
A new Buffy the Vampire Slayer film is to be made - without Joss Whedon. Can worshippers bear to watch?
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
And now, in keeping with the Holiday Season theme, I submit fer yer approval...
The 'Scope or Grope' Edition
"Resistance is Futile"
If you don't want to pass through an airport scanner that allows security agents to see an image of your naked body or to undergo the alternative, a thorough manual search, you may have to find another way to travel this holiday season. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is warning that any would-be commercial airline passenger who enters an airport checkpoint and then refuses to undergo the method of inspection designated by TSA will not be allowed to fly and also will not be permitted to simply leave the airport. That person will have to remain on the premises to be questioned by the TSA and possibly by local law enforcement. Anyone refusing faces fines up to $11,000 and possible arrest... $11,000 fine, arrest possible for some who refuse airport scans and pat downs - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
If you were (or are) planning to travel this Holiday Season, what's it gonna be?
1.) Scope
2.) Grope
3.) Car, train, bus...
4.) I'm stayin' home, Dagnabbit!
Send your response to
wrote:
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
BadtotheboneBob
Jeff Daniels
From Alaska to Ann Arbor, Jeff Daniels is making Michigan music
They hollered for an encore Friday at Latitude 62, but Jeff Daniels didn't let it go to his head. The lounge is in Talkeetna, Alaska, population 772, and the sellout crowd numbered about 50. "That's nice of you," Daniels said, "but really, what else is there to do?" Michigan's most accomplished resident actor did a three-city tour of Alaska last week - a man, a guitar, a very heavy parka. The week before, he was in Sioux Falls, Fargo, Duluth and then two lesser metropolises in Wisconsin, Chippewa Falls and Stoughton. Same concept (man and guitar), lighter jacket...
Why? Because, says the star... it's fun.
From Alaska to Ann Arbor, Jeff Daniels is making Michigan music | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny and unseasonally cold.
Costume Doesn't Sell
'Darth Vader'
Auctioneers overestimated the power of the dark side.
An original Darth Vader costume from a "Star Wars" movie did not sell at auction Thursday when no bidder offered to pay the reserve price, Christie's auctioneers said.
The outfit - a jet-black helmet, mask and armor - was expected to sell for between 160,000 pounds and 230,000 pounds ($250,000 to $365,000). The reserve price is confidential but generally it is just under the minimum expected price.
The costume is thought to have been made for "The Empire Strikes Back," the second film in George Lucas's sci-fi series, released in 1980.
'Darth Vader'
Warner Bros. Trademarks
Warner Bros
Sure, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" raked in an astounding $330 million worldwide in its opening weekend, but with "Part 2" coming next summer, Warner Bros. is facing the twilight of its magical franchise.
No fear. The studio still has lots of opportunity to milk its cash cow.
In a blog post entitled "Expecto Legalus" on Greenberg Glusker's website, attorney Dan Nabel points out that Harry Potter's favorite sport Quidditch has recently become an actual athletic event with a competitive circuit in New York City. Nabel examines whether Warner Bros. has any legal recourse to shut it down.
We already know that Warners isn't too keen on Harry Potter condoms. And it turns out that the studio has grabbed extensive trademark rights over "Quidditch."
"Quidditch"
Talks Break Down
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The first formal talks in two months between striking members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and management of the financially struggling organization have failed to end the discord.
Both sides issued releases Wednesday saying management increased its total compensation package by $1 million to $34 million during the three-year contract. The musicians say they countered with $38 million - a $1 million decrease from their previous proposal.
The musicians say they offered to further reduce wages in the first year. Management says it offered increased contributions to the players' pension plan and other work-rule modifications.
Management has withdrawn its new proposal and no further talks are scheduled.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Back On Display At Prado
Adam and Eve
A pair of oil paintings by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer depicting Adam and Eve at human scale went back on display at Madrid's Prado Museum Wednesday after a two-year restoration.
In a statement posted on its web site, the museum said the two works would be featured in a special exhibition display in order to draw public attention to the complex work done in both panels.
The restoration was undertaken by a team of international experts in a project coordinated between the Prado and the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles, it added.
The works were painted by Durer in 1507 in Nuremberg shortly after his return from Venice and they were clearly influenced by Italian art.
Adam and Eve
Chimney Fire
Heidi Fleiss
A Thanksgiving Day chimney fire has ravaged part of the Nevada home of former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
The 44-year-old Fleiss tells KVVU-TV she was at the house in Pahrump, west of Last Vegas, when the fire broke out, but was unharmed.
KVVU-TV reports the fire started in a chimney that lacked a "spark arrestor," a device that prevents sparks from escaping the fireplace.
It's unclear how much damage the house sustained, but a video released by celebrity website TMZ shows flames flowing from the roof.
Heidi Fleiss
Lawsuit Enters Dangerous Territory
"Hurt Locker"
Remember on the eve of the Academy Awards when a U.S. Army bomb disposal expert sued producers of "The Hurt Locker" claiming that the film ripped off his life story and defamed him?
The defendants in the case -- including distributor Summit Entertainment, production company Grosvenor Park, screenwriter Mark Boal, director Kathryn Bigelow, producer Nicolas Chartier and Playboy Enterprises (Boal's script was based in part on his Playboy article) -- could be a few steps away from defusing this litigation grenade.
Last week, New Jersey federal judge Dennis Cavanaugh ruled that the case should be moved to California District Court, where it has now been transferred.
Both California and New Jersey have laws that protect an individual's right of publicity -- crucial to Sarver's main claim. However, the biggest difference between the two states is that New Jersey has no "anti-SLAPP" statute, the law that gives defendants a quick recourse to essentially countersue for an attempt to stifle free speech. California, on the other hand, has a pretty strong anti-SLAPP statute, and it's been a popular tool of defendants fighting-right-of-publicity and defamation claims, such as the ones being exerted by Sarver in his lawsuit.
In other words, the U.S. soldier who claimed that "Hurt Locker" damaged him could now risk paying damages to the film's producers. Will Summit launch a counteroffensive to hopefully convince Sarver to retreat from his claims? The studio declined to comment.
"Hurt Locker"
Our Newest Ally?
North Korea
US conservative favorite Sarah Palin (R-Quitter) is choosing sides in the latest conflict pitting the two Koreas against one another, but a verbal slip-up saw her make an unexpected pick.
"Obviously, we've got to stand with our North Korean allies," she said Wednesday on the radio show of fellow conservative icon Glenn Beck (R-Cry Baby).
The host immediately corrected her and Palin repeated: "Yeah. And we're also bound by prudence to stand with our South Korean allies, yes."
Although it was clear Palin had an unfortunate slip of the tongue, it is the type of error the former Republican vice-presidential candidate must scrupulously avoid to dispel doubts about her credibility in a potential run for the White House in 2012.
North Korea
Grandmother's Prayer
Sarah Omar
US President Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother says she prayed during a hajj pilgrimage to Mecca for the American leader to convert to Islam, a newspaper revealed on Thursday.
"I prayed for my grandson Barack to convert to Islam," said Sarah Omar, 88, in an interview with Al-Watan Saudi daily held in Jeddah after she had performed hajj.
The paper said that Omar was in Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage along with her son, Obama's uncle Saeed Hussein Obama, and four of her grandchildren.
The family appeared to have been hosted by the Saudi government for hajj. Saeed thanked King Abdullah for his "kind hospitality," the paper said.
Sarah Omar
Europe Bans Baby Bottles
Bisphenol-A
Europe on Thursday banned baby bottles containing the chemical Bisphenol-A as of early next year over fears it may harm the health of children throughout the EU's half a billion population.
Parents across the European Union, the world's biggest open market, "can be sure that as of mid-2011 plastic infant feeding bottles will not include BPA", said John Dalli, commissioner in charge of health and consumer policy. "This is good news for European consumers."
The ban will see the "manufacture of polycarbonate infant feeding bottles with BPA" outlawed from March 1, 2011, and from June 1, 2011, "the placing on the market and the importation into the union of these bottles will be prohibited", the commission underlined in a statement.
The decision does not require the approval of the European Parliament, which in any case called in June for such a ban.
Bisphenol-A
Half Fetches Fortune
Syke Stamp
Half a rare German postage stamp which dates back to 1872 has fetched some 261,000 euros (220,500 pounds) at auction in the southern German town of Bietigheim-Bissingen, a spokeswoman for the auction house told Reuters on Thursday.
She said a German collector purchased the well-preserved half stamp, which originates from the northern German town of Syke, despite its hefty price tag because it was so rare.
"Stamps were in short supply in Syke between 1872 and 1874 so it was decided that they should be cut in half as a makeshift solution," she said. "But because this was only done for a short period, very few letters actually bear these halved stamps."
The stamp was particularly valuable because it was featured as the cover picture on a book written about Syke's collection of halved stamps by Rolf Rohlfs in 1982.
Syke Stamp
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