Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Saving the Big 3 for You and Me ... a message from Michael Moore (michaelmoore.com)
Friends, I drive an American car. It's a Chrysler. That's not an endorsement. It's more like a cry for pity. And now for a decades-old story, retold ad infinitum by tens of millions of Americans, a third of whom have had to desert their country to simply find a damn way to get to work in something that won't break down: ...
Michelle Haimoff: My Uncensored Interview with Deepak Chopra (huffingtonpost.com)
"I have lived more years in this country than I have lived in India. My children are born here. They're citizens of this country as much as Obama is. And I get hate mail from tons of people, hundreds of people everyday saying, 'You should go back to India. You're a traitor. You're this or that.' It's an atmosphere that has been created for eight years. It does a great disservice in the United States to have that atmosphere. And I'm just feeling right now that opportunity to really test if we can speak our truth and not be afraid."
Martha Stewart: My Mother's Legacy (huffingtonpost.com)
It is impossible to overstate the impact of the loss of a beloved family member. But as great as the loss was, the impact of my mother's life was even greater.
Garrison Keillor: The perils of public passion
I've been trying not to think about the man and woman from Iowa who had sex in the men's room at the Iowa-Minnesota football game in Minneapolis a week and a half ago and to think about the environment instead, or the future of American fiction, but it is hard to put something like lavatory sex out of your mind.
"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell: A review by Jonah Raskin
When Malcolm Gladwell's first book, "The Tipping Point," was published in 2000, I made it required reading for students. I still assign it, and eight years later it's still a global best-seller. "Blink," his exploration of deliberate and instinctive thinking, didn't have the same electrifying effect on me, but it also became a best-seller and solidified Gladwell's reputation as a thinker who could write equally well about science and culture, technology and fashion.
Michael Weiss: Sincerity with a Motive (weeklystandard.com)
What David Foster Wallace taught us about television and fiction.
Jonathan Derbyshire: An American suicide (newstatesman.com)
There was no subject which David Foster Wallace could not write about. He was a hero to a generation. But struggled terribly with depression. This summer, he took his own life.
Marianne Schnall: SNL's Amy Poehler: Smart Girls Have More Fun (Huffington Post; Posted on alternet.org)
SNL star Amy Poehler talks about her new online TV series, "Smart Girls at the Party.'
Straight talking (guardian.co.uk)
Aida Edemariam talks to Eddie Izzard about his enduring belief in Labour, how he conquered the US and why he loves drama.
DREW FORTUNE: Will the Real Tony Clifton Please Stand Up? (popmatters.com)
Who knew that Andy Kaufman's alter ego didn't die with him. The current incarnation of Tony Clifton tells us much more than we need to know.
Will Harris: A Chat with Matthew McConaughey (bullz-eye.com)
... I was in "Dazed and Confused," and it's my first scene, the first take, and my character was about to pull into the Top Notch to go try and pick up on the red-headed intellectual. And they said, "Action," and I was really nervous, and I just went, "all right, all right, all right!" And it sort of became a lead-in to get me to relax, and it turned out to be Wooderson-esque, and it's a line that's stuck. So that's pretty cool.
Dresden Dolls fans have had a bellyful of their record label (guardian.co.uk)
Emine Saner reports on an online celebration of stomachs, after a singer had shots cut from her video.
Smart Girls at the Party
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The Holiday Movie Season Edition
Are you planning to go to the cinema and see one of the new 'Holiday Season' movies?
A. Yes! I avidly want to go see___________ with___________ (unless I go alone, that is, cuz I need some space or my partner hates what I want to see)...
B. No! I'd rather stay home and watch holiday classic movies and/or college football bowl games on TV. Besides, I'd rather wait until the movies come out on DVD than sit in a jammed packed theater listening to people's stupid cell phone ring tones and their inane conversations (or something like that, haha)...
C. Maybe... It depends on whether the whole 'holiday season' thing starts driving me crazy and I need to escape for a few hours, dagnabbit!... I might go see__________...(but, then again, I might just go to the bar)
'Fess up now, Poll-fans! The truth shall set you free!
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to BadToTheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
wrote:
Reader Comment
Artist Sia Kyriakakos
Marty,
I mentioned the artists in my family yesterday, or maybe the day before (BartCop Entertainment - Wednesday, 3 December, 2008). Here's some information on the most famous artist, my daughter-in-law, Sia Kyriakakos. She's a wonderful artist and deserves more attention in the US.
This is a Greek newspaper article (English edition)
This site shows a lot of her work.
And this is Sia with my granddaughter Maria
Peace
--Joe S
Thanks, Joe!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and a bit warmer.
We're on our annual pilgrammage to Sacramento for the marathon.
The big difference this year is I have a laptop.
Not quite used to it, and not sure what kind of connection I'll have, so it's an adventure in an adventure.
Woo hoo! Road trip!
Rolling Stones Insider Speaks
Altamont
December 6 is a day that will live in infamy in the annals of rock 'n' roll.
On that day in 1969, the Rolling Stones gave a free concert at the Altamont Speedway, east of San Francisco, and watched helplessly as their gesture of goodwill spurred random beatings and the fatal stabbing of a fan by a Hells Angels member.
Many commentators have dissected Altamont, generally blaming either the Stones, because they should have handled things better; or the Angels, because clubbing fans with pool cues is never a good idea.
In "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (Random House Australia), Cutler blames the disaster on "criminal cowardice" by the authorities. Law enforcement departments wanted the event to be a disaster to create a backlash against politically radical elements in the rock 'n' roll world, the British native said in a recent interview from his new home in Australia.
Altamont
Indictments In Boy's Death
Uzi
Three men, including a small-town police chief, were indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter counts in the gun-fair death of an 8-year-old who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi that a prosecutor said he never should have been allowed to handle.
The club where the fair was held also was charged. The fair had promised shooters would have certified instructors in an advertisement, but District Attorney William Bennett said the child, Christopher Bizilj, was supervised by an uncertified 15-year-old boy.
Christopher, of Ashford, Conn., lost control of the 9mm micro submachine gun as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin Oct. 26 at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in western Massachusetts.
Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was charged because he owns the sponsor of the gun fair, COP Firearms & Training. Two men who brought the automatic weapon to the show, Carl Guiffre of Hartford, Conn., and Domenico Spano, of New Milford, Conn., also were indicted.
Uzi
Supernova Established
Tycho Brahe
More than 400 years after Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe challenged established wisdom about the heavens by analyzing a strange new light in the sky, scientists say they've finally nailed down just what he saw.
It's no big surprise. Scientists have known the light came from a supernova, a huge star explosion. But what kind of supernova?
A new study confirms that, as expected, it was the common kind that involves the thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf star with a nearby companion.
The story of what's commonly called Tycho's supernova began on Nov. 11, 1572, when Brahe was astonished to see what he thought was a brilliant new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. The light eventually became as bright as Venus and could be seen for two weeks in broad daylight. After 16 months, it disappeared.
Tycho Brahe
Landmark West Hollywood Strip Club Burns
The Body Shop
A fire on Thursday burned through the roof of The Body Shop, a landmark West Hollywood strip club mentioned in a Motley Crue hit.
The blaze was reported at about 6:46 a.m. Thursday at the one-story club on Sunset Boulevard, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
It took about an hour to douse the fire, which was mainly confined to the attic, fire inspector Frank Garrido said. One firefighter suffered a minor injury.
The Body Shop, which has been in operation since the 1960s and bills itself as the longest running strip club in Los Angeles, is one of several clubs mentioned in the 1980s Motley Crue anthem to the strip clubs of America, "Girls, Girls, Girls."
The Body Shop
Charges Loom
Blackwater
Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians could face mandatory 30-year prison sentences under an aggressive anti-drug law being considered as the Justice Department readies indictments, people close to the case said.
Charges could be announced as early as Monday for the shooting, which left 17 civilians dead and strained U.S. relations with the fledgling Iraqi government. Prosecutors have been reviewing a draft indictment and considering manslaughter and assault charges for weeks. A team of prosecutors returned to the grand jury room Thursday and called no witnesses.
Though drugs were not involved in the Blackwater shooting, the Justice Department is pondering the use of a law, passed at the height of the nation's crack epidemic, to prosecute the guards. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 law calls for 30-year prison terms for using machine guns to commit violent crimes of any kind, whether drug-related or not.
Blackwater
Enters Not Guilty Plea
Don Cornelius
Former "Soul Train" host Don Cornelius has pleaded not guilty to spousal battery charges.
Court records show Cornelius entered the plea to five misdemeanor counts through his attorney Thursday.
The 72-year-old producer was arrested in October after police responded to a domestic dispute call at his Hollywood Hills home. He was charged last month with spousal battery, assault with a deadly weapon and dissuading a witness from making a police report.
Don Cornelius
Mattel Wins Permanent Injunction
Bratz
A federal judge in California on Wednesday ordered MGA Entertainment Inc to stop selling its popular Bratz dolls and banned it from using the Bratz name, finding that "hundreds" of Bratz products infringe on copyrights owned by rival toymaker Mattel Inc.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson also ordered MGA to recall all Bratz dolls from retailers and to destroy "specialized plates, molds and matrices" used to make the dolls, according to a permanent injunction issued late on Wednesday, but stayed until at least early next year.
The ruling appears to allow MGA and retailers to sell the Bratz dolls through the Christmas holiday season.
Bratz
Cutting Staff
Viacom
Viacom, the owner of MTV Networks and the Paramount movie studio, said on Thursday it will cut its workforce by about 7 percent, or 850 positions, underscoring the advertising slump afflicting most major media companies.
Viacom also plans to suspend salary increases for senior level management in 2009 and will write down the value of certain programing and other assets.
The cuts, which had been rumored for some time, come as Viacom's stock price has slumped about 67 percent this year, an even steeper drop than other media industry powers such as Time Warner and News Corp.
In addition to the broader advertising slump, Viacom's controlling shareholder and executive chairman Sumner Redstone faces a deadline to repay $800 million in debt associated with his main investment vehicle, National Amusements, by the end of the year.
Viacom
Muncie Police Department Reserve Officer
Erik Estrada
Erik Estrada has returned to Muncie to take part in overnight police patrols in the city where he starred in the short-lived reality series "Armed & Famous." The former star of the 1970s motorcycle cop drama "CHiPs" is a reserve officer on the Muncie Police Department.
The 60-year-old actor plans to work the midnight shift for three nights this week, patrolling city streets from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
He took target practice at the police gun range on Wednesday. On Saturday, he plans to help officers at a charity event.
Erik Estrada
Driven By Religion
Prop 8 Hate
Voters' economic status and religious convictions played a greater role than race and age in determining whether they supported the Nov. 4 ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage in California, a new poll shows.
The ban drew its strongest support from both evangelical Christians and voters who didn't attend college, according to results released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Age and race, meanwhile, were not as strong factors as assumed. According to the poll, 56 percent of voters over age 55 and 57 percent of nonwhite voters cast a yes ballot for the gay marriage ban.
People who identified themselves as practicing Christians were highly likely to support the constitutional amendment, with 85 percent of evangelical Christians, 66 percent of Protestants and 60 percent of Roman Catholics favoring it.
The poll also showed that the measure got strong backing from voters who did not attend college (69 percent), voters who earned less than $40,000 a year (63 percent) and Latinos (61 percent).
Prop 8 Hate
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Nov. 24-30. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:
1. NFL Football: Green Bay vs. New Orleans (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), ESPN, 8.47 million homes, 11.38 million viewers.
2. College Football: Texas vs. Texas A&M (Thursday, 8 p.m.), ESPN, 3.45 million homes, 5.56 million viewers.
3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.33 million homes, 5.04 million viewers.
4. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.13 million homes, 4.7 million viewers.
5. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Friday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.12 million homes, 4.44 million viewers.
6. "NCIS" (Monday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.09 million homes, 4.16 million viewers.
7. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Friday, 11 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.09 million homes, 4.08 million viewers.
8. Movie: "Home By Christmas" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), Lifetime, 3.02 million homes, 3.87 million viewers.
9. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3 million homes, 3.95 million viewers.
10. "Britney: For the Record" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 2.98 million homes, 3.76 million viewers.
11. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.96 million homes, 4.1 million viewers.
12. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Friday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.93 million homes, 4.18 million viewers.
13. Movie: "Moonlight & Mistletoe (Saturday, 9 p.m.), Hallmark, 2.92 million homes, 4.02 million viewers.
14. Movie: "The Santa Clause 2" (Saturday, 9 p.m.), Disney, 2.9 million homes, 4.38 million viewers.
15. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Friday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.87 million homes, 4.09 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Paul Benedict
Paul Benedict, the actor who played the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom "The Jeffersons," has died. He was 70.
Benedict was found dead Monday on Martha's Vineyard and his brother, Charles, said authorities were still investigating the cause of death.
Benedict began his acting career in the 1960s in the Theatre Company of Boston, alongside such future stars as Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.
Benedict went on to appear in a number of movies, including a role as the oddball director in "The Goodbye Girl" with Richard Dreyfuss. But he was mainly known for his role as Bentley in "The Jeffersons," which ran on CBS from 1975 to '85.
Paul Benedict
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