from Bruce
Anecdotes
Fathers
• In 2010, graphic designer Anthony Herrera took his family on a trip to Sequoia National Park. He and his little daughter are fans of the Star Wars series of movies, and Mr. Herrera told his little daughter that Sequoia National Park was where the Ewoks — the teddy bear-like species that appeared in Return of the Jedi — lived. His little daughter kept looking for Ewoks, but unfortunately, she did not see any. Mr. Herrera explained to her that the Ewoks are a shy species and therefore few people ever see them. He took lots of photos during the trip, and when they got home, he used Photoshop to add hidden Ewoks to some of the photos. In Mr. Herrera’s words, “After we got home, and after I had a little time alone with the photos, I told her I thought I saw something strange in a few pictures. We viewed them on the TV to get a larger image. You can imagine how surprised and excited she was when we discovered that we didn’t see any Ewoks, but they saw us, and had certainly taken an interest in her and her little brother. Maybe I’m a little wrong for lying to her and falsifying the pictures, but I don’t care. She’ll never forget the time she spent in the big woods with Ewoks.”
• Pablo Picasso first learned about art from his father, Don José Ruiz Blasco, who would take a real pigeon’s feet, pin them on a board, and have young Pablo draw them. Pablo also played a game with his young relatives. They would name an animal, and he would either draw it or cut it out of paper with scissors. Frequently, his father would start a drawing, then have his son finish it. When Pablo was 13 years old, he completed a drawing of a pigeon that his father had begun. His father looked at the drawing and realized that Pablo had surpassed him as an artist. Therefore, he gave his art supplies to his son and stopped creating art.
• Even at six months old, Tiger Woods was learning how to be a golfer. As Tiger sat in a highchair, his father, Earl, demonstrated to him how to hit golf balls. When Tiger was old enough to swing his first golf club — a putter with the top of the handle sawn off — he wiggled the club twice before hitting the ball, exactly as his father was accustomed to do. His father says, “His first swing was a perfect imitation of mine. It was like looking at myself in a miniature mirror.”
• When young-people’s author Jean Little was growing up, she liked to read and write, but her stories tended to be about elves, leading her father to advise her, “Write about what you know.” She immediately wrote a story about a father and a daughter — and elves. But she discovered that she enjoyed writing about the father and daughter more than she did writing about the elves.
Feminism
• At the very first modern Olympic Games in 1896, a woman named Melpomene wanted to compete in the marathon, but no women were allowed to compete back then. She ran anyway — not on the road the men ran on, but off to the side, so often she had no decent surface to run on. She finished one-and-a-half hours behind the winner.
• Celebrated female jockey Julianne Krone was sometimes asked, “How does it feel to be a girl jockey?” She always replied, “Let’s see, when I was a boy jockey it felt like that, and now that I’m a girl jockey it feels like this.”
Games
• Frank Benson was the manager of a traveling Shakespearean troupe and a lover of sports. He once sent a wire to an actor, asking, “Can you play Rugby tomorrow?” The actor wired back, “Yes,” and arrived the next day expecting in play in a Rugby match — and was startled to learn that Mr. Benson wanted him to play the character of Rugby in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Mary’s Boy Child"
Album: SANTA DONE GOT HIP
Artist: Harry Belafonte
Artists Locations: Various
Record Label: Moochin’ About
Record Label Location: England
Info: “Some of the best RnB, Soul, Blues classic Christmas tracks you'll ever hear!”
Price: Name Your Price (Includes FREE) for 50-track album by Various Artists
Genre: Christmas. Jazz. Novelty. Various.
Links:
SANTA DONE GOT HIP
Moochin’ About
Moochin’ About on YouTube
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Did Jesus Poop?
Hi Marty,
This would have a perfect accompaniment to the Daily Beast "Did Jesus Poop?" article:
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Season's Greetings! Season's Bleatings!
Dave in Tucson
Thanks, Dave!
Stephen Suggests
NW Washington Tidelands
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Steady rain most of the day and Frankie the shitten is quite annoyed.
Contestant Gets Audi Afterall
‘Wheel of Fortune’
Audi just outdid Lexus at Christmastime, and all it cost them was one Q3. By most accounts (beyond the game show’s very serious judges), “Wheel of Fortune” contestant Charlene Rubush was robbed on Tuesday’s final puzzle. Alex Jacob, who is no stranger to winning money on TV, led the social-media campaign to make it right. Just like his own 2015 “Jeopardy!” run, Jacob was successful.
On Tuesday, Rubush correctly solved the final “Wheel” puzzle, which was ironically “Choosing the Right Word,” before the show’s 10-second timer expired — but her reading of the phrase wasn’t up to host Pat Sajak’s strict standard.
At first, Rubush guessed “Choosing the Right Card.” Confident in the first three words (two of which were fully revealed), Charlene then said “Choosing the Right…” and paused for a few seconds before saying “Word!”
The *problem* was she did not say all four words of the puzzle smoothly within one continuous phrase. Rubush would have won an Audi Q3 SUV.
“You know, this one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘Word,'” Sajak said. “But as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous. We’ll allow for a little pause but not four or five seconds.”
‘Wheel of Fortune’
Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year
Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman was named the 2022 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals on Thursday, the first recipient of the award since 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bateman, an actor, producer and director on the Netflix series “Ozark,” who also played a starring role in “Arrested Development,” will be given his pudding pot at a roast on Feb. 3, the theater troupe said in a statement.
The last Man of the Year was Ben Platt in 2020. Past recipients include Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson.
Bateman, 52, earned a Primetime Emmy for outstanding directing in a drama in 2020 for “Ozark,” two SAG awards for acting in “Ozark,” and a best actor Golden Globe in 2005 for his portrayal of Michael Bluth in “Arrested Development.”
The Man of the Year Award has been handed out since 1967. Hasty Pudding’s Woman of the Year Award was established in 1951. The 2022 Woman of the Year has not been announced yet. The 2021 recipient was Oscar-winner Viola Davis.
Jason Bateman
Baby’s Lawsuit Meritless
‘Nevermind’
Nirvana’s legal team has finally responded to the lawsuit filed by the Nevermind baby this past summer, writing in a response filed Wednesday that Spencer Elden’s child pornography claims are both meritless and well past the statute of limitations.
In August, nearly 30 years after the release of Nevermind, the now-30-year-old Elden sued the band, Cobain’s estate, photographer Kurt Weddle, and record labels, claiming each “knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography,” and that they “failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation,” as well as claims of sex-trafficking.
Elden, who until recently had long embraced his fame as the Nevermind baby, “has suffered and will continue to suffer lifelong damages,” the lawsuit stated.
Nirvana’s lawyers filed their response to dismiss Elden’s lawsuit Wednesday (via Billboard), and while they noted that the accusations are largely meritless — like experts who spoke to Rolling Stone said about the lawsuit — the main (and disqualifying) issue is that, three decades after Nevermind, the statute of limitations on the allegations have long expired.
The lawyers also wrote that “The Nevermind cover photograph was taken in 1991. It was world-famous by no later than 1992. Long before 2011, as Elden has pled, Elden knew about the photograph and knew that he (and not someone else) was the baby in the photograph. He has been fully aware of the facts of both the supposed ‘violation’ and ‘injury’ for decades.”
‘Nevermind’
Rethinks Collecting From Widow
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton’s management said that the guitarist would not pursue the nearly $4,000 fine ordered against a German widow who attempted to sell a Clapton bootleg online.
Perhaps in an effort to quiet the uproar that followed Clapton’s team seeking legal action against a woman who put her dead husband’s unknowingly unauthorized CD on eBay, the guitarist’s management issued a statement to the guitarist’s fan club clarifying Clapton’s role in the situation, as well as why they pursued legal action in the first place.
As Clapton’s management explained, Germany “is one of several countries where sales of unauthorized and usually poor-quality illegal bootleg CDs are rife.” As a result, Clapton “and a significant number of other well-known artists and record companies” hired German lawyers in the region to restrict the sale of the bootlegs.
However, Clapton’s team have ultimately decided to take the high road. “When the full facts of this particular case came to light and it was clear the individual is not the type of person Eric Clapton, or his record company, wish to target, Eric Clapton decided not to take any further action and does not intend to collect the costs awarded to him by the Court,” his management said. “Also, he hopes the individual will not herself incur any further costs”; if Gabriele P. were to re-list the bootleg on eBay, she would face a fine of €250,000 or six months in prison, the judge previously ruled.
Eric Clapton
Trumps Bacon
Party Line
Davenport's 81-year-old Centennial Bridge across the Mississippi River creaks under the weight of tens of thousands of cars and trucks every day. Rust shows through its chipped silver paint, exposing the steel that needs replacing.
This city's aging landmark is among more than 1,000 structurally deficient bridges in the area. The tally gives Iowa's 2nd congressional district the dubious distinction of having the second-most troubled bridges in the country.
So, it struck some Iowans as strange when the district's Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted against a bill that would pour more than $100 million in federal money to repair and replace bridges into southwest Iowa. Miller-Meeks objected to majority Democrats' handling of the bill, never mentioning its contents, a common refrain from the minority that overwhelmingly opposed it.
Miller-Meeks and others are offering the procedural explanation, when really they are following the national trend of party loyalty, demonstrating the shift from the time-honored politics of bringing home the bacon, GOP observers said.
That’s due in part to former President Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up)’s still-heavy sway over the Republican Party. Trump called for party primary challenges for the 13 GOP House members who backed the infrastructure bill.
Party Line
Media Crisis
Democracy
This time last year, there was a cruel joke in circulation: The most spiteful year in recent memory would reset itself at midnight on Dec. 31, and we’d be forced to relive 2020 from the beginning.
Little did we know that 2021 would be hellbent on stealing the apocalyptic crown from 2020. Its opening number? A deadly attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol building and the rise of the Delta variant. Its closing salvo? Omicron and congressional hearings that have revealed that the calls to overturn the election results were indeed coming from inside the House.
To be fair, the D.C. press was already depleted, thanks to covering a new fresh hell every hour since 2016. Disproving disinformation (i.e., doing their job) made them targets of a president and a press arm that advocated violence. Who can blame them for breathing a sigh of relief when Joe Biden's presidential win promised them a respite of politics as usual. So as they reverted to politics-as-sportsball storylines — What will Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) demand next? What's going on with Vice President Kamala Harris' staff? — the ongoing attack against our democracy became the new, uncovered war in America media. Now, we no longer have to wonder what happens when one player of a two-party system devolves into extremism and takes a significant chunk of the media with it.
The problem is that “both-sides journalism,” as it's come to be called, has outlived the "fairness doctrine" that created it, which was abolished in 1987 under then-President Reagan. The careful, equitable reporting of "PBS NewsHour" and NPR remains a valuable public service, but in this age of extremes, the point-counterpoint structure is sorely out of step with the bombast of politicians like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and the fact-bending screeds of hangers-on like Rudy Giuliani.
Getting to the bottom of anything requires it having an actual bottom, and that's an issue in a parallel news universe where lifesaver Dr. Anthony Fauci is a demon, climate change is a hoax and ingesting horse dewormer is safer than a Pfizer shot in the arm. How does one logically debate the politicization of COVID-19 in a traditional talk-show forum without giving a platform to the very folks who’ve spun these deadly lies?
Democracy
Don’t Snicker
‘Herman Cain Award’
On Aug. 30, 2020, Herman Cain tweeted: “It looks like the virus is not as deadly as the mainstream media first made it out to be.”
Or at least his official Twitter account did. Because Cain had died of COVID-19 about a month before at the age of 74. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City was diagnosed nine days after attending a rally for Donald Trump’s reelection in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he and many attendees gathered indoors and notably refused to wear masks as the pandemic raged.
In the days after his death, the internet latched onto the irony of Cain’s demise as a result of his own imprudence, leading to the creation of the “Herman Cain Award” message board on the popular website Reddit. The progeny of the notorious Darwin Award is posthumously given to people who “have made public declaration of their anti-mask, anti-vax, or COVID-hoax views, followed by admission to hospital for COVID.”
Though Cain himself was responsible for propagating COVID-19 misinformation, he too was a victim. He became a mannequin on stage to garner approval for Trump — and upon his death, he was forgotten when the narrative of his conflicting death no longer fit that of the Republican Party. This begs the question: If the Republican Party could show such apathy to one of its own, what does that say about its concern for its constituents?
It could be argued that the moral justification of the Herman Cain Award is more valid in recent cases such as the passing of noted anti-vaccine televangelist Marcus Lamb, who used his platform to spread his harmful beliefs to others before falling victim himself. But what about those without a platform? What about those friends, family and community members who have been left to wander amid the chaos of misinformation and found themselves in the deep end?
‘Herman Cain Award’
Magnetic Fields
Tsunamis
Seconds count when it comes to tsunami alerts, and scientists may have found a warning sign that can be detected even earlier than sea level rises: the magnetic fields created by these gigantic rushes of waves.
Even though the difference might only be a minute or two, that can save lives. Magnetic field data could be incorporated into tsunami prediction and warning systems in the future, giving communities in danger more time to prepare and take evasive action.
While scientists have previously predicted that magnetic field disruption might be a useful factor in tsunami warning systems through the use of simulations, this disruption hasn't been measured alongside sea level increases during real world tsunami events.
The team looked at the collected data from two tsunamis: a tsunami in Samoa in 2009, and a tsunami in Chile in 2010.
The numbers confirmed that the magnetic field generated by the conductive waves of a tsunami arrives before the waves themselves, and that the field can be used to predict wave height.
Tsunamis
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