from Bruce
Anecdotes
Husbands and Wives
• Before Janine Dunn married country and western singer Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn fame, he was married to someone else, and he told Janine, “I’m headed for divorce.” Because she did not want to get involved with a married man, she replied, “When that happens, call me.” Later, she was in the fiction section of a bookshop when a man who thought of himself as a psychic told her that she would love a tall and rangy man. Janine and her mother thought about whom such a man could be, and the only tall and rangy man Janine knew was Ronnie Dunn. Janine told her mother, “It would be a cold day in h*ll before I’d marry him.”
• When she was in high school, Al Gore’s wife, Tipper, used to play drums in an all-girl band called the Wildcats. It’s no wonder that Secret Service agents gave her the code name “Skylark” when her husband was Vice President. By the way, sometimes, in-laws can be pushy. For a while, Al Gore’s mother bought all of Tipper’s clothing until Al made her stop. Also by the way, media representatives tend to always be present around such politicians and their wives as Al and Tipper Gore. In a comic protest, Tipper once soaked a few reporters with a water pistol.
• Levi Yitzhak was a great believer and a great optimist who believed in being prepared. When his son was to be married, he sent out an announcement declaring that the wedding would be held at Jerusalem on a particular date at a particular time. The announcement then said, “But if, by chance, the Messiah will not yet have arrived, the wedding will take place on the same date and at the same time here in Berditchev.”
• Ellen Terry was a remarkably popular actress of the late 19th century. According to George Bernard Shaw, every theatergoer at one time or another fell in love with her. Agreeing, James Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, says that in the 1880s and 1890s, men sometimes proposed by saying, “As there’s no chance of Ellen Terry marrying me, will you?”
• Some country and western singers are very practical. For example, when one of Trace Adkin’s early wives (not Rhonda) shot him, one of the things he immediately thought about was that he had new carpet and he did not want to bleed on it. So he walked over to a tile floor, collapsed, and bled on the tile.
• In 1952, TV’s Mister Rogers proposed to his wife, Joanne, in an unusual way: he wrote her a letter. She was so excited by the proposal that she called him on the telephone to accept. (At one time, long-distance telephone calls were a lot more expensive than they are now.)
Illnesses and Injuries
• Disney will often invite young guests to be VIPs at such events as Disney ice shows. For example, in 2010, three-year-old Amber Saqib, a survivor of heart surgery, was a VIP guest at a Disney on Ice event in Newcastle, England. Performing on ice were characters from Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, The Lion King, Pinocchio, Toy Story, and more. As a VIP guest, Amber met Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Also attending the event were Amber’s mother, Leanne, as well as Leanne’s friend Joanne Stephenson, who is the mother of Amber’s best friend, three-year-old Maisie. Leanne said, “We’ve been looking forward to it almost as much as the girls. We knew we were coming four weeks ago but didn’t tell Amber until only about a week ago and she was so excited. She’s been looking through the program at all the different things she wants to see.” Amber’s heart operation was successful and probably saved her life; fortunately, her heart condition was diagnosed early. Leanne said about Amber, “She’s absolutely fine; she’s just gone from strength to strength. You would never know apart from her scar. She calls it her ‘magic zip.’ I was dreading the surgery, but it’s amazing to think how quickly she’s made a recovery. I was a wreck for months before, but now she’s come through the surgery it’s as if I feel like a new person, too.”
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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: "Newborn Blues"
Album: UPCITY
Artist: Calvin Newborn
Artist Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Record Company: Yellow Dog Records
Record Company Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Info:
“Guitar genius Calvin Newborn played on B.B. King's first recordings, taught Elvis how to dance, and tore up the Big Apple in the heyday of bop.”
“Yellow Dog Records carries the living lore of authentic American music into the present. Featuring new interpretations of Blues, Jazz, Soul, and Americana styles by established and emerging artists, Yellow Dog Records is where innovation confronts tradition. What's left after the collision? Inspired explorations of America's musical roots.”
Price: $10 (USD) for 10-track album; this track cannot be purchased separately
Genre: Blues
Links:
UPCITY
Calvin Newborn on Bandcamp
“Calvin Newborn” Wikipedia Article
Yellow Dog Records
Other Links:
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David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce's Blog #1
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Twofer
Andy Corbley: Top 10 Wins For the Planet in 2021 (Good News Network)
In 2021, green innovation continued at a pace that has typified the yet-young century, and goals and projects long pursued came to fruition.
Maintaining the health of the planet into the future relies on solving many problems, including the carbon emissions equation.
And beyond the headlines, the world really is, like Steven Pinker and others have claimed, getting better all the time.
Andy Corbley: Top 10 Wins For the Planet in 2021 (Good News Network)
Bruce's Recommendation: Betty Bowers
Other Links:
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
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David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
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
Over 2" more rain today.
Buckingham Palace
Elton John
Buckingham Palace didn't want Elton John to perform at Princess Diana's funeral, government documents released this week by the British National Archives showed.
John — who had been close friends with Diana — performed a reworked version of "Candle in the Wind," a song that was originally written in memory of Marilyn Monroe, at Diana's funeral in 1997. The singer-songwriter and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin changed the first line of the song from "Goodbye, Norma Jean" (Monroe's real name) to "Goodbye, England's rose."
But the contents of the archival government documents — which were first reported on by Sky News — said that senior members of the royal household believed the lyrics to "Candle in the Wind" were "too sentimental" for the occasion.
Westminster Abbey — the royal church where Diana's funeral took place — had a solo saxophonist on standby to perform the song in the event that the palace refused to allow John to perform.
In response, the Very Rev. Dr. Wesley Carr, the dean of Westminster Abbey at the time, personally appealed to the palace and argued that it would be "imaginative and generous" to the millions feeling "personally bereaved" if John performed.
Elton John
Maori Woman Makes History
Oriini Kaipara
Oriini Kaipara has made history after stepping in to anchor for Newshub Live at 6pm, a mainstream New Zealand news broadcast.
Kaipara is the first Maori woman with a moko kauae to present primetime news. She first caught attention in 2019 for anchoring TVNZ 1’s midday news bulletin — which was the first time someone on mainstream news bore a moko kauae.
A moko kauae is a chin tattoo that represents the service and leadership a woman has provided her whanau (extended family) and her community. It’s recognition of her status, abilities and commitment. Kaipara has had her moko kauae for the last three years.
“It’s really exciting. I’m really enjoying it,” Kaipara told New Zealand publication Stuff after her Christmas and Boxing Day appearances on Newshub Live. “I’m not speechless, but it’s a buzz. I am proud of how far I’ve come in being able to anchor 6 p.m. right now.”
Kaipara is bilingual and of Tuhoe, Ngati Awa, Tuwharetoa and Ngati Rangitihi descent. She previously worked as a documentary filmmaker but is more aware of her cultural impact of being in front of a national audience with her moko kauae.
Oriini Kaipara
‘Foreign Agents’
Pussy Riot
Russian authorities on Thursday designated a member of the Pussy Riot punk group, a satirist and an art collector as “foreign agents,” part of efforts to stifle dissent.
The Justice Ministry applied the label to Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a Pussy Riot member who became widely known for taking part in a 2012 protest inside Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral after which she spent nearly two years in prison.
Journalist and satirist Viktor Shenderovich and art collector Marat Gelman were also handed the label along with several other people.
The “foreign agent” label implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit recipients. Russian authorities have applied the designation to scores of media outlets, civil society groups and individuals, ratcheting up pressure on those who are critical of the Kremlin.
Those designated as “foreign agents” are required to add a lengthy statement to news reports, social media posts and other materials specifying that the content was created by a “foreign agent.”
Pussy Riot
Rails Against Rock Hall of Fame
Draft Dodger
One thing that probably all sides of a divided nation can agree on: Ted Nugent (R-Flaccid), for better or worse, is almost certainly never getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And the right-wing rocker says he’s fine with that , claiming he’d just as soon not be part of a hall that includes members he considers unworthy — a list that stretches to include Madonna, Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash and ABBA.
Who does Nugent think should be in the Hall of Fame, besides himself, if the judges were a little more discriminatory? Styx and Triumph, of course.
The thought of a pioneering hip-hop artist in the Rock Hall of Fame so upsets him that, in the interview published on KNAC.com, Nugent says it’s tantamount to urinating on the graves of rock’s original pioneers. “What a middle finger to the ‘real’ heroes of rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues to put in those other people,” he says. “Grandmaster Flash? Really? Why don’t we go down to Chuck Berry’s grave and piss on it?”
Nugent’s disdain for Democratic politicians and entertainers who fail to take as rightward a stance as his inevitably comes up throughout the interview.
He cites KIss’ Gene Simmons as someone ‘I love immensely as one of the true great musical entrepreneurs of all time. … but also my critical thinking responsibility must address that he dropped his independent thinking intellectual ball when he sided with the illegal, unfounded, tyrannical decrees from punks like Fauci and Joe Biden regarding masks and ‘experimental’ shots, when he has always stood up for his mother who survived Auschwitz…. He defied the truth, logic and commons sense of the Nuremberg Trials…. So Gene, I love you’ I can help you because you had a ‘hiccup.'”
Draft Dodger
'Disgrace'
Capitol Police
Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell in an interview with NPR called former Vice President Mike Pence (R-Tool)'s recent minimization of the January 6 Capitol attack a "disgrace" and "pathetic."
Gonell, who helped defend the US Capitol against a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up) as a joint session of Congress met to count the country's electoral votes, spoke about the troubles he'd dealt with in the year since the attack. That includes ongoing therapy for his mental health, injuries that prevent him from raising his left arm, and emotional trauma.
Speaking recently with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pence referred to the assault on the Capitol as "one tragic day in January," a description that the former vice president has used more than once.
"I'm not going to allow the Democrats or the national media to use one tragic day in January to demean the intentions of 74 million people who stood with us in our cause," Pence said. "And I'm not going to allow the Democrats to use one tragic day in January to distract attention from their failed agenda and the failed policies of the Biden administration. We're going to focus on the future."
That's despite the fact that several rioters were heard chanting "hang Mike Pence" as they stormed the Capitol. Trump later defended those calls in a March interview with ABC's Jonathan Karl, saying they were "common sense." He added: "Well, the people were very angry."
Capitol Police
‘Did Not Live Up to Editorial Standards’
BBC News
BBC News issued an apology after having lawyer Alan Dershowitz — who was named by Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre as one of the men Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell forced her to have sex with when she was underage — analyze the outcome of Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial. “Last night’s interview with Alan Dershowitz after the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict did not meet the BBC’s editorial standards, as Mr. Dershowitz was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst, and we did not make the relevant background clear to our audience. We will look into how this happened.”
After Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty Wednesday on five of six sex trafficking counts for her role in procuring young girls for her former boyfriend and serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to abuse, BBC News took to the airwaves to analyze the proceedings. And they brought on Alan Dershowitz, notably named by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre as one of the men (she has also claimed Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her) she said Epstein and Maxwell allegedly forced her to have sex with repeatedly when she was underage. Dershowitz has denied the allegations.
Introduced only as a “constitutional lawyer” by the BBC host without any further context or noting any conflict of interest, Dershowitz appeared to use the opportunity to defend his defamation countersuit while questioning Giuffre’s credibility.
“I think the most important thing particularly for British viewers is that the government was very careful who it used as witnesses,” Dershowitz said, alluding to his connection to the case, even though BBC did not. “It did not use as a witness the woman who accused Prince Andrew, accused me, accused many other people because the government didn’t believe she was telling the truth.”
The allegations Giuffre made against Dershowitz were part of Giuffre’s ongoing civil defamation lawsuit.
BBC News
Causing More Issues
Jet Stream
U.S. airlines are already understaffed because of COVID-19, and the weather isn't helping matters.
The jet stream winds have been unusually strong for several days, affecting transcontinental flights. Those going eastbound on Wednesday were arriving up to an hour earlier than scheduled, while westbound flights were slowed down, some delayed by as much as 45 minutes. Earlier this week, the headwinds were so strong that a Phoenix-bound American Airlines flight from Boston had to stop in Oklahoma City to refuel, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Richard Bann, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, told the Journal that winds of upwards of 230 miles an hour are being recorded over the Great Lakes, and the jet stream could remain elevated for a week. In order to ensure that flights coming in early and late aren't landing too close together, the Federal Aviation Administration said it is regulating departures.
Thousands of flights have been canceled in the last few days, due to snow in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest combined with staffing shortages caused by pilots, flight attendants, and other airline crew members testing positive for COVID-19. Flight Aware data shows Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has been hit the hardest, with Newark Liberty International, Chicago O'Hare, and Los Angeles International all experiencing above-average cancelation rates. As of Wednesday night, more than 500 flights have already been canceled for Thursday.
Jet Stream
Pulling The Plug
Germany
Germany will pull the plug on three of its last six nuclear power stations on Friday, another step towards completing its withdrawal from nuclear power as it turns its focus to renewables.
The government decided to speed up its phasing out of nuclear power following Japan's Fukushima reactor meltdown in 2011 when an earthquake and tsunami destroyed the coastal plant in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier.
The reactors of Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen C, run by utilities E.ON and RWE, will be shut down on Friday after three and half decades in operation.
The last three nuclear power plants - Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim II - will be turned off by the end of 2022.
The six nuclear power plants contributed to around 12% of electricity production in Germany in 2021, BDEW preliminary figures showed. The share of renewable energy was almost 41%, with coal generating just under 28% and gas around 15%.
Germany
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