Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Smart thief caught on cam (YouTube)
Clever ad.
Apollo 10 Earthrise footage set to 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' cue from 2001 'A Space Odyssey' (YouTube)
"What's more awesome than move special effects? The real thing! This footage of Earthrise over the moon was taken from the Apollo X mission in 1969. All it needed was the proper soundtrack." -- Neatorama
Top Ten Cutest Photos of 2011 (Cuteoverload.com)
This morning, we checked the Xtreme Cute Overload Stat-o-Meter™ which tracks every post, checks the amount of screeching per image, and reports back. Then we know we got ya. Based on that metering system, and without further ado, here are the Top Ten Photos of 2011.
ALISON ZAVOS: Amazing Landscape Photographs Resemble Traditional Chinese Paintings
"The late Don Hong-Oa was born in China and lived in Vietnam and the United States. He practiced a particular form of photography that realistically mimicked traditional Chinese ink drawings. It's like the inverse of photorealisic painting." -- Neatorama
Marc Dion: I Wish I Was in the Land of Sloughin' (Creators Syndicate)
Which leaves Romney with the best chance, since the last few presidents have all reminded me of Chamber of Commerce presidents. That is not a compliment. Chamber of Commerce presidents are built to lobby the local city council on behalf of "TED'S-BUY-HERE-PAY-HERE USED CARS," which is having trouble renewing its license due to back taxes owed. They are not built to lead nations.
Ted Rall: Our Suicidal Ruling Class
America's corporate rulers and their pet politicians know that people are furious. They understand that their actions and policies are accelerating the pace of income inequality and creating a growing, permanently alienated underclass.
Lenore Skenazy: What the Well-Dressed Religious Fanatic Will Be Wearing (Creator Syndicate)
"Basically, demanding that women dress more and more modestly is a form of bullying," says Candace Talmadge, Dallas-based author of the "Green Stone of Healing" series of novels, which explores a corrosive theocracy. "Society still has ambivalent feelings about women's role, so it's a great place to start making demands," Talmadge says. If and when those demands are met, the leaders feel emboldened to make further demands, because now they have a "track record" of success.
Dana Milbank: Mitt Romney out of control (Washington Post)
If this is Mitt Romney's idea of a victory rally, one shudders to think what would have happened if he had lost the Iowa caucuses.
David Bruce: The Kindest People: Heroes and Good Samaritans (Volume 3) (Free Download)
In August 2011, actor Keanu Reeves was riding a subway in New York City. He noticed that a woman did not have a seat, and he gave up his seat for her. Also doing a good deed were the New Yorkers. They had to have recognized the famous actor but did not bother him. (One person did unobtrusively videotape him from a distance, hence the evidence of his good deed.
David Bruce: My Smashwords
Many free books of good deeds. Scroll down.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
M Is FOR MASHUP - January 4th, 2012
TV QUIZ - RESULTS
By DJ Useo
Howdy y'all. I trust the new year is already a big improvement.
I ain't gonna take up too much of your time, but I do have a quick fun tv quiz that wont task the brain & is just perfect for the early-year mindstate we are all adjusting to.
Simply tell us the relevance of each television show picture.
01 - Who lives in this house?
The Cleavers - Leave It To Beaver
02 - What show does this man speak on?
Monty Python's Flying Circus
03 - What town is this?
Mayberry, North Carolina - The Andy Griffith Show
04 - Who lives in this house?
The Addams Family
05 - Who performs behind this wall?
Eddie Deezen - The Weird Al Show
06 - Why do these people look so strange?
The viewer (Kitty Foreman) is intoxicated on mary jane - That 70s Show
07 - Who is wearing these rather jazzy sunglasses?
Corporal Max Klinger - M*A*S*H
08 - Name this tv show announcer & the show he is in.
Chester - The Sifl & Olly Show
09 - Who is this guy with his brain in a bowl?
Brain Guy.- Mystery Science Theater 3000
10 - What is Curly dreaming about?
A terrible toothache - The 3 Stooges
11 - What show advertises this bizarre product?
Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job!
12 - Name this rarely seen tv show employer & the show he is on.
Mr. McMann of McMann & Tate - Bewitched
13 - What did PFC Gomer Pyle just blow up?
Sgt. Hacker's kitchen - Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.
14 - Who works making what in this factory?
Laverne & Shirley make beer at the Shotz Brewery on Laverne & Shirley
~~~~~
Results
Adam was first and had 6 correct:
1 The Cleavers, but that seems wrong
2 Monty Python's Flying Circus
3 LA? Phoenix? Kansas?
4 The Munsters
5 ???
6 Eric Forman is high (close enough)
7 Corporal Klinger
8 I'm thinking Lambchop, but Lambchop never looked that crude. Other than that, I don't know.
9 One of The Observers
10 Being chased by himself
11 Tim and Eric- Awesome Show Great Job!
12 I know it's not Charlie...
13 The Mess Hall. The Motor Pool. HQ? I don't know...
14 Laverne & Shirley making beer.
These are kind of hard/obscure. I knew about 1/3 right off, and only answer another third with a lot of intensive googling. The remaining I was at a complete loss for.
~~~~~
Ann C was 2nd, and had 8 correct:
1. The Cleavers
2. Monty Python's Flying circus
3. Mayberry, NC
4. The Addams family
5. Tom Cruise
6. Because Eric Foreman is high (close enough)
7. Sarah Palin
8. David Gregory of Meet the Press
9. Newt Gingrich
10. Cheese
11. Tim and Eric Awesome Show
12. McMann of McMann and Tate on Bewitched
13. The mess hall
14. Laverne and Shirley and they make beer
~~~~~
Baron Dave (-- "A happy child is just an unhappy child who's having fun." -- Morticia, Addams Family)
was third, with 4 correct answers.
Hmm... I was holding back, hoping that inspiration would strike, but alas. I'm not going to look anything up. So here is:
01: Looks familiar, but can't place the house.
02: Well, Monty Python's Flying Circus, but that's probably not what you're looking for...
03: Mayberry
04: The Addams Family
05: Pee Wee Herman?
06: Those people are Republicans, bent out of shape trying to figure out where Mitt Romney stands at the moment.
07: I'm not going to bother with someone who drinks and smokes.
08: Hmmm.... Shari Lewis? Conan O'Brien? Morning Joe with Joe Scarbororough?
09: A Twilight fan
10: He's dreaming about a wiseguy, eh?
11: Who Wants To Be A Cancer Patient
12. The Millionaire? I forget his name.
13: The Sgt's car, or something like that.
14: Laverne & Shirley bottle beer.
Happy New Secular Year, Marty and BCE peoples.
~~~~~
Gary in PA was 4th, and had 5 correct:
1 might be the beaver
2 monty python's flying circus
3 mayberry
4 mockingbird lane munsters ?
5
6
7
8 kukla fran ollie the only sock puppets i know
9 mst 3000 ?
10
11
12
13
14 laverne & shirley beer
~~~~~
Dave in Tucson was fifth, with 4 correct:
1. I have no idea.
2. Monty Python's Flying Circus?
3. Mayberry.
4. The Addams Family.
5. Jessica Rabbit?
6. Because Red and Hyde are being seen through a very stoned Kelso's eyes. One of the funniest episodes of That 70's Show. (close enough)
7. I have no idea.
8. I have no idea.
9. I have no idea.
10. A Menage a' Stooge with Larry & Moe?
11 thru 14. I have no idea.
Is this response #3 even though it's pretty lame? (no, it's the 5th!)
~~~~~
Redlake was 6th, with 11 (!) correct:
I'm not sure we're working off the same calendar for Sunday, 9 January, but I'll give it a try. (Ack! Thanks for catching that!)
01 - The Cleaver family--Ward and June Cleaver, Wally Cleaver, and Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver in the series "Leave it to Beaver."
02 - "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
03 - Mayberry, North Carolina, in the shows "The Andy Griffith Show," and "Mayberry R.F.D."
04 - "The Addams Family"--Gomez and Morticia, children Wednesday and Pugsley, various extended family members and servants.
05 - Can't tell--they're behind a wall.
06 - Recreational use of a natural intoxicant by Eric Forman in "That '70s Show." (close enough)
07 - The sunglasses look like Dame Edna Everage, but I think of her as being taller.
08 - NChester from "The Sifl and Ollie Show."
09 - I don't know, and I'm not sorry.
10 - Curly is dreaming about his toothache, in "I Can Hardly Wait."
11 - A niche product from the Cinco catalogue, it's advertised exclusively on "The Tim & Eric Awesome Show."
12 - That is Darrin Stephens' boss, Mr. McMann, on "Bewitched."
13 - Gomer, preparing dinner unsupervised, has managed to blow up the stove.
14 - Laverne and Shirley work on this beer bottlecapping line at the Shotz Brewery on "Laverne & Shirley."
~~~~~
And, DanD was 7th, with 3 correct:
Number 1: Beaver Cleaver?
Number 2: Ru Paul's extravaganza?
Number 3: Mayberry RFD?
Number 4: The Addam's Family?
Number 5: A really ugly person ... ?
Number 6: They just watched a Republican debate ~ ?
Number 7: Elton John's gay poodle?
Number 8: One of Larry Flynt's bastard children?
Number 9: Newt Gingrich's debate trainer?
Number 10: Going to bed and dreaming?
Number 11: Home Improvements?
Number 12: The Love Boat?
number 13: His reputation as a stand-up comedian?
Number 14: ... Homer Simpson making non-alcholic beer.
Thanks, everybody!
Bosko Suggests
Tallest Trees
Have a great day,
Bosko.
Thanks, Bosko!
wrote:
answered:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny but much cooler.
70th Birthday
Stephen Hawking
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking was too ill to attend a conference in honor of his 70th birthday Sunday, but in a recorded message played to attendees he repeated his call for humans to colonize other worlds.
University of Cambridge Vice Chancellor Leszek Borysiewicz told the conference that Hawking, who is almost completely paralyzed because of Lou Gehrig's disease, had only recently been discharged from the hospital for an unspecified ailment.
In his recorded speech, Hawking pleaded for interplanetary travel, arguing that humans faced a grim future unless they spread out from their terrestrial home. "I don't think we will survive another thousand years without escaping beyond our fragile planet," he said.
Hawking's speech - delivered in his distinctive, robotic monotone - charmed the audience of scientists, students and journalists gathered at Cambridge's Lady Mitchell Hall.
Borysiewicz didn't say when Hawking was hospitalized or specify the nature of his condition, but he did say that Hawking would be well enough to meet some of the attendees over the next week.
Stephen Hawking
Baby News
Blue Ivy Carter
Singer Beyonce has given birth to a baby girl in New York, local media reported on Sunday.
The widely anticipated first child of the international star and R&B singer, 30, and rap mogul Jay-Z, 42, whose real name is Shawn Carter, was delivered late on Saturday in a private wing of Lenox Hill Hospital, according to the Daily News.
The singer, whose hits include "Beautiful Liar" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)," showed off her pregnancy on stage earlier in the year at the MTV video awards, performing her song "Love On Top" and telling the audience to stand up. "I want you to feel the love that's growing inside of me," she said then.
Blue Ivy Carter
Draws Bird Watchers
Falcated Duck
A rare duck normally only seen in Asia has somehow turned up in California, drawing excited bird watchers from all over the U.S. and Canada to a wildlife refuge in the state's Central Valley.
Wildlife officials say a male falcated duck, a bird common in China, was first spotted at the refuge on Dec. 8.
Since then, thousands of birders have observed it paddling among mallards, pintails and geese, said Lora Haller, who works at the Colusa Wildlife Refuge's visitor center. More than 2,000 cars packed with visitors have streamed into the refuge over the last month - double the usual visitor numbers.
Most falcated ducks breed and live in China, and smaller populations live in Japan, North Korea and South Korea. The ducks can also sometimes be found in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, Haller said.
The celebrity bird has a silvery plumage with iridescent green and bronze on its head. "Falcated" or "curved and tapering to a point" refers to the male duck's long wing feathers near the body that overhang onto the tail.
Falcated Duck
Saturday Night
Cartoons
Long known for its Sunday night cartoons headlined by "The Simpsons," Fox is planning to offer new animated material late on Saturday nights and on an experimental new digital channel.
The network said Sunday that the new effort will be led by Nick Weidenfeld, the former head of program development for the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim series. The cable network has run a popular series of late-night cartoons on weekdays that has successfully reached a young male audience that TV executives consider valuable and elusive.
Saturday's 90-minute cartoon block would begin at 11 p.m. ET. Fox hasn't programmed aggressively in late nights and hopes the new series will provide some competition for NBC's "Saturday Night Live," said Kevin Reilly, Fox entertainment president. It will start in January 2013.
Cartoons
Announces Musician Lockout
New York City Opera
A bitter contract dispute has led to a lockout of musicians at the New York City Opera, a possible "death knell" for a company that's nurtured such singers as Renee Fleming, Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills.
On Sunday, hours after talks broke down, the cash-strapped company canceled Monday rehearsals for a Feb. 12 opening production of Verdi's "La Traviata" in Brooklyn.
"This is a very sad day for what once was a spectacular cultural icon and for the people who performed its music," said Alan Gordon, national executive director of the American Guild of Musical Artists representing the chorus, stage directors and principal singers.
Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians represents the orchestra. Both unions have been without a contract since the spring.
New York City Opera
Movie To Begin Shooting
'24'
Fans of Jack Bauer have something to look forward to. A movie based on the old Fox propaganda series "24" is scheduled to begin shooting this spring.
Actor Kiefer Sutherland said Sunday that he expects to go to work on the movie in late April or May. Sutherland played Bauer, the centerpiece on the pulse-quickening fantasy adventure series that ended its television run in 2010.
Even with the movie ahead of him, Sutherland is already working on a new Fox propaganda series. "Touch" features him as the father of a super-intelligent son. Fox will offer a sneak preview of the show Jan. 25 before it joins the network schedule in March.
'24'
Changing Views
Civil War Museums
Inside Louisiana's Civil War Museum, battle flags line the walls. Uniforms, swords and long-barreled guns fill museum cases beside homespun knapsacks, dented canteens and tiny framed pictures of wives that soldiers carried into battle.
In the back, there's a collection devoted to Jefferson Davis, one-time president of the Confederacy, complete with his top hat and fancy shoes at the spot where his body once lay in state.
It's all housed in a little red stone building next door to the bigger and much more heavily visited Ogden Museum of Southern Art and near the National World War II Museum. Yet 150 years after the Civil War, the little museum finds itself struggling - like others both in the North and South - to make changes and stay relevant with new generations.
For some museums, that means more displays on African-Americans or exhibits on the roles women played as combatants and spies. For others, it means adding digital maps and electronic displays to attract tech-savvy youth for whom the war holds no memories. Or it may simply mean adopting a wider, more holistic approach to the war - without taking sides.
But it's not always easy for museums to update their exhibits because of the high costs, curators say. And some would-be visitors' dollars are kept away by the perception that southern Civil War museums are one-sided - or even racist.
Civil War Museums
Billionaire Gives $5 Million
Noot
A Las Vegas billionaire has contributed $5 million to an independent group backing Newt Gingrich, breathing new life into the former House Speaker's struggling campaign for the GOP presidential nomination and casting renewed attention on the role of such groups in the 2012 contest.
A person familiar with the development said Sheldon Adelson, a casino mogul and longtime donor to Republican candidates, made the contribution Friday to Winning Our Future, a super PAC run by Gingrich allies. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Adelson is expected to contribute as much or more to the candidate who eventually wins the Republican nomination, be it Gingrich or one of his rivals.
Rick Tyler, a former top Gingrich strategist and spokesman for Winning Our Future, declined to comment on the donation, which was first reported by The Washington Post. Politico reported last month that Adelson was prepared to spend $20 million to help Gingrich.
A 2010 Supreme Court decision easing restrictions on corporate and individual spending laid the groundwork for these political action committees, or super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections as long as they do not coordinate directly with a candidate's campaign. The identities of those who contributed to super PACs in the second half of 2011 won't be reported until the end of January.
Republican-leaning super PACs played a significant role in the 2010 midterm elections, helping deliver the House to the GOP and boost the number of Republicans in the Senate. The 2012 contest is the first to test the influence of such groups in presidential politics.
Noot
Deer-Killing Disease
Northern Plains
White-tailed deer populations in parts of eastern Montana and elsewhere in the Northern Plains could take years to recover from a devastating disease that killed thousands of the animals in recent months, wildlife officials and hunting outfitters said.
In northeast Montana, officials said 90 percent or more of whitetail have been killed along a 100-mile stretch of the Milk River from Malta to east of Glasgow. Whitetail deaths also have been reported along the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers in western North Dakota and eastern Montana and scattered sites in Wyoming, South Dakota and eastern Kansas.
The deaths are being attributed to an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD. Transmitted by biting midges, EHD causes internal bleeding that can kill infected animals within just a few days.
Mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk and pronghorn also are susceptible to EHD, but it is particularly damaging to whitetail herds, animal health experts said. Livestock can be infected but typically show few symptoms.
Periodic outbreaks of EHD occur in whitetail herds across the country. Wildlife officials say the outbreak in the Northern Plains stands out for the high number of deaths and wide area affected.
Northern Plains
Fetches $1M At Auction
1793 Penny
A one-cent copper coin minted in 1793, the first year that the United States produced its own coins, has fetched $1 million at a Florida auction.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the final bid by an unknown buyer for the coin was one of the largest sales at the Florida United Numismatics coin show and annual convention.
The newspaper reported that the 1793 penny was sold at such a high price because it is rare and in excellent shape, showing no wear on its lettering, its Lady Liberty face or the wreath on its back.
1793 Penny
Weekend Box Office
'The Devil Inside'
The fright flick "The Devil Inside" scared up a monstrous $34.5 million opening weekend to help Hollywood exorcise its recent box-office demons, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The surprise hit from Paramount Pictures debuted well above industry expectations as horror fans crowded theaters for the low-budget tale about exorcists trying to free a woman possessed by evil spirits.
Between "The Devil Inside" and solid results for holdover films, Hollywood's business soared over the first full weekend of 2012 after a sluggish holiday season that ended a ho-hum year at the box office.
Paramount already is well into profit with "The Devil Inside," an independently produced movie that the studio bought for $1 million. It's the latest such low-budgeted horror acquisition for the studio, which bought "Paranormal Activity" cheaply and turned it into a $100 million sensation that was followed by two hit sequels.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Devil Inside," $34.5 million.
2. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," $20.5 million ($27.7 million international).
3. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," $14.1 million ($43.4 million international).
4. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," $11.3 million ($12.6 million international).
5. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," $9.5 million ($30.1 million international).
6. "War Horse," $8.6 million.
7. "We Bought a Zoo," $8.5 million.
8. "The Adventures of Tintin," $6.6 million ($5.3 million international).
9. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," $5.8 million.
10. "New Year's Eve," $3.3 million ($5.3 million international).
'The Devil Inside'
In Memory
Tony Blankley
Tony Blankley, a conservative author and commentator who served as press secretary to Newt Gingrich during the 1990s, when Republicans took control of Congress, has died. He was 63.
Blankley, who had been suffering from stomach cancer, died Saturday night at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, his wife, Lynda Davis, said Sunday.
In his long career as a political operative and pundit, his most visible role was as a spokesman for and adviser to Gingrich from 1990 to 1997. Gingrich became House Speaker when Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives following the 1994 midterm elections.
From 2002 to 2007, he served as editorial page editor of The Washington Times. In recent years, he also wrote a syndicated newspaper column and provided political commentary for CNN, NBC and NPR. He was also a regular panelist on "The McLaughlin Group."
Born in London, Blankley moved to California with his parents as a child and became a naturalized American citizen. He worked as a child actor in the 1950s, appearing in such TV shows as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Highway Patrol" and playing Rod Steiger's son in the movie "The Harder They Fall."
Blankley and Davis lived in Great Falls, Va. In addition to Davis, he is survived by three children.
Tony Blankley
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