Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marc Dion: Parking on Lovers' Lane and Swapping Passwords (Creators Syndicate)
One of the latest in the mountain of studies produced by America's mighty study factories found that 30 percent of American teenagers who are online have swapped passwords with a boyfriend, girlfriend or friend.
Julie Hinds: Elmore Leonard's creation is a complex hero for the modern world (Detroit Free Press)
Staring down a no-good, gun-toting heir to a marijuana empire in rural Kentucky who's just thrown a dead rat at his car, Raylan Givens stands unfazed.
Jason Reitman: 'Growing up sucks, doesn't it?' (Guardian)
The director of 'Juno' and 'Up in the Air' tells Catherine Shoard why his latest film, 'Young Adult,' about an alcoholic, embittered ghostwriter, is far darker than his previous movies.
Hadley Freeman: Diablo Cody: devil's advocate (Guardian)
A pregnant schoolgirl, a housewife with multiple personality disorder and now a thirtysomething who won't grow up: Diablo Cody's characters may not be nice, but they're never boring.
Roger Ebert: Review of "Haywire" (Rated R, 3 stars)
I call the plot nonsense. Ask yourself this: How could any organization or "contractor" survive for long with the death rate we see here? At the end of a year, no one would be left alive, except a few mail-room clerks. Soderbergh seems to be amusing himself with the variety of his locations: Barcelona, Dublin, New Mexico, New York State and executive offices in unnamed cities. A film like "Haywire" has no lasting significance, but it's a pleasure to see an A-list director taking the care to make a first-rate genre thriller.
Roger Ebert: Review of "The Wages of Fear" (4 stars)
Four desperate men, broke and stranded in a backwater of Latin America, sign up on a suicidal mission to drive two truckloads of nitroglycerin 300 miles down a hazardous road. They could be blown to pieces at any instant, and in the film's most famous scene Clouzot requires them to turn their trucks around on a rickety, half-finished timber platform high above a mountain gorge.
Mark Hall-Patch: Heavy Metal Logos of Pop Bands
What if Britney or Bieber did heavy metal?
World Covers - Rolling In The Deep - Zapatou (YouTube)
"Luc Bergeron, known as Zapatou, mixed 71 different cover versions of the song "Rolling in the Deep" to make this video. There are a lot of talented young people on YouTube."--Neatorma
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."
wrote:
is still off taking even more pictures.
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Bosko Suggests
Superlatives
Have a great day,
Bosko.
Thanks, Bosko!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Windy and mostly sunny.
Shifts Awards To April Fool's
Razzies
Hollywood's award season is going to linger on through April Fool's Day this year.
Organizers of the Razzies have changed the schedule for their nominations and prize ceremony. The spoof on the Academy Awards picks the year's worst films.
The Razzies used to announce contenders the night before the Oscar nominations, which are coming Tuesday.
Razzies founder John Wilson announced Sunday that nominations this season will be released Feb. 25, the eve of the Oscar ceremony. Winners of the Razzies will be announced on April 1.
Razzies
Blindsided Outspent Hollywood On PiracySilicon Valley
The massive online protest last Wednesday, in which Wikipedia and thousands of other websites closed down or otherwise protested and helped to kill controversial online piracy legislation, was widely heralded as an unprecedented case of a grassroots uprising overcoming backroom lobbying.
Yet a close look at how the debate unfolded suggests that traditional means of influencing policy in Washington had its place too. The technology industry has ramped up its political activities dramatically in recent years, and in fact, has spent more than the entertainment industry -- $1.2 billion between 1998 and 2011, compared with $906.4 million spent by entertainment companies.
The latest chapter in what has become an epic, decades-long battle between the two industries over copyrighted digital content began innocuously enough. Hollywood movie studios, frustrated by online theft that they claim already costs them billions of dollars a year and will only get worse, in 2010 started pushing for a law that would make it possible to block access and cut off payments to foreign websites offering pirated material.
Through the end of September, Hollywood had outspent the tech industry 2-to-1 in donations to key supporters of measures it was backing. More than $950,000 from the TV, music and movie industries has gone to original sponsors of the House and Senate bills in the 2012 election cycle, compared with about $400,000 from computer and Internet companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Silicon Valley
Resigning
Gabrielle Giffords
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona announced Sunday she intends to resign from Congress this week to concentrate on recovering from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt a little more than a year ago that shook the country.
"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," the Democratic lawmaker said on a video posted without prior notice on her Facebook page.
"I'm getting better. Every day my spirit is high," she said. "I have more work to do on my recovery. So to do what's best for Arizona, I will step down this week."
Under state law, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R-Too Much Sun) must call a special election to fill out the remainder of Giffords' term, which ends at the end of 2012.
Gabrielle Giffords
Baby News
Beatrice Jean Howard-Gabel
Actress Bryce Dallas Howard and her husband, Seth Gabel, welcomed their second child on Thursday, with the baby girl's grandfather, filmmaker Ron Howard, announcing the happy news on Twitter.
"Beatrice Jean Howard-Gabel Born Jan 19 2012 8lbs 6oz Bryce & Baby B are spectacular Daddy Seth & brother Theo are beaming ear to ear :-)," the filmmaker tweeted Saturday evening.
Bryce Howard and her actor husband who appears on the series "Fringe" also have a 4-year-old son, Theo. Howard has spoken publicly in the past about her struggles with postpartum depression after his birth in 2007.
The most recent big-screen appearances for Howard, 30, were in "50/50" and as a member of the ensemble cast of "The Help." She also appeared in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." Her movie career began with uncredited bit parts in films by her director-producer father.
Beatrice Jean Howard-Gabel
Petition Launched
Chris Dodd
More than 10,000 petition signers are asking the White House to investigate comments made by MPAA chief executive Chris Dodd, who warned in an exclusive interview with Fox News that politicians who failed to back antipiracy legislation could see Hollywood dollars dry up.
Dodd's words, coming at the end of the week that saw two bills backed by the motion picture lobby -- the so-called PIPA and SOPA measures -- battered by nationwide protests and defections by formerly supportive politicians, amount to bribery, the petition claims.
"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake," Dodd said. "Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake."
The petition was initiated by the New York-based educational and research group We The People Foundation. It has amassed more than 10,000 signatures.
"This is an open admission of bribery and a threat designed to provoke a specific policy goal. This is a brazen flouting of the 'above the law' status people of Dodd's position and wealth enjoy," the petition reads.
Chris Dodd
Celebrity Hunting Program Criticized
Iowa
Some question whether Iowa needs to continue giving celebrities easy access to deer hunting in the state, but it appears unlikely that the promotional program will be scrapped.
The state program gives 75 celebrities, such as rocker Ted Nugent and former professional athlete Bo Jackson, an opportunity to buy a special out-of-state deer hunting permit each year. Other non-residents might wait years to buy a similar permit.
The celebrity program began in 1998 to help promote the state as a top hunting destination.
Iowa Bowhunters Association President Randy Taylor tells the Des Moines Register that he's not sure the state really needs the promotion now because deer hunters nationwide already consider Iowa a top spot to bag a trophy deer.
Iowa
Music Royalties At Issue
Jim Reeves
A trial over how music royalties of the late country singer "Gentleman" Jim Reeves should be split is set to begin this week.
Reeves was a country music sensation when he died nearly 50 years ago in a plane crash at the age of 39.
The two-day trial that begins Monday will focus on how much Terry Davis, who married Reeves' widow, should receive from royalties of up to $400,000 a year, The Tennessean reported.
Reeves is best known for the lyric "Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone" but he stayed on the charts from 1970 through 1984 because of how his widow, Mary Reeves Davis, managed his posthumous career. His most popular songs included "He'll Have To Go" and "Welcome To My World."
Terry Davis has been locked in a battle with Reeves' nephew and niece since Mary Reeves Davis died in 1999.
Jim Reeves
Sundance Debut
"Invisible War"
Rape in the American armed forces is an issue that has quietly been gathering attention over the past decade. But it exploded with the power of suppressed fury at the Sundance festival's Friday afternoon screening of the documentary "The Invisible War," a devastating indictment of the government's inaction on the issue.
Director Kirby Dick brought a powerful weapon to his film: victim after eloquent victim, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, Army and Air Force veterans who were assaulted by fellow officers, supervisors or recruits.
They tell their stories in courageous detail, and it quickly becomes clear that these are not isolated incidents but a pattern reflective of a widespread rot within America's military institution, one that betrays its essential values.
The individuals Dick chose as the principal characters in his film -- there were so many to choose from -- were among the best of their class. They were women (and in some cases, men) who joined the military out of devotion to country and a desire to serve.
Every woman in the film has had her life shattered by this event -- not necessarily because of the rape, but because of the response by the military establishment.
After lodging complaints, the women were met with indifference or targeted retaliation. They have had to leave the military. Some were threatened with violence.
"Invisible War"
Repeal Of Legislative Immunity Proposed
Arizona
An Arizona senator gets in a fight with his girlfriend on a Phoenix freeway and avoids arrest. An Arkansas legislator leads officers on a high-speed chase through two counties and doesn't get taken into custody. A Georgia lawmaker claims he couldn't be prosecuted on a DUI charge.
In each case, a little-known privilege called legislative immunity that prevents the arrests of legislators while they are in session came into play.
The issue is getting a closer look in Arizona this year after a lawmaker introduced a resolution seeking to amend the state Constitution to delete wording barring the arrest of legislators during, and 15 days before, legislative sessions. Like those in many other states, Arizona's legislative immunity protects legislators from arrest except for "treason, felony or breach of the peace."
The National Conference of State Legislatures says most states have similar legislative immunity provisions in their constitutions. Members of Congress technically have the protection as well, but it has been so narrowly interpreted by the courts that U.S. lawmakers gain no real benefit from it.
Arizona
Sold At Auction
Kennedy Hearse
A Cadillac hearse that carried the body of President John F. Kennedy to Air Force One following his assassination in Dallas was sold at a Scottsdale, Ariz., auction for $160,000.
The car was sold at Barrett-Jackson auction company's annual Scottsdale collector car auction. The price does not include fees paid to the auction company, which usually add about 10%.
A Cadillac hearse like this would ordinarily be worth about $40,000 if not for its connection to the Kennedy assassination, said Jonathan Klinger of the collector car insurance company Hagerty Insurance.
Still, the price paid for this car was surprisingly close to that paid last year for an ambulance that, while purportedly also connected to the Kennedy assassination, was saddled with controversy.
Kennedy Hearse
Weekend Box Office
"Underworld Awakening"
Kate Beckinsale is back with a vengeance, with her latest "Underworld" movie opening at No. 1 this weekend.
"Underworld Awakening" made an estimated $25.4, distributor Sony Screen Gems reported Sunday.
Opening in second place was "Red Tails" from executive producer George Lucas, about the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first black fighter pilots to serve in World War II. It made an estimated $19.1 million, according to 20th Century Fox, which was well above expectations; the studio had hoped to reach double digits, said Chris Aronson, executive vice president of domestic distribution.
Overall box office is up 31 percent from the same weekend a year ago, Dergarabedian said, thanks to new releases as well as movies like "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," which had limited runs for awards consideration at the end of 2011 and are now expanding nationwide. The 9/11 drama from Warner Bros., starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, came in fourth place with $10.5 million.
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. "Underworld Awakening," $25.4 million ($13.4 million international).
2. "Red Tails," $19.1 million.
3. "Contraband," $12.2 million.
4. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," $10.5 million.
5. "Haywire," $9 million.
6. "Beauty and the Beast (3-D)," $8.6 million.
7. "Joyful Noise," $6.1 million.
8. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," $5.5 million. ($9.4 million international).
9. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," $4.8 million. ($18.1 million international).
10. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," $3.75 million ($15.7 international).
"Underworld Awakening"
In Memory
Joe Paterno
Happy Valley was perfect for Joe Paterno, a place where "JoePa" knew best, where he not only won more football games than any other major college coach, but won them the right way: with integrity and sportsmanship. A place where character came first, championships second.
Paterno, a sainted figure at Penn State for almost half a century but scarred forever by the child sex abuse scandal that led to his stunning dismissal, died Sunday at age 85.
His death came just 65 days after his son Scott said his father had been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer. The cancer was found during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness. A few weeks later, Paterno broke his pelvis after a fall but did not need surgery.
Mount Nittany Medical Center said in a statement that Paterno died at 9:25 a.m. of "metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung." Metastatic indicates an illness that has spread from one part of the body to an unrelated area.
Paterno built a program based on the credo of "Success with Honor," and he found both. The man known as "JoePa" won 409 games and took the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships. More than 250 of the players he coached went on to the NFL.
Paterno roamed the sidelines for 46 seasons, his thick-rimmed glasses, windbreaker and jet-black sneakers as familiar as the Nittany Lions' blue and white uniforms.
In 1963, he was offered a job by the late Al Davis - $18,000, triple his salary at Penn State, plus a car to become general manager and coach of the AFL's Oakland Raiders. He said no. Rip Engle retired as Penn State head coach three years later, and Paterno took over.
At the time, Penn State was considered "Eastern football" - inferior - and Paterno courted newspaper coverage to raise the team's profile. In 1967, PSU began a 30-0-1 streak.
But Penn State couldn't get to the top of the polls. The Nittany Lions finished second in 1968 and 1969 despite perfect seasons. They were undefeated and untied again in 1973 at 12-0 again but finished fifth. Texas edged them in 1969 after President Richard Nixon, impressed with the Longhorns' bowl performance, declared them No. 1.
"I'd like to know," Paterno said later, "how could the president know so little about Watergate in 1973, and so much about college football in 1969?"
A national title finally came in 1982, after a 27-23 win over Georgia at the Sugar Bowl. Another followed in 1986 after the Lions intercepted Vinny Testaverde five times and beat Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl.
They made several title runs after that, including a 2005 run to the Orange Bowl and an 11-1 season in 2008 that ended in a 37-23 loss to Southern California in the Rose Bowl.
He and his wife, Sue, raised five children in State College. Anybody could telephone him at his home - the same one he appeared in front of on the night he was fired - by looking up "Paterno, Joseph V." in the phone book.
He walked to home games and was greeted and wished good luck by fans on the street. Former players paraded through his living room for the chance to say hello. But for the most part, he stayed out of the spotlight.
Joe Paterno
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