from Bruce
Anecdotes
Audiences
• Comedian Eddie Cantor often spoke in Christian churches, and when he was present “officially” for a charity, the church was usually standing room only. But when he dropped in without advance notice, the church would often be half-empty. Once he ended a speech by saying, “Your minister tells me you’ve set an attendance record today. I suppose I should be honored — but isn’t it a shame that God Himself isn’t a big enough attraction!”
• Starting out as a stand-up comedian can be tough. Dallas comedian Sherry Belle remembers getting laughs her first time on stage; unfortunately, the audience was laughing at all the wrong places. For example, she finished a joke, but the audience didn’t laugh, so she said, “That was the punch line.” That made the audience laugh.
• Sam Mayo was a British music-hall comedian who was popular for a time, but whose comedy fell out of favor and forced his retirement. After retiring, he used to stand outside of music halls listening to the applause given to other performers as tears ran down his cheeks.
Auditions
• Jim J. Bullock is famous in part for playing Monroe Ficus on the TV sitcom Too Close for Comfort. To get the part, he first had to perform at the audition, which started late and kept him waiting for an hour. Mr. Bullock stormed into the audition, threw a hissy fit — and threw the screenplay at the feet of the producer — screamed that he should never have been kept waiting that long, and stormed out. A moment later, he entered the room again — on his hands and knees, begging for the job. Everyone laughed, and he got the part.
• Comedian Robin Williams earned great fame as Mork of the TV sitcom Mork and Mindy. Mork was an outer-space alien, and when Mr. Williams was asked at an audition to sit in a chair while in character as Mork, he did exactly that — and sat on his head. Fame really did come quickly. At an ice-skating rink, Mr. Williams stepped into a telephone booth to make a call. He was recognized by fans, who gawked at him through the glass. Mr. Williams says, “I felt like I was in the San Diego Zoo.”
Autographs
• Morris “Moe” Feinberg was the brother of Larry Fine, one of the Three Stooges. Mr. Feinberg went to a nightclub in Atlantic City, where an entertainer recognized him and introduced him to the audience, talking about the Three Stooges and saying, “I see Larry’s brother, Moe Fine, a good friend and a fellow performer. Moe, would you stand up and take a bow?” Afterward, a woman came up and asked for Mr. Feinberg’s autograph. He explained that he was only a small-time performer and not famous, but the woman smiled and said, “You can’t fool me with that ‘brother’ stuff. You’re Larry, all right.” Mr. Feinberg signed the autograph, “With warm regards, Larry ‘Stooge’ Fine.”
• English comedian Benny Hill appears to have been very likeable in real life. For one thing, he answered every letter from fans and never turned down a request for an autographed photograph. Also making him popular, of course, was his talent at being funny. Mr. Hill did joke about his public image as a comic lover. He used to say, “I imagine people also think I’m having it off with the girls in my show. Well, I haven’t had it off with them since … what time is it now?” and “This is the book where I keep the names of all the girls I’ve been to bed with. They’re in alphabetical order. Starting with Zelda.”
• Being a popular entertainer does have drawbacks. Country comedian Jerry Clower once ordered a ham dinner at Cracker Barrel, but he never did eat it because his gravy got cold as he signed 39 menus. He ended up going to a Seven-Eleven and buying crackers and Vienna sausages.
• Groucho Marx wrote this note in reply to an 11-year-old autograph collector: “Here is the autograph. I would send you a lock of my hair but it’s at the barbershop getting washed.”
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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: "Dilation"
Album: PSYCHSPLOITATION
Artist: Satan’s Pilgrims
Artist Location: Portland, Oregon
Info:
“givememusic, a fan, wrote, “Groovy and awesome to listen to anytime! Favorite track: ‘Dilation.’”
“Satan’s Pilgrims, the Northwest's premiere purveyors of surf and guitar instrumentals invite you take a trip with them on the psychedelic side of things. PSYCHSPLOITATION features 13 garage psychedelic guitar instrumentals that will blow your mind!”
“Satan's Pilgrims formed in 1992 during a series of house parties hosted by the members of the band, and were playing shows in their hometown of Portland, Oregon by 1993. Twisting their name from the 1960s AIP film SATAN'S SADISTS and donning their now familiar matching outfits complete with vampire capes, they became a band.
“The Pilgrims are one of the most influential surf instrumental bands around and while much of their sound has a definite Southern California influence, what sets them apart is the legacy of their Pacific Northwest rock 'n' roll ancestors and other influences, creating their own sub-genre of surf instrumental that many fans call "Pilgrim Rock". This, along with three distinct guitarists and a relentless rhythm section, gives their live set a dazzling variety of dance party sounds to choose from, while maintaining their patented haunted sound. After years of touring, taking the band all over the U.S. and Europe, Satan's Pilgrims continued to develop the surf instrumental genre.
“After a hiatus in 2000, they reunited in 2005. The last 15 years have seen the release of 5 LPs and singles on Hi-Tide, Hidden Volume/Double Crown. The rest of the world is still catching on to what some have known for over 27 years. That is, if you want a surfy, spooky, garage-stompin' good time, put on Satan's Pilgrims.”
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $12 (USD) for 13-track album
Genre: Surf Instrumental.
Links:
PSYCHSPLOITATION
Satan’s Pilgrims on Bandcamp
Satan’s Pilgrims Official Website
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New Venture
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Recommended
Free Download (but you can tip if you want to) at
Ukraine Flag Hand Thumbs - Free image on Pixabay
MORE PEOPLE PUTIN CONSIDERS ENEMIES AND IS TRYING TO KILL
Hopak (National Dance of Ukraine) - Tsvitka
PUTIN CONSIDERS THESE PEOPLE’S RELATIVES ENEMIES AND IS TRYING TO KILL THEM
Kolomyika
Note: The kolomyika (Polish: kolomyjka; also spelled kolomeyka or kolomeike) is a Hutsul(Ukrainian) music genre that combines a fast-paced folk dance and comedic rhymed verses. It includes a type of performance dance developed by the Ukrainian diaspora in North America.” — Wikipedia
Note 2: “These are not professionals, this is an amateur Ukrainian ensemble in California!!! The guys most likely practice in the community, at the church with a professional choreographer, who may have allowed some elements of other folk dances. But what an amazing level! Just a pro! I think that in this ensemble there are those who do not even know the language, but remember their roots and learn dances and songs. Such Ukrainian ensembles are popular in America and Canada and, which is very good, among young people. Well done, Ukrainians!” — YouTube comment
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Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Summer-like, again.
53rd NAACP Image Awards
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson was named entertainer of the year at the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards that highlighted works by entertainers and writers of color.
After Hudson accepted the award Saturday night, the singer-actor thanked the NAACP for inspiring “little girls like me.” She beat out Regina King, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion and Tiffany Haddish.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were honored with the President’s Award. He showed gratitude to the NAACP for welcoming him into their community before he spoke about those in Ukraine impacted by the ongoing Russian invasion.
Samuel L. Jackson received the NAACP Chairman’s Award for his public service. The ceremony highlighted his acting achievements and activism including a moment when he was expelled from Morehouse College in 1969 for for locking board members in a building for two days in protest of the school’s curriculum and governance.
Jennifer Hudson
Weekend Box Office
‘Uncharted’
For the eighth time in the last two and a half months, a movie starring Tom Holland is No. 1 at the box office.
The Sony Pictures videogame adaptation “Uncharted,” starring Holland and Mark Wahlberg, led ticket sales for its second weekend of release with $23.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Star power, too, has kept the Channing Tatum-led “Dog” at the number two spot. The MGM release, which Tatum co-directed with Reid Carolin, declined just 32% with $10.1 million in its second weekend of release. So far, the film — in which Tatum plays an Army Ranger paired with an Army dog on a road trip — has made $30.9 million against a $15 million budget.
The Foo Fighters’ horror-comedy “Studio 666,” released by Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment, went the widest, opening in 2,306 theaters. The movie, starring Dave Grohl and company as themselves while making their 10th record in a haunted house, debuted with $1.5 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Uncharted,” $23.3 million.
2. “Dog,” $10.1 million.
3. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $5.8 million.
4. “Death on the Nile,” $4.5 million.
5. “Jackass Forever,” $3.2 million.
6. “Sing 2,” $2.1 million.
7. “Marry Me,” $1.9 million.
8. “Studio 666,” $1.6 million.
9. “Cyrano,” $1.4 million.
10. “Scream,” $1.3 million.
‘Uncharted’
“We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Dee Snider
This week, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in loss of life and significant property damage. In response, Ukrainian acts like Jinjer condemned Vladimir Putin, the Eurovision Song Contest dropped Russia from its 2022 competition, and Russian punk activists Pussy Riot launched an NFT campaign to raise relief funds. Now, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has taken to Twitter to say that he officially approves of Ukrainians using Twisted Sister’s hit song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as their rallying cry.
“I absolutely approve of Ukrainians using “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as their battlecry. My grandfather was Ukrainian, before it was swallowed up by the USSR after WW2. This can’t happen to these people again! #FUCKRUSSIA”
When a fan told Dee that it wasn’t Russia but Vladimir Putin who was to blame for the invasion, Snider went after it:
“Understood (though they are claiming 60% of Russians support this invasion). But the Russian people (many who are already protesting) need to take responsibility for the piece of shit they have allowed to stay in powre for 22 years. #FUCKPUTIN
Dee Snider
“ Our Nig; or Sketches From the Life of a Free Black ”
Harriet Wilson
A rare version of a book considered the first novel published in the U.S. by a Black woman has returned to her home state of New Hampshire.
An original first edition of Harriet Wilson’s “ Our Nig; or Sketches From the Life of a Free Black ” was recently donated to Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, WMUR-TV reports.
The book was hand-delivered to the organization by a retired librarian in California who found the novel in a family safe, according to the station.
The novel tells the story of Frado, a Black girl who is abused and overworked as the indentured servant to a New England family.
Harriet Wilson
Right-Wing Fan Club
Squirming
For years, a global choir of right-wing politicians has sung the praises of Vladimir Putin. They looked up to the Russian strongman as a defender of closed borders, Christian conservatism and bare-chested machismo in an era of liberal identity politics and Western globalization. Fawning over him was a core part of the populist playbook.
But Putin’s savaging of Ukraine, which many of his right-wing supporters had said he would never do, has recast the Russian president more clearly as a global menace and boogeyman with ambitions of empire who is threatening nuclear war and European instability.
For many of his longtime admirers — from France to Germany and the United States to Brazil — it is something of an awkward spot. The stain of Putin’s new reputation threatens to taint his fellow travelers, too.
In France, Putin’s war has prompted a politically painful, and possibly costly, about-face before presidential elections in April. Far-right candidates who spent years praising the Russian leader and weeks downplaying the risk of an invasion reassessed Putin and the electoral benefit of being in his corner.
Squirming
‘Not Really My Thing’
Crack
A New York real estate executive whose company is facing criminal tax fraud charges told a group of conservative activists that crack cocaine “is not [his] thing” and accused the press of covering for the Biden administration’s alleged “failures” during a rambling speech at the end of the four-day American Conservative Union confab.
“Crack’s not really my thing, but it would be fine if I was on that [Democratic] side,” Donald Trump Jr Lumpy, the Lesser, said on Sunday during a rambling speech delivered from the stage his father, former president Donald Trump, had spoken from the night before.
Mr Trump The unindicted co-conspirator, who currently serves as an executive vice president at his father’s eponymous real estate company, told the crowd about his drug preferences while referencing a false talking point circulated in right-wing media earlier this month regarding a Biden administration programme which provides federal grants to groups that distribute “harm reduction kits” to drug users in hopes of stemming the record number of overdose deaths in the United States.
Mr Trump The loser's spawn also called the Biden administration and “the people in charge” in Nato countries “idiots” and accused the press of “trying to get us in another war” by reporting on the Ukraine crisis.
Crack
Bar Investigates
California
The State Bar of California is investigating a data breach after learning that a website published confidential information about 260,000 attorney discipline cases in California and other jurisdictions.
State Bar officials learned about the posted records on Feb. 24, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
As of Saturday night, all the confidential information that had been published on the website judyrecords.com had been removed, the Times said. The records included case numbers, file dates, information about the types of cases and their statuses, respondent and complaining witnesses names.
Full case records were not published. Officials said they don’t know whether the published information was the result of a hacking incident.
California
Guidelines
Trans Catholics
For transgender Catholics across the United States, retaining their faith can entail complex calculations. They face rebukes from some fellow Catholics, including many bishops, yet find full acceptance in some premises of the church.
A small but growing number of parishes have formed LGBTQ support groups and welcome transgender people on their own terms. Yet within the past two years, at least six Catholic dioceses have issued guidelines targeting trans people with restrictions and refusing to recognize their gender identity.
“Many of our bishops are anti-science. ... They are cold and cruel,” said Sister Luisa Derouen, a retired nun who has ministered to trans people. “You can’t respect people and deny their existence at the same time.”
The latest policy targeting trans Catholics was issued by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in January. It bars church personnel from using trans people’s preferred pronouns that reflect their gender identity.
Objecting to trans-supportive “gender theory,” the policy stipulates that “all interactions and policies, parishes, organizations, and institutions are to recognize only a person’s biological sex.”
Trans Catholics
Delicate Mineral 'Flower'
Mars
The Curiosity rover took a picture of something pretty enticing this week on the surface of Mars. While the object in question looks like a tiny little flower or maybe even some type of organic feature, the rover team confirmed this object is a mineral formation, with delicate structures that formed by minerals precipitating from water.
Curiosity has actually seen these types of features before, which are called diagenetic crystal clusters. Diagenetic means the recombination or rearrangement of minerals, and these features consist of three-dimensional crystal clusters, likely made of a combination of minerals.
From studies of previous features like this found on Mars, originally the feature was embedded within a rock, which eroded away over time. These mineral clusters, however, appear to be resistant to erosion.
Another name for these features is concretion, which you may remember from the Opportunity rover, who saw features that were nicknamed 'blueberries,' since they were small and round. You can see round concretions next to the flower-like feature in this image.
Mars
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
