from Bruce
Anecdotes
Education
• When children’s book author Betsy Byars was three years old, she heard a lot about Miss Harriet, the first-grade teacher of her older sister, and she couldn’t wait to grow up and be a student in Miss Harriet’s class, so that she could paint and be read to from a book titled The Adventures of Mabel. Betsy did grow old enough to go to school, and on the first day, she and the other students were assigned to various teachers. Unfortunately, Betsy was not assigned to Miss Harriet. Nevertheless, she knew what she wanted, and she went to Miss Harriet’s class anyway. Soon, the principal appeared in the classroom, looking for her, since she had not gone to the right room. Betsy told the principal, “I want to be in Miss Harriet’s room.” Then she corrected herself and said, “I have to be in Miss Harriet’s room.” Miss Harriet told the principal, “Let her stay.” The principal did, and first grade with Miss Harriet was as wonderful as Betsy had hoped it would be.
• As a teenager, American artist Audrey Flack wanted to be accepted into New York City’s High School of Music and Art. She was asked to bring her works of art in a portfolio to the high school and to take an art exam. Since she didn’t know what a portfolio was, she went to a dime store. There she discovered an eight-by-ten brown folder marked “PORTFOLIO.” She bought it, removed the pieces of stationery from inside it, and put her own drawings inside. When her father drove her to the high school, she saw art students carrying large leather cases and realized that those must be real portfolios. She was so embarrassed that she didn’t want to get out of the car. Fortunately, her father pushed her out, she took the exam and passed, and she became first an art student and then a noted artist.
• In November of 1973, Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut competed in the all-around competition at the European Championships. She performed well, but fellow Soviet gymnast Ludmilla Tourischeva performed better, winning gold to Olga’s silver. When the medal winners were walking to the awards platform, Olga suddenly turned away, walked to a bench, and sat down. She was so disappointed in coming in second that she wanted to refuse to accept the silver medal. However, a female Soviet coach walked over to Olga, grabbed her shoulders, and marched her back to the line. Olga accepted the silver medal and learned something about showing grace when coming in second.
• When children’s book author Tomie dePaola first walked into his kindergarten classroom, he asked the teacher, “When do we learn to read?” She explained that students didn’t learn to read in kindergarten, but they would learn to read the following year, in first grade. Tomie replied, “Fine, I’ll be back next year.” Then he went home. The school called his parents — his father was working and his mother was shopping. His parents found him at home, looking at a book, trying to figure out how to read it. His mother then explained that he needed to pass kindergarten in order to go to the first grade, where he would learn to read, and so Tomie reluctantly attended kindergarten.
• When gymnast Tracee Talavera was a schoolchild, she used to teach acrobatics to the children in the special class — that is, children who were blind or deaf — during recess. She would line the children up and have them do handstands and cartwheels and other forms of tumbling. Since the blind children could hear, she would yell at them and tell them what to do, and she learned a little sign language so she could communicate with the deaf children. She remembers one particular deaf boy who could hold a handstand seemingly forever. She also remembers one particular blind girl who was very smart — “She used to steal my lunch and eat it when I wasn’t looking!”
• When soprano Leslie Garrett was very young and had just started to attend grammar school, her pet rabbit died. She was distraught and did not attend school the day she and her family held a funeral for her pet rabbit. The following day, she returned to school, bearing a note from her mother that explained the reason for her absence. Young Leslie worried about what her mother had written, since she realized that school authorities would not regard the death of a rabbit as a suitable reason for not attending school. Fortunately, her mother had simply written, “Family Bereavement.”
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Goosebumps on My Heart"
Artist: Carol Martini
Artist Location: California
Info: “Carol Martini has been singing and writing songs since she was an 11-year-old growing up in California. Initially trained on the violin, she turned to the guitar and eventually received recognition on one of the first Golden West College Recording Arts albums with the song ‘Take My Heart.’ In the 1980s, Martini ventured to England to start a band, but her first self-produced disc, The Story So Far, wasn't released until she returned to the states in 1990. This was followed by the release of Piece by Piece in 1992 and Modern Loneliness in 2000.” — Roxanne Blanford
“This rockabilly song of mine comes off my CD THE SONGS OF THE GIRL ON THE SWING.”
Price: $1 (USD) for track; this track is a one-sided single
Genre: Pop.
Links:
“Goosebumps on My Heart”
Carol Martini on Bandcamp
Carol Martini on YouTube
Carol Martini Official Website
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
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
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Reader Comment
Current Events
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly cloudy with a confounded rooster.
Sets US Record
'Demon Slayer'
The Japanese animated film "Demon Slayer" this weekend had the best opening ever recorded in North America for a foreign language film, a new milestone after already setting a box office record in Japan.
Produced by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Japanese giant Sony, "Demon Slayer" took in $19.5 million in the United States and Canada, according to Exhibitor Relations.
The anime unseated "Hero," a Chinese film by Zhang Yimou, which earned $17.8 million during its first weekend in American theaters, in August 2004.
"Demon Slayer" broke the box office record in Japan at the end of December. The tally on industry website Box Office Mojo currently shows $365 million in tickets sold in the Japanese market alone.
Despite the historic debut, "Demon Slayer" was beaten over the weekend by another release: "Mortal Kombat," based on the video game of the same name, which raked in $22.5 million at the North American box office.
'Demon Slayer'
Just Hinted
Porizkova & Sorkin
If you want to make a major statement about your dating life, you do it at Hollywood’s biggest red carpet of the year: the Oscars. That’s exactly what Paulina Porizkova and nominee Aaron Sorkin did at this year’s Academy Awards.
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise if you’ve been following Porizkova’s Instagram page: she’s been hinting that she’s dating someone and that her sex life is “wonderful.” Now that we can put the puzzle pieces together, we know she and Sorkin are more than just casual if they are willing to be photographed together at a global event. This is the type of declaration where you change your Facebook status to “In A Relationship.”
The supermodel was the perfect +1 for the screenwriter, who is nominated for Best Original Screenplay for The Trial of the Chicago 7. Porizkova wore a form-fitting gold gown while he looked dapper in his black tux, and they both appeared ecstatic to be making their red carpet debut together.
According to Page Six, the couple has been flying under the radar “for a few months,” but it obviously took a serious turn, especially since Oscar nominees are only allowed one guest this year to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols — no entourages allowed. This is the first public relationship for Porizkova since her estranged husband and Cars frontman, Ric Ocasek, died in September 2019.
Porizkova & Sorkin
Blacklisted
Sacheen Littlefeather
Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American actress who stunningly rejected Marlon Brando’s Best Actor award for The Godfather in 1973, claims the move ended her Hollywood career
A new documentary, Sacheen: Breaking The Silence, details the memorable political stunt, which was a protest by Brando on the depiction of Native Americans by the film industry. Littlefeather, a White Mountain Apache, was enlisted as his proxy to decline the award on his behalf.
Littlefeather says Brando was delighted by her performance, but then felt abandoned by the actor when the ensuing firestorm erupted. As a result, Littlefeather claims she was “blacklisted” by Hollywood from her minor career in small films and television, and never worked again.
“It was the first time anyone had made a political statement at the Oscars,” Littlefeather says in the documentary. “It was the first Oscars ceremony to be broadcast by satellite all over the world, which is why Marlon chose it. I didn’t have an evening dress so Marlon told me to wear my buckskin.”
Littlefeather said she could “hear the boos and jeers” as she came on stage. She claimed, “I later learned six security guards had to hold back John Wayne, who was in the wings and wanted to storm on to the stage and drag me off.”
Sacheen Littlefeather
New Bandwagon
NBA
If you’re looking to put your money into an industry that is “high”-growth in more ways than one, cannabis might be the ticket. With more states legalizing the use of recreational marijuana, a growing number of mainstream investors have gravitated to the cannabis industry – including celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and sports.
The latest to jump on the bandwagon are NBA stars John Wall and Carmelo Anthony, who are new investors in Leune, a California-based marijuana company.
CNBC on Thursday reported that Wall and Anthony joined NBA agent Rich Paul, entertainer La La Anthony, and music manager Anthony Saleh in a new round of funding that aims to help Leune raise $5 million.
That news came a day after actor Jaleel White, best known for playing Steve Urkel on “Family Matters,” announced plans to start his own cannabis line.
More than 40% of the country’s population now lives in states where weed is legal, Vox reported on Monday. Over the past two months alone, four states – New Jersey, New York, Virginia and New Mexico – have legalized marijuana for recreational use. That brought the total to 16 states, along with Washington, D.C.
NBA
Skirts Questions
Kevin
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., skirted questions Sunday about his Jan. 6 phone call with President Donald Trump as the Capitol riot was underway.
Speaking with "Fox News Sunday," McCarthy said Trump was not aware of what was going on at the Capitol when he first reached him. A former Trump adviser told The Washington Post that Trump was watching the events unfold on TV, which Trump later denied.
"I was the first person to contact him when the riots were going on," McCarthy said. "He didn't see it. What he ended the call with saying was telling me he'll put something out to make sure to stop this. And that's what he did. He put a video out later."
As host Chris Wallace pointed out, the video Trump posted was "quite a lot later," and he said it "was a pretty weak video." In the video, which was posted hours after the riot began, Trump urged the rioters to "go home," adding: "We love you. You're very special."
Separately, three sources briefed about the matter said the two men got into an expletive-laden argument. Sources described the call, which took place as a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol during Congress' affirmation of the Electoral College votes, as "not cordial" and borderline incoherent. At one point, according to a Republican lawmaker briefed about what was said, McCarthy told Trump: "Who the f--- do you think you are talking to?"
Kevin
Misleading Claims
Rupert
Daily Mail and Fox News pushed about Biden limiting meat consumption. Conservatives like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene lashed out at the president anyway.
False claims about President Joe Biden's plans for addressing the climate crisis spread online this week, but the lack of truth over the claims didn't stop Republican lawmakers from responding to or repeating them.
The Daily Mail published a story Thursday with a headline that began: "How Biden's climate plan could limit you to eat just one burger a MONTH." It included unsubstantiated claims that in order to meet Biden's plan Americans would need to "cut 90% of red meat out of diet" and "only eat 4lbs a year."
Fox News show host Larry Kudlow said: "Speaking of stupid, there's a study coming out of the University of Michigan which says that to meet the Biden Green New Deal targets, America has to, get this, America has to stop eating meat, stop eating poultry and fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, and animal-based fats."
In fact, the University of Michigan study cited by the Daily Mail and Fox was published in January 2020 and is not related to Biden or his climate plan. According to the authors, the study analyzes "hypothetical reduction in the consumption of animal-based foods in the US diet" and relies on "a number of simplifying assumptions." It is not a policy proposal or suggestion.
When reached by CNN's Daniel Dale, one of the authors said: "I, admittedly, have no idea what Biden's plan has to say about our diets."
Rupert
Election Fraud Falsehoods
Arizona
The founder of the outside company hired by Republicans in Arizona’s state senate to conduct an audit of 2020 presidential election ballots has previously promoted election fraud conspiracy theories on social media.
Dave Logan, head of Florida-based Cyber Ninjas, the company hired by the Arizona senate to oversee the audit, was also part of a previous effort to overturn the election results in Michigan.
The Arizona Republic reported that a now-deleted Twitter account appearing to belong to Mr Logan posted a collection of uncorroborated allegations about fraud in the 2020 election.
“The parallels between the statistical analysis of Venezuela and this year’s election are astonishing,” Mr Logan wrote in December, seemingly boosting an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory parroted by Ms Powell that the country was somehow involved in stealing the election from former president Donald Trump.
Mr Logan also seems to have shared posts by Colorado Republican representative Lauren Boebert, another prolific booster of 2020 election conspiracy theories.
Arizona
'Lingerie Capital'
China
Americans like their lingerie to be risque, Europeans prefer it more classy, and Chinese remain a bit shy but are opening up. But the biggest order of all came from North Korea.
So goes the street-corner discussion in Guanyun, a sleepy coastal county that for generations followed the rhythms of wheat and rice cultivation, but today concerns itself with global preferences on sensual wear.
The flat farming region between Beijing and Shanghai is China's self-proclaimed "Lingerie Capital", where sewing machines hum in village-level micro-factories to meet up to 70 percent of the fast-growing domestic demand.
Millions more items are exported annually in a textbook example of the ability of internet-enabled Chinese entrepreneurs to profit from even the most off-the-wall idea.
The man widely credited with lighting the spark is Lei Congrui, a lanky 30-year-old with a ponytail and cap who would look at home on a skateboard. It all happened almost by accident.
China
Kind Stranger
Liberal, Kansas
A little girl and her twin sister were surprised with a new puppy after a kind stranger found the girl’s wish list to Santa attached to a balloon nearly 650 miles away.
Leticia Flores-Gonzalez says her 4-year-old daughters, Luna and Gianella, both released balloons attached to Christmas lists from their home in Liberal, Kansas, in December. The mother says she wanted to create a special memory during the tough year of 2020.
Leticia says she didn’t expect the balloons to go far, but Luna’s somehow traveled all the way to the Shreveport, Louisiana area, where it was found by Alvin Bamburg.
The man told “Good Morning America” that he found the balloon while hunting and read the list, which included candy, a Spiderman ball, a “Frozen” doll, a My Little Pony, and of course – a puppy.
To the girls’ delight, Bamburgh was able to ship almost every item on the list to the family, but one item had to be specially delivered. He and his wife drove to the family’s home and surprised the girls with a puppy named Max.
Liberal, Kansas
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