Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Have Ted Rall Draw a Political Cartoon Just For You (eBay)
Ever wanted an editorial cartoon about a particular topic-but couldn't find one? If you win this auction, nationally syndicated political cartoonist Ted Rall will draw a cartoon about any subject you want.
Ted Rall: Thrifty Families and Other Lies
Like Their Government, Americans Live on Debt.
Paul Krugman's Blog: Visualizing Priorities (New York Times)
A few charts to illustrate what you are and are not supposed to be worried about. I start these charts in 1985, that is, after Morning in America, so that our view isn't distorted by the high inflation and interest rates of the 70s and early 80s.
Marc Dion: Geezer This! (Creators Syndicate)
Recent wire service stories, constructed to make the creaky feel good, tell us that baby boomers find their age an "asset" at work. Presumably, none of the people interviewed have to lift anything on their jobs.
'It's weird to be growing a penis inside me' (Guardian)
Two years after tying the knot, Lucy Mangan and her husband, Toryboy, are about to have a baby. Are they ready? Are they heck…
Lucy Mangan: The soap opera that's a real tear-jerker (Guardian)
'You don't realise how impossibly fragile the world is until something like this hits you.'
Chuck Norris: 8 Foods That Lower Cholesterol (Creators Syndicate)
If you have high levels of cholesterol, you may need to take medicine to lower it. But you also can help to lower and maintain healthy cholesterol levels by exercising more and eating more fruits and vegetables. A low-saturated fat, low-sodium, low-cholesterol diet will go far in creating a better you.
Roger Ebert: Queen of the Sun (3 stars)
In the Central Valley of California, there are 500,000 acres of almond trees. All almond trees. Nothing but almond trees. This is wrong. It is not natural. For these trees to bear almonds, they must be pollinated. But bees cannot live there, for there is nothing to sustain them when the trees are not in blossom. So hives containing millions of bees must be trucked more than a thousand miles, and then trucked back again.
Dara Nai: Interview with Geri Jewell (afterellen.com)
The 'Facts of Life' star, stand-up comic and author talks about being the first actor with cerebral palsy to appear on a network TV show, how she ended up on HBO's Deadwood and why she's totally OK doing frontal nudity, if only someone would ask.
Marc Myers: She Went Chasing Rabbits (Wall Street Journal)
Grace Slick talks about the Jefferson Airplane, rock stardom, LSD and her three big regrets.
The Monkees' Head: 'Our fans couldn't even see it' (Guardian)
At the height of their fame, the Monkees teamed up with Jack Nicholson to film the psychedelic classic Head - and destroy their careers in the process. Dorian Lynskey asks the band how they feel about it now.
Will Harris: A Chat with Nikki Sixx (bullz-eye.com)
"You're sort of outcasts until society decides that you're popular, and then when you become popular, you're then accepted into their arms and adored."
David Bruce has 41 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $41 you can buy 10,250 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
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 and a lot like summer.
Singing Simultaneously
"Music Monday"
Children at more than 1,700 schools, from gritty New Orleans to the wilds of British Columbia, unite in music on Monday, when for a single moment across time zones they will all perform the same song.
Singers, violinists, drummers and other young music makers will launch into "I Wanna Play," a song by country music star Aaron Tippin, at 1 p.m. EDT.
The seventh annual "Music Monday" is orchestrated to applaud the benefits of music education, from cultivating acceptance of others to increasing hand-eye coordination, said sponsors National Association of Music Merchants and the Coalition of Music Education.
An estimated 650,000 students in 65 school districts in the United States and 1,679 in Canada signed on for the event.
When the clock strikes 1 p.m. EDT, choir members will open their mouths to sing, trombonists will grab their slides and blow and music will fill school auditoriums coast to coast.
"Music Monday"
Replaceing Vieira On "Today" In June
Ann Curry
Meredith Vieira will exit NBC's "Today" show in June, nearly three months before the end of her contract, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
"Today" newsreader Ann Curry will be promoted to co-host, and will be in turn replaced by correspondent Natalie Morales. An official announcement could come as early as next week.
Vieira took the seat next to co-host Matt Lauer in 2006, replacing Katie Couric. Since then, "Today" has extended its run as the top-rated morning news program to more than 800 weeks. The show is critically important to NBC News' bottom line, pulling in half a billion dollars in ad revenue last year for the weekday morning hours alone.
CBS News executives are expected to announce next week that "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley will replace Couric at the "Evening News" anchor desk. It will mark the second anchor change this year for CBS News; in January, "The Early Show" got an entirely new morning team led by Chris Wragge and Erica Hill.
Ann Curry
Footwear Amuses Austrians
Whoopi
Whoopi Goldberg is in Austria to promote "Sister Act," with her trademark slapstick humor.
She slipped off her high-heeled sandals at Vienna's Ronacher Theater on Friday when she realized she would have to stand during a media preview of the musical, which opens there in September.
"I thought I was going to look good coming in and sitting down," Goldberg told a laughing audience.
She stood in her white socks until Vienna's cultural affairs official, Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, came on to give her a gift. "Hold on, hold on. I'm going to put them back on 'cause you're too tall for me," Goldberg said.
Whoopi
Nearly 23 Million Americans Watched
Royal Wedding
Nearly 23 million Americans rose early on Friday to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot.
The Nielsen Co. said the 22.76 million viewers were spread out over 11 different networks. The company's measurement was for the period of 6 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. EDT, when the ceremony was taking place.
Websites reported high traffic, too. ABCNews.com said it's online traffic Friday was its highest since the 2008 presidential election. And, E! Online said its 23.6 million page views on Friday was its most ever.
The wedding was telecast on ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, BBC America, CNN, E! Entertainment, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and TLC.
Royal Wedding
Chopper Crashes
Reality TV
A helicopter carrying a reality television crew crashed near a university, injuring three of the four people aboard.
The helicopter went down between apartment buildings near the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus shortly after 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Officials said no one on the ground was injured and no fatalities were reported.
I
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said Sunday that one of the three passengers, all Canadian citizens, walked away but the other two and the pilot were injured. The injured people were in serious or critical condition.
University spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said the reality television show "Campus PD," which has no affiliation with the state-owned university, was working with borough police in the area.
Reality TV
Critics Burn Confederate Flag In Protest
Kid Rock
People critical of the NAACP's decision to honor Kid Rock at its annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner burned a Confederate flag Sunday afternoon in front of the event's downtown Detroit venue.
The Grammy-nominated artist has displayed the flag during some stage performances.
The Macomb County, Mich., native whose real name is Robert Ritchie was to receive the civil rights organization's Great Expectations Award on Sunday night.
Detroit NAACP President Wendell Anthony has said Ritchie was being honored for his advocacy of the city.
Kid Rock
Shake Down Benefits GOP
U.S. Navy Veterans
He called himself Bobby Charles Thompson and gave himself the rank of lieutenant commander as he headed a nationwide nonprofit for U.S. Navy veterans.
Donations solicited by telemarketers poured in to his U.S. Navy Veterans Association from around the country - largely individual gifts under $50 - piling up tens of millions of dollars intended for veterans' needs and other military causes.
Thompson and NAVPAC, his political action committee, gave lavishly to more than 50 candidates in 16 states - most of them Republicans, records show - and the generosity was rewarded with some high-level entree, at least for photo opportunities. Resident George W. Bush and his adviser, Karl Rove, were among those who posing with Thompson in photographs that show him smiling broadly through an unkempt black beard and mustache.
But authorities say veterans got precious little of Thompson's largesse and that he was a fraud, operating a bogus charity from a seedy Tampa-area duplex with a stolen identity, scamming hundreds of thousands of donors in 30 states out of at least $20 million.
Now charged in Ohio with aggravated theft, money laundering, identity fraud and corruption, Thompson, believed to be 65, is being investigated by several states. And many of the politicians whose treasuries he graced have hastened to shed his donations.
U.S. Navy Veterans
Pittsburgh Convention
Ted Nugent
The National Rifle Association wrapped up its annual meeting on Sunday with an appearance by rocker Ted Nugent, who urged the pro-gun rights crowd to "talk about guns all the time."
The guitarist and pro-gun activist won a standing ovation from the crowd of some 2,000 who listened to him describe the fight against gun control as a public relations battle.
"You need to fix everybody in your lives to be absolutely pro-gun," Nugent said. "You need to talk guns all the time. You need to talk hunting all the time.
"The gun community should be all about public relations," he said. "We haven't turned up the heat enough yet."
"If it was up to me, if you uttered the word 'gun control,' we'd put you in jail," Nugent said. "Does anybody not know that the most dangerous place in the world is a gun-free zone?"
Ted Nugent
Polygamous Church Dispute
Utah
An internal tug-of-war over control of jailed polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs' southern Utah-based church may force Utah courts to walk a constitutional tightrope that experts say could tread a little too close to separation of church and state.
The presidency of the 10,000-member Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been in question since March 28, when church bishop William E. Jessop filed papers with the Utah Department of Commerce seeking to unseat Jeffs as president of the church corporation. Under state law, the move automatically put Jessop in power.
That set into motion a flurry of filings from Jeffs loyalists removing Jessop and claiming that some 4,000 church members have pledged their loyalty to their incarcerated leader.
Monday marks the deadline set by commerce officials for both parties to resolve the dispute or a legal showdown might be set in motion since, if no agreement is reached, the state says power will revert back to Jeffs.
One huge hitch for the courts could be the fact that throughout the church's history, its president has also served as its prophet.
Utah
Bill Would Make Invasive Pat-Downs A Felony
Texas
A former Miss USA's tearful claim that she was groped during a pat-down at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport could be a criminal matter under a bill gaining momentum in the Texas Legislature.
The proposed Texas law, aimed at people conducting security checkpoints at airports and public buildings, would make it a felony to intentionally touch someone's private areas - even on top of clothing - unless the officer or agent has probable cause to believe the person is carrying something illegal.
State Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, who sponsored the bill, said Friday that the invasive pat-down searches at airports nationwide are a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches. Last fall the Transportation Security Administration implemented a new pat-down procedure that includes a security worker running a hand up the inside of passengers' legs and along the cheek of the buttocks, as well as making direct contact with the groin area.
"We're taking away people's dignity and freedom," said Simpson, whose bill was approved in committee and is now awaiting debate by the full House. Simpson has 70 co-authors on the bill, which is more than 90 percent of the votes needed to pass it. The bill then would go to the Texas Senate for consideration.
Texas
Abound In Online Rumor Hothouse
Political Perils
How quaint: Candidate Bill Clinton's big weapon against political attacks in 1992 was an impressive new technology called the blast fax.
Fast forward two decades, and a president juggling three conflicts abroad and a budget crisis feels compelled to stand at the White House podium to swat at already-discredited questions about his place of birth.
The Internet hothouse, where accusations can fester and flourish regardless of merit, is forcing politicians of all stripes to take even marginal attacks more seriously and to respond more quickly and forcefully.
It's a safe bet that every candidate considering a 2012 run for president or any other office is taking note of the resilience of the "birther" rumors about President Barack Obama even after the charges had been proved false.
Democratic consultant James Carville, a veteran of the Clinton campaign, says candidates have to hope that reasonable people will dismiss the significance of what he politely refers to as "Internet crap." People who are prone to believe crazy accusations against a candidate aren't likely to support that candidate anyway, he says.
Political Perils
Webcam Catches Tourists
Old Faithful
Yellowstone National Park rangers say they've handed out $125 tickets to three people after someone watching by webcam saw tourists walking dangerously close to the iconic Old Faithful geyser.
Someone from Wisconsin called rangers to report the errant tourists Wednesday. A park ranger found about 30 people standing around the geyser's cone taking pictures.
Venturing off boardwalks in Yellowstone is extremely dangerous. Only a thin crust of soil covers boiling-hot water in places. Hot water has severely burned several people in Yellowstone over the years.
Standing near Old Faithful is doubly dangerous. Old Faithful erupts with scalding blasts of 204-degree water. The eruptions occur every hour or two - less predictable than the geyser's name suggests.
Old Faithful
Weekend Box Office
'Fast Five and the Furious'
"Fast Five" has left the competition in the dust with an $83.6 million debut to grab the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Universal Pictures' fifth movie in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise was by far this year's biggest opening. Its take was more than double the previous best of $39.2 million for "Rio," the 20th Century Fox animated hit that slipped to No. 2 with $14.4 million.
"Fast Five" set a record for best April debut ever, speeding past the $71 million haul of its predecessor, "Fast & Furious," two years ago.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Fast Five," $83.6 million.
2. "Rio," $14.4 million.
3. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family," $10.1 million.
4. "Water for Elephants," $9.1 million.
5. "Prom," $5 million.
6. "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil," $4.1 million.
7. "Soul Surfer," $3.3 million.
8. "Insidious," $2.7 million.
9. "Hop," $2.6 million.
10. "Source Code," $2.5 million.
'Fast Five and the Furious'
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
