from Bruce
Anecdotes
Christmas
• In Kansas City, Missouri, a man known as Secret Santa passed out gifts of money during the Christmas season for over 25 years. That man was Larry Stewart, a millionaire (due to his cable television and long-distance telephone service) who revealed his identity after becoming seriously ill. He began giving away money in December 1979 after losing his job the week before Christmas — the second year in a row that happened to him. He was at a drive-in restaurant. He remembered, “It was cold and this car hop didn’t have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, ‘I think I got it bad. She’s out there in this cold making nickels and dimes.” He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change. He said, “And suddenly I saw her lips begin to tremble and tears begin to flow down her cheeks. She said, ‘Sir, you have no idea what this means to me.’” Mr. Stewart went to his bank, withdrew $200, and drove around looking for people to give it to. Mr. Stewart said, “That’s what we’re here for — to help other people out.” He died in January 2009, after reportedly giving away $1.3 million as Secret Santa. Remarkably, a new Secret Santa appeared and gave away gifts of money at Christmas, including a gift of $2,000 to retired police officer Herman Smithey III, a terminal cancer patient. Mr. Smithey said, “Around here, the word we use is ‘miracle.’ And that’s what that was.”
• Following a snowfall of several inches some years ago, Eugene R. Gryniewicz asked his two sons, Joshua and Christopher, who were then in junior high school, to shovel the sidewalk, steps, and driveway, and then he would give them their allowances. After a while, he checked on them because they had not picked up their allowances, although he knew that they had planned to go to the mall with some friends who were stopping by. Investigating, he discovered that they had shoveled several sidewalks, and not just that of their own family. Indeed, some of their friends had joined them in shoveling sidewalks. However, his investigation showed that they had not approached the home dwellers to negotiate payment. One home was that of an elderly woman who took care of her bedridden nephew. Mr. Gryniewicz returned home, and soon his sons and their friends showed up. He invited everyone in for hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls, and one of his sons’ friends showed him a copy of the message that they had been leaving on the doors of the houses whose sidewalks they had shoveled: “Your walk has been shoveled by the Christmas Elves. There is no need to thank us. Do something nice for someone this week. Merry Christmas. The Elves.”
• A person who goes by the moniker Anwahs knew a crotchety elderly man who lives near him. One winter, someone went to the elderly man’s house and cleared his driveway, using the snow to make a row of smiling, waving snowmen. Because the elderly man was crotchety, he complained about the “trespasser” who had made the snowmen. Anwahs’ son, however, did not know what the word “trespass” meant and thought that it must be a good thing. He was impressed by the snowmen, and exclaimed, “Wow, sir, that’s the biggest, bestest present I’ve ever seen!” He then asked Anwahs, “Could we have someone ‘trespass’ on our lawn, too?” The old man smiled, and the next day he left a Christmas card outside Anwahs’ front door, and he left a plush snowman as a gift for Anwahs’ son. Anwahs writes that “if I ever find out who made the snowmen on [the old man’s] lawn, I will be sure to send them something in return. They gave my son, myself, and our neighbor “the biggest, bestest present ever!”
• Lisa Bendall has a friend named Derek who is a flight paramedic in central California. She says, “He literally saves lives in high-stress, heart-pumping emergency situations. If it sounds like a glamorous job, Derek assures me that it’s both underpaid and underappreciated.” He has worked in this job for 17 years and thanks are rare. However, in December 2010 Derek visited a Starbucks, and a big Texas wearing a cowboy hat was in line with him. They started talking, and when the Texan found out what Derek did for a living, he paid for Derek’s coffee as well as his own. He also told Derek, sincerely, “Thank you for your public service.” The Texan then wished Derek “Merry Christmas” and left. Derek says, “It’s the first time anyone has ever done that kind of thing for me. I realize it wasn’t about him buying me the coffee, but all about what he said.” Derek also says about the good deed, “I believe I will have to pay it forward.”
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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
Track: "Time to Kill"
Album: DIABIOLICAL!
Artist: The Delstroyers
Artist Location: Seattle, Washington
Info:
“The Delstroyers emerged from the mists of Seattle, WA in 2016, awash in reverb and cloaked in black. Their dark, instrumental surf melodies pay homage to both the founders of the genre and the revivalists of the 1990s, all wrapped in an undying love for things that go bump in the night.”
“The Delstroyers are an instrumental surf band from murky Seattle, WA USA that worships things like Fender Reverb units and creatures that go bump in the night. In 2017, the band teamed up with producer Johnny Sangster (Mudhoney, The Posies, The Supersuckers) on their first full-length album, DIABOLICAL! In 2019, the 7" RESURRECTED was released, and a new full-length record is coming in May, 2022.”
Price: $7 (USD) for 13-track album.
Genre: Rock Instrumental. Instrumental Horror Surf
Links:
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Twofer
Retirees with guns
The good old days of altercations between senior citizens being fought with canes are gone. Now it's guns, and a looming open-carry law may make make it worse.
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Betty Bowers
I really enjoy the wit and commentary of Reader Comment's CURRENT EVENTS. The subject matter, such as rights being taken away, not so much.
Betty Bowers Pie Chart
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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
There isn't a single fig on the tree this year. Not one.
Surprise Concert
Bono
U2 singer Bono performed Sunday at a Kyiv underground subway station being used as a bomb shelter in a show of support for Ukrainians enduring the Russian invasion.
Accompanied by guitarist the Edge, Bono sang the Ben E. King song "Stand by Me" at the Khreschatyk station. Another musician dressed in a Ukrainian military uniform — identified by various media outlets as Taras Topolia of the band Antytila — sang with Bono.
Bono tweeted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited him and the Edge "to perform in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we’ve come to do." Bono added the hashtag #StandWithUkraine.
Bono is the latest rock star to show his support for Ukrainians since Russia launched its invasion earlier this year. In March, a viral video of community members in Odessa jamming to Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” while preparing for battle caught the attention of none other than the band itself.
And Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, whose grandfather was Ukrainian, has publicly approved of Ukrainians using the heavy metal group’s hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as a battle cry.
Bono
Weekend Box Office
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
The summer movie season is off to a blockbuster start thanks to “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.” The superhero extravaganza grossed an estimated $185 million in ticket sales in its first weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, the Walt Disney Co. said Sunday.
Not only did it more than double the opening of the first “Doctor Strange,” which opened to $85 million in 2016, it’s also the biggest opener of the year, ahead of “The Batman’s” $134 million; the second biggest of the pandemic, behind “Spider-Man: Far From Home’s” $260.1 million; and the sixth biggest of all time globally.
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Bad Guys” fell to second place in its third weekend with an estimated $9.8 million, while “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” from Paramount, landed in third with $6.2 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. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” $185 million.
2. “The Bad Guys,” $9.8 million.
3. Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” $6.2 million.
4. “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” $3.9 million.
5. “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” $3.3 million.
6. “The Northman,”$2.8 million.
7. “The Lost City,” $2.5 million.
8. “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” $1.5 million.
9. “Memory,” $1.2 million.
10. “Father Stu,” $800,000.
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
Doctor Who's New Doctor
Ncuti Gatwa
The BBC has announced that Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as the latest star of Doctor Who, bringing the 14th Doctor to screens in 2023.
Gatwa—best known to audiences for his role as Eric Effiong in the Netflix comedy series, and is also set to appear in Warner Bros. and Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie movie with Margot Robbie—will take over the role from outgoing lead Jodie Whittaker, who’s final Doctor Who story is set to air in late 2022 as part of the 100th anniversary of the BBC. Gatwa will presumably, as per with usual tradition, make his debut as the Doctor at the climax of that episode during the 13th Doctor’s regeneration, before making is full debut as the Doctor in 2023 under new, returning showrunner Russel T. Davies.
“The future is here and it’s Ncuti! Sometimes talent walks through the door and it’s so bright and bold and brilliant, I just stand back in awe and thank my lucky stars,” Davis said in a statement. “Ncuti dazzled us, seized hold of the Doctor and owned those TARDIS keys in seconds. It’s an honour to work with him, and a hoot, I can’t wait to get started.”
Doctor Who is set to return to BBC One and BBC America later this year.
Ncuti Gatwa
Passion Play Returns
Oberammergau
Almost 400 years ago, the Catholic residents of a small Bavarian village vowed to perform a play of “the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ” every 10 years, if only God would spare them any further losses from the plague known as the Black Death.
Legend has it that ever since 1634, when the villagers of Oberammergau first performed their passion play, no more residents died of that pestilence or any other plagues — until 2020, when the world was hit by a new plague, the coronavirus pandemic. Oberammergau, like so many places worldwide, suffered some COVID-19 deaths, though residents who confirmed that were unsure how many.
Another consequence: The villagers could not fulfill their vow to stage the play after a 10-year interval. It was set to open in the spring of 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
Now, after a two-year delay, the famous Oberammergau Passion Play is finally opening on May 14 — the 42nd staging since its long-ago debut. Almost half of the village’s residents — more than 1,800 people, including 400 children — will participate in the play about the last five days before Christ’s crucifixion.
The play — which for hundreds of years reflected a conservative, Catholic outlook — has received a careful makeover to become reflective of Germany’s more diverse society. It includes a leading Muslim actor for the first time and has been purged of the many notorious antisemitic plot lines which drew widespread criticism.
Oberammergau
Outside Their Homes
Protests
Saturday night saw pro-choice activists take to the streets outside the homes of Supreme Court justices Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts, Bloomberg reported. .
The gathering of about 100 demonstrators armed with signs and chanting slogans marched from Kavanaugh’s house in Maryland to Roberts’ nearby home. They were ordered to disperse after returning to Kavanaugh’s residence. It is unclear if either Justice was at home.
Both incidents come days after the leak of a draft opinion indicating the Supreme Court is considering overturning Roe v. Wade, the federal opinion govering abortion rights.
The demonstration Saturday follows similar protests in cities nationwide following the leak of the draft opinion. There were also counter-protest gatherings in support of the Justices in some locations.
Protests
Just Plays One On TV
Rafael
Republican Sen. Rafael "Ted" Cruz seems very confused about the definition of violence. In a Sunday interview, he characterized peaceful pro-choice protesters standing outside the homes of Supreme Court justices as “violent.” But when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 a “violent insurrection,” Cruz said he strongly disagreed.
Crowds of activists opposed to the Supreme Court’s voting to overturn Roe v. Wade — news that broke when someone leaked a draft opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito — have gathered outside the homes of Justice Bret Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts to voice their opposition. But reports from the scene have shown around 100 protesters marching peacefully from Kavanaugh’s home to Roberts’ home and have not reported incidents of violence.
In a Sunday interview with Maria Bartiromo, Cruz tried to paint those activists as violent. “Now they’re embracing mob violence to get their partisan outcome,” Cruz said, not of the Jan. 6 mob, but of the pro-choice protesters.
Later in the interview, Cruz claimed without a shred of evidence that the leak came from “almost certainly one of the 12 law clerks that are clerking for the three liberal justices.” So while Cruz is opposed to people gathering outside the homes of justices, he has no problem with singling out the clerks working for justices appointed by Democratic presidents.
But it’s clear that all Cruz’s bluster is play-acting. He’s aware that these are peaceful pro-choice protests, just as he at one point knew and admitted that Jan. 6 was indeed violent, calling the events of Jan. 6 a “violent terrorist attack.” But when that truth became politically damaging, Lyin’ Ted backtracked, and insisted that there was no violence in people who fought past police lines to storm the U.S. Capitol, promising to take lawmakers lives.
Rafael
Defends Law
Mississippi
“Why is it acceptable in your state to force girls who are victims of incest to carry those children to term?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, whose state has a trigger law set to ban abortion immediately if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. That law, also called a “snapback law,” does not include an exception allowing victims of incest to access abortion care. The only exceptions in the law are for cases of rape and when the life of the mother is in danger.
When asked on Sunday whether Mississippi would enforce the snapback law if Roe is overturned — which looks increasingly likely thanks to a leaked draft opinion — Reeves told Tapper he would. “Yes, Mississippi does have a trigger law in place,” Reeves said. “It was passed in 2007, and that trigger law will go into effect” if Roe is overturned. Pro-choice governor Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, on the other hand, has gone to court in an attempt to prevent the state’s trigger law from going into effect if the Supreme Court nullifies Roe.
When Tapper asked Reeves to “explain why” there are no exceptions in Mississippi’s trigger law, the Republican governor glibly replied, “Well, that’s gonna be the law because in 2007 the Mississippi legislature passed it.”
Reeves defended not having an exception for incest written into the 2007 legislation. “When you look at the number of [abortions] that actually involve incest, it’s less than 1 percent,” he said.
Reeves continued to duck the pointed questions, again falling back on the argument that only a “very small” percent of abortions would be affected by the lack of exceptions, as if that somehow erases the problem created by the law or minimizes the potential trauma women would experience.
Anonymous Donor
Wiley College
Students graduating from a historically Black college in East Texas were told at their commencement ceremony that an anonymous donor had paid their balances, officials said.
Wiley College said in a news release that over 100 students were gathered for graduation Saturday when the school’s president made the announcement.
The college said in the news release that the estimated total for the balances owed to the college by the graduating class of 2022 was about $300,000.
The 2007 movie “The Great Debaters” starring Denzel Washington was inspired by debate in 1935 in which Wiley prevailed over the University of Southern California’s nationally-known, powerhouse team at a time when the nation was heavily segregated.
Wiley College
Ukraine's Mine Sniffing Dog
Patron
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy presented Ukraine's famous mine sniffing dog Patron and his owner with a medal on Sunday to recognise their dedicated service since Russia's invasion.
The pint-size Jack Russell terrier has been credited with detecting more than 200 explosives and preventing their detonation since the start of the war on Feb. 24, quickly becoming a canine symbol of Ukrainian patriotism.
Zelenskiy made the award at a news conference in Kyiv with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Patron barked and wagged his tail, prompting laughter from the audience. Trudeau patted his pockets as though looking for a dog treat.
"Today, I want to award those Ukrainian heroes who are already clearing our land of mines. And together with our heroes, a wonderful little sapper - Patron - who helps not only to neutralize explosives, but also to teach our children the necessary safety rules in areas where there is a mine threat," Zelenskiy said in a statement after the ceremony.
The award also went to Patron's owner, a major in the Civil Protection Service, Myhailo Iliev.
Patron
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