from Bruce
Anecdotes
Names
• Bryon, nicknamed “Brynie,” was the eldest of the Seven Little Foys, whose real last name was Fitzgerald. When he met John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the President told him, “You know, Brynie, all we Fitzgeralds are related.” Bryon asked, “What about Ella?”
• When Darci Kistler, a ballerina for the New York City Ballet, was growing up, her nickname was “Crash.” The nickname was the result of her learning to ride a small motorcycle — a Honda Yamaha 80 — and crashing into a tree.
Parents
• The parents of stand-up comedian Carrie Snow are supportive of her choice of careers. In fact, her mother tells her, “Please make it soon. I hate those award ceremonies where people look up to the sky and say, ‘Mom, if you’re watching ….’” Ms. Snow inherited her sense of humor from her parents, who once placed this ad in a Jewish newspaper: “Our movie star daughter is too busy to look for a husband, so we’ll look for her.” Her mother even showed up at a pre-arranged meeting spot, wearing a carnation.
• Paul Draper tap danced to classical music. However, before he was famous he became stranded without money in the South of France. He wired his parents for money and received the reply, “You’ve sown wild oats for long enough. Will send fare. Come home. Undertake some respectable profession.” Mr. Draper gladly accepted the money and came home, but he went right on tap dancing to classical music.
• Following her gold-medal-winning performance in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut toured the United States. Before she left home to go on tour, her parents gave her this advice: “Be careful, be first, be joyful.”
Passover
• Metropolitan Opera tenor Richard Tucker and his family strictly observed the Jewish holidays, even while traveling in areas where Jews were rare. While in a restaurant in a Western city during Passover, they asked for the unleavened bread called matzos — but the waitress brought them matches.
Practical Jokes
• Children’s book author Gary Paulsen owned a dog named Columbia that had a sense of humor. Mr. Paulsen’s dogs have separate houses and are chained — the chains keep them separated so that they can’t fight each other. Every other day or so, each dog gets a big bone with some meat on it. Columbia took his bone and pushed it very close to the area that belonged to a dog named Olaf. The bone was so close that Olaf could lunge at the bone and touch it, but the bone was not so close that Olaf could get the bone and chew it. Columbia watched Olaf try to get the bone for several minutes, and then, according to Mr. Paulsen, Columbia laughed. The realization that a dog could plan a practical joke like that, carry it out, and get enjoyment from it made Mr. Paulsen realize that dogs and other animals are more intelligent than they are often given credit for, and he stopped killing animals, even those animals he had been using for food.
• While in high school, Stephen Wozniak created a ticking device which he placed in a gym bag. The principal heard the device, thought it was a bomb, grabbed the gym bag and took it outside the school. (Don’t do this. Stephen got in trouble because of his practical joke.)
Problem-Solving
• After actors Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith became a couple, they were plagued by the paparazzi, who followed them constantly during a visit to Spain, even when the couple wanted to be alone. Therefore, Mr. Banderas struck a deal with the paparazzi — if they would allow him and Ms. Griffith to be alone on Tuesdays and Thursdays, they would agree to be photographed the other days of the week.
• When four-year-old Ekaterina Gordeeva, the future winner of two Olympic gold medals in pairs skating with Sergei Grinkov, started skating, even the smallest skates were too big for her feet. Her mother and grandmother solved the problem of little Ekaterina’s feet slipping out of her skating boots by knitting several pairs of socks for her to wear while skating.
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
The Funniest People in Relationships — Buy
The Funniest People in Relationships -- Buy The Paperback
The Funniest People in Relationships -- Kindle
The Funniest People in Relationships -- Apple
The Funniest People in Relationships -- Barnes and Noble
The Funniest People in Relationships -- Kobo
The Funniest People in Relationships -- Smashwords: Many Formats, Including PDF
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: "Twin Peaks Twist"
EP: TWIN PEAKS TWIST
Artist: Messer Chups
Artist Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Record Company: MuSick Records
Record Company: Los Angeles, California, USA
Info: “The band was founded by Oleg Fomchenkov (also known as Oleg Gitarkin) who had previously performed with Oleg Kostrov as Messer für Frau Müller. Messer Chups is often considered a ‘spin-off’ band of Messer für Frau Müller. In the group’s name, ‘Messer’ is taken from the German word for ‘knife’ and ‘Chups’ from Chupa Chups lollipops.”
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $4 (USD) for four-song EP
Genre: Psychobilly. Surf Instrumentals.
Links:
TWIN PEAKS TWIST
Messer Chups on Bandcamp
Messer Chups (Oleg Gitarkin, MC lead guitar) on YouTube
Messer Chups Bio on MySpace
MuSick Records
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.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
No live audience for the first 3 nights of Sumo this basho.
RERUN
FRESH
Ratings Fly High
‘Saturday Night Live’
A contingent of Elon Musk’s legions of fans tuned in to watch the hugely popular — and controversial — billionaire tech inventor and entrepreneur make his debut as host of Saturday Night Live. Last night’s telecast, hosted by Musk with musical guest Miley Cyrus, drew a 4.7 household Live+Same Day rating in the 44 metered local markets and a 2.7 adults 18-49 rating in the 25 markets with local people meters.
That was up sharply from the most recent SNL original on April 10, with host Carey Mulligan and musical guest Kid Cudi, which averaged a 3.6 in overnight households and a 1.5 in adults 18-49.
In fact, the non-entertainer topped the metered market household ratings for any other host this season except for comedians Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. The 4.8 in households is tied for the third highest telecast of the season, behind the Nov. 7 Chappelle-hosted episode (5.7) and the Oct. 3 season premiere hosted by Rock (5.4). Last night’s household’s result matched the overnight rating for the Oct. 24 show hosted by Adele.
The 2.7 in 18-49 in the 25 markets with local people meters is the outright third highest of the season behind the episodes with Chappelle (3.6) and Chris Rock (2.8).
It’s worth noting that the Rock, Chappelle and Adele-hosted episodes came during and immediately after the Presidential campaign when interest in SNL is always very high. Additionally, SNL ratings typically take a hit after the onset of daytime savings time in the spring.
‘Saturday Night Live’
Box Office
‘Wrath of Man’
The latest shoot-‘em-up to hit theaters edges out the $6.8 million launch for “Nobody”
With only 63% of North American theaters currently open, Marvel has left behind its traditional release slot on the first weekend of May, allowing MGM/United Artists’ “Wrath of Man” to take No. 1 this weekend with an $8.1 million opening from 2,875 theaters.
The other new release this weekend was Sony/Stage 6’s “Here Today,” which is directed by and stars Billy Crystal alongside Tiffany Haddish. Sony acquired worldwide rights to the film and released it on 1,200 screens, earning $900,000 this weekend. Reception was mixed with a 52% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Aside from “Wrath of Man,” holdovers filled out the Top 5. Funimation’s “Demon Slayer” is in second with an estimated $3 million in its second weekend, giving it a total of $39.6 million. Warner Bros.’ “Mortal Kombat” is in third with $2.37 million and a domestic total of $37.8 million.
In fourth is Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which added $1.9 million this weekend and now has a domestic total of just under $93 million and a global total of $422 million, ahead of the $386 million grossed by its 2019 MonsterVerse predecessor, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” completes the Top 5 with another solid hold of $1.8 million in its 10th weekend, giving it a domestic total of $43.8 million.
‘Wrath of Man’
Aaron Rodgers To Appear
The Conners
Several years ago, Aaron Rodgers played himself on The Office. He’ll soon be making another cameo on another sitcom. This time, he’ll play himself as Jeopardy! host on The Conners.
The folks at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spotted the tweet hyping the final two episodes of the season from the Roseanne-free Roseanne reboot.
One of the characters from the show appears as a contestant on the show, a device that has been used in the past.
Rodgers spent two weeks as the guest host of Jeopardy!, and he hasn’t been bashful about politicking publicly for the permanent gig. In stark contrast, Rodgers has been tight lipped regarding his future with the Green Bay Packers.
The Conners
Tumbles
Dogecoin
Dogecoin lost more than a third of its price on Sunday, after Tesla chief and cryptocurrency supporter Elon Musk called it a 'hustle' during his guest-host spot on the "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketch TV show.
Dogecoin was quoted as low as $0.416 on crypto exchange Binance, down 36% from levels around $0.65 before the show. It retraced some of that move later on Sunday, and was last trading around $0.569.
The billionaire Tesla Inc chief executive hosted the SNL show at 11:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday (0330 GMT on Sunday).
Asked 'what is dogecoin', Musk replied, "It's the future of currency. It's an unstoppable financial vehicle that’s going to take over the world."
When a show cast member Michael Che countered, "So, it's a hustle?", Musk replied, "Yeah, it's a hustle," and laughed.
Dogecoin
Failed Coup
Only 440 Arrests
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested approximately 440 people over alleged involvement in the Capitolriots on 6 January, but they are still searching for “the worst of the worst”.
According to a number of media reports, the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that 440 people had been arrested as of Thursday. The Independent has reached out to the DOJ to confirm the statistic.
Despite the steady announcement of charges against those allegedly involved in the insurrection one law enforcement official told NBC News that they’re "not done rounding up the worst of the worst.”
The FBI has continually asked for the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who they have accused of a variety of offenses including assault of police officers, destruction of government property, and obstruction of justice.
In a number of cases, social media posts have often led to the identification and arrest of suspects, with one New York man having even been located following a post bragging about his involvement on a dating app.
Only 440 Arrests
Obsessive Desire
Revenge
Close allies of Former President Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up) are reportedly growing increasingly frustrated over his obsession with getting revenge on people he thinks have wronged him, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Republican leadership and Trump allies told the Post they wish he was working to protect his administration's policies and helping the GOP in 2022 as opposed to wasting his time on "petty rivalries and grievances."
Several former senior White House advisors told the Post that Trump is desperate to remain at the center of national attention. According to The Hill, social media chatter about the former president has fallen by around 91% since he was banned from Facebook and Twitter.
The ex-president is also trying to maintain total control over the Republican base while plotting his revenge to take down Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach him for inciting the January 6 Capitol riot.
The sources also claim that Trump is still so obsessed with his election loss that he refuses to move forward with plans for his presidential library. Another report earlier this year claimed he told GOP donors he wanted to raise $2 billion for the library, which he plans on building in Florida.
Revenge
‘It’s Derogatory’
Native ‘Mascot’
On a recent Friday evening, the teenage daughter of the then mayor-elect of Morris, Illinois, about 60 miles south-west of Chicago, led her high school’s marching band on to the football field wearing a headdress, face paint and clothes resembling Native regalia.
As the band played the “war cry” for the pre-game event, the student, with her reddish blond hair in braids, stood in a wide stance in the middle of the field with her arms crossed.
It was a familiar scene for Morris Community high school, a school of about 850 students, none of whom are Native, according to a 2019 Illinois report card. Its mascot has long been “the Redskins”, a term widely considered a racial slur against Native Americans.
But it is this practice, along with the school’s mascot, that Ted Trujillo – considered the only enrolled tribal member of a federally recognized tribe living in the small city and an alumnus of the school – has been fighting against for nearly four decades.
“It’s racist. It’s derogatory. It stereotypes a whole race of people,” Trujillo, 51, told the Guardian. “It appropriates our sacred culture and traditions. A headdress has meaning in the Native world; the regalia, everything has meaning.”
Native ‘Mascot’
Increased Risk
Teen Years
A new study links slight differences in the thickness of gray matter in the brain as an adolescent to an increased risk of psychosis later in life, findings which could one day help doctors detect the condition earlier as well as providing more targeted treatments for it.
The research is notable for its relatively large sample size: MRI scans of 3,169 volunteers with an average age of 21 were analyzed, including 1,792 from people already deemed to be at "clinical high risk for developing psychosis". Of that high-risk group, 253 went on to develop psychosis within two years.
Those at high risk for psychosis generally had lower cortical thickness (the thickness of the brain's gray matter). This was most noticeable in several temporal and frontal brain regions of high-risk youth who later developed psychosis.
Gray matter is the thin outer layer of our brains, lying over most of the brain's structures. It's where our thinking, perceiving, producing, and understanding language and most information processing takes place.
While everyone's brains experience some of this cortical thinning as adulthood arrives, the research also shows that changes can already show up in brain scans of 12-16-year-olds who go on to be diagnosed with psychosis.
Teen Years
Hypothesis Is True
"Big Nose Big Hose"
A team of scientists has studied the noses and genitals of recently deceased corpses to determine if the "big nose big hose" hypothesis is true. It's good news, large-nosed brethren, for the forensic scientists found that the larger the honker the, uh, larger your "down there" honker.
The researchers looked at one hundred twenty-six male corpses for their study, all forensic autopsy cases at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine from April 2015 to March 2019. All cadavers were aged between 30 and 50 years old, and their postmortem conducted within 3 days of their death before any major decomposition could take place.
For the study, published in Basic and Clinical Andrology, the team took measurements of the bodies' heights, weight, length, and girth of their flaccid penis and the weight of their testicles. Of course, it's not really possible to induce an erection in a corpse, so instead "stretched penile length" was used, whereby a researcher stretched the penises manually, which the researchers say gives an accurate measurement of what their erect length would have been when alive.
A much luckier researcher, meanwhile, measured the lengths of their flaccid nose.
The team found that the most highly correlated factors were flaccid penile length and stretched penile length. No surprises there. However, the next biggest correlation was between nose size and stretched penile length. The bigger your nose, the larger the "erect" penis.
"Big Nose Big Hose"
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
