Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Bride finds groom hard (YouTube)
Flubbed line at wedding ceremony.
Paul Krugman: Win Some, Lose Some (New York Times)
I'm beginning to suspect that we can - that outside of whatever he did at Bain, Romney really is ignorant as well as uncaring.
Dahlia Lithwick: America's Women Can't Be Trusted (Slate)
When you strip everything away, that's the root of the GOP's campaign against abortion, contraception, and laws that protect women from domestic violence.
Mark Shields: A Price Tag on Patriotism (Creators Syndicate)
Fifty years ago, a young American president told the world that "to assure the survival and the success of liberty," he and his fellow countrymen "will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship." Today, for Eduardo Saverin and his apologists in the tax-avoidance club, to be a citizen is all about your rights and nothing about your responsibilities. And if you don't like any law, you can just do what to the rest of us is truly unimaginable - and renounce your American citizenship.
Barbara Ehrenreich: Looting the Lives of the Poor (TomDispatch)
Individually the poor are not too tempting to thieves, for obvious reasons. Mug a banker and you might score a wallet containing a month's rent. Mug a janitor and you will be lucky to get away with bus fare to flee the crime scene. But as Business Week helpfully pointed out in 2007, the poor in aggregate provide a juicy target for anyone depraved enough to make a business of stealing from them.
Farhad Manjoo: I'm Through With Paper (Slate)
The new iPad finally made me prefer a screen to a magazine.
Michael Hann: "Willie Nelson: 'If we made marijuana legal, we'd save a whole lotta money and lives'" (Guardian)
The veteran musician on God, politics, his favourite singer and why weed should be decriminalized.
Jon Wilde: Miles Davis: his wardrobe, his wit, his way with a basketball … (Guardian)
It's 20 years since the jazz legend passed away. We remember a man who cooked well, dressed better and had some choice words for Nancy Reagan.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Coastal Eddy has returned and all is well.
Sorry for the crappy quality, but the sign near the top-right caught my eye. We'd been watching Family Guy and I didn't change the channel fast enough, so we caught the top of the 'news' on Faux.
'Glass House' Shines In Seattle
Dale Chihuly
Pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work has been shown in over 200 museums worldwide, will be honored in his home city Seattle when "Chihuly Garden and Glass" opens on Monday, offering the most comprehensive collection of his work ever.
Spanning one and a half acres in the shadow of the Space Needle, the show includes an exhibition hall, a garden and a "Glass House" structure by Chihuly, inspired by his two favorite buildings, Paris' Sainte-Chapelle and London's Crystal Palace.
Inside "Glass House," visitors encounter a suspended sculpture 100-feet long, hovering overhead like an alien serpent. Composed of 1340 individual plates of red, orange, amber and yellow, it is one of Chihuly's largest installations.
In the garden just outside "Glass House" stands "Seattle Sun," a yellow and orange orb of countless curls and baubles spanning 16 ft. in diameter.
An exhibition hall houses eight galleries outlining the various phases of Chihuly's career, including his landmark work, "Glass Forest," as well as a "Sealife" room that gives the artist pause to remember how it was created in his mind.
Dale Chihuly
Feminist Group Protests At Premiere
Cannes
A French feminist group upset about the lack of female directors at this year's Cannes Film Festival staged a hairy protest on the red carpet Sunday.
Five women from La Barbe donned fake, different colored beards and stood in the torrential rain at the premiere of Michael Haneke's "Amour." They carried signs that said, "Marveilleux," ''Merci!!!" ''Splendide," ''Incredible!" and "Le Barbe."
None of the 22 films competing for the Palme D'Or prize at the festival this year was directed by a woman.
La Barbe, which means The Beard, previously had a letter complaining about the male-dominated festival line-up published in Le Monde and The Guardian newspapers.
Cannes
Admission Now $87!
Disneyland
Visitors looking for admission into either Disney theme park in Anaheim, Calif., are going to need to dig a little bit deeper into their wallets. The Los Angeles Times reports ticket prices for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure are increasing effective today. A one-day ticket to either park is jumping nearly 10 percent from $80 to $87. KTLA reports the price hike is at the upper end of the average ticket price increases over the past 10 years, as Disney has increased prices $2 to $7 in each of those years.
The Orange County Register reports all annual pass packages have been increased as well. The Premium pass jumped $150 to $649, the Deluxe pass increased $90 to $469 and the Southern California pass increased $60 to $329. While the increases are substantial, the passes remain a much better pricing option than a one-day ticket at $87 or a one-day Park Hopper at $125.
KABC reports ticket prices have increased nearly twice over the past year at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. This time last year the price of a one-day ticket to either park sold for $76. Therefore, over the past year a single-day one-park admission price has jumped $11 at the California theme parks.
Disneyland
Missing Actor Enters Rehab
Nick Stahl
"Terminator 3" actor Nick Stahl, who had been missing for more than a week, has checked himself into rehab, his estranged wife told media outlets on Sunday.
Stahl's wife Rose Murphy told E! Online celebrity news website that the actor, who has a history of substance abuse problems, was "really working hard" at sobriety.
The 32-year-old American actor had been reported missing to police earlier this month. He sent an email to friends and family on Friday saying he wanted to check into rehab for 30 days, according to TMZ.com.
Stahl had been spotted in the skid row area of Los Angeles last week, and his wife had said she believed drugs may have played a part in his disappearance.
Nick Stahl
New Book Exposes Vatican't
Leaked Documents
The Vatican on Saturday denounced as "criminal" a new book of leaked internal documents that shed light on power struggles inside the Holy See and the thinking of its embattled top banker, and warned that it would take legal action against those responsible.
Pope Benedict XVI has already appointed a commission of cardinals to investigate the "Vatileaks" scandal, which erupted earlier this year with the publication of leaked memos alleging corruption and mismanagement in Holy See affairs and internal squabbles over its efforts to comply with international anti-money laundering norms.
The publication Saturday of "His Holiness," by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, added fuel to the fire, reproducing confidential letters and memos to and from Benedict and his personal secretary which, according to the Vatican, violated the pope's right to privacy.
Nuzzi, author of "Vatican SpA," a 2009 volume laying out shady dealings of the Vatican bank based on leaked documents, said he was approached by sources inside the Vatican with the trove of new documents, most of them of fairly recent vintage and many of them painting the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a negative light.
But there are international leaks as well, including diplomatic cables from Vatican embassies from Jerusalem to Cameroon. Some concern the conclusions of the pope's delegate the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order in a memo to the pope last fall. (He warned that the financial situation of the order, beset by a scandal over its pedophile founder, "while not grave, is serious and pressing.")
Leaked Documents
3 Charged In Carjacking
Marvin Winans
Three young men were arraigned Sunday in the assault and carjacking of popular Detroit pastor and gospel singing icon Marvin Winans.
The office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy identified the suspects as Detroit residents Montoya Givens and Christopher Moorehead, both 20, and Brian K. Young, 18, of Macomb County's Clinton Township. They are charged with carjacking, unarmed robbery and conspiracy, said Maria Miller, Worthy's spokeswoman.
Winans, 54, was attacked Wednesday afternoon while pumping gas in Detroit. The robbers took his sport utility vehicle, Rolex watch, cash and credit cards.
Winans sustained bruises and scrapes and was treated at a hospital and released. He is pastor of the 4,500-member Perfecting Church and delivered singer Whitney Houston's eulogy in February.
Marvin Winans
Public Gets Screwed, Again
Marcellus Shale
Some people are absolutely sure gas drilling threatens public health, while others are absolutely sure it doesn't.
"Our concern is getting reliable data so we know what to do for our patients," said David Carey, director of Geisinger's Weis Center for Research in Danville, Pa.
Geisinger serves many patients who live in areas that have seen a recent boom in Marcellus Shale gas drilling. The gas-rich formation thousands of feet underground has generated jobs, billions of dollars and concerns about possible environmental and public health impacts from thousands of new wells.
Until a few months ago, Pennsylvania public health officials had expected to get a share of the revenue being generated by the state's new Marcellus Shale law, which is projected to provide about $180 million to state and local governments in the first year.
But representatives from Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's office and the state Senate cut the health appropriation to zero during final negotiations, so now the state Department of Health is left with a new workload but no funding to examine whether gas drilling impacts health.
Marcellus Shale
Records Show Black Undercount
1940 US Census
It was on the streets of her Harlem neighborhood in the 1940s that teenager Althea Gibson began working on the tennis skills that would take her all the way to winning Wimbledon.
But according to the 1940 census, the trailblazing athlete didn't even exist.
There's no record of Gibson and her family in the decennial census, the records of which were released online to the public April 2 by the U.S. National Archives after a 72-year confidentiality period lapsed.
She and her family aren't the only ones - more than a million black people weren't accounted for in 1940, an undercount that had ramifications at the time on everything from the political map to the distribution of resources.
There had been anecdotal information of population undercounts in previous censuses, but it was the data from the 1940 effort that really made it clear, said Phil Sparks, former associate director of the bureau and now co-director of The Census Project, which advocates for an accurate count.
1940 US Census
Wedding Guest List
Barney Frank
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., will marry his partner in July, but there's one person he's not including on the guest list: President Obama.
"If he and his wife wanted to come, I would be delighted and honored to have them. But he will bring the Secret Service," Frank said on C-SPAN's Newsmakers on Sunday, adding that "it would ruin the party to have the Secret Service" there.
"I don't want to be accused of having shut down the entire region for a five mile radius on a holiday weekend," he said.
"I'm not critical of [the Secret Service], but they can go take their layered protection of the president somewhere else. Not to my party," he said.
Barney Frank
Jersey Sells For $4.4 Million
Babe Ruth
A baseball jersey worn by Babe Ruth has sold for more than $4.4 million, a record for any item of sports memorabilia, according to the buyer and seller.
SCP Auctions says the circa 1920 New York Yankees uniform top is the earliest known jersey worn by The Bambino and it fetched $4,415,658 at the company's April auction, which ended Sunday. SCP Auctions says that price broke the previous record of $4,338,500 set in 2010 for James Naismith's founding rules of basketball.
Lelands.com says it submitted the winning bid for Ruth's jersey, which had been displayed for years at The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in Baltimore.
Suzan French, a spokeswoman for Lelands.com, says the company plans to sell the jersey privately rather than re-auction it.
Babe Ruth
Quake Destroys Cheese
Italy
Sunday's quake in northeastern Italy destroyed more than 300,000 wheels of Parmesan and Grana Padano, a similar cheese, with an estimated value of more than 250 million euros, an industry official said.
"The earthquake was very strong and heavily damaged the structures of many warehouses as well as thousands of tonnes" of the two cheeses, said Stefano Berni, head of a consortium that protects the Grana Padano designation.
An initial estimate of 250 million euros ($320 million) is "very conservative," Berni said, adding that he hoped no further tremors would "further aggravate the state of the already highly damaged and fragile structures."
A wheel of the cheese can weigh up to 40 kilogrammes (90 pounds).
Italy
Despite Legal Challenge, Sells For $1 Million
Tyrannosaur
A nearly complete tyrannosaur skeleton has sold for just over $1 million, in spite of a call to halt its auction because the fossils may have been taken illegally from Mongolia.
During an auction this afternoon (May 20), Heritage Auctions sold the Tyrannosaurus bataar specimen to an anonymous bidder on the condition that the sale receive court approval.
Opponents did not want the sale to go forward under any condition. A temporary restraining order filed in the name of the Mongolian president Elbegdorj Tsakhia sought to prevent the sale of the skeleton. The court documents contend that the specimen originated in Mongolia, and that the export of fossils excavated in Mongolia is a criminal offense under the country's law.
Attorney Robert Painter, who represents the Mongolian president, attempted to stop the sale when the tyrannosaur's turn came toward the end of today's natural history auction. Painter said he would continue pursuing the case and attempt to hold Heritage Auctions in contempt of court for going forward in spite of the temporary restraining order.
Tyrannosaur
Weekend Box Office
'The Avengers'
"The Avengers" continues to muscle out everything else Hollywood throws at it, easily sinking naval rival "Battleship" and other new releases.
With $55.1 million domestically, Disney's superhero sensation remained No. 1 for a third-straight weekend and took in more than the three big newcomers combined. Overseas, "The Avengers" added an additional $56 million.
Universal's "Battleship" opened a distant No. 2 with $25.4 million domestically, well below industry expectations.
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's vampire romp "Dark Shadows," which opened in second-place a week earlier, slipped to No. 4 with $12.8 million. The Warner Bros. release lifted its domestic total to $50.9 million, a weak result compared to the previous Depp-Burton blockbusters "Alice in Wonderland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Avengers," $55.1 million ($56 million international).
2. "Battleship," $25.4 million ($6.5 million international).
3. "The Dictator," $17.4 million ($30.3 million international).
4. "Dark Shadows," $12.8 million.
5. "What to Expect When You're Expecting," $10.5 million.
6. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," $3.3 million.
7. "The Hunger Games," $3 million.
8. "Think Like a Man," $2.7 million.
9. "The Lucky One," $1.8 million.
10. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," $1.5 million.
'The Avengers'
In Memory
Robin Gibb
With his carefully tended hair, tight trousers and perfect harmonies, Robin Gibb, along with his brothers Maurice and Barry, defined the disco era. As part of the Bee Gees - short for the Brothers Gibb - they created dance floor classics like "Stayin Alive," ''Jive Talkin'," and "Night Fever" that can still get crowds onto a dance floor.
The catchy songs, with their falsetto vocals and relentless beat, are familiar pop culture mainstays. There are more than 6,000 cover versions of the Bee Gees hits, and they are still heard on dance floors and at wedding receptions, birthday parties, and other festive occasions.
Robin Gibb, 62, died Sunday "following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," his family announced in a statement released by Gibb's representative Doug Wright. "The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time," it said.
The Bee Gees, born in England but raised in Australia, began their career in the musically rich 1960s but it was their soundtrack for the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever" that sealed their success. The album's signature sound - some called it "blue-eyed soul" - remains instantly recognizable more than 40 years after its release.
The album remains a turning point in popular music history, ending the hard rock era and ushering in a time when dance music ruled supreme. It became one of the fastest-selling albums of all time with its innovative fusion of harmony and pulsing beats. The movie launched the career of a young John Travolta whose snake-hipped moves to the sounds of "You Should Be Dancing" established his reputation as a dancer and forever linked his image to that of the Bee Gees.
Despite financial success, Robin Gibb and his brothers endured repeated tragedies. Maurice died suddenly of intestinal and cardiac problems in 2003. Their younger brother Andy Gibb, who also enjoyed considerable chart success as a solo artist, had died in 1988 just after turning 30. He suffered from an inflamed heart muscle attributed to a severe viral infection.
Robin Gibb himself took care of his health and, at the time of his death, was a vegan who did not drink alcohol.
The Bee Gees consisted of Barry Gibb, the eldest, and twins Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb. Their three-part harmonies became their musical signature, particularly in the disco phase, when Barry's matchless falsetto often dominated, and they were renowned for their wide-ranging songwriting and producing skills.
The Gibbs were born in England on the Isle of Man, an island in the Irish Sea, but moved to Australia with their parents in 1958 when they were still quite young and began their musical career there. They had been born into a musical family, with a father who was a drummer and bandleader and a mother who liked to sing.
After several hits in Australia, their career started to really take off when they returned to England in 1967 and linked up with promoter Robert Stigwood.
After several hits and successful albums, Robin Gibb left the group in 1969 after a series of disagreements, some focusing on whether he or Barry should be lead vocalist. He released some successful solo material - most notably "Saved by the Bell" - before rejoining his brothers in 1970 and scoring a major hit with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart."
The Gibbs then suffered some slack years - searching for a style that could sustain them in the post-Beatles era - and Barry Gibb started experimenting with falsetto vocals, first on backup, and then in the lead position.
The brothers were at a low point when they went into a French studio to try to come up with some songs for the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack at the urging of Stigwood.
The success of those tunes - closely linked to the popularity of the movie, and the power of the disco movement - changed their lives forever, giving them a string of number one hits.
After several years of chart success, the Gibbs spent much of the 1980s writing songs and producing records for other artists, working closely with top talents such as Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and Dolly Parton. They also continued touring and releasing their own records.
The band continued in the 1990s, gaining recognition for their body of work with induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Then came Maurice's sudden death in 2003. The surviving brothers announced that the name Bee Gees would be retired with Maurice Gibb's death, although Robin and Barry did collaborate on projects and Robin Gibb continued his solo career and extensive touring despite mounting health problems.
One of his final projects was "The Titanic Requiem," a classical work he co-wrote with his son Robin-John, that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra premiered in April to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.
Robin Gibb remained emotionally attached to the Isle of Man, keeping a house there as well as homes in rural Oxfordshire, England, and Miami.
He also became involved with numerous charities and worked to establish a permanent memorial to the veterans of Britain's World War II Bomber Command and recorded songs honoring British veterans.
Gibb is survived by his second wife, Dwina, and four children, as well as his older brother, fellow Bee Gee Barry Gibb, and his sister Lesley Evans, who lives in Australia.
Robin Gibb
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