Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Buchheit: Evidence that the Meritocracy is Made Up of Poor People (Common Dreams)
1. The Poor Don't Cheat As Much
Marta Millere: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF MEXICO SHOW THAT POVERTY CAN BE JUST A FEW STEPS AWAY FROM LUXURY LIVING
Photographer Oscar Ruíz partnered with Publicis Mexico for an awareness-raising campaign called Erase the Differences with a very simple message: to cast a light on community development issues and inequality in Mexico.
Henry Rollins: Keep it Moving (LA Weekly)
As I write this, I am sitting in one of my favorite spots - my old neighborhood in Washington, D.C. I am in the area this week, working on the H2 show 10 Things You Don't Know About.
AsapSCIENCE: What The Heck Is Gluten? (YouTube)
Is eating 'Gluten-Free' actually good for you?
Ana Samways: "Sideswipe: May 20: Creepy dolly" (New Zealand Herald)
"I want this man to know that they potentially saved our 12-year-old daughter's life. She was on a drip and breathing machine within minutes of our arrival and after four intensive days in hospital is home safe and sound. We can't thank you enough."
The 94 Most Badass Soldiers Who Ever Lived (Cracked)
War! You know what it is good for? Stories of unfathomable badassery, that's what. Over the years, we at Cracked have gathered a formidable collection of these stories, and we've put the very best of them here so that a whole new generation of readers can feel inadequate about their life choices. Read on and you'll learn all the military history too pants-burstingly awesome to make it into your history books.
Scott Burns: Big Brother and Your Bank Account (AssetBuilder)
I am about to eat a large serving of humble pie. I gave some questionable advice. It seems a recent suggestion to a reader would, if followed, have caused him to commit an illegal act. I had no idea. Encouraging illegal acts is not part of my job description. Here's the story.
Scott Burns: Is Investing Really Like Brain Surgery? (AssetBuilder)
"You might be a brain surgeon-but would you operate on your own head?"
Doing Marriage Right (Twitter)
Photograph.
rainman21: Kid Predicaments (YouTube)
"It's tough being five years old. What to do when you find yourself with three girlfriends? That's funny enough in itself, but the punch line on this video is priceless." - Neatorama
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
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wrote:
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Spud Goodman - My POV
Why Does The GOP Hate Science?
I guess I get it. I mean I don't really like to read about investments and commodity futures for fun. There are a ton of things that make me feel uncomfortable when it is brought up, for instance personal hygiene. Who wants to be told how to smell better? Or to look better? Especially when you think you already know all you need to know about that subject. Too much information about ex-foliating and flossing makes my head hurt. A lot. I am guessing this is how right wing republicans feel when they are channel surfing by the TV show Cosmos on Sunday nights. They probably take in the information for a second or two before a reflex prompts them to flip to something a little less informative. Most probably anything but that show while waiting for the Mentalist to come on later.
So as I began my investigation on why so many conservatives hate science it seemed like the first thing I should do is walk a mile in their shoes. Make an effort to feel their pain when taking in information that totally messed up my head too. For me it would be if I was tipped off that Kate Upton was actually a man (not that I have a problem with transgendered people). Now for those who thought the earth was approximately 6,000 years old and keep seeing those illustrations of dinosaurs in magazines, well it just doesn't add up for them as they know if they were real Noah would have given a couple of them boarding passes and we would see them in zoo's today. For sure one thing is clear; it is way less work to ignore the truth. At least with some stuff.
One reason these republicans seem to laugh at this climate change deal is most of them live away from the ocean, like in that middle part of the country where all they have to worry about are tornado's and that Grapes of Wrath story happening again. Why would they freak out about the sea flooding the South Beach of Miami or Manhattan someday? I think WTF would be their answer if they ever did use a bad word. No, I think since flooding is all over the Bible it's not scary at all to them. I heard some scruffy guy (real scruffiness and not a hipster wannabe) at the bus stop muttering to himself about the coming floods and firestorms that will strike us soon because of gay marriage. I had no idea this was such a dangerous thing. You would think most gay people would choose to just live together rather than end the world by getting hitched but I guess the heart wants what the heart wants. No doubt it's a tough job for scientists to scare the piss out of people by tossing out how damp things could be in certain parts of the country cuz tons of these right wingers live in places that haven't seen rain in a long time and they're real close to starting each day with a sponge bath instead of a shower. For sure it's going to be a bitch to rinse the conditioner out of their hair real soon so maybe then it will be the tipping point.
I have picked up too that ice melting in places other than the red states where they live is also a "no biggie". So a few polar bears have to live on ice cubes at those pole places, it's looks like just another water park attraction to them. Not much climate researchers can say to convince science haters up north that it's "go time now" when they had to dig out of the snow for almost 4 months straight and for those who live where they have seen no precipitation whatsoever and can cook their meals outside without a stove. For sure it seems like the right wingers who are baking to death in the south are the toughest sell and it's clear they are gonna hold out until they are picked apart by buzzards flying over their sun drenched corpses.
Speaking of the dying, it's has to be really frustrating for scientists when they even think of going with this as a motivating tool as so many of these fact haters sort of look forward to it. Again, that book the Bible has given some the idea that the end of the world is not that bad a thing so maybe they should do all that they can to hurry it along. Talk about a cluster fuck right? When one group of people are doing their damn best to save the world and another is praying it blows up ASAP it does represent a conundrum (yeah, I had to look that word up). So what do we do now? Sit here and wait for the floods and heat to make life a living hell or try to at least make these last few years as pleasant as possible? What good is it going to be for those of us that do understand climate change is real and we get our moment to mention to conservatives that hey man, we were right after all? I mean yeah, it would be nice to hear Rush Limbaugh and the Koch brothers say "my bad" but I just don't know if it will be that satisfying when we are crawling to the light. Guess time will tell. Later.
Why Does The GOP Hate Science? « My POV
Spud also does a radio show - This one has Richard Lewis and Red Green.
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
The most active open discussion is on Bart's Facebook page.
( www.facebook.com/bartcop )
You can listen to Bart's theme song here
or here.
( www.bartcop.com/blizing-saddles.mp3 )
( youtu.be/MySGAaB0A9k )
We have opened up the radio show archives which are now free. Listen to
all you want.
( bartcop.com/members )
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and seasonal.
Google, Costco and Facebook
Best Employers
Google, Facebook and wholesale retailer Costco offer the best pay and benefit packages in the United States, according to employee ratings compiled by the US job site Glassdoor.
Apart from Costco, whose generous social benefits stand out, four of the five top employers are high-tech firms, according to the survey.
Top was Google, where a software engineer earns an average base salary of $119,000 a year and where employees have free access to a gym, laundromat, billiards and pet boarding.
Facebook, sitting in third -- behind Costco -- is hailed for the autonomy it grants to its workers. It is followed in the rankings by Adobe, the computer software company.
At the bottom of the list, in 25th, is eBay, which employs more than 5,000 people.
Best Employers
Five Meters A Year
Athabasca Glacier
What's believed to be the most-visited glacier in North America is losing more than five metres of ice every year and is in danger of completely disappearing within a generation, says a Parks Canada manager.
The Athabasca Glacier is the largest of six ice sheets that form part of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park. IB is a popular destination for tourists from around the world who climb aboard huge snow coaches to get an up-close look.
While it receives about seven metres of snowfall annually, the glacier has been slowly shrinking for about 150 years.
The passage of time is clearly visible at the ice sheet's base. Markers dating back as early as 1890 show the toe of the Athabasca Glacier has retreated 1.5 kilometres, leaving a moonscape of gravel and rock behind.
Athabasca Glacier
"Saints" Of Consumer Culture
Dead Celebrities
A researcher at the University of Waterloo, Ont. is suggesting that dead celebrities have, in some ways, become the "saints" of today's consumer culture.
PhD candidate Kathleen Riddell says that just as people in the Middle Ages identified with the saints of the Catholic Church, many people today identify with dead celebrities, whose images and ideals are frequently mass-marketed.
Her thesis focuses on the impact of three late great musicians: John Lennon, Johnny Cash, and Jimi Hendrix.
Riddell says that much like saints, dead celebs can create communities around the ideals they were associated with while they were alive - Lennon's peace activism being a notable example.
Dead Celebrities
Trademark Issues
e-Cigarettes
Owners of brands geared toward children of all ages are battling to keep notable names like Thin Mint, Tootsie Roll and Cinnamon Toast Crunch off the flavored nicotine used in electronic cigarettes.
Now the owners of those trademarks are fighting back to make sure their brands aren't being used to sell an addictive drug or make it appealing to to children.
General Mills Inc., the Girl Scouts of the USA and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. are among several companies that have sent cease-and-desist letters to makers of the liquid nicotine demanding they stop using the brands and may take further legal action if necessary.
The actions highlight the debate about the array of flavors available for the battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution, creating vapor that users inhale. The Food and Drug Administration last month proposed regulating electronic cigarettes but didn't immediately ban on fruit or candy flavors, which are barred for use in regular cigarettes because of the worry that the flavors are used to appeal to children.
e-Cigarettes
Busted In West Texas
Wiz Khalifa
Authorities say rapper Wiz Khalifa has been arrested in West Texas for marijuana possession.
The performer from Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, was stopped at an inspection checkpoint at the El Paso airport. A statement from El Paso police says because Khalifa travelled without identification, a search was ordered and Transportation Security Administration agents found a canister with marijuana. TSA alerted police, who then arrested Khalifa.
He was charged with misdemeanour possession of marijuana and was released after posting $300 bail.
Khalifa was born Cameron Thomaz in Minot, North Dakota. He was a headliner at an El Paso music festival Saturday.
Wiz Khalifa
North America
Oil Trains
Albany, New York Sheriff Craig Apple assured a room of concerned citizens that county emergency crews were prepared to handle an oil-train accident involving three or four tank cars.
Firefighters have been training to combat railcar fires with foam, and evacuation plans are detailed in a 500-page emergency response plan, Apple told residents in a May 12 address.
Albany's tracks handle as much as a fourth of the oil pumped from North Dakota's booming Bakken Shale, or up to several 100-car trains per day, each carrying 70,000 barrels.
It is one of several spots along North America's new oil-by-rail corridors where residents and officials are restless, following six fiery derailments in the past 10 months. Some want to limit or halt the traffic, fearful that existing precautions will not prevent deadly blasts, air and waterway pollution, or nuisances including nasty odors.
Since trains play a growing role in getting oil from landlocked North Dakota and central Canada to mostly coastal refineries, efforts to stop them could boost shipping costs or slow the pace of North America's oil boom. This could hit the bottom line of drillers like Continental Resources or refiners like Phillips66.
Oil Trains
Cut Ties With U.S. Consulting Firms
China
China has told its state-owned enterprises to sever links with American consulting firms just days after the United States charged five Chinese military officers with hacking U.S. companies, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
China's action, which targets companies like McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), stems from fears the firms are providing trade secrets to the U.S. government, the FT reported, citing unnamed sources close to senior Chinese leaders.
The companies have large operations in China, the FT reported. McKinsey, BCG and Strategy& all have Chinese state enterprises as clients, the newspaper said.
China warned this week it would retaliate if Washington pressed ahead with allegations that the Chinese officers hacked into U.S. nuclear, metal and solar companies, including Alcoa Inc, Allegheny Technologies Inc, United States Steel Corp, Toshiba Corp unit Westinghouse Electric Co, the U.S. subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG and a steelworkers' union.
In the wake of the charges, Chinese media labeled the U.S. government a "high-level hooligan," while officials in Beijing accused Washington of "double standards" on issues of cyber spying.
China
Methane Lake
Rwanda
Beneath the calm waters of Lake Kivu lie vast but deadly reserves of methane and carbon dioxide, which Rwanda is tapping both to save lives and provide a lucrative power source.
The glittering waters of the inland sea, which straddles the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, contain a dangerous and potent mix of the dissolved gases that if disturbed would create a rare "limnic eruption" or "lake overturn", expert Matthew Yalire said.
Levels of carbon dioxide (Co2) and methane are large and dangerous enough to risk a sudden release that could cause a disastrous explosion, after which waves of Co2 would suffocate people and livestock around, explained Yalire, a researcher at the Goma Volcano Observatory, on the lake's DR Congo shore.
Near the town of Rubavu, a pilot project of the Rwandan government is already producing about two megawatts of electricity from the methane in the lake.
But a new, additional plant is being built on Kivu's eastern shore, where the US-based power company ContourGlobal plans massively to boost production.
Rwanda
Weekend Box Office
'X-Men: Days of Future Past'
Fox-Marvel's "X-Men: Days of Future Past" debuted with $91 million beating last weekend's No. 1 hit, the Warner Bros. sci-fi adventure "Godzilla," which earned $31.4 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Days of Future Past" is estimated to earn nearly $110 million over the four-day extended holiday weekend, which would make it the fifth-highest Memorial Day opener just after last year's $117 million-grossing "Fast & Furious 6." ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" holds as the highest Memorial holiday debut ever with $140 million in 2007.
The Warner Bros. romantic comedy "Blended" debuted at No. 3 with a lacklustre $14.2 million. In the movie, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore team up for the third time following "The Wedding Singer" and "50 First Dates."
Universal's Seth Rogen and Zac Efron-starring lewd comedy "Neighbours" took in $14 million as it crosses the $100 million mark domestically with $114 million overall.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1."X-Men: Days of Future Past," $91 million ($171.1 million international).
2."Godzilla," $31.4 million ($35 million international).
3."Blended," $14.2 million ($2.1 million international).
4."Neighbours," $14 million ($8.2 million international).
5."The Amazing Spider-Man 2," $8 million ($11.2 million international).
6."Million Dollar Arm," $7.1 million.
7."The Other Woman," $4 million ($3.8 million international).
8."Rio 2," $3 million ($5 million international).
9."Chef," $2.2 million ($425.000).
10."Heaven Is for Real," $2 million.
'X-Men: Days of Future Past'
In Memory
Matthew Cowles
Actor Matthew Cowles, who played the evil Billy Clyde Tuggle on the ABC soap opera "All My Children," is dead. He was 69.
The death of Cowles, the husband of actress Christine Baranski, was confirmed by his manager Tsu Tsu Stanton.
Cowles was twice nominated for daytime Emmys for his role on "All My Children," on which he appeared from 1984 to 1990. He also appeared in the online version of the show when it premiered in 2013. Cowles guest-starred on many TV shows, including "Oz," "Law and Order" and "Miami Vice."
He appeared as the ferry captain in Martin Scorsese's 2010 movie "Shutter Island," as well as in "Nurse Betty" in 2000 and in the 1986 film comedy "The Money Pit."
He was married to Baranski, an Emmy and Tony winner who currently appears on TV's "The Good Wife," for more than 30 years.
Matthew Cowles
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