Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Lucy Mangan: "My name is Lucy and I'm a phone addict" (Stylist)
Was it seeing the little girl in the supermarket queue tugging her father's sleeve for attention as he texted that did it? The way that, after a few minutes of being ignored, a look of abject fear crept across her face. "Daddy," she whispered, "can you SEE me?!"
Lucy Mangan: "The stark reality of the post-wedding blues" (Stylist)
Whether it's a small family do or full royal flummery, one factor that unites all weddings is the sheer volume of preparation and high emotion in the lead up to The Big Day. There is one thing, however, that is often overlooked in all this. And that's what comes after it. Namely, a big, fat f**king comedown.
Dr. Michael Gregor: Turmeric
Since 1987, the National Cancer Institute has tested more than a thousand different compounds for chemopreventive, or cancer-preventing, activity. Only a few dozen have made it to clinical trials, and curcumin, turmeric's bright-yellow pigment, is among the most promising.
Miranda Sawyer: "Anthony Hopkins: 'Most of this is nonsense, most of this is a lie'" (The Guardian)
Alcoholism and ambition fuelled the actor's rise to the top. He talks masculinity, fame - and why he's finally ready to play Lear.
Martin Amis on Philip Roth: 'the kind of satirical genius that comes along once in a generation' (The Guardian)
From the ecstatic comedy of Portnoy's Complaint to the narrative richness of his American Trilogy, Philip Roth was a writer of genuine originality, says Martin Amis.
Alison Flood: Why are middle-aged women invisible on book covers? (The Guardian)
Even when they're central to the story, women over 40 are getting pushed to one side when it's time to design the book jacket.
Alison Flood: Digital reading driven by older women, study claims (The Guardian)
Research carried out for the ebook retailer Kobo finds three quarters of the most active readers are women over 45.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Sited In Seattle
Michael Dare
The always fabulous Michael Dare, busking in Seattle
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Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
"PARANOIA STRIKES DEEP, INTO YOUR LIFE IT WILL CREEP"
"NIXON'S CHILDREN."
"IT'S A HARD RAIN THAT'S GONNA FALL"
SULU FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE.
WAR CRIMES!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Thin marine layer burned off by noon.
Years Later The Student Did
'Invite Me To Your Harvard Graduation!'
Judith Toensing didn't just teach her students, she inspired them.
A sixth-grade teacher from Yuma, Arizona, Toensing made a strong impact on one of her students 21 years ago.
At the end of the school year in 1997, Mrs. Toensing, wrote a note on the student's report card: "It has been a joy to have you in class. Keep up the good work! Invite me to your Harvard graduation!."
This week, the student, Christin Gilmer graduated from Harvard as a doctor of public health.
Gilmer, who wrote a thank you note prior to her graduation, said Toensing was the first person to encourage her in the journey of studying public health.
'Invite Me To Your Harvard Graduation!'
Straight Outta Fresno
Audra McDonald
Roosevelt High School honored its Broadway star, alumna Audra McDonald, on Saturday morning with an emotion-filled dedication of the school's theater in her name.
"This is all very overwhelming," McDonald told an audience of more than 100 in the very theater where her career began, previously known as the Roosevelt Theater for the Performing Arts.
Since graduating from Roosevelt in 1988, McDonald has earned six Tony Awards, one Grammy and an Emmy. Former President Barack Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts, America's highest honor for achievement in the arts, in 2015.
To welcome her in proper fashion, 14 Roosevelt singers performed "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and gave a lively performance of "Sing."
Audra McDonald
Helps Set A World Record
Snoop Dogg
Unless you've only ever listened to rappers who were born in this millennium, chances are you know what the connection is between Snoop Dogg and a Gin and Juice cocktail. The song was Snoop's second single off his debut album, Doggystyle, all the way back in 1994.
Yesterday, Snoop Dogg decided to help take his love of the mixed drink to the next level, by assisting in the production of a world record-breaking gin and juice cocktail.
The event took place at the Bottlerock 2018 music festival in Napa Valley, California. The festival places a great emphasis on the food as well as the music, so Snoop was assisted by some incredibly talented chefs.
Snoop posted a picture of his achievement on Instagram today. He's seen, standing next to a massive glass of gin and juice that's so tall he has to reach above his head in order to stir it. Another picture shows Snoop, crouching next to the massive drink, holding up his plaque commemorating his beating the Guinness World Record for largest cocktail.
While he wasn't pictured in any of the photos, longtime Snoop collaborator Warren G was also present at the event, and even has his name included on the certificate as well.
Snoop Dogg
London Introduces Contactless Payments
Buskers
London is introducing a contactless payment scheme for buskers in what organisers said would be a world first, Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Sunday as he unveiled a partnership with tech company iZettle.
Under the "Busk in London" programme, street musicians in the British capital will be able to accept non-cash payments with contactless cards, wearable technology and chip and pin.
Charlotte Campbell, a full-time busker who has been trialling the technology for two weeks, said she had noticed a "significant" increase in contributions.
The project allows performers to set a fixed amount of money to donate and accept contactless payments from passers-by.
iZettle and Busk in London have started rolling the feature out to performers across the city and the company said it would make it available to more charity organisations, NGOs and small businesses.
Buskers
Not 'Legally Responsible'
1,500 Kids
The government program meant to place unaccompanied children taken from the U.S.-Mexico border into the care of a parent or sponsor admitted last month it lost nearly 1,500 of them. And it said it isn't responsible for finding them either.
Senate testimony that was released last month but came to light more recently details how the Office of Refugee Resettlement ? part of the Department of Health and Human Services ? "was unable to determine with certainty the whereabouts of 1,475 [children]." That was according to Steve Wagner, acting assistant secretary with the Administration for Children and Families.
The ORR was tasked between October and December 2017 with checking on the welfare of the more than 7,000 children supposedly placed into the homes of a sponsor or guardian. Along with the nearly 1,500 missing children, an additional 28 ran away and 52 were living with someone other than their initial sponsor, according to the testimony.
But Wagner also said that the "ORR is not legally responsible for children after they are released from ORR care" and handed over to a sponsor. In 2017 alone, more than 40,000 children were taken from the U.S.-Mexico border by the Department of Homeland Security and handed over to the ORR.
One of those problems includes a terrifying 2014 mistake in which the ORR released several minors to human traffickers.
1,500 Kids
Separated From Parents
Immigrant Kids
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Contemptible) has bashed the Democrats for a hugely controversial policy created by his own administration: separating undocumented immigrant children from their parents.
He urged Americans in a Saturday morning tweet to "put pressure" on the Democrats to "end the horrible law that separates children from there [sic] parents."
Despite what Trump tweeted, there is no law requiring children to be separated from their parents. The separation policy was adopted by his own administration. It was underscored in a speech in early May by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The policy has been hit with a firestorm of criticism, with some even comparing the increasing dehumanization of immigrants in America as similar to the ugly atmosphere in Germany before the Holocaust.
In chilling Senate testimony last month, a Health and Human Services official said the government was unable to locate nearly 1,500 children who had been released from its custody. Steve Wagner, acting assistant secretary with the Administration for Children and Families of HHS, insisted that the federal agency is "not legally responsible for children" once they're handed over to a sponsor.
Immigrant Kids
Trying To Discredit Russia Investigation
Rudy
President-for-now Donald Trump's (R-Corrupt) lawyer flatly admitted that the White House is waging a fierce information campaign against special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The aim: to delegitimize the probe in the eyes of voters and lawmakers in Congress.
Rudy Giuliani (R-Family Values), asked about the near-daily attacks on the probe, said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, "They are giving us the material. I couldn't do it if I didn't have the material. ... It is for public opinion."
"Because eventually, the decision here is going to be: impeach, [or] not impeach," he continued. "Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are going to be informed a lot by their constituents. So our jury ... is the American people. And the American people ... Republicans largely, independents pretty substantially, and even Democrats now question the legitimacy of it."
Rudy
Thousands Square Off
Berlin
Thousands of demonstrators for and against the far-right faced off in mass rival rallies in Berlin on Sunday, where calls of "We are the people" were countered with "Go away, Nazis" and techno beats.
Police, who were out in force to keep the groups apart, said the march organised by the anti-immigrant, anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD) drew over 5,000 supporters while the counter-demonstrators numbered more than 25,000.
The rallies passed off largely peacefully, although Berlin police said on Twitter that they had to use pepper spray to stop "demonstrators from trying to break down barriers" at one square.
AfD supporters kicked off their march "for the future of Germany" shortly after midday at Berlin's main train station, before walking to the iconic Brandenburg Gate, with many waving Germany's black, red and gold flag.
The AfD march marked the first public show of strength by the nationalist outfit since it became the largest opposition party, surfing a wave of anger over Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow in large numbers of mainly Muslim refugees at the height of Europe's migrant crisis.
Berlin
Weekend Box Office
"Solo: A Star Wars Story"
In the largest disturbance yet in Disney's otherwise lucrative reign over "Star Wars," the Han Solo spinoff "Solo: A Star Wars Story" opened well below expectations with a franchise-low $83.3 million in ticket sales over the three-day weekend in North American theaters.
Disney estimated Sunday that "Solo" will gross $101 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, a figure below even the opening weekends of the much-derided "Star Wars" prequels. Last week, forecasts ran as high as $150 million for the four-day haul of "Solo."
But the cause of the spinoff's disappointing performance may have had as much to do with "Star Wars" fatigue ("The Last Jedi" exited theaters just last month) and the stiffer competition of a summer holiday weekend. While no major releases dared to open against "Solo," Fox's "Deadpool 2" moved its release date up a week ahead of "Solo."
The gambit may have hurt both releases. After debuting with $125 million last weekend, the R-rated Ryan Reynolds sequel dropped 66 percent to second place with $42.7 million and an estimated $53.5 million four-day haul.
"Solo" notched the biggest Memorial Day weekend opening in several years, but it also came on the heels of a pair of a summer-sized blockbusters - "Deadpool 2" and Disney's own "Avengers Infinity War" - making for an unusually crowded May. "Infinity War" added $16.5 million in its fifth weekend to bring its domestic total to $621.7 million and its global sales to $1.9 billion - both among the highest of all-time.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $83.3 million ($65 million international).
2. "Deadpool 2," $42.7 million ($57 million international).
3. "Avengers: Infinity War," $16.5 million ($32.5 million international).
4. "Book Club," $9.5 million.
5. "Life of the Party," $5.1 million.
6. "Breaking In," $4.1 million.
7. "Show Dogs," $3.1 million.
8. "Overboard," $3 million ($2.3 million international).
9. "A Quiet Place," $2.2 million ($4.7 million international).
&10. "RBG," $1.2 million.
"Solo: A Star Wars Story"
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