from Bruce
Anecdotes
Money
• Sylvester Stallone and his pregnant wife were living in a $100-a-month apartment in Hollywood. He had written the screenplay for Rocky and wanted to star in the movie, but movie studios wanted someone else to star in it. Mr. Stallone was tempted to sell the movie script when he was offered $350,000 for it, although selling it meant that he would not star in the movie. He asked his wife what he should do. She asked him, “Have you ever seen $350,000?” He replied, “No, never.” She then said to him, “Well, you won’t miss it then.” Mr. Stallone turned down the offer, and he received a much bigger financial offer and the opportunity to star in the film, which won a 1976 Best Picture Oscar.
• British ballet was born in the early 1930s. Not surprisingly, it didn’t pay very well. While dancing for Marie Rambert’s company, Alicia Markova was told that she and the other dancers would be paid 6s 6d per performance, but Ms. Markova protested that this would just pay for the ballet shoes she would use in the performance. (Principal ballet dancers wear out one — or two — pairs of shoes per performance.) In addition, she would have to pay 4s for a taxi to get home after the performance. After her protest, Ms. Markova was paid 10s 6d per performance.
• Wilson Mizner was constantly looking for a way to make money off suckers. Once, a rich young man spent the night drinking, then confessed to Mr. Mizner that he couldn’t remember what he had done that night. Mr. Mizner immediately had a friend who was the night manager at an expensive restaurant draw up an itemized bill for almost $2,000, then convinced the rich young man that he had been the host of a very large, very expensive party in a private dining room at the expensive restaurant. Mr. Mizner and the night manager split the take.
• Early in his quest to become a recognized artist instead of a recognized commercial artist, future Pop artist Andy Warhol searched for ideas about what he should paint and he asked many people for advice. Art consultant Muriel Latow told him, “I can give you an idea, but it’s gonna cost you $50.” Andy got a check ready to sign. She then told him, “What do you like most in the world? You like money. You should paint that. And you should paint something that everybody sees every day … like cans of soup.” Andy signed the check.
• After the Russian Revolution, ballet dancer Nicolas Legat opened a dance studio in England. Once he needed money to pay the rent on the studio, and he decided to ask the mother of one of his pupils for a loan. After being coached on how to ask for a loan tactfully, he went to see his pupil’s mother, but his command of the English language deserted him, and so he blurted out, “Geeve me feefty pounds.” (He got the loan.)
• Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine’s Ballet Society was frequently short of money. Once, they needed $1,000 for a silk curtain, but this time Mr. Kirstein, who did the fundraising, couldn’t get the money. Fortunately, Mr. Balanchine appeared, clutching $500 in each hand. People asked where the money had come from, but Mr. Balanchine replied only that it had not come from a bank robbery.
• Scottish poet Robert Burns and a crowd of people once witnessed a sailor save a rich man from drowning. As a reward for saving his life, the rich man gave the sailor only a shilling. The crowd became angry because of the paltry reward, but Mr. Burns said, “Let him alone. The gentleman is, of course, the best judge of what his life is worth.”
Music
• Sometimes, male audience members would yell “Show us your tits!” at the all-female San Francisco band Frightwig. They always yelled back, “Show us your d**ks!” [No, not ducks.] Soon, they began inviting a male audience member to come on stage and strip and dance as they played the song “A Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do.” Once, four young fans asked if they could dance on stage to the song. They danced in their underwear and then mooned everyone. Frightwig member Deanna Ashley remembers that they had FRIGHTWIG written on their butt cheeks. She says, “It was so cute.”
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Don’t Fear the Reaper — Free Downloads
Don’t Fear the Reaper — Apple
Don’t Fear the Reaper — Barnes and Noble
Don’t Fear the Reaper — Kobo
Don’t Fear the Reaper — Smashwords
Don’t Fear the Reaper — Can Be Read Online Here at No Cost: Smashwords Online Reader
NEW BLOG - davidbrucebooks: FREE PDFs
Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Track: "Why We Fight"
Album: AS GOOD AS IT GETS: 50 REASONS TO SAVE INDEPENDENT MUSIC
Artist: Doghouse Roses
Artist Location: Glasgow, UK
Info:
“Why We Fight” is also on the Doghouses Roses album WE ARE MADE OF LIGHT. Price £1 (GBP) for track; £5 (GBP) for 11-track album
“Doghouse Roses are an independent duo of harmony vocals, guitars and clawhammer banjo. In 2016 their third album LOST IS NOT LOSING was released to superb reviews, with the DAILY EXPRESS affirming it ‘delivers an extraordinary punch'. Previous years saw the duo establish their reputation, touring on their own and as members of the alt-country collective The Willard Grant Conspiracy.”
“Aldora Britain Records is an e-zine and record label that promotes the music and work of authentic independent or underground artists from all around the world. Originally established in 2013, they revamped themselves in 2018 with a brand-new approach. Their first weekly compilation, aptly titled THE SECOND COMING, was released in late 2019. They now also release original singles, EPs and charity projects.”
Price: £4.15 (GBP) for 50-track (plus one bonus track) album by various artists
Genre: Alt-Country. Various.
Links:
AS GOOD AS IT GETS: 50 REASONS TO SAVE INDEPENDENT MUSIC
WE ARE MADE OF LIGHT
Doghouse Roses on Bandcamp
Doghouse Roses on YouTube
Aldora Britain Records on Bandcamp
Aldora Britain Records on YouTube
Other Links:
Bruce’s Music Recommendations: FREE pdfs
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
davidbrucebooks: EDUCATE YOURSELF - Free PDFs
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Predator
The below is from this morning’s Politico newsletter about Predator's latest "love me" hate rally. If only Predator had put half that much effort into being president, he might have accomplished something worthwhile. (Then again, with a little more effort, he might still be dictator so we should be glad he was the lazy mango ass that he is!)
Trump is like a standup comedian. He uses rallies, especially in the offseason, to work on material. He tests the reaction among his diehard fans and watches the mainstream media’s coverage. He then rewrites the lines, calibrating them for maximum effect inside the arena and minimal blowback outside of it. You can tell he believes he’s onto something with his mocking of trans people.
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Much thinner marine layer - sun was out by noon.
Gets Caked
Mona Lisa
Images of the Mona Lisa painting stained with cake cream after a person stamped a cake on it went viral on Sunday, despite the fact that the cake actually collided with the glass that protects Leonardo da Vinci's work in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
According to witness testimony, the perpetrator was a man in a wheelchair who wore a wig. To the surprise of the other guests, he would have suddenly stood up and approached La Gioconda, throwing the cake at her.
Those in charge of the museum's security rushed to eject the man from the room, while the rest of those present continued to photograph the situation nonstop.
The painting, which was created between 1503 and 1519 by Leonardo da Vinci, was unaffected because it was exposed and protected by safety glass, which was where the sweet's remains were impregnated.
And, despite the astonishment of those who were in the museum's most inaccessible room at the time, which is always packed with tourists, the incident did not escalate. As seen in some of the videos shared on social media, Louvre security workers rushed to remove the attacker from the building and clean the glass.
Mona Lisa
Stranded In Mexico
Migrants
Dozens of migrants performed an opera in the Mexican border city of Tijuana on Saturday aimed at dramatizing the struggles of those who seek to reach the United States.
Featuring baroque music and urban dance, the opera depicts the story of a 15-year-old Guatemalan teenager who fled north, along with her mother, to escape gang violence in her country.
Upon reaching the U.S. border near San Diego, however, she and her mother are sent back into Mexico to await their asylum proceedings, under the "Migrant Protection Protocols" (MPP) program, also known as "Remain in Mexico."
Director Yuriria Fanjul, who is from Mexico City, said that participating in the opera allowed the actors to process the trauma from their own migratory experiences.
Migrants
Weekend Box Office
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Tom Cruise just got his first $100 million opening weekend with “Top Gun: Maverick.” In its first three days in North American theaters, the long-in-the-works sequel earned an estimated $124 million in ticket sales, Paramount Pictures said Sunday. Including international showings, its worldwide total is $248 million.
It’s a supersonic start for a film that still has the wide-open skies of Memorial Day itself to rake in even more cash. According to projections and estimates, by Monday’s close, “Top Gun: Maverick” will likely have over $150 million.
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” was the only new release that dared go up against “Top Gun.” Released by 20th Century Studios and Disney, the animated pic earned $12.6 million from 3,425 locations. It opened in third place, behind “Doctor Strange 2,” which earned $16.4 million in its fourth weekend in theaters.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. “Top Gun: Maverick,” $124 million.
2. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” $16.4 million.
3. “The Bob’s Burgers Movie,” $12.6 million.
4. “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” $5.9 million.
5. “The Bad Guys,” $4.6 million.
6. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” $2.5 million.
7. “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” $2.5 million.
8. “The Lost City,” $1.8 million.
9. “Men,” $1.2 million.
10. “F3: Fun and Frustration,” $1 million.
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Belittled
Liz Cheney
Donald Trump An old draft-dodger was up to his old juvenile ways — which apparently his followers like – when he took the stage at a Wyoming rally to endorse Republican Rep. Liz Cheney’s primary challenger Sunday and simultaneously poked fun at both her and former President George W. Bush.
Trump The make-up wearing New Yorker hosted a rally at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper Saturday in support of land attorney Harriet Hageman, whom he endorsed in hopes of ousting Cheney from Wyoming’s lone House seat. Cheney has been very vocal about her disdain for Trump the New York conman, whom she has said is “clearly unfit for future office [and] clearly can never be anywhere near the Oval Office ever again.”
“She’s the face of the Washington swamp and the same failed foreign policy of the Clintons, Bushes, the Obamas, Bidens, and the entire sick political establishment,” Trump the diaper-wearing clown said to the packed crowd, who booed at the mere mention of those names.
Liz Cheney
Seven People Died
‘Hoax’
Addressing an arena far from filled to capacity, (the) former President Donald Trump referred to “the insurrection hoax” during a rally for Republican Harriet Hageman. Hageman is running in a primary against anti-Trump congresswoman, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
“As one of the leading proponents of the insurrection hoax, Liz Cheney has pushed a grotesquely false, fabricated, hysterical, partisan narrative, and that was the narrative of the day,” he said. Seven people died in connection with the very real attack, according to a bipartisan Senate investigation.
Trump The twice impeached loser is targeting Cheney’s race likely out of a personal vendetta. Cheney is one of only two Republicans sitting on the panel investigating the Capitol attack. Cheney also voted to impeach Trump following the insurrection. “She has gone crazy… Totally crazy,” Trump said of the congresswoman.
Before Trump Individual #1 took the stage, Hageman addressed the crowd. The candidate warned her supporters that Democrats will “turn the greatest country on earth into a third-world failure.” But one of Hageman’s biggest applause lines came when she said, “We’re fed up with the Jan. 6 commission and those people who think they can gaslight us,” one in a long list of right-wing conservative complaints that ended with, “We’re fed up with Liz Cheney.”
‘Hoax’
On The Rise
Christian Nationalism
The victory party took on the feel of an evangelical worship service after Doug Mastriano won Pennsylvania’s Republican gubernatorial primary this month. As a Christian singer led the crowd in song, some raised their arms toward the heavens in praise.
Mastriano opened his remarks by evoking Scripture: “God uses the foolish to confound the wise.” He claimed Pennsylvanians’ freedom would be “snatched away” if his Democratic opponent wins in November, and cast the election in starkly religious terms with another biblical reference: “Let’s choose this day to serve the Lord.”
Mastriano, a state senator and retired Army colonel, has not only made faith central to his personal story but has woven conservative Christian beliefs and symbols into the campaign — becoming the most prominent example this election cycle of what some observers call a surge of Christian nationalism among Republican candidates.
Christian nationalism is often accompanied by a belief that God has destined America, like the biblical Israel, for a special role in history, and that it will receive divine blessing or judgment depending on its obedience.
'Banned Guns Giveaway'
NRA
As part of its ongoing "Banned Guns Giveaway" the National Rifle Association this week raffled off a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 rifle — the same gun used just days earlier during a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 21 people.
"The NRA is giving away 12 world-class guns that Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi want to ban!" reads the website and advertisements for the NRA's giveaway, which opened just one day before the shooting occurred and ran for four days after.
While there have been renewed calls for gun control measures to be passed since the shooting, no national legislation has moved forward and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declined to endorse new state laws in the wake of the shooting.
The prize package is one of multiple firearms being raffled through the giveaway and includes the same model gun as was used in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School as well as 1,000 rounds of ammunition. No additional entries are being accepted for this giveaway, though several other guns will be raffled through September.
NRA
Terrified Of Bananas
Male Mice
Scientists recently discovered something about male mice that's utterly bananas: The distinctive scent of a banana stresses them out.
Researchers from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, learned about this unusual fruit aversion while analyzing spiking stress hormones in male mice when the males were close to pregnant or lactating females. The scientists reported in a new study that the males' hormonal shifts were triggered by the presence of a compound called n-pentyl acetate in the females' urine. It also happens to be the compound that gives bananas their distinctive smell.
"The whole thing came as a surprise, since we were not looking for this in particular and found it by accident," said Jeffrey Mogil, the study’s senior author and a professor in the department of psychology at McGill University. "The pregnant females were in our lab for another experiment, and one of our grad students realized that the males began acting weird," Mogil told Live Science.
In the paper, researchers wrote that "male mice, especially virgin males, are well known to engage in infanticidal aggression to advance their genetic fitness." As a way to keep these potential predators at bay, pregnant and lactating females rely on chemosignaling, or emitting chemical responses through their bodies, to send messages to the males to stay away from their offspring.
"Rodents and a lot of mammals other than humans are reliant on their olfactory senses," or sense of smell, Mogil said. "Urine scent-marking is well known, but what we’ve found here is a new message that has never been described before in mammals. We’ve seen a lot of olfactory messages being sent from males to females, but there are fewer examples of females sending them to males. Most of these messages have to do with sexual behavior, but in this case, sex has nothing to do with it at all. The females are telling the males to stay away, otherwise be prepared for me to beat the crap out of you if you touch my pups."
Male Mice
Magnetic Waves Sweep Every Seven Years
Earth’s Core
Underneath our feet, thousands of kilometers deep, molten iron and nickel move about in the Earth’s outer core. This motion creates our planet’s magnetic field – a shield that has protected life against the worst of cosmic radiation for billions of years. Understanding the geomagnetic field is still a work in progress, and new research from the European Space Agency reveals magnetic waves that exist on the surface of the outer core, at the boundary with the mantle.
As reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the wave sweeps slowly across the outer core at 1,500 kilometers per year (0.1 miles per hour). And it goes around every seven years.
“Geophysicists have long theorised over the existence of such waves, but they were thought to take place over much longer time scales than our research has shown,” lead author Dr Nicolas Gillet, from the University Université Grenoble Alpes, said in a statement.
The data suggests that the waves are strongest at the equator and they are aligned in columns along the planet’s axis of rotation. Just like the Coriolis force affects the motions of fluids on the planet north and south of the equator, these waves are exhibiting a form of magneto-Coriolis motion.
Earth’s Core
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
