Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Hadley Freeman: The Trumps are coming! Expect it to go as well as a US sitcom episode set in London (The Guardian)
In a plot twist no one saw coming, Trump is bringing his four adult children on his forthcoming state visit. It will be like Arrested Development Goes To The UK
Suzanne Moore: Marriage and children don't always make women happy. Who knew? (The Guardian)
Should Prof Paul Dolan's pronouncements change the way we think about life? Er …
Alison Flood: Terry Pratchett predicted rise of fake news in 1995, says biographer (The Guardian)
Marc Burrows discovered Bill Gates interview in which the writer warned of 'parity of esteem' given to stories published on the net.
Alison Flood: Jack Monroe appeal sends thousands of cookbooks to food banks (The Guardian)
The writer has raised over £30,000 to give out copies of her latest book, whose recipes use only store-cupboard ingredients
Anita Sethi: "Joyce Carol Oates: 'It's a fairytale nightmare to be rejected'" (The Guardian)
The acclaimed American author on the power of familial love, ignoring advice to write only about domestic life, and the recent death of her husband.
Amelia Tait: What happens to our online identities when we die? (The Guardian)
By 2100 there could be 4.9bn dead users on Facebook. So who controls our digital legacy after we have gone? As Black Mirrorreturns, we delve into the issue.
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Michael Egan
took the day off.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• In 1974, Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the comic strip Peanuts, was the Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade. His Peanutscomic strip of that time contains an in-joke: Linus walks into a room in which Lucy is watching the Rose Parade and asks, "Has the Grand Marshall gone by yet?" Lucy replies, "Yeah, you missed him … but he wasn't anyone you ever heard of." In one early cartoon, Charlie Brown worries that no one cares about him, and then he says, "I'll bet that Doctor Spock cares about me." Shortly afterward, Mr. Schulz received a letter from Doctor Benjamin Spock, author of a famous child-care book. The letter stated, "You can tell Charlie Brown that I care about him very much." By the way, Mr. Schulz once said, "Cartooning is a fairly sort of proposition. You have to be fairly intelligent-if you were really intelligent, you'd be doing something else. You have to draw fairly well-if you drew really well, you'd be a painter. You have to write fairly well-if you wrote really well, you'd be writing books. It's great for a fairly person like me."
• Some people with creative and interesting jobs are willing to take the time to write replies to letters sent by young fans. In 2009, Graham Dury, a long-time cartoonist for the British comic "Viz," sent a very nice letter to a young and talented artistic fan named Charlie [no, not Charles Schultz]:"Charlie, Thanks very much for sending me some of your cartoons. I showed them to everyone in the office and we all thought they were great. And you obviously have fun drawing them. When I was young, I met a lot of people who told me that drawing cartoons was a waste of time. If you meet any of these people, don't listen to them! You've got a great talent and you should keep it up. I've sent you a pen holder and some nibs so as you can have a go at drawing some in ink - we usually draw them in pencil first then go over them. But be careful, as the nibs are sharp. Oh, and I've put you a Roger Mellie doll in as well because we can't sell them. Best wishes and keep drawing. Graham Dury."
• The television show Melrose Place, which was set in a Los Angeles, California, apartment complex, featured much work by up-and-coming artists. Conceptual artist Mel Chin once said, "Everyone criticizes television, but nobody tries to intervene to give it the meaning it lacks." Therefore, Mr. Chin founded the GALA Committee to try to give television some culture. Mr. Chin approached Melrose Place set decorator Deborah Siegel with the idea of placing avant-garde works of art in the show's episodes, and she immediately agreed. The GALA Committee and Ms. Siegel collected works of art from around the country and worked them into the show, giving viewers a dose of culture. Some of the art was subversive. For example, Courtney Thorne-Smith's character was featured in a couple of episodes struggling with an unplanned pregnancy. She snuggled in a quilt in those episodes: The quilt was decorated with the molecular structure of the abortion drug RU-486.
• The Taliban is against much art. In 1996, the Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan and immediately forbade paintings that depicted animals or humans. An Afghan physician named Muhammad Yousef Asefi, who was also an artist, wished to preserve this kind of art. Therefore, he used watercolor to paint over animals and humans, thereby disguising them. Dr. Asefi said about the Taliban, "They were determined to destroy the culture of Afghanistan. Gradually, step by step, they would have come around to destroying my paintings." After the Taliban fell from power in Afghanistan in 2001, Dr. Asefi then used a wet sponge to remove the watercolor and restore the paintings to their original condition. Dr. Asefi said about the removal of the watercolor, "Taking it off is easy." However, he added, "Putting it on was very difficult." Dr. Asefi preserved much art for future generations to see.
• William Chase and James Abbott McNeill Whistler once painted each other's portrait. Apparently, Mr. Whistler did not like Mr. Chase's portrait of him. Mr. Whistler complained, "That you could have done this thing to me, when I made youthe dandy of the boulevards!" The two artists once headed out into the English countryside to paint, but when they arrived at the train station, Mr. Whistler's blank canvases were missing. A police officer asked him, "Were they valuable?" Mr. Whistler replied, "Not yet!" By the way, John Singer Sargent once painted a portrait of Mr. Chase on a used canvas on which he had previously started to paint a portrait of another man. Over the years, the face of the other man began to show on the painting-it was upside down on Mr. Chase's crotch. Such things can happen when an artist reuses an old canvas. (The canvas has since been retouched.)
• Do modern angels wear jeans and use mobile phones? How about statues of modern angels? In the city of Hertogenbosch (aka Den Bosch) in the south of the Netherlands is the Roman Catholic St. John's Cathedral. Dozens of statues are in the medieval cathedral, and some of the statues are recently created. Sculptor Ton Mooy sculpted 25 new angels for the cathedral, and among them he sculpted one modern angel. The artist wanted to create a jet-pack-wearing angel, but that design was rejected, so he created an angel wearing jeans and using a mobile phone. The artist points out, "The phone has just one button. It dials directly to God." (It's also interesting to note that the cathedral also has a large stained-glass window depicting Hell-the window depicts 9-11.)
• Walking through the Louvre, Paul Valéry and artist Edgar Degas saw a large painting of large oak trees by Henri Rousseau. Mr. Valéry admired the painting, and he marveled at how the artist had painted so many individual leaves. He said, "It is superb, but how tedious, painting all those leaves. What a dreadful bore that must have been." Mr. Degas responded, "Be still. Had it not been tedious, there would have been no enjoyment in it."
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
There's a rumor about 'Jeopardy!' tonight - supposedly leaked video.
If the rumor is correct, Ken Jennings will remain the earnings champ.
All-New 'Harry Potter' Book Series
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter fans better prepare for even more shenanigans at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, because J.K. Rowling is blessing us with a quartet of new eBooks.
The 53-year-old author is releasing four short stories in an all-new series called Harry Potter: A Journey Through… The franchise is inspired by the British Library exhibition and its companion books, Harry Potter: A History of Magic.
Harry Potter: A Journey Through… features four "non-fiction" stories: Harry Potter: A Journey Through Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry Potter: A Journey Through Potions and Herbology, Harry Potter: A Journey Through Divination and Astronomy and Harry Potter: A Journey Through Care of Magical Creatures.
Each of the tales are designed to teach readers a new Hogwarts lesson, all while staying true to the traditional folklore and magic of the original Harry Potter series.
According to Pottermore, "In addition to exploring the origins of magic through history and folklore, the eBook shorts will also feature notes, manuscript pages and charming sketches as previously seen in Harry Potter: A History of Magic."
J.K. Rowling
'I Personally Reject The President's Stance'
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift was once apolitical - famously so. That changed in October 2018 when she made a bold and rare move to support Democratic nominees in the midterm elections. At the stroke of midnight on June 1, 2019, which kicked off LGBTQ Pride Month, Swift released an open letter to one of her senators, Tennessee's Lamar Alexander, in support of the Equality Act and in rejection of President Don-Old Trump's (R-Pasty) stance on the matter.
"I personally reject the President's stance that his administration, 'supports equal treatment of all,' but that the Equality Act, 'in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.' No. One cannot take the position that one supports a community, while condemning it in the next breath as going against 'conscience' or 'parental rights,'" the 29-year-old "ME!" singer wrote in the letter, which she published to her social media channels. "That statement implies that there is something morally wrong with being anything other than heterosexual and cisgender, which is an incredibly harmful message to send to a nation full of healthy and loving families with same-sex, nonbinary or transgender parents, sons or daughters."
The Equality Act, which the House passed on Friday, May 17, amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in both the public and private sectors. The bill will now go before the Senate and the White House, though Republican senators and Trump have taken a stance against it, as documented by The New York Times.
"Our country's lack of protection for its own citizens ensures that LGBTQ people must live in fear that their lives could be turned upside down by an employer or landlord who is homophobic or transphobic," Swift continued in her note to fans. "The fact that, legally, some people are completely at the mercy of the hatred and bigotry of others is disgusting and unacceptable."
When Swift came out in support of Democrats in 2018, more than 105,000 new people reportedly registered to vote through Vote.org within 48 hours of her statement. Let's see what this new stance will do.
Taylor Swift
Daughter Hopes He Loses
James Holzhauer
"Jeopardy!" champion James Holzhauer is over $2.5 million richer, thanks to a quick mind and even quicker thumb reflex, but there is one person that is hoping his winning streak ends sooner rather than later - his 4-year-old daughter.
"My kid cried about the possibility of her dad losing, so I told her we could have a party the day after it inevitably happens. Now she cries when I win," the sports gambling pro tweeted Sunday.
Holzhauer, who has won 32 games thus far, will be returning to the show on Monday just shy of Ken Jennings' all-time record high by only $58,484. Holzhauer currently holds the record for most single-game earnings with $131,127, so for him to win $58,000 in one game is entirely possible.
Although ratings for the syndicated game show have spiked by double-digit percentages since Holzhauer began his winning streak, the Washington Post notes in that some people are actually rooting for him to lose.
James Holzhauer
Despite Audio
'Nasty'
President Don-Old Trump (R-Deluded) is insisting he did not call British royal Meghan Markle "nasty" during an interview with a British publication.
"I never called Meghan Markle 'nasty,'" Trump tweeted Sunday morning. "Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it!"
But an audio recording of Trump's interview with The Sun - which was tweeted out by a Trump campaign account - tells a different story.
The president is first questioned about the America former actress' past comments calling Trump "misogynistic" and "divisive" during the 2016 campaign and saying she might move to Canada if Trump was elected.
Trump's use of "nasty" harkens back to a moment during a 2016 presidential debate when he called his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, a "nasty woman."
'Nasty'
Can't 'Protect Everybody'
Mulvaney
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (R-Sock Puppet) wouldn't say whether President Don-Old Trump (R-Jackal) would support stricter gun legislation following the deadly mass shooting at a municipal center in Virginia on Friday, noting that "laws are not going to fix everything."
At least 12 people were killed when a gunman opened fire in the Virginia Beach building, making it the deadliest mass shooting of 2019 thus far.
The attack was one of the hundreds of mass shootings that have taken place on American soil since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
But Mulvaney on Sunday suggested it's too soon to talk politics in the wake of the Virginia Beach shooting and warned that passing stricter gun laws is "never going to make everything perfectly safe."
"Laws are not going to fix everything," he added.
Mulvaney
Gene-Hacked
Fungus
If we want to stop malaria from killing more than 400,000 people every year, we'll need to stop mosquitoes - the irksome insects are the primary transmitter of the deadly disease.
To that end, researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) genetically modified a fungus to produce a spider toxin that quickly kills mosquitoes. And in an out-of-lab trial, the fungus reduced a mosquito population to almost nothing in 45 days, according to NPR - though the team's controversial use of genetic engineering has some worried the method is too dangerous for the real world.
According to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, the fungus the UMD researchers modified kills mosquitoes in the wild - but it isn't particularly fast, meaning the insects might have time to infect someone with malaria before meeting their demise.
To give the fungus a boost, the team engineered it to produce a toxin derived from the venom of the Australian Blue Mountains funnel-web spider, which kills mosquitoes far more quickly. The team then tested the fungus in a "MosquitoSphere," a screen-enclosed setting in West Africa designed to mimic a village.
But while the fungus may have been effective, some worry that releasing a genetically engineered organism into the wild could cause unforeseen problems.
Fungus
Mangroves On The Front Line
Brazil
Fishermen like Jose da Cruz have made their living for decades hunting for crabs among Brazil's vast coastal mangrove forests, dense thickets of twisted plants in deep black mud that grow where fresh-water rivers meet the brackish Atlantic Ocean.
Cruz, who is known by the nickname Vampire because of his distinctive teeth, doesn't use a rod and reel or a net. Instead he parks his two-foot-wide boat at the shore of the Caratingui river and wends his way on foot through the tangle of mangroves to dig out crabs with his hands from the dark muck.
The four or five dozen he captures in a day will earn Cruz about 200 reais ($50) per week, enough to get by, he said.
But this tenuous livelihood is facing a series of threats, including rapid alterations to the environment caused by climate change, and Cruz's average daily catch is half of what it was 10 years ago. In that time, the water line has advanced 3 meters inland from where it used to be, according to Cruz.
A battery-powered radio may be his principal connection to the outside world, but Cruz knows about global warming. "Nature is upset. ... In Antarctica, it's melting, nature is melting," he said. "People, you have to have some awareness about what is happening. It's clear what is happening."
Brazil
Fossil Shows Coordinated Swimming
Extinct Fish
An exquisite fossil of photographic-like quality shows nearly 260 tiny fish swimming together in what appears to be coordinated group action. The 50-million-year-old fossil is evidence that fish have been swimming together in shoals for a very long time.
Paleontologists have seen "frozen behaviors" in fossils before, including insects having sex, dinosaurs locked in mortal combat, and migrating trilobites lined up single-file. For fossils like this to emerge, however, a rapid burial is required. A new study published this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B showcases a stunning new fossil in which one such rapid burial locked an entire school of fish, or a shoal, in place.
The limestone slab in which the impressions of these 259 fish were found was pulled from the Green River Formation in the western U.S. This sedimentary system dates back to the Eocene (56 million to 33.9 million years ago), spanning an area now occupied by Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The fossil had made its way to the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum in Japan, where it caught the attention of Arizona State University behavioral ecologist Nobuaki Mizumoto in 2016, according to Science News.
Mizumoto, the lead author of the new study, embarked on an analysis to see if coordinated group behavior could be inferred from the fossil. Such an analysis would provide new insights into the evolutionary origin of group dynamics and the ways in which ancient creatures interacted with one another.
The fossil contains the pristine impressions of 259 juvenile fish, all of whom belonged to the extinct species Erismatopterus levatus. To bring the frozen behavior of these fish to life, the researchers carefully measured the position and direction of each individual, noting the distances to their closest neighbors. Like a photograph, however, the fossil could only provide a two-dimensional snapshot of the scene; shoals exist and move in three dimensions. Consequently, the researchers may have underestimated the distance between neighbors, as they point out in their study.
Extinct Fish
Weekend Box Office
"Godzilla: King of the Monsters"
The latest iteration of the Godzilla franchise took over the top spot from "Aladdin" and roared louder than Elton John at the weekend box office, but it still left a notably smaller footprint on North American theaters than its city-wrecking predecessors.
"Godzilla: King of the Monsters," Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's sequel to 2014's "Godzilla," was brought down to size by poor reviews and middling interest from moviegoers, selling $49 million in tickets, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Still, the weekend, led by one of the most classic movie monsters, brought Hollywood's summer season into full swing. Last week's top film, Disney's live-action, blue-Will Smith "Aladdin" remake, slid to second with $42 million in its second weekend. And a rush of newcomers, including the Elton John biopic "Rocketman" and the Octavia Spencer-led horror film "Ma," swelled theaters with a variety of options.
Dexter Fletcher's fantastical Elton John biopic "Rocketman," starring Taron Egerton, didn't launch with the same bravado as last year's Freddie Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody." But it opened solidly in third with $25 million. The weekend's most profitable release, by percentage, was likely the Blumhouse Production thriller "Ma," which made $18.2 million against a $5 million budget.
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.
1. "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," $49 million ($130 million international).
2. "Aladdin," $42.3 million ($78.3 million international).
3. "Rocketman," $25 million ($19.2 million international).
4. "Ma," $18.3 million ($2.8 million international).
5. "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum," $11.1 million ($12.7 million international).
6. "Avengers: Endgame," $7.8 million ($8.6 million international).
7. "Pokemon Detective Pikachu," $6.7 million ($14.6 million international).
8. "Booksmart," $3.3 million.
9. "Brightburn," $2.3 million.
10. "The Hustle," $1.3 million.
"Godzilla: King of the Monsters"
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