Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Connie Schultz: Out of the Shadows (Creators Syndicate)
Joi was in her early 40s with a high-risk pregnancy, but everything seemed to be fine until the 20th week, when she underwent amniocentesis. The test revealed no genetic abnormalities, but something wasn't right. Their baby's abdomen was swelling.
Connie Schultz: Take Heart (Creators Syndicate)
I was sitting on the small sofa in our front room, watching our 3-year-old granddaughter Carolyn as she arranged a family of toy mice on top of the trunk that doubles as a coffee table. She was softly singing a made-up song, seemingly oblivious to me until I heard the ending: "...and Grandma is right there, watching me." She looked up at me and smiled. "I see you," I said. Her soft mention reminded me of what her mother, Liz, had once yelled during a family gathering when she was 5 years old. "When I say, 'Please pass the grandmother,' it means I want some attention."
Connie Schultz: A Tribute to Editor Stuart Warner (Creators Syndicate)
The first time I had a conversation with editor Stuart Warner, I didn't like him much.
Hadley Freeman: I rejected fairytales as a kid. Who needs them, when there are real wolves nearby? (The Guardian)
Real-life crimes like the Central Park jogger case changed the way I saw the world
Lucy Mangan: Breadcrumbing, ghosting, throning: Lucy Mangan explains why she's all for inventing new words (Stylist)
Joining the likes of 'ghosting', 'breadcrumbing' and 'benching' come 'curving' (avoiding someone you're not interested in rather than telling them), 'prowling' (getting in touch with someone you broke up with or ghosted - which I count as a shoddier thing - as if nothing's happened) and 'throning' (going out with someone for the social, or social media, status they bring you).
Hadley Freeman: What we learned from the Trump family's London vacation (The Guardian)
There must have been reasons for Eric, Donnie Jr, Tiffany and the rest to have accompanied the president on his state visit. Does the answer lie in their social media postings?
Suzanne Moore: I've had children at school for 27 years. At last I can stop pretending to like it (The Guardian)
No more parents' evenings, PTA meetings and tedious texts about rules - I can't wait for my youngest to leave next week.
Marina Hyde: Donald Trump, the one person more of a political basket case than Britain (The Guardian)
Over three endless days, the US president was welcomed as grist to our dark satanic content mills.
Alison Flood: AOC as 'Supergirl': comic parody hits back at DC complaint (The Guardian)
After cease and desist letter issued for portraying Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez like DC's Wonder Woman, indie Devil's Due pastiches another character.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
On 9 July 2003, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Randall Simon made a mistake and actually could have - unintentionally - hurt someone. The "Sausage Race" was being held; this is a race that features people wearing costumes depicting Bratwurst, Hot Dog, Italian Sausage, and Kielbasa. As a joke, Mr. Simon bopped "Italian Sausage" on the head with his bat. (The "head" of the sausage was above the head of the person wearing the sausage costume.) "Italian Sausage" fell and tripped "Hot Dog." As a result, Mr. Simon was suspended and was fined. "Italian Sausage" was actually a woman named Mandy Block. She asked Mr. Simon for the bat he had used to bop her. Mr. Simon autographed the bat and gave it to her along with an apology. By the way, Ms. Block was interviewed many times as the incident became a media sensation. She said, "From my point of view, it's crazy because I am not used to like being interviewed or anything. I'm like, 'I'm just a sausage, guys. It's not a big deal. I'm fine.'" A man named Mark Johnson had an unusual take on the situation: "He's a professional athlete. He should be a role model. I think they should dress him up as the Hot Dog in the sausage race. Nobody ever likes the Hot Dog."
On 28 September 1941, the last day of the season, Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams had a mighty task ahead of him. He was batting .3995, which was .400 when rounded up. No one had hit .400 or better in the American League since Detroit Tiger Harry Heilmann had hit .403 in 1923, and no one had hit .400 or better in the National League since New York Giant Bill Terry had hit .401 in 1930. Mr. Williams could have a batting average of .400 for the season just by sitting out the last two games-a doubleheader-of the season. Instead, if he played both games, he would likely come to bat at least eight times, meaning that he would need at least four hits to keep his .400 batting average. Actually, Mr. Williams did not think that he had a .400 batting average. He said, "I figure a man's a .400 hitter, or he's not." To Mr. Williams, a .3995 batting average was not a .400 batting average. He played in both games and made six hits (including four hits in five at-bats in the first game), raising his batting average to .406.
A small gift can mean a lot-especially when it is given to you by your favorite major-league baseball player. During warm-ups before a July game in Fenway Park, young fan Dylan Sylvia was taking a photograph on his cell phone of his favorite player: Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett. Mr. Beckett noticed him taking the photo and walked over and gave him a souvenir: a baseball. Dylan was very happy, jumping up and down with excitement and showing the baseball to his father. Dylan said, "It was awesome having Josh Beckett come and hand me the ball." Actually, Dylan was so overwhelmed by the gift that he started crying. His father, Shannon, said, "I was very surprised. I didn't think he [Dylan] was going to act like that. I thought he would jump around and go crazy. I didn't think he was going to be so emotional-that it meant so much to him-but it did. It was a good moment."
Pittsburgh Pirate Willie Stargell started a number of chicken restaurants in Pittsburgh, including one in the Hill District, an impoverished area. Mr. Stargell's restaurants were tuned in to his games, and whenever he hit a home run people in his restaurants got free chicken. Pittsburgh Pirate radio broadcaster Bob Prince used to wish for a Stargell home run by saying on the air, "Spread some chicken on the Hill, Will." By the way, Mr. Stargell started the Stargell Foundation, which works toward finding a cure for sickle-cell anemia. When he received an honorary Doctor of Humanities from St. Francis College for his humanitarian work, he joked, "I guess this means I'm a doctor now. Does anyone want to volunteer for surgery?"
Baseball pitching great George "Rube" Waddell was definitely an eccentric. Occasionally, he would leave the dugout during a game in order to follow a passing fire truck so he could watch the fire. As a joke, he would sometimes "catch" his own foot instead of the baseball, but he was such a good pitcher that normally he got the next batter out on strikes. By the way, he was a kind man who carried bags of peanuts in the pockets of his baseball uniform so he could throw peanuts to kids watching the game.
Louis "Sweet Lou" Johnson, a Dodger, claimed to have three ears. In a way he was right. While playing baseball in Mexico, he lost part of an ear when a tire blew out on the team bus. After the ear was found, the trainer made an incision in Sweet Lou's stomach and stitched the ear there to keep it alive until it could be reattached. However, Sweet Lou never bothered to get the ear reattached and so he claimed to have three ears.
Actor Peter Falk got cancer of the eye-retina blastoma-when he was three years old, and doctors removed one of his eyes to stop the cancer. The operation was successful, and he lived a long time. While in high school, he played baseball. Once, he was called out at third base. He felt that he had been obviously safe, so he took out his glass eye and gave it to the third-base umpire, saying, "You'll do better with this one."
Baseball great Mickey Mantle once golfed with Don Cherry and kept flubbing shots. When Mr. Mantle hit the ball in a creek, he destroyed his club-a 3 iron. Later, when he hit the ball 200 yards out of bounds, he destroyed his club-another 3 iron. Mr. Cherry asked about the duplicate 3 irons, and Mr. Mantle said, "I got six of them." Mr. Cherry asked, "How come you got six 3 irons?" Mr. Mantle replied, "Because I hate them."
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Summer has arrived.
Sigourney Weaver, Murray, & Aykroyd
Ghostbusters Sequel
Here's what we know about Jason Reitman's upcoming Ghostbusters movie: It's a continuation of his dad's two Ghostbusters films; Echo-1 will usher our heroes to and from hauntings; and Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard will star alongside-or as-two of the four teenagers who the film is supposedly built around. Now, we also know that some familiar faces will be on hand. On Friday, Sigourney Weaver seemingly revealed to Parade that she'll be reprising her role as Dana Barrett in the sequel, and that original stars Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray would be joining her. This weekend, a report from Deadline has also taken that as confirmation, quoting Weaver as saying that "it's going to be crazy working with the guys again" along with a note that she is indeed playing Dana Barett once again, but that's as far as the official (or at least official-sounding) information goes. Also, can somebody please call Ernie Hudson and let him know all of this is happening?
The return of those three actors doesn't come as a huge surprise, especially after Reitman asserted that his film would be "for the fans." Upon the film's announcement, he said, "This is the next chapter in the original franchise. It is not a reboot. What happened in the '80s happened in the '80s, and this is set in the present day."
Again, Weaver wouldn't offer any other details to Parade and Deadline isn't willing to share any other insider information, but with the new Ghostbusters supposed to be in theaters in about a year, we should know more relatively soon.
Ghostbusters Sequel
First Hip-Hop Concert At The Ryman
Wu-Tang Clan
Since its inception in 1892, the Ryman Auditorium has hosted country music concerts, church revivals and even boxing matches, but never a headlining hip-hop show.
According to NPR, that all changes tonight when Wu-Tang Clan becomes the top-billed act on the Nashville venue's stage for the first time, as a part of the group's international tour commemorating the 25th anniversary of its breakout album, Enter the Wu-Tang.
"The Ryman has had to grow up too, and had to grow up into what the city is," said Sharon Sanders, a Grammy-winning musician, record producer and a member of one of Nashville's first hip-hop acts. "You know, the Wu-Tang is ready for the Ryman, but also the Ryman is ready for the Wu-Tang."
Directed by Sacha Jenkins, Wu-Tang released a four-episode docuseries on Showtime called Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men on May 10th. Just one week later, the hip-hop icons shared a seven-track EP and soundtrack to the documentary with Wu-Tang: Of Mics and Men. In October it was also announced that a 10-episode series based on the group called Wu-Tang: An American Saga would be forthcoming.
In a statement about the Hulu series Wu-Tang member RZA said, "I'm delighted to be partnering with Hulu and Imagine to explore the vast story of the Wuniverse. Wu-Tang through our music has always strove to inspire as we entertain. This opportunity to continue the Wu-Saga in a 10-episode series will exponentially increase our inspirational style of entertainment. In the immortal words of ODB 'Wu-Tang is for the Children.'"
Wu-Tang Clan
Documentary Out This Summer
Clarence Clemons
Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen's longtime saxophonist, is set to be the subject of a documentary feature that will arrive this summer.
For 40 years, Clemons was a widely celebrated musician, playing with Springsteen until his death in 2011. Directed by friend and filmmaker Nick Mead, Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? shows a different side to the legendary member of the E Street Band, not only chronicling his career with Springsteen, but the "transcendent awakening" he experienced before his death when Mead joined him in China after the E Street Band's 2003 Rising tour.
The film will feature interviews from Bill Clinton, Nils Lofgren, Joe Walsh and Jake Clemons (his nephew and current member of the E Street Band). According to the film's Indiegogo page, the documentary "shows the profound effect of a trip to Northeast China, a place where no one knew who he was."
Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? hits select theaters across the country in July and will be released on digital platforms on August 17th via Virgil Films & Entertainment, Deadline reports.
Clarence Clemons
Immortalised In Netflix Film
Great-Grandmother
An Argentinian woman searching for more information on her ancestors has made the shock discovery that her great-grandmother was a pioneer of gay marriage whose story has just been turned into a Netflix documentary.
Norma Graciela Moure, who had no more than a name and an old photograph, only found out about the extraordinary family history because of online stories about the Netflix production of 'Elisa & Marcela'.
To her amazement, typing "Marcela Gracia Ibeas" into Google brought up about 50,000 search results. Many of the stories included a photograph of Ibeas alongside her partner Elisa Sanchez Loringa, who is dressed as a man, taken after their remarkable church wedding in 1901.
"I cannot describe how I felt when I saw the photo of my great-grandmother and clicked on the news story. I froze. I had no idea of that story; I didn't even get to meet my grandmother," Ms Moure told the newspaper La Voz de Galicia.
"Marcela & Elisa", filmed by the director Isabel Coixet and released internationally on Netflix on Friday, tells the story of how two young schoolmistresses fell in love and pulled off a deception that led to possibly the first same-sex marriage in Spain.
Great-Grandmother
Disappeared Last Year
Three Islands
Anote Tong can remember when Tebunginako, on the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati, was a thriving village.
But beginning in the 1970s, the tide started inching closer to the houses in the village. Over the years, as strong winds whipped up monster waves and climate change caused sea levels to rise, water inundated the island, overwhelming a seawall that had been built to protect the community.
"It's no longer there," Tong said. "What we do have is a church sitting in the middle of the sea when the tide comes in."
Tong served as president of Kiribati, a country made up of 32 atolls, from 2003 to 2016. Over that time, he watched as erosion damaged food crops, seawater flooded freshwater ponds and residents were forced to retreat.
In October 2018, Hurricane Walaka washed away a remote, 11-acre Hawaiian island as the storm barreled through the Pacific Ocean. Several months before that, Russian scientists reported that a small Arctic island had disappeared, saying that only vast, open water remained at the site. And near the end of 2018, a local newspaper reported that an uninhabited islet off the coast of Japan could no longer be found, presumably because it had sunk beneath the water's surface.
Three Islands
Democrats Begin Public Airing
Mueller Report
President Don-Old Trump (R-Crooked) says it's "case closed ." But Democrats are just getting started with Robert Mueller .
House Democrats have scheduled a series of hearings this coming week on the special counsel's report as they intensify their focus on the Russia probe and pick up the pace on an investigative "path" - in the words of Speaker Nancy Pelosi - that some of them hope leads to impeachment of the president.
The hearings will focus on the two main topics of Mueller's report, obstruction of justice and Russian election interference.
The House Judiciary Committee plans to cover the first topic at a Monday hearing on "presidential obstruction and other crimes." The House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday intends to review the counterintelligence implications of the Russian meddling. Mueller said there was not enough evidence to establish a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but he said he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction.
On Tuesday, the House has scheduled a vote to authorize contempt cases against Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Donald McGahn for failing to comply with subpoenas from the Democratic-controlled House.
Mueller Report
Archbishop's Remains To Be Moved
Fulton J. Sheen
The Archdiocese of New York has lost a long court battle to keep the remains of one of its most famous leaders buried at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was a big TV star at midcentury, with his TV show "Life is Worth Living" seen nationwide until 1957. Sheen was interred in the crypt below St. Pat's after his death in 1979, where he currently rests with all of the other archbishops who have served in New York.
Sheen's niece, however, believes he belongs back home at the church in Illinois where he was ordained in 1919, especially if it increases his chances at gaining sainthood.
On Friday, the New York Court of Appeals delivered the denial of yet another appeal from the New York Archdiocese, seeking to keep Sheen's remains in New York.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York told Catholic News Agency on Saturday that the archdiocese will ultimately help in the transferring of the archbishop's remains to Peoria, Illinois.
Fulton J. Sheen
Yale Hotel
Michigan
A hotel in Michigan is offering free stays and transport for women travelling to the state to have an abortion.
The Yale Hotel launched the offer following a spate of restrictive abortion laws that have been passed in conservative US states such as Ohio, Missouri, Georgia and Alabama, which voted for a near-total ban on terminations, including in cases of rape and incest.
The hotel's manager Shelley O'Brian outlined its offering in a Facebook post, writing: "Dear sisters that live in Alabama, Ohio, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, or any of the other states that follow with similar laws restricting access, we cannot do anything about the way you are being treated in your home-state.
"But, if you can make it to Michigan, we will support you with several nights lodging and transportation to and from your appointment."
O'Brian reiterated her views in a statement to CNN, saying: "Women should have autonomy over their own bodies. If we do not have control over our own bodies, then this is not a free world."
Michigan
Weekend Box Office
'Secret Life of Pets 2'
Scorched by poor reviews, the $200 million "Dark Phoenix" earned a franchise low of $33 million from 3,721 North American locations over the weekend for a second place finish, according to studio estimates Sunday. First place went instead to "The Secret Life of Pets 2."
The Universal Pictures and Illumination sequel, featuring the voices of Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Harrison Ford in his first animated role, grossed an estimated $47.1 million in ticket sales. Although less than half of what the first film opened to in 2016, it's still a major win for the studio, considering the production budget was around $80 million. Including international grosses, its global total is already sitting at $97 million.
Warner Bros.' "Godzilla: King of The Monsters" had a titan-sized second weekend fall, however, down 67% with $15.5 million.
And the acclaimed Elton John biopic "Rocketman," from Paramount Pictures, rounded out the top five with $14 million.
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 Monday.
1."The Secret Life of Pets 2," $47.1 million ($16 million international).
2."Dark Phoenix," $33 million ($107 million international).
3."Aladdin," $24.5 million ($67.6 million international).
4."Godzilla: King of the Monsters," $15.5 million ($47.1 million international).
5."Rocketman," $14 million ($13 million international).
6."Ma," $7.8 million ($3 million international).
7."John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum," $7.4 million ($10.1 million international).
8."Avengers: Endgame," $4.8 million ($3.8 million international).
9."Pokιmon Detective Pikachu," $3 million ($7.1 million international).
10."Booksmart," $1.6 million ($206,000 international).
'Secret Life of Pets 2'
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
