from Bruce
Anecdotes
Gifts
• When figure skater Dorothy Hamill was 11 years old — in the days before teenagers got their noses pierced as a fashion statement — her friends gave her 13 pairs of earrings. A competition was coming up, and her parents told her that if she won the competition, she could get both ears pierced. However, if she finished second, she could get only one ear pierced, and if she finished third, she could get only her nose pierced.
• At age 13, R.L. Stine received a heavy-duty typewriter as a bar mitzvah gift — a gift he made much use of. During summer vacations in his high school years, he told his parents that he couldn’t get a job because he was too busy writing a novel. His parents never questioned this statement. As an adult, Mr. Stein became the author of the Fear Street and Goosebumps series.
• When American dance pioneers Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis married each other, Ms. St. Denis refused to wear a wedding ring because she regarded it as “a symbol of bondage.” Later, because Mr. Shawn felt that at least one of them ought to wear a wedding ring, she bought him one as a first-anniversary gift.
• When Giulio Gatti-Casazza was courting soprano Frances Alda, he gave her a perfect lover’s gift — a leather-bound volume of love letters he had written to her.
Grandparents
• When Maud Gruss was 12 years old and about to make her first public appearance as a solo tightrope walker, her mother, whose name was Gipsy, showed her a scrapbook filled with photographs and clippings of her own career as a tightrope walker. In one old black-and-white photograph, Maud recognized herself, but Gipsy turned the page, showed her an even older black-and-white photograph, and asked, “And this one, is that you as well?” The young girls in the photographs, although they looked very much like 12-year-old Maud, turned out to be her grandmother Violette and her great-grandmother Germaine, both of whom had been tightrope walkers. (By the way, Maud’s public debut went very well, and her father, Alexis, said, “Tonight, a new star is born.”)
• George Beatty was a jewelry maker in Cleveland, Ohio. He once received a letter from a wealthy man who wanted him to create a piece of jewelry for the wealthy man’s dearest granddaughter. Mr. Beatty noticed that the letter referred to the granddaughter as “dearest” five times, and he prayed to God for inspiration — a prayer that was answered. He created a ring across which were displayed, in order, a diamond, an emerald, an amethyst, a ruby, another emerald, a sapphire, and a topaz. Why are there two emeralds? Mr. Beatty says, “Because there are two e’s in ‘dearest.’ If you take the initials of those stones, it spells the word ‘dearest.’”
• As a child, Russian ice skater Ekaterina Gordeeva used to go mushroom hunting with her grandfather. Because all their neighbors also went mushroom hunting, they tried to get up early so they could find mushrooms before anyone else. However, if they were late, her grandfather would tell her not to worry, because their mushrooms would hide from the other mushroom hunters. According to Ms. Gordeeva, her grandfather was right, because they always found their mushrooms.
• The grandmother of Meredith Willson, author of The Music Man, was lying on her deathbed when a truck farmer came by with “triple-strength horseradish guaranteed to grow hair on a china egg.” She heard the truck farmer and asked her children to bring her some horseradish and a spoon. She put a spoonful of the horseradish in her mouth, swallowed, then said, “Now there’s something with a little character!”
• Fred Rogers, aka Mister Rogers, is named for his grandfather: Fred Brooks McFeely. While Mister Rogers was growing up, his grandfather frequently told him, “I like you, just the way you are.” Of course, this is a quotation that he has shared with generations of children who watch his TV show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
• One day when he was young, Maury Maverick, Jr., was kissing a girl on his grandmother’s front porch, when his grandmother told him to stop that. He replied, “Oh, Grandma, you used to do the same thing back in Virginia behind shutters.” His grandmother hit him, then said, “What do you think shutters are for, you young fool?”
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Track: "Gator Bait"
Two-Sided Single: SCHLOCKA ROLLA?/?GATOR BAIT SINGLE
Artist: The Terrorsaurs (aka The Terrorsurfs)
Artist Location: Birmingham, UK
Info:
“Hailing from Birmingham UK The Terrorsaurs unique mix of garage, surf and classic heaviness is indefinable by any genre save that of pure Rock ‘n’ Roll. Since their classic line-up emerged in 2015 their notoriously theatrical live show has taken them all over the globe and the albums recorded at WILD studios, Hollywood CA perfectly capture this vital energy.”
“After two albums on 'Wild' as The Terrorsaurs (2014/15), El Guapo and T.T. mutated into "THE TERRORSURFS" and moved onto surf label Sharawaji Records. The primordial zombie soup fleshed out by the feral bass grooves of BAMALAM, the unholy guitar twang of The Reverend Tonto and new drum beast King Fuzzo.”
Price: £1 (GBP) for track; £2 (GBP) for two-track single
Genre: Terror Surf.
Links:
The Terroraurs on Bandcamp
The above page is for the first 2 albums and singles by The Terrorsaurs dating from 2014 and 2015.
The Terrorsaurs on Bandcamp (2)
The Terrorsurfs on Bandcamp
Ian B on YouTube
Other Links:
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David Bruce's Smashwords Page
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David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Fatherhood
What did your dad do for you? I asked.
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Ukraine & More
Recommendation
New Rule: Democracy Dies in Dumbness | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
Ukraine
Hear ex-CIA director's prediction about who will win in Ukraine (CNN)
David Petraeus, retired US Army general and former CIA Director, discusses where the war in Ukraine stands now and who will win.
'Russians are not invincible' | Andriy Zagorodnyuk (Times Radio)
Former Ukrainian defence minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk says that "Russia, who actually never planned for that long war, are also exhausting their capabilities."
Ukraine War: EU move gives boost to troops (Sky News)
“Defence and security analyst Philip Ingram gives his analysis on the latest in Ukraine.”
Other Links:
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
davidbrucebooks: EDUCATE YOURSELF - Free PDFs
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Fireworks season seems to be upon us.
Sings ‘Sweet Caroline’
Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond made a rare post-retirement live appearance Saturday to sing “Sweet Caroline” at the Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park.
The crooner had previously performed his hit song at Fenway — in 2010 and again in 2013, days after the Boston Marathon bombings — but Saturday was his first time back at the stadium since retiring from touring in 2018 due to his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
Despite the Red Sox being down 10-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals, fans rapturously sang along with Diamond on “Sweet Caroline,” which has been an 8th inning anthem at Fenway Park since 1997.
The Red Sox tradition led to a resurgence of the 1969 single over the past 25 years, which in turn inspired other cultural moments: Teams in other sports — including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers — also added “Sweet Caroline” singalongs to their in-stadium playlists. Jennifer Lopez sang it as part of the Vax Live concert in 2021, and earlier this month, the British people voted to have “Sweet Caroline” sung by Rod Stewart at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Neil Diamond
Deemed Too Scary
Lost ‘Sesame Street’
One of the most sought-after lost episodes of “Sesame Street” has been unearthed by Internet archivists, as a rare encounter between Big Bird and the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz” is now available to view online.
Back in 1976, actress Margaret Hamilton was asked by Sesame Workshop to reprise her role as the Wicked Witch for a “Sesame Street” episode, 37 years after her iconic “Oz” performance opposite Judy Garland. The 73-year-old Hamilton agreed, filming a sketch teaching children to face their fears in which The Wicked Witch demands that the denizens of Sesame Street return her broom, even threatening to turn Big Bird into a giant feather duster.
But according to the show’s producers, the episode prompted hordes of angry parents to call in, complaining that the Wicked Witch had terrified their children. As a result, Hamilton’s appearance on “Sesame Street” was never re-aired on television or released for home viewing, though it was archived in the Library of Congress for public viewing.
One of the rare instances in which the episode was publicly shown outside the Library of Congress was in 2019 for “Sesame Street: Lost and Found,” a special presentation at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York where the show’s writers presented “Sesame Street” episodes that only aired once.
Lost ‘Sesame Street’
Weekend Box Office
“Jurassic World: Dominion”
“Lightyear” did not go to infinity (or beyond) in its first weekend in theaters: Pixar’s first major theatrical release since March 2020 blasted off with $51 million in its debut weekend in North America, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Not only did it open lower than expected, but it also failed to conquer “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which held on to the first-place spot with $58.7 million its second weekend.
In its fourth weekend, “Top Gun: Maverick” dropped only slightly, bringing in an additional $44 million to take third place. Its domestic total is now at $466.2 million. Globally, the high-flying sequel has grossed over $885 million.
Rounding out the top five are “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” with $4.2 million and “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” with $1.1 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Jurassic World: Dominion,” $58.7 million
2. “Lightyear,” $51 million.
3. “Top Gun: Maverick,” $44 million.
4. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” $4.2 million.
5. “The Bob’s Burgers Movie,” $1.1 million.
6. “The Bad Guys,” $890,000.
7. “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” $959,631.
8. “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” $830,000.
9. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” $228,000.
10. “Brian and Charles,” $198,000.
“Jurassic World: Dominion,”
$15 Million Settlement
Rupert
Fox News has agreed to pay former host Melissa Francis a $15 million settlement after she accused the network of gender pay disparity and was ultimately taken off the air, the Washington Post reported Sunday.
The news comes six months into the New York State Department of Labor’s investigation into her complaint that Fox News retaliated against her for speaking up about the discriminatory practice.
In 2012, Francis left her post covering financial news for CNBC to become an anchor at Fox Business. About five years into her tenure, she was promoted to co-anchor of Fox News’ midday show “Outnumbered,” while continuing to co-host Fox Business’ “After The Bell” and making occasional appearances on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Francis told the Post that the meager salary increase she was offered prompted her to start gathering information about her male and female coworkers’ salaries. During a contract negotiation meeting in 2019, Dianne Brandi, former EVP for business and legal affairs at Fox News informed Francis that she would not receive a pay raise. Francis alleged that when she presented the data she had collected, Brandi said, “That’s how the world works. Women make less. It’s just a fact.”
Rupert
4 Buildings Lost In Wildfire
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Four non-scientific buildings at the Kitt Peak National Observatory southwest of Tucson were lost in a wildfire, but early indications show other buildings on the property didn’t appear to be damaged, authorities said Saturday.
Buell T. Jannuzi, who leads the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, said the fire didn’t appear to have damaged the telescope and science buildings at the observatory, though a closer examination of the site hadn’t yet been made due to safety concerns.
The fire reached the observatory early Friday. Crews were planning to assess the damage at the observatory later Saturday if conditions allowed for safe entry into the area.
The lightning-caused fire, which led to an evacuation of the observatory earlier this week, had grown to 27 square miles (71 kilometers) by Saturday. There was zero containment of the fire, which started on June 11 on a remote ridge on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation.
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Center Of Attention Again
Attu & Kiska
On May 11, 1943, American soldiers began landing on the island of Attu, which, along with the neighboring island of Kiska, had been seized by Japanese troops a year earlier.
Attu is the westernmost point in Alaska's Aleutian Island chain, some 1,500 miles from Anchorage. Its occupation by Japan was the first time since the War of 1812 that US territory had been seized by a foreign power.
The Japanese troops who landed on the islands were the northernmost arm of a larger operation that included the forces sent to attack and occupy Midway Island in the Central Pacific. Having turned back the Japanese advance, the US sent a massive force to retake the islands in mid-1943.
Instead of the three days of fighting that the Americans expected, the battle for Attu turned into a three-week slog.
Now, 79 years later, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska have renewed importance for the US, as the increasing accessibility of the Arctic is making the region a venue for competition with Russia and China.
Attu & Kiska
Launches 55 Satellites In Three Launches
SpaceX
SpaceX completed a record triple-header early Sunday, launching a Globalstar communications satellite from Cape Canaveral after putting a German radar satellite in orbit from California Saturday and launching 53 Starlink internet satellites Friday from the Kennedy Space Center.
The Globalstar launch capped the fastest three-flight cadence for an orbit-class rocket in modern space history as the company chalked up its 158th, 159th and 160th Falcon 9 flights in just 36 hours and 18 minutes. More than 50 launches are expected by the end of the year.
SpaceX's launch triple header began Friday when the company launched 53 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from the Kennedy Space Center.
Globalstar operates a constellation of satellites that provide voice and data services to users around the world. The FM15 satellite was built as a spare more than 10 years ago and it now presumably is needed to increase network capacity for Globalstar satellite phone users and data transmission.
SpaceX
Horse Costs
Lex
The US Government sold a $750,000 showjumping horse back to its owner for just $25,000 after realizing it would cost too much to look after, Bloomberg reported.
Authorities initially seized the horse, called Lex, after its owner, the Atlanta accountant Jack Fisher, was indicted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with tax fraud worth $1.3 billion along with four other individuals.
Fisher had bought the horse, a 15-year-old Holsteiner, for his daughter Christina. She pleaded with authorities to leave Lex, saying: "Take whatever you want that's monetary, but you can't treat a living animal like this."
Bloomberg reported that federal agents soon realized it would cost between $45,000 to $50,000 a year to feed and care for Lex, excluding medical costs.
The US Attorney's Office in Atlanta then agreed to return the horse to Christina for $25,000, on the understanding that they could collect more if her father was convicted. She planned to ride the horse down the aisle on her wedding day.
Lex
University of Colorado
Fireflies
Researchers from the University of Colorado are studying the Great Smoky Mountains’ synchronous fireflies to determine whether understanding the way they communicate could help with developing robot communication.
The fireflies “need to solve complex problems while communicating in large groups, which is something computers need to do,” Orit Peleg, a computer scientist from the University of Colorado at Boulder, told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “So maybe there’s something interesting we can learn about them and apply to man-made systems.”
The researchers who sojourned to the park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border earlier this month to study the fireflies at their peak included graduate student Owen Martin and postdoctoral researcher Raphael Sarfati. Their research combines computer science, physics, engineering and biology.
The coordination it takes for thousands of fireflies to flash together isn’t well understood. A cluster of fireflies will link up. Other fireflies farther away will follow suit. The synchronization radiates like ripples on a pond.
Male fireflies hover and flash to signal females. The females rest on the ground and return flashes to the correct species of males. It is thought synchronization helps this species of fireflies distinguish itself from other species with different patterns of flashes.
Fireflies
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