Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Deborah Orr: We must demand more of celebrities, not confer advantages on them like Jimmy Savile had (Guardian)
Maybe, instead of enjoying the spectacle of a celebrity being cut down to size, our culture needs to let them know that it is incumbent upon them to genuinely try to be bigger.
Henry Rollins: War, Continued (LA Weekly)
The president is getting hammered by well-fed radio and television douchebags nonstop. Recently on Meet the Press, Mitt Romney was able to plant his badly kicked ass in a chair and opine about what's happening in Iraq, that it's "a result of inaction" on the president's part. Send your sons in, tough guy.
Charlyn Fargo: Healthy Brain? Control Blood Sugar (Creators Syndicate)
Q: Is it true that getting more sleep could help me lose weight?
Dr. David Lipschitz: The Rest of Your Life Depends on Wise Decisions About Retirement (Creators Syndicate)
I know of a man in his 70s who earned a Ph.D. in physics and another who was awarded a master's degree in creative writing. Sitting and doing nothing or watching mindless television is a prescription for disaster. Staying involved and engaged will assure not only a long and independent life but also protect against disease and promote health.
Chuck Norris: From Stress and Burnout to Finding Happiness (Creators Syndicate)
… happiness derived from leading a life full of purpose and meaning seems to protect health at a fundamental cellular level, whereas happiness derived from pleasure or self-gratification does not. This does not mean that we should give up on seeking personal pleasure, as both types of happiness have emerged for a reason and are needed.
This VIDEO will BLOW YOUR MIND and be the BEST PART OF YOUR DAY (YouTube)
You won't believe what happens next!
Groove (You Tube)
"What's harder than flawlessly pulling off all of the hula hoop tricks that Rachael performs in this video? I imagine it would be thinking of any additional hula hoop tricks that Rachael doesn't perform in this video. Short of lighting the hoop on fire and making it disappear, I think she has it covered. If you've been waiting all of your life for a hula hoop guru, Rachael gives lessons via Skype and teaches workshops." - Neatorama
Ben Denny: 4 Ways You're Accidentally Killing Your Favorite TV Shows (Cracked)
We live in a golden age of television. Never before have we had so much quality programming, or so many different ways to view it while sitting on the toilet. However, the things we like so much about the current state of television are actually strangling our favorite shows to death like Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
wrote:
took the day off.
has retired.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Painting Restoration
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
The most active open discussion is on Bart's Facebook page.
( www.facebook.com/bartcop )
You can listen to Bart's theme song here
or here.
( www.bartcop.com/blizing-saddles.mp3 )
( youtu.be/MySGAaB0A9k )
We have opened up the radio show archives which are now free. Listen to
all you want.
( bartcop.com/members )
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and busy.
Majority Of Americans
SCOTUS
A majority of Americans oppose letting employers, based on their religious views, exclude certain contraceptives from workers' insurance coverage, says a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision expected on Monday.
In one of the most closely watched cases of the year, the nine-member court will weigh whether for-profit corporations may raise religious objections to a mandate in President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare law that their insurance cover contraceptives.
The poll asked whether employers should be able to choose what forms of contraceptives their health plans provide based on their religious beliefs. Of those responding, 53 percent disagreed and 35 percent agreed. Of those surveyed, 12 percent said they did not know.
The justices will sit at 10 a.m. ET on Monday for the final day of their nine-month annual term.
SCOTUS
National Society of Newspaper Columnists Honors
Roger Ebert
On Saturday, June 28, 2014,
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists chose to honor the writing of Roger Ebert within their annual column contest. At a ceremony held at Howard University in Washington, DC, Ebert's writing, which had won first place at this event before and had earned Roger the Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award, demanded attention yet again. He won third place in his category but only because he only had three months eligible in 2013, the period of his writing that proved to be his final one.
Roger Ebert was awarded in "Category E. Online, Blog and Multimedia Columns, Over 100,000 Monthly Unique Visitors," behind Mary C. Curtis of "The Washington Post" and Gendy Alimurung of "LA Weekly." The judge in the category was Chad Lorenz, News Editor of Slate. Chaz Ebert accepted Roger's award on his behalf.
Other winners on Saturday night included Ken Dixon of "Connecticut Post," Dan Zevin of "The New York Times," Eve Samples of Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, Jerry Zezima of "The Advocate," and Darcy Perdu of "So Then Stories."
Roger Ebert
'Fanatical Terrorist Propagandist Organization'
Russell Brand
Russell Brand has made fun of MSNBC anchors to their face, and now he's taking Fox News personality Judge Jeanine Pirro and the cable news network to task from the comfort of his own home.
In a new video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Brand picks apart Pirro's broadcast rant about President Barack Obama's "clueless" position on violence unfolding in Iraq and calls Fox News "a fanatical terrorist propagandist organization."
Brand's comment came after playing clips of Pirro calling for "airstrikes" on Iraq and labeling jihadist militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) a "fanatical religious terrorist organization."
"So is Fox News," Brand said. "It's not reasonable, is it? Not the way she's talking. 'Bomb them! Bomb them!' She's worse."
"She's just doing it with a city backdrop," Brand said. "She's the savage. She's espousing savage values."
Russell Brand
Pot Shortages
Washington
Randy Oliver has a pressing question as legal marijuana sales are about to begin in Washington state: Where's all the weed?
Oliver is the chief scientist at Analytical 360 in Yakima, the only lab that has been certified to test the heavily taxed marijuana that will wind up on store shelves next month. So far, just two licensed growers have turned in samples for testing, with another due to turn in a small batch next week, he told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The state's Liquor Control Board has been warning of shortages when the first stores open. The board plans to issue the first 15 to 20 retail licenses July 7, with shops allowed to open the next day if they're ready. It's not clear how many that will be. Board staff said at a meeting last week that only one store in Seattle is ready for its final inspection.
Only 79 of the more than 2,600 people who applied for marijuana growing licenses last fall have been approved, and many of them aren't ready to harvest.
Washington
Ex-BP Executive Can Be Charged
David Rainey
A U.S. federal appeals court has reinstated a criminal charge of obstruction of Congress against a former BP Plc executive accused of downplaying the severity of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Friday said a lower court judge misinterpreted the obstruction statute in dismissing the charge against David Rainey, a former BP exploration vice president.
Rainey was also charged with making false statements to law-enforcement agents, which was not at issue in the government's appeal. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors accused Rainey of telling the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Environment on May 4, 2010, and in a subsequent letter that just 5,000 barrels of oil a day were being released, when his own estimates suggested a much higher flow rate.
David Rainey
Conservationists Rally
Yellowstone
A rally to protest sport hunting and trapping of wolves in the United States drew about 150 participants on Saturday outside the gates of Yellowstone National Park, an organizer said.
Demonstrators at the event in Gardiner, Montana, at the northwest entrance to the park called for an overhaul of government wildlife management policies for the animals.
Thousands of wolves have been legally hunted, trapped or snared in the three years since the predators were removed from the federal endangered and threatened species list in the Northern Rockies and western Great Lakes.
"We need some places out West where wolves can be wolves without fear of being shot, trapped, strangled or beaten to death," rally organizer Brett Haverstick said in a telephone interview.
Yellowstone
Disastrous Deforestation
Indonesia
Satellite images have found that Indonesia's ancient forests, a cradle of biodiversity and a buffer against climate change, have shrunk much faster than thought, scientists said on Sunday.
Between 2000 and 2012, Indonesia lost around 6.02 million hectares (14.4 million acres or 23,250 square miles) of primary forest, an area almost the size of Sri Lanka, they reported.
Primary or ancient forests are distinguished from managed forests, which are plantations of trees grown for timber and pulp.
The researchers found that primary forest loss accelerated during the period under review, reaching an annual 840,000 hectares by 2012 -- nearly twice the deforestation rate of Brazil, which was 460,000 hectares in the same year.
Deforestation is also a blow to the fight against climate change, as ancient trees store more carbon emissions from the atmosphere than new ones do, and for a longer period, thus mitigating global warming.
Indonesia
Population To Slide
Emperor Penguins
Global warming will cut Antarctica's 600,000-strong emperor penguin population by at least a fifth by 2100 as the sea ice on which the birds breed becomes less secure, a study said on Sunday.
The report urged governments to list the birds as endangered, even though populations in 45 known colonies were likely to rise slightly by 2050 before declining. Such a listing could impose restrictions on tourism and fishing companies.
The study is the first to project the long-term outlook for Antarctica's largest penguins, which can grow 1.2 meters (four ft) tall, seeking to fill a gap in understanding climate change and wildlife in one of the remotest parts of the planet.
Overall, numbers were set to fall by at least 19 percent from current levels by 2100 as sea ice melts. And two-thirds of colonies of the birds, which have distinctive golden head patches, would decline by more than half, it said.
Populations of most of 18 types of penguins are decreasing, according to a Red List run by conservation experts. Emperors are one of three species rated stable, with around 600,000 birds. Only king, adelie and chinstrap penguins are increasing.
Emperor Penguins
Inuit Sites Found
Hudson Bay
On the western coast of Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba there's a gravelly cliff, covered in grass and large rocks, with a 360-degree view of the stark and wild area around it.
It doesn't look like much to the untrained eye, but some 400 years before Europeans set foot in North America, the cliff was a thriving hunting camp for the ancestors of today's Inuit.
Today, there are remnants of 22 large tent rings, as well as food caches, burial grounds and kayak rests - all estimated to be about 1,000 years old.
Researchers are heading to the site, just south of the Manitoba-Nunavut border, next weekend to carefully excavate for animal bones and tools in the hope of gaining insight into the lives of the ancient Inuit known as the Thule.
A team consisting of marine biologists, elders, research assistants and a Nunavut student plan to spend a week mapping the site and studying whatever settlement remnants they can find. The burials will remain untouched.
Hudson Bay
Morbid Anatomy Museum
NYC
A new museum opening in New York City this weekend promises a fascinating journey into the dark side.
The Morbid Anatomy Museum opens Saturday in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
But creative director Joanna Ebenstein tells The New York Times the museum's mission is serious. It grew out of Ebenstein's private collection of over 2,000 books on death rituals, the human body and esoterica.
The three-story museum is in a former nightclub. Highlights at the opening exhibition, "The Art of Mourning," include a brooch made from human teeth. There's also a 1850s shadowbox containing a Madonna surrounded by a memorial wreath made of locks of a deceased loved one.
NYC
Weekend Box Office
"Transformers: Age Of Extinction"
"Transformers: Age of Extinction" is ruling the box office. The fourth installment in filmmaker Michael Bay's morphing robots series earned $100 million in North America during its opening weekend, making it the biggest debut for a movie this year, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Paramount blockbuster outperformed "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and its $95 million inauguration in April.
"Age of Extinction" also earned $201.3 million from 37 international territories, specifically making $90 million in China, where it was partially filmed and co-produced by partners like the state-owned China Film Group and the China Movie Channel.
"Age of Extinction" was distantly followed at the North American box office by a trio of sophomore efforts: "22 Jump Street" in second place with $15.4 million; "How To Train Your Dragon 2" in third place with $13.1 million; and "Think Like a Man Too" in fourth place with $10.4 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. "Transformers: Age Of Extinction," $100 million ($201.3 million international).
2. "22 Jump Street," $15.4 million ($9.6 million international).
3. "How To Train Your Dragon 2," $13.1 million ($17.9 million).
4. "Think Like a Man Too," $10.4 million.
5. "Maleficent," $8.2 million ($16 million international).
6. "Jersey Boys," $7.6 million ($11 million international).
7. "Edge of Tomorrow," $5.2 million ($6.9 million international).
8. "The Fault in Our Stars," $4.8 million ($13 million international).
9. "X-Men: Days of Future Past," $3.3 million ($6.2 million international).
10. "Chef," $1.6 million.
"Transformers: Age Of Extinction"
In Memory
Meshach Taylor
Meshach Taylor, who played a lovable ex-convict surrounded by boisterous Southern belles on the sitcom "Designing Women" and appeared in numerous other TV and film roles, died of cancer at age 67, his agent said Sunday.
Taylor got an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Anthony Bouvier on "Designing Women" from 1986 to 1993. Then he costarred for four seasons on another successful comedy, "Dave's World," as the best friend of a newspaper humour columnist played by the series' star, Harry Anderson.
Other series included the cult favourite "Buffalo Bill" and the popular Nickelodeon comedy "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide."
Taylor's movie roles included a flamboyant window dresser in the 1987 comedy-romance "Mannequin" as well as "Damien: Omen II."
He guested on many series including "Hannah Montana," ''The Unit," ''Hill Street Blues," ''Barney Miller," ''Lou Grant," ''The Drew Carey Show," and, in an episode that aired in January, "Criminal Minds," which stars Joe Mantegna, with whom Taylor performed early in his career as a fellow member of Chicago's Organic Theater Company. Taylor also had been a member of that city's Goodman Theatre.
The Boston-born Taylor started acting in community shows in New Orleans, where his father was dean of students at Dillard University. He continued doing roles in Indianapolis after his father moved to Indiana University as dean of the college of arts and sciences.
After college, he set up a black arts theatre to keep kids off the street, then joined the national touring company of "Hair." His acting career was launched.
After "Hair," he became a part of the burgeoning theatre world in Chicago, where he stayed until 1979 before heading for Los Angeles.
Taylor played the assistant director in "Buffalo Bill," the short-lived NBC sitcom about an arrogant and self-centred talk show host played by Dabney Coleman. It lasted just one season, 1983-84, disappointing its small but fervent following.
Seemingly his gig on "Designing Women" could have been even more short-lived. It was initially a one-shot.
"It was for the Thanksgiving show, about halfway through the first season," Taylor said. But producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason told him if the character clicked with audiences he could stay.
It did. He spun comic gold with co-stars Jean Smart, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts and Delta Burke, and never left.
Taylor is survived by his four children and his wife, Bianca Ferguson.
Meshach Taylor
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
