Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Trump's Potemkin Economy (NY Times Blog)
The best hope for breaking the cycle of retaliation would be for Trump to realize that the trade war is going badly, take a deep breath, and step back from the brink. But who will tell him how things are really going? Given what we've seen the past few days, they'll respond to plant closings and economic disruption with fantasies of triumph, while Trump will dismiss reports of problems as fake news. Reality will take a long time to break through, if it ever does. And by then the world trading system may be broken beyond repair.
Josh Marshall: How Facebook Punked and then Gut Punched the News Biz (TPM)
Publishers were desperate and often stupid and Facebook took that desperation, used them up and spit them out. Google may be like the borg, unstoppable and unforgiving. But there are the implants, which are well-made, and a decent community and on-going growth. Facebook is pure predatory.
John Dyck: What makes some art so bad that it's good? (The Conversation)
We usually hate art when it seems like it's been poorly executed, and we appreciate great art, which is supposed to represent the pinnacle of human ingenuity. So, this raises a deeper question: What's the appeal of art that's so bad it's good? (We could call this kind of art "good-bad art.") Why do so many people grow to love good-bad art like "The Room" in the first place?
Vera Tobin: "The science of the plot twist: How writers exploit our brains" (The Conversation)
Marketing experts know that what spoilers do spoil is the urgency of consumers' desire to watch or read a story. People can even find themselves so sapped of interest and anticipation that they stay home, robbing themselves of the pleasure they would have had if they'd simply never learned of the outcome.
Ian Marcus Corbin: The obscenity of the art world (Spectator)
Life is awash with inducements to stupidity and greed. The bizarre, defiantly anti-utilitarian practice of making and enjoying art can function as a respite, a space for genuine reflection and reevaluation - as R.M. Rilke learned while staring at a broken ancient statue of Apollo, art can help us see that we must change our lives, if we want to live truly well in our short time. In our time that space is being increasingly colonised by the same venal lusts that already run so much of the wider world.
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 80 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
Reader Comment
Fireworks Pollution
Marty
The forecast for 5 July - Acid Fog...
Fourth of July Fireworks Pollution: Study Shows Holiday Air Pollution | Time
Years earlier, after enduring nightlong bombardment around 4 July, the
stench as bad as the noise, I wrote to the air quality agency (SCAQMD)
asking what preparations there had been to measure the contribution of
fireworks to regional air pollution, and what did those measurements
show? There was no reply that year or to my identical letters in
subsequent years...
Hawaiians living near Kilauea are admonishd to avoid breathing the
hydrogen sulfide (deadler in lower volume than cyanide gas), but we in
the San Gabriel Valley get no health warnings, whatsoever.
Animal cruelty is a crime, but somehow the law is selected for
non-enforcement at this time, as pets escape their yards and run in
terror, some onto freeways. One terrified small animal left bloody
footprints on my front sidewalk, a few years ago. And my city designated
a bird sanctuary next to a park, then a week or so later, staged its
annual fireworks display, the grand finale blasts buckling my front
windows, a mile away.
The local school district now spends money for fireworks to be detonated
at high school football games in the fall, so the disturbance of the
peace now lasts until after Thanksgiving.
Be prepared for the acid fog, starting on Thursday...
James of Alhambra
Thanks, James!
Check out this about Disneyland & their fireworks:
Especially in summer months, Disneyland's fireworks are cancelled about a fifth of the time because the prevailing winds blow the smoke eastward across neighboring Interstate 5, creating a driving hazard that the California Highway Patrol deems unacceptable.
I've even seen the fireworks cancelled mid-way through the show.
Usually about a half hour before their scheduled start time, you can see a shiny, black Mylar balloon released from behind Toon Town and floating high into the sky. An observer at the fireworks control desk atop the 20th Century Music Company shop on Main Street watches the direction the wind takes the balloon.You'll also notice how most of the lower-exploding fireworks are slightly west of the castle, giving just a bit more distance from the freeway.
When the show is cancelled they will usually play a pre-recorded excuse "Due to atmospheric conditions high above the Magic Kingdom..." But it has nothing to do with that...it's if the direction of breezes will blow smoke across I-5.
That's why "atmospheric conditions" in Orlando never necessitate cancelling the fireworks...there're no freeways next door.
What is the reason why Disneyland cancel their fireworks?
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Question
Paywalls
I appreciate all of the stories, articles cartoons and opinions on your site, but I have been increasingly distracted by the "Pay to read" sites that are linked to many of those items. Could you and your contributors flag those links so that I and others do not waste our time going to a site that we cannot read?
Thanks for your consideration,
Billy in Cypress
Thanks, Billy!
Paywalls are a bitch, but I appreciate the concept.
OTOH, I'm at the point where can't commit to taking on any new duties in any realm of my life.
If you're really desperate to read something behind a paywall, google the headline, or the first line of copy, then see if there's a 'cache' copy - you can also see if the story has been picked up elsewhere.
I could be bitchy and say something about you get what you pay for, but I'm too tired.
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
TRUMP'S TRADE WAR.
OUR CREDIT CARD WARS.
PUNCHING AN ASTEROID!
THE "PUSSY GRABBERS" ARE UPSET.
STUPID REPUGS!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
One of the rhubarb plants died, just went limp and fell over.
The other plant is doing well - so far.
Wedding News
Cuoco - Cook
Congratulations are in order for Kaley Cuoco, as she got married to Karl Cookthis weekend.
The actress and Big Bang Theory star married Cook, a professional equestrian, in what People is describing as "an intimate wedding at a horse stable near San Diego, California." Both the bride and groom share a love of horses, so their unusual choice of wedding venue is totally perfect.
For the ceremony, Cuoco wore a stunning Reem Acra white lace dress with its own cape, and she worked with stylists Brad Goreski and Daniela Romero on her wedding look.
As the pair share the same initials, they've dubbed their wedding "KCSQUARED," which is beyond adorable. Cook even captioned one of their wedding snaps, "Legally KCSQUARED 6-30-18 ??":
Cuoco - Cook
Wedding News
Paradis - Benchetrit
Actress and singer Vanessa Paradis has married French director Samuel Benchetrit, according to a report by magazine Le Parisien.
Wearing a cream-coloured ruffle dress with flowers in her blonde hair, Paradis married Benchetrit at the town hall in Saint-Simeon, east of Paris, the report said.
Photographs on the website of Le Parisien showed a smiling Paradis leaving the town hall arm-in-arm with Benchetrit, wearing a navy suit, as wedding guests threw confetti over the couple.
The small ceremony was attended by a few dozen guests, including Paradis' 19-year-old daughter Lily-Rose Depp, born during her 14-year relationship with American actor Johnny Depp which ended in 2012, the report said.
Paradis has two children with Depp, Lily-Rose and son Jack, but the couple never married.
Paradis - Benchetrit
Discovered Outside Of Las Vegas
'Time Warp'
A paranormal researcher said he's the first person to ever discover a time warp, and that he found it on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Joshua Warren has been measuring the rate of time all over Southern Nevada, and he said, last week he found that time had slowed down.
He said he measured multiple places between Las Vegas and Area 51, but the only place he got a reading was in the desert just north of the city between I-15 and Route 93.
"The weird thing, the real holy grail here, was what we picked up with this brand-new piece of technology," Warren said.
The technology he's referring to was the DT Meter, which stands for differential time rate meter. It was recently invented by a Silicon Valley engineer, Ron Heath. It's connected to a 100-foot cable with a sensor on the end that sends back a signal.
"That signal is always supposed to travel at the same rate of time at any particular place. The only way that could change is if a black hole approached earth or something like that, which is never supposed to happen," Warren said. "At this spot, on June 18 of 2018, I actually measured for the first and only time, time itself slowing down for 20 microseconds."
'Time Warp'
Chasing Dinosaurs
Burma
"Amber hunters" on a quest for a Jurassic Park-style discovery of dinosaur remains sift through mounds of the precious resin in Myanmar -- a lucrative trade that captivates palaeontologists but also fuels a decades-long conflict in the far north.
The morning amber market on the outskirts of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state, throngs with traders using torches and magnifying glasses to scrutinise pieces of the honey-coloured fossilised tree sap.
Some sell rough-edged uncut chunks. Others tout finished products: pendants, necklaces and bracelets made from carefully polished pieces.
The trading takes place just a few dozen kilometres from the fighting between Myanmar's army and ethnic Kachin rebels battling for autonomy, land, identity -- and natural resources that help finance both sides.
The jade and ruby industries dwarf the largely artisanal amber trade, but the resin can still fetch big sums for whoever controls the mines.
Burma
The Truth
Winning?
Six hundred days after the 2016 election, many US voters remain deeply skeptical of, if not hostile to, political polling.
But election models portraying Clinton as a sure thing left her supporters feeling betrayed when, thanks to the electoral college, the presidency fell to Donald Trump. For those voters today, mistrust of surveys can take on an almost spiritual vehemence.
Yet while Americans who feel that Trump is harming the country can be leery of any survey that seems like good news for their side, the same voters might be too quick to believe numbers that look good for Trump but which upon closer scrutiny exaggerate the strength of the president's political position.
When Trump hit a personal best 45% overall approval rating last week in Gallup's weekly tracking poll, boosted by a 90% approval rating among Republicans, achorusofanxiousTrumpdetractors asked: "How can this be?"
Easy come, easy poll: on Monday, Gallup had Trump back down at 41%, as Americans learned more about his policy of separating migrant families at the US border. In fact, Trump's approval rating during his first term has been "incredibly stable" within a band from about 36% to 43%, polling analyst Harry Enten and others have pointed out.
Winning?
US Weighs Withdrawing Troops
Germany
The Pentagon is evaluating the costs of transferring or withdrawing troops from Germany, where the United States has its biggest contingent outside the country, The Washington Post reported Friday.
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Draft Dodger) has already discussed the proposal, which has worried European NATO allies, with military officials.
Among the options under consideration are repatriating a large contingent of the approximately 35,000 active duty troops, or a full or partial move of the military personnel from Germany to Poland, according to the Post.
Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper stressed that the study was only an internal examination of options at this stage.
US troops have been stationed in Germany since World War II, and the presence there serves as a base for US operations in Africa and the Middle East.
Germany
Weekend Box Office
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"
The "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" dinosaurs ruled the box office for a second weekend in a row, but also left a little room for more modest newcomers like "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" and the basketball comedy "Uncle Drew" to over-perform in the crowded marketplace.
The dinosaurs didn't gobble up all the attention this weekend, however. "Incredibles 2," now in its third weekend in theaters, took second place with $45.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $439.7 million.
North American audiences came out in larger than expected numbers for both the action thriller "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" and "Uncle Drew."
After two weekends of $100 million plus movies, this past weekend provided a little blockbuster break before "Ant-Man and the Wasp" opens this week. But even without a record-breaker or a $100 million movie, the box office is still up 15.3 percent from last summer's abysmal performance and 9.3 percent for the year overall.
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. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," $60 million ($56.1 million international).
2. "Incredibles 2," $45.5 million ($44.3 million international).
3. "Sicario: Day of the Soldado," $19 million ($8.4 million international).
4. "Uncle Drew," $15.5 million.
5. "Ocean's 8," $8 million ($13.8 million international).
6. "Tag," $5.6 million ($3.7 million international).
7. "Deadpool 2," $3.5 million ($2.8 million international).
8. "Sanju," $2.6 million ($22.2 million international).
9. "Solo: A Star Wars Story," $2.3 million ($6.1 million international).
10. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" $2.3 million.
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
