Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Alison Flood: "Cressida Cowell: 'Books are better than films at teaching children creativity and intelligence.'" (The Guardian)
"
books are a kind of transformative magic that offer magical things that films aren't as good at creating in children: empathy, creativity and intelligence. With a film, things happen out there, in a book it's happening inside your head, so that's empathy. Creativity - a book is partly what I say and partly what a reader imagines, whereas films are very bossy, they tell you how things would look and how they would sound. Intelligence is words. Those are the three magical powers, that's why books have to survive - because, my goodness, we need empathetic intelligent creative people today."
Lucy Mangan: Generation Porn review - trapped in the valley of sex (The Guardian)
Oh the irony. An investigation into whether porn is ruining children's lives that is too scared to probe. Who wants to answer that when you can fill the screen with naked bodies?
Lucy Mangan: "Mad Cow Disease: The Great British Beef Scandal review - is it really gone for good?" (The Guardian)
Annie McVey remembers her daughter, Claire, who died of vCJD at 15, visibly deteriorating every day on a family trip to Disney World. "I wanted to know who to blame because I wanted to go round and break their legs, really. I wanted them to look at what they'd done." Waves of grief and rage roll off her still. Every year, she sends certain people an email. "I've got a hit list. At Christmas I remind them all. I say: 'You did this. When you sit down to your Christmas lunch, we sit down to an empty space. Because of the choices you made. So when you make your next choice in parliament or in business, make sure it's a good one. Because they have consequences.'"
Lucy Mangan: Dark Money review - a child abuse drama that is slight but horribly real (The Guardian)
Cheryl (Rebecca Front), Isaac's chaperone - if she can be said to be worthy of the title - puts them in touch with Starr's "people" and a meeting is set up. A lawyer with a basilisk stare and his entourage look at the video, assure the Mensahs that it is probative of nothing as it doesn't show anyone's face. Nevertheless, they offer a £3m settlement in exchange for them signing a non-disclosure agreement and providing proof that the video has been deleted. The offer is available for the next five minutes.
Oliver Burkeman: You can't change the past, so why give advice to your younger self? (The Guardian)
regret, while entirely understandable, is a fundamentally self-contradictory emotion: the very fact that you're feeling it means that you've grown into the kind of person who can look back critically on what you did in the past, when you were another kind of person. Which means that, judged by your present values, you've emerged from your life experience better than before, and ought (rationally speaking, anyhow) to be happy rather than regretful.
Suzanne Moore: Of course Boris Johnson wants a royal yacht. He's the king of fake-it-till-you-make-it (The Guardian)
This latest vanity project is part of a plan to mould the country in his own image: winging it and pretending to be a superpower.
Alison Flood: Book ripper' on vandalism spree in seaside town (The Guardian)
Hundreds of volumes in the library and bookshops of Herne Bay have had pages torn in half, but police remain baffled.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
In 1941, people were worried about the war and about foreign spies. In addition, people were concerned about relieving human misery. Four American Quakers journeyed to England to see about undertaking some relief efforts. However, one of the Quakers was detained under suspicion of being a foreign spy when a book written in a foreign language and a map of the Mediterranean on which had been drawn lines was found in his possession. Fortunately, the matter was quickly cleared up. The book was a Greek New Testament, and the map showed the wanderings of St. Paul. The items were returned to Bible scholar Henry Cadbury, and he continued his relief efforts.
During World War II, Maria Callas' mother sheltered a couple of British officers for six weeks from the Germans and Italians then occupying Athens, Greece. Shortly after the officers left, some Italian soldiers arrived to search the Callas apartment - from which incriminating evidence had not yet been removed. Maria, then only 17 years old, saved the life of herself and her family by going to the piano and singing. The Italian soldiers were music lovers, so they listened to young Maria and forgot about searching the apartment. In addition, the next day they brought food as gifts for the Callas family and Maria once more sang for them.
At the beginning of World War I, opera singer Leo Slezak decided to be prepared. Knowing that food can be scarce during times of war, he sent the servants away one day, then secretly had delivered to his estate in the Bavarian Alps a "few provisions" - including 200 pounds of coffee, 300 pounds of sugar, 500 pounds of flour, and 1,000 rolls of toilet paper. The Slezaks safely hid the provisions, and they - and their friends - were comfortable for the duration of the war.
General George McClellan was not overeager to fight during the Civil War. Instead, he kept pestering President Abraham Lincoln for more men. An exasperated President Lincoln bore it for a while and then said, "If I gave McClellan all the men he asks for, they couldn't find room to lie down. They would all have to sleep standing up." Eventually, President Lincoln fired General McClellan for non-aggressiveness.
During World War I, Charles MacArthur served as a private in the United States Army, where he got bored with saluting officers and calling them "sir." So Mr. MacArthur and his friends each day elected a private to serve as caliph for the day. Before addressing the caliph, each person had to bow to him twice and then use only high-falutin' language such as "O Commander of the Faithful, is it true that
."
Humorist Ellen Orleans once brought home a new cat, and it began to fight with the old cat. Well, the two cats didn't actually fight - they just made a lot of threatening noises at each other. This gave Ms. Orleans an idea for our military policy: "Put only blanks in our nuclear warheads and Trident missiles. Make as loud a racket as you want, but no death or destruction allowed."
During World War I, Pope John XXIII (1881-1963) was Father Roncalli and served under Father Pignatello, chaplain general of the Italian army. Many years later, after he had become Pope, he recognized Father Pignatello during an audience and saluted him, saying, "Sergeant Roncalli, at your orders, General."
The Netherlands were once besieged by the Spanish Duke of Alva during the winter in his attempt to wipe out the Protestants. Because the Dutch fleet was frozen in the harbor, things looked bad for the Netherlands; however, the Dutch soldiers simply grabbed their muskets, put on skates, and skated out to the Spaniards and defeated them.
In Czarist Russia, a company of Russians prepared to go into combat. The commandant told his soldiers, "Get your bayonets ready and prepare to meet your man in hand-to-hand combat." The lone Jew in his company raised his hand and asked, "Could you show me my man? Maybe we can come to an agreement."
An entire platoon of enemy soldiers was captured by a lone Israeli soldier. The Israeli told them, "Don't worry. I'm not going to shoot you. I'm just going to take you to a POW camp." "Thank you," the enemy soldiers said. "You're very kind." "Don't thank me," the Israeli soldier said. "Just be thankful that my husband didn't capture you."
Nathan Rothschild was outspoken. Once a Major Martins was telling him about the horrors of war, and Mr. Rothschild interrupted with the comment that if many people had not died during wartime, presumably the major would still be a lieutenant.
Barbara Bush once visited Japanese emperor Hirohito and complimented him on his new palace, then asked what had happened to his old one. Hirohito replied, "I am afraid you bombed it."
Bill Arp, a humorist from Georgia, once described his career as a soldier in the Civil War like this: "I reckon I killed as many of them as they did of me."
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful and not be neutral." - Paulo Freire.
"An eye for an eye is a terrible way to blind the world." - Mahatma Gandhi.
"You don't have to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just have to shoot straight." - Barry Goldwater.
A little boy once asked John F. Kennedy how he became a war hero. Mr. Kennedy replied, "It was absolutely involuntary - they sank my boat."
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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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
The inept rooster that goes "cock-a-doo-ooo" spent all last night practicing. Started around 2am, and was still going strong after the sun came up. .
Glad he's several houses down the block - bet the nearer-neighbors have an opinion.
Reunite Onstage In L.A.
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr may have celebrated his 79th birthday in Los Angeles last weekend at his annual Peace & Love gathering, but the real celebration for L.A. Beatles fans took place Saturday, July 13, at Dodger Stadium - when, on the final stop of Paul McCartney's "Freshen Up" world tour, Starr showed up, right after McCartney had finished belting "Birthday."
Introducing his surprise guest during the encore of his epic, 38-song set, McCartney told his former bandmate, "I love ya, man" as the 56,000 attending fans roared with excitement, knowing that this would be the closest thing to a Beatles reunion they'd ever get to witness.
A broadly grinning Starr got behind the drum kit for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Helter Skelter," then the Fab Two exchanged more "I love you, man" declarations, with Starr gushing, "Thank you, Paul. It's been a thrill for me and I've had a lovely night, and it's a great show." Ever the prankster, as Starr exited he pretended that he was about to toss McCartney's bass guitar into the audience.
The 77-year-old McCartney also paid tribute to his late bandmates, crooning the George Harrison-penned "Something" while strumming a ukulele once owned by Harrison, and introducing "Here Today" - a song about "a conversation I wish we'd had" that he penned for the slain John Lennon - by telling the audience, "If you want to tell someone you love them, tell them before it's too late."
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
Duet for First Time Since 1994
Bob Dylan and Neil Young
Bob Dylan and Neil Young wrapped up their co-headlining show at Kilkenny, Ireland's Nowlan Park Sunday evening by performing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," marking the first time the two have shared a stage since a show at New York's Roseland Ballroom in 1994. Quality video has yet to surface, but Young posted a segment of the song on his Instagram page you can see right here.
"Will The Circle be Unbroken" is a traditional hymn that dates back to the early 20th century. In 1935, it was recorded by Carter Family patriarch A.P. Carter, which is likely is likely the version that Dylan first heard. He played it during his coffee house shows dating back to 1961, and in 1967 he recorded it during the Basement Tapes sessions with the Band. He hasn't played it in concert since a Houston stop of the Rolling Thunder Review on May 8th, 1976.
Young, meanwhile, played the song with Willie Nelson four times between 1995 and 2018. The first time he did it, however, was the 1975 SNACK Benefit at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. Sharing vocals with him was none other than Dylan. They had been admiring each other's work for many years at that point, but it was the first time they'd ever played together. Whether or not they meant to mirror their first onstage encounter by playing the song again at Kilkenny is unclear.
Dylan and Young have been criss-crossing Europe for the past few weeks on separate tours. They didn't meet up until a co-headlining show at London's Hyde Park on Friday evening. They disappointed some in the audience that night by not playing anything together even though they did stellar sets on their own.
Bob Dylan and Neil Young
Set As Adult Toon Series
'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'
Franklin, Phineas and Fat Freddy (and his mischievous cat) are truckin' to TV after more than half a century. The stars of the counterculture comic The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers will get newly re-animated for a series set to bow next year.
WTG Enterprises has lighted the green - or, rather, greenlighted eight 22-minute episodes of the series to debut early next year. Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon are executive producing the toon, with King of the Hill alums Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland set as showrunners.
Silicon Valley creators John Althschuler and Dave Krinsky will write and produce FFFB, with Workaholics' Adam Devine and Blake Anderson providing voices, exec producing and being involved in the creative process. Daniel and Jeremy Lehrer (Highly Gifted) will serve as writers and producers. WTG president Jeffrey S. Edell will serves as co-EP. Starburns Industries (Rick and Morty) and Pure Imagination Studios (The Simpsons) will handle the animation.
Created by Gilbert Shelton, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comic first appeared in 1968 as an underground press comic strip and centered on the trio of "freaks" and a mischievous cat from San Francisco who always are looking for a state of bliss - relieved only by bursts of paranoia or stimulant-induced frenzies. These misfits' adventure are boundary-pushing and remarkably human, with common themes including cannabis, law-breaking and politics.
'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'
Remains Found
Charles Levin
Remains found in a remote area of Oregon are believed to be of missing actor Charles Levin, who played numerous roles on television comedies such as "Seinfeld" and "Night Court."
Levin, 70, was reported missing from Grants Pass on July 8 by his son after he hadn't heard from his father for several days, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
He owned an orange 2012 Fiat and was "almost always in the company of his fawn-colored pug dog, Boo Boo Bear," Grants Pass public safety said in a news release last week seeking information about Levin's whereabouts.
Levin's TV credits include "Alice," ''Hill Street Blues," ''Doogie Howser, M.D.," ''Night Court" and "Seinfeld." Levin also had roles in movies, including "The Golden Child," ''Annie Hall" and "This is Spinal Tap."
Charles Levin
Unprecedented Fires
The Arctic
Smoke is rising over the forests of Alaska and Siberia.
The World Meteorological Organization called the wildfires now burning around the Arctic "unprecedented." The United Nations agency noted that over 100 intense fires burned in the Arctic Circle alone over the past six weeks, releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than Sweden does in an entire year.
A rare fire even ignited in Greenland, amid unusually hot and dry weather.
Amplified wildfires are an expected, predictable consequence of a warming climate. This is all the more true in the Arctic, a sprawling region that is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the globe. The profound changes here can be easily observed over the Arctic ocean, too, where sea ice has broken records for melting throughout the 2019 summer.
Over the course of 10 days in July, Alaskan wildfires burned an area of land the size of Rhode Island. This is way above normal - though this doesn't match Alaska's extreme burning of 2015.
The Arctic
"To Spite Obama"
Leaked UK Memo
A U.K. newspaper has published more leaked memos revealing a British ambassador's blunt assessments of the Trump administration, including one in which the envoy to Washington claimed President Don-Old Trump (R-Deficient) pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal to spite predecessor Barack Obama.
In the May 2018 cable published by the Mail on Sunday, U.K. Ambassador Kim Darroch called Trump's decision to abandon the international accord "an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons" because the pact "was Obama's deal."
Darroch wrote the memo after then-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Washington in a failed attempt to persuade the United States not to abandon the 2015 nuclear agreement.
He alleged the White House had no strategy for what would come after its withdrawal and "no sort of plan for reaching out to partners and allies."
Scotland Yard is hunting for the perpetrator who leaked confidential diplomatic cables to the Mail on Sunday. Last week the newspaper published memos from Darroch describing the Trump administration as dysfunctional and inept.
Leaked UK Memo
First-Ever Photo
Quantum Entanglement
In an incredible first, scientists have captured the world's first actual photo of quantum entanglement - a phenomenon so strange Einstein famously described it as 'spooky action at a distance'.
The image was captured by physicists at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and it's so breathtaking we can't stop staring.
It might not look like much, but just stop and think about it for a second: this fuzzy grey image is the first time we've seen the particle interaction that underpins the strange science of quantum mechanics and forms the basis of quantum computing.
Quantum entanglement occurs when two particles become inextricably linked, and whatever happens to one immediately affects the other, regardless of how far apart they are. Hence the 'spooky action at a distance' description.
This particular photo shows entanglement between two photons - two particles of light. They're interacting and for a brief moment sharing physical states.
Quantum Entanglement
The Seamstresses
Astronauts' Spacesuits
Even for the people who actually did it, the idea of walking on the moon is still a little hard to comprehend. In 1972, Harrison "Jack" Sschmitt of Apollo 17 became the last man to set foot on the moon.
"I was honored and privileged to be part of the Apollo program. But like everyone else who was part [of] Apollo program, we happened to be at the right place at the right time with an extraordinarily strong motivation to succeed."
And they were motivated, from the astronauts waving goodbye on their way to the history books, to the chain-smoking guys in Mission Control. But back in places where the TV cameras didn't always go, a small army of women was working just as hard at jobs that were just as important.
When NASA needed a new moon suit, big government contractors, like Litton Industries and Hamilton Standard, made stiff, bulky spacesuit prototypes that often looked like a cross between Sir Galahad and Buzz Lightyear.
What NASA needed was something more flexible, and they found out that no one knew flexible like the people who made Playtex girdles and bras.
Astronauts' Spacesuits
Weekend Box Office
"Spider-Man: Far From Home"
"Spider-Man: Far From Home" is celebrating another weekend at No. 1, but non-franchise fare continues to struggle at the box office. Fresh studio-released counterprograming such as the horror movie "Crawl" and the action-comedy "Stuber" barely made a dent in the web-slinger's earnings, although there is a glimmer of hope in the independent world.
Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 4" landed in second place with $20.7 million in its fourth weekend in theaters. It's now earned $346.4 million from North American theaters.
"Crawl," a thriller from Paramount Pictures, debuted in third with an estimated $12 million against a reported $13.5 million budget. Directed by Alexandre Aja, "Crawl" stars Barry Pepper and Kaya Scodelario as a father and daughter trapped in their home with a bunch of angry alligators during a hurricane. The R-rated pic has been was not screened for critics in advance, which usually signals a dud, but it has been surprisingly well-received by critics since opening. It's currently 88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
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."Spider-Man: Far From Home," $45.3 million.
2."Toy Story 4," $20.7 million.
3."Crawl," $12 million.
4."Stuber," $8 million.
5."Yesterday," $6.8 million.
6."Aladdin," $5.9 million.
7."Annabelle Comes Home," $5.6 million.
8."Midsommar," $3.6 million.
9."The Secret Life of Pets 2," $3.1 million.
10."Men in Black: International," $2.2 million.
"Spider-Man: Far From Home"
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