Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Henry Rollins: From Abroad, America Seems Totally Crazy (LA Weekly)
I am fully aware of the hatred that millions of Americans have for Hillary Clinton, but her detractors are not doing themselves any favors by sticking it out with Trump. They might very well be handing her the election. All I'm saying is, from here, it all seems like a disturbing reality television show.
Clive James: 'The best way out of doing sport is watching it' (The Guardian)
My long-term conclusion has been that top-level sport was worth doing as long as it wasn't me that had to do it.
Chris Molanphy: Why Is the Chainsmokers' "Closer" the Biggest Song in the Country? (Slate)
The EDM duo who call themselves the Chainsmokers have done something even more bro-tastic than dropping the bass. You've just been punk'd.
Mike Pesca: The Year Nirvana Lost Out to Bryan Adams (Slate)
1991 marked the beginning of a decade of musical narrowcasting. With Kurt Cobain and A Tribe Called Quest splitting the vote, Color Me Badd rose to the top.
Chris Molanphy: How Sia Beat Rihanna at Her Own Game to Score Her First No. 1 (Slate)
These words come from "Cheap Thrills," the loping dance-pop single that crowns Billboard's Hot 100 this week. It's the first No. 1 for Sia (who goes by her first name as a recording artist) in a nearly two-decade career as a singer-for-hire, an unlikely scribe of pop hits, and an even unlikelier pop star.
Julian Baggini: Anger-what is it good for? (Prospect Magazine)
Martha Nussbaum thinks we shouldn't lose our tempers. Good luck with that.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
FUCK IT! LET'S GET DRUNK!
"BRESTAURANTS"
DON'T VOTE FOR TRUMP!
"…NEW FILTERLESS DIMWITS WAIT IN THE WINGS."
PENCE RECAPTURED!
"DISRUPTING THE MYTH OF FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT…"
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The kid starts another new semester.
Demo Sells For £18K
Paul McCartney
A long-lost demo disc recorded by Paul McCartney that was given to Cilla Black has sold for £18,000 at auction, the Beatles expert who found it has said.
Black, who died in 2015, had a UK top 10 hit in 1964 with It's for You, written by McCartney and John Lennon.
McCartney recorded his own version earlier that year, which was delivered to Black while she was performing at the London Palladium.
The disc fetched £18,000 at the Beatles Memorabilia Auction at Unity Theatre in Liverpool but with commission the unknown buyer will pay £21,060.
Sir Paul was allowed to make a copy of his recording to add to his personal archive, Mr White said.
Paul McCartney
Comedy Central Roast
Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe is at the center of Comedy Central's Roast this year, and at the taping on Saturday night, he got slammed: over his 1988 sex tape with a 16-year-old, his trend of being on so many cancelled TV shows and even his unbearable handsomeness.
But perhaps no one was burned worse than one of the actual roasters: Ann Coulter. In fact, the political commentator even addressed the amount of jokes leveled at her during her performance.
Not even the audience felt bad for Coulter's slaughtering. During her performance, she was booed when promoting her new book, "In Trump We Trust," and roaster and "SNL" star Pete Davidson got more laughs than she did when making a sarcastic face at a joke of hers that fell flat.
Rob Riggle: "If Ann Coulter is here, someone must have said her name three times. Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!"
And perhaps the harshest, from Jimmy Carr: "Ann is one of the most repugnant, hateful, hatchet-face bitches alive. It's not too late to change, Ann. You could kill yourself."
Rob Lowe
Will Retire From CBS' 'Sunday Morning'
Charles Osgood
Charles Osgood said he would step down from his anchoring duties at CBS' venerable "Sunday Morning," bringing a 22-year run on that program to an end.
His final broadcast is set to take place on Sunday, September 25.
Speculation about Osgood's tenure on the program has swirled since early this year when he took a few weeks off to deal with knee-replacement surgery. Indeed, the anchor and CBS are believed to have been in talks for weeks about orchestrating a transition.
Jane Pauley, who joined "CBS Sunday Morning" as a contributor in 2014, has been viewed for months as a leading candidate to take over hosting duties for the show.
Osgood, long considered one of the TV-news business' brightest writers, has anchored the program since 1994, when he took the reins of the 90-minute program from its original host, Charles Kuralt.
Charles Osgood
Scientists Exit Yearlong Mars Simulation
Hawaii
Six scientists have completed a yearlong Mars simulation in Hawaii, where they lived in a dome in near isolation.
For the past year, the group in the dome on a Mauna Loa mountain could go outside only while wearing spacesuits.
On Sunday, the simulation ended, and the scientists emerged.
NASA funded the study run through the University of Hawaii. Binsted said the simulation was the second-longest of its kind after a mission that lasted 520 days in Russia.
Scientists in the Hawaii simulation managed limited resources while conducting research and working to avoid personal conflicts.
Hawaii
FBI Raids Home
SAT Leak
Federal agents searched the home of a former employee-turned-outspoken critic of the College Board, the standardized testing giant, as part of an investigation into the breach of hundreds of questions from the SAT college entrance exam.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized computers and other material on Friday from Manuel Alfaro, who left his job as executive director of assessment design and development at the College Board in February 2015. The FBI is investigating alleged computer intrusion and theft against an unidentified "victim corporation" involving "confidential or proprietary information," including tests, test forms and internal emails, according to a search warrant issued in the case.
Alfaro had contacted officials of seven state governments in recent months, accusing the College Board of making false claims about its tests when bidding for public contracts with the states. The College Board, he alleged, misled the states about the process it used to create questions for the new version of the SAT, resulting in an inferior exam. He also aired those allegations publicly, largely through postings on his LinkedIn account.
The FBI raid comes after Reuters reported earlier this month that the news agency had obtained about 400 unpublished questions from the newly redesigned SAT exam, which debuted in March. Some experts said the leak constituted one of the most serious breaches of security ever to come to light in the standardized testing industry.
Reuters reported previously that the SAT and its rival, the ACT, are being systematically gamed by test-prep operators in Asia. The SAT has proved particularly vulnerable to cheating because of its practice of reusing test questions. Test-preparation companies obtain previously administered questions that are scheduled for reuse and feed those questions to students, who can score higher by practicing on the exam items before the test.
SAT Leak
Yet Another Person Rescued Near The Bus
'Into The Wild'
Authorities in Alaska say they have
rescued a 22-year-old man named Matthew Sharp near the abandoned bus made famous by the 1996 "Into the Wild" book and 2007 Into The Wild movie. Sharp was reportedly unable to hike back from the area surrounding the 1942 "Magic Bus" that sits on the Stampede Trail. Rising waters swept the hiker down the river, causing minor injuries. Troopers responded to distress signals set off by an emergency beacon and were able to fly Sharp back to Fairbanks via helicopter where he was treated for his injuries.
Sharp is just the most recent hiker authorities have either saved or recovered near the bus 24-year-old Chris McCandless lived, and died, inside in 1992. McCandless lived in the bus for two months while on a mission of self-discovery, before eventually starving to death. Rescuing hikers from the trail is a common occurrence for troopers. Recently, a woman drowned in the Teklanika River that runs not too far from the area the bus sits.
Sharp was injured as he was swept down the Alaskan river after waters rapidly rose. Crossing the river is necessary to get to where the 'Into The Wild' bus sits. In an email sent to CBC News Sharp detailed his account of how his journey up the trail almost turned deadly.
'Into The Wild'
Legal Setback For Tenure Opponents
California
A nationwide drive to weaken job guarantees for U.S. public school teachers shows no sign of fading away even though an extended legal battle to stop the practice of granting tenure in California went down in defeat last week.
The California challenge, which would have made it easier for school districts to fire teachers deemed to be underachievers, reached the end of the line when the California Supreme Court declined to take up the case.
The decision was a setback for advocates of sweeping changes in education that unionized teachers generally oppose, including a repeal of tenure and more funding for charter schools.
Even so, advocates of change have wasted little time in regrouping. One group has introduced a federal lawsuit in Connecticut aiming to boost student access to charter schools, while a second group announced plans for a lawsuit challenging teacher job protections in a still-undetermined state.
California
Flouted Federal Aquifer Rules For 34 Years
Texass
Texas allowed the drilling of oil and natural gas injection wells in some areas near drinking water sources starting more than three decades ago, but state regulators recently assured the federal government the effort posed "little to no risk" to the subterranean reserves, according to a report released Friday.
Clean Water Action, an environmental advocacy group, contends in its report that the nation's top oil-producing state doesn't really know how many injection wells are affecting drinking water or the full impact. That's because the state still hasn't properly implemented federal aquifer safeguards, 34 years after telling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it would do so, the group said.
Injection wells take various forms and are used for production and waste disposal in oilfields. In addition to exploratory drilling, oil producing operations can produce large amounts of briny fluid and other waste, and oilfield operators often dispose of the waste by injecting it back underground.
In 1982, the EPA and Texas' Railroad Commission, which oversees oil and gas production, agreed that many existing injection wells would be exempted from federal rules designed to protect underground sources of drinking water.
Excerpts of letters from 1982 released Friday as part of the report show that the commission said it would provide federal officials with a map of existing exempt areas already being used by oil producers and pledged to secure EPA approval before sanctioning new exempted areas or allowing existing ones to get larger.
Texass
Disappearing From New England Waters
Mussels
The Gulf of Maine's once strong population of wild blue mussels is disappearing, scientists say. A study led by marine ecologists at the University of California at Irvine found the numbers along the gulf coastline have declined by more than 60 percent over the last 40 years.
Once covering as much as two-thirds of the gulf's intertidal zone, mussels now cover less than 15 percent.
The Gulf of Maine stretches from Cape Cod to Canada and is a key marine environment and important to commercial fishing. Blue mussels are used in seafood dishes and worth millions to the economy of some New England states, but are also important in moving bacteria and toxins out of the water.
The nationwide value of wild blue mussels has reached new heights in recent years, peaking at more than $13 million at the dock in 2013 - more than twice the 2007 total. They were worth more than $10 million in 2014, when fishermen brought nearly 4 million pounds of them ashore.
Mussel farming is dependent on wild mussels, which produce the larvae needed for the farmed shellfish to grow. Andrew Pershing, chief scientific officer of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, said the loss of wild mussels is troubling for aquaculture because if wild populations decline further, it could constrain the growth of the industry.
Mussels
"Bears on Parade"
Anchorage
Alaska's largest city is home to more than 300 grizzly and black bears - and now more than a dozen multicolored ones.
Life-size statues painted by city artists for a public art installation called "Bears on Parade" are popping up as part of an effort to raise awareness that if you live in Anchorage, you live near bears.
The city spans 1,958 square miles, but people occupy only about 204 square miles, according to the state Department of Fish and Game. The rest of Anchorage includes national forest, a state wildlife refuge, 55 to 65 grizzlies and 250 to 350 black bears.
Bears can be deadly if they are surprised. To minimize maulings, the department's Anchorage Bear Committee, which is dedicated to local bear conservation, tries to educate people about how to live alongside the animals.
The panel wanted to coordinate the installation of statues with a summer conference of 700 international bear scientists brought to Anchorage by the International Association for Bear Research & Management.
The statues arrived too late for the early summer bear conference, but some scientists will benefit. The committee is donating nearly $8,000 from statue sponsorships to the next conference to cover scientists' expenses.
Anchorage
Weekend Box Office
'Don't Breathe'
The horror movie "Don't Breathe" has reason to let out a big sigh of relief. Audiences turned out in droves for the late summer thriller, which brought in $26.1 million, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
That's more than double the early predictions for how the scary pic would perform and far above the modest production budget, which was reportedly less than $10 million. Stage 6 Films produced and Sony's Screen Gems oversaw distribution.
"Don't Breathe" effectively unseated "Suicide Squad" from its three week run atop the box office. This weekend, the comic book film "Suicide Squad" grossed $12.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $282.9 million.
Laika's "Kubo and the Two Strings" took third place in its second weekend in theaters with $7.9 million. The $60 million film has now earned $24.8 million domestically.
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."Don't Breathe," $26.1 million ($1.9 million international).
2."Suicide Squad," $12.1 million ($19.6 million international).
3."Kubo and the Two Strings," $7.9 million ($1.5 million international).
4."Sausage Party," $7.7 million ($1.6 million international).
5."Mechanic: Resurrection," $7.5 million ($6.1 million international).
6."Pete's Dragon," $7.3 million ($3.5 million international).
7."War Dogs," $7.3 million ($5.3 million international).
8."Bad Moms," $5.8 million ($6.3 million international).
9."Jason Bourne," $5.2 million ($56.8 million international).
10."Ben-Hur," $4.5 million ($6.3 million international).
'Don't Breathe'
In Memory
Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder, the audio engineer who helped shape the sound of modern jazz on thousands of recordings, including such timeless albums as John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" and Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," has died. He was 91.
Blue Note Records spokesman Cem Kurosman said Van Gelder died Thursday morning at his home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The home was also the site of Van Gelder's studio for more than half a century.
The National Endowment for the Arts, in a tribute to Van Gelder, noted that he was "considered by many the greatest recording engineer in jazz" who "recorded practically every major jazz musician of the 1950s and 1960s."
An amateur radio buff and jazz fan, Van Gelder set up his first studio in the living room of his parents' house in Hackensack, New Jersey, recording local musicians. One of his friends, saxophonist Gil Melle, introduced him to Blue Note Records founder and producer Alfred Lion in 1953. He soon became the main recording engineer for the independent jazz label, using innovative state-of-the-art recording techniques that helped turn the label into a major force on the modern jazz scene. Pianist Thelonious Monk composed a tribute to Van Gelder's home studio titled "Hackensack," which he recorded there in 1954.
Van Gelder not only recorded sessions for Blue Note, but also worked extensively with Prestige Records on such sessions as Miles Davis' "Bag's Groove" and "Walkin''" and Sonny Rollins' "Tenor Madness" and "Saxophone Colossus."
And Van Gelder soon found his services as a recording engineer so much in demand that he eventually gave up his day job as an optometrist. In 1959, he bought his house in Englewood Cliffs, where he built his own studio - a cathedral-like space with a vaulted ceiling and excellent acoustics and became a modern jazz shrine.
Among the classic Blue Note albums recorded there in the 1960s were pianist Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," trumpeter Morgan's "The Sidewinder," saxophonist Eric Dolphy's "Out to Lunch," saxophonist Cannonball Adderley's "Somethin' Else," pianist Horace Silver's "Song For My Father," and saxophonist Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil."
In 1964, tenor saxophonist Coltrane recorded his deeply spiritual masterpiece "A Love Supreme" for the Impulse! label at Van Gelder's studio.
After Lion retired from running Blue Note in 1967, the label's new owners began turning to other recording engineers more frequently. In the 1970s, Van Gelder worked as the engineer for producer Creed Taylor's commercially successful crossover jazz label, CTI, recording such albums as trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" and saxophonist Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mister Magic."
Van Gelder later embraced digital technology. Starting in 1999, he began remastering his analog Blue Note recordings into digital recordings for the label's RVG Edition series.
In 2012, the National Academy of Record Arts and Sciences honored Van Gelder with its Trustees Award recognizing his lifelong contribution to jazz recording.
Rudy Van Gelder
In Memory
Harry Fujiwara ("Mr. Fuji")
Harry Fujiwara, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji and who pioneered in WWE as an entertainer and manager, died Sunday morning, WWE announced. He was 82.
Mr. Fuji spent more than 30 years with the organization, and helped expand the sport to the mainstream. The entertainer was born in Honolulu in 1935, and began his wrestling career in 1965 under the name Mr. Fujiwara. After he began to gain notoriety in Hawaii, he shortened his name to Mr. Fuji and started to compete on the West Coast.
Donning a black tuxedo and a bowler hat, Mr. Fuji gained infamy with his signature move: taking a bag of salt out of his tights and throwing it in his opponents' faces to blind them.
Mr. Fuji later became a manager to big names in the industry, including Kamala, George "The Animal" Steele, Demolition, Killer Khan, Yokozuna and the Powers of Pain. But perhaps his most notable client was "Magnificent" Don Muraco.
With Muraco, Mr. Fuji created a series of episodes that aired on WWE programming: "Fuji Vice," "Fuji General," "Fuji Bandito" and "Fuji Chan." The series spoofed popular TV shows like "Miami Vice" and "General Hospital."
Mr. Fuji left WWE in 1997, and headed training dojos until 2001. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.
Harry Fujiwara ("Mr. Fuji")
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