Recommended Reading
from Bruce
"Legitimate Rape" Pharmaceutical Ad (TW)
Do you suffer from Sexually Liberated Uterine Tendencies? Now there's a treatment that can help.
HURRICANE ISAAC: Ashley's rules for stuffed animals (CNN)
Yesterday, I sent my family to AL to avoid Hurricane Isaac. After they left, I went to feed the family fish and I found the enclosed scene (See picture)--where my daughter , Ashley, had given good instruction on how her stuffed animal friends should behave during the Hurricane. ( A future leader in the making! ) - Greg Taylor - Mandeville LA
Jeff Bezos: Princeton 2010 Commencement Speech
What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices. Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy -- they're given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices.
Michael Moore: Mitt Romney Will Win In November (Huffington Post)
"Mitt Romney is going to raise more money than Barack Obama. That should guarantee his victory," Moore told host Josh Zepps. "I think people should start to practice the words 'President Romney.' To assume that the other side are just a bunch of ignoramuses who are supported by people who believe that Adam and Eve rode on dinosaurs 6,000 years ago is to completely misjudge the opposition."
Susan Estrich: Paul Ryan's Speech Bubble (Creators Syndicate)
Ryan attacked the president for not supporting the report of the deficit commission. Ryan was on the commission. He voted against that report. He was among the minority who kept it from being sent to Congress. Ryan attacked the president claiming he would "funnel" money out of Medicare. Actually, Ryan's budget plan proposes funneling money from Medicare. Obama's plan, according to Medicare's chief actuary, "substantially improves its financial outlook."
Susan Estrich: The Platform of the Party (Creators Syndicate)
A constitutional prohibition on abortion, even in cases of rape and incest? No federal funds for universities that allow undocumented students to pay the same tuition as other students who live in the state? A commission to study a return to the gold standard and audit the Fed? A "double layer" fence at the border? Welcome to the Republican Party of 2012.
Tom Danehy: Tom has some thoughts on KNST, the 'Star' and the term 'undocumented citizens' (Tucson Weekly)
With the new year upon us, there are a few media items I feel I must get past so that I can celebrate. Like many guys, I mark the start of the new year on the first weekend of college football.
What Has Obama Done? Here Are 200 Accomplishments! With Citations!
What makes the "disappointment" argument even more irritating is that it's simply not true. He's done nearly everything we elect a president to do, and he did it all with little support from the left, and massive obstruction from the right. .
Hadley Freeman: Riven by factionalism, the Republican party looks hell-bent on self-destruction (Guardian)
Mitt Romney looks increasingly like Michael Bluth in the TV show Arrested Development, unable to stop his family from careening towards oblivion.
Farhad Manjoo: The Kindle Wants To Be Free (Slate)
Next week or next year, Amazon will start giving away its e-reader. Here's why.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
"Doug's Most Shared Facebook Post" Today
wrote:
answered:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Bosko Suggests
Navigable Aqueducts
Have a great day,
Bosko.
Thanks, Bosko!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Comment
"Outside"
Subject: Alaska term OUTSIDE
I gotta tell ya. That one had me stumped.
And I lived in Anchorage from 1982 to 1989 (working for Sheraton Hotels and later the George Sullivan Arena) and while I spent many a $ at Chilkoot Charlies, Pierce St. Annex, Mr. Whitekeys Flying Machine and The Great Alaskan Bush Company, I never heard anyone refer to anywhere outside of Alaska as "Outside". "Lower 48" , yes but never "Outside". Hawaii was referred to as "Hawaii".
Ask any single guy who has ever been to Alaska about all the single girls there who have boyfriends working on the North Slope. There are more girls in Anchorage with boyfriends working on the "Slope" than there are guys working there.
In Alaska you don't lose your girlfriend, you lose your turn.
Steven B
Thanks, Steven!
'Outside' was a very common term when I worked at KTVA (channel 11) in Anchorage ('78 - '80).
The station was in Spenard, so that's where I settled in. Ended up living just down the street from Chilkoot Charlie's. While we frequented Charlie's, we were much more likely to be found at PJ's, but then Papa Joe was still alive, running the place.
Met lots of interesting people, had some great adventures, and even a few learning experiences.
Words added to my vocabulary included: outside, cheechako, lower 48, bunny boots, heater plugs, Spenard divorce, termination dust, bear insurance, and Matanuska thunderfuck.
The station - KTVA, KBYR, KNIK & Muzak
This is the front case of KTVA's old black & white Dumont Transmitter that had been 'stretched' for color.
Here's a picture of the super-high-tech master control, circa 1979. That's Pat & Mike & Marty & Stan in a picture taken by Rich.
The KBYR/KTVA hot air balloon.
Souvenir of Chilkoot Charlie's.
BadtotheboneBob
Labor Day
Labor Day evokes mixed emotions in me. While hundreds of thousands of workers, primarily union members and government employees celebrate a paid day off, millions more non-union employees still toil. While it's true that there are union members and government employees that are required to work today they, at least, are well compensated for it by contract. Unlike the non-union workers whom are lucky to get time and a half. Most don't even get that. I refer to the retail clerks, restaurant staff, tourism workers etc that enable those that are enjoying the holiday to do just that - enjoy the day off. Those workers are the focus of this missive.
Note, I do not begrudge, at all, the benefits that union and government employees have and I greatly appreciate those workers whose presence on the job today ensures our health and safety - the hospital staffs, firemen, EMS, policemen, utility workers etc. I've been among them at Coast Guard SAR stations waiting for the alarm to go off on holidays (although we didn't receive any special compensation. Being 'military' it was just another day, as it were).
Anyway, please take note of the 'little people' working today if you have the occasion and thank them for being there for you. Tip a waitress a bit more if you can. Smile at them. After all, they are laboring on Labor Day... to make your day a bit better... and it's just another day for them, too.
Thanks!...
sez
BadtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Back to hot, humid, and cranky.
Bush, Blair Should Face Trial At The Hague
Desmond Tutu
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu called Sunday for Tony Blair and George Bush to face prosecution at the International Criminal Court for their role in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq
Tutu, the retired Anglican Church's archbishop of South Africa, wrote in an op-ed piece for The Observer newspaper that the ex-leaders of Britain and the United States should be made to "answer for their actions."
The Iraq war "has destabilized and polarized the world to a greater extent than any other conflict in history," wrote Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984.
"Those responsible for this suffering and loss of life should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in the Hague," he added.
The Hague, Netherlands, based court is the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal and has been in operation for 10 years. So far it has launched prosecutions only in Africa, including in Sudan, Congo, Libya and Ivory Coast.
Desmond Tutu
No Regrets
Pussy Riot
Jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova says she regrets nothing about the band's anti-government performance in a cathedral that got them convicted of hooliganism and sentenced to two years behind bars.
Tolokonnikova told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine in an interview released Sunday that her conviction with her two band mates were Russian President Vladimir "Putin's personal revenge" which served to put a global spotlight on his government.
She says, "I think the bottom line is that the trial against us was important because it showed the true face of Putin's system."
Der Spiegel said the performer's answers to the magazine's questions were provided through her lawyer, who is allowed to visit her in prison.
Pussy Riot
Wins YouTube Online Festival
David Victori
Spanish filmmaker David Victori has won the inaugural edition of YouTube's Your Film Festival for his short movie "The Guilt."
The winner was announced Sunday on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival after selection by a jury that included director Ridley Scott and actor Michael Fassbender.
Victori, whose movie focuses on a man obsessed with revenge after his wife's murder, will receive $500,000 for his next project, with Scott and Fassbender acting as executive producers. That means Victori will benefit by having the guidance of the two experienced insiders and be able to add their names to his next work.
YouTube viewers chose the 10 finalists who traveled to Venice for the final selection after viewing the films on YouTube's channel www.YouTube.com/yourfilmfestival. The narrative-driven submissions could be no longer than 15 minutes in length.
David Victori
Hospital News
Richard Bach
Richard Bach, the author of the 1970s bestselling book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," remained hospitalized in serious condition on Sunday, a day after the small plane he was piloting flipped during a landing in Washington state.
Bach, 76, was being treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where a nursing supervisor said his condition was unchanged.
Bach's 2008 Easton Gilbert Searey crashed on a grass airstrip on San Juan Island off northwestern Washington after its landing gear clipped a power line, leaving him suspended upside down and strapped in a harness, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office.
A group of tourists cut him loose from the heavily damaged, single-engine plane and he was flown by helicopter to the hospital.
Richard Bach
Cut From Romney RNC Video
Clint Eastwood
A video mash-up of speakers from last week's Republican National Convention does not include an appearance from the " mystery RNC speaker, " Clint Eastwood.
The two-and-a-half minute video posted today to the Romney campaign's YouTube account features former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, VP nominee Paul Ryan and of course, Romney himself, but it leaves out Eastwood's controversial speech.
Eastwood caused a stir at the convention and on Twitter with a rambling speech Thursday night, in which he interviewed an invisible President Obama in a wooden prop chair.
The speech launched a trend called "Eastwooding ," and prompted one supporter to tell Vice President Joe Biden , "You gotta keep the chair."
Clint Eastwood
Photo Library Can License Images
Marilyn Monroe
A U.S. appeals court has upheld the right of a Marilyn Monroe photo library to license images of the film star taken by a celebrity photographer who was one of her business partners.
Milton H. Greene Archives Inc. has been in a long-running court battle with Anna Strasberg, widow of Monroe's acting coach, Lee Strasberg, and her licensing agent CMG Worldwide, which have controlled use of Monroe's image for years.
In a ruling on Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California backed a lower court decision that allowed Greene Archives to license its images of Monroe.
Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer who became friends with Monroe during a photo shoot, and the two formed a film production company. At one point, Monroe lived with Greene and his family at their Connecticut farmhouse, where he produced several photographs of the star. Greene died in 1985.
The legal battle over Greene's images hinged on where Monroe was living at the time of her death on August 5, 1962. The court ruled Monroe resided in New York and therefore she did not have the posthumous right of publicity based on the state's law.
Marilyn Monroe
Expands Radio Interests In Australia
Lachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Murdoch has bought the remaining 50 percent of Australian radio network DMG Radio Australia he did not already own, three years after he first bought into the joint venture company.
Radio advertising remains one of the few bright spots in the Australian media landscape, with newspapers and television suffering from a steep slide in revenues that has slashed profits and forced several billion dollars' worth of writedowns in the reporting season just ended.
Murdoch, the chairman of DMG Radio which has a network of nine stations in Sydney, Melbourne and other capital cities, said the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization had doubled since November 2009.
Murdoch did not disclose the price his investment firm Illyria paid to buy the 50 percent stake from British newspaper publisher Daily Mail and General Trust, but The Australian newspaper reported the amount paid was about A$100 million ($103 million).
Lachlan Murdoch
Statue Dedicated At Miller Park
Bob Uecker
A statue of popular Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker was dedicated outside Miller Park on Friday, and those in attendance recalled it was all made possible because of some spilled mashed potatoes and gravy.
Uecker, affectionately dubbed "Mr. Baseball" by Johnny Carson in the 1970s, joined Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig as the fourth person to have a statue outside the main gates.
The 7-foot bronze statue features a smiling Uecker with his hands in his pockets.
More than half of the current Brewers players and the entire coaching staff turned out for the festivities before Milwaukee took on Pittsburgh. Former Milwaukee Braves teammate Joe Torre and former Brewers star Rollie Fingers attended the 90-minute ceremony, along with members of the television show "Mr. Belvedere," which starred Uecker from 1980 to 1985.
Carson's bandleader, Doc Severinsen, played with his 14-piece big band and Aaron's wife, Billye, sang an impromptu version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Yount was in Italy for a family wedding, but sent a playful video tribute.
Bob Uecker
Signature Triples In Value
Neil Armstrong
A postcard signed by the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, has sold for $2,384, more than three times its pre-sale estimate, signifying a "hot market" since the American astronaut died last week.
The undated postcard of Vero Beach, Florida, addressed "To Steven" and signed by Armstrong, had an estimated value of $700 before the auction. It was one of thousands that the Apollo 11 astronaut signed for fans and collectors for many years after his historic trip to the moon in July 1969.
"Like the Apollo 11 rocket ship, Neil Armstrong autograph prices seem to be blasting through the stratosphere. Signatures have tripled in value and signed photos have doubled in just a matter of days. The demand for his autograph yesterday was unprecedented," said Nate Sanders, owner of Nate D. Sanders Auctions.
Sanders said Armstrong signed photos until the mid 1980s with each autograph selling for around $8 to $12 each.
Neil Armstrong
In Memory
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon, founder and head of the Unification Church with millions of followers around the world, and owner of the Washington Times, died at a retreat near the South Korean capital Seoul on Monday,church officials said.
Moon was 92 and had suffered complications from pneumonia, said the officials.
He carried on an active public life until recently, officiating a mass wedding for 2,500 in March and leading a service of more than 15,000 followers in July.
Moon has handed over day-to-day operations of the church, which has its headquarters in Seoul, to one of his sons and the management of the Tongil Group with interests in construction, resorts, travel agencies and a newspaper to another son.
Sun Myung Moon
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