Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marc Dion: Communism, Banks, and the Saints (Creators Syndicate)
I have an account at a credit union. The credit union is named after a saint, but it could just as easily be called, "Farmers Credit Union. It was started maybe 70 years ago by poor people, many of whom were illiterates and could not speak English. These people noticed that larger financial institutions operated with a distinct dislike of people in frayed overalls who opened a savings account with six dimes and a greasy quarter.
Masks of Beauty and Blackness (Spectator)
What a piece of work was Ben Jonson! If you lived in Elizabethan England and had just narrowly escaped the gallows after stabbing a man to death in an illegal duel, wouldn't you want to keep your head down for a bit? Not Jonson. He converted to Catholicism.
David Haglund: Five Questions for Margaret Atwood (Slate)
late: Your new book not only considers some of the famous masters of science fiction, but lesser known figures as well. Can you tell us some of the science-fiction stories you've encountered that our readers are unlikely to have read?
How to write fiction: Geoff Dyer on freedom (Guardian)
The great thing about this cat - the writing one - is that there are a thousand different ways to skin it. In fact, you don't have to skin it at all - and it doesn't even need to be a cat! What I mean, in the first instance, is feel free to dispute or ignore everything in this introduction or in the articles that follow.
Winged words (economist.com)
After nearly 3,000 years, does the "Iliad" really need translating again?
Steve Jobs Said He'd 'Go Thermonuclear War' On Google Over iPhone 'Theft' (Huffington Post)
… Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs offers an unprecedented look at the Apple co-founder's battle-cry against Google, a company he thought was guilty of a "grand theft" when it launched its Android operating system, which competes directly with the iPhone and has surpassed it in popularity.
Curtis White: The Late Word (Lapham's Quarterly)
When we speak of literature, we should not imagine that we are speaking of some stable and enduring Platonic entity.
Joan Didion: life after death (Guardian)
Her last book dealt with the death of her husband; now Joan Didion's latest, 'Blue Nights,' wrestles with losing her daughter. Interview by Emma Brockes.
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."
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Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
OWS
Rufus Wainwright & Sean Lennon singing Material Girl in Zuccotti Park at OWS
Sharon
Thanks, Sharon!
BadtotheboneBob
Life of Flowers
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Little less marine layer, little more sun.
TAlk about sticker shock - they wanted $4.89 for a 5lb bag of flour at the grocery store, and what used to be a 5lb bag of sugar is now 4lb. Effin' A!
Rescuers Trap
Red-Tailed Hawk
A red-tailed hawk that appears to have been shot in the head with a nail gun was captured in a San Francisco park and rushed to a wildlife center, a rescue group says.
The juvenile bird was trapped Saturday evening at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, said Rebecca Dmytryk, executive director of the Monterey-based group WildRescue.
There was no immediate word on the bird's condition, but a photo of the capture shows the bird being held by a rescuer.
Dmytryk said it was immediately transported to Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley in San Jose, where specialists were staying late to receive it.
WildRescue had been notified of the injured bird nearly a week ago and had tried to trap it several times last week without success.
Red-Tailed Hawk
Show Will Go On
"On the Concept of the Face"
French authorities on Saturday said they would press charges against Christian fundamentalists who disrupted the showing of a controversial play at a Paris theatre.
The culture ministry said members of the Institut Civitas group ambushed a performance of Italian dramatist Romeo Castellucci's "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" at the Theatre de la Ville on Thursday, brandishing placards reading "Stop Christianophobia."
Theatre administrator Michael Chase said the group distributed leaflets outside the theatre before interrupting the play, which resumed after the protesters were removed by police.
On Friday, despite reinforced security, theatre-goers waiting to see the show were pelted with eggs and oil.
The theatre, where the play runs until October 30, decided to lodged a complaint, Chase said, in a bid to "defend by every means against this unacceptable attack on freedom."
"On the Concept of the Face"
Rally Against Far-rRght Theatre Director
Hungarians
Hungarians rallied on Saturday against the appointment of far-rightists to direct a Budapest theatre, a move which has triggered international protests.
"We see an unfortunate crossing of borders here which is unacceptable," actor and organiser Mihaly Hajagos told a crowd of several thousand including local actress Dorka Gryllus, known from Dan Garbarski's "Irina Palm".
"Gyorgy Dorner and Istvan Csurka are of such extreme and hateful convictions" that they are unsuitable to head the capital's New Theatre, Hajagos said.
Tarlos, a member of Orban's ruling centre-right Fidesz party, nominated Dorner as the new director of the theatre, even though outgoing boss Istvan Marta had reapplied for the job and received a majority of votes from a professional board.
Dorner then named as his administrator Csurka, the leader of MIEP, a party with a xenophobic and anti-Semitic reputation.
Hungarians
Hospital News
John Mayer
John Mayer has undergone surgery for the throat inflammation that put his performances and recordings on hold earlier this year, the singer has reported on his blog.
An inflamed growth known as a granuloma was removed from just above Mayer's vocal cord, the Grammy-winning performer said Thursday on Tumblr.
"It's been a very long process in waiting to see if time was an alternative to surgery, but ... there was no change for the better," Mayer wrote.
Mayer announced the granuloma diagnosis in September. He canceled a number of scheduled concerts, including an appearance with Tony Bennett in Los Angeles, and pushed back the release of his new album to 2012.
John Mayer
Denied Workers' Comp
Mark Lindquist
By all accounts, Mark Lindquist is a hero, an underpaid social worker who nearly gave his life trying to save three developmentally disabled adults from the Joplin tornado. Both houses of the Missouri legislature honored Lindquist, the Senate resolution calling him "a true hero and inspiration to others."
But heroism doesn't pay the bills. The tornado's 200 mph winds tossed Lindquist nearly a block, broke every rib, obliterated his shoulder, knocked out most of his teeth and put him in a coma for about two months.
Lindquist, 51, ran up medical expenses that exceed $2.5 million, and the bills keep coming. He requires 11 daily prescriptions and will need more surgery.
But he has no medical insurance. Lindquist couldn't afford it on a job paying barely above minimum wage. He assumed workers' compensation would cover his bills, but his claim was denied "based on the fact that there was no greater risk than the general public at the time you were involved in the Joplin tornado," according to a letter to Lindquist from Accident Fund Insurance Company of America, his company's workers' comp provider.
Mark Lindquist
Fox Ad Ratchets Up Dispute
DirecTV
Hey Trojans, Bruins and Kings fans: "Game over."
That was the banner headline of a full-page ad purchased by News Corp. in the Los Angeles Times sports section on Sunday, warning L.A.-area fans that TV broadcasts of upcoming games could be compromised by subsidiary Fox Networks' ongoing carriage war with former subsidiary DirecTV.
On Thursday, Fox went public with details of an ongoing carriage dispute with DirecTV, announcing that the satellite service has threatened to pull its channels on November 1 if a new contract can't be worked out.
DirecTV officials -- who are charging subscribers in excess of $80 a month for programing packages -- say News Corp. is seeking carriage-fee increases in excess of 40 percent.
DirecTV
Torch Cams
Lady Liberty
Lady Liberty is getting high-tech gifts for her 125th birthday: webcams on her torch that will let viewers gaze out at New York Harbor and read the tablet in her hands or see visitors on the grounds of the island below in real time.
The five torch cams are to be switched on Friday during a ceremony to commemorate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on Oct. 28, 1886. The ceremony caps a week of events centered around the historic date, including the debut of a major museum exhibition about poet Emma Lazarus, who helped bring the monument renown as the "Mother of Exiles."
The statue's webcams will offer views from the torch that have been unavailable to the public since 1916, said Stephen A. Briganti, the president of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Inc.
Through the webcams, Internet users around the world will have four views, including a high-quality, 180-degree stitched panorama of the harbor with stunning views of Ellis and Governors islands. They will be able to watch as ships go by Liberty Island and observe as the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center goes up floor-by-floor in lower Manhattan. They can get a fish-eye look at the torch itself as it glows in the night.
The five cameras, which will be on 24 hours, seven days a week, were donated to the National Park Service by Earthcam Inc., a New Jersey-based company that manages webcams around the world.
Lady Liberty
Free Speech Concerns
Corn Industry
Sugar makers should compete in the marketplace instead of the courtroom over the use of the term "corn sugar," a representative for the corn industry said Sunday.
A federal judge ruled Friday that a lawsuit can go forward as the sugar industry seeks to stop the use of the term "corn sugar" for high fructose corn syrup.
Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, accused sugar makers of "attempting to shut down free speech."
U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall issued the ruling Friday in Los Angeles, allowing the false advertising suit brought by plaintiffs that include the Western Sugar Cooperative against the CRA to go forward.
Corn Industry
Could Lose Lease
Montana Jesus
A statue of Jesus on U.S. Forest Service land in the mountains over a Montana ski resort faces potential eviction amid an argument over the separation of church and state.
The Forest Service offered a glimmer of hope late last week for the statue's supporters by withdrawing an initial decision to boot the Jesus statue from its hillside perch in the trees. But as it further analyzes the situation before making a final decision, the agency warned rules and court decisions are stacked against allowing a religious icon on the 25-by-25 foot patch of land.
The statue has been a curiosity to skiers at the famed Big Mountain ski hill for decades, mystifying skiers at its appearance in the middle of the woods as they cruise down a popular ski run.
But the Freedom From Religion Foundation isn't amused by the Jesus statue. The group argued that the Forest Service was breaching separation of church and state rules by leasing the small plot of land for the Jesus statue, and is pushing the agency to stand by its original decision to remove the religious icon.
The local Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, have maintained the statue ever since members that included World War II veterans, who were inspired by religious monuments they saw while fighting in the mountains of Europe, erected the monument in the 1950s. But the group thinks the large statue made of a cement-type material is too fragile in its current state to be moved around the rugged mountainside to a different location.
Montana Jesus
Man Tracks Down Car Stolen In 1995
1969 Chevy Camaro
A Missouri man and his beloved classic car have been reunited 16 years after the vehicle was stolen.
Edward Neeley, of Jefferson City, Mo., picked up his red 1969 Chevy Camaro in Salt Lake City on Tuesday after tracking it down in Utah last month.
Neeley contacted Utah authorities after he saw the Camaro listed for sale online, the Deseret News of Salt Lake City reported.
The seller, Brent Dockery of Syracuse, bought the car four years ago on eBay and also is a victim, investigators said. He was unaware its vehicle identification number had been switched.
After an investigation, the Utah Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division returned the car to Neeley, who was determined to be the rightful owner.
1969 Chevy Camaro
Weekend Box Office
"Paranormal Activity 3"
"Paranormal Activity 3" didn't just go bump in the night. It made a ton of noise at the box office with a record-setting, $54 million opening.
The third film in Paramount Pictures' low-budget fright franchise, which was No. 1 at the box office, had the biggest debut ever for a horror movie, according to Sunday studio estimates. It broke the previous record part two set a year ago with $40.7 million. It's also the biggest opening ever for an October release, topping the $50.35 million Paramount's "Jackass 3D" made last year.
Last week's No. 1 release, the futuristic boxing robot adventure "Real Steel," fell to second place. It made $11.3 million for a domestic total of $67.2 million. Worldwide, the Disney movie has grossed $153.3 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Paranormal Activity 3," $54 million.
2. "Real Steel," $11.3 million.
3. "Footloose," $10.85 million.
4. "The Three Musketeers," $8.8 million.
5. "The Ides of March," $4.9 million.
6. "Dolphin Tale," $4.2 million.
7. "Moneyball," $4.05 million.
8. "Johnny English Reborn," $3.8 million. ($13.5 million international.)
9. "The Thing," $3.1 million.
10. "50/50," $2.8 million.
"Paranormal Activity 3"
In Memory
Robert Pierpoint
CBS News correspondent Robert C. Pierpoint - who covered six presidents, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination and the Iranian hostage crisis in a career that spanned more than four decades - died Saturday in California, his daughter said. He was 86.
Pierpoint, who retired in 1990, died of complications from surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Marta Pierpoint told The Associated Press. He had broken his hip Oct. 12 at the Santa Barbara Retirement Community where he lived with his wife Patricia.
After making his name covering the Korean War - a role he reprised when he provided his radio voice for the widely watched final episode of "MASH" in 1983 - Pierpoint became a White House correspondent during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, a position he would hold through the Jimmy Carter administration.
"He lived quite an amazing life," said Marta Pierpoint. She said her father was most proud of his coverage of the Korean War, Watergate and most of all the Kennedy assassination, an event that would still bring him to tears in an interview with his hometown paper three weeks before his death.
"I didn't like what the priest said about a time to live and a time to die," Robert Pierpoint told the Santa Barbara News-Press in an Oct. 2 story. "It was not Kennedy's time to die."
Pierpoint said of the six administrations he covered, Kennedy's was the most fun.
"He was not afraid of the press," Pierpoint told the News-Press. "He had been a reporter. He knew everyone in the White House press corps by name and reputation and joked with us. He was comfortable in his own skin."
Pierpoint said his first White House assignment, the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration starting in 1957, was not as easy. He said Eisenhower was "a relatively good president, but he wasn't a good communicator. I didn't feel that I did a good job, but they kept me on."
CBS certainly did keep Pierpoint on at the White House, for 23 years, a period he chronicled in his 1981 memoir, "At the White House."
He moved to covering the State Department in 1980, and ended his career on the show "Sunday Morning" with Charles Kuralt.
Born May 16, 1925, in Redondo Beach, Calif., Pierpoint joined the Navy in 1943 but didn't see action. He graduated from the University of Redlands, where his papers and archives are now kept, in 1948.
While a graduate student at the University of Stockholm he began work as a stringer for CBS, and found his calling. His coverage of an attempted Communist coup in Finland won him attention, and he was sent to Tokyo as a full-time correspondent, which led to his coverage of the entire Korean War.
Pierpoint shifted as the news business did from radio to television, and appeared on the first episode of Edward R. Murrow's "See It Now" in 1951, eventually becoming one of the close Murrow associates known as "Murrow's Boys."
During retirement he was a frequent speaker and frequently went fishing in Montana.
He also didn't hesitate to give his opinion on the directions the White House went after he left, saying recently that he was not impressed with President Obama.
"He's not a fighter. He surrenders to Congress before it's necessary," Pierpoint told the News-Press. "Lyndon Johnson was a fighter. He fought for what he believed in. He was wrong on Vietnam, but right on civil rights."
In addition to Patricia, he is survived by four children, including actor Eric Pierpoint..
Robert Pierpoint
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