Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Coins Against Crazies (New York Times)
So, have you heard the one about the trillion-dollar coin? It may sound like a joke. But if we aren't ready to mint that coin or take some equivalent action, the joke will be on us - and a very sick joke it will be, too.
Paul Krugman: Thinking About the Brink (New York Times)
My own view is that I was willing to go over the brink on the fiscal cliff, but not here, for three reasons…
Tom Danehy: Tom doesn't buy the arguments of hard-core gun owners (Tucson Weekly)
There's no way that 30 bullets in a gun is for defense. It's strictly offensive ... like many of their arguments.
Annalee Newitz: James Watson Says Antioxidants May Actually Be Causing Cancer (io9)
Celebrated geneticist James Watson, one of several researchers who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA, has just published what can only be called a cancer manifesto in 'Open Biology.' … Among other claims, Watson asserts that antioxidants like vitamin C - often recommended as cancer-prevention supplements - could be causing some forms of cancer. He also has harsh words for personalized medicine, and the laziness of cancer researchers.
Sharon Begley: "DNA pioneer James Watson takes aim at 'cancer establishments'" (Reuters)
"The biggest obstacle" to a true war against cancer, Watson wrote, may be "the inherently conservative nature of today's cancer research establishments." As long as that's so, "curing cancer will always be 10 or 20 years away."
Lenore Skenazy: They Could've Danced All Night (Creators Syndicate)
… at night, Alzheimer's patients prove to be a bigger handful. "They can sleep just four hours, and that's it; they're good to go," Messina says. Their caregivers are not. Even worse: If the Alzheimer's sufferer is able to sort of hold it together by day, night is a different story. "Sundowners" is the term used to describe how fear and agitation often visit the Alzheimer's patient from dusk till dawn.
Niamh Scallan: Toronto college student saves stranger from subway tracks (The Star)
In what onlooker Ren Niles, 40, described as a heroic act, Orchard jumped onto the tracks and began to try to lift the unidentified man - who transit officials said "appeared to be intoxicated" - out of harm's way as other passengers on the platform looked on in horror. "I could see the subway running toward him and everybody was screaming," said Orchard …. "It was a split-second decision ... I just wanted to get him out of there. I didn't want him dying."
Roger Ebert: A pretty good set of nominees
The Oscars are the most important way the American film industry can honor what it considers the year's best work. But for millions of movie lovers all over the globes, they are something else: A show.
SALADIN AHMED: At Home In Fantasy's Nerd-Built Worlds (NPR)
Once, in an age long past, "epic" was a dirty word.
Celebrities Read Mean Tweets #3 (YouTube)
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Selected Readings
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
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Experts Identify New Portrait
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A round-faced young man with a thick head of hair depicted in a tiny 18th century portrait that had the experts puzzled for centuries now has a name - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Researchers at Salzburg's Mozarteum museum announced Friday that they have definitely identified the person in the picture as the musical genius.
And it's not any likeness either. They say that of 14 known portraits, it is one of only a few showing him gazing directly at the viewer and without his signature white powdered wig.
Expert Cristoph Grosspietch says the museum's findings are based on examinations of the portrait and historical records of the era.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Praises Sister
Nastassja Kinski
Nastassja Kinski has praised her half-sister for going public with allegations that she was sexually abused as a child by their father, the late German actor Klaus Kinski.
In an article penned for Friday's edition of German newspaper Bild, the actress said that she's "deeply shocked" by the allegations. In a new book, Pola Kinski details her father's alleged emotional and sexual abuse over a 14-year period, during which he warned his daughter not to tell anyone what happened.
Nastassja Kinski says that it's a "difficult moment" for her but she's proud that her half-sister found the strength to write the book. She wrote: "My sister is a heroine, because she has freed her heart, her soul and also her future from the weight of the secret."
Nastassja Kinski
Audio Drama
"Doctor Who"
Good news, "Doctor Who" fans; five actors who've played the Doctor in the long-running British sci-fi series are uniting for an audio drama to be released in November, in celebration of the series' 50th anniversary.
Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann - aka, Doctors four through eight - are all participating in the 100-minute drama, dubbed "Doctor Who: The Light at the End." According to Big Finish, which is producing the drama, the story will present a scenario in which the assembled Doctors' "paths suddenly intersect when they face imminent destruction."
A number of the Doctors' companions are also coming along for the ride. Louise Jameson, Sarah Sutton, Nicola Bryant, Sophie Aldred and India Fisher will be reprising their roles from the series.
On the villain front, Geoffrey Beevers is coming back to play renegade Time Lord the Master, "and there will be a number of appearances from some much-cherished old friends from the TV series,"' according to producer David Richardson.
While the first three Doctors from the series - William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee - have died, "Doctor Who" actor Nicholas Briggs, who's writing, directing and executive-producing the drama, says that they will play a part in the anniversary adventure.
"Doctor Who"
SSA Withdraws Complaint
Flatulent Worker
The Social Security Administration has reportedly rescinded a formal complaint against a Baltimore employee who colleagues complained suffered from an unyielding case of flatulence. Citing an agency representative, the Washington Post reported that a reprimand brought against the employee who created a "hostile work environment" with his bodily functions was withdrawn when senior officials learned of the ordeal.
The bureaucratic yarn first appeared last month when the Smoking Gun website circulated an official letter of complaint against the employee, whose name was redacted. The letter from SAA's Office of Disability Operations says the worker was initially approached about the issue in May after colleagues complained to a supervisor about the "unpleasant odor."
A referral to an "Employee Assistance Program" to determine whether a health issue was at fault concluded that such was not the case.
The worker apparently had a number of other meetings with his supervisor between May and December. He offered to install a fan at his work space and take medication to treat what he said was lactose intolerance. The manager declined, stating a fan would "cause the smell to spread and worsen the air quality in the module."
The reprimand was essentially a formal slap on the wrist and carried no tangible long-term punishment, although the employee was apparently represented by a lawyer from the American Federation of Government Employees.
Flatulent Worker
Hackers Sentenced For Music Theft
Michael Jackson
A British court sentenced two hackers to 100 hours of community service on Friday for stealing a treasure trove of unreleased music - including Michael Jackson tracks - from the U.S. servers of Sony Music Entertainment.
Officials said that music aficionados James Marks, 27, and James McCormick, 26, used their home computers to access Sony's servers and scour them for Jackson-related material. The pair downloaded nearly 8,000 files, including completed or partial tracks, artwork, and videos relating to Jackson and other unspecified Sony artists.
The precise nature of the unreleased material hasn't been made clear - Sony refused to comment on the case. A statement from Britain's Serious and Organized Crime Agency identified some of the material as stems, which are audio tracks that can be used in mixes and overdubs.
Marks and McCormick -who met online - were arrested in May 2011 after Sony alerted U.K. law enforcement to the breach. Chat logs recovered from their computers showed that they planned to sell or trade some of the files.
Michael Jackson
'Unprecedented'
Jimmy Savile
The late entertainer Jimmy Savile committed more than 200 sex crimes over more than half a century, with most victims children and teens assaulted the length and breadth of Britain, from TV studios to hospitals and even a hospice, a police report said Friday.
Detectives said the scale of Savile's sex abuse was "unprecedented in the U.K." They have recorded 214 offenses allegedly committed by Savile between 1995 and 2009, including 34 rapes, on victims aged 8 to 47. In all, 450 people have come forward with information about abuse by the late TV presenter.
The catalog of abuse is the fullest accounting yet of the allegations against Savile, a TV and radio personality who died in October 2011 at age 84. Savile's elaborate funeral reflected his career as a popular entertainer and tireless charity worker, but a documentary broadcast late last year pulled the mask away, claiming that he was a serial sex offender who traded on his celebrity to prey on vulnerable children.
A report summarizing the three-month police investigation said Savile's victims ranged from a 10-year-old boy who said he was sexually assaulted after he asked for an autograph to children who were groped when they attended tapings of the music show "Top of the Pops," and pupils at a school for troubled girls who were allegedly offered cigarettes and trips in Savile's car in return for sex.
The report said Savile committed 50 offenses at medical establishments, including a cancer hospice and several psychiatric hospitals, 14 at schools, and 33 at television or radio stations; 73 percent of his victims were under 18 and 82 percent were female, police said.
Jimmy Savile
Legally Drunk
Randy Travis
Blood alcohol results show country star Randy Travis was legally drunk when he was arrested naked following a Texas traffic accident.
Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown says Travis was formally charged Wednesday with driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level greater than 0.15. The legal limit for driving is 0.08. The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to two years in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Travis was arrested for DWI and freed on bond following the Aug. 7 single-vehicle accident near Tioga, about 60 miles north of Dallas. Brown says negotiations continue to resolve the case. Travis still faces a retaliation charge for allegedly threatening officers.
Defense attorney Larry Friedman says Travis has a great deal of respect for law enforcement and has stopped drinking alcohol.
Randy Travis
Won't Face Charges
David Gregory
The District of Columbia has declined to prosecute NBC News anchor David Gregory for displaying an illegal high-capacity gun clip on a broadcast, a prosecutor said on Friday.
District of Columbia Attorney General Irvin Nathan said his office would not seek to charge Gregory for showing the 30-round magazine on the December 23 broadcast of "Meet the Press" in part because it was an element of the renewed debate about firearms.
His office "has determined to exercise its prosecutorial discretion to decline to bring criminal charges against Mr. Gregory, who has no criminal record, or any other NBC employee based on the events associated with the December 23, 2012, broadcast," Nathan said in a letter to NBC's lawyers.
He called the decision "very close."
Gregory held up the magazine while hosting an interview with National Rifle Association Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre (R-Lacy Panties) at NBC's studios in the District. Law in the U.S. capital bars possession of high-capacity magazines whether or not they are attached to a weapon or loaded.
David Gregory
Qataris Refuse To Pay Tiger's Appearance Fee
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods may guarantee packed galleries but even the oil-rich Qataris cannot afford the former world number one's appearance fee for the only European Tour event in the Gulf state.
The American's involvement at the January 23-26 Qatar Masters would cost a whopping $3 million, said Qatar Golf Association president Hassan al Nuaimi.
"Tiger Woods demands $3 million just for an appearance, if he were to compete - which is not worth paying for a tournament of $2.5 million prize money," he told the Doha News.
Instead, 14-times major winner Woods begins his season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship next week before returning home to compete in the U.S. PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open.
Woods finished tied third in Abu Dhabi last year and has never played in Qatar.
Tiger Woods
Must Do Better By Gamefly
U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Service must come up with a better solution to a questionable pricing structure affecting Gamefly's video game DVDs and Netflix's movie DVDs, a federal appeals court said Friday.
Gamefly, which sends rental video games DVDS, must pay extra to mail its rental DVDs because they can be damaged by automatic mail sorting systems for first-class mail. But DVDs sent by Netflix Inc., which rents movie, TV shows and documentary DVDs by mail, don't go through the automated sorting process and it doesn't pay extra for hand-sorting. The court also said Blockbuster Inc., which rents video games and movies by mail, also seems to have gotten some of the favorable treatment that Netflix - apparently the post office's biggest DVD mailer customer - did.
Gamefly was denied the same treatment, forcing it to pay millions to keep out of the automated mail sorting system.
The Postal Regulatory Commission agreed that the practice was wrong, but came up with a scheme to make it cheaper for Gamefly but still force it to pay more than Netflix. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the commission Friday and sent the case back.
U.S. Postal Service
Lost Items Reveal Activities
Roman Bath
A new study of objects lost down the drains in the bathhouses from the Roman Empire reveals that people got up to all sorts of things in these gathering places. They bathed, of course, but they also adorned themselves with trinkets, snacked on finger foods and even did needlework.
"For the Romans, the baths weren't just a place to get clean, but this larger social center where a variety of activities were taking place," said study researcher Alissa Whitmore, a doctoral candidate in archaeology at the University of Iowa
In the Roman Empire era, baths proliferated all over Europe for both military and civilian use. Many were quite ornate, with huge colonnades, decorative mosaics and pools ranging in temperature from frigid to steamy.
Ancient texts give some clues as to the variety of activities that took place in bathhouses, Whitmoresaid, but the texts are maddeningly vague on some details. So Whitmore turned to the concrete evidence: objects found in the floor and pool drains of the ruins of baths.
This early plumbing offers good insights, Whitmore told LiveScience, because it fairly certainly contains items lost or thrown away during the era of bathing. The Romans eventually abandoned the majority of their baths, leaving the structures to crumble, she said. Squatters moved in, leaving behind objects on floors and in other spots that wouldn't represent the items used when the baths were still functioning.
Roman Bath
In Memory
Mariangela Melato
Italian actress Mariangela Melato, known for her critically acclaimed performance as a spoiled socialite stranded with a sailor she had tormented in the 1974 film comedy "Swept Away," has died in a Rome hospital at age 71.
The Antea hospital said she died Friday. The LaPresse news agency said she was suffering from pancreatic cancer.
The blond actress had most success in a series of films in the 1970s directed by Italian Lina Wertmuller, including "The Seduction of Mimi" and "Love and Anarchy."
One of the most acclaimed was the role of a socialite who finds herself stranded with Giancarlo Giannini. Her role was played by Madonna in a 2002 remake.
Melato had less success in Hollywood roles, which included a supporting part in "Flash Gordon" in 1980.
Mariangela Melato
In Memory
Frank Page
The man who helped introduce Elvis Presley to worldwide audiences through his work with the Louisiana Hayride - the state's version of the heralded Grand Ole Opry - has died.
Veteran radio broadcaster Frank Page died late Wednesday after a severe respiratory infection at WK Pierremont Health Center in Shreveport. He was 87.
Longtime friend and colleague Tom Pace says funeral services are pending. Rose-Neath Funeral Home confirms it's handling Page's arrangements.
Page retired from Shreveport's KWKH Radio in 2005 after 65 years. He is best known as the person who helped introduce Presley to the world on the stage of the Louisiana Hayride.
Presley sang "That's Alright Mama" on the Hayride in October 1954. A biography on the Graceland website says the 19-year-old Presley had a few weeks earlier recorded a song on the Sun label.
Frank Page
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