Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: A Tale of Two Moralities (New York Times)
Though President Obama spoke to our desire for reconciliation, the truth is that we are a deeply divided nation and are likely to remain so.
Paul Krugman: Incidents from My Career (MIT)
... the honest truth is that what drives me as an economist is that economics is fun. I think I understand why so many people think that economics is a boring subject, but they are wrong. On the contrary, there is hardly anything I know that is as exciting as finding that the great events that move history, the forces that determine the destiny of empires and the fate of kings, can sometimes be explained, predicted, or even controlled by a few symbols on a printed page. We all want power, we all want success, but the ultimate reward is the simple joy of understanding.
Paul Krugman: The Doctrine of Immaculate Transfer (New York Times)
... Feldstein's argument, if correct - I'm not entirely sure about that - is actually an argument for yuan revaluation, not an argument that it won't be necessary.
Appreciation: David Nelson, 1936-2011 | Show Tracker | Los Angeles Times
On the deceptive face of it, David, who passed away Tuesday at age 74, was the least colorful member of the first family of situation comedy: ...
Hadley Freeman: How best to win an Oscar - try female oral sex (Guardian)
If you've played gay, done the learning disability, tried the foreign accent, well here's a new trick: cunnilingus.
Kevin Thomas: "Movie review: 'Summer Wars'" (Los Angeles Times)
Oz on a virtual, menacing scale.
Why Gulliver's jokes just don't travel (Guardian)
Jonathan Swift's book of 'Gulliver's Travels' has at least 115 genuinely amusing passages within its pages; but Jack Black's film version only made me laugh seven times. Why, asks Joe Queenan.
Rebecca Keegan: Hollywood discovers teen girls' true grit (Los Angeles Times)
"I am about to embark on a great adventure," says the hero, tucking a Colt revolver into a flour sack, donning a wide-brimmed Stetson and riding out into the wilderness on the trail of a killer. Smart, stoic and purposeful, this avenger is a stock Western movie protagonist in every way but one - Mattie Ross, the central character in the new film "True Grit," is a 14-year-old girl.
Portrait of the artist: Billy Bragg, musician | Music | The Guardian
'I took John Peel a mushroom biryani when he was on air - in return, he gave me my first radio airplay.'
Max Judelson: Ten Rules for Street Musicians (Wall Street Journal)
How do you make money when you're playing for change on the street? A street performer offers up what he's learned.
Froma Harrop: Going Down in an Up Economy (Creators Syndicate)
In the typical economic downturn, Americans thrown out of work make a deal with Euthenia, the Greek goddess of prosperity. They say (in their heads): We will get through this. We'll move in with family, find any part-time job. All we want is an assurance that good times will eventually return for hardworking people like us.
Jim Hightower: EARMARKS, SCHMEARMARKS
What the GOP has done is simply sweep earmarks under the rug. Take Sen. Mark Steven Kirk, for example. The Illinois Republican was a scathing critic of earmarks last year, even as he used his position on the appropriations committee to force the education department to funnel more than a million bucks of stimulus money into an Illinois school district. Sounds like an earmark, doesn't it?
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and summer-like.
That Explains A Lot
Ron Reagan
Ronald Reagan's son suggests in a new book that his father suffered from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease while he was still in the White House.
The U.S. News & World Report quotes excerpts from Ron Reagan's book "My Father at 100" in which Reagan's son says he believes his father would have left office had the disease been diagnosed then.
The younger Reagan recalls how his father became uncharacteristically lost for words and looked "bewildered" during the 1984 presidential debates. He says his father may have suspected Alzheimer's in 1986 when he was flying over familiar canyons north of Los Angeles and could no longer remember their names.
White House doctors have said they saw no evidence of the disease while he was president. He was diagnosed in 1994, five years after leaving office.
Ron Reagan
Marian Anderson Award
Mia Farrow
Actress and human rights activist Mia Farrow will be the 2011 recipient of the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity.
Farrow is to accept the award at a May 10 gala at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
Mayor Michael Nutter said Friday that Farrow is being honored for her work to raise awareness of the plight of children in war-torn regions, and on behalf of refugees around the globe.
The annual award is named after Philadelphia-born contralto Marian Anderson, who in 1955 was the first black soloist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Mia Farrow
1st Online Presidential Archive
JFK Library
Caroline Kennedy unveiled the nation's first online presidential archive Thursday, a $10 million project to digitize the most important papers, photographs and recordings of President John F. Kennedy's days in office.
Users can sort through the drafts of Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you," speech and see how he tinkered with the words of that most famous line from his inauguration. Or they can listen to his personal phone calls and read his letters.
In advance of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's inauguration Jan. 20, Caroline Kennedy visited the National Archives, saying it reminded her the nation was built on words and ideas - and that her father's call to service was more relevant than ever.
"His time is becoming part of history, not living memory, and we need to reach across the generations in new ways," Caroline Kennedy said, noting many young people are disillusioned with politics. "He inspired a generation who inspired their children. They transformed America, and that's why 50 years later, his legacy still resonates."
JFK Library
Star #2429
Colin Firth
"King's Speech" Golden Globe nominee Colin Firth now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The British actor unveiled his sidewalk shrine Thursday in front of the Pig 'N Whistle pub on Hollywood Boulevard. It's the 2,429th star dedicated on the avenue of dreams.
Firth has already received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award nominations for his role as King George VI in "The King's Speech," and he is also a favorite for an Oscar nod. Academy Award nominations are announced Jan. 25.
The 50-year-old Firth was a best actor nominee at the Oscars, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards last year for his performance in "A Single Man."
Colin Firth
New Face Of L'Oreal Paris
Gwen Stefani
Following in the footsteps of Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce, Gwen Stefani has announced that she will be the next face of cosmetics giant L'Oreal Paris.
"I can't believe I get to be one of the L'Oreal Paris girls," said the singer. "I love playing dress up, on stage or shooting videos, it's always been one of my favorite parts of being in a band. And to get to work with such a modern, talented group of people is really exciting."
Stefani, who has previously spearheaded two fashion lines and a perfume brand, will make her L'Oreal debut with a campaign for the Infallible Le Rouge lip color.
The singer's first TV ad will premiere during the Golden Globe awards telecast on NBC on January 16.
Gwen Stefani
Star In Showtime Series
San Francisco Giants
Showtime says it's teaming with the San Francisco Giants for a baseball program that will follow the defending World Series champs this season.
The series, in collaboration with Major League Baseball Productions, is being shot over 10 months, Showtime announced Friday. It will chronicle the lives of Giants players and coaches during the offseason, at spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz., and at games.
The as-yet-untitled series is set to debut with a preview episode tied to the opening of the 2011 baseball season, followed by a run of episodes during the season's second half.
The Giants defeated the Texas Rangers to give San Francisco its first World Series trophy.
San Francisco Giants
Hospital News
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart isn't likely to whisper sweet nothings into her dozing dog's ear anytime again soon.
The 69-year-old lifestyle guru wrote on her blog Thursday that she needed stitches after startling her dog Francesca while leaning down to "whisper goodbye." The dog jumped up and rammed into Stewart.
She writes that she "felt a bit of whiplash as blood gushed" from her split lip Tuesday night.
She initially called police to ask for a ride to the hospital but realized her driver was waiting to drive her from her home in the suburbs to New York City for a "Today" show appearance.
Martha Stewart
Hospital News
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor's right leg was amputated Friday in a life-saving surgery that doctors called successful.
Gabor, who turns 94 on Feb. 6, was being watched carefully, but there were no complications, doctors at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center said after the surgery.
"The surgery today went well, however, she is in frail health so we will continue to monitor her closely," said Dr. David Rigberg, associate professor of vascular surgery.
Gabor, who had an infection in her leg for several months, was hospitalized on Jan. 2 after efforts to save her leg with antibiotics failed.
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Former Publicist Sues, Claims Payola
Golden Globes
A former publicist for the organization that runs the Golden Globes sued the group on the eve of its glitzy awards show, claiming it engages in payola schemes for nominations and awards.
Michael Russell sued the Hollywood Foreign Press Association late Thursday, just three days before the Golden Globes are slated to air Sunday on NBC.
The lawsuit claims many association members "abuse their positions and engage in unethical and potentially unlawful deals and arrangements which amount to a 'payola' scheme" that could be illegal and jeopardize the group's tax-exempt status.
The filing does not list any specific examples in which a studio or producer has paid for a Golden Globes nomination or award.
In addition, the suit alleges the association sells prime spots on the show's red carpet to lesser-known media outlets.
Golden Globes
Amateur Paparazzi Try To Set Up
Gary Busey
Call them amateur paparazzi. A picture happy couple tried unsuccessfully to catch actor Gary Busey on camera in the wrong place at the wrong time, but police arrested the pair instead.
Mark Abel, 52, and Patrice Karst, 51, on Thursday flagged down officers in the celebrity-filled community of Malibu, California, to report they had seen Busey driving his car "erratically" and appeared drunk, said the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
Police located Busey's car and stopped the star of 1978 movie "The Buddy Holly Story." While officers were questioning him, they noticed Abel and Karst had pulled up in their own car. The pair began taking pictures of actor, police said.
It seems an obvious attempt to catch a star in trouble with the law but the problem was, Busey was completely sober and in no trouble.
Gary Busey
Claims Victimhood
$chwarzenegger
Serving as California governor cost Arnold $chwarzenegger (R-2 Passports) at least $200 million, the bodybuilding star turned actor and politician told a newspaper in his native Austria, insisting 'it was more than worth it."
Counting expenses and lost income from acting in Hollywood films, "in all it is probably more than $200 million," he told Krone when asked how much his two terms in Sacramento had cost.
"What was much worse was the damage my time as governor did to the family. There is a lot there that needs to be repaired," he said, recalling the many Sunday evenings when his wife, Maria, and children broke out in tears at his heavy work schedule.
"We hate your job," Schwarzenegger quoted family members as saying during his early years as governor when he would leave his Los Angeles home every Monday morning for the capital, Sacramento, and not return until the end of the week.
$chwarzenegger
Papers Detail NYC Death
Portuguese Journalist
A man admitted castrating a Portuguese celebrity TV journalist and killing him in a New York hotel by slamming his head into a television, stabbing him with a corkscrew, and choking and stomping on him, a court document said Friday.
Renato Seabra, 21, a model from Cantanhede, Portugal, did not enter a plea and said nothing as he was arraigned Friday on a murder charge by video link from a hospital where he had been taken for a psychiatric evaluation.
His lawyer declined afterward to discuss Seabra's account of what happened but said there was much that had not come to light publicly.
Seabra is accused of the Jan. 7 killing of Carlos Castro, 65, whose body was found bloodied, naked and castrated on the floor of a room the two had shared in the InterContinental New York Times Square hotel, police said.
Portuguese Journalist
Producers Want Rumsfeld on show
'The Good Wife'
The latest idea for a real-life cameo on the CBS drama "The Good Wife" - former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - has been nixed before it even got anywhere. The Golden Globe-nominated drama has had public figures occasionally appear as themselves, including Vernon Jordan, Lou Dobbs and Joe Trippi.
Producers of the show said Friday they were writing an episode with a role for Rumsfeld, who was the defense secretary in George W. Bush and Gerald Ford's administrations.
Robert King, who produces the show with his wife Michelle, said he wanted Rumsfeld to appear as a witness in a lawsuit, testifying about why aggressive interrogation techniques like water-boarding are sometimes needed during wartime.
But Keith Urbahn, who works for the former defense secretary, said the idea rules Rumsfeld out.
'The Good Wife'
Yet Another Season
`Celebrity Apprentice'
Donald Trump is welcoming Gary Busey, Meat Loaf and La Toya Jackson among the rivals to be his latest "Celebrity Apprentice."
The contenders, who were announced by Trump on Friday, also include rock singer Mark McGrath, one-time teen idol David Cassidy and Richard Hatch, remembered as the fat, naked guy on the first season of "Survivor." Hatch has had lengthy legal wrangling with the Internal Revenue Service over unpaid taxes and could still be facing jail time.
Actress Marlee Matlin, singer Dionne Warwick and retired Major Leaguer Jose Canseco will also be among those competing.
Rounding out the 16 players are: TV personality Star Jones, "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star NeNe Leakes, soap actress Lisa Rinna, supermodel Niki Taylor, rapper Lil Jon, country singer John Rich and model Hope Dworaczyk.
`Celebrity Apprentice'
CBS, The
Tiffany Enabling NetworkCharlie Sheen
The top entertainment executive at CBS said Friday the network is concerned about Charlie Sheen's off-camera behavior but it hasn't affected his work as the star of television's most popular comedy.
"We have a high level of concern," said Nina Tassler, CBS entertainment president. "How can we not?"
The actor's messy personal life has included a wild night that left a New York hotel room in shambles and sent Sheen to a hospital, and a guilty plea last summer to assaulting his wife in Aspen, Colo. Sheen filled gossip pages again by spending last weekend partying in Las Vegas.
CBS respects the way Warner Bros. Television, the producer of "Two and a Half Men" and Sheen's actual employer, has been handling the situation, Tassler said.
Charlie Sheen
In Memory
Ellen Stewart
Ellen Stewart, the founder and director of the Off-Off-Broadway pioneering group La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, died Thursday at New York's Beth Israel Hospital after an extended illness, said Mia Yoo, the theater's co-artistic director. Stewart was 91.
During Stewart's 49-year tenure, La MaMa presented some 3,000 productions, hosted artists from more than 70 countries and earned countless cultural awards. She was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" in 1985 and a 2006 Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater.
Stewart, who was born in Chicago, began her career in New York as a fashion designer and started La MaMa in 1961 when she rented a tiny basement in lower Manhattan for $55 a month to provide her brother and his playwright friends with a space to showcase their plays. Already nicknamed "Mama," one of her actors suggested La MaMa as the name for her theater.
La MaMa moved several more times and took up residence in its original and current space on East 4th Street in 1969. In 1974, the company acquired a second space, The Annex, down the street. In November 2009, on the occasion of Stewart's 90th birthday, The Annex was officially renamed the Ellen Stewart Theatre.
Theater spokesman Sam Rudy said Stewart was instrumental in introducing to American audiences some of the world's most influential artists, including Andrei Serban, Tom O'Horgan, Sam Shepard, Lanford Wilson, Harvey Fierstein, Maria Irene Fornes, Tom Eyen, Jean Claude van Itallie and countless others.
Stewart received the Human Rights Award of the Philippines from President Corazon Aquino and awards from the Emperor of Japan and from France. In the late 1980's, Stewart established La MaMa Umbria International, an artist residence in Spoleto, Italy.
Ellen Stewart
In Memory
Trish Keenan
A record label says that Trish Keenan, the lead singer of British electronic pop music duo Broadcast, has died. She was 42.
Keenan died from complications of pneumonia after fighting the illness for two weeks in intensive care, Warp Records said in a statement posted on its website Friday.
British media reports said Keenan had contracted swine flu while on tour although that could not be immediately confirmed.
Keenan and James Cargill formed the indie band in Birmingham in 1995. Broadcast's most recent release was a collaboration with The Focus Group in 2009.
Trish Keenan
In Memory
Joe Gores
Mystery writer Joe Gores - a former San Francisco private investigator whose books include "Hammett," "Come Morning" and "Spade & Archer" - has died at age 79.
A stepson says Gores died Monday. The San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times say he died of a stomach hemorrhage.
Gores wrote 16 novels and three collections of stories during his more than 40-year writing career. He may be best known for "Spade & Archer: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's 'The Maltese Falcon,'" which was published in 2009.
Gores also wrote TV scripts for "Kojak" and "Magnum, P.I.."
His first novel, "A Time of Predators," about a Stanford professor turned commando, won the Edgar Award for best first novel from the Mystery Writers of America when it was published in 1969.
Joe Gores
In Memory
John Dye
Actor John Dye, whose career included the role of Andrew, the angel of death, in the long-running television series "Touched by an Angel," was found dead at his San Francisco home, a medical examiner's spokesman said Thursday.
Medical examiner's investigator Charles Cecil said the 47-year-old Dye, a native of Amory, Miss., was found dead Monday.
The cause of death has not been determined, Cecil said, but relatives said Dye suffered apparent heart failure.
WREG-TV in Memphis reported that Dye's father, Jim Dye, said his actor son "was very giving, had a lot of causes that he supported real well, Make a Wish Foundation, AIDS research."
The Cleveland Daily Banner reported Thursday that while living in the community as a youngster, Dye was involved in a children's theater group and in the 1990s helped re-establish it.
A University of Memphis theater major, Dye's early work included the martial-arts movie "The Best of the Best" and small roles on "Murder, She Wrote" and other television shows. He landed the part of the Angel of Death on "Touched by an Angel" in 1994 and appeared in all nine seasons of the CBS series.
John Dye
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