from Bruce
Anecdotes
Transplants
• In 2007, Stephen Wilson gave his sister, Andrea, a gift that will help allow her to see her children, Andrew, age 12, and Laura, age 15, grow to adulthood: He gave her one of his kidneys. Both Stephen and Andrea are from Westerhope, Newcastle, England. Andrea, age 42, said, “I’m just so grateful. I am forever in his debt. He’s given me a future with my children. We have always been close, but we have a special bond now.” Twelve years previously, Andrea’s kidneys were damaged during her second pregnancy when she suffered from pre-eclampsia. In 2006, her health began to rapidly fail. Andrea said, “The doctors said my kidneys were failing, and I was put on the waiting list for a transplant. They said the average wait in Newcastle was two years, but they had to find a kidney that was a perfect match and that could take much longer.” Every night for eight hours, she was attached to a dialysis machine. She said, “It was really scary. I was getting worried that I wouldn’t get one [a transplant].” Family members and friends volunteered to be tested, and Stephen turned out to be a perfect match. Andrea said, “He jumped at the chance to help me. I kept asking him if he was sure and saying he didn’t have to, but he was determined to do it.” She added, “If it hadn’t been for Stephen, I could have waited years and years for a kidney. And the longer you are on dialysis, the more ill you get.” Stephen said, “Having one kidney doesn’t make me feel any different, but I think me and Andrea are closer now because we went through this together. I have sacrificed part of myself, but after seeing how ill Andrea was and how worried her children were, it’s worth it.” Andrea said, “I want people to be aware that there is a real shortage of kidneys. You never think about it until it happens to you. But it can happen to any one of us. I feel so lucky that Stephen was there to help me.”
Travel
• Irish playwright Brendan Behan spent time in prison, and he liked gallows humor. He used to tell a joke about a lawyer who boasted that he had gotten a client a suspended sentence — his client was hung. By the way, when traveling from Ireland through England to France, Mr. Behan was arrested by the British authorities, who deported him — to France, not Ireland, and they even paid his fare. Because of this, Mr. Behan once described the English as “a humorous and decent people.”
• Before the First World War, Alexander Woollcott was shocked by the speed of the taxicabs in Paris. He once asked his woman taxi driver, “Is there no speed limit in this city?” She replied sweetly, “Oh, yes, monsieur, but no one has succeeded in reaching it.”
Umpires
• Minor league umpire Scott Chestnut respected some baseball players. Once, some grit flew in his eye during a pitch so he couldn’t see, so he asked the batter, “Red” Blume of the New Orleans team, whether it had been a ball or a strike. Red said it had been a ball, so Mr. Chestnut called it a ball. The catcher for Chattanooga was incredulous and asked why he had let Mr. Blume make the call. Mr. Chestnut replied, “Because I have always found Mr. Blume to be a man of high integrity.” When the catcher said that he hoped that Mr. Chestnut would let him make some important calls, Mr. Chestnut replied, “I will, as soon as you prove to me you are half the man Mr. Blume is.” The next pitch was a strike, and the New Orleans manager, Johnny Dobbs, complained about the call, saying that it was a foot outside. Mr. Dobbs turned to Mr. Blume for corroboration and asked, “Wasn’t it outside, Red?” Mr. Blume replied, “No, Johnny, it was right down the middle.”
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Be a Work of Art — Buy
Be a Work of Art — Buy The Paperback
Be a Work of Art — Buy Kindle
Be a Work of Art — Buy Apple
Be a Work of Art — Buy Barnes and Noble
Be a Work of Art — Buy Kobo
Be a Work of Art — Buy Smashwords: Many Formats, Including PDF
Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Nasty Habits"
EP: NASTY HABITS
Artist: The Wild Ones
Artist Location: Santa Cruz, California, USA
Info:
“The Wild Ones will take you back to better times with their retro garage punk sound (think Shangri-Las meets The Ramones).” — KZSC
Rodent, a fan, wrote, “Yes, indeed, there really is a bona fide ‘Santa Cruz Sound’ and here’s the proof. This music makes me want to get stoned and jump around the room while squealing. And it’s a compact short album, just the right length for a brisk afternoon walk around the block with a little happy pooch. Connect up your earbuds and get some exercise. Favorite track: ‘Shimmy.’”
nemoide, a fan, wrote, “So rockin’! So rooted in an amazing retro sound! The Wild Ones sound like a distillation of my musical taste. Favorite track: ‘2 Kewl 4 Skool.’”
Price: $4 (USD) for four-track album
Genre: Garage Rock.
Links:
NASTY HABITS
The Wild Ones on Bandcamp
Other Links:
Bruce’s Music Recommendations: FREE pdfs
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Your Boss
New Venture
Michael Egan
Reader Contribution
Rand
RD
Thanks, RD!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Quack vs. real doctor
I would definitely tune in to see Fauci dismember Oz
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Kinda windy and looked like rain, but it stayed dry.
Raising Money And Awareness
#BettyWhiteChallenge
The late Betty White was a tireless lifetime advocate for animals, from caring for those without homes to launching her own weekly TV show, “The Pet Set,” dedicated to her celebrity friends and their pets.
Her most far-reaching contribution, though, may be yet to come: On Monday, fans of White will be poised to donate to animal welfare charities and shelters as part of what’s been dubbed the #BettyWhiteChallenge. And animal welfare nonprofits are gearing up to capitalize on the viral tribute to the star of “The Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland” on what would have been her 100th birthday.
“I’ve had many conversations with Betty about animal welfare, and I know she’s looking down from heaven and really smiling,” said Robin Ganzert, who leads American Humane, an animal welfare organization that White was involved with for more than 60 years.
It isn’t exactly clear who started the #BettyWhiteChallenge on social media shortly after White’s death on Dec. 31. However it began, the idea — to donate $5 to a local animal rescue organization in White’s name on her birthday — quickly took off and drew support from celebrities like actors Mark Hamill and George Takei on Twitter.
#BettyWhiteChallenge
George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy Honored
Producer’s Guild
George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy, stewards of the Star Wars universe and numerous other notable motion pictures, are being honored by the Producers Guild of America for their contributions to the film industry. The PGA said Friday that Lucas and Kennedy will receive the Milestone Award at the Producers Guild Awards in March, joining the ranks of previous honorees that include Louis B. Mayer, Walt Disney and Steven Spielberg.
Lucas, in a statement, said the award is a celebration of all that goes into bringing stories to life: “Protecting creativity while balancing business, moving technology forward to make real what you can see in your mind’s eye and doing it all from scratch most of the time.”
He and Kennedy shared friends and collaborators and both worked on “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” her through the production company she co-founded with Spielberg and Frank Marshall, Amblin Entertainment. Kennedy’s credits include “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,” “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Back to the Future” films. In 2012 she became co-chair of Lucasfilm with Lucas. A few months later, when the company was acquired by Disney, Lucas stepped aside and Kennedy became president, where she has produced the newest Star Wars trilogy and various spinoffs.
The 33rd Producers Guild Awards will take place at an untelevised event in Los Angeles on March 19.
Producer’s Guild
Page Sells For Record $3.36M
Spider-Man
A single page of artwork from a 1984 Spider-Man comic book sold at auction Thursday for a record $3.36 million.
Mike Zeck’s artwork for page 25 from Marvel Comics’ “Secret Wars No. 8” brings the first appearance of Spidey’s black suit. The symbiote suit would eventually lead to the emergence of the character Venom.
The record bidding, which started at $330,000 and soared past $3 million, came on the first day of Heritage Auctions’ four-day comic event in Dallas.
The previous record for an interior page of a U.S. comic book was $657,250 for art from a 1974 issue of “The Incredible Hulk” that featured a tease for the first appearance of Wolverine.
Also Thursday, one of the few surviving copies of Superman’s debut, Action Comics No. 1, sold for $3.18 million, putting it among the priciest books ever auctioned.
Spider-Man
Dumping One America "News" Network
DirecTV
DirecTV plans to drop One America News Network, the right-wing channel known for its pro-Donald Trump pro-Putin, anti-American coverage and commentary.
The satellite provider, one of the largest distribution outlets, also plans to drop another channel, AWE, from OANN parent Herring Networks
According to Bloomberg, which first reported the news, DirecTV’s contract with Herring Networks expires in early April. DirecTV will continue to carry its programming through their existing agreement. DirecTV began carrying OAN in April 2017.
Trump The head coup plotter has cited the channel as one of his favorites — an interview with him ran this week — and he singled it out in the aftermath of the presidential election. OAN, which advanced his unfounded claims lies that the 2020 election was rigged, is facing defamation lawsuits from two election systems companies, Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems.
In October, Reuters ran an investigative report on how AT&T, which spun off DirecTV last year but retains a 70% share in the company, nurtured OAN, and how the rightward channel drew the bulk of its revenue from the telecom’s platforms. Reuters reported that Robert Herring Sr. testified in a deposition that AT&T executives urged him to launch the channel in 2013. DirecTV has said that OAN was just one channel it has carried across the political spectrum.
DirecTV
Memory Problems
Kevin
In the days after January 6, 2021, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Republicans in a private phone call that the former President Donald Trump admitted that he shared some responsibility for the Capitol riot, according to CNN.
But during a news conference on Thursday, McCarthy told reporters that he couldn't recall that phone conversation.
CNN reported on the phone call at the time, and on Thursday the news outlet obtained a detailed readout of what McCarthy told his Republican colleagues.
McCarthy also said in a local radio interview on January 12, 2021, that Trump the coup plotter "told me personally that he does have some responsibility" for the riot, CNN reported.
The House Republican leader has since resisted pinning any blame on Trump the unindicted grifter for the Capitol riot. The former president has never publicly admitted any responsibility for the day's violence anything, ever.
Kevin
Judge Reassigned
Illinois
An Illinois judge who came under fire after overturning a man's sexual assault conviction has been removed from adjudicating criminal cases.
Last year, Adams County Judge Robert Adrian found Drew Clinton, 18, guilty of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old.
Mr Clinton faced a minimum of four years in prison, but this month Judge Adrian said the 148 days spent in jail by Clinton was "plenty of punishment".
The judge has been assigned to civil cases, the Herald-Whig newspaper said.
Judge Adrian's reversal during a January sentencing hearing drew immediate backlash from advocates for sexual assault survivors and the 16-year-old girl who reported the assault.
Illinois
Another Complication
Space Anemia
Space isn’t easy on humans. Some aspects are avoidable—the vacuum, of course, and the cold, as well as some of the radiation. Astronauts can also lose bone density, thanks to a lack of gravity. NASA has even created a fun acronym for the issues: RIDGE, which stands for space radiation, isolation and confinement, distance from Earth, gravity fields, and hostile and closed environments.
New research adds to the worries by describing how being in space destroys your blood. Or rather, something about space—and we don’t know what just yet—causes the human body to perform hemolysis at a higher rate than back on Earth.
This phenomenon, called space anemia, has been well-studied. It’s part of a suite of problems that astronauts face when they come back to terra firma, which is how Guy Trudel—one of the paper’s authors and a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at The Ottawa Hospital—got involved. “[W]hen the astronauts return from space, they are very much like the patients we admit in rehab,” he told Ars.
Space anemia had been viewed as an adaptation to shifting fluids in the astronauts’ upper bodies when they first arrive in space. They rapidly lose 10 percent of the liquid in their blood vessels, and it was expected that their bodies destroyed a matching 10 percent of red blood cells to get things back into balance. People also suspected that things went back to normal after 10 days. Trudel and his team found, however, that the hemolysis was a primary response to being in space. “Our results were a bit of a surprise,” he said.
The team’s results showed that in space, the astronauts’ bodies destroyed around 3 million red blood cells every second. This is 54 percent higher than what happens in human bodies on Earth, where the rate is 2 million every second.
The Universe
3D Map
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), currently pointed at the skies from its home in the Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is tasked with charting the expansion of space, investigating dark energy, and creating the most detailed 3D map of the Universe that's ever been put together.
It's only been seven months into DESI's mission and we already have a record-breaking, jaw-dropping, three-dimensional picture of the galaxy that's all around us, proving the capabilities of DESI and the potential it has for mapping space.
DESI has already cataloged and charted more than 7.5 million galaxies, with more than a million new ones being added per month. By the time the scan comes to a complete end in 2026, it's thought that over 35 million galaxies will have been mapped, providing astronomers with a huge library of data to mine.
DESI is made up of 5,000 optical fibers, each individually controlled and positioned by its own tiny robot. These fibers have to be accurately positioned to within 10 microns, or less than the thickness of a human hair, and they then capture glimpses of light as they filter down to Earth from the cosmos.
The main objective of DESI is to reveal more about the dark energy that is thought to make up 70 percent of the Universe as well as speeding up its expansion. This dark energy could drive galaxies into an infinite expansion, cause them to collapse back on themselves or something in between – and cosmologists are keen to narrow down the options.
3D Map
The Background Hum
The Universe
Ever since scientists made the first detection of gravitational waves from a pair of colliding black holes in 2015, evidence has been growing that the Universe ought to be full of them.
Every massive event – every black hole or neutron star merger, every supernova – should have sent gravitational waves ringing out across space-time.
The combined effect of all these waves would be to create a faint, background hum that permeates the entire Universe. This gravitational wave background is predicted to be weak and very hard to detect. Nevertheless, a year ago, scientists with the international NanoGRAV collaboration said they may have done just that.
Now, from the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) consortium, tentative new evidence that we may have detected the hum has emerged. If confirmed, this will be a very big deal indeed.
A single pulsar wouldn't be able to tell us much, but if these timing variations are observed in a number of pulsars, that could indicate the presence of gravitational waves. This is called a pulsar timing array.
The Universe
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
