Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Their Own Private Europe (New York Times)
American conservatives have long used the myth of a failing Europe to argue against progressive policies in America.
Froma Harrop, Boomers' 'Second Adolescence' Goes On Hold (Creators Syndicate)
A few years ago, baby boomers needed 3-D glasses to take in the gorgeous vision of their decades to come.
Susan Estrich: Blame It on Barack (Creators Syndicate)
You have to hand it to Rep. Michele Bachmann, who was the official tea party responder to the president's state of the union address. ... Bachmann went on the attack against President Obama from the first line of her speech, devoting all but the last minute to making the case that he is to blame for the state of the economy. In the wake of Tucson, only one imperative remains: Blame it on Barack.
Susan Estrich: The Law School Game (Creators Syndicate)
One of the most widely circulated articles in The New York Times of late asks: "Is Law School a Losing Game?" For days, it was the most e-mailed story in the paper, and it is still among the Top 10.
Emine Saner: The Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia … survivors tell their stories (Guardian)
To mark the liberation of Auschwitz 66 years ago, five people who survived either the Holocaust or subsequent genocide talk about their mementos from that time.
Sarah Wildman: Hanni's Story (Slate)
A chance meeting with a Holocaust survivor at a remarkable exhibition in Berlin.
Paul Krugman: Shiny Lazy People (New York Times)
And I also suspect that [Paul] Ryan is honestly unaware that the UK has not, in fact, experienced a debt crisis. How can he be unaware of these things? The only explanation I have is intellectual laziness - why check the facts when you already believe that you have The Truth?
Jim Hightower: The Corporate House
Also entering the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremonies was David Koch, the multibillionaire industrialist and laissez-faire extremist who bankrolled much of the Tea Party/GOP victory last fall. What symbolism! The members were taking office, but Koch and his corporate peers were taking power.
"How to Live: Or a Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer" by Sarah Bakewell: A review by Sarah L. Courteau
Living today amid the wheat and chaff of the Age of I, it's easy to forget that not long ago, personal accounts, unless they related heroic and likely exaggerated feats or events for the historical record, weren't written for public consumption. The man who changed that was Montaigne, born near the city of Bordeaux in 1533 to a family that had bootstrapped itself from workaday to nobility.
Lyndsey Marshal: 'Clint? Such a sweet man' (Guardian)
After notching up impressive performances on stage and on TV, Lyndsey Marshal is hitting the big time - thanks to Clint Eastwood, writes Laura Barnett.
Nicole Sperling: How did Hailee Steinfeld land a supporting actress nomination? (Los Angeles Times)
The 'True Grit' star was in nearly every scene of her debut film, but studios campaigned for the supporting actress nod because of her age.
Steven Rea: "Anthony Hopkins in 'The Rite': On evil and God, he hasn't a clue" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
If one believes in Evil - yes, with a capital E - then the charmer that Anthony Hopkins has played three times now, a Chianti-swilling, sweetbreads-savoring psychopath by the name of Hannibal Lecter, could be Evil's poster boy.
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."
wrote:
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny.
Visits Children's Hospital
Cindy Crawford
Former supermodel Cindy Crawford has teamed up with a furniture store to donate $20,000 to a Cincinnati-area children's hospital.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Crawford toured cancer research labs at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Corryville on Friday and met with a 6-year-old patient. The donation comes from sales of Crawford's new furniture line at Morris Home Furnishings in nearby Springdale. Crawford is in the area for the store's grand opening.
Crawford's younger brother, Jeff, died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 1975 just before his fourth birthday.
Cindy Crawford
Average Price In 2010
Movie Tickets
The average movie ticket price for 2010 ended up being $7.89, after the average cost jumped to $8.01 in the fourth quarter.
The National Association of Theater Owners calculates the yearly ticket price based on the quarter averages. The average cost in the first quarter of 2010 was $7.95, but dipped to $7.88 in the second, and $7.71 in the third.
The average ticket price in 2009 was $7.50. Year-over-year, the 2010 average price of $7.89 represented a 5.2% increase.
Helping to drive the higher cost were 3D films, which charge a premium.
Movie Tickets
Building In Beverly Hills Being Razed
Friars Club
The iconic building that once housed the Friars Club of Beverly Hills is being torn down.
Demolition of the building at 9900 Santa Monica Blvd., which housed the club until a 2007 lawsuit by the New York Friars forced the private Beverly Hills group to change its name, began this week and continued Thursday.
Milton Berle founded the club in 1947 as a West Coast outpost of the New York club. It became a showbiz hotspot, and members included Al Jolson, Jack Benny and the Rat Pack.
In 1961, the Friars moved into the distinctive Santa Monica Boulevard building, known for its windowless facade.
"It's very sad, it was a wonderful place to meet and have dinner with fellow performers," said comedian Mel Brooks, who was not a member of the Friars Club but attended roughly a dozen events there over the years. "What I loved about it was the bizarre architecture -- it just looked like it was in an Ed Wood movie."
Friars Club
Rehab
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen has voluntarily entered a rehabilitation center, a decision that is putting his top-rated CBS sitcom on production hiatus.
Publicist Stan Rosenfield said Friday that the star of CBS' "Two and a Half Men" was entering an undisclosed facility and is grateful to all who have expressed their concern for him.
CBS, production company Warner Bros. Television and executive producer Chuck Lorre said in a statement that Sheen's decision to seek rehab has prompted a halt on production of "Two and a Half Men."
The actions came about after the troubled Sheen was treated at a hospital Thursday for severe stomach pains. His publicist said the 45-year-old Sheen has a history of hernia problems.
Charlie Sheen
Apology Demanded
Pigboy
Rush Limbaugh's (R-Sex Tourist) imitation of the Chinese language during a recent speech made by Chinese President Hu Jintao has stirred a backlash among Asian-American lawmakers in California and nationally.
California state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, is leading a fight in demanding an apology from the radio talk show host for what he and others view as racist and derogatory remarks against the Chinese people.
In recent days, the state lawmaker has rallied civil rights groups in a boycott of companies like Pro Flowers, Sleep Train and Domino's Pizza that advertise on Limbaugh's national talk radio show.
"The comments that he made - the mimicking of the Chinese language - harkens back to when I was a little boy growing up in San Francisco and those were hard days, rather insensitive days," Yee said in an interview Thursday. "You think you've arrived and all of a sudden get shot back to the reality that you're a second-class citizen."
The next day, Limbaugh said he "did a remarkable job" of imitating China's president for someone who doesn't know a language spoken by more than 1 billion people.
Pigboy
Taking Plea Deal
Bruno Mars
Pop star Bruno Mars is taking a plea deal that'll get him a fine, probation and eventual dismissal of a felony cocaine possession charge in Las Vegas.
His attorneys and Clark County District Attorney David Roger say the 25-year-old Grammy nominee is due Feb. 4 to waive an evidentiary hearing so he can plead guilty in state court.
Mars' real name is Peter Hernandez. Under the plea deal, his case would be dismissed after a $2,000 fine, 200 hours of community service, drug counseling and a year on probation.
The "Just the Way You Are" singer was arrested in September after a Las Vegas nightclub performance. Police said he had 2.6 grams of cocaine.
Bruno Mars
More Trouble
Joseph Brooks
More sour notes have hit the "You Light Up My Life" songwriter accused of molesting 13 women lured to his New York City apartment for supposed acting auditions.
Prosecutors said Friday they plan to seek testimony from at least 12 more women who say they've been molested by Joseph Brooks. For various legal reasons, their cases won't be added to his indictment.
Brooks has pleaded not guilty to predatory sexual assault and other charges. His lawyer said he believes other women can testify that Brooks invited them for auditions and nothing happened. His trial date has not been set.
The composer's son, Nicholas Brooks, has pleaded not guilty in the death of a swimsuit designer who was found strangled and drowned in a bathtub at the trendy Soho House hotel.
Joseph Brooks
Pleads Not Guilty
Amy Locane
An actress who appeared on the original "Melrose Place" has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a fatal car crash in New Jersey last year.
Thirty-nine-year-old Amy Locane-Bovenizer of Hopewell faces charges of aggravated manslaughter and assault by auto.
Somerset County prosecutors say Locane-Bovenizer's SUV hit a car driven by Fred Seeman of Montgomery as he was turning into his driveway on June 27. Seeman's wife, Helene, was killed and he was seriously injured.
Police said officers arrested Locane-Bovenizer after detecting alcohol on her breath.
Amy Locane
Pleads Guilty
Fernanda Romero
A Mexican actress has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to immigration authorities in a case alleging she engaged in a phony marriage to gain U.S. residency.
Fernanda Romero entered the plea Friday in Los Angeles.
U.S. District Judge Manuel Real told her to return for sentencing on April 11 but gave no indication of what the sentence might be.
The guilty plea came on a limited section of the original allegations against Romero. Remaining charges are to be dismissed at sentencing.
Fernanda Romero
Probation For Securities Fraud
Larry Wilcox
The actor who starred alongside Erik Estrada in the 1970s TV series "CHiPs" has been sentenced to 3 years probation on a securities fraud conviction.
A federal judge in Fort Lauderdale on Friday also ordered Larry Wilcox to serve 500 hours of community service.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the 63-year-old Wilcox was involved in one of several kickback operations run by more than a dozen small-company stock promoters. They were caught in an FBI undercover sting operation offering to pay kickbacks to pension-fund managers or stockbrokers for using client funds to buy penny stocks.
Wilcox pleaded guilty in November to securities fraud conspiracy. He faced a maximum of five years in prison.
Larry Wilcox
2 Years Prison For Insider Trading Attempt
Disney
A man who admitted to scheming with his girlfriend to try to sell inside information about Walt Disney Co to hedge funds was sentenced on Friday to 27 months in prison.
Yonni Sebbag was sentenced in New York after pleading guilty last August to one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. Sebbag, a 30-year-old Moroccan citizen, also faces deportation after his release from prison.
His girlfriend, Bonnie Hoxie, admitted to the same two charges in September.
Prosecutors said the pair had tried to sell information to more than 30 hedge funds about Disney's upcoming earnings and possible mergers, which Hoxie learned about as an assistant to the company's corporate communications chief. They were arrested after several funds reported their activities to authorities.
Disney
In Memory
Charlie Callas
Charlie Callas, a versatile comedian whose zany faces and antics made him a regular for more than four decades on television, in films and on casino stages, has died in Las Vegas. He was 83.
Callas died Thursday at a hospice, according to his sons Mark Callas and Larry Callas.
Callas was a rubber-faced, wiry framed comic whose rapid-fire delivery drew laughs and made him a frequent guest on variety and comedy shows.
For years, Charlie Callas made Johnny Carson laugh on the "Tonight Show." But Carson banned him from returning after Callas shoved Carson off his chair in a bid for laughs in 1982.
Callas toured with Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones, had a role with Jerry Lewis in the movie "The Big Mouth" in 1967, and was a guest on TV variety shows hosted by Jackie Gleason, Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin, Andy Williams and Flip Wilson. Callas guest-hosted on the "Joey Bishop Show."
He also played restaurant owner Malcolm Argos in the 1970s TV series "Switch" with Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert, and had roles in Mel Brooks' films "High Anxiety" and "History of the World: Part I."
Callas grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and served in the U.S. Army in Germany during World War II before beginning a career as a drummer with big bands starring Tommy Dorsey and Buddy Rich.
He was a natural comic, and it wasn't long before he gave up drumming for standup routines. He dropped a vowel from his legal name, Callias, when he took to the stage.
He was Charlie Callas when he made his first television appearance in 1963 on the "Hollywood Palace" variety show.
Mark Callas, who produces the "American Superstars" celebrity impersonators show in Las Vegas, said he encouraged his parents to move to Las Vegas from New York in 2002.
Larry Callas said the death of his mother, Evelyn Callas in July at age 80, broke his father's heart.
Funeral arrangments were being made at Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas.
Charlie Callas
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
