Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Donald and the Deflationists (NY Times)
Why does Trump keep hiring hard-money hacks?
Greg Sargent: Trump's national emergency will only underscore his raging, delusional impotence (Washington Post)
The pitfalls of Trump declaring a national emergency.
Mary Beard: Academics and artists in Rome (TLS)
It was the site of one of my own moral lessons in the craft of reviewing. When I was a graduate student in Rome, I went to meet the Director there (a well known scholar or Roman inscriptions). I had just reviewed his book in a very uppity young academic way. He was hugely kind to me… and it was the moment I first realised that it was probably a good idea never to say anything in a review that you wouldn't say in person. I sat there squirming while he poured me tea and learned my lesson. Twenty years later I went there for a conference, and twenty years on again (that is this morning), I went for a meeting.
Jake Malooley: Jill Abramson Plagiarized My Writing. So I Interviewed Her About It (Rolling Stone)
When journalist Jake Malooley talked to the former New York Times executive editor, she admitted only to minor mistakes - but her responses were revealing.
Michael Cragg: Oscar-nominated songs reviewed: All the Stars, Shallow, The Place Where Lost Things Go (The Guardian)
Kendrick Lamar and SZA phone it in but Gaga & Cooper blow the cynicism away.
R&R ArtGroup: Beauty and the Beast - Happily Ever After (Cosplay Music Video) (YouTube)
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Presenting
Michael Egan
wrote:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes - Food
• Colonel James H. Mapleson (1830-1901) once received word that mezzo-soprano Sofia Scalchi was ill and unable to sing in an opera scheduled that night. He and a physician therefore went to Ms. Scalchi's hotel apartment to ask what they could do for her, but just before they arrived at her door, a dinner of roast duck and lobsters was delivered to her apartment. Colonel Mapleson waited for the dinner to get started and after hearing the sound of laughter, he and the physician entered her apartment. No longer able to claim that she was ill, Ms. Scalchi sang that night.
• Two feisty Church of Christ preachers, A.G. Freed and Foy E. Wallace, Jr., were invited to dinner. Their hostess asked them if they wanted coffee. Mr. Freed was against drinking coffee, so he said, "No, I'm a Christian." Mr. Wallace saw that this remark embarrassed the hostess, so he said, "Pour me a cup. I'm a Christian, too, but I didn't let it make a fool out of me."
• When George Balanchine took his New York City Ballet on tour to his native Russia, many dancers found Russian food unappetizing. Suzanne Farrell once mentioned to him that she liked the omelets, and trying to be helpful, Mr. Balanchine arranged with the Russian cooks to feed her omelets for breakfast, lunch, and supper. She ate hundreds of eggs during the tour.
• Doug Gilbert, a drama critic for the New York World-Telegram, once had a chance to get involved in theater production. He was having dinner in a restaurant with a producer who wanted to hire him, but misfortune struck. Mr. Gilbert had ordered clam spaghetti and he had his mouth full when he suddenly sneezed - his mouth opened, and the clam spaghetti flew onto the face of the producer.
• These days, people are very sanitary in their eating habits; however, early in the 20th century, they were not. When Anna Russell was growing up in England, the maid used to leave a big bowl outside, and the milkman would ladle milk into it. By the time the maid brought the milk inside the house, several flies would be floating in it, but things like that didn't bother people back then.
• Johannes Brahms enjoyed good food. One day, his doctor ordered him to stop eating rich food. The very next day, the doctor saw Mr. Brahms in a Viennese restaurant eating a feast of very rich food. After listening to his doctor's criticisms, Mr. Brahms replied, "Do you suppose I'm going to starve to death just to be able to live a few more years?"
• As a young woman traveling from town to town to make money by singing, Emma Abbott was often forced to eat less than she should. Once, she was so hungry that she sold her long hair in order to get money to buy food. Fortunately, she was discovered by opera singer Clara Louise Kellogg, who helped make her rich and famous.
• Dr. Samuel Johnson disliked Scotland. At a dinner party, his hostess served a Scottish dish, then asked how he liked it. Dr. Johnson said, "Madam, it is a dish fit only for pigs." His hostess replied, "Let me help you to more of it."
• During the Russian Revolution, food was scarce. The mother of young ballerina Illaria Obidenna Ladré got hold of some butter and used the butter as payment to Ms. Vaganova, a ballet teacher, for private lessons for Illaria.
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Reader Comment
Current Events
Gary Sinise
A bunch of people--celebrities, military people, first reponders--participated in a short video to thank Sinise for all he has done to help others. As touching as the video is, there is also a 5 minute video of him watching the tribute video. Have Kleenex ready!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
And some more rain.
Organizers Scrap Plan
Oscars
The organizers of the Oscars ceremony on Friday scrapped a plan to award four Academy Awards during commercial breaks in the Feb. 24 telecast, following an uproar by Hollywood filmmakers, actors and others.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement that it had "heard the feedback" from members and that all 24 Academy Awards "will be presented without edits, in our traditional format."
Earlier this week, the academy announced that the Oscars for best cinematography, film editing, short films and makeup/hairstyling would be presented during the commercials in the telecast. The organization said edited versions of the winner acceptance speeches would be aired later in the live broadcast.
The plan was part of an effort to make the Oscar telecast shorter and boost television viewership after the audience for the 2018 ceremony on ABC fell to an all-time low.
But an open letter, signed by directors Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee, actors Robert de Niro and George Clooney, and more than 50 other Hollywood heavyweights accused the academy of "relegating these essential crafts to lesser status" and insulting the professionals who work in the four areas.
Oscars
Returns To SCOTUS
RBG
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg returned to work in the Supreme Court on Friday after more than a month off the bench following surgery.
Ginsburg, 85, is meeting with the other justices for a regular closed-door conference, a court spokeswoman said.
The justice missed her first courtroom argument in 25 years of service Jan. 7 following surgery Dec. 21 to remove a portion of her lung after cancerous nodules were detected.
Ginsburg had made a point of returning to the court promptly after two earlier surgical procedures for cancer in 1999 and 2009.
RBG
Hand-Delivers Tickets
Dave Chappelle
There's always a risk when buying tickets on Craigslist; a Charlotte couple learned that the hard way when they were scammed out of $500 after purchasing fake tickets to Dave Chappelle's Valentine's Day show at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.
Fortunately for Dave and Deidra Dickens, Chappelle caught wind of their story on local news. He then surprised the couple by hand-delivering real tickets.
Chappelle found the couple and their friends dining at nearby restaurant. After walking up to their table, he wished them a "Happy Valentine's Day," posed for pictures, and offered some sage advice: next time, buy your tickets from a legitimate source.
Dave Chappelle
Reaches Financial Settlement With NFL
Colin Kaepernick
In a stunning decision, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and safety Eric Reid have reached a financial settlement with the NFL in their joint collusion complaint against the league and will take no further action in the case. While sources declined to offer specifics for the decision, Yahoo Sports was told on prior occasions that Kaepernick and Reid would only settle the complaint if a lucrative financial agreement was reached between the players and the NFL.
The league and Kaepernick's attorneys released a statement Friday saying the matter had been resolved confidentially. As part of that confidentiality, it is believed both sides signed a non-disclosure agreement agreeing not to speak publicly about details of the case or settlement.
"For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL," the statement said. "As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party."
The agreement comes on the doorstep of the final hearing in the Kaepernick case, which was set to take place before arbitrator Stephen Burbank this month. Kaepernick had alleged the league conspired to keep him out after he began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. Multiple NFL players adopted Kaepernick's protest in 2017, hoping to draw attention to social justice and racial inequality issues. The actions sparked a political firestorm from President Donald Trump and the furor became such a central issue for the league for nearly one year that it instituted a rule that banned protests during the national anthem. That rule has since been shelved by the NFL and now appears to be dead, for all intents and purposes.
"Today, we were informed by the NFL of the settlement of the Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid collusion cases," the NFLPA said. "We are not privy to the details of the settlement, but support the decision by the players and their counsel. We continuously supported Colin and Eric from the start of their protests, participated with their lawyers throughout their legal proceedings and were prepared to participate in the upcoming trial in pursuit of both truth and justice for what we believe the NFL and its clubs did to them. We are glad that Eric has earned a job and a new contract [from the Carolina Panthers], and we continue to hope that Colin gets his opportunity as well."
Colin Kaepernick
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit
National Butterfly Center
A federal judge on Friday dealt a win to the Trump administration when he dismissed a lawsuit by a group of butterfly conservationists for wall construction that the group said was expected to run through its property.
The nonprofit association argued that construction must be stopped to prevent the "seizure and destruction" of its property and "adverse environmental impacts" to threatened and endangered species and critical habitats. The suit is related to previously funded wall construction.
Judge Richard Leon said the constitutional arguments made by the North American Butterfly Association didn't hold up. The association's flagship facility is a 100-acre wildlife center - the National Butterfly Center - just north of the US border in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
"Unfortunately for the Plaintiff, The Fourth Amendment offers little refuge for unenclosed land near one of the country's external borders," wrote the judge. He also said it was "preemptive" to claim that the government deprived the group of property.
The judge also concluded that the Department of Homeland Security secretary has the authority to issue a waiver to a number of environmental laws for construction in the area, dismissing those claims brought by the association. The waiver "extinguishes" the association's claims, Leon wrote.
National Butterfly Center
Court Dismisses Lawsuit
Greenpeace
A federal court in North Dakota has dismissed a lawsuit from Energy Transfer Partners LP against environmental group Greenpeace, according to a court order on Thursday.
ETP had sued Greenpeace and other environmental groups in 2017, accusing them of racketeering and defamation with the aim of blocking the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the lawsuit, ETP argued that the environmental groups' actions and negative publicity against it, its sister company Energy Transfer Equity LP and other firms caused billions of dollars in damages.
The Dakota Access Pipeline became one of the most bitterly contested energy projects in years as environmental activists and Native American tribes had tried to block the pipeline during a months-long standoff with authorities in North Dakota in 2016.
ETP said it was disappointed by the court order and said it intends to pursue its claims in the "appropriate venue," without giving further details.
Greenpeace in a statement hailed the dismissal of the lawsuit as a victory and said it sends a signal that "corporate overreach" will not be tolerated.
Greenpeace
136% of Normal
Sierra Snowpack
A series of storms that has walloped California in recent weeks has proven to be a big boon for one of the state's most critical sources of fresh water: the Sierra snowpack.
The latest statistics from the California Department of Water show that, as of Wednesday, the snowpack has an astounding snow water equivalent of 136 percent of normal.
Consider last Valentine's Day, when that same measurement was at just 21 percent.
Back-to-back storms that socked the Sierra Nevada this month dropped so much snow across the range that some ski and snowboard resorts had to completely or partially close for days at a time.
In the Eastern Sierra, Mammoth Mountain -- which had to shut down for two days last week due to blizzard conditions -- now boasts the most amount of snow at any resort in North America.
Sierra Snowpack
Beliefs May Widen Achievement Gap
STEM Professors
Beliefs among some university professors that intelligence is fixed, rather than capable of growth, contribute to a racial achievement gap in STEM courses, a new study suggests.
Those professors may subtly communicate stereotypes about blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans allegedly being less intelligent than Asians and whites, say psychologist Elizabeth Canning of Indiana University in Bloomington and her colleagues. In turn, black, Hispanic and Native American undergraduates may respond by becoming less academically motivated and more anxious about their studies, leading to lower grades.
Even small dips in STEM grades - especially for students near pass/fail cutoffs - can accumulate across the 15 or more science, technology, engineering and math classes needed to become a physician or an engineer, Canning says. That could jeopardize access to financial aid and acceptance to graduate programs.
Underrepresented minority students' reactions to professors with fixed or flexible beliefs about intelligence have yet to be studied. But over a two-year period, the disparity in grade point averages separating Asian and white STEM students from black, Hispanic and Native American peers was nearly twice as large in courses taught by professors who regarded intelligence as set in stone, versus malleable, Canning's team reports online February 15 in Science Advances.
This is the first study to link teachers' mind-sets to students' academic performance. Related research suggests that women and racial minorities achieve fewer advanced degrees in fields where, according to academics, success hinges on innate brilliance (SN Online: 1/15/15).
STEM Professors
Ancient Fresco of Narcissus Found
Pompeii
Excavations in a lavishly decorated house in ancient Pompeii have yielded a Valentine's Day-worthy discovery: a fresco of Narcissus, the mythical hunter who fell in love with his own reflection.
According to Greek mythology, Narcissus - the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope - was a handsome fellow. But given that he wasted away after gazing at his reflection in a pool of water, his name is now synonymous with self-absorption.
Archaeologists found the fresco in an atrium of a house that made headlines in November 2018, after an erotic painting was found there. That painting depicted the Roman god Jupiter (disguised as a swan) as he seduced Leda, the legendary queen of Sparta.
The two frescos were found in separate rooms, but clearly whoever decorated the house was a connoisseur of sensual art, the Archeological Park of Pompeii suggested, as a painting of Priapus, a god of fertility, was also found on the walls.
The walls in the Leda room are also decorated with floral embellishments, griffins with cornucopia, winged cupids, still lifes and scenes of animals fighting each other, the Archeological Park of Pompeii reported. Unfortunately, the ceiling in this room collapsed when Vesuvius spewed out lapilli - that is, rock fragments - during its eruption. But restorers are working to reconstruct the house, the Archeological Park of Pompeii said.
Pompeii
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