from Bruce
Anecdotes
Problem-Solving
• When novelist Walter Tevis (author of The Hustler, The Color of Money, and The Man Who Fell to Earth) was in the United States Navy, the sailors would wash their jeans by tying them to a rope, then dragging them behind the moving ship.
Public Speaking
• Young-people’s author Walter Dean Myers once spoke at a school to some very young girls, one of whom said to him, “You’re not that much!” At first, he was shocked, but then he realized exactly what she meant. In fact, he had felt the same when he was young and had seen the poet Langston Hughes being interviewed in Harlem. She meant that he was “a real person,” Mr. Myers says. “If I can give kids an idea that I’m an ordinary person who is doing something that they like a lot, that’s a wonderful thing.” In fact, Mr. Myers is a real person. When he was young, his stepfather gave him a present: a manual typewriter. For a while, Mr. Myers typed nothing except “I hate this typewriter” on it, but then he started using it to write stories and poems.
• Art Petacque and Hugh Hough won the Pulitzer Prize in 1974 for their coverage of the Valerie Percy murder case. They were a good team. Mr. Petacque had great sources, although no one ever saw him write anything. Mr. Hough lacked sources, but he knew how to write well. Mr. Petacque would come into the newspaper and talk to Mr. Hough, who would type while saying things such as “You’re kidding!” When they won the Pulitzer Prize, Mr. Hough was playing golf. Without his partner, Mr. Petacque walked into the newspaper, received a standing ovation, and then stood on a desk, bowed to everybody, and said, “I only wish Hugh Hough was here to tell you how happy I feel.”
• While on a lecture tour, Mark Twain got a shave in a local barber shop. The barber knew that he was shaving a stranger, but he didn’t recognize Mr. Twain, so he said, “You’ve come into town at the right time. Mark Twain is lecturing tonight.” When Mr. Twain said that he was planning to attend the lecture, the barber asked if he had bought his ticket yet. Hearing that he had not, the barber said that he would have to stand, as most of the tickets were already sold. Mr. Twain sighed, then said, “That’s my luck. Whenever that fellow gives a lecture, I always have to stand.”
• Food writer Peg Bracken was lecturing about cooking with onions (and the associated tears) before a Michigan audience when a woman seated in the back called to her, “You shut your mouth.” This was unsettling — until she realized that the woman was merely trying to tell her that if she wanted to chop onions without her eyes tearing up, the solution was to chop the onions while keeping her mouth tightly closed.
• Harold Ross, editor of The New Yorker, disliked speaking in public. Once he was given a surprise award and had to make an impromptu speech. He rose to his feet, faced the audience, feebly uttered, “Je-sus,” then sat down. Frank Sullivan, who was seated next to him, said, “Your speech was too long, Ross. I got bored after the first syllable.”
• In 1985, American novelist Don DeLillo won the National Book Award for his novel White Noise. His acceptance speech was brief: He simply stood up and said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here tonight, but I thank you all for coming.”
Religion
• Reverend Merrifield was the grandfather of Philip Pullman, who wrote the His Dark Materials trilogy. He told young Philip about a friend of his, named Fred Austin, with whom he had served in World War I. Mr. Austin went to war leaving an infant daughter behind. When he returned home, his daughter was a few years older, and she did not recognize this stranger who had entered her life, and so she ran from him. Eventually, of course, she learned that this man, her father, loved her and so she no longer ran from him. Mr. Pullman wrote much later, “When Grandpa told that story, he said that God would appear to us like that; at first we’d be alarmed and frightened by him, but eventually we’d come to trust his love.” Mr. Pullman loves the classics, and he found a similar story to that of Mr. Austin in an ancient Greek epic poem: Homer’s Iliad. In Book 6, Hector returns home to Troy, where he sees his wife and son. His son is frightened by Hector’s helmet, but when Hector removes his helmet, his son is no longer frightened. Mr. Pullman grew up to become an atheist, and he says, “Between my childhood and now, I’ve lost sight of God, but Hector the Trojan prince and Fred Austin the Devonshire soldier are still brightly alive to me, and so is Grandpa.”
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "It’s Raining in Grimsby"
Album: STOP IT, YOU’RE KILLING ME
Artist: Donal O Connor
Artist Location: Roscommon, Ireland
Record Company: Aldora Britain Records
Record Company Location: Rothley, UK
Info:
“Two things to know about Donal O Connor:
“Having spent his working life as an Environmental Health Officer he has recently retired and lives with his wife in the shadows of the Curlew mountains in North Roscommon.
“Despite working full-time, he made space over the years to record three albums of original songs, tour the Folk Clubs of the UK & Germany and play USA, NZ, Oz [Australia], and Spain.”
“Once again, Aldora Britain Records travels all around the world to present you with the best new releases in a variety of different styles and genres. There are a few golden oldies in there too! A bit of everything, something for everyone.”
“Aldora Britain Records is an e-zine and record label that promotes the music and work of authentic independent or underground artists from all around the world. Originally established in 2013, they revamped themselves in 2018 with a brand-new approach. Their first weekly compilation, aptly titled THE SECOND COMING, was released in late 2019. They now also release original singles, EPs and charity projects.”
Price: £0.50 for 22-track album by various artists
Genre: Folk. Various.
Links:
STOP IT, YOU’RE KILLING ME
Donal O Connor on Bandcamp
Aldora Britain Records on Bandcamp
Aldora Britain Records on YouTube
Other Links:
Bruce’s Music Recommendations: FREE pdfs
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
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Melanie's latest grift
Some great sarcasm and chuckles here:
... you will hand over your fifty bucks, and you will take what they give you. And if you didn't get the one you had your little heart set on, you will fork over another fifty, and cross your fingers. Or as Melania puts it, "Collectors will enjoy an element of surprise, as the artwork of each NFT is revealed after purchase. Of course, collectors can make multiple purchases to own the entire POTUS TRUMP Collection."
So it's like the world's most expensive Happy Meal. Minus the Happy Meal. And the toy.
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Raccoon trilling outside the window.
GLAAD Annual Survey
LGBTQ Characters
LGBTQ representation on scripted TV series has grown along with the footprint of streaming services, according to an annual study by the advocacy group GLAAD.
“TV is leading entertainment in telling LGBTQ stories,” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said in the “Where We Are on TV” report on the 2021-22 season that was released Thursday.
In recognition of the increased number and profile of streaming services, the study added five relative newcomers to the trio — Amazon, Hulu and Netflix — included in previous GLAAD diversity tallies.
Netflix, which has consistently topped its streaming competitors in LGBTQ inclusivity, according to GLAAD, ranked first again, with 155 regularly seen or recurring characters on its original comedy and drama series.
By comparison, prime-time series on the ABC, CBS, CW, Fox and NBC networks include a combined 141 LGBTQ characters this season, according to the study.
LGBTQ Characters
Winery Sold
Chateau Miraval
Call it the War of the Rosés: Brad Pitt is suing ex-wife Angelina Jolie over what he says was the unauthorized sale of her stake in Chateau Miraval, the French wine estate that he says is now successful because of his "sweat equity" and his solo financial investments.
A civil case filed Thursday in Los Angeles says Jolie used legal means to skirt their understood contractual terms and sold to an "aggressive third-party competitor" — a conglomerate owned by Russian vodka billionaire Yuri Shefler — that Pitt says is trying to take over his Miraval rosé business.
Pitt is seeking a jury trial with a goal of undoing Jolie's sale to Shefler's subsidiary company Tenute del Mondo.
Despite discussions in recent years around a full or partial buyout by Pitt of Jolie's shares in the company that owns and runs Chateau Miraval, the "Maleficent" actor allegedly pulled out of talks with her ex last year and then completed a sale of her shares without getting his approval, breaking an understanding between them.
By 2013, the document says, in the midst of preliminary renovations, Jolie had stopped contributing altogether. Though Pitt's financial investment rose to about 70% of the total, he allowed a 50-50 split in shares of the controlling company.
Chateau Miraval
“Portrait of a Lady”
Peter Paul Rubens
Peter Paul Rubens’ 17th century masterpiece “Portrait of a Lady” is set to go up for auction in Poland next month, the DESA Unicum auction house said Thursday.
The Flemish master’s oil-on-canvas portrait of a dark-haired woman in a rich black velvet dress has an estimated value of 18 million to 24 million zlotys ($4.5 million- $6 million).
The painting, currently owned by a British citizen, will be auctioned in Warsaw on March 17. It is expected to be one of the largest art sales ever to take place in Central or Eastern Europe, according to DESA Unicum.
Experts say the work, painted by Rubens around 1620-25, with involvement from his Antwerp workshop, could be a likeness of the painter’s first wife, Isabella Brant, or of a member of the Duarte family of jewelers, who were Rubens’ neighbors. The model could also possibly have come from the Spanish royal court.
In the past the painting has belonged, among others, to 17th century British painter Sir Peter Lely. It was last shown in public in 1965.
Peter Paul Rubens
Opal To Auction
“Americus Australis”
Nick Cline gets calls about all kinds of items people want to sell through the Anchorage auction house where he works. But he was caught off-guard by a call he got last fall from a man saying he had “one of the largest opals in the world.”
According to the auction house, the opal, dubbed the “Americus Australis,” weighs more than 11,800 carats and is one of the largest gem-quality opals in existence. It also has a long history.
Most recently, it was kept in a linen closet in a home in Big Lake, north of Anchorage, by Fred von Brandt, who mines for gold in Alaska and whose family has deep roots in the gem and rock business.
The opal is larger than a brick and is broken into two pieces, which von Brandt said was a practice used decades ago to prove gem quality.
Von Brandt said the stone has been in his family since the late 1950s, when his grandfather bought it from an Australian opal dealer named John Altmann.
“Americus Australis”
Mar-a-Lago
National Archives
Classified information was found in the 15 boxes of White House records that were stored at (the) former President Donald Trump ’s Mar-a-Lago residence, the National Archives and Records Administration said Friday in a letter that confirmed the matter has been sent to the Justice Department.
The letter from the agency follows numerous reports around Trump the unindicted conspirator’s handling of sensitive and even classified information during his time as president and after he left the White House. The revelation could also interest federal investigators responsible for policing the handling of government secrets, though the Justice Department and FBI have not indicated they will pursue.
Federal law bars the removal of classified documents to unauthorized locations, though it is possible that Trump the loser could try to argue that, as president, he was the ultimate declassification authority.
Trump The grifter recently denied reports about his administration’s tenuous relationship with the National Archives and his lawyers said that “they are continuing to search for additional presidential records that belong to the National Archives.”
The letter from the archivists in response to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which is investigating, also details how certain social media records were not captured and preserved by the Trump corrupt administration. And it also says that the agency learned that White House staff frequently conducted official business using unofficial messaging accounts and personal phones.
National Archives
Converted To Universal Blood Type
Donor Lungs
Patients can wait a long time for potentially life-saving lung transplants, since the need to find close matches complicates the process. One of the characteristics that need to be matched is patient and donor blood type.
Now new research shows that the blood type of some donated lungs could be altered before transplant, which means there is a bigger pool of universal donor lungs and less time on the waiting list for those in need.
The process works via a pair of enzymes – specifically, FpGalNAc deacetylase and FpGalactosaminidase – that in combination remove the antigens that distinguish red blood cells, converting blood type A lungs into universal type O.
The difficulty of finding matches means not just longer waiting times but also donated lungs going to waste.
Under lab conditions, scientists treated eight blood type A lungs with the enzyme combination, reporting that 97 percent of blood type A antigens were removed within four hours. What's more, the conversion was achieved without any observable toxicity.
The team estimates that the procedure could eventually increase the number of blood group O donor lungs from the current 55 percent to more than 80 percent in the future.
Donor Lungs
Asteroid With Three Moons
130 Elektra
An asteroid discovered in the 19th century has just been identified as the most crowded we've ever found.
It's called 130 Elektra, or just Elektra for short, and astronomers have just discovered that it has not one, nor two, but three smaller satellite companions, or moons. That not only makes it the most numerous asteroid system known to date, but demonstrates how we might find other faint, hard-to-see asteroid moons in the future.
"Elektra is the first quadruple system ever detected," wrote a team of astronomers led by Anthony Berdeu of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand in their paper.
It's not unheard of for asteroids to have smaller companions, although it is pretty rare to spot them. Of the over 1,100,000 asteroids we've discovered, over 150 are known to have at least one moon.
Elektra, measuring around 260 kilometers (160 miles) across, was first discovered in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 1873, but its first moon, named S/2003 (130) 1, wasn't discovered until 2003 – 130 years later. Its second moon, S/2014 (130) 1, was discovered in 2014.
130 Elektra
Self-Amputate Tails
Lizards
The secret structures behind lizards’ ability to either keep their tails or drop them and run have been uncovered in a new study. The research found that tiny mushroom-shaped structures were behind the magic trick, an insight that could inform some pretty nifty tech for the future.
The fascinating thing about lizard tails is that while they can be dropped at any moment, they are very firmly attached the rest of the time. Dropping a loosely connected limb wouldn’t be all that impressive, but how can such a strong bond break in an instant?
Using microscopy, researchers on a new paper published in the journal Science decided to find out. They took a closer look at the surfaces of broken tails along the “fracture plane”. They found that where each muscle breaks, there is a densely-packed layer of mushroom-shaped micropillars topped with a peppering of nanopores.
After filming a tail breakage using a high-speed camera and slowing down the footage, they realized that the bending of the tail plays a crucial role in kicking off the tail drop. As the tail bends, a crack first appears on the bent side – and after that, it's swiftly tail go bye-bye.
The defense mechanism of self-amputating a limb (or sometimes your entire body, as in the case of some sea slugs) is known as autotomy. The physiological magic trick benefits lizards in that if they’re being hunted, they can ditch their tails which act as a distraction to predators because they can wiggle for some time after removal.
Lizards
Elusive Endangered Animal
Fisher
A critter the size of a cat with a long, bushy tail, short legs and feet that can turn nearly backwards left behind footprints for researchers to track down, Yosemite park rangers said.
Fishers roam Yosemite, but they’re almost never seen. But researchers recently found fisher tracks in the snow while collecting data.
“Sometimes, tracks are the only way to ‘see’ a fisher; they are usually silent, elusive mammals, and a sighting is a rare treat for most people,” park rangers said Feb. 15 on Facebook. “When snow records the impressions made by wildlife tracks, it is like a time-lapse photograph.”
The tracks show researchers how the fisher traveled through the snow. The animal used its typical “loping gate” to get across.
The fisher also leaves behind a scent that humans couldn’t notice. The critter has tiny scent glands on the bottom of its paw pads that are used for mating.
Fisher
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