Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Hey, sickos! Real men marry women! (sfgate.com)
Some days it's just so very difficult to choose. The toxic tales come so fast, slippery and weird, you don't know which way to flip your personal drunkmonkey of wary perspective, just how hard you're supposed to laugh and sigh before you strip naked and run screaming into the woods.
Paul Krugman: Health Reform Myths (nytimes.com)
Well-informed people are buying into three big myths about Obamacare. The plan may not be perfect, but it is reasonable and responsible.
Froma Harrop: Coming Between You and Your Doctor (creators.com)
The lights must dim around Google's data-storage centers every time someone does a search for "government bureaucrat coming between you and your doctor." Foes of the Democrats' health-reform proposals have been chanting this on the hour for a year - with a surge after Democrats put money for "comparative effectiveness research" in the stimulus bill.
Debbie Williams: "Letter to the Editor: 'Finest health-care system in the world'' a recipe for financial ruin" (athensnews.com)
I just witnessed some of the finest health care the world has to offer. The question now becomes how will we pay for it? We each have our own health-insurance coverage. His has a $5,000 deductible (and he contributes nearly $90 a week toward the premium), while mine has a $2,500 deductible. So we are already on the hook for close to $5,000, not counting the paltry amount we have already paid toward the deductible, plus 20 percent of covered charges after that, depending on what his actual coverage is, for a total bill of how much?
Connie Schultz: Sarah Palin's Novel Life (creators.com)
The fantastical adventures in Palin World are seemingly endless.
Froma Harrop: The Volcker Rule: Beware Gremlins in Guccis (creators.com)
A big chunk of rock went missing from Mount Rushmore when Paul Volcker broke away in 2008 to stand stony-faced behind candidate Barack Obama. The former Federal Reserve chairman served as a reassuring presence from an older, more orderly financial era that had been sacrificed on the altar of deregulation. Volcker has since written the "Volcker rule," a formula for preventing another near-collapse of our financial system and accompanying government bailout.
MARK BENJAMIN: Waterboarding for dummies (salon.com)
Internal CIA documents reveal a meticulous protocol that was far more brutal than Dick Cheney's "dunk in the water"
Jason Epstein: "Publishing: The Revolutionary Future" (nybooks.com)
The transition within the book publishing industry from physical inventory stored in a warehouse and trucked to retailers to digital files stored in cyberspace and delivered almost anywhere on earth as quickly and cheaply as e-mail is now underway and irreversible.
"Smile" by Raina Telgemeier: A review by Chris Bolton
Raina Telgemeier's 'Smile' is a graphic novel for kids based on Telgemeier's real experiences in sixth grade when an accident knocked out one of her front teeth and pushed the other all the way into her gums. If that makes the book sound horrifying, you only have part of the picture.
20 QUESTIONS: Chang-Rae Lee (popmatters.com)
The award-winning author of 'The Surrendered' talks about improvisation, the rigor of limitation, and sometimes having to take a risk.
Susan Estrich: And the Winner Is... (creators.com)
Like most Americans, I haven't seen "The Hurt Locker," but I was still rooting for Kathryn Bigelow to claim the Best Director statue. This is, after all, 2010 - a little late in the day for "first women," particularly in an industry that depends on women as much as men to buy tickets. If you believe the media accounts, another glass ceiling has now been broken. Were it only so simple.
Julia Keller: Ability to convey thought process can make or break a performance (Chicago Tribune)
She could chew the scenery with the best of them - munch the drapes, snack on the sofa, nibble the ottoman. But what Joan Crawford couldn't do, according to F. Scott Fitzgerald, was think.
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Moore of the same, or not?' Edition
Michael Moore wants President Obama to replace Chief-of-Staff, Rahm Emanual, with... Michael Moore... Moore has penned an open letter to 'The Man' writing...
"Dear President Obama, I understand you may be looking to replace Rahm Emanuel as your chief of staff. I would like to humbly offer myself, yours truly, as his replacement..." Welcome to MichaelMoore.com.
That begs the question...
How well do think Michael Moore would do as Obama's Chief-of-Staff?
A.) Better than Rahm...
B.) Worse than Rahm...
C.) It wouldn't make a whit of difference who it is, we're doomed - doomed I say, any way ya cut the cards, dagnabbit!
Send your response to
replied:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and seasonal.
Vaclav Havel Award
Dalai Lama
A documentary by two Tibetan filmmakers tracing a year in the life of the Dalai Lama has won the Vaclav Havel award for its contribution to the protection of human rights.
"The Sun Behind the Clouds" won the award at the 12th annual One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival on Friday.
Directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam will receive the prize from the former Czech president in Prague on Thursday.
The documentary follows the spiritual leader, whom Beijing accuses of seeking Tibetan independence from Chinese rule.
Dalai Lama
"Happy Birthday" Show
Stephen Sondheim
The leading lights of U.S. musical theater will sing "Happy Birthday" to the great Broadway composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim on his 80th birthday in two New York Philharmonic concerts next week.
The concerts, on March 15 and March 16, will include songs and orchestral pieces from Sondheim musical theater favorites like "Company," "Follies," "A Little Night Music," "Sweeney Todd," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Into The Woods," and "Sunday in the Park with George," in addition to rarely heard material.
Tony Award winner Sondheim is considered by many to be the greatest Broadway composer/lyricist of his time. In addition to writing the music and lyrics for plays, he also co-composed the music for the film "Reds" in 1981 and wrote songs for the movie "Dick Tracy" in 1990.
Actor David Hyde Pierce will host the celebration, which will include such stars of the stage as Victoria Clark, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters.
Stephen Sondheim
Rock Hall Entry
The Stooges
Iggy Pop was starting to feel like the Susan Lucci of rock 'n' roll.
Just as the veteran soap actress believed she might never win a Daytime Emmy, the godfather of punk was certain his groundbreaking band The Stooges wouldn't ever earn a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Well, as it turns out, Lucci got her gold statue on the 19th try. And Iggy and the boys finally are getting their shot to search and destroy at Monday's induction ceremony, on their eighth attempt.
"At least I won't be nominated anymore," Pop said, laughing.
The Stooges
Thanks Sean Penn
Hugo Chavez
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is grateful that actor Sean Penn has defended him against his critics within the U.S. media.
In an appearance on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week, Penn slammed Chavez critics who refer to the socialist leader as a dictator.
The Oscar-winning celebrity noted that Chavez has won repeated elections and suggested that media critics who call him a dictator should be jailed.
Chavez welcomed Penn's comments Wednesday and thanked the actor for standing up to his detractors.
Hugo Chavez
Jumps To NBC News
Kate Snow
ABC News reporter and "Good Morning America" weekend host Kate Snow is jumping to NBC News.
NBC announced Friday that Snow will begin work as a "Dateline NBC" correspondent later this spring. Snow has been with ABC since 2003 and one of its weekend morning anchors since the show launched in 2004. She covered Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, and was one of ABC's reporters in Haiti after the earthquake.
Snow was a contender for the newsreader job on weekday "Good Morning America," but that role went to Juju Chang. ABC said Chang and Elizabeth Vargas will fill in for Snow this weekend.
Kate Snow
Former Couple Skipping Hall Induction
ABBA
Don't hold your breath for a reunion performance by ABBA at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony next Monday.
Two of the members of the Swedish pop quartet are skipping the event, and country singer Faith Hill is slated to sing some ABBA songs instead.
Benny Andersson will attend the black-tie bash at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel with ex-wife Frida (Anni-Frid Lyngstad), while former couple Agnetha Faltskog, who doesn't fly, and his songwriting partner Bjorn Ulvaeus will be absent.
ABBA, which broke up in 1982 after ruling the world's pop charts for almost a decade with hits like "Mamma Mia" and "Dancing Queen," will be inducted by surviving Bee Gees Barry and Robin Gibb.
ABBA
Celebrates 10 Years
Blue Collar Comedy
You'd think after 10 years, comedians Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy would be tired of each other's jokes.
They started Blue Collar Comedy in 2000 with comedian Ron White, hitting the road for what was supposed to be a four- month tour. The tour worked so well and there was such a demand to see it that four months turned into three and a half years, three movies, more touring and a TV show. The franchise has sold more than 9.5 million DVDs since its debut in 2003.
"I don't think we had any idea how successful it was going to be," said Engvall. "Jeff had so many fans, and I had started to get a big following with the 'Here's Your Sign' stuff, but there were Blue Collar dolls for God's sake. I mean that's weird on a lot of levels."
Now they're celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Blue Collar Comedy with a special on CMT on Saturday. In between taping promos, Foxworthy, Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy cracked each other up with impromptu stories and antics you'd expect to see during the finale of a Blue Collar Comedy show. Their obvious friendship is a key factor in their success.
Blue Collar Comedy
Shutting Zemeckis-Run Motion-Capture Studio
Disney
To further cut costs at its movie studio, The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it will shut a San Francisco-area facility used to capture the performance of Jim Carrey for his digitally animated character, Scrooge, in "A Christmas Carol."
The closure of the facility in Marin County, north of San Francisco, will be completed by January and result in the loss of 450 jobs.
The facility was built by ImageMovers Digital, a company co-founded by "A Christmas Carol" director Robert Zemeckis and partially owned by Disney. Motion-capture technology in that facility was used to make the movie; Carrey wore sensors as he acted out scenes, and the data were used to recreate his character on the screen.
Before it closes, the complex will continue to be used by Zemeckis and his team to complete production of "Mars Needs Moms!," a 3-D movie set for release in March 2011.
Disney
Appeal Filed
Phil Specter
Lawyers for legendary music producer Phil Spector have asked an appellate court to throw out his second-degree murder conviction on grounds of judicial error and prosecutorial misconduct.
In an extremely detailed 148-page brief filed Wednesday, the attorneys cited multiple reasons they believe Spector was denied his right to a fair trial. They asked the California Second District Court of Appeal to reverse the jury verdict and order a new trial.
In the appeal, attorney Dennis Riordan outlined errors he said were committed by Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler in both trials, calling one of the judge's actions "startling."
Riordan, a highly regarded San Francisco appellate lawyer, was joined by his partner, Donald M. Horgan and well known San Diego attorney Charles Sevilla in filing the appeal.
Phil Specter
OKs TV Rules Opposed By Cable
U.S. Court of Appeals
A federal court has upheld regulations that require cable TV companies to make channels they own available to satellite TV providers and other rivals on equal terms.
Friday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia leaves in place the Federal Communications Commission "program access" rules. The ruling marks a setback for Cablevision Systems Corp. and Comcast Corp., the cable companies that had challenged the rules in court.
Comcast has nonetheless pledged to extend those rules to the local NBC and Telemundo stations it would control as part of its proposed combination with NBC Universal. Comcast is seeking FCC and Justice Department approval to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co.
U.S. Court of Appeals
"It Rots From The Head"
Ratzinger
Germany's sex abuse scandal has now reached Pope Benedict XVI: His former archdiocese acknowledged it transferred a suspected pedophile priest while Benedict was in charge and criticism is mounting over a 2001 Vatican directive he penned instructing bishops to keep abuse cases secret.
The revelations have put the spotlight on Benedict's handling of abuse claims both when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977-1982 and then the prefect of the Vatican office that deals with such crimes - a position he held until his 2005 election as pope.
The Munich archdiocese admitted that it had allowed a priest suspected of having abused a child to return to pastoral work in the 1980s, while Benedict was archbishop. It stressed that the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger didn't know about the transfer and that it had been decided by a lower-ranking official.
The pope, meanwhile, continues to be under fire for a 2001 Vatican letter he sent to all bishops advising them that all cases of sexual abuse of minors must be forwarded to his then-office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and that the cases were to be subject to pontifical secret.
Ratzinger
Bread Spiked With LSD
CIA Experiment
In 1951, a quiet, picturesque village in southern France was suddenly and mysteriously struck down with mass insanity and hallucinations. At least five people died, dozens were interned in asylums and hundreds afflicted.
For decades it was assumed that the local bread had been unwittingly poisoned with a psychedelic mould. Now, however, an American investigative journalist has uncovered evidence suggesting the CIA peppered local food with the hallucinogenic drug LSD as part of a mind control experiment at the height of the Cold War.
The mystery of Le Pain Maudit (Cursed Bread) still haunts the inhabitants of Pont-Saint-Esprit, in the Gard, southeast France.
On August 16, 1951, the inhabitants were suddenly racked with frightful hallucinations of terrifying beasts and fire.
CIA Experiment
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
