Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: Tom writes an open letter to Arizona's underwhelming independent voter (Tucson Weekly)
After throwing a tantrum and being allowed to vote in primaries, guess what percentage of independent voters partook of that unfair privilege in the big-time 2012 election? Why, it was 7.4 percent. Yes, one out of every 14 registered independent voters took the time to vote. Seven point four. Y'all are mavericks, all right.
Jordan Weissman: "Here's the Awful 146-Word 'Essay' That Earned an A- for a UNC Jock" (Slate)
The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has already been embroiled in a scandal for allowing its athletes to enroll in fake courses for easy credit. Now, the whole controversy has a rather potent visual symbol to go along with it: a 146-word, ungrammatical essay on Rosa Parks that earned an A-.
Rich Pelley: "Kermit the frog: Yoda, the Hulk and me" (Guardian)
The star of Muppets Most Wanted talks about green typecasting, his true feelings for Miss Piggy and why he loves playing snooker.
Marina Hyde: What would we do without celebrities and their 'teaching moments'? (Guardian)
Gwyneth Paltrow's lessons on divorce, Mel Gibson's homily on alcoholism and Ron Atkinson's discovery of racial discrimination - thank them all for sharing their enlightenment.
Dana Stevens: Why Teens Love Dystopias (Slate)
Brutal, highly factionalized worlds governed by remote authoritarian entities? That's basically high school.
Phil Hebblethwaite: How Johnny Cash became an even bigger star after his death (Guardian)
The label that dropped the Man in Black in 1986 is now polishing up recordings from the same era, with the blessing of his estate and Rick Rubin, the producer who resurrected his career.
Soren Bowie: "4 Ridiculous Sex Machines on Amazon (With Hilarious Reviews)" (Cracked)
Maybe you didn't know it, but Amazon.com offers sex machines.
Peter Bradshaw: 20 Feet from Stardom review - a shoutout to the backing singers (Guardian)
Why is Morgan Neville's Oscar-winning film the first to put those under-appreciated heroes of the music business centre-stage?
Christopher Bill: Pharrell Williams - Happy: Trombone Loop (YouTube)
"Christopher Bill, a 21-year-old student at the Purchase Conservatory of Music, not only performs Pharrell William's "Happy," but also demonstrates the magic of looping by computer. He goes from a simple beat to sounding like a full orchestra in no time at all! If you enjoy this, there's a ton of other Christopher Bill videos, including trombone lessons." - Neatorama
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David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
"Doug's Most Shared Facebook Post" Today
wrote:
, answered:
said:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
So - to let you know what's going on, the guestbook on bartcop.com is
still open for those who want to write something in memory of Bart.
I did an interview on Netroots Radio about Bart's passing
( www.stitcher.com/s?eid=32893545 )
The most active open discussion is on Bart's Facebook page.
( www.facebook.com/bartcop )
You can listen to Bart's theme song here
or here.
( www.bartcop.com/blizing-saddles.mp3 )
( youtu.be/MySGAaB0A9k )
We have opened up the radio show archives which are now free. Listen to
all you want.
( bartcop.com/members )
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Thanks, Marc!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Now, that one I felt. Wasn't too bad here, a little rocking, a little rolling, nothing cracked, nothing fell.
Calls Out Cable News' Financial Advice
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart called out cable news for booking an author who wants women to marry young - not just for dubious lifestyle segments, but on financial shows.
As Stewart noted, women continue to earn 77 cents for every dollar that men do. One solution? Fox Business News and CNBC both booked "Marry Smart" author Susan Patton, who advises college women to pursue their MRS.
"Here's what nobody is telling you," Patton said in one clip. "Find a husband on campus before you graduate. Yes, I went there."
"You went where?" said Stewart. "To the 19th century?"
She also turned up on a slew of shows that aren't financially oriented, to talk about things like fertility and why college women should marry now, not in a their mid-30s, when they will have to compete with younger women who are "dewy-eyed," "fresh" and "adorable."
Jon Stewart
The Ink Saving Font
Garamond Font
Politicians on both sides of the aisle like to talk about cutting costs in Washington. But few, if any, have ever come up with an idea as simple as the one recently proposed by 14-year-old student Suvir Mirchandani.
Change the font. Suvir's story was recently reported on CNN.com. The Pittsburgh-area student began his quest by trying to think of ways to save his school district a few bucks. After examining different handouts provided by teachers in different classes, he noticed that the fonts varied and some seemed to require a lot more ink than others.
Suvir, whom we hope got extra credit for his impressive work, discovered that the most commonly used letters on handouts seemed to be r, a, e, o and t. Armed with that information, he set to work looking at how different fonts treated each letter, CNN reports. Suvir found that of the fonts he tested, Garamond (named after Claude Garamond, the original designer of the typeface) would require the least amount of ink and could save his school district as much as $21,000 per year.
After tracking down what the government is estimated to spend on ink per year ($467 million), Suvir found that that Uncle Sam could save around $136 million per year by switching to Garamond exclusively. In addition, he found state governments that made the change could pull in $234 million in savings, according to CNN's report.
Suvir's entire article can be found here.
Garamond Font
Los Angeles Festival
8 Stradivarius Violins
Xiang "Angelo" Yu is holding the nearly 350-year-old Stradivarius violin casually by the neck and explaining why he'd like a little more time to make its acquaintance.
"It's always an adventure," says Yu, 25, who has played six or seven Stradivarius violins over his career. "I only have one or two days to get used to it. Feels like a wild horse - you never know what's coming."
The violins of Antonio Stradivari, arguably the most famous instruments ever created, have an almost mystical reputation for beauty and heavenly tone. This week eight of them have been brought together in the City of Angels.
Yu called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For the festival, he is playing the 1666 "Serdet," the earliest known existing Stradivarius violin.
8 Stradivarius Violins
Heath Ledger Scholarship Package
'Australians in Film'
The prize package for the 2014 Heath Ledger Scholarship has increased by $5000 to $25,000 while this year's judging panel for the award was named by organizers, Australians In Film, on Friday.
The judging panel for the sixth annual scholarship honoring Heath Ledger will include actors Colin Farrell, Miranda Otto and Wes Bentley, Australian directors Gregor Jordan and Robert Luketic, Australian-based casting director Ann Fay and vp feature casting at Walt Disney Studios, Randi Hiller.
For the 2014 Scholarship, the prize package increase includes $5,000 worth of visa and immigration services from Raynor & Associates Immigration Lawyers and two years of classes at Stella Adler Academy of Acting.
The winner of the primary scholarship, which was established in 2008 in memory of Australian actor Ledger, who served as an ambassador for the organization, will also receive a return flight to Los Angeles on Virgin Australia, a 10-day California trip from Visit California, a complimentary lifetime membership to StarNow and $10,000 cash. Two runners up will receive a round-trip ticket to Los Angeles courtesy of Virgin Australia.
'Australians in Film'
Rigging The System
Tech Worker Lawsuit
A U.S. judge on Friday rejected a request from Apple, Google and two other tech companies to avoid a trial in a class action lawsuit alleging a scheme to drive down wages.
Tech workers sued the companies alleging they conspired to avoid competing for each other's employees in order to avert a salary war. Trial is scheduled to begin in May.
Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe asked for a judgment in their favor without a trial, arguing that any no-hire agreements between the companies were reached independently, and were not part of an overarching conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif., however, rejected that argument.
The case began in 2011 when five software engineers sued Apple, Google, Adobe Systems Inc, Intel Corp and others, alleging a conspiracy to suppress pay by agreeing not to recruit or hire each other's employees.
In the order on Friday, Koh wrote that the companies shared confidential compensation information with each other, despite the fact they considered each other competitors. For instance, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini circulated information about competitors' bonus plans that he "lifted from Google."
Tech Worker Lawsuit
University of Iowa Denies Request to Film on Campus
'Girls'
It looks as if Hannah Horvath won't be strolling through the University of Iowa's campus after all.
The university denied HBO's request to film "Girls" on its campus.
According to Press-Citizen, UI spokesman Tom Moore confirmed that university officials were contacted by HBO and denied the network's request to film episodes on campus.
"While we are pleased that the Iowa Writers' Workshop is receiving national attention and that our graduate is doing well in her career, our general practice is to not allow filming, due to potential disruption to campus," Moore said in a prepared statement.
'Girls'
Not The Brightest, Far From The Best
Secret Service
A Pennsylvania woman who protested at the White House will get an apology and a family trip to Washington from the U.S. Secret Service to settle a lawsuit that accused the officers of effectively turning her away.
Under the settlement approved by a judge on Thursday, two Secret Service officers agreed to write letters of apology to the woman, former police officer Debra Hartley.
The Secret Service agreed to provide Hartley, her lawyer, her daughter and two grandchildren a 45-minute meeting with its director, according to the U.S. District Court settlement.
The agency also will reimburse Hartley for mileage from her home to Washington, pay for two hotel rooms for one night, including parking, and provide a government-rate per diem for up to three days. The settlement did not specify the cost.
A resident of Effort, Pennsylvania, Hartley walked 225 miles in protest at pay inequality for women in law enforcement, her complaint said.
Secret Service
Reverses Course On Snooping
Microsoft
A week after saying it was justified in snooping through a blogger's Hotmail account to track down a leaker of company software, Microsoft has changed course, saying it will refer such matters to law enforcement starting immediately.
The reversal, explained by general counsel Brad Smith in a blog post Friday, follows last week's revelation that it searched through emails and instant messages of a blogger who Microsoft believed had received proprietary code illegally.
The search, in September 2012, led to Alex Kibkalo, a Russian native who worked for Microsoft as a software architect in Lebanon. Microsoft turned over the case to the FBI in July 2013.
Smith now says the company "will not inspect a customer's private content ourselves" and will refer the matter to law enforcement if it believes its services are being used to facilitate theft of Microsoft property.
Microsoft
Injunction Eased
Vera Scroggins
A judge on Friday loosened an injunction restricting the movements of a Pennsylvania anti-fracking activist to allow her access to her local hospital, grocery and other places declared off-limits because they sat atop land leased for gas extraction.
Until Judge Kenneth Seamans eased the terms of the injunction, Vera Scroggins, 63, of Brackney, Pennsylvania was banned from 40 percent of the land in Susquehanna County, where she lives and which is leased by Texas-based Cabot Oil & Gas Co for gas extraction.
Seamans, the sole judge in Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas in Montrose, Pennsylvania, issued a new injunction on Friday barring Scroggins from the active gas extraction operations of the company and the access roads that serve them.
The judge ruled she must not climb on the company's equipment and facilities when she shoots her anti-fracking videos, which she posts on YouTube, and conducts anti-fracking tours of the area, which she has done for actress Susan Sarandon, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon.
"This is a big victory for Vera Scroggins," said Scott Michelman, a lawyer with the Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington, D.C., who represents the activist. "The court recognized it was inappropriate to severely restrict an advocate's daily activities."
Vera Scroggins
Austrian Art Trove
Cornelius Gurlitt
A haul of Monets, Picassos and Renoirs found last month in a house in Austria belonging to Cornelius Gurlitt could be as valuable as the trove German authorities seized from his home in Munich two years ago, a spokesman for the reclusive collector said Thursday.
German magazine Focus, which first reported the case, said the Munich find could be worth 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion). The 1,400 works included paintings by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall, some of which authorities believe may have been looted from Jewish owners by the Nazis.
"We can't say at this stage which part of the collection is more valuable," Gurlitt's spokesman Stephan Holzinger told The Associated Press, but added that the Focus estimate was "completely exaggerated."
A search of the dilapidated property in Salzburg, Austria, last month initially turned up 60 items. But a second search revealed a further 178 paintings, drawings and objects that have since been taken to a safe location for experts to restore and catalog, said Holzinger.
Cornelius Gurlitt
Populations Soar
Bald Eagles
When Mitchell Byrd took over the annual bald-eagle survey for the state of Virginia, disco was king, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was just over 800 and France still employed the guillotine to carry out capital punishment. Byrd is now over 85, and the Bee Gees have long since gone the way of the leisure suit. But after all of these years, Mitchell's commitment to bald eagles is staying alive. With the beginning of the 2014 flight season in early March, Byrd began the 38th year of his involvement in the aerial survey.
In the four decades that he has worked on the aerial survey of Virginia's Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, Byrd has witnessed the U.S. national bird's recovery from around 30 nesting pairs to a population that may be nearing a saturation point. Eagles were just about eliminated from the bay before the insecticide DDT was banned in 1972, and Byrd began logging the bird's comeback in the region in 1977.
Since that time, biologists have learned a lot about eagles. At the Center for Conservation Biology, new technology has helped us understand the lives and movements of individual eagles at a level that was just about unimaginable 38 years ago. We've been able to deploy nest cameras to watch the birds' chick-raising habits and their family life. Technology has advanced to the point that we can track movements of individual eagles. To do so, we fit solar-powered transmitters on the birds' backs.
Since the bald eagle comeback has proven such a success in Virginia's stretch of the Chesapeake, we've been able to study these birds as a population, not just as individuals. Though individual eagles hold a great deal of interest, they are even more fascinating when you consider the raptors as a community. We've seen more than one instance of bald eagles nesting in the middle of a great blue heron rookery. Why? We're not really sure. And we don't suggest the bald eagle as a role model for human behavior: Our studies document instances of "deadbeat dads" and "cheating wives" among the populations of the United States' national bird.
Bald Eagles
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