from Bruce
Anecdotes
Baseball
• On November 5, 1988, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, opened its “Women in Baseball” display, much of which is devoted to the 1940s/1950s All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Among the women players present for the opening was catcher/outfielder Sarah Jane “Salty” Sands, who brought her 88-year-old father. For more than 30 years, he had boasted about his daughter’s accomplishments in professional baseball. Another player, outfielder Lois “Tommie” Barker even chartered a Greyhound bus to transport her supporters to the display opening.
• Nat King Cole was a baseball fan, and his son, Kelly, was a little jealous of the attention that Mr. King gave to baseball. After a tour that had kept Mr. King away from his family, he returned home, but left almost immediately with his wife to attend a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game. In the ninth inning, the game was tied, and LA fans were hoping for a Dodger hit to win the game, but Kelly simply wanted to see his father. Listening to the game on the radio, Kelly said, “Come on, anybody, and get a hit so my mommy and daddy can come home.”
• In 1944, Carolyn Morris, a pitcher for the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches team of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, saw some boys playing baseball in a sandlot. She asked if she could take a turn at batting. The boys were agreeable, and Ms. Morris promptly hit a home run. Properly impressed, the boys asked her, “Say, lady, have you got a brother who’d like to play ball with us?”
• Baseball manager Joe McCarthy came home discouraged after his Chicago Cubs were defeated. His wife saw his discouragement and said, “You still have me, Joe.” Mr. McCarthy smiled, then joked, “Yes, but in the ninth inning today I would have traded you for a sacrifice fly.”
• Olympic gold medalist Dot Richardson, a softball shortstop, was discovered when she was a 10-year-old. While she was playing catch with her brother, a man asked her if she wanted to play on his Little League team, telling her, “We’ll cut your hair short and call you Bob.”
Birth
• Dr. Rosalyn S. Yalow, a Noble Prize winner, worked at a Veterans Administration hospital which required pregnant women to stop working during the fifth month of pregnancy; however, Dr. Yalow was so valuable to the hospital that the administrators did not want her to stop working. What to do? Answer: Fudge a few documents. According to the official records of the hospital, Dr. Yalow gave birth during the fifth month of two pregnancies — each “five-months-in-the-womb” baby weighed a remarkable 8 pounds, 2 ounces.
• James McNeill Whistler was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on July 11, 1834. Lowell was then a new town that was devoted to the manufacture of cloth — it was not a classy town. However, Mr. Whistler had the perfect reply when a society lady asked, “Whatever possessed you to be born in a place like that?” He answered, “The explanation is quite simple — I wished to be near my mother.”
• Jerry Clower knows that his wife, Homerline, loves him. She had just given birth to a girl, and Mr. Clower, a sports fan, told her, “Honey, we got us a little cheerleader.” Homerline, who of course was very tired, looked at him and asked, “Honey, have you had any supper?”
Children
• While growing up in the 1930s, children’s book author Tomie dePaola had two grandmothers and one great-grandmother, all of whom were called Nana. To keep them straight, he referred to Nana Upstairs, because his great-grandmother spent all her time upstairs, and Nana Downstairs, because unless this grandmother was helping Nana Upstairs, she could be found downstairs. There was also Nana Fall River, who lived in Fall River, Massachusetts. Nana Upstairs was 94 years old, and she had to be tied to her chair so that she wouldn’t fall off the chair. Young Tomie wanted to be like Nana Upstairs, so when he visited her, he requested that he be tied to his chair, too. Nana Downstairs honored the request, but she always tied the knot in front so that he could untie himself when he wanted to wander around. While wandering around, Tomie looked for and often found candy in a sewing box. One day, no candy could be found, so he looked in the medicine cabinet, where he found what he thought was chocolate, which he and Nana Upstairs ate. Unfortunately, the “chocolate” was actually a laxative, and he and Nana Upstairs made messes. After that incident, Nana Downstairs always made sure that there was candy in the sewing box.
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. was first, and correct, with:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
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BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Silky & Smooth"
Album: REBEL ROUSERS (FREE DIGITAL) "THE NICE PRICE" COMPILATION
Artist: The Wandering Ones
Record Company: Boston, Rum Bar Records
Record Company Location: Massachusetts
Info: “This comp erases any doubts I had about 2021 being a momentous year for rock and roll!” - Scott Hudson, The Ledge
“Rum Bar Records artists performing, writing or otherwise making art inspired by alt-punk, heartland-punk, alt-country, heart-on-sleeve, out-of-the-garage rock n' roll. Tends to inhabit and play said music loudly in hole-in-the-wall dive bars. Rebel Rousers’ art is general enjoyed best with a warm beer and cold shot in a corner at a neighborhood watering hole.
Price: FREE for 23 tracks by Various Artists
Genre: Country, Pop, Rock, Various
Links:
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Michael Egan
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Current Events
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TV Special
“Roll Up Your Sleeves”
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and a slew of celebrities including Billy Crystal, Jennifer Hudson and Lin-Manuel Miranda are part of a special aimed at boosting COVID-19 vaccination rates.
“Roll Up Your Sleeves,” airing at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday on NBC, will feature Matthew McConaughey interviewing Dr. Anthony Fauci to help separate “fact from fiction” about the vaccines, the network said.
Biden will make a direct appeal in support of the effort, while Obama will be joined by basketball greats Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal to reinforce the role of vaccines in allowing Americans to get their lives back on track.
Former first lady Michelle Obama will team with Miranda, Faith Hill and Jennifer Lopez in support of shots during the hour-long special hosted by spouses Russell Wilson, the NFL quarterback, and actor-singer Ciara.
Other announced highlights include comedy from Billy Crystal and Wanda Sykes and appearances by TV doctors Eric Dane, Ryan Eggold, Ellen Pompeo, Jane Seymour and Ken Jeong, who’s also a real M.D. Also set to appear are Sterling K. Brown, Lana Condor, Jennifer Hudson, Dale Jarrett, Joe Jonas, Eva Longoria, Demi Lovato, Joel McHale, Kumail Nanjiani and Amanda Seyfried.
“Roll Up Your Sleeves”
Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year
Viola Davis
Viola Davis was named Woman of the Year on Friday by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
Davis is scheduled to be honored April 22 in an online ceremony that will include a roast, a discussion and a speech from Davis as she is presented with her ceremonial pudding pot. Because of the pandemic, the event will not include its traditional parade through the streets of Cambridge.
In March, Davis became the Oscars’ most nominated Black female actor ever when she landed her fourth nomination, this one for her lead role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
Davis won an Academy Award for her appearance in the 2016 film “Fences,” a role she originated in a 2001 Broadway revival that landed her a Tony Award. The Oscar win made her the first Black woman to win an Oscar, Emmy and Tony for acting.
She won her Emmy in 2015 for her role in “How To Get Away With Murder,” and she has another Tony win for her role in “King Hedley II.”
Viola Davis
Amazon's Version
'The Lord of the Rings'
Amazon Studios' The Lord of the Rings television show is going to cost all the gold in the Lonely Mountain.
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Amazon will spend roughly NZ$650 million — $465 million in U.S. dollars — for just the first season of the show.
That's far above previous reported estimates that pegged the fantasy drama as costing an already record-breaking $500 million for multiple seasons of the show.
The figures were released as part of as part of the New Zealand government’s Official Information Act and initially reported by the New Zealand outlet Stuff. The documents also confirmed the studio's plan to film potentially five seasons in New Zealand — as well as possible, as-yet-unannounced spinoff series.
By comparison, HBO's Game of Thrones cost roughly $100 million to produce per season, with its per-episode cost starting at around $6 million for season one and eventually rising to around $15 million per episode in season eight.
'The Lord of the Rings'
Chinese Survivors Barred From U.S.
Titanic
A film about the Titanic's little-known Chinese survivors, scheduled to premiere Friday in China, reveals the rampant anti-Asian attitudes of the time. And experts say that a century later, the survivors' story continues to be chillingly relevant.
Executive-produced by "Titanic" director James Cameron, the documentary, titled "The Six," revolves around the six passengers who were barred entry into the U.S. after the tragedy on April 15, 1912, and were smeared in the press because they survived.
The documentary, which hits theaters the day after the 109th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, delves into the experiences of passengers Lee Bing, Fang Lang, Chang Chip, Ling Hee, Ah Lam and Chung Foo.
While some press reports painted the six survivors as stowaways, they were actually professional mariners who were headed to their next jobs, Schwankert said.
While their presence was barely noted during the trip, their survival led to scrutiny from fellow passengers and subsequently the press, Schwankert said. Not only were they inaccurately described as stowaways; they were also accused of wedging themselves under the seats and disguising themselves in women's clothing, among other false stories, he said.
Titanic
Arbeit Macht Frei
White Nationalists
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R- is leading an 'America First Caucus' that wants to uphold 'Anglo-Saxon political traditions'
In an effort to "follow in President Trump's footsteps," a new America First Caucus led by far-right lawmakers is seeking to protect "Anglo-Saxon political traditions."
The new caucus is recruiting members, reports Punchbowl News, and is appealing to a "common respect for Anglo-Saxon political traditions," including pushing for infrastructure that "befits the progeny of European architecture." Punchbowl described the materials being distributed as "some of the most nakedly nativist rhetoric we've ever seen."
The new caucus is being led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.). Republican Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas) and Barry Moore (Ala.) are also reportedly going to join the group.
Gohmert told CBS News "it's not supposed to be about race at all" when asked about the caucus platform, and said he'd review the language. On the other hand, as if he weren't already scandal-ridden enough, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted that he's "proud" to join the caucus, saying critics were merely a part of the "America Last crowd."
White Nationalists
Pleads Guilty
1st Suspect
A member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group and heavy metal guitarist on Friday became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Jon Ryan Schaffer, the frontman of the band Iced Earth, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence, and the Justice Department will consider putting Schaffer in the federal witness security program, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said.
This signals that federal prosecutors see him as a valuable cooperator as they continue to investigate militia groups and other extremists involved in the insurrection on Jan. 6 as Congress was meeting to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral win.
Schaffer, a supporter of former President Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up), was accused of storming the Capitol and spraying police officers with bear spray. He pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors in federal court in Washington to two counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, and entering and remaining in a restricted building with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
Schaffer, of Columbus, Indiana, was wearing a tactical vest and baseball hat that read “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member” on Jan. 6, and acknowledged in his plea agreement that he is a “founding lifetime member” of the extremist group, prosecutors said.
1st Suspect
Insufficient Evidence?
Spain
A Spanish court has provoked outrage by acquitting a man of sexually abusing his 14-year-old stepdaughter despite the fact she gave birth to his child.
The Pamplona court accepted the defendant’s claim that the teenager had sat astride him while he was asleep on the sofa and engaged in penetrative sex. The man said he had no recollection of the supposed encounter as he had been very drunk that night.
Close to nine months later, in December 2018, the girl was admitted to hospital and gave birth to a child, something the accused claimed had been a complete surprise to him and the girl’s mother. Social services ordered a paternity test, which confirmed that the stepfather was the father of the baby.
The girl’s mother reported the father for alleged sexual abuse of her daughter, who initially said she had been raped in the street before changing her story to corroborate her stepfather’s claim that he had not been conscious when they had sex.
The judges, sitting in the same Pamplona court that in 2018 sparked massive feminist protests when acquitting the “wolf pack” gang rapists who were later found guilty on appeal, said that there was insufficient evidence to convict the stepfather.
Spain
Climbing Bolts On Petroglyphs
Utah
Federal public lands officials are investigating after climbing bolts damaged an ancient petroglyph site near Moab, Utah.
The line of bolts was inserted into the middle of a large rock-art image left by Indigenous people more than 1,000 years ago, climber Darrin Reay told the Colorado Springs Gazette. He saw the bolts last week on the outcrop known as Sunshine Wall north of Arches National Park.
Reay said he was was “horrified and angry." Reports of the damage online sparked a storm of outrage. The bolts have since been removed, but damage to the petroglyphs is forever, said Elizabeth Hora, archaeologist for the Utah State Historic Preservation Office.
She said it’s heartbreakingly common around the state where Ancestral Puebloans and Fremont people left their marks. And vandalism increased over the last year, as more people flocked to the outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic, she said. Still, “we firmly believe here in our office that shaming and blaming is not the way to make change.”
A Colorado Springs man, 36-year-old Richard Gilbert, took responsibility in an interview with the Gazette. He said he mistook the rock art for graffiti when he placed the bolts used by climbers to anchor their clips. When he realized what he had done, he said he reported to a ranger at Moab’s Bureau of Land Management field office.
Utah
To Become Queen
Indian Jumping Ants
Even among ants, royal status is mostly an inherited affair. But for Indian jumping ants, a shot at wearing the crown is worth losing a bit of your brain for — especially as you'll always be able to grow it back later.
Unlike other ant species, Indian jumping ants (Harpegnathos saltator) do not die with their queens. Rather, select females participate in monthlong antenna-boxing matches to decide who gets to be the new matriarch. The victorious female then expands her ovaries and shrinks her brain to three-quarters of its original size.
So far, so bizarre, but scientists have discovered another surreal twist to the storied lives of the forest-dwelling, black-eyed, forcep-jawed critters — If a female is deposed from her queenly throne, she will revert back to being a worker, shrinking her ovaries, regrowing her brain and resuming her previous duties.
Where they differ is what happens once the queen is dead. Most ant colonies slowly dwindle away after their leader dies, the workers die one by one and the royal offspring leave to become queens of their own colonies.
But in an Indian jumping ant colony, the death of the queen is cause for more than half of the colony's females to enter into a monthlong tournament of fierce dueling with their antennas. The workers capable of activating their ovaries while delivering and receiving constant antenna jabs to the face are then chosen to be the next queens, the researchers said. Once the ritual is over, the triumphant new queens release a pheromone to alert their fellow ants of their royal status.
Indian Jumping Ants
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