from Bruce
Anecdotes
Food
• In Trinidad, ballet dancer Alexandra Danilova decided to try passion fruit, something she had never eaten before, and so she asked her friend and fellow ballet dancer Alicia Markova to buy her some in the marketplace. Unfortunately, once she had the passion fruit, she didn’t know how to eat it. Ms. Markova passed on the advice she had received from the vendor: “You know what the man told me? He said to take off all your clothes, get into a nice warm bath, and eat the fruit.” Ms. Danilova followed the advice, which was good because she got the juice all over herself. However, she had been expecting it to be good advice for a different reason.
• World-famous choreographer Leonide Massine was also famous for his appetite. Once, he stayed at a hotel where the meals were included with the price of the rooms. Unfortunately, once the proprietors discovered how much Mr. Massine ate, they were not happy. One of the proprietors even said to ballerina Alexandra Danilova about Mr. Massine, “Mademoiselle, ce n’est pas possible — il mange tout — il gorge tout le menu.” (“Mademoiselle, it is not possible. He eats everything; he stuffs himself on the whole menu.”) Eventually, the proprietors made Mr. Massine pay extra.
• When Molly Ringwald’s oldest daughter entered kindergarten, all of the children were asked on their first day of school what was their favorite food. Half of the children answered “sushi” and one child answered “seaweed,” and Molly was afraid that she and her husband would be branded “the world’s worst parents” because their daughter, a picky eater, loved to eat something that Molly describes as “cheese-dusted packaged air.” Fortunately, one girl proudly answered that her favorite food was “Sugar!” Molly asks, “Guess who’s coming over for a playdate?”
• While touring the United States in a Volkswagon bus, Merce Cunningham and his dancers frequently had picnics. While heading toward one picnic spot, the troupe ran into problems when a large bottle of fermented passion-fruit juice popped its cork and geysered into the air. The troupe cleaned the floor of the bus — and the bottle geysered again. On one picnic, the troupe ate on the grass in front of a Howard Johnson’s. After the picnic, the troupe went inside to use the bathrooms, then drove away.
• At the Grand Hotel in Venice, Robert Benchley discovered that his room was next to the kitchen, and by listening he could hear what the cooks said about the various dishes the customers were ordering. The cooks praised certain dishes, and deprecated other dishes, so Mr. Benchley was able to learn which dishes to sample and which dishes to avoid.
• While Ted Shawn and his dance troupe toured Japan, they occasionally ran into language problems. Charles Weidman once wanted a glass of milk, so he got on all fours and mooed like a cow, while his friend George Steares pantomimed milking. The waitress returned with a steak.
• Humorist Frank Sullivan once took a large second helping, which he couldn’t finish. He remarked, “My eyes were bigger than my stomach.” Then he eyed his stomach, which was becoming quite large, and added, “But my stomach’s catching up with them fast.”
• Henny Youngman could be funny even while ordering breakfast. At a restaurant, he once ordered “burned toast, soggy eggs, cold coffee.” When the waiter said, “We don’t serve that here,” Mr. Youngman replied, “You did yesterday.”
• Actor Michael Brandon became a guest on The Tonight Show because of his mother. She wrote Johnny Carson and asked him to put her son on The Tonight Show so she could see if he was eating right.
Friends
• Debbie Anderson tells this story about her husband, John. He was friends with an elderly man named Mr. Daves. After Mr. Daves was widowed, he grew depressed, so John took Mr. Daves with him whenever he went fishing — and he often went fishing. Later, Mr. Daves suffered a stroke, paralyzing his right side and taking away his ability to speak and necessitating that he live in a nursing home. Again, Mr. Daves grew depressed. John got permission to frequently take Mr. Daves out of the nursing home and for a ride, but getting Mr. Daves in and out of John’s truck was difficult and caused Mr. Daves pain. Therefore, John announced that he was selling his truck so he could buy a van that could handle a wheelchair. In doing this, John was giving up something he dearly prized: his truck, which his wife calls a “cowboy Cadillac.” John frequently takes Mr. Daves out for a ride in his new van, and he even made a special fishing pole for Mr. Daves so that they can fish together. John’s wife says, “I don’t know anyone who would give up their prized possession to help a friend. I hope he can be an example for others to take a step to help those who are in need.”
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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
Track: "Out of Time"
Album: INVITATION TO DANGER
Artist: Son of Ugly
Artist Location: Brighton, UK
Info:
“Son Of Ugly is a Brighton-based instrumental 5-piece that was born from a love of film soundtracks, horror, B-movie sci-fi, and 60's cartoons.”
“INVITATION TO DANGER is the debut album by Son Of Ugly. A suspense-laden, multi-genre adventure piece, that plays out like a movie soundtrack love letter to cult cinema. B-movie monsters, spaghetti western showdowns, John Barry-tinged spy jazz, and ambient terror, are some of the themes explored on an album chock full of dynamic twists and turns.”
“All music written by Kyle Macleod except ‘Occidental Tourist,’ which was written by Stef Domoney.”
“All music arranged and performed by Son Of Ugly.”
Price: £1 (GBP) for track; £10 (GBP) for 12-track album
Genre: Instrumental Cinematic Rock. Also surf.
Links:
INVITATION TO DANGER
Son of Ugly on Bandcamp
Son of Ugly on YouTube
Son of Ugly Official Website
Other Links:
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
How to Wield Hate
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Gas steady at $5.75/gal (cash) at the no-name station - Chevron was $6.19/gal (cash).
Major Cast Shake-Up
‘SNL’
Saturday Night Live is set for its biggest change in a number of years.
Deadline understands that a number of long-featured stars including Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson are expected to leave the show at the end of this season.
It comes after creator Lorne Michaels admitted that he was expecting this year to be a “year of change” for the show.
We hear that there may be a big group goodbye, featuring all four the departees, at the end of tomorrow night’s episode, which is hosted by Natasha Lyonne.
‘SNL’
Escapes Hollywood Studio Fire
Aimee Osbourne
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s daughter Aimee was among those who escaped a Hollywood recording studio fire that killed a 26-year-old music producer, Sharon Osbourne and others who work in the space said.
Aimee Osbourne’s producer also escaped the blaze that began late Thursday afternoon in the two story commercial building that houses several studios and music-making spaces. It took 78 firefighters more than 50 minutes to extinguish the flames, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said in a statement.
Two people reported respiratory symptoms related to smoke exposure and were evaluated at the scene, but both declined to be taken to a hospital, Scott said.
Aimee Osbourne is a singer who releases electronic pop music under the name ARO, her initials. She did not take part in the Osbourne family’s reality show as her younger siblings Kelly and Jack Osbourne did.
Aimee Osbourne
Reduced Role
Broadcast TV
There were constant reminders of the diminished influence of broadcast television networks this past week, when entertainment companies Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Universal and Fox hawked their upcoming wares to advertisers in flashy New York presentations.
None was more glaring than the fact that Craig Erwich and Kelly Kahl, chiefs of the ABC and CBS entertainment divisions, watched from the sidelines. Erwich was replaced by a boss with broader responsibilities, and NBC doesn’t even have an entertainment president; instead, there’s an executive who oversees several networks and streaming.
Broadcasters once owned the week, revealing their fall schedules to much fanfare. They’re now almost afterthoughts in bloated presentations where the action is now in streaming, and in the coming shakeout over how advertising will invade that format.
Yet with their plans, ABC, CBS and NBC — Fox didn’t even bother to release a fall schedule — show they clearly know their new place in the entertainment world.
Network TV is primarily becoming the home of franchises and reboots, unscripted and live events and sports.
Broadcast TV
Guns On Sets
California
New rules about how and when actors can use guns while filming failed to pass the California Legislature on Thursday just months after a gun actor Alec Baldwin was holding went off and killed a cinematographer on a movie set in New Mexico.
Democrats in the state Legislature had filed two bills in response to the tragedy, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
With competing proposals, Democratic state Sen. Anthony Portantino, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the author of one of the proposals, said he “strongly urged” entertainment industry groups to “work collaboratively to bring forward a consensus approach.
But no one did. Thursday, Portantino decided to hold both bills in committee, meaning they are unlikely to pass the Legislature this year.
Other bills that failed included a proposal to terminate oil and gas drilling in state waters, a plan to borrow $7.4 billion for various drinking water and wildfire prevention projects, and a program that would have awarded grants to convert public golf courses into affordable housing.
California
But Her Emails
Ginni
Supreme Court spouse Ginni Thomas not only pushed the Trump loser's White House and Republican congressmen to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election, she also reached out to Arizona state lawmakers asking the same, The Washington Post reported Friday. This latest revelation raises still more questions and concerns about the extent to which Thomas’ role as a right-wing activist affects the work of her husband, Justice Clarence "Slappy" Thomas (R-Long Dong Silver).
Ginni Thomas sent emails to Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and State Rep. Shawnna Bolick, both of whom are Republicans.
“Article II of the United States Constitution gives you an awesome responsibility: to choose our state’s Electors,” Thomas wrote on November 9. “[P]lease take action to ensure that a clean slate of Electors is chosen.” She added that the legislators should “stand strong in the face of political and media pressure,” and even requested a meeting with them “so I can learn more about what you are doing to ensure our state’s vote count is audited and our certification is clean.”
On December 13, the day before Arizona electors would cast their votes for president, Thomas felt compelled to write to the two legislators again.
“Before you choose your state’s Electors … consider what will happen to the nation we all love if you don’t stand up and lead,” Thomas pleaded. “Never before in our nation’s history have our elections been so threatened by fraud and unconstitutional procedures.” This email included a link to a video where an unidentified speaker demanded that elected representatives “put things right” and “not give in to cowardice.”
Ginni
He Has A Point
Howard Dean
Former DNC Chair and governor of Vermont, Howard Dean, appeared on The Beat With Ari Melber Thursday, where he weighed in on Fox News and the backlash the network has received following the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Both hosts and guests have spent years pushing the racist “replacement theory” conspiracy on the network, a conspiracy the Buffalo shooter cited many times in his manifesto before murdering 10 Black people at a supermarket. Dean first went after Fox founder Rupert Murdoch (R-Evil Incarnate), an Australian immigrant.
“I see the brand of Fox being hate, anger, dishonesty, and now murder… Murdoch has harmed this country more than any other human being in my lifetime, and he should never have been given citizenship,” Dean said. “The one thing I’d change about our immigration policy, is to send Murdoch back to Australia and keep him there, with the whole family.”
As Melber began to unpack what was just said, Dean added, “If you cause that much trouble, and you spread lies and hate and anger, and tear the United States apart with your crappy TV shows, simply to make money, you do not belong, you do not deserve American citizenship, period.”
Dean then turned to Fox opinion host Tucker Carlson, who has spent years pushing the “replacement theory” conspiracy, only to attempt to deflect blame when facing backlash following the Buffalo shooting. Despite pushing the conspiracy hundreds of times, on Tuesday, Carlson claimed he didn’t know what it was, then went on to say it was “coming from the left.”
“These people mean to harm the United States of America. And they’re far worse than even what Carlson was saying there,” Dean said. “It goes to antisemitism with the attacks on the synagogue in Pittsburgh. It goes to the murders in Buffalo this week. But it also goes to supporting Vladimir Putin and his murder of hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine and driving people out. This is a bad guy and Fox is a bad company, and they ought to be treated accordingly. They are the enemy of the United States of America.”
Howard Dean
Entire Hidden Forest Inside
Massive Sinkhole
A massive 630ft-deep sinkhole has been found in China in which a stunning ancient forest range has been discovered by researchers with trees as tall as 131ft (40m) and could include species that have not been seen before.
Cave explorers came across the sinkhole near Ping’e village in Leye County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region earlier this month.
The sinkhole is 630ft (192m) deep and measures 1,000ft (304m) in length and 490ft (149m) in width, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The discovery was classified as “large” and experts hiked for several hours before reaching the base of the sinkhole and found three cave entrances.
The sinkhole’s bottom is lined with a “well-preserved primitive forest” with the trees growing up towards the sun, according to experts quoted by the news agency.
Massive Sinkhole
‘Taste Of Security’
Finland
A small brewery in Finland has launched a NATO-themed beer to mark the Nordic country’s bid to join the Western military alliance.
Olaf Brewing’s OTAN lager features a blue label with a cartoon version of a beer-drinking medieval knight in metal armor emblazoned with NATO’s compass symbol.
The beer’s name is a play on the Finnish expression “Otan olutta,” which means “I’ll have a beer,” and the French abbreviation for NATO, which is “OTAN.” The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has two official languages, English and French.
Olaf Brewing said its new beer also honors the eastern Finnish town of Savonlinna, the brewery’s base located a few dozen kilometers from Finland’s border with Russia.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, the longest of any European Union member.
Finland
Back In Greece
Gold Ring
A more than 3,000-year-old gold signet ring that was stolen from an Aegean island in World War II, crossed the Atlantic, was bought by a Nobel Prize-winning Hungarian scientist and ended up in a Swedish museum has found its way back to Greece.
It was the latest in a series of coups by Greek authorities seeking the return of works plundered from the antiquities-rich country — even though an initial effort by the Swedish museum to return the ring apparently fell between the cracks of 1970s bureaucracy.
The Greek culture ministry said Friday that the gold Mycenaean-era work from Rhodes, decorated with two facing sphinxes, was willingly returned by Swedish officials who provided full assistance with documenting the artifact and its provenance.
Greek experts confirmed the identification, and the piece was handed over in Stockholm by Vidar Helgesen, executive director of the Nobel Foundation, to which the ring had been bequeathed by the Hungarian biophysicist.
Gold Ring
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