from Bruce
Anecdotes
Mishaps
• At one time, Chicago journalists would pretend to be police officers or other officials, either in person or on the telephone, in order to get information from crime scenes. Frequently, they would pretend to be Sgt. Francis “Jiggs” Donohue, the chief officer for the coroner’s office. Chicago Herald-Examiner reporter Harry Romanoff once telephoned a barroom where a murder had occurred. On the phone, he said, “This is Sgt. Donohue of the coroner’s office.” The person who had answered the phone said, “That’s funny. So is this.” Sgt. Donohue had arrived at the murder scene faster than Mr. Romanoff had expected. Once, Buddy McHugh of the Chicago American arrived very quickly on a murder scene (a house), identified himself as Sgt. Donohue, and told the person at the house, “If some newspaper guy shows up posing as me, give him the bum’s rush.” Soon after Mr. McHugh had left, the real Sgt. Donohue showed up, but the householder said, “Go peddle your papers. I’m wise to you. Sgt. Donohue’s been here.”
• The New York City Ballet once appeared in Bologna, Italy, where they hired an orchestra that had been put together from musicians who played in local restaurants. Unfortunately, this orchestra did not know the music the New York City Ballet was performing, so choreographer George Balanchine told associate conductor Hugo Fiorato to get a machine gun and shoot them all! Although Mr. Balanchine wanted to cancel the performance, it was sold out and management convinced him to soldier on. The New York City Ballet performed to the music that was easiest to play, but even so, during “Serenade,” the musical instruments stopped playing one by one. Mr. Fiorato sang the music for the dancers, and the musical instruments began to play again one by one — but the dancers onstage were laughing.
• In 1948 bodybuilder Kirk Alyn starred as Superman in a low-budget serial. Once, Superman had to rescue two people from a burning building. Mr. Alyn acted in the scene, and the director said to him, “That was great, Kirk. But could we do it again without you straining so much? I mean, Superman is super strong — lifting a couple of humans should be easy.” Mr. Alyn replied, “What do you expect? These people are heavy!” The director realized that he had made a mistake: “People? Oh, my goodness! I’m sorry. We forgot to get you the dummies!”
• Anton Dolin and Alicia Markova toured the world, bringing ballet to everybody. Of course, mishaps occurred during touring. In Birmingham, Alabama, Ms. Markova fell flat on her back during Act II of Giselle, lying with her legs and her lilies pointing straight up, while she giggled at the indignity of her position. In Dallas, Texas, the stage floor was so slippery that at one point Mr. Dolan told the audience, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are doing our best and trying to stand up, but neither Miss Markova nor I nor our group are billed as The Ice Capades!”
• In 1981, Leslie Woodies played Cassie during a tour of A Chorus Line. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ms. Woodies was dancing at an “audition” in the play when smoke began to fill the theater. The play was stopped, and the audience, cast, and crew went outside, where they discovered the smoke was coming from a fire up the street. Eventually, everyone went back inside and picked up the play where it had left off. The next line in the play — “Well, this audition is really interesting, isn’t it?” — received an enormous response from the audience.
• On 9 March 1944, Russian-born ballet dancer George Zoritch received his America citizenship papers. He managed to become a citizen even after missing this question on his exam: Who was the first American President? Mr. Zoritch had answered “Franklin Delano Roosevelt” because, after all, he was Mr. Zoritch’s first American President. The examiner let the mistake go because Mr. Zoritch was young and would become better educated in the future.
• Giuseppe di Stefano sang the part of Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata. In the second act, he was supposed to throw some stage money into the face of the character Violetta — a deadly insult. Unfortunately, once on stage he discovered that his dresser had forgotten to put the stage money into a pocket — any pocket — of his costume. Forced to improvise, he slapped Violetta. The woman playing Violetta never forgave him.
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***
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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: "Kawanga!"
Album: THE VELVET TOUCH OF LOS STRAITJACKETS
Artist: Los Straitjackets
Artist Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Info:
“Over 20 years ago, the Nashville-bred band — Danny Amis (guitar), Eddie Angel (guitar), Greg Townson (guitar), Pete Curry (bass) and Chris Sprague (drums, percussion ) —first donned their easily recognizable attire of lucha libre [Mexican wrestling] masks. Since then, the group has released 15 studio albums and two live albums.”
“Lucha libre” means “free fighting.” It is a type of wrestling that originated in Mexico.
According to the Urban Dictionary, “Kawanga” means “Kawanga is a fun, thoughtful, and empathetic person. Caring and accommodating. Always living in the moment. A good plate of food keep Kawanga content.”
Price: $9.99 (USD) for 12-track album; tracks cannot be bought separately
Genre: Surf Instrumentals.
Links:
THE VELVET TOUCH OF LOS STRAITJACKETS
Los Straitjackets at Bandcamp
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Petula Clark
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Ukraine
Russian mum’s fight to save sons from President Putin's war in Ukraine – BBC News
Ukraine's government has said fighting in the eastern Donbas region has reached a new intensity. Russia is attacking more than 40 towns and storming Ukrainian positions in several areas. Among the Russian forces who've been fighting are two brothers. Their mother claims they were conscripted, despite President Vladimir Putin's assurance that only professional soldiers had been deployed. The Russian defence ministry has now admitted that conscripts were among military personnel involved in the Russian offensive in Ukraine. They claimed that "virtually all such servicemen have now been returned to Russia".
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Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
I seldom want to slap anyone, but when I think of that photo of Beto confroning those Republican Yahoos--Abbot, his disgusting Lt. Governor, and that redneck mayor of Uvalde, it seems the perfect response.
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Deep marine layer confused the defective rooster again.
amfAR Gala
Cannes
Robert De Niro was the honored guest at the 28th annual amfAR Gala Cannes, where one lucky guest won an auction to have lunch with the actor and a piece of his family history.
One of the most anticipated events of the Cannes Film Festival, over 800 guests attended Thursday’s exclusive dinner, auction and after party at the Hôtel du Cap, Eden Roc in Antibes where guests were entertained with performances from Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin and Charli XCX.
The night began with a glitzy red carpet. Tom Hanks who stars in the new “Elvis” movie from Baz Luhrmann attended with the director. Cara Delevingne, Casey Affleck, Cynthia Erivo, Diplo, Edgar Ramirez, Eva Longoria, Milla Jovovich, Vanessa Hudgens, Elsa Hosk, Jourdan Dunn and Winnie Harlow were also among the guests.
De Niro kicked off the bidding on the lunch with him and by the time it was over, 500,000 euros ($537,025) had been raised to support amfAR’s AIDS research efforts. The lunch will be at one of De Niro’s New York restaurants and the lot includes a piece of art by a painting by his father Robert De Niro Sr., a celebrated abstract expressionist painter.
Another guest paid 1.2 million euros ($1,288,860) for an exclusive evening with tenor Andrea Bocelli and his family only to have his bid matched by another guest for another 1.2 million euros and a 2nd evening was offered by the family. The lot was introduced with a surprise performance from Andrea’s son Matteo Bocelli. The successful bidders will host a dinner party for 12 at one of his homes in either North Miami Beach or his mansion in Forte dei Marmi on the Tuscan coast where they will get a private musical performance.
Cannes
Obama Photo
Jacob Philadelphia
I’d like to reintroduce one 18-year-old American, Jacob Philadelphia, who graduates Friday from the International School of Uganda just outside Kampala, where his father works in the U.S. Embassy.
I say “reintroduce” because many of us “know” Jacob. We know him, however, as the 5-year-old Black boy at the center of one of the most famous photos of Barack Obama's presidency. In the picture, the leader of the free world — the nation’s first Black president — is bowing in the Oval Office to a Black child who has just asked him whether his wiry hair is really like the boy’s own.
The photo that White House photographer Pete Souza hurriedly snapped, which to this day is an audience favorite in Souza’s popular speaking tours about his White House years, seemed to capture the promise inherent in Obama’s barrier-breaking election: That all Americans finally could imagine someone who looked like themselves in the nation’s highest office.
Against that backdrop, Obama and Jacob reunited virtually this week, to mark the young man’s milestone. The 4½-minute minute video that The Times obtained of their exchange — with Obama in his Washington office, Jacob at school — will be shown at the graduation ceremony for Jacob’s class of about 60 multinational students.
Jacob Philadelphia
Exhibits Honor
Charles M. Schulz
In a series of “Peanuts” comic strips that ran in mid-April of 1956, Charlie Brown grasps the string of his kite, which was stuck in what came to be known in the long-running strip as the “kite-eating tree.”
In one episode that week, a frustrated Charlie Brown declines an offer from nemesis Lucy for her to yell at the tree.
The simplicity of that interaction illustrates how different “Peanuts” was from comics drawn before its 1950 debut, said Lucy Shelton Caswell, founding curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University in Columbus, the world’s largest such museum.
New exhibits on display at the Billy Ireland museum and at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California, are celebrating the upcoming centenary of the birth of “Peanuts” cartoonist Schulz, born in Minnesota on Nov. 26, 1922.
Schulz carried the lifelong nickname of Sparky, conferred by a relative after a horse called Sparky in an early comic strip, Barney Google.
Charles M. Schulz
Champion Honor Board
Wimbledon
Chris Evert appreciates that she, Serena Williams and other Wimbledon women’s singles champions will now be listed on the All England Club’s honor boards in a Centre Court hallway simply by their first initial and last name — the way the men’s title winners always have been — instead of preceded by “Miss” or “Mrs.”
Evert won three of her 18 career Grand Slam singles trophies at Wimbledon; until now, the entry for her 1981 championship has shown her name as “Mrs. J.M. Lloyd,” in reference to her husband at that time, John Lloyd. For her earlier titles in 1974 and 1976, before that marriage, she was listed as “Miss C.M. Evert.”
“I am pleased the All England Club has changed the names. It was outdated and women should be treated equally with the men, as we are with equal prize money,” Evert wrote in a text message to The Associated Press on Friday. “I have always used my maiden name in tennis. I began my career, became a champion, and ended my career as Chris Evert! As proud as I was to be married to John at the time, it was my name that deserved to be on the honor board!!!”
The switch to the women’s honor board has been completed, a spokeswoman for the All England Club confirmed to the AP via email on Friday. The intention to alter the way women’s names are displayed was first reported by The Times of London.
Williams’ name, for example, appears seven times on the green boards with gold lettering, once for each of her singles championships at the grass-court Grand Slam tennis tournament, and each entry has read “Miss S. Williams.” That now has been updated to “S. Williams.”
Wimbledon
Forest Service
New Mexico
Two blazes that grew into New Mexico's largest ever wildfire were both started by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the agency said on Friday, prompting the state's governor to demand the federal government take full responsibility for the disaster.
Forest Service investigators determined the Calf Canyon Fire was caused by a "burn pile" of branches that the agency thought was out but reignited on April 19, the Santa Fe National Forest said in a statement.
That blaze on April 22 merged with the Hermits Peak Fire, which the USFS started with a controlled burn that went out of control on April 6, the agency previously reported.
The combined blaze has so far torched over 312,320 acres(126,319 hectares) of mountain forests and valleys, an area approaching the size of greater London, and destroyed hundreds of homes.
Blazing a more than 40-mile-long (64-km-long) path up the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the fire has destroyed watersheds and forests used for centuries by Indo-Hispano farming villages and Native American communities.
New Mexico
Profits Surged
Gun Companies
The mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, have provided the latest and most extreme examples of a breathtaking epidemic of gun violence in the United States. More than 45,000 people died by gunfire in the first year of the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — an accretion of hundreds of smaller mass shootings, deadly neighborhood disputes, and firearm suicides that pushed the death toll to an all time high. Estimates suggest the bloodshed only worsened in 2021, and show that firearm violence remains elevated heading into this summer.
Amid this unfolding tragedy, gun and ammunition sales have skyrocketed, scoring record-breaking profits for the companies that manufacture them. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that, since the pandemic began, publicly traded gun companies have netted somewhere in the ballpark of three billion dollars, far outpacing previous years’ earnings.
Jade Moldae, an editor at the trade publication Shooting Industry Magazine, seemed to acknowledge the irony of this success in a December 2021 editorial. “There are many words we could use to describe the past two years,” he wrote. “[U]nprecedented, relentless, eye-opening, stretching, tumultuous, frustrating, to name a few. But here, let’s focus on another: opportunity.”
Over the past fifteen years, gun sales have followed the nation’s election cycle, spiking when Democratic elections aggravate fears of gun control, and dipping when Republicans come into power. Gun sales ballooned in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school shooting, when President Barack Obama pledged to enact stricter gun reforms. Though few of his promises were realized, the industry enjoyed unprecedented prosperity for the remainder of his presidency. In 2016, in anticipation of a Hillary Clinton victory, sales lurched again, setting new all-time records for background checks in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s system. (Donald Trump’s election so badly shocked the market that it sent several oversupplied gun companies into bankruptcy).
The pandemic sales surge has dwarfed these previous spikes. At Sturm, Ruger, & Co., gross profits nearly doubled between 2019 and 2021 to almost $280 million — its highest total ever. The chemical and ammunition manufacturing company Olin Corp likewise experienced unprecedented highs, recording more than two billion dollars in ammunition profits over the same period. Smith & Wesson, the most prolific American gun manufacturer, raked in more than half a billion dollars since the pandemic began.
Gun Companies
Lights & Siren
Dry Cleaning
Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Donald Trump the previous administration, regularly ordered his drivers to speed because he couldn’t stop being late to meetings, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing an EPA investigation.
One such instance was a 2017 trip driving through oncoming traffic on the streets of Washington, D.C., with lights flashing and sirens blaring, just to pick up Pruitt’s dry cleaning. “Can you guys use that magic button to get us through traffic?” Pruitt would say, according to the report. Members of his protection detail found these requests “difficult to not follow.” One former deputy chief of staff to Pruitt said that adhering to them meant making trips “overly obnoxious, excessive, and more dangerous to everyone.”
The report also notes that when Pruitt again was running late and mentioned using lights, a member of his security detail explained that doing so would violate policy. Afterward, Pruitt “was visibly upset and was silent for an uncomfortable time in the car.” The report notes that that officer was removed from their position a few days later. A second officer who had been in the vehicle “described that this action sent a clear message … that if you didn’t perform the bidding of the Administrator, you would lose your job.”
Eventually, a supervisor even told members of Pruitt’s security detail “to disable/unplug the lights and sirens so they wouldn’t use them because the administrator will still instruct they be used, but the agent can say they don’t work.”
Pruitt is a now Republican candidate for Senate in Oklahoma. He served as the state’s attorney general for six years, during which he described himself as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.”
Dry Cleaning
Climate Change
Hummingbirds
As temperatures around the world shift dramatically, wildlife are often being forced to relocate to find suitable habitats – and scientists are working hard to try and understand how many species might struggle with trying to find a new home.
Animals going to higher ground face two issues: colder temperatures, and thinner, less oxygen-rich air (so it's harder to breathe). In a new study, a group of Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna) were taken on a trip some 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) above their normal habitat.
Curiously, the hummingbirds' metabolic rates actually decreased as they hovered. They also flew shorter durations with less efficiency, most likely for want of more oxygen.
While future temperatures could be warmer, for now the cooler elevations have a chilling effect on the hummingbird's sleep patterns. When the birds snoozed, they entered a kind of mini-hibernation more often, which also depressed their metabolism by around 37 percent on average.
For this study, 26 hummingbirds were relocated from all across that current elevation range, and they all struggled more or less equally to adapt. However, the study did find that those from higher elevations tended to have larger hearts for better circulating oxygen around the body.
Hummingbirds
Network Of Lost Cities
Amazon
Archaeologists have uncovered an “unprecedented” network of lost cities in the Amazon that shed light on how ancient civilisations constructed vast urban landscapes while living alongside nature.
Researchers used lidar technology, dubbed “lasers in the sky”, to scan through the tropical forest canopy, and examine sites found in the savannah-forest of South West Amazonia.
They uncovered a wide range of intricate settlements that have laid hidden under thick tree canopies for centuries in the Llanos de Mojos savannah-forest in Bolivia.
The findings, described in the journal Nature on Wednesday, shed light on cities built by the Casarabe communities between 500 AD and 1400 AD.
The site features an unprecedented array of elaborate and intricate structures “unlike any previously discovered” in the region, including 5m high terraces covering 22 hectares – the equivalent of 30 football pitches – and 21m tall conical pyramids, say the scientists, including Jose Iriarte from the University of Exeter in the UK.
Amazon
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