from Bruce
Anecdotes
Death
• A young man was dying, but he kept clinging stubbornly to life. A Sister asked why he was fighting so hard to live, and the young man replied, “I cannot die without asking forgiveness from my father.” The young man’s father arrived, and a couple of hours after being forgiven, the young man died peacefully.
• Thomas Hart Benton and John Caldwell Calhoun were enemies. After Mr. Calhoun died, Mr. Benton was asked, “I suppose, Tom, you won’t pursue Calhoun beyond the grave?” Mr. Benton replied, “No, sir! When the Lord lays his hands on a man, sir, I take mine off.”
• Alexander the Great once saw the Greek philosopher Diogenes looking at some human bones. “What are you looking for?” he asked. Diogenes replied, “Something that I cannot find — the difference between the bones of your father and those of his slaves.”
• As Rabbi Yisrael Salanter lay on his deathbed, he told the man who was watching over him that a dead body was nothing to fear. Even as he died, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter was considerate of other people’s feelings and did not wish to frighten them.
• When Wilson Mizner lay dying, his nurse asked if he wanted a priest to administer the last rites. Mr. Mizner replied, “I want a priest, a rabbi, and a Protestant minister. I want to hedge my bets.”
• While on his deathbed, Heinrich Heine was asked if God would forgive his sins. Mr. Heine replied with his last words: “Naturally, God will forgive me. That’s His business.”
• When the great 19th-century actor Richard Mansfield lay dying, his wife clasped his hand and said, “God is life.” He smiled at her and said, “God is love.”
• Lord Tenterden was an English judge. On his deathbed, he said, “Gentlemen of the jury, you will now consider your verdict.”
Easter
• One Easter, United Methodist pastor Lawrence W. Althouse dressed as an angel to take part in an ecumenical dawn pageant. He was running late, so he drove his car faster than he should have, and a police officer pulled him over and asked if he knew how fast he was driving. Mr. Althouse replied that he didn’t know, but he “really had to hurry because I’ve got to get to the resurrection on time.” The police officer looked at Mr. Althouse’s halo and wings, then let him go without giving him a speeding ticket.
• Early one Easter morning, humorist Frank Sullivan pushed this message under the apartment door of a friend: “Get up, lazy bones! I’ve been up for hours! J.C.”
Education
• The rural Springport, Indiana, Middleroad Friends Meeting engaged in a worship exchange program with the inner-city Mount Zion Evangelical Missionary Free Baptist Temple. This led to some strange experiences. When the inner-city choir came to the Meeting, the somber-clad Quakers learned how to clap during what for them was normally a period of quiet worship. And when the female Quaker pastor preached in the inner-city church, she had to adjust to a congregation that repeated every phrase worth repeating — fortunately, lots of phrases were worth repeating. The worship exchange, which was definitely different for both churches, was also judged a success by both churches.
• Preacher Will D. Campbell ministers to people who need to be ministered to. He was very active in the Civil Rights Movement, but he also ministers to Ku Klux Klan members. For both blacks and whites (even racist whites), he performs weddings and funerals. Kris Kristofferson, who even before he became famous knew Mr. Campbell, once visited Mr. Campbell’s office to ask him, “What the hell kind of place is this? You’ve got a preacher who marches with Dr. Martin Luther King and also ministers to members of the Ku Klux Klan. I’m a Rhodes scholar, and I don’t understand that.” Mr. Campbell replied, “Maybe the reason you don’t understand is that you’re a Rhodes scholar.”
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. replied:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Bibliotechnic"
Album: EX-RAMPART TECHNOPERA
Artist: Zituania
Artist Location: Ontario, Canada
Info: “Rock band from Ontario, Canada making music that will stay in your head and maybe make you laugh out loud every so often.”
“This album tells a story. It may be true for you, it may not. Feel free to get lost in it and stay a while, I doubt you'll regret it.”
Keith Baxter - vocals, bass, drums, midi/programming
Simon Baxter - guitar, bass, vocals, midi/programming
Price: $10 (CAN) for 11-track album; tracks cannot be purchased separately
Genre: Rock. Comedy.
Links:
EX-RAMPART TECHNOPERA
Zituania on Bandcamp
Zituania on YouTube
Other Links:
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
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
Marine layer rolled in and cooled things off a bit.
Hollywood Walk O'Fame
Class of 2022
Michael B. Jordan, Carrie Fisher, Nipsey Hussle, Francis Ford Coppola, James Hong, DJ Khaled and Black Eyed Peas are among the entertainers who will receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Walk of Fame Class of 2022 includes Hollywood’s biggest names from motion pictures, television, recording, radio, live theatre and sports entertainment.
Hailing from the film category are Macaulay Culkin, Willem Dafoe, Salma Hayek, Helen Hunt, Regina King, Ray Liotta, Ewan McGregor, Adam McKay, Jason Momoa and Tessa Thompson, while the TV honorees include Byron Allen, Greg Berlanti, Ricky Gervais, Peter Krause, Bob Odenkirk, Holly Robinson Peete, Norman Reedus, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jean Smart, Ming-Na Wen and Kenan Thompson.
From music, George Clinton, Jr., Ashanti Douglas, Avril Lavigne, Los Huracanes del Norte and Martha Reeves join the Walk of Fame, while Richard Blade is the only honoree from radio. Patti LuPone, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. and Angelica Vale are among the live performance honorees, and Michael Strahan will be honored in the newest category of sports entertainment.
Hong’s honor comes after Daniel Dae Kim launched a GoFundMe campaign to get the legendary actor, with 672 credits to his name, a star on the Walk of Fame.
Class of 2022
LA Bowl
Jimmy Kimmel
The LA Bowl has found a big name to be its very first title sponsor: ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
The inaugural edition of the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl will be played Dec. 18 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the host announced on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday night. The game will air on ABC.
“This is not a joke,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue. “This is a real bowl game named after me, so mark your calendars. ... It’s like an early Christmas gift for all of us.”
SoFi Stadium confirmed it has reached a multiyear deal with Kimmel to put his name above the title of the LA Bowl, the first college football game to be played at the year-old arena. The game’s debut was delayed from 2020 until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it will match the Mountain West champion against the Pac-12's No. 5 bowl selection.
The LA Bowl was established to create another big annual event for SoFi Stadium, which was built by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke as part of a large multi-use development on the former site of the Hollywood Park racetrack.
Jimmy Kimmel
Carry on Camping Hikini
Barbara Windsor
The bikini worn by Dame Barbara Windsor in the 1969 film Carry On Camping has sold at auction for £9,500.
The late actress wore the swimwear in a famous scene where her bikini top flew off in the middle of an exercise class.
The proceeds from sale of the item, which had been rescued from a bin decades ago, will be donated by the vendor to the Alzheimer's Society.
The actress, who also starred in EastEnders, died in December from Alzheimer's at the age of 83.
An image from the scene in Carry On Camping was included in the order of service for her funeral, accompanied by her quote: "That picture will follow me to the end."
Barbara Windsor
Bourbon Tourism
Kentucky
With tourists flocking to distilleries, concerns about a pandemic hangover for Kentucky’s world-famous bourbon industry are quickly evaporating.
A $19 million tourist center that Heaven Hill Distillery opened just days ago in the heart of the state’s bourbon country is already overflowing — with reservations filling up quickly to learn about whiskey-making and sample its spirits, including its flagship Evan Williams whiskey.
It’s a similar story for the numerous other distilleries in the region that last spring were temporarily closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a year later, the businesses are facing such overwhelming demand for tours that one industry official has started encouraging people to call ahead or check tour availability online before pulling off the highway.
Bourbon is an $8.6 billion industry in Kentucky, where 95% of the world’s supply is crafted, according to the association. About 9.3 million barrels of bourbon were aging in the state last year, or more than two barrels for every person living in Kentucky. And bourbon tourism has become a big business, driven in part by a surge in enthusiasm overseas.
Spirits companies invested huge sums into new or expanded visitors’ centers to play up the industry’s heritage and allow guests to soak in the sights and smells of bourbon making. Kentucky Bourbon Trail visitors spend, on average, between $400 to $1,200 per trip, Gregory said. More than 70% of visitors come from outside Kentucky.
Kentucky
59% Of Americans
Decriminalize All Drugs
Seven in ten Americans say they believe federal drug policies are not working and need to be reformed.
That’s according to a new poll by Data for Progress and The Appeal, which analyzed public opinion around drug prohibition and decriminalization of all substances for personal use.
The poll was released exactly 50 years after President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs - June 17, 1971.
The measure not only aims to eliminate criminal penalties for drug use and possession but is geared towards shifting the perception around drug abuse, moving it from a law enforcement problem to a public health issue.
To accomplish that, the bill proposes changing the regulatory authority on these issues from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Decriminalize All Drugs
Convention Circuit Of Delusion
Election Lies
For a few hours last weekend, thousands of Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up)’s supporters came together in a field under the blazing Wisconsin sun to live in an alternate reality where the former president was still in office — or would soon return.
Clad in red MAGA hats and holding “Trump 2021” signs, they cheered in approval as Mike Lindell, the My Pillow creator-turned-conspiracy peddler, introduced “our real president.” Then Trump appeared via Jumbotron to repeat the lie that has become his central talking point since losing to Joe Biden by more than 7 million votes: “The election was rigged.”
Lindell later promised the audience that Trump would soon be reinstated into the presidency, a prospect for which there is no legal or constitutional method.
In the nearly five months since Trump’s presidency ended, similar scenes have unfolded in hotel ballrooms and other venues across the country. Attorney Lin Wood has told crowds that Trump is still president, while former national security adviser Michael Flynn went even further at a Dallas event by calling for a Myanmar-style military coup in the U.S. At the same conference, former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell suggested Trump could simply be reinstated and a new Inauguration Day set.
Taken together, the gatherings have gelled into a convention circuit of delusion centered on the false premise that the election was stolen. Lindell and others use the events to deepen their bond with legions of followers who eschew the mainstream press and live within a conservative echo chamber of talk radio and social media. In these forums, “evidence” of fraud is never fact-checked, leaving many followers genuinely convinced that Biden shouldn’t be president.
Election Lies
Heckled In Florida
Pence
Former Vice President Mike Pence (R-Master Fluffer) was briefly heckled Friday as a "traitor" at a conservative conference in Orlando seen as a stop for Republicans honing stump speeches for a possible presidential run in 2024.
As Pence kicked off his remarks to the Faith and Freedom Coalition, the organization founded by political consultant and lobbyist Ralph Reed, several audience members greeted him with boos.
"It is great to be back with so many patriots," Pence said as the jeering continued, "dedicated to faith and freedom and the road to the majority."
As he thanked Reed, who introduced his speech, multiple audience members yelled out, "Traitor!" and continued to try to drown him out. Security personnel quickly removed the hecklers from the crowd, and Pence was able to continue his remarks without further incident.
The tension between supporters of former President Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up) and Pence remains palpable more than five months after a violent mob seeking to block the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden's election victory stormed the U.S. Capitol, chanting, "Hang Mike Pence!"
Pence
Keeps Fighting Judgments
OJ
O.J. Simpson will keep fighting recent court orders in Nevada that he owes at least $60 million in judgments stemming from the 1994 killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, his lawyer said Friday.
Attorney Malcolm LaVergne said he intends to ask the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn one judge’s order to pay the slain man’s father, Fred Goldman, and another judge’s order in favor of Paul Dorsey, a Connecticut man holding rights to collect the wrongful death claim of Ron Goldman’s mother, Sharon Rufo.
The flurry of court activity represents another turn in a more than two-decade fight by Ron Goldman’s parents to collect some $33.5 million that a California civil jury ordered Simpson to pay in 1997, two years after he was acquitted of double murder in what came to be known as “The Trial of the Century.”
New court filings followed a March 31 settlement of Simpson’s 2019 lawsuit against The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a hotel-casino where he alleged he was defamed by unnamed employees telling a celebrity news site he had been banned from the property in November 2017 for being drunk and disruptive.
Simpson, 74, lives in a gated golf course community in Las Vegas. He remains on parole following his release from prison in July 2017 after serving nine years for armed robbery, kidnapping and assault with a weapon.
OJ
Constantly Swimming
Sharks
Even predators can't stay awake all the time. But sharks, those sleek hunters of the deep, don't exactly advertise when they're taking a power nap.
A strange behavior has given them up, though. Marine biologists have discovered that sharks 'surf' ocean currents in a conveyor belt configuration, allowing them to take turns resting.
The revelation came when a research team led by Yannis Papastamatiou of Florida International University was studying the nocturnal hunting behavior of grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) at Fakarava Atoll in French Polynesia.
These sharks never stop swimming for their entire lives. They need to keep moving in order to extract enough oxygen with their gills to keep them alive, so stationary resting, like the way other animals rest, is out of the question.
Exactly how sharks rest was a bit of a puzzle, until on a dive during the day, Papastamatiou noticed that the sharks were swimming against the updraft current in a certain channel. Even more interestingly, they were remarkably still, barely moving their fins or tails.
Sharks
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