from Bruce
Anecdotes
Yom Kippur
• Ed Asner, who played Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, says that the worst mistake he ever made in his life was to play football on Yom Kippur when he was 17. Although the coach said the team needed him, the team would have won without him. Mr. Asner says, “I certainly would have been closer to a man had I obeyed God rather than Caesar.”
Zen
• Zen Master Tung-shan knew that he was dying, so he prepared himself for death by having his head shaved, taking a bath, putting on a ceremonial robe, and saying goodbye to the other monks. He then appeared to have died, so the other monks began to cry. Suddenly Tung-shan opened his eyes and said, “We monks are supposed to be detached from all things transitory. In this consists true spiritual life. To live is to work; to die is to rest. What is the use of groaning and moaning?” After his speech, he ordered a “stupidity-purifying” meal for the other monks. Once the meal had been eaten, he said, “Please make no fuss over me! Be calm as befits a family of monks! Generally speaking, when one is at the point of going, he has no use for noise and commotion.” Then he meditated for a short time before dying.
• Two Zen masters, Gudo and Daigu, once visited a high-ranking official who wished to learn Zen. Gudo flattered the official. However, Daigu told Gudo, “Nonsense! Even though this person is a high-ranking official, he knows nothing about Zen.” After listening to the two Zen masters, the high-ranking official built Daigu a temple and studied Zen with him.
Activism
• In 1966, women were not allowed to run in the Boston Marathon. Fortunately, an “uppity” woman did not let that stop her. Roberta Gibb (Bingay) (a rather apt last name) traveled to Boston by bus from California to compete. Of course, she was not allowed to stand at the starting line, so she hid in some bushes near the starting line, and when the male runners raced by, she joined them. At first, she wore a hooded sweatshirt to help disguise her gender, but soon she got too warm and took off the sweatshirt. Ms. Bingay ran the marathon in three hours and twenty-one minutes, finishing 124th in a race in which 415 men competed. Ms. Bingay’s running the Boston Marathon had positive results. The following year, another woman ran the marathon unofficially, and in 1972, women were finally allowed to compete officially in the Boston Marathon.
• Tennis star Billie Jean King led a boycott of the United States Lawn Tennis Association by women tennis players. The boycott occurred for a very good reason: the inequality of prize money won by male and by female tennis players. For example, in the 1970 Pacific Southwest Championships, the male champion won $12,500, while the female champion won only $1,500! The boycott worked. Billie Jean King and the other women tennis players competed in a new tennis tournament sponsored by Virginia Slims cigarettes, and they forced the USLTA to recognize the Virginia Slims Invitational.
• In 1971, an unusual raffle was held — the winner got to send 5,000 dead fish to the polluter of his or her choice. The dead fish came from Escambia Bay, and they died in a giant fish kill caused by pollution. Holding the raffle for the huge bottle of dead fish at the Pensacola (Florida) Interstate Fair was the Bream Fisherman Association.
• In 1973, African-American tennis star Arthur Ashe played in a tournament in South Africa, which then practiced a form of segregation known as apartheid. Before he would play in the tournament, Mr. Ashe demanded that the audiences watching it be integrated.
Alcohol
• While Bo Jackson attended Auburn University, he played both baseball and football. During a baseball game at the University of Alabama, a beer truck was parked just beyond the fence around the outfield. Several people, including the driver, were standing by the truck, drinking beer and yelling insults at Mr. Jackson throughout the early innings of the game. Mr. Jackson stopped the insults by hitting a home run that bounced off the side of the truck.
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 — Buy
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Buy the Paperback
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Kindle
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Apple
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Barnes and Noble
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Kobo
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Smashwords: Many Formats, Including PDF
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Buy
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Buy the Paperback
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Kindle
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Apple
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Barnes and Noble
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Kobo
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Smashwords: Many Formats, Including PFD
Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Fist Fulla"
Album: LIVE DEMO
Artist: The Pseudos
Artist Location: British Columbia, Canada
Info: “An instrumental Spaghetti-Surf band based out of Haida Gwaii BC.”
Price: Name Your Price (Includes FREE) for 5-track EP
Genre: Surf Instrumentals. Spaghetti Western Instrumentals.
Links:
LIVE DEMO
The Pseudos on Bandcamp
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
Stephen Suggests
Twofer
BRUCE'S COMMENDATION
Good Deed
A Good Deed Worth Remembering
In April 2015, Ashley Jiron, the owner of a restaurant named P.B. Jams — because it serves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — in Warr Acres, Oklahoma, noticed that someone had been digging through her restaurant’s trash. Thinking that the person was looking for food, she posted this sign on a restaurant window: “To the person going through our trash for their next meal, you’re a human being and worth more than a meal from the dumpster. Please come in during business hours for a classic Pb&j, fresh veggies, and a cup of water at no charge. No questions asked. — your friend, the owner.” She said, “I have had times when my daughters and I went home to a dark home [because of an unpaid electricity bill]. Friends were kind enough to let me stay with them until I paid the bill. Sometimes we didn’t have enough left on our benefits at the end of the month and we had to buy a loaf of bread and some peanut butter from the dollar store. I am thankful to the state for allowing me to feed my children when I needed it most.”
For Further Information:
Savannah Stephens, “An act of culinary kindness.” BBC. 14 April 2015
Daniela Galarza, “Restaurant Owner Invites Dumpster Diver in for a Free Meal.” Eater. 13 April 2015
Source: davidbruceblog #1
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.
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Re: Huckleberry Hound
Last week one of Marty’s trivia answers was Huckleberry Hound. I used her linked audio to make this mashup -
"Bingo Ringo Outer Limits" ( Huckleberry Hound vs Mike Gordon & The Routers ) Cartoon Novelty vs Modern Surf.
Listen for the fun use of “The Outer Limits” Theme by the Routers.
Get alive with the dreamer's dream.
groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2021/07/huckleberry-hound-vs-routers.html
DJ Useo
Thanks, Konrad!
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Had over 2' of hair loped off - won't be sitting on it anymore.
Spelling Bee Champ
Zaila Avant-garde
Zaila Avant-garde understood the significance of what she was doing as she stood on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage, peppering pronouncer Jacques Bailly with questions about Greek and Latin roots.
Zaila knew she would be the first African American winner of the bee. She knew Black kids around the country were watching Thursday night’s ESPN2 telecast, waiting to be inspired and hoping to follow in the footsteps of someone who looked like them. She even thought of MacNolia Cox, who in 1936 became the first Black finalist at the bee and wasn’t allowed to stay in the same hotel as the rest of the spellers.
But she never let the moment become too big for her, and when she heard what turned out to be her winning word — “Murraya,” a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees — she beamed with confidence. It was over.
Declared the champion, Zaila jumped and twirled with joy, only flinching in surprise when confetti was shot onto the stage.
Zaila has other priorities, which perhaps explains how she came to dominate this year’s bee. The 14-year-old from Harvey, Louisiana, is a basketball prodigy who owns three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneously and hopes to one day play in the WNBA or even coach in the NBA. She described spelling as a side hobby, even though she routinely practiced for seven hours a day.
Zaila Avant-garde
Marxist Socialistic America Will Ban Her
Taylor Swift
Although Taylor Swift is probably not inclined to take any advice from Marsha Blackburn (R-Ofchuck), the Republican senator from Tennessee that she forcefully campaigned against in the last election. Blackburn is offering the singer some anyway: Watch out, because the Marxists who want to take over America will be coming for you first.
In an interview with the conservative outlet Breitbart, Blackburn warned of leftist totalitarianism she believes is an imminent thread to American freedom, saying that Swift will be banned altogether from public life if the country takes a leftward tilt, and all but suggesting she would be headed for a gulag if progressive trending goes unchecked.
“Taylor Swift came after me in my 2018 campaign. But Taylor Swift would be the first victim of that,” Blackburn said as her interviewer nodded, “because when you look at Marxist socialistic societies, they do not allow women to dress or sing or be on stage or to entertain or the type of music she would have. They don’t allow protection of private intellectual property rights.”
Blackburn also warned her supporters that country music is already under a subversive attack from within, saying the genre is in danger of becoming too “woke.”
“When you talk about country music,” said Blackburn, “and I know the left is all out now and trying to change country music and make it woke… When I’m talking to my friends who are musicians and entertainers, I say, ‘If we have a socialistic government, if we have Marxism, you are going to be the first ones who will be cut off because the state would have to approve your music.’”
Taylor Swift
Criticism
Captain America
Dean Cain (R-Tool) has publicly condemned Marvel’s newest version of Captain America, and Twitter is pushing back on his criticisms.
The “Lois and Clark” actor appeared Monday on” Fox & Friends” to slam the character declaring, “I am so tired of all of this wokeness and anti-Americanism.”
“I believe the pendulum will swing back to openly appreciating American values, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights,” he added.
He later posted a Tweet writing, “It’s true — I didn’t read the comic — but I stand by everything I said.”
Twitter responded to Cain’s remarks with unabashed scorn and ridicule. The comments ranged from mockery of the actor’s past roles and career to a fierce dismantling of his arguments.
Captain America
Another Revisionist Documentary
Jeff Daniels
Actor Jeff Daniels will narrate a new documentary, “9/11: Inside the President’s War Room,” that will tell the story of the attacks through the eyes of the Bush administration.
Apple+ and the BBC will collaborate on the project, which will debut in September near the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Both the streaming service and BBC One will show the project.
Several members of the Bush administration will give their view of what happened on that day, including former President George W. Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney, it was announced on Thursday. Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser on that day, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and White House chief of staff Andy Card will also participate.
The documentary will focus on the 12 hours following the attack. The creative team includes director Adam Wishart and producers Simon Finch, Neil Grant and Serena Kennedy.
Jeff Daniels
Amount To War Crime
Settlements
Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank amount to a war crime, a U.N. human rights investigator said on Friday, calling on countries to inflict a cost on Israel for its "illegal occupation".
Michael Lynk, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, was addressing a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, boycotted by Israel which does not recognise his mandate or cooperate with him.
"In my report, I conclude that the Israeli settlements do amount to a war crime," Lynk said.
He said the settlements violate an absolute ban on an occupying power transferring part of its civilian population into an occupied territory, thereby meeting the definition of a war crime under the Rome Statute founding the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"I submit to you that this finding compels the international community ... to make it clear to Israel that its illegal occupation, and its defiance of international law and international opinion, can and will no longer be cost-free," Lynk told the Geneva rights forum.
Settlements
Caught On Tape
'The People's Will'
Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Bottom Feeder) of Pennsylvania was filmed saying Republicans are opposed to Democrats carrying out the wishes of most voters.
The video was posted Friday by the Democratic activist Lauren Windsor, several days after she posted another one showing a Texas GOP congressman saying he favored "18 months of chaos" until the 2022 midterms.
"We have a bunch of people running around, particularly progressives, who all they want to talk about is let the people's will be done," the former 2016 GOP primary candidate says in the video, which was recorded at a June 29 Patriot Voices event. "No. No, no, no, we don't want the people's will to be done immediately."
He added: "Remember our constitution was set up to protect who? Minority rights, not the majority rights."
Santorum, along with a group of GOP lawmakers, urged conservative activists to flood Manchin's and Sinema's offices with messages of gratitude for refusing to scrap the filibuster.
'The People's Will'
Movement Gains Power
Right To Repair
There is growing pressure on manufacturers around the world to allow consumers the right to repair their own devices.
The UK has introduced right-to-repair rules that legally require manufacturers to make spare parts available to people buying electrical appliances.
The European Commission has announced plans for right-to-repair rules for smartphones, tablets and laptops.
And later this week, US President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to draw up rules on the repair of farming equipment.
It would give farmers "the right to repair their own equipment how they like", the president's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said.
Right To Repair
Motorist Chokes
Ohio
An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver after a man allegedly attempted to swallow a bag of cannabis when he was pulled over for speeding.
Trooper Charles Hoskin conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle that was allegedly traveling at 94 mph in a 70-mph zone, WEWS-TV reported.
Dash camera video posted to the Ohio State Police Twitter account shows Hoskin asking if the driver could breathe before helping him out of the car and performing the Heimlich. The man expelled a bag of marijuana and apologized to the officer.
After the man recovered, Hoskins asked, “Do you want to die over a minor misdemeanor?”
The man received citations for speeding and failing to wear a seatbelt, according to Santiago. The man also received a summons for marijuana and was released at the scene.
Ohio
Faces Everywhere
Pareidolia
We know that our minds can imagine faces everywhere there's a hint of two eyes and a nose – from cloud formations to car bonnets to plug sockets – and it's technically known as face pareidolia. A new study gives us insight into what's actually going on in the brain when this happens.
Scientists wanted to know whether the brain processes these imagined faces in the same way as real human faces – and it turns out there are some similarities in how we perceive and interpret them.
The research suggests that false faces found through pareidolia are assessed in the same way as a real face would be. Somehow, the same neural circuitry is involved in figuring out what a face is doing, even though we know that what we're looking at in a tree stump or a TV remote isn't a real face.
The researchers found that the study participants mostly agreed on the expressions that the pareidolia faces were showing, and that bias crept in based on the expression of the previous face – something that we do with human faces too. This also happened when real and illusory faces were mixed up.
In other words, a succession of happy faces makes us more likely to see the next one as happy as well. That this bias was observed in both real and illusory faces suggests the brain is processing them in a similar way, and using similar neural networks.
Pareidolia
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
