Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Knowledge Isn't Power (NY Times)
Why does ignorance rule in policy debates?
Deborah Orr: Going topless on the beach was never really about women's liberation (Guardian)
Elle magazine regrets a fall in topless bathing - but in today's aggressive cultural climate who can blame us for covering up?
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel: Reinventing American Health Care (6/5/14 AUDIO)
"This is so interesting - someone who actually really knows about Obamacare. A doctor, even! Who's read all 906 pages, even! Who helped write it, even! And yet doesn't hate America. I commend to you his Commonwealth Club speech. It's a fascinating inside look that I think will leave you feeling pretty good about the progress, and clued in to what remains to be done." - Andrew Tobias
Guardians of the Galaxy review - smart and funny retro thrills (Guardian)
Chris Pratt leads a ragtag bunch of unlikely superheroes on a quest to save the cosmos in Marvel's witty bubblegum romp, writes Peter Bradshaw.
The Deer Hunter review - Cimino's masterpiece of cruelty and horror (Guardian)
Sacrifice colours everything in this re-released classic about three US army conscripts to the Vietnam war, writes Peter Bradshaw.
Emma Brockes: Yes, hate-watching can be fun (Guardian)
What do Peter Pan, Sharknado 2 and James Franco have in common? You love to hate them because you have to.
Mark Hill: 5 Reasons The Classic American Summer Is Totally Dead (Cracked)
Has the summer of 2014 felt a little bit off to you? Not quite as good as summers past? Turns out it's not just your complete inability to enjoy anything or experience true happiness -- we've found statistical evidence that proves this summer is the worst one since "Margaritaville" was unleashed on the world.
Rebecca J. Rosen: Actually, Some Material Goods Can Make You Happy (Atlantic)
But which ones?
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
"Doug's Most Shared Facebook Post" Today
wrote:
took the day off.
has retired.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Gare Says
New Astro Column!
New Moon! You Knew What I Was There For! « Catprez.com
Read it or click it 5x. Let my boss (pic attached) Rita Mae see that I'm worth it!
Thanks.
GG
Thanks, Gare!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still hot, still humid.
CBS Morning News
Jane Pauley
Jane Pauley will spend much of August in familiar territory: morning television.
The former longtime "Today" show host will have a run on CBS' morning news shows in August.
Pauley's guest run will begin on Aug. 10, filling in for a vacationing Charles Osgood on "CBS News Sunday Morning."
The next day, she'll take up a week-long stint on "CBS This Morning," filling in for Gayle King during her vacation.
Jane Pauley
Toot Sweet!
Fart Machine
An English plumber welded an enormous fart machine, drove it to the White Cliffs of Dover and blasted it at France.
"Did you hear anything or did you not?" he asked after calling a woman across the English Channel in Calais, France, on July 24, according to a YouTube video of the fart machine. Her answer? Yes.
Colin Furze has a reputation for constructing eccentric creations, including the world's fastest baby stroller last year after the birth of his son.
The idea came to him from YouTube commenters, he said in a video. "People always say, 'I'd hate to live next to you. You make too much noise!' And it's fair to say I do make a bit of noise."
Inspired, Furze decided to make a valveless pulsejet - the loudest machine he's ever assembled. He decided to annoy not just his neighbors but also the French, his country's neighbor to the south.
Fart Machine
Bob Kane's Personal Copies To Auction
Batman
Batman creator Bob Kane's own copies of the Caped Crusader's earliest appearances are going up for auction.
ComicConnect is selling Kane's file copies of Detective Comics Nos. 27 through 45 and Batman Nos. 1 through 3. The auction house declined to put an estimate on their value, saying such items rarely come up for sale.
The comics come from the collection of Hollywood screenwriter Bob Underwood.
The sale also has a nearly mint copy of the first Incredible Hulk comic book. The 1962 issue is one of four copies known to exist. It could bring $300,000.
There's also a 1942 Archie comic book. Archie No. 1 marked the first time the red-headed character appeared in his own magazine. Its pre-sale estimate is $150,000.
Batman
'Le Printemps' To Auction
Edouard Manet
Edouard Manet's 1881 celebrated portrait "Le Printemps," which has been owned by the same family for a century, will be auctioned for the first time this year and could fetch up to $35 million, Christie's auction house said on Friday.
The rare profile painting of the young Parisian actress Jeanne Demarsy, one of Manet's most famous works, will be among the highlights of Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art sale in New York on November 5.
If sold for $35 million, the high pre-sale estimate, "Le Printemps" would surpass the record $33.2 million paid for Manet's "Self Portrait with a Palette" in London four years ago.
It is one of two paintings, along with "Un bar aux Folies-Bergere" the artist submitted to the Paris Exhibition of 1882 that led to success and recognition. "Le Printemps" has had only a few owners, including the unnamed American family selling it after a century of ownership.
Edouard Manet
Resigning House Seat Early
Eric Cantor
Representative Eric Cantor said on Friday he will resign his seat effective Aug. 18, months earlier than expected following a stunning defeat in a Republican primary election.
Cantor, who on Thursday stepped down from his leadership position in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, said he had asked Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to call a special election to coincide with November's congressional elections.
Such a race would allow the winner to take office immediately, rather than in January when the next Congress convenes, he wrote in a column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"I want to make sure that the constituents in the 7th District will have a voice in what will be a very consequential lame-duck session," Cantor told the newspaper in an interview, referring to the period between the election and start of the new Congress.
It also would give the winner some seniority over the rest of the new class elected in November, he wrote.
Eric Cantor
Court Overturns Anti-Gay Law
Uganda
Uganda's constitutional court on Friday overturned an anti-homosexuality law that punished gay sex with long prison sentences and was condemned by Western and other donors, some of whom withheld aid in protest.
The new ruling, which can be appealed, voids a statute signed into law by the president in February and which had broad support in the religiously conservative east African nation.
Under the Anti-Homosexuality Act, those convicted of "aggravated homosexuality" - defined as someone with HIV having gay sex or gay sex with anyone vulnerable, such as a disabled person - would be put in prison for life.
Citing irregularities in the way the law was passed, Judge Steven Kavuma said the speaker of parliament had acted illegally by not accepting objections pointing to the fact that there was no quorum for a vote.
Uganda
Comes Out In Force For Palestinian
Latin America
Latin America's leaders are among the most vehement in condemning Israel's Gaza offensive -- labelling the Jewish state "terrorist", recalling ambassadors, and offering near-unanimous, unwavering support to Palestinians.
"I can't remember another similar situation where (all the countries in the region) have reacted practically as a bloc," said political scientist Reginaldo Nasser, a professor at the Pontifical University in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
One of the most symbolic recent developments came from Bolivian President Evo Morales -- one of the leaders of Latin America's far left -- who put Israel on its list of "Terrorist States" and eliminated a visa waiver program for Israeli citizens.
More than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed and 8,000 injured, two-thirds of them civilians, in Gaza in 24 days of fighting between Hamas and Israel. The conflict has also cost the lives of 61 Israeli soldiers, as well as two civilians and a Thai farm worker killed by rocket fire.
Latin America
Doesn't Like FCC's 'Fast-Lane' Plan
MLB
The net neutrality debate is far from over, especially since the FCC is still sorting through more than one million comments on the matter. Quartz reports that one of those comments comes directly from Major League Baseball, which argues against allowing for Internet "fast lanes" despite the fact that its own MLB Advanced Media (BAM) platform could benefit from such a scheme as long as MLB agreed to pay the proper fees to ISPs.
MLB wasted no time pointing out the problems with the FCC's proposal and argued that, ultimately, the regular consumer would pay the price, and that fast lanes would also affect competition.
"Fast lanes would serve only one purpose: for Broadband ISPs to receive an economic windfall. American consumers would be worse off as the costs of fast lanes are passed along to them in new fees or charges where there were none, or higher fees or charges where they existed," MLB said through BAM.
"Fast lanes would create new economic barriers for start-up entrepreneurs and innovators that have been critical to the growth of the Internet economy. As bad, since fast lanes would necessarily mean there are slow lanes, they would amount to 'picking winners and losers online,' with Broadband ISPs acting as fast lane 'gatekeepers,' precisely the opposite of the Commission's past policy," the company added.
MLB
Town Offers Reward For Plumber
Maine
When the only plumber in remote Jackman, Maine, retired, leaving the town's 862 people with no alternative nearer than 50 miles (80 km) away, things got desperate enough that the town offered a $2,000 scholarship for anyone willing to learn the trade and stay.
"It can sometimes take weeks until we can find someone to respond," said local school principal Denise Plante. "And it can be worse in spring when plumbers are busy opening up lake camps and cottages."
The scholarship is funded by a local family who has run a summer camp in the area.
Towns across Maine, which has the oldest population in the nation, face challenges keeping up with services as tradesmen retire and are not replaced by younger workers. In Jackman, where close to one in five residents is age 65 or older, a rate above the state average, the problem is more acute.
Maine
Faces NY Court Appearance
David Cassidy
David Cassidy, the "Partridge Family" star and 1970s teen idol, will have to appear in a New York court to face a drunken driving charge after missing a proceeding related to his plea deal, apparently because he was playing a game of bocce nearby.
Cassidy, 64, was charged last summer with driving while intoxicated. He was initially allowed to forego an in-person appearance at Schodack Town Court that is typically required in criminal cases because he lives in Florida and the court was told he was undergoing substance abuse treatment.
Cassidy's lawyer, Lucas Mihuta, was set to sign an agreement that would have allowed Cassidy to enter a guilty plea on misdemeanor charges without being present.
But at 11:09 a.m. on Wednesday, the New York Horse racing Association tweeted that Cassidy was at Saratoga Race Track, playing bocce with two horse trainers and an equine doctor.
Carmelo Laquidara, Rensselaer County chief assistant district attorney, said he heard about the tweet from members of the media, and called the episode "odd and disturbing."
David Cassidy
Top 20
Concert Tours
The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
1. (1) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; $1,520,075; $98.69.
2. (2) Bruno Mars; $1,184,010; $88.65.
3. (3) Cher; $1,108,345; $89.60.
4. (4) Zac Brown Band; $1,061,892; $47.67.
5. (5) Dave Matthews Band; $1,059,266; $54.34.
6. (New) Michael Buble; $1,050,068; $90.89.
7. (6) Romeo Santos; $812,171; $82.14.
8. (7) Journey/Steve Miller Band; $714,809; $55.56.
9. (9) Cirque du Soleil - "Michael Jackson: The Immortal"; $700,374; $85.87.
10. (8) James Taylor; $692,328; $72.69.
11. (New) Motley Crue; $666,797; $52.28.
12. (10) Rascal Flatts; $548,354; $33.19.
13. (11) Brad Paisley; $516,110; $33.98.
14. (12) Tim McGraw; $476,912; $36.13.
15. (14) Florida Georgia Line; $415,160; $40.06.
16. (13) Backstreet Boys; $410,876; $49.34.
17. (15) Widespread Panic; $313,800; $44.81.
18. (18) Willie Nelson/Alison Krauss + Union Station feat. Jerry Douglas; $271,319; $58.14.
19. (16) Lana Del Rey; $264,455; $47.07.
20. (New) Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band; $255,599; $65.24.
Concert Tours
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
