Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Town Hall Mob (nytimes)
A close look at recent protesters indicates that cynical political operators are exploiting cultural and racial anxiety in the health care reform debate.
Ted Rall: LAY OFF LAYOFFS
There is a better way: ban layoffs. In France, on the other hand, almost every worker receives a written employment contract. Almost all French employment contracts are for an indefinite term. You can keep your job as long as you---not your boss--feel like it. Firing an employee in France is hard.
Mark Morford: 10 amazing truths you already suspected (sfgate.com)
Go ahead, pretend you didn't know. Pretend it wasn't obvious. Are you sure?
I was buried alive in a shamanic ritual (guardian.co.uk)
How my life was changed by being buried in Mother Earth for a night, by Nicholas Taylor.
What if a bank told half their highest net worth clients 'sorry, you misspelled your address when you opened your account, we're confiscating your balance' (politicalirony.com)
In his Congressional testimony, the CEO of a health insurance company said:
Rescission is rare. It affects less than one-half of one percent of people we cover. ... But in claiming that this practice is rare, the insurance companies, whose very business depends on understanding statistics and probability, are betting that you don't understand probability enough to catch the lie. Indeed, "Figures never lie, but liars always figure."
Catherine O'Sullivan: "So long, folks: Catherine's packing up and leaving Tucson" (tucsonweekly.com)
I'm dragging the garbage bin out to the curb. At about 200 pounds, it's way too heavy, and I'm thinking I'll probably put my back out. I'm not as young as I used to be. Worse yet, the side of the thing is splitting where I repaired it with duct tape four years ago.
CLAIRE SUDDATH: Mourning the Death of Handwriting (time.com)
I can't remember how to write a capital Z in cursive. The rest of my letters are shaky and stiff, my words slanted in all directions. It's not for lack of trying. In grade school I was one of those insufferable girls who used pink pencils and dotted their i's with little circles.
Nathan Heller: Coffee Talk (slate.com)
Which chain brews the best cup? Starbucks, McDonald's, or Dunkin'?
Hadley Freeman: Celebrity scoops are not always in the public interest (guardian.co.uk)
Magazines and reality TV have combined to make emotional pornography seem almost acceptable.
What's it like to live with Helen Mirren? (guardian.co.uk)
Six men who share their lives with high-achieving women talk about their relationships
Who will protect the legacies of Pina Bausch and Merce Cunningham? (guardian.co.uk)
When a great choreographer dies, does their work die with them, asks Judith Mackrell.
Judith Mackrell: Remembering Merce Cunningham, the mild-mannered showman of dance (guardian.co.uk)
The great American choreographer, who has died aged 90, turned everyday movements into something mesmerising.
KURT VONNEGUT: Have I Got a Car for You! (inthesetimes.com)
I used to be the owner and manager of an automobile dealership in West Barnstable, Massachusetts, called "Saab Cape Cod."
Shawn O'Rourke: Review of Marvel Illustrated The Iliad (popmatters.com)
By the very definition of the genre a literary epic must be big.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The "A little better all the time (It can't get no worse)" Edition
How would you rate the particulars of your personal financial/material situation compared to 6 months ago?
1.) Better
2.) Worse
3.) About the same
Feel free to comment along with yer answer
Send your response to
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
New Essay
Daniel Bruno Sanz
New essay about Hiroshima and the Black experience in film Date: 8/7/2009 11:31:41 A.M. Pacific Standard Time From:
daniel.bruno@gmail.com
Bad Dreams From My Grandfather
Bad Dreams From My Grandfather forms part of Obama 2012, a collection
of essays and commentary to be published in 2009.
Daniel Bruno Sanz writes about financial and political affairs. His
areas of expertise include currencies, stock markets, Latin America,
Japan and Russia. In early 2007, he predicted that Obama would win
the Democratic primary when polls showed him 20 points behind Senator
Clinton. He also forecast Obama would win 52% of the popular vote and
beat the Republican nominee in the general election. Today he
forecasts an Obama victory in 2012. His 2007 book and other writings
are available at DanielBrunoSanz.com. Follow him at
Twitter.com/DanielBrunoSanz . He is a native of New York City.
Thanks & Regards
NAVAS
assistant to Daniel Bruno Sanz
Thanks, Navas!
Reader Suggestion
Link from RJ
Hi there!
One you may find intersting (hopefully!)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The ftp is still acting up.
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim
Maestro Daniel Barenboim brought his troupe of young Arab and Israeli classical musicians to Geneva on Friday for a concert dedicated to the late Palestinian-American academic Edward Said and the contentious choice of Jerusalem as this year's "Arab Cultural Capital."
In a news conference that featured the iconoclastic Israeli conductor's usual combination of humour and gravitas, art and politics, Barenboim said his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra offered another way of examining ideals of justice, humaneness and understanding that are often lacking in the Middle East conflict.
The 10-year-old orchestra founded by Barenboim and Said includes Israeli and Palestinian musicians, as well as performers from Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, and non-Arab states Turkey and Iran.
"The Arab World is not just Muslims. It's also Christians and Jews," said the Argentinian-born Barenboim, who moved to Israel when he was 9, but has become well-known in recent years for his outspoken support of Palestinian statehood and criticism of the Israeli government.
Daniel Barenboim
Determined To Finish Run
Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard has said he is determined to complete his "crazy" challenge to run more than 1,000 miles around the UK to raise cash for charity.
The comedian and actor, 47, is running 30 miles a day - further than the length of a marathon - for Sport Relief.
Speaking on GMTV, Izzard, who only trained for just over a month, said: "It is slightly crazy and my feet are slightly disintegrating but I'll make it because I'm determined... my body isn't really determined, but my brain is."
The public can show their support by sponsoring Izzard via his website www.eddieizzard.com and follow his journey on his Twitter feed.
Eddie Izzard
It Was 40 Years Ago Today
Abbey Road
Fans of the Fab Four are flocking to the most famous pedestrian crossing in Britain for the 40th anniversary on Saturday of the taking of one of the greatest images in rock 'n' roll history.
It was outside the Abbey Road recording studios at 11.35 am on August 8, 1969 that the Beatles strutted purposefully from one side of the street to another, for the cover of what would be their final album as a group.
Re-enacting the walk across Abbey Road is what hundreds of tourists -- walking single file, eyes firmly looking straight ahead -- come to the well-heeled Saint John's Wood neighbourhood do every day.
Propped atop its roof is a webcam that peers down on the crosswalk -- making virtual visits to Abbey Road possible from anywhere on Earth.
Abbey Road
Portrait of Michael Jackson At Auction
Andy Warhol
A portrait of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, by the King of Pop Art, Andy Warhol, went on show in London on Thursday for three days in the lead-up to an auction in New York of the 1984 painting.
The portrait is on display at London's O2 Arena, the venue where Jackson was meant to hold his string of comeback concerts. He died on June 25 before the shows could happen.
The portrait was commissioned to celebrate the world record breaking sales of Jackson's "Thriller" album and was painted when both men were at the height of their careers.
It will go under the hammer in New York on August 18 at the Vered Gallery, starting with an opening bid of $800,000.
Andy Warhol
Prevaricating Palin Projects
Todd's Little Lady
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin Todd's Little Lady called President Barack Obama's health plan "downright evil" Friday in her first online comments since leaving office, saying in a Facebook posting that he would create a "death panel" that would deny care to the neediest Americans.
"Who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course," the former vice Republican presidential candidate wrote on her Facebook page, which has nearly 700,000 supporters.
"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil," Palin wrote.
Palin has been largely silent before Friday's post. She was a voracious user of the social networking site Twitter, and promised to keep her supporters updated with a new private account after she left office. But that hasn't happened, leaving some of her fans begging for updates in the past two weeks.
Todd's Little Lady
Media Giants Citte Constitution
J.D. Salinger
The New York Times and other leading US media outlets joined forces Friday in urging a court to overturn a US ban on an unauthorized sequel to J.D. Salinger's classic novel "Catcher in the Rye."
The New York Times Company, the Associated Press, the Gannett Company and the Tribune Company, filed an amicus brief challenging the decision by a federal judge in July to prevent publication in the United States of the book.
On July 1, Judge Deborah Batts ruled in New York that Swedish author Fredrik Colting's book "60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye" borrowed too heavily from the earlier work by the reclusive Salinger.
The media companies argue in their brief that "the only harm appears to be to the pride of a reclusive author in not having his desires fulfilled barring commentary about his iconic book and character, without any actual financial harm."
J.D. Salinger
Trial Date Set
Morgan Freeman
The woman suing Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman over a 2008 car wreck gets her day in court next year.
Demaris L. Meyer of Memphis, Tenn., sued Freeman last February, blaming him for the accident that seriously injured them both.
He was driving her car when it left the road and flipped several times near his Mississippi Delta home on Aug. 3, 2008.
She says it was his fault, which Freeman denies.
Morgan Freeman
Wife Arrested
Micky Dolenz
The wife of Monkees vocalist Micky Dolenz was arrested Friday on charges that she defrauded an affordable housing program in New York City.
Authorities in the city's Department of Investigation said Donna Quinter, 54, illegally received $136,866 in government rental subsidies for an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
The subsidies were supposed to go to middle-income families living in the city year-round who were in danger of being forced out by gentrification.
Investigators say Quinter failed to disclose that she was sharing the apartment with a friend who paid rent. The home also wasn't her only residence. Since marrying Dolenz in 2002, the former flight attendant has lived with her husband in Bell Canyon, Calif., an exclusive gated community outside Los Angeles.
Micky Dolenz
Fox Aborts Episode
"Family Guy"
Fox has declined to air a "Family Guy" episode featuring a graphic depiction of an abortion, but it will come out on DVD.
The episode, set to run next season, features matriarch Lois Griffin acting as a surrogate mother for an infertile couple. The couple is then killed in a car crash, leaving Lois with a tough decision.
It was originally supposed to conclude on a vague note, with Lois' verdict left unclear. But creator Seth MacFarlane added a coda, with Lois' husband Peter poking his head into the frame to tell viewers, "She had the abortion."
Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly told TV critics on Thursday that the decision not to air the episode was driven by potential advertiser concerns.
"Family Guy"
In Memory
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille, founder of the punk group Mink DeVille and known for his blend of R&B, blues, Dixieland and traditional French Cajun ballads, has died, his publicist said Friday. He was 58.
The Oscar-nominated songwriter died at New York's Cabrini Hospital on Thursday of pancreatic cancer, said Carol Kaye at Kayos Productions.
Mink DeVille, for which DeVille was the principal songwriter, was billed as one of the most original groups on the New York punk scene after an appearance at the legendary CBGB club in Greenwich Village in the 1970s.
In 1977, the band recorded "Cabretta," a rock and roll/rhythm and blues album with renowned producer Jack Nitzsche. Its featured song, "Spanish Stroll," was a Top 20 hit in Britain. It was followed by the album "Return to Magenta."
Better known in Europe than in the United States, DeVille went solo in 1980 with "Le Chat Bleu." Recorded in Paris and influenced by his admiration for siren Edith Piaf, the album featured "This Must Be the Night" and "Just to Walk That Little Girl Home."
His "Storybook Love," featured in the 1987 movie "The Princess Bride," was nominated for an Academy Award.
DeVille also spent time in New Orleans and recorded his "Victory Mixture" album with Dr. John, Eddie Bo, Allen Toussaint and others.
His other albums include the soulful "Coupe de Grace" and "Where Angels Fear to Tread." In 1985, "Sportin' Life" featured the European hit song "Italian Shoes."
Born in Stamford, Conn., he is survived by his wife, Nina.
Willy DeVille
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