The Weekly Poll
Now With Working Link!
This week's poll:
Unisex Selective Service Registration
OK, Poll-Fans, here it is...
Senator Barack Obama has gone on record that females aged 18-25 be required to register with the Selective Service as males in that age group are required by law to do.
He also is in favor of opening up all 'Combat Arms' positions that women are not currently not allowed to participate in...
Candidates differ on female draft
Are you in favor or opposed to these positions?
BadtotheboneBob
Send your response to BadtotheBoneBob (BCEpoll (at) aol.com)
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
PAUL KRUGMAN: The Great Illusion (nytimes.com)
The conflict in the Caucasus may be an omen. Will nationalism kill globalization - again?
Mark Morford: Sodomy and gratitude (sfgate.com)
Nine perfect ways to prepare for the End of Bush. Can you believe it?
TOM DANEHY: How will certain ne'er-do-wells take advantage of the economic doldrums? (tucsonweekly.com)
A few ways that people and organizations will try to use the current economic situation to their advantage:
* With gasoline prices going back down, Hummer dealers will try to lure buyers back with the sales pitch, "If the economy tanks completely, it's safer to live in a Hummer than in a Honda Civic."
* The University of Arizona will use the crisis as an excuse to raise tuition--not that they actually need an excuse.
Deb Price: Gay Americans Have a Friend in Obama
With the exception of marriage, the Democrat supports all major gay rights.
Joshua Kendall: "Noah Webster: The definition of Yankee know-how" (latimes.com)
Webster's flaming red hair and remarkably erect bearing made him a striking figure. He wore long-tailed coats and frilled shirts long after they went out of style. Though devoted to his seven children, Webster was largely a loner and spent most of his days in his study. Of Webster's major character flaw, most of his contemporaries concurred that it was "unbounded vanity." Webster was always talking himself up. When the famous physician Benjamin Rush once greeted him with the salutation, "I congratulate you on your arrival in Philadelphia," Webster is reported to have shot back, "You may, if you please, sir, congratulate Philadelphia upon the occasion!"
Rachel Swan: White People Uncovered (eastbayexpress.com)
How a failed journalist became the Margaret Mead of white people.
DAN MACINTOSH: "The Liberated Chameleon: An Interview With Alison Moyet" (popmatters.com)
Alison Moyet may be several artists at once, but she's still just herself.
Rick Bentley: Dennis Hopper says 'Crash' character is his craziest yet (McClatchy Newspapers)
Dennis Hopper's oxygen-sniffing character of Frank Booth in the 1986 film "Blue Velvet" was a Hall of Fame kind of crazy. The 72-year-old actor also has played characters you would not want to meet in a dark alley in movies such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" and "Hell Ride," just to name a few.
Lewis Beale: Fast chat with 'Rachel Getting Married' director Jonathan Demme (McClatchy Newspapers)
Jonathan Demme has long had one of the most interesting careers in the film business. An Oscar-winning director ("The Silence of the Lambs"), the 64-year-old Demme has also enjoyed success as a concert filmmaker ("Stop Making Sense"), documentarian ("Cousin Bobby") and low-budget indie god ("Melvin and Howard").
'There's a seismic shift happening' (guardian.co.uk)
His attack on Hollywood's 'white myth' of the war led to a row with Clint Eastwood and has now outraged Italian veterans. With a black man headed for the White House, Spike Lee tells Matt Mueller why history is on his side.
James Bone: Brady Bunch star 'traded sex for drugs' (timesonline.co.uk)
Actress who played little miss perfect Marcia Brady in the 1970s sitcom says she later became hooked on drugs.
Germaine Greer: Sons and lovers (guardian.co.uk)
It's the ultimate murder mystery, full of violence, bad parenting and secrets. But does Oedipus still speak to our 'broken society' - or is it just an enduring myth?
Charlie was first, and correct, with:
MAM 
noted:
Reader Reply
"Have some madiera, my dear"
Tell Joe S that I recall Tony Randall read the poem on some variety / comedy show (maybe SNL?) a few (actually many... ahem) years back. Cheers.
socdan
Thanks, socdan!
The lyrics begin:
She was young, she was pure, she was new, she was nice
She was fair, she was sweet seventeen.
He was old, he was vile, and no stranger to vice
He was base, he was bad, he was mean.
He had slyly inveigled her up to his flat
To view his collection of stamps,
And he said as he hastened to put out the cat,
The wine, his cigar and the lamps:
Have some madiera, m'dear. You really have nothing to fear.
I'm not trying to tempt you, that wouldn't be right,
You shouldn't drink spirits at this time of night.
Have some madiera, m'dear. It's really much nicer than beer.
Source
Some background:
The Folk Era (a term coined by Dr. Louis Gottlieb to cover that period of popular music from the advent of Harry Belafonte, Josh White, the Weavers, through the Kingston Trio and its imitators, to the appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan - essentially the decade ending in 1964) produced some of the more interesting and best educated people to grace popular music ever, and their cultural (if not musical) influence was immense, if only admitted by their beneficiaries under torture.
Lou Gottlieb, the wise-cracking, bass fiddle-thumping founder of the Limeliters folk music trio of the 1960s...
``Clean mind, clean body . . . take your pick,'' Mr. Gottlieb would crack, before the group sang one of its best-known tunes, ``Have Some Madeira, M'Dear,'' about what happens when an older man persuades a younger woman to take a sip of wine too many.
The Slightly Fabulous Dr. Gottlieb
Steve from 'Dick Eats Bush'
New Video
20 something year old song. Guessing many of you have heard the band Triumph.
Reader Comment
McCain on Letterman
Marty,
I watched Letterman with Insane McCain last night. Old John didn't do himself any favors. Dave handed John his ass on a platter. Letterman asked all the questions reporters let slide. Letterman is a man of principle.
Here's a link to the story along with a video on Huffington Post.
Peace --Joe S
Thanks, Joe!
Reader Comment
Biden on Leno
Hi Marty,
Okay, call me the pessimist, but did you catch Biden on Leno last night? He sat there like a lump of clay - I thought the VP candidate is supposed to be the attack dog for the candidate? He just sat there, did no campaigning, and actually complimented Sarah Palin - more than once as well!! Discracia!!
In the meantime, McCain appeared on Letterman and wowed the crowd - snarling away, and flat out asking for votes - as any candidate worth his salt would!!
I tell you, Obama is missing the boat! I want a candidate with a backbone and some pearly white teeth!! (Preferably biting his opponent in the ass with those pearly whites!!)
Polls have McCain only 2% points away from Obama - and you know what? That's too close for comfort - and does not allow for the bigots who will vote from behind their white curtain!!
I am just beside myself today.
FIGHT for it, GD it Barack!!
As ever,
Sally P :0
Thanks, Sally!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny and warm.
We attended Poly's homecoming game against Millikan.
Poly won (of course), 50 - 7.
And, thanks to Snoop Dogg, there were fireworks at halftime.
Got a really late start tonight, so may leave some uploading til later.
Buys TV Time
Ellen DeGeneres
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres has bought $100,000 of television airtime to urge Californians to vote to save the right to gay marriage in a November ballot, campaign organizers said on Friday.
Her message will be broadcast on television as celebrities step up the fight to defeat Proposition 8 on the November4 state ballot that seeks to define marriage under the California constitution as only between a man and a woman.
"Hi, I'm Ellen DeGeneres. I got to do something this year I never thought I'd ever be able to do: I got married. It was the happiest day of my life. There are people out there raising millions of dollars to try and take that right away from me.
"You've seen their ads on TV. They're twisting the truth, and they're trying to scare you. I believe in fairness. I believe in compassion. I believe in equality for all people. Proposition 8 does not. Please, please, vote no on Prop. 8," the actress says in her appeal.
Ellen DeGeneres
McPalin Appearance A Big Draw
Letterman
Television viewers love a confrontation. David Letterman got his biggest audience in nearly three years with John McCain's rescheduled appearance on Thursday night.
McCain told Letterman that he "screwed up" by canceling a guest shot three weeks ago because of the economic crisis. Letterman has hammered him ever since, and questioned the Republican sharply Thursday on Sarah Palin and campaign tactics.
Nielsen Media Research says 6.5 million viewers watched, nearly 3 million more than Letterman typically gets. It was Letterman's biggest night since a December 2005 appearance by someone else he's had tense times with - Oprah Winfrey.
Letterman
Mocks Palin
Joe Biden
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden mocked rival Sarah Palin's comment in North Carolina that she loves visiting "pro-America" parts of the country, arguing that the entire nation is patriotic.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have never been to a state that hasn't sent its sons and daughters to serve its country," Biden said Friday in New Mexico as the crowd booed Palin's reported comments. "It doesn't matter where you live, we all love this country. And I hope it gets through that one of the reasons why Barack (Obama) and I are running is that we know how damaging the policy of division ... has been.
"We are one nation, under God, indivisible," Biden shouted to the crowd. "We are all patriotic, we all love this country."
Joe Biden
Live From New York
Palin
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is set to appear on this week's broadcast of "Saturday Night Live," the entertainment show that has featured a popular parody of the Alaska governor by former cast member Tina Fey.
Palin will appear Saturday on the show hosted by actor Josh Brolin, who plays resident Bush in director Oliver Stone's new movie, "W."
"SNL" is a popular stop on the entertainment circuit for presidential candidates and their running mates. Obama has appeared briefly on the show, and Republican presidential candidate John McCain once hosted it.
Palin
Middle East International Film Festival Honors
Susan Sarandon
Oscar winner Susan Sarandon spoke about her role as an actress and activist Thursday during the second annual Middle East International Film Festival.
Sarandon was guest of honor at a screening of social documentary "The Shape of Water," narrated by Sarandon and directed by scholar and cultural critic Kum Kum Bhavani. The documentary revolves around the local activism of five women in Brazil, India, Jerusalem and Senegal in response to such issues as oppression and lack of economic freedom.
Joined by a panel that included French actress Carole Bouquet and panel host and festival director Nashwa Al Ruwaini, Sarandon spoke about Jane Fonda, who was honored for her social activism in cinema at a tribute and gala dinner Wednesday evening at the lavish Emirates Palace, where much of the festival takes place.
Susan Sarandon
Hospital News
Jerri Nielsen
A doctor who was forced to treat herself for cancer while trapped on a South Pole research station for an Antarctic winter is battling a new outbreak of the disease, Australian media said Friday.
Jerri Nielsen, whose dramatic ordeal with breast cancer inspired the movie "Ice Bound" starring Susan Sarandon, has pulled out of an Australian visit to begin treatment for brain cancer, Sydney's Daily Telegraph said.
Nielsen, who is in her mid 50s, was to be the guest speaker at a Sydney Breast Clinic dinner on October 21.
Jerri Nielsen
Rodney's Widow Settles Lawsuit
Joan Dangerfield
A judge in Los Angeles has ordered a former friend of Rodney Dangerfield not to distribute video footage of the late comedian taken during the final years of his life.
The permanent injunction settles a lawsuit filed last year by Dangerfield's widow against producer David Permut. Lawyers for Joan Dangerfield filed the court papers in the case Tuesday.
Joan Dangerfield sued Permut after he allegedly showed video of her husband to two writers and was planning on editing the 200 hours of footage into a documentary called "Respect."
Attorneys for both parties declined to comment, saying the other terms of the settlement are confidential.
Joan Dangerfield
Pleads Guilty
Andy Dick
Actor Andy Dick has plead guilty to misdemeanor drug and battery charges.
Dick was ordered to serve three years of probation and wear an alcohol monitor for the next year, court records show. He avoided felony charges stemming from his arrest in mid-July after prosecutors determined Dick did not commit felony sexual battery after a teenage girl accused him of pulling her top down.
The "NewsRadio" actor did not appear in a Riverside County courtroom on Friday to answer to the charges, but his attorney stood in for him.
Andy Dick
Scientists Have New Clue
H.L. Hunley
It's long been a mystery why the H.L. Hunley never returned after becoming the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship in 1864, but new research announced Friday may lend credence to one of the theories. Scientists found the eight-man crew of the hand-cranked Confederate submarine had not set the pump to remove water from the crew compartment, which might indicate it was not being flooded.
That could mean crew members suffocated as they used up air, perhaps while waiting for the tide to turn and the current to help take them back to land.
The new evidence disputes the notion that the Hunley was damaged and took on water after ramming a spar with a charge of black powder into the Union blockade ship Housatonic.
Scientists studying the sub said they've found its pump system was not set to remove water from the crew compartment as might be expected if it were being flooded.
H.L. Hunley
Popular Reading In Germany
'Das Kapital'
Some Germans seem to be seeking solace in the words of their countryman Karl Marx amid the global financial crisis - to the delight of a small academic publisher.
The Karl-Dietz Verlag has sold 1,500 copies of Marx's "Das Kapital" this year, making the annotated edition of the dense text an unlikely hit for the Berlin publisher. It moved 200 in September, as many as it used to sell in a year.
"It's definitely in vogue right now," Joern Schuetrumpf, the publisher's director, told The Associated Press. "The financial crisis brought us a huge bump."
Schuetrumpf said Karl-Dietz's yearly sales for the work that Marx wrote in 1867 once barely cracked the double digits. But he has noted a steady upward trend since 2005, when 400 copies were sold, to a total of 1,300 sales in 2007.
'Das Kapital'
Better Return
World Whisky Index
While investors flee traditional markets such as stocks and commodities on growing recession fears, trade in rare bottles of whisky is flourishing.
Roughly 11 months after the launch of a Dutch online trade platform for exclusive single malt whiskies, mostly from Scotland, the World Whisky Index has seen an average return of 26.2 percent, compared to a more than 40 percent decline in the MSCI World stock index.
The top gainer on the index is a 30-year old Bowmore Scotch whisky in a ceramic bottle, which has gained about 137 percent in the past eleven months and is now worth about 450 euros.
World Whisky Index
In Memory
Levi Stubbs
Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs, who possessed one of the most dynamic and emotive voices of all the Motown singers, died Friday at 72.
With Stubbs in the lead, the Four Tops sold millions of records, including such hits as "Baby I Need Your Loving," "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)."
The group performed for more than four decades without a change in personnel. Stubbs' death leaves one surviving member of the original group: Abdul "Duke" Fakir.
The Four Tops began singing together in 1953 under the group name the Four Aims and signed a deal with Chess Records. They later changed their names to the Four Tops to avoid being confused with the Ames Brothers.
The Four Tops signed with Motown Records in 1963 and produced 20 Top-40 hits over the next 10 years, making music history with the other acts in Berry Gordy's Motown stable.
Other hits included "Shake Me, Wake Me" (1966); "Bernadette" and "Standing in the Shadows of Love" (both 1967).
Stubbs also provided the voice for 'Audrey II' in the movie "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986).
Stubbs was born in 1936 in Detroit and attended Pershing High School, where he sang with Fakir. They met fellow Detroiters Payton and Benson while singing at a mutual friend's birthday party, then decided to form a group.
Stubbs is survived by his wife, five children and 11 grandchildren.
Levi Stubbs
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