Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: British Fashion Victims (nytimes.com)
Fiscal austerity is the fad of 2010. That fad is fading, but the damage is done.
Froma Harrop: What Was Wrong With the Auto Bailout? Nothing (creators.com)
Among the mysteries of public opinion, this one most strains the brain: Why do so many Americans think the government rescue of Detroit automakers was a bad - nay, an evil - thing? The bailout has been a rousing success, and that's the business press talking.
Daniel Goldstein: Library Inc. (chronicle.com)
From industry-backed research to CEO-style executive salaries and perquisites, the influence of corporate America on universities has been the subject of much popular and scholarly scrutiny.
Grady Hendrix: Great Writers Steal?(slate.com)
My Slate article on Rajinikanth was lifted by India Today.
PAUL CONSTANT: Portrait of the Artist as a Young, Drunken Cartoon (thestranger.com)
The equivalent of the poet-in-the-big-city memoir today is probably the comics memoir.
PAUL CONSTANT: Eileen Myles on the Origin of Eileen Myles (thestranger.com)
It's a story we've heard a billion times, in song and film and books: The young, naive poet with a lot of heart makes their way in the big city (ideally in the '60s or '70s, though the '80s are now acceptable, too) and is beaten down before finally finding a community and experiencing a few life lessons that help him/her find his/her own voice.
"Return of the Black Soul (Usagi Yojimbo #24)" by Stan Sakai: A review by Chris Bolto
It's an old story: new and splashy always stands out over constant and reliable. While Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo has developed a loyal following and won such prestigious industry awards as the Eisner (for volume 12, Grasscutter), the venerable comic series sometimes gets lost in the background of splashier projects and more famous, merchandise-ready characters.
Scott Adams: How to Write Like a Cartoonist (wsj.com)
Last weekend a French fry got lodged in my sinus cavity.
Richard Belzer: Detective Munch charges you to read these books
Famous for his portrayal of the sardonic Detective Munch on 'Homicide' and 'Law and Order SVU,' the actor and comedian has also penned 'I Am Not a Cop!' and its sequel 'I Am Not a Psychic!,' hilariously twisted crime thrillers dealing with the consequences of fame. He took a moment to share with us three books he treasures.
20 Questions: Mark Mustian
'The Gendarme' author, attorney and city commissioner Mark Mustian reveals to PopMatters 20 Questions a deep sensitivity to life for the average person; from the struggles of his Depression-era father to the modern working man, just trying to pay his utility bills.
"Acid Christ: Ken Kesey, LSD, and the Politics of Ecstasy" by Mark Christensen: A review by Jeff Baker
It's been almost nine years since Ken Kesey died of complications from liver cancer at age 66. There have been a few posthumous publications, notably Kesey's Jail Journal (2003) and a 40th-anniversary edition of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2002) that included sketches Kesey made while working as an orderly at a California hospital. There haven't been any books of previously unpublished or uncollected material, the way there usually are for an author of Kesey's stature, because there apparently isn't enough quality writing to complete a book.
Joe Queenan: Why I love Peanuts (guardian.co.uk)
It was simply drawn, its main character was a hapless loser, and it featured a dog convinced it that was a first world war flying ace. For 50 years, the comic strip Peanuts held America in thrall.
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Call it as ya See it' Edition...
The 2010 Mid-term Elections. No media intro or links are needed, I'm thinkin'...
We all know what's at stake here... So, gaze into yer Crystal Ball, break out the Ouija board, shuffle the Tarot cards, read yer tea leaves or just take a wild-ass guess and make yer prediction on the outcome, if'n ya dare...
The Democrats will:
1.) Retain the majority in both the House and the Senate
2.) Lose the House, but retain the Senate
3.) Retain the House, but lose the Senate
4.) Worse case scenario... and you know what that is, dagnabbit!
Predictions will be posted the morning of November 2nd.
... and may The Force be with us!
Send your response to
wrote:
replied:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Gray and overcast.
Toronto Visit
Dalai Lama
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama told a crowd of 30,000 at a baseball stadium in Toronto that attitudes toward war have changed.
The 75-year-old Buddhist leader who came to the city on a three-day visit noted that 200 million people were killed in war and violence in the 20th century.
The 21st century generations have a moral responsibility to build a happy, peaceful and compassionate world even though the beginning of the century was not a happy one, he said.
"Destruction of one part of the world is destruction of ourselves," the Tibetan leader told a packed Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto and stressed the need for developing a spirit of dialogue in the world on the basis of the fact that "others are just a part of ourselves."
Dalai Lama
Broadway Debut Next Year
Chris Rock
Comedian Chris Rock will make his Broadway debut in a new play about love and fidelity with an X-rated title.
Rock will join Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Annabella Sciorra and Yul Vazquez in a production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' play "The Mother ... With the Hat." (The title includes an expletive.)
The 14-week engagement begins previews on March 22 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.
The play centers on Jackie (Cannavale), a parolee who is newly sober, and his girlfriend, who is not. Rock will play Jackie's sponsor.
Chris Rock
"Demands" Information
FCC
With a contract dispute still keeping Fox programming off Cablevision systems, federal regulators are demanding information from both companies about the details of their negotiations.
Roughly 3 million Cablevision subscribers in the New York area have been cut off from baseball playoffs, "House" and other popular Fox shows since Fox pulled its programming a week ago in a battle over the fees that Cablevision pays.
With the blackout entering its second week, the Federal Communications Commission sent letters Friday to executives at Cablevision Systems Corp. and News Corp., which owns Fox. The FCC is asking the companies to describe how they are meeting a government mandate to negotiate in "good faith" and provide details about their efforts to reach a deal. The agency is also asking both companies to provide any evidence that the other side is not bargaining in good faith.
"Your contract dispute extends beyond just Fox and Cablevision," wrote William Lake, head of the FCC's media bureau. "It affects millions of innocent consumers who expect to watch their preferred broadcast programming without interruption. We urge you to place the interests of these consumers first and conclude your negotiations promptly."
FCC
Unlikely Admirer
John Mellencamp
Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin (R-Quitter) has found an admirer in John Mellencamp.
The legendary rocker says that while he doesn't support her positions, he is impressed by the mark she's made on the country since the 2008 election.
Mellencamp says people get the wrong idea about her intellect "just because she says things and winks."
Mellencamp gives Palin credit for handling the rough world of politics. He says "she's pushing the right buttons" and "you can't be stupid and do that."
John Mellencamp
Seek Refugee Status In Canada
Quaids
Actor Randy Quaid and his wife told Canada's immigration board Friday they are seeking refuge in Canada because they are being persecuted in the U.S., after they were arrested on U.S. warrants related to vandalism charges.
The pair were arrested on Thursday afternoon in a shopping area of an affluent Vancouver neighborhood.
The Quaids are wanted in Santa Barbara, where they missed a court hearing Monday on felony vandalism charges.
Evi Quaid begged a Canadian immigration adjudicator not to force them to return, saying on Friday that too many of her husband's actor friends have died under mysterious circumstances and she's worried something will happen to him next.
Quaids
CEO Quits
Tribune Co
Bankrupt newspaper publisher Tribune Co replaced its chief executive on Friday after a series of embarrassing news stories emboldened critics who said he tolerated a sexist and hostile workplace.
The owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times said Randy Michaels offered to resign and the board would transfer his duties to a four-member committee.
Michaels was brought to Tribune by Sam Zell, the real estate developer who bought the company in 2007 with billions of dollars of debt. The company filed for bankruptcy less than a year after the takeover that Zell has called "the deal from hell."
Zell's management has clashed with unions whose members are bitter about pay freezes while executives have reaped performance bonuses. The unions said thousands of layoffs made those bonuses possible.
Tribune Co
Avoids Jail, Ordered Back To Rehab
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan sidestepped another jail stint Friday when a California judge sent the 24-year-old troubled starlet back to rehab, telling her she was an addict and faced jail time if she relapsed again.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox ordered Lohan to remain at the Betty Ford Center until Jan. 3 and report back to court in late February.
A prosecutor had advocated a six-month jail sentence for the "Mean Girls" star, but Fox opted for rehab after reviewing filings by probation and rehab officials and a letter written by Lohan.
The actress told probation officials last week that she didn't want to remain in rehab for longer than a month because "continued inpatient treatment would be a hardship financially, and damaging to her career," according to a report filed in advance of a hearing Friday.
Probation officials and Lohan's doctors recommended she remain at Betty Ford, and the judge agreed.
Lindsay Lohan
"NPR Was Looking For A Reason"
Juan Williams
Ousted NPR analyst Juan Williams said Friday that he believes his former employer had been looking for a reason to fire him and used comments he made this week about Muslim airline passengers as an excuse to do so. Meanwhile, a U.S. senator said he would start the ball rolling to cut federal funding to the network.
Muslim groups were outraged by Williams' comments Monday on Fox News that he gets nervous when he sees people in Muslim dress on planes. But Williams' firing two days later prompted complaints by conservatives and even some liberals that NPR went too far.
Williams said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that he believes NPR had wanted to fire him for some time because they disapproved of his appearances on shows by his other employer, Fox News. Opinions Williams expressed on Fox News over the years had strained his relationship with NPR to the point that the public radio network asked him to stop using its name when he appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show.
Discussing the decision to fire Williams, NPR CEO Vivian Schiller said Thursday that controversial opinions should not come from NPR reporters or news analysts. Still, NPR was soundly criticized for axing Williams' contract for the interview in which he also said it is important to distinguish moderate Muslims from extremists.
Juan Williams
Replaces Mel Gibson In "Hangover 2"
Liam Neeson
Actor Liam Neeson has been given the cameo role lost by Mel Gibson in the sequel to comedy "The Hangover" after a revolt on set against the scandal-plagued Oscar star.
Hollywood showbusiness papers said on Friday that Neeson, star of "Love Actually" and "The A Team", would play a tattoo artist in "The Hangover 2", the follow-up to the raunchy 2009 hit comedy.
Neeson told Variety he "just got a call to do a one day shoot on 'Hangover 2' as a tattoo artist in Thailand, and that's all I know about it."
The planned comedy cameo in "Hangover 2" was widely seen as a way for Gibson to improve his battered public image. The original movie was a popular hit and raked in more than $467 million at global box offices.
Liam Neeson
***ADULT***
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