from Bruce
Anecdotes
Mishaps
• James Van Der Beek, star of TV’s Dawson’s Creek, got into acting partly through an accident. When he was 13 years old, he played organized football, but he suffered a concussion in a game. Instead of sitting on the bench the rest of the season, he decided to try acting in community theater and landed the role of bad boy Danny Zuko in Grease. That role increased his interest in acting, and soon he was heading to New York City to try to land roles. He did get a role in an acne-medicine commercial in which he would play the teenager with clear skin. Unfortunately, on the day the commercial was shot James had an outbreak of zits. Fortunately, he was able to keep the job — the zits were covered up with lots of makeup. Acting as a teenager had one other bad result for James: At Cheshire Academy, he had been elected vice president of his class, but he missed too many meetings because he was filming a movie titled Angus, and so he was impeached.
• Comedian Dave Thomas once starred in a television series titled The Dave Thomas Comedy Show. On the very first show, Mr. Thomas and guest Chevy Chase did a sketch about being afraid to fly, and they even wore ridiculous wigs with hair standing straight on end to show how scared of flying they were. On the night the TV show debuted, Mr. Thomas invited Mr. Chase and many other friends to his house, and they sat watching the program. Unfortunately, breaking news occurred as the fear-of-flying sketch unfolded. A real airplane crashed, and news of the crash — and film of staggering survivors — kept interrupting the show. For a while, the TV station alternated between showing horrible airplane wreckage and showing Mr. Thomas and Mr. Chase in ridiculous wigs joking about airplane disasters. Shortly afterward, the series was cancelled.
• Back in 1967, a TV commercial for Colt 45 Malt Liquor showed an impassive man named Billy Van seated at a table in a bullring as a matador fights a bull. The bull charged Mr. Van and the table, crashing him into a wall. In a close-up, Mr. Van dusts himself off impassively, sits down at the table impassively, and pours himself a glass of Colt 45 Malt Liquor — which makes him smile. The stunt with the bull was unplanned — the bull was supposed to ignore the man at the table and concentrate instead on the matador fighting him. Actually, the man at the table was not Mr. Van; it was another matador dressed as Mr. Van, who appeared only in the close-ups. The owner of the bullring told the TV film crew, “Don’t worry. If de matador dies, I get you another one.” Fortunately, the matador did not die.
• Carole Lombard once appeared in a radio program sponsored by International Silver. In addition to performing on the program, Ms. Lombard read a commercial endorsing the sponsor’s products. The commercial touted International Silver’s new pattern of silverware, Interlude, and Ms. Lombard had to read, “The bride who has Interlude on her dining room table will want Interlude in every room of the house.” However, during a dress rehearsal, a practical joker changed the wording of the commercial, so that Ms. Lombard found herself reading, “The bride who has Intercourse on her dining room table will want Intercourse in every room of the house.”
• Art Linkletter once pulled a stunt on his People are Funny TV program in which he rented a room at a hotel and had a young woman drop notes into the street reading, “Am being held by kidnappers in Room 617 … Help!” Sure enough, a sailor saw one of the notes and came rushing into the hotel, where he “rescued” the young woman, then appeared on Mr. Linkletter’s TV show. Unfortunately, several of the notes that the young woman dropped from her window fell to a ledge, where they stayed until a few days later, when they were blown into the street. Eventually, police officers rushed into room 617, searching for kidnappers and startling the paying guest.
• Arthur O’Connell once had the pleasure of conducting for Lily Pons — and of conducting a few selections without Ms. Pons. After Ms. Pons’ final song, the MC announced, “And now the Philadelphia Orchestra will play Beethoven’s Consecration of the House under the direction of Mr. O’Connell.” Unfortunately, a loud member of the audience yelled — with a voice clearly audible to Mr. O’Connell and the millions of people listening on the radio — “To h*ll with Mr. O’Connell; give us some more Lily Pons!” Ms. Pons was enough of a lady not to laugh — until she saw Mr. O’Connell laughing.
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Agente Naranja" [Agent Orange]
Album: THE RETURN OF THE CHAMPIÑONS
Artist: Viernes de Hongos [Mushroom Friday]
Artist Location: Mexico, Missouri
Info:
“Banda de Instro Surf Rock y otras cosas.”
“Instro [Instrumental] Surf Rock band and other stuff.”
Price: $1 for track; $5 (UDS) for six-track EP
Genre: Surf. Instrumental.
Links:
THE RETURN OF THE CHAMPIÑONS
Viernes de Hongos on Bandcamp
Viernes de Hongos on YouTube
Other Links:
Bruce’s Music Recommendations: FREE pdfs
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
Two-Fer, Plus
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Much quieter day.
Chinese Theatre in Hollywood
Regina King
Oscar and Emmy-winning star Regina King received a new honor in Hollywood Thursday as she placed her handprints and footprints in cement outside the TCL Chinese Theatre.
"You guys, I love my city. I love my city!" said King, a Los Angeles native.
King recalled the wonder of first seeing this landmark when she was just a girl.
From "Boyz n the Hood" to her Oscar-winning role in "If Beale Street Could Talk," to her current role in the new movie "The Harder They Fall" and directing "One Night In Miami" - just a small sample of one impressive career.
Regina King is currently preparing to play Shirley Chisholm, America's first Black congresswoman, in a new movie. But right now, she can celebrate her new hands and feet in cement at TCL's Chinese Theatre.
Regina King
Team Up With Boston Dynamics
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones and Boston Dynamics have dropped a special collaboration video, as Boston Dynamics robots imitate Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood to recreate a new eye-catching version of the band’s iconic “Start Me Up” video from 1981. The track celebrates its 40th anniversary this month.
In a first of its kind for the world’s leading robotics company, the unique collaboration sees Boston Dynamics robots get into the rhythm to re-enact the original music video of “Start Me Up,” a fan favorite and one of the Stones’ signature tracks. The fun video, released today, marks the first time Boston Dynamics have recreated a music video this way.
“Start Me Up,” first released in 1981, features on the 40th anniversary editions of The Rolling Stones’ multi-platinum album Tattoo You, which are out now.
The newly-remastered and expanded Tattoo You (40th Anniversary Edition) is available now, and features no fewer than nine previously unreleased tracks from the era. Tracks include the rocking “Living In The Heart Of Love,” which captures the quintessential Stones rock sound of the time with urgent guitar and piano features.
The original 11-track album included such enduring Stones tracks as the rock favorite “Hang Fire,” the atmospheric “Waiting On A Friend,” which featured a memorable appearance by saxophone giant Sonny Rollins, and of course the immortal opening track “Start Me Up.”
Rolling Stones
Exits Upcoming Film After Declining Vaccine
Ice Cube
Ice Cube has dropped out of the upcoming Sony comedy Oh Nell No after declining to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 52-year-old rapper-turned-actor exited the project after producers said the full cast would need to be vaccinated. In doing so, Ice Cube walked away from a $9 million pay day.
Production on the film, which co-stars Jack Black, has been postponed as the studio looks for a replacement. Kiato Sakuari (Bad Trip) is on board as director.
Ice Cube has yet to publicly comment on his decision to leave Oh Hell No, or why he is not getting vaccinated. In the past, however, he has been a proponent of mask wearing. In April 2020, he released “Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self” t-shirt featuring an image of himself wearing a mask, with proceeds benefiting frontline health workers. He also donated 2,000 face masks to Bacone College in Oklahoma.
Ice Cube
Rollins College
Mister Rogers
A little rain didn’t stop it from being a beautiful day at Rollins College in Florida as school officials unveiled a sculpture honoring alumnus and beloved children’s TV host Mister Rogers.
Rollins President Grant Cornwell and others held umbrellas during Thursday’s private ceremony as they pulled back a drape on the bronze rendering of Rogers in his iconic sweater and tennis shoes, a work entitled “A Beautiful Day for a Neighbor.”
Years before the world came to know him as Mister Rogers, Fred McFeely Rogers transferred to Rollins College in 1948 and graduated in 1951, according to the school. He majored in music composition and served as president of his fraternity and chairman of the Inter-Faith and Race Relations Committee. He also met his future wife at the school. He received an honorary degree from the school in 1974.
Rogers was best known for writing and appearing in 912 episodes of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which ran on public television from 1968 to 2001. He died in 2003. In recent years, he has been the subject of a popular documentary, as well as a feature film starring Tom Hanks.
The 360-degree sculpture was designed by Paul Day, a British artist known for his public monuments. The bronze cast piece stands over 7 feet (2 meters) tall and weighs more than 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms). It depicts Rogers surrounded by children, hand puppets from his show, lyrics from the series’ theme song and the show’s Neighborhood Trolley.
Mister Rogers
Firsthand Account
Guantanamo
A Guantanamo Bay prisoner who went through the brutal U.S. government interrogation program after the 9/11 attacks described it openly for the first time Thursday, saying he was left terrified and hallucinating from techniques that the CIA long sought to keep secret.
Majid Khan, a former resident of the Baltimore suburbs who became an al-Qaida courier, told jurors considering his sentence for war crimes how he was subjected to days of painful abuse in the clandestine CIA facilities known as “black sites,” as interrogators pressed him for information.
It was the first time any of the so-called high value detainees held at the U.S. base in Cuba have been able to testify about what the U.S has euphemistically called “enhanced interrogation" but has been widely condemned as torture.
Khan spoke of being suspended naked from a ceiling beam for long periods, doused repeatedly with ice water to keep him awake for days. He described having his head held under water to the point of near drowning, only to have water poured into his nose and mouth when the interrogators let him up. He was beaten, given forced enemas, sexually assaulted and starved in overseas prisons whose locations were not disclosed.
He spent about three years in CIA black sites before he was taken to Guantanamo in September 2006. He said he never saw the light of day in the black sites and had no contact with anyone other than guards and interrogators from his capture until his sixth year at the detention center on the base in Cuba.
Guantanamo
$100M On Taxpayers Tab
Arpaio
Nearly five years after Joe Arpaio was voted out as sheriff of Arizona’s most populous county, taxpayers have covered one of the last major bills from the thousands of lawsuits the lawman’s headline-grabbing tactics inspired — and the overall legal tab has hit $100 million.
Officials in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, agreed last week to pay $3.1 million to cover the county’s portion of a settlement with a restaurant owner who alleged Arpaio defamed him and violated his rights when raiding his businesses.
The payout boosted the cost stemming from the Republican sheriff’s six terms to $100 million for attorney fees, settlements and other costs the county has paid from lawsuits over things such as jail deaths, failed investigations of the sheriff’s political enemies and immigration raids of businesses.
That doesn’t include the separate $178 million and counting taxpayers have shelled out in a 2007 racial profiling case stemming from Arpaio’s signature traffic patrols targeting immigrants, though about 75% of that spending has occurred during his successor’s watch as he works to comply with court-ordered overhauls of the sheriff’s office.
Some of the most high-profile payouts were $8.25 million over the asphyxiation death of a man who struggled with Arpaio’s jail officers; $8.7 million for officials and judges who claimed Arpaio launched trumped-up investigations against them; $3.5 million in a lawsuit alleging Arpaio’s office botched the investigation into the rape of a 13-year-old girl who has developmental difficulties; and $200,000 for a pretrial jail detainee who was restrained before and after giving birth at a hospital.
Arpaio
Hereditary Slavery
Mali
U.N. human rights experts on Friday called on Mali to crack down on hereditary slavery after a series of violent attacks against people born into servitude.
Slavery was officially abolished in colonial Mali in 1905, but a system persists in which people are still forced to work without pay for families that enslaved their ancestors, the United Nations group of experts said in a statement.
Malian law does not specifically criminalise this form of slavery, so perpetrators are rarely held accountable, they said.
Descent-based slavery is also practiced in Mali's neighbours Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania, which became the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1981.
Mali
Massive Solar Flare
Earth
The sun belched up a large flare of charged particles on Oct. 28, and now that electric wind is barreling toward Earth as a strong geomagnetic storm.
The storm — which ranks as a category G3 on the Space Weather Prediction Center's (SWPC) 5-tier scale — is expected to reach Earth late on Saturday (Oct. 30), with effects continuing into Halloween (Oct. 31), according to a SWPC statement.
"Impacts to our technology from a G3 storm are generally nominal. However, a G3 storm has the potential to drive the aurora further away from its normal polar residence," the SWPC wrote. "The aurora might be seen over the far Northeast, to the upper Midwest and over the state of Washington."
Large solar flares, or coronal mass ejections (CMEs), are a routine type of space weather that occur when enormous blobs of plasma (electrically charged gases that make up all the stars in the universe) escape the sun's atmosphere and ooze through space at hundreds to thousands of miles a second. (The current G3 storm is traveling at about 600 miles, or 970 kilometers, per second, according to SWPC.)
It typically takes a CME about 15 to 18 hours to reach Earth, where the blob slams into our planet's magnetic shield, compressing the shield slightly. Charged solar particles then shoot down the magnetic field lines, heading toward the North and South Poles and bumping into atmospheric molecules along the way. The agitated molecules release energy as colorful light, creating auroras.
Earth
“Virgin Births”
California Condors
Endangered California condors can have “’virgin births,” according to a study released Thursday.
Researchers with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said genetic testing confirmed that two male chicks hatched in 2001 and 2009 from unfertilized eggs were related to their mothers. Neither was related to a male.
The study was published Thursday in the the Journal of Heredity. It’s the first report of asexual reproduction in California condors, although parthenogenesis can occur in other species ranging from sharks to honey bees to Komodo dragons.
The researchers said they believe it is the first case of asexual reproduction in any avian species where the female had access to a mate.
“Among 467 male California condors tested in the parentage analysis, no male qualified as a potential sire” of the two birds, the study said.
California Condors
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