from Bruce
Anecdotes
Religion
• Billy Graham occasionally appeared on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, for which he was criticized by people who felt that preachers should not know celebrities. However, Mr. Graham said that Jesus went among the sinners and therefore he could go on Jack Paar’s show.
Respect
• NBC News Washington correspondent John Yang is highly respected, very traveled, and completely gay. He could pass as straight, but he chooses not to, saying, “There are certain things about myself that are immutable, and some of them are obvious. I’m Asian. I mean, anyone who sees me on the air or hears my last name knows that. And in a way, I felt that I can’t pass as not being Asian, so why should I pass as being straight?” Many conservative politicians really don’t care if someone is gay, although you may not be able to tell that from their public pronouncements. After a conservative Republican Senator (unfortunately, not named) read an article in which Mr. Yang’s sexual orientation was mentioned, he called Mr. Yang and said, “John, I saw that thing about you in the magazine. I just want to tell you it doesn’t make any difference to me. You’re still the best d*mned reporter I’ve ever dealt with.” The senator then asked, “I haven’t said anything wrong, have I?” Mr. Yang replied, “No, Senator. You said just the right thing.”
• Marti Noxon was extremely happy when she got a job writing for the first season of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a midseason replacement series on the WB — a network that was then pretty much at the bottom of the TV barrel. Of course, shaking with excitement and happiness, she called her mother to give her the good news, but after she said the names of the series and the network, her mother paused, then said, “Oh, honey, next year you’ll do better.” Another person who didn’t get much respect was Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred as Buffy. She told all her friends about her new role, but they weren’t impressed. Ms. Gellar said, “You try being on a midseason replacement show on the WB called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and see how much respect you get.” Fortunately, as everyone knows, the series became a cult favorite and stayed on the air for seven seasons.
Soap Operas
• Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, and Hugh Franklin, a professional actor who played a leading role on the TV soap opera All My Children, were happily married for many years. Ms. L’Engle once talked to a taxi driver and speculated about whether her and her husband’s many years of marriage had set a record for the longest-lasting marriage between an author and an actor. The taxi driver turned to her and said, “Lady, that’s not a record — that’s a miracle!”
• During the Great Depression, radio shows of every kind were very popular. Women, of course, enjoyed the soap operas of the day, including Our Gal Sunday. In fact, women could walk around the block in New York City in the summer and not miss a word of their favorite soap opera because every radio would be tuned to it and in the days before air conditioning every window and many doors would be open.
Stunts
• Of course, stunt men and stunt women played an important part in the filming of the 1960s tongue-in-cheek TV spy series The Avengers. However, you may be surprised to read that in some cases stunt men performed the stunts of Diana Rigg, who played Mrs. Emma Peel. For example, in the episode “The Bird Who Knew Too Much,” Peter Elliott performs Mrs. Peel’s high dive into the swimming pool. In many cases, however, stunt woman Cyd Child designed and performed Mrs. Peel’s dangerous stunts.
• In the TV series The New Avengers, actor Gareth Hunt performed a dangerous stunt in which he smashed through a glass window. In doing so, he cut his forehead and began bleeding. His co-star in the series, Patrick Macnee, who played an older John Steed, leaned down to him and said, “Dear boy, the biggest stunt I ever do is getting in and out of the car.”
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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: "Jennifer Knows"
Album: CAN YOU FEEL IT?
Artist: Groovy Uncle
Record Company: Aldora Britain Records
Record Company Location: Rothley, UK
Info:
“AB Records is an e-zine and record label that promotes the music and work of authentic independent or underground artists from all around the world. Originally established in 2013, they revamped themselves in 2018 with a brand-new approach. Their first weekly compilation, aptly titled THE SECOND COMING, was released in late 2019. They now also release original singles, EPs and charity projects.”
“Jennifer Knows” is also on Groovy Uncle’s 12-track album MEANWHILE BACK IN MEDIEVAL BRITAIN £1 (GBP) for track, and £10 (GBP) for 12-track album
Price: £0.50 (GBP) for 11-track album
Genre: Pop. Americana. Various.
Links:
CAN YOU FEEL IT?
Aldora Britain Records on Bandcamp
Groovy Uncle on Bandcamp
Glenn Prangnell (Groovy Uncle) on YouTube
MEANWHILE BACK IN MEDIEVAL BRITAIN
Aldora Britain Records 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
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Stephen Suggests
Acts of Faith,
New Venture
Michael Egan
B2tBBob
Music News
The Stars Align...
'Dancing In The Street' is included in their set so you just know that Mick's gonna get her up to sing it with him... Click and read how excited she is.
Martha Reeves invited to sit onstage with the Rolling Stones in Detroit
(Nov 15th at Ford Field)
Bad to the Bone Bob
Thanks, Robert!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
From Politico:
“The Trump government in exile,” as one attendee described it, gathered at Mar-a-Lago for the America First Policy Institute fundraiser Thursday. Guests at the season’s first major Mar-a-Lago money-making bash included MARK MEADOWS, former acting A.G. MATT WHITAKER, Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-Colo.) in a “Let’s Go Brandon” dress, Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.), LARRY KUDLOW, KELLYANNE CONWAY, SEAN SPICER, Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.), ANDREW WHEELER, CHAD WOLF and LINDA MCMAHON. Even JARED KUSHNER attended.
Can you imagine the stench?!
If someone can put me in touch with Rand Paul's neighbor, I'm willing to offer him a wad of money to beat the snot out of Paul again. The insufferable, incompetent, self-aggrandizing bully and quack needs a lot less snot than he currently seems to possess.
Happy Guy Fawkes Day! When Lenny and I were living in England, kids came to our door hauling their effigies in a wagon and asking for "Pennies for the Guy" in advance of the bonfires.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Even foggier!
Joins ‘Grace and Frankie’s’ Final Season
Dolly Parton
Netflix announced that Dolly Parton will guest star on “Grace and Frankie’s” seventh and final season.
The streamer did not announce who she would be playing or how she would interact with stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, though.
In the show, Fonda and Tomlin play the titular characters who found their lives turned upside down when their husbands (played by Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, respectively) revealed they were gay and left the women for each other.
The final season of “Grace and Frankie” dropped its first four episodes of the 16-episode season earlier this year, with the rest set to launch in 2022. The show will close out with 94 total episodes, making it Netflix’s longest-running original series to date.
Dolly Parton
Cancels Appearance
Little Tucker
A day after Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s monologue on opioid painkillers was leaked, conservative political commentator Jesse Watters replaced him on his talk show.
Watters appeared as a guest host on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Thursday night, where he discussed how an alleged Russian claim “changed the course of United States politics.”
Carlson reportedly underwent an emergency back surgery on Wednesday morning and then went to the studio to host his show at night, Fox News said.
However, in a recording obtained by Motherboard, Carlson can be heard saying he took a huge amount of opioid painkillers after the surgery and describing it as “one of the most intense experiences” of his life.
“They gave me Fentanyl this morning, that did not cure it — they gave me intravenous Fentanyl. And they gave me all kinds of other s***. I was like, ‘Fine, go for it'’ And then it only ended when they gave me propofol, and I went out. Then I woke up and I was like, I felt totally fine. I haven’t taken a single Advil,” he said in the purported recording.
Little Tucker
Ousting Mockingbird
Florida
After nearly a century on its lofty perch, the northern mockingbird may be singing its last melodies as the state bird of Florida.
An effort is taking flight to replace the far-ranging musical mockingbird with a bird that is more identifiable as distinctly Floridian.
“Part of what we’re working to do is highlight that Florida has these incredible species and we should recognize the bird that most represents Florida,” said state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican whose legislation would strip the mockingbird of its title. ”To me, it’s a fun conversation to have.”
Suggestions for a new state bird are all over the map, but four main contenders have emerged: the Florida scrub jay, flamingo, osprey and roseate spoonbill. The white ibis, swallow-tailed kite and wood stork also get mentioned. Some joke it should be the construction crane.
The gray-and-white mockingbird, celebrated in literature and music, has been Florida’s state bird since 1927, when the state was much more agricultural and less populated on the coasts. It may not be quite as representative of today’s bustling, modern Florida — and four other states also call it the state bird.
Florida
"Baby Shark" Torture
Oklahoma
A group of former inmates filed a civil lawsuit this week against Oklahoma county authorities, alleging that they were "tortured" by jail officials who made them listen to the children's song "Baby Shark" for hours while incarcerated. The lawsuit comes after two jail officials and their supervisor were criminally charged last year over the alleged conduct, The Associated Press reported.
Daniel Hedrick, Joseph Mitchell and John Basco alleged in the civil suit that during separate instances in November and December 2019, they were taken from their cells at the Oklahoma County Detention Center by two officers, forced into a "standing stress position" with their arms handcuffed behind their back, and were forced to listen to "Baby Shark" repeatedly for hours. They alleged that the "volume of the song was so loud that it was reverberating down the hallways."
The suit described the conduct as "tantamount to torture," calling the the two officers "wanton, depraved and sadistic." The suit noted that heavy metal music had been played at Guantanamo Bay "as an 'enhanced interrogation' technique to weaken Iraqi captives' resolve," and cited academic research into why the "Baby Shark" song is particularly irritating, especially when repeated.
In October 2020, the two former jail employees named in the suit were charged with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a prisoner and conspiracy in connection with Hedrick, Mitchell and Basco's claims, The Associated Press reported. The employees were also accused of the same conduct with another former inmate who did not join the civil suit. That trial is scheduled for February.
"It was unfortunate that I could not find a felony statute to fit this fact scenario," Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said at the time, according to the AP. "I would have preferred filing a felony on this behavior."
Oklahoma
FBI Searches Homes
Project Veritas
Federal agents searched the New York homes of people tied to the conservative group Project Veritas months after the group received a diary that a tipster claimed belonged to President Joe Biden’s youngest daughter, its leader said Friday.
In a video posted on YouTube, James O’Keefe said his organization had received a grand jury subpoena and said current and former Project Veritas employees had their homes searched by federal agents.
An FBI spokesman confirmed that agents had conducted “court authorized law enforcement activity” at an apartment in Manhattan and an address in Mamaroneck in Westchester County. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment.
In the video, O’Keefe says that his group was contacted late last year by “tipsters” who had claimed to have a copy of Ashley Biden’s diary. The tipsters said the diary had been “abandoned in a room” after she left the room, O’Keefe said, adding that the tipsters said the diary had “explosive allegations against then-candidate Joe Biden.”
O’Keefe said the tipsters who had provided the diary had contacted the group and at the time said they were also negotiating with another organization to sell the information. Ultimately, Project Veritas did not publish information from the diary, in part because the group could not determine if it belonged to Ashley Biden, or if the information was authentic, he said.
Project Veritas
Improper Access
‘Mar-a-Lago Three’
Veterans Affairs officials on Friday conceded that a trio of executives with personal ties to former President Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up) had “unusually pervasive access” to senior VA leaders during his administration, an arrangement that prompted a lawsuit against the department accusing them of violating federal transparency rules.
The department did not admit to any legal wrongdoing, but did note that “even the appearance of these individuals’ access to the VA during the previous administration may have been concerning to the public.”
The move follows findings by congressional investigators earlier this fall and widespread news reports that criticized the three men’s influence over VA policy.
The men involved — Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter, primary care specialist Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, and attorney Marc Sherman — were asked by Trump in 2017 to act as unofficial advisors on veterans issues. All three were dues-paying members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
At the time, White House officials insisted that the arrangement was simply an opportunity for the president to hear outside views on the sprawling veterans bureaucracy. But a ProPublica investigation into the group in 2018 found the trio had significant access to and influence over VA officials, without any official public oversight role.
‘Mar-a-Lago Three’
Won't Stop
Arizona
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R-Summer's Eve) is defying a demand that he stop using federal coronavirus relief money to fund an education grant program that can only go to schools without mask mandates.
The Republican governor also is continuing a program that gives private school vouchers to parents upset that their children's schools require masks or quarantines after being exposed to COVID-19.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday, Ducey's federal grant team manager ignored the department's demand that he stop using the money. Instead, Jason Mistlebauer said the money was appropriately being used to help students who were harmed by school mask mandates.
“In Arizona, disadvantaged communities bear the brunt of overbearing measures and the state wants to ensure that low-income students are not disproportionately affected by mask mandates rules and school closures,” Mistlebauer wrote.
Despite the rationale Mistlebauer laid out, a $163 million grant program Ducey created goes to schools in high-income areas, but only if they do not require masks. And a much smaller program that gives private school vouchers to parents whose children's public schools have mask mandates or require isolation after COVID-19 exposures doesn't only target low-income children. Applicants can earn up to 350% of the federal poverty level, which equals $92,750 for a family of four.
Arizona
Denounces Rally Cry
NASCAR
NASCAR denounced its association with the “Let’s go, Brandon” political cry being used across the country as an insult directed at President Joe Biden. Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s president, said Friday the top motorsports series in the United States does not want to be associated with politics “on the left or the right.”
Phelps also said NASCAR will pursue action against any illegal use of its trademarks on merchandise boasting the slogan. Retired baseball star Lenny Dykstra posted a photo on Twitter this week of a man eating breakfast at a New Jersey hotel wearing a black “Let’s go, Brandon” shirt alongside NASCAR’s trademarked color bars.
“We will pursue whoever (is using logos) and get that stuff,” Phelps said. “That’s not OK. It’s not OK that you’re using our trademarks illegally, regardless of whether we agree with what the position is.”
Brandon Brown won his first career NASCAR race in October in Alabama, and the Talladega Superspeedway crowd at the Xfinity Series race chanted “F--- Joe Biden” during Brown’s interview. It was not clear if NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast, who was wearing a headset, could hear what the crowd was saying during the interview, and she incorrectly told Brown the fans were cheering “Let’s go, Brandon.”
The phrase has become a rallying cry for Biden’s critics, and “Let’s go, Brandon” is now conservative code for the original vulgar chant.
NASCAR
Carves a Deadly Signature
Lightning
There's an idea in the popular imagination that being struck by lightning is an extremely rare way to go. Statistically speaking, there is some truth to that.
Nonetheless, fatal lightning strikes, rare or not, are still a rampant source of human misery every year. At least 4,500 people are known to be killed by lightning each year, though by some estimates the figure could stretch into the tens of thousands.
Thing is, we really don't have good data on death by natural electrocution. With many strikes occurring in remote places, evidence of such a death isn't always easy to collect.
When a body is struck by lightning, a lot of different things happen. For those who do not survive the ordeal, a range of physical evidence is left on their bodies that can identify the cause of death: damage to the skin, including sometimes burn marks, as well as trauma to various organs.
But what if all the tissue decomposes? From the standpoint of forensic scientists who may only have bones to work with, does lightning leave any discernible trace behind on a skeleton?
Lightning
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