Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: When MAGA Fantasy Meets Rust Belt Reality (NY Times)
Trump can't run America by yelling at people. Who knew?
Jonathan Chait: Paul Ryan Departing Washington in a Blaze of Fraudulence (NY Mag)
Somehow [Paul Ryan] has managed to pose as a figure who has fought rising deficits with only partial success, rather than having been largely responsible for their growth. "I think history is going to be very good to this [Republican] majority," he proclaimed. Only if historians are as gullible as the news media.
Matthew Yglesias: Elizabeth Warren wants to outflank Trump on trade (Vox)
"His actual policies aren't stopping [GM] or others like them from continuing to put corporate profits ahead of American workers."
Mary Beard: Grade Inflation (TLS)
For years we have had published criteria for getting a First versus getting a 2.1… the students know these and we mark to them. This is transparency, and rightly. Some of us (as occasionally I am almost tempted to do) may say that this is almost a template for getting a first… just follow the rules. But it is hard to stick up for the old system in which getting a first was mystical. And, to be honest, if you tell clever students what the criteria are for getting a First, they will go out and do it. That's what being clever IS. So let's just be careful about deploring grade inflation.
Mary Beard: "The Macron report: what should go back, where and when" (TLS)
The question is which works of art should move and, even more to the point, on what criteria. Time, in practice, is often one that lets some objects off the hook. I don't know of anyone who suggests that the figures in the pediments of the temple of Apollo Sosianus in Rome should be returned to Greece (even though they were almost certainly removed from there by fair means or foul - and probably the latter - in the first century BCE).
Keith Phipps: David Byrne's American Triptych (Slate)
A long-overdue reissue of Byrne's film True Stories takes a wide-eyed look at the weirdness of Reagan's America.
Tony Wolf: "'Smilin' Stan' - the legacy of Marvel's Stan Lee" (New Statesman)
Lee's wife famously advised him to stop focusing on what he thought would sell, and to write something he really believed in. The result was the creation of The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. It's a lesson that many writers around the world can still benefit from.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• Soul singer James Brown got his big break after he and his band, the Flames, took the stage without authorization during an intermission in a Little Richard concert in Macon, Georgia, in 1955. They wowed the crowd, and they wowed Little Richard's road manager, who gave them the telephone number of the man who managed most Mason-based R&B acts: Clint Brantley. Sure enough, they showed up to audition for Mr. Brantley that Saturday. Unfortunately, Mr. Brantley was hung over and at first requested that they leave, but he relented enough to let them sing one song. They sang "Looking for My Mother," and Mr. Brantley recalled, "Goddamn, man, them sons-of-bitches, they looked for her, too. All under the tables, all under the damned seats. Everywhere. When they got through, I said, 'Boys, y'all can sing!'" And, of course, he signed the group.
• Early in their career, the Ramones played in London on July 4, 1976. Some cool kids who called themselves The Clash hung around during a sound check before the concert and talked to the members of the band, mentioning that they played music too but weren't good enough to play in public. Johnny Ramone told them, "Are you kidding? I hope you're coming tonight. We're lousy. We can't play. If you wait until you can play, you'll be too old to get up there. We stink, really. But it's great." (Of course, this is a great example of punk rock's DYI-Do It Yourself-attitude.) The concert made headlines. A tabloid used the headline "Glue Sniff Shocker" because one Ramones' song was titled "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." This amused bass player Dee Dee Ramone, who said, "I hope they really don't think we sniff glue. I quit when I was eight."
• When the teenaged Lou Reed started riding a motorcycle with a guitar on his back and a sneer on his face, his parents forced him to undergo a series of shock treatments before he started his senior year in high school. The shock treatments erased many memories and strengthened his desire to shock his parents. He once brought home a nice Jewish girl whom his parents loved. A year later, the nice Jewish girl was still his girlfriend, but her new name was "Miss Trash," and she dressed like her name. Mr. Reed, of course, was a founding member of the Velvet Underground and he recorded the music he wanted to record, not the music that he thought would be popular.
• Atlantic Records' Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson once combed the backwaters of New Orleans looking for musical talent. They even walked to places where white taxi drivers feared to take them. Eventually, they found Professor Longhair playing in a shack and singing old-time blues. They listened for a while, and then Mr. Ertegun told Mr. Abramson, "My God, we've discovered a primitive genius." They then approached Professor Longhair, and Mr. Ertegun introduced himself and said, "You won't believe this, but I want to record you." Professor Longhair replied, "You won't believe this, but I just signed with Mercury."
• Bill Wyman, bass player for the Rolling Stones, grew up poor. His family owned only one toothbrush, which they shared, and food was often lacking. Later, when the Rolling Stones were just getting started, he was able to join the band despite a lack of enthusiasm from the other members because he enjoyed a little material prosperity. He explains, "They didn't like me, but I had a good amplifier, and they were badly in need of amplifiers at that time. So they kept me on."
• Before becoming a science fiction writer, Anne McCaffrey worked as an advertising copy layout artist for Liberty Music Shops. While in an elevator, she heard a salesperson tell actress Tallulah Bankhead that a new record player could play up to four hours and a half of music. Ms. Bankhead often played romantic music on her record player, so she turned to her boyfriend and asked mischievously, "Dahling, do you think that will be long enough?"
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Suggestion
Christmas song
world's worst Christmas song
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Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JUSTIN TRUDEAU TELLS TRUMP "YOU ARE FIRED."
"…VERY LEGAL AND VERY COOL". FAR OUT MAN!
"ARREST THE PRESIDENT"
THE HAMMER IS GOING TO FALL!
THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Bit cooler than seasonal.
Most Influential Film Of All Time
The Wizard of Oz
A study has found the most influential film of all time to be The Wizard of Oz.
The Judy Garland classic, featuring beloved son "Over the Rainbow", was found by researchers to be more influential than its closest rivals Star Wars and Psycho.
A total of 47,000 films were calculated in the study which was conducted at the University of Turin, with each entry listed based on how often it was referenced by a later film.
The results showed that the top 20 most influential films were all produced before 1980, mostly in the US.
The researchers, whose findings are reported in the journal Applied Network Science, cautioned that IMDb data was strongly biased towards films produced in western countries.
The Wizard of Oz
Shirley Chisholm in Upcoming Film
Viola Davis
When you are making a film about Shirley Chisholm, you are making a film about a black woman icon who was not afraid to see her own power and go for what she wanted. It only makes sense to cast an actress that has the teeth to make us feel that pride, power and persona onscreen.
Amazon Studios has acquired the rights to The Fighting Shirley Chisholm, and they have announced that Oscar, Golden Globe, Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Viola Davis will not only star in the title role, but help produce the film as well.
With a script written by Emmy-nominated writer Adam Countee (Silicon Valley, Community, Mindy Project), the film will tell the true story of U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who was both the first woman and the first person of color to seek a major American political party's nomination for president. Although her bid for the presidency drew ridicule and bigoted backlash, Chisholm did not back down.
Countee had long been interested in telling the story of Chisholm's bid for the presidency, and his research led him to write the feature script on spec.
The Fighting Shirley Chisholm will be produced by Stephanie Allain (Hustle & Flow, Dear White People) and Mel Jones under Homegrown Pictures and Viola Davis and Julius Tennon under their JuVee Productions banner. Maggie Betts (Novitiate) will direct the project.
Viola Davis
Message For Rafael
Trent Reznor
Texas senator Ted Cruz was told to "f*** off" when he asked ?Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor for ticket's to the band's Dallas show.
The 53-year-old singer told the crowd what had happened, during the industrial band's show.
"Who voted for Ted Cruz?," he asked the crowd. "See, the lights aren't on, I can't see. Is there any way to turn the lights on? I'd like to see."
He went on to tell them that the former Republican presidential nominee had tried to get on the VIP list for the show.
When he found out, Reznor said he told him to "f*** off".
Trent Reznor
Facebook Streaming All Episodes
Joss Whedon
Facebook is playing the nostalgia card in its latest bid to drive up video viewing and video ad sales: using TV reruns.
The social-media giant is launching every episode of Joss Whedon's supernatural drama "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and spinoff "Angel" along with sci-fi show "Firefly" on Facebook Watch for free to users the U.S. All 268 episodes of the shows will be available to watch starting Friday, Nov. 30, under a licensing pact with 20th Century Fox Television.
Facebook has set up dedicated show pages for each of the series: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will be available at this link; "Angel" is available at this link; and "Firefly" is streaming here.
The trio of shows, which aired on TV more than 15 years ago, is not exclusive to Facebook: All seasons of the three also are available on Hulu's subscription service.
But Facebook believes the cult-favorite shows - particularly "Buffy" - will drive up watch time by letting fans experience the series in a brand-new, social way (along with the fact they're free to watch). This week it expanded the Watch Party co-viewing feature to everyone on Facebook, making it possible for users to start Watch Parties from their Timeline or from any public video on Facebook. The company's hope is that "Buffy," "Angel" and "Firefly" will spawn thousands of Watch Party sessions.
Joss Whedon
G20 Summit
Baby Blimp
A giant blimp depicting President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Grifter) as a baby that he said made him "feel unwelcome" when it greeted him in London in July has followed him to the G20 summit in Argentina.
Of the 20-foot (6-meter) balloon, which hovered 100 feet above Parliament in London during his visit on July 13, the president told the British newspaper The Sun, "I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London."
The balloon is now above the Congressional Plaza in Buenos Aires, where the president landed on Thursday to begin critical talks held as part of the G20 summit on Friday and Saturday.
Trump is staying for only 48 hours because he prefers his own bed and likes to keep his routines, according to The Associated Press. His tight schedule has forced a one-on-one meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into a "trilateral" with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the AP said.
The blimp cost £5,000 (about $6,000) to make and was the brainchild of Matt Bonner, 36, from London.
Baby Blimp
Majority Believe
Climate Change
A majority of Republicans now admit that climate change does exist, according to a new poll.
The Monmouth University survey revealing a growing number of Americans acknowledge climate change is happening, and that most of them believe it's becoming an issue.
Almost two-thirds of Republicans, 64 per cent, believe global warming exists. That number has increased from 49 per cent three years ago.
The poll also found the majority of Americans believe there is time to reverse the effects of climate change to prevent the devastating consequences of global warming. Most Americans believe the government is incapable of making an substantial efforts to stop global warming.
About 82 per cent of Democrats believe climate change is a "very serious" issues. Only 25 per cent of Republicans agree however.
Climate Change
Cases Rise 30 Percent Worldwide
Measles
Measles cases worldwide jumped more than 30 percent last year compared to 2016, with increases recorded in wealthy European countries like Germany where vaccination coverage has historically been high, the UN said Thursday.
The World Health Organization said the worrying trend of resurgent measles cases was a near global phenomenon, but the causes varied among regions.
In Europe, experts blamed the problem in part on complacency and misinformation about a vaccine proven to be both effective and safe.
Martin Friede, WHO's director of immunisation, vaccines and biologicals told reporters that "supposed experts making accusations against the vaccine without any evidence" has had an impact on parents' decisions.
But cases have also spiked in Latin America, partly due to "a collapsing health system in Venezuela," the head of the vaccine alliance Gavi, Seth Berkley, said in a statement.
Measles
Character Beaten
'Murphy Brown'
The "Murphy Brown" reboot continues to get in its licks at President Donald Trump. Thursday's episode took aim at the president's hostility toward the press and how many believe it has encouraged physical violence against reporters. Remember when Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Montana) body-slammed The Guardian's Ben Jacobs and Trump later expressed admiration for the assault at a rally?
Art imitated life somewhat on the CBS comedy when Murphy's colleague Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) covered a fictional Trump rally and paid a dear price for merely doing his job.
First, Trump (voiced by an actor) calls out newswoman Murphy (Candice Bergen) and her "flunky friends" for "planting their big fake stories." Then he points out "Fibbin' Frank Fontana" to the crowd. "Maybe a good body slam, waddya say?" Trump snipes in the clip below.
Murphy later sees Frank's swollen face in the hospital and remarks: "I guess when you major in journalism these days, you have to minor in kickboxing."
Frank explains to Murphy that he left the press area to interview some of the attendees. "Next thing I know, I'm surrounded by a sea of red hats."
'Murphy Brown'
Radio Station Stops Playing
"Baby It's Cold Outside"
A Cleveland radio station has stopped playing a popular Christmas song that's been around since the 1940s, CBS Cleveland affiliate WOIO reports. Star 102 Cleveland listeners raised concerns about the lyrics of the song "Baby It's Cold Outside," with some saying the words send the wrong message in the era of the #MeToo movement.
Radio host Glenn Anderson wrote about the station's decision to stop playing the song. "We used to play the song 'Baby It's Cold Outside,' but you're the Christmas Executive Officer at Star 102 and you told us it's no longer appropriate," Anderson wrote on Tuesday. I gotta be honest, I didn't understand why the lyrics were so bad...Until I read them."
The song is sung as a duet between a man and a woman. The woman makes it clear she is worried about being with the man late into the night, while he adamantly tells her to say with him because, "Baby, it's cold outside."
Anderson shared the song's lyrics, which include lines like: "Say, what's in this drink?", "I really can't stay / Baby don't hold out" and "I ought to say no, no, no / Mind if I move in closer?" The woman also wonders aloud what others might think of her if she stays.
The song was written by popular Broadway composer Frank Loesser, who originally performed it as a humorous number with his wife. But the lyrics, in today's context, have taken on somewhat more sinister connotations. After the "Me Too" movement gained momentum last year, more women have been speaking out about sexual harassment and assault, and society has become more aware than ever of how widespread the problem really is. The suggestive lines in the song now drum up images of men like Harvey Weinstein, who's been accused of preventing women from leaving hotel rooms, and Bill Cosby, who was convicted of drugging and sexual assaulting a woman.
"Baby It's Cold Outside"
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