from Bruce
Anecdotes
Fame
• Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, an excellent book that was made into an excellent movie, is like a rock star. His film agent, Jon Levin, discovered how popular Mr. Gaiman was when they went to a meeting at Warner Brothers. All of the secretaries asked Mr. Gaiman for his autograph, and someone pointed out, “That never happens when Tom Cruise is here.” Mr. Gaiman is a true original. He proposed to his girlfriend, Amanda Palmer of the punk group the Dresden Dolls, by using a Sharpie to draw a ring on her finger.
• Gabriel García Marquez became famous for his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, which told the story of the Columbian village Macondo. New York Times book critic John Leonard read the novel, then wrote, “The great American novel has been written by a Latin American.” And in the early 1970s, when Mr. Marquez visited Cuba, some peasants asked him what he did for a living. He replied that he had written a book titled Cien años de soledad. The peasants cried, “Macondo!”
Family
• Much of John Cheever’s life was dark, including the time after he was conceived but had not yet been born. After all, when his father learned that his mother was pregnant with John, he invited the local abortion doctor over for dinner — his way of expressing his opinion of the pregnancy. Mr. Cheever, a homosexual, was married for 40-some years to Mary Winternitz, who once told him after he had spent several days in a hospital, “[I]t was nice while you were away to have a dry toilet seat.” (Mr. Cheever used this line in his novel Falconer.)
• Max Beerbohm was the younger brother of the famous actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Max once announced that he was going to write a series of articles about the brothers of famous men. When someone asked whether Max was brother to Mr. Tree, Max acknowledged the relationship, then added, “He is coming into the series.”
Fans
• Harlan Ellison is aware that some fans can treat those they adore — or sometimes adore and sometimes hate — very, very badly. In fact, he once wrote an article on this subject after doing research: He contacted 100 writers to ask, “What’s the worst thing fans ever did to you?” Mr. Ellison received many answers about worst things, “Not the least of which is somebody walking up to Alan Dean Foster in a corridor at a science-fiction convention and throwing a cup of warm vomit on him for no reason.”
• Author Terry McMillan has a good response when people tell her, “Hey, you look just like Terry McMillan.” She says, “I get that a lot, and I resent it. Terry McMillan is much older.”
Fathers
• To a large extent Charles Bukowski’s public image is that of a dirty old man, and to a large extent the public image is the truth. However, Mr. Bukowski can surprise people. For example, even though much of his home was sloppy — visitors noticed many, many empty tubes of Preparation H among the litter in his bathroom — he kept his desk orderly and professional, in contrast to the mess surrounding it. Clearly, writing was one area of Mr. Bukowski’s life that mattered to him. He took writing seriously, as is evidenced by the mass quantities of writing that he produced. In addition, his relationships with women could be sensitive. The first woman he had more than a passing sexual relationship with was an alcoholic barfly. She eventually was taken in an ambulance to the Los Angeles County Hospital because of excessive alcohol consumption, where doctors discovered that she had cancer in an advanced stage as well as cirrhosis of the liver. When she awoke out of a comatose state, she saw Mr. Bukowski by her hospital bed and said to him, “I knew it would be you.” Shortly afterward, she died. He wrote this elegy for her: “For Jane, With All the Love I Had, Which Was Not Enough.” And his letters to his daughter, Marina, show a parental concern, as when he wrote, “PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU CROSS THE STREET. LOOK BOTH WAYS.” For her, he wrote “Love Poem to Marina.”
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
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Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Facebook Blues"
Album: GUNSLINGER
Artist: Rick Lawndale
Artist Location: Alhambra, California
Info:
“Rick Lawndale pens clever ditties with a campy sense of musical fun and satyrical lyrics.”
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $7 (USD) for 11-track album
Genre: Singer-Songwriter. Various.
Links:
GUNSLINGER
Rick Lawndale on Bandcamp
Rick Lawndale on YouTube
Wikipedia Article: Lawndale (band)
Other Links:
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David Bruce's Blog #1
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
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
Overcast, but no rain.
NBC Special
‘Celebrating Betty White’
Betty White certainly believed in love, especially when it came to animals. So it’s appropriate the theme song from one of her most memorable roles will be performed on her upcoming TV tribute by Cher, the songstress behind “I Believe In Love.”
The Golden Girls theme song, “Thank You For Being A Friend,” will be performed by 75-year-old Cher as part of Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl. The hour-long special will air Monday, January 31 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and will be available to stream on Peacock the following day.
Viewers can also expect to see Valerie Bertinelli, Bryan Cranston, Ted Danson, Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer, Goldie Hawn, Vicki Lawrence, Jane Leeves, Jay Leno, Wendie Malick, Joel McHale, Jean Smart, Mary Steenburgen, and more.
The actress and animal lover is most famously known for her portrayal of Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls for 7 seasons and later in The Golden Palace, a short-lived spin-off series.
She also famously appeared on the small screen in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hot In Cleveland, Mama’s Family, and in films The Proposal, Toy Story 4, and The Lorax.
‘Celebrating Betty White’
Signs New Deal
Gayle King
Gayle King has signed a new deal with CBS News, after speculation about her future with the pending expiration of her contract.
She’ll continue to co-host CBS Mornings, and told listeners on her SiriusXM show, Gayle King in the House, “I officially signed on the dotted line. So I will be with CBS a little longer.”
There had been some speculation about her future, but CNN reported last week that she had decided to stay at the network.
The New York Times reported earlier this week that CNN’s Jeff Zucker approached King’s reps about joining the network in the 9 PM slot, which has been without a permanent host since Chris Cuomo was fired.
King began co-hosting CBS This Morning in 2012 and, although the show is still third in the ratings, her tenure has been among the most successful runs for the network in the morning hours. The show rebranded last year as CBS Mornings, with Nate Burleson joining as co-host along with Tony Dokoupil.
Gayle King
Profits Über Alles
Spotify
Leaked internal messages from Spotify offer a glimpse into the company's decision to keep airing Joe Rogan's podcast, which has come under fire for promoting COVID-19 misinformation.
The Verge reported Friday that Dustee Jenkins, Spotify's head of global communications and public relations, broached the subject with concerned employees in an internal Slack channel.
Jenkins told them the company reviewed multiple episodes of podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" but concluded they "didn't meet the threshold for removal," according to leaked screenshots of her message that were viewed by The Verge.
"We apply our policies consistently and objectively," Jenkins wrote. "They are not influenced by the media cycle, calls from any one individual or from external partners. It doesn't mean I personally agree with this content. But I trust our policies and the rationale behind them."
The Verge also published Spotify's internal content guidelines pertaining to healthcare. They prohibit behavior such as denying that COVID-19 exists, suggesting that mask-wearing causes life-threatening physical harm, and "promoting or suggesting that vaccines are designed to cause death," according to the news site.
Spotify
Jumped The Shark
Maher
Bill Maher saved his best for last on his Friday night Real Time on HBO. After bland discussions on civil liberties, Covid-19 rules, affirmative action, and whether actual partisan combat may be brewing, he turned his guns on an unexpected target – the leftist progressives whose crazy demands have turned real life into comedy gold.
Maher noted a recent statement by a Fox News commentator, who suggested he’s gearing up to run for president, which critics saw as a sign that he’s changed. “I am not,” he insisted. “I am still the same unmarried, pot-smoking libertine I always was.” The recently turned 66-year-old added, “I have many flaws, but you can’t accuse me of maturing.”
“Let’s get this straight,” Maher said. “It’s not me who’s changed, it’s the left. A large contingent has gone mental, and I’m willing to call them out.”
That willingness to keep it real, Maher said, shouldn’t make him a hero to Republicans, “where simply acknowledging reality is seen as a profile in courage.” While critics say the old Maher didn’t make fun of the left as much, he countered, “Yeah, because they didn’t give me so much to work with. The oath of office I took was to comedy.”
Maher contended that it was not his fault that the party of FDR and JFK has now turned to LOL and WTF moments, where congresspeople talk of canceling rent and mortgages, canceling Lincoln and Dr. Seuss, and making Mr. Potato Head gender neutral, among other sins.
Maher
Big Lie Works
Nearly 6 In 10
Despite a mountain of evidence showing the 2020 presidential contest wasn’t rigged against Donald Trump the loser, nearly 6 in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (57 percent) now say they will not vote in upcoming elections for any candidate who admits that Joe Biden won the presidency "fair and square."
Only 17 percent say they would consider voting for a candidate who accurately characterizes Biden’s victory as legitimate.
These numbers underscore the degree to which Trump the loser’s “big lie” claiming Biden cheated his way into the White House — a falsehood that three-quarters of Trump voters (74 percent) now believe — has become a litmus test for the entire GOP, crowding out other issues and strengthening Trump the loser’s grip on the party ahead of the 2022 midterms.
For his part, Trump the loser has made it clear that supporting his election fabrications is key to his own personal endorsement. Indeed, the former president is backing primary candidates against state officials who bucked his attempts to overturn the election.
The survey of 1,568 U.S. adults, which was conducted from Jan. 20 to 24, found that when asked which issue they want future candidates to focus on the most, the share of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say “stopping Democrats from rigging and stealing elections” (17 percent) — something that Democrats are not doing — is statistically equivalent to the share who say “bringing down inflation” (19 percent).
Nearly 6 In 10
Monitoring Americans
Counter Network Division
The controversial unit of Customs and Border Protection that trawled through the travel and financial records of journalists and lawmakers is still monitoring Americans, according to documents obtained by Yahoo News.
The Counter Network Division, a part of CBP’s National Targeting Center, monitored U.S. citizens in the run-up to the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and in the days and weeks after, according to bulletins produced by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis this month.
Another bulletin shows the division was tracking right-wing groups that were planning events.
Those events “appear to be non-violent in nature,” according to a Jan. 8 DHS situation report, which says the CBP division was also tracking a planned Proud Boys event scheduled for Jan. 20, 2022. “The type of event is unknown at this time and there are no current overt or implied threats to the general public, CBP employees, law enforcement or members of the Federal Government,” the document states.
The Counter Network Division is part of the National Targeting Center, which resides within CBP. While the National Targeting Center was set up after the Sept. 11 attacks to focus on foreign threats entering the United States, its mandate has expanded in recent years to internal domestic threats. But the former high-ranking DHS official argued that CBP is not authorized to monitor Americans who pose no violent threat and have no connection to a threat crossing a border.
Counter Network Division
Federal Wild Horse Roundup
Nevada
A federal judge decided Friday not to rein in the roundup and capture of wild horses in eastern Nevada, rejecting advocates' claims the federal government was “needlessly and recklessly” killing free-roaming mustangs in violation of U.S. law.
With a little more than four weeks to go for federal land managers to complete what they call a drought-prompted “gather” near the Utah state line, U.S. District Judge Miranda Du said she wasn't convinced groups trying to stop the process would win their underlying lawsuit.
“The court finds that plaintiffs have not shown they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims and that the balance of equities in this instance weighs against enjoining the 2022 gather,” she said.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management insists it must round up the mustangs before the end of February — one of several operations scheduled on an expedited basis due to historically dry conditions on the Western range.
The bureau plans to capture more horses this year than ever before, at least 19,000 across 10 western states. The 13,666 gathered last year was the previous high.
Nevada
Penguins Become Foster Parents
Elmer and Lima
A pair of male Humboldt penguins at a New York zoo have teamed up to become foster parents to a new hatchling.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse says the same-sex foster couple, Elmer and Lima, are a first for the zoo, although several other institutions have seen success with same-sex penguins tending eggs together and caring for newborns.
Zoo officials said on Friday that Elmer and Lima watched over an egg that came from a pair of breeding penguins that have a history of inadvertently breaking their fertilized eggs. They were successful, and the chick hatched on New Year’s Day.
Experts had tested the duo first by putting a dummy egg in a nest the pair built together last fall during the current breeding season.
After the pair passed the test, officials removed the dummy egg and replaced it with a real one. The duo took turns incubating the egg until the chick hatched, Fox said.
Elmer and Lima
Rebound In California
Monarch Butterflies
It was a bounce-back year for the famed western monarch butterfly species that spends its winters in groves around California, with volunteers recording a more than 100-fold increase from the dismal tally in 2020.
A total of 247,237 of the black-and-orange-striped insects were counted overwintering by more than 100 volunteers in the state during the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation’s 2021 Thanksgiving count.
That’s a dramatic improvement from the year before, when fewer than 2,000 monarchs were counted in California.
A total of 283 overwintering sites were surveyed during the Thanksgiving count thanks to a record-high volunteer effort. Of those sites, the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove was home to the second-largest population in the state.
Volunteers in the count noted a few interesting shifts in where monarchs were recorded this year. For example, the San Francisco Bay Area typically sees a significant overwintering population, but this year fewer than 600 butterflies were counted at sites from Mendocino to San Mateo counties.
Monarch Butterflies
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