Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Shields: The New, Improved Mitt Romney (Creators Syndicate)
Critics have called him a flip-flopper, and one of his 2008 Republican rivals, while acknowledging that all politicians change over time, bluntly told me, "Mitt Romney has more positions than the Kama Sutra."
Susan Estrich: Endangered Women (Creators Syndicate)
Yes, Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and badly beaten. Yes, that is a terrible thing. She is, however, reported to be in "remarkably good spirits." Indeed. She is alive, not beheaded, not held hostage, not any number of terrible things. Being raped is bad, but it isn't the worst thing. Not getting out alive is the worst thing.
Michael Grunvald: The Stimulus Turns Two: How Obama Quietly Changed Washington (Time)
,,, behind the scenes of the Beltway perpetual-conflict machine, Obama has made quiet progress toward reforming Washington - not politically, but bureaucratically.
Scott Cacciola: "Carrie Underwood: Hockey's Yoko Ono" (Wall Street Journal)
The trade of Mike Fisher, the husband of country star Carrie Underwood, from the Ottawa Senators to the Nashville Predators reopened one of the deepest wounds in Canadian hockey history.
Don Steinberg: The Funny People Behind the Famous Ads (Wall Street Journal)
Gigs in commercials are increasingly a road to stardom for struggling comics. It's not selling out if you're funny.
Jim Hightower: THE BIG SCORE IN THIS YEAR'S SUPER BOWL
... the number that impresses me is 111,968. That is the number of people who own the Packers - each of whom is an ordinary Green Bay resident and devoted cheesehead.
Jim Allen: "Henry Rollins: Interview" (Prefix Magazine)
2.13.61 isn't just the company name listed on the back of Henry Rollins' many books and CDs, it's also the date that little Henry Lawrence Garfield came into the world in Washington D.C. Now he's is in the midst of the 50 tour, taking his spoken-word act across the country to commemorate a landmark birthday. We talked to him to find out what 50 looks like through his eyes.
Christopher Beam: On a Mission (Slate)
The new Broadway musical by the creators of 'South Park' isn't anti-Mormon. Like all of their work, it's anti-stupidity.
Henry Rollins: The Column! Rollins on How The Doors, the Velvet Underground and The Stooges Beat the Sophomore Slump (Los Angeles Weekly)
Three great sophomore albums, all released by American bands during the Vietnam War. I know that may sound odd to you. I am not trying to be morbid, but music from the Vietnam War era has an undeniable intensity.
Strange Fruit: the first great protest song (Guardian)
Billie Holiday's 1939 song about racist lynchings redefined popular music. In an extract from his history of protest songs, Dorian Lynskey explores the power of 'Strange Fruit.'
Jim Fusilli: From Punk to Pacifism (Wall Street Journal)
Having set aside the punklike ferocity of her early work, PJ Harvey has spent a good part of this century exploring new musical modes and lyrical techniques to convey the chaos of life and love. While the music has changed often, her words have remained an emotional landmine of autobiography and angst-laced observations.
Robert Christgau: Dancing on Her Own
Robyn's Stateside audience ought to be bigger; in fact, this album-oriented rocker thinks the albums ought to be better too. But they're pretty fine anyway, and Robyn gave the crowd an even better show than they gave her.
David Bruce has 40 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $40 you can buy 10,000 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Rainy and cold.
Toasts 20 Years Of "Roots and Shoots"
Jane Goodall
At 76, famed primatologist Jane Goodall has no thoughts of slowing down.
Still traveling more than 300 days a year, she marshals her personal experiences, her expertise and her rock star status as a world renowned scientist to influence decision makers and inspire young people.
But on Saturday she was happy to stop and pause to mark the 20th anniversary of Roots and Shoots, the worldwide youth service movement she founded in 1991 in Tanzania.
The British scientist, best known for her study of chimps in Tanzania and for founding the Jane Goodall Institute, reflected on her hopes for a future shaped by the hands of youth like those in Roots and Shoots.
Jane Goodall
Probes Signal Disruptions
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera television said it was investigating reports of reception disruptions across the Middle East on Saturday, a day after it said its signal had been jammed on several frequencies.
The Qatar-based news channel's signal was sporadically disrupted in countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt throughout Saturday.
Al Jazeera's coverage of the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has been widely watched in the Arab world.
It reported the jamming on Friday on its website, where it offered alternative frequencies on the Arabsat, Nilesat and Hot Bird satellites.
Al Jazeera
Heading To DVD
"H.R. Pufnstuf"
To mark the 40th anniversary of H. R. Pufnstuf, Vivendi Entertainment is releasing the entire trailblazing Saturday morning cartoon series on DVD.
"H.R. Pufnstuf: The Complete Series" will be released April 12 in both a regular three-disc set and a special collector's edition, which comes with an exclusive H.R. Pufnstuf bobblehead.
Both sets feature all 17 episodes of the iconic Sid and Marty Krofft program, which was originally broadcast between 1969 and 1971 -- and which still is seen in syndication, including on KCET in Los Angeles, the largest independent public television station in the country.
The DVD sets also come with downloadable coloring sheets and the rare series episode "Horror Hotel," which has never before been available on disc.
"H.R. Pufnstuf"
Aide Planning Tell-All
Todd's Little Woman
One of Sarah Palin's trusted advisers is planning a tell-all memoir, drawing upon thousands of personal e-mails during his time with the former Alaska governor to paint what his agent calls an expose of the inner workings of her operation.
Frank Bailey rose from a campaign volunteer to administration official and figure in the "Troopergate" scandal that fixated the public's attention during Palin's vice presidential bid in 2008. A preliminary draft of the unpublished book, tentatively called "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of our Tumultuous Years," was leaked to reporters, with excerpts making the rounds on the Internet.
The New York-based Carol Mann Agency, in an e-mail promoting the manuscript, said the "revelations and insights" that Bailey offers "are more necessary than ever, as the public will seek to learn as much as possible about the woman who seems to have her sights set on the national stage."
Todd's Little Woman
'Bieber Fever' Cured
Christopher Murphy
A Connecticut congressman's brief affinity for teenage singing sensation Justin Bieber has flared out after a few Twitter entries.
Three-term Democratic Rep. Christopher Murphy drew attention Thursday when he jokingly admitted on Twitter to having "Bieber fever" after reading the Canadian teen's criticism of the U.S. health care system.
Shortly afterward, though, a chagrined Murphy was back on Twitter after learning Bieber opposes abortion.
"Bieber fever cured," Murphy wrote, along with "Time to be quiet again, Justin."
Christopher Murphy
Magic Microbes"
Gulf of Texaco
Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist's video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.
That report is at odds with a recent report by the BP spill compensation czar that said nearly all will be well by 2012.
At a science conference in Washington, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia aired early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site. She went to places she had visited in the summer and expected the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes would be gone by then. It wasn't.
"There's some sort of a bottleneck we have yet to identify for why this stuff doesn't seem to be degrading," Joye told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Washington. Her research and those of her colleagues contrasts with other studies that show a more optimistic outlook about the health of the gulf, saying microbes did great work munching the oil.
"Magic microbes consumed maybe 10 percent of the total discharge, the rest of it we don't know," Joye said, later adding: "there's a lot of it out there."
Gulf of Texaco
Musicians Reject Offer
Detroit
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra suspended the remainder of its season after striking musicians rejected management's final contract offer on Saturday.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra said it "reluctantly" released artists and conductors from their contracts after the vote. It suspended remaining orchestral concerts through June and said rescheduling concerts, resuming the 2011 summer season and announcing a 2011-2012 calendar remain possible pending a settlement.
Members of the orchestra, on strike since October, said they would seek a compromise agreement and urged quick talks to save the current season.
Orchestra management and the 80 musicians have been tussling over issues of pay and how much of the orchestra's time should be devoted to community outreach.
Detroit
Literary Scout Sues
Nanette Shipley
A woman who claims credit for discovering "Twilight" as a potential feature film is demanding payment for her role in helping launch one of Hollywood's biggest movie franchises.
Nanette Shipley says in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court that she was "a literary scout," whose job was to find potential feature films for Maverick Films.
Shipley claims enormous success, helping Maverick find and obtain the rights for two motion pictures, "Twilight" and "The Lighting Thief."
She says her complaint against Maverick and topper Mark Morgan that she was promised $75,000 for her work in connection with "Twilight" and $100,000 for her work in connection with "The Lighting Thief."
She says she's only been paid $20,000 and wants the outstanding $155,000 plus legal costs.
Nanette Shipley
Activist Chases Force Halt
Whaling Season
Anti-whaling activists' high-seas confrontations with Japanese ships forced Tokyo to cut short its annual Antarctic hunt Friday for the first time, a move touted as a victory by the protesters.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - which has thrown paint and rancid butter at the whalers and tangled ropes in their propellers - said it would continue its campaign next year.
Japan decries U.S.-based Sea Shepherd as a terrorist group that risks lives in its pursuit of the whaling fleet, which is broadcast in the American television series "Whale Wars."
"We had no choice but to end (the season) to ensure the safety of lives, assets and our ships," Japanese Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano told a news conference.
Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said the milestone of cutting the Japanese hunt short was made possible by beefing up the protesters' equipment and strategy.
Whaling Season
In Memory
Perry Moore
A co-producer of "The Chronicles of Narnia" films and author has died in New York City. He was 39.
Police say Perry Moore was found unconscious in the bathroom of his Manhattan apartment on Thursday morning. Doctors couldn't save him.
Police say the cause of death will be determined by the city's medical examiner, but no foul play was suspected.
Besides helping produce the "Narnia" film series, Moore was the author of a 2007 novel called "Hero" about a gay teenager with superpowers. The novel won a Lambda Literary Award for best novel for young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children or adults.
Perry Moore
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