from Bruce
Anecdotes
Pranks
• Danish tenor Lauritz Melchior enjoyed playing practical jokes. At a performance of Götterdämmerung, Frida Leider, playing Brünnhilde, approached the corpse of Siegfried, expecting to find Mr. Melchior lying there. Instead, she found a stranger—and she saw Mr. Melchior merrily waving to her from the wings. By the way, after a bad experience early in his career, Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli wanted to be paid in cash before each performance. He used to put the money in his back pocket, so in between arias he could pat it. By the way, Mr. Gigli knew that English speakers found it difficult to pronounce his name correctly, so he told them to call him “Mr. Giggly.” Also by the way, as a child, German soprano Elizabeth Schumann enjoyed the theater, and she used to sneak out of her house at night and walk to a nearby theatre to enjoy the performances of a traveling troupe.
• In 1996, one of the student hacks (pranks) at MIT was the replacing of the “No Trespassing” signs at the entrance to the computer clusters with signs that stated, “You must be at least this smart to use Athena workstations,” complete with a graph that charted levels of intelligence. The bottom intelligence level was “Urchins who log in as root.” In the middle intelligence levels were “average Harvard student,” “average B.U. [Boston University] student,” and “average CalTech student.” Holding the top intelligence level was “below-average MIT student.” In the 1980s an elevator hacker replaced the word “UP” with “Heaven” and the word “DOWN” with “MIT.”
• Norwegian violinist Ole Bull once played a practical joke on the public. After playing a Norwegian melody as an encore piece, he held his bow over the strings of his violin long after the sound had ceased, then as he left the stage, he murmured to a friend, “Did I not play it finely on the public?” Sure enough, many members of the audience thought that Ole Bull was able to hear tones that were inaudible to most other people. And sure enough, some members of the audience thought that they had sensitive enough ears to hear the sound that Ole Bull had, they supposed, made and heard.
• To film the Gilligan’s Island episode titled “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Gilligan,” Bob Denver, who played Gilligan, was suspended by a cable 50 feet above the stage. Mr. Denver looked down and saw two crew members holding the cable suspending him above the stage. One of the crew members said to the other crew member, “Let’s go get a cup of coffee,” and then they let go of the cable and walked away. Mr. Denver screamed—but he hadn’t fallen an inch. The cable was tied to the stage, and the two crew members had only pretended to be holding the cable.
• In George Bernard Shaw’s St. Joan, the Inquisitor has a 14-minute speech in the trial scene. In a mid-1960s production, Harold Innocent played the role of the Inquisitor. At a final run-through of the scene before the play opened, the cast pulled an elaborate practical joke. As Mr. Innocent began his 14-minute speech, the other cast members started drinking tea, knitting, playing cards, playing chess, and doing crosswords.
• Once, in the middle of the night, a woman named Gisella Werbezirk-von Piffl was awakened by the ringing of her telephone. When she answered, a voice asked, “Is this Gisella Werbezirk-von Piffl?” When she said it was, the voice asked, “Did you by any chance go to school with me in New York City?” When she answered “No,” the voice replied, “I’m sorry. I must have phoned the wrong Gisella Werbezirk-von Piffl.”
Pride
• Actress Beatrice Lillie once was in Chicago trying on dresses she had ordered made when Mrs. Swift, a member of a wealthy meat-packing family, also arrived to try on some dresses. Unaccustomed to being kept waiting, the wealthy, snobbish woman loudly sent her assistant to “tell that actress that she was delaying Mrs. Swift.” Ms. Lillie, who happened to be married to Lord Peel of the British aristocracy, kept Mrs. Swift waiting a good while, then said loudly, so that she would be overheard by her, “Tell the butcher’s wife that Lady Peel has finished now.”
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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
Track: "Cruisin’ Round"
EP: THE LANTERN MEN
Artist: The Lantern Men
Artist Location: England, UK
Info:
Three-piece band from The Broads area of Norfolk (UK) playing a mix of covers and self-written songs.
Another name for The Lantern Men is The Turbos.
Vocals and Guitars: Dale
Bass: Nik
Drums: Dom
Price: £1 (GBP) for three-track EP
Genre: Garage Rock.
Links:
THE LANTERN MEN
The Lantern Men on Bandcamp
Dale Ducktail (Vocals and Guitars)
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Michelle in AZ
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Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Ukraine
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Reader Comment
Current Events
On behalf of Anita Hill, let me say "Good. I hope he heads straight to hell for all of eternity."
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Bought some 'fresh' ricotta & spinach ravioli at the store, but, jeez, they were awful - ricotta should never have the consistency of mayonnaise. Nasty.
Estate Sale
Alex Trebek
Buying a piece of Hollywood history had hundreds lining up for an estate sale Thursday at the Studio City home of the late game show host Alex Trebek.
Don and Pam Brennan came all the way from Chino and waited in line for two hours, saying the trip was well worth it.
"I got myself a nice bottle of whiskey that I am going to toast Alex Trebek tonight, when I watch 'Jeopardy!' I got this lovely tie and one of his canes," Don Brennan said. "But I tell you, most of the fun is just being at his house. Very cool -- it is."
Inside the massive Mediterranean-style home, fans perused hundreds of items -- from a director's chair bearing his name to art, books, sculptures, even autographed memorabilia. Everyone wanted to take home a little something from the beloved television icon.
Alex Trebek
Now An Asteroid
Skookum Jim
A legendary Yukoner received a posthumous honour that's out of this world.
Skookum Jim, also known as Jim Mason, discovered gold in the Bonanza Creek in 1897, leading to the Klondike gold rush. When he died in 1916, he put the fortune he made into a trust to help improve the lives of Indigenous people in the Yukon.
Last week, on the recommendation of the Yukon Astronomical Society, an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter was named after him.
Skookum Jim Mason was Tagish of the Dak l'a Weidi Clan. The trust fund he established in his will is still in existence today, according to the friendship centre that bears his name in Whitehorse. The interest generated from the fund is used to provide recognition to Indigenous people who have helped their community.
The Skookum Jim asteroid is a main belt asteroid. It orbits with other asteroids in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Skookum Jim
Up For Auction
'Washington Crossing the Delaware'
The famous "Washington Crossing the Delaware" painting, which hung in the White House from the 1970s to 2014, is coming up for auction next month, when it is estimated to fetch about $20 million.
The 1851 oil painting is one of three versions painted by Emanuel Leutze of the man who was to be the first U.S. president leading troops during a key moment of the American revolution. Only two survive.
The work depicts George Washington leading soldiers across the Delaware River to surprise the infantry hiding on the other side on Christmas Night, 1776, Kestenman said.
"A German-born American immigrant, Leutze was also a staunch abolitionist and in 'Washington crossing the Delaware' he deliberately included a variety of the figures that make up the melting pot that formed the American nation," said Kestenman.
She pointed out a Black soldier, another soldier wearing a Scottish bonnet, and moccasins and buckskin clothing suggesting the American West and Native Americans.
'Washington Crossing the Delaware'
Inaugural Fan Convention
‘Golden Girls’
TV shows about sci-fi or comic book fare usually inspire fan conventions — not a sitcom about four women of a certain age living together in Florida.
But sisters Hillary Wasicek, 37, and Melissa Gluck, 43, took this weekend’s inaugural “The Golden Girls” convention at Chicago’s Navy Pier to heart. Both women, who flew from California, spent Friday in elaborate cosplay as the characters of Dorothy and Blanche. The series has always held a special place for them because of its themes of friends becoming family and inclusiveness. Dressing up in wigs and all, which they previously did on a “Golden Girls” cruise, just enhances the convention experience.
Golden-Con: Thank You For Being a Fan, which lasts through Sunday, is giving those who adored the NBC sitcom a chance to come together. More than 2,000 attendees are expected to converge. The show, which ran from 1985-1992, starred Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty and Betty White — the last remaining “Golden Girl” who died at age 99 in December. It was revered for showing their characters, who shared a house in Miami, dealing with issues later in life like ageism, sex and LGBTQ rights.
Like any “con,” there are panels and Q&As with people who guest-starred or worked behind the scenes. There is a vendors market with booths carrying “Golden Girls” themed candles, masks, T-shirts and other merch. Fans can snap photos in a recreation of the kitchen where the “girls” always ate cheesecake as well as a giant replica of Sophia’s trademark purse. There are also two separate drag queen groups scheduled to perform tributes.
Among the guests are actress Bonnie Bartlett, known for roles on “St. Elsewhere” and “Boy Meets World” (both alongside her husband, actor William Daniels). She is notable to for playing a stuck-up new friend of Dorothy’s in a third-season episode. The two-time Emmy winner, 92, however, did not turn her nose up at the idea of a fan convention.
‘Golden Girls’
Ousts Teacher Over Rainbow Stickers
Texass
A teacher in North Texas received official notice Friday that she’ll be out of a job at the end of the school year after she objected to the school’s removal of pro-LGBTQ “safe space” stickers from the school building.
Rachel Stonecipher, a teacher in the Dallas suburb of Irving, found out Friday that her contract at the school would not be renewed. “The Board approved the Administration’s recommendation by a vote of 6-0, with one member absent,” reads the notice. “Based on this action, your probationary Chapter 21 Contract was terminated and your employment with Irving ISD will end on May 27, 2022.”
“I wish I was surprised that the Irving school board voted to terminate my contract,” Stonecipher tells Rolling Stone. “But they have shown absolutely zero willingness to collaborate with or even verbally respond to all of the speakers who have spoken out about discrimination since the district first pulled me from the classroom.”
Stonecipher, an English and journalism teacher at the Irving Independent School District, has been out of the classroom since the fall of 2021 on administrative leave. Now, she and the students counting on her for support are early casualties in Republican officials’ attacks on LGBTQ tolerance in schools, spurred in part by panic over so-called “grooming” that’s rooted in delusion and barely concealed bigotry.
The reasons offered by the district for removing the stickers and placing Stonecipher on leave have varied. At first, the reasons were vague, citing “district policy.” When pressed by Stonecipher and other teachers, the administration offered talking points saying they wanted to “make campuses a safe zone for all students.”
Texass
Claims Massive Subscriber Boost
Rogan
Joe Rogan says his recent controversy has given his Spotify podcast even more horsepower.
The podcaster claims the media frenzy over anti-vax conspiracy theorist guests and his past use of the N-word has netted him two million additional subscribers.
In Friday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the comic and UFC commentator was asked by his guest, British political commentator Douglas Murray, about the uproar.
“You have been put through the wringer since we last met,” Murray says. “They did a number on you. Wow.”
“It’s interesting, my subscriptions went up massively — that’s what’s crazy,” Rogan replies. “During the height of it all, I gained two million subscribers … Yeah, [the media] went for it. It’s also fortunate that the people who went for it were CNN. They’re so untrustworthy and people know how biased they are and socially weird their anchors are.”
Rogan
‘Historic’ $85m Payout
Zoom
The Covid-19 pandemic brought on a surge of “zoom-bombing” as hackers and pranksters crashed into virtual meetings with abusive messages and imagery. Now, Zoom has agreed to a “historic” payout of $85m as part of a class-action settlement brought by its users, including church groups who said they were left traumatized by the disruptions.
As part of the settlement agreement, Zoom Video Communications, the company behind the teleconference application that grew popular during the pandemic, will pay the $85m to users in cash compensation and also implement reforms to its business practices.
On Thursday, federal judge Laurel Beeler of California granted final approval to the agreement which was first filed in July. The agreement was granted preliminary approval in October.
The settlement stems from 14 class-action complaints filed against the San Jose-based company by users between March and May of 2020, in which they argued that the company violated their privacy and security.
As part of the settlement, Zoom has agreed to over a dozen changes to its business practices that are designed to “improve meeting security, bolster privacy disclosures and safeguard consumer data”, according to court documents.
Zoom
Plan To Raze German Village
Lützerath
Thousands of people protested Saturday against plans to bulldoze a village in western Germany to expand a coal mine that environmental activists say should be shut down, not enlarged.
The German news agency dpa quoted police in the afternoon as saying that the demonstration in Luetzerath, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Cologne, passed by peacefully. About 2,000 people took part, dpa reported.
It came weeks after the village’s last farmer sold his property to the utility company RWE after losing a court case against his eviction. The village is still inhabited by activists, some of whom have built tree houses in a bid to stop the nearby Garzweiler mine from being expanded.
Climate activists argue that the village and others nearby should not be demolished because burning the coal that’s still in the ground undermines Germany’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Coal-fired power stations near the mine are among the European Union’s biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.
Lützerath
Warmest Summer On Record
Europe
Scientists say last summer was the hottest summer on record in Europe, with temperatures a full 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the average for the previous three decades.
A report released Friday by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found that while spring 2021 was cooler than average, the summer months were marked by “severe and long-lasting heatwaves” that saw numerous new temperature records, including an unprecedented 48.8 C (119.8 F) measured in Sicily last August.
The prolonged high temperatures contributed to wildfires such as those seen in Siberia, Greece and Turkey last year, and experts say it increased the likelihood of heavy rainfall of the kind that led to deadly flooding in Belgium and Germany last July more likely.
Sea surface temperatures last year were higher than at any time since at least 1992 in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Baltic Sea, where the mercury rose more than 5 C (9 F) above average during the summer months.
Annual wind speeds in parts of western and central Europe were among the lowest since at least 1979, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said. This led to a reduction in the estimated potential for wind power — one of the main sources of renewable energy that European countries are banking on to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.
Europe
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