from Bruce
Anecdotes
Censorship
• The Rabbi of Smargon, R’ Menasheh of Iliya, became aware that Jewish children were being kidnapped by the Jewish leaders of the town and handed over for service in the Czarist army so that the town could meet its quota. Therefore, R’ Menasheh called a public meeting, in which he said, “One who can kidnap a Jewish child and hand him over to the authorities is not worthy of being called a Jew.” Afterward, the community leaders told him that he had no right to speak publicly on such a topic. R’ Menasheh said, “If that is so, I cannot be your Rav.” And he immediately resigned as rabbi.
• In the days before typewriters and word processors, Menashe Illyer wrote in longhand a controversial religious book, which he titled Alphei Menasheh and then took to a printer. The printer set in type the first few pages, but then he discovered that he disagreed with the contents of the book, so he burned it.
Charity
• Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, aka the Singing Rabbi, once filled in at short notice at a Lag B’Omer concert when the star attraction broke his foot and was not able to appear. Because the concert organizer wanted so much to have someone of Rabbi Shlomo’s stature at the concert, a deal was made that Rabbi Shlomo would be paid all the money that was collected at the door, minus the expenses of the concert. The concert was a success, and at its end, Rabbi Shlomo was handed $2,700 in cash, something he was happy to receive because of his chronically being broke. However, a young man came in to ask Rabbi Shlomo for a blessing on his marriage, and Rabbi Shlomo asked why he needed such a thing. The young man had started to observe the Sabbath, and because of this he had lost his job, and the lack of money was starting to affect his marriage. Immediately, Rabbi Shlomo reached into his pocket, took out the $2,700 in cash, and gave it to the young man.
• Comedian Eddie Cantor was known for his fund-raising. A Jew, he raised much money for Israel, but he also raised much money for many other worthy projects. Groucho Marx knew him and his reputation for fund-raising. At the Hillcrest Club, Groucho heard that Mr. Cantor had been in for lunch. Groucho asked, “What time did Cantor say he was going to save the world?”
• Writer Peg Bracken saw this sign over an alms box in an Aix-en-Provence chapel: “For the poor, the sick, the ashamed ….”
Children
• When Lhamo Dhondrub was two years old, a series of tests was given to him to determine if he was the Dalai Lama, who was believed to be reincarnated each time he died. Some of the tests consisted of offering the baby the choice of a number of objects, only one of which had belonged to the previous incarnation of the Dalai Lama. Each time, the baby chose the object that had belonged to the previous incarnation of the Dalai Lama, although the other objects were often newer, more colorful, and shinier. In one test, the baby hesitated before choosing one of two nearly identical walking canes. The first cane had belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, but he had given it away as a gift. The second cane had belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, and he had used it until his death. The baby chose the second cane. As a result of the tests, the baby was declared the 14th Dalai Lama, and he was renamed Tenzin Gyatso.
• Drought is often a problem in Uvalde, Texas, where Msgr. Vincent Fecher is a Catholic priest. One day, he saw a small child, and he asked her if she was praying for rain. Surprised, she said no, and Father Vincent told her, “You ought to. Jesus listens to little kids like you. So when you say prayers tonight, tell Him that people around here are starting to complain because He hasn’t sent them any rain so far this year.” The little girl promised Father Vincent that she would pray for rain. That night, rain fell — and it fell all the following day, and the day after that, and the day after that. Father Vincent looked at the rain, and he thought, “That darned kid. I had better find her and turn her off, before she drowns the whole lot of us.”
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 — Buy
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Buy the Paperback
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Kindle
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Apple
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Barnes and Noble
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Kobo
250 Anecdotes About Religion, Volume 2 -- Smashwords: Many Formats, Including PDF
Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Hello Dolly"
Album: DO ANYTHING YOU WANNA
Artist: Harold Betters
Artist Location: New York, New York
Info: Harold Betters (March 21, 1928 – October 11, 2020) was an American jazz trombone player.
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $9 (USD) for 10-track album
Genre: Jazz. Easy Listening.
Links:
DO ANYTHING YOU WANNA
Harold Betters on Bandcamp
Other Links:
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
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
Sunny and toasty.
Serenades Cubs Fans
Bill Murray
Diehard Cubs fan Bill Murray welcomed fans back to Chicago’s Wrigley Field with a celebratory performance of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. Friday’s game between the Cubs and rival St. Louis Cardinals marked the stadium’s first game back at full capacity since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is what it feels like to be 100 percent!” Murray shouted to the crowd. “We’re gonna be louder from right now until the last out in the top of the ninth inning. Understood? Let’s scare the hell out of these Cardinals!”
Murray then passionately led the stadium-sized singalong of the traditional “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” sustaining the last note a few extra seconds to relish the moment.
Even during the pandemic, Murray kept his tradition of singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” alive by delivering the song virtually to a then-attendance-less Wrigley Field on Opening Day in July 2020. Murray’s over-the-top, socially distanced performance was still shown on the jumbotron despite no fans in the crowd.
In previous years, Murray has been a frequent guest at Wrigley to sing the traditional baseball anthem, including at the 2012 home opener and during the Cubs’ first World Series home game since 1945 in October 2016. Following the team’s World Series win, Murray joined some Cubs to celebrate on Saturday Night Live and jammed with fellow Cubs diehard Eddie Vedder at a post-World Series win house party.
Bill Murray
Tribeca Festival
Kiss
Kiss brought the heat to New York's Battery Park. Literally.
On Friday night, the iconic rockers debuted their new documentary, "Biography: Kisstory," at an outdoor screening in New York's Financial District. But the Tribeca Festival took the premiere a step further: ending the event with a full-blown Kiss mini-concert, complete with fireworks, flamethrowers, laser lights and more.
After the hour-and-a-half-long screening, an unmasked, socially undistanced crowd of hundreds flocked to a stage in the park, flanked by the famous "Kiss" logo in light-up gold letters on both sides. Dressed in full wigs, makeup and their signature, skintight costumes, co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons took the stage with guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer for a rollicking, bombastic set.
"Being from New York, we had to open up New York, so this is our way of saying welcome back to everybody," Stanley greeted the crowd at the top of the show, the band's first performance since postponing their farewell tour last March due to COVID-19.
Kiss kicked off with a tongue-wagging, pyrotechnics-heavy performance of 1976 hit "Detroit Rock City" before launching into "Shout It Out Loud," "War Machine" and "Heaven's on Fire."
Halts Production
Ultimate Slip 'N Slide
NBC has shut down production on its competition series Ultimate Slip 'N Slide amid an outbreak of giardia on the Simi Valley, Calif. set. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, giardia is a microscopic parasite "found on surfaces or in soil, food, or water that has been contaminated with feces from infected people or animals," which, when swallowed, causes a diarrheal disease. Not what you want at the best of times; very much not what you want on a set involving slip 'n slides.
News of the production shutdown was first reported by The Wrap, which reports that "up to 40 crew members fell violently ill" on set. A source with knowledge of the production said an outbreak of "awful explosive diarrhea" led to people "collapsing" on set and "being forced to run into port-o-potties."
An NBC spokesperson confirmed the shutdown to EW. Production was halted on June 2 when at least one crew member on the series tested positive for giardia. The show had nearly completed filming, with one week left in its scheduled production, and will not be returning to the original shooting location.
Hosted by Bobby Moynihan and Ron Funches (neither of whom were infected, a network spokesperson told The Wrap), Ultimate Slip 'N Slide is described as "fresh take on Wham-O's iconic 1960s outdoor game" that "takes the spirit of the classic backyard slide and transforms it into a real-life water park full of gigantic slippery rides with the chance to take home a big cash prize," according to a press release.
The series is slated to premiere Sunday, Aug. 8, following the Summer Olympics' closing ceremony. Whether it will make that premiere date now seems to be a bit of a... crapshoot. (We'll see ourselves out.)
Ultimate Slip 'N Slide
Skywriting
LA
You might think you came up with the most original marriage proposal, but you’d be wrong. That honor has to go to an unknown person who apparently lives in Los Angeles, who proposed to their girlfriend via skywriter — and then threw in a totally out of nowhere insult to podcaster Joe Rogan.
So here’s what happened: On Saturday, the words “will you marry me Mollie Pratt?” appeared in the sky above Los Angeles. Multiple people on Twitter said that this was followed by a series of follow up messages from the same skywriter: “She said yes,” “I love you more than anything,” “Excited to spend my life with you,” and “Until death do us part.”
Great, congratulations to the happy couple OH WAIT that’s not all. The whole thing ended with one last message: “Joe Rogan is literally 5 foot 3.” Damn.
According to at least one person, there were other messages following this assessment of Rogan’s height, though images of those messages haven’t appeared online.
All of this is of course assuming this was a real marriage proposal and not just a funny (and expensive) way to draw attention to the insult. But we’re not stupid, and we’d bet money this turns out to be a prank and nothing more. Even so, for now we choose to believe in love. TRUE LOVE.
LA
ICE Detained US Citizen
Tacoma
A naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying the agency held him in detention for a week even though he had his passport with him and repeatedly insisted he was an American.
The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court on behalf of Everett resident Carlos Rios, identified as a native of Mexicali, Mexico, who has been in the U.S. since the 1980s and became a citizen in 2000.
The lawsuit says Rios was pulled over on his motorcycle in Pierce County in November 2019 on suspicion of driving under the influence. When he was released from jail the next day, two ICE officers were waiting for him.
Without identifying themselves, they seized him and brought him to the privately run, for-profit Northwest immigration detention center in Tacoma, the lawsuit said.
Rios said he repeatedly asked officials and guards to examine his passport, which was among the belongings that had been seized from him. It wasn't until a week later that he was transported to an ICE office in Tukwila, where ICE officials took his biometric information, reviewed his records and realized he was an American.
Tacoma
Tone Deaf In North Carolina
Juneteenth
A North Carolina Plantation canceled an event that would have told the stories of displaced "white refugees" on Juneteenth after backlash, The Washington Post reported.
June 19th, or Juneteenth, is commemorated by many Black Americans as an independence day that celebrates the day that Union army soldiers informed the last enslaved African Americans that the Emancipation Proclamation had established their freedom. It was signed by President Abraham Lincoln two years earlier.
The Historic Latta Plantation event was to focus on white refugees who were displaced and "have a story to tell as well."
"Hear how they feel about being freedmen," a now-deleted online blurb said.
The event description said visitors would hear from confederate soldiers and "the massa himself who is now living in the woods."
Juneteenth
Discovered Antarctica
Maori
New Zealand’s Maori explorers could have been the first humans to set eyes on the frozen continent as far back as the 7th century, a new study suggests, even though for the past 200 years, tales of discovering Antarctica have centered on Russian, European and American expeditions.
Polynesian stories of historic voyages include the expeditions of Hui Te Rangiora and his crew on the vessel Te Ivi o Atea into Antarctic waters, likely in the 7th century, according to the study published this month in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
In some of these stories, Hui Te Rangiora and his crew traveled far south and in so doing were likely the first people to set eyes on Antarctic waters and perhaps even the continent, according to the authors of the report.
Evidence of how far these intrepid men potentially ventured can be found in the name they gave the frozen ocean — Te tai-uka-a-pia — which means like the arrowroot, the paper says. Arrowroot is a type of white starch that looks like snow and is obtained from scraping the stems of certain plants.
Prior to this report, Europeans widely believed that the first recorded sighting of Antarctica happened in 1820, although there is still some debate about whether it was a Russian or a British expedition that saw it.
Maori
Lopsided
Earth’s Core
The innermost part of our planet, the core, might be lopsided. This is the suggestion based on a model by seismologists at UC Berkeley. This approach could help explain why seismic waves travel differently through the inner core. The hypothesis is detailed in Nature Geoscience.
There is a lot we don’t understand about what goes on a few thousand kilometers under our feet. We know that the Earth has a solid inner core, that has been crystalizing for at least 500 million years, but maybe much longer than that. This crystallization releases heat, keeping the outer core nice and molten. That’s good for us since the motion of the outer core generates the magnetic field that protects us from cosmic radiation.
The crystallization of the inner core, though, doesn’t appear to be uniform. By studying the motion of some of the seismic waves that can travel through the inner core, scientists noticed that some directions are better, making the waves go through them more quickly.
To explain this, the new model suggests that the core grows faster on one side (underneath Indonesia) than it does on the other (underneath Brazil) by about 60 percent. The final result is iron crystals that are preferentially orientated along the planet’s axis of rotation.
The model also narrows the possible age range of the inner core, leading to more mysteries. What was heating up the outer core and producing the magnetic field before the inner core crystallization? The team suggests that the separation of lighter elements from iron might have done the trick.
Earth’s Core
Science For Boys
Mars
Human reproduction will be possible on Mars because sperm can survive there for up to 200 years, a study suggests.
The findings were part of a six-year experiment in which scientists kept mouse sperm on the International Space Station and exposed it to radiation.
As The Daily Mail reports, researchers had believed radiation in space would destroy human DNA and make breeding impossible. Cancer caused by the radiation was another concern.
But after six years, scientists found that the mouse sperm stored on the space station was still healthy.
They also exposed it to X-rays on Earth and discovered it did not affect fertility.
Mars
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
