from Bruce
Anecdotes
Gifts
• Ballet master George Balanchine once made a mistake when he gave ballerina Alexandra Danilova a gift of English cologne. Why was that a mistake? Ms. Danilova was then living in Paris, center of the best perfume in the world.
• Even at age five, Rita Rudner was a comedian. When she received a bikini as a gift, she held up the top and said, “Thank you very much, Aunt Mabel. This will come in handy if I ever have to blindfold the cat.”
• Ballerina Alicia Markova loved gardenias. One of the best presents she ever received came from her dance partner Anton Dolin, who sent her a pillow of gardenias to sleep on.
Good Deeds
• Figure skating can be expensive. When Todd Eldridge, numerous times American men’s skating champion, was 10 years old, he moved to Philadelphia to train under elite coach Richard Callaghan (who also trained Tara Lipinski). For a while, the Eldridge family managed financially, but when Todd’s skating expenses reached $15,000 a year, they considered having him come back to his hometown of Chatham, Massachusetts—from which they had to drive Todd to Boston for skating lessons. Fortunately, Todd’s hometown rallied behind him—a committee held clambakes and dinner dances, and sent out pledge cards to raise money to pay for Todd’s skating expenses. The town sponsored Todd for several years, finally ending its sponsorship in 1993, when Todd was able to earn enough money from his skating to cover his expenses.
• One of the good things that Bud Abbott and Lou Costello did in their lives was to finance a community center for children in a poor section of Los Angeles. At Mr. Abbott’s suggestion, the community center was named the Lou Costello, Jr., Youth Foundation, after Mr. Costello’s son, who had accidentally drowned in a swimming pool.
Grandparents
• When country comedian Jerry Clower was a very small boy, his grandfather got up before dawn, left the house, and returned after sunset three days in a row. Young Jerry asked where he had been, and his grandfather replied, “I been doing public work—working for the county. We have a poll tax we have to pay before we can vote, and I didn’t have the two dollars to pay it. So the county agreed to let me work three days and they would pay me two dollars.” Then his grandfather smiled and said, “Hallelujah! I done earned two dollars. I can vote! Thank God. Boy, your grandaddy is going to be able to vote.”
• When Carol Burnett made her first appearance on national television—December 15, 1955, on The Paul Winchell Show—she called her grandmother so she would know to watch the program. However, her grandmother wanted Carol to say hi to her on the program, something that was impossible. Therefore, Carol worked out a code—instead of saying hi directly, she pulled her left earlobe as a greeting to her grandmother. After her grandmother died, Carol continued to pull her left earlobe—as a way to say hi to her children.
• Actor Walter Slezak’s grandmother was very curious. When he was a small boy, he asked her to keep for him a large box tied with string, but not to tell his parents about it because it was a secret. In particular, she had to promise not to look inside the box. As soon as he left the room, his grandmother began to untie the string. Inside the box she found a smaller box, and inside that box she found an even smaller box. When she finally opened the smallest box, she found this note: “Hello, nosy, you broke your promise.”
Halloween
• When Olympic medalist Shannon Miller was a pre-teen gymnast, she wore a memorable costume to a Halloween meet at Dynamo Gymnastics. She went as a bag of groceries. Because she was so small, a grocery bag (with the bottom cut out) fit around her torso. To the top of the bag were glued such items as cereal boxes and egg cartons, and her mask consisted of a potato chip bag with holes cut out for her eyes and nose. Shannon’s costume was voted by the applause of the audience to be the best in the meet. (And her mother didn’t even have to sew anything!)
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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
Track: "Parsec’s Paradox"
Album: FUTOURISM
Artist: The TomorrowMen
Artist Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Info:
“From the baroque Venusian cloudburst of PARSEC’S PARADOX to the contemplative sturm-und-twang of MERCURY IN RETROGRADE, the Saturnalian secret agent trill-and-chill of THE MAN WHO COULDN’T TELL TIME and the bittersweet Neptunian summer’s-end melancholia of CIRCADIA, The TomorrowMen bring it kicking, spinning and reverbing on home to the adventurous 21st Century time traveller. So pack a bag, slip into your all-weather see-thru chromium and vinyl spacesuit and hop onto the big, big Stereo Spaceship for a timeless, time-wide trip into the ear-splendiferous sound of The TomorrowMen’s FUTOURISM.”
TJDMORA, a fan, wrote, “I've seen this SF-based group live a couple of times and they have great, high-energy shows. I listened to this new release of theirs all the way through today and enjoyed tracks 1-8, tracks 9-13 are killer. Favorite track: ‘Hemispherical Synchronization.’”
Price: Name Your Price (Includes FREE) for 13-track album
Genre: Surf. Rock Instrumental.
Links:
FUTOURISM
The TomorrowMen on Bandcamp
Danny Snyder of The TomorrowMen on YouTube
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Will Rollins
Will Rollins For Congress // A Story
As a national security and terrorism prosecutor, Rollins helped fight QAnon terrorism and the January 6th U.S. Capitol insurrection. He has seen what happens when extreme politicians like Ken Calvert spread lies and refuse to stand up for America. It’s time to kick them out and save our democracy.
Other Links:
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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
Someone stole my bicycle from the fenced and gated backyard. Bummed.
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts is being honored by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures at its second annual gala in October, the organization said Friday. The Oscar-winner will be presented with the Icon Award in recognition of the significant global cultural impact of her career.
Roberts won an Oscar in 2000 for her leading role in “Erin Brockovich.”
Director Steve McQueen, actor Tilda Swinton and “Parasite” producer Miky Lee are also receiving awards at the gala on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles.
The gala serves as a fundraiser for the museum’s programming and educational initiatives. Last year’s inaugural event raised over $11 million. The museum also unveiled a starry Gala Host Committee which includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Duvall, Regina Hall, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ariana DeBose and many more.
Julia Roberts
US Soprano
Angel Blue
Soprano Angel Blue says she won’t perform in an opera in Italy this month because blackface was used in the staging of a different work this summer on the same stage.
The U.S. singer posted a note on her angeljoyblue Instagram page saying she will be bowing out of “La Traviata” at Verona’s Arena this month because the theater recently mounted another Giuseppe Verdi opera, “Aida,” that had performers in blackface.
She blasted such use of “archaic” theatrical practices as “offensive, humiliating, and outright racist.”
Angel Blue, however, was still listed Saturday on the Arena’s website as singing the role of Violetta in “La Traviata” on July 22 and 30.
The theater said it was hoping that Blue, who is Black, would accept an invitation to meet with Arena officials in a “dialogue” over the issue. The Arena, in a statement Friday, said it had “no reason nor intent whatsoever to offend and disturb anyone’s sensibility.”
Angel Blue
Production Peak
New Mexico
New Mexico's film and TV industry has hit a new peak, with record spending by video production companies in a state that drew projects including the Netflix series “Stranger Things."
Production companies directly spent a record $855 million on films, TV series and other media in the fiscal year that ended on June 30, New Mexico's governor announced Thursday. Industry executives have been attracted to New Mexico’s unique landscapes since the success of AMC's long-running series “Breaking Bad” and a generous increase of incentives passed by state lawmakers in 2019.
In-state spending by the industry increased about 36% from nearly $627 million the previous fiscal year.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a first-term Democrat running for reelection, also touted an increase in spending beyond major cities such as Santa Fe and Albuquerque, fueled by expanded state incentives for rural and small-town film production.
New Mexico
Turns 10
‘Gangnam Style’
This Friday, July 15, marks the 10th anniversary of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video release — and the Korean artist’s combo of stylish quirkiness, trademark dance moves, synth hooks and satirical edge made it the first viral video to top 1 billion views on YouTube.
Less than six months after its release, “Gangnam Style” on Dec. 21, 2012, became the first honoree in YouTube’s Billion Views Club. And today, it remains on YouTube’s Top 5 list of the most-viewed music videos by a recording artist ever on the platform, with 4.47 billion views (and counting).
In a statement provided by YouTube, Psy commented: “Being the first artist to reach 1 billion views on YouTube was an extraordinary feeling 10 years ago and it still is today. To have played a role in paving the way for music of all kinds to transcend borders is a true honor.”
Fun historical note: In 2014, YouTube joked that “Gangnam Style” had broken its video-views counter when it surpassed 2.147 billion views; the software was originally limited to support for 32-bit integers (lol!).
‘Gangnam Style’
Dog Ate The Messages
Secret Service
The Secret Service’s account about how text messages from the day before and the day of the Capitol attack were erased has shifted several times, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security told the House January 6 select committee at a briefing on Friday.
At one point, the explanation from the Secret Service for the lost texts was because of software upgrades, the inspector general told the panel, while at another point, the explanation was because of device replacements.
The inspector general also said that though the secret service opted to have his office do a review of the agency’s response to the Capitol attack in lieu of conducting after-action reports, it then stonewalled the review by slow-walking production of materials.
After the inspector general raised his complaints, he then discussed the feasibility of reconstructing the texts. But the issues so alarmed the select committee that the panel moved hours later to subpoena the Secret Service, according to participants at the briefing.
Members on the select committee were privately skeptical of the notion that the Secret Service managed to inadvertently erase key messages during a 10-day period that was among perhaps the most tumultuous for the agency, the participants said.
Secret Service
Profound Changes
Medical Care
A sexual assault survivor chooses sterilization so that if she is ever attacked again, she won’t be forced to give birth to a rapist’s baby. An obstetrician delays inducing a miscarriage until a woman with severe pregnancy complications seems “sick enough.” A lupus patient must stop taking medication that controls her illness because it can also cause miscarriages.
Abortion restrictions in a number of states and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade are having profound repercussions in reproductive medicine as well as in other areas of medical care.
“For physicians and patients alike, this is a frightening and fraught time, with new, unprecedented concerns about data privacy, access to contraception, and even when to begin lifesaving care,” said Dr. Jack Resneck, president of the American Medical Association.
Even in medical emergencies, doctors are sometimes declining immediate treatment. In the past week, an Ohio abortion clinic received calls from two women with ectopic pregnancies — when an embryo grows outside the uterus and can’t be saved — who said their doctors wouldn’t treat them. Ectopic pregnancies often ALWAYS become life-threatening emergencies and abortion clinics aren’t set up to treat them.
It’s just one example of “the horrible downstream effects of criminalizing abortion care," said Dr. Catherine Romanos, who works at the Dayton clinic.
Medical Care
Brand New Fungus Discovered
Scottish Highlands
They say that, if you’re on the hunt for species as yet undiscovered by science, the best place to look isn’t the Amazon rainforest or the open ocean, but your own backyard.
If you want proof of that maxim, look no further than the Cairngorms in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. There, two species of fungi have just been found that were previously unheard of within the UK – plus another that was unknown to science before now.
The project was led by conservation charity Plantlife and the James Hutton Institute, a research organization based in nearby Aberdeen.
They tasked dozens of volunteer hillwalkers with collecting soil samples at various altitudes from 55 of the 58 Munros – that’s the term for mountains in Scotland that are over 3,000 feet (914 meters) high – across the Cairngorm National Park last summer.
DNA was extracted from the soil and sequenced by scientists at the James Hutton Institute, resulting in more than 17,000 records of 2,748 species of fungus – and with numbers like that, it’s almost impressive they only found three surprise results.
Scottish Highlands
Creeping Mass Of Insect Larvae
Camp Denali
Elaina O'Brien ran back to staff housing on a busy morning at the Camp Denali lodge Friday to grab the radio she'd forgotten at her cabin.
She looked down at the flagstone path, and what she saw made her think: "Am I hallucinating? Did I have some kind of psychedelic mushroom for breakfast? What. Is. That?"
"But it was right on the staff trail!" she said. "And I looked and I was like, 'Oh my God, am I seeing this for real? Like, it's just a million bugs, being herded by these other bugs, in this slimy trail."
It turned out she was looking at a new, yet-to-be-named species of fly called the gnat snakeworm. In that moment, they were traveling together as larvae in a "rare phenomenon," said Derek Sikes, curator of insects and professor of entomology at the University of Alaska Museum of the North and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Hundreds of larvae, each almost a centimeter long, form the crawling column. Columns of larvae can stretch up to 2 or 3 feet, and they may gather in that formation only for a few hours, Sikes said.
Camp Denali
150-Year-Old Beer Cave Uncovered
Iowa
A team of Iowa utility workers had a more exciting-than-usual day at work recently, when some underground electrical work revealed a well-preserved "beer cave" from the mid-19th century. According to KCCI, the electrical workers from the city of Winterset were doing some excavation on a project in Madison County — yes, as in The Bridges of — when they ran into the underground structure.
"They started digging it up and figured they hit a rock shelf," electrical superintendent Chuck Johnson told the outlet. "When we poked our head in and saw the arched ceiling — there isn't a flaw in it. It's just like it was brand new."
An 1869 business directory suggests that the cellar was located near a brewery that was already operating in the area. And, just like the beer caves at your local convenience store, the underground cellar could've been used to keep brews cold in the days before we all had refrigerators.
"Iowa DOT staff, with City of Winterset Utilities and the Madison County Historic Preservation Commission, took a preliminary look at the location in early July," a Facebook post from Madison County Historic Preservation read. "The cellar, since it is below ground to be cool, now holds water. Those involved plan to regroup in the fall when the water table is lower, so that LIDAR (light detecting and ranging) equipment can be used to fully assess the structure from the inside."
Iowa
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