Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Carol Blonder: Why Your Busboy Hates You (phoenixnewtimes.com)
Million-dollar schmuck: The worst tipper I ever encountered was a local sports celebrity. He was with his kid and ordered breakfast, drinks and dessert. He left eighty-five cents on the table, the change from his bill. Seriously, like I don't know who you are. Way to treat the fans.
Lenore Skenazy: "Everything You Need To Know About the Economy (From One Bronze Plaque)" (creators.com)
Who knew that the entire economic history of America could be found on a single bronze plaque in downtown Monroe, a town about 90 minutes outside of New York City?
Clarence Page: Religious ignorance hurts
A new poll finds atheist and agnostics know more about religion than believers do. Maybe the pollsters weren't asking the right questions.
Michael Moore: Five Ways the Democrats Can Avoid a Catastrophe and Pull Off the Mother of All Upsets (michaelmoore.com)
The election is one month from tomorrow and, yes, it looks hopeless. November 2nd -- the day the Dems are expected to crash and burn.
Joanna Moorhead: Australia's whistleblowing nun (guardian.co.uk)
Excommunicated for reporting a child-abusing priest, and accused of being an alcoholic, Mary MacKillop is now to become Australia's first saint .
Jim Hightower: DEAD MINERS AND ETHICALLY-DEAD SENATORS
Some members of Congress complain that they have a really tough job. Also, they say their hard work is not appreciated by the public and that they're really not paid enough. Well, not to worry congress peoples, for I have the perfect cure for your job grievances: become coal miners for a while.
Susan Estrich: She Said, She Said (creators.com)
Meg Whitman says she had no idea that she was employing an illegal immigrant for nine years and fired Nikki Diaz Santillan as soon as she found out.
Richard Roeper: Facebook story not a profile of total jerk
Can you be a jerk AND a good guy? Cynics are saying Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg went on "Oprah" and donated $100 million to the Newark school system as a preemptive strike prior to the release of "The Social Network" -- but Zuckerberg could give away a billion dollars, and it still wouldn't erase the film's depiction of him as an arrogant little bleep who can alienate a room in less time than it takes you to read this sentence.
Simon Doonan: Beyond the Valley of the Rhinestones (slate.com)
My life with Liberace.
Steve King: Tom as Twain, and America
In his preface to the first edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain says that Tom is a composite of three boys from hometown Hannibal, Tom's adventures those of his friends rather than his own. Most Twain biographers treat these statements as unreliable disclaimers, and proceed as if young Sam Clemens is Tom-until, having grown "from careless mischief to extreme unruliness" (Andrew Hoffman, Inventing Mark Twain), he is Huck.
"Stranger from Abroad: Hannah Arendt, Martin Heidegger, Friendship and Forgiveness" by Daniel Maier-katkin: A review by Michelle Sieff
Since 1982, when published Elizabeth Young-Bruehl published 'Hannah Arendt: For Love of the World,' it has been widely known that Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger had an affair. He was Germany's leading philosopher of existentialism; she was a German Jew and one of his most promising students at the University of Marburg during the 1920s. But the winds of history blew their lives in different directions.
Roger Ebert: In memory: Tony Curtis, 1925 - 2010
When his handsome face and a stroke of luck brought Curtis to Hollywood in 1948, he was 23 years old and felt as if he was in heaven. That wasn't because of the acting opportunities. It was because of the women, and Tony was one of the town's best-known lotharios for decades.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Send in the Clowns... Don't bother, they're here' Edition...
The House's No. 2 Democratic leader said today that comedian Stephen Colbert's testimony last week on immigration was "inappropriate" and "an embarrassment." Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California invited Colbert to appear before the House Judiciary Committee. But other Democrats weren't happy about her decision... House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland told "Faux News Sunday" he thought the episode was more of an embarrassment to Colbert than to the House. But, he added, "I think it was inappropriate" that he testified...
House leader: Colbert was an 'embarrassment' - Politics - msnbc.com
Do you agree with Majority Leader Hoyer's assessment of Colbert's appearance?
1.) Yes... He made a mockery of the legislative process. What was Rep. Lofgren thinking?
2.) No... Congress, themselves, make a mockery of the legislative process, dagnabbit!
3.) More! More! Bring on Jon Stewart!
Send your response to
took another day off.
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Thunder and lightning storm early on, then a nice, sunny day.
10 Winners
Ig Nobel Prizes
The mysteries of bat sex and whale snot and an unusual way to deal with human pain were the focus Thursday of the annual tongue-in-cheek Ig Nobel Prizes.
Ten winners were declared at the ceremony held in Harvard University's Sanders Theatre, with eight of them on hand to receive their prizes, and the ceremony broadcast on YouTube.
An idea to use a remote-control helicopter to collect whale snot won the engineering prize for a British-Mexican team, with the project under the authentically geeky title "A Novel Non-Invasive Tool for Disease Surveillance of Free-Ranging Whales and Its Relevance to Conservation Programs."
A Dutch pair of scientists won medicine honors for their discovery that a roller coaster ride can treat asthma symptoms, while a Japanese team took the transportation planning prize for use of "slime mold to determine the optimal routes for railroad tracks."
Ig Nobel Prizes
"Hollywood Far North"
Alaska
On a crisp autumn day, as office workers went about their business, one of Anchorage's major hotels became the temporary hub of what state leaders consider a promising new Alaska industry.
The lower level of the Hotel Captain Cook was occupied by a Hollywood film crew that converted rooms into movie sets, makeup and dressing areas and equipment-packed work sites.
In progress was filming for Universal Features' "Everybody Loves Whales," a movie starring Drew Barrymore and recounting a 1988 rescue mounted for three gray whales trapped in Arctic ice.
In a departure from past history, this Alaska-based movie is being filmed on location, rather than in a make-believe Alaska set constructed in British Columbia or elsewhere.
Alaska officials hope this and other projects will help diversify the state's economy from its precarious dependence on dwindling oil production.
Alaska
'Wanted Out' Of I'm Still Here
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix was desperate to quit work on his hoax documentary I'm Still Here after the first few months of pretending he was a wannabe rapper - because he longed for a return to normal life.
The Oscar-nominee stunned fans in 2008 by announcing he was quitting acting to forge a new career as a rapper and hit headlines with a series of strange stunts, including a shambolic appearance on David Letterman's talk show and falling off stage at his first gig.
It was all filmed by his brother-in-law Casey Affleck for their new film I'm Still Here and Phoenix recently confirmed the whole project was a hoax.
The actor now admits he found it tough to keep up his bizarre new persona during filming and almost gave up because he was so desperate to get back to reality.
Joaquin Phoenix
Film {roject Gets Green Light
Beach Boys
Fox 2000 has picked up a an untitled Beach Boys project that revolves around the band's music but is not a biopic.
The project is being produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the team responsible for "Hairspray."
Also producing is John Stamos, who has toured with the Beach Boys as their drummer and whose association with the band goes back to his appearance in the music video of "Kokomo."
Screenwriter Susannah Grant, who worked on Zadan and Meron's new "Footloose" project as well as the upcoming musical-themed "Burlesque," starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, is on board to write the Beach Boys movie. Rather than tell the story of the band, it will take a similar tack to "Mamma Mia!," which built a fictional story around the music of ABBA.
Beach Boys
Finally Recognized As Religion
Druids
Druids have been worshipping the sun and earth for thousands of years in Europe, but now they can say they're practicing an officially recognized religion.
The ancient pagan tradition best known for gatherings at Stonehenge every summer solstice has been formally classed as a religion under charity law for the first time in Britain, the national charity regulator said Saturday. That means Druids can receive exemptions from taxes on donations - and now have the same status as such mainstream religions as the Church of England.
Druids have practiced for thousands of years in Britain and in Celtic societies elsewhere in Europe. They worship natural forces such as thunder and the sun, and spirits they believe arise from places such as mountains and rivers. They do not worship a single god or creator, but seek to cultivate a sacred relationship with the natural world.
Although many see them as robed, mysterious people who gather every summer solstice at Stonehenge - which predates the Druids - believers say modern Druidry is chiefly concerned with helping practitioners connect with nature and themselves through rituals, dancing and singing at stone circles and other sites throughout the country believed to be "sacred."
Druids
Michigan Court Hearing
John Stamos
Actor John Stamos can't make it to federal court in Michigan's Upper Peninsula next week, but he still wants to be heard.
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to allow them to read a statement from Stamos when two people are sentenced Friday for trying to extort $680,000 from him.
In July, Allison Coss and Scott Sippola were found guilty of conspiracy and using e-mail to threaten a person's reputation. They were accused of demanding money from Stamos in exchange for turning over embarrassing photos of him.
Stamos has known Coss for years after meeting her in Orlando, Fla., in 2004 when she was 17.
John Stamos
UK Book Recall
Jonathan Franzen
Tens of thousands of copies of the new novel by bestselling US author Jonathan Franzen, "Freedom", have been recalled after an early draft of the book was printed by mistake, his publisher said Saturday.
Best known for his best-selling 2001 novel "The Corrections", Franzen has received a tidal wave of hype in Britain and the United States for his latest work, with one reviewer calling it the "novel of the century."
But publishers HarperCollins said the version of "Freedom" released in Britain earlier this week contained dozens of mistakes, with about 8,000 copies being sold from the initial print run of 80,000 now in shops.
"It was a typesetter's error. The books have around 50 punctuation and spelling mistakes. The typesetter sent the last-but-one version," said a HarperCollins spokesman.
Jonathan Franzen
ABC Cancels
"My Generation"
ABC has canceled its documentary-style ensemble drama "My Generation" after only two episodes.
The network is halting production on the Thursday night series. It's not yet clear what will take its place as the lead-in for "Grey's Anatomy."
After a poor premiere-week performance, "My Generation" fell 31 percent with its second episode Thursday night, to 3.9 million viewers and a 1.1 adults 18-49 rating.
"My Generation" marks the second network series to get the ax this week. The first was Fox's "Lone Star." In addition to "Whole Truth," NBC's Friday night drama "Outlaw" is also on the bubble -- walking a fine line between renewal and cancellation -- if its ratings don't improve.
"My Generation"
Now Online
Babylonian
The language of the Epic of Gilgamesh and King Hammurabi has found a new life online after being dead for some 2,000 years.
Academics from across the world have recorded audio of Babylonian epics, poems, and even a magic spell to the Internet in an effort to help scholars and laymen understand what the language of the ancient Near East sounded like.
Babylonia was among the world's first civilizations and produced some of its earliest pieces of literature. Its people also play a central role in the Bible. Babylon's soaring, pyramid-shaped Temple of Marduk is thought to have inspired the tale of the Tower of Babel, while their conquest of the Kingdom of Judah in the early sixth century B.C. led to the deportation and exile of the nation's Jewish population.
The Babylonian language, written on clay tablets in cuneiform script, dominated the Near East for centuries before it was gradually displaced by Aramaic. After a long decline, it disappeared from use altogether sometime in the first century A.D. - and was only deciphered nearly two millennia later by 19th-century European academics.
Babylonian
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