Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Congratulations President Obama on the Nobel Peace Prize -- Now Please Earn it! (michaelmoore.com)
Dear President Obama, How outstanding that you've been recognized today as a man of peace. ... In eight months you have done an about face and taken this country in a much more sane direction.
Scott Burns: The Ka-ching Epiphany (assetbuilder.com)
Life was completely normal, even though most of our 10,000 pounds of stuff was sealed in cardboard boxes. The stuff, in fact, could remain in those boxes and we might not remember it. With the exception of a few totem objects- a bronze sculpture by my paternal grandfather, a box carved by my father, a plethora of family pictures and a bottle of 1940 vintage Madeira that is sipped on very special occasions- it could all disappear somewhere in west Texas and not be missed.
"2666" by Roberto Bolano: A review by Francine Prose
Dying, aware that his time was short, Roberto Bolano gave himself over to the most important of subjects, to the eternal and ineradicable evil that has -- for the moment -- alighted on the Mexican border, to the desire to insist that the blameless murdered women of Ciudad Juarez were once individual living beings with names and faces and souls, and to our human need, our obligation, to cry out, as Florita does: Haven't you understood what I've said?
Will Harris: A Chat with Corey Glover, Living Colour singer (bullz-eye.com)
On releasing "The Chair in the Doorway": Between 2003 and now, we've been coddling together grooves and bits and pieces. We've been trying to get a record out for awhile, but at this point, the stars aligned and everything was right."
Steve Johnson: Top 40 radio is back on top (Chicago Tribune)
We don't know yet whether Lady Gaga is the Sylvia of 2009, destined to be remembered only when today's listeners play dinner-party trivia games asking for the names of her Top 40 hits.
Richard Scheinin: Headbanger Andrew W.K. goes classical (San Jose Mercury News)
Not long ago, Andrew W.K., the bloody-faced headbanger whose hits include "Party Hard" and "Party Til You Puke," turned up on National Public Radio to wax poetic about the universal life force of J.S. Bach. His reflections, as it turned out, were merely a buildup to the real shocker: that he was about to hit the road with a string quartet.
Happy 50th, Ronnie Scott's (guardian.co.uk)
Half a century ago, a nightclub opened that would change British music for ever. John Fordham talks about Ronnie Scott's with some of the jazz legends who played there.
Tom Waits gives the devil his due (guardian.co.uk)
At 59, Tom Waits has finally landed the role he was born to play: the devil. He talks to Xan Brooks about Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and names his all-time favourite films.
Interview with Thomas Jane (thecelebritycafe.com)
Thomas Jane is an actor best known for the films 'The Punisher' and 'Deep Blue Sea,' and currently stars on the HBO dramatic comedy series 'Hung.' He is now directing. He directs and stars in his new thriller, 'Dark Country.' He spoke with TheCelebrityCafe's Marjorie Quinn about his new movie and some of the new projects he will be working on.
10 questions with C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels (latimes.com)
The British actor is becoming a face of the franchise as the narrator of "Star Wars: In Concert." This is the droid you're looking for ...
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Afghan Options' Edition
The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama is not considering a strategy for Afghanistan that would withdraw U.S. troops from the eroding war there.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said "I don't think we have the option to leave. That's quite clear," ( White House: Leaving Afghanistan Not An Option | CommonDreams.org )
That being the case, what options would you recommend to the President?
Send your response to
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Link from BadtotheboneBob
Algae
In 75 years of living near these waters, Loris Jenkins never saw anything like what she came across this summer. A cruise on Lake Erie
The lake waters were covered by something -- a bright green mass, seemingly everywhere she looked -- that the boat sliced through as it motored off Luna Pier, a city of 1,400 residents on Michigan's Lake Erie shore. Jenkins, who has lived a block from the beach for more than half a century, is used to dealing with algae, but this was something different...
Massive algae blooms threaten Lake Erie | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Link from RJ
Stumbling Blocks to Remembrance
Hi there
Hope you are well! Here is something that I hope you enjoy - quite an amazing art project....
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Pretty fall day.
Fan Club Grows
Alan Grayson
U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who said late last month that Republicans' health care plans amount to wanting sick people to "die quickly," told a wildly enthusiastic crowd of about 2,000 Democrats Saturday that the GOP should change its name to "The Selfish Party."
The first-term congressman from Orlando was given a standing ovation for his remarks at the Florida Democratic Party's annual convention. People stood in line to take pictures with him and gush over him, and a room where he was later part of a panel discussion had to be doubled in size because turnout was twice what was expected. Grayson ate up the attention. He was introduced at the panel discussion as "the rock star" and Grayson stood up and jokingly said, "I'm Barack Obama."
Kevin Baker, 38, of Palm Beach Gardens knew nothing about Grayson two weeks ago. He's now a fan. He doesn't live in Grayson's district, but waited in line to get a picture with him, saying afterward that Grayson says aloud what most Democrats think.
"It's finally good to have someone up there with the bravery to tell the truth and know that it will actually help him and not hurt him," Baker said. "You've got to break a few eggs to get noticed by the media, and if there's a little bit of controversy because one or two words are wrong, I can live with that."
Alan Grayson
Still Committed To Gorilla Rescue
Sigourney Weaver
Actress Sigourney Weaver said Saturday that orphaned gorillas desperately need a permanent rescue and rehabilitation center that's currently being built in the Congo.
The Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education, or GRACE, Center it is set to open in March, about a year after construction began. It's a joint project of the Atlanta-based Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and several other organizations.
Weaver played Fossey in the 1988 movie "Gorillas in the Mist" and is honorary chair of the fund. While filming, Weaver said she spent many days with gorillas.
Weaver was at Atlanta's Woodruff Arts Center Saturday to talk about the center. "Gorilla's in the Mist" is set to be shown on a big screen for the first time in about 20 years at Woodruff on Oct. 17 as part of a fundraiser for the gorilla fund.
Sigourney Weaver
Actress, Movie Maker Barred From Leaving
Iran
Iranian authorities prevented a well-known movie actress and a film maker from traveling to the United States because of their activities after a disputed election in June, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Sarmayeh daily appeared to refer to involvement in huge opposition protests that erupted after the June 12 presidential poll, which defeated candidates say was rigged to secure the re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
It said actress Fatemeh Motamed-Aria and documentary movie producer Mojtaba Mirtahmaseb were stopped at Tehran's airport on Thursday as they prepared to depart for a work-related visit to Los Angeles.
Eight other people in the group were allowed to leave for a week-long conference on Iranian cinema, Sarmayeh said.
Iran
Playboy Covergirl
Marge Simpson
Playboy magazine is turning over its cover to the matriarch of Springfield's first family: Marge Simpson.
It's a first for the magazine, which has had everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Cindy Crawford to the Girls of Hooters and even the likes of Jerry Seinfeld on the cover. But it's never had a cartoon character before.
Marge and her pile of bright blue hair are set to grace the cover of the November issue of Playboy. It will hit the newsstands October 16.
New CEO Scott Flanders says the idea is to attract readers in their 20s to a magazine where the average reader's age is 35.
Marge Simpson
Ostrich Routine
Congress
Congress is set to allow the Pentagon to keep new pictures of foreign detainees abused by their U.S. captors from the public, a move intended to end a legal fight over the photographs' release that has reached the Supreme Court.
Federal courts have so far rejected the government's arguments against the release of 21 color photographs showing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by Americans.
The Obama administration believes giving the imminent grant of authority over the release of such pictures to the defense secretary would short-circuit a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act.
The White House is asking the justices to put off consideration of the case until after a vote on the measure in the House and Senate, as early as next week. The provision is part of a larger homeland security spending bill and would allow the defense secretary to withhold photographs relating to detainees by certifying their release would endanger soldiers or other government workers.
Congress
Secret Cargo
Bananas
First bricks of cocaine were found stashed in statues of the Virgin Mary, then in a frozen shark. Now, Mexican authorities have seized a load of "over-ripe" bananas bearing 2.6 tonnes of marijuana.
Mexico's defense ministry said the cargo was found hidden inside a truck by soldiers who caught a whiff of pot when they stopped the vehicle at a US border checkpoint, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Tucson, Arizona.
The soldiers "realized that the product (bananas) was over-ripe" and decided to poke around under the fruit, where they discovered 508 packages of marijuana weighing some 2,650 kilograms (5,830 pounds), the ministry said in a statement.
The driver, who was arrested, had driven the truck from Mexican City and was bound for Tijuana, where a busier border crossing point provided access to the United States, according to the ministry.
Bananas
929 Gallons
Moonshine
North Carolina authorities say they have found 929 gallons of moonshine under a shed in the mountains.
State Alcohol Law Enforcement officials say 63-year-old Roger Lee Nance of Wilkesboro was arrested Wednesday on charges including possession of non-tax-paid liquor for the purpose of selling.
Spokeswoman Patty McQuillan says Nance stored moonshine in different-shaped containers under a shed in his backyard and was arrested following a two-month investigation.
Moonshine
Big Auction
Entertainment Memorabilia
An illuminating glove worn by Michael Jackson during the 1984 Victory Tour has brought in $70,800 at an auction of entertainment memorabilia.
A bidder paid $106,200 for a Martin D-28 guitar played by Elvis Presley during his final Las Vegas peformance.
They were among dozens of items from Hollywood and the music industry sold at an auction in Los Angeles by Profiles in History. The auction house says it sold about $5 million in memorabilia Thursday and Friday.
A bullwhip swung by Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" went for $56,050 and full-scale Velociraptor model from "Jurassic Park" brought in $76,700.
Entertainment Memorabilia
Rare Chinese Books
Harvard
One of the most extensive collections of rare Chinese books outside China will be freely available as Harvard University has agreed to digitize the titles.
Representatives from the Harvard College Library and the National Library of China signed a deal Friday to digitize more than 51,000 volumes in the Harvard collection. Some are more than 1,000 years old.
All the rare books are held at the Harvard-Yenching Library. They will be examined to identify those that are fragile, damaged or sewn in a way that hides text along the binding margin.
Harvard technicians have been designing new equipment as they prepare to begin the six-year project in January.
Harvard
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