Recommended Reading
from Bruce
2011 Memes: Where Are They Now
2011 Memes: Then and Now
Mark Morford: 12 stupidly easy resolutions for 2012 (SF Gate)
You want to exercise more, eat better, read more books? Spend more time with your kids, get more sleep and cook more delicious meals at home? Wonderful. Have at it. Me, I'm going a little esoteric, a little vibrational this fine year of our apocalypse. It just seems appropriate.
Froma Harrop: "'Nuts' to Iran" (Creators Syndicate)
The true "nuts" response to Iranian-type oil threats now comes from Germany. In June, Chancellor Angela Merkel set Germany on course to generate 80 percent of its power from renewable sources - wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy - by 2050. Merkel insists that the program is job-creating. By contrast, many American politicians tar any energy program not in the pocket of the fossil fuel industry as "job-killing." While Germany raised the share of electricity made from renewables to 20 percent now from 6 percent in 2000, it enjoyed higher wages, lower unemployment and stronger exports.
'Yo, Is This Racist?' Andrew Ti's Tumblr Has Your (Hilarious) Answer (AlterNet)
Finding the humor in the horrific.
Richard Shilling: Land Artist
"Land artists take naturally occurring materials in the wild and rearrange them into works of art. That's what Richard Shilling does, using no glue, string, or any other materials. You can see some prime examples of his ingenuity at the link. Shilling makes excellent use of translucent leaves, flexible stems, and stones to make effective sculptures. The wind often sweeps away his works within minutes of completion, but that's okay with Shilling because it is an affirmation of the transient nature of life." - Neatorama
Top artists reveal how to find creative inspiration (Guardian)
Guy Garvey, Isaac Julien, Martha Wainwright and other artists give their top tips for unleashing your inner genius.
Roman Krznaric: Five Icons for Better Living in 2012 (Huffington Post)
Born into a poor white family in North Carolina in 1924, C.P. Ellis became a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1971 he attended a community meeting and was forced to work alongside black civil rights activist Ann Atwater. He was shocked to discover how much they had in common, from the oppression of poverty to family struggles. It exploded his prejudices about black people. He tore up his KKK membership card in front of a thousand onlookers. They were friends for the rest of their lives.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Acting (Athens News)
While watching a rehearsal of "Captain Brassbound's Conversion," featuring actress Ellen Terry, a friend asked George Bernard Shaw if Ms. Terry were saying the lines as he had written them. Mr. Shaw replied, "No - but she is saying them as I ought to have written them."
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
M Is FOR MASHUP - January 4th, 2012
TV QUIZ
By DJ Useo
Howdy y'all. I trust the new year is already a big improvement.
I ain't gonna take up too much of your time, but I do have a quick fun tv quiz that wont task the brain & is just perfect for the early-year mindstate we are all adjusting to.
Simply tell us the relevance of each television show picture.
01 - Who lives in this house?
02 - What show does this man speak on?
03 - What town is this?
04 - Who lives in this house?
05 - Who performs behind this wall?
06 - Why do these people look so strange?
07 - Who is wearing these rather jazzy sunglasses?
08 - Name this tv show announcer & the show he is in.
09 - Who is this guy with his brain in a bowl?
10 - What is Curly dreaming about?
11 - What show advertises this bizarre product?
12 - Name this rarely seen tv show employer & the show he is on.
13 - What did PFC Gomer Pyle just blow up?
14 - Who works making what in this factory?
Send your responses to Marty by 6pm (pst) Sunday, 9 January, 2012.
Results Monday, 10 January, 2012.
There are no prizes.
wrote:
took the day off.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Lots of tule fog through the central valley early in the morning, but sunny, and warmer than seasonal, in Sac.
Put a little over 850 miles on the old odometer and was home in time for the news. Whew.
NY Grocery Changes Course
Alec Baldwin
A New York-based supermarket chain has had a change of heart about grounding Alec Baldwin as a spokesman because of his antics aboard an American Airlines flight.
Wegmans Food Markets said Wednesday it will continue running television ads featuring Baldwin after being inundated with "hundreds and hundreds of tweets, emails, and phone calls" in support of the actor.
"We regret ending the Alec Baldwin holiday commercials one week earlier than planned in response to a couple of dozen complaints," Wegmans said in a statement. "We have decided to run the commercials again, effective immediately. Clearly, many more people support Alec."
The commercials, which were filmed for the 2010 holiday season, were supposed to run again for three weeks last month but were pulled a week early after Baldwin's airline dustup.
Baldwin was hired for the ads after he mentioned that his mother, who lives in the Syracuse area, is a loyal Wegmans customer.
Alec Baldwin
Happy Ratings For ABC
New Year's Eve
ABC rang in the new year with robust ratings, crushing its rivals during four hours that covered both prime time and late night.
With its prime-time lineup Saturday night, ABC finished a strong first with a total viewership averaging 9.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Co. figures released Wednesday. That beat ABC's combined competition (CBS, Fox and NBC) by 3.3 million viewers.
The "Dick Clark's Prime-time New Year's Rockin' Eve" hour ranked fifth for the week among all prime-time programing, Nielsen said. Airing before it, the two-hour "New Year's Rockin' Eve" ranked 14th for the week.
Then, straddling midnight - with the arrival of 2012- in the East, "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012" averaged a huge 22.6 million viewers.
New Year's Eve
Ending After This Season
"Martha Stewart Show"
"The Martha Stewart" show will not return to The Hallmark Channel after this season, but the network hopes to continue to work with Stewart on other programming, TheWrap has confirmed.
Stewart's show will stop taping live episodes in the spring, and will air reruns in the summer. Then it will end, and Stewart and the network will look to work together in other ways, a person familiar with the situation told TheWrap.
The show, which was syndicated before it joined Hallmark, has aired for seven seasons and is folding due to falling ratings. But it represented a major comeback for Stewart after she served five months in prison after she was convicted of lying to investigators about a 2001 sale of Imclone shares.
The New York Post first reported the show was ending in a story Wednesday morning. The Post also reported that Home Depot will no longer sell Martha Stewart Living-branded paints but will allow customers to mix her color palette into Glidden-branded paints.
"Martha Stewart Show"
VH1 Checks Out
"Celebrity Rehab"
VH1 has decided to drop "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" like a bad habit. At least for the time being.
While the cable network hasn't outright canceled the series, which has run for five seasons since its 2008 debut, it has no plans for new episodes of the reality offering for the foreseeable future.
A representative for VH1 told TheWrap that "Celebrity Rehab" -- which stars Dr. Drew Pinsky and a rotating cast of famous faces struggling to recover from substance abuse -- "is not on the schedule currently." Which doesn't automatically spell doom, but it certainly doesn't bode well.
While popular, the series has generated controversy, with some questioning whether the show fosters effective treatment. Last year, two former cast members died, with "Grease" star Jeff Conaway succumbing to complications from prescription drug use and former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr expiring at the age of 44, weeks after being arrested while in possession of unauthorized prescription drugs. Meanwhile, "Real Housewives" alum Michaele Salahi was removed from the Season 5 cast, reportedly because she had no actual addiction (other than to fame, of course) to treat.
"Celebrity Rehab"
Coming Soon - Sybil The Soothsayer?
PBS
PBS is giving the genteel "Antiques Roadshow" a fierce partner with "Market Wars," an antiques-hunt reality competition show.
PBS announced Wednesday that the 20-episode series from the producers of "Antiques Roadshow" will send professional antiques dealers in a nationwide hunt for the best vintage bargain. The dealer whose item snares the biggest profit at auction wins.
The producers of "Market Wars" promise the show will expose the "real, rough and tumble competition" in the antiques marketplace. The series will begin next summer, teaming on Monday nights with "Antiques Roadshow." The debut date was not announced for "Market Wars," produced by public TV station WGBH Boston.
The two series make a good match but viewers need not worry that PBS will be overtaken by reality shows, PBS chief Paula Kerger told the Television Critics Association.
PBS
Running Scared
PBS
The head of PBS wants viewers to oppose Mitt Romney's call to end funding of public broadcasting.
PBS chief Paula Kerger said Wednesday that she recognizes the United States has to make tough budget decisions but defended PBS as an effective public-private partnership.
Romney has criticized public funding for PBS while campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination. He has said he doesn't intend to "kill Big Bird" of "Sesame Street" but that public TV shows will have to become ad-supported.
Kerger says that federal rules governing public broadcasting prohibit commercials. She adds that commercial TV channels are notably different than PBS and contrasts History Channel's "American Pickers" with a Ken Burns' documentary.
PBS
Fourth Marriage Back On
Sinead O'Connor
Irish singer Sinead O'Connor says she has reunited with her fourth husband after a short-lived marriage and an even shorter split.
The "Nothing Compares 2 U" singer said on her new Twitter account that, after a night of love making, she and Barry Herridge had decided to stay married, go to counseling and live together.
O'Connor announced a week ago that she and Herridge had split after just 16 days of marriage, blaming pressure and disapproval from her new husband's family and friends.
O'Connor, who found fame in the late 1980s with her shaved head and haunting voice, married Herridge, a therapist, in Las Vegas on December 8 but said last week she had split with him on December 24. She blamed her attempts to seek out marijuana on their wedding night as the event that strained their relationship.
Sinead O'Connor
Disgraced Journalist Makes Case
Stephen Glass
Attorneys for an ex-journalist who became the subject of a Hollywood film said Tuesday that a state bar committee was demanding "sackcloth, ashes and a vow of poverty" in order for him to become a lawyer in California.
Stephen Glass, whose ethical missteps at The New Republic in the late 1990s were recounted in the film "Shattered Glass," is challenging a decision by a committee of the State Bar of California to deny him a law license. He left journalism after he was caught fabricating magazine articles.
An independent state bar court has ruled in his favor, saying the bar committee incorrectly concluded that Glass had not proven he was trustworthy.
Glass attended law school at Georgetown University and passed the state bar exam in 2009. The 39-year-old works as a law clerk at a Beverly Hills firm.
Stephen Glass
Kardashian Pals
Barbie
Is Barbie cosying up with the Kardashians?
Celebrity magazine Us Weekly reported on Wednesday that the world's most famous doll was getting three high-profile new friends -- reality TV stars Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian.
Us Weekly quoted an unnamed source as saying that the Kardashian sisters -- who found fame in the U.S. show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" -- will be immortalized as Barbie's pals in an upcoming limited-edition doll line.
"The dolls will reflect the girls' measurements and may even come in Kardashian-designed outfits," the source said.
Barbie
NJ Hometown Removes Plaque
Michael Landon
There's a bonanza of controversy and a big mess in a little New Jersey town over a decision to move a plaque honoring hometown celebrity Michael Landon.
A bronze plaque was dedicated to the actor, writer and producer and star of TV's "Bonanza" and "Little House on the Prairie", who died of cancer in 1991 at 54. That plaque has been moved from a park, an act that has enraged fans who frequent a website dedicated to "Little House," and the New Jersey woman who raised the money for the memorial 15 years ago.
Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley says it was a temporary move meant to make a park safe. Maley said it wasn't a show of disrespect for Landon, who had a famously rough childhood in the town and became best known for the characters he played on TV: Little Joe Cartwright on "Bonanza," Charles Ingalls in "Little House" and Jonathan Smith in "Highway to Heaven."
"It was always intended to get put back in there," he said. "It was not at the top of our list where it had to be done in the next 12 hours."
Abbe Effron, who got the plaque put up in 1997, said the memorial became part of pilgrimages for traveling fans of the actor who spent a career playing sensible, loving, no-nonsense men.
Michael Landon
Breeding Bishop Resigns
Gabino Zavala
The pope has accepted the early resignation of a Los Angeles bishop who recently acknowledged being the father of two teenagers.
Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, resigned Wednesday under the code of canon law that lets bishops step down earlier than the normal retirement age of 75 if they're sick or for some other reason that makes them unfit for office.
In a letter to the faithful, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said Zavala had told him in December that he had two children who lived with their mother in a different state. Zavala subsequently submitted his resignation to the pope.
The archdiocese has offered spiritual and financial aid to help the children with college costs, Gomez said in the letter posted on the blog of the Catholic News Service of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Gabino Zavala
Earthquake Was Not A Natural Event
Ohio
A 4.0 magnitude earthquake in Ohio on New Year's Eve did not occur naturally and may have been caused by high-pressure liquid injection related to oil and gas exploration and production, an expert hired by the state of Ohio said on Tuesday.
Ohio's Department of Natural Resources on Sunday suspended operations at five deep well sites in Youngstown, Ohio, where the injection of water was taking place, while they evaluate seismological data from a rare quake in the area.
The wells are about 9,000 feet deep and are used to dispose of water from oil and gas wells. The process is related to fracking, the controversial injection of chemical-laced water and sand into rock to release oil and gas. Critics say that the high pressure injection of the liquid causes seismic activity.
Won-Young Kim, a research professor of Seismology Geology and Tectonophysics at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that circumstantial evidence suggests a link between the earthquake and the high-pressure well activity.
A spokesman for Ohio Republican Gov. John Ka$ich, a strong supporter big beneficiary of oil and gas exploration in the state, said Ohio could announce a preliminary decision whether to continue the suspension of the wells as early as Wednesday.
Ohio
"Zombie" Fly Parasite
Honeybees
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 26-Jan. 1. Listings include week's ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: Dallas at New York Giants, NBC, 27.62 million.
2. "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 21.23 million.
3. "60 Minutes, CBS, 14.45 million.
4. "Football Night in America," NBC, 14.44 million.
5. "Dick Clark's Prime-time New Year's Rockin' Eve," ABC, 12.92 million.
6. "NCIS," CBS, 12.58 million.
7. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 10.60 million.
8. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 10.16 million.
9. "CSI," CBS, 9.74 million.
10. "NCIS: Los Angeles" (Wednesday), CBS, 9.17 million.
11. "The Mentalist," CBS, 8.90 million.
12. "Person of Interest," CBS, 8.51 million.
13. "Kennedy Center Honors," CBS, 8.40 million.
14. "New Year's Rockin' Eve," ABC, 8.36 million.
15. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 8.15 million.
16. "Rules of Engagement," CBS, 7.59 million.
17. "Mike & Molly," CBS, 7.38 million.
18. "CSI: NY," CBS, 7.29 million.
19. Football Night in America (Part 2)," 7.25 million.
20. "Unforgettable," 7.12 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Robert Dickey
Robert Dickey, a guitarist and singer in the group that recorded the hit song "I'm Your Puppet," has died.
The 72-year-old died in his hometown of Tallahassee on Dec. 29. His death was confirmed by a Tallahassee funeral home. No cause was given.
Dickey began his musical career during the '60s and spent time touring with various soul and rhythm and blues singers such as Otis Redding. He eventually became part of the soul group "James and Bobby Purify."
The duo had its biggest hit in the fall of 1966 when "I'm Your Puppet" hit the Top 10. The group has also had a hit with a rendition of "Shake Your Tail Feather."
Dickey told The Tallahassee Democrat back in 2000 that he never liked "I'm Your Puppet," which was written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn, who also authored other hits from the same time period.
"I hated it," Dickey told the newspaper when he was honored as part of a Florida rock and roll exhibition held at the Museum of Florida History. "It was originally intended to be the B-side. But things got changed ... I sang it for 23 hours straight (in the studio), that's why I hate it."
Dickey wound up quitting his professional music career and returned to Tallahassee in 1972. He became a city maintenance supervisor but he also kept singing and playing guitar with his church and as a member of the Bethlehem Male Singers.
Robert Dickey
In Memory
Gatewood Galbraith
Gatewood Galbraith, a lawyer and colorful five-time candidate for Kentucky governor, has died, his former running mate said Wednesday. He was 64.
Galbraith died on Tuesday evening, said Dea Riley, who ran for lieutenant governor alongside Galbraith in his third-party campaign for governor this year.
Riley says she had a great admiration for Galbraith. She said it wasn't widely known, but Galbraith would spend every Sunday seeking out and helping the homeless in and around Lexington.
"That was his church," she said. "That's what he did every Sunday and no one really knew about that."
Galbraith was perhaps best known for his humor, advocacy of hemp farming and the legalization of marijuana. Riley said Galbraith discovered the drug when it was recommended he try it to help with his asthma, Riley said.
In the November election, Galbraith, an independent, came in third behind Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who was re-elected, and Republican David Williams, the state senate president.
Galbraith leaves behind three daughters.
Galbraith previously ran for governor twice as a Democrat and twice as a Reform Party candidate. He also ran for congress and as an independent in the 2003 attorney general's race.
"My view is that government's role should be to uplift, enlighten, educate and ennoble the citizen, not oppress them with taxation and intrusive laws," Galbraith wrote on his campaign website.
He had published an autobiography titled "The Last Free Man in America."
Gatewood Galbraith
H/T newheadnews.com
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