Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Hi! Everything wants to kill you (sfgate.com)
Then I happened to read a charming, albeit nauseating little news item that tried to skulk by unnoticed recently, wherein is was announced that the Huntington Meat Packing Co. of Southern California was expanding its recall of possibly E. coli-tainted meat, from just over 860,000 pounds to ... wait for it ... five million pounds.
Carolyn Foster Segal: My Letter to the World (of Technology) (irascibleprofessor.com)
The ease and speed of correspondence with editors is one reason to appreciate email. Another is the ease and convenience of contacting my three grown children who live and work in other cities. (I remember when a long distance phone call was an event.) The more I try to think of a third reason, however, the more I realize that those first two may, in fact, be the only ones.
Nathan Daschle: The GOP's governor problem (politico.com)
Republican governors, as a whole, vastly underperform their Democratic counterparts on virtually every economic or fiscal score. In addition to high unemployment numbers, states with Republican governors are far less likely to be on the Forbes list of "Best States for Business" ...
"Pocket Pantheon: Figures of Postwar Philosophy" by Alain Badiou: A review by W. C. Bamberger
Alain Badiou, often billed as France's leading radical thinker, here collects a group of tributes he has written to philosophers who are no longer with us. Most of these names -- all French-speaking, all but one male -- will be familiar to American readers: Lacan, Sarte, Foucault, Derrida. But others will be less familiar: Georges Canguilhem, Francoise Proust.
20 Questions: Katharine McMahon (popmatters.com)
Katharine McMahon's newest book, 'The Crimson Rooms,' a mystery about love, secrets, and discovery in post-World War I London, publishes 18 February.
John Castellucci: The Night They Burned Ranum's Papers (chronicle.com)
At about 2:30 a.m. on May 22, 1968, as New York City police entered Hamilton Hall, on Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus, to clear it of demonstrators, files belonging to Orest A. Ranum, an associate professor of history, were ransacked, and papers documenting more than 10 years of research were burned.
Evan Sawdey: "'I Was a Believer': An Interview with the Killers" (popmatters.com)
Fresh off the release of an explosive live DVD, the Killers' Dave Keuning talks about the band's humble origins and how his biggest regret is that the group didn't release another debut album.
Brian Mccollum: Knack's lead singer Doug Fieger dies at 57 (Detroit Free Press)
With a keen musical ear and an early love of the stage, Doug Fieger was a student at Oak Park, Mich.'s Clinton Junior High when he started his first professional band - launching the path that would ultimately lead him to the top of the pop charts.
Adrien Begrand: "Alice Cooper: Portrait of the Artist as a Burnt-Out Old Man" (popmatters.com)
There was a time when Alice Cooper was critically savaged, virtually ignored by mainstream audiences, and declared passé by us kids. Fortunately, that time quickly passed.
Laura Potter: "My body & soul: David Mitchell" (guardian.co.uk)
The comedian and actor, 35, on vanity, how often men think about sex, and why therapy is not like dentristy.
Steven Zeitchik: Maggie Gyllenhaal contemplates (a certain kind of) moguldom (latimes.com)
With the Oscar luncheon set for Monday in Los Angeles, the mind drifts toward -- well, toward many things, but among them are the people we didn't expect to be seeing at said luncheon. Perhaps topping that list is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who with her sad-but-strong single mother role in "Crazy Heart" upset early-season favorite Julianne Moore for a spot in the supporting actress nominee field.
Interview by Laura Barnett: "Portrait of the artist: Anna Mackmin, director" (guardian.co.uk)
'At the age of three, I went to a show of David Hockney's swimming pool paintings - and tried to jump into one.'
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Executive Orders, Part Deux' Edition
WASHINGTON - With much of his legislative agenda stalled in Congress, President Obama and his team are preparing an array of actions using his executive power to advance energy, environmental, fiscal and other domestic policy priorities... Obama Making Plans to Use Executive Power - NYTimes.com
Last November after Obama was elected, I asked about what Executive Orders you'd like 'The Man' to make. Puzzlingly, he did not utilize that option in any significant way, to my thinkin'... Now, however, with his "agenda stalled", he's decided to get 'Froggy' and make that leap... So, once again, I ask...
What specific issues would you like 'The Man' to address with Executive Orders?
Send your response to
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Link from RJ
Sugar Glider
Hi there
If you are an animal lover, you might like this little guy! Hope you do - the cutest little thing I ever did see!
BadtotheboneBob
Beth Coye
Retired Navy Cmdr. Beth R. Coye says she was forced to live a lie for years by hiding her sexuality. It was a pretense that grew intolerable as she rose in rank, especially when she found herself signing the discharge papers of Sailors who were caught trying to live the same lie --- that of being a gay or lesbian in a military that bars homosexuals from serving openly...
Lesbian Vet Decries Living a Lie (with audio interview)
How awful that must have been for her... As a career military man and a Life Member of the DAV, I join those who advocate for the repeal of DADT and allowing Gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the military as soon as possible.
BadtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Bit cooler, but still pretty darn nice.
Breaks Another Tradition
Oscars
Oscar is breaking with tradition for its nominated songs.
A spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the artists behind the year's five nominated songs will not perform during the Oscar telecast.
Leslie Unger says that instead, each piece will be showcased with clips from the films that featured them.
Up for an Oscar in the original song category are Randy Newman's "Almost There" and "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," "Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36" by Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas, Maury Yeston's "Take It All" from "Nine" and "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart" by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.
Oscars
Revived For 1 Night
Plastic Ono Band
Yoko Ono revived the Plastic Ono Band for a concert on Tuesday night that was part tribute, part vanity project and all irresistible fun.
The show belonged as much to her son Sean Lennon, 34, as to Ono, 76. Looking and sounding like his famous father, Sean Lennon pulled together an all-star lineup that included Eric Clapton, Paul Simon and Bette Midler as special guests.
Plastic Ono Band was the name of the conceptual supergroup that recorded John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" in 1969 and one Ono had not used artistically since the 1970s.
The succession of stars led to the inevitable sing-along of that anthem for the encore at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Plastic Ono Band
Google Donates $2 Million
Wikipedia
Google Inc., the Internet's most profitable company, is giving $2 million to support Wikipedia, a volunteer-driven reference tool that has emerged as one of the Web's most-read sites.
The donation announced Wednesday matches the largest grant made so far to Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit group that oversees the 7-year-old Wikipedia. Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar also donated $2 million to Wikimedia six months ago through one of his investment arms.
The latest largesse has catapulted Wikimedia beyond its $10.6 million revenue target for its fiscal year ending in June. That goal had looked ambitious, given that it represented an increase of more than 20 percent from $8.7 million a year earlier.
Wikimedia, based in San Francisco, plans to spend about $9.4 million of its revenue this year, mostly to pay salaries and benefits to a staff of more than 30 people. The second-biggest expense is for operating Wikipedia's Web site.
Wikipedia
New HBO Series
`Funny Or Die'
Will Ferrell and Adam McKay forged their partnership years ago on "Saturday Night Live." Now, in a much different way, the two are back on TV with a sketch comedy show.
On Friday at midnight, HBO will premiere "Funny or Die Presents," a new half hour series that compiles clips from the comedy video Web site that McKay and Ferrell co-created in 2007.
The show arrives as part of a new batch of HBO comedy. The Friday slate also includes the premiere of "The Ricky Gervais Show," the start of season eight of "Real Time With Bill Maher" and the second season of "The Life and Times of Tim."
"Funny or Die Presents" is the fruition of a deal hatched in 2008 between the site and HBO, which purchased a piece of FunnyOrDie.com reportedly in the neighborhood of about $10 million. There's further overlap in that HBO airs the McKay and Ferrell-produced hit "Eastbound & Down," which is prepping a second season.
`Funny Or Die'
TV Pitchman Sentenced
Kevin Trudeau
A federal judge sentenced Kevin Trudeau to 30 days in jail on Wednesday after scolding the TV pitchman for inciting his fans to flood the judge's e-mail with testimonials in his favor.
Trudeau has long battled federal regulators over his marketing of alternative "cures" for obesity, memory loss, disease and financial ruin.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman chastised Trudeau last week when he learned the pitchman had urged buyers of his books to write to the judge's e-mail address with letters of support.
Trudeau was in court because an appeals court had thrown out a $37.6 million fine and a three-year infomercial ban against him for violating the terms of a 2004 Federal Trade Commission settlement with his book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About."
Kevin Trudeau
TLC Settlement
Jon Gosselin
TLC has settled a breach of contract lawsuit against reality TV star Jon Gosselin, the network said Wednesday.
TLC sued Gosselin in October, claiming he failed to meet his obligations as an exclusive employee of the network while appearing on rival networks' programs for pay and making unauthorized public disclosures about the show.
Gosselin filed a countersuit claiming TLC violated Pennsylvania's child labor laws in filming "Jon & Kate Plus 8." The show followed Gosselin, his wife, Kate, and their eight children - twins and sextuplets - at their home in Wernersville, Pa. They became tabloid fixtures when their marriage dissolved, and the show ended last year.
TLC spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg said Wednesday that all terms of the settlement are confidential and the network will take steps to conclude litigation.
Jon Gosselin
Court Date Postponed
Rip Torn
A judge in Connecticut has postponed actor Rip Torn's next court appearance until March, citing a scheduling conflict.
The "Men in Black" actor was to appear in court on Wednesday to enter pleas to burglary and firearms charges.
Torn has been in an alcohol rehabilitation program since shortly after his January arraignment.
Torn is now due in Litchfield Superior Court on March 9.
Rip Torn
Ancient Arabic Inscription Found
Jerusalem
A home renovation in Jerusalem's Old City has yielded a rare Arabic inscription offering insight into the city's history under Muslim rule, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. The fragment of a 1,100-year-old plaque is thought to have been made by an army veteran to express his thanks for a land grant from the Caliph al-Muqtadir, whom the inscription calls "Emir of the Faithful."
Dating from a time when Jerusalem was ruled from Baghdad by the Abbasid empire, the plaque shows how rulers rewarded their troops and ensured their loyalty, archaeologists said.
The white marble plaque measures four inches by four inches (10 x 10 centimeters) and was found approximately 5 feet (1.5 meters) beneath the floor of a home in the Old City's Jewish Quarter.
The writing was deciphered by Hebrew University professor Moshe Sharon, who traced it to 910, during the early part of al-Muqtadir's 24-year rule.
Jerusalem
Early Renewals
CW
The CW has issued early series renewals to five shows -- freshman breakout hit "The Vampire Diaries," Josh Schwartz's "Gossip Girl," sophomore soap "90210," veteran drama "Supernatural" and the network's flagship reality staple "America's Next Top Model."
All will return next fall.
Absent from the list: "Melrose Place," which is considered unlikely to return; "Smallville," which is very likely to get a 10th season; and "bubble" shows that could go either way, "One Tree Hill" and "Life Unexpected."
CW
A Tuscan Delicacy?
Cat Stew
Italian state TV has suspended a cooking show host who shocked the nation by saying cat stew is a Tuscan delicacy he swears he has enjoyed many times.
RAI TV confirmed on Wednesday that it had suspended Beppe Bigazzi, the 77-year-old host of a popular morning program that offers food tips and recipes in a country fiercely proud of its cuisine.
When his 27-year-old female co-host looked stunned as Bigazzi said he has eaten cat stew "many times," the white-haired, grandfather figure defended his tastes.
"Who's not fat, kills the cat," is how Bigazzi began his lighthearted prattle about cat stew.
Cat Stew
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by the Nielsen Co. for Feb. 8-14. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, NBC, 32.6 million.
2. "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 27.9 million.
3. Winter Olympics (Sunday), NBC, 26.4 million.
4. Winter Olympics (Saturday), NBC, 26.2 million.
5. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 25.2 million.
6. "NCIS," CBS, 19.8 million.
7. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 17.9 million.
8. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 17.7 million.
9. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 16.3 million.
10. "The Mentalist," CBS, 15.9 million.
11. "Undercover Boss," CBS, 15.5 million.
12. "The Good Wife," CBS, 14.8 million.
13. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 14.3 million.
14. "Survivor: Heroes-Villains," CBS, 14.2 million.
15. "House," Fox, 13.6 million.
16. "CSI: Miami," CBS, 13.5 million.
17. "CSI: NY," CBS, 13.0 million.
18. "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 12.8 million.
19. "The Bachelor," ABC, 12.4 million.
20. "Lost," ABC, 11.1 million.
Ratings
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