Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Garrison Keillor: What do men want? Let me tell you.
Ever since the American Psychological Association came out last fall and said what everyone knows - that men are the problem: our stoicism, the crazy aggressive behaviors, the compulsive competitiveness, the rescuer complex - I've been watching the women in white in Congress, the Sisters of Mercy out to save the Republic, and enjoying their leaders, Speaker Pelosi and AOC. They're fearless, free-spirited and often very funny. When AOC addresses her opponents as "Dude," you know that change is afoot. The old Congress of time-servers and bootlickers is starting to look more like the freewheeling country we love.
Paul Waldman: President Trump is dragging Republicans down with him (Washington Post)
And as we reach November 2020, we could see a repeat of 2018, with Trump insisting that political victory will be his if only he tells a few more lurid stories of immigrant crime and holds a few more rallies so that his rabid supporters can chant "Build that wall!" (or "Finish that wall!" or "Paint that wall!" or whatever he decides the latest slogan should be), despite all evidence pointing toward defeat. Should that happen, Republicans whose own necks are on the line will wonder whether they might have done anything to prevent being taken down with him. But by then it will be too late. In fact, it probably already is.
Sophie Hannah: The Art of the Twist Ending (LitHub.com)
It's going to be very hard to do this without spoilers, but I will try. In my opinion, these are 15 excellent examples of novels with genuine twists: …
Francis X. Shen: Sex robots are here, but laws aren't keeping up with the ethical and privacy issues they raise (The Conversation)
… sex robots are likely to be in the American market soon, and it is important to prepare for that reality. Imagining the laws governing sexbots is no longer a law professor hypothetical or science fiction. It's a real-world challenge that society is about to face for the first time. I hope that the law gets it right.
Dr. Michael Gregor: How to Avoid Fatty Liver Disease (Nutrition Facts)
In the documentary Supersize Me, Morgan Spurlock eats exclusively at McDonald's for a month and predictably his weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol go up, but so do his liver enzymes, a sign his liver cells are dying and spilling their contents into the bloodstream. His one-man experiment was actually formally replicated. A group of men and women agreed to eat two fast food meals a day for a month. Most of their liver values started out normal, but, within just one week, most were out of whack, a profound pathological elevation in liver damage.
Mattha Busby: #MeToo daubed on kissing sailor statue day after serviceman's death (The Guardian)
Florida sculpture of George Mendonsa and Greta Zimmer Friedman defaced as kiss comes under scrutiny.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
answered:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
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from Bruce
Anecdotes - Gambling
• While in London, Chico and Harpo Marx ran across an expatriate American comedian who cheated at cards by using a marked deck (something they found out after losing a couple of weeks' salary to him at the poker table), so they decided to teach him a lesson. First, they asked that the game be changed to auction pinochle the next time they played. The actor was willing to change, since marked cards are a marked advantage in any card game. Then they set up a game at the actor's apartment. Next, to get ready for the game, Chico and Harpo set up a system of signals so that they could cheat. Finally, they brought some new packs of unopened (and unmarked) cards along with them. At the actor's apartment, Chico and Harpo proceeded to win the actor's money. The night grew dark, the fireplace burned all the available firewood, and Chico and Harpo grew cold and ready to leave. However, the actor wanted a chance to win his money back, so he started to burn his furniture in the fireplace to keep Chico and Harpo warm enough to play cards. Early the next morning, all of the furniture, including the chairs and the table they had been playing cards on, had been burned up, Chico and Harpo were freezing, and they departed - taking with them $6,000 of the actor's money. Chico and Harpo hailed a taxicab, and they ordered the cabbie to drive them to the warmest restaurant in London. This puzzled the cabbie, who asked, "Don't you mean the best restaurant in London?" Harpo replied, "We don't care if it's good or not. Just get us where it's warm. After our blood starts circulating again, we'll decide where to eat."
• During spring training one year, old-time baseball catcher Clint Courtney promoted a 100-yard race between Pedro Samos of the Washington Senators and Don Hoak of the Cincinnati Reds. Mr. Courtney backed - and bet on - Mr. Samos, who was a fast runner but a terrible starter. The other players were interested in the race, and the day before the race Mr. Courtney set up a race course at the Chattanooga baseball park. A lot of money was bet on the race, which was exciting. Mr. Samos, as usual, started slowly, but he swiftly caught up to Mr. Hoak, and he beat him, pulling away at the end of the race. Mr. Courtney, however, had done a little something to help Mr. Samos win. The race course that Mr. Courtney had laid out did not measure 100 yards - it measured 120 yards.
• A Mormon once went to the horse races. Just before the first race, he saw a priest stop in front of a horse and bless it. Considering that a good sign, the Mormon bet on the horse and won. This same routine was repeated race after race, and the Mormon had won a fortune. Just before the last race, the priest stopped in front of a horse, and the Mormon bet all his money on that horse. This time, however, the horse jumped out to a big lead, then died in the middle of the race. Sorry because he had lost all his money, the Mormon complained to the priest, who listened, then said, "That's the trouble with you Mormons. You don't know the difference between a simple blessing and the last rites."
• New York Yankees Waite Hoyt and Joe Dugan went to church together one day, and Mr. Dugan lit a candle. That afternoon, he batted 3-for-4 and the next day he batted 4-for-5. Therefore, Mr. Waite went to a church and lit a huge number of candles. Unfortunately, he was a pitcher and the opposing team's batters knocked him out of that day's game in the third inning. Mr. Waite asked, "How do you explain it? You lit candles and get a bunch of hits. I do the same thing and get knocked out." Mr. Dugan replied, "Easy. I saw you light all those candles in church, but right after you left I saw two gamblers come in and blow them out."
• Early in her gymnastics career, when she was still a pre-teen, Shannon Miller attended a meet in Las Vegas, and she stayed at the Circus Circus Hotel. When she returned home, she had a lot of stuffed animals with her. Her mother asked where she gotten them, and young Shannon joked, "Gambling." The real story was that a man in the hotel had asked if she liked stuffed animals. She had replied, "Sure," and he had given her a bunch of stuffed animals he had just won. (Her parents did talk to her about not accepting gifts from strangers.)
• In April of 1995, Ken Griffey made a bet with Seattle Mariners manager Lou Piniella that he could hit a certain number of home runs during batting practice. Mr. Piniella bet a steak that he couldn't do it. Mr. Griffey lost the bet, and a few days later, when Mr. Piniella walked into his office, he found a 1,200-pound Hereford cow. Mr. Griffey said, "There's your steak."
• Under dance teacher Nicolas Legat, André Eglevsky learned how to turn 12 pirouettes in a row, an astounding feat at the time. He soon learned to put this accomplishment to good use. As an impoverished dancer in New York, Mr. Eglevsky used to get money to buy his lunch by betting with George Balanchine that he could turn 12 pirouettes in a row.
• In 1942, professional golfer Sam Snead played two holes barefoot at the Masters in Augusta in order to help golf writer (and his personal manager) Fred Corcoran win a bet with his fellow sportswriters. (Mr. Snead birdied both holes!)
• Frank Sullivan enjoyed betting on the horse races, and he was honored once by the New York Racing Association with the one-time-only running of the Frank Sullivan Purse. On such a wonderful day, Mr. Sullivan wanted to be sure he had the winning ticket - so he bet on every horse in the race.
• When David Copperfield takes his show on the road, his crew won't let him play poker with them - as a magician, Mr. Copperfield has an "unfair advantage." (In addition to not gambling, Mr. Copperfield doesn't drink or smoke.)
• Pianist Anton Rubinstein was addicted to gambling at one time, and once he even made $3,000 while gambling at Baden-Baden. However, on another occasion, he gambled away everything he had and so was cured of gambling.
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Current Events
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Selected Readings
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
One year ago yesterday, we were 'swatted', and I learned that they don't need a warrant if they want to come in.
Calls Out ACM Awards
Reba McEntire
Country singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves's latest work was good enough to clean up at the this month's Grammy Awards, which recognize many different types of music, but she isn't among those nominated for the top honor at the upcoming 54th Academy of Country Music Awards.
Reba McEntire revealed nominees for the ACMs on Wednesday, seven weeks before she'll host the April 7 ceremony in Las Vegas. Entertainer of the Year nominees included Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban - but no Musgraves or any other woman.
It was a slight that McEntire noticed.
"It doesn't make me very happy because we've got some very talented women out there who are working their butts off," she told the Tennessean. "I'm missing my girlfriends on this list."
"Even when I was growing up, I wished there was more women on the radio, and I had a lot more than there are today," she said on the Women Want to Hear Women podcast in September 2018. "I think about all the little girls that are sitting at home saying, 'I want to be a country music singer.' What do you tell them, you know? What do you do? How do you look at them and say, 'Well, just work hard, sweetie, and you can do it' when that's probably not the case right now?"
Reba McEntire
Mulls Changes
CBS
CBS News is considering making significant changes to its flagship "CBS Evening News," according to four people with knowledge of the talks, part of a top-down look at the news division by incoming president Susan Zirinsky.
Executives are considering putting "CBS This Morning" anchor Norah O'Donnell in the lead role of its evening-news broadcast, these people said, as well as moving the broadcast to Washington, D.C. instead of its longtime roost in New York City. CBS News declined to make executives available for comment. These plans are not definitive, these people cautioned, and there is no guarantee they will come to fruition. Jeff Glor remains anchor of "CBS Evening News" at present.
The discussions about O'Donnell indicate a dissatisfaction with the "Evening News" performance under Jeff Glor, who was named "Evening News" anchor in October 2017. CBS' flagship nightly broadcast has long trailed its rivals on ABC and NBC, but in the past year the telecast's ratings have fallen further behind.
Glor has faced many challenges during a rookie stint in the slot, including a change from one "CBS Evening News" executive producer with years of experience to one whose experience is more tied to CBS' digital-news operations. He has also been undermined by speculation early on in his tenure about ratings, although David Rhodes, current president of CBS News, has said he never expected "CBS Evening News" to surge immediately after an anchor change. And CBS News has been roiled in recent months as part of a legal probe into both the culture of the news division and its parent company.
Such a move would mean a big change for "CBS This Morning," the morning show that O'Donnell has co-anchored since July 2012. Relocating to Washington, D.C. would allow O'Donnell to be closer to her family rather that commuting between New York and the capital as she has since she signed on to "CBS This Morning."
CBS
Believed Extinct
Giant Tortoise
A species of giant tortoise thought to be extinct for over a hundred years has been found on the Galapagos island of Fernandina, according to Ecuador's government.
An adult female individual of the appropriately named Chelonoidis phantasticus was found by an expedition led by the Galapagos Parks authority and the Galapagos Conservancy group, the environment minister Marcelo Mata said.
In a post on Twitter he added a photograph of the large tortoise, which has a relatively smooth shell and a pale pink snout.
There has only ever been one previous confirmed sighting of the species, which is also known as the Fernandina Island tortoise, a single individual was collected from the island as a specimen in 1906 during a huge expedition by the California Academy of Sciences.
During the 18-month trip 78,000 specimens were taken from the archipelago and brought the academy in San Francisco where they have formed the basis for vast amounts of research.
Giant Tortoise
Resurfaced Playboy Interview
Marion Morrison
A resurfaced John Wayne interview in which he expresses racist and homophobic views has shocked readers.
The movie star spoke with Playboy in 1971, discussing topics such as diversity in Hollywood and American history.
Screenwriter Matt Williams shared screenshots of the interview on Twitter earlier this week, in a message that has now generated thousands of reactions. A full transcript of the interview was previously published by the University of Virginia.
While responding to a question about professor and civil rights activist Angela Davis, Wayne said: "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people."
Asked what sorts of films he considers "perverted" (a term he used himself in a previous answer), Wayne mentioned Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy, the 1969 buddy drama film starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman.
Marion Morrison
Made Extinct By Human-Made Climate Change
Bramble Cay Melomys
An Australian rodent is believed to be the first mammal to have been made extinct by man-made climate change.
The Bramble Cay melomys, which has only ever been recorded living on a small island off north Queensland, resembles a small brown rat and has not been sighted since 2009.
The low-lying island in the Torres Strait, south of Papua New Guinea has been repeatedly flooded by the sea since the turn of the millennium, and this is believed to have destroyed the melomys' habitat.
It has now been officially recognised by Australia as having been eradicated.
The recognition follows the same conclusion reached by the state of Queensland in 2016 in a report detailing failed efforts to find the rodent.
Bramble Cay Melomys
Gifted Golden Submachine Gun
MBS
It's not unusual for dignitaries to receive gifts during visits to foreign countries - perhaps a Cuban cigar or a bottle of French wine.
But a delegation of Pakistani senators sprang a surprise Monday during a visit by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the country, presenting him with a gold-plated gun.
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a submachine gun developed by German engineers, and this modified weapon has an elaborate pattern engraved on its gold-plated components.
India was the next stop on bin Salman's tour. On Wednesday, he visited New Delhi, announcing plans to share intelligence to fight terrorism and make further investments in the country.
Next up is China, Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, with Riyadh's exports to Beijing worth $46 billion in 2018.
MBS
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Feb. 11-17. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "NCIS," CBS, 13.4 million.
2. "America's Got Talent Champions," NBC, 10.5 million.
3. "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.7 million.
4. "FBI," CBS, 9.5 million.
5. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 8.9 million.
6. "Chicago Med," NBC, 8.7 million.
7. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 8.5 million.
8. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 8.3 million.
9. "The Masked Singer," Fox, 7.9 million.
10. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 7.7 million.
11. "Mom," CBS, 7.6 million.
12. "Chicago PD," NBC, 7.5 million.
13. "This Is Us," NBC, 7.4 million.
14. "Hawaii Five-0," CBS, 7.3 million.
15. "God Friended Me," CBS, 7.19 million.
16. "NCIS: New Orleans," CBS, 7.16 million.
17. "The Neighborhood," CBS, 7 million.
18. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 6.7 million.
19. "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 6.6 million.
20. "MacGyver," CBS, 6.4 million.
Ratings
In Memory
David Horowitz
David Horowitz, whose "Fight Back!" syndicated program made him perhaps the best-known consumer reporter in the U.S., has died. He was 81.
"Fight Back! With David Horowitz" won multiple Emmys and a huge audience as Horowitz investigated product defects, tested advertising claims and confronted companies with customer complaints.
A popular feature on "Fight Back!" were commercial challenges, which included "products being dropped from a helicopter or being smashed with wrecking balls to test claims of strength" and even durability tests featuring an elephant, according to a family biography.
"Fight Back!" aired on KNBC-TV, where Horowitz was a consumer reporter for more than 15 years.
At its peak, the program was syndicated on dozens of TV stations across the country. Horowitz also made regular appearances on KNBC newscasts and on NBC's "Today" show. He also had a popular radio program and a newspaper column and authored several best-selling books.
Horowitz was born on June 30, 1937, in the Bronx and held a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Before joining KNBC-TV in the 1970s, he worked for various newspapers and TV stations.
Horowitz also appeared as himself on episodes of "Silver Spoons," "ALF," "The Golden Girls" and "Saved by the Bell."
He is survived by his wife, Suzanne, two daughters and two grandchildren.
David Horowitz
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