Recommended Reading
from Bruce
MADDOW ON THE PATTERN (Video: 15 minutes; Preceded by 15-second commercial)
"Rachel lays it out in last week's special report: a concerted, billionaire-financed power/wealth shift from the middle class and poor to the top 1% (really, the top 0.01%). She goes Republican governor by Republican governor: . . . How Florida is raising taxes on the poor and elderly to fund tax cuts for corporations . . . How Wisconsin and Indiana, Idaho and Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania are all working to shift power from the people." - Andrew Tobias
Mark Morford: My most shocking, intimate photos (SF Gate)
In the spirit of gratuitous oversharing, these are my retinas. Aren't they spectacular? Aren't they beguiling? Aren't they sort of magical and revelatory, intimate and true?
Froma Harrop: Mother Nature Defeats Best-Laid Plans (Creators Syndicate)
A wall of water now rules our freak-of-nature nightmares. Like the whirling funnel that drops down from the sky, it gives scant warning. But unlike a tornado, it devastates wide swathes of civilization, and there's no tsunami equivalent of a tornado cellar for sitting out the violent weather.
STANLEY FISH: So's Your Old Man (New York Times)
If you want to denounce someone or something, valuing process over substance can obscure the issue.
Jonathon Kozol talks about building relationships, fostering creativity, and standing up for students.
"'Start out tough and stick to the prescribed curriculum,' new teachers are too frequently advised. This, in my belief, is the worst possible advice." -- Jonathan Kozol, 'Letters to a Young Teacher'
Jim Hightower: RESTRAINING WALL STREET WITH A VELVET HARNESS
By a 3-2 vote, SEC commissioners socked the money-grubbing bankers with a new "say on pay" rule. Rather than let top executives lavish money on themselves unchecked, the new rule lets shareholders of those financial giants vote on extravagant salaries, bonuses, and perks. That'll rein in the excess, right? Probably not.
GWENDOLYN BOUNDS: "A Superhero Scrubs the Air: The Mighty Houseplant" (Wall Street Journal)
Scientists are working to pinpoint plant species, such as the peace lily, bamboo palm and devil's ivy, that are particularly proficient at removing specific pollutants from indoor air.
Sally Hawkins: 'You think adulthood will hit and you'll suddenly be capable' (Guardian)
Sally Hawkins finds her film characters tend either to please or irritate audiences. For which she can't apologise enough to Tom Lamont.
Carole Cadwalladr: "Woody Allen: 'My wife hasn't seen most of my films... and she thinks my clarinet playing is torture'" (Guardian)
With nearly 50 movies behind him, the veteran director says his latest film took 'years of disillusionment' to make. Here he talks about his controversial marriage, the three children he lost in a custody battle, and his desire to work again with Diane Keaton.
Catherine Shoard: Vinyl countdown: how crowdfunding helped tell the story of the last record shop in Teesside (Guardian)
Jeanie Finlay, a young documentarian who got the public to pay for her to make a film about life at the last record shop in Teesside, talks crowdfunding, Status Quo and David Cameron.
George Varga: Eric Clapton's New Classics (Creators Syndicate)
New is old and old is new for Eric Clapton, who is now embarked on a North American tour. At 65, this tireless rock legend is seeking new artistic vistas. As evidenced by his latest album, 2010's "Clapton," he is gaining fresh inspiration by embracing vintage jazz and blues songs that predate his birth.
Henry Rollins: Listening to Ramones in Tehran (Los Angeles Weekly)
In the next few days, I will perform a ritual that I have been doing for many years. I will approach Vicious Sloth Records here in Melbourne, throw my wallet into the store and onto the counter before I walk in, and upon entering, yell out, "There it is, you bastards! Take it all!" or something to that effect. The three men who own the place will smile slightly and start thinking of what they will name their new houseboat.
David Bruce has 41 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $41 you can buy 10,250 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Request
The Osbournes
Hi Marty
I like the Osbournes and love watching their tv show.
I would so like to see a photo of Sharon in her wedding gown at the renewing of their vows.
Do you know where I can view one?
Sue T
Thanks, Sue!
I haven't touched The Osbournes pages in a long, long time - about 7 years.
Did a quick 'google,' and found nothing.
Maybe somebody else will have better luck finding it.
If anyone finds a picture of Sharon Osbourne in her wedding gown at the renewal of their marriage vows, I'll even update The Osbournes pages (!).
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny and seasonal.
Actors Plead For Funding
Sesame Street
The stars of Sesame Street - the real people - are on Capitol Hill helping unions and activist groups protest proposed federal spending cuts to public broadcasting.
Emilio Delgado (Luis), Roscoe Orman (Gordon) and Bob McGrath (Bob) lamented the effect the cuts could have on educational television like Sesame Street. The actors, along with fellow Sesame Street stars Alan Muraoka (Alan) and Alison Bartlett O'Reilly (Gina) appeared as members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
The actors were helping to deliver petitions asking the Senate to fully fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for Sesame Street and other programming. The House has voted to end spending that totaled about $420 million last year.
Sesame Street
Appeals To
Muhammad Ali
Boxing great Muhammad Ali, one of the most prominent U.S. Muslims, has appealed to Iran's supreme leader to show mercy and free two Americans held on suspicion of espionage, families of the men said on Wednesday.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested in July 2009 along the Iraq border -- they said they may have inadvertently crossed into Iran while hiking -- in a case that has further strained relations between the United States and Iran, already frayed over Iran's nuclear program.
The 69-year-old former world heavyweight champion, who said he was welcomed warmly on a past visit to Tehran, asked in a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that "mercy" be shown for the two men, said Jeanie Kahnke, a spokeswoman for the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
"I am humbled by the compassion you gave to their young female friend Sarah Shourd, by allowing her to return to her family. I ask the same mercy and compassion be given to them as well," said the letter, which was dated February 1.
Muhammad Ali
Retirement Looms
Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor plans to keep spinning tales of Lake Wobegon's Norwegian bachelor farmers for at least a couple more years, but the host and creator of public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" is dropping more hints that his retirement may be on the horizon.
In an interview posted Wednesday on the AARP Bulletin's website, the 68-year-old Keillor said he plans to retire in the spring of 2013. But Keillor said he first has to find his replacement.
"I'm pushing forward, and also I'm in denial. It's an interesting time of life," Keillor told the publication.
Keillor told The Associated Press in a follow-up e-mail Wednesday that he'll be 70 in the spring of 2013, "and that seems like a nice round number."
"The reason to retire is to try to avoid embarrassment; you ought to do it before people are dropping big hints. You want to be the first to come up with the idea. You don't want to wait until you trip and fall off the stage," Keillor told the AP.
Garrison Keillor
Keeps Skiing With Broken Leg
James Taylor
ames Taylor says a broken leg won't keep him off the slopes.
An assistant for the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter says Taylor fractured his left fibula and injured his left shoulder in a fall Monday on an expert trail while on a family vacation in Park City, Utah.
The accomplished skier was treated at a hospital and had a doctor fashion a movable splint he hopes will fit in his boot and allow him to ski later in the week.
Taylor, who lives in Massachusetts, says given all the problems in the world, his mishap was "nothing."
James Taylor
Wins $1M Birgit Nilsson Prize
Riccardo Muti
The Italian conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday was awarded the $1 million Birgit Nilsson Prize for his "extraordinary" contributions and influence in the world of music.
Riccardo Muti has also been conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Teatro alla Scala.
Muti, 69, is the second winner of the prize awarded by the Birgit Nilsson Foundation, which was established after the 2005 death of Nilsson, considered one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos.
The prize was first awarded in 2009 to Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, a laureate Nilsson had picked herself, but whose name was kept secret for nearly a decade before it was revealed.
Riccardo Muti
Alaska Native Wins
Iditarod
John Baker won the storied Iditarod Sled Dog Race on Tuesday in record time, becoming the first Alaska Native champion since 1976.
Baker shattered the course record by nearly three hours, finishing the 1,100-mile (1760 km) race in eight days, 19 hours and 46 minutes. The previous record was set in 2002 by four-time champion Martin Buser.
Driving a team of 10 dogs, Baker sledded along snow-covered Front Street in Nome, Alaska, as he approached the finish line, under a polished burl, or knotted wooden, arch.
He was greeted by drummers and dancers from his Inupiat tribe, and a large crowd of relatives and supporters from his home town of Kotzebue, which is about 180 miles north of Nome.
Baker, the first Alaska Native to win the competition since 1976, was the first ever Inupiat champion of the race.
Iditarod
Setback In Lawsuit
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen has been dealt a procedural blow in his lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) and "Two and a Half Men" co-creator Chuck Lorre over his firing from TV's No. 1 comedy show.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the private dispute-resolution company JAMS on Tuesday sided with WBTV and Lorre in deciding that its own arbitrator has jurisdiction over the dispute.
The move means the confidential arbitration will go forward despite Sheen's request that the fracas be litigated publicly via the $100 million lawsuit he filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The decision, communicated in a letter from a JAMS lawyer to all the parties, makes it much more likely that Sheen's high-stakes legal war with Warners and Lorre will be resolved in private -- and not in a public trial, as Sheen has said he is entitled to under the law.
Charlie Sheen
Connected To Ponzi Schemers
National Lampoon
The president and CEO of the comedy firm National Lampoon Inc was arrested on Wednesday on charges that he defrauded investors in a $200 million Ponzi scheme built around a separate business loan company.
Timothy Durham, 48, was arrested in the Los Angeles area, one day after he and two co-defendants were charged with wire and securities fraud in a federal indictment filed in Indianapolis.
Since at least 2008, Durham has headed National Lampoon, the company behind a humor magazine established in 1970 and the "Vacation" movies.
The indictment centers on a bankrupt company called Fair Financial Services of Akron, Ohio. Durham and his co-defendant, James Cochran, bought the company in 2002.
Fair Financial, which has operated since 1934, provided companies with investor cash to cover their business loans, according to the indictment.
National Lampoon
Vet Says Film Hurt Him
'Hurt Locker'
An Iraq war veteran who claims he is the basis for "The Hurt Locker" writes in a court filing that the film has subjected him to ridicule and doubts about his bomb disposal prowess.
Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver states that the Oscar-winning film relies heavily on his experiences and background. He signed his filing on Tuesday while serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Days before the 2010 Academy Awards, Sarver sued the makers of "The Hurt Locker," including director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal.
Boal profiled Sarver in a story for Playboy magazine.
Sarver's filing states some of the film's scenes contradict proper actions, and fellow service members have questioned his abilities since the movie's release.
'Hurt Locker'
3,200-Year-Old Mask
Ka-Nefer-Nefer
A fight between the U.S. government and the St. Louis Art Museum over a death mask from ancient Egypt intensified on Wednesday as the government formally demanded the museum hand over the disputed object.
The 3,200-year-old mask of Ka-Nefer-Nefer, a 19th Dynasty noblewoman, sits on display in the basement of the museum.
The federal complaint contends the mask was stolen from Egypt before the museum obtained it for $500,000 in 1998.
The complaint, which included a request for a restraining order preventing the museum from disposing of the mask during the legal proceedings, came a month after the museum sued the government to try to block the seizure of the mask.
In its lawsuit, the museum said that the government did not have enough evidence that the mask was stolen and that the statute of limitations had run out on the government's right to seize the mask.
Ka-Nefer-Nefer
Admits Bungling
TSA
The Transportation Security Administration is reanalyzing the radiation levels of X-ray body scanners installed in airports nationwide, after testing produced dramatically higher-than-expected results.
The TSA, which has deployed at least 500 body scanners to at least 78 airports, said Tuesday the machines meet all safety standards and would remain in operation despite a "calculation error" in safety studies. The flawed results showed radiation levels 10 times higher than expected.
At least one flier group, the Association for Airline Passenger Rights , is urging the government to stop using the $180,000 machines that produce a virtual-nude image of the body until new tests are concluded in May.
"Airline passengers have enough concerns about flying-including numerous ones about how TSA conducts its haphazard security screenings-so it is TSA's responsibility to ensure passengers are not being exposed to unhealthy amounts of radiation," Brandon Macsata, executive director of the group, said in a statement.
Still, the government said the results proved the safety of the devices. "It would appear that the emissions are 10 times higher. We understand it as a calculation error," TSA spokesman Sarah Horowitz said in a telephone interview.
TSA
Downplays Studliness
Oh Silvio
Premier Silvio Berlusconi has sat down with the enemy, telling an opposition newspaper that he is too old to have had all the sexual encounters he is accused of by Italian prosecutors.
The 74-year-old faces trial in Milan next month over charges he paid for sex with a Moroccan minor and used his influence to try cover it up. In court documents, prosecutors have identified 33 women, including the Moroccan teenager, who allegedly prostituted themselves during parties at Berlusconi's villa near Milan.
"Even though I am a little brat ... 33 girls in two months seems like too much even for a 30 year old," the premier said in an interview published Wednesday in La Repubblica, a leftist newspaper that has led a campaign for his resignation in the wake of the scandal.
Berlusconi spoke to La Repubblica a few hours after Milan prosecutors notified three of his associates that an investigation into their alleged role in the scandal is closed. The move paves the way for the prosecutors' request for an indictment against the three, accused of procuring women for the premier and, for one suspect, handling payments.
The prosecutor's document details how the soirees at Berlusconi's villa allegedly took place: They started with dinner; continued with "bunga bunga" parties in a room used as a disco, in which the women, sometimes masked, performed a striptease or an erotic dance "touching each other mutually, touching or being touched in their intimate areas by Silvio Berlusconi;" and culminated with Berlusconi's choice of a sex partner, or partners.
Oh Silvio
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of March 7-13. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 5.4 million homes, 7.2 million viewers.
2. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.95 million homes, 5.84 million viewers.
3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.91 million homes, 5.72 million viewers.
4. NBA Basketball: L.A. Lakers at Miami (Thursday, 7:15 p.m.), TNT, 3.58 million homes, 4.84 million viewers.
5. Movie: "The Best Player" (Saturday, 8 p.m.) Nickelodeon, 3.31 million homes, 5.3 million viewers.
6. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 11 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.28 million homes, 4.87 million viewers.
7. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.2 million homes, 4.88 million viewers.
8. "NCIS" (Monday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.03 million homes, 4.07 million viewers.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3 million homes, 4.28 million viewers.
10. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.97 million homes, 4.41 million viewers.
11. "CNN Newsroom" (Friday, 11 a.m.), CNN, 2.94 million homes, 3.61 million viewers.
12. "White Collar" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), USA, 2.87 million homes, 3.8 million viewers.
13. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.851 million homes, 4.28 million viewers.
14. Movie: "Finding Nemo" (Thursday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 2.85 million homes, 4.1 million viewers.
15. "Teen Mom II" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.), MTV, 2.84 million homes, 3.71 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Nate Dogg
Singer Nate Dogg, whose near monotone crooning anchored some of rap's most seminal songs and helped define the sound of West coast hip-hop, has died at age 41.
Attorney Mark Geragos said Nate Dogg, whose real name was Nathaniel D. Hale, died Tuesday of complications from multiple strokes.
Nate Dogg wasn't a rapper, but he was an integral figure in the genre: His deep voice wasn't particularly melodic, but its tone - at times menacing, at times playful, yet always charming - provided just the right touch on hits including Warren G's "Regulate," 50 Cent's "21 Questions," Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and countless others.
While Nate Dogg provided hooks for rappers from coast to coast, the Long Beach, Calif., native is best known for his contributions to the West Coast soundtrack provided by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound and more. Nate Dogg was even part of a "supergroup" featuring Snoop Dogg and Warren G, called 213.
Nate Dogg, who had suffered strokes in recent years, also put out his own solo projects but was best known for his collaborations with others.
After word of his death spread, tributes poured in on Twitter.
"We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb. One of my best friends n a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at poly high where we met," Snoop Dogg tweeted Tuesday night.
Nate Dogg
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