from Bruce
Anecdotes
Sermons
• The Maggid of Kelm repeated his sermons, giving the same few sermons over and over. Once, a sinner asked him, “Why do you keep repeating your sermons over and over?” The Maggid replied, “Why do you keep repeating your sins over and over?”
Television
• In 2003, Juan Catalan, a 24-year-old machinist, was accused of murder. He protested that he had been attending a Los Angeles Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium at the time of the murder. He had the ticket stubs, but he needed more evidence to show that he was at the game. As it happened, the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm had filmed an episode in Dodger Stadium on the day that Mr. Catalan had attended the game. The show was contacted, and a viewing of the footage shot that day showed Mr. Catalan and his daughter eating hot dogs in the stands. Mr. Catalan, who had spent five months in prison, escaped the death penalty. Larry David, the main man behind Curb Your Enthusiasm, says now, “I tell people that I’ve done one decent thing in my life, albeit inadvertently.”
• Lots of fans of The Avengers think that Mrs. Emma Peel and Mr. John Steed should have gotten romantically involved. In a way, they did. When Diana Rigg, who played Mrs. Peel, decided to leave the series, the writers brought back her supposedly dead husband, test pilot Peter Peel, by having him found alive in the Amazon jungle. In the episode “The Forget-Me-Knot,” Mrs. Peel and Steed say goodbye (this is the only time Steed ever calls her “Emma”) then she leaves with Peter Peel. However, Peter Peel was played by actor Patrick Macnee, who also played John Steed.
• Aaron Ruben was the producer of The Andy Griffith Show, which featured Mr. Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor and Don Knotts as his incompetent deputy, Barney Fife. Once, someone told Mr. Knotts that Aaron Ruben thought there was a lot of Don Knotts in Barney Fife. Mr. Knotts replied, “Gee, I hope not too much!” By the way, Mr. Griffith was a well-liked man. One of the writers for the series, Harvey Bullock, named his only son “Andy.”
• A 1990s TV commercial for a Norwegian life insurance company showed two men meeting, then taking off in a glider. Seconds after they are in the air, two more men arrive—they are the instructors for the first two men.
Theater
• Actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1853-1917) was a perfectionist. During a rehearsal of a thunderstorm on stage, a real thunderstorm blew up outside the theater. Sir Herbert listened to the thunder, then said that it would not do. On being informed that the thunder was real, he said, “That may satisfy the people outside, but we must do better.” By the way, the term “steal one’s thunder” comes from John Dennis (1657-1734), who invented a new way of producing thunder for the stage, but who was incensed when other theatrical managers stole his new method of producing thunder.
• In his old age, Sir Ralph Richardson began to lose his memory—a major problem for an actor. He was determined to learn a particular script by David Storey, so he kept telephoning Mr. Storey to report his progress on learning the script—“I’ve got to page 17” … “I’ve got to page 23” … “I’ve got to page 27.” Once, he called Mr. Storey to report, “I’m on page 17.” Mr. Storey, surprised, said, “But you were on page 27 last week.” Sir Ralph, also surprised, asked if he was sure, then said, “Oh, God, I’m going backwards. It’s hopeless.” Eventually, he learned the script.
• Diana Rigg once was present at a performance of Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona in Stratford when the stagehands operating the revolving stage were intoxicated. They accelerated the revolving stage to such a speed that anyone who tried to get on the stage was promptly thrown off. By the way, Ms. Rigg once performed as Lady Macbeth in a matinee given for schoolchildren. Apparently, they had all been studying Macbeth, because they joined in and recited the “I have given suck” speech along with her.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Track: "I Wish That I Was Him"
EP: THE MAN I THOUGHT I’D NEVER BE
Artist: Anthony Quails
Artist Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Info:
“In his own words, Anthony Quails ‘can’t get away from being a storyteller.’ As a troubadour with over 20 years of songwriting experience, Quails taps into folk tradition while imparting his own gentle insights to create songs that feel timeless and universal without being trite.”
“This album is a testament that nothing in life is wasted, and, although these songs speak of my own experiences, I hope that you'll be able find a part of yourself somewhere within them too.“ — Anthony Quails
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $5 (USD) for five-track EP
Genre: Singer-Songwriter. Folk.
Links:
THE MAN I THOUGHT I’D NEVER BE
Anthony Quails on Bandcamp
Anthony Quails on YouTube
Anthony Quails Official Website
Other Links:
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Twofer
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Quiet day at the laundromat-of-the-darned.
Herblock Prize
Lalo Alcaraz
One of the nation's first syndicated Latino cartoonists was honored at a ceremony Tuesday at the Library of Congress, the recipient of the one of the nation's top prizes in editorial cartooning.
Los Angeles-based political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz is the first Latino to be awarded the prestigious Herblock Prize, a $15,000 award named after the late Washington Post syndicated editorial cartoonist Herb Block. Known as “Herblock,” he was best known for his commentaries on domestic and foreign policy issues.
In announcing the prize in March, the foundation said they consider Alcaraz’s work to be groundbreaking.
Alcaraz, who is Mexican American, is the author of the first nationally syndicated Latino political cartoon strip, “La Cucaracha.”
At the ceremony, Alcaraz said, "I dedicate this award to my mother and father and all immigrants who break down walls and overcome barriers."
Lalo Alcaraz
Pete Davidson Comedy
‘Bupkis’
Longtime Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson is staying in the NBCUniversal fold with his first TV starring vehicle. Peacock has closed a deal for Bupkis, a half-hour live-action comedy written, starring and executive produced by Davidson and executive produced by SNL honcho Lorne Michaels. The project, a heightened, fictionalized version of Davidson’s life, was taken out to the marketplace in March, and NBCU’s streamer landed it in a competitive situation with a straight-to-series order.
Bupkis, which Davidson is co-writing with his longtime friend and collaborator Dave Sirus as well as Judah Miller (Crashing), will combine grounded storytelling with absurd elements from the unfiltered and original worldview for which Davidson is known.
The show, which has been compared to Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, is expected to reflect Davidson’s real-life persona with an unapologetically R-rated storytelling. Talks already have started with A-list talent for the ensemble cast around Davidson.
Davidson has been on a leave from SNL while he is filming the Miramax horror thriller The Home. He next will be seen on big screen in Bodies Bodies Bodies, which premiered at SXSW; Good Mourning with a U with Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox; and in Meet Cute opposite Kaley Cuoco.
‘Bupkis’
“Entirely New” Version - In Tokyo
Space Mountain
One of Disneyland’s most iconic rides, Space Mountain, is getting a major overhaul at one of the company’s popular parks. The attraction at Tokyo Disneyland Park will close in 2024 and reopen in 2027 after the renovation. The park’s Tomorrowland will also get an all-new plaza. The total cost of the makeover is expected to be about $436 million.
The news was announced by Oriental Land Co., Ltd., which owns and operates the Tokyo park.
Walt Disney Imagineering Producer Kathleen Davis said of the revamp, “It’s not only a whole new ride experience, but the story also has so much emotion. Through the queue and then on the ride, we see our connection to our planet and gain a new perspective for how special it is in all the universe. It’s a roller coaster with both thrill and heart.”
The park will also get a revamped version of Tomorrowland plaza, which will represent “a future where humans are in harmony with nature,” according to the Disney Parks blog. It will incorporate “various icons and design elements that will create a sense of hope for the future.” After dark, new lighting and sound will
Tokyo is the only Disney Resort in the world that has no capital relationship with Disney. Oriental Land licenses the IP while Disney consults and provides Imagineers to the company to design and build attractions, among which will surely be the new Space Mountain.
Space Mountain
Both Parents' Surnames
Italian Children
Italian children should be given the surname of both parents, the Constitutional Court said on Wednesday, overturning the tradition by which all newborns are automatically named after their father.
The current practice is "discriminatory and harmful to the identity" of the child, the court said in a statement, adding that both parents should be able to choose the surname.
Children should be given both parents' surnames in the order they decide, unless they agree their children should take just one of them, the court added in a statement.
New legislation, to be approved by parliament, is now required to implement the decision.
Italian Children
Russia Deploys
Trained Dolphins
Russia has deployed trained military dolphins at its naval base in the Black Sea – possibly to protect its fleet from an underwater attack – according to new analysis of satellite images.
The US Naval Institute (USNI) reviewed satellite imagery of the naval base at Sevastopol harbor, and concluded that two dolphin pens were moved to the base in February at the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has a history of training dolphins for military purposes, using the aquatic mammal to retrieve objects or deter enemy divers.
The Sevastopol naval base is crucial for the Russian military, as it sits in the southern tip of Crimea which Moscow seized in 2014. According to the USNI’s analysis, many of the Russian ships anchored there, while out of range from missiles, are potentially vulnerable to undersea attacks.
During the cold war, both the US and the Soviet Union developed the use of dolphins whose echolocation capabilities can allow them to detect underwater objects such as mines.
Trained Dolphins
Moon Over The North Pole
Fake Video
A fake video claiming to capture the Moon crossing over the North Pole has an awful lot of people fooled.
"The moon is in the North Pole, where the day lasts 24 hours and the moon appears in only 30 seconds completely and blocks the sun for only 5 seconds and then disappears, a breathtaking view," Twitter user "Ollie and Dave" wrote above the video.
Though clearly intended as a joke, people have taken the fake video of the Moon over the North Pole with deadly seriousness. Many users appear to think it is genuine – with 59,000 retweets at the time of writing – and those that played along have received a thorough (and thoroughly unnecessary) fact-checking.
"People saying this is fake are just not well traveled," user Burner replied, clearly in jest. "I’ve been there. Well not that exact spot, I was actually closer to the horizon, just on the spot where you can briefly touch the moon as it passes. There is no full eclipse at this point so hard to say which view is better."
Jokes of this sort were not taken as humorous however and received many, many replies informing them that the Moon does not work that way.
Fake Video
Underwater Volcano
Antarctica
A long-dormant underwater volcano near Antarctica has woken up, triggering a swarm of 85,000 earthquakes.
The swarm, which began in August 2020 and subsided by November of that year, is the strongest earthquake activity ever recorded in the region. And the quakes were likely caused by a "finger" of hot magma poking into the crust, new research finds.
"There have been similar intrusions in other places on Earth, but this is the first time we have observed it there," study co-author Simone Cesca, a seismologist at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, told Live Science. "Normally, these processes occur over geologic time scales," as opposed to over the course of a human life span, Cesca said. "So in a way, we are lucky to see this."
The swarm occurred around the Orca Seamount, an inactive volcano that rises 2,950 feet (900 meters) from the seafloor in the Bransfield Strait, a narrow passage between the South Shetland Islands and the northwestern tip of Antarctica. In this region, the Phoenix tectonic plate is diving beneath the continental Antarctic plate, creating a network of fault zones, stretching some portions of the crust and opening rifts in other places, according to a 2018 study in the journal Polar Science.
Scientists at the research stations on King George Island, one of the South Shetland Islands, were the first to feel the rumblings of small quakes. Word soon got back to Cesca and his colleagues around the world, some of whom were collaborating on separate projects with the researchers on the island.
Farmer Finds Ancient Goddess
Gaza Strip
A farmer in the Gaza Strip discovered a 4,500-year-old sculpture of an ancient goddess while he was working on his land.
The sculpture represents the head of Anat, “the goddess of love, beauty and war” in Canaanite mythology, said Jamal Abu Rida, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Nidal Abu Eid, the farmer who made the discovery, said he was working his land as usual Monday in the Qarara area east of Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, when he happened upon the sculpture.
In the sculpture, Anat wears a snake as a crown, a symbol of strength and invisibility. The goddess was most likely an inspiration for Athena, the Greek goddess of war, who is also frequently portrayed surrounded by snakes.
“This statue documents the history of the Palestinian people on this land and that its origins are Canaanite,” he said. Abu Eid added that he had not thought of selling the piece and instead donated it to the museum, as he felt it belonged to the Palestinian people.
Gaza Strip
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