from Bruce
Anecdotes
Illness
• When he was a child growing up in Harlem, children’s book author Walter Dean Myers used to dance in the streets for money, which he used to buy his favorite red-colored icy pops. One day, after he had danced and eaten, danced and eaten, for hours, he went home with a stomachache. His mother set him on the toilet, then rushed him to the hospital after seeing the red liquid that had come out of his body. At the hospital, they learned that the red liquid was not blood — it was red-colored liquid from the many, many icy pops young Walter had consumed that day.
• When Alicia Alonso could not see out of her right eye, she went to a doctor. He examined her eyes, then told her that she was going to be blind. She would not believe him and had an unsuccessful operation. Shortly afterward, her other eye went blind. Again, she had an operation, and her doctors told her that she had to stay in bed — motionless — for a year. Alicia did not want her young daughter to know that she — Alicia — was blind, and for a year, whenever her daughter was brought into her room, Alicia pretended that she could see her through the bandages.
• Some happily married heterosexual men like to dress like women. One way to get the proper female frontal development is for the man to wear a mastectomy bra. Many wives have ordered a mastectomy bra and been treated so nicely by the sales staff over the telephone that they have been tempted to say, “Don’t worry. I don’t have breast cancer. My husband just likes to wear a bra.”
• When beautiful actress Ann Jillian got breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, she worried about what her husband, Andy Murcia, would think when he saw the scars where her breasts had been. She needn’t have worried. He looked, then said, “So, you’ve had a mastectomy and I’m still here.” He hugged her, then said, “I’m not only still here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Letters
• When Janet Taylor Lisle was a child, she thought that she detected evidence of fairies. For example, when she found berries dotting the terrace, she thought that fairies had left them. She believed so strongly that she started writing letters to the fairies — and the fairies wrote her back! Of course, a loved one actually wrote the letters, not fairies, but this remains a pleasant memory. This memory served as inspiration for her children’s book The Gold Dust Letters.
• Maurice Sendak’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are has long been a favorite of children, many of whom long to go to this land of fantasy. Mr. Sendak once received a letter from a boy who asked him how much it cost to travel to where the wild things are — if it wasn’t too expensive, he and his sister wanted to spend the summer there. Mr. Sendak says, “I did not answer that question, for I have no doubt that sooner or later they will find their way, free of charge.”
Mothers
• While running his dog sled team one day, using a wheeled cart instead of a sled because it was spring, children’s book author Gary Paulsen came across a dead ruffled grouse and a nest of her eggs. He took the 14 eggs home and put them in the nest of a banty hen named Hawk. This simple action may have been a mistake, as it brought down what his wife called a “summer of terror” on the Paulsen household. The eggs hatched, and Hawk devoted her life to protecting her chicks. However, ruffled grouse can fly much further than banty hens, which meant that Hawk had to patrol a wide area to protect the young grouse. Hawk therefore sat on top of a woodpile and whenever the grouse were threatened — or Hawk thought they were threatened — she charged down the woodpile and attacked whatever she thought needed attacking. A fox once grabbed a chick and Hawk slammed into the fox so hard that spit flew from the fox’s mouth as it let go of the chick. Unfortunately, Hawk attacked some things that didn’t need to be attacked — such as Mr. Paulsen’s wife, son, cat, and dog. On one occasion, his wife went to get some tomatoes from the garden, and when she returned, the tomatoes were smeared on her shirt — this despite the bicycle helmet she had worn for protection from the attack that she knew was coming. Smeared with tomatoes, she announced to her husband, “The Hawk strikes again.” After the ruffled grouse grew up, Hawk calmed down — but the Paulsen pets were still very careful when they were near her.
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Whiskey Mind"
Album: WHISKEY MIND
Artist: Hambone Skinny
Record Company: Rum Bar Records
Record Company Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Info:
“Hambone Skinny will strap you down and give you an injection of some Dirty Punk Blues.
“Based on the bedrock of Bo Carter, soul of Robert Johnson, roots of Mississippi John Hurt, and raised on Psychobilly, Cow-Punk, Garage Slop, Okeh, Sun, Alive! and Bomp Records, Hambone Skinny has risen and awakened a whomp of a sound.
“Featuring members that have crawled outta the crypt of well-respected touring and influential dirty garage & psychobilly bands The Coffin Lids, and The Speed Devils, Hambone Skinny and Steph F. pulled out of the crate a recording that feels warm, dirty, chaotic, menacing, ferocious and bursting with the blues. Give it a listen, feel it hum, make your body shake and send chills down your spine, come getcha' some.”
Hambone Skinny - Guitar, Vocals
Steph F. - Drums, Backing Vocals
“Rum Bar Records is turning into one of the absolute best labels for real rock and roll these days, if you haven't gotten hip to that trip. It's the boss sound from the Boss-town.” — Bill Kelly, Bill Kelly’s Teenage Wasteland WFMU
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $7 (USD) for seven-track album
Genre: Psychobilly
Links:
HAMBONE SKINNY
Rum Bar Records
Other Links:
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Comment
Re: BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Thanks to BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION for his suggestion of "Girl Over Planet" yesterday.
I enjoy a lot of modern surf music, & this is a great one. Amazed that they are Russian.
DJ Useo
Thanks, Konrad!
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Human Feet Mystery
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
Thick marine layer hung around til mid-afternoon.
Ratings
‘Jeopardy!’
Anderson Cooper found out the hard way following Aaron Rodgers is a fool’s errand. The CNN host’s first week guest-hosting “Jeopardy!” did not get off to the best ratings start, falling 7% to a 5.1 rating, the lowest debut for any of the Sony game show’s guest hosts.
Ratings for syndicated shows for the week ending April 25 were hampered due to extensive daytime coverage of the Derek Chauvin murder trial, particularly on April 19 and 20, the last day of which the verdict was announced.
The 5.1 rating for Cooper’s first week dropped “Jeopardy!” out of the top game show spot, falling behind “Family Feud” which pulled in a 5.5 rating. Cooper’s 5.1 was just below Dr. Oz’s 5.2 rating for his debut week, which had been the previous low for a “Jeopardy!” guest host. Rodgers, the (for now) Green Bay Packers quarterback, began his run with a 5.6; his second week drew a 5.5 rating.
Thus far, the highest-rated guest host has been Ken Jennings, who drew a 6.2 rating in his first week. In Week 2, he had a 5.9 rating. That all makes sense as Jennings, officially a consulting producer on the game he once dominated, was up first.
‘Jeopardy!’
Announce Farewell Tour
The Monkees
The Monkees are coming to your town one last time. They have just announced a North American farewell tour starting September 11th at Seattle’s Moore Theatre and wrapping up November 14th at L.A.’s Greek Theatre.
”‘The Monkees Farewell Tour’ will feature songs that span the band’s entire career — from their 1966 self-titled debut album to 2016’s Good Times!” according to a release announcing the tour. “In addition to their hits, their farewell shows will spotlight songs featured on their Emmy-winning TV series (‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere,’ ‘You Told Me,’ ‘Randy Scouse Git,’ ‘Goin’ Down,’ and ‘For Pete’s Sake’) as well as music from their feature film Head (‘Circle Sky’ and ‘As We Go Along). Plus some rarely performed deep cuts (such as ‘Auntie’s Municipal Court’) and tracks from their most recent studio album, 2016’s Good Times! (‘Me & Magdelena’ and ‘Birth of an Accidental Hipster’).”
Monkees singer Davy Jones died in 2012 and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tork followed in 2019, but surviving members Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith have been leading the group for the past few years. They last toured in 2019 and were originally booked to head out again in 2020, but the pandemic forced them to push those back plans. During the downtime, Dolenz recorded an LP of Nesmith-penned songs called Dolenz Sings Nesmith. It comes out on May 21st.
Also on the horizon for Monkees fans is an updated version of the 2005 book The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the ’60s TV Pop Sensation by music historian Andrew Sandoval, who also manages the Monkees. Featuring newly discovered court documents, it shines new light on the group’s battle with Don Kirshner over creative freedom.
Tickets and VIP packages for the Monkees Farewell Tour are on sale right now in select markets, and more will be available later this week on Ticketmaster.com.
The Monkees
Court Hands Win To Heirs
Michael Jackson
A U.S. tax court has handed a major victory to the estate of Michael Jackson in a years-long battle, finding that the IRS wildly inflated the value at the time of his death of Jackson’s assets and image, leading to an estate tax bill for his heirs that was far too high.
The IRS had put the value of three disputed aspects of Jackson’s worth at the time of his 2009 death at about $482 million. In his decision issued Monday, Judge Mark Holmes put that figure at $111 million, far closer to the estate’s own estimates.
The judge most disagreed with the IRS over the value of Jackson’s image and likeness. While the IRS put it at $161 million, Holmes ruled it was just $4.15 million. He noted that despite Jackson’s acquittal on all counts at his 2005 trial for child molestation, the allegations continued to dog him, and while Jackson was selling out dates for a planned world tour when he died, he could not find a sponsor or merchandise partner.
“The fact that he earned not a penny from his image and likeness in 2006, 2007, or 2008 shows the effect those allegations had, and continued to have, until his death,” Holmes wrote in the sprawling 271-page decision that tracks Jackson’s fame and finances through most of his life.
Also in dispute were Jackson’s 50% stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a catalog that includes 175 Beatles songs; and his interest in another catalog that includes the songs he wrote.
Michael Jackson
Sanctimony In Action
Tennessee
A measure in Tennessee to honor Brothers Osborne singer TJ Osborne, who recently came out as gay, has been blocked by Republicans in the state’s House of Representatives, after it had unanimously passed the Senate.
Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Hellbound), chair of the House Republican Caucus, is the lawmaker responsible for blocking — and some say effectively killing — the measure. He cited a procedural objection, although many believe that his history of supporting anti-LGBTQ legislation is the likelier reason for him putting the kabosh on the honor.
Osborne’s fellow country star Kacey Musgraves was among those registering her dismay, writing on Twitter: “Massively disappointed in TN House Republicans for blocking my friend @TJOsborne for being honored because HE’S GAY!?”
In blocking the bill on the House floor Tuesday, Faison initially said simply, “We have some concerns on this SJR, and I’d like to send it back to naming and designating.” When he was asked to explain what “the source of those concerns” was, the lawmaker said, “It wasn’t heard in committee, and I feel like it needs to be.”
In response, a Democratic legislator, Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis), reacted with incredulity, saying, “A lot of SJRs are not heard in committees and we vote on ’em. We voted on a couple of them today, as a matter of fact. … The country music artist, TJ Osborne? We’re talking about a country music singer, y’all. C’mon.”
Tennessee
Still Costing Taxpayers Money
Spawn
The children of Donald Trump (R-Lock Him Up) are continuing to cost US taxpayers hundreds of thousands a month for travel, a government watchdog group has found.
US Secret Service agents filed $140,000 (£100,000) in receipts for travelling with Eric, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr in February, according to the watchdog CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington).
The figure was for the first month after the former president’s departure from Washington DC, and does not refer to any Secret Service fees incurred at Trump businesses.
US Secret Service agents spent $52,296.75 (£37,584) on travel and $88,678.39 (£63,731) on accommodation for escorting the Trumps on foreign and domestic trips in February, according to the filings.
CREW wrote of the findings that “If just one month of the Trump children’s extended Secret Service protection cost $140,000, then the full six months could cost taxpayers nearly $1 million.”
Spawn
Falls
US Birth Rate
The U.S. birth rate fell 4% last year, the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years, according to a government report being released Wednesday.
The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly age group, falling to the lowest point since federal health officials started tracking it more than a century ago.
Births have been declining in younger women for years, as many postponed motherhood and had smaller families.
Birth rates for women in their late 30s and in their 40s have been inching up. But not last year.
“The fact that you saw declines in births even for older moms is quite striking,” said Brady Hamilton, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lead author of the new report.
US Birth Rate
Giant Sequoia Still Smoldering
California
A giant sequoia has been found smoldering and smoking in a part of Sequoia National Park that burned in one of California's huge wildfires last year, the National Park Service said Wednesday.
“The fact areas are still smoldering and smoking from the 2020 Castle Fire demonstrates how dry the park is,” said Leif Mathiesen, assistant fire management officer for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in central California. “With the low amount of snowfall and rain this year, there may be additional discoveries as spring transitions into summer.”
The smoldering tree was found recently by scientists and fire crews surveying the effects of the blaze, which was ignited by lightning last August and spread over more than 270 square miles (699 square kilometers) of the Sierra Nevada. It took five months to fully contain.
Most of California is deep in drought, with severe to extreme conditions in the mountain range that provides about a third of the state's water. On April 1, when the Sierra Nevada snowpack is normally at its peak, its water content was just 59% of average, according to the state Department of Water Resources.
The dryness could set the stage for a repeat of last year, when wildfires, many of them ignited by thousands of dry lightning strikes, burned a record 6,562 square miles (16,996 square kilometers) in the nation's most populated state.
California
St. Helena Island
Napoleon
Getting to the remote South Atlantic island where Napoleon died 200 years ago got even harder during the coronavirus pandemic.
So while commemorations of the May 5, 1821 death of the deposed French emperor on British-ruled St. Helena are going ahead there, they are not happening with an influx of international visitors that was expected before COVID-19 swept across the world.
The volcanic island of about 4,500 people has not had any confirmed COVID-19 cases, but “we are no longer expecting the cruise ship visitors nor regular air visitors? and the Napoleon commemorations will be restricted to local events only, said Nicole Shamier, chief economist for St. Helena’s government.
St. Helena lies about 1,930 kilometers (1,200 miles) west of the border between Angola and Namibia, the nearest mainland. The Saint Helena Napoleonic Heritage group, which is dedicated to preserving Napoleon’s memory on the island, plans to hold several events in coming days, livestreamed if the island’s internet connection holds up.
First exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba, Napoleon escaped, met defeat at the battle of Waterloo and was sent in 1815 to St. Helena, where he died after falling ill. His body was later exhumed and entombed at Les Invalides in Paris.
Napoleon
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