Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: SPF 100 will melt your face off (sfgate.com)
There is no such thing as 1,000-thread-count Egyptian cotton bed sheets.
RICHARD ROEPER: Accused cop killer nothing like a real man (suntimes.com)
Suspect's pathetic Facebook posts glorify the thug life.
Froma Harrop: What Were They (Politicians) Thinking? (creators.com)
The candidates subject themselves to all those boring chicken dinners, weekends on the road and having to flatter unpleasant people. Their campaign workers, contributors and media friends struggle to pull them over the finish line.
Garrison Keillor: Coming to the end of an era in publishing
And if you want to write, you just write and publish yourself. No need to ask permission, just open a Web site. And if you want to write a book, you just write it, send it to Lulu.com or BookSurge at Amazon or PubIt or ExLibris and you've got yourself an e-book. No problem. And that is the future of publishing: 18 million authors in America, each with an average of 14 readers, eight of whom are blood relatives. Average annual earnings: $1.75.
Cory Doctorow: Publish books free online (guardian.co.uk)
Author and blogger Cory Doctorow tells Aleks Krotoski why he publishes his books away free online.
"The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society" by Frans de Waal: A review by Joan Silk
The thesis of Frans de Waal's new book, 'The Age of Empathy,' is that empathy comes "naturally" to humans, by which he means that it is a biologically grounded capacity that all people share.
Randy Lewis: Ronnie James Dio's widow asks for tolerance over planned memorial protest (latimes.com)
The Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas plans to protest the funeral.
Neil Hannon: 'I was born old. I was an old man trapped in a young man's body' (guardian.co.uk)
The Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon has a new album out, a string of live shows and is in a 'lovely relationship'. No wonder Emma John finds him in good spirits.
Caitlin Moran: Come party with Lady Gaga (timesonline.co.uk)
From her dressing room to a sex club, an exclusive interview in which the singer discusses fame, the paparazzi - and those health rumours.
TRAVIS R. WRIGHT: Banksy bombs Detroit (metrotimes.com)
Sorting through rubble to uncover trouble.
roger ebert's journal: Cannes postmortem. Is that the wrong word?
Everyone seems to believe that Tim Burton and his festival jury did the best they could with slim pickings. The 2010 winners at Cannes were for the most part fair, well-distributed, uncontroversial and safe. You could say the same about the films in the festival.
Steven Zeitchik: "30 years after 'The Empire Strikes Back,' the force is still with Mark Hamill" (Los Angeles Times)
Hear the words "Cannes Film Festival," and your mind might drift to some of the glamorous personalities who have walked these historic seaside streets over the years: Catherine Deneuve. Sophia Loren. Angelina Jolie. Mark Hamill.
David Bruce: "Composition Project: Writing a Proposal for a Long Project" (Lulu.com)
Free download at http://stores.lulu.com/bruceb. This free pdf file explains and gives examples of a composition project that I have used successfully during my years of teaching at Ohio University. In this composition project, students write a Proposal to write a Long Project such as an Employee Manual.
The Sounds - Fire (youtube.com)
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Remake (Mistake?)' Edition
Is CBS seriously taking on a remake? Hawaii 5-0 Remake?
Apparently so. According to the Hollywood Reporter,
CBS has the rights to the original show which aired from 1968 to 1980, and CSI: NY writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will be taking a stab at developing the show and writing the pilot.
And so it goes...
Are there any TV series that you'd like to see resurrected with a 'Remake'?
Send your response to
John Romulus Brinkley (later John Richard Brinkley; July 8, 1885 - May 26, 1942) was a controversial American medical doctor who experimented with xenotransplantation of goat glands into humans as a means of curing male impotence in clinics across several states, and an advertising and radio pioneer who began the era of Mexican border blaster radio.
mj was first, and correct, with:
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and still on the cool side.
Cuts His Hair
Willie Nelson
Country music fans have come to expect a little eccentricity from legendary crooner Willie Nelson, but he pulled off a real shocker this time.
He cut his hair.
"Oh Noooooo!," wrote one fan who saw a picture of Nelson's new do on the website of Nashville TV and radio personality Jimmy Carter.
Nelson's waist-long, reddish pigtails have long been one of the singer-songwriter's signature features. But spokeswoman Elaine Schock said Nelson, who's been hanging loose in Hawaii, got his hair cut in the past couple of weeks. She said the Texas-born performer didn't make a big fuss about the makeover, but she thought he might have grown tired of dealing with long locks.
"There's a lot of maintenance," she said.
Willie Nelson
Green Flag At Indy
Jack Nicholson
Actor Jack Nicholson will wave the green flag at the start of this year's Indianapolis 500.
Nicholson has won three Academy Awards and has starred in acclaimed movies such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Terms of Endearment" and "A Few Good Men."
Previous celebrities who have waved the green flag include four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning and Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi.
Jack Nicholson
British 1970s Pop Group Re-Forms
The Faces
British 1970s group The Faces are to reform, with Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall filling Rod Stewart's frontman role, band members said on Thursday.
The group are to perform a gig in England in August, followed by a tour in January, with a former Sex Pistol and ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash helping out, alongside drummer Kenney Jones.
Hucknall has been rehearsing with the band and the group say they cannot wait around for Stewart. "He just had the electricity in his voice like no time had gone by," guitarist Ronnie Wood said of Hucknall.
Their first gig will be on August 13 at the Vintage at Goodwood festival, an "annual music and fashion-led celebration of creative British cool".
The Faces
Starts Own Record Label
Ellen DeGeneres
After a season judging singers on "American Idol," Ellen DeGeneres (dih-JEN'-ur-us) is delving deeper into the music business with her own label.
The talk-show host was announcing on her show Wednesday that she is starting a label called eleveneleven. Her first act will be 12-year-old Greyson Chance, who recently became a sensation on YouTube with his piano version of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi."
There's no word on when the label will start. It was formed with Telepictures Productions.
Besides DeGeneres, Greyson has some other strong people behind him: Madonna's manager and Lady Gaga's manager.
Ellen DeGeneres
O'Jays Singer Reveals Long Battle With MS
Walter Williams
Singer Walter Williams from R&B group The O'Jays seemed to have a charmed life, but for nearly three decades he kept a secret from his fans -- he was suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).
However to mark World MS Day on May 26, Williams decided it was time to go public with his health issues to let other MS sufferers know that it is possible to lead an active life despite the chronic and often disabling disease.
Williams is a founding member of the The O'Jays who were pioneers of 1970s soul music with hits like "Love Train," and "Use Ta Be My Girl."
He first realized something was wrong while on tour in 1983 and he began getting numb in his feet, legs and torso. At the age of 39 he was diagnosed with MS, the inflammatory autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system.
Walter Williams
Author Busted
'Drugstore Cowboy'
Police in Washington state say the man who wrote "Drugstore Cowboy" has been arrested in yet another pharmacy robbery.
James Fogle was arrested with another man Tuesday night after they allegedly tied up employees at a pharmacy in Redmond, east of Seattle. The Seattle Times reports Fogle will be arraigned Thursday on a charge of first-degree armed robbery.
Fogle has spent much of his adult life in prison, which is where he wrote "Drugstore Cowboy." Filmmaker Gus Van Sant turned the novel into the acclaimed 1989 film starring Matt Dillon. The work was loosely based on Fogle's life robbing pharmacies to feed his addictions.
Redmond police spokesman Jim Bove says robbing pharmacies "is probably the only thing he knows."
'Drugstore Cowboy'
Wins Embarrass GOP Establishment
Tea Baggers
Chalk up another win for the tea party. And another embarrassment for the Republican establishment.
Tea party favorite and two-term state lawmaker Raul Labrador defeated Vaughn Ward, a Marine reservist heavily recruited by national Republicans, in Idaho's primary on Tuesday. Ward's loss comes on the heels of several other races in which GOP establishment candidates stumbled as the anti-Washington mood takes hold.
National Republicans had coached Ward and had made him one of their first named recruits, known as "Young Guns." He also had the backing of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Last week, another recruit, Jeff Reetz, lost his Kentucky primary to a tea party favorite. Mary Beth Buchanan lost her primary challenge in Pennsylvania. In February, Ethan Hastert, the son of the former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, lost his GOP primary.
Tea Baggers
Disney Dumps
SOAPnet
The SOAPnet channel is all washed up and will be replaced by Disney Junior, a new 24-hour channel aimed at preschoolers.
The Disney-ABC Television Group announced Wednesday that the channel is set to debut in 2012. It will adopt learning themes geared to kids ages 2 to 7.
Disney Junior will replace the SOAPnet channel, which is available in 75 million U.S. homes and features reruns of daytime dramas.
Before Disney Junior is launched as a 24-hour channel, the name will be introduced on the popular Disney Channel's daily programming block for preschoolers that's now branded Playhouse Disney.
SOAPnet
Winfrey Closes As Show Nears End
Angel Network
Oprah Winfrey's charity, The Angel Network, is shutting down as her talk show comes to an end.
The charity stopped accepting donations this week and says on its website that it will close when all of the funds it has are disbursed.
The Angel Network was launched in 1998 with donations from viewers of Oprah's talk show. Angel Network spokeswoman Angela DePaul says its demise stems from Oprah's decision to end her show in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air.
DePaul says donors who still wish to contribute will be directed on the network's website to other charities.
Angel Network
2,000-Calorie Milkshake Tops List
Worst U.S. Drinks
A milkshake containing 2,010 calories -- equivalent to eating 68 strips of bacon or 30 chocolate chip cookies -- has topped a list of the 20 worst drinks in America compiled by Men's Health magazine.
The Cold Stone PB&C milkshake, made with peanut butter, chocolate ice-cream and milk, contains 68 grams of saturated fat and 153 grams of sugar, according to nutritional details on the company's website.
The second worst drink in America was listed as the Peanut Power Plus Grape from Smoothie King with a large cup packing 1,498 calories and the same amount of sugar as 20 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups chocolate and peanut butter snacks.
McDonald's large Triple Thick Chocolate Shake came in third with 1,160 calories or the equivalent of 13 of the fast food chain's hot apple pies.
Worst U.S. Drinks
$1 Billion At Global Box Office
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Alice in Wonderland" on Thursday will become the sixth movie to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Tim Burton's adventure fantasy, which recently came out on home video but continues to play in theaters, has rung up more than $332 million domestically and $667 million internationally.
"Alice" marks Disney's second-biggest film to date behind "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which plundered $1.07 billion globally in 2006.
The other films in the billion-dollar club are "Avatar," "Titanic," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," "Dead Man's Chest" and "The Dark Knight." All were holiday or summer releases, while "Alice" came out in the spring.
"Alice in Wonderland"
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of May 17-23. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. NBA Playoffs: L.A. Lakers vs. Phoenix (Sunday, 8:34 p.m.), TNT, 5.78 million homes, 8.46 million viewers.
2. NBA Playoffs: Boston vs. Orlando (Tuesday, 8:29 p.m.), ESPN, 5.32 million homes, 7.15 million viewers.
3. NBA Playoffs: Phoenix vs. L.A. Lakers (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 5.07 million homes, 7 million viewers.
4. NBA Playoffs: Phoenix vs. L.A. Lakers (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 5.01 million homes, 7.11 million viewers.
5. NBA Playoffs: Orlando vs. Boston (Saturday, 8:29 p.m.), ESPN, 4.24 million homes, 6.02 million viewers.
6. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.48 million homes, 4.95 million viewers.
7. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.35 million homes, 4.86 million viewers.
8. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.02 million homes, 4.02 million viewers.
9. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Sunday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.96 million homes, 3.89 million viewers.
10. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.85 million homes, 3.68 million viewers.
11. "Penguins of Madagascar" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.75 million homes, 3.63 million viewers.
12. "NCIS" (Friday, 9 p.m.), USA, 2.71 million homes, 3.66 million viewers.
13. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 2.7 million homes, 3.43 million viewers.
14. Movie: "SpongeBob: The Movie" (Friday, 5 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.65 million homes, 3.87 million viewers.
15. "NCIS" (Saturday, 9 p.m.), USA, 2.64 million homes, 3.47 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Art Linkletter
Art Linkletter, who hosted the popular TV shows "People Are Funny" and "House Party" in the 1950s and 1960s, has died. He was 97.
"Art Linkletter's House Party," one of television's longest-running variety shows, debuted on radio in 1944 and was seen on CBS-TV from 1952 to 1969.
Though it had many features, the best known was the daily interviews with schoolchildren.
Linkletter collected sayings from the children into "Kids Say The Darndest Things," and it sold in the millions. The book "70 Years of Best Sellers 1895-1965" ranked "Kids Say the Darndest Things" as the 15th top seller among nonfiction books in that period.
The primetime "People Are Funny," which began on radio in 1942 and ran on TV from 1954 to 1961, emphasized slapstick humor and audience participation - things like throwing a pie in the face of a contestant who couldn't tell his Social Security number in five seconds, or asking him to go out and cash a check written on the side of a watermelon.
The down-to-earth charm of Linkletter's broadcast persona seemed to be mirrored by his private life with his wife of more than a half-century, Lois. They had five children, whom he wrote about in his books and called the "Links."
But in 1969, his 20-year-old daughter, Diane, jumped to her death from her sixth-floor Hollywood apartment. He blamed her death on LSD use, but toxicology tests found no LSD in her body after she died.
Still, the tragedy prompted him to become a crusader against drugs. A son, Robert, died in a car accident in 1980. Another son, Jack Linkletter, was 70 when he died of lymphoma in 2007.
Art Linkletter got his first taste of broadcasting with a part-time job while attending San Diego State College in the early 1930s. He graduated in 1934.
He held a series of radio and promotion jobs in California and Texas, experimenting with audience participation and remote broadcasts, before forming his own production company in the 1940s and striking it big with "People Are Funny" and "House Party."
Linkletter was born Arthur Gordon Kelly on July 17, 1912, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. His unwed mother put him up for adoption when he was a baby; when he was about 7, he and his adoptive parents moved to the United States, eventually settling in San Diego.
He recalled his preacher-father forced him to take odd jobs to help the family. So Linkletter left and became a hobo, hopping trains across the West, working where he could. He recalled later that he felt the religious faith instilled by his father had been a great gift.
After leaving daily broadcasting in 1969, Linkletter continued to write, lecture and appear in television commercials.
Among his other books, were "Old Age is Not for Sissies," "How To Be a Supersalesman," "Confessions of a Happy Man," "Hobo on the Way to Heaven" and his autobiography, '`I Didn't Do It Alone."
A recording Linkletter made with his daughter Diane not long before she died, "We Love You, Call Collect," was issued after her death and won a Grammy award for best spoken word recording.
Linkletter is survived by his wife, Lois, whom he married in 1935, and daughters Dawn and Sharon.
Art Linkletter
Stuff that makes you go "Huh?"
According to published reports, Carol Wayne was on vacation in Santiago Bay, Mexico with Los Angeles car salesman Edward Durston on January 10, 1985 when (it has been reported) the couple had a argument about where they were going to stay that evening (they were scheduled to fly back to Los Angeles the next morning).
Durston checked into a hotel and Wayne reportedly left to walk down the beach (to cool off?). That was the last time anyone saw her alive. Local fisherman Abel de Dios found her limp body floating in the shallow bay waters three days later.
Mexican authorities wondered how Carol Wayne came to drown in waters four feet deep, fully clothed. There were no cuts or abrasions, so a fall from the nearby rocks was ruled out. The coroner stated that death occurred 3 - 4 days earlier and the body tested negative for drugs and alcohol.
Suspicions were raised: Carol Wayne had to be identified by workers at the Las Hadas resort where the couple had been staying earlier in the week. When locals went to look for Wayne's traveling companion, they discovered that Edward Durston checked out three days earlier - leaving Wayne's luggage at the airport with a message that she would pick up her bags in the morning.
Carol Wayne could not swim, and reportedly did not like to go too near the water. So how did she happen to be found dead in calm and shallow waters?
As an aside, many readers may remember the (alleged) LSD related death of Art Linkletter's daughter Diane. She jumped (or fell) from a sixth floor apartment building in 1969.
Not that it necessarily means anything, but Diane Linkletter's companion the night she was killed was Edward Durston.
Carol Wayne / Mysterious Death of Carol Wayne
Ed Durston was not named as a suspect in either of these cases.
Ed Durston - A Date with Death | The Deal Is!
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