from Bruce
Anecdotes
Humility
• The Dalai Lama gave a series of lectures in Tucson, Arizona. Although his English is good, he lectured in Tibetan about Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, and a translator spoke in English. At one point, the Dalai Lama told the translator, “You’re mistaken. That’s not what I said.” They then argued about a sentence by Shantideva — the Dalai Lama thought the sentence was “She said that to him,” but the translator thought the sentence was “He said that to her.” After discussing the sentence for a while, the Dalai Lama looked the sentence up, and then he started laughing and admitted, “Oh, I made a mistake.” Although he was lecturing in front of 1,200 people, he freely admitted that the mistake was his.
• One day Pope John XXIII went to a nursing home that was run by nuns so he could visit a dying prelate. The nun who answered the door was understandably astonished to see the Pope, and she almost fainted. However, the Pope told her, “No need to be alarmed, Sister. After all, I’m only the Pope.”
Husbands and Wives
• The private Groucho (real name: Julius) Marx was as funny as the public Groucho Marx. His first wedding was like a scene out of a Marx Brothers movie. Harpo hid behind a potted plant and made it appear to be walking around the room. When the minister said, “We are gathered here in holy matrimony,” Groucho’s response was, “It may be holy to you, Reverend, but we have other ideas.” And when the minister asked, “Do you, Julius, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife,” Groucho replied, “Well, we’ve gone this far. We might as well go through with it.”
• A young, newlywed Hindu couple came to Mother Teresa and gave her much money, which they had saved by not celebrating their wedding, not buying wedding clothes, and not going on a honeymoon. When Mother Teresa asked why they had made such a sacrifice, they answered, “We love each other so much that we wanted to share the joy of our love with those you serve.”
• An atheist heckled Billy Sunday during a sermon by interrupting with questions designed to embarrass believers. For example, the heckler asked, “Who was Cain’s wife?” Mr. Sunday responded, “I honor every seeker after the truth. But I should like to warn this man that he shouldn’t risk salvation by too many inquiries after other men’s wives.”
• Bob Hope’s wife, Dolores, was a devout Catholic. Once, she got on a plane in which two priests were seated in front of her and three nuns were seated behind her. Charlie Lee, one of Mr. Hope’s many writers, was also on the plane. He asked Mr. Hope, “Why can’t she take out regular insurance, like the rest of us?”
Hypocrites
• Reed Smoot was one of the first Senators from Utah. He was a Mormon, and it was rumored that he was a polygamist, although he wasn’t (however, he did support polygamy when that was Mormon doctrine). Mr. Smoot’s swearing-in was delayed by a filibuster until another Senator looked at all the philanderers in the Senate, then said, “Gentlemen, I would rather have a polygamist who does not polyg, than a monogamist who does not monog.”
• A nobleman told the Bishop of Meaux, Jacques Bossuet, that he didn’t go to church because too many hypocrites were there. Bishop Bossuet responded, “Don’t let that keep you away, my lord, because there is always room for one more.”
Ignorance
• Religion in the American frontier was often almost nonexistent, save for circuit-riding preachers, who were sometimes astonished by the ignorance of the people they were trying to teach. The Reverend Freeborn Garrettson, a Methodist circuit rider, asked a frontiersman, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” The frontiersman answered, “Sir, I do not know where the gentleman lives.” To test a young boy’s knowledge of Scripture, another circuit rider asked, “Who killed Abel?” The young boy answered, “I didn’t know he was dead. We just moved here last week.”
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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: "Slut Buffet"
Album: FREE ALONGSIDE SHIP
Artist: Shitting Glitter
Artist Location: Los Angeles, California
Info:
Art Direction and Design by Shitting Glitter
Amy Crosby – Lead Vocals; Devin Tait – Synths, Vocals, Programming, Flute, Percussion; Brandon Glen – Guitar, Bass, Programming; with Coco Ono (aka Dylan Tucker) – Dancer.
“Years of music precedes us. We've played a ton of shows, and we've written and recorded a great deal of original music. Live all over CA (primarily LA, West Hollywood, San Francisco, San Diego, Long Beach, Bakersfield, etc.), in WA, OR, NM, AR, NV, NY, Canada, Iceland to anywhere from 1 to 40,000 people. Some of them are pissed, most of them are freakishly excited.”
This is "Slut Buffet" (the Solar City remix version), available on Shitting Glitter’s SIDESADDLE SWEET TALK.
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $7 (USD) for 13-track album
Genre: Avant Pop.
Links:
FREE ALONGSIDE SHIP
Shitting Glitter on Bandcamp
Shitting Glitter Official Site
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 Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
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
A quiet day at the laundromat-of-the-darned. There was an ugly domestic dispute last week, but, fortunately, only a car was damaged.
Buying MGM
Amazon
Online shopping giant Amazon is buying MGM, the movie and TV studio behind James Bond, “Legally Blonde” and “Shark Tank,” with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more stuff to watch.
Amazon is paying $8.45 billion for MGM, making it the company’s second-largest acquisition after it bought grocer Whole Foods for nearly $14 billion in 2017.
The deal is the latest in the media industry that’s aimed at boosting streaming services to compete against Netflix and Disney+. AT&T and Discovery announced last week that they would combine media companies, creating a powerhouse that includes HGTV, CNN, Food Network and HBO.
Amazon said Wednesday that it would use MGM’s vast library, which includes famous characters such as Rocky, RoboCop and Pink Panther, to create new movies and shows.
For much of the past decade, MGM juggled bankruptcy and a revolving door of owners while its new releases dwindled. Long up for sale, MGM’s desirability was lessened, not just because of its partially auctioned-off library, but because its prized property — James Bond — isn’t owned outright. MGM splits ownership of it with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who have ultimate control over the franchise. The release of the latest James Bond entry, “No Time to Die,” has been on hold through the pandemic, with a fall release now planned.
Amazon
Howard University College of Fine Arts
Chadwick Boseman
While studying at Howard University, young Chadwick Boseman helped lead a student protest against plans to merge his beloved College of Fine Arts into the College of Arts and Sciences.
He failed in that goal, but 20 years later, the acclaimed actor is being posthumously honored as the namesake of Howard’s newly re-established Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.
Boseman, who graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in directing, died in August at 43 of colon cancer. He rose to prominence playing a succession of Black icons in biographical films: Jackie Robinson, singer James Brown and Thurgood Marshall.
The announcement comes a few weeks after fellow Howard alum Phylicia Rashad was announced as the fine arts college’s new dean. Boseman and Rashad met during his undergrad years, and Boseman publicly cited her as a mentor.
Howard Fine Arts alumni include actors Taraji P. Henson, Oscar-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young, and singers Roberta Flack and Jessye Norman, as well as Rashad and her sister, Kennedy Center Honors recipient Debbie Allen.
Chadwick Boseman
Will Not Appear
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave has clarified that she will not be among the cast of The Man Who Drew God, the upcoming Italian film that is set to mark the big-screen comeback of Kevin Spacey.
The pic was announced this week by its director, the famed Italian film personality Franco Nero, who confirmed Spacey’s casting to ABC News. The outlet quoted sources in unveiling that Redgrave also would be among the cast, as well as Nero and other Italian actors.
Despite Nero’s and Redgrave’s personal connection – the pair have been married since 2006 – the actress on Wednesday distanced herself from the project, though she did confirm that talks had taken place.
“Vanessa Redgrave’s name is being included in recent stories relating to the casting of the upcoming film The Man Who Drew God,” a statement released on her behalf read. “While there have been discussions about the possibility of her joining the cast, she will not appear in the film.”
Vanessa Redgrave
Archive Acquired
Stephen Hawking
London’s Science Museum and the Cambridge University library said Wednesday they have acquired a large collection of items belonging to late physicist Stephen Hawking, from his personalized wheelchairs to landmark papers on theoretical physics and his scripts from his appearance on “The Simpsons.”
The entire contents of Hawking’s office at Cambridge — including his communications equipment, memorabilia, bets he made on scientific debates and office furniture — will be preserved as part of the collection belonging to the Science Museum Group.
Hawking occupied the office at the university’s department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics from 2002 until shortly before his death in 2018.
Highlights will go on display at the London museum early next year. Museum officials are also hoping to create a touring exhibition in the U.K. before setting up a permanent display in London.
Meanwhile, his vast archive of scientific and personal papers, including a first draft of his bestselling “A Brief History of Time” and his correspondence with leading scientists, will remain at Cambridge University’s library.
Stephen Hawking
God Told Him
Kansas
A GOP lawmaker told officers in Kansas that he kicked a teenage student because God told him too, an affidavit alleges.
Mark Samsel was substitute teaching at a school in Wellsville, south west of Kansas City, on 28 April when he was videoed by students talking about suicide, God and sex – and shoving a teenager against a wall.
“I could put the wrath of God on you right now,” the teenager was told by Mr Samsel, who shoved the student against a wall, before he breaks free and runs away.
Mr Samsel told a sheriff’s deputy after his arrest: “The whole world is telling me not to do it, God said, Yes.”
Ms Samsel also said God told him to do it, “twice”.
Kansas
Overactive Brain Circuit
Certain Sounds
The sound of other people chewing, slurping, and swallowing can be pretty annoying, but some people find such noises to be utterly unbearable. The intense discomfort brought about by these audible triggers is known as misophonia, and new research has finally revealed the neural mechanism underlying this hatred of certain sounds.
Appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience, the study indicates that misophonia arises when irritating noises activate parts of the brain that control the movement of the face, rather than the auditory processing regions.
To conduct their research, the study authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of people with misophonia while they listened to their specific “trigger sounds”. In the vast majority of cases, the offending noises were related to movements of the face and throat, and include actions such as chewing, breathing, and speaking.
Compared to people without misophonia, those with the condition displayed no unusual activity with their motor cortices – the part of the brain that controls voluntary movement – even when presented with their trigger sounds. However, hearing these irritating noises did produce greater activation in neurons that connect the auditory cortex to the orofacial motor cortex, which controls the movement of the face and throat.
This means that hearing certain noises actually produced the sensation of facial movement in certain individuals, as if they themselves were carrying out the action that produces the sound. According to the study authors, this generates a sense of having one’s faculties invaded, which is what makes the experience so intolerable.
Certain Sounds
100-Year-Old Tortoise Just Discovered
Galápagos
After a major effort by scientists, a single galápagos tortoise—a species believed to have been completely extinct—was discovered on Fernandina Island. Experts at Yale University conducted genetic tests to prove that Fran, a 100-year-old tortoise, is in fact a member of a species that was previously assumed to be extinct for over 112 years. Now, researchers are very quickly trying to find a mate in order to preserve this species.
"One of the greatest mysteries in Galápagos has been the Fernandina Island Giant Tortoise. Rediscovering this lost species may have occurred just in the nick of time to save it. We now urgently need to complete the search of the island to find other tortoises," said Dr. James Gibbs, Vice President of Science and Conservation for the Galápagos Conservancy and a tortoise expert at the State University of New York.
If any additional members of this species are found, they will be rescued and transported to a breeding center on Santa Cruz Island. However, the discovery and rescue of more tortoises is no easy feat, considering the fact that Fran was found near an active volcano and in a landscape made up of hard volcanic debris.
"We desperately want to avoid the fate of Lonesome George," said Danny Rueda Córdova, Director of the Galápagos National Park Directorate in a press release. "My team from the Park and Galápagos Conservancy are planning a series of major expeditions to return to Fernandina Island to search for additional tortoises beginning this September."
Galápagos
Australia Mainland
Tasmanian Devils
Tasmanian Devils have been born in the wild of Australia's mainland for the first time in more than 3,000 years, a conservation group said, with seven newborns raising hopes the endangered animals can sustain a new breeding population.
The world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, Tasmanian Devils were wiped out on the mainland after being hunted by dingoes, a type of wild dog, and have been confined to the island state of Tasmania ever since.
Numbers there too have dropped since the 1990s due to a facial tumour disease and there are believed to be fewer than 25,000 left in the wild.
Aussie Ark said the seven joeys were in good health and rangers will monitor their growth over the next few weeks.
Aussie Ark released 26 adults into the wild in late 2020, which have now produced the seven new joeys.
Tasmanian Devils
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