from Bruce
Anecdotes
Problem-Solving
• A couple of American teachers who were best friends went on a trip to Mexico. Walking along a street, they were arrested and taken to the police station, where they discovered that they had been walking in a red-light district in which the only women allowed were licensed prostitutes. The fine for a woman without a prostitute’s license walking there was 20,000 pesos. Like most teachers, the women didn’t have much money, and what money they did have, they wanted to spend on their vacation, not on a fine. Fortunately, they found a way out of their dilemma: In order not to spend good money on a fine, and with no thought of taking up a new profession, each teacher avoided the fine by purchasing a prostitute’s license for 20 pesos.
• When he was a child, John W. Mauchly liked to read in bed at night, but his mother wanted him to get his sleep, so she sometimes checked to make sure that his light was out. Therefore, he invented a special lamp to solve this problem. When his mother came up the stairs to check on him, the lamp automatically went out. When she went down the stairs after checking up on him, the lamp automatically came on again. As an adult, Mr. Mauchly became one of the co-designers of the ENIAC and UNIVAC computers.
• Buddy and Vilma Ebsen were a famous brother-and-sister dance team during the 1930s. They danced to arrangements by Glenn Miller, who put a lot of brass into the arrangements. Sometimes, the brass players in small towns would object to playing the arrangements, so Buddy would ask his sister, “Would you go give them your brass-section smile?”
• Comedian Joe E. Brown’s household was filled with milk drinkers — they drank 17 quarts a day. Because so many milk drinkers were in the family, there often wasn’t any left for Mr. Brown to have a glass late at night after returning home from work. His wife solved the problem by putting the sign “POISON — DON’T DRINK” on one bottle each day.
Public Speaking
• William Jennings Bryan ran for President of the United States against William F. McKinley. While on the campaign trail, Mr. Bryan made a speech in which he told his audience that “come November, my wife will be sleeping in the White House.” A man in the crowd immediately yelled, “And if she is, she’ll be sleeping with McKinley.”
• The unmarried daughter of English statesman William Wilberforce campaigned for him. As she rose to speak, the audience chanted, “Miss Wilberforce forever! Miss Wilberforce forever!” She replied, “I thank you, gentlemen, but I do not wish to remain Miss Wilberforce forever.”
Sex
• A 1991 public service TV commercial in Spain showed a high school principal snooping in the locker rooms as students take gym class. The principal walks into the gym, holds a condom up high, and tells the students in a threatening voice, “I found this in your locker room. Whose is it?” A boy says, “It’s mine.” Instantly, another boy says, “It’s mine.” Then a girl says, “It’s mine.” Suddenly, dozens of students, all of whom resent the principal’s snooping, are telling the principal, “It’s mine.” At this point comes the public service message: “The condom is the most efficient method for preventing unwanted births and sexually transmitted diseases. Put it on. Put it on him.”
• As you would expect, Groucho Marx was very good at puncturing the pride of rich people. During World War II, so many men were away fighting that Groucho was forced to do his own gardening. A rich woman saw him, assumed that he was a real gardener, and tried to entice him away from the family that she supposed had hired him. She stopped her car and asked, “Oh, gardener — how much do you get a month?” Groucho replied, “Oh, I don’t get paid in dollars — the lady of the house lets me sleep with her.” (Of course, Groucho was married to the lady of his house.)
• A wealthy man once walked in his garden, where he saw his gardener and the gardener’s beautiful wife. Because the wealthy man wanted to sleep with the gardener’s beautiful wife, he sent the gardener on an errand, then told the gardener’s wife to shut all the gates of the garden. However, the gardener’s wife knew what he was up to, so when she returned, she told him, “I have shut all the gates but one.” The wealthy man asked, “Which gate is that?” She replied, “The gate that is between us and God.” After hearing her answer, the wealthy man begged her to forgive him.
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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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: "Floodwaters"
Album: RUMOURS OF LIGHT 2: A 60 SONG DIGITAL BOXSET IN SUPPORT OF THE DISASTERS EMERGENCY COMMITTEE AND THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE
Artist: Bob Fleming and the Cambria Iron Co.
Artist Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Record Company: Aldora Britain Records (“The worldwide hub of independent and underground music since 2013.”)
Record Company Location: Rothley, UK
Info:
“Sad Songs by Happy People.”
Gritty American rock and roll.
“What whiskey would sound like if it could sing.” — Mathew Goshow
Vocals, Guitar: Bob Fleming
Vocals: Dawn Williams
Guitar: Hunter Good
Drums, Percussion, Keys: John Harrell
Bass: Ryan Soutwell
“Aldora Britain Records presents the second release in our 'Rumours Of Light' series. This album is a 60 song digital boxset in support of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the people of Ukraine. Our first release has raised £157 so far and we hope to do so much more through using the power of music. This project features a further 60 artists from ten different countries and is specifically in aid of DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.”
"You know, I always tried to be a humanist, a pacifist. Even our music is soaked with peace and joy, but this whole situation makes me feel a lot of anger and hate. Not only this war, but also the fact that due to disgusting and lousy propaganda, 85% of Russians support this war. They honestly believe that they have a right to do this. Today, I read another propaganda article where they were saying that all Ukrainians who fought against Russia and supported resistance should be murdered. All intelligent and culture-related people should be repressed. The Ukrainian language must be banned, vanished and forgotten. You know why? Because they claim that Ukrainians are Nazis…
"THIS IS ABSURD!
"This is even worse than what Orwell wrote in 1984, ‘War is peace, freedom is slavery’. They are putting everything upside down.”
— Ukrainian psychedelic rock musician Art Dudko, of the band Straytones
Price: £8.15 (GBP) for 60-track charity-appeal album
“Floodwaters” is also on the Bob Fleming and the Cambria Iron Co. album REMNANTS. Price: $10 (USD) for 10 songs.
Genre: Southern Rock. Various.
Links:
RUMOURS OF LIGHT 2: A 60 SONG DIGITAL BOXSET IN SUPPORT OF THE DISASTERS EMERGENCY COMMITTEE AND THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE
REMNANTS
Bob Fleming and the Cambria Iron Co. on Bandcamp
Cambria County Songs on YouTube
Aldora Britain Records on Bandcamp
Aldora Britain Records on YouTube
Other Links:
Bruce’s Music Recommendations: FREE pdfs
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
davidbrucebooks: EDUCATE YOURSELF - Free PDFs
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Ohio
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Betty Bowers
Mrs. Betty Bowers: The Not-So-Supreme Court
Other Links:
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
davidbrucebooks: EDUCATE YOURSELF - Free PDFs
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
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
Extra humid. Ack.
2 Die Each Week
U.S. Newspapers
Despite a growing recognition of the problem, the United States continues to see newspapers die at the rate of two per week, according to a report issued Wednesday on the state of local news.
Areas of the country that find themselves without a reliable source of local news tend to be poorer, older and less educated than those covered well, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications said.
The country had 6,377 newspapers at the end of May, down from 8,891 in 2005, the report said. While the pandemic didn’t quite cause the reckoning that some in the industry feared, 360 newspapers have shut down since the end of 2019, all but 24 of them weeklies serving small communities.
An estimated 75,000 journalists worked in newspapers in 2006, and now that’s down to 31,000, Northwestern said. Annual newspaper revenue slipped from $50 billion to $21 billion in the same period.
News “deserts” are growing: The report estimated that some 70 million Americans live in a county with either no local news organization or only one.
U.S. Newspapers
Claps Back
Halsey
Halsey is paying no mind to concertgoers who don't agree with their support of women's reproductive rights.
The "So Good" singer has long made her pro-choice views public — so when an attendee at their Sunday night concert in Phoenix tweeted that people were leaving following a passionate speech on the subject, the star was ready with a clever comeback.
"downside of doing outdoor venues: no door to hit them on the way out ????," Halsey, 27, tweeted on Monday.
"The truth is that my heart breaks looking out into this audience because I see so many people who deserve to have incredible lives, who deserve the right to healthcare that they need, who deserve the right to choose themselves in a situation where there is a choice," they said at the Ak-Chin Pavilion. "I'm hoping every single one of you, and I don't want you to ever have to be in a situation where you don't have access to that."
They added: "If you don't like it, I don't know why you came to a Halsey concert, because I've never been shy that this is how [I feel]."
Halsey
Playing Rage Against the Machine Over and Over and Over
Vancouver
Vancouver’s KISS-FM radio station 104.9 has not stopped playing Rage Against the Machine’s song “Killing in the Name” for the past 10 hours after two beloved morning show DJs were laid off on Tuesday.
Rolling Stone tuned into the station Wednesday afternoon and it was still playing the 1992 track on loop, only stopping to have two DJs mimic Zack de la Rocha’s grunts in the song — “A little lower… close enough” said a female DJ to her partner. The memorable grunts come before the singer’s scathing outro of “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me,” which of course was left off the radio replays.
Several Twitter users noted that disc jockeys had occasionally paused the loop to take call-in requests for the same song. (The same thing happened when Rolling Stone tuned in.) An NBC News reporter said a disc jockey went on air to say, “You’re probably wondering what’s going on.”
On Wednesday morning, Tom Morello retweeted a fan who pointed out the radio protest. “Pop radio station in Vancouver laid off all of their staff yesterday,” read the tweet. “Whoever is on the controls this morning has been playing Killing In The Name Of on repeat since 6am (it’s now 9:30). @KevinLimOnAir @Sonia_Sidhu It’s beautiful.”
Vancouver
Stolen Olympic Gold Medal Found
Jordyn Poulter
A stolen Olympic gold medal belonging to a member of the 2020 U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team has been found in Southern California, authorities said Wednesday.
Jordyn Poulter reported the medal stolen May 25 after the Olympian discovered her car broken into at a parking garage in Anaheim, police said.
Detectives later arrested a suspect in the theft, but weren’t immediately able to locate the missing medal.
On Monday, the owners of an Anaheim barbershop reported finding the gold medal inside a plastic bag discarded outside their business, police said in a statement. They handed it over to police, who plan on returning it to Poulter.
Jordyn Poulter
1955 Warrant Found
Emmett Till
A team searching a Mississippi courthouse basement for evidence about the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till has found the unserved warrant charging a white woman in his 1955 kidnapping, and relatives of the victim want authorities to finally arrest her nearly 70 years later.
A warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham — identified as “Mrs. Roy Bryant” on the document — was discovered last week by searchers inside a file folder that had been placed in a box, Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Documents are kept inside boxes by decade, he said, but there was nothing else to indicate where the warrant, dated Aug. 29, 1955, might have been.
The search group included members of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation and two Till relatives: cousin Deborah Watts, head of the foundation; and her daughter, Teri Watts. Relatives want authorities to use the warrant to arrest Donham, who at the time of the slaying was married to one of two white men tried and acquitted just weeks after Till was abducted from a relative's home, killed and dumped into a river.
Keith Beauchamp, whose documentary film “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till” preceded a renewed Justice Department probe that ended without charges in 2007, was also part of the search. He said there’s enough new evidence to prosecute Donham.
Emmett Till
Nightmare
Data Privacy
Since the Supreme Court’s draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade leaked, influencers, activists and privacy advocates have urged users to delete period-tracking apps from their devices and remove their information from associated services. With abortion now outlawed in several states, data from such apps could be used in criminal investigations against abortion seekers, and a missed period — or even simply an unlogged one — could be used as evidence of a crime.
These services, like many “wellness” apps, are not bound by HIPAA, and many have long histories of shady practices resulting in fines and regulatory scrutiny. Mistrust in them is well-founded. However, calls to delete period tracking or fertility apps are obscuring what privacy experts say is a much larger issue.
“Period tracking apps are the canary in the coal mine in terms of our data privacy,” says Lia Holland, campaigns and communications director for Fight for the Future, an advocacy group focused on digital rights. While submitting data to a cycle tracking app could lead to being "outed by your phone," they said, there are numerous other ways actionable data could make its way to law enforcement. “That outing [...] could just as easily happen because of some game you installed that is tracking your location to a Planned Parenthood clinic.”
India McKinney, director of federal affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, offered similar words of warning about commonplace and seemingly innocuous online activities. "Search history, browser history, content of communication, social media, financial transactions [..] all of this stuff is not necessarily related to period trackers but could be of interest to law enforcement.”
This isn't an abstract problem either: Before the constitutional right to an abortion was overturned, there were already cases where pregnant women had their search histories and text messages used against them after their pregnancies ended.
Data Privacy
Corruption Trial
“Fat Leonard”
Four of five former U.S. naval officers were convicted Wednesday of conspiracy, bribery and fraud as part of the “Fat Leonard” corruption scandal.
The five were the last of 34 defendants to stand trial on charges they were bought off by the Malaysian defense contractor Leonard Francis, who who prosecutors said plied them with prostitutes, Cuban cigars and free hotel stays, among other things.
A federal jury convicted former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera of conspiracy to commit bribery, receiving bribes, and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The jury deadlocked and reached no verdict on charges against a fifth defendant, former Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, the newspaper said.
“Fat Leonard”
International Liquid Mirror Telescope
ILMT
High in the Himalayas, a new telescope is set to observe the night sky. The contraption has a 4-meter (13-foot) lens, but here’s the kicker: it’s made of liquid mercury, a material seldom used for astronomical imaging.
Called the International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT for short), the device’s main component is a layer of liquid mercury that floats on a very thin layer of compressed air. The quicksilver rotates, taking on a parabolic shape in the process—useful for focusing light from the night sky. By placing a camera at the focal point of the paraboloid, astronomers will then be able to image objects in the sky.
At first glance, the telescope’s mirror appears to be an ordinary reflective surface. But, in actuality, it’s made of liquid that was meticulously shipped up the mountain by a company that specializes in hazardous materials. As long as no one tries to drink the telescope’s mirror, though, it’s perfectly safe—and according to the ILMT team, an affordable alternative to other telescope mirror materials.
“The main advantage is the relatively low cost of a large liquid mirror compared to a large conventional telescope mirror,” said Paul Hickson, an astronomer at the University of British Columbia who works on liquid mirror technologies, in an email to Gizmodo. “As an example, the cost of the ILMT is about one tenth that of the 3.6 metre [11.8-foot] Devasthal Optical Telescope — a conventional telescope of about the same size and located at the same place.”
ILMT
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