from Bruce
Anecdotes
Money
• When Kathryn Forbes was growing up, sometimes her parents found money difficult to come by. However, she always felt safe and secure because her parents had a savings account in a bank—in times of great need, they could withdraw money from the bank. However, the money was to be used only for emergencies, and so her family would sometimes meet to figure out ways to cut down on costs so they wouldn’t have to withdraw money from the bank account. Fortunately, these meetings were always successful, and never did the family have to go to the bank to withdraw money. Years later, after she had become an adult, Ms. Forbes discovered that her parents had no bank account and that her mother had never even been in a bank. The “bank account” was an invention. Ms. Forbes’ mother explained, “Is not good for little ones to be afraid—to not feel secure.”
• When Forrest Evashevski began coaching football at Iowa University after it had endured a number of losing seasons, he let other people know, “I’m running this team, not you.” He also let it be known that if he were interfered with, he would immediately move on, saying, “My father-in-law has got plenty of dough. I don’t need to coach football to live.” Mr. Evashevski coached well, and he turned the Iowa players into winners. In fact, he was so successful that the university offered him a 10-year contract at a very high salary. Newspapers printed articles about the salary offer, and Mr. Evashevski’s father-in-law sent him this telegram: “Accept now, son. Not as rich as you think I am.”
• Anna Russell and her Aunt Al Schuyler once traveled to Canada. Ms. Russell had very little money, but she did have lots of valuable jewelry that had been willed to her. To avoid paying the customs tax, which she could ill afford, she decided to stuff the jewelry into her underwear and smuggle it into the country. Her Aunt Al helped her out by also smuggling in a few items. Being a world traveler and bon vivant, Aunt Al was well known to the customs officials, who gave her luggage a good going over. Elated at finding a few items of contraband, the customs officials confiscated them and gave Aunt Al a small fine—and let Ms. Russell through customs without checking her.
• Oscar Levant, Billy Rose, and Mort Dixon collaborated on a song they titled “If You Want the Rainbow, You Must Have the Rain.” They decided to take the song to music publisher Joe Keit and ask for a $3,000 advance. Mr. Keit listened to the song and their request for an advance of $1,000 each, then put his hand on Mr. Levant’s shoulder and said, “This boy is like a son to me. I published his first song. He wouldn’t ask me to pay that much advance.” “Okay,” Mr. Rose replied. “Just pay Dixon and me $1,000 each and we’ll let your son worry about himself.”
• Bob Denver played beatnik Maynard G. Krebs for four years on the TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. After the series had ended, his wife gave birth to Megan, their daughter, and Mr. Denver worried about finding work. One day, a residual check for Dobie Gillis arrived in the mail. Mr. Denver was happy, thinking he could pay the hospital bill, then he opened the envelope and discovered that the check was for 30 cents. (Fortunately, Mr. Denver did find work again—he starred in Gilligan’s Island.)
• When she was a child, Marian Wright Edelman used to occasionally ask her father, a Baptist minister, for money, but he always replied that he couldn’t give her the money because he didn’t have change for a $20 bill. Only after she was grown up did she realize that her family was poor in money and that her father didn’t have a $20 bill in his pocket. In 1973, Ms. Edelman founded the Children’s Defense Fund.
• Actress Judi Dench dislikes appearing as herself, but when she was starring in the British sitcom A Fine Romance she used to go in front of the stage and answer questions from the audience. Backstage, she groaned one day about facing the audience and asked, “Why are we doing this?” Her husband and co-star, Michael Williams, answered, “The money, Jude, the money.”
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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: "Instromaniac"
Album: TRIPLE AGENT RECORDS Vol. lI
Artist: Los Magnificos
Artist Location: Ciudad de México, Mexico
Record Company: Triple Agent Records
Record Company: Mexico City, Mexico
Info:
Los Magnificos:
Jonas Guns - Fuzz/ Rat Guitar & Screams
Tres Diablos - Frenetic Drums
Henry Towers - Bass & Phantom Chorus
Waco Fuzz - Psychotic Keyboards
“MEXICAN band formed in 1998, first like an instro surf rock band. After a first official recording (LOS MAGNÍFICOS, 2002), the lineup had some changes and their sound turned garage punk. Their lyrics are about women, sex, horror, zombies and Mexican B-movies.”
“Triple Agent Records: SURF / GARAGE Indie Record Label from Mexico City.”
Price: Name Your Price (Includes FREE) for 22-track album by various artists.
“Instromaniac” is also on the Los Magnificos album MAGNOSICOSIS ESPACIAL. Price: $100 (MCN) [about $5 (USD)] for nine-track album.
Genre: Rock Instrumental. Garage.
Links:
TRIPLE AGENT RECORDS Vol. lI
MAGNOSICOSIS ESPACIAL
Los Magnificos on Bandcamp
Los Magnificos — Topic on YouTube
Triple Agent Records on Bandcamp
Other Links:
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Remembers
Blast From The Past
One of my favorite people, Doug in Tallahassee, sent this photo from the BartCop days.
Way back when we thought Cheney's sock puppet was the worst president, ever.
Doug
Thanks, Doug!
Look what I found in the archives - this one's held up quite well, too.
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Ukraine
Other Links:
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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
Power was off for about 5 hours - opted for sudoku by flashlight.
Plots Another Beatles Film
Peter Jackson
When we think of recurring characters in Peter Jackson film franchises, names like Frodo, Gandalf, Gollum and Sauron stand out. Add John, Paul, George and Ringo to that list.
Following a five-Emmy-nomination haul for his Disney+ three-part docu The Beatles: Get Back, Jackson tells Deadline he is cooking up another film project with surviving Beatles members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
“I’m talking to The Beatles about another project, something very, very different than Get Back,” Jackson told Deadline. “We’re seeing what the possibilities are, but it’s another project with them. It’s not really a documentary … and that’s all I can really say.”
The revelation comes after Jackson emerged from four years spent culling through 130 hours of audio and 57 hours of video shot by Michael Lindsay-Hogg for the Beatles breakup docu Let It Be. It wasn’t as long an immersion as Middle-earth, but close enough. It also didn’t dent his fanship or eagerness to do more with the surviving members of the band.
Peter Jackson
Won’t ‘Tolerate John Carpenter Slander’
Jordan Peele
“Nope” director Jordan Peele thought it might be taking things a little too far when a fan proposed he could be the best horror director of all time.
“I know this is a hot take but at what point do we declare Jordan Peele the best horror director of all time?” wrote comic book creator Adam Ellis Wednesday morning on Twitter. “Can you think of another horror director that had 3 great films, let alone 3 in a row? I can’t.”
Though he was flattered, Peele objected to being ranked ahead of one of his favorite veteran filmmakers, John Carpenter of “Halloween,” “Christine” and “The Thing” fame.
“Sir, please put the phone down I beg you,” Peele tweeted in response. “Sorry. I love your enthusiasm but I will just not tolerate any John Carpenter slander!”
Jordan Peele
Cancels Show
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam was forced to cancel a show in Vienna on Wednesday, after singer Eddie Vedder's famous voice was damaged during a performance in France. The band — and the audience — at the show had to contend with air affected by the nearby wildfires, which have been fueled by climate change, that have raged there for more than a week.
"To all those who were anticipating a great Pearl Jam show tonight in Vienna, we were too," the band posted on social media. "However, due to the extreme circumstances at the last outdoor site outside of Paris (heat, dust, and smoke from the fires) our singer Ed Vedder's throat was left damaged. He has seen doctors and had treatment but as of yet, his vocal cords have not recovered. This is brutal news and horrible timing....for everyone involved. Those who work so hard to put on the shows as well as those who give their precious time and energies to attend...."
"As a band, we are deeply sorry and have tried to find options to still play. And Ed wants to play. There's just no throat available at this time... So very, very deeply sorry. Tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase. Thank you for understanding."
Pearl Jam's next scheduled concert is on Friday in Prague, after which they plan to move on to Amsterdam for two nights, beginning on July 24, and then kick off the North American leg of their tour in Quebec City, Canada on Sept. 1.
Pearl Jam
Viral Photo
Christine Baranski
Sometimes looks aren't deceiving: Christine Baranski absolutely was glaring at Elon Musk in that viral photo from the Met Gala.
Photographer Sinna Nasseri captured the 70-year-old actress staring down the Tesla founder with a look of disdain at the swanky event back in May. The image quickly went viral and Baranski's daughter even framed the picture for the Good Fight star. Baranski told Entertainment Weekly the image accurately captured her feelings for Musk.
"The funny thing is I have no memory of turning back and glaring at him, but I was actually dissing him as I was waiting in line to go to dinner," Baranski recalled. "I was with someone who was at my table, and I noticed Elon Musk and I went, 'Oh my God, it's Elon Musk.' I basically said [to my friend], 'I don't know how you feel about him, but why is he spending billions of dollars in space when he could be cleaning up the planet?' I'm an environmentalist. I must have at some point turned back and looked, but I did not pose for that picture."
Baranski added: "I have a low opinion of these billionaires."
Christine Baranski
Worried About ‘Foreign-Born Billionaires’
Minion Tucker
In his never-ending quest to sell his viewers white supremacist talking points, Tucker Carlson spent a significant portion of his show Tuesday evening railing against the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, claiming the piece of legislation has contributed to the downfall of society by “changing America completely and forever.”
The bizarre observation came as Carlson took aim at the Biden administration’s recent “$172 million grant to a George Soros-linked organization which exists to ‘help young border crossers avoid deportation.'”
“Why is some foreign-born billionaire allowed to change our country fundamentally?” Carlson asked. “That’s the big question.”
A quick refresher: Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch is a literal Succession-esque media magnate currently worth an estimated $18.3 billion born and raised in Australia — which, unless there’s some strange overlooked period of American history in which the Oceanic country became the 51st state, makes Murdoch one of Carlson’s “foreign-born” boogeyman. Lest we forget, Murdoch only ditched his Australian citizenship in 1985 to circumvent a U.S. law which prohibited a foreign national from owning more than 20% of a broadcasting license. (At the time, Murdoch was in negotiations to purchase a group of independent television stations.) Spooky George Soros, like Murdoch, is a naturalized American citizen, having gone through the process in 1961.
Murdoch and his News Corp media empire have a long history of knowingly promoting and peddling quasi-news to the American public — much of which has, especially in recent years, helped stoked the fears of conservatives, driving discourse away from discussions of actual policy into wild conspiracy theories and fear-mongering. Through Fox News alone, Murdoch and his goons helped perpetuate a laundry list including, but definitely not limited to: airing thinly veiled pro-Putin propaganda; blaming marijuana for the rise in mass shootings; refuting former president Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss on mass instances of voting machine fraud; suggesting the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol was a “false flag” operation; contributing to widespread anti-vaxx hysteria during the COVID-19 pandemic; sounding white supremacist dog whistles on the regular; and perpetuating debunked theories around the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. These sensationalized and often untrue Fox News talking points, packaged as legitimate and fact-based reporting at the behest of a “foreign-born billionaire,” have undeniably altered the American political landscape — or, to put it into Carlson’s words, changed our country fundamentally.
Minion Tucker
Will Undergo A Name Change
‘Quidditch’
In the biggest threat to Hogwarts tradition since Lord Voldemort, the game of Quidditch is undergoing a name change.
The governing bodies of the real-life sport first profiled in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels and later in its films have said that “Quidditch” will henceforth be known as “Quadball.” The name change is to distance itself from author Rowling;s anti-transgender comments, the organizations said. Beyond that, the organizations said they were switching names because they do not own the “Quidditch” trademark. Warner Bros. Discovery holds that right.
US Quadball and Major League Quadball, the sports’ two governing bodies in North America, today announced the new name, which will be activated this summer. The International Quidditch Association also plans to adopt the new name the organizations said.
The governing bodies claim that the sport is played in 40 countries among nearly 600 teams.
‘Quidditch’
Mystery May Finally Be Solved
Warm-Blooded Mammals
As the first dinosaurs were finding their feet around 230 million years ago, the ancestors of modern mammals were also emerging. Somewhere along the way they developed a remarkable ability: to generate their own warmth.
This decisive evolutionary step towards endothermy – the ability to generate heat from within and keep a near-constant core body temperature even when the ambient temperatures fluctuate – has since enabled this diverse class of animal to thrive in a multitude of environments the world over.
But exactly when warm-bloodedness, or endothermy, first evolved in animals has remained a massive mystery to evolutionary biologists – until now.
A new study from an international team of scientists led by University of Lisbon paleontologist Ricardo Araújo has found evidence that suggests endothermy originated around 233 million years ago, during the Late Triassic, the geological epoch that heralded the age of the dinosaurs.
That evidence was found not in blood but in the fossilized inner ears of ancient mammal ancestors.
Warm-Blooded Mammals
'Dripping' Under The Andes
Earth's Crust
Beneath the Andes mountains in South America, Earth's crust is dripping into the planet's interior.
Moreover, this has been occurring for millions of years – a long geological process that has produced telltale wrinkling and other features on the surface that scientists have discerned through modeling and experimentation.
It's called lithospheric dripping, and it's only been identified fairly recently here on Earth.
As the rocky crust is warmed up to a certain temperature, it starts to thicken and drip down into the mantle. It's a bit like an extreme pitch drop… but the formation and release of crustal drops has effects on the surrounding surface of the planet.
Earth's Crust
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