Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Ellen Degeneres: Commencement Speech (youtube.com)
Highly recommended.
Calculate the Fuel Savings (honda.com)
Pulling up to the pump less often is about the only adjustment Civic Hybrid drivers find they have to make. And with gas mileage of 45 mpg hwy,* you can just imagine the savings. But why just imagine when you can arrive at a figure? Simply enter a bit of data below and let our Savings Calculator do the rest.
Jim Hightower: SMALL SHIFTS IN THE DIRECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY (jimhightower.com)
Having wandered without hope in the arid desert of George W's environmental policies for the past eight years, even small signs of a shift in the policy winds are as welcome as a long drink of cool water.
RICHARD ROEPER: Parents take their faith to deadly extremes (suntimes.com)
Girl dies as they pray rather than seek medical treatment.
Jack Shafer: The Newspaper-Web War (slate.com)
Ever get the feeling this battle was fought before?
Mark Morford: Jesus fears your Facebook profile (sfgate.com)
Social networking leads to suicide! God hates MySpace! The Archbishop hath spoken.
Susan Estrich: An Educational Moment (creators.com)
"They don't know that you teach at Harvard when you're at Fenway Park," my friend Harry Edwards used to say about living in Boston in the late '70s. Back then, Boston did more than its share to earn a bad reputation among black professionals.
Froma Harrop: Republicans Looking Crazy on Health Care (creators.com)
Some attacks on health care reform are so ludicrous that you don't think they need answering. A recent example invokes an evil plot to save money by knocking off the elderly. Though nuts, the charges have gotten so much attention that someone has to actually say, "No, they're not killing Grandma."
Scott Burns: My Favorite Tax (assetbuilder.com)
Everyone smile now! It's time to name your favorite tax. For extra credit, you can write essays about why your favorite tax is beloved. (Sorry, you can't exchange your extra credit for lower taxes.)
Maureen Dowd: Can You Eat in Bed? (nytimes.com)
Nora Ephron, who screened her new film "Julie and Julia" at the White House recently, answers a crazy salad of food questions.
Alyssa DellaCamera: James 'Buster' Douglas (thecelebritycafe.com)
Former world heavyweight boxing champion James "Buster" Douglas releases new cookbook for diabetics.
"Bodies" by Susie Orbach: A review by Catherine Lacey (powells.com)
Throughout the book, Orbach brings us stories of people who are uncomfortable in their skin, something almost anyone who's looked into a mirror and said "that's me?" can understand.
John Waters: Leslie Van Houten: A Friendship, Part 1 of 5 (huffingtonpost.com)
I have a really good friend who was convicted of killing two innocent people when she was nineteen years old on a horrible night of 1969 cult madness. Her name is Leslie Van Houten and I think you would like her as much as I do.
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The "A little better all the time (It can't get no worse)" Edition
How would you rate the particulars of your personal financial/material situation compared to 6 months ago?
1.) Better
2.) Worse
3.) About the same
Feel free to comment along with yer answer
Send your response to
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Recommendation
329 Hot Air Ballons
Reader Suggestion
Link from RJ
Hi there
One link today (I am not at work at the moment so am writing quite a lot- please let me know if I am sending you too much!)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
LA police chief Bill Bratton resigned today, completely knocking the Big Dog story out of the local news cycle.
Bratton's gonna stay on the jab til Halloween, so it's not like he's pulling a Palin or making a quick exit.
Just find the timing interesting.
Oh, and Bratton is a dem....
I'm having major difficulties with the ftp - the software used to upload stuff.
It keeps timing out before I can send anything.
Don't know if it's the software, the computer, the crappy dial-up connection, or some combination.
Killed 4 hours trying to upload this afternnon and got nothing accomplished.
So, if there are holes in the page, you know why.
Not that I'm horribly frustrated or anything.
Enters 20th Century
Psychologists
The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.
Instead, the APA urged therapists to consider multiple options - that could range from celibacy to switching churches - for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.
In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation.
The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.
Psychologists
Auction For Charity
Barbra Streisand
Want to lounge in a wicker chair from Barbra Streisand's sunroom? Perhaps wear one of her designer dresses or tinkle the keys of her baby grand piano?
Your chance is coming in October, when Streisand will auction more than 400 personal items to benefit her charity.
A collector throughout her career, Streisand is selling costumes from her films, including a dress from "Funny Lady," a robe from "The Way We Were" and several outfits from "Meet the Fockers."
She plans to donate all proceeds from the sale, scheduled for Oct. 17-18 at the Beverly Hilton hotel, to the Streisand Foundation, which supports women's, children's, environmental and political causes.
Barbra Streisand
Mississippi Festival Pays Tribute
Sam Cooke
More than 40 years after his tragic, violent death, Sam Cooke is still known as the legendary soul and gospel singer who penned "A Change is Gonna Come," which found a new audience with the election of America's first black president.
Cooke was among the first black performers to own the rights to his music and to form his own recording and publishing company. That's what his brother, L.C. Cooke, will remind fans about when he attends a Mississippi music festival this weekend dedicated to the 1950s and '60s singer.
The Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival begins Friday in Clarksdale, a sleepy town in the impoverished Delta region - the musical breeding ground that produced the likes of B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters.
During the weekend-long Cooke tribute, a blues marker in his honor will be unveiled Friday at the New Roxy Theater. At Ground Zero, a blues club owned by actor and Mississippi native Morgan Freeman, an educational forum on Cooke's life will be held Saturday.
Sam Cooke
Shuffles Veteran Soaps
ABC
ABC Daytime said on Tuesday it would move production of "All My Children" to Los Angeles from New York in December as part of a cost-cutting plan.
Additionally, "One Life to Live" will move into "All My Children's" former New York space.
The new facility for "All My Children" is twice as large as its current one. It includes two stages, allows for more standing sets and for an immediate switch to high-definition TV. "One Life to Live" also will expand as its new home is 30 percent larger than its current space.
"All My Children" will begin taping episodes in Los Angeles the week of January 4, 2010, and will begin airing in HD in February. The move of "One Life To Live" to its new home will take place soon after "All My Children" relocates.
ABC
New Hosts
'At the Movies'
After a year of getting slammed for their performance as film critics, "At the Movies" co-hosts Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz are getting their tickets punched.
Replacing them next month on the long-running syndicated series will be film critics A.O. (Tony) Scott of The New York Times and Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune, ABC Media Productions announced Wednesday.
The abrupt change reflects a move back to the show's quarter-century-old roots after a year its detractors dismissed as lightweight and too fast-paced.
'At the Movies'
Judge Delays Sentencing
Chris Brown
A judge has delayed sentencing R&B singer Chris Brown on an assault charge to seek more input from Virginia authorities about whether Brown could do community labor in that state.
Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said at a hearing Wednesday she will sentence Brown on Aug. 27 in the beating of Rihanna, who did not attend the hearing.
With Brown in the courtroom, the judge met in her chambers with a prosecutor and defense attorney briefly before Brown's scheduled sentencing.
When she emerged, Schnegg said Virginia had yet to say if it could accommodate her requirement that Brown serve community labor, rather than community service.
Chris Brown
7 Years For Fraud
Garth Drabinsky
One-time Broadway impresario Garth Drabinsky was sentenced to seven years in jail on Wednesday and business partner Myron Gottlieb got six for their roles in a half-billion-dollar fraud in the 1990s at their theater production company, Livent, Canadian media reported.
The two were convicted in March of defrauding investors and of forgery at Livent, which was behind Broadway hits such as "Ragtime" and the revival of "Showboat", before the company collapsed in an accounting scandal in 1998.
The sentences, handed out in a packed Toronto court, are to be served concurrently. Forgery convictions for each man were stayed.
Prosecutors had asked for sentences of eight to 10 years, while lawyers for Drabinsky and Gottlieb had requested two-year conditional sentences, and proposed the pair lecture university students as part of a community service obligation.
Garth Drabinsky
Mayors React
Snoopy Police Chiefs
A mayor has suspended an Ohio police chief without pay in the alleged snooping on a Hollywood couple's surrogate mother.
Martins Ferry Chief Barry Carpenter was suspended Tuesday, one day after Bridgeport Police Chief Chad Dojack was put on paid leave by his village council.
Both chiefs are accused in an alleged scheme to take items from the Martins Ferry home of the woman who recently carried twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. A special prosecutor said the eastern Ohio chiefs, who are charged with several felonies, tried to sell items to celebrity photographers. Carpenter and Dojack pleaded not guilty Friday.
Snoopy Police Chiefs
Could Break Record
Pink Diamond
A rare, 5-carat pink diamond will be sold in Hong Kong this December by Christie's, which expects the stone to hover near world record prices, thanks in part to the buying prowess of top Asian jewelry collectors.
The stone, set in a so-called "cushion-cut" ring by famed jewellers Graff Diamonds, is expected to fetch between $5-$7 million, in reach of the current world auction record for a pink diamond -- a 19.66-carat stone that sold in Geneva for $7.4 million in 1994.
While just a quarter the size of the record-holding pink gem and not quite flawless, the stone's "vivid pink" is considered near perfect and the auction house has touted it as one of the best colored stones to appear in recent years.
While the world's most expensive jewel ever sold at auction is the "Wittelsbach" blue diamond, a 17th-century deep greyish-blue stone that fetched $24 million last year, top red and pink gemstones are also known for stratospheric valuations.
Pink Diamond
Cable Nielsens
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of July 27-Aug. 2. Day and start time (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. "The Closer" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 5.3 million homes, 7.45 million viewers.
2. "Burn Notice" (Thursday, 9 p.m.), USA, 4.56 million homes, 6.63 million viewers.
3. "Royal Pains" (Thursday, 10 p.m.), USA, 4.41 million homes, 6.38 million viewers.
4. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.95 million homes, 5.85 million viewers.
5. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.84 million homes, 5.67 million viewers.
6. "The Next Food Network Star" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), Food, 3.73 million homes, 5.49 million viewers.
7. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (Sunday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.27 million homes, 4.23 million viewers.
8. "NCIS" (Monday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.22 million homes, 4.14 million viewers.
9. "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Friday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.21 million homes, 4.84 million viewers.
10. "NCIS" (Thursday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.2 million homes, 4.24 million viewers.
11. "Army Wives" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), Lifetime, 3 million homes, 3.88 million viewers.
12. "Law & Order: SVU" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), USA, 2.99 million homes, 3.81 million viewers.
13. "Wizards of Waverly Place" (Sunday, 7 p.m.), Disney, 2.97 million homes, 4.2 million viewers.
14. "In Plain Sight" (Sunday, 10 p.m.), USA, 2.893 million homes, 3.87 million viewers.
15. "NCIS" (Friday, 7 p.m.), USA, 2.891 million homes, 3.66 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Budd Schulberg
Budd Schulberg, who wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for the Marlon Brando classic "On the Waterfront," died Wednesday at age 95.
Schulberg, the son of a studio boss who earlier had defined the Hollywood hustle with the novel "What Makes Sammy Run?" in 1941, died of natural causes at his home in Westhampton Beach, on Long Island, said his wife, Betsy Schulberg. He was taken to a nearby medical center, where doctors unsuccessfully tried to revive him, she said.
"On the Waterfront," directed by Elia Kazan and filmed in Hoboken, N.J., was released in 1954 to great acclaim and won eight Academy Awards. It included one of cinema's most famous lines, uttered by Brando as the failed boxer Terry Malloy: "I coulda been a contender."
Schulberg never again approached the success of "On the Waterfront," but he continued to write books, teleplays and screenplays - including the Kazan-directed "A Face in the Crowd" - and scores of articles. Spike Lee was an admirer, dedicating the entertainment satire "Bamboozled" to Schulberg and working with him on a film about boxer Joe Louis.
"What Makes Sammy Run?" was published in 1941 and follows the shameless adventures of Sammy Glick (born Shmelka Glickstein) as he steals, schmoozes and backstabs his way from office boy at a New York newspaper to production chief at a major Hollywood studio.
Like Glick, Schulberg had working knowledge of the movie business; he was the son of Paramount studio head B.P. Schulberg. And like the "On the Waterfront" hero Malloy, who testifies about corruption on the docks, Schulberg informed on his peers. In 1951, he named names as he acknowledged a Communist past before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
In later years, Schulberg was dismayed when young people cited Glick as a role model.
"I grew up hating him," he said. "Now I'm being made to feel as if I'd written a how-to book: 'How to Succeed in Business While Really Trying.'"
During World War II, Schulberg spent 3 1/2 years in Washington and Europe on duty with the Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA. All the while, he wrote short stories.
In 1947, he published "The Harder They Fall," a fictionalized expose of boxing, a sport he remained close to all his life; he wrote newspaper columns on it in later years. The 1955 screen version of "The Harder They Fall," which Schulberg also wrote, was Humphrey Bogart's last movie.
Budd Schulberg
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
