REMEMBERING MARC PERKEL
Marc Perkel
Marc died August 1st after a brave battle with lung cancer.
Marc was one of the good guys. The REALLY GOOD GUYS.
WHO THE HELL IS MARC PERKEL
Marc has hosted this site on his server for 15 years, and I don't have a clue as what to do next.
Was blindsided by this news, and I'm still trying to digest it.
I'm really gonna miss Marc. Best boss I ever had.
OTOH, I don't know how long this ride is going to last, which means the e-page could go dark without notice.
Lots of variables.
If you have ever thought about sending good old Marty a donation, this would be an excellent time.
Thanks,
Marty
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Josh Marshall: Why Did We Care About John McCain? (TPM)
It is often said that a President's first decision is the choice of a Vice President. In this sense, though McCain never became President, this sole presidential decision turned out to be amazingly and consequentially bad. In bringing Sarah Palin to the center of American public life, McCain played a major part in shaping the resentment-fueled culture-war Tea Party extremism of the early Obama years and the politics we now recognize as Trumpism
Garrison Keillor: A man watching his own heartbeat
I lay on a couch at a clinic last week, watching my echocardiogram on a screen, and made a firm resolution, the tenth or twelfth in the past couple years, to buckle down and tend to business, fight off distraction and focus on the immediate task, walk briskly half an hour a day, eat green leafy vegetables, drink more liquids, and finish the projects I've been working on for years. Seeing your heartbeat is a profound moment.
Jonathan Jones: Beyoncé meets Botticelli: how tabloid photos throw new light on old masters (The Guardian)
The Twitter account Tabloid Art History juxtaposes celebrity shots with artworks they resemble. It's a game that works because great art is universal
Greg Sargent: Another big reason to want a Democratic takeover of the House (Washington Post)
[…] the news broke that a new study has found that there were nearly 3,000 excess deaths in Puerto Rico in the six months after Hurricane Maria, a number far higher than previously estimated.
Paul Waldman: Fair elections just won a victory in the courts. Now the Republican assault begins. (Washington Post)
Perhaps even more significantly, this could be the final victory advocates of democratic representation get in our courts before Republicans take firm control of the Supreme Court and begin a long-planned, scorched-earth campaign against the right to vote in America. That may sound like hyperbole, but it isn't.
Greg Sargent: Trump's rage-tweets about Google reveal a frightening truth about the midterms (Washington Post)
At the same time, that campaign of lies is designed to get Republican voters out for the purpose of keeping in place the mechanism of accountability that is not functioning right now - the GOP-led Congress - preventing a Democratic takeover of the House, which would impose genuine accountability.
Jonathan Chait: Ben Shapiro Proudly Declares Conservatism Nearly Kook-Free (NY Mag)
The handful of anti-Trump conservative intellectuals have found themselves split into two camps. One, recognizing the deep rot within their movement, have argued that Republicans need the shock of electoral defeat in order to shake free of the authoritarian and racist elements that have overtaken them. The other faction persists in a state of denial, believing that a few bad apples shouldn't spoil things for the rest of them.
Michael Hann: "Bland on Blonde: why the old rock music canon is finished" (The Guardian)
The 1970s brought about the idea that rock was important - and needed a canon of greatest albums to match. But in a digital age, is definitive musical excellence a ridiculous notion?
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce has over 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
is celebrating another romp around the sun.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
From Bruce: Alcohol Anecdotes
• The Doubner Maggid once ate dinner at the house of a wealthy man, who urged him to drink. The Maggid drank one glass of wine, and the wealthy man asked him to drink another, which the Maggid did, despite protesting, "I am not accustomed to drinking." When the second glass of wine was empty, the wealthy man urged the Maggid to drink a third glass, so the Maggid asked him to fill the glass to the brim. When the glass was full, the Maggid told the man to pour more, surprising him, because-as he pointed out-the glass was already full. "There is a lesson in this," the Maggid said. "The glass is a lifeless object and it holds only a certain amount. This is even more true of a human being, who has life and will power and therefore should know the limit of his capacity for alcohol."
• In New York, reporter H. Allen Smith was sitting at a lunch counter when a filthy, drunken bum came in. The bum said, "Men, I ain't going to ast you for money to buy a cuppa coffee. I ain't gonna tell you that I ain't eat nothing in four days. Men, I am an old-fashion drunk. I got to have booze. I tell you, I gotto have it! You would be doing me a great favor if you would help me out a little." Everyone at the lunch counter chipped in, and the bum walked out with a good amount of money. The moral, if there is one: Honesty pays.
• Operatic tenor Leo Slezak knew an alcoholic who called every drink an "okrepa"-that is, a strengthener-so he called the alcoholic "Okrepa." The alcoholic spent all his money on drink, and so he never bought a railway ticket. Instead, he would arrange to be in the dining car when the ticket inspector came, and instead of purchasing a ticket, he would draw the ticket inspector into conversation and buy him drinks. Unfortunately, this always cost the alcoholic much more than simply buying the ticket would have.
• George Washington once signed a mock contract with his gardener. The contract provided money for the gardener to get drunk and specified for how long the gardener could remain drunk. According to the contract, the gardener was to receive "four Dollars at Christmas, with which he may be drunk 4 days and 4 nights; two Dollars at Easter to effect the same purpose; two Dollars also at Whitsontide, to be drunk two days; A Dram in the morning, and a drink of Grog at Dinner or at Noon."
• As a reporter, H. Allen Smith was able to interview many of the world's celebrities, some of whom acted rather strangely. According to Mr. Smith, writer John Steinbeck, author of The Grapes of Wrath, hated giving interviews, so before Mr. Smith arrived for an interview, Mr. Steinbeck got drunk. During the interview, Mr. Steinbeck occasionally broke out into bawdy song, singing, "With lecherous howls, I deflower young owls."
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
McGahn
"Really good guy--lot of affection for him--he's done a really good job--he's been with me a long time"--save that clip from today!
When what McGahn has said to Mueller comes out & Predator tries to say he barely knew him & he only got coffee a time or two, rub his face in the clip!
Stuart shared the history meme.
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda (& Stuart)!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
"THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!
'WHITE TRASH RACIST GOPher'
THE BATTLE OF THE JUDGES.
"YOU'RE FIRED!
"SARAH PALIN IS NOT INVITED TO JOHN McCAIN'S FUNERAL."
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, seasonal.
Lost Film
Orson Welles
Netflix has released the first trailer for Orson Welles' lost film The Other Side of the Wind, which the streaming service acquired after the late director's collaborators assembled the film over 40 years after the footage was shot.
The Other Side of the Wind - filmed between 1970 and 1977 and featuring a cast that includes filmmakers John Huston and Peter Bogdanovich and Welles' then-girlfriend Oja Kodar - arrives on the streaming service and select theaters on November 2nd.
The film "tells the story of grizzled director J.J. 'Jake' Hannaford (Huston), who returns to Los Angeles after years in self-exile in Europe with plans to complete work on his own innovative comeback movie. Both a satire of the classic studio system and the New Hollywood that was shaking things up, Welles's last artistic testament is a fascinating time capsule of a now-distant era in moviemaking as well as the long-awaited 'new' work from an indisputable master," Netflix wrote of the movie.
Deadline offers a breakdown of The Other Side of the Wind's plagued production, with financiers frequently and mysteriously dropping the project mid-filming. One seven-minute sex scene alone required two years and three different locations to complete, and Huston - the epicenter of the film - wasn't cast in the role until three years into The Other Side of the Wind's production.
While Welles never completed the film in his lifetime, his longtime production manager Frank Marshall and Filip Jan Rymsza took hold of thousands of reels of footage that had languished in a Paris vault in order to assemble the film. Their cut of the movie - based on Welles' own notes and script - boasts a new score by legendary composer Michel Legrand.
Orson Welles
Star Wars Fan
Jedi Way
A 10-year-old boy who needed hospital treatment after being beaten up by bullies, refused to fight back because "it's not the Jedi way", his mother said.
Lizette Casanova said her son Aiden Vasquez "felt it in his soul not to hit the kid back", while being tormented by a classmate at his California school.
The Star Wars fan's ordeal came to the attention of Mark Hamill - who played Luke Skywalker in the film series - who said of the boy, he was "astonished by his wisdom and courage".
After Aiden's story was brought to the attention of Hamill on Twitter, the actor tweeted: "I'm astonished by his wisdom and courage [at] such a tender age.
"I may be a fictional Jedi, but this boy is the real deal. I hope he sees this message and knows how much I admire him."
Jedi Way
To Conclude
'Mr. Robot'
Mr. Robot will end its acclaimed run with an expanded fourth season in 2019. Sam Esmail's USA Network hacker drama, which was originally set to feature another eight episodes, will now wrap with 12 final installments, The Hollywood Reporter notes.
The show's writers worked in two installments to accommodate Esmail's work on Amazon's Julia Roberts-starring limited series, Homecoming. The creator-showrunner considered expanding the series to a fifth season but ultimately felt the show needed a finish to craft a satisfying ending.
As THR notes, Esmail always envisioned Mr. Robot as a fairly concise project, a deliberate effort to avoid "treading water." "I've always said it's four or five seasons, and I've said that because I think it's somewhere in between," he told the publication in December following the Season Three finale. "Whether that means the next two seasons are two short seasons, or it could technically still be two full 10-episode seasons, we're still kind of figuring that out. It's something the writers' room and I take very seriously."
Mr. Robot, which premiered in June 2015, helped reinvent the USA Network with darker, more adventurous original content. The show has earned numerous awards and nominations, including a 2016 Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (star Rami Malek).
In addition to his work on Mr. Robot and Homecoming, Malek has several other projects in development, including a USA drama pilot called Briarpatch. Malek will star as Freddie Mercury in the upcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
'Mr. Robot'
Drops Out of 'Joker' Movie
Alec Baldwin
Just two days after it was announced that Alec Baldwin would be playing Batman's father, Thomas Wayne, in Joaquin Phoenix's "Joker" movie, he revealed that he's exited the project.
Variety confirmed the news on Wednesday after the actor told USA Today that he'd be dropping out.
"I'm no longer doing that movie," he told the outlet. "I'm sure there are 25 guys who can play that part."
Baldwin also cited "scheduling" issues to USA Today, but just earlier on Wednesday, he had taken to Twitter to dispel rumors that his Thomas Wayne would be inspired by Donald Trump. Baldwin won an Emmy for portraying Trump on "Saturday Night Live" last year, and is up for another Emmy for the role this year.
Alec Baldwin
Defined What Can Be Considered Meat
Missouri
What is in a name? A great deal, as far as the US state of Missouri is concerned. A new state law went into effect Tuesday banning manufacturers from marketing lab-grown and plant-based meat substitutes with terms that previously implied meat products.
In short, no burgers made of tofu or sausages made of vegetables. If it didn't come from an animal, it isn't meat in Missouri.
The law -- the first of its kind in the country -- was championed by the state's powerful beef industry. The legislature approved it in May.
The meat substitute industry, represented by the Good Food Institute, expressed its displeasure Monday with a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the law, claiming it is akin to censorship.
Missouri is not alone, no matter its motives. A similar debate is raging in Europe, where the EU's Court of Justice last year ruled plant-based producers of dairy-like products cannot market with dairy terms such as cheese and yogurt.
Missouri
Stayed Hidden
Atlantic Coral Reef
For thousands of years - perhaps hundreds of thousands - a sizable coral reef has stretched across the seafloor in the Atlantic Ocean, near the southeastern part of the U.S. And its existence remained a well-hidden secret until a recent deep-sea expedition brought the thriving ecosystem to light.
Scientists on board the research vessel (RV) Atlantis discovered the reef last week, about 160 miles (257 kilometers) off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, the HuffPost reported. Cameras on a submersible deployed from Atlanis - the human-operated vehicle (HOV) Alvin - captured the unexpected sight of dense, cold-water coral populations seeding the sea bottom about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) below the ocean surface.
The site was covered with living corals - "just mountains of it" - growing atop the massive, skeletal remains of dead corals that had likely been inhabiting the area for millennia, expedition lead scientist Erik Cordes, an associate professor in the Department of Biology at Temple University in Philadelphia, told the HuffPost.
Scientists used Alvin to explore the reef and collect coral samples during dives on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24, according to the HuffPost. The researchers discovered copious amounts of Lophelia pertusa, a branching, whitish coral that prefers cold waters and that has previously been found growing at record depths in the Gulf of Mexico.
While tropical corals typically rely on symbiotic algae to survive, L. pertusadoes not, and it uses stinging tentacles to stun its prey and guide food into its stomach, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Atlantic Coral Reef
King Edward VII
Freemasons
For those not initiated in the ways of the brotherhood, it remains a shadowy world of intrigue.
But the Freemasons are to next month lift the lid on their proud ties to the British Royal family with the largest exhibition of their jewels ever staged.
The Museum of Freemasonry will next month put jewels owned by Edward VII, who was Grand Master before he ascended to the throne on display for the British public, explaining in full for the first time his long term relationship with the brothers.
The exhibition will see some his personal jewels, left to the museum after his death, put on display to the wider public for the first time, in an effort to tell the story of how he used his membership to mix more widely with society than he could in royal life.
Around 150 jewels, including those once owned by the Duke of Connaught, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling, will also go on display in what the museum calls the "first major exhibition of masonic jewels in the UK".
Freemasons
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