Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andrew Tobias: 9 Intriguing Apps; 10 Upbeat Messages
"I know there is a feeling among many progressives that they have lost, that the future is a foregone conclusion. They see the forces arrayed against them on the battlefield of justice and feel the doom of certain and impending defeat. But turn to your left and right and see the long lines of fellow citizens. Look behind you and see the formidable artillery of wealth and power that is on YOUR side. Take a deep breath and feel the cool air of hope and justice in your lungs, and then march forward. #steady #courage" - Dan Rather
Paul Waldman: Trump is breaking his central 2016 campaign promise. Will voters remember? (Washington Post)
It is now two years later, and it turns out that not only is Mexico never going to pay for a wall, even Republicans in Congress don't want it. It's not that they dislike the idea, they just think it is more political trouble than it is worth, especially given that polls show nearly 60 percent of Americans oppose it. So they keep putting it off, telling Trump that they'll eventually get around to it - just not right now.
Greg Sargent: Trump's latest abuse of power is likely to blow up in his face (Washington Post)
In reality, this is an effort at obfuscation, concealment, deception, and the weaponizing of the oversight process for "partisan political ends." If recent precedent is any guide, the release itself will broadly confirm this - even though Trump and his allies will lie uncontrollably to the contrary.
Jonathan Chait: Republican Memo Admits Voters Oppose Republican Policies (NY Mag)
The popular ideas, in other words, all involve higher domestic spending. The Republican survey also warns that a "challenge for GOP candidates is that most voters believe that the GOP wants to cut back on these programs in order to provide tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy." Probably because they do!
Parker Molloy: "'It's OK to be scared' and 9 other messages we all probably need to hear right now." (Upworthy)
8. If you lose hope, you lose. That's what your adversaries want.
Writer Alex Steffen reminds people that giving up on hope is the first step towards giving up altogether. "Embrace defiant optimism," he wrote.
Garrison Keillor: Old man in his pew among the Piskies
My aunts and uncles and cousins are there who didn't come to the wedding because it was my third marriage, and we're all singing, "Give me Jesus." We're together with people who disapprove of us almost as much as we do of them and we are all singing.
Maev Kennedy: Sailor's rape confession uncovered in 17th-century journal (The Guardian)
National Maritime Museum discovers concealed note in Edward Barlow's diary.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
replied:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• Actor Sheldon Leonard was surprised by the theatrical audiences in Palm Springs. While he was touring in Margin for Error, he noticed that on opening night the theater was packed with Palm Springs socialites, dressed to the hilt. However, after the intermission, the theater was half empty. This made Mr. Leonard worry, until the theater manager told him, "It's always that way. They come for the opening. The women see what all the other women are wearing and that's it. Off they go, back home."
• Gertrude Stein was able to buy paintings by Picasso and other famous artists early in their careers partly because she economized on clothing. In a conversation with Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, she advised Hadley to buy clothes for durability and not for style, and to buy paintings with the money thus saved. During the conversation, Hadley had a difficult time refraining from looking at Ms. Stein's eccentric and decidedly unfashionable clothing.
• Giacomo Puccini's first big success was the opera Manon Lescaut, for which soprano Lucrezia Bori once bought a beautiful dress in which to make her debut as Manon in a revival. Puccini visited her backstage, looked at the dress, and told her that it was too lovely-after all, her character was supposed to be penniless and starving. Then, to make the dress more suitable to her character, he splashed it with coffee. Ms. Bori was not pleased with Puccini's attention to detail.
• Clara Louise Kellogg (1842-1916) owned her own opera costumes. While performing in La Traviata, she discovered that the co-starring tenor had chronically dirty hands and was leaving his fingerprints on her costumes. Ms. Kellogg spoke with the offending tenor, who offered to wash his hands before performances if she bought the soap-which she did for the remaining performances.
• Sometimes, it can be difficult to coordinate clothing with one's friends. Once, Peter Ustinov invited Wolf Mankowitz to attend a play. When they met to go to the play, Mr. Ustinov was wearing comfortable clothing, but Mr. Mankowitz was dressed up. Then Mr. Mankowitz invited Mr. Ustinov to attend a play. This time when they met to go to the play, Mr. Mankowitz was wearing comfortable clothing, but Mr. Ustinov was dressed up.
• Oliver Herford always wore suits of the same color. Mr. Herford explained that each spring he sent his tailor a sample of his dandruff and asked him to match it exactly. He once wore an outrageous derby, explaining that it was a whim of his wife's. Advised to throw the derby away, he declined, saying, "You don't know my wife-she has a whim of iron."
• In Paris, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who was later to be Pope John XXIII, attended a reception at which the hostess wore a low-cut gown. Everyone watched Father Roncalli to see his reaction to the hostess' clothing, and he set everyone at ease by saying, "I can't imagine why all the guests keep looking at me, a poor old sinner, when my neighbor, our charming hostess, is so much younger and more attractive."
• Throughout his life, Jackie Gleason kept gaining and losing weight. Eventually, he had three sets of clothing-one for when he weighed 200 pounds, one for 240 pounds, and one for 280 pounds. He called the largest set of clothing his hippopotamus clothes.
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Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
THE RIGHT TO EXIST.
THE RIGHT TO EXIST. PART TWO.
WHEN THE POLICE ARE THE MURDERERS.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Couple of coyotes in the front yard. Yikes.
Editor Out
New York Review of Books
The editor of The New York Review of Books has abruptly left his post following an outcry when the magazine published an essay by a former radio host accused of sexual misconduct that many deemed self-serving.
Ian Buruma, who was appointed to lead the magazine last year, is "no longer the editor," according to Nicholas During, a publicist for The New York Review of Books. It was unclear if Buruma was fired or resigned.
The magazine came under fire last week for publishing "Reflections From a Hashtag," an essay by Jian Ghomeshi, who has been accused of sexual assault and punching and choking women without their consent.
Critics say the 3,400-word essay had inaccuracies, minimized Ghomeshi's actions and was an egotistical attempt to rehabilitate himself. Farrah Khan of Ryerson University wondered why the magazine gave Ghomeshi such a platform while many people affected by sexual violence are not.
Buruma later defended publishing the essay in an interview with Slate, saying he was "no judge of the rights and wrongs of every allegation" and that the specifics of Ghomeshi's past misconduct were not his "concern."
New York Review of Books
Good Insurance
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus isn't kidding herself when it comes to how lucky she is to be in recovery after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
"It is not lost on me how dire my circumstances would be if I did not have really strong insurance through my union," the Emmy-winning actress, 57, told People on Tuesday. "And the idea of not being covered when you're in a crisis, from a health care point of view, is an unconscionable thing to me."
The "Veep" star announced her cancer diagnosis in 2017, shortly after winning her sixth straight Emmy award for her role in the HBO series. Production for "Veep" was delayed as Louis-Dreyfus underwent treatment that included chemotherapy and surgery. She completed her treatment earlier this year and returned to shoot Season 7 of "Veep" in August. She told The Associated Press she "feels good."
The longstanding Democrat is also advocating for the cause by partnering with registered federal PAC Local Majority. In a video directed by her husband Brad Hall, she urges people to vote and volunteer ahead of the upcoming midterm election, explaining, "when you volunteer, you multiply your votes."
"I'm a cancer survivor, and I am really lucky because I had access to excellent health insurance, even with a pre-existing condition. That's the way it should be for absolutely everybody, and it's not," she says in the video. "The Republican Congress is making it worse, but the Democrats can change that."
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Slams Current 'SNL'
Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase did not mince words when he described his feelings on the current state of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," which is readying for its 44th season.
"I don't want to put down Lorne [Michaels] or the cast, but I'll just say, maybe off the record, I'm amazed that Lorne has gone so low. I had to watch a little of it, and I just couldn't f-ing believe it," Chase told the Washington Post during a lengthy interview. The reporter noted that he was very much on the record here. "That means a whole generation of s-heads laughs at the worst f-ing humor in the world," he said. "You know what I mean? How could you dare give that generation worse s- than they already have in their lives? It just drives me nuts."
He described Will Ferrell, one of the most famous former castmembers, as "just not funny." Tina Fey? ""I liked Tina. I didn't see what all the folderol was about. She was good." On Kristen Wiig, he said: "I liked her a lot. She had two things going for her. She had clear-cut chops, and she was pretty, too. But what happened to her? Where did she go?"
OK, but Chase had to like Eddie Murphy right? He kept the show alive during the early 1980s Dick Ebersol-led years. "I thought Eddie Murphy was funny. Gumby. I found that funny and people loved that. . . . Stevie Wonder, he did well," he said. "It's not that hard, for Christ's sake. Your skin's the same color. You just put on some sunglasses and do this."
You can read the full interview with Chase here.
Chevy Chase
Quits NRA Board Of Directors
Tom Selleck
Actor Tom Selleck, star of such TV crime dramas as "Magnum, P.I." and "Blue Bloods" and an ardent gun collector, has resigned from the National Rifle Association's board of directors.
"Tom Selleck has stepped down from the board of the NRA due to his work schedule," his publicist, Annett Wolf, said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Wednesday.
"Mr. Selleck remains a member of the NRA," she said.
In his re-election to the board for a three-year term in 2017, Selleck, 73, received 110,000 votes, nearly 20,000 more than the next closest candidate.
Asked in a telephone interview whether Selleck's resignation from the board had anything to do with NRA policy, Wolf declined to comment.
Tom Selleck
'Discovered' Off US Coast
HMS Endeavour
Archaeologists claim to have discovered the missing HMS Endeavour off the coast of the United States in what would be one of the most significant findings in Australian history.
Experts at the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (Rimap) say they have tracked down the resting place of Captain Cook's doomed vessel, which found Australia in 1770.
The ship was later used by the British royal navy in the American war of independence, at which point it was scuttled off the coast of Rhode Island in 1778.
However, some researchers have called for caution, stressing that the wreckage was yet to be confirmed as HMS Endeavour.
HMS Endeavour was renamed Lord Sandwich and sent to meet its fate at the Battle of Rhode Island
HMS Endeavour
Strongest Material in the Universe?
(Nuclear) Pasta
How to cook "nuclear pasta" in three easy steps:
1. Boil one large, dying star until it goes supernova and explodes. (This could take a billion years, so be patient.)
2. Vigorously stir any leftover protons and electrons inside the star's shriveled core until they merge into a soup of ultradense neutrons. Apply as much gravity as necessary.
3. Scrunch the neutron stew into an airtight sphere the size of Toronto. Cover in a crystalline crust and serve at 1.08 million degrees Fahrenheit (600,000 degrees Celsius).
For several years, astrophysicists have noodled with the idea that such a linguini-like tangle of matter might be rippling around inside neutron stars- the relatively small, unbelievably dense stars that form after massive suns collapse under their own gravity.
(Nuclear) Pasta
1,000-Foot-Long
Spider Web
The tranquil beaches of Greece are an ideal destination for a summer fling, especially if you are a hungry, web-flinging spider. Residents of Aitoliko, an island village perched between two bridges in western Greece, recently woke up to see their local beaches overtaken by such amorous arachnid action - and the results are far more Halloween than Valentine's Day.
In an eerie video posted yesterday (Sept. 18) by YouTube user Giannis Giannakopoulos, you can see the strange fruits of the Grecian spider love-fest take the form of a massive, 1,000-foot-long (300 meters) network of webs stretched over the coast. Shrubs shrug under the net of silk. Palm fronds hang tangled in an unstoppable bad hair day. And, below it all, pairs of spiders are busy building, eating and, of course, reproducing.
Greek news website Newsit.gr asked a biology expert to weigh in on this web of intrigue - and it turns out, it's not as unusual as it seems. According to Maria Chatzaki, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Democritus University of Thrace, it's a seasonal occurrence.
"The phenomenon we observed in Aitoliko is not unprecedented," Chatzaki told Newsit in an interview (translated from Greek). "It is a seasonal phenomenon that occurs mainly at the end of the summer and early autumn, and is caused by the spiders of the genus Tetragnatha."
Tetragnatha spiders are sometimes called "stretch spiders" for their long, ovular bodies. They live all over the world near watery habitats and are prolific web builders. These webs, which were also tweeted out by Agrinionews.gr, are good not just for capturing prey like flies and mosquitoes, but also for nesting.
Spider Web
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