Recommended Reading
from Bruce
E.D. Hirsch Jr.: How Schools Fail Democracy (chronicle.com)
Recent town-hall meetings on health care were contentious and none too civil. Yet there was a bright spot beneath the rancor. Some participants managed to communicate effectively in grammatical sentences, using standard pronunciation, vocabulary, and common allusions like "the bully pulpit." They showed themselves proficient in the language conventions of the American public sphere, and so were able to participate actively in political life.
Matt Miller: The Right's Shameless Gambit (thedailybeast.com)
Once the party of fiscal sanity, the Republicans are now wailing that the Democrats' health-care plan cheats seniors out of money. Matt Miller on how they scare grandma.
Bill Maher: If America Can't Get it Together, We Lose the Bald Eagle (huffingtonpost.com)
New Rule: If America can't get its act together, it must lose the bald eagle as our symbol and replace it with the YouTube video of the puppy that can't get up. As long as we're pathetic, we might as well act like it's cute. I don't care about the president's birth certificate, I do want to know what happened to "Yes we can." Can we get out of Iraq? No. Afghanistan? No. Fix health care? No. Close Gitmo? No. Cap-and-trade carbon emissions? No. The Obamas have been in Washington for ten months and it seems like the only thing they've gotten is a dog.
Mark Morford: First the candy, then the bullets (sfgate.com)
Good news, meet bad news. How do you parse and spit and swallow?
"The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business" by Nelson Lichtenstein: A review by Jefferson Decker (The Nation; Posted on powells.com)
In October 2003 employees at more than 800 chain supermarkets in California walked out of their jobs after management demanded pay cuts and a reduction in health insurance benefits. The ensuing strike and lockout were notable for the number of workers involved (59,000), the duration of the conflict (more than four months) and the defeat eventually suffered by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which represented the workers.
Carla Meyer: After fighting off lung cancer, Merle Haggard returns to the stage (McClatchy Newspapers)
During the course of his long career, Merle Haggard has racked up 38 No. 1 country hits, sung with George, Dolly and Willie, toured with Bob (Dylan, that is), entered the Country Music Hall of Fame, recorded with Toby Keith and publicly defended the Dixie Chicks.
Mike Farley: A Chat with Paul Meany, Mutemath Singer (bullz-eye.com)
"You can only beat your head against the wall for so long trying to come up with songs and write songs that you're unhappy with. So, it was good. We pushed ourselves as far as we could possibly push. "
Hollywood ending: How LeBron James helped Kris Belman survive film school (latimes.com)
"More Than a Game," is a soul-stirring documentary and an inspirational model for filmmakers.
The Sex Wars (curvemag.com)
Lipstick and Dipstick's porn-related advice caused a ruckus. Now, it's your turn to weigh in.
Hot 'n' Heavy (curvemag.com)
Queer porn maven Courtney Trouble offers up her Top 9 sexy adult flicks - made by lesbians, for lesbians.
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World's Oldest Cities
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
'Back to School Night' at Poly.
Cripes, I'm so old I remember when it was called 'Open House'.
50 Years Later
'The Twilight Zone'
On a Friday night in October 1959, Americans began slipping into a dimension of imagination as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. They've really never returned.
"The Twilight Zone," first submitted for the public's approval by a reluctant CBS, has resonated with viewers from generation to generation with memorable stories carrying universal messages about society's ills and the human condition.
CBS has no plans to observe the show's 50th anniversary, said spokesman Chris Ender. The show has enjoyed nearly uninterrupted popularity through television, syndication and DVD releases and is under license to air in 30 countries, he said.
The Syfy Channel regularly broadcasts The Twilight Zone and plans a 15-show marathon Oct. 2.
Anniversary observances are planned in Binghamton, N.Y., where Rod Serling grew up and went to high school; at Ithaca College in New York, where Serling taught from 1967 until his death in 1975, and which keeps Serling's archives; and at Antioch College in Ohio, where Serling was a student - met his wife, Carol - and later taught.
'The Twilight Zone'
Hosting Nobel Concert
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
American rap artist and actor Will Smith and his wife, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith, will co-host this year's Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, organizers said Wednesday.
The Dec. 11 show - a day after the award ceremony - will feature performances by Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi as well as Amadou & Mariam, a blues and jazz duet from Mali.
The winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced in Oslo on Oct. 9. The award is always handed out Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
Stepping Down
Stephen Hawking
Acclaimed wheelchair-bound British scientist Stephen Hawking is to hand over his top Cambridge University job this week, the prestigious seat of learning said on Wednesday.
Hawking, whose book "A Brief History Of Time" became an international best-seller, is standing down as Cambridge's Lucasian professor of mathematics at the age of 67, as stipulated in the terms of the post.
Hawking, who suffers from motor neurone disease, will continue to work with the university after his last day in the professorship on Wednesday, a university spokesman said.
The new Lucasian professor will be announced shortly.
Stephen Hawking
Baffled By 'Woodstock' Results
Ang Lee
Ang Lee says he's baffled by the poor box office results of "Taking Woodstock" - the Oscar-winning director's worst-performing English-language movie in the U.S. in 10 years.
The Focus Features comedy, which chronicles the buildup to the 1969 rock 'n' roll gathering that drew half a million fans, had earned $7.4 million in the U.S. as of Monday, according to the box office tracking Web site Box Office Mojo. It's Lee's worst outing at the box office for an English film since "Ride with the Devil," which made $635,096. The 1999 western had a limited release of 60 theaters compared to 1,395 for "Taking Woodstock."
Attending the Hong Kong premiere for "Taking Woodstock" late Wednesday, the Taiwanese director said he's not sure why the film tanked.
"I'm not sure why. I think the movie is quite good. I'm very proud of it. Maybe people wanted to see the actual Woodstock festival, or maybe Woodstock isn't attractive to youngsters," Lee told reporters.
Ang Lee
More Concerts
Wolfgang's Vault
The once controversial Wolfgang's Vault, which has amassed the largest collection of licensed streaming live recordings on the Internet, is about to make a treasure trove of those concerts available for downloading.
Beginning November 3, the site will add more than 1,000 titles from 919 artists to the approximately 500 that are currently available for purchase from the site's Concert Vault section, Bill Sagan, CEO and founder of Wolfgang's Vault LLC and its parent company, Norton LLC, told Billboard.com.
Leading up to the November 3 "Cracking the Vault Day" blowout, Wolfgang's Vault -- which recently logged its 100 millionth streamed show -- is offering a small amount of new shows twice weekly. The site just put up a Grateful Dead concert (from May 15, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City); future releases include Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt (October 2), Hall & Oates and Boz Scaggs (October 6), Santana and Chicago (October 9), Lou Reed (October 13), Miles Davis, Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra (October 16), Twisted Sister and the Ramones (October 20), the Byrds, Dolly Parton and Waylon Jennings (October 23), Cheap Trick (October 27) and Mountain (October 30). Newly streaming shows from Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd will be made available October 30.
The download prices will be $7.98 and $8.98 for MP3s and $11.98 and $12.98 for Flac recordings. Wolfgang's vault will also introduce a $48 annual membership which includes a $50 gift certificate, discounts on recordings and memorabilia and unlimited higher-end 192k streaming.
Wolfgang's Vault
Lying Lawyer
David F. Wells
A former prosecutor who told a documentary film crew that he advised a judge handling Roman Polanski's case now says he lied about that.
David F. Wells says he lied to the makers of "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" about telling a judge in chambers that he should send the director to prison. The statements became part of the basis for a move by Polanski's attorneys to dismiss the case against the fugitive director, who is now in Swiss custody.
Wells retired as a prosecutor more than two years ago.
He says he "embellished" his actions to the film makers because he was told the documentary would air in France, not the United States.
David F. Wells
"Pulp Fiction" Screenwriter Jailed
Roger Avary
Oscar-winning "Pulp Fiction" screenwriter Roger Avary was sentenced to a year in jail on Wednesday after killing a newlywed Italian passenger in a drunken driving crash in California last year.
Avary, 44, pleaded guilty in August to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other charges stemming from the January 2008 collision that killed his Italian friend Andreas Zini and injured Avary's wife. The crash occurred in the city of Ojai, 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edward Brodie also sentenced Avary to five years of probation. During sentencing, it was disclosed that Avary had separately settled a civil suit filed by Zini's family for $4.1 million.
Avary was driving his wife, Gretchen, and Zini from a restaurant when he crashed his Mercedes into a telephone pole at more than 100 miles per hour, according to investigators.
Roger Avary
Lingerie Scandal
Miss Singapore World
Beauty queen Miss Singapore World has given up her crown after it emerged that she had stolen credit cards to go on a shopping spree for lingerie. Ris Low had come under public pressure to be stripped of her 2009 title, after local media reported she stole seven credit cards last year while working at a medical clinic, buying goods worth about S$8,000 ($5,662) including gold anklets and phones.
Organizers of the pageant ERM World Marketing said she had resigned Tuesday of her own accord. She will no longer represent Singapore at the Miss World finals to be held in South Africa in December, but her replacement has not yet been decided.
Low had also been criticized for her poor English, mispronouncing "bikini" in a recent video, leading others in multicultural Singapore to spring to her defense and soul-searching on websites about the national character.
Miss Singapore World
Estate Sues Foundation
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's estate on Tuesday sued a foundation that bears the name of one of his most famous songs, "Heal the World."
The federal court lawsuit claims the Heal the World Foundation is improperly using trademarks and Web sites to create the impression they were approved by Jackson to solicit donations.
The suit claims Jackson created a charity based on his hit "Heal the World" in 1992, but it dissolved a decade later. "Defendants' acts of infringement and unfair competition have been committed with the intent to cause confusion, mistake and to deceive," the lawsuit claims.
The current Heal the World Foundation was formed in 2008 and trademarked its name. The lawsuit claims the foundation has sought trademarks for terms associated with Jackson, such as "Thriller," "Neverland" and "King of Pop."
Michael Jackson
Tourism Group Changes Name
WTF
A Wisconsin tourism lobbying group is changing its name after realizing its initials formed a crude acronym.
The Wisconsin Tourism Federation group did a quiet rebranding in July, changing its name to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin and updating its logo from WTF to TFW after it was featured on Web sites and blogs poking fun at it. It had no way of knowing 30 years ago that the letters would go on to take on a crude association.
Lead lobbyist for the group, Chet Gerlach, said Wednesday that the federation made the change after the meaning of the common text message lingo was brought to their attention.
WTF
Cable Nielsen's
Ratings
Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable television networks as compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of Sept. 21-27. Days and start times (EDT) are in parentheses:
1. NFL Football: Colts vs. Dolphins (Monday, 8:30 p.m.), ESPN, 10.85 million homes, 14.71 million viewers.
2. College Football: Mississippi vs. South Carolina (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.), ESPN, 3.61 million homes, 4.72 million viewers.
3. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.57 million homes, 5.26 million viewers.
4. "Monk" (Friday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.27 million homes, 4.74 million viewers.
5. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.26 million homes, 4.76 million viewers.
6. "iCarly" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.22 million homes, 4.66 million viewers.
7. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.20 million homes, 4.10 million viewers.
8. "Sonny with a Chance" (Sunday, 8 p.m.), Disney, 3.151 million homes, 4.17 million viewers.
9. "SportsCenter" (Monday, 11:36 p.m.), ESPN, 3.145 million homes, 3.99 million viewers.
10. Movie: "Meet the Robinsons" (Friday, 9 p.m.), Disney, 3.07 million homes, 4.55 million viewers.
11. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Saturday, 9 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.91 million homes, 3.69 million viewers.
12. "Monsters vs. Aliens" Special (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.89 million homes, 3.62 million viewers.
13. "Suite Life on Deck" (Friday, 8:30 p.m.), Disney, 2.874 million homes, 3.99 million viewers.
14. "Penguins of Madagascar" (Saturday, 10 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 2.871 million homes, 3.66 million viewers.
15. "NCIS" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.), USA, 2.84 million homes, 3.67 million viewers.
Ratings
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