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SPECIAL EDITION: The (Occasional) Veterans Report
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Kludt: 'House Of Turds': NY Daily News Mocks Boehner As Shutdown Arrives (PHOTO) (Talking Points Memo)
A prominent New York City tabloid marked the first government shutdown since 1996 on Tuesday with a cover that parodies a hit political drama and mocks House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).
Paul Krugman: The Economics and Politics of Chaos (New York Times)
There's a definite class-war aspect to this fight, pitting the interests of the 0.1 percent against those of lower-income families. But at this point the 0.1 percent, by and large, are pleading with the GOP to knock it off. So while class war may have been where this started, the monster has long since escaped from its cage; even Karl Rove, more or less the designated defender of upper-class privileges, is whining that the party won't listen to him.
Decca Aitkenhead: "Jennifer Saunders: 'Everyone's always saying, "You're frightening"'" (Guardian)
The star of Absolutely Fabulous talks about Dawn French and Joanna Lumley, performing in front of militant audiences in the 80s - and why she wanted to write an 'all right' memoir.
Interviews by Chris Michael: "How we made Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" (Guardian)
Michael Palin and Terry Jones recall the hilarity on the set of their 1983 classic - and reveal what Mr Creosote's vomit was made of.
Rebecca Nicholson: "Breaking Bad series finale - TV review" (Guardian)
The saga of meth mogul Walter White has finally reached its hotly anticipated conclusion. But did we get what we deserved?
Vince Gilligan explains the Breaking Bad finale (Guardian)
"We went through a lot of false starts and endings that went nowhere, but we knew we needed to dot all the Is and cross all the Ts ... In some cases unanswered questions are good, but in this case, in a finite and closed-ended show, we needed resolution. The Sopranos ending I thought was great, I thought it was perfect for that show. This story was finite all along. It's a story that starts at A and ends at Z. It's a very closed-ended thing."
Janine: 51 Halloween Treats Made Simple
This collection includes a variety of Halloween treats. Each creative sweet includes a recipe and/or step-by-step directions so that you can pick out your favorites and make them on your own. Are you ready for some sweet (and spooky) inspiration?
David Bruce: Wise Up! Television (Athens News)
In 1971, David Davis and Lorenzo Music were asked to present an idea for a new TV series at CBS. When they met with CBS executive Alan Wagner, Mr. Music remembers, "We said that our idea was - that we didn't have an idea." Mr. Wagner replied, "I like it -- tell me more." This was a wise answer, for Mr. Davis and Mr. Music created "The Bob Newhart Show."
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David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Marine layer hung heavy until mid-afternoon.
Du Bois Medals
Harvard
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and director and producer Steven Spielberg were among six people Wednesday to receive Harvard University's highest honor in the field of African and African-American studies.
Harvard honored its W.E.B. Du Bois medal winners at a ceremony Wednesday. The medals have been awarded since 2000.
The Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research, which presents the medals, credited Sotomayor with being the first Latina to serve on the high court and for speaking frequently of her upbringing, helping to influence and inspire children trying to succeed in the face of adversity.
The medals were also given to senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, playwright Tony Kushner, Georgia civil rights activist and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, and NBA Commissioner David Stern.
Harvard
'Possible' Son Is Sinatra's
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow says in an interview with Vanity Fair that it's possible her son with Woody Allen is instead Frank Sinatra's.
Farrow told the magazine that she and Sinatra "never really split up" and when asked if Ronan Farrow might actually be Sinatra's son, she answered, "Possibly."
A representative for Allen told The Associated Press, "The article is so fictitious and extravagantly absurd that he is not going to comment."
Mia Farrow was married to Sinatra for 18 months. Asked about the Sinatra family's relationship with Ronan, the singer's daughter, Nancy Sinatra Jr., told the magazine he "is a big part of us, and we are blessed to have him in our lives."
Ronan Farrow graduated from college at 15 and went to Yale Law School before becoming a Rhodes scholar and special adviser to the Secretary of State for global youth issues.
Mia Farrow
"What the Fluff?" Festival
Fluff
Just mention Fluff to people who grew up in New England, and you'll get lots of smiles and enthusiastic nods.
The gooey, sugary marshmallow treat invented almost a century ago is still enormously popular, despite concerns about childhood obesity. Last year, the company that makes Marshmallow Fluff sold about 8 million pounds of the white creme, and a bill to make the Fluffernutter - peanut butter and Fluff on bread - the official state sandwich has been reintroduced in the Legislature.
Outside New England, Fluff is not nearly as well-known. Grocery stores in other parts of the country usually place Fluff in the baking aisle because it is used in recipes for fudge and other desserts, or in the ice cream section because it is sometimes used as a topping. But in New England, Fluff is in the bread aisle - right next to the peanut butter.
In Somerville, where the concoction was invented, the eighth annual "What the Fluff?" festival drew about 11,000 people last weekend. Enthusiasts ate Fluff-inspired food and participated in a Fluff "Lick-Off" contest, Fluff bowling and Sticky Musical Chairs.
Fluff
More Civilized
Vikings
Vikings were so savage they gave birth to legendary tails of brutal warfare and conquest. At least that's what we've been taught to believe. However, a new study suggests that Vikings may have in fact had much more complicated social structures than previously thought.
Science Daily reports that a new study from researchers at Coventry University examined more than 1,500 characters in Viking literature and finds similar tales to those found in other cultural histories, including "family sagas."
"This quantitative investigation is very different to traditional approaches to comparative studies of ancient texts, which focus on qualitative aspects," said Professor Ralph Kenna of Coventry University's Applied Mathematics Research Centre. "Rather than individuals and events, the new approach looks at interactions and reveals new insights -- that the Icelandic sagas have similar properties to those of real-world social networks."
According to the 2002 article, "The Origins of the Imaginary Viking," the concept of the "noble savage" Viking was first formulated in the 18th century and became an accepted form of popular history over the next 100 years. Of course, the concept of a purely savage culture does not comport with a set of people who produced vast sums of literature and were known for their expert boat craftsmanship, amongst other qualities.
The results of the Coventry study were published in the new issue of the European Physical Journal. They say the relationships and social network found within the texts of the Sagas of Icelanders provide insight into how the actual Viking societies operated.
Vikings
Family Feud
Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem is 81 years old and in deteriorating health. His kids haven't seen him for months, his brother hasn't seen him for a year, and his friends haven't seen him for even longer. They all say Kasem's wife, Jean, is the reason why.
On Tuesday, they held a protest at the Kasem estate in Holmby Hills and shot their own footage to get the word out.
Kerri Kasem, one of the radio legend's three children from his first marriage, wants to see her ailing father, and she's not alone. She says her father's wife won't answer their phone calls and tells them to go away when they show up at her door.
Casey's children and his brother say they don't a relationship with Jean Kasem, who played "Loretta Tortelli" on TV's "Cheers" and on her own spin-off series.
Casey's longtime friends are also concerned with what's become a mysterious situation. One of their protest signs said, "Casey, we are your voice now."
Casey Kasem
Disputed Letters
Robert Frost
A man charged with stealing original cards and letters written by poet Robert Frost that he found in a desk donated to a charitable organization where he worked has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge in a deal with prosecutors.
Tim Bernaby, 44, of Hartland, accepted the plea deal Tuesday on a charge of unlawful taking of personal property. The charge carries a $100 fine.
Police said Bernaby took two letters and 13 Christmas cards written by Frost. They said the documents were in a desk donated three years ago to the Listen Center in White River Junction, where Bernaby worked. He then sold them for more than $25,000.
Bernaby said he found the papers in the trash. Most were addressed to Frost's former secretary.
Robert Frost
Case Argues 9th Circuit Court Favors Studios
'Raging Bull'
If the Supreme Court sides with the plaintiff in a dispute over the copyright of the 1980 Martin Scorsese pic "Raging Bull," Hollywood studios would likely have one less defense to use in idea theft cases. But plenty of entertainment attorneys also hope that such a decision would send a message to an appellate court they view as too favorable to conglomerates.
The chief judge of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Alex Kosinski, once famously dubbed it "court of appeals for the Hollywood circuit." In the eyes of a newly formed organization of entertainment attorneys, it's one that "has become amorphous or markedly adverse to creators," as they put it in a brief urging them to take the "Raging Bull" case.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday did just that. The case involves Paula Petrella's claim that a book and two scripts her father wrote in collaboration with boxer Jake LaMotta were the basis for the movie "Raging Bull." But a district court and the 9th Circuit sided with the studio in dismissing the suit, concluding that even though there is a three-year statute of limitations on copyright claims, the "doctrine of laches" applied. The latter is the concept that lawsuits can't be brought before the court if there is an unreasonable delay.
In an amicus brief to the Surpreme Court, the newly formed California Society of Entertainment Lawyers argued that the case is indicative of 9th Circuit's tendency to side with the studios. They contend that Petrella's case is "symptomatic" of the appellate court's "broader hostility to copyright plaintiffs - specifically, creators filing suit against conglomerates within the entertainment industry for violation of their intellectual property rights."
"Studios and networks have won every one of the dozens of copyright infringement cases litigated to final judgment in the Ninth Circuit since 1990, to the best of counsel's knowledge and research, usually on summary judgment," attorneys for the society said. The lawyers who founded the organization include Steven Lowe and Daniel Lifschitz of Lowe & Associates, and Steven Smyrski of Smyrski Law Group..
'Raging Bull'
Acquired by Theme Park Giant
Harlem Globetrotters
Despite their incredible winning streak, the Harlem Globetrotters have been sold.
Herschend Family Entertainment, the largest family-owned operator of theme parks in the United States, has acquired Harlem Globetrotters International, the corporate shell for the world-famous basketball team, from Shamrock Capital Advisors and its minority owners.
Shamrock, a private equity firm co-founded in 1978 by Roy Disney, acquired an 80 percent stake in the team in 2005. Mannie Jackson and other members of the company's management also held stakes.
Though its most famous players suited up decades ago, the Globetrotters have excelled financially in recent years, increasing revenue by 30 percent since 2008. The team set new highs in sponsorships, merchandise sales and live-event revenue last year.
Harlem Globetrotters
What Climate Change?
Walruses
No, it's not the equivalent of spring break for walruses.
But some 10,000 of the creatures crammed onto a tiny stretch of Alaskan beach 700 miles northwest of Anchorage because, scientists say, global warming is melting away their usual habitats - ice floes.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released the stunning photo of an island in the Chukchi Sea, near Point Lay, showing the amazing scene.
The number grew dramatically last month. On Sept. 12, between 2,000 and 4,000 walruses were photographed on the island. Ten days later, the number of reportedly doubled. By the end of the month, scientists were estimating about 10,000 walruses along the kilometer-long beach.
Incredibly, 10,000 walruses crammed onto a small beach is small potatoes compared with the scene in 2011. Then, scientists observed a staggering 30,000 walruses on the beach, according to the NOAA.
Walruses
Wastewater Contaminated
Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, extracts oil and gas from deep underground by injecting water into the ground and breaking the rocks in which the valuable hydrocarbons are trapped. But it also produces wastewater high in certain contaminants - and which may be radioactive.
In a study published today (Oct. 2) in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, researchers found high levels of radioactivity, salts and metals in the water and sediments downstream from a fracking wastewater plant on Blacklick Creek in western Pennsylvania.
Among the most alarming findings was that downstream river sediments contain 200 times more radium than mud that's naturally present upstream of the plant, said Avner Vengosh, a co-author of the study and a professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University. Radium is a radioactive metal naturally found in many rocks; long-term exposure to large amounts of radium can cause adverse health effects and even diseases like leukemia.
The concentrations of radium Vengosh and his team detected are higher than those found in some radioactive waste dumps, and exceed the minimum threshold the federal government uses to qualify a disposal site as a radioactive dump site, Vengosh told LiveScience. While the Josephine Brine Treatment Facility removes some of the radium from the wastewater, the metal accumulates in the sediment, at dangerously high levels, he added. Radium can make its way into the food chain by first accumulating in insects and small animals, and then moving on to larger animals, like fish, when they consume the insects and smaller animals, Vengosh added. But it's not known to what extent this is happening, since this study didn't address that question, he said.
Fracking
Uncovered Roman Revolt Remains
London
Construction workers digging tunnels for a new railway link under central London said on Wednesday they had found about 20 Roman skulls, the latest archaeological discovery to be made by builders on the project.
Archaeologists said it was possible the remains, found along the historic River Thames tributary, the River Walbrook, dated back to a rebellion by Queen Boudicca who led a revolt against the Roman occupation of Britain in the 1st Century.
The tunnellers found the skulls along with Roman pottery underneath the Bedlam burial ground, established in the 16th century, where 3,000 skeletons will be removed next year during excavation work for the 16-billion-pound ($24-billion) Crossrail project, Europe's largest infrastructure project.
In March, archaeologists said they had found a graveyard which might hold the remains of 50,000 people killed by the "Black Death" plague more than 650 years ago.
London
In Memory
Polly Anthony
A former Epic Records president who worked with acts including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Rage Against the Machine has died.
Epic Records announced on its official Twitter feed Tuesday that Polly Anthony died. She led Epic from 1997 to 2003.
A rare female label head, Anthony went on to become president of Dreamworks and then co-president of Geffen Records. She also worked with Shakira, Macy Gray, Pearl Jam and Jennifer Lopez.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Anthony died from pancreatic cancer last week at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 59.
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine tweeted his condolences, calling Anthony a "good friend who played an important role in bringing RATM and Audioslave to the world."
Polly Anthony
In Memory
Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy, whose high-tech, Cold War thrillers such as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games" made him the most widely read and influential military novelist of his time, has died. He was 66.
Penguin Group (USA) announced that Clancy had died Tuesday in Baltimore. The publisher did not provide a cause of death.
Tall and thin, with round, sunken eyes that were often hidden by sunglasses, Clancy had said his dream had been simply to publish a book, hopefully a good one, so that he would be in the Library of Congress catalog. His dreams were answered many times over.
His novels were dependable best sellers, with his publisher estimating that worldwide sales top 100 million copies. Several, including "The Hunt for Red October," ''Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger," were later made into blockbuster movies, with another based on his desk-jockey CIA hero, "Jack Ryan," set for release on Christmas. Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck and Harrison Ford were among the actors who played Ryan on screen. The upcoming movie stars Chris Pine, Keira Knightly and Kevin Costner, with Kenneth Branagh directing.
A political conservative who once referred to Ronald Reagan as "my president," Clancy broke through commercially during a tense period of the Cold War, and with the help of Reagan himself. In 1982, he began working on "The Hunt For Red October," basing it on a real incident in November 1975 with a Soviet missile frigate called the Storozhevoy. He sold the manuscript to the first publisher he tried, the Naval Institute Press, which had never bought original fiction.
In real life, the ship didn't defect, but in Clancy's book, published in 1984, the defection was a success. Someone thought enough of the book to give it to President Reagan as a Christmas gift. The president quipped at a dinner that he was losing sleep because he couldn't put the book down - a statement Clancy later said helped put him on the New York Times best-seller list.
Clancy was admired in the military community, and appeared - though he often denied it - to have the kind of access that enabled him to intricately describe anything from surveillance to the operations of a submarine. He often played off - and sometimes anticipated - world events, as in the pre-9/11 paranoid thriller "Debt of Honor," in which a jumbo jet destroys the U.S. Capitol during a joint meeting of Congress.
Earning million-dollar advances for his novels, he also wrote nonfiction works on the military and even ventured into video games, including the best-selling "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier," ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction" and "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent." His recent Jack Ryan novels were collaborations with Mark Greaney, including "Threat Vector" and a release scheduled for December, "Command Authority."
Born in Baltimore on April 12, 1947 to a mailman and his wife, Clancy entered Loyola College as a physics major, but switched to English as a sophomore. He later said that he wasn't smart enough for the rigors of science, although he clearly mastered it well enough in his fiction.
Clancy stayed close to home. He resided in rural Calvert County, Md., and in 1993 he joined a group of investors led by Baltimore attorney Peter Angelos who bought the Baltimore Orioles from businessman Eli Jacobs. Clancy also attempted to bring a NFL team to Baltimore in 1993, but he later dropped out.
Tom Clancy
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