Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Poll: 50% of Americans still freaked out by gay sex (SF Gate)
Pew Research! God bless 'em, and their semi-annual poll on religion in America, the latest of which informs us that fully 50 percent of Americans still believe that gay sex - can you guess? - is a sin.
Mark Morford: Check out the Republican party's new, anti-abortion wedding dress ad (SF Gate)
If there's one thing Republicans know, it's what broads want. Right? They want fewer health care options. They want to be paid less than their male counterparts. They want to be patronized, whistled at, stalked, threatened, harassed, violently trolled, bullied into suicide, humiliated and slut-shamed and then, uh, applauded as they walk by your creepy, old white-male gaze on their way to work. See? Sexism is charming!
Mark Morford: We just found 15,000 new mountains. You can't climb any of them (SF Gate)
Because they're underwater, is why. Because they're scattered throughout the ocean floor, in vast swaths of rugged landmasses, called seamounts, we've never seen before - and, technically speaking, still haven't.
Mark Morford: 'Left Behind' asks, Why the hell can't God make a decent movie? (SF Gate)
It is, they say, the Greatest Story Ever Told.
It is, they say, the epic of all epics, the Big Book o' Thou Shalt Nots, the most boring, tiresome read imaginable and the finest piece of literature in our cultural history, except for maybe White Noise and A Confederacy of Dunces and, obviously, The Phantom Tollbooth.
C. Coville: "4 Healthy Eating Habits (That Are Killing People)" (Cracked)
Let's start right here by saying that no one at Cracked is a doctor or qualified to give out professional health advice. In fact, I'm required to tell people I'm not a doctor when I first meet them, ever since that incident in 2011 with the unauthorized appendix surgery on the cruise ship.
Leo Benedictus: "Write or Die: the software that offers struggling authors a simple choice" (Guardian)
David Nicholls has revealed that he tried the unforgiving app to write a follow-up to One Day. So what is it like to write with a virtual gun to the head?
Tristan Cooper: 6 Accidentally Awesome Glitches in Famous Video Games (Cracked)
There is literally no such thing as a glitch-free video game. They're complex programs, often made by lots of people under brutal deadlines -- that shit is going to spring a leak every now and then. And really, we wouldn't have it any other way.
Jolly Rally Valle d'Aosta 2014 - Big crash (YouTube)
"This rally car race held in Aosta Valley in Italy nearly came to a deadly end when a car driven by Pietro Scavone (with "co-driver" Diego D'Herin) went off the track and crashed within approximately a foot of a crowd of spectators. The bystanders can be seen frantically running away as the car flips over, practically on top of them. Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt. The men in the car were treated for minor injuries and one person in the crowd went to the hospital in shock. I can imagine!" - Neatorama
David Bruce: Wise Up! Homosexuals (Athens News)
Len Evans, a publicist for Project Publicity, came out to his mother on a Thanksgiving Eve. He and his mother were watching an episode of "Will and Grace" in which the gay character Jack is trying to hide his gayness from his mother, and his friends Grace and Karen are pretending to be his girlfriends. Len's mother turned to him and said, "This show reminds me of you and your friends. Is there something you want to tell me?" He then admitted that he was gay. He says, "She hugged me and said she had been waiting for me to tell her for years. I guess it's true that a mother always knows."
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
wrote:
took the day off.
is semi-retired.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Late last night on Burns & Allen, it was determined that 11 full pelts were necessary to make a man's raccoon coat.
By that standard, there's a coat and a half in the backyard.
Foundation Sues NJ Research Facility
Michael J. Fox
Actor Michael J. Fox's foundation is suing a New Jersey research organization, saying a freezer was left open, compromising scientific samples and hurting research efforts it was funding.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research filed its complaint Friday in U.S. District Court against Camden's Coriell Institute for Medical Research.
The New York-based charity says it contracted with Coriell in 2010 and 2011 to store specimens for research into Parkinson's. The group says Coriell has been paid $3.5 million of the $4.3 million called for in the contracts.
The suit alleges that in March, a door to a freezer was left open, causing many scientific samples to thaw. The samples were no longer useful for research, according to the suit.
Michael J. Fox
Protesters Halt Telescope Groundbreaking
Hawaii
A groundbreaking and Hawaiian blessing ceremony came to an abrupt end before it could really get underway Tuesday because of protesters who oppose plans to build one of the world's largest telescopes near the summit of a mountain held sacred by Native Hawaiians.
More than an hour after the event was scheduled to begin near the top of the Big Island's Mauna Kea, the host of the ceremony's live webcast said the caravan carrying attendees up the mountain "hit a snag" and would be delayed. He later said the delay was due to a group of people blocking access to the site.
The groundbreaking for the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope was being shown via webcast because of limited access to the construction site, which is at an elevation of 14,000 feet with arctic-like conditions.
Stephanie Nagata, director of the Office of Mauna Kea Management, said several dozen protesters standing, sitting and chanting on the road prevented the caravan of vans from reaching the summit, but some passengers were able to walk the rest of the way to the ceremony.
The groundbreaking was to culminate years of permit applications and approvals from the University of Hawaii and the state land board. The university leases land from the state where the telescope will be built. The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources approved the sublease in June and then later denied requests to contest the approval.
Hawaii
Birgit Nilsson Prize
Vienna Philharmonic
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra has been awarded the $1 million Birgit Nilsson prize in a ceremony attended by Sweden's royal couple.
The ensemble said Wednesday the money - nearly 800,000 euros - will be used to expand its archives and make them more open to the public.
Earlier this year, the Philharmonic became the first orchestra to win the prize, which was launched in 2009 and endowed by Nilsson, the late Swedish soprano.
In 2006, the Vienna Philharmonic was chosen as Europe's finest orchestra by a panel of experts. Two years later, Gramophone Magazine called it the world's third best.
Vienna Philharmonic
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Villages
Arizona
Archaeologists in Northern Arizona have uncovered a 1,300-year-old village inside Petrified Forest National Park.
It's the second ancient village discovered in as many years at the park. Archaeologist William Reitze says the villages date back to between 200 A.D. and 700 A.D.
"What's unique about these sites is that they're probably between 50 and 75 different structures," said Reitze. "At that time period, there's not a lot of large habitation sites where there's a lot of habitation structures at one place."
The villages were discovered by crews that are surveying the land for an expansion project that will double the size of the park. The area is not open to the public yet.
Arizona
Fashion Trends Parallel Rise
Melanoma
Skin-baring fashions, increased leisure time and acceptance of the idea of a "healthy tan" may have a lot to do with the rising numbers of new melanoma cases each year, suggests a new study.
Researchers found that increasing U.S. melanoma rates track with diminishing swimsuit coverage since the early 20th century.
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer and the primary cause of death from all skin diseases in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Just under 10,000 Americans die from melanoma every year.
"What I found most interesting about our findings was how the many socioeconomic and cultural forces came together over time to get us where we are today with respect to ultraviolet light exposure and the continued rise in melanoma incidence," said the study's senior author, Dr. David Polsky.
Melanoma
Solar Tower Plans Dropped
BrightSource
A solar-energy company has dropped a proposal to build a 75-story solar tower near California's Joshua Tree National Park employing a kind of solar technology that can cause birds to ignite in midair.
The California Energy Commission was slated to vote on BrightSource Energy's project this month, before the company withdrew its application.
The plant would have used "power tower" technology that trains concentrated solar power on steam boiler towers. State and federal officials and conservation groups say a similar BrightSource tower near the Nevada border proved unexpectedly deadly to birds that flew through the concentrated rays.
BrightSource and its partners decided they needed a project that would "better meet the needs of the market and energy consumers," Senior Vice President Joe Desmond said Wednesday.
BrightSource
'Chronic' In 15 Years
Tidal Floods
Many US coastal communities already struggle with flooding at high tides, a problem that will become "chronic" in the coming 15 years due to global warming, scientists said Wednesday.
As shorelines are growing more populated, sea levels are swelling due to melting glaciers and polar ice sheets, putting more populations at risk, said a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Particularly dire consequences are expected along the US east coast and the Gulf Coast, the report warned.
"Our analysis shows that increases in tidal flooding will be substantial and nearly universal," said the report, based on tidal gauges in 52 coastal communities from the northeastern state of Maine down to Florida and along the Gulf Coast of Texas.
From 1880 to 2009, global sea levels rose about eight inches (20 centimeters). Today, oceans are rising at an even faster rate.
Tidal Floods
Candidate Gives "Incentives"
California
Trailing in the polls and getting little media coverage, California's Republican candidate for governor handed out $40,000 in scholarships on Tuesday, just two weeks after offering gift cards to attendees at a campaign event.
Neel Kashkari, a former U.S. Treasury official who is challenging popular Democratic Governor Jerry Brown in the lopsidedly Democratic state, is offering the incentives as his campaign trails Brown's by double digits in the weeks before November's election.
Last month, he gave gas station gift cards at a campaign rally against Brown's proposal to build high-speed rail in California. The first 100 people to come and smash a toy train in symbolic opposition to the project received cards worth $25.
Experts said the incentives did not likely violate California election law, which forbids paying people to vote but does not address rewarding them for campaigning.
Kashkari, who oversaw the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bank bailout after the 2008 financial crisis, trailed Brown by 16 percentage points in a recent Field Poll.
California
Poverty Nears 20%
Orlando
It costs a family of five about $1,500 for a four-day pass to the theme parks at Disney World near Orlando, Florida. It takes Weston Vlier, who drives a bus there, four weeks to earn that much.
"If nobody is able to help us out with food, we just don't eat," said the 42-year-old father of three who makes less than $25,000 per year. "I can't even pay my rent this week."
Vlier belongs to a growing class of working poor in Orlando, which has the lowest median pay among the 50 most-populous American metropolitan areas, according to U.S. Labor Department data. Three of the city's largest employers, including Walt Disney Co., increased starting pay this year. Even after Disney raised its minimum wage to $10 per hour, Vlier still lives below the federal poverty line.
Such workers form the backbone of Orlando's economy. Leisure and hospitality jobs make up about 20 percent of the labor force. Food preparers, waiters, cleaners and cashiers are among the most common professions.
Almost 40 percent of jobs in Orlando pay less than $25,000 per year, the largest share in the 50 most-populous U.S. cities, according to a 2013 analysis by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. Median pay of $29,400 was the lowest among them, U.S. Labor Department data show.
Orlando
Clean-Shaven Christ Unearthed
Spain
Archaeologists say they have found one of the earliest pictures ever of Jesus Christ, sporting an unusual clean-shaven, short-haired look on an old glass plate unearthed in southern Spain.
The team found numerous fragments of glass during a three-year dig in the ruined ancient city of Castulo, and in July dug up some bigger bits with designs that caught their eye.
When pieced together, the shards formed a plate dating to the fourth century AD with an engraving of Christ in a Roman-style toga, neatly groomed.
The researchers identified it as a paten, a plate for holding the bread for communion.
They pieced together more than 80 percent of the plate, which measured 22 centimetres (about eight and a half inches) in diameter.
Spain
Cable TV
Ratings
The following chart lists the top 20 cable television shows for the week of 09/29/14 through 10/05/14. Programs are ranked by rating in descending order.
1 NFL REGULAR SEASON (NEW ENGLAND/KC) ESPN 8.8
2 MLB WILD CARD (SAN FRANCISCO/PITTSBUR) ESPN 3.6
3 MLB WILDCARD (OAKLAND/KANSAS CITY) TBSC 3.3
4 MLB DIVISION SERIES (KANSAS CITY/ LA ANG) TBSC 2.7
5 COLLEGE FOOTBALL AFT (TEXAS A&M/MIS) ESPN 2.6
6 MLB DIVISION SERIES (LA ANGELS/KANSAS CI) TBSC 2.6
7 WWE ENTERTAINMENT USA 2.5
8 MLB DIVISION SERIES (DETROIT/BALTIMORE 1) TBSC 2.5
9 WWE ENTERTAINMENT USA 2.5
10 SONS OF ANARCHY FX 2.5
11 SPORTSCENTER: ESPN 2.4
12 WWE ENTERTAINMENT USA 2.3
13 NASCAR SPRINT CUP (KANSAS (OCT) ESPN 2.3
14 MLB NL DIVISION SERIES L (ST. LOUIS/LA) DFS1 2.2
15 WRECK-IT RALPH DSNY 2.2
16 MLB DIVISION SERIES (KANSAS CITY/LA ANGE) TBSC 2.2
17 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRIME (LSU/AUBURN) ESPN 2.1
18 WRECK-IT RALPH DSNY 2.1
19 MLB DIVISION SERIES (BALTIMORE/DETROIT 3) TBSC 2.0
20 THE OREILLY FACTOR FOXNC 1.9
Ratings
In Memory
Sarah Goldberg
Sarah Goldberg, who starred in the television series "7th Heaven" and the film "Jurassic Park III," has died. She was 40.
Goldberg died in her sleep of natural causes on Sept. 27 at her family's cabin in Wisconsin, her mother Judy Goldberg told the Chicago Sun-Times. She said a heart ailment is suspected, although an autopsy failed to determine the exact cause of death.
Goldberg's entertainment career started as a bumblebee in a Chicago City Ballet production of "Cinderella," her mother said, and gained momentum when she was asked to be an extra on the Julia Roberts movie "My Best Friend's Wedding." She got the role because her mother co-owned a company providing table linens for a set. A film staffer saw her helping arrange tablecloths and asked her to be in a scene, her mother said.
Goldberg went on to appear in television series including "90210," ''Judging Amy," ''The Beast," and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."
Goldberg also played a college student looking for drugs in the Denzel Washington movie "Training Day."
The actress sometimes was credited under the stage name Sarah Danielle Madison.
Goldberg was born in 1974 in Springfield, where her father worked as a lawyer. She attended the Latin School of Chicago before going to Amherst. She practiced yoga and was a trick skiier.
Sarah Goldberg
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
