The Weekly Poll- Final Edition
New Question
New Question - Held over... Results Thursday
Hey, Poll-fans... I'm thinkin' this Poll thing has 'bout run its course... Participation has dropped off dramatically over the past month, or so, and I'm gonna shut 'er down with this edition... Time to move on, as it were... That said, I'll send in what responses I have (3 so far) at 8pm EST Wednesday for Thursday's page and that will be that...
Peace (Thanks, Joe S.)
BttbB
The '2011 Crystal ball' Edition...
I read somewhere this past week that some manner of 'seer' has predicted that Michelle Obama will become pregnant this year. O-o-o-kay... Not sure how the Obamas feel about that, but I think it might give the White House a much needed PR boost... Anyway...
Anybody game to make some 2011 Predictions?
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Climate of Hate (New York Times)
The question is, will G.O.P. leaders accept the reality of what's happening to America, and take a stand against eliminationist rhetoric?
Ted Rall: "SYNDICATED COLUMN: Some Weasels Are More Equal Than Others" (rall.com; scroll down)
"The United States is the rich country with the most skewed income distribution, " Eduardo Porter asserts in his upcoming book "The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do."
Bill Press: Republicans Break Their Promises - On Day One! (billpressshow.com)
Campaigning in the midterm elections, Republicans pledged to make creation of jobs their number one priority. Promise broken. Instead, they immediately moved to repeal President Obama's health care reform legislation. In his inaugural remarks, Speaker John Boehner did not mention job creation. Not even once.
Jaimee Rose and Mary Jo Pitzl: Daniel Hernandez, intern, stays by Gabrielle Giffords' side (The Arizona Republic)
UA student pulls her into lap, holds head to stop bleeding.
Paul Krugman: Assassination Attempt In Arizona (New York Times)
Update: I'm going to take down comments on this one; they would need a lot of moderating, because the crazies are coming out in force, and it's all too likely to turn into a flame war.
Paul Krugman: The Doc Fix (New York Times)
So: I've been really amazed to see, both in comments and in correspondence I've had with some reporters, attempts to defend the idea that the "doc fix" is part of the cost of the Obama health reform. Let's walk through this slowly.
Hector Tobar: Poet, coping with unemployment, transforms the process into an art form (Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles poet Marisela Norte finds artistic fodder in coping with unemployment.
Sandy Banks: Taking a trip into history with the Freedom Riders (Los Angeles Times)
Helen Singleton became a Freedom Rider because of her mother, and her childhood memories of family trips every summer in the 1940s from Philadelphia to her grandparents' farm in Virginia.
Carl Rollyson: More Than a Girl With a Gimmick (Wall Street Journal)
With wit and sass, Gypsy Rose Lee transformed herself from a burlesque dancer into a nationwide celebrity. She also wrote her own life story, a masterpiece her biographers still struggle to match.
David L. Ulin: Making books do things e-books can't, and vice versa (Los Angeles Times)
At a garage studio in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock, Lisa Pearson is publishing books with the skill of a craftsman, framing the printed word as a work of art.
Heidi May and Henry Rollins (Photo; henryrollins.com)
Heidi's Christmas present to her boss.
R. David Smola: Cathy Richardson, Singer/songwriter; Jefferson Starship singer (bullz-eye.com)
You have to know that Jefferson Starship is one of my all-time favorite bands. I have all the albums, and if you would have told me as a kid that someday I would be in Jefferson Starship, I would have told you that you were in fact high.
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
wrote:
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and a bit warmer.
Sudan's 'Skunk'
George Clooney
Hollywood star George Clooney said he felt like the "skunk in the room" for warning of potential violence in Sudan as he watched jubilant southerners prepare to vote on independence.
He also said that despite a couple of potential hitches, voting in the referendum that begins on Sunday would result in the birth of a new nation.
The actor and human rights activist arrived in Juba on Thursday in a show of support for the impoverished region still recovering from decades of war, after launching a Google-powered mapping project aimed at preventing abuses in Sudan.
His "Satellite Sentinel Project" is designed to combine satellite imagery and field reports to monitor Sudan's volatile border region during the referendum.
George Clooney
Nominees For Best Movie
Directors Guild of America
Hollywood's Oscar race narrowed further on Monday when a key directors' group picked their top five movies and filmmakers, including David Fincher with his Facebook film "The Social Network."
The Directors Guild of America, which represents men and women who make movies, also put the makers of "Black Swan," "The King's Speech," "The Fighter" and "Inception" on its list of nominees for best directing efforts of 2010.
"Their inspired films radiate the passion and unique vision of each of these filmmakers, who are about to become part of our Guild's rich history. My sincerest congratulations to all five nominees," DGA president Taylor Hackford said in a statement, noting 2011 marks the group's 75th anniversary.
In all but six years since the DGA began giving out awards in 1948, its winner of best director has won the Academy Award, and traditionally the winner of best director has often seen his or her film go on to take best movie from Oscar organizers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Directors Guild of America
Children's Books Awards
American Library Association
Clare Vanderpool's "Moon Over Manifest," a young girl's magical and mysterious adventures in a small town in 1936, won the John Newbery Medal for the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."
"A Sick Day for Amos McGee," the gentle story of an elderly zookeeper and the animals who visit him at home when he's too unwell to work, received the Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children's picture book. "A Sick Day" was illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by her husband Philip C. Stead, also the author of "Creamed Tuna Fish & Peas On Toast."
The awards, the highest honors in children's literature, were announced midday Monday by the American Library Association. The books are the debuts of both Vanderpool and Erin Stead and had entered the top 100 on Amazon.com's best-seller list by later Monday afternoon.
Tomie dePaolo, whose many books include such favorites as "Strega Nona" and "26 Fairmont Avenue," received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children." Another lifetime achievement prize, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, was given to British fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett.
American Library Association
Karaoke Marathon
Bjork
A karaoke marathon held last week by Icelandic singer Bjork helped double the signature count on a petition she hopes will lead to a referendum on foreign ownership of Icelandic natural resources, organisers said Monday.
The Icelandic megastar held a karaoke marathon for nine hours a day Thursday, Friday and Saturday last week along with different Icelandic personalities such as the captain of the country's handball team and comic-turned-Reykjavik-mayor Jon Gnarr.
The aim was to bring more people to sign a petition calling for a referendum on the foreign ownership of natural resources in order to block the sale of Iceland's HS Orka energy group to a Canadian firm.
At the launch of the marathon on Thursday, Bjork's petition had 21,000 signatures and as of 5:30 pm (GMT) Monday, 46,863 people had signed it.
Campaigners were aiming for at least 35,000 signatures because Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir had said in a 2009 op-ed on democratic reform that a petition signed about 35,000 people should be enough to warrant a referendum on any given topic.
Bjork
Trent Reznor To Score Remake
"Dragon Tattoo"
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has been tapped to compose the music for David Fincher's English language adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
The upcoming film is based on Stieg Larsson's best-selling book of the same name.
The new gig comes on the heels of Reznor's and longtime songwriting partner Atticus Ross' Golden Globe nomination for scoring "The Social Network."
The duo will reunite with Fincher for "Dragon Tattoo."
"Dragon Tattoo"
Returning As Gandalf
Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen has signed on to return as wizard Gandalf in "The Hobbit," the two-pic adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien novel being directed by Peter Jackson.
The dealmaking on Hobbit for a slew of Jackson veterans from his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy has been coming fast and furious and comes on the heels of Andy Serkis finally signing his deal to reprise Gollum.
Elijah Wood signed his deal to return as Frodo last week, and Cate Blanchett will play Galadriel once again. Orlando Bloom has an offer to return as elf archer Legolas, though it's too early to tell if a deal will be made.
"Hobbit" starts shooting February 14 in New Zealand.
Ian McKellen
Presiding Over France's Cesar Awards
Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster will add American flavor to France's version of the Oscars when the Academy Award-winning actress presides over the 36th annual Cesar Awards ceremony on February 25, organizers confirmed late Monday.
Foster, who was raised partly in France and speaks perfect French, will be filming Roman Polanski's "God of Carnage" in the country as of early February so won't have to travel far for the ceremony.
No stranger to French cinema, Foster boasts roles in Eric Le Hung's 1977 film "Moi, Fleur Bleue," Claude Chabrol's "The Blood of Others" in 1984 and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "A Very Long Engagement" in 2004.
Foster is the first foreign President of the Cesar Awards since Marcello Mastroianni in 1993. French actor Antoine De Caunes will reprise his role as Master of Ceremonies for the event held at the Chatelet Theater and broadcast by Gallic pay TV giant Canal Plus. The nominees will be announced on Friday, January 21 in Paris.
Jodie Foster
6 Renewals
ABC
Fans of "Castle," "Cougar Town" and four other series on ABC can rest easy. The network says the shows will be coming back next season.
ABC said Monday that "Grey's Anatomy," "The Middle, "Modern Family" and "Private Practice" are the other shows given an early pickup for another year.
ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee has told the Television Critics Association the fates of "Desperate Housewives," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Detroit 1-8-7" remain unsettled.
He lauded the quality of the three series but signaled that ratings are the issue as he decides on their return for the 2011-12 season.
ABC
Protests Twitter Data Demand
Iceland
Iceland called in the U.S. ambassador in Reykjavik on Monday to register its displeasure at a U.S. court's demand for details of an Icelandic lawmaker's Twitter account, the State Department said.
A U.S. court has ordered the social networking website to give up details of the accounts of WikiLeaks and of several supporters as part of a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks' release of hundreds of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables.
The cables, disclosed by WikiLeaks to selected media groups as part of the website's campaign of exposing governments and corporations through the leak of previously private documents, have been a severe embarrassment to the U.S. government.
The information sought by the government includes all connection records and session times, IP addresses used to access Twitter, e-mail and residential addresses plus billing records and details of bank accounts and credit cards.
Iceland
Won't Review Music Download Antitrust Case
SCOTUS
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a ruling that reinstated an antitrust lawsuit alleging major record labels conspired to fix prices and terms under which music would be sold over the Internet.
The justices rejected without comment an appeal by a number of companies that included Sony Corp, a unit of Vivendi SA, Warner Music Group Corp and EMI Group of the ruling by a U.S. appeals Court in New York.
The appeals court ruled that a federal judge had erred in 2008 in dismissing the lawsuit filed on behalf of people who downloaded music over the Internet. They had sued record labels that control more than 80 percent of U.S. digital music sales.
The lawsuit accused the record companies of agreeing to the wholesale price floor of about 70 cents a song when rivals began offering music on the Internet at a much cheaper rate.
SCOTUS
Broke Terms Of Release
Richard Hatch
Reality TV star Richard Hatch violated the terms of his supervised release by failing to refile his tax returns, a judge ruled Monday, but he said he hadn't decided whether to put the "Survivor" winner back behind bars. He delayed sentencing until he could receive additional arguments.
Hatch, who was convicted in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize he won on the debut season of the CBS reality series, spent more than three years in federal prison and was then placed on three years of supervised release. He was released in 2009 and has been living in Newport.
Federal authorities accuse him of violating the conditions of his release by failing to file amended tax returns for the years 2000 and 2001, as required by a judge at the time of his sentencing.
"I don't think the question of a violation in itself is really in any doubt," U.S. District Judge William Smith said, adding that Hatch appears to have a track record of mocking the court system and alleging unfair persecution.
Richard Hatch
Sued Over Debit Card Debacle
Kardashian Sisters
The Kardashian sisters have been sued by a California company that created a prepaid debit card endorsed the reality show starlets.
The Fresno Bee reports that Revenue Resource Group LLC filed suit in Fresno County Superior Court last week against Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian.
The sisters pulled out of the endorsement deal in November under criticism over the card's fees.
The company's lawsuit claims they broke their contract and cost company at least $75 million in losses. The sisters' mother, Kris Kardashian Jenner, and their company, Dash Dolls LLC, are also named in the suit.
Kardashian Sisters
Court Turns Away Appeal
'Birther' Queen
The high court on Monday did not comment in refusing to hear the appeal filed by California lawyer and dentist Orly Taitz. She was contesting a $20,000 fine for filing what a federal judge determined was a frivolous lawsuit.
The suit was filed on behalf of Army Capt. Connie Rhodes, who sought to avoid deployment to Iraq by claiming Obama wasn't born in the United States and thus, is ineligible to be president and commander in chief.
'Birther' Queen
Show Ends
"Sarah Palin's Alaska"
The Palin clan is off the air, at least on TLC, at least for now.
"Sarah Palin's Alaska" concluded Sunday with the final episode of the eight-part documentary series showing the former governor and her family having assorted adventures in their home state.
The show appeared ripe for a second season after attracting an average of more than 3 million viewers per episode, so the end of the cable TV show is generating online buzz about the reason it won't continue.
The general consensus: The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee must be eyeing another run for the White House, this time in the driver's seat.
"Sarah Palin's Alaska"
Amazing Artifacts For 150th Birthday
MIT
A letter following a chance meeting with Albert Einstein and 1930s research on the perfect cup of coffee are two artifacts in an exhibit to mark the 150th anniversary of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The coffee research, which helped to reshape the food industry, and mathematician Norbert Wiener's letter are among 150 items on display at the MIT Museum.
They encompass the scientific, engineering and technological achievements of the university and its distinguished alumni, who include astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and architect I.M. Pei.
But the exhibition, which is one of a series of events marking MIT's birthday on April 10, also offers a glimpse into the artistic, academic, entrepreneurial and often quirky spirit cultivated on the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus.
MIT
In Memory
Debbie Friedman
Debbie Friedman, a folk singer who set Jewish prayers to contemporary music and created songs that are sung in synagogues throughout the world, has died. She was 59.
Friedman died Sunday at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, said Jerry Kaye, a family spokesman.
Friedman began composing songs in high school, and her first albums came out in the 1970s. She combined traditional Jewish liturgies with folk music style, using lyrics in Hebrew and English.
Her songs are heard in Reform synagogues, some Conservative synagogues and even in some Orthodox houses of worship, Kaye said.
"Twenty-five years ago, North American Jews had forgotten how to sing," Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said in a statement. "Debbie reminded us how to sing, she taught us how to sing. She gave us the vehicles that enabled us to sing."
Friedman made some 20 albums and performed at Carnegie Hall and around the world.
At the time of her death, she was working on a new album and teaching at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's School of Sacred Music.
She moved back to California last summer to live closer to her mother and sister and taught at the school's Los Angeles campus but had planned to return to New York briefly to teach a course, according to the school's website.
"It was kol isha (the voice of women) for col isha (every woman) that inspired me to write inclusive music," Friedman said in a statement cited on the website. "It is beneficial not only for women, but for men and children as well. ... The more our voices are heard in song, the more we become our lyrics, our prayers, and our convictions."
Debbie Friedman
In Memory
Dick Winters
Dick Winters, the Easy Company commander whose World War II exploits were made famous by the book and television miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died in central Pennsylvania. He was 92.
Winters died last week after a several-year battle with Parkinson's disease, longtime family friend William Jackson said Monday.
An intensely private and humble man, Winters had asked that news of his death be withheld until after his funeral, Jackson said. Winters lived in Hershey, Pa., but died in suburban Palmyra.
Winters was born Jan. 21, 1918, and studied economics at Franklin and Marshall College before enlisting, according to a biography on the Penn State website.
Winters became the leader of Company E, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, on D-Day after the death of the company commander during the invasion of Normandy.
During that invasion, Winters led 13 of his men in destroying an enemy battery and obtained a detailed map of German defenses along Utah Beach. In September 1944, he led 20 men in a successful attack on a German force of 200 soldiers. Occupying the Bastogne area of Belgium at the time of the Battle of the Bulge, he and his men held their place until the Third Army broke through enemy lines, and Winters shortly afterward was promoted to major.
After returning home, Winters married his wife, Ethel, in May 1948, and trained infantry and Army Ranger units at Fort Dix during the Korean War. He started a company selling livestock feed to farmers, and he and his family eventually settled in a farmhouse in Hershey, where he retired.
Historian Stephen Ambrose interviewed Winters for the 1992 book "Band of Brothers," upon which the HBO miniseries that started airing in September 2001 was based. Winters himself published a memoir in 2006 titled "Beyond Band of Brothers."
Two years ago, an exhibit devoted to Winters was dedicated at the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society. Winters, in frail health in later years, has also been the subject of a campaign to raise money to erect a monument in his honor near the beaches of Normandy.
Dick Winters
In Memory
Peter Yates
British filmmaker Peter Yates, who sent Steve McQueen screeching through the streets of San Francisco in a Ford Mustang in "Bullitt," has died at the age of 81.
Yates was nominated for four Academy Awards - two as director and two as producer - for the cycling tale "Breaking Away" and the backstage drama "The Dresser."
A graduate of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Yates directed stage greats including "Dresser" star Albert Finney and Maggie Smith as well as creating one of the film world's most memorable action sequences - the much-imitated car chase in the 1968 police thriller "Bullitt."
Born in Aldershot, southern England in 1929, Yates trained as an actor, performed in repertory theater and did a stint as a race-car driver before moving into film. He began as an editor and then became an assistant director on films including Tony Richardson's "A Taste of Honey" and J. Lee Thompson's "The Guns of Navarone."
His first film as a director was the frothy 1963 musical "Summer Holiday" starring Cliff Richard - a singer billed, optimistically, as the "British Elvis."
Yates also directed "Robbery," based on the real 1963 heist known as the "Great Train Robbery," which marked him as a talented director of action sequences.
He then went to Hollywood for "Bullitt," and went on to make well-received films including the war thriller "Murphy's War," with Peter O'Toole, and the tense crime drama "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" starring Robert Mitchum.
Nothing if not varied, his 1970s movies included crass comedy "Mother, Jugs and Speed," starring Bill Cosby and Raquel Welch, and the critically derided but commercially successful undersea thriller "The Deep."
In recent years Yates had worked mostly in television. His last theatrical feature was 1999's "Curtain Call," which starred Michael Caine and Smith as a pair of theatrical ghosts.
Yates is survived by his wife, Virginia Pope, a son and a daughter.
Peter Yates
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