Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Droughts, Floods and Food (New York Times)
World prices of food are surging, and one major factor is the disruption caused by extreme weather.
Gail Collins: The Siege of Planned Parenthood (New York Times)
As if we didn't have enough wars, the House of Representatives has declared one against Planned Parenthood.
Connie Schultz: Feeling Gay Abut the Future (Creators Syndicate)
... raging homophobia is a definite turnoff to any self-respecting gay man - and most women, for that matter, seeing as we're not big on hate as an aphrodisiac. He's likelier to be ogled by a red-eyed tree frog than he is to take center stage in anyone's sexual fantasy.
Jerry Kramer: Winning Wasn't Everything (New York Times; from 1997)
Jerry Kramer, a former lineman for the Green Bay Packers, on the misrepresentation of Vince Lombardi.
George Heymont: Three Unforgettable Characters (Huffington Post)
Some movies become audience favorites because their protagonist is such a unique character (or an actor creating a character with such consummate craft) that every scene in which the actor appears onscreen keeps the audience on the edge of its seats.
Rosanna Greenstreet: "Q&A: Patrick Stewart" (Guardian)
'Which living person do I most despise? If I answered honestly, every Manchester United supporter would come looking for me, so I prefer to remain silent.'
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost: Losers in love (Guardian)
One was an aspiring standup paralysed by his own political correctness. The other lacked focus and direction. But together Simon Pegg and Nick Frost found comedy chemistry. Simon Hattenstone plays gooseberry.
Melissa Leo: 'I never set out to be a celebrity' (Guardian)
'The Fighter' star talks to Tom Lamont about her Oscar nomination, sexual harassment and her 'marriage' to John Goodman.
Roger Ebert: Review of "Louder Than a Bomb" (3 ½ stars; unrated)
Poetry slams began in Chicago in 1984 and have become an international phenomenon without most people probably having heard of them. They're poetry readings as a spectator sport. Individuals and teams are scored by judges on the Olympic 10-point scale, but while Olympic diving judges claim to be looking at specific elements in a dive, slam judges are responding to emotion, charisma and--well, poetry. Some slammers are also rap artists, but slam and rap and different art forms, and slammers rely only on their voices.
Roger Ebert: Review of "Strongman" (3 stars; unrated)
"Strongman" is a tantalizing example of the kind of documentary I find engrossing: A film about an unusual person that invites us into the mystery of a human life. Stanley Pleskun bills himself as "Stanless Steel, the Strongest Man Alive." Whether this is true is beside the point. Stanless, as I will call him, believes it absolutely. His girlfriend Barbara and his brother Michael agree, I gather, although they never actually say so.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Cold Weather (The Athens News)
Ballerina Alicia Markova had very small hands and feet. During a bitterly cold winter, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo toured Chicago, where Ms. Markova was forced to keep her hands warm with little girls' Shirley Temple gloves because nothing else would fit her.
David Bruce has 40 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $40 you can buy 10,000 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and summery.
Headed To Current TV
Keith Olbermann
Former MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann will announce his new job during a media conference call on Tuesday.
The New York Times, citing sources familiar with the former "Countdown" host's plans, said he is headed to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's Current TV.
The parties declined to comment to the paper, which noted that "they did not deny that the channel ... will become at least one partner in Mr. Olbermann's future media plans."
Olbermann's publicist said in a statement earlier that Olbermann and "his new partners will make an exciting announcement regarding the next chapter of his remarkable career" during an 8 a.m. PST call.
Keith Olbermann
Sues Weinsteins Over Fahrenheit 9/11
Michael Moore
Filmmaker Michael Moore has sued Harvey and Bob Weinstein, accusing the brothers of "Hollywood accounting tricks" and "financial deception" that cheated him out of at least $2.7 million in profits from the hit documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."
In a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Moore says the Weinsteins and an affiliated entity called the Fellowship Adventure Group agreed to split profits from the film 50-50 but then diverted monies to hide them from Moore.
The suit for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud claims that in 2008 Moore conducted an audit of the 2004 film, which grossed $222 million worldwide, and "discovered substantial irregularities in the accounting" that resulted in a "gross underpayment to (Moore)."
Those irregularities include an alleged secret deduction of $2.5 million in revenue that the Weinsteins claimed was paid to acquire an interest owned in the film by a predecessor company called Icon Entertainment International; a 7.5% "override" fee on advertising costs of $1.2 million, "despite the fact that (the Weinsteins) did not incur the advertising costs and the (deal) did not permit (them) to deduct these costs"; as well as additional improper deductions of fees paid to distribution consultants, accountants, residuals, foreign taxes and travel expenses, including what Moore says are the "grossly excessive and unreasonable" costs of hiring a private jet to carry a single passenger to Europe.
Michael Moore
Replace Stages
College Classrooms
They may fall off the pop charts, some might even lose the muse. But these days old rock stars need not worry about fading away, not when there's a college classroom nearby.
Rock's gangster of love himself, Steve Miller, created some buzz recently when he became an artist-in-residence at the prestigious University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. But it turns out the guy who famously proclaimed, "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker" wasn't nearly the first guitar-slinger to move from the stage to the classroom.
Mark Volman, who co-founded the Turtles and later played with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, runs the entertainment studies department at Nashville's Belmont University these days when he isn't out on the road singing "Happy Together." Lamont Dozier, one third of the legendary songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, which created hits for everyone from Phil Collins to the Supremes, lectures on his craft at USC. Around the country, everyone from punk rockers to doo-wop harmonizers are holding down teaching positions at big-name universities.
"It brings the subject matter to life for the students in a way that a professor, no matter how well intentioned, just can't do," Chris Sampson, dean of USC's music school, says of turning the classroom over to people like Miller. "It makes all the learning go beyond just theory."
College Classrooms
Classical Label Relaunches
Decca
The classical music label Decca on Monday celebrated its relaunch as Decca Classics, promising to seek out new stars and ensure that the genre remains relevant to younger listeners.
Part of the Universal Music Group, Decca Classics is already home to a roster of renowned performers including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Cecilia Bartoli, Renee Fleming, Juan Diego Florez, Jonas Kaufmann and Mitsuko Uchida.
It also boasts a catalog including singers Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland and conductor Georg Solti.
"We've always done classical music, but for the first time in 30 years we've brought all sides of Decca under one roof," said managing director Paul Moseley, who will head up Decca Classics' search for fresh talent.
Decca
Hospital News
Ilya Salkind
The producer of the Superman films of the 1970s and '80s has been released from a Mexican hospital where he was treated for head injuries.
Arturo Torres of the Morelos state medical office says Ilya Salkind left the hospital in Cuernavaca with family over the weekend.
Salkind had been staying at a home near Mexico City and friends reported him missing last week.
Morelos Attorney General Pedro Benitez says Salkind was hurt in Tepoztlan, south of Mexico City. It was unclear how he was injured.
Ilya Salkind
Hospital News
Riccardo Muti
Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Riccardo Muti has undergone surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for facial and jaw fractures sustained during a fall.
Dr. Alexis Olsson, who performed Monday's surgery, says it went extremely well and he expects Muti to make a full recovery. Olsson says he implanted screws and plates in Muti's face and temporarily wired his jaws to stabilize his lower jaw during healing.
The 69-year-old Muti was injured when he fainted during a rehearsal Thursday and fell from the podium.
Deborah Rutter, president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, says Muti is recovering at the hospital and continues to undergo testing to determine the cause of his fainting.
Riccardo Muti
Fire Destroys Carnival Costumes And Floats
Rio
A fire Monday gutted warehouses holding many of the elaborate, feather-and-sequin costumes and extravagant floats for Rio's Carnival parade, destroying the dreams and hard work of thousands of mostly poor Brazilians who toil year-round to stage one of world's most spectacular celebrations.
Seamstresses, set designers and musicians watched in tears as firefighters struggled to control the blaze that raged through four warehouses. The fire devoured about 8,400 outfits and the ornate sets built each year in the battle to be the city's top samba group.
Three hours into the early-morning blaze, the flames were controlled and 10 warehouses were unscathed, but some of the top contenders and up-and-comers in next month's Carnival parade were knocked out of the competition.
Carnival is a time when Rio's residents and more than 700,000 visitors pour into the streets for a cathartic, nearly weeklong party where order is subverted and the poorest climb the highest floats dressed scantily in glitter and feathers, parading before the eyes of the world. The revelry culminates in the two-day competitive parade of the elite groups, and ends on Ash Wednesday, when order is restored.
After the fire, many of the participants spoke of pulling together to make sure everyone had something to wear, but with just a month left before the March 6 start of the competition, there is no way to replace the labor-intensive sets. To cariocas, as the people of Rio are known, the destruction was heartbreaking.
Rio
Sues Ex-Publicist
Golden Globes
The organization that hosts the Golden Globe Awards has sued its former publicist for fraud, claiming he and his partner cannot prove allegations the group engages in payola in exchange for awards.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association sued Michael Rusell, his partner Stephen LoCascio and Russell's public relations firm on Monday, claiming they breached a confidentiality agreement. The lawsuit also claims the pair attempted to profit off their connection with the glitzy awards show.
The lawsuit comes roughly three weeks after Russell sued the HFPA, claiming its members accepted graft in exchange for nominations and awards. Russell's suit was filed three days before this year's Globes ceremony, which attracted Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and honored actor Robert DeNiro with a lifetime achievement award.
The HFPA's lawsuit claims Russell and LoCascio attempted to divert money and gifts from sponsors to benefit some of their other clients.
Golden Globes
Battles Playwright
Emma Thompson
Academy Award-winning actress/screenwriter Emma Thompson is locked in a row over who authored her latest film project "Effie." Whether the film gets made could depend on the outcome.
The film's producers have gone to a New York federal court to get a declaration that Thompson's script doesn't infringe the copyright of playwright Gregory Murphy's play "The Countess." Both works are reportedly about a love triangle involving celebrated art critic John Ruskin, his teenage wife Effie Gray, and pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais, a sexual scandal that rocked 19th Century England.
Murphy came out with his play first. "The Countess" got good reviews in 1999, played 634 performances in New York, and was revived on a London stage in 2005.
But according to a lawsuit that was filed by the film's producers, Thompson never had access to Murphy's play, which was purportedly turned into a screenplay, and denies copying it.
Emma Thompson
Televising Trial
Dr. Conrad Murray
Television cameras will be allowed to film the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor next month as long as they do not interfere with proceedings, a judge said on Monday.
Los Angeles Superior Court judge Michael Pastor also moved forward the date of Dr. Conrad Murray's trial by four days to March 24, when jury selection will begin. The trial is expected to last about six weeks, lawyers for both sides say.
Murray has pleaded not guilty, and is free on bail. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. Involuntary manslaughter is defined as unintentional killing without malice, and is a lesser charge than murder.
Pastor said he wanted the "absolute least intrusive placement" of a TV camera in the courtroom and he sought detailed proposals from local news crews. He also blocked cameras from broadcasting jury selection.
Dr. Conrad Murray
Germany Crowns Champion
Deer-Calling
Using ox horns, snail shells and plant stems, eight men and one woman battled each other for the title of German deer calling champion, celebrating a centuries old hunting tradition.
Andreas Toepfer was declared the winner on Friday after contestants were judged in three deer-calling disciplines meant to mimic mating sounds.
"It's not always about shooting or hunting but simply about a nature experience where you can attract a deer to just a few metres away," participant Immo Ortlepp told Reuters at the competition's site in Dortmund, western Germany.
The competitors were asked to reproduce the calls of a red deer during breeding season, which runs from September into October. The calls beckon deer out of their cover in the forest.
Deer-Calling
Muslims Seek Change
Hollywood
After years of watching Muslims portrayed as terrorists in mainstream TV and movies, an advocacy group hopes to change that image by grooming a crop of aspiring Muslim screenwriters who can bring their stories - and perspective - to Hollywood.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council is hosting a series of workshops taught by Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated veterans over the next month, an initiative that builds on the group's outreach for a more representative picture of Muslim-Americans on the screen.
The workshops are the natural evolution of MPAC's efforts to lobby TV networks and movie studios from the outside, and they fit into a small, but growing, movement to get more Muslim-Americans behind the cameras.
MPAC dubbed its effort the Hollywood Bureau, while Unity Productions Foundation recently started a similar project called Muslims on Screen and Television. Other nonprofit arts foundations, such as the Levantine Cultural Center and Film Independent, have joined forces by planning networking events for Muslim actors and training and mentoring young filmmakers.
Hollywood
Magic Mushroom Museum Show
Berlin
An unusual Berlin museum exhibition combining reindeer, canaries, mice, magic mushrooms and a dash of Hindu mysticism drew nearly 100,000 visitors during its three-month run, organisers said Monday.
The "Soma" show by Belgian-born artist Carsten Hoeller which wrapped up Sunday was a runaway hit for the Hamburger Bahnhof museum of contemporary art, a spokeswoman for the state-run museums in the German capital said.
Soma was an ancient Hindu mythical potion known among Vedic nomads in North India in the second millennium BCE. It was believed to impart happiness, invincibility and even access to the divine.
Hoeller borrowed from modern studies to try to recreate Soma, using the urine of reindeer that have eaten hallucinogenic fly agaric mushrooms.
Berlin
In Memory
Tura Satana
Tura Satana, who gained cult status for her role in the 1965 Russ Meyer movie "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" has died of heart failure at age 72.
In "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" Satana played Varla, the leader of a trio of thrill-seeking go-go dancers who kills a man with her bare hands. The women then set out to rob a wealthy older man who lives on a desert ranch with his two sons.
Meyer has said the movie was an "absolute loser" when released but was rediscovered by the 1990s. It has since been shown at film festivals and art house cinemas.
Satana's other credits include the 1963 film "Irma La Douce" and the television shows "Burke's Law" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."
Tura Satana
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