Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Joe Bob Briggs: Take My Wives, Please (Taki's Magazine)
There's never been a better time to be a polygamist.
Charles Norman: A Secret History of Right-Wing Rock Stars (Taki's Magazine)
Pop music, like anything showbiz, is hardly as it appears. The gap between a pop star's public and private politics can be as deceiving as anything.
Jonathan Chait: "Trump's War on Democracy: An Update" (NY Mag)
The most dire outcomes do not have to be the most probable outcomes in order to legitimately command our attention. We know for sure that whatever Trump's capabilities, the malevolence of his intentions lies beyond dispute. If Trump does win reelection - a prospect that is close to a coin-flip proposition under current economic conditions - that would place us now barely more than a quarter of the way through his presidency.
Alexandra Petri: "I wish we would talk more about Policy (just not Elizabeth Warren's)" (Washington Post SATIRE)
I just wish that the campaigns were more focused on Issues of Substance. I would love nothing better than to see a Policy proposal about an Issue. (Why is Elizabeth Warren waving at me? I am not finished yet.)
Matthew Yglesias: "Trump's sister quietly retired in February, and it's actually a really big deal" (Vox)
A key hint in the question of whether the president evaded taxes.
Constance Grady: Celebrating Ramona Quimby's enduring appeal, in honor of Beverly Cleary's 103rd birthday (Vox)
Beverly Cleary is 103. Her Ramona Quimby books gave us one of the sharpest characters in American kid lit.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
replied:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
SHEDS
David
Thanks, Dave!
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• When he was a young man acting in England, Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) played a practical joke on his friends when they came to see him in a play in which his role was very brief and unremarkable. First, he informed his friends that since he was now a master of makeup and of changing his voice, they would find it difficult to tell who he was on stage. He also told his friends that he had taken a stage name - but the name he gave them was that of an old actor in his troupe who specialized in playing old men. He then hinted to his friends that in the play his character would be concerned about long-lost children. Finally, he bought a cane similar to that used by the old-man character in the play, and he made sure that his friends saw it. The joke worked. Mr. Jerome's friends thought that the old actor was Mr. Jerome, and they applauded his every move.
• Impressionist George Kirby put his talents to use in 1956 when he and several other black entertainers performed in Miami Beach at the Beachcomber. This was during the Jim Crow era, and the Miami Sun printed an article with the headline "We Don't Want Niggers on the Beach!" As the black entertainers were in their dressing rooms nervously preparing for their performance that evening, they heard a mob, including voices that shouted, "Let's get dem niggers!" Everyone opened their doors and looked outside, and then they heard the laughter of Mr. Kirby, who had put his talents to use in a practical joke that broke the tension before the performance.
• Judi Dench's co-stars enjoy teasing her. While John Miller was researching his biography of her, he witnessed a fluff by Ms. Dench while she was acting in a TV series. Geoffrey Palmer told Mr. Miller loudly, so Judi would hear, "Make sure you put this in your book, John - she isn't always perfect!" On another occasion, Mr. Miller was talking with Billy Connolly, who also spoke loudly so she could hear, "Sssshh, she's coming - I'll finish telling you later." In addition, once when Ms. Dench was being interviewed, she laughed when she heard Mr. Connolly tease her by screaming in the next room, "She was a nightmare to work with."
• During World War II, some of Walter Winchell's friends pulled a practical joke on him. Immediately following his radio broadcast, Mr. Winchell was handed a telegram that said: "The Berlin radio reports that Adolf Hitler has been killed while inspecting Eastern Front defenses." Mr. Winchell screamed, "Damn the luck! Hitler's dead and I'm off the air!" However, after learning that the telegram was a fake, he said, "I'd go off the air forever if no more bombs were dropped on babies, if no more people were shot because they believed in something different, if there would be no more prejudice with a gun in its hand."
• In 1916, Casey Stengel bet Brooklyn Dodger manager Wilbert Robinson that he couldn't catch a baseball thrown out of an airplane. Wilbert accepted the bet, and Casey got an airplane with an open cockpit. As Wilbert stood in the field wearing a baseball mitt, Casey and the pilot flew over the field. At this time, one of the greatest practical jokes in baseball occurred. Casey didn't throw a baseball from the plane - he threw a grapefruit which splattered all over Wilbert's chest. Wilbert was so angry that Casey was forced to stay in hiding until he was forgiven.
• Occasionally, practical jokes are played during operatic performances. In a performance of Boheme in Philadelphia, Frances Alda was surprised when her fellow singers turned toward her on stage with monocles in their eyes. When snow fell on stage, mixed with it were such items as buttons that hit the top of the bonnet she was wearing. A glass of water turned out to be a glass of ink. And when De Segurola put on a hat on stage, he discovered that it was filled with powder that cascaded over his shoulders.
• Operatic bass singer Lablache was a huge man. One day, he was in Paris at the same time as the little person known as Tom Thumb. A couple of men wished to see Tom Thumb, but they were directed by a practical joker to knock at Lablache's door. Lablache opened the door, and the two men told him they wished to see Tom Thumb. Lablache replied, "I am Tom Thumb." the two men expressed surprise, saying, "But we thought you were quite small!" Lablache replied, "Before the public, yes! But at home I prefer to be comfortable."
• John Salkeld was an English Quaker as well as a man who enjoyed humor. This worried his more serious Quaker friends, who decided to talk to him about what they felt was his joking to excess. They stayed at his house a long time to talk to Mr. Salkeld, who left them for a few minutes, then hurried back to tell them excitedly, "Friends, come at once. My wife is speechless." They ran into the room where she was, only to discover that she was sound asleep.
• Knowing that yawns are infectious, a group of Quaker girls once played a joke at meetings while at school. Whenever a person of authority - a teacher, an elder, a minister, an overseer - looked at them, one or more of them would yawn. Then they watched with delight as the yawn passed from one person of authority to another. The girls felt that there was nothing wrong with this game, as they played it only when a meeting went past its normal closing time.
• During Word War II, Spike Milligan and his fellow soldiers used to set saluting traps for unsuspecting officers. One would see an officer coming, then pass the word to the others, who arranged themselves in a line spaced at 10-second intervals so they could wear out the officer's saluting arm.
• Senator Russell Long, a Democrat from Louisiana, once noted that there weren't any Republicans on the floor of the United States Senate. Therefore, he made a motion that the Senate vote unanimously to abolish the Republican Party.
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and seasonal.
Opioid Segment
John Oliver
John Oliver recruited Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston to go "full Walter White" on Sunday's Last Week Tonight - tapping into the drug lord's stone-faced menace for the role of Richard Sackler, the former president and chairman of Oxycontin developer Purdue Pharma. Michael Keaton, Michael K. Williams (The Wire) and Richard Kind (Mad About You) also played the billionaire businessman during the segment, an update on the U.S. opioid epidemic that resulted in 47,000 deaths in 2017.
Before the all-star cameos, host John Oliver established some context, focusing on the recklessness of drug distributors like McKesson, who are required to alert authorities if they observe suspicious orders of controlled substances. A recent congressional report found that in 2007, the company shipped a daily average of 9,650 hydrocodone pills to a now-closed pharmacy in Kermit, West Virginia, which has a population of 400.
In spite of the company's visibility, Richard Sackler has remained somewhat anonymous. However, Last Week Tonight were able to utilize a recently leaked transcript from a Sackler testimony, and to make the quotes more compelling, they hired Cranston and company to add a movie villain edginess to his words.
The actor channeled his edgiest Walter White to deliver part of a speech celebrating Purdue's approval from the DFA. "This didn't just happen," he intones, staring into the camera. "It was a deftly coordinated planned event that took dozens of workers years of effort to succeed. The most demanding new drug approval package for any analgesic product ever submitted didn't languish at the agency. Unlike the years that other filings linger at FDA, this product was approved in 11 months, 14 days. Our previous best approval time for other products was measured in years - not months."
Elsewhere, Keaton's Sackler shrugged off the news that Oxycontin caused 59 deaths in one state ("This is not too bad. It could have been far worse") and called the substance's "abusers" "culprits of the problem" and "reckless criminals." In Williams' take on the businessman, he boasted about how he's "dedicated [his] life" to the success of Oxycontin. Meanwhile, the less threatening Kind stepped in to balance out some of that eerie "cool" factor by reciting the answering-evading "I don't know" in a handful of styles.
John Oliver
Husband Pledges $113 Million to Rebuild Notre Dame
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek's husband François-Henri Pinault has pledged €100 million (over US$113 million) to help rebuild the fallen Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
In a statement obtained by French newspaper Le Figaro, Pinault, 56, said, "My father (François Pinault) and myself have decided to unblock a sum of 100 million euros from our Artemis funds (the family holding company) to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre-Dame."
Pinault's donation is the first major one announced. Through Kering, an international luxury group, his family owns and controls a number of businesses including Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga.
The elder Pinault, who is 82, is worth an estimated $37.3 billion, according to Bloomberg's "Billionaires Index".
A public fundraising drive has been announced and will open Tuesday morning in France.
Salma Hayek
World's First
3D-Printed Heart
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have successfully printed the world's first 3D heart using a patient's own cells and biological materials to "completely match the immunological, cellular, biochemical, and anatomical properties of the patient."
Until now, researchers have only been able to 3D-print simple tissues lacking blood vessels.
"This heart is made from human cells and patient-specific biological materials. In our process these materials serve as the bioinks, substances made of sugars and proteins that can be used for 3D printing of complex tissue models," said lead researcher Tal Dvir in a statement. "People have managed to 3D-print the structure of a heart in the past, but not with cells or with blood vessels. Our results demonstrate the potential of our approach for engineering personalized tissue and organ replacement in the future."
Describing their work in Advanced Science, the research team started by taking biopsies of fatty tissues from abdominal structures known as the omentum in both humans and pigs. The tissue's cellular materials were separated from those that weren't and reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells, "master cells" able to make cells from all three body layers with the potential to produce any cell or tissue in the body. The team then made the extracellular matrix - made up of collagen and glycoproteins - into a hydrogel used as the printing "ink". Cells were mixed with the hydrogel and then differentiated into cardiac or endothelial cells (those that line the interior surface of blood and lymphatic vessels) to create patient-specific, immune-compatible cardiac patches complete with blood vessels and, ultimately, an entire heart bioengineered from "native" patient-specific materials.
Though promising, the team is quick to remind us that their hearts are not yet ready for human transplantation.
3D-Printed Heart
Las Vegas Residency at Caesars Palace
Journey
Journey has taken much of 2019 off so everyone in the group can focus on solo endeavors. That ends in October when the band heads to Las Vegas for a nine-show residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Ticket prices begin at just $69, but primo seats will go for significantly more. They will go on-sale to the general public on Friday, though pre-sales begin tomorrow.
Journey last toured in the summer of 2018 when they played 60 co-headlining shows with Def Leppard. It was a wildly-successful outing that packed arenas all over the country along with a handful of baseball stadiums, grossing nearly $100 million and selling over a million tickets. It wrapped up October 7th at the Forum in Los Angeles, though Journey did come back together for a one-off in Reno, Nevada in December.
After the Reno gig, Journey guitarist Neal Schon turned his attention to his new side project Journey Through Time, which features original Journey singer Gregg Rolie and former Journey drummer Deen Castronovo. Their live show spotlights tunes from Journey's earliest albums, though they also mix in a few Eighties hits like "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully." Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cainn, meanwhile, is about to release his new solo album More Like Jesus. The songs are a reflection of his born again Christian beliefs.
Journey frontman Arnel Pineda has a handful of solo shows booked across the country in the coming months. He doesn't sing a single Journey song at these gigs, but he does do everything from Deep Purple's "Highway Star" to Rush's "Tom Sawyer," AC/DC's "Back in Black" and Starship's "We Built This City."
Journey
2018
Pulitzers
The South Florida Sun Sentinel and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette won Pulitzer Prizes on Monday and were recognized along with the Capital Gazette of Maryland for their coverage of the horrifying mass shootings in 2018 at a high school, a synagogue and a newsroom itself.
The Associated Press won in the international reporting category for documenting the humanitarian horrors of Yemen's civil war, while The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal were honored for delving into President Donald Trump's finances and breaking open the hush-money scandals involving two women who said they had affairs with him.
The Florida paper received the Pulitzer in public service for its coverage of the massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and for detailing the shortcomings in school discipline and security that contributed to the carnage.
The Post-Gazette was honored in the breaking news category for its reporting on the synagogue rampage that left 11 people dead. The man awaiting trial in the attack railed against Jews before, during and after the massacre, authorities said.
Reuters won an international reporting award for work that cost two of its staffers their liberty: coverage of a brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims by security forces in Myanmar.
Pulitzers
Only 3 Remain
Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle
The world's rarest turtle has moved a step closer to extinction after a female specimen died in a Chinese zoo, leaving behind just three known members of the species.
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, believed to be above 90 years of age, died in Suzhou Zoo on Saturday, according to the Suzhou Daily.
The female's death came a day after zoo officials made a last-ditch effort at artificial insemination using semen from the Suzhou Zoo male, an animal estimated to be more than 100 years old, the newspaper said.
The zoo had tried unsuccessfully for several years to get the pair to mate and reproduce naturally. It will now conduct an autopsy to determine what caused the animal's death, the newspaper reported.
Besides the Suzhou Zoo male there are only two other known members of the species left, both living in the wild in Vietnam and of unknown gender, according to conservationists.
Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle
Iron Age Settlement
Oxfordshire
Twenty-six human skeletons dating back almost 3,000 years ago have been discovered in Oxfordshire.
Thames Water's £14.5m project to ease pressure on a chalk stream near Wantage led to the discovery believed to be from the Iron Age and Roman periods.
Workers found an ancient settlement containing an array of historic artefacts as they prepared to lay new water pipes which will relieve pressure on Letcombe Brook.
The finds included 26 human skeletons with some likely to have been involved in ritual burials.
There was also evidence of dwellings, animal carcasses and household items including pottery, cutting implements and a decorative comb.
Oxfordshire
Thawing Permafrost
Siberia
Thawing ice in the Earth's polar zones is releasing all kinds of nasties. Think prehistoric viruses, nuclear fallout, greenhouse gas, and anthrax-causing spores. Experts are now warning that rapid warming in Russia's Yakutia republic could be putting residents at risk of the latter plus other ancient diseases, The Telegraph reports.
Yakutia (aka the Republic of Sakha) lies in Siberia's northeast and covers some of the coldest permanently inhabited places on the planet, with average winter temperatures regularly dropping below 30°C (-22°F). And yet, it is also experiencing some of the greatest warming in relation to climate change. In just 10 years, average temperatures in Yakutia's capital Yakutsk have risen by 2.5°C. That throws up all sorts of dilemmas, not least the collapse of infrastructure specifically built to cope with the region's permafrost. But many have also raised concerns about the return of "zombie Anthrax".
Anthrax is an infectious (and potentially deadly) condition brought on by Bacillus anthracis. Spores of the bacteria are naturally found in the Earth's soil, where they may be ingested by plant-eating animals. Like several other pathogens, B. anthracis can go into hiding (or hibernation) when conditions are not quite right, only to return again when circumstances improve. The French even have a name for it - champs maudits (the "cursed fields"), a reference to fields of dead livestock, not uncommon during the Middle Ages, decimated by so-called "zombie anthrax".
Permafrost, like that in Yakutia, provides the perfect state for hibernation. B. anthracis can lie dormant in this frigid state for more than 100 years.
Siberia has already seen the return of the disease. Following an unusually warm summer in 2016, an outbreak resulted in the deaths of hundreds of reindeer and a 12-year-old boy. More had to be hospitalized. According to The Telegraph, experts concluded that high temperatures had prompted greater ice thaw, releasing anthrax from decades-old infection sites.
Siberia
Fifth Dynasty
Egypt
A 4,300-year-old tomb belonging to a senior official in Egypt's Fifth Dynasty has been unveiled around 20 miles south of Cairo.
The newly opened crypt, located near Saqqara, contains vivid coloured reliefs and well-preserved inscriptions painted in a special green resin that has kept its pigment over the last 4,300 years.
Built from white limestone bricks, it is thought to belong to a nobleman known as Khuwy or Khewi and was discovered last month.
In a statement Mohamed Megahed, head of the excavation team, said: "The L-shaped Khuwy tomb starts with a small corridor heading downwards into an antechamber and from there a larger chamber with painted reliefs depicting the tomb owner seated at an offering table."
The north wall of the tomb indicates its design was inspired by the architectural blueprint of the royal pyramids from the Fifth Dynasty (2494-2345 BC), the statement added.
Egypt
In Memory
Georgia Engel
Georgia Engel, who played the charmingly innocent, small-voiced Georgette on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and amassed a string of other TV and stage credits, has died. She was 70.
Engel died Friday in Princeton, New Jersey, said her friend and executor, John Quilty. The cause of death was unknown because she was a Christian Scientist and didn't see doctors, Quilty said Monday.
Engel was best known for her role as Georgette on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," the character who was improbably destined to marry pompous anchorman Ted Baxter, played by Ted Knight.
Engel also had recurring roles on "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Hot in Cleveland." She was a five-time Emmy nominee, receiving two nods for the late Moore's show and three for "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Georgia Bright Engel was born in July 1948 in Washington, D.C., to parents Benjamin, a Coast Guard officer, and Ruth Engel. She studied theater at the University of Hawaii.
Her prolific career included guest appearances on a variety of series, including "The Love Boat," ''Fantasy Island," ''Coach" and "Two and a Half Men." Her "Hot in Cleveland" role reunited her with Betty White, her co-star in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1972-77) and "The Betty White Show" (1977-78).
Engel appeared on Broadway in plays and musicals including "Hello, Dolly!", "The Boys from Syracuse" and, most recently, "The Drowsey Chaperone" in 2006-07. She starred in an off-Broadway production of "Uncle Vanya" in 2012.
Her real-life voice was as sweet as the one familiar from her screen roles. "What you see is what you get. That's not a character voice - that's our girl," a smiling White said in a 2012 interview with Engel, calling her a "pure gold" friend and colleague.
Engel's final credited television appearance came last year in the Netflix series "One Day at a Time."
Funeral services for Engel, whose survivors include her sisters Robin Engel and Penny Lusk, will be private, Quilty said.
Georgia Engel
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
