Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Sweden Turns Japanese (NY Times)
Three years ago Sweden was widely regarded as a role model in how to deal with a global crisis. … Then the sadomonetarists moved in.
Reihan Salam: Paul Krugman Isn't a Hypocrite (Slate)
A $225,000 salary for the critic of inequality is more than fair.
Andrew Tobias: Of Patriotism and Oligarchy
And speaking of patriotism, there is a certain irony in the brand of patriot who loves his country but hates funding its military and its schools and its infrastructure . . . hates funding its safety net and the debt incurred fighting wars it never should have entered and tax cuts for the wealthy it could not afford to enact. […] A special irony, perhaps, in the wealthy patriot who thinks the tax cuts for billionheirs were not deep enough - who loves having a spotless toilet in his five-star hotel room, but hates that the maid who cleaned it is "given" Medicaid and a minimum wage. She is a "taker." He is a victim of big government.
Cezary Jan Strusiewicz, Michael Pearce: The 4 Strangest Things Nobody Tells You About Life in China (Cracked)
You love kung pao chicken and Jackie Chan, and now, with so many jobs supposedly going to China, it's time to pack your bags, hop on a plane, and go live where you truly belong. Surely this hasty adventure based on ill-informed stereotypes will pan out where all those others have failed!
Dante Atkins: "No, we're not 'Yummys': why millennials aren't materialistic" (Guardian)
Marketers have created a profile for young urban millennial males with money to burn, but it's hard to believe this creature exists.
Charlie Jane Anders: The Most Astounding Cosplay From WonderCon: Day 2! (io9)
And the hits just keep on coming. Comic-Con may have Tom Hiddleston playing Loki live on stage, but WonderCon has some of the best cosplay we've ever seen. Saturday's cosplay focused on gender-swapped characters, clever puns, and some pretty deep cuts. See for yourself!
"High School Confidential" (Snopes)
Status: FALSE.
Game of Thrones Parody of Frozen's "Let It Go" (YouTube)
Excellent production values.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
"Doug's Most Shared Facebook Post" Today
, replied:
wrote:
said:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Gare Says...
Astrology
A Column About my Jeopardy Loss
You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll critique in the form of a question.
Thank you for your earnest clicking!!!
Gare G
Thanks, Gare!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Carl Sagan
Article from Smithsonian:
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.
So - to let you know what's going on, the guestbook on bartcop.com is
still open for those who want to write something in memory of Bart.
I did an interview on Netroots Radio about Bart's passing
( www.stitcher.com/s?eid=32893545 )
The most active open discussion is on Bart's Facebook page.
( www.facebook.com/bartcop )
You can listen to Bart's theme song here
or here.
( www.bartcop.com/blizing-saddles.mp3 )
( youtu.be/MySGAaB0A9k )
We have opened up the radio show archives which are now free. Listen to
all you want.
( bartcop.com/members )
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
Thanks, Marc!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny and summery.
Puts Over 85,000 Historical Films on YouTube
British Pathé
British Pathé was one of the leading producers of newsreels and documentaries during the 20th Century. This week, the company, now an archive, is turning over its entire collection - over 85,000 historical films - to YouTube.
The archive - which spans from 1896 to 1976 - is a goldmine of footage, containing movies of some of the most important moments of the last 100 years. It's a treasure trove for film buffs, culture nerds and history mavens everywhere. In Pathé's playlist "
A Day That Shook the World," which traces an Anglo-centric history of the 20th Century, you will find clips of the
Wright Brothers' first flight, the
bombing of Hiroshima and
Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon, alongside footage of
Queen Victoria's funeral and
Roger Bannister's 4-minute mile. There's, of course, footage of the dramatic
Hindenburg crash and
Lindbergh's daring cross-Atlantic flight. And then you can see
King Edward VIII abdicating the throne in 1936,
Hitler becoming the German Chancellor in 1933 and the eventual Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941 (above).
But the really intriguing part of the archive is seeing all the ephemera from the 20th Century, the stuff that really makes the past feel like a foreign country - the weird hairstyles, the way a city street looked, the breathtakingly casual sexism and racism. There's a rush in seeing history come alive. Case in point, this documentary from 1967 about the wonders to be found in a surprisingly monochrome Virginia.
If you have several weeks to kill, you can watch all of the videos here.
British Pathé
This story was found on www.openculture.com, and it's worth a visit.
On the right side of the page is a list of free lectures:
Carl Sagan,
Jorge Luis Borges,
Richard Dawkins,
Buckminster Fuller,
Bertrand Russell ... and more.
Days Numbered For Karl Rove's Favorite Dance Partner?
David Gregory
In today's much-discussed Washington Post profile of NBC host David Gregory, there's a claim that the network sent a "psychological consultant" to interview Gregory's friends and family amidst Meet The Press' declining ratings. An NBC spokesperson told the Post it was part of an effort to "get perspective and insight from people who know him best."
After the odd claim about the network veteran received a lot of attention, NBC is now saying the Post's reporting is incorrect.
"Last year Meet the Press brought in a brand consultant - not, as reported, a psychological one - to better understand how its anchor connects," the network said in a statement. "This is certainly not unusual for any television program, especially one that's driven so heavily by one person."
The trade pub said networks routinely commission such "brand assessments," pointing to a recent study done by ABC that resulted in the firing of The View hosts Elizabeth Hassleback and Joy Behar.
David Gregory
Hit With Editors Strike
'Last Comic Standing'
Just more than a month before its reboot is set to debut, NBC's Last Comic Standing today has been knocked down by a labor action. About 15 editors and assistant editors walked off the job today in a no-joke strike organized by the Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700, I've learned. Hired by NBC Studios on a non-union basis, the editors are seeking a union contract that includes industry-standard health insurance and pension benefits.
With LCS slated to premiere on May 22, today's action halts postproduction on the returning reality series. No word yet if the strike could spill over into LCS' immediate broadcast schedule, but the margins are tight with the debut so close. "For generations, the Guild has fought to establish standards for this kind of employment so that talented postproduction craftspeople can enjoy certain basic safeguards, including health and retirement benefits," guild chief Alan Heim said in a statement today. "NBC Studios apparently doesn't think that this show's editors and assistants deserve such baseline respect, and we don't find that in the least bit funny."
LCS is the second non-fully unionized NBC reality competition show Hollywood guilds have focused on in the past 18 months. In October 2012, production on Fashion Star was shut down in an IATSE action when the 60-plus crew sought health and pension benefits. After several days of picketing at Hollywood Center Studios and and the offices of producer Magical Elves, the two sides quickly reached a deal.
NBC said in March that LCS - which ran for seven seasons from 2003-2010 - would be brought back with a 13-episode order with new judges Roseanne Barr, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Russell Peters and JB Smoove as the host. The show pits up-and-coming comedians against one another for a shot at a network development deal. Wanda Sykes and Page Hurwitz of Push It Prods executive produce for Universal Television through their deal with the studio, along with The Marriage Ref's Javier Winnik.
'Last Comic Standing'
Renews Comedies
HBO
HBO has extended the runs of comedies "Veep" and "Silicon Valley," picking up both shows for a 2015 season.
"Silicon Valley," from Mike Judge and partially inspired by his own experiences as a Silicon Valley engineer in the late 1980s, premiered April 6 with 1.98 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Its second of eight episodes in season 1, on April 13, drew 1.69 million, and last night's episode attracted 1.6 million.
"Veep" opened its third season on April 6 with 955,000, and 868,000 watched its second episode a week later. Last night, it drew 775,000.
The premium cabler had previously renewed "Girls" for a fourth season, to air in 2015. Recent half-hour addition "Looking" has also been renewed, and is scheduled to begin production on its second season this fall.
HBO
Critical Of CBS
Sharyl Attkisson
Sharyl Attkisson leveled strong, but carefully worded, criticism on Sunday against her former employer CBS News, describing a pattern where stories that painted the Obama administration or corporate interests in an unflattering way faced resistance at the network.
"It did get to the point were there was not a lot left for me to do," Attkisson reiterated about her employment during an interview with Brian Stelter on CNN's Reliable Sources. The investigative reporter alleged a culture among some sectors at CBS News that was hesitant toward airing a story critical of the government. She also noted that in the past several years stories that were favorable to the Obama administration were likelier to be embraced by CBS News producers.
Attkisson announced her resignation from CBS News on March 10, ending a career with the network that spanned over two decades. As an investigative correspondent at CBS, she reported aggressively on the Fast and Furious gunsmuggling scandal and the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya. She was nominated for a 2013 Emmy in the investigative journalism in a newscast category for her work on a report titled "Libya: Dying for Security."
Attkisson has been critical of CBS since her departure, expressing similar displeasure in an interview with Howard Kurtz during his Fox News media show on April 13. "There seems to be a visceral reaction to doing stories that could ruffle feathers, whether it is certain people in the political spectrum or even corporate interests," she told Kurtz. "I think there has come to be a narrowing universe of stories that are desired by the broadcasts, and it leaves us sometimes I think with newscasts that don't dig very deep."
Sharyl Attkisson
Bodyguard Convicted Of Assault
Chris Brown
A judge convicted singer Chris Brown's bodyguard of assault Monday following a two-day trial that provided a preview of a similar case against Brown.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Patricia Wynn convicted Brown's bodyguard, Christopher Hollosy, of a single count of misdemeanor assault. Hollosy's sentencing is set for June 25. Brown's trial on the same charge will come before the judge next.
Both men were arrested in October after a Maryland man said Brown and then Hollosy punched him outside a Washington hotel.
Hollosy told police that he punched the man after he tried to get on Brown's tour bus. The man, 20-year-old Parker Adams, told a different story during the trial that began Thursday and ended Friday. He said Brown and later Hollosy punched him after he tried to get in a photo Brown was taking with two women and the men exchanged words.
Chris Brown
SCOTUS To Hear Dispute
Internet TV
Thirty years after failing to convince the Supreme Court of the threat posed by home video recordings, big media companies are back and now trying to rein in another technological innovation they say threatens their financial well-being.
The battle has moved out of viewers' living rooms, where Americans once marveled at their ability to pop a cassette into a recorder and capture their favorite programs or the sporting event they wouldn't be home to see.
Now the entertainment conglomerates that own U.S. television networks are waging a legal fight, culminating in Tuesday's Supreme Court argument against a startup business that uses Internet-based technology to give subscribers the ability to watch programs anywhere they can take portable devices.
The source of the companies' worry is Aereo Inc., which takes free television signals from the airwaves and sends them over the Internet to paying subscribers in 11 cities. Aereo, backed by billionaire Barry Diller, has plans to more than double that total.
Broadcasters including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS have sued Aereo for copyright infringement, saying Aereo should pay for redistributing the programming the same way cable and satellite systems do.
Internet TV
Adaptation Too Personal
Henry James
If literati and legal scholars got together to dream up the most provocative lawsuit, they could hardly do better than the one that has just been filed over the 2012 film What Maisie Knew.
When the movie came out, it was described by almost everyone as an adaptation of Henry James' 1897 novel of the same name. But according to Ronee Sue Blakley, the film wasn't so much inspired by 19th-century American literature as a late 20th-century custody fight.
Blakley is a musician and actress best known for an Academy Award-nominated role in Robert Altman's Nashville. In the 1980s, she had a romantic relationship with Carroll Cartwright. Together, they had a daughter, Sarah, and then a legal battle over the child that lasted more than a decade.
Cartwright would go on to co-write What Maisie Knew, about a young girl who becomes a pawn in a bitter fight between her mother (played by Julianne Moore) and her father (played by Steve Coogan). Moore has described her character Susanna as an abusive mother who neglects her child.
There's a genre of defamation law known as "libel in fiction," wherein if readers can recognize what they see as referring to someone real, then statements made about this person can be actionable. "If Susanna had been an entirely fictional character, this lawsuit would never have been filed," says Blakley's lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court. "But that is not the case. Cartwright, who co-wrote the screenplay of the Film, has admitted that it is closely based on his own first hand [sic] personal experience of a lengthy and acrimonious battle for the custody of his daughter, Sarah."
Henry James
Cheney Earned His Keep
Halliburton
Halliburton (R-Frack You) made money in the first quarter on rising revenue in the Middle East and Asia, and the CEO said Monday that he sensed an upturn in the North American market.
Earnings and revenue topped expectations and Halliburton reversed course after a loss a year ago, when results were hurt by charges related to the huge 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Halliburton Co. shares rose $1.72, or 2.8 percent, to $62.62 in afternoon trading after hitting an all-time high of $63.88 earlier in the day. They began the day up 20 percent so far in 2014.
The Houston company provides drilling services to oil and gas operators around the world, although it is more dependent on U.S. operations than rival Schlumberger Ltd. That has been a handicap lately, as a surplus of equipment used in hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" - pumping chemicals and water underground to break open shale rock formations - has driven down prices.
Halliburton
Misleading Fruit Juice Label
Coca-Cola
U.S. Supreme Court justices sharply questioned a lawyer for Coca-Cola on Monday, asking why a juice label touting pomegranate and blueberry should not be considered misleading if the drink contained only a tiny amount of the fruits.
Officially, the case was about whether a competitor - in this case POM Wonderful - could challenge as misleading the label on a juice bottle sold by Coke's Minute Maid brand if the Food and Drug Administration had not objected to it.
The Minute Maid juice is sold as a "Pomegranate Blueberry Flavored Blend of 5 Juices" but is primarily apple and grape juice with 0.3 percent pomegranate juice and 0.2 percent blueberry juice, according to a POM court filing.
POM Wonderful, which makes a juice that is 100 percent pomegranate juice, argued that the Minute Maid juice label was misleading and would hurt sales for its product.
Coca-Cola
Oldest Artworks In Danger
Philippines
On a small rock wall a short drive from the Philippine capital, enigmatic carvings that are believed to date back 5,000 years are in danger of disappearing before their mysteries can be solved.
The 127 engravings of people, animals and geometric shapes are the Southeast Asian nation's oldest known artworks, but encroaching urbanisation, vandals and the ravages of nature are growing threats.
The artworks have been declared a national treasure, regarded as the best proof that relatively sophisticated societies existed in the Philippines in the Stone Age.
Museum scientists believe the carvings date back to 3000 BC, based on carving tools and pottery shards discovered at the site, indicating they originated before the use of metal tools.
Philippines
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