from Bruce
Anecdotes
Problem-Solving
• The great dancer Bill Robinson, aka Mr. Bojangles, protected himself against interlopers. While performing at the Cotton Club, Mr. Bojangles noticed members of the Tramp Band talking during his dance act, so when the Tramp Band was on later, he got hold of a tin plate and beat it while wandering through the audience, calling, “Peanuts! Peanuts!” The audience was too busy laughing at Mr. Bojangles’ antics to notice the Tramp Band. After that experience, members of the Tramp Band were respectful—and quiet—during Mr. Bojangles’ performance.
• Soprano Giuseppina Grassini once refused to sing at a performance in place of her arch-rival, Mrs. Elizabeth Billington, but fast-thinking stage manager Michael Kelly told her that the Queen had intended to attend the performance incognito and would be disappointed if the performance were cancelled. Ms. Grassini decided to do the performance. Later, she found out that she had been fooled and the Queen was not present, but by that time she was succeeding in her performance so well that she didn’t mind being fooled.
• Walt Disney stuck up for his employees. One of his employees mowed the grass by the window of a visiting film company executive who was so annoyed that he shouted at the employee. Mr. Disney called the executive into his office and told him, “You spoke harshly to that man. He’s been with me for 20 years. I don’t want it to happen again.” The executive replied, “Yes, sir.” By the way, Mr. Disney once stated what he felt was the way to success: “Quit talking—and start doing it.”
• Everett Greenbaum was a writer for The Andy Griffith Show and the man who created Gomer Pyle. Mr. Greenbaum had driven into a gasoline station with engine trouble, but the only thing the incompetent station attendant could think to do to fix the problem was to add more gasoline to the gas tank. The incompetent station attendant became the model for Gomer. By the way, here’s a bit of TV trivia: On the television sitcom M*A*S*H, no laughtrack is used in the operating room scenes.
• In vaudeville, theater owners had a problem with “stayovers”—people who would see the show and then stay over to see it again, thus reducing the number of tickets that could be sold for the next show. At the New York Paramount, the show used to close with a community “follow the bouncing ball” sing-along, which always ended with “The Star-Spangled Banner” to get people on their feet and inclined to walk out of the theater.
• In the old days, ballet dancers seldom made much money. While performing with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the late 1930s, the younger dancers got accommodations by playing the “Army Game.” One dancer would rent a room in a hotel, then six or seven other dancers would join that person. Together, they bribed a maid to bring them lots of towels. Without the Army Game, they would not have been able to stay in a hotel.
• Wilson Mizner wanted good service. Once he went to a restaurant, but the servers were slow in getting him a pack of cigarettes he had asked for, so Mr. Mizner used a telephone to order that a District Telegraph Service messenger boy be sent to him. When the messenger boy arrived, Mr. Mizner sent him to get cigarettes from the restaurant’s cigar stand, then gave him a very large tip. After that, he received excellent service in the restaurant.
• Drama critic Robert Benchley was frequently annoyed by women at matinees, who talked during the play he had to review. Once, at the end of the first act, he told two noisy women sitting directly behind him, “I hope you’ll excuse me, but if you two ladies would be so kind as to leave the theater, I shall be more than glad to pay for your seats.” The two women were quiet for the rest of the play.
Puns
• Composer Igor Stravinsky learned English late in life, but he learned it well. He enjoyed making puns in English, and while dining one evening, he asked for a dish of tongue by saying, “Please pass the language.” By the way, at 4:30 a.m. one day ballerina Maria Tallchief woke up to find her then-husband, George Balanchine, missing. She got up, searched for him, and found him in the kitchen, cooking the Easter meal—something she learned he did each year.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Track: “Loaded Gun” featuring vocalist Daniel Gutiérrez
EP: MOROS EN LA COSTA
Artist: Secret Agent
Artist Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Info:
“SECRET AGENT is a Psy Spy Instro [Instrumental] Surf band from Mexico City.”
“Suspected agents: RICK DELIZ (Guitar), RACK AGUIRRE (Bass), ALIS EMERSON (Drums).”
“Modern Surf grooves with Psychedelic Rock, Punk, Rockabilly & Spaghetti Western twang.”
“Been spotted touring parts of Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States and South America. They execute modern Surf grooves with Psychedelic Rock, Punk, Rockabilly & Spaghetti Western twang, influenced by Spy and Western film music, The Ventures, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Pink Floyd, Ramones, Dick Dale, Lalo Schifrin and Ennio Morricone.”
Price: $7 (UD) for seven-track EP
Genre: Mostly Instrumental Rock.
Links:
MOROS EN LA COSTA
Secret Agent on Bandcamp
Secret Agent on YouTube
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Eggs
Ask any one of these small flock farmers about their chickens and they’ll say they got their chickens originally as pets.
“The chickens are basically pets with benefits,” Todd St. Sauver said. “They’re pets first and foremost.”
New Venture
Michael Egan
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
Ukraine
Other Links:
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David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
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Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another extra toasty day.
Royalty War
Cher
Cher’s lawsuit claiming Sonny Bono’s widow, Mary Bono (Baxley-Mack-Oswald), owes her $1 million in unpaid royalties for Sonny & Cher songs — including hits like “I Got You Babe” — had its first major court hearing Monday, April 25, with a federal judge asking a telling hypothetical.
U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt heard arguments on a pending motion to dismiss the suit and challenged Mary Bono’s position that the federal Copyright Act allows her to terminate the 50% right to royalties that Sonny Bono agreed to fork over to Cher when the former couple signed their divorce settlement in 1978.
In her lawsuit, Cher claims Mary Bono, 60, and the Bono Collection Trust are trying, illegally, to terminate her 50% share of the composition and recording royalties for Sonny & Cher songs she was awarded in her 1978 divorce. According to Mary Bono, that 50% stake has expired, with the rights flowing back to Sonny’s heirs.
While Cher’s lawsuit cites Mary Bono, individually and as trustee of The Bono Collection Trust, as the only named defendant, the action also affects Sonny Bono’s other heirs, including Chaz Bono, Cher’s only child with Sonny, as well as Chesare Bono, Chianna Bono and Christy Bono, Mary’s paperwork states.
Cher
Papers To Library of Congress
Neil Simon
Dozens of notebooks, scripts, speeches, drafts of letters, artwork and even signed baseballs owned by the late playwright Neil Simon have been donated to the Library of Congress. The collection offers offering historians and researchers access to the creative process of American theater’s most successful and prolific playwright.
The collection includes about 7,700 items documenting the evolution of Simon’s plays and screenplays, including “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Sunshine Boys,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Lost in Yonkers.”
The donation will be officially announced at a special event with actors Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker — both currently starring in a Broadway revival of “Plaza Suite” — and Elaine Joyce, Simon’s widow on Monday night at the Library. It will be livestreamed starting at 7 p.m. ET on the Library’s YouTube channel.
The cache includes a yellowing first act of “Barefoot in the Park,” plenty of notes for actors or directors, and over a dozen notepads filled with watercolors, drawings and cartoons by Simon. There are also several scripts for shows never completed or produced, such as one titled “The Merry Widows,” written for Bette Midler and Whoopi Goldberg.
Neil Simon
Hollywood Walk O'Fame
Jean Smart
Actress Jean Smart received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday honoring a career that includes 11 Emmy nominations for her work on nine series, winning four times.
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Hannah Einbinder joined Smart in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony in front of the El Centro Apartments and Bungalows at 6150 Hollywood Blvd.
Smart's star is the 2,721st since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961.
The ceremony comes 17 days before the May 12 second-season premiere of "Hacks," in which Smart won an outstanding lead actress in a comedy series Emmy in September for her portrayal of legendary Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance.
The Emmy made Smart the second actor to win an Emmy in the comedy lead, supporting and guest actress categories, joining Betty White.
Jean Smart
‘Little Book’ Saved
Charlotte Brontë
The last of Charlotte Brontë’s “little books” known to be in private hands has been saved for the public and will go on display in Yorkshire.
The minature books were created by Charlotte Brontë and her siblings when they were children to entertain their toy soldiers.
The minature books stayed in the Brontë family until the 1890s when they were dispersed.
Prior to its resurfacing, “A Book of Ryhmes” was last seen at auction in 1916 in New York, where it was sold for 520 dollars before disappearing.
The book is probably, inch-for-inch, the most valuable literary manuscript ever to be sold - measuring just 3.8 by 2.5 inches.
Charlotte Brontë
Climate Activist Dies
Wynn Alan Bruce
A climate activist has died 24 hours after setting himself on fire on the steps of the Supreme Court on Earth Day.
Colorado photojournalist Wynn Alan Bruce, 50, suffered critical injuries in the incident at 6.30pm Friday on a plaza in front of the court. He was airlifted to hospital, where he died Saturday.
Mr Bruce ran a portrait photo studio in Boulder, and his social media account was filled with posts about the environment and Buddhism.
He also left a cryptic post on his Facebook page with a fire emoji and the date of his death 4/22/2022 a year before his death.
Dr K. Kritee, a Buddhist priest from Boulder, wrote on Twitter that Mr Bruce had been planning to self-immolate for at least a year.
Wynn Alan Bruce
Few Consequences
Crossing Lines
There was a time in the nation’s capital when lines mattered, and when they were crossed, the consequences were swift and severe.
House Speaker Jim Wright, a Democrat, lost his job in 1989 amid charges of corruption and profiteering. Almost a decade later, Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican, lost his after disappointing midterm elections.
Gingrich’s expected successor, Robert Livingston, then admitted he had violated the public’s trust by having an extramarital affair — even as he demanded President Bill Clinton’s resignation for having an affair with a White House intern — and bowed out on his own.
Yet when the House Republican leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, was shown to have lied about his response to the deadliest assault on the Capitol in centuries and President Donald Trump’s culpability for it, there was little expectation that the consequences would be swift or severe — or that there would be any at all.
Dissembling is not a crime, but doing so to conceal a wholesale reversal on a matter as serious as an attack on the citadel of democracy and the possible resignation of a president would once have been considered career-ending for a politician, particularly one who aspires to the highest position in the House.
Crossing Lines
Words Matter
Marshall Law
In mid-January 2021, just days before President Joe Biden's inauguration, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to tell him some GOP members of Congress had privately suggested (the) former President Trump should declare martial law, according to texts obtained by CBS News and first reported by CNN. Greene testified last week she does not recall whether she encouraged the president to impose martial law.
"In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law," Greene wrote to Meadows on January 17, 2021. "I don't know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!"
That is one of multiple texts Greene sent to Meadows in the post-election period, around January 6, 2021. Greene also told Meadows "we think" the people who assaulted the Capitol on January 6 "are Antifa" dressed like Trump supporters. Meadows turned over his text messages to the January 6 committee probing the assault and then declined to cooperate further with the committee.
CNN first reported the texts, along with more than 2,000 texts Meadows exchanged with top aides, television personalities, members of Congress, and GOP activists.
Marshall Law
Ancient Temple Unearthed In Sinai
Zeus
Egyptian archaeologists unearthed the ruins of a temple for the ancient Greek god Zeus in the Sinai Peninsula, antiquities authorities said Monday.
The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said in a statement the temple ruins were found in the Tell el-Farma archaeological site in northwestern Sinai.
Tell el-Farma, also known by its ancient name Pelusium, dates back to the late Pharaonic period and was also used during Greco-Roman and Byzantine times. There are also remains dating to the Christian and early Islamic periods.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said archaeologists excavated the temple ruins through its entrance gate, where two huge fallen granite columns were visible. The gate was destroyed in a powerful earthquake in ancient times, he said.
Excavations at the area date back to early 1900 when French Egyptologist Jean Clédat found ancient Greek inscriptions that showed the existence of the Zeus-Kasios temple but he didn’t unearth it, according to the ministry.
Zeus
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