Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Justin Peters: Death of Beloved Town Drunk Reduces Canadian Cops to Tears (Slate)
In America, homeless drunks are routinely ignored, or despised, or given one-way bus tickets out of town. In kind-hearted Canada, homeless drunks become local celebrities.
Ted Rall: Rapist Nation (Cartoon)
A Pentagon study estimates that 26,000 victims were sexually assaulted in the military during 2012. And the top Air Force officer in charge of preventing sexual assault has been charged with attacking a woman in a parking lot.
Ted Rall: Stephen Hawking gets Hasbara'ed
Stephen Hawking's much vaunted presence at a scientific conference in Israel, hosted by Shimon Peres, would have added much needed sheen to the rogue state's tarnished image. The esteemed physicist's keynote address to his colleagues, and in particular, his host nation, would have branded Israel in the eyes of the world as a regional epicenter for cultural and intellectual pursuits, and bestowed it with the legitimacy it lacks as an international lawbreaker, operating the world's largest open air prison.
Paul Krugman: In Praise of Econowonkery (New York Times)
Mike Konczal has an interesting piece on the general question of whether wonk-blogging - the practice of putting up fairly analytical data-heavy posts bearing on policy issues directly on the web, rather than going through more traditional publication channels - is a good thing. He puts it in the context of liberal politics, which it mostly (though not entirely) is; but I'd like to think about it more generally as a way in which data and analysis can be brought quickly to bear on policy discussion.
Paul Krugman: More Science Fiction for Economists (Seriously Time-Wasting)
Noah Smith has a list; all good stuff, although not all to my taste. (I just can't read Cory Doctorow, and don't know why). Definitely definitely The Dispossessed, which never seems to lose its relevance.
Henry Rollins: Harmony at Dischord (LA Weekly)
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, the mother of the implicated bombers, insists her sons, Tamerlan (dead) and Dzhokar (in custody) are innocent. I can understand a grieving mother's pain, but she's a real piece of work. She is, however, in interesting company with the Alex Jones crowd, which has, unsurprisingly, a fairly surreal take on what happened in Boston.
Gemma Kappala-Ramsamy: "Barbara Kingsolver: 'Motherhood is so sentimentalised in our culture'" (Guardian)
The American author on her novel Flight Behaviour, shortlisted for the Women's prize, and the truth about living with young children.
Lucy Mangan: "One Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith" (Guardian)
… I took my copy home when (40 billion years later) we finished our classroom reading. And I read it again. It was better. I read it again. It was better again. I kept reading and re-reading until I had put that book together again and restored it to its rightful glory.
Russell Baker: "10 Ways to Avoid Mucking Up the World Any Worse Than It Already Is"
You're one of the luckiest people in the world. You're living in America. Enjoy it. I feel obliged to give you this banal advice because, although I've lived through the Great Depression, World War II, terrible wars in Korea and Vietnam, and half a century of cold war, I have never seen a time when there were so many Americans so angry or so mean-spirited or so sour about the country as there are today.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Thanks, David!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Infographic
Stephen Colbert's B-Day
Hi,
Since it was Stephen Colbert's birthday yesterday, my friends and I decided to put together an infographic showcasing some highlights from his life and career, plus whatever cool Colbert trivia we could find. We're trying to share it with other Colbert fans, so I thought it might interest you.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Way too hot for the season.
Didja see Eric Burdon (no Animals) sitting in with Paul & the band on Dave?
Astronaut Personalizes 'Space Oddity'
Chris Hadfield
In a high-flying, perfectly pitched first, an astronaut on the International Space Station is bowing out of orbit with a musical video: his own custom version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
It's believed to be the first music video made in space, according to NASA.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's personalized rendition of "Space Oddity" was posted on YouTube on Sunday, one day before his departure from the orbiting lab. He's wrapping up a five-month mission that began last December.
Hadfield, 53, a longtime guitarist who played in an astronaut rock 'n' roll band, recorded the video throughout the space station. He had some down-to-Earth help from a Canadian music team.
The five-minute video posted Sunday drew a salute from Bowie's official Facebook page: "It's possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created."
Chris Hadfield
Fundraising Mascot
Pigboy
President Obama told donors like Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake (who was wearing hipster glasses), and Tommy Hilfiger that Washington gridlock is pretty much Rush Limbaugh's (R-Viagra-Dependent Sex Tourist) fault on Monday evening at a fundraiser at Harvey Weinstein's house in New York's Greenwich Village. Obama admitted that his theory - that after the 2012 election, the Republican "fever" would break, and they'd decide to co-sign some of his agenda - was wrong. "My thinking was when we beat them in 2012 that might break the fever, and it's not quite broken yet," Obama said, according to the White House pool report. This is because of a certain corpulent radio host. "I genuinely believe there are Republicans out there who would like to work with us but they're fearful of their base and they're concerned about what Rush Limbaugh (R-NRA Catamite) might say about them. And as a consequence we get the kind of gridlock that makes people cynical about government."
In June 2012, Obama had predicted that being a lame duck would actually be a perk. He told donors:
"I believe that if we're successful in this election, when we're successful in this election, that the fever may break, because there's a tradition in the Republican Party of more common sense than that,...
My hope, my expectation, is that after the election, now that it turns out that the goal of beating Obama doesn't make much sense because I'm not running again, that we can start getting some cooperation again."
And if Republicans refuse to cooperate? Well, unlike the president, they do face reelection. Obama suggested he would crush them in the midterms. "If there are folks who are more interested in winning elections than they are thinking about the next generation then I want to make sure there are consequences to that."
Pigboy
Copy Of Recipe Found?
Coca-Cola
Atlanta's Cliff Kluge claims to have stumbled upon a 70-year-old copy of the official recipe for Coca-Cola, and he's selling it on eBay for $5 million.
For its part, Coca-Cola maintains that the secret recipe for the world's best-selling soft drink is still safely ensconced at the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta.
Kluge says that he and his wife discovered the recipe inside a box of letters and papers they recently purchased from an estate sale. The recipe is dated 1943. Coca-Cola says its recipe has been kept a secret since the 19th century.
However, Kluge says his recipe closely resembles that of one uncovered by NPR in 2011 and aired on the episode "The Recipe" of "This American Life." When NPR posted that recipe online, the number of users clicking it caused NPR's site to crash.
Coca-Cola
Doctor's Orders
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin has canceled appearances in Chicago and Connecticut later this month under a doctor's recommendation.
A Monday news release says Franklin will need treatment during the time period shows were scheduled with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on May 20 and at Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Connecticut on May 26. The release doesn't specify what kind of treatment and her publicist did not immediately respond to a message seeking details.
Singer Janelle Monae will step in for Franklin for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Corporate Night fundraiser. The Grammy-winning singer will be playing orchestral versions of her songs that she'll first debut Thursday with the San Francisco Symphony.
Aretha Franklin
Nixon's Wet Dream
Phone Records
The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.
The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of the calls.
In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown, but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.
The government would not say why it sought the records. Officials have previously said in public testimony that the U.S. attorney in Washington is conducting a criminal investigation into who may have provided information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. The story disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an al-Qaida plot in the spring of 2012 to detonate a bomb on an airplane bound for the United States.
Prosecutors have sought phone records from reporters before, but the seizure of records from such a wide array of AP offices, including general AP switchboards numbers and an office-wide shared fax line, is unusual.
Phone Records
New Mini-Series
'24'
Fox, facing the ebbing ratings power of "American Idol," is betting big on its first miniseries showcase starting with a limited-edition "24," and shows from heavyweight producers Seth MacFarlane and J.J. Abrams to invigorate its schedule.
The network is making its largest original-programming investment yet with a crop of 11 new series along with a miniseries from filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan for the 2013-14 season, Kevin Reilly, Fox Entertainment chairman, said Monday. That's more than double the five series it announced last year.
Fox was the second of the major broadcast networks to announce its schedule for next season, following NBC's unveiling Sunday of an even heftier load of 17 new series.
Although producers of "24" had contemplated bringing the canceled show back with a big-screen movie, they decided that Fox's planned "event series" would be the right place for it, Reilly said.
The miniseries, "24: Live Another Day," will clock in at half the original series' running length and the 12 episodes will be chronological but will skip some hours, he said. It likely will kick off the event franchise in the summer.
'24'
Spanish-Language Adaptation
'Breaking Bad'
After a bit of confusion, it's officially true: The Spanish-language adaptation of "Breaking Bad" is a go, Sony Pictures Television said on Monday.
The adaptation, titled "Metastasis" and starring El Capo" actor Diego Trujillo as, yes, Walter Blanco, will be produced by Sony Pictures Television and Teleset.
Univision announced the project last week as part of its 2014 lineup - but that apparently came as news to Sony, which owns "Breaking Bad." It contacted Univision and expressed its surprise, since a deal had not yet been struck, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap last week.
Much like - OK, pretty much exactly like - "Breaking Bad," "Metastasis" follows the story of an unassuming chemistry teacher who is given a fatal diagnosis and enters a world of drugs and crime, where he ascends to power.
Now, the only question that remains is, what's the Spanish translation for "Heisenberg"?
'Breaking Bad'
Builders Bulldoze Mayan Pyramid
Belize
A construction company has essentially destroyed one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and bulldozers to extract rock for a road-building project.
The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology says the destruction was detected late last week. Only a small portion of center of the pyramid mound was left standing.
Dr. Jaime Awe says he was sickened by the destruction of the Nohmul pyramid and temple platform, which date back about 2,300 years.
The Nohmul complex sits on private land, but Belizean law states any pre-Hispanic ruins is under government protection.
Belize
Communicate With Each Other Via Underground Fungi
Plants
A new study has demonstrated that plants can use an underground network of fungi to warn each other about incoming insect attacks.
Carried out by researchers from the University of Aberdeen, the James Hutton Institute and Rothamsted Research, the study demonstrated that the plants are able to send warnings of incoming aphids to other plants connected to their network. The plants then send out a chemical signal that repels aphids and attracts wasps, a natural aphid predator.
The new study says plants can connect with other via a common fungus known as mycorrhizae. "Mycorrhizal fungi need to get [products of photosynthesis] from the plant, and they have to do something for the plant," John Pickett of Rothamsted Research told the BBC.
Conversely, the plants in the study not connected to the fungal network did not send out warning signals to other plants after coming under attack. The in-network plants were also covered with bags to ensure that they were not actually sending the signals through the air.
Plants
In Memory
Joyce Brothers
Joyce Brothers, the pop psychologist who pioneered the television advice show in the 1950s and enjoyed a long and prolific career as a syndicated columnist, author, and television and film personality, has died. She was 85.
Brothers died Monday of respiratory failure in New York City, according to her longtime Los Angeles-based publicist, Sanford Brokaw.
Brothers first gained fame on a game show and went on to publish 15 books and make cameo appearances on popular shows including "Happy Days" and "The Simpsons." She visited Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show" nearly 100 times.
The way Brothers liked to tell it, her multimedia career came about "because we were hungry."
It was 1955. Her husband, Milton Brothers, was still in medical school and Brothers had just given up her teaching positions at Hunter College and Columbia University to be home with her newborn, firmly believing a child's development depended on it.
But the young family found itself struggling on her husband's residency income. So Brothers came up with the idea of entering a television quiz show as a contestant.
"The $64,000 Question" quizzed contestants in their chosen area of expertise. She memorized 20 volumes of a boxing encyclopedia - and, with that as her subject, became the only woman and the second person to ever win the show's top prize.
Brothers tried her luck again on the superseding "$64,000 Challenge," answering each question correctly and earning the dubious distinction as one of the biggest winners in the history of television quiz shows. She later denied any knowledge of cheating, and during a 1959 hearing in the quiz show scandal, a producer exonerated her of involvement.
Her celebrity opened up doors. In 1956, she became co-host of "Sports Showcast" and frequently appeared on talk shows.
Two years later, NBC offered her a trial on an afternoon television program in which she advised on love, marriage, sex and child-rearing. Its success led to a nationally telecast program, and subsequent late-night shows that addressed such taboo subjects as menopause, frigidity, impotence and sexual enjoyment.
She also dispensed advice on several phone-in radio programs, sometimes going live. She was criticized by some for giving out advice without knowing her callers' histories. But Brothers responded that she was not practicing therapy on the air and that she advised callers to seek professional help when needed.
For almost four decades, Brothers was a columnist for Good Housekeeping. She also wrote a daily syndicated advice column that appeared in more than 350 newspapers. Briefly, in 1961, she was host of her own television program.
Later, Brothers branched out into film, playing herself in more than a dozen movies, including "Analyze That" (2002), "Beethoven's 4th" (2001), "Lover's Knot" (1996) and "Dear God" (1996).
She was also an advocate for women. In the 1970s, Brothers called for changing textbooks to remove sexist bias, noting that nonsexist cultures tend to be less warlike.
Born Joyce Diane Bauer in New York, Brothers earned her bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia.
She wrote numerous advice books, including "Ten Days To A Successful Memory" (1964), "Positive Plus: The Practical Plan for Liking Yourself Better" (1995) and "Widowed" (1992), a guide to dealing with grief written after the death of her husband in 1990.
Brothers is survived by sister Elaine Goldsmith, daughter Lisa Brothers Arbisser, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Brothers
In Memory
Barbara Salinas-Norman
A 70-year-old woman whose mummified body was recently found in her Santa Fe apartment was identified as a Chicana activist, teacher and author.
Santa Fe police said the decomposed remains of Barbara Salinas-Norman were discovered last week and authorities say she may have been dead for more than a year.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Salinas-Norman founded and ran a publishing company called Pinata Publications in the office of her then-husband, Sam Norman, an Oakland lawyer. She began writing, illustrating and publishing her own books designed to help Mexican American children identify with their culture. She gave up teaching to write full time in 1983.
She was the author of "Los Tres Cerdos: Nacho, Tito and Miguel" - her version of "The Three Little Pigs." In the book, the third pig, Miguel, builds a home-made of adobe bricks. The illustrations depict New Mexico-style furnishings, Indian pottery, kiva fireplaces, vigas and retablos.
She also was a bilingual teacher in the Oakland, Calif., public schools in the 1980s.
Salinas' body was discovered by her brother-in-law, Louis Ponce, who said Friday that he had become concerned about her because he hadn't heard from her for a long time. He and his wife, Edna, Salinas' sister, decided to drive from their home in East Pasadena, Calif., to attend a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. A niece of Salinas was dancing at the event.
The couple drove to Santa Fe to check on Salinas and found her body lying in a filthy living room.
Stories from friends and family suggested Salinas' life had been unraveling for some time. She often slept in her car and washed up in the bathroom at a local library. The gas and electricity had been turned off in her condo because she wasn't paying her bills. She ate at soup kitchens. Her home was in foreclosure.
Salinas earned a bachelor's degree in education from California State University in Los Angeles and a master's degree in public health education from the University of California, Berkeley. She became involved in the Chicano movement during that time and considered herself a founding mother of MEChA, (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan), a student organization promoting higher education among Chicanos.
Barbara Salinas-Norman
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