Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Joe Bob Briggs: The Gloom and Doom Generation (Taki's Magazine)
When I was a young man, and the editor, or the producer, or the executive, would tell me that he was about to censor me, the reason was always, "Your material offends the older people." Now that I'm one of the older people, when the editor, or the producer, or the executive, tells me he's about to censor me, the reason is always, "Your material offends the younger people."
Joe Bob Briggs: New Orleans Is Not New Orleans Anymore (Taki's Magazine)
The video of Robert E. Lee being taken off his pedestal-literally-was stunning enough, since that 1884 statue by Alexander Doyle is sculpted in a Florentine neoclassical style that just doesn't exist anymore. Even more shocking is where it happened.
Matthew Yglesias: It might take a black candidate to beat Trump's toxic racial politics (Vox)
It's a pitch that sounds incredibly novel in a post-Obama, post-Trump Democratic Party that's obsessed with the political power and significance of race and racism. But Booker's argument - that race is a superficial thing that is cynically deployed to divide Americans and distract them from their common interests - is really the argument Democrats from Lyndon Johnson through Barack Obama have long employed. In the modern day, it may take a candidate of color to pull it off.
Henry A. Kissinger: How the Enlightenment Ends (The Atlantic)
Philosophically, intellectually-in every way-human society is unprepared for the rise of artificial intelligence.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
replied:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Drinking Water
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
The Brits are so polite!
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
CHRISTIAN FASCISM HAS FOUND A LEADER.
"BACK TO THE FUTURE."
A NEW CRIMINAL LEADER.
BOLT-HEAD STRIKES AGAIN.
GET READY TO RUMBLE!
'JESUS NEVER CHARGED A CO-PAY.'
"THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER"
HUH?
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Even deeper marine layer.
Actually, it's quite nice - mid-60°'s by day, mid-50°'s at night.
Makes David Letterman Cringe
Howard Stern
Shock jock Howard Stern definitely knows how to make David Letterman very uncomfortable: talk about the interviews he had with Donald Trump about the president's daughter Ivanka's sexiness.
Trump famously allowed Stern to refer to his daughter as "a piece of ass" on the radio legend's show in 2004. And Stern dishes on what it was like interviewing Trump in an episode of Letterman's Netflix series, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction" that airs May 31.
"He would get on, and no matter what I asked him, he would answer. In a very sincere and thought-out way. I'd say... and I always called him Mr. Trump, he liked that, I'd say Mr. Trump, 'Who are the great beauties? If I ask you some names, can you tell who the great beauties are?'"
"He goes, first of all - straight face - the great beauties, Howard, are not actresses," Stern continues. "It's models ... Anyone works in the entertainment industry, really, I've only seen sixes and sevens."
"I'd say... 'I think Angelina Jolie is a great beauty.' 'Seven!' 'Really, why?'... He goes, 'You know who's a great beauty?' I go, 'Who?' 'My daughter Ivanka. Now she's a 10.'"
Howard Stern
Netflix Production Deal
Barack and Michelle Obama
Netflix has secured a deal with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to produce series and movies for the streaming service. The former first couple will, according to an announcement Monday from the company, potentially work on scripted and unscripted series as well as docu-series, documentary films, and features under the multi-year deal.
"One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience," said President Obama. "That's why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix - we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world."
"Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others," said Michelle Obama. "Netflix's unparalleled service is a natural fit for the kinds of stories we want to share, and we look forward to starting this exciting new partnership."
Signing the Obamas is the latest, and by far the biggest, in a string of moves by Netflix to lock up the entertainment industry's highest-profile producers in exclusive production and development pacts. Last year, Netflix poached "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes from ABC Studios with a deal valued at more than $100 million. "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy jumped from his longtime home at 20th Century Fox Television earlier this year to also join Netflix. Murphy's deal was reported at the time to be worth as much as $300 million. However, sources tell Variety that tally includes money that Murphy is expected to make from his current and former Fox series over the life of his Netflix contract, and that the true value of the deal is in line with that of Rhimes.
It is unknown how much the Obamas' Netflix agreement is worth. In March, Penguin Random House signed the couple to a joint book deal that pays them a reported $65 million for their respective memoirs.
Barack and Michelle Obama
Billboard Icon Award
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson kept the hits coming Sunday on the night she became the first black woman to win the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.
She slayed a medley of her most popular songs ? including "Nasty" and "Throb" ? and gave a powerful speech that pledged solidarity to #MeToo while calling for an end to "loud and harsh" public discourse.
Bruno Mars introduced the 52-year-old pop star by noting the sociopolitical impact of her work and the sheer success of it ? she's the first woman to record five straight No. 1 albums.
Then Jackson went to work on stage in reportedly her first televised performance since 2009.
Stevie Wonder and Neil Diamond are among the previous Icon winners.
Janet Jackson
Most-Visited Museum
The Louvre
Around 8.1 million people stepped through the hallowed halls of the Louvre in Paris last year, making it the most-visited museum in the world for 2017.
That's according to the latest edition of the Theme Index and Museum Index report, which ranked the most popular attractions around the world by attendance.
While growth among the top 20 museums was relatively flat (0.2 percent growth worldwide between 2016 and 2017), authors note the exceptional performances of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, which saw an impressive 25 percent spike in visitors in 2017, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, which also saw a 23 percent growth over the previous year.
After the Louvre, Beijing's National Museum of China, and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, tied with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, round out the podium.
In North America, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington DC single-handedly helped boost visitor numbers three percent across the region. But a closer look at the figures suggest that when the NMAAHC is taken out of the equation, numbers were relatively flat -- a finding that authors speculate could be tied to the decrease in international visitor numbers to the US in 2017.
The Louvre
Being Quoted
'Fox & Friends'
President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Fabulist) quoted a conservative radio host who appeared on Fox & Friends Monday morning for an attack on former CIA director John Brennan. The slamming of Brennan appeared to be in response to him challenging Republican leadership Sunday following Trump's "demand" for the Justice Department to investigate whether his campaign was "infiltrated or surveilled" for "political purposes" or if any Obama administration officials had directed such an inquiry.
The president, who often cites information he's viewed on Fox News' morning program, took three tweets to sum up the accusations made by Dan Bongino about Brennan, who the former Secret Service agent called "disgraced" and "largely responsible for the destruction of Americans faith in the intelligence community
"
"John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community," Trump tweeted citing Bongino. "He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of American's faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the top of the FBI. Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump."
Trump continued, quoting Bongino: "We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossier...he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the Dossier, which they then used to start an investigation about Trump. It is that simple. This guy is the genesis of this whole Debacle. This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation. Brennan has disgraced himself, he's worried about staying out of Jail."
Brennan directly responded to Trump's decree for a Justice Department investigation Sunday, by naming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and stating "you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy."
'Fox & Friends'
Recent Shootings
Misogyny
The massacre at Santa Fe high school last week that left 10 people dead - most of them students - seems to have something in common with so many other mass shootings that happen in the US: misogyny. The shooter, one victim's mother claims, targeted her daughter as the first victim because she rejected his continued harassing advances.
How many more tragedies have to happen before we recognize that misogyny kills? The longer we ignore the toxic masculinity that underlies so many of these crimes, the more violence we're enabling.
Sadie Rodriguez told the LA Times that her daughter Shana Fisher "had four months of problems" from the Santa Fe shooter.
"He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no." A week before the shooting, she says, her daughter stood up to the shooter and "embarrassed him in class".
This comes not even a month after the van attack in Toronto that killed 10 people and injured 13 more - violence enacted by a man who was reportedly furious that women wouldn't sleep with him. Before that there was the 2015 shooting at an Oregon college by a young man who complained of being a virgin with "no girlfriend". In 2014, there was Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and left behind a 140-page sexist manifesto and videos where he warned: "I don't know why you girls aren't attracted to me but I will punish you all for it." In 2009, George Sodini killed three women at a gym in Pennsylvania after lamenting online that younger women wouldn't date him.
Misogyny
I Told You
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov has a message for those who didn't foresee Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election: "I told you so."
"I've been saying many of the same things about Vladimir Putinfor over 17 years," Kasparov, the former world chess champion and political activist, said at a conference on activism here Monday. Other attendees included former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, human rights activist Kerry Kennedy and David Hogg, a Florida high school student who has emerged as a gun control advocate.
"Putin is not a democratically elected leader - he is a dictator," Kasparov said, recalling remarks from a 2007 conference he attended in Washington, D.C. "I said, yes, Putin was a bad guy. He was Russia's problem, but if he wasn't contained, he would be a regional problem - and soon after, everybody's problem."
Kasparov said Russia's spread of so-called fake news across American social media networks - part of a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the U.S. elections - was "nothing new for us in Russia."
By the time Putin took aim at the U.S., Kasparov said, his cyber army had more than 10 years of experience in such attacks.
Garry Kasparov
Fox Paying $1 Billion
WWE
WWE's "Smackdown Live" television program will have a new home in 2019, according to new reports.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the reported deal between WWE and Fox is for five years and worth approximately $205 million annually. The deal, which would total over $1 billion during its lifespan, is reportedly three times as much as the company was getting from NBC Universal for "Smackdown Live."
It was reported last week that NBCU, whose networks have aired "Smackdown" since 2010, declined to renew its deal with WWE for the program, instead opting to focus on retaining the rights to the wrestling giant's flagship show, "Monday Night Raw."
Since that news broke, WWE's stock has steadily risen amid speculation that a deal with Fox could be reached for "Smackdown Live." Immediately following Rovell's report, WWE stock again sharply rose, increasing by six percent.
Overall, WWE's stock has risen more than 15 dollars per share since last Thursday.
WWE
Really Is Dead
Hitler
A peer-reviewed study in an academic journal has proved what you might have assumed you already knew: Adolf Hitler is dead and has been since he killed himself in his bunker in April 1945.
That scientists are devoting serious attention to proving this more than 70 years after the event may initially seem bizarre.
But almost from the moment the Führer died, a cottage industry of conspiracy theories sprang up to say he was still alive.
Now, though, French scientists have been allowed to examine a jawbone that has been jealously guarded in the archives of the Russian secret service since the 1940s.
The analysis published in the peer-reviewed European Journal of Internal Medicine suggests that in this instance the Russians were telling the truth: Hitler killed himself, SS soldiers burnt his body, Soviet troops found the charred remains, and the jawbone ended up in Moscow.
Hitler
In Memory
Bill Gold
Bill Gold, who revolutionized the art of the movie poster over a seven-decade career that began with Casablanca and included A Clockwork Orange, The Exorcist and dozens of Clint Eastwood films, has died. He was 97.
The Brooklyn native began at Warner Bros. in the early 1940s and had a hand in more than 2,000 posters during his iconic career, working on films for everyone from Alfred Hitchcock (1954's Dial M for Murder), Elia Kazan (1955's East of Eden) and Federico Fellini (1963's 8 1/2) to Sam Peckinpah (1969's The Wild Bunch), Robert Altman (1971's McCabe & Mrs. Miller) and Martin Scorsese (1990'sGoodFellas).
Gold "started drawing at age 8 and never stopped," he said in a 2016 interview. After graduating from Pratt Institute in New York City, he approached the art director of the poster department at Warner Bros.' offices in New York.
"He sent me away on a trial to design posters for four earlier films: Escape Me Never and [The Adventures of] Robin Hood with Errol Flynn, The Man I Love with Ida Lupino and Bette Davis' Winter Meeting," he recalled. Gold passed the test and was hired at age 21, and his first assignment was Casablanca (1942).
As he told CBS News, Gold laid out the poster for Casablanca and placed a gun in Humphrey Bogart's hand at the last minute: "Somebody suggested, 'This is Bogart. Let's put a gun in his hand. That's the way he acts, the way he exaggerates his action. We don't want just a head of him. It's too boring!' "
The gun was taken from another Bogie film, High Sierra (1941). Gold also was assigned work on Warners' Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) around this time.
Gold's poster for William Friedkin'sThe Exorcist (1973) - showing the priest played by Max von Sydow under a shaft of light outside the Georgetown home of the possessed young girl (Linda Blair) - was created after he was told not to "show anything that had any hint of religious connotation."
Gold also worked on posters for The Searchers (1956), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Funny Girl (1968), My Fair Lady (1968), Bullitt (1968), Woodstock (1970), Klute (1971), Deliverance (1972), The Sting (1973), Blazing Saddles (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), On Golden Pond (1981), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser (1988).
Bill Gold
Remembering the work of Bill Gold, one of Hollywood's greatest poster designers | The Drum
The 30 Best Bill Gold Movie Posters | IndieWire
In Memory
Robert Indiana
Robert Indiana, an internationally acclaimed artist known for creations such as the LOVE image, has died. He was 89.
Indiana was born on Sept. 13, 1928, in New Castle, Indiana, according to his biography. He moved frequently as a child.
He graduated from Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis, where he was valedictorian as well as the photographer and photo editor for the school's yearbook, according to the biography on his yearbook. He had moved to Indianapolis to attend the school known for its strong arts curriculum.
After graduating from high school, he spent three years in the Air Force. He then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting in Maine and the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland.
He moved to New York in 1954 and two years later took up residence in Coenties Slip on the southeast tip of Manhattan, where he joined a community of artists.
The word love, a theme central to Indiana's work, first appeared in the 1961 painting Four Star Love. His biography states he was inspired by an inscription in the Christian Science churches he attended in his youth.
Robert Indiana
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