from Bruce
Anecdotes
First Leopold Damrosch, and then his son Walter Damrosch conducted the New York Symphony Orchestra, which was eventually disbanded despite rumors that Harry Harkness Flagler would have continued to give money to make up its deficits if someone else were to conduct the orchestra. At the orchestra's final concert, Maestro Damrosch, fils, gave each member of the orchestra a pair of cuff links. Georges Barrere, a flutist with the orchestra, complained, "First he takes the shirt off our backs and then he gives us cuff links."
Otis Williams is the last of the original Temptations, the group that brought the world "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Can't Get Next to You," "Get Ready," "Just My Imagination," and "Papa was a Rolling Stone." (The group is still going strong despite its changing line-up of musicians.) In addition to his talent with music, he has a talent with words. In 2007, instead of saying that he has no plans to retire at the current time, he said, "I'm going to ride the hair off the horse. When I get off the horse, the horse will be bald."
Siegfried Jerusalem entered the world of opera a bassoon player, but became a tenor. While playing bassoon for the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, he and the orchestra started to record Zigeunerbaron for television. Unfortunately, the tenor failed to show up. His colleagues urged Mr. Jerusalem to offer himself as the tenor. He did, and he won the part, thus beginning a major career as a tenor in opera.
In the early 1980s, Monte was a well-known figure outside - and sometimes inside - the Metropolitan Opera. He used to hawk opera tickets that were unwanted by subscribers who were too diffident to approach people on the street to offer to sell them their tickets. He worked for tips, and his manner of making money made him a one-name celebrity in the manner of Madonna.
Gioacchino Rossini was composing some music in bed when a page of the music he had composed fell on the floor. Since he didn't feel like getting out of bed and picking up the sheet of music, he composed a duet. Later, a friend stopped by and picked up the sheet of music. Rossini didn't want to throw it away, so he added it to the duet he had just composed and made it a trio.
Justin Jeffre of the singing group 98 Degrees knew at an early age that he wanted to be a singer. However, he knew that it would be a good idea to have a back-up plan in case things didn't work out. Therefore, he decided on an alternative career to pursue if he didn't make it as a singer: He would become a cowboy.
The Ramones were known for playing short sets early in their careers and for playing faster than any other band - and they speeded up their playing as they got older. Someone asked guitarist Johnny Ramone why the Ramones' songs were so short. He replied, "They're actually fairly long songs played very, very quickly."
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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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
Music: "Ghost" from the album THE MIGHTY SMALL
Artist: Mae Klinger
Artist Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Info: All songs written and recorded by Mae Klingler.
This is her debut album.
Price: $1 (USD) for track; $10 (USD) for 11-track album
Genre: Pop
Links:
Mae Klinger on Bandcamp
Other Links:
FREE BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATIONS PDF
FREE YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIND PDFS
FREE davidbrucehaiku PDFs #1-#10
FREE davidbrucehaiku PDFs #11-?
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 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
Alex Suggests
Military-Industrial Complex
Hey Marty -
We curated the most infamous quotes on the military-industrial complex and explained the 1961 farewell address so I believe this will be of value to anyone who wants to learn more about the topic.
Some "Quotes on the Military-Industrial Complex":
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.
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and seasonal - hot inland.
Performs 'Footloose'
Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins has played the Hollywood Bowl many times. But never like this.
The artist performed Saturday night at the iconic Hollywood amphitheater and sang some of his biggest hits, including "Footloose," the single he co-wrote for the hit 1984 Kevin Bacon film of the same name.
The unique concert was part of an ongoing fundraiser, RWQuarantunes, which takes place each weekend on a private Zoom call.
Talent agent Richard Weitz and his 17-year-old daughter Demi are the brains behind the concert series, which they say has raised more than $3 million for food banks, hospitals and related Covid-19 relief efforts.
Kenny Loggins
No. 1 Newscast
'World News'
ABC's World News Tonight With David Muir came out on top in all major categories (adults 25-54 and adults 18-49), becoming the No. 1 newscast in America when it came to total viewers during the 2019-20 broadcast season. This is the first time in 24 years that World News Tonight has taken that trophy.
According to current data from Nielsen, World News Tonight (9.65M, 1.96M and 1.33M) eclipsed NBC Nightly News (8.59M, 1.89M and 1.32 M) by 1.06M total viewers, by 71,000 adults in the 25-54 demo and by 13,000 in the adults 18-49 demo.
The news program ranked No. 1 in total viewers for the fourth season in a row. It doubled its lead over NBC Nightly News from last season (+100% - 1.06M vs. 532,000) to its largest season lead since the 1995-1996 season. In addition, World News Tonight topped CBS Evening News (6.07M ) by 3.574 million.
World News Tonight topped the season in the adults 25-54 demo leading NBC by its largest news demo margin (+71,000 - 1.96M vs. 1.89M) in 24 years and taking the top spot for the first time in 12 years. World News Tonight also outdid NBC in the adults 18-49 demo (+13,000 - 1.33M vs. 1.32M) for the first time in 24 years. This also marks World News Tonight's most-watched season in 16 years.
On the AM side of things, for the eighth consecutive year, ABC's Good Morning America has taken the prize for No. 1 morning show. For the 2019-20 broadcast season, GMA (3.96M) sped ahead of Today (3.88M) compared to last season (+80% - 81,000 vs. 45,000). This is GMA's largest viewership since the 2016-17 season.
'World News'
Reveals Hospital News
Brian May
Earlier this month, Brian May revealed that he had shredded his buttock muscles in a "bizarre gardening accident" that caused him "excruciating" pain. But on Sunday he took to Instagram to explain that the situation was actually much more serious: the 72-year-old Queen guitarist had in fact suffered a "small heart attack" that left him "very near death."
May explained in a series of Instagram video posts that after being hospitalized and treated for his supposed gluteus maximus injury, he was still suffering a week later - a development that baffled his doctors. "No other test were done
[I was] still in agony. I mean, real agony," he posted. "I wanted to jump at some point. I could not believe the pain."
May then underwent a lower-spine MRI, which revealed that he had a "quite severely" compressed sciatic nerve - which May described as "someone was putting a screwdriver in my back the whole time" and "terrible pain which actually destroys your mind." In one caption, May theorized that a lifetime of guitar-playing had led to this condition: "Why did those discs in my spine get so squished? Well I think 50 years of running around with a guitar strap over my left shoulder holding a heavy guitar might have something to do with it!"
But May's health issues did not end there. "In the middle of the whole saga of the whole painful backside, I had a small heart attack," he revealed. "I say 'small,' you know - it's not something that did me any harm. It was about 40 minutes of pain in the chest and tightness and that feeling in the arms and sweating." May's doctor then drove him to the hospital, where May underwent an angiogram and learned that he had three congested arteries that were "in danger of blocking the supply of blood to my heart."
May was treated by medics as an "emergency case" and advised to have open-heart surgery, but after reviewing his treatment options, he decided to have three stents inserted instead. "It's an incredible operation done by the right skillful person, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart," he said. "Because I walked out with a heart that's very strong now, so I think I'm in good shape for some time to come.
I'm incredibly grateful that I now have a life to lead again."
Brian May
Turns
Coulter
Ann Coulter went on an early Sunday morning Twitter tear, calling President Donald Trump (R-Fatuous) "the most disloyal actual retard that has ever set foot in the Oval Office."
The far-right media pundit and former Trump defender was triggered by the president's Friday tweet in which he called for Alabama voters to "not trust Jeff Sessions" and instead put their support behind Sessions' Republican Senate seat challenger, football coach Tommy Tuberville.
"3 years ago, after Jeff Sessions recused himself, the Fraudulent Mueller Scam began. Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions. He let our Country down. That's why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville), the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda!," Trump tweeted.
And that set off Coulter, who called Trump a "moron," "retard" and "lout," who was incapable of "pretending to be" a "decent, compassionate human being."
Coulter
130 Spare Heirs
Epstein
More than 100 people claim they could be the offspring of the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is thought to have had a personal fortune of around £470 million.
A DNA company, which set up a website called epsteinheirs.com, said as many as 130 people had come forward - including a number of Britons - since the site's launch.
Hundreds more had been in touch with tips regarding Epstein's possible fathering of children, The Sun reported.
Epstein, who died in a jail cell last year, was never known to have had children, but anyone able to prove the convicted sex offender is their father would be in line to claim some of his fortune, which includes a New York City mansion and a 75-acre luxury estate.
Epstein
Number One Evangelist
Pompeo
Donald Trump (R-Grifter)'s disdain for the people, country and values his office is supposed to represent is unmatched in recent memory. And he has found in the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, a kindred spirit who has embraced his role as Trumpism's number one proselytizer to the world.
Pompeo doesn't wield nearly as much power or have the jurisdiction to inflict damage on as wide a range of issues as the president. He's not as crass or erratic as Trump, and his Twitter feed seems dedicated more to childish mockery than outright attacks. But when it comes to foreign policy, Pompeo's penchant for undermining America's credibility is top-notch.
At Pompeo's recommendation, Trump fired the state department's inspector general, who is supposed to be an independent investigator charged with looking into potential wrongdoing inside the department. Steve Linick was just the latest in a series of inspectors general across the government that Trump had fired in an attempt to hide the misconduct of his administration - but it also shone a spotlight on how Pompeo has undermined his agency.
According to news reports, Pompeo was being investigated by the inspector general for bypassing Congress and possibly breaking the law in sending weapons to Saudi Arabia, even though his own department and the rest of the US government advised against the decision. He was also supposedly organizing fancy dinners - paid for by taxpayers - with influential businesspeople and TV personalities that seemed geared more towards supporting Pompeo's political career than advancing US foreign policy goals. And he was reportedly being scrutinized for using department personnel to conduct personal business, such as getting dry cleaning and walking his dog.
But these revelations merely reaffirm a pattern of activities by Pompeo unbecoming of the nation's top diplomat. When the House of Representatives was in the process of impeaching Trump over his attempt to extort Ukraine for personal political purposes - an act that Pompeo was aware of - Pompeo defended Trump while throwing under the bus career state department officials, like the ousted US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who spoke out. Pompeo has regularly ignored Congress, withholding documents from lawmakers - including during the Ukraine impeachment investigation - and refusing to appear for testimony. In 2019, the IG released a report detailing political retaliation against career state department officials being perpetrated by Trump officials. And Pompeo has spent considerable time traveling to Kansas and conducting media interviews there, fueling speculation that he has been using his position to tee up a run for the Senate, a violation of the Hatch Act.
Pompeo
Rocket Fails
Virgin Orbit
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit company has tried unsuccessfully to launch a rocket over the Pacific Ocean.
The booster was released from under the wing of one of the UK entrepreneur's old jumbos which had been specially converted for the task.
The rocket ignited its engine seconds later but an anomaly meant controllers had to terminate the flight.
It's not clear at this stage precisely what went wrong but the firm had warned beforehand that the chances of success might be only 50:50.
Engineers already have a second rocket built at the company's Long Beach factory in California.
Virgin Orbit
Translucent Skin
Glass Frogs
To be a perfectly "invisible" animal is the ultimate goal in the camouflage game. Many aquatic animals achieve this complete transparency because light travels at roughly the same speed through water and tissue (i.e. they have a similar refractive index), meaning that light can be reflected less throughout their bodies. On land, this feat is tougher to achieve, as air and tissue have quite different refractive indices, scattering the incoming light and making the animal more visible.
One group of terrestrial animals that have a good go at transparency are glass frogs. Found across central and southern America, grape-sized glass frogs are famed for their "see-through" bellies that give us a peek at their insides. Yet, despite their name, glass frogs aren't completely transparent, as sparse green pigments mean that when viewed from above they are actually more translucent.
Therefore, instead of acting as a window to their surroundings (such as in full transparency), the imperfectly transparent glass frogs maintain their green hue and block background patterning. However, a new study by an international team of researchers has examined whether glass frogs can still effectively camouflage themselves even with translucent skin.
By applying "predator vision" to over 50 photographs of two species of glass frog: the Emerald glass frog (Espadarana prosoblepon) from Ecuador and the Santa Cecilia Cochran glass frog (Teratohyla midas) from French Guiana, the team determined that glass frogs seem to change the brightness of their green skin to match their leafy surroundings. This differs from other mechanisms, such as color-changing, where an animal produces different pigments to match their backgrounds.
Glass Frogs
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