Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Fiscal Phonies (New York Times)
Quick quiz: What's a good five-letter description of Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, that ends in "y"? The obvious choice is, of course, "bully." But as a recent debate over the state's budget reveals, "phony" is an equally valid answer. And as Mr. Christie goes, so goes his party.
Lucy Mangan: running the country, or putting his feet up? (Guardian)
'I could kill David Cameron. Couldn't you? Except I'm too tired and I've got too many other things to do…'
Keith Varonese: If you are elderly and poor, prison is better than a retirement home (io9)
If you are in old age, with no family and little money, your options are slim if you need living assistance.
MIT's Freaky Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing
When it comes to those last globs of ketchup inevitably stuck to every bottle of Heinz, most people either violently shake the container in hopes of eking out another drop or two, or perform the "secret" trick: smacking the "57" logo on the bottle's neck. But not MIT PhD candidate Dave Smith. He and a team of mechanical engineers and nano-technologists at the Varanasi Research Group have been held up in an MIT lab for the last two months addressing this common dining problem.
Paul Krugman's Fantasy Concert: "Friday Night Music: Ten Favorites" (New York Times)
Too busy to hunt up new stuff, and going into makeup soon. So, for old times' sake, ten of my favorite Arcade Fire performances, most featured at some time in the past, after the jump; consider it a sort of fantasy concert.
Bobby Womack: 'I can sing my ass off, better than I could before' (Guardian)
Bobby Womack is so proud of his magnificent new album, 'The Bravest Man in the Universe,' that nothing will stop him talking about it. Alexis Petridis gets an audience at the soul legend's hospital bedside.
When Disco Died (Neatorama)
When most people think of "disco music," they think of John Travolta in 'Saturday Night Fever.' But most die-hard disco fans scoff at this.
Ron Miller: Artist helps wife fight cancer by turning her into a sexy pulp warrior (io9)
My wife, Judith, successfully overcame a bout with cancer this past year (for the second time in 20 years). To celebrate her victory and her heroism, I came up with this series of pictures (and the accompanying serialized story). It's all based on a persona and costume she invented some years ago, which she wore to several sci fi conventions. Captain Judikha herself was a tip of the hat to the heroines who graced the covers of old pulp magazines like Planet Stories.
Stephen Metcalf: Man of War (Slate)
How combat changed Paul Fussell, and how Fussell changed American letters.
Kevin Fleming: 10 Latin Phrases You Pretend to Understand
Because you weren't going into botany, the priesthood, or coin manufacturing, you thought you were safe to dismiss Latin as a dead language. Obviously, you didn't graduate cum laude.
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and much warmer.
Shocks With Putin Protest Opera
Mariinsky Theatre
Russia's legendary Mariinsky Theatre has surprised audiences with a new production of a classic opera that draws parallels between a ruthless 16th century ruler and Russia's current regime.
At one point in the new production of "Boris Godunov" by Modest Mussorgsky the stage at the Saint Petersburg theatre is swarmed by riot police and protesters brandishing slogans, in a clear reference to the street demonstrtations against Vladimir Putin's rule.
The 19th century opera -- based on the play by national poet Alexander Pushkin -- chronicles the rise and fall of Tsar Boris Godunov, who ascended to the throne at the turn of the 16th century after murdering the rightful heir.
The plot, which focuses on the rift between the tsar and his own people, caused the opera to be censored multiple times by the imperial authorities and then in the Soviet Union.
It is extremely rare for major Russian opera houses to make contemporary political references in their productions.
Mariinsky Theatre
Wedding News
Marinoni - Nixon
Former "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon married longtime girlfriend Christine Marinoni in New York over the U.S. holiday weekend, her representative said on Monday.
"On May 27, 2012, Cynthia Nixon and her girlfriend, Christine Marinoni, were legally married in the state of New York," her spokeswoman said in a statement.
Nixon, who found fame playing Miranda Hobbes on the hit HBO television show "Sex and the City" about single women navigating life, love and careers in New York City, has more recently appeared on TV programs such as "The Big C."
She and Marinoni have been together for around eight years, and they became engaged in 2009 at a rally supporting same-sex weddings in New York. They have one son together.
Marinoni - Nixon
French Statue Fetes Inspiration
'Band of Brothers'
A statue in the likeness of a Pennsylvania native whose quiet leadership was chronicled in the World War II book and television miniseries "Band of Brothers" is being unveiled in France.
Maj. Dick Winters was a lieutenant when he led his troops during the D-Day invasion of France. Beginning June 6, a statue of him will survey the Normandy landscape that saw the crucial operation that helped end the war.
The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News reports that the monument is dedicated to all junior military officers serving that day. World War II Foundation chairman Tim Gray says that helped convince Winters to agree to the project.
Winters died last year at age 92.
The exploits of Winters and his "Easy Company" were featured in the Stephen Ambrose book and HBO miniseries.
'Band of Brothers'
Attempts To Revive Language
Aramaic
Two villages in the Holy Land's tiny Christian community are teaching Aramaic in an ambitious effort to revive the language that Jesus spoke, centuries after it all but disappeared from the Middle East.
The new focus on the region's dominant language 2,000 years ago comes with a little help from modern technology: an Aramaic-speaking television channel from Sweden, of all places, where a vibrant immigrant community has kept the ancient tongue alive.
In the Palestinian village of Beit Jala, an older generation of Aramaic speakers is trying to share the language with their grandchildren. Beit Jala lies next to Bethlehem, where the New Testament says Jesus was born.
And in the Arab-Israeli village of Jish, nestled in the Galilean hills where Jesus lived and preached, elementary school children are now being instructed in Aramaic. The children belong mostly to the Maronite Christian community. Maronites still chant their liturgy in Aramaic but few understand the prayers.
The dialect taught in Jish and Beit Jala is "Syriac," which was spoken by their Christian forefathers and resembles the Galilean dialect that Jesus would have used, according to Steven Fassberg, an Aramaic expert at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
On the Web: an Aramaic newspaper; an Aramaic football team; and an Aramaic satellite television station:
Aramaic
Rupert's Poodle
Tony Blair
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday that he couldn't stand up to the Britain's media tycoons while in power, telling an official media ethics inquiry that doing so could have dragged his administration into a political quagmire.
Blair's testimony, briefly interrupted by a heckler who burst into the courtroom to call him a war criminal, shed light on the canny media strategy used to create the "New Labour" image that repackaged his party as more mainstream and business friendly, bringing it back to power after 18 years in opposition.
Blair, who was premier from 1997 to 2007, enjoyed strong press support in his early years, including backing from media mogul Rupert Murdoch's influential newspapers. But he found himself isolated near the end of his decade in power due in large part to his unpopular decision to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Blair's time at the top has come under particular scrutiny because of the unlikely - and mutually beneficial - alliance the media-savvy prime minister forged between his left-wing Labour Party and Murdoch's News Corp. - a company whose holdings include the populist The Sun newspaper and the right-wing Fox News network.
Blair became so friendly with Murdoch that he was chosen to be the godfather to one of Murdoch's children. The Blair government's relationship with Murdoch has since been described by several former colleagues as having been too close for comfort.
Tony Blair
Hatemongering For Jesus
North Carolina
The North Carolina pastor who gave a disturbing, anti-gay sermon -in which he suggested rounding up all "queers and homosexuals" and quarantining them inside an electric fence-drew hundreds of protesters on Sunday.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 "peaceful" protesters demonstrated outside the Catawba County Justice Center, 12 miles from the Maiden, N.C., church where Rev. Charles Worley delivered his homophobic rant on Mother's Day.
"I figured a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers," Worley told churchgoers on May 13. "Build a great big large fence-50 or 100 miles long-put all the lesbians in there. Fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can't get out. And you know what, in a few years, they'll die out. Do you know why? They can't reproduce!"
"It makes me pukin' sick to think about," Worley added. "Can you imagine kissing some man?"
According to the sheriff's office, two protesters on Sunday were cited for noise violations, but no arrests were made.
North Carolina
Crypt Up For Auction
Elvis Presley
For the right price, you or a loved one can rest in peace in the tomb of The King.
Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien is selling Elvis Presley's original crypt to the highest bidder as part of his "Music Icons" auction later this month.
The tomb is located inside the granite and marble mausoleum at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn.
Presley was interred there alongside his mother, Gladys, after he died Aug. 16, 1977. Two months later, they were re-buried at his Graceland home. The original crypt has remained empty ever since.
Elvis Presley
Wanted For Questioning
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber is wanted for questioning by Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators after a photographer complained of being roughed up by the pop star at a shopping center.
Sheriff's Lt. Robert Wiard says the photographer called 911 on Sunday and complained of pain to his chest. Wiard said the scuffle happened when the photographer tried to snap pictures of Bieber and his girlfriend, teen actress Selena Gomez, after they walked out of a theater at The Commons at Calabasas.
Wiard says the photographer was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released.
He says Bieber and Gomez left before deputies arrived, so investigators want to talk to him to get his side of the story.
Justin Bieber
Free Additive
Bluefin Tuna
Across the vast Pacific, the mighty bluefin tuna carried radioactive contamination that leaked from Japan's crippled nuclear plant to the shores of the United States 6,000 miles away - the first time a huge migrating fish has been shown to carry radioactivity such a distance.
"We were frankly kind of startled," said Nicholas Fisher, one of the researchers reporting the findings online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The levels of radioactive cesium were 10 times higher than the amount measured in tuna off the California coast in previous years. But even so, that's still far below safe-to-eat limits set by the U.S. and Japanese governments.
Five months after the Fukushima disaster, Fisher of Stony Brook University in New York and a team decided to test Pacific bluefin that were caught off the coast of San Diego. To their surprise, tissue samples from all 15 tuna captured contained levels of two radioactive substances - ceisum-134 and cesium-137 - that were higher than in previous catches.
To rule out the possibility that the radiation was carried by ocean currents or deposited in the sea through the atmosphere, the team also analyzed yellowfin tuna, found in the eastern Pacific, and bluefin that migrated to Southern California before the nuclear crisis. They found no trace of cesium-134 and only background levels of cesium-137 left over from nuclear weapons testing in the 1960s.
Bluefin Tuna
Forty Ancient Sites Discovered
Iraq
Teams of Iraqi archaeologists have discovered 40 ancient sites in the country's south from the Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian periods, an Iraqi antiquities official said on Monday.
"Teams, which have been working since 2010, were able to discover 40 archaeological sites belonging to the Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian periods," Amer al-Zaidi, the head of the antiquities inspectorate in Dhi Qar province told AFP.
The sites, which have not yet been fully explored, are located in Al-Shatra, Al-Diwaya, Al-Rifai, Al-Nasr and Al-Fajr areas north of Dhi Qar capital Nasiriyah, which lies 305 kilometres (190 miles) south of Baghdad.
The new discoveries bring the number of archaeological sites in the province to 1,240, the most of any province in Iraq, he said.
Iraq
Weekend Box Office
"Men in Black 3"
According to studio estimates Monday, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones' latest "Men in Black" installment debuted with $70 million domestically over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, which proved unusually quiet at theaters for Hollywood overall.
While it was a good start for "Men in Black 3" and another strong hold for "The Avengers," Memorial Day weekend was the slowest at theaters in more than a decade. Box-office tracker Hollywood.com estimates that overall domestic receipts for the four days will finish at $190 million, the lowest since Memorial Day weekend in 2001, when revenues totaled $185.3 million.
Other May releases fell far short of expectations, with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" and the game adaptation "Battleship" swamped in the wake of "The Avengers." ''Battleship" launched in April overseas, though, where its $232 million haul helped make up for its meager $47.1 million total after two weekends domestically.
In limited release, Focus Features' first-love comic drama "Moonrise Kingdom" got off to a huge start with $669,486 in four theaters, for a whopping average of $167,371 a cinema. That compares to an average of $16,478 in 4,248 theaters for "Men in Black 3."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Men in Black 3," $70 million ($133.2 million international).
2. "The Avengers," $46.9 million ($26.3 million international).
3. "Battleship," $13.8 million ($2.9 million international).
4. "The Dictator," $11.8 million ($11.8 million international).
5. "Dark Shadows," $9.4 million ($13.1 million international).
6. "Chernobyl Diaries," $9.3 million.
7. "What to Expect When You're Expecting," $8.9 million ($1.5 million international).
8. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," $8.2 million ($853,000 international).
9. "The Hunger Games," $2.9 million ($800,000 international).
10. "Think Like a Man," $1.8 million.
"Men in Black 3"
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