from Bruce
Anecdotes
People with Handicaps
• Cordell Brown, who has cerebral palsy, is the founder of Echoing Hills Village, Inc., a non-profit organization that runs a summer camp and residences for adults with handicaps. He became a lifelong fan of football, in part because several Cleveland Browns players in training camp played with him and other children with handicaps while he was receiving treatment at Bowling Green University. Later, Mr. Brown became manager of his high school team, but because of his cerebral palsy, which made him uncoordinated, it was quite an experience for him to carry water to the team during a time out. Frequently, he arrived completely soaked and with no water at all left in the bucket.
• Doctors can’t explain why Carol Johnston was born with only one arm, but she didn’t let it stop her from becoming an All-American gymnast. Called “Lefty,” Ms. Johnston won silver medals on balance beam and floor exercise at the 1978 United States national gymnastics championships in Seattle, Washington. (She was almost late for her performance on the beam, because she was eating chocolate ice cream.) Ms. Johnston said, “I’m not supposed to be a gymnast physically, but no one told me that mentally. No one said I couldn’t be creative with one arm.” So she became creative with one arm — creative enough to become a famous gymnast.
• On August 19, 1951, Bill Veeck pulled a notable publicity stunt for his baseball team, the St. Louis Browns. He hired a little person — formerly known as a midget — to bat for his team. The little person wore a uniform that belonged to the seven-year-old son of a team vice president, and he used a toy bat. Because of his tiny strike zone, the little person walked in four pitches, and a real baseball player was sent in to run for him. On his uniform, the little person wore the smallest number ever given to a professional baseball player: 1/8.
• Congressman Morris K. Udall had a glass eye, the result of an accident and a botched operation when he was a child. In college, he played center in basketball and during one game, he played extremely well, scoring 24 points. When he came out of the game, a sportswriter who came from the town of the opposing team told him, “Udall, you are a liar. No one shoots like that with a glass eye.” Mr. Udall took his glass eye out of its socket and handed it to the sportswriter, saying, “Mister, I haven’t been able to see much out of this one — you try it.”
• Kitty O’Neil, a stunt woman on TV’s Wonder Woman series, broke the land speed record for women on December 6, 1976, in the Alvord Desert in Oregon. She drove a rocket car named the Motivator, breaking the old record of 308 miles an hour by over 200 miles per hour — her new record was almost 513 miles an hour. After she finished her historic drive, she climbed out of the Motivator to the cheers of the crowd. However, Ms. O’Neil didn’t hear the cheers — she is deaf.
• Central Ohio TV sportscaster Jimmy Crum once covered a bowling tournament for children who are handicapped mentally or physically. One small girl with Down’s syndrome kept trying to get the bowling ball down the lane, but ball after ball went into the gutter. Finally, one bowling ball went straight down the center of the lane — and the girl was ecstatic. Mr. Crum congratulated the girl, and she put her arms around his neck, hugged him, and said, “I love you, Mr. Man.”
• At the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Spain, Jackie Joyner-Kersee won a gold medal in the heptathlon. However, after she clinched heptathlon gold in the 800-meter race, she was forced to delay her victory lap because an asthma attack made it difficult for her to breathe. Fans chanted her name, and finally she was able to take her victory lap and shake hands with some of her fans.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. responded:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Angeline"
Album: HOLE IN WHATEVER
Artist: You Should Get To Know Us
Artist Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands
Record Company: Desert Mine Music
Record Company Location: UK
Info:
“You Should Get To Know Us is a four-piece garage rock band from Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The band’s music is both loud and melodic, strongly reminiscent of the slackerrock of the 90s. Their debut album HOLE IN WHATEVER was released in January 2019 by UK indie label Desert Mine Music.”
Price: €1 (EURO) for track; €10 (EURO) for 12-track album
Links:
HOLE IN WHATEVER
You Should Get to Know Us on Bandcamp
Desert Mine Music on YouTube
Desert Mine Music (Music Company Official Website)
Other Links:
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
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David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Stephen Suggests
Recycling
New Venture
Michael Egan
Reader Comment
Jailed on Facebook
Marty,
I got put in Facebook jail for a week, for sharing this photo of a sign in a local business.
Note that 3.6K others had seen the photo, and 920 of us shared it. Facebook said it violated their community standards!!!
I have appealed their action, but doubt seriously if I will be released before the week is up. My reasoning is that if I could see the image, and 920 folks had shared it, why am I being punished? If it goes against their standards, why wasn't the offending image removed?
your libtard, snowflake, Antifa friend in Tyler, TX
Roy
Jeez, Roy, that's crazy!
Although most everyone I know has spent some time in FB jail, and none of them were trying to be offensive or rebellious or spread misinformation.
Here's a rare successful challenge of the FB algorithms.
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
Gas now $4.11/gal at the no-name, cash only station.
Successfully Undergoes Surgery
Kathy Griffin
Kathy Griffin has successfully underwent surgery for lung cancer on Monday. The comedienne revealed her diagnosis on Twitter Monday morning and in a “Nightline” interview scheduled to air Monday evening.
“Surgery went well and as planned,” her reps confirmed to TheWrap. “Kathy is now in recovery now and resting. Doctors say the procedure was normal without any surprises.” Griffin had part of her left lung removed during surgery.
Griffin went into a little more detail in a statement posted to her Twitter account just before going into surgery, noting she got her diagnosis just two weeks prior. She never previously smoked was optimistic about her prognosis.
“The doctors are very optimistic as it is stage one and contained to my left lung,” she wrote. “Hopefully no chemo or radiation after this and I should have normal function with my breathing. I should be up and running around as usual in a month or less.”
Griffin also took the opportunity to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, saying that things would likely be worse for her if she hadn’t gotten it herself.
Kathy Griffin
Leaves Harry Potter Fortune To
Scholastic
Multinational book publisher Scholastic Corporation has been pushed into a succession crisis, after the sudden death of its owner Richard Robinson, who left his company to an lover instead of his family.
In a 2018 succession plan, Robinson named Scholastic’s chief strategy officer Iole Lucchese as his heir, according to a report published on Monday by the Wall Street Journal.
Robinson died on 5 June, leaving two sons, an ex-wife and a century-old company that has published some of the most well-known book series such as Harry Potter, The Magic School Bus and The Hunger Games among others.
Ms Lucchese, whose relationship with Robinson was an “open secret” according to the newspaper, was described as “my partner and closest friend” in the will.
However, Robinson’s decision to overlook his sons and other family members and bequeath all his personal belongings to Ms Lucchese has triggered a succession crisis. Several family members unhappy with the will are reportedly reviewing legal options.
Scholastic
Released
Ric Flair
Ric Flair is reportedly no longer a member of the WWE world. He obtained his release from the industry on Monday, marking the end of an illustrious partnership.
Flair is the one who approached the WWE wanting out. He requested a release which was granted on Monday, according to Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc. Flair reportedly grew frustrated with recent decisions by the WWE.
“Ric Flair is reportedly no longer with WWE,” wrote Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report.
“Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc. and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported Flair asked for and was granted his release, effective Monday. The Fightful report says Flair was “frustrated” with recent booking decisions at the company and directly contacted Vince McMahon expressing his desire to leave the company.”
Ric Flair is one of the most legendary members in WWE history. He’s a 16-time WWE world champion and has been an integral member of the team. Flair last wrestled in 2011. He had been in an on-screen role since 2012.
Ric Flair
Hungary For The Week
Little Tucker
Fox News host Tucker Carlson announced on Monday evening that he would be broadcasting his show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" this week from Budapest, as he visits the Hungarian capital and meets with the controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Carlson is also billed to speak on Saturday at a far-right conference in Budapest called MCC Feszt, according to its website, in a program titled "The World According to Tucker Carlson."
His announcement was made just after he met with Hungarian leader Orban, who on Monday posted a Facebook photo of the pair smiling while seemingly in conversation.
Carlson has commended Orban before for his policies that reward Hungarian families for having more children as the country faces declining birth rates.
Orban's government paid $265,000 to a DC lobbying firm in 2019 to coordinate an interview with Carlson's show, according to Anna Massaoglia, an investigative researcher for government transparency watchdog Open Secrets.
Little Tucker
Ethically Challenged In Idaho
Rep. Priscilla Giddings
An Idaho state lawmaker accused of violating ethics rules by publicizing the name of an alleged rape victim in disparaging social media posts refused to answer questions she deemed “irrelevant” during an ethics hearing on Monday. The lawmaker also claimed the young Statehouse intern who reported the alleged rape wasn’t actually a victim or entitled to privacy under the law.
Republican Rep. Priscilla Giddings became the subject of two ethics complaints by about two dozen lawmakers after she publicized the rape accuser’s name, photo and personal details about her life in April by sharing links to an far-right news article on social media and in a newsletter to constituents.
The lawmaker accused of raping the intern, Republican Aaron von Ehlinger, resigned earlier this year after the ethics committee recommended he be removed from the Statehouse. Von Ehlinger has denied all wrongdoing. The rape allegation is under investigation by police.
After the intern’s identity was revealed, she was subjected to a flood of harassment. Advocates for victims of sexual assault said the situation showed why many are afraid to report crimes.
But Giddings, who is running for lieutenant governor, said the complaints about her behavior amounted to little more than “woke cancel culture” and claimed the ethics investigation was politically motivated.
Rep. Priscilla Giddings
Olympic Gold
Artem Dolgopyat
Artem Dolgopyat fulfilled a lifelong dream when he won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. But back home in Israel, his hopes of trading gold wedding bands with his longtime girlfriend seem to be an impossible dream.
The Ukrainian-born Israeli gymnast was hailed as a national hero for winning Israel's second-ever gold medal — and its first in artistic gymnastics. But the celebrations were tempered after his mother lamented that the country's authorities will not allow him to wed because he is not considered Jewish according to Orthodox law.
“The state doesn’t allow him to marry,” Dolgopyat’s mother, Angela, told 103FM in an interview Sunday.
Under its “Law of Return,” anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent is eligible for Israeli citizenship. But while Dolgopyat's father is Jewish, his mother is not. Under “halacha,” or Jewish religious law, one must have a Jewish mother to be considered Jewish.
This discrepancy has resulted in tens of thousands of people, many of them from the former Soviet Union, who live in the country and serve in its army but who are blocked from Jewish rituals such as weddings and funerals.
Artem Dolgopyat
Completely Green
Yukon Delta
The Arctic is becoming greener and more lush, revealed recent satellite images of Alaska’s Yukon Delta, and it’s very bad news for the polar region and beyond.
The images, captured by the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Landsat 8 satellite on 29 May, showed extensive greenery in former tundra conditions - yet further evidence of global temperature rise.
Dr Uma Bhatt, an atmospheric science professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks, told The Independent that the explosions of plants and shrubbery, over what is typically a frozen tundra landscape, is linked to sea ice decline as the planet heats up.
“The tundra is very closely linked to the ocean, because it’s this narrow strip of land that’s very close to the Arctic Ocean,” she said of the region. “As the sea ice is going to decline, the tundra’s going to be impacted ... the ice is a really important factor.
The USGS satellite imagery measures the photosynthetic activity of certain plants. Increased activity indicates warmer temperatures. But while these plants and shrubbery thrive, it leads to complete disruption of the ecosystem.
Yukon Delta
Spanish Cave Art
Neanderthals
Neanderthals, long perceived to have been unsophisticated and brutish, really did paint stalagmites in a Spanish cave more than 60,000 years ago, according to a study published on Monday.
The issue had roiled the paleoarchaeology community ever since the publication of a 2018 paper attributing red ocher pigment found on the stalagmitic dome of Cueva de Ardales to our extinct "cousin" species.
The dating suggested the art was at least 64,800 years old, made at a time when modern humans did not inhabit the continent.
A new analysis revealed the composition and placement of the pigments were not consistent with natural processes -- instead, the pigments were applied through splattering and blowing.
More detailed dating showed that the pigments were applied at different points in time, separated by more than ten thousand years.
Neanderthals
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