Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: The Ryan Role (New York Times)
What Ryan is good at is exploiting the willful gullibility of the Beltway media, using a soft-focus style to play into their desire to have a conservative wonk they can say nice things about. And apparently the trick still works.
Matt Miller: Mars and Taxes
… the Republican primate Mitt Romney wants to cut taxes on wealthy Americans and raise them on everyone else.
Brad DeLong: THINGS WRONG WITH HASSETT, HUBBARD, MANKIW, AND TAYLOR, "THE ROMNEY PROGRAM FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY, GROWTH, AND JOBS"
There is no Romney program-a program is complete, coherent, and scoreable, Romney has repeatedly said that his statements are not scoreable. In order to estimate the economic effect of any program, you have to know what its pieces will do--you need to have it scored. Until Romney presents a complete and coherent program with scoreable pieces, HHMT have no basis for asserting anything about its economic impact.
Susan Estrich: What Do Women Want? (Creators Syndicate)
… at the end of the day, when women enter the voting booth, I think what they want is pretty close to what men want: jobs, an economy that will support themselves and their children, real security.
Elizabeth Hewitt: "ACLU: Facebook 'Like' Is Free Speech" (Slate)
The thumbs-up button is at the center of an emerging First Amendment debate about social media.
Usain Bolt London 2012 Olympics Final vs every 100m medalist!
Superb graphical comparison by the New York Times. Evolution of the human race, literally. Congrats Usain on back to back 100m and 200m golds!
Smashwords Author JD Nixon Breaks out with Mystery & Detective Series
Her sales are taking off. In the month of July, JD Nixon sold over 9,700 copies at just one Smashwords retailer - Barnes & Noble. Smashwords also distributes her books to Amazon, the Apple iBookstore, Diesel, Sony and Kobo.
RICHARD B. WOODWARD: The Most Feared Art Critic of His Time? (Wall Street Journal)
Robert Hughes, who died on Monday at the age of 74, leaves behind many admirers but few followers. The most feared art critic of his time, as learned as he was readable, he cultivated no acolytes who aped his opinions and verbal mannerisms, as did Clement Greenberg and Pauline Kael, critics of equal stature. Despite his professorial air, Hughes spurned academia and it has responded in kind.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
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."
wrote:
answered:
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Hot, humid and yucky.
Lucky me - jury duty next month.
Call Out Warmongers
Nobel Laureates
Nine Nobel Peace laureates, including retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, on Monday called on television network NBC to cancel its "Stars Earn Stripes" reality show, labeling it a bid to "sanitize war by likening it to an athletic competition."
In an open letter to NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, the Nobel prize winners said that "preparing for war is neither amusing nor entertaining.
"It is our belief that this program pays homage to no one anywhere and continues and expands on an inglorious tradition of glorifying war and armed violence.
"Real war is down in the dirt deadly. People - military and civilians - die in ways that are anything but entertaining," the letter added.
The signatories, who all won their Nobel prizes for contributions aimed at ending violence, called on NBC to "stop airing this program."
Nobel Laureates
Moderators Announced
Presidential Debates
For the first time in two decades, a woman has been tapped to moderate a presidential debate.
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday that CNN's Candy Crowley will moderate one of three October debates between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Jim Lehrer of PBS and Bob Schieffer of CBS News will moderate the other two debates.
Another female journalist, Martha Raddatz of ABC News, will moderate the debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.
Presidential Debates
Makes It Into Mainstream Dictionary
"F-Bomb"
The term "F-bomb" first surfaced in newspapers more than 20 years ago but will land Tuesday for the first time in the mainstream Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, along with sexting, flexitarian, obesogenic, energy drink and life coach.
In all, the company picks about 100 additions for the 114-year-old dictionary's annual update, gathering evidence of usage over several years in everything from media to the labels of beer bottles and boxes of frozen food.
So who's responsible for lobbing F-bomb far and wide? Kory Stamper, an associate editor for Merriam-Webster, said she and her fellow word spies at the Massachusetts company traced it back to 1988, in a Newsday story that had the now-dead Mets catcher Gary Carter talking about how he had given them up, along with other profanities.
But the word didn't really take off until the late '90s, after Bobby Knight went heavy on the F-bombs during a locker room tirade.
"F-Bomb"
Playing In Burma
"Titanic 3D"
"Titanic 3D" will sail into Myanmar Burma on August 17, becoming one of the first major studio films to be released in the Southeast Asian country in decades, according to its producer Twentieth Century Fox.
The re-release of James Cameron's romantic drama will hit Myanmar (also known as Burma) through an arrangement with the Mingalar Company. In a statement, Twentieth Century Fox alluded to the political reforms taking place throughout the country as part of the reason for its decision to open the film there.
Though the country was notorious for its human rights abuses and repressive regimes, it has begun to makes its election process more democratic and has released some political prisoners. Burma was previously controlled by a military junta, but following elections in 2010, power was ceded to elected officials - though many of them still have ties to the junta.
Since its re-release last spring, "Titanic 3D" has grossed nearly $344 million worldwide, bringing the lifetime worldwide total for the film to $2.19 billion, to date.
"Titanic 3D"
Recoups Investment
'Once'
The Tony Award-winning musical "Once" has proved to be a song at the box office: It has recouped its $5.5 million investment in less than six months.
Producers announced on Monday that the show has turned profitable after just 21 weeks, or "faster than any new Broadway musical in more than a decade."
The musical starring Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti is based on the 2006 film about an unlikely romance between a Czech flower seller and an Irish street musician in Dublin.
Like the film, the musical features songs by Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, including "Falling Slowly." It won eight Tonys and last week earned an average ticket price of $124.27.
Traditionally, only about 3 in 10 Broadway shows recoup.
'Once'
Injuries Force 'The Good Wife' Exit
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth says injuries she sustained while filming the CBS legal drama "The Good Wife" last month will prevent her from returning to the show.
In a statement issued Monday she expresses "deep regret" she'll be unable to return in her recurring role "at this time." She'll appear in the season premiere, airing Sept. 30.
The 44-year-old actress was hit on the head by a piece of equipment while on the show's New York City set July 11. She was briefly hospitalized.
She says she's "getting better slowly."
Kristin Chenoweth
Ex-Worker Sues
Disneyland
A former Disneyland restaurant employee sued Walt Disney Co on Monday for harassment and religious discrimination, saying she was fired because she wanted to wear a Muslim head scarf at work.
Imane Boudlal, a 28-year-old Muslim, worked as a hostess at the Storytellers Cafe, a restaurant inside Disney's Grand California Hotel & Spa at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
Two years into the job, Boudlal asked permission to wear a hijab, a head scarf worn by Muslim women, while at work. She said she offered to wear a scarf that matched the colors of her uniform or featured a Disney logo.
According to her lawsuit, Disney managers denied her request, saying it would violate the company's policy for how employees "look" while on the job. Among the restrictions, the policy prohibits visible tattoos and fingernails that exceed a quarter of an inch, the lawsuit said.
A U.S. citizen who was born in Morocco, Boudlal said she was also subject to anti-Arab and anti-Muslim slurs, including being called "terrorist" and "camel" by co-workers and supervisors. She said she reported the incidents to managers but they took no action.
Disneyland
VH1 Pulls Series
"Ev and Ocho"
For Chad Johnson, a weekend confrontation with his wife has led to repercussions beyond a misdemeanor charge and NFL unemployment.
VH1 pulled the series "Ev and Ocho" from its schedule, citing "the seriousness of the allegations" against Johnson. The network said Monday it had no plans to air the show.
The Dolphins terminated Johnson's contract Sunday night, about 24 hours after he was arrested in a domestic battery case involving his wife, Evelyn Lozada, who is on the reality TV show "Basketball Wives."
Coach Joe Philbin says the decision to release the six-time Pro Bowl receiver wasn't based on any single incident and wasn't made to send a message. Instead, Philbin decided Johnson and the Dolphins were simply a bad fit.
"Ev and Ocho"
Fingers Fall Guy
Vatican't
The Vatican on Monday ordered Pope Benedict's former butler to stand trial for leaking documents alleging corruption in the Holy See, revealing the involvement of a second Vatican employee and details of secret nocturnal meetings with a reporter.
A complex 35-page document on a scandal which has rocked the Holy See since butler Paolo Gabriele was arrested last May showed that the butler saw himself as an "infiltrator" of the Holy Spirit who wanted to clean up the Roman Catholic Church.
The indictment, which could lead to the most spectacular trial in the Vatican in 40 years, said computer expert Claudio Sciarpelletti would also stand trial on lesser charges of aiding and abetting a crime.
Sciarpelletti, who worked in the Vatican's most important office - the Secretariat of State - was a close friend of Gabriele and investigators found a sealed envelope in his desk containing material published in a book based on the leaks.
Vatican't
Town Finally Accepts Spinoff
'Jersey Shore'
Snooki and JWoww have finally found a New Jersey town that will let them tape the second season of their reality show.
The mayor of Manchester Township in Ocean County tells the Asbury Park Press that the "Jersey Shore" spinoff "Snooki & JWoww" will start shooting there in the next few days.
He says there's nothing in local law to keep Jennifer "JWoww" Farley and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi from filming there.
Manchester Mayor Michael Fressola says he just wants the reality show stars to be good neighbors and obey the police department.
'Jersey Shore'
Playing Both Sides Of The Fence
MundoFox
News Corp. has launched its new Spanish-language TV network on 50 stations, marking a challenge to leaders Univision and Telemundo in the fight for Hispanic audiences in the U.S.
The MundoFox network launched Monday on stations such as KWHY-TV in Los Angeles and WPXO-LD in New York, covering some 11.1 million Hispanic U.S. households, or nearly 80 percent of the total.
By comparison, top-ranked Univision reaches 96 percent of the market, while No. 2 Telemundo, owned by Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal, reaches 94 percent.
MundoFox is a 50-50 partnership between News Corp.'s Fox International Channels and RCN Television Group, a TV show producer based in Colombia. Over the next few years, RCN's programming will be available exclusively on MundoFox as its agreements with other networks expire.
MundoFox
'Abnormalities' Traced to Fukushima
Butterflies
Japanese scientists say "abnormalities" detected in the country's butterflies may be a result ofradioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year. In a study published in Scientific Reports, an online journal, researchers say "artificial radionuclides" from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant caused "physiological and genetic damage" to pale grass blue butterflies.
Scientists first began tracking common butterflies around the nuclear plant two months after the disaster. They collected 121 insects, and found 12 percent of them had unusually small wings. That number jumped more than 5 percent when butterflies collected from the plant site had offspring of their own.
In another group of butterflies collected six months after the disaster, scientists found 28 percent had "abnormal" traits. That number nearly doubled among the second generation born.
Tiny amounts of cesium of 137 and cesium 134 were detected in more than a dozen bluefin tuna caught near San Diego in August last year. The levels were 10 times higher than tuna found in previous years, but well below those the Japanese and US governments considered harmful to human health.
Butterflies
Widow Gets Benefits Boost
Alda Collins
A 110-year-old Pennsylvania widow is getting a benefits boost because of her husband's World War I service.
Family members say Alda Collins is now getting about $1,000 a month to assist with her stay at a nursing home near Ebensburg. She had been getting $36 a month.
Her son tells the Daily American of Somerset that Collins lived by herself in a trailer until she was 106. She can use a walker, feeds herself and knows the Pirates are in second place.
The family had been asking the Veterans Administration for the benefits adjustment since 2008 and recently got help from U.S. Rep. Mark Critz.
Alda Collins
In Memory
Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown, the longtime editor of Cosmopolitan magazine who invited millions of women to join the sexual revolution, has died. She was 90.
"Sex and the Single Girl," her grab-bag book of advice, opinion, and anecdote on why being single shouldn't mean being sexless, made a celebrity of the 40-year-old advertising copywriter in 1962.
Three years later, she was hired by Hearst Magazines to turn around the languishing Cosmopolitan and it became her bully pulpit for the next 32 years.
She said at the outset that her aim was to tell a reader "how to get everything out of life - the money, recognition, success, men, prestige, authority, dignity - whatever she is looking at through the glass her nose is pressed against."
Along the way she added to the language such terms as "Cosmo girl" - hip, sexy, vivacious and smart - and "mouseburger," which she coined first in describing herself as a plain and ordinary woman who must work relentlessly to make herself desirable and successful.
She put big-haired, deep-cleavaged beauties photographed by Francesco Scavullo on the magazine's cover, behind teaser titles like "Nothing Fails Like Sex-cess - Facts About Our Real Lovemaking Needs."
Male centerfolds arrived during the 1970s - actor Burt Reynolds' (modestly) nude pose in 1972 created a sensation - but departed by the '90s.
Brown and Cosmo were anathema to militant feminists, who staged a sit-in at her office. One of them, Kate Millet, said, "The magazine's reactionary politics were too much to take, especially the man-hunting part. The entire message seemed to be 'Seduce your boss, then marry him.'"
Another early critic was Betty Friedan, who dismissed the magazine as "immature teenage-level sexual fantasy" but later came around and said Brown, "in her editorship, has been a rather spirited and gutsy example in the revolution of women."
Within four issues, circulation, which had fallen below the 800,000 readers guaranteed to advertisers, was on the rise, even with the newsstand price increasing from 35 cents to 50 and then 60.
Sales grew every year until peaking at just over 3 million in 1983, then slowly leveled off to 2.5 million at $2.95 a copy, where it was when Brown left in 1997. (She stayed on as editor in chief of the magazine's foreign editions.)
She was still rail-thin, 5-feet-4 and within a few pounds of 100 in either direction, as she had kept herself throughout her life with daily exercise and a careful diet.
An ugly duckling by her own account, Helen Gurley was a child of the Ozarks, born Feb. 18, 1922 in Green Forest, Ark. Growing up in the Depression, she earned pocket money by giving other kids dance lessons.
Her father died when she was 10 and her mother, a teacher, moved the family to Los Angeles, where young Helen, acne-ridden and otherwise physically unendowed, graduated as valedictorian of John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in 1939.
All the immediate future held was secretarial work. With typing and shorthand learned at a business college, she went through 18 jobs in seven years at places like the William Morris Agency, the Daily News in Los Angeles, and, in 1948, the Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agency. There, when finally given a shot at writing ad copy, she began winning prizes and was hired away by Kenyon & Eckhardt, which made her the highest paid advertising woman on the West Coast.
She also evidently was piling up the experience she put to use later as an author, editor and hostess of a TV chit-chat show.
Marriage came when she was 37 to twice-divorced David Brown, a former Cosmopolitan managing editor turned movie producer, whose credits would include "The Sting" and "Jaws."
Her husband encouraged Brown to write a book, which she wrote on weekends, and suggested the title, "Sex and the Single Girl."
In 1967 she hosted a TV talk show, "Outrageous Opinions," syndicated in 19 cities and featuring celebrity guests willing to be prodded about sex and other risque topics.
The Browns were childless by choice, she said.
Helen Gurley Brown
In Memory
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert, a groundbreaking comic artist and educator, has died at 85.
Kubert, who co-created DC Comics' iconic Sgt. Rock character and Tor, and reinvigorated Hawkman, died Sunday, according to The Kubert School, which he founded in 1976 with his wife to train illustrators and artists.
Kubert is closely tied to war comics thanks to Sgt. Rock and his fabled Easy Company, along with the strip "Tales of the Green Beret." He worked on a manual for the U.S. Army on how to fix Humvees.
His work was also poignant. "Yossel April 19, 1943," explored the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in World War II and what his life would have been if his parents did not emigrate from Poland to the United States when he was a baby.
Joe Kubert
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
