Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Dylan Scott: "Sorry, Haters: Here's Another Big Way Obamacare Is Working As Planned" (Talking Points Memo)
It hasn't been at the top of the conversation about Obamacare, but new evidence suggests that yet another piece of the law is working exactly as it's supposed to. A key provision of the Affordable Care Act that was designed to keep insurers from overspending on administrative costs or else be forced to rebate premiums to customers looks to be succeeding in not only reducing those costs but in lowering premiums.
Paul Krugman: Recovery at Last? (NY Times)
Why we had to wait so long for some decent job numbers.
Tom Lamont: "Dolly Parton: 'There's more to me than the big hair and the phoney stuff'" (Guardian)
"HEY EVERYBODY!" shouts Parton, a full and throaty Tennessee-mountain holler silencing the room. "WE'RE GONNA BE DOING AN INTERVIEW! AND HE'S TAPING IT! SO YOU ALL BE QUIET!"
Sarah Galo: "Reverend Billy: 'In the US, consumerism is how we operate'" (Guardian)
The radical preacher and his Stop Shopping Choir are rattling the cage of the corporations with their new show Monsanto Is The Devil. We spoke to them about big business, Ferguson and why Monsanto is like god in the Old Testament.
Anonymous, J.F. Sargent: 5 Bizarre Things Driving a Taxi Teaches You About People (Cracked)
Driving a cab probably doesn't strike you as being the most difficult job in the world, and certainly not the most interesting. Well, I drive a cab in a medium-sized town in the Pacific Northwest, and in my experience, being a cabby is a carousel of surreal comedy, harsh life lessons, and unwelcome nudity.
Jason Ionnone: 5 Ignorant Jokes From the Last Comedians You'd Expect (Cracked)
Lazy hack comedy, sadly, has its audience. Men and women being different, hospital food sucking, fat people fatting, cats doing anything, een sawveeyet Rahshah, and shit yelled through a bullhorn will never not be yuk-yuk nirvana for comedy fans who hear "two-drink minimum" and interpret it as "all-drink maximum."
Paul Krugman: "The Thrill of Live Performance (Personal)" (NY Times)
For those wondering - yes, I went to see Lucius live last night. A year ago I saw them at the Bowery Ballroom, capacity around 500; this time at Terminal 5, capacity 3000 and sold out. And it was wonderful. What do I love about live shows like this?
The Vampire Slayer
Many people have a favorite book, movie, or TV show that nobody seems to appreciate. And then one day it's considered a "classic." Here's the story of an underrated television show that became a cult and critical smash.
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wrote:
took the day off.
returned to semi-retired status.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Eco-Friendly Homes
David
Thanks, Dave!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Greeting
Happy Zappadan
Hello Marty
Happy Zappadan Sting with Zappa Band…way cooler!
Reader Comment
Re: Tom Hanks
In the Dec. 8th E-Page, Recommended Reading from Bruce, Eddie Deezen: 18 Facts You May Not Know About Tom Hanks (Neatorama) could perhaps be 19 Facts.
Tom Hanks is of Melungeon heritage (as is Joe Showalter's mother).
Melungeons | Abagond
The Melungeon Story: Part 3 | Weekly View
MAM
Thanks, Marianne!
from Marc Perkel
BartCop
Hello Bartcop fans,
As you all know the untimely passing of Terry was unexpected, even by
him. We all knew he had cancer but we all thought he had some years
left. So some of us who have worked closely with him over the years are
scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. My job, among other
things, is to establish communications with the Bartcop community and
provide email lists and groups for those who might put something
together. Those who want to play an active roll in something coming from
this, or if you are one of Bart's pillars, should send an email to
active@bartcop.com.
Bart's final wish was to pay off the house mortgage for Mrs. Bart who is
overwhelmed and so very grateful for the support she has received.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can click on this the yellow donate
button on bartcop.com
But - I need you all to help keep this going. This note
isn't going to directly reach all of Bart's fans. So if you can repost
it on blogs and discussion boards so people can sign up then when we
figure out what's next we can let more people know. This list is just
over 600 but like to get it up to at least 10,000 pretty quick. So
here's the signup link for this email list.
( mailman.bartcop.com/listinfo/bartnews )
Marc Perkel
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and warm.
State Lawmakers Launch
Coalition
State lawmakers have launched a nationwide non-partisan coalition to combat gun violence, in part because the Congress has failed to reform gun laws, members of the group said on Monday.
Some 200 lawmakers from 50 states have joined the alliance, American State Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention, said the group's founder, Democratic New York State Assembly member Brian Kavanagh.
Congress has "failed in its responsibility" to prevent gun violence, said Jose Rodriguez, a Democratic state senator from Texas.
Lawmakers from eight states were at the news conference, including Virginia, Alabama, New Hampshire and Kansas. The only Republican lawmaker was state Representative Barbara Bollier from Kansas.
"We are a diverse group from red and blue states, and I am convinced our collective action will have an impact," said state Representative Stacey Newman, a Democrat from Missouri.
Coalition
Field Museum Open Egyptian Mummy Coffin
Minirdis
Once the lid was off the wood coffin holding the 2,500-year-old mummified remains of a 14-year-old Egyptian boy, scientist J.P. Brown could relax.
The conservator at Chicago's Field Museum and three other scientists had just used clamps and pieces of metal to create a cradle to lift the fragile lid. Wearing blue surgical gloves, they slowly lifted the contraption containing the coffin lid and carefully walked it to a table in a humidity-controlled lab at the museum.
The well-planned routine came Friday as scientists started conservation work on the mummy of Minirdis, the son of a stolist priest. The mummy needs to be stabilized so it can travel in the upcoming exhibit, "Mummies: Images of the Afterlife," which is expected to premier next September at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. It is expected to travel to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in fall 2016.
The Field Museum has had the mummy since the 1920s, when the institution received it from the Chicago Historical Society. It's part of the museum's collection of 30 complete human mummies from Egypt.
Minirdis
Back In Japan
Godzilla
Godzilla is stomping back. And this time, it's Made in Japan, like the original.
The announcement this week from Japanese film studio Toho comes after the success earlier this year of the Hollywood Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, which grossed more than $500 million worldwide.
Toho said in 2004 it had made its last Godzilla film, the 28th in the series centered on the irradiated monster, which first stomped into the world in 1954.
Godzilla, or "gojira," as the Japanese say it - a combination of the words for "whale" and "gorilla" - was a mutation that emerged from the Pacific because of nuclear testing.
Godzilla
Continent-Sized Scan Reveals Underbelly
US
A continent-sized scan of North America is giving researchers the sharpest view yet of mysterious geological structures underneath the United States.
The impressive view comes from an ambitious experiment called EarthScope, which has scanned the country from California to Maine using hundreds of portable seismometers. (The next stop is Alaska.) Launched in 2004, the massive effort has already revealed new details about the geology of the western and central United States, such as the shape of Yellowstone's magma plume. Now, the first clear images of the entire continent are beginning to emerge, according to a study published Oct. 15 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
"This was the dream to start with," said Brandon Schmandt, lead study author and a seismologist at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
The EarthScope process resembles snapping a CT scan of the Earth, with a field crew moving sensitive earthquake detectors across the surface and researchers constructing an image of the rocks below.
US
John Fogerty Sued
Creedence Clearwater Revival
A long-festering dispute over who gets to use the name of the popular 1960s rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival has done a 180 with lead singer John Fogerty now on the answering end of a lawsuit that claims he violated trademarks by recently using the band name.
The dispute actually stretches back to 1996 when Fogerty was the plaintiff in a lawsuit that alleged that drummer Douglas Clifford, bassist Stuart Cook and the wife of late rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty (John's brother) had been the ones misusing trademarks through the "Creedence Clearwater Revisited" tour.
Fogerty was initially successful back then in getting a California District Court to issue an injunction. However, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the injunction by ruling in 1997 that the lower judge had erred in finding a probable likelihood of confusion and in presuming irreparable harm to Fogerty. The case then proceeded, and in 2001, the parties entered into a settlement agreement.
According to a new lawsuit by Clifford, Cook, Patricia Fogerty and Poor Boy Productions, it was John Fogerty who withdrew his objection to "Creedence Clearwater Revisited" in return for payment for uses of the "Revisited" name.
The latest lawsuit points out that after the settlement, Fogerty gave interviews where he continued to slam use of the "Creedence Clearwater Revisited" name.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
$300M Ponzi Scheme
Jack Utsick
A former music promoter who produced events for top-name acts such as the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Aerosmith has been extradited from Brazil to face U.S. charges in a $300 million fraud case.
Prosecutors say 72-year-old Jack Utsick fled to Brazil in 2006 during investigations by the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission. After a lengthy court battle, Brazil ordered his extradition in August and he was flown to Miami on Saturday.
Authorities say Utsick operated his Worldwide Entertainment Inc. promotion company as a Ponzi scheme, repaying older investors with money from newer ones. The scheme defrauded an estimated 3,300 investors out of nearly $300 million.
Utsick is charged with eight counts of mail fraud, each carrying a maximum 20-year prison sentence. He has not yet entered a plea.
Jack Utsick
Developer Threatens
Eminent Domain
The developer of a $750 million natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania into New York has threatened to seize land from reluctant landowners through eminent domain.
A letter obtained by the Albany Times Union tells landowners who have refused to sell rights of way for the Constitution Pipeline that they have until Wednesday to accept offered prices. After that, developers will take them to court to force such sales for possibly less money.
Project opponents filed a complaint against the letters with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. His office declined comment but confirmed receipt of the complaint.
Lawyer Daniel Estrin of the White Plains-based Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic said the letter is meant to "bully landowners ... into waiving their property rights."
Asked about the legality of invoking eminent domain prior to meeting conditions outlined in the FERC approval, Constitution Pipeline Company spokesman Tom Droege told the Times Union, "We continue to communicate with landowners along the route to seek easement agreements ... We continue to work closely with other state and federal permitting agencies and remain optimistic that we will receive necessary clearances."
Eminent Domain
Syrian Jewish Bibles
Crowns of Damascus
Two decades after Israeli spies helped Syrian Jews whisk ancient Hebrew bibles from Damascus to Jerusalem, Israel's national library asked an Israeli court on Monday to grant it custodianship over the manuscripts - a move that could spark an ownership battle over some of the Syrian Jewish community's most important treasures.
Known as the Crowns of Damascus, the nine leather-bound parchment books - some featuring microscopic calligraphy and gold-leaf illumination - were written mostly in Spain and Italy between 700 and 1,000 years ago. For hundreds of years, they were guarded inside synagogues in the Syrian capital, presented only on special occasions.
So, in a covert operation by Israel's Mossad spy agency, eight ancient bibles were spirited to Israel between 1993 and 1995. The ninth was smuggled out of Syria in 1993 with the help of a Canadian Jewish activist.
Details of the Mossad operation remain classified, but the man who helped organize it was Rabbi Avraham Hamra, the then-leader of the Damascus Jewish community who now lives in Israel. Shabtai Shavit, the Mossad director at the time, confirmed Hamra's involvement, without giving details.
The existence of the bibles was revealed in 2000 when they were exhibited at the Israeli president's residence. And on Monday, the National Library of Israel went to court to formally ask the Justice Ministry to establish a kind of public charitable trust for the nine Crowns of Damascus.
Crowns of Damascus
Pigeon Problem
Fairbanks
Twice a year, Marcus Dodge assigns a worker to don disposable coveralls and a respirator for a trip to a downtown Fairbanks parking garage to clean up deposits from a non-native species.
Dodge, director of the Fairbanks Parking Authority, estimates the worker picks up 150 gallons of pigeon dung annually and hauls it to the hazardous materials area at the landfill.
The downtown pigeon population appears to be growing, according to Dodge and others. Businesses are experimenting with ways to deter the bird, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
One pigeon can produce 25 pounds of guano per year, according to a government report detailing New York City's pigeon problem. The droppings were cited as possible cause for speeding the decay of a Minneapolis bridge across the Mississippi River that collapsed in 2007 and killed 13 people.
Hunters and dog trainers introduced pigeons to Fairbanks, said Cathie Harms, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The best way to deter them, she said, is to eliminate their food source.
Fairbanks
In Memory
Ken Weatherwax
Ken Weatherwax, who played the pudgy son Pugsley on the 1960s ABC sitcom The Addams Family, has died. He was 59.
Weatherwax died Sunday from a heart attack, his niece, Shanyn Vieira, announced on Facebook. Later, TMZ reported that he died in his California home and that there will be two funerals, one for the family and one for the fans.
Weatherwax starred as Pugsley, the reserved, insect-eating son of Gomez and Morticia Addams (John Astin and Carolyn Jones) and the brother of Wednesday Addams (Lisa Loring), on the campy Filmways Television sitcom.
Based on the New Yorker comic strip by cartoonist Charles Addams, The Addams Family spent just two seasons (1964-66) on ABC but aired for years in syndication. It also spawned a pair of Barry Sonnenfeld movies in the 1990s that had Jimmy Workman playing Pugsley.
A native of Los Angeles, Weatherwax also appeared in toothpaste commercials and on a 1964 episode of Wagon Train. After The Addams Family ended, he tried out for other roles but didn't land anything, saying he was a victim of typecasting, he told Bill O'Reilly in a 2008 interview.
Later, he played Pugsley Sr. on a 1977 Halloween Addams Family movie for NBC and reportedly worked as a grip and set builder in Hollywood.
Weatherwax's aunt was dancer and actress Ruby Keeler, who starred in such famed 1930s Warner Bros. musicals as 42nd Street, and his uncle was Lassie's trainer, Rudd Weatherwax.
His brother is actor Joey D. Vieira, who starred as Porky Brockway on the Lassie TV series of the 1950s and had small parts in such films as Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) and The Patriot (2000).
Ken Weatherwax
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