Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Tom Danehy: An Open Letter to the Guy on the Other Side of The Great Divide(Tucson Weekly)
… Ana's a DACA kid and just a few days earlier, the Arizona State Supreme Court had coldly driven a stake into the heart of her academic future when they decided that kids like her-set apart through no fault of their own-would no longer be able to pay in-state tuition to attend Arizona's community colleges or universities.
Helaine Olen: The Ronny Jackson mess perfectly sums up the Trump presidency (Washington Post)
Back when he campaigned for president, Trump promised that he would make sure "the best people in the world" served in his administration. We now know that the definition of "best people" turned out to mean a rogue's gallery of sycophants such as Jackson, incompetents like DeVos, penny-ante sleaze like Scott Pruitt , and people who will do big business's bidding like Mick Mulvaney.
Helaine Olen: "Mulvaney to bankers: Here's how the game works" (Washington Post)
When Donald Trump campaigned for president, he repeatedly explained how his extensive experience as a business executive dealing with politicians made him uniquely qualified to clean house in Washington. As he put it: "As a businessman and a very substantial donor to very important people, when you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do." Many voters took statements such as this to mean Trump would actually "drain the swamp." Instead, President Trump has set off a tidal wave of corporate kowtowing and currying of favor that in another country we might call corruption.
Matthew Rozsa: Democrats win big in New York, come close in Arizona (Salon)
Special elections in New York and Arizona should leave Republicans nervous about the midterms.
Cal Thomas: Evangelicals can't serve two masters (Statesville Record & Landmark)
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24) The verse refers to money, but in light of today's debate about the unaccountable devotion many Christian leaders have for President Trump it is not a stretch to apply it to their relationship with him.
Sam Wollaston: "Britain's Fat Fight With Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall review: mischief with a message" (The Guardian)
If you are in the food industry, the last thing you want popping into your inbox is an email from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Congratulating you on the delicious crunchiness of your chocolate-flavoured rice-based breakfast cereal, is he? Er, no, he wants an on-camera interview.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
wrote:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Lunch Breaks
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Arbor Day
Happy Arbor Day!
I have 3 calendars in my apt. and not a single one mentions that April 27th is Arbor
Day, although all 3 show that April 25th is "Administrative Professionals Day"
because, you know, Administrative Professionals don't get enough recognition in this
world!
Anyway, in honor of the day I'd like to recommend this site that my brother
(Monte in Montana) referred me to a few weeks ago. It's perfect for Arbor Day,
however, I must warn you there is nudity in every single picture (gasp!). It's a
beautiful collection of photos staged over the years with people and nature, called
the TreeSpirit Project. Check it out!
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
CAN WE LIVE FOREVER?
OOPS!
"… TRUMP IS NOW OFFICIALLY 'UNHINGED'."
"GO BIG OR GO HOME!"
THE DRUNK QUITS.
'WE'RE DOOMED.'
THE LIAR, THE CHEAT, THE THEIF AND THE PRESIDENT!
"EATING CROW."
SOLAR FUEL!
REPUBLICANS SUCK!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Hitting the road - as dear old dad would say "catch ya on the flip-flop".
Michael Che and Colin Jost To Host
2018 Emmys
NBC's renewed love for Saturday Night Live is heading to the Emmys. The network has tapped "Weekend Update" anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che to host the 2018 telecast.
The network hasn't had an SNL personality host the Emmys since Eddie Murphy back in 1983, instead relying recently on late-night hosts - like most every other awards show.
It's certainly a timely move for the network. SNL continues to enjoy a cultural renaissance thanks to the current political climate. Its 2016-17 season, which tackled the presidential election and its fallout, marked the first time in decades that the show nabbed an Emmy for best variety show. SNL is hardly a stranger to the Emmys though. It is the most nominated TV series of all time.
NBC is clearly hoping it can goose the Emmys' ratings with a return to Monday for the Sept. 17 ceremony. The move, which keeps it from interrupting or running against coverage of Sunday Night Football, worked out surprisingly well when the network last did it in 2004. (Instead of September, that one aired in August before the football season began.)
The Television Academy and the broadcast networks are said to still be hammering out details for the next rights deal for the annual telecast. It is expected to return to the four-network rotation when the current contract expires with this 2018 ceremony.
2018 Emmys
Officially Done
Robert De Niro
Screen legend Robert De Niro isn't just calling out Donald Trump anymore. He's also apparently done with the president's supporters.
IndieWire asked the two-time Oscar winner about the success of the "Roseanne" reboot, in which the title character is a Trump supporter, as comedian Roseanne Barr is in real life.
"I've never seen her show before, I didn't know she was supporting Trump, but I have no interest in that," De Niro told the website. "We're at a point with all of us this where it's beyond trying to see another person's point of view. There are ways you can talk about that, but we're at a point where the things that are happening in our country are so bad and it comes from Trump."
"I don't care about Roseanne," he concluded. "They want that thing, fine. We have real issues in this country."
De Niro's comments should come as no surprise, given what he's said about Trump in the past. Earlier this year, De Niro dismissed the president as a "fucking idiot" and a "fucking fool," then hit him with a new nickname: "jerk-off-in-chief." He also said Trump had "sullied the presidency," called America under Trump "a tragic dumbass comedy" and raged about the "bullshit" cuts to arts programs that were proposed in the president's budget.
Robert De Niro
National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Alabama
Tears and expressions of grief met the opening of the nation's first memorial to the victims of lynching Thursday in Alabama.
Hundreds lined up in the rain to get a first look at the memorial and museum in Montgomery.
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice commemorates 4,400 black people who were slain in lynchings and other racial killings between 1877 and 1950. Their names, where known, are engraved on 800 dark, rectangular steel columns, one for each U.S. county where lynchings occurred.
A related museum, called The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, is opening in Montgomery.
Ava DuVernay, the Oscar-nominated film director, told several thousand people at a conference marking the memorial launch to "to be evangelists and say what you saw and what you experienced here. ... Every American who believes in justice and dignity must come here ... Don't just leave feeling like, 'That was amazing. I cried.' ... Go out and tell what you saw."
Alabama
Posthumous Hollywood Walk O'Fame
Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin's legacy continues.
The Crocodile Hunter was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, more than a decade after his shocking death. Irwin was killed by a stingray while filming a documentary series in 2006 at the age of 44.
Irwin's widow, Terri, and their two kids, Bindi and Robert, were on hand to honor the conservationist and TV personality.
In a touching speech, Terri remembered her time with Steve, and encouraged fans to follow his "love of everything." 14-year-old Robert then took the mic for a few words, before Bindi teared up while paying tribute to her father.
"I'm going to get a little bit emotional because it's such a special day," she said, breaking down and hugging her mother. "I have to tell you that I, never in my wildest dreams, imagined that this would become a reality, and this is such an honor as a family to continue in dad's footsteps... so thank you for being here today and supporting us."
Steve Irwin
Statue Removed
Stephen Foster
Pittsburgh's monument to native son Stephen Collins Foster has returned to its old stomping ground.
A Department of Public Works crew removed the controversial statue of the Antebellum songwriter known as the father of American music early Thursday from Forbes Avenue in Oakland and hauled it by flatbed truck to a facility in Highland Park. The city will store it until officials find it a permanent home.
The 1,000-pound, 10-foot-high bronze statue stood at the entrance to Oakland's Schenley Park for 74 years after the city moved it from its original location near the entrance to Highland Park to prevent vandalism.
The city plans to replace the statue with a memorial to black women and has scheduled public meetings to gather suggestions before deciding on a theme.
Foster, who was born in Pittsburgh on July 4, 1826, wrote more than 200 songs, including such time-honored favorites as "Oh Susanna," "Camptown Races" and "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair."
Stephen Foster
'Christian Researcher'
New Doomsday
A self-declared Bible "researcher" and conspiracy theorist who has predicted a number of failed doomsday dates is trying a new tack. Instead of giving a date, he's giving a range.
David Meade, whose views fall well outside mainstream Christianity, told the Guardian that the biblical "rapture" will take place at some point between May and December of this year. When that happens, the world won't end but rather the faithful will be plucked off the Earth, leaving the rest behind for seven years of tribulation. Then, he said, there will be 1,000 years of peace and prosperity before the world actually ends, which would occur by the year 3025, give or take.
"So the world isn't ending anytime soon - in our lifetimes, anyway," Meade assured the Guardian.
Meade previously predicted the world would end on Sept. 23, 2017. At the time, he didn't offer a specific form of apocalypse. In the past, however, Meade has used "numerical codes" found in the Bible and claimed that a secret planet called Nibiru was on a collision course with Earth.
Zero astronomers believed Meade's theory.
New Doomsday
Swiss Scientists Perform Massive Test
'Spooky' Quantum Paradox
A team of Swiss scientists has performed a massive test of one of the strangest paradoxes in quantum mechanics, a huge example of the sort of behavior Albert Einstein skeptically called "spooky action at a distance."
The story begins more than 80 years ago. Way back in 1935, Einstein and physicists Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen found something strange. They entangled two particles - let's call them Alice and Bob - so that their physical properties were linked even across wide distances, and anything you did to one particle would impact the other. Intuitively, you'd think that if you had access to Alice, you'd know way more about her than you would about Bob, who's a distance away. This is also what you'd expect given Einstein's relativistic laws of physics at large scales. But the physicist trio discovered something odd, now called the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox: By studying Alice, you actually learn much more about Bob than you do about Alice.
Later experiments using individual particles proved the physicists correct on this point. But this new experiment, published today (April 26) in the journal Science, shows that the effect still occurs using even a clump of nearly 600 supercooled particles.
It's not surprising, exactly, that a paradox originally framed in terms of two particles also occurs for clumps of hundreds of particles. The same physics at work in a very small system should also work in much larger systems. But scientists perform these ever-more-complex tests because they help confirm old theories and narrow down the ways in which those theories might be wrong. And they also demonstrate the capability of modern technology to put into action ideas that Einstein and his colleagues could think about only in abstract terms.
To pull off this experiment, the researchers cooled about 590 rubidium atoms (give or take 30 atoms) to the bleeding edge of absolute zero.
'Spooky' Quantum Paradox
11,000-Year-Old Statue
Siberia
In 1894, gold prospectors digging up a peat bog near the Russian city of Yekaterinburg unearthed something bizarre: a carved wooden idol 5 meters long. Carefully smoothed into a plank, the piece was covered front and back with recognizable human faces and hands, along with zigzag lines and other mysterious details. It also had a recognizably human head, with its mouth open in an "o." For more than a century, the statue was displayed as a curiosity in a Yekaterinburg museum, assumed to be at most a few thousand years old.
This week, a paper published in the journal Antiquity argues that the statue was crafted from a single larchwood log 11,600 years ago, making it one of the world's oldest examples of monumental art. In age and appearance although not material, the authors write, the so-called Shigir Idol resembles the stone sculptures of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, which are often cited as the first monumental ritual structures. Both monuments represent a leap beyond the naturalistic images of the ice age.
The idol also shows that large-scale, complex art emerged in more than one place-and that it was the handiwork of hunter-gatherers and not, as was once assumed, of later farming societies. "We have to conclude hunter-gatherers had complex ritual and expression of ideas. Ritual doesn't start with farming, but with hunter-gatherers," says Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany and a co-author of the paper.
The first radiocarbon dating of the idol, in the 1990s, yielded a startlingly early date: 9800 years old. But many scholars rejected the result as implausibly old. They argued that hunter-gatherers couldn't have produced such a large sculpture, nor have had the complex symbolic imagination to decorate it.
The new dates come from samples taken from the core of the log, uncontaminated by earlier efforts to conserve the wood. "The further you go inside, the older [the date] becomes-it's very indicative some sort of preservative or glue was used" after discovery, says Olaf Jöris, an archaeologist at the Monrepos Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution in Neuwied, Germany, who wasn't involved with the study. An antler carving discovered near the original find spot in the 19th century yielded similar dates, adding credibility to the result.
Siberia
Rare Gold Coin
Liberty Head Half Eagle
A man who was told a gold coin in his possession was a fake is set to become a millionaire after experts realised it was the real deal.
The collector, who wished to remain anonymous, was convinced his coin was a fraudulent replica of a special $5 coin produced by the San Francisco Mint at the height of the California Gold Rush in 1854.
Coin dealers agreed with him, since only three out of the 268 Liberty Head Half Eagles made were known to have survived into modern times.
But it was soon to be four after the man took it to the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), a coin authentication company, whose experts confirmed it was an original.
"It's like finding an original Picasso at a garage sale. It's the discovery of a lifetime," NGC chairman Mark Salzberg said.
Liberty Head Half Eagle
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