Recommended Reading
from Bruce
SUZANNAH HILLS: "Back to nature with the guerilla gardener: The artist who plants tiny trees in potholes" (Daily Mail)
They're the bane of cyclists and motorists alike, but one urban gardener has grown a fondness for potholes after deciding to spruce up cities around Europe by filling them up with miniature flower arrangements. Australian Steve Wheen, 34, who lives in London, has been using flowers and small-scale objects to transform urban potholes for the last three years. The self-styled 'guerrilla gardener' has created mini gardens all around his home city but has now decided to bring joy to commuters across Europe with his unusual pothole creations.
David Weigel: "Defeated Kansas Senator: 'Koch Industries is Just a Terrible, Terrible Citizen'" (Slate)
They may be a Kansas business, they may be the biggest company run by a single family, but they need to be asking the question "What can we do for Kansas?" and not "What can Kansas do for us?" Koch Industries is just a terrible, terrible citizen as far as I'm concerned. I think Koch Industries has done a major disservice to the state of Kansas.
Andrew Tobias: Romney v. Romney
Bob Sanderson: "I'm pretty sure you're right about the (lack of) influence of tax rates on job creators. I own a small business, and I can't remember ever contemplating my tax rate when considering the hiring of a new employee."
Andrew Tobias: Twice As Big as the Louisiana Purchase and Marshall Plan Combined
When President Obama noted that entrepreneurs didn't achieve their success entirely on their own - they had help from the folks who built the national infrastructure and perhaps from the public school system or government-backed student loans or government contracts or SBA loans - he might have mentioned DARPA, which gave us the Internet. Can you think of any entrepreneurs whose success has depended partly on that? The same will hold true of ARPA-E, and almost nobody knows about it.
Who is fighting for middle class tax cuts?
President Obama vs. Mitt Romney.
Matt Miller: That's Mitticulous! (Washington Post)
He goes to London. Insults the Brits. Draws a rebuke from the prime minister. Becomes tabloid fodder. But the man doesn't rest.
Tom Danehy: Tom responds to readers on matters regarding hot coffee, McDonald's and the supermarket express lane (Tucson Weekly)
Most of the negative e-mails pertained to my having referred to the famous McDonald's coffee-spill lady as "stupid." Many people suggested that I didn't know the details of the case and recommended that I watch the documentary 'Hot Coffee.' I had already seen that documentary, but I went back and watched it again in case I had missed anything.
Marc Dion: Staying In Touch With Hasids and Snoop Lion (Creators Syndicate)
Rapper Snoop Dogg changed his name to Snoop Lion. Know how I found out? My tweeps told me. A "tweep" is one of the "peeps" you know on Twitter. "Peeps," by the way, is young guy for "people."
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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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."
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Bosko Suggests
Old Aqueducts
Have a great day,
Bosko.
Thanks, Bosko!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Day 35
Gulf Fritillary
Came across some Gulf Fritillary larva
on the back fence, so it looks like we'll have a third year of raising butterflies. : )
Click on any picture for a larger version.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still w-a-y too toasty.
Celebrates Humanitarian Aid Workers At UN
Beyoncé
US R&B singer Beyoncé has recorded a video clip in the hall of the UN General Assembly that will be used to celebrate World Humanitarian Day August 19.
The solemn chamber was transformed for the occasion Friday, with an improvised stage and a gigantic arching screen.
Clad in a white dress with sequins, the winner of 16 Grammy Awards sang one of her hits, "I Was Here", before images of floods and rescuers digging through rubble after an earthquake.
The video, which the singer offered as a donation to the UN, will be included in a campaign broadcast on the Internet at www.whd-iwashere.org, illustrating the work of humanitarian organizations around the world. The video will be accompanied by the testimonies of millions of volunteers.
Beyoncé
Flickr User Discovers New Species Of Insect
"Semachrysa jade"
Hock Ping Guek recently posted some photographs of an interesting looking insect to the online photo-sharing site Flickr. What Guek didn't realize was that he had unintentionally discovered a new species.
Guek (known on Flickr as Kurt) had posted a request along with his photo uploads asking for help in identifying the species of green lacewing. A few months later, insect biosystematist Dr. Shaun Winterton stumbled across Guek's photo. Not recognizing the species, Winterton reached out to Guek and the pair worked together to find another specimen in a Malaysian rainforest.
Writing on his blog, Up Close With Nature, Guek explains: "I first saw and photographed this species in the wild in its natural habitat on May 10, 2011. A few lacewing experts informed me that this could be a new species. Luckily, I came across this beautiful species again on Jan 27, 2012. Specimen was captured and sent to Mr. Winterton."
Guek and Winteron have named the new lacewing species "Semachrysa jade."
Discovering a new species is exciting enough but the unusual route of detection has caught the attention of the scientific community.
"Semachrysa jade"
Sirius XM To Carry
BuzzFeed Radio Show
Sirius XM is launching "BuzzFeed Radio", a weekly show hosted by the editors and reporters of BuzzFeed, a fast-growing website known for its quirky content that spreads quickly online.
The one-hour call-in show will air live to the satellite radio provider's 22 million subscribers on Tuesday at 6 pm Eastern and be replayed again on Wednesday mornings and evenings.
BuzzFeed said late Sunday it built its Web audience of more than 30 million monthly unique visitors by posting viral content such as animal photos and witty lists such as "the 21 Absolute Worst Things in The World", but is now expanding its political coverage.
The company was started by Jonah Peretti, a co-founder of The Huffington Post, and is backed by $27 million in venture capital funding.
BuzzFeed Radio Show
Third Time
George Soros
Billionaire investor George Soros had a lot to celebrate on Saturday evening: his 82nd birthday and the engagement to his much younger girlfriend, Tamiko Bolton.
Soros and Bolton, 40, who met in the spring of 2008, formally announced their engagement at a party at Soros' summer home in Southampton, New York, attended by a small group of friends and relatives, according to a person familiar with the investor.
For Soros, this will be his third marriage and the second for Bolton, who was married briefly in the 1990s. Soros has five children from his previous marriages.
Bolton, who once started an Internet-based dietary supplement business and is now running a web-based yoga education business, has a master's degree in business from the University of Miami.
George Soros
CBS Considers Bid
Dick Clark Productions
CBS Corp is considering a bid for Dick Clark Productions and would join other bidders including "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, who have until August 31 to make offers, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Entertainment company CBS is in a group of four to six bidders who have moved to a second round of discussions with Dick Clark Productions chief executive Mark Shapiro, said the sources, who are not authorized to speak publicly.
Other bidders include private equity firm Colony Capital, which owns film studio Miramax; private equity firm Guggenheim Partners; and Core Media Group, which holds the rights to the Elvis Presley brand and produces "American Idol," said one of the sources.
Shapiro and Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, chairman of Dick Clark Productions, are asking $350 million for the company, which also produces the "American Music Awards", the "Miss Universe Pageant" and the Fox TV show "So You Think You can Dance."
Dick Clark Productions
YouTube Series
Military
The enormous obstacles and emotional torment that a female solider confronts in reporting a sexual assault in the military is the focus of the three-part Web series "Lauren" debuting Monday on YouTube's new channel WIGS, which focuses on drama for women.
Featuring "Flashdance" star Jennifer Beals and Troian Bellisario, "Lauren" gives a close-up look at the challenges women service members face in trying to find justice after being raped. It's a problem that military leaders have given unprecedented attention to this year.
The Defense Department has estimated that 86 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, an indication that some women are worried about the effect reporting an assault may have on their career and that they mistrust the military prosecution system. Nearly 3,200 sexual assaults were reported in the military last year.
Military leaders say sexual assault is not only dehumanizing to the victims but threatens operational readiness. The Pentagon has set up hotlines and has been trying to encourage service members to help victims. High-ranking Navy leaders have likened their campaign to the crusade years ago to stop rampant drug abuse, although activists say sweeping institutional changes are needed for victims to find justice.
Military
Released By Dolphins
Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson
As the Miami Dolphins took the field for practice Sunday, Chad Johnson was getting out of jail. Hours later, he was out of work.
The Dolphins terminated the six-time Pro Bowl receiver's contract about 24 hours after he was arrested in a domestic battery case involving his wife.
Johnson had been released from jail on $2,500 bond earlier Sunday after his wife accused him of head-butting her during an argument in front of their home. Johnson was charged with simple domestic battery, a misdemeanor.
The confrontation came barely a month after Johnson married Evelyn Lozada, who is on the reality TV show "Basketball Wives." The 34-year-old Johnson had been battling for a spot on the team after a disappointing season with the New England Patriots in 2011.
Johnson - who recently changed his name from Chad Ochocinco - was arrested Saturday after Lozada confronted him about a receipt she found for a box of condoms, police said. According to an arrest affidavit, Lozada said she was taking groceries into their home when she found the receipt in the car trunk.
Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson
Women Rebel Against Cesarean Births
Brazil
From the day Mariana Migon discovered she was pregnant, she knew she wanted a natural birth. So just weeks before her due date, the first-time mother abandoned her obstetrician, her health plan and her private hospital room for the free public hospital in downtown Rio - where she had a real chance at a vaginal birth.
"If I'd stayed with my health care plan and my doctor, I would have had a C-section," said Migon, as she sat beside the incubator holding her baby girl, who was premature.
In Brazil, where natural childbirth fell out of favor years ago, more than half of all babies are born via cesarean section, a figure that rises to 82 percent for women with private health insurance.
More women are pushing for more of a say in childbirth - whether by C-section or naturally, at home or in a hospital, with a midwife or a medical doctor. As patients in doctors' offices and street protesters reject the pressure to have surgical births, the federal government is investing billions of dollars into a natural childbirth campaign, including the building of hospitals devoted to maternal care.
A tipping point came in July, when a medical regulating agency in Rio de Janeiro forbade doctors from doing home births and labor coaches known as doulas from helping out in hospitals, saying "there are many complications possible during labor that require immediate medical attention."
Brazil
Mass Of Volcanic Rocks Floating
New Zealand
A mass of small volcanic rocks nearly the size of Belgium has been discovered floating off the coast of New Zealand.
The stretch of golf-ball-size pumice rocks was first spotted this week by a New Zealand air force plane about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) northeast of Auckland. The rocks stretch for about 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 square miles).
A navy ship took scientists to the rocks Thursday night. Naval Lt. Tim Oscar says the rocks appeared a brilliant white under a spotlight, like a giant ice shelf.
Scientists say the rocks likely spewed up in an eruption by an underwater volcano. They don't believe the eruption is connected to the onshore ash eruption this week of another volcano, Mount Tongariro.
The Defence Force says the mass of rocks stretches 250 nautical miles by 30 nautical miles.
New Zealand
Voted "Most Unfortunate" Town Name
Toad Suck, Arkansas
A new poll across seven English-speaking countries has chosen Toad Suck, AR as having the "most unfortunate" town name in the U.S.
Toad Suck, an unincorporated community in Perry County, Arkansas, took top dishonors, edging out Climax, GA and Boring, OR.
The poll was conducted by the genealogy site Findmypast.com, polling respondents in the U.S. UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Toad Suck reportedly takes its name from a once popular drinking location for boaters on the Arkansas River. The toadsuck.org site explains in more detail, "While they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern there, to the dismay of the folks living nearby, who said: 'They suck on the bottle 'til they swell up like toads.' Hence, the name Toad Suck."
Toad Suck, Arkansas
Weekend Box Office
"The Bourne Legacy"
Jeremy Renner's action tale "The Bourne Legacy" took over as the No. 1 movie with a $40.3 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis' political comedy "The Campaign" opened at No. 2 with $27.4 million.
The new movies pushed "The Dark Knight Rises" down to third-place with $19.5 million, raising the superhero blockbuster's three-week domestic total to $390.1 million.
The weekend's other new wide release, Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones' marital comic drama "Hope Springs," opened at No. 4 with $15.6 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Bourne Legacy," $40.3 million ($7.8 million international).
2. "The Campaign," $27.4 million ($2.1 million international).
3. "The Dark Knight Rises," $19.5 million ($34.2 million international).
4. "Hope Springs," $15.6 million.
5. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days," $8.2 million ($1 million international).
6. "Total Recall," $8.1 million ($18.7 million international).
7. "Ice Age: Continental Drift," $6.8 million ($16.2 million international).
8. "Ted," $3.3 million ($20.3 million international).
9. "Step Up: Revolution," $2.9 million.
10. "The Amazing Spider-Man," $2.2 million ($3 million international).
"The Bourne Legacy"
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