Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Trump Versus the Socialist Menace (NY Times)
The Commies are coming for your pickup trucks.
Andrew Tobias: The Case For A Better Wealth Tax
Just delete two sections of the tax code and you're done.
Mary Beard: Donald Trump and Roman emperors (TLS)
… Roman history also can, if used positively, challenge modern self-righteousness and moral certainty. I vividly remember a few years ago listening in to the school parties going round the Colosseum. From a variety of different nationalities the interaction went in more or less the same way. First the teacher asked what used to happen in the Colosseum (answer: some version of 'they killed people for pleasure'). Then the teacher would follow up with 'Would we do that now?' (answer: a resounding 'no Miss') - when, in fact, what the Colosseum reminds us is that brutality comes in different forms, and that even if we don't consign people to the arena, we do things to our fellow human beings that will one day seem as ghastly.
Mary Beard: "Detainment: the controversy" (TLS)
It is true that the film directed our attention to the murderers not the victim (and that is something to which Denise Fergus understandably objects; any parent would). But it did nothing to suggest that we should be on the murderers' side, nor did it suggest to me (despite some of the things that the Director has said) that the basic moral issues were at all grey here. The focus was much more on our own inability to make any sense whatsoever of a monstrous crime such as this, and on what on earth we should make of the perpetrators (what IS an 'evil' child?).
Michael Stragow: "Shame: Twilight of the Humans" (Criterion)
Shame (1968) is one of the great neglected films from Ingmar Bergman's midcareer creative explosion. It builds on and surpasses the two Bergman films that immediately preceded it: the avant-garde milestone Persona (1966) and the surreal shocker Hour of the Wolf (1968). These three films and The Passion of Anna, which followed them in 1969, all explore physical and psychological violence, collapsing and mutating personalities, and the gorgeous and menacing austerity of the Swedish coast.
Kevin Power: Hating Jonathan Franzen(Dublin Review of Books)
In Martin Amis's The Information, the literary agent Gal Aplanalp advises the failed writer Richard Tull that "The public can only keep in mind one thing per writer. Like a signature. Drunk, young, mad, fat, sick: you know." In the aftermath of the Oprah kerfuffle, Franzen's signature was established. He was arrogant. Almost two decades later, the familiar neurons still fire whenever his name is mentioned. Franzen = arrogant. He serves as a convenient shorthand for a certain kind of popular bogeyman: the smug elitist who disparages mass culture in the name of a snootily exclusive "tradition".
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Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
I remember when this happened. That poor woman died a horrific and totally preventable death. Knoller's demeanor during the trial was so blasé, she behaved as though she were getting away with something, that when she was convicted I did a happy dance. As a responsible dog owner I found her and her husband's attitudes and behaviors with their dogs reprehensible. Languishing in prison is too good for her.
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Bruce
Anecdotes - Fights
• John L. Sullivan used to fight all comers barefisted for a $1,000 purse; because he was such a great fighter, the person who lasted the longest in the ring with him got a consolation prize of $50. Once, a first-year student at MIT named Alfred I. du Pont showed up to fight Mr. Sullivan - not for any glory, but because he needed the money. Mr. Sullivan was sympathetic to the student's plight and made sure to spar with Mr. du Pont long enough for him to pick up the consolation prize money. The two men became friends, and after Mr. Sullivan had retired and spent all the money he had earned prizefighting, Mr. du Pont gave him a monthly stipend and a small farm to live on.
• Jack Dempsey was merciless in the boxing ring, battering his opponents senseless as they tried to do the same to him. He believed, "When you get between the ropes you're supposed to take it." Once, he decided to go easy on Bill Brennan, whom he called "a nice fellow and a good fighter." In the 3rd round, Mr. Brennan hit him hard, and Mr. Dempsey didn't become fully conscious until the 12th round. When he came to, he knocked out Mr. Brennan and refused to show pity in the boxing ring ever again.
• During the Avengers episode "Mandrake," Honor Blackman, who played Mrs. Cathy Gale, accidentally knocked out pro wrestler Jackie Pallo during a fight scene, kicking him in the face and knocking him backward into an open grave. He remained unconscious for six or seven minutes, and the newspapers had a field day with the story. For a while, Ms. Blackman was afraid that she had ruined his career.
• Lord Buckley was a 1950s comedian who said pretty much whatever he wanted, whether the audience wanted to hear it or not. Once, a big man started to heckle him, so Lord Buckley asked him to step outside. They did, and a few minutes later, the two men returned. The heckler was unharmed, but Lord Buckley had been stomped. Lord Buckley then continued his act as if nothing had happened.
• Kato-Dewanokami-Yasuoki revered the martial arts. One day, Zen master Bankei visited him, and Yasuoki picked up his spear and pointed it at Bankei. However, Bankei merely used his rosary to flick the point of the spear aside, then told Yasuoki, "No good. You're too worked up." Eventually, Yasuoki became a master of the spear and spoke of Bankei as having been his greatest teacher in that art.
• Orestes A. Brownson (1803-1876), a Unitarian minister, once became angry at Mr. Trask, an anti-tobacco crusader, and knocked him down, then apologized for it. Mr. Trask accepted the apology, but kept saying "I forgive you," which made Mr. Brownson angry enough to tell Mr. Trask, "I have knocked you down, and I apologize for it. If you say anything more about forgiving me, I will knock you down again."
• Sir Thomas Buxton (1786-1845) noticed in the Election of 1818 that his supporters were engaging in physical violence against the supporters of the opposing candidate. Sir Thomas told his supporters, "Beat them; beat them in the generous exercise of high principles; beat them in disdain of corruption, and the display of pure integrity; but do not beat them with bludgeons."
• Early in his career, Lenny Bruce worked in burlesque. This can be a hard place for a comic to work, as the patrons go there to see the strippers, not to hear the comedians. When patrons cried out "Bring on the broads" during Mr. Bruce's act, he responded, "I'd like to, but then you wouldn't have any company at the bar." This comment occasionally caused fights to break out.
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© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
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Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
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In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny but on the cool side.
'Big Bang Theory' Onscreen Message
Chuck Lorre
Viewers who watched Thursday night's episode of The Big Bang Theory to the very end saw a message about White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
Lorre, a frequent critic of President Trump (R-OfVlad), was not complimentary. His comment referenced an interview that Sanders gave on the Christian Broadcasting Network's show Faith Nation, on Jan. 30.
Lorre's latest message read: "God told me He hasn't spoken to Sarah Sanders since she was fourteen years old and praying for her skin to clear up. I have no reason to doubt Him."
An archive of more than 600 so-called vanity cards that Chuck Lorre Productions has used over the years, on his shows including Mom, Two and a Half Men, Dharma and Greg and Mike and Molly, are often like mini diary entries. He talks about politics in some others too, but he also cracks jokes, offers a behind-the-scenes peek at his shows and gives shout-outs to his family.
But he is especially known for taking the opportunity to slam Trump, which he memorably did in May 2017, when he pointed out that the highly rated The Big Bang Theory had bested The Apprentice in viewers. "Defeat terrorism and crazy dictators? He couldn't even defeat 'Two and a Half Men,'" Lorre captioned a ratings chart.
Chuck Lorre
Emergency Surgery
Lindsey Buckingham
Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham underwent emergency open heart surgery last week and is now recuperating at his home. "Each day he is stronger than the last," his wife Kristen Buckingham wrote in a statement. "While he and his heart are doing well, the surgery resulted in vocal cord damage. While it is unclear if the damage is permanent, we are hopeful it is not."
Buckingham was forced out of Fleetwood Mac last year when Stevie Nicks made it clear to the rest of the band that she could no longer work with him. "After 43 years and the finish line so clearly in sight, it's hard to escape the conclusion that for the five of us to splinter part would be the wrong thing," Buckingham wrote in an e-mail to group co-founder leader Mick Fleetwood after learning the news. "At the moment, the band's heart and soul has been diminished. But out center, which has seen us through so much, is only laying dormant."
The appeal didn't work and the band brought on Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to replace him. Buckingham sued the band over the termination, though they settled out of court. The guitarist spent the last few months playing solo gigs to promote his new three-disc set Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham.
"This past year has been a very stressful and difficult year for our family to say the least," Kristen Buckingham wrote. "But despite all of this, our gratitude for life trumps all obstacles we have faced at this moment. We feel so fortunate that he's alive. As does he. He looks forward to recovery and putting this behind him. Needless to say, all touring and shows currently schedule have been put on pause for the moment as he gathers the strength to heal completely."
Lindsey Buckingham
Michael Jackson Interview With George Harrison
BBC
A rare BBC interview with Michael Jackson and George Harrison has been found and restored, with excerpts to be broadcast in a special documentary over the weekend.
The programme was part of a long-running Radio 1 series called "Roundtable", which was presented in 1979 by David "Kid" Jensen.
"They were both lovely guys to talk to," he told the BBC of Jackson and Harrison. "We knew we had a good show on our hands, just by the general vibe in the studio before the mics went live. It was like Juke Box Jury - people judging their peers. In the case of the Beatles and Michael Jackson, of course, it's not quite their peers but certainly [people] in the same line of business."
Jackson and Harrison spent 90 minutes discussing singles by Foreigner, Nicolette Larson and The Blues Brothers, as well as explaining the stories behind their own songs and discussing their respective careers.
At one point, Jackson turns to the former Beatle and says: "Let me ask you a question, did you guys always write your own stuff from the beginning?"
BBC
Calls Out
Ellen Page
Chris Pratt loves talking about his Christian faith (and his faith-based diets), but actress Ellen Page, who spit fire over the current administration earlier this month, isn't having it. To be clear, her issues aren't with his faith so much as they are his chosen place of worship: Hillsong, the "hipster church" attended by famous people like Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner.
Because behind Hillsong's "hot" congregation, pop choir, and hip, charismatic pastor lies some regressive beliefs about the LGBTQ population, ones glossed over with cocktail words about everyone being "welcome." Per this Outline article from a former congregant, no one there is willing to have a real conversation about the church's pro-life stances, nor its long, sordid history of endorsing gay conversion therapy. "I don't regret the decision to walk away from a church that cares so much about fame more than faith," the piece concludes.
All of this was clearly on Page's mind when she fired off a tweet in the wee hours of Friday, one pegged to Pratt's recent interview on Colbert. "Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too?" she wrote.
While one might not expect a late-night host to raise tough questions like that to an A-lister, Page's tweet does speak to the enduring impact of "access culture" that's plagued modern journalism, resulting in fewer and fewer tough questions being asked to high-profile subjects, presumably out of fear that doing so will limit access to them in the future. One of the reasons Ashley Feinberg's recent interview with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey made such a splash was because she unapologetically raised the concerns that other journalists were too scared to address. Awareness, acknowledgment, and change only comes with confrontation, after all.
Ellen Page
Basic Income Trial
Finland
Finland's basic income scheme did not spur its unemployed recipients to work more to supplement their earnings as hoped but it did help their wellbeing, researchers said on Friday as the government announced initial findings.
The two-year trial, which ended a month ago, saw 2,000 Finns, chosen randomly from among the unemployed, become the first Europeans to be paid a regular monthly income by the state that was not reduced if they found work.
Finland - the world's happiest country last year, according to the United Nations - is exploring alternatives to its social security model.
The trial was being watched closely by other governments who see a basic income as a way of encouraging the unemployed to take up often low-paid or temporary work without fear of losing their benefits. That could help reduce dependence on the state and cut welfare costs, especially as greater automation sees humans replaced in the workforce.
"The basic income recipients of the test group reported better wellbeing in every way (than) the comparison group," chief researcher Olli Kangas said.
Finland
Conspiracy Theorist
Roger Stone has been made the subject of a defamation lawsuit from Jerome Corsi, the author and conspiracy theorist at the centre of a criminal case against the former Donald Trump advisor.
Mr Corsi has confirmed he is the witness named as "Person 1" in last month's indictment against Mr Stone, who stands accused of witness tampering and lying to Congress about communications with WikiLeaks.
The 72-year-old author - a perpetrator of right-wing conspiracy theories about top Democrats - is claiming that Mr Stone tried to "smear, defame, intimate and threaten" him after discovering he had given testimony to special counsel Robert Mueller.
The former Trump advisor has accused Mr Corsi of working with Mr Mueller to "sandbag" him on a "fabricated perjury charge".
Mr Corsi is now seeking over $25 million in damages, according to a complaint filed in Washington federal court late on Thursday.
Conspiracy Theorist
Zoo's Effort
London
For ten days, the London Zoo kept its newly arrived male Sumatran tiger Asim in a separate enclosure from Melati, the female tiger who was supposed to become his mate.
Zoologists gave them time to get used to each other's presence and smells, and waited for what they felt would be the right time to let them get together. On Friday, they put the two tigers into the same enclosure - and Asim killed Melati as shocked handlers tried in vain to intervene.
It was a tragic end to hopes that the two would eventually breed as part of a Europe-wide tiger conservation program for the endangered Sumatran subspecies.
The zoo said its experts had been carefully monitoring the tigers' reactions to each other since Asim arrived ten days ago and had seen "positive signs" that indicated the two should be put together.
Contingency plans called for handlers to use loud noises, flares and alarms to try to distract the tigers, but that didn't work. They did manage to put Asim, 7, back in a separate paddock, but by that time Melati, 10, was already dead.
London
Michigan Ice Storm
'Ghost Apples'
An ice storm that hit a Michigan orchard left mesmerizing "ghost apples" dangling from trees.
The ice formations spotted at a Kent County orchard are the same shape and size as regular apples. In photos taken Feb. 6 by Andrew Sietsema, they've even got a stem from the tree in the exact same place as an actual apple.
In an interview with AccuWeather, Sietsema explained that the ice had formed a sort of casing around an apple that hadn't been picked by the time the storm rolled through, and nature did the rest.
"I guess it was just cold enough that the ice covering the apple hadn't melted yet, but it was warm enough that the apple inside turned to complete mush (apples have a lower freezing point than water)," Sietsema wrote.
"When I pruned a tree, it would be shaken in the process. The mush would slip out of the bottom of the ghost apple. Most apples just fell off, ice and all, but quite a few would leave a cool ghost apple behind," Sietsema, a farm manager who studied horticulture at Michigan State University, told AccuWeather.
'Ghost Apples'
Ice Creams Get Spiked
Haagen-Dazs
Premium ice cream maker Haagen-Dazs is launching a new range of booze-infused ice cream.
It's a big launch for the brand: The Spirits Collection features new seven flavors inspired by popular spirits, beer and booze from around the world.
But there's no danger of eating and driving here, as products contain less than 0.5 percent alcohol.
- Stout Chocolate Pretzel Crunch: Stout-infused ice cream with notes of toasted malt, studded with chocolate-covered pretzels and fudge swirls
- Bourbon Praline Pecan: Bourbon ice cream infused with brown sugar bourbon swirls and praline pecans
Haagen-Dazs
In Memory
Albert Finney
Oscar nominated British actor Albert Finney - best known for his roles in Annie, Murder on the Orient Express and Scrooge - has died following a short illness at the age of 82, his family has announced.
He had been in the Royal Marsden hospital, just outside London, for the past month and died from a chest infection on Thursday (7 February) afternoon.
Finney, who was born in Salford in 1936, was one of Britain's premiere Shakespearean actors and was nominated for five Oscars across almost four decades - for Tom Jones (1963), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Dresser (1983), Under the Volcano (1984) and Erin Brockovich (2000).
Finney's first major stage role came in 1956, playing the eponymous Trojan prince in an adaptation of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. He later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and once replaced Laurence Olivier as Coriolanus in 1959.
His later made his film debut with a small part in The Entertainer in 1960. Tony Richardson then offered him a role in Karel Reisz's kitchen sink drama Saturday Night and Sunday Morning in 1960.
Following the film's success, David Lean attempted to hire Finney for the leading role in Lawrence of Arabia, the pair shooting an extensive screen test. However, due to contractual obligations, Finney pulled out - replaced by Peter O'Toole - and took a role in 1963's Tom Jones, which landed him his first Oscar nomination.
In 1970, Finney played Scrooge in Ronald Neame's musical adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic Christmas tale. Then, in 1974, he played Hercule Poirot in Sidney Lumet's version of Murder on the Orient Express. The role was so successful, Finney later complained that he was typecast as an overweight Frenchman.
In 1983, he starred in both Annie and Shoot the Moon, the latter of which earned him a Golden Globe and Bafta nomination. Through the Nineties, he starred in multiple BBC productions, including The Green Man (1990), Karaoke (1996), Cold Lazarus (1997) and A Rather English Marriage (1998).
Finney returned to more high-profile films in the Noughties, with roles in Erin Brockovich, Big Fish, Ocean's Twelve and The Bourne Ultimatum. His last role was in the 2012 Bond film Skyfall.
As well as acting, Finney was known for his outspoken views on class, turning down both a CBE and a knighthood due to the "snobbery" surrounding them.
On never turning up to the Oscars, Finney reasoned: "It seems to me a long way to go just to sit in a non-drinking, non-smoking environment on the off chance your name is called. It's as if you are entered into a race you don't particularly want to run in.
He was married three times and is survived by his son Simon, from his first wife Jane Wenham, and Pene Delmage, who he married in 2006. Between 1970 and 1978 he was married to A Man and a Woman actor Anouk Aimée.
Albert Finney
In Memory
Oreo the Raccoon
Oreo the Raccoon, who served as the model for the Marvel character Rocket, has died aged 10.
Rocket, who is voiced by Bradley Cooper, first appeared in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, followed by its 2017 sequel and last year's Avengers: Infinity War. He's set to return this year in Avengers: Endgame.
A Facebook fan page for Guardians of the Galaxy announced the news on Thursday, 7 February after Oreo's owners posted that he had passed away after a short illness.
Animators studied Oreo to help capture the movement and behaviours of Rocket.
Oreo the Raccoon
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