Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman's Blog (nytimes.com)
I've been ruminating over economic prospects for next year, and I'm getting scared.
"Prop 8 - The Musical": Jack Black, John C. Reilly And More In Funny Or Die Skit (VIDEO)
The hilarious people at "Funny of Die" have put out a new video, "Prop 8 - The Musical." The star-studded participants include Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris, Margaret Cho, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph and many more familiar faces. [Stars Jack Black as Jesus Christ.]
THEODORE DALRYMPLE: The Quivering Upper Lip (city-journal.org)
When my mother arrived in England as a refugee from Nazi Germany, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, she found the people admirable, though not without the defects that corresponded to their virtues. By the time she died, two-thirds of a century later, she found them rude, dishonest, and charmless. They did not seem to her, moreover, to have any virtues to compensate for their unpleasant qualities.
Ted Rall: Obama's Center-Right Cabinet Foreshadows Center-Right Presidency
A bunch of Clinton- and Carter-era hacks. George W. Bush's leftover defense secretary. Of the dozens of Obama's top appointments announced to date, there's only one liberal: David Bonior, who ran John Edwards' primary campaign, as secretary of labor. Maybe.
TOM DANEHY: "Hey, Republicans: Stop potential hijinks by eliminating open primaries" (tucsonweekly.com)
Dear Republicans out there: You're reeling right now, and things are about to get much worse for you. As we have learned from news footage, tsunamis often come in multiple waves, and the first one isn't always the most destructive.
IRENE MESSINA: There are signs of progress downtown; you just have to look past the broken dreams (tucsonweekly.com)
When Petula Clark's "Downtown" was a big hit in the mid-1960s, America's downtowns were completely different places than they are today. As the song says, there were pretty neon signs, movie shows and little places to go.
Andrew Tobias: Free Markets (andrewtobias.com)
... most of us do believe strongly in the importance of markets - sensibly regulated, impartially refereed, appropriately nurtured markets. And I'm guessing you do, too.
Dean baker: IOUSA: Failed Scare Flick of the Decade (huffingtonpost.com)
Every few years there is a book or movie that stands out for its incredibly bad timing. As the Internet bubble exploded in 2000, the book Dow 36,000 quickly went from a work of inspired genius to intense derision. More recently, the 2005 book, Why the Real Estate Boom Will not Bust and How You Can Profit From It, has become one of the great jokes of the housing crash.
Chris Kelly: Get Sarah Palin's New Book -- Free! (huffingtonpost.com)
I know. It couldn't believe it either. The idea that I could get Sarah Palin's new book for nothing. Or that Sarah Palin had written a new book. Or written an old book. Or read an old book. Or used an old book to swat black flies.
Richard Roeper: Waiting overnight for Black Friday an act of insanity (suntimes.com)
On Christmas morning, when Junior unwraps the video game system and Dad says, "I waited seven hours in the cold so I could get that for you," does Junior think Dad is the greatest dad ever --or does he think, "Wow, that's kinda crazy. You should have saved that money for the therapy I'm going to need later in life"?
Charlotte Higgins: 'I was shocked by the hatred' (guardian.co.uk)
In his first interview since winning the Turner prize, Mark Leckey talks frankly about the whole competition experience.
20 Questions: Spam Allstars (popmatters.com)
Q: You're proud of this accomplishment, but why?
A: Paying my mortgage, because it IS an accomplishment.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The Holiday Movie Season Edition
Are you planning to go to the cinema and see one of the new 'Holiday Season' movies?
A. Yes! I avidly want to go see___________ with___________ (unless I go alone, that is, cuz I need some space or my partner hates what I want to see)...
B. No! I'd rather stay home and watch holiday classic movies and/or college football bowl games on TV. Besides, I'd rather wait until the movies come out on DVD than sit in a jammed packed theater listening to people's stupid cell phone ring tones and their inane conversations (or something like that, haha)...
C. Maybe... It depends on whether the whole 'holiday season' thing starts driving me crazy and I need to escape for a few hours, dagnabbit!... I might go see__________...(but, then again, I might just go to the bar)
'Fess up now, Poll-fans! The truth shall set you free!
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to BadToTheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
wrote:
Reader Comment
Hi Marty,
I really enjoyed perusing the art projects of Joe S' daughter, Sia, today. I also enjoyed reading many of the comments and, "Project overviews."
One thought that really resonated with me was:
"Sometimes desire skips a generation. What parents need to flee becomes the catalyst for the imagination of their children--those who did not live the hardship and see only the beauty."
Thank you for sharing, Joe S, and for running the piece today, Marty.
Sally P
PS: Little Marie is a darling little kitty cat!
Thanks, Sally!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The drive north went well, but I'm having some trouble with the new laptop and photos. So, til I get home, gonna have a bare minimum of pictures, but they will be added - eventually.
Probably won't have any links today, either. Got too late of a start. Ack.
Pecking Order
Hollywood Women
When the going gets tough, the most powerful woman in Hollywood turns to macaroni and cheese.
Oprah Winfrey, who tops The Hollywood Reporter's annual ranking of the most influential women in entertainment, confessed Friday during a question-and-answer session with Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Guider that the comfort food has been her "cure" for failure. Winfrey was among scores of female power brokers who celebrated each other at a private breakfast reception at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
The chairwoman of Harpo Inc. tops the trade paper's 17th annual Power 100 list "based on her dizzying array of Oprah-branded media and her immense cultural influence," Guider said.
Honorees are chosen by a panel of reporters and editors who consider each woman's corporate position, control of purse strings and power to greenlight content.
Hollywood Women
Interested In NY Senate Seat
Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy is interested in the Senate seat that would open once Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes secretary of state, according to a close relative who says the powerful Kennedy clan is fully behind her rising to the office previously held by her uncle.
"I know she's interested," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "She spent a lot of her life balancing public service with obligations to her family. Now her children are grown, and she is ready to move onto a bigger stage."
Once Clinton is confirmed to President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet, New York Gov. David Paterson will appoint someone to fill the seat for two years.
The Kennedy family's connections and history cannot force Paterson to choose Caroline, who is the daughter of President John F. Kennedy. But the family's strong support could increase pressure on Paterson to choose her above lesser-known contenders.
Seeking the Senate seat would also be a significant departure from the life that she has lived until now, zealously guarding her family's privacy - and her own.
Robert Kennedy said the family would come out en masse for her if she does get the appointment and has to run for election in 2010.
"If she runs, you will see more Kennedys than you have ever seen in your life," he said.
Caroline Kennedy
Photo Collection
Marilyn Monroe
Before the world knew her as Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jeane Baker so captivated photographer Andre de Dienes at her first modeling assignment that he later recorded their meeting in his diary: "An earthly sexy-looking angel! Sent expressly to me!"
De Dienes simultaneously captured the innocent exuberance and seductiveness of the young model in a series of photos that day in 1949 as she frolicked on a Long Island beach.
They are among more than 100 Monroe images being offered for sale in three sessions on Dec. 16-17 at Christie's auction house. They are expected to bring from $811,000 to $1.1 million.
The photographs represent a chronicle of Monroe's short life, from obscurity to Hollywood sex goddess. They capture her in all her manifestations - playful, sexy, innocent, insecure and anguished - as recorded by some of the biggest names in photography, including Tom Kelley, Richard Avedon, Bert Stern, Gary Winogrand, Elliott Erwitt and Cornell Capa.
Marilyn Monroe
Letter To Auction
Edith Piaf
French singing legend Edith Piaf, known for her legion of doomed romances, fell secretly in love with a celebrated Greek actor, according to a love letter to go on auction later December.
"I love you like I have never loved before. Taki, do not let my heart die!" wrote Piaf in a letter addressed to Dimitris Horn, according to the owner of the Greek auctioneers that is selling the letter, Petros Vergos.
The letter was sent to Athens from Ajaccio in Corsica on September 20 1946.
An extract of Piaf's letter is published in the auction house catalogue, ahead of its sale in Athens on December 17 for a starting price of 1,000 euros (1,275 dollars).
Edith Piaf
Leaving Radio
Bill O'Reilly
Fox News Channel said popular cable TV host propagandist Bill O'Reilly will step down as the host of his syndicated talk radio show early next year.
"The Radio Factor" - which began in 2002 and runs on more than 400 radio stations, as well as satellite operator Sirius XM Radio Inc. - will end in the first quarter of 2009, Fox said late Thursday.
In a statement, O'Reilly said whined the workload has become too much, adding, "I can no longer give both TV and radio the time they deserve."
O'Reilly will continue hosting "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel and writing his weekly newspaper column.
Bill O'Reilly
Vegas Judge Drops Charges
Marion 'Suge' Knight
A judge dismissed drug and battery charges Friday filed against Marion (Suge) Knight, a hip-hop mogul accused of beating a woman in a parking lot.
Justice of the Peace Abbi Silver dismissed the charges without prejudice, said Clark County Court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer.
Court records show the district attorney's office has filed a notice indicating it may try to revive the charges by seeking a grand jury indictment, Sommermeyer said.
Knight had been charged with two counts of felony drug possession and one count of misdemeanour battery in the beating of a woman in August. Police said they saw him striking Melissa Isaac while holding a knife in a parking lot near the Las Vegas Strip.
Marion 'Suge' Knight
Guilty
Boy George
British pop star Boy George was found guilty by a court in London on Friday of falsely imprisoning a Norwegian male escort after a nude photoshoot.
The former Culture Club frontman, 47, was accused of handcuffing 29-year-old Audun Carlsen and beating him with a metal chain when he tried to escape the musician's east London apartment following the photo session.
He will be sentenced on January 16, and was warned he may well face jail, although he was freed on bail pending the judge's decision.
Standing trial under his real name George O'Dowd at Snaresbrook Crown Court, the singer and disc jockey admitted to police to handcuffing Carlsen to his bed on April 28, 2007, as he investigated the Norwegian's alleged tampering with his computer.
He denied, however, that he assaulted Carlsen, or hit him with a metal chain, suggesting to officers that the bruises suffered by the escort could have been there due to the fact that he was HIV positive.
Boy George
In Memory
Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest J Ackerman, the sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant who discovered author Ray Bradbury and was widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," has died. He was 92.
Ackerman died Thursday of heart failure at his Los Angeles home, said Kevin Burns, head of Prometheus Entertainment and a trustee of Ackerman's estate.
Although only marginally known to readers of mainstream literature, Ackerman was legendary in science-fiction circles as the founding editor of the pulp magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. He was also the owner of a huge private collection of science-fiction movie and literary memorabilia that for years filled every nook and cranny of a hillside mansion overlooking Los Angeles.
Every Saturday morning that he was home, Ackerman would open up the house to anyone who wanted to view his treasures. He sold some pieces and gave others away when he moved to a smaller house in 2002, but he continued to let people visit him every Saturday for as long as his health permitted.
"My wife used to say, 'How can you let strangers into our home?' But what's the point of having a collection like this if you can't let people enjoy it?" an exuberant Ackerman told The Associated Press as he conducted a spirited tour of the mansion on his 85th birthday.
His collection once included more than 50,000 books, thousands of science-fiction magazines and such items as Bela Lugosi's cape from the 1931 film "Dracula."
His greatest achievement, however, was likely discovering Bradbury, author of the literary classics "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles." Ackerman had placed a flyer in a Los Angeles bookstore for a science-fiction club he was founding and a teenage Bradbury showed up.
Later, Ackerman gave Bradbury the money to start his own science-fiction magazine, Futuria Fantasia, and paid the author's way to New York for an authors meeting that Bradbury said helped launch his career.
Later, as a literary agent, Ackerman represented Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and numerous other science-fiction writers.
He said the term "sci-fi" came to him in 1954 when he was listening to a car radio and heard an announcer mention the word "hi-fi."
Soon he was using it in Famous Monsters of Filmland, the magazine he helped found in 1958 and edited for 25 years.
Ackerman himself appeared in numerous films over the years, usually in bit parts. His credits include "Queen of Blood," "Dracula vs. Frankenstein," "Amazon Women on the Moon," "Vampirella," "Transylvania Twist," "The Howling" and the Michael Jackson "Thriller" video. More recently, he appeared in 2007's "The Dead Undead" and 2006's "The Boneyard Collection."
Ackerman returned briefly to Famous Monsters of Filmland in the 1990s, but he quickly fell out with the publisher over creative differences. He sued and was awarded a judgment of more than $375,000.
Forrest James Ackerman was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 1916. He fell in love with science-fiction, he once said, when he was 9 years old and saw a magazine called Amazing Stories. He would hold onto that publication for the rest of his life.
Ackerman, who had no children, was preceded in death by his wife, Wendayne.
Forrest J Ackerman
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