Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Michelle Goldberg: Who's Afraid of a Clinton Voter? (Slate)
We're expected to understand the rage of Trump's supporters but not the anguish of the 66 million who voted against him.
Marc Dion: "What Happened to 'That's Too Bad'?" (Creators Syndicate)
It isn't just Trump, either. His value, if he has any, is mainly symbolic. He is the unrestrained spirit of, "You deserved it," and I grew up in the land of, "Oh, that's too bad."
Clive James: 'Australia's grammar is a vestige, a mere gesture' (The Guardian)
I can't prove it, but I suspect that in all the nations where the English language is collapsing, it collapses quickest in those nations where they eat the most meat. During the second world war, the US forces in the Pacific area issued their troops with a booklet indicating how much their allies ate. The booklet said that the Australians ate even more meat per week than the Americans.
Hadley Freeman: I bow to The West Wing on most things. But even Rob Lowe gets it wrong (The Guardian)
Sam Seaborn was right: terrorists generally don't win, but they have a chance when a country eagerly dances to their tune.
Anonymous: What I'm really thinking: the eldest child (The Guardian)
It's down to me, it seems, to take the lead in caring for our parents. Everything I was made to learn about sharing no longer seems to apply. The others are too busy, too far away, too unconcerned. So dutifully I crisscross the country for hours to provide care and support. Requests to my siblings to help out more fall on deaf ears. To me, the dutiful first born, it feels like the right and only thing to do: to be there for our parents as they were for us. Sadly, that feeling isn't shared by the second, third or fourth.
Howard Hampton: "Ghost World: Séance in Wowsville" (Criterion)
We're predisposed to love some films because they speak to our sensibilities-they wear our hearts (or our discontents) on their sleeves. Others catch us unawares in a whirlwind of surprise and glee. Clear-cut yet fabulously mutable, Ghost World did both things, fulfilling many high hopes and expectations while at least half its pleasure lies in the craggy, melancholy detours Terry Zwigoff takes getting us there-adding unexpected twists to already twisted material.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
answered:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
Forget the article that went with this! Look at the attached picture of Predator! Is he horking up a big old phlegm ball?! On the grass?! Or the sidewalk? I hate nasty people who spit indiscriminately!
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
"BUT WHOSO CONFESSETH AND FORSAKETH SHALL HAVE MERCY".
"…A SYMPTOM OF A DEEP SICKNESS…"
SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO DOOFUS?
"BLOW UP YOUR TV. THROW AWAY YOUR PAPER. GO AND FIND JESUS ON YOUR OWN."
PRESIDENT 'LUDDITE'.
DOOFUS JR. STRIKES BACK. HEE HAW!
ZINKE DINKY DOO!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still cooler than seasonal, and I like it!
Warner Bros. Surprised By Success
'Wonder Woman'
It turns out Warner Bros. made a major error while making "Wonder Woman," and the studio is likely to pay for it.
Though Warner Bros. is overjoyed by the box-office success and acclaim of its latest DC Comics Extended Universe release, according to reports, it didn't sign on the movie's director, Patty Jenkins, for a sequel. Now the studio is under fire from fans who want to see Jenkins return to continue telling the adventures of Diana Prince (played by Gal Gadot).
It looks as if the studio undershooting how well "Wonder Woman" would perform, along with its making plans to develop "Justice League Dark" and a Batgirl movie, led to its lack of attention to a "Wonder Woman" sequel.
One sign of the studio's surprise at the overwhelmingly positive reaction to "Wonder Woman" was its decision to move up the review embargo. For most movies, especially blockbusters, studios give critics a date and time when they can go live with reviews. After early press screenings of the movie, Warner Bros. shifted that date to a few days earlier, making it clear it was confident in how the movie would be received.
Warner Bros. would have better footing in its sequel negotiations had it locked down Jenkins before the release of "Wonder Woman," but now the leverage is clearly on Jenkins' side.
'Wonder Woman'
Doubles Down
Al Franken
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) doubled down Friday his accusation of perjury against Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R-Racist), re-asserting that the Alabama Republican and the nation's top lawyer lied to Congress during his confirmation hearing earlier this year.
The former Saturday Night Live writer was asked by NBC's Meet The Press Daily host Chuck Todd if he thought Sessions, who's come under fire both from the public for his meetings with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. and Donald Trump (R-Buffoon) for recusing himself from any Trump-Russia investigation, was fit to run the Justice Department.
"I think he did not answer truthfully under oath," Franken said according to Mediaite.
Todd reiterated, asking if Franken thought Sessions had lied to Congress during his confirmation hearing.
"Yeah, I think he did," Franken said.
Al Franken
Shows Frustration With Washington
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand used salty language Friday to express her frustration with Washington politics.
"If we are not helping people, we should go the f--- home," the Democrat declared in a speech to activists.
It's extraordinarily rare for members of Congress to swear in public, but it's not the first time for Gillibrand. The 50-year-old New Yorker cursed several times in her 2014 book and used the f-word in a recent magazine interview.
The mother of two young children also lashed out at Republican Donald Trump (R-Pinocchio) for failing to follow through on promises to improve health care and the tax system for working families.
"Has he kept any of his promises?" she asked. "No. F--- no."
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Feeling Nostalgic
Nancy Pelosi
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., allowed herself a bit of nostalgia Friday, yearning for the days of an administration friendlier to Democrats: that of former resident George W. Bush.
Pelosi was touting her bipartisan bona fides on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," citing her relationship with former President Bush as proof of her willingness to reach across the aisle. When an interviewer suggested she's "missing him now," Pelosi conceded she did.
"I wish [George W. Bush] were president now," she said, laughing. "I wish Mitt Romney were president. I wish John McCain were president."
She also recounted her first White House meeting with Trump, in the company of other House and Senate leaders.
"First thing he says, to open the meeting, 'You know, I won the popular vote,'" she recalled.
Nancy Pelosi
Shrugs Off Comey Revelations
GOP
The FBI chief he fired called the president a liar, but the response from many Republicans was a collective shrug. The GOP still needs Donald Trump (R-Crooked) if it has any hope of accomplishing its legislative agenda and winning elections, and it's going to take more than James Comey's testimony to shake them.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Weasel) on Friday boasted of the GOP's accomplishments under Trump thus far, and promised more to come, making no mention of Comey in a speech. A group of House conservatives discussed taxes and the budget, with no reference to Comey or the federal investigations into Russia's election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
Elsewhere, there were few outward signs of concern from the top Republican officials, donors and business leaders who gathered largely behind closed doors in Park City, Utah, for a conference hosted by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
It all underscored what's become a hardening dynamic of the Trump presidency: Republicans on Capitol Hill and off are mostly sticking with the president despite the mounting scandals and seemingly endless crises that surround him.
Though some are privately concerned, and frustration is regularly voiced about the president's undisciplined administration and the distractions he creates, Republicans have scant incentive to abandon him now. Trump's signature remains key to the still-nascent GOP agenda, and he has the ability to appoint judges to lifetime appointments, a thrilling prospect for conservatives.
GOP
Lurid Testimony Read To Jury
Cosby
The jury at Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial heard from the comedian without him actually taking the stand Thursday as prosecutors read into the record his lurid, decade-old testimony about what he said were several sexual encounters with Andrea Constand that culminated in him giving her pills and then reaching into her pants.
Jurors sat riveted and took notes as they heard the TV star say that as he touched Constand's body during one encounter at his suburban Philadelphia home more than a decade ago, "I don't hear her say anything. And I don't feel her say anything. And so I continue and I go into the area that is somewhere between permission and rejection."
Cosby testified in 2005 as part of a lawsuit brought against him by Constand, who said in court this week that she rejected Cosby's advances and would have fought him off again during the January 2004 encounter had the pills not left her paralyzed and semi-conscious.
Cosby eventually settled the case for an undisclosed sum, and his deposition was sealed for years, until a judge released parts of it in 2015 at the request of The Associated Press.
Constand, 44, testified this week that Cosby penetrated her with his fingers against her will after giving her pills that left her so limp that she was unable to push him away or tell him to stop.
Cosby
Social Media Director Receives Ethics Warning
T-rump
White House social media director Dan Scavino violated the law when he used an official-looking Twitter account for campaign purposes, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel has concluded, issuing Scavino a letter of admonishment.
The agency also warned that if Scavino engages in prohibited political activity again, it will be considered "a willful and knowing violation of the law, which could result in further action."
The agency concluded that Scavino, one of Trump's most trusted aides, violated the Hatch Act, which bars most executive branch officials from using their government positions to influence elections.
The decision came in response to a complaint from the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington over a tweet from Scavino calling for the defeat of Rep. Justin Amash in a GOP primary.
Scavino is one of the president's most loyal and longest-serving aides in the White House. He began working for Trump as a caddy at one of Trump's golf courses, and was part of the small group of staffers who traveled with the president across the country for the entirety of the campaign.
T-rump
Reflecting Pool To Be Drained
Lincoln Memorial
Beginning Sunday, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will be closed and drained so it can be cleaned. This is being done because of a water-borne parasite that has killed 80 ducks there since late May, according to NPR
The National Park Service hopes to refill the Washington, D.C. pool by June 19.
The ducks' deaths were likely caused by high levels of the parasite cercarial dermatitis, which grow in and are released by snails that live in the pool, the park service said Friday.
That same parasite causes swimmer's itch in humans, and is found in some inland lakes in Northern Michigan.
Lincoln Memorial
Top 20
Global Concert Tours
The Top 20 Global Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows Worldwide. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
1. Drake; $1,959,318; $90.37.
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers; $1,391,503; $88.62.
3. Bon Jovi; $1,389,061; $87.24.
4. Elton John ; $1,289,990; $101.74.
5. The Weeknd; $1,263,162; $71.38.
6. Olly Murs; $1,088,455; $60.17.
7. Tim McGraw / Faith Hill; $1,083,830; $86.98.
8. John Mayer; $1,047,122; $76.00.
9. Iron Maiden; $992,591; $71.07.
10. Eric Church; $904,531; $60.92.
11. Ariana Grande; $868,743; $74.71.
12. Stevie Nicks; $843,404; $94.60.
13. Kings Of Leon; $727,654; $63.74.
14. Blake Shelton; $723,045; $62.11.
15. Green Day; $692,317; $60.08.
16. Journey; $662,910; $86.64.
17. Chance The Rapper; $644,252; $55.32.
18. Jerry Seinfeld; $562,301; $97.48.
19. Twenty One Pilots; $551,599; $48.16.
20. Jack Whitehall; $539,652; $40.01.
Global Concert Tours
In Memory
Adam West
Adam West - an actor defined and also constrained by his role in the 1960s series "Batman" - has died. He was 88. His rep said that he died after a short battle with leukemia.
With its "Wham! Pow!" onscreen exclamations, flamboyant villains and cheeky tone, "Batman" became a surprise hit with its premiere on ABC in 1966, a virtual symbol of '60s kitsch. Yet West's portrayal of the superhero and his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, ultimately made it hard for him to get other roles, and while he continued to work throughout his career, options remained limited because of his association with the character.
West made his feature debut in 1959's "The Young Philadelphians," starring Paul Newman.
Various supporting roles in movies and TV followed - including a part in the Three Stooges movie "The Outlaws Is Coming."
The origins of the "Batman" series are actually quite complex, but the project eventually landed at 20th Century Fox, which handed it to producer William Dozier, who devised the show's camp comedy sensibility.
Both West and Lyle Waggoner were considered for the part of Batman before West was cast, playing alongside Burt Ward as his sidekick Robin.
With actors like Cesar Romero (Joker) and Burgess Meredith (Penguin) comprising Batman's rogue's gallery of villains, the show became an almost instant success, urging viewers to tune in for the next episode at the "Same Bat-time." The series spawned a movie - pitting the Dynamic Duo against a team-up of villains - before being canceled after three seasons due, primarily, to its high production costs.
West found serious film work scarce following the series, though he remained in demand for personal appearances as the character and voice work, including a recurring stint on "Family Guy" and animated versions of Batman. Other roles ranged from "The Happy Hooker" and "Hooper" to the Michael Tolkin-directed "The New Age."
Born William West Anderson in 1928 in Walla Walla, Wash., the actor later adopted his stage name, and began his career in earnest when he moved to Hawaii in the 1950s to star in a local children's program.
He is survived by his wife Marcelle, six children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Adam West
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