Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mark Morford: Ode to the unhappy (sfgate.com)
Conservatism let you down? Obama nothing more than Bush II? Oh, you poor thing.
John Fritze: PACs spent record $416M on federal election (USA TODAY)
President Obama shunned contributions from political action committees during his campaign but the special-interest spigot remained wide open for Congress and could still influence his agenda.
"The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008" by Paul Krugman: A review by Bernard Avishai (The Nation; Posted on Powells.com)
"We sometimes, for example, hear it said," writes John Stuart Mill in his Principles of Political Economy, "that governments ought to confine themselves to affording protection against force and fraud"; that people should otherwise be "free agents, able to take care of themselves." But why, he asks, considering all the "other evils" of a market society, should people not be more widely protected by government -- that is, "by their own collective strength"? Much like Mill, Paul Krugman likes capitalism's innovations but not its crises and thinks that government has a duty to facilitate the former and protect us from the latter.
Garrison Keillor: The passage of time
My brother Philip died in Wisconsin on Friday while I was in Rome, and after I got my ticket changed to fly back for the memorial service, I went into a church off the Piazza Navona and lit candles for his aching family and stood in the piazza beside a fine fountain, with lots of splashing and nudity, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, which made me think of the Mississippi, where he and I used to skate in winter and once when the wind was whistling down the valley he opened his jacket and held the corners taut and the wind blew him away beyond the island and he didn't come back until after dark.
SEAN MCCANN: Will This Crisis Produce a 'Gatsby'? (wsj.com)
The conflict between the American myth of a classless society and the reality of the nation's deepening caste divisions was the irony at the core of some of the greatest literary works of the 1920s, including Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." But it was not until the Great Depression that the traditional vision of social mobility imploded.
Kevin C. Johnson: For Ne-Yo, the year of the gentleman continues (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Ne-Yo doesn't feel he's getting the appreciation he deserves. But he's not about to change who he is just to get it.
Jon Bream: "British singer-rapper Estelle: The first name in one-name pop stars" (Star Tribune)
Amy Winehouse grabbed more Grammys. Leona Lewis spent more time at No. 1. And Duffy and Adele garnered tons more press coverage. But Estelle has a few things those other hit-making British songbirds don't: At 29, she's at least four years older and more experienced; she's the only one who moved to the United States, and she's the only one equally skilled at rapping.
Writing for a living: a joy or a chore? (guardian.co.uk)
Colm Tóibín claims he does not enjoy writing very much. Do other authors share his view?
Frank Lovece: '300' director Zack Snyder is 'Watchmen' hero (Newsday)
The clock is ticking on "Watchmen" - finally opening in theaters Friday after more than 20 years of "To Be Continued ..."
Roger Moore: Jackie Earle Haley's comeback is complete with role in 'Watchmen' (The Orlando Sentinel)
"Watchmen" may be the most eagerly awaited movie of 2009 - the film of the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel has been the object of breathless Internet anticipation for years.
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Can't Take a Joke' Edition
Clint Eastwood has slammed Political Correctness, saying "I think the PC madness is what's refreshing about playing this character. When I grew up there were a lot of people like this, and everybody didn't take themselves so seriously. People would kid themselves about everybody's... whatever race they were, whatever ethnic, religious groups they were. Everybody would joke about it and everybody got along just fine,"
He continues with "But then we've come to this now where everybody has to be walking on eggshells - kind of very... sensitive. And so it's become boring, kind of, and I think everybody would like to be Walt Kowalski for about 10 minutes."
A two-parter...
Do you agree with his take about Political Correctness stifling humor?
Is PC selective in its application?
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to
Results next Tuesday.
responded:
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Rainy night followed by a rainy day.
Urges 'Day Of Significance'
Sean Penn
Sean Penn, who won an Oscar for playing gay rights hero Harvey Milk, says he is confident California Gov. Arnold $chwarzenegger will sign a bill recognizing Milk's birthday.
Appearing Tuesday in San Francisco, Penn said he didn't want to insult the intelligence of his fellow actor by assuming $chwarzenegger would again oppose designating a Harvey Milk Day on May 22.
Unlike an official holiday, the so-called "day of significance" wouldn't give state workers the day off, but schools would be encouraged to conduct lessons on the late San Francisco supervisor's life.
In his veto message, $chwarzenegger said he thought Milk was more appropriately honored on a local instead of statewide level.
Sean Penn
Honorary Knighthood
Teddy Kennedy
Veteran US Senator Ted Kennedy has been granted an honorary knighthood from Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown told a joint session of Congress Wednesday.
Kennedy was honored for services to relations between the US and Britain and especially his role in the Northern Ireland peace process.
"Northern Ireland is today at peace, more Americans have health care, more children around the world are going to school, and for all those things we owe a great debt to the life and courage of, Senator Edward Kennedy," Brown said in announcing the honor.
Kennedy called the honor "moving and personal."
Ted Kennedy
Philanthropist
Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor has expanded her philanthropy with a $100,000 donation to the Alliance for Christian Education.
The 77-year-old Oscar-winning actress says she was inspired by President Barack Obama's call for Americans to "reach across the aisle" of political and ideological divide.
In a statement, Taylor - who is Jewish - says she chose to underwrite the Christian-initiated education effort "because our new president challenged us to break down barriers that divide us."
Elizabeth Taylor
Letter Exhibited
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe apologizes to his publishers for drinking too much and asks them to buy an article because he's "desperately pushed for money" in an 1842 letter acquired by the University of Virginia for an exhibition marking the author's 200th birthday.
Writing from Philadelphia, Poe blames his friend William Ross Wallace, a poet and lawyer, for making him drink too many "juleps" and for misbehaving on a visit to New York.
The university bought the July 18, 1842, letter in a Sotheby's auction after the document spent years in private hands. University officials declined to disclose the price, but said it was purchased with endowment funds.
The U.Va. Library released the letter this week ahead of an exhibit opening Saturday that highlights Poe's enduring literary works, brief life and mysterious death at the age of 40. Poe attended the Charlottesville university, but had to drop out after less than a year in part because of financial difficulties, which plagued him the rest of his life.
"From Out That Shadow: the Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe" is being held in honor of the 200th anniversary of the author's birth on January 19, 1809. It features more than 100 items related to Poe, including manuscripts of his iconic works such as "The Raven," original artwork and personal belongings including his writing desk and portraits of Poe and his mother.
Edgar Allan Poe
Hospital News
Mariska Hargitay
Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay is in the hospital.
The star of NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit" was hospitalized on Wednesday after feeling discomfort from a partially collapsed lung. She is undergoing tests.
Hargitay has been ailing since at least mid-January, when producers announced that she had a partially collapsed lung. Her spokeswoman, Leslie Sloane, said the actress "expects to be feeling better soon" and that production of the show will not be affected.
Mariska Hargitay
Pootie's Pal Says US Will Collapse - Next Year
Igor Panarin
If you're inclined to believe Igor Panarin, and the Kremlin wouldn't mind if you did, then President Barack Obama will order martial law this year, the U.S. will split into six rump-states before 2011, and Russia and China will become the backbones of a new world order.
Panarin might be easy to ignore but for the fact that he is a dean at the Foreign Ministry's school for future diplomats and a regular on Russia's state-guided TV channels. And his predictions fit into the anti-American story line of the Kremlin leadership.
"There is a high probability that the collapse of the United States will occur by 2010," Panarin told dozens of students, professors and diplomats Tuesday at the Diplomatic Academy - a lecture the ministry pointedly invited The Associated Press and other foreign media to attend.
The prediction from Panarin, a former spokesman for Russia's Federal Space Agency and reportedly an ex-KGB analyst, meshes with the negative view of the U.S. that has been flowing from the Kremlin in recent years, in particular from Vladimir Putin.
Igor Panarin
Spain PM Has An Oopsy
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
A video of Spain's prime minister became one of the world's most talked about internet clips on Wednesday after he accidentally uttered the F word in a news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was outlining a Spanish-Russian plan to promote tourism between the two countries during Medvedev's state visit when the verbal faux pas slipped out.
"Tourism is an area of special economic importance in relations between Spain and Russia," said Zapatero, speaking in Spanish. "Therefore we have reached an agreement to stimulate, to favour, to f---."
With barely a pause, but looking down at his lectern, he quickly continued, "... to support tourism."
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Caught Up In Guinea-Bissau Turmoil
Frederick Forsyth
British author Frederick Forsyth has told the BBC how he was caught in the turmoil this week in the tiny West African state of Guinea-Bissau, rocked by the assassinations of its president and army chief.
The best-selling author of books including "The Day of the Jackal" recounted how President Joao Bernardo Vieira died a long and bloody death -- and said he might even use the experience in his next book.
"I can assure you I had nothing to do with the coup d'etat," said the writer, who has previously admitted to helping fund a 1973 coup attempt in nearby Equatorial Guinea, and whose 1974 book "The Dogs of War" recounted a failed plot to topple the government of a fictional African country.
The author said he was temporarily stranded in Bissau, the country's capital. "I can't get out now. I was due to fly out tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon, and I rather think that they're going to keep the airport closed, which is very inconvenient," he said.
Frederick Forsyth
Closing U.S. Chain
Virgin Megastores
The remaining six Virgin Megastores in the U.S. are set to close, it has been announced.
Despite the fact that the stores have been making a profit, they will close because their locations are worth higher rents. They are owned by real estate firms who intend to profit from new tenants at the six locations, which include Times Square and Union Square in New York City.
All of the stores will be closed by June, including locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco in California, Orlando, and Denver. Over 1,000 staff will be laid off, reports Variety.
Virgin Megastores
Small Moon Hdden In Ring
Saturn
Scientists have found a new moon hidden in one of Saturn's dazzling outer rings. The international Cassini spacecraft spotted the moon, which measures about a third of a mile wide. The discovery was announced Tuesday in a notice by the International Astronomical Union.
Researchers have long puzzled over the formation of Saturn's G ring, one of the planet's more mysterious arcs. They now think the G ring was likely formed from icy debris that scattered when meteorites crash into the newfound moon.
Scientists confirmed the moon's existence last summer after analyzing images from Cassini. Saturn has over five dozen moons.
Saturn
In Memory
Horton Foote
Playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote, who movingly portrayed the broken dreams of common people in "The Trip to Bountiful," "Tender Mercies" and his Oscar-winning screen adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird," died Wednesday in Connecticut, Paul Marte, a spokesman for Hartford Stage, said. He was 92.
Foote left the cotton fields of his native Wharton, Texas, as a teenager, dreaming of becoming an actor. But realizing his gifts as a storyteller, he embarked on a writing career that spanned more than half a century and earned him two Academy Awards ("To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Tender Mercies") and a 1995 Pulitzer Prize for "The Young Man From Atlanta."
The stories and lives of the people he loved in Texas became the bedrock for many of his plays, with the fictional Harrison, Texas, standing in for Wharton. Dividing his time mostly between Texas and New York, he kept the Wharton home in which he had grown up and did much of his writing there.
Never one for urbane and trendy topics, Foote instead focused on ordinary people and how their nostalgic recollections would mislead them.
Many viewers knew Foote best for his first film credit, the screen adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about childhood and racial injustice in a Depression-era Alabama town.
In 1963, Foote adapted his own play "The Traveling Lady" to film. "Baby, the Rain Must Fall," as the film version was called, starred Steve McQueen and Lee Remick and was directed by "Mockingbird" director Robert Mulligan.
But Foote was initially soured by his Hollywood experience, especially the lack of control a writer had for the finished product. So he returned to theater where he began adapting other writers' stories for the stage, but was wooed back to film with the emergence of small independent filmmaking in the 1970s.
In the 1950s, Foote moved from the stage to the then-infant medium of television, writing weekly teleplays for NBC's "Television Playhouse." His first script for the prime-time anthology was "The Trip to Bountiful." Starring Lillian Gish, the March 1953 televised performance was later expanded into a three-act play for a two-month run on Broadway.
Foote had married Lillian Vallish, who became his producer, in 1945. She died in 1992.
Three of their four children pursued careers in acting and writing. A revival of "A Trip to Bountiful," staged in New York in 2005, featured daughter Hallie Foote as the daughter-in-law. Horton Foote Jr. also became an actor; Daisy Foote a playwright and screenwriter, and Walter Foote a lawyer.
Horton Foote
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