Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Garrison Keillor: Making myself useful for heaven's sake
Telling a joke is a knack, like hammering a nail straight. It's useful in certain situations. You're in a bar with your cousin and his friends, none of whom you know, and you haven't said much and they're giving you odd sideways looks, and finally you say, "I heard about a tavern - I think it was out east, maybe Connecticut - and the bartender heard someone say, Hey, and he turned and there was a sheepdog sitting on the barstool. The sheepdog said, You ever meet a talking dog before? I'll bet you haven't. How about a drink for a genuine talking dog? And the bartender says, Sure, the toilet's right down the hall."
Jonathan Jones: Animals and Us review - four-legged insights give artists paws (The Guardian)
Turner Contemporary, Margate: From YouTube cats tickling the ivories, to Joseph Beuys trapped with a coyote, to octopus hoarders, this delightful show questions the notion that humans are uniquely gifted creatures.
Arwa Mahdawi: How the right is defending Roseanne Barr's racist tweets (The Guardian)
Shortly after ABC canceled the show, rightwing commentators were engaged in false equivalences and 'mental gymnastics.'
Stephen Moss: Joan Baez review - queen of folk bids a poignant farewell (The Guardian)
Her protege, Grace Stumberg, accompanied her on Diamonds & Rust, and the power and flexibility of the younger woman's voice sometimes emphasised the decline of Baez's own. But that was the point really: none of us are what we were, but we are still standing, still fighting, still singing.
Tim Jonze: "Life after boybands: how singers from Westlife, Boyzone and Bros coped when reality hit" (The Guardian)
What do you do when global fame is pulled from under you? Here, Brian McFadden, Keith Duffy and Matt Goss discuss their curious - and sometimes difficult - transitions to the real world.
KARL TARO GREENFELD: WHAT IF I'M JUST A MINOR WRITER? (LitHub.com)
NOT EVERY AUTHOR IS DESTINED FOR GREATNESS.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
So much for her saying that she was leaving twitter forever. What a horrible woman she is:
Roseanne Barr Attacks Co-Stars for 'Throwing Her Under the Bus'
"Is Ivanka the worst Trump? Her tweeted portrait of 'perfect motherhood' seals it for me" | Arwa Mahdawi | Opinion | The Guardian
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
'RACISM IS NOT A KNOWN SIDE EFFECT'.
TRUMP GOES TO TENNESSEE.
"THE COST OF WAR AT THE END OF EMPIRE.
"PEOPLE GET READY…"
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another marine layer - stayed gray most of the day.
'Racism Is Not A Known Side Effect'
Ambien
The maker of Ambien blasted back at Roseanne Barr after the she faulted the sleeping pill for a racist tweet that led to her television show's cancellation.
"People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world", Ambien manufacturer Sanofi US said on Twitter.
"While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication".
As of early afternoon on the East Coast, some 90,000 people had liked or shared the tweet.
Ambien
Feud Delays Swimming Pool Plans
Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and Take That's Robbie Williams have continued their feud over Williams' home renovations plans - this time over the singer's plan to build a swimming pool.
According to the Evening Standard, "a planning battle" between the duo will continue as the London council was unable to come to a decision on Tuesday regarding Williams' swimming pool renovations.
Page has been vehemently opposed to Williams' ideas for a basement swimming pool and gym because he worries that the vibrations from the digging could damage his Gothic-style home designed by architect William Burges.
The 74-year-old guitarist was concerned in particular that construction workers could damage his home's interior of plaster, stained glass and tile.
The feud between Page and Williams has been brewing since 2013 when Williams purchased his West London mansion for £17m.
Jimmy Page
Estate Sues Disney
Michael Jackson
The estate of deceased music legend Michael Jackson has filed a lawsuit against ABC and Disney over the special "The Last Days of Michael Jackson."
The suit, filed in federal court in California on Wednesday, alleges copyright infringement.
The suit says that the plaintiffs - identified as "various companies that comprise a part of the Estate of Michael Jackson -were "genuinely shocked" when they watched the special on March 24.
Calling the special "a mediocre look back at Michael Jackson's life and entertainment career," the suit accuses Disney of swiping the estate's intellectual property.
"Unable to make a compelling presentation about Michael Jackson on its own, Disney decided to exploit the Jackson Estate's intellectual property without permission or obtaining a license for its use. After all, there is always a healthy audience for Michael Jackson's timeless music, his ground-breaking videos, and footage of his unforgettable live performances. Why not just use Michael Jackson's works if one can get advertisers to buy time on the program? But in order to use these valuable assets, a license must be obtained for it by the Estate," the suit reads.
Michael Jackson
Found Not Liable
David Copperfield
David Copperfield was found not liable late Tuesday in a civil case filed by a fan who said he was injured participating in the magician's Las Vegas act in 2013. Copperfield was found negligent by the jury, but the tourist was held responsible for his injuries.
The trial garnered international attention because Copperfield was required to reveal the secrets behind his famous illusions.
Gavin Cox, a British tourist who took part in the magician's signature disappearing trick, said he suffered brain and body injuries when he fell during the performance. But in the ruling, the jury ruled the five parties sued -- including Copperfield -- were all 0 percent responsible and Cox was "100 percent" responsible for the injuries.
The ruling means Cox will not be able to receive any monetary damages, according to Mary Ann Price, court information officer for the 8th Judicial District. Cox's attorneys had estimated he paid $400,000 in medical costs resulting from the injuries, according to The Associated Press.
The jury deliberated for just two hours before making its ruling.
David Copperfield
Puts Religion At Heart Of US Rights Agenda
Pompeo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will host a high-level international meeting on religious freedom, he announced Tuesday, putting the issue at the heart of the US human rights agenda.
The "Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom" will be held between the chief diplomats of "like-minded governments" in Washington on July 25 and 26.
US President-for-now Donald Trump's (R-Crooked) administration has been criticized for downplaying human rights in international relations in favor of seeking America's economic interest.
But Christian conservatives in the cabinet, such as Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence, have been outspoken in support of religious freedom around the world.
"The ministerial will also be my first to host as a secretary of state, and that's very intentional," Pompeo told reporters at the launch of the annual US religious freedom report.
Pompeo
122 Pregnant Minke Whales
Japan
Animal rights activists have expressed outrage after a report on Japan's "scientific whaling" programme showed that more than two-thirds of the female minke whales harpooned in the Southern Ocean earlier this year were pregnant females.
The report, submitted to a meeting of the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission in Slovenia earlier this month, also showed that 53 of the 333 whales slaughtered were juvenile animals.
Activists accuse Tokyo of ignoring a ruling in 2014 by the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, that Japan's whaling was a commercial exercise rather than a scientific research programme and that it had to halt.
Tokyo, which provides large subsidies to keep its domestic whaling industry afloat, responded by adding new research procedures and resuming operations in 2015 with a quota of 333 minke whales.
To protect itself from further legal challenges, Japan also withdrew its recognition of the International Court of Justice as an arbiter of disputes over whales.
Japan
Major Study Finds
Glasses
If you wear glasses I've got some good news: you may well be smarter than the average person. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications has found that needing to wear glasses is associated with higher levels of intelligence. But you probably knew that already.
In the study, the largest of its kind ever conducted, researchers from the University of Edinburgh analyzed cognitive and genetic data from over 300,000 people aged between 16 and 102 that had been gathered by the UK Biobank and the Charge and Cogent consortia. Their analysis found "significant genetic overlap between general cognitive function, reaction time, and many health variables including eyesight, hypertension, and longevity". Specifically, people who were more intelligent were almost 30% more likely to have genes which might indicate they'd need to wear glasses.
While being more intelligent may be linked to poor eyesight, it's also connected with a lot of positive health benefits. Researchers found negative correlations between cognitive function and a number of health problems, including angina, lung cancer and depression.
Forget genetics though - there's plenty of empirical evidence that wearing glasses, whether you need them or not, makes people think you are more intelligent. A number of studies have found people who wear glasses are perceived as smarter, more dependable, industrious and honest. Which is why a lot of defense lawyers get their clients to wear glasses at trial. As lawyer Harvey Slovis explained to New York magazine: "Glasses soften their appearance so that they don't look capable of committing a crime. I've tried cases where there's been a tremendous amount of evidence, but my client wore glasses and got acquitted. The glasses create a kind of unspoken nerd defense."
It's not just defense lawyers who use glasses as a stage prop. Glasses are regularly used as shorthand in pop culture to connote that their wearer is intelligent. In the case of women, there's also a well-worn "ugly girl who removes her glasses and is revealed to be beautiful" trope. Isaac Asimov has a wonderful critique of this in his essay The Cult of Ignorance. In the essay, which went viral when it was tweeted by an appreciative reader last year, Asimov writes: "The glasses are not literally glasses. They are merely a symbol, a symbol of intelligence. The audience is taught two things; (a) Evidence of extensive intelligence is a social hindrance and causes unhappiness; (b) Formal education is unnecessary, can be minimised at will and the resulting limited intellectual development leads to happiness."
Glasses
Populating Will Be Dangerously Unsexy
Mars Base
In 1972, citizen scientist Sir Elton John hypothesized that Mars "ain't the kind of place to raise your kids."
While John's remarks were never published in a peer-reviewed journal (though they did peak at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart), he's not wrong about the Red Planet's inhospitality. With its freezing climate, thin atmosphere and weak gravity, Mars will be a hard place to raise the children necessary to sustain a permanent colony there. And according to a new paper published in the June issue of the journal Futures, conceiving kids on Mars will be even harder.
Thinking about fertility on Mars isn't just for philosophical fun; in fact, Elon Musk's SpaceX is developing a rocket with the primary purpose of bringing settlers to Mars.
"Reproduction on Mars will be necessary for colony survival and subsequent expansion," a team of researchers from Brazil, the United States and Poland wrote in the new paper. "Unfortunately, such an endeavor comes with titanic challenges."
In their new paper, titled "Biological and social challenges of human reproduction in a longterm Mars base," the researchers dig into exactly what those challenges would be - and the morally questionable solutions that may accompany them.
Mars Base
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for May 21-27. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "NCIS," CBS, 12.07 million.
2. "Roseanne," ABC, 10.58 million.
3. NBA Conference Finals: Houston at Golden State, Game 6, TNT, 9.47 million.
4. NBA Conference Finals: Golden State at Houston, Game 5, TNT, 9.32 million.
5. "The Voice" (Tuesday), NBC, 8.78 million.
6. "Dancing With the Stars: Athletes," ABC, 8.77 million.
7. "American Idol" (Monday), ABC, 8.68 million.
8. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 8.67 million.
9. NBA Conference Finals: Houston at Golden State, Game 4, TNT, 8.37 million.
10. NBA Conference Finals: Boston at Cleveland, Game 6, ESPN, 8.27 million.
11. NBA Conference Finals: Boston at Cleveland, Game 4, ESPN, 7.94 million.
12. NBA Conference Finals: Cleveland at Boston, Game 5, ESPN, 7.51 million.
13. "Survivor," CBS, 7.33 million.
14. "The Middle," ABC, 7.09 million.
15. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 6.72 million.
16. "NCIS" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), CBS, 6.62 million.
17. "60 Minutes," CBS, 6.32 million.
18. "The Big Bang Theory" (Monday, 8 p.m.), CBS, 6.29 million.
19. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 6.2 million.
20. "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 6.12 million.
Ratings
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