Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Partisanship, Parasites, and Polarization (NY Times)
Are direct-marketing scams destroying the republic? A serious question.
Paul Waldman: "Democrats' new argument for why they should be in charge: 'Corruption'" (Washington Post)
It worked in 2006, and it might well work again -- particularly with this president.
Paul Waldman: "A 'perjury trap' isn't the real reason Trump won't answer Mueller's questions" (Washington Post)
We already know Mueller won't indict a sitting president. Here's what Trump is really afraid of.
Simon Wren-Lewis: The biggest economic policy mistake of the last decade, and it had nothing to do with academic economists (Mainly Macro)
The reason why economists like Alesina or Rogoff featured so much in the early discussion of austerity is not because they were influential, but because they were useful to provide some intellectual credibility to the policy that politicians of the right wanted to pursue. The influence of their work did not last long among academics, who now largely accept that there is no such thing as expansionary austerity or some danger point for debt. In contrast, the damage done by austerity does not seem to have done the politicians who promoted it much harm, in part because most of the media will keep insisting that maybe these politicians were right, but mainly because they are still in power.
Gail Collins and Bret L. Stephens: When Power Corrupts (NY Times)
Institutional breakdown on display in the Catholic Church and the Oval Office.
Helaine Olen: A Florida teacher's good fortune is a symptom of a sick system (Washington Post)
But the same way the Great Depression led many to the conclusion that private charity could not solve the problems of mass poverty, it seems many Americans are realizing individual charitable acts, lovely though they may be, can't make up for missing or inadequate institutional and government support. Polls show a majority of voters support paid family and medical leave, and expanding Medicare and Medicaid.
Garrison Keillor: Old man in the grandstand, talking
I am working on a memoir these days, which I am obliged to do so that young people will understand that there was a time when even young children wandered freely in the woods and fields, their locations unknown to their parents. I was told not to go down by the river and when I left the house, I went straight to the river, the Mississippi, and swam in it and skipped stones and watched fishermen go over the rapids in their boats, grown men crying out in anguish as outboards were destroyed, and when I came home and was asked where I'd been and what I'd done, I said, "At a friend's house." And "Not much." Parental neglect was assumed then and I was grateful for it and grew up independent …
Jonathan Jones: "'A menace to life and limb': the artworks that have injured - and killed" (The Guardian)
Luckily, the victim of Kapoor's black hole is said to be doing well in hospital. Most injuries caused by art are, mercifully, mild. Yet something in us is drawn to the void, the precipice, the crack in the floor. If art couldn't hurt us, it wouldn't move us.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
answered:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
WORK Anecdotes
• Halle Berry was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and she got her first name because her pregnant mother was shopping in Halle Brothers, a department store, and she decided she liked the store's name. Before becoming a model and actress, Halle studied broadcast journalism at Cuyahoga Community College. She decided that this profession was not for her after she started crying while interviewing a family who had just lost their house in a fire.
• In 1943, composer Samuel Barber joined the United States Army, then transferred to the Army Air Forces, where he was given his duty. No, he was not ordered to fight in the war; instead, he was ordered to write a symphony that honored the military. According to his friend and fellow composer Gian Carlo Menotti, "Barber was probably the only soldier in the United States who never learned to take a gun apart and put it together again."
• At a time when there was no work that needed to be done, Ub Iwerks and some other animators played poker; however, Walt Disney did not join the game but instead became engrossed in doing something at a desk. At one point, Mr. Iwerks looked over Mr. Disney's shoulder and discovered that he was practicing his signature. After seeing that, Mr. Iwerks realized that here was a man whose ego would drive him to become a huge success.
• Rube Foster was a tough manager in the Negro Leagues. He carried a pipe that he used to make signals, and when a player ignored his signal to bunt and instead hit a triple in a game, Mr. Foster was not happy. As soon as he could, he hit the player in the head with his pipe, and then told him, "As long as I'm paying you, you'll do what I tell you."
• Early in his career, comedian Don Knotts hoped to get a job on The Jackie Gleason Show. He called the show's casting office and explained that he was a comedian and that he wanted to be on the show, but a voice-not Mr. Gleason's-told him, "We got a comedian," and then hung up.
© Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
David E Suggests
Wall Thickness
David
Thanks, Dave!
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Team Coco
CONAN
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
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
NOW THE FUN BEGINS.
THE LIAR, THE THIEF AND THE CRIMINAL.
THE WHACKOS COME OUT OF THE WOODWORK!
"TAKE A KNEE."
AND BY THE WAY...
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Much better marine layer.
Sensible Demand
Steven Tyler
Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler is demanding President-for-now Donald Trump (R-OfPutin) stop using the band's songs at rallies, like the one held at the Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia on Tuesday (August 21). The band's 1993 hit "Livin' on the Edge" was played as Trump devotees entered the venue, which has a capacity of 13,500. Tyler has in turn sent a "cease and desist" letter through his attorney Dina LaPolt to the White House accusing the President of willful infringement in broadcasting the song, which was written by Tyler, Joe Perry, Mark Hudson.
Citing the Lanham Act, which prohibits "any false designation or misleading description or representation of fact … likely to cause confusion … as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person," Tyler's attorney contends that playing an Aerosmith song in a public arena gives the false impression that Tyler is endorsing Trump's presidency.
The matter has come up previously with another Aerosmith song, "Dream On," which Trump used during his 2015 election campaign. Following a similar letter stating, "Trump for President needs our client's express written permission in order to use his music" and that the campaign "was violating Mr. Tyler's copyright," BMI drove the point home and pulled the public performance rights for the song. Public performance rights for "Livin' on the Edge" are administered by ASCAP.
During the rally, Trump spoke about immigration, trade and politics, peppered with his usual banter about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Steven Tyler
World's Highest-Paid Actor
George Clooney
Consider this one more piece of evidence suggesting how irrelevant highest-paid actor lists are: George Clooney topped this year's Forbes list without even starring in one project, even more notable considering he didn't even place in the top 10 last year.
Clooney took home $239 million in 2018 all thanks to the sale of his Casamigos Tequila company last year, which reportedly went for $1 billion. It also helps that Clooney was paid by Nespresso for a few ads, and his production company, Smokehouse, was responsible for one of the year's top-grossing movies, Ocean's 8. To put Clooney's massive year into perspective, he made more than all of the highest-paid actresses on this year's top 10 Forbes list combined.
The most staggering comparison, though, is how much all of the top 10 highest-paid actors made versus the highest-paid actresses. Clooney, along with the second-highest-paid actor, Dwayne 'The Rock" Johnson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Jackie Chan, and more, took home $748.5 million. Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson, who was the top-paid actress, made $40.5 million, along with Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lawrence, and more profited $186 million. That means that the highest-paid male actors made four times as much as their female counterparts.
It's all the more confounding when you take into consideration the fact that Clooney, the most profitable of all, spent his year mostly out of the spotlight. This summer he has been recuperating from a motorcycle accident in Italy. He has also been focusing on activism, as he and his wife, Amal Clooney, donated $100,000 toward immigrant children, in the wake of the U.S. government policy that rips apart children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The power couple also gave $500,000 to this year's March for Our Lives, which raised awareness for gun violence following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. "Amal and I are 100 [percent] behind you and will be marching in D.C. on the 24th, but we both feel very strongly that this is your march," he explained at the time. Your moment. Young people are taking it to the adults and that has been your most effective tool." At least Clooney is using his platform-and spot on the highest-paid actor list-for good.
George Clooney
Last Season
'Big Bang Theory'
Award-winning ratings smash "The Big Bang Theory" will end with the finale of its 12th season in May next year, CBS said on Wednesday, lavishing praise on the long-running comedy.
Focusing on a highly intelligent but socially-awkward professor and his group of scientist friends, "Big Bang" was the biggest comedy ratings draw on broadcast television for years, winning 10 Emmys.
The show -- which will end its 12-year run on 279 episodes -- is a rare example of a long-running hit TV series that has managed to retain its massive viewing figures.
The last season attracted an audience of almost 19 million per episode, not far off its ninth season peak of 20.4 million.
It hit the headlines in its most recent seasons for a deal which meant its lead cast of Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, Kaley Cuoco, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch all earning the same -- estimated at a shade under $1 million an episode.
'Big Bang Theory'
Collector Finds Lost Unreleased Duet
Carly Simon and Mick Jagger
Almost half a century after it was recorded, a lost duet between '70s siren Carly Simonand The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger has been unearthed.
A slow love ballad allegedly called "Fragile", the track was previously thought lost to the sands of time. However, the Associated Press reports that Stones collector Matt Lee has re-discovered the song, recorded in 1972, on a tape in his collection. Funny enough, that's the same year Jagger sang un-credited backup vocals on Simon's hit song "You're So Vain" (and was rumored to be its subject, despite vociferous denials).
The lost duet has been the subject of much speculation in Stones fan circles over the years. While the song has been largely missing for more than 45 years, hardcore Stones followers may recognize a snippet of it from a scene in the 1972 Stones documentary Cocksucker Blues (itself a difficult film to find, given its court-mandated restrictions on screenings).
Perhaps most recently, Simon obliquely referred to it in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone magazine. There, she confirmed the existence of the song, lamenting that the recording had been lost for decades. She even sang a line of the lyrics: "Funny, funny, funny, funny, funny/ How love can make you cry."
Lee will not divulge the means by which he recovered the track, but confirmed that he sent a digital copy to Rolling Stone magazine, on the promise that it would be delivered it to Simon. "I'm not doing it for the money. I'm a collector," Lee said of his altruistic motivations for the track. "My motive for sending it to Rolling Stone was to pass it to Carly."
Carly Simon and Mick Jagger
Atmospheric Phenomenon
'STEVE'
A new and strange atmospheric phenomenon is being seen in the skies around the world.
First observed by sky watchers in Alberta, Canada in 2017, this strange ray of purple and blue light is often seen as a large arc or band in the night sky.
This is a new and very unique type of phenomenon that was first thought to be associated with the aurora.
Aurora are caused by charged particles from the sun which interact with the upper layers of the atmosphere and put on some amazing displays in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
The name for this new atmospheric phenomenon is known by the acronym "STEVE," which stands for: Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.
'STEVE'
To Play Roger Ailes
John Lithgow
John Lithgow can play one helluva villain. Just look at him in any number of Brian De Palma movies, or even his monstrous turn in Dexter's fourth season. Now, however, the acclaimed actor will play his most vile character yet, as Variety reports he's been cast as former Fox News chief/rabid sexual harasser Roger Ailes.
Director Jay Roach (Trumbo) will helm Annapurna Pictures' as-yet-unnamed film, which was written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Charles Randolph (The Big Short). Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman will co-star, playing Fox News vets Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson, respectively. Both women were key in exposing the pervasive culture of sexual harassment at Fox News, which forms the spine of the Roach and Randolph's story. Margot Robbie is also set to star in the movie as "a fictional Fox News associate producer."
After Carlson sued him for harassment in July of 2016, Ailes stepped down from his role as Chairman and CEO of Fox News. Many more allegations of misconduct followed his departure. He passed away roughly a year later at the age of 77.
As Variety notes, Ailes' story will also appear in Showtime's adaptation of Gabriel Sherman's The Loudest Voice In the Room. Russell Crowe will step into the Ailes' formidable loafers for that production.
John Lithgow
Hangs A Savage New Nickname
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey has come up with yet another new mocking portrait of - and another nickname for - President-for-now Donald Trump (R-OfPutin).
The "Dumb and Dumber" actor and artist posted a new piece on Twitter of "The Great Spewdini" after a jury convicted Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort of numerous fraud charges and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to illegally interfering in the 2016 election at the direction of the president.
Carrey, who stars in the upcoming Showtime series "Kidding," has used his art in the past to slam the president and members of the Trump administration, and said earlier this month he has no plans to stop.
"I can't just watch this nightmare unfold," Carrey said. "It's just a civilized way of dealing with it, to get on board with as many other voices as possible that are shouting from the rooftops."
Jim Carrey
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
