Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Makers, Takers, Fakers (New York Times)
When it comes to substance, the G.O.P. is more committed than ever to policies that take from most Americans and give to a wealthy handful.
Paul Krugman: From Welfare Queens to Disabled Deadbeats (New York Times)
The point, I think, is that right-wing intellectuals and politicians live in a bubble in which denunciations of those bums on disability and those greedy children getting free health care are greeted with shouts of approval - but now have to deal with a country where the same remarks come across as greedy and heartless (because they are).
Jay Rayner: Food shopping is full of ethical grey areas. Be careful what you buy - or fish will be a luxury (Guardian)
As has been reported, mackerel stocks are very healthy. But they have migrated northwards into Icelandic waters, apparently as a result of climate change. The Icelandic fleet is pulling mackerel out of the sea like it's the gold rush and they have hit a rich seam.
Police rat out marijuana culprit (KSN)
Wichita police say they have an unusual case on their hands. Mice chewed into some evidence containing packages of marijuana in the property and evidence department at 410 North Waco.
Wake County SPCA Pet Adoption Video (Vimeo)
Take a chance on me in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Lauren Davis: This wordless, richly animated short fantasy adventure film is nine minutes of pure, unadulterated joy (io9)
This fantasy film about a pair of wannabe adventurers who stumble upon a treasure map plays with a mishmash of animation styles (including a few shades of 'Adventure Time' contrasted against rich light and shadow) and tropes (Look for the narwhals!) in a way that achieves more than dialog could. A
Deborah Orr: "The genius of 'Breaking Bad'" (Guardian)
We can laugh at the awful deeds in 'Breaking Bad' because the writers afford the audience a position of empowerment unusual in TV drama.
Deborah Orr: Misogyny stinks, but we need to say more than 'This is horrible, poor us' (Guardian)
Many women subscribe to the idea that feminism has transformed their lives and opportunities. I do myself. However, I also believe the influence of feminism on contemporary society is overstated.
Charlie Brooker: "Justin Bieber: Teen pop idols never die. They're gradually unfollowed" (Guardian)
After a bumpy start to the year, the rapidly ageing teenywink singing sensation stands at a crossroads in his career.
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Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Team Coco
Conan
We had some immature fun with the mushiest soundbytes from Obama & Hillary's "60 Minutes" love-fest:
Hillary & Obama's "60 Minutes" Interview Took A Racy Turn
We knew they'd grown close but who knew they were getting THAT close.
FOX NEWS Cocktail Party
Spike Jensen
Ever been to a party and felt a little under dressed? Like you thought it was come as you are but it turned out to be everyone was dressed like they were extras in an episode of Madmen circa 2000 something? Well that is how I feel each night as I cruise by FOX NEWS and lock my eyes on the women/conservative former lingerie models. Now the guys on this network dress ok, I mean O'Reilly gets some really expensive free suits from some store in NYC and Shepard Smith throws on some high end duds but for the most part the others all look the same in their Men's Wearhouse 2 for 1 special's. It must be tough to be an on air woman at FOX NEWS cuz they have to wake up each morning around 3 am to get started on the daily make overs, pulling out all the stops, like preparing for a New Year's Eve party at the Waldorf Astoria. Can you even think about how much effort they have to put into what they are going to look like each work day? The designer dresses that can't be seen more than once a month or they will melt with embarrassment. The jewelry that must be spot on with the other accessories. The job of creating and keeping their own special "look" with the hair has to be a major hassle but the make-up is what really separates these female journalists from on air women at other networks. I have never seen in person any lady with double extension eyelashes before. Seriously, a couple of the ones on The Five have long enough mega fake lashes to balance a Harvey Wallbanger in a can for at least 30 seconds. Don't get me wrong, I used to dig Elvira's look too but it never would have worked without the basic black thing going on. Don't believe me? Check out a couple of FOX NEWS non blondes from The Five who especially love the face paint and baubles like
Kimberly Guilfoyle -
or
Andrea Tantaros
I am no fashion expert but I'm pretty sure these two women don't mess around when it comes time to go out and show their well-manicured faces in public. I should probably admit now that some have called me bad names too with some of the choices I make on what to wear when I leave my apartment. For the last couple years I have been getting a ton of thumbs down on my "look" and it mostly has to do with a friend of mine who works for this charity and he gives me all those screwed up t-shirts and hats that say a team that got it's ass kicked actually won the championship even though everyone saw on live TV that the other team won. I guess before the big game they print up a shit load of stuff that say both teams won cuz there is a 50% chance one batch will be ok to dump on people right after the game when they are still drunk and or looking to jump on the bandwagon. For some reason no one wants the stuff of the loser so before they ship it over to Africa and Peru he gives me a few samples to fill out my wardrobe. I still wear my OKC Thunder NBA Championship hat and most nights now sleep in my 2012 Detroit Tigers World Series Champions t-shirt. It's a little big as I guess there's not much need for 4 XL's in those faraway places in the world. America is definitely the home of clothes big enough to use as a pup tent in a national disaster.
Now don't get me wrong here. I am not saying I would rather stare at someone on TV that did not at least shower and sorta comb their hair. I do have standards you know but these women on FOX NEWS creep me out like Donald Trump's hair does just about everyone but him and his barber (or mortician). Have you not had nightmares too about what that toxic dump on his head really is? Someday we will know and then the long arm of God will strike him dead for putting us though the mental anguish (I just pulled that word out of my butt, hope it works) of wondering all these years. Burning in hell is too good for this guy. So anyway before I got off track a bit, I think most men find women attractive without them having to look like a rodeo clown in come F me pumps. Maybe a little Chap Stick with a touch of rouge and any female FOX NEWS employee would be good to go in my mind but there must be some horny high end wearing suit in management who put out the order to tart up or go home. Nothing wrong with that at the Playboy channel or Cinemax but listening to someone talking about mass deaths after an earthquake somewhere or a terrorist attack in that sandy part of the world while looking like a date I could never, ever afford to party with in Vegas, well it's just doesn't feel right cuz it's flat out wrong.
So if you really do want your news to be read off a teleprompter by a smokin babe with 4 layers of make-up there are other places to meet your needs than FOX NEWS. You can just go to any computer and search for whatever chicks live show turns your crank and send her the latest AP or Reuters news feeds to read to you. A little pricey yeah but probably a lot more fair n balanced than that other place. Later.
FOX NEWS Cocktail Party « My POV
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny, but colder than seasonal.
Chicken Pox
Barbara Walters
Celebrity newswoman Barbara Walters, who was hospitalized earlier this month after falling and injuring her head, is recovering from chicken pox, her co-host Whoopi Goldberg said Monday on "The View" talk show.
Goldberg said Walters, 83, who is in a New York hospital, has been told to rest and is not receiving visitors.
Goldberg joked: "She's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors, and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching." ABC-TV said Walters, who created the long-running talk show after working decades as one of television news' best-known journalists, was transferred to a New York hospital late last week from Washington and was expected to be discharged soon.
Despite Goldberg's light-hearted remarks about the illness, usually associated with children, chicken pox can be serious for adults and the elderly, accompanied by more severe itching from hundreds of blisters.
Barbara Walters
Newbery & Caldecott Awards
American Library Association
Katherine Applegate's "The One and Only Ivan" won the John Newbery Medal for the outstanding book of 2012, while Jon Klassen's "This Is Not My Hat" received the Randolph Caldecott Medal for outstanding illustration, the American Library Association announced Monday.
The Newbery and Caldecott awards are the top honors for children's literature.
Bryan Collier's illustration for a book edition of Langston Hughes' poem "I, Too, Am America" received a Coretta Scott King prize for outstanding work by an African-American. Andrea Davis Pinkney's "Hand in Hand" won the King award for best text.
Alire Saenz's "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" won twice: the Stonewall Book Award, for works about the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender experience, and the Pura Belpre Award for best Latino/Latina author. David Diaz's work on "Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert" won the Belpre for illustration.
Katherine Paterson, 80 years old and winner of the Newbery, the National Book Award and many other honors, received the Laura Ingalls Wilder prize for lifetime achievement.
Steve Sheinkin's "Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon" was named the best nonfiction book and the "most distinguished informational" book.
American Library Association
Renews Driver's License
Edythe Kirchmaier
There apparently isn't much that can slow down Edythe Kirchmaier. The 105-year-old California resident made headlines on Monday when she passed her driving test - continuing 86 years without a blemish on her driving record and maintaining her status as the state's oldest living driver.
And that's far from the only bit of notoriety to crop up recently in Kirchmaier's life. Facebook has declared her its most senior user, she's the University of Chicago's oldest living former student, last week she appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show to celebrate her birthday and she has been a volunteer with the Direct Relief International (DRI) organization for 40 years.
"I think I'm a pretty good driver," Kirchmaier told Fox. "I feel safe about getting my driver's license renewed because I've never had an accident."
Edythe Kirchmaier
$2.9 Million Facelift
Trevi Fountain
Rome's 18th-century Trevi Fountain, famed as a setting for the film "La Dolce Vita," is getting a €2.18 million ($2.9 million) restoration courtesy of the Fendi fashion house.
The 20-month project on one of the city's most iconic fountains was unveiled at a city hall press conference Monday featuring Fendi designers Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi, who said the project combined a love of Rome's past with a need to preserve its future.
It's the latest example of Italian fashion companies coming to the aid of Italy's chronically underfunded cultural heritage. The founder of the Tod's footwear company is footing the bill for the €25 million (nearly $34 million) restoration of Rome's ancient Colosseum, and Mayor Gianni Alemanno said he hoped these two donations were just the start.
The Trevi restoration involves a complete overhaul of the fountain, including cleaning the travertine façade and marble statues, replacing the gilded Latin inscriptions and re-waterproofing the main basin. The project will be carried out in phases, with the central section restored first, then the sides, then the top. At no time will it be closed to visitors, and officials said a screen bearing the image of the fountain will cover the scaffolding in a bid to minimize the eyesore for camera-toting tourists.
The fountain, which was built between 1732 and 1762, features Oceanus being carried on his chariots and contains many other allegorical references to water. The location of the fountain itself - on a side street off central Rome's main thoroughfare - is the termination of one of ancient Rome's aqueducts, the Aqua Virgo Aqueduct.
Trevi Fountain
Captures Burglary Suspect
Taye Diggs
Los Angeles police say actor Taye Diggs chased down and captured a burglary suspect he found rummaging through his garage.
It happened after the "Private Practice" star and his wife returned to their Studio City home from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where Diggs was a presenter.
LAPD spokesman Richard French says shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Diggs saw a man in his garage, apparently looking for items to steal.
French says the man ran off, but Diggs followed him down the street and held him for police. Neither man was hurt.
Twenty-year-old Hassan Juma was arrested and remains jailed Monday on $50,000 bail.
Taye Diggs
Wants Chris Brown Charged
Frank Ocean
Rising R&B artist Frank Ocean wants fellow singer Chris Brown prosecuted following a brawl over a parking space at a Los Angeles-area recording studio, authorities said on Monday.
Brown is serving five years probation for assaulting his on-and-off girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 and risks having his probation revoked should charges be filed.
In the incident on Sunday, sheriff's deputies responded to a call about a fight involving six men in West Hollywood. The deputies cited witnesses as saying that the Grammy-winning Brown, 23, punched Ocean during the brief altercation.
No charges have yet been filed, but Ocean "is desirous of prosecution in this incident," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
Frank Ocean
Crashes Rolls
Rick Ross
Police in South Florida say rapper Rick Ross crashed his Rolls Royce into a building after hearing shots fired nearby.
Fort Lauderdale police say Ross and his companion, fashion designer Shateria L. Moragne-el, reported hearing multiple shots fired in their direction at around 5:00 a.m. Monday. Police say Ross lost control of the silver Rolls and crashed into an apartment building.
Neither Ross nor his passenger was injured and police say it did not appear that any bullets struck the Rolls.
The police report uses Ross's real name, William L. Roberts. Ross turned 37 years old Monday.
Rick Ross
Band Slain
Kombo Kolombia
The 16-member Colombian-style music group was playing at a ranch in northern Mexico when at least 10 gunmen entered the warehouse where the private party was being held and forced them and four crew members into waiting vehicles, a survivor of the attack told authorities.
Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said the survivor, a member of the Kombo Kolombia band, told police they were blindfolded and driven on dirt roads until they stopped and he heard gunshots and a conversation about where the assailants would dump the bodies.
Domene said the survivor, who is being protected by soldiers, was able to reach a nearby ranch and get help.
Kombo Kolombia has played a Colombian style of music known as vallenato, which is popular in working class neighborhood in the city of Monterrey and other parts of Nuevo Leon state. Most of the group's musicians were from the area, though the singer is a Colombian citizen with Mexican residency, Domene said.
Members of other musical groups have been murdered in Mexico in recent years, usually groups that perform "narcocorridos" that celebrate the exploits of drug traffickers. But Kombo Kolombia did not play that type of music, and its lyrics were about love and heartbreak and did not deal with violence or drug trafficking.
Kombo Kolombia
Pushes Pause On 3-D 'Star Wars' Prequels
Lucasfilm
The force isn't with the 3-D versions of the "Star Wars" prequels.
Lucasfilm said in a statement Monday that it's postponing the scheduled 3-D releases of "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones" and "Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" this fall to instead focus its efforts on "Star Wars: Episode VII."
The Walt Disney Co. confirmed Friday that J.J. Abrams, creator of the TV series "Lost" and director of 2009's "Star Trek" movie, will direct the seventh installment of the franchise, set for a 2014 release.
Disney bought "Star Wars" maker Lucasfilm last month for $4.06 billion.
Lucasfilm
Drunken-Driving Plea
Randy Travis
A prosecutor says country music star Randy Travis is expected to enter a guilty plea in a drunken-driving case in North Texas.
Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown said Monday that details of the plea agreement will be released following Travis' court appearance Thursday in Sherman.
Travis was naked when he was arrested following a single-vehicle accident Aug. 7 near Tioga, a city about 60 miles north of Dallas. Authorities have said his blood-alcohol level was more than 0.15. The legal limit for driving is 0.08.
Brown says Travis will plead guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving, which is punishable by up to two years in jail and a $4,000 fine. The 53-year-old Travis still faces a retaliation charge for allegedly threatening officers.
Randy Travis
New Clues In Sinking
H.L. Hunley
Scientists say a pole on the front of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley designed to plant explosives on enemy ships may hold a key clue to its sinking during the Civil War.
The experts are to release their findings Monday at a North Charleston lab where the hand-cranked sub is being preserved and studied. The Hunley was the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship.
The pole, called a spar, was once placed at the front of the sub and used to plant a powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic in 1864.The Housatonic sank, while the Hunley and its eight-man crew never returned.
The sub was found in waters off South Carolina in 1995 and raised five years later. It's been in the laboratory ever since.
H.L. Hunley
In Memory
Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner
Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, frontman for the hit-making funk music band the Ohio Players, has died. He was 69.
The Ohio Players, known for their brassy dance music, catchy lyrics and flamboyant outfits, topped music charts in the 1970s with hits such as "Love Rollercoaster," ''Fire," ''Skin Tight" and "Funky Worm."
Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Bonner teamed up in the 1960s with core members of a group called the Ohio Untouchables to form the Ohio Players. The band had a string of Top 40 hits in the mid-1970s and continued to perform for years after that. He had remained active in recent years with a spinoff band called Sugarfoot's Ohio Players.
Marshall Jones, the bass player and a founding member of the Ohio Players, called his bandmates "a bunch of the most creative people - especially Sugarfoot - that I have ever been around."
Jones said after years of playing music, the band's sudden stardom, with No. 1 singles and huge crowds in venues such as the Superdome in New Orleans, was stunning.
"I sit back now, and it was all a brilliant blaze," he said. "I think 'Damn, did I do that?' It was just 'Zoom!' That was a starburst. And like all things like that, it fizzles."
Jones said he, Bonner and other band members were delighted and flattered when "Love Rollercoaster" gained new fans through a 1990s cover by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Bonner had said he learned about music in Hamilton, where he was the oldest of a large family, playing harmonica, learning guitar and sneaking into bars as an adolescent to play with adult musicians. He said he ran away from his home some 20 miles north of Cincinnati at age 14, and told the Hamilton JournalNews in 2009 that he had only gone back there once. He explained he had bad memories of growing up poor.
He wound up in Dayton, where he connected with the players who would form the band. Their lineup changed at times, but featured horns, bass, guitar, drums and keyboards.
While the band used sexual innuendo, Bonner said he didn't relate to some of the explicit lyrics and attitudes of later pop music and rap.
"There is nothing but the old school and the new fools," he said. "It's a shame the way these artists are preaching badness to a drum beat."
Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner
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