Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Sanford Pinsker: Can We Give Professor Conspiracy the Boot? (Irascible Professor)
"Conspiracy theorists" with teaching posts at our colleges and universities have a good deal. They can spend their early afternoons hatching up lame brained scenarios (no "hard evidence" is required because conspirators systematically destroy it) and still pull down a hefty paycheck. Those without academic credentials expose or explain conspiracies without institutional support. Countless numbers of them graze through the blogosphere on their own time and usually in their parents' basements.
Paul Krugman: Still Say's Law After All These Years (New York Times)
What's depressing about all this is that Say's Law is a primitive fallacy - so primitive that Keynes has been accused of attacking a straw man. Yet this primitive fallacy, decisively refuted three quarters of a century ago, continues to play a central role in distorting economic discussion and crippling our policy response to depression.
Scott Burns: What Readers Want: More Taxpayers, Completely Different Taxes (AssetBuilder)
If our elected representatives listened to the people who vote for them, we'd have a radically different tax system. That's the message from nearly 600 reader responses to a recent column.
Mark Shields: The GOP's Lost Youth (Creators Syndicate)
Who the president is when we first come of voting age - and whether we see that president as a successful leader - strongly influences our future voting allegiances.
Henry Rollins: The GOP's Disdain for Women Is Appalling (LA Weekly)
The Seneca Falls Convention in July 1848 was one of the first organized meetings of American women on the topic of voting rights and other matters of gender equality. At the time of the two-day event, the Civil War and the resulting 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution were years away. Probably none of the women in attendance lived to see the 19th amendment pass in 1920, which would have given them the right to vote.
Kim Willsher: Emmanuelle Riva, 85, star of Amour, tells of her extraordinary life (Guardian)
Emmanuelle Riva is not given to sentimental nonsense. Finding herself an international star at 85, however, does have a fairytale element about it, admits the surprise star of the surprise hit French film "Amour."
Michael Johnson: Epstein's Kaleidoscope (Open Letters Monthly)
Joseph Epstein's essay collections are among the most tattered books in my library, worn out as they are from reading and rereading. His new collection, "Essays in Biography," arrived recently and is already a mess of dog-ears and pencil marks.
Water balloon fight costs
Withrow its prom… she warned them that prom would be canceled if they proceeded. "I didn't think they were going to do it. I really thought they valued their prom," said Johnson. But toward the end of the lunch period, one student stood up and the water fight was on.
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, but on the cold side.
Leslie Loses An Hour
CNN
CNN slotted new anchor Jake Tapper's upcoming show for 4 p.m. on weekdays, cutting Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room" back one hour, a CNN spokeswoman told TheWrap.
Tapper, lured away from ABC News in December, was CNN boss Jeff Zucker's first major hire since taking charge of the network. Now, with his own show coming in March, Blitzer's program will but cut from three hours to two as it moves to the 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. time slot.
Last month, Turner Broadcasting posted LinkedIn job openings for a senior producer at a new daily program called "Tapper."
And on Monday, CNN named Federico Quadrani, MSNBC's executive producer of "Jansing and Company," as the show's new executive producer.
CNN
Early Renewals
The CW
The CW's hit freshman superhero drama "Arrow" has hit its mark for a second season.
"Arrow" has been renewed by the CW, along with older series "The Vampire Diaries" and "Supernatural," CW president Mark Pedowitz said Monday.
A modern retelling of the Green Arrow comic-book saga, "Arrow," which airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m., premiered in October 2012 for the CW's best series premiere in 2009 and is currently the network's most-watched series. Its October premiere racked up 4 million total viewers, and scored a 1.3 rating/4 share in the key 18-49 demographic -- a particularly strong showing in the demo for the network, which has traditionally skewed toward a younger female audience.
"The Vampire Diaries," meanwhile, is entering its fifth season, while "Supernatural" is heading into its ninth season.
The CW
28 Million TV Viewers
Grammys
Some 28.1 million Americans watched the Grammy Awards show on television, a predictable 30 percent drop from last year's emotion-filled ceremony following the death of singer Whitney Houston, according to ratings data on Monday.
Despite the lower numbers, Sunday's 3-1/2-hour show broadcast live on CBS was the second-largest TV audience for the music industry's big night since 1993, and many critics gave the show a thumbs up.
In the absence of new music from big names such as Lady Gaga or Beyonce, Sunday's Grammy show highlighted rising stars and younger artists and spread the top prizes over a wide variety of acts.
Many of the winners and performers found themselves high on the iTunes sales chart on Monday, with Justin Timberlake leading the charge with pre-orders for his upcoming album "The 20/20 Experience," his first since 2006.
Grammys
Sets Series Ratings Record
"The Walking Dead"
The zombies keep getting stronger.
AMC's hit "The Walking Dead" set a series record Sunday night with 12.3 million viewers. The show was returning from a hiatus, and the Nielsen Co. said it beats the series' previous record of 10.9 million for its third season debut last October.
More than half of Sunday's viewers, or 7.7 million, were in the youthful demographic of people ages 18 to 49. Nielsen says a cable series has never reached that big an audience in that age group.
That's impressive by broadcast standards, too. While "NCIS" on CBS was the most popular drama on the air with 22 million viewers the previous week, fewer than 5 million of those viewers were under 50.
"The Walking Dead"
Her Sister, The Rabbi
Sarah Silverman
Israeli police Monday detained 10 women, including the sister of American comic Sarah Silverman, as they tried to pray at a Jerusalem holy site, the head of a liberal Jewish women's group said.
Anat Hoffman, who was among those detained, said the women were stopped because they were wearing religious garb that Orthodox Judaism reserves for men only. The incident occurred at the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites.
Silverman's sister Susan, a Jerusalem rabbi from the liberal Reform stream of Judaism, was detained along with her teenage daughter.
The women belong to "Women of the Wall," a liberal group that goes to the Western Wall each month to worship. They conduct certain rituals, such as wearing prayer shawls and skullcaps and singing out loud, practices reserved for men under strict Orthodox interpretations of Judaism. Hoffman, who was among those detained, is chairwoman of the group.
Sarah Silverman
Invited To Obama Speech
Nugent
A Republican congressman says he's invited rocker Ted Nugent (R-Crusty Pantied Draft Dodger), who has referred to President Barack Obama's administration as "evil, America-hating," to the State of the Union address.
Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas said Monday on his website that Nugent will be his guest for the president's speech Tuesday night. Stockman has talked of impeaching Obama over his gun control proposals.
In a speech to the National Rifle Association during the 2012 campaign, Nugent said that if Obama were re-elected, the longtime gun-control opponent would either be "dead or in jail."
Nugent's remarks led to meetings with representatives of the Secret Service.
Nugent
French Honor
Bruce Willis
Actor Bruce Willis (R-Bad Tipper) has been awarded the Commander of the Arts in France for his contribution to cinema.
The 57-year-old, whose latest film is "A Good Day to Die Hard," told the Paris ceremony Monday night that he feels honored that his work has been recognized. His attended the event with his wife, Emma Heming.
Willis was born in Europe and said he feels at home in France. But the star said he opposes President Francois Hollande's plan to tax the richest at 75 percent and hopes he would be able to complain about it if he lived in France.
Willis also said in an interview that he thinks there'll be more "Die Hard" movies to come. The one out now is the fifth.
Bruce Willis
"Nash Bridges" Lawsuit
Don Johnson
Don Johnson has ended his lawsuit against the company that co-produced his series "Nash Bridges" after it paid him $19 million.
In 2010, Rysher Productions was ordered to pay Johnson $23 million in profits for the show and interest. Rysher was also ordered to pay an additional $28.5 million in interest.
But Rysher appealed, alleging jury misconduct and that the amount of interest to which Johnson was entitled was calculated incorrectly. Jurors had initially decided to award Johnson $15 million before deciding, through their calculations, that he was entitled to far more.
Last year, the California Court of Appeal agreed with Rysher, saying Johnson should receive just $15 million, plus interest as of July 2010, when the verdict was handed down. The larger dollar amount factored in interest that would have started accruing years before the verdict.
Don Johnson
Warner Brothers Capitalizing
"Argo"
"Argo," which seems to have been snatching up every award in sight lately, would be the front-runner in this one, too, if it existed: Best Use of a Sudden Slew of Honors.
Ben Affleck's Iran hostage thriller has been in release since October 12, but following the Oscar nominations on January 10 - and subsequent honors from the Producers Guild, Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild and BAFTA - the box-office grosses have risen in four of the last five weeks. It's domestic total is $123.7 million, and nearly $14 million of that has come since the nominations - in weeks 14 through 18.
"Argo" established itself as a hit when it opened in 3,232 theaters, its largest distribution to date, to $19 million and two weeks later took the No. 1 weekend spot in its third week. It cemented that status in late November when it crossed the $100 million mark, but that was quite a while ago. And in the first week of 2013, "Argo" nearly dropped out of sight. It was down to 302 theaters, grossed less than $800,000 and fell out of the top 20 films.
But this past weekend, it grossed $2.5 million after Warner Bros. added 470 theaters to raise the location count to 1,405, and returned to the top ten for the first time since Thanksgiving. For some exhibitors, this is the second booking for "Argo," and that's unusual.
"Argo"
Price Hits Record High
Movie Tickets
Movie-going got more expensive last year with ticket prices hitting record highs in 2012, the National Association of Theatre Owners said Monday.
The average ticket price hit $7.96, a three-cent bump from last year, but still the biggest annual number when not adjusted for inflation.
For the fourth quarter of 2012, 3D releases, such as "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" and "Rise of the Guardians," pushed ticket prices to $8.05. That was a 3.4 percent bump from the $7.78 cents audiences shelled out on average over the three months ending in September.
It was not, however, a record. In the second quarter of 2012, ticket prices hit unprecedented levels, averaging $8.12.
Movie Tickets
Antarctic Voyage Re-Enacted
Ernest Shackleton
It's been lauded as one of the greatest survival stories of all-time.
Nearly 100 years later, a group of British and Australian adventurers have discovered why. They re-enacted Ernest Shackleton's journey to save his crew when their ship got stuck and sank in Antarctica's icy waters.
Tim Jarvis and Barry "Baz" Gray reached an old whaling station on remote South Georgia island Monday, 19 days after leaving Elephant Island. Just as Shackleton did in 1916, Jarvis and his team sailed 800 nautical miles (1,300 kilometers) across the Southern Ocean in a small lifeboat and then climbed over crevasse-filled mountains in South Georgia.
The modern-day team of six used similar equipment and clothes. But the harsh conditions forced several of them to abandon their attempt along the way.
"It was epic, really epic, and we've arrived here against the odds," Jarvis told his project manager Kim McKay after reaching the station, adding that "we had more than 20 crevasse falls up to our knees and Baz fell into a crevasse up to his armpits."
Ernest Shackleton
In Memory
Donald Byrd
Jazz musician Donald Byrd, a leading hard-bop trumpeter of the 1950s who collaborated on dozens of albums with top artists of his time and later enjoyed commercial success with hit jazz-funk fusion records such as "Black Byrd," has died. He was 80.
Byrd, who was also a pioneer in jazz education, attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit, played in military bands in the Air Force and moved to New York in 1955. The trumpeter, whose given name was Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, rose to national prominence when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers later that year, filling the seat in the bebop group held by his idol Clifford Brown.
He soon became one of the most in-demand trumpeters on the New York scene, playing with Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. He also began his recording career by leading sessions for Savoy and other labels.
In 1958, he signed an exclusive recording contract with the Blue Note label and formed a band with a fellow Detroit native, baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, making their label debut with the 1959 album "Off to the Races." The band became one of the leading exponents of the hard-bop style, which evolved from bebop and blended in elements of R&B, soul and gospel music. A 1961 recording, "Free Form," brought attention to a promising young pianist, Herbie Hancock.
In the 1960s, Byrd, who had received his master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, turned his attention to jazz education. He studied in Paris with composer Nadia Boulanger, became the first person to teach jazz at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and started the jazz studies department at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Byrd began moving toward a more commercial sound with the funk-jazz fusion album "Fancy Free" in 1969, taking a path followed by fellow trumpeters Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. He teamed up with the Mizell brothers to release "Black Byrd" in 1973, a blend of jazz, R&B and funk that became Blue Note's highest selling album at the time.
Byrd invited several of his best students at Howard to join a jazz-fusion group called the Blackbyrds that reached a mainstream audience with a sound heavy on R&B and rock influences. The band landed in the Top 10 on the R&B charts with the mid-'70s albums "Street Lady," ''Stepping Into Tomorrow" and "Place and Spaces."
In 1982, Byrd, who also had a law degree, received his doctorate from New York's Teachers College, Columbia University, and turned his attention from performing to education. Byrd, a longtime resident of Teaneck, N.J., was a distinguished scholar at William Paterson University and twice served as an artist-in-residence at Delaware State University.
Byrd didn't have much training in mathematics but created a groundbreaking curriculum called Music + Math (equals) Art, in which he transformed notes into numbers to simultaneously teach music and math.
In the late '80s and early '90s, he returned to playing hard-bop on several albums for the Landmark label, which also featured saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Joe Henderson.
He performed on Guru's 1993 jazz-rap album, "Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1," and his recordings were sampled on more than 100 hip-hop songs by such performers as Black Moon, Nas, Ludacris and A Tribe Called Quest.
In 2000, the National Endowment for the Arts recognized Byrd as a Jazz Master, the nation's highest jazz honor.
Donald Byrd
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