Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Joe Bob Briggs: Forget the Mueller Report, I Want the Ames Report (Taki's Mag)
So after two years of Mueller Reporting, what we know is: (a) Everything worth knowing was leaked to The New York Times in real time and so we already heard it months ago. (b) There are insane people among us who are disappointed that the president is not a conniving traitor and is merely a conniving businessman and a conniving politician. (c) It's exactly what it looked like from the beginning. Trump seemed like an attractive target for Russian Intelligence and they played him like a balalaika.
Paul Waldman: Spare us the lectures from Democratic candidates about how Democratic voters are the problem (Washington Post)
If you thought we were past the tiresome "How can Democrats appeal to Trump-loving Trump voters in Trump Country?" conversation, I'm going to disappoint you. [
] if you're a Democratic candidate and you get asked about what Midwest voters think or how Democrats should appeal to them, maybe the first thing out of your mouth shouldn't be that the real problem is that Democrats are out of touch.
Paul Waldman: Republicans would love to ignore health care. Trump won't let them. (Washington Post)
After Republicans failed spectacularly to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017, many of them surely saw a silver lining. At least we won't have to talk about this anymore, some no doubt said to each other. Democrats will criticize us on the issue of health care as they regularly do, but we can spend our time on the things we care about, such as coming up with new tax cuts or thinking of ways to curb environmental protections. But President Trump just won't let them let it go
Matthew Yglesias: "Elizabeth Warren's plan to make farming great again, explained: A crackdown on agribusiness conglomerates, and more." (Vox)
Continuing her streak as the 2020 presidential cycle's most policy-rich candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) rolled out a package of proposals on Wednesday designed to boost the fortunes of America's small farmers, instead of the agribusiness giants who increasingly control the sector.
Gerda: If You Thought College Admission Scandal Was Bad, This Woman's Post About Rich People Buying Her Writing Services Will Show It's Worse (Bored Panda)
The American Dream has slowly but surely turned into the American Nightmare; the notion that anybody, regardless of wealth, race or social class, can make it to the top has become thoroughly discredited.
Book Excerpt: A Woman Will Stop at Nothing to Be 'The Perfect Girlfriend' (Flavorwire)
In Karen Hamilton's addictive thriller, a young woman will do anything to get her ex-boyfriend back.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
answered:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
David E Suggests
Cadbury
David
Thanks, Dave!
from Bruce
Anecdotes
When he was 15 years old, Anton Dolin studied under dance teacher Nicolas Legat, who always called him by the nickname "Piccadilly." Mr. Dolin didn't understand the meaning of the nickname until they were traveling on a bus together. When the bus passed Piccadilly Circus, Mr. Legat pointed in its direction, and Mr. Dolin saw that he was pointing at a status of Eros.
When Ian Fleming was looking for a simple, but solid, name for a British spy character in his novels, he looked over his book collection and found the perfect name in the ornithologist author of Birds of the West Indies: James Bond. Mr. Fleming met Mr. Bond after his books had made the name "James Bond" famous. Fortunately, Mr. Bond regarded it all as great fun.
Suzanne Farrell was a great admirer of ballerina Diana Adams. Once, Ms. Adams gave her a pin of a mouse with painted whiskers and a long tail. Thereafter, Ms. Farrell pinned the mouse - despite its scratchy tail - inside her bra for good luck at important ballets. In addition, Ms. Farrell named her diary, to which she confided her inmost thoughts, "Diana."
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese were poems intended to be read only by her husband, Robert Browning, but because of their high quality, he insisted that they be published. The sonnets were not translated from Portuguese. Instead, the poems received this particular title because Mr. Browning called his wife, who had a dark complexion, "my little Portuguese."
Count Kayserling suffered from insomnia, and so he asked Johann Gottlieb Goldberg to provide music that he could listen to as he fell asleep. Because Goldberg was a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach, he asked him to compose some special music for this purpose. To help his pupil, Bach composed an aria with 30 variations - today it is known as the Goldberg Variations.
In Jones County in West Texas is a mountain called Phantom Hill that General Robert E. Lee supposedly named. General Lee wanted to ride to the mountain, which he supposed was a hill only a few miles away, but after riding toward it for several hours and apparently being no closer to it than when he started, he gave it its name.
H. Allen Smith once wrote a book titled People Named Smith. This was a financial move on his part, as he knew that if only five percent of the Smiths in the United States bought the book, he would be able to retire rich. Unfortunately, he discovered that "almost everyone named Smith is either (1) stingy, or (2) illiterate, or (3) both."
Wonderful nicknames have been used to refer to young ballet students. In Paris, the children who studied ballet at the Paris Opera were known as "les petits rats" - the short rats. In America, young female ballet students are often known as "bun heads" because of the way they wear their hair.
Captain John Smith was an explorer of note, and an island he discovered near Cape Charles was named "Smith Island" after him. However, Captain Smith wasn't happy with the island chosen to honor him, and he complained, "Why, I could spit across it."
In Rudolf Nureyev's production of La Bayadere is a dance named "Adagio with Gauze for Solor and Nikiya" in which the characters Solor and Nikiya dance while holding the opposite ends of a long white scarf. Some ballet fans have re-named this dance the "Toilet-Paper Variation."
Neither Bud Abbott nor Lou Costello could remember names very well. Mr. Abbott called almost everyone "Neighbor," and Mr. Costello called almost everyone "Tootsie." One of their writers, Leonard Stern, introduced his wife to Mr. Costello as Mrs. Tootsie.
Fred Astaire had a pet cockatiel that he named Gregory - after a famous movie star - because it Pecked.
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Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Suggestion
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Current Events
Friend Don shared the link below. It's beautiful and soul soothing!
Each flower is filmed for two days, and photos are collated within 7 minutes to get the effect.
Video is about 2 minutes long. Enjoy the Dance of the Flowers as they bloom.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
So, my 'good' computer - the one that can zip around the internets - is back in the shop.
2 of the little plastic clips (out of 4) on the fan housing were cracked and crumbling, and must be replaced.
Today's page is pasted together from 4 different computers (Windows XP, 7, 8 & 10) and 1 cheesy old tablet.
The old computer I use to put the page together is fine, so there'll be a page tomorrow, but it'll probably be a bit thin.
Looks like I won't have fulltime access to a fully functioning computer until Wednesday.
Surgery Postpones Tour?
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger will undergo surgery to replace a valve in his heart, Rolling Stone confirmed. As a result of the procedure and recovery period, the Rolling Stones postponed the North American leg of their No Filter tour, which ran from April 20th to July 29th.
When the postponement was initially announced, a rep for the band said, "Mick Jagger has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment. The doctors have advised Mick that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible."
Drudge Report first reported news of the heart valve surgery, adding that the procedure will take place Friday in New York and that Jagger is expected to make a full recovery and return to touring this summer. Despite the impending procedure, paparazzi caught Jagger in good spirits Sunday when the singer and his family visited Miami.
Ronnie Wood tweeted following the postponement, "We'll miss you over the next few weeks, but we're looking forward to seeing you all again very soon. Here's to Mick ~ thanks for your supportive messages it means so much to us."
Keith Richards added, "A big disappointment for everyone but things need to be taken care of and we will see you soon. Mick, we are always there for you!"
Mick Jagger
Jukebox Musical To Launch
Queen
Prepare to be rocked once more. Hot on the heels of Bohemian Rhapsody and its multiple Oscar wins, the rock musical We Will Rock You, inspired by the music of Queen, will launch a North American tour later this year, producers announced Monday. The tour will kick off Sept. 3 in Winnipeg, Canada, with other stops to include Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Denver, and Cincinnati.
With a book by Ben Elton, the musical first opened in London's West End in 2002, and toured North America previously in 2013. Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May helped develop the show, which incorporates many of Queen's biggest hits including "Radio Ga Ga," "Another One Bites the Dust," "Killer Queen," and, naturally, "We Will Rock You." The musical also features an original story line, following a group of revolutionaries who rebel against an oppressive, tech-based regime that has squashed rock music.
Casting for the tour is currently underway. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 5.
Queen
Angers Fascist's Granddaughter
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey has returned to acting with projects such as the Showtime comedy series "Kidding" and the upcoming family tentpole "Sonic the Hedgehog," but that doesn't mean he's giving up his second career as a painter. One of the actor's latest paintings depicted the executions of Benito Mussolini and his lover Claretta, accompanied by the following caption: "If you're wondering what fascism leads to, just ask Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta."
Carrey's painting showed Mussolini's body hanging upside down, which occurred in real life after he was shot by partisans and his body was brought to the Piazzale Loreto in Milan, Italy. The image received a fiery response on social media from Alessandra Mussolini, Benito's granddaughter. The politician snapped back at Carrey, replying, "You are a bastard."
The response went viral with over 13,000 likes and sparked a debate in Alessandra's replies. One tense back and forth came courtesy of political communications professional Evan O'Connell, who wrote to Alessandra, "I think you're confusing Jim Carrey with your murderous grandfather." O'Connell also noted, "My grandfather fought to liberate Europe from people like your grandfather."
Carrey's political paintings have been known to spark controversy, especially since he often uses his artwork to criticize Donald Trump and Republican officials in the White House. Last summer, Carrey earned backlash after painting an image of Trump's grave being urinated on. Perhaps Carrey's most controversial artwork was his portrait of White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, which became a national point of debate in March 2018.
As for Carrey's acting career, he's currently a frontrunner to land an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on "Kidding." The half-hour Showtime series is returning for a second season later this year. Carrey will be playing the villainous Robotnik in "Sonic," in theaters November 8.
Jim Carrey
Slammed WWE
John Oliver
John Oliver called out Vince McMahon and the WWE on Sunday for their treatment of wrestlers and their status as "independent contractors" with the company.
During an extended segment on "Last Week Tonight," Oliver explained how WWE was able to avoid providing wrestlers with benefits including paid leave and medical expenses by designating its employees as independent contractors.
Oliver notes that the company's claim that wrestlers are independent contractors is flimsy when compared to the legal definition of the term. He also gave numerous examples of wrestlers who have felt as though the company had taken advantage of them, before closing the segment by calling on fans to make their voice heard with chants and signs at WrestleMania to let McMahon know that they care about the treatment of their favorite WWE performers.
In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, WWE claimed that Oliver "simply ignored the facts" during the broadcast.
WWE ended its statement by inviting Oliver to WrestleMania on Sunday to "learn more about our company."
John Oliver
Under Investigation
David Blaine
David Blaine is reportedly under investigation by the NYPD over claims he sexually assaulted at least two women. A senior official told The Daily Beast that detectives with the Special Victims Unit recently took statements from two alleged victims. The New York Post also confirmed the investigation.
The NYPD wouldn't comment specifically on the case when reached by Yahoo Entertainment, but Sergeant Jessica McRorie said in a statement: "The NYPD takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors."
According to The Daily Beast report, at least one of the accusations may fall outside the statute of limitations as a woman alleged the incident took place in 1998. She apparently told detectives she was sexually assaulted by the famous magician inside his Manhattan apartment, according to a person familiar with her complaint.
Blaine, 45, told The Daily Beast he has no comment and he has not been approached by police. He has not been charged with a crime.
The allegation was reported to police, but Scotland Yard took no further action after investigating the allegation.
David Blaine
Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Impact
North Dakota
A fossil site in North Dakota records a stunningly detailed picture of the devastation minutes after an asteroid slammed into Earth about 66 million years ago, a group of paleontologists argue in a paper due out this week. Geologists have theorized that the impact, near what is now the town of Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatαn Peninsula, played a role in the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, when all the dinosaurs (except birds) and much other life on Earth vanished.
If the team, led by Robert DePalma, a graduate student in paleontology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, is correct, it has uncovered a record of apocalyptic destruction 3000 kilometers from Chicxulub. At the site, called Tanis, the researchers say they have discovered the chaotic debris left when tsunamilike waves surged up a river valley. Trapped in the debris is a jumbled mess of fossils, including freshwater sturgeon that apparently choked to death on glassy particles raining out of the sky from the fireball lofted by the impact.
"That's the first ever evidence of the interaction between life on the last day of the Cretaceous and the impact event," says team member Phillip Manning, a paleontologist at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. The deposit may also provide some of the strongest evidence yet that nonbird dinosaurs were still thriving on impact day.
"Outcrops like [this] are the reasons many of us are drawn to geology," says David Kring, a geologist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, who wasn't a member of the research team. "Those few meters of rock record the wrath of the Chicxulub impact and the devastation it caused." But not everyone has fully embraced the find, perhaps in part because it was first announced to the world last week in an article in The New Yorker. The paper, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), does not include all the scientific claims mentioned in The New Yorker story, including that numerous dinosaurs as well as fish were buried at the site.
"I hope this is all legit-I'm just not 100% convinced yet," says Thomas Tobin, a geologist at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Tobin says the PNAS paper is densely packed with detail from paleontology, sedimentology, geochemistry, and more. "No one is an expert on all of those subjects," he says, so it's going to take a few months for the research community to digest the findings and evaluate whether they support such extraordinary conclusions.
North Dakota
Climate Change
Neanderthals
Their bones were discovered in a cave in Southeastern France in the 1990s. All up, six Neanderthals: two adults, two adolescents, and two children.
Across Europe, there are over 200 sites that feature the ancient remains of Neanderthals such as these, but few of them tell the same grisly story this cave contains, according to a new archaeological analysis.
Whoever they were, the way these ancient humans left the world some 120,000 to 130,000 years ago could well have been marked by desperation, hunger, and savage brutality.
Why? Because these long-gone Neanderthals lived during the last interglacial period - a time when the world was swiftly transitioning from an ice age into a much hotter climate.
"The change of climate from the glacial period to the last interglacial was very abrupt," palaeontologist Emmanuel Desclaux from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) told Cosmos.
Neanderthals
A Very Odd Particle
Odderon
It sounds like the start of a very bad physics riddle: I'm a particle that really isn't; I vanish before I can even be detected, yet can be seen. I break your understanding of physics but don't overhaul your knowledge. Who am I?
It's an odderon, a particle that's even more odd than its name suggests, and it may have recently been detected at the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful atom smasher, where particles are zipped at near light speed around a 17-mile-long (27 kilometers) ring near Geneva in Switzerland.
First off, the odderon is not really a particle. What we think of as particles are usually very stable: electrons, protons, quarks, neutrinos and so on. You can hold a bunch of them in your hand and carry them around with you. Heck, your hand is literally made of them. And your hand isn't vanishing into thin air anytime soon, so we can probably safely assume that its fundamental particles are in for the long term.
There are other particles that don't last long but still get to be called particles. Despite their short lifetimes, they remain particles. They're free, independent and able to live on their own, separate from any interactions - those are the hallmarks of a real particle.
And then there is the so-called quasiparticle, which is just one step above being not-a-particle-at-all. Quasiparticles aren't exactly particles, but they're not exactly fiction, either. It's just
complicated. [The 18 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]
Odderon
Roamed the Warm, Forested Arctic
Crested Duck-Billed Dinosaurs
Some 69 million years ago, the Arctic was a relatively warm, forested place, home to roaming herds of duck-billed dinosaurs, feathered raptor-like theropods and even members of the tyrannosaur family.
Now, scientists have discovered a duck-billed dinosaur fossil in Alaska's North Slope that reveals that these animals were more diverse than previously believed. The skull fragment comes from a lambeosaurine, which is a type of crested duck-billed dinosaur. Previously, the only duck-bills known from the Cretaceous Arctic were hadrosaurs, or non-crested duck-billed dinosaurs.
"This new discovery illustrates the geographic link between lambeosaurines of North America and the Far East," study leader Ryuji Takasaki, a paleontologist from Hokkaido University in Japan, said in a statement. "Hopefully, further work in Alaska will reveal how closely the dinosaurs of Asia and North America are connected."
The new fossil is in the collection of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. It consists of a chunk of skull from a single dinosaur, found in the Liscomb Bonebed in the remote North Slope of Alaska. The fossils in this bone bed date to approximately 69 million years ago, and more than 6,000 bones and bone fragments have been found there.
The vast majority of the bones belong to hadrosaurines, duck-billed dinosaurs that are often found along coastal flats or river deltas. That's what the Liscomb Bonebed area was in the Cretaceous. The new fossil, though, has skull features that don't match the hadrosaur group. Instead, the skull fits in with a group called the lambeosaurines, which are distinguished by the hollow crests on the tops of their heads.
Crested Duck-Billed Dinosaurs
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