Recommended Reading
from Bruce
NASA Celebrates Earth Day With Stunning Photos Of, You Guessed It...Earth (talkingpointsmemo.com)
Lawrence Wright: What happens when you try to leave the Church of Scientology? (Guardian)
The story of film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis's resignation.
Jim Hightower: Run, Donnie, Run
This is beyond fabulous. It is exquisite. Donnie Trump - the flaming ego with feral hair - is drumming up a presidential run for himself!
Robert Reich: Beware the "Middle Ground" of the Great Budget Debate
And if people knew that the Ryan plan would channel hundreds of billions of their Medicare dollars into the pockets of private for-profit heath insurers, almost everyone would be against it. The Republican plan shouldn't be considered one side of a great debate. It shouldn't be considered at all. Americans don't want it.
Jane Margolies: Good Art for Small People (Wall Street Journal)
Bye-bye, Buzz Lightyear and fairy-tale princesses-wall decoration for kids' rooms has gotten more sophisticated.
Lucy Mangan: Common sense doesn't grow on trees, you know (Guardian)
I would have to class myself with the 50% of today's children who are not entirely sure how broccoli grows.
Anna Brones: "Michael Pollan: It's Not So Much What We Eat, As How We Eat It"
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. With other people. In a way that respects and honors the food in front of you.
Rosanna Greenstreet: "Q&A: Marianne Faithfull" (Guardian)
'Oh, I don't have sex any more. I've given up.'
Ronnie Wood: Second life (Guardian)
There's the young girlfriend, the Hoxton flat, the new veneers, the radio show... At 63, Ronnie Wood is starting again, he tells Simon Hattenstone.
MARTIN BANDYKE: "Stooges devotee: Henry Rollins reflects on the enduring influence of Iggy and his mates" (Detroit Free Press)
Henry Rollins didn't have to think very long when he was asked to be part of the upcoming Iggy and the Stooges performance in honor of the band's founding guitarist, the late Ron Asheton. "I said 'yes' about as fast as humanly possible," says Rollins, …
Henry Rollins' Five Essential Stooges songs (Detroit Free Press)
"1969": "It captures perfectly boredom, pent-up aggression and the uncertainty of being alive and of draft age in 1969. You're watching people leave your neighborhood and not come home. Wayne Kramer (of the MC5) told me about how you would see your friend from high school, the quarterback, your friend from down the street, he'd go (to Vietnam) and that was it. He came back in a box."-Henry Rollins
David Bruce has 41 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $41 you can buy 10,250 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
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From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Moslty sunny and a lot warmer.
Sells Sunset Studio
KCET
Financially strapped KCET-TV has sold its landmark Sunset Boulevard studio to the Church of Scientology for an undisclosed price, the station said.
KCET will remain at 4401 W. Sunset Blvd. for as much as a year while searching for a new base of operations. The station is in discussions with several production facilities it might move into as a tenant or owner, President Al Jerome said.
The Church of Scientology said the acquisition would expand its audiovisual capabilities and enable it to move further into broadcast production.
The studio includes two sound stages, extensive post-production facilities and modern TV, satellite and Internet broadcasting capabilities, the church said.
Los Angeles-based KCET, which is struggling to rebuild viewership after its recent split from PBS, plans to move its operations to a smaller location, real estate brokers said last month.
KCET
Saving Books
Rock Music
From Keith Richards' assertion that he really did snort his father's ashes to Sammy Hagar's revelation that he's been abducted by aliens, out-there autobiographies by aging rock stars are helping to fuel the ailing book-publishing business.
"There's clearly a demand," says Mauro DiPreta, vp of It Books, which published Hagar's current New York Times best-seller "Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock." The former Van Halen frontman was paid about $3 million (Richards pocketed a reported $7 million for his memoir, "Life").
"What you have with a book is a memento," DiPreta adds. "You can buy a CD, but you've probably heard the songs many times already. You can bid on a used Eric Clapton guitar. But for $25, you get to hear all the stories, not only behind the songs but how these guys lived."
Says literary agent Sarah Lazin, who specializes in music-themed titles: "Publishers are looking for an automatic fan base so they can just plug into it. Right now, I have four deals with a major agency where they have the star and I have the writer. That's unprecedented."
Rock Music
Cabin In Kansas Needs Repairs
'Home on the Range'
The cabin in north-central Kansas where "Home on the Range" was written is badly in need of repairs, and Kansans are stepping up to try to save it.
Brewster Higley wrote the six-verse poem "My Western Home" at the cabin in Smith County in 1872. It was later put to music and renamed "Home on the Range" and became the Kansas state song.
The cabin is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Wichita Eagle says supporters have raised over $2,000 but that it will take up to $100,000 to rebuild the cabin in an authentic manner.
Orin Friesen, operations manager at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper, says the project will be supported with funds raised at a May 5 concert and the upcoming Prairie Rose Western Days festival.
'Home on the Range'
17 Remaining L.A. Shows Cloaked In Mystery
Prince
Even though Prince is in the early stages of a 21-show stand in Los Angeles -- four down, 17 to go -- it's not at all clear where future shows will be held or where his tour will wrap up.
Prince's current leg began on April 14 at the Forum; his most recent show was at the storied arena on Saturday.
"Everything comes from Prince," says Mark Campana, co-president of North America concerts for Live Nation.
And, as Prince is prone to making quick decisions, the remainder of the tour after L.A., or even when the L.A. run will wrap, is still in the air.
Prince
Injured Actor Rejoins Show
'Spider-Man'
An actor seriously injured at the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" returned to work Monday, only four months after he plummeted 35 feet from an onstage platform.
"I feel amazing," said Christopher Tierney before reporting for rehearsals at the Foxwoods Theatre. He said the accident in December didn't give him second-thoughts about rejoining the stunt heavy show: "I'm ready to put on the harness right now and fly around."
Tierney, 31, suffered a fractured skull, a fractured shoulder blade, four broken ribs and three broken vertebrae on Dec. 20 when he tumbled in front of a shocked preview audience. Taken away from the theater in a stretcher, the actor had to wear a back brace and had eight screws put in his back.
The pins were removed three months early and Tierney said he had been itching to return but had to get doctors to sign off first. He said he was 85 percent to 90 percent fully fit.
'Spider-Man'
Actress Sentenced
Fernanda Romero
A Mexican actress accused of entering a sham marriage to remain in the United States has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for admitting she lied during an immigration proceeding.
U.S. District Judge Manuel Real on Monday sentenced both Fernanda Romero and her husband, Kent Ross, to 30 days in jail that will be served on weekends. The pair had entered guilty pleas to making false statements and faced five years each in federal prison if convicted.
Romero and Ross were arrested last year on suspicion of duping immigration officials about their marital status. A mistrial was declared in September.
Romero had bit roles in U.S. films such as "Drag Me To Hell," but is perhaps best known for appearing in the Mexican soap opera "Eternamente Tuya."
Fernanda Romero
Law Firm Hired By GOP Quits
DOMA
A prominent law firm hired by Republican lawmakers to defend the federal ban on gay marriage said Monday it was withdrawing from the case amid criticism by advocacy groups, prompting the partner leading the work to quit.
The move by Atlanta-based King & Spalding is the latest flashpoint in the public debate over gay rights. Chairman Robert Hays Jr. said the firm chose to divorce itself from the controversy after determining that the decision to take the case wasn't vetted properly, but gay rights groups had also been pressuring the 800-lawyer company with plans for a protest Tuesday in Atlanta and with calls to its other clients. The groups cheered the move.
The decision, however, was sharply criticized by conservative groups, legal observers and the partner who had been handling the case, a former high-ranking Justice Department official under resident George W. Bush. Washington-based attorney Paul Clement said he's moving to another law office so he can continue the work.
Clement had been retained by House Republican leaders after President Barack Obama ordered the Justice Department in February to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. His administration said it believes the 1996 law, which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional.
Weeks later, House Speaker John Boehner said his chamber would take responsibility for defending the law, which has been challenged several times in federal courts in recent years. A House committee voted in March to fund the defense, and officials announced last week that they were retaining Clement at $520 an hour.
DOMA
Commander Unaware Of Sheen Escort
DC
A D.C. police commander was unaware that officers provided actor Charlie Sheen with an escort last week, according to an email obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
In the email sent Wednesday afternoon to other police officials, and in response to questions from the media, Commander Hilton Burton demanded details about the escort given to Sheen on the way to his performance Tuesday at DAR Constitution Hall. Sheen, who flew into Dulles International Airport, was running late for the show after attending a child custody hearing earlier in the day in Los Angeles.
Burton is commander of the department's Special Operations Division, which generally is responsible for providing police escorts.
Sheen posted on Twitter that he had received a police escort to the show and included a photograph of a speedometer registering about 80 mph. His promotional company has repaid the city $445 for the escort.
In response to a series of written questions about the escort, Burton told subordinates in the email, "This is why we should not do escorts for any and every body." Burton also demanded to know the cost of the escort, the "law that allows us to do it," whether security was provided during the show and who approved the escort.
DC
Chicken Restaurant Closes In Iowa
Flavor Flav
A fried chicken restaurant in Iowa founded by Flavor Flav has abruptly closed its doors after the reality TV star and his business partner cut ties and exchanged harsh words.
Flav's Fried Chicken in Clinton, Iowa, closed on Sunday, just four months after opening to much fanfare.
Flav told WQAD-TV that he was pulling a license that allowed restaurant manager Nick Cimino to use his name in the restaurant because he "isn't running the business right." Some former employees had complained they were not paid.
Cimino told the station Flav was "a fraud" who was trying to get rich off of his ideas and work.
Flavor Flav
Musicians Clamor For Answers
Philly Orchestra
The musicians known as the Fabulous Philadelphians are feeling more drab than fab about their management these days.
The Philadelphia Orchestra, counted among the world's most renowned symphonies for most of its 111 years, is plotting steps toward financial harmony after filing for bankruptcy protection, even though it has no outstanding debt and an endowment of $140 million.
As a judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court plans hearings in coming months on the petition, orchestra leaders argue that it's perilously low on cash. They're getting little sympathy from the musicians, who say their bosses simply haven't reached out to the right donors and have put them in the line of fire.
While orchestras, museums and performing arts centers nationwide have been feeling the pinch amid the recession, the Philadelphia Orchestra also suffered from a gap in leadership for the past several years while it sought candidates for vacant positions - now filled - for a permanent board chairman, chief executive and music director.
Long ago dubbed the Fabulous Philadelphians, the orchestra was the first to appear on national television in 1948, the first American orchestra to tour communist China in 1973, and the first to stream a concert over the Internet in 1997. Its hundreds of recordings include the soundtrack to Walt Disney's 1940 film "Fantasia," which helped popularize symphonic music in the U.S.
Philly Orchestra
Digital Copies In Spanish
Archie Comics
Seizing upon Archie's popularity on the printed page, Archie Comics will now offer some of the titles in Spanish for download through its digital storefront.
After 70 years, Archie Comics is the first major publisher to expand its language offerings.
Jon Goldwater, co-chief executive of Archie Comics told The Associated Press the titles - Archie, Veronica & Betty and Jughead, among others - were made available online Monday as part of its digital offerings.
Archie Comics has typically offered up its print editions in a host of different languages, but never before digitally.
Archie Comics
500-Year-Old Book Surfaces In Utah
Nuremberg Chronicle
Book dealer Ken Sanders has seen a lot of nothing in his decades appraising "rare" finds pulled from attics and basements, storage sheds and closets.
Sanders, who occasionally appraises items for PBS's Antiques Roadshow, often employs the "fine art of letting people down gently."
But on a recent Saturday while volunteering at a fundraiser for the small town museum in Sandy, Utah, just south of Salt Lake, Sanders got the surprise of a lifetime.
"Late in the afternoon, a man sat down and started unwrapping a book from a big plastic sack, informing me he had a really, really old book and he thought it might be worth some money," he said. "I kinda start, oh boy, I've heard this before."
Then he produced a tattered, partial copy of the 500-year-old Nuremberg Chronicle. The German language edition printed by Anton Koberger and published in 1493 is a world history beginning in biblical times. It's considered one of the earliest and most lavishly illustrated books of the 15th century.
Nuremberg Chronicle
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