Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Joe Bob Briggs: My Byline Is Joe Bob By-God Briggs (Taki's Magazine)
We used to make fun of anybody who would be so arrogant as to put a byline on his own article. In fact, it was sort of the definition of weirdos in the newsroom: effete literary guys in love with their own prose. Fortunately we had city editors who would blue-pencil a big delete sign across these clumsy attempts at personal credit and say, "Hey, Big Shot, we know your name!"
Mark Kermode: Toy Story 4 review - a franchise still very much alive (The Guardian)
After a hesitant start, the gang gets into top gear on a road trip that showcases the studio's visual wizardry and narrative skill
Inkoo Kang: Toy Story 4 Escapes the Curse of the Feminized Sequel (Slate)
With Bo Peep, the sequel fashions a female hero who's more than just a distaff rehash of the old male ones.
Matthew Rozsa: The beautiful bleakness of the "Toy Story" movies (Salon)
From Woody's first crisis to the existential darkness of Forky, "Toy Story" puts our greatest fears on the table.
Matthew Dessem: Toy Story 4's Forky Has Haunting Metaphysical Implications for the Toy Story Universe (Slate)
A new Toy Story movie [was] in theaters [last] weekend, and as audiences all over the world emerge from another thrilling Pixar adventure with Buzz, Woody, and a newly-independent Bo Peep, one question is on everyone's lips: "What does the introduction of 'Forky,' a homemade toy fashioned from pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and a spork, imply about the nature of consciousness in the sentient toys of the Toy Story universe?" Fortunately, the films offer enough evidence to reach a definitive conclusion. Unfortunately, that conclusion is too awful to contemplate. So let's contemplate it!
Shilpa Ganatra: "From Killing Eve to Game of Thrones: why we all love a rehabilitated villain" (The Guardian)
The plot device of a perceived baddie turning to the good side - even momentarily - has a long history in fiction. Why does it work so well?
Vanessa Thorpe: "'I'll never be a cute object'... Dragon Tattoo star Noomi Rapace on bank heists, sexism and loving England" (The Guardian)
As her latest film, The Captor, is released, the star of the Millennium trilogy tells why she's determined to portray women taking control of their lives.
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Presenting
Michael Egan
responded:
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Bruce
Anecdotes
• On Shavuos, R' Chaim of Sanz assembled several wealthy Jews to hear the kiddush. Before reciting the kiddush, however, it was his custom to lecture on the Torah. This time, he said, "When I was younger, I would give a long and complicated Torah discourse. Now that I am old, I will be brief. I need 1,000 thalers for charity, and this particular cause cannot tolerate any delay. I will not recite the kiddush until you have arranged to donate that amount, each according to his ability, and I want the amount you pledge now, to be brought in tonight." He then left the room to allow the wealthy Jews to discuss and make their pledges. After the 1,000 thalers had been pledged, he returned and recited the kiddush. Afterward, he said, "That Shavuos, I gave an excellent speech."
• Famed theater director Tyrone Guthrie liked to tell this story on himself. He had given an ex tempore speech in Vancouver about theater, but because he had just gotten off a plane and was tired, he had not spoken very well. After the speech, a famous Vancouver eccentric, Mrs. Clegg, approached him and said, "I've been sitting here listening to you for the last 45 minutes, and you haven't said anything. I paid $1.50, and I want my $1.50 back." Mr. Guthrie gave her $1.50.
• R' Meir of Lublin once spoke to raise money for his yeshivah, Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin. Afterwards, he saw a small child who had been in the audience and asked if he had understood the speech. The child replied, "No, I didn't. I only understood one thing: that one must give money." R' Meir smiling and said, "If you caught that, you understood my speech better than many of your elders."
• During World War I, Lord Charles Beresford was one of Winston Churchill's most vocal critics. Mr. Churchill once said of Lord Beresford, "He can best be described as one of those orators who, before they get up, do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, do not know what they are saying; and, when they have sat down, do not know what they have said."
• Benjamin Disraeli often was forced to deal with hecklers. One person shouted, in an attempt to disrupt his speech, "Speak up! I can't hear you." Mr. Disraeli responded, "Truth travels slowly, but it will reach even you in time." On another occasion, someone shouted that Disraeli's rich wife had picked him out of the gutter. Mr. Disraeli responded, "My good fellow, if you were in the gutter, no one would pick you out."
• After John F. Kennedy had been inaugurated in 1961, the man he defeated, Richard Nixon, told Presidential aide Ted Sorensen that he wished he had said some of the things that Mr. Kennedy said in his inaugural speech. "What part?" Mr. Sorensen asked, "That part about 'Ask not what your country can do for you'?" "No," Mr. Nixon replied. "The part that starts, 'I do solemnly swear ….'"
• Winston Churchill made many speeches. Before addressing an audience in the United States, a woman asked him how it felt to have his speeches so well attended. Sir Winston replied, "It's quite flattering, but whenever I feel this way I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big."
• Harry Marten (1602-1680) was known for frequently taking naps during debates in Parliament. When a Member of Parliament proposed that people who nodded off during debates should be gotten rid of, Mr. Marten made a counterproposal: "Mr. Speaker, a motion has been made to turn out the nodders; I desire that the noddees may also be turned out."
• The Maggid of Slutzk, R' Zvi Dainov was known for giving the same speech over and over again, though in different locations. When he was asked why he did this, he replied, "The doctor does the same thing. He writes a prescription for one patient, and writes the exact same prescription for another suffering from the same disease."
• Lady Nancy Astor was one of the few women Members of Parliament. As such, she quickly learned how to defend herself against hecklers. During one of her speeches, a heckler shouted, "Say, Missus, how many toes are there on a pig's foot?" Lady Astor replied, "Take off your boots, man, and count for yourself."
• Lord Tinwald (1680-1763) once spoke to a man named Mr. Lamb, who confessed that although he was a lawyer and often spoke before the court, the act of public speaking still made him nervous. Lord Tinwald replied, "It's nothing unusual that a lamb should grow sheepish."
• G.K. Chesterton was a huge man. Once, while lecturing in America, he heard a gasp at his enormous size as he rose to walk to the podium. Standing behind the amplifier, he told his audience, "At the outset I want to reassure you I am not this size, really - dear no, I'm being amplified."
• Republican Representative Craig Hosmer of California once made a rousing political speech during a campaign for re-election. Afterwards, a voter told him, "I like what you say, and I'll vote for you. Anything would be better than that Congressman we've got now."
• In the good old days, Senator George Vest was making a speech when the gaslights went out. Senator Vest announced, "I shall continue my speech. However, when the last person gets ready to leave the hall, let me know and I'll stop."
• Actress Sybil Thorndike was once introduced by a clergyman in this way: "There is no need for me to introduce Dame Sybil to you - she is well known to you all as a member of the oldest profession in the world."
• In a sermon, Rabbi Michal said, "My words shall be heeded. I do not say: 'You shall heed my words.' I say: 'My words shall be heeded.' I address myself, too! I too must heed my words."
• G.K. Chesterton once belonged to a debating society with the name of I.D.F. The initials stand for "I Don't Know."
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Our national shame
In high school, when we studied the history of World War II, I remember learning about the "I was just doing what I was ordered defense." Strange, but people actually tried to use that as a defense for doing terrible things.
I also remember wondering how the people in Germany could be unaware of what was happening--or if they had any awareness, how could they just stand by while their government and military did these awful things?
How, I wondered? How could that happen? How could so many people stand by while it was happening?
I wonder no more. I see it happening right now. Every day it gets worse. Every day Predator and Stephen Miller inflict more cruelty and inhumanity. And the citizens of my country are standing by. Nor have I made an attempt to disembowel the bastard in the WH or his neo-Nazi minion.
"One day, God willing, my grandchildren will click open their history textbooks and read about the Central American migrant internment camps. They'll learn about sick kids, locked in cages, kept hungry and dirty and cold for weeks on end, and they'll be horrified.
"Bubbie," they'll say, "how could this happen in America? How could there be toddlers sleeping on the ground without blankets, without soap or toothbrushes to clean themselves?"
"I don't know. I wish I had done more. I'm ashamed."
Sarah Fabian, Garbage Human Being:
She didn't make this heinous policy, and she can't change it. But she could have refused to take part in it. And she didn't.
Please spare me your analogies to a criminal lawyer who represents a rapist, or a murderer, or a child molester. Criminal defendants have the constitutional right to counsel, and our adversarial system of justice depends on it. Fabian, on the other hand, represents the most powerful government in the world making a technical, legal argument to achieve grotesquely immoral ends. Quitting wouldn't deprive the government of representation, it would simply show that she herself was not willing to participate in crimes against humanity.
Everyone ought to read the short article linked below. I'm going to make yet another contribution to the
ACLU ( https://www.aclu.org/ ) and
Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org/en/ ). I am ashamed.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
JD is on vacation.
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Found a couple of caterpillars, but the dreaded wasps showed up and ate them. Argh.
Eliminated From WSOP
James Holzhauer
Moments before playing high-stakes poker for the first time in more than a decade Wednesday, "Jeopardy!" sensation James Holzhauer said his strategy was simply not to embarrass himself at the World Series of Poker at the Rio Convention Center.
The Las Vegas professional sports bettor quickly accomplished his mission, winning the first hand he played in the $1,500 buy-in Super Turbo Bounty No-limit Hold'em tournament when his pocket pair beat an ace-high hand.
The humble Holzhauer, who graciously signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans in breaks in the action, was almost in the money close to six hours later when he was knocked out of the 1,867-player event on back-to-back bad beats.
Holzhauer had a stack of about $86,000 and a pair of pocket 7s when he called a $75,000 all-in bet. His opponent turned over a pair of 5s and was dealt another 5 on the flop for a winning three of a kind.
After Holzhauer lost in the Super Turbo Bounty, he headed straight across the convention center to another room to tag partner Mike Sexton, the Poker Hall of Famer who paid his entry fees in his role as chairman of partypoker.
James Holzhauer
Took Aim
John Oliver
HBO's John Oliver took aim at Fox News' Greg Gutfeld on Sunday night, blasting the co-host of The Five for downplaying the human cost of a potential war with Iran as "just a video game."
Opening his broadcast of Last Week Tonight, Oliver noted President Trump nearly "brought us on the brink of war" after Iran downed an unmanned American drone. After pointing out that Trump had a last-minute change of heart and canceled a military strike, the comedian said Trump had found himself stuck between "warring factions" in both his administration and his favorite news network when deciding whether to attack Iran.
"Some anchors were very pro-war, like Sean Hannity, while Greg Gutfeld had an interesting theory as to why war with Iran would be virtually painless," Oliver said, playing a clip of Gutfeld dismissing concerns about war.
"We are now in a time where it doesn't matter how large your population is because the population is no longer expendable in war," the Fox News personality said last week. "It's now about the machines that you have. Drones are now replacing bones, so it will be stuff versus stuff, and fortunately for us, we have the best stuff."
"That is breathtakingly stupid," the HBO star said. "If someone said that to me at a dinner party, my response would be, 'Excuse me, this child is drunk. someone gave him wine-I don't know who-but he's ranting like a lunatic about how war is all stuff versus stuff now. He needs to be put to bed.'"
John Oliver
Applies for New Site
Woodstock 50
Woodstock 50 has applied for a new site for its troubled anniversary music festival, which is scheduled to take place the weekend of Aug. 16-18 - although it will be much smaller than originally planned.
Town of Vernon Supervisor Randy Watson told the Poughkeepsie Journal that festival organizers have applied for a permit to hold the at Vernon Downs, which operates a "racino," hotel and harness horse racing track in Oneida County, near Utica, New York. Watson said the proposed capacity of the event is now 45,000-50,000 people, which is significantly smaller than the 150,000 originally planned, and smaller than the approximately 70,000 people planned for the previous site, Watkins Glen International raceway; that site, along with producer CID Entertainment, pulled out of the festival earlier this month.
Some four hours' drive from New York City, the site has hosted music festivals before, including two Phish shows in 1998. However, there are no camping options, and attendees would have to be bussed in from nearby camping sites.
The weekend before the planned Woodstock 50 dates, the venue is hosting a "trackside" concert by heritage country singers Crystal Gayle and Lee Greenwood.
In another setback for the festival, it lost a court appeal in which it sought $18.5 million from its former financial partner, Dentsu Aegis, which pulled out of the festival in May. Last month, organizers announced that they had secured financing through a new financial partner, Oppenheimer & Co. investment bank.
Woodstock 50
WME Files Antitrust Lawsuit
Writers Guild of America
Two months after being sued along with three other top talent agencies by the Writers Guild of America, William Morris Endeavor on Monday filed a lawsuit against the guild claiming that the union's decision to have its members leave their agencies to protest packaging fees is in violation of antitrust laws.
In April, WGA members authorized the guild by a 95% vote to enforce a Code of Conduct requiring agencies to eliminate packaging fees - payments to agencies from studios in exchanging for packaging writers, directors and other talent for a project - in order to represent writer clients.
As a result, thousands of guild members terminated their representation, and additional meetings between the WGA and the Association of Talent Agents have failed to break the impasse.
After enforcing the Code of Conduct, WGA filed a lawsuit against WME, Creative Artists Agency, United Talent Agency, and ICM Partners, claiming that packaging fees were a violation of fiduciary duty by agents and against federal and state labor laws.
Now WME, whose parent company, Endeavor, has recently filed to go public, is arguing that the WGA has violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by going beyond what the law allows labor groups to act upon. The lawsuit also claims that managers and lawyers performing the role of agents are violating the California Talent Agency Act, an assertion that has been made for months by the Association of Talent Agencies, the group representing major agencies.
Writers Guild of America
Talk About Fuct
Supreme Court
A streetwear brand whose name sounds like a form of the F-word can get federal trademark protection as a result of a Supreme Court ruling on Monday.
The court struck down a century-old provision of federal law that bans registration of proposed trademarks that are "scandalous" or "immoral." Applying that rule, the government denied a trademark for the name "FUCT," concluding that it was phonetically equivalent to the past tense or past participle of the well-known vulgarity.
"The clothing line," explained Justice Elena Kagan for the court's 6-3 majority, "is pronounced as four letters, one after the other: F-U-C-T. But you might read it differently and, if so, you would hardly be alone."
Nonetheless, she said, the trademark law's restriction violates the First Amendment because "it disfavors certain ideas."
She was joined by the court's senior liberal, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and four of the court's conservatives, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Supreme Court
2nd Amendment Justice
Florida
A Florida woman's effort to protect herself from domestic violence has become a flashpoint in the debate over gun rights and victims' safety.
Courtney Irby gave her estranged husband's guns to police after he was charged with domestic violence-aggravated battery, only to find herself arrested for theft.
Courtney Irby spent six days in jail on charges of armed burglary and grand theft after she retrieved the assault rifle and handgun from her husband's apartment and gave them to the Lakeland Police. Joseph Irby was spending one day in jail at the time, accused of ramming into her car after a June 14 divorce hearing.
After her husband's arrest, Courtney Irby petitioned for a temporary injunction for protection, which was granted. Federal law prohibits people under a domestic violence restraining order from possessing guns, but it's up to local law enforcement to enforce it, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Courtney Irby told police that she believed he wouldn't turn in his guns himself, so she took action. According to her arrest report, she said she entered her husband's apartment through a locked door without his permission and took the guns to a police station.
Florida
A Price On Everything
Get-Rich-Quick Foreign Policy
Psst! Do you run a country? Wanna get rich quick - even without massive reserves of oil? Let Don-Old Trump (R-Grifter) show you how!
Over the weekend, the Trump administration, in the person of Jared Kushner (R-Sock Puppet), announced the first part of its long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Its central component was the creation of a huge investment fund meant to induce the Palestinian leadership to surrender their national ambitions in exchange for the chance to participate in a new economic boom fueled by tourism and other postmodern industries. The administration calls this approach "peace to prosperity."
To put it in perspective, it's actually not such a huge investment fund: $50 billion over 10 years, divided unequally among the Palestinian territories and the nations of Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. Over the same 10-year period, American military aid to Israel will total about $38 billion.
And most of the money for the "peace" plan wouldn't even come from the U.S.; Kushner wants America's Middle Eastern, European and Asian allies to pony up a large share of it. "The whole notion here is that we want people to agree on the plan, and then we'll have a discussion with people to see who is interested in potentially doing what," he told Reuters Television.
Does this idea sound familiar? Perhaps because at almost the same time Trump was dangling a version of the same deal - do what we want and you'll get rich - to Iran, which had just shot down an American drone: "We're not going to have Iran have a nuclear weapon," he told reporters. "When they agree to that, they're going to have a wealthy country. They're going to be so happy, and I'm going to be their best friend. I hope that happens."
Get-Rich-Quick Foreign Policy
Buried Beneath the Atlantic Ocean
Freshwater Sea
A gigantic freshwater aquifer is hiding under the salty Atlantic Ocean, just off the northeastern coast of the United States, a new study finds.
While the aquifer's exact size is still a mystery, it may be the largest of its kind, taking up a region stretching from at least Massachusetts to southern New Jersey, or nearly 220 miles (350 kilometers). The area includes the coastlines of New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. This aquifer may contain about 670 cubic miles (2,800 cubic kilometers) of slightly salty water.
This water isn't young, either. The researchers said they suspect that much of it is from the last ice age.
About 20 years ago, study co-researcher Kerry Key, now a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, began helping oil companies pinpoint oil hotspots by using electromagnetic imaging on the subseafloor. Much like an X-ray can image a person's bones, electromagnetic imaging uses electromagnetic waves (from static to microwaves and other high frequencies) to detect objects hidden from view.
More recently, in an effort to find freshwater deposits, Key decided to see if tweaking this technology could help him find aquifers, which are underground pools of fresh water. So, in 2015 he and study co-researcher Rob Evans, a senior scientist of geology and geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, spent 10 days at sea, taking measurements off the coast of southern New Jersey and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. The researchers chose these spots because oil companies had reported finding fresh water there.
Freshwater Sea
Mega-Library
Qatar
The Gulf's largest book collection, Qatar's National Library, has enhanced ties with libraries outside the region and wooed younger readers in its first year, as an anti-Doha boycott drags on.
Scores of children weave in and out of the banked rows of shelves or sit on beanbags clutching books at the foot of the vast columns that support architect Rem Koolhaas' 45,000-square-metre mega-structure.
Every single book in the children's library was borrowed in the first six months as the QNL has sought to avoid the stuffiness of some world-class libraries and attract young readers.
With over one million books and 500,000 digital editions, the library, located in Doha's Education City, is the largest in the Middle East.
But the United Arab Emirates is shooting to outdo Qatar with its Dubai-based Mohammed bin Rashid Library, hoping to house 1.5 million volumes when it opens.
Qatar
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