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--"Tightly Guarded, Singapore Battens Down for a Summit Meeting": The [June 12 Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un] meeting will be at the Capella Singapore, a five-star hotel on Sentosa, a triangle-shaped island that was once most famous for being a haven for pirates. In those days it was known as Pulau Blakang Mati, literally the “Island Behind Death.” Later, when Singapore was occupied by Japan during World War II, it was one of several massacre sites where Chinese men were shot by Japanese troops who threw the bodies into the sea. -- The New York Times (June 10)
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"Dennis Rodman reveals that he's on his way to Singapore for Trump-Kim summit": According to basketball great Dennis Rodman, he is now on his way to Singapore for the historic summit between President Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un. “Thanks to my loyal sponsors from @potcoin and my team at Prince Mrketing [sic], I will be flying to Singapore for the Historic Summit.I’ll give whatever support is needed to my friends @realDonaldTrump and Marshall Kim Jong Un,” Mr. Rodman tweeted late Friday morning to his 326,000 followers.
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“To all Americans and the rest of the world I’m honored to call @POTUS a friend. He’s one of the best negotiators of all time and I’m looking forward to him adding to his historic success at the Singapore Summit,” Mr. Rodman said of President Trump in a follow-up tweet. Potcoin, according to the company’s online description, is a “peer-to-peer cryptocurrency which exists with the aim of becoming the standard form of payment for the legalized cannabis industry.”... Mr. Rodman’s tweeted message was accompanied by a cheerful graphic showing himself and both leaders, the two national flags and the motto “unite.” -- The Washington Times (June 8) [JB impertinent Q: Are potpoint and POTUS part of the same family? :)]
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Letter to the Editor: Re “A Fiery Affront, Back in 1814, but You Can’t Blame Canada” (news article, June 7), about the report of President Trump’s mistaken suggestion that Canada burned down the White House two centuries ago:
It was good of you to supply readers with a brief refresher course about the War of 1812, as Mr. Trump is surely not the only American to be a tad fuzzy about the details — or even, let’s be honest, the basics.
With Independence Day less than a month off, now would not be a bad time to point out that Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” a perennially boisterous highlight of the Boston Pops’s nationally broadcast Fourth of July concert, not only has nothing to do with the aforementioned dispute, it also has nothing to do with America. The work commemorates Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading Grande Armée in 1812. Why does the Boston Pops perform a Russian-themed composition on America’s Independence Day? Because although our homegrown composers — Ives, Sousa, Copland, Gershwin, Ruggles, Bernstein — wrote an abundance of rousing patriotic music, they all forgot to include live cannon fire in the arrangements. -- The New York Times (June 7)
“I have reached the point in my life where I know that I am in charge of what I do and who I am,” she says on the website. “I have fully embraced my own truth and now I am sharing that empowering message.” ... The perfume, priced at $64.99, is intended for both men and women. “It smells different on every person -- men like it as much as women,” Hughes [Suzette Hughes, the CEO of It's the Bomb] said. With Stormy having a following among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender fans, “gender neutral was important to her.” -- USA Today (June 7) [JB Comment: "What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer" -- Francis Bacon]
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--"A Warning to Women of a Certain Age: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Nightdress": Review of book by Pamela Druckerman, “There Are No Grown-Ups”: The American-born author [Druckerman] is still living in Paris with her British husband and three children, but lately she has noticed something subtly and disturbingly different about the way she is treated in restaurants. Around her 40th birthday, there is “a collective code switch” as waiters start calling her “madame” instead of “mademoiselle.” ...
For his 40th birthday, Druckerman’s husband requests a threesome with Pamela and another woman. She agrees, mainly to prove she is not going gently into that good nightdress, but also because her journalist self cannot resist a deadline (the assignation needs to take place within six weeks). The pressure is really on when Druckerman agrees to write an article about the experience for a New York magazine but still can’t find a person to make up the ménage à trois. The erotic errand becomes another item on her busy mom’s to-do list. Eventually an acceptable candidate (“I like her perfect spelling”) presents herself. -- The New York Times (May 29)
--"Why can’t we hate men?": So men, if you really are #WithUs and would like us to not hate you for all the millennia of woe you have produced and benefited from, start with this: Lean out so we can actually just stand up without being beaten down. Pledge to vote for feminist women only. Don’t run for office. Don’t be in charge of anything.
Step away from the power. We got this. And please know that your crocodile tears won’t be wiped away by us anymore." -- By a "director of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program," at an institution of "higher learning," published in The Washington Post (June 8); on the author of the article, see. [NB: Three among the recent (as of 1:20 pm, 6/10) 1300+ comments re the article: "The mystery to me is why women put up with women like this. If women should hate men, what about husbands, fathers, sons, friends? ..."; "Suzanna...you are a truly sad, despicable person. I didn't cause all your gaddam injustice ... Live your unfulfilled, lonely life....you write terribly and are depressing" [from "el hombre"] ; "I have no idea what schools awarded the author her degrees, but I suggest they immediately start a search for any evidence of past academic fraud, no matter how minor, so they may rescind them and dissociate themselves from her as soon as possible"]
Image from entry, with caption: Proto-Canadians, disguised as British troops, set the torch to Washington in 1814, during the War of 1812
With Independence Day less than a month off, now would not be a bad time to point out that Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” a perennially boisterous highlight of the Boston Pops’s nationally broadcast Fourth of July concert, not only has nothing to do with the aforementioned dispute, it also has nothing to do with America. The work commemorates Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading Grande Armée in 1812. Why does the Boston Pops perform a Russian-themed composition on America’s Independence Day? Because although our homegrown composers — Ives, Sousa, Copland, Gershwin, Ruggles, Bernstein — wrote an abundance of rousing patriotic music, they all forgot to include live cannon fire in the arrangements. -- The New York Times (June 7)
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--"Stormy Daniels seeks the Truth with new branded perfume": Daniels said she personally chose the name of the fragrance line, according to the website that she’s partnering with for the product, It’s the Bomb. She said it fits her outlook.
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“I have reached the point in my life where I know that I am in charge of what I do and who I am,” she says on the website. “I have fully embraced my own truth and now I am sharing that empowering message.” ... The perfume, priced at $64.99, is intended for both men and women. “It smells different on every person -- men like it as much as women,” Hughes [Suzette Hughes, the CEO of It's the Bomb] said. With Stormy having a following among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender fans, “gender neutral was important to her.” -- USA Today (June 7) [JB Comment: "What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer" -- Francis Bacon]
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--"Books: Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s Concussive Collaboration": 'The President Is Missing” contains most of what you’d expect from this duo: politico-historical ramblings, mixed metaphors, saving the world. But why is there no sex? -- The New Yorker (June 18); [Maureen Dowd, The New York Times (June 9): The desire among his supporters for a liberal agenda was held hostage to Bill Clinton’s libertine appetites. Let Bill be regressive and transgressive with women he was attracted to, and he would be progressive for all women.]
Image from New Yorker article, with caption: Clinton’s unlikely collaboration with James Patterson yields mysteries, thrills, and a topdressing of moral rumination.
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For his 40th birthday, Druckerman’s husband requests a threesome with Pamela and another woman. She agrees, mainly to prove she is not going gently into that good nightdress, but also because her journalist self cannot resist a deadline (the assignation needs to take place within six weeks). The pressure is really on when Druckerman agrees to write an article about the experience for a New York magazine but still can’t find a person to make up the ménage à trois. The erotic errand becomes another item on her busy mom’s to-do list. Eventually an acceptable candidate (“I like her perfect spelling”) presents herself. -- The New York Times (May 29)
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--Chef/writer Anthony Bourdain: “Your body is not a temple,” he said. “It’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” Frank Bruni, The New York Times. See also: (1) (2) (3)
--Chef/writer Anthony Bourdain: “Your body is not a temple,” he said. “It’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” Frank Bruni, The New York Times. See also: (1) (2) (3)
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