Well, it’s Friday at lunch, and that means it is time to clean out the news chum links, toss them into the water, and see if anyone bites on them for discussion.
- Passings/Transitions of Notes. A few transitions that caught my eye… and I’m not referring only to the famous ones (Andy Williams, Billy Barnes). Let’s start with Arnold Travis. I was perusing the obits on the Jewish Journal when Arnold’s obit caught my eye. I never knew Arnold, but I did know his siblings, Ava, Roy, and Elaine), for the Travis family were long time clients of my parent’s accounting firm. I have pastels by Ava Zimmerman up in my house, and I remember visiting her in Long Beach, as well as babysitting for Elaine (and her husband Ron Blumberg). Another transition of note is the estate of Al Jolson in Encino. It’s being sold again. This would have interested my father, who was a long time Al Joson fanboy. Turning to the famous ones: Billy Barnes is notable for his contributions of music to both Laugh In and Cher, where he probably worked with another client of my parents who passed away a few months ago, Digby Wolfe. Andy Williams is notable not only for his music (and introducing the Osmonds), but for saving the “W” in the “HOLLYWOOD” sign.
- Doing It for Jesus. There are many times I think Jesus would not approve of the behavior of his followers. There was another example in today’s LA Times, with an article about Christian TV, which is carrying proselytizing messages and anti-Muslim messages via satellite into the Middle East. The recent YouTube video and corresponding movie were shot in the studios of one of these groups. The intense desire for converts (based on the underlying believe that you must be <insert-religion> to be saved) is what has led to a lot of conflicts over the centuries. Many Muslims want the world to be Muslim; many Christians want the world to be Christians. Many other religions just want people to recognize there are many paths, and they can coexist.
- Thinking About Animation. Yesterday, I wrote about the 100th Anniversary of Reseda, which was the home of Filmation. I thought about connecting that item to these two stories. The first is a Mental Floss piece about 9 fictional characters (most cartoons) that would have a rough time in the real world. This includes Dennis the Menace, Bamm-Bamm, and Wyle E. Coyote. The second is an interview with Rob Paulson, the voice behind Pinky of Pinky and the Brain, as well as many other characters.
- Medical Stuff. More and more articles are being written about the good and bad bacteria in our bodies. We’re discovering that trying to be “germ free” is actually a bad thing. Two interesting articles in this vein (rim-shot). The first is about sinus infections: it appears that sinus infections may occur when the bad bacteria in our sinuses overwhelm the good… and the good bacteria, in this case, of often those in dairy products. Don’t go snorting yogurt just yet, but it might lead one to take lactobacillis tablets when dealing with a sinus infection. The second is a bit yuckier: a women with a very bad C-Diff infection had it cured–not with antibiotics, but with a fecal transplant. In other words, her mother literally gave her shit, which was then transplanted rectally into her colon, where it replenished the good bacteria. It is really amazing how our bodies work and recover (another interesting article was in last week’s Science Friday, talking about regrowing organs)
- 404. We all know the number. In addition to being the area code for Atlanta, it is the error code for “Page Not Found”. The LA Times is reporting on an interesting use of 404 pages: to provide information on missing children. The basic notion is “Your page was not found, and we haven’t found little Alice and Bob either” (or should that be Sita and Rama). I don’t know if this will help find them, but it is probably better than milk cartons.
- Who Shaves the Barber Who Shaves Herself. Lastly, an interesting article from Las Vegas about the barber at the Spa at Wynn who excels at giving men single razor shaves. The twist? She isn’t quite a member of the boy’s club that usually does it.
I’ll take “Medical Advances You Really, Really Hope Will Never Happen To You” for $1000, Alex.