LeRoy's Pink Fist -- Pennsylvania: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

The Princess Industrial Complex

ANNIE MURPHY PAUL
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/books/review/Paul-t.html

"Call the fire brigade," cried Mrs. Prothero as she beat the gong.

I was in Mrs. Prothero's garden, waiting for cats, with her son Jim. It was snowing. It was always snowing. December, in my memory, is white as Lapland, though there were no reindeers. But there were cats. Patient, cold and callous, our hands wrapped in socks, we waited to snowball the cats. Sleek and long as jaguars and horrible-whiskered, spitting and snarling, they would slink and sidle over the white back-garden walls, and the lynx-eyed hunters, Jim and I, fur-capped and moccasined trappers from Hudson Bay, off Mumbles Road, would hurl our deadly snowballs at the green of their eyes. The wise cats never appeared. We were so still, Eskimo-footed arctic marksmen in the muffling silence of the eternal snows - eternal, ever since Wednesday - that we never heard Mrs. Prothero's first cry from her igloo at the bottom of the garden. Or, if we heard it at all, it was, to us, like the far-off challenge of our enemy and prey, the neighbor's polar cat. But soon the voice grew louder. "Fire!" cried Mrs. Prothero, and she beat the dinner-gong. And we ran down the garden, with the snowballs in our arms, toward the house; and smoke, indeed, was pouring out of the dining-room, and the gong was bombilating, and Mrs. Prothero was announcing ruin like a town crier in Pompeii. This was better than all the cats in Wales standing on the wall in a row. We bounded into the house, laden with snowballs, and stopped at the open door of the smoke-filled room. Something was burning all right; perhaps it was Mr. Prothero, who always slept there after midday dinner with a newspaper over his face. "Call the fire brigade," cried Mrs. Prothero as she beat the gong.

- Dylan Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953)

My little pony must think it queer

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

-Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Money is fiction.

The Island of Stone Money, Uap of the Carolines [1910 ] [Large Print] [Paperback] William Henry Furness (Author)

Mark Augustus Landis

Mark Tullos holds a Landis forgery

Please respect FT.com's ts&cs and copyright policy which allow you to: share links; copy content for personal use; & redistribute limited extracts. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights or use this link to reference the article -

One morning last September, a visitor arrived at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana. He had been expected at 9am but he called from outside at 7.45am, and when Lee Gray, the museum’s curator, went down to greet him, she found his red Cadillac parked across two spaces in the handicapped spot. His name was Father Arthur Scott, he was dressed in the outfit of a Jesuit priest with a Society of Jesus lapel pin, and he bore a gift. A few weeks before, Father Scott had sent a letter postmarked Michigan to the museum, an elegant institution attached to the University of Louisiana. His mother, an art collector from Philadelphia, had died, and his sister Emily was still in Paris sorting out the estate, he wrote. His mother had left a number of paintings, including a pastel drawing by Charles Courtney Curran, which he wanted to donate. He planned to return with others and the family was also likely to make a financial donation. When Gray saw the priest, she was taken aback by his appearance – he was short and thin with sparse hair and jug ears, and looked frail and sickly. She and Mark Tullos, the museum’s director, took him to Tullos’s office, where they had trouble grasping his train of thought. “He had attention deficit disorder worse than anyone I’d ever met,” says Gray. “He was constantly distracted in the middle of sentences by shiny objects or jewellery.”
- John Gapper A Forger's Story Financial Times Magazine

Read More: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5905c640-2359-11e0-8389-00144feab49a.html#axzz1BsxVgbVk

Navjot Altaf

Cranky Quilts and Dangerous Doilies by Lonesome LeRoy

David Furnish and Darryl Portniff Doily

See more:
http://crankyquilts.blogspot.com/

Sir Elton John and David Furnish

Someone found Elton John's US Weekly magazine covered with a “shield” at a Harps Supermarket in Mountain Dew, Arkansas. Harps has over 60 locations in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
- BUZZFEED

Family Affair Starring Brian Keith and Sabastian Cabot

A traveler carried her baby in Hefei. - NY Times Photo Jianan Yu/Reuters

Parents in China may soon have legal recourse. As the new lunar year approaches, China's Civil Affairs Ministry is proposing new legislation that would require children to visit their elderly parents on a regular basis. If they don't, parents would be able to sue their children. China's government-appointed legislature says it's considering the proposal, which is an amendment to the 1996 law on the rights of the aged. The suicide rate for the elderly has tripled over the last seven years, placing China at the third-highest suicide rate in the world. - The Daily Beast

Yemeni Protests Turn Violent

SAN'A, Yemen—A small anti-government protest turned violent in the Yemeni capital Saturday, according to eyewitnesses, with demonstrators—emboldened by Friday's massive protests in Egypt—clashing with security forces. At least nine protesters were set upon by police with batons when security forces blocked up to a hundred demonstrators as they attempted to march to the Egyptian Embassy here, in a show of solidarity with protesters in Egypt, according to eyewitnesses. It was the first instance of reported violence during a recent bout of protests in Yemen, which started earlier this month in the wake of anti-government demonstrations in Tunisia. - HAKIM ALMASMARI The Wall Street Journal

Tichina Arnold

Tichina Arnold will soon return to television on Happily Divorced. The TV Land comedy pilot will star Fran Drescher as a woman who heads back into the dating world after finding out that her husband is gay. (It's based on Drescher's real-life story.) Rita Moreno and Robert Walden will play Drescher's parents. Arnold will play the "black best friend" to Drescher. - The Root

Isaiah Mustafa

John Toth

Hello!

David Axelrod

outgoing senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

David Plouffe replaces David Axelrod Jan. 28, 2011.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

WASHINGTON - The U.S. appealed for an orderly transition to lasting democracy in Egypt even as escalating violence in the American ally threatened Mideast stability and put President Barack Obama in a diplomatic bind. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton refused to speculate on the future of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak or his teetering government. But U.S. officials, she said, "obviously want to see people who are truly committed to democracy, not to imposing any ideology on Egyptians." The U.S. wants to see "real democracy" emerge in Egypt, Clinton said, "not a democracy for six months or a year and then evolving into essentially a military dictatorship or a so-called democracy that then leads to what we saw in Iran." Clinton, in interviews on the five Sunday morning TV shows, repeatedly stressed that Egypt's future lies in the hands of its people, hewing to the administration line of refusing to take sides publically in the upheaval. While there have been repeated calls for Egypt to move toward democracy, it was not clear what efforts the administration may be making behind the scenes to influence the situation. "There has to be a commitment by whoever is in the government that they will engage in a national dialogue with the people of Egypt, with the aim at taking actions that will meet the legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people for more participation, for respect for human rights, for the universal human rights they are entitled to, for economic reforms that will give more opportunity," she told reporters traveling with her to Haiti on Sunday. - LOLITA C. BALDOR

Nazril "Ariel" Irham

The lead singer of the group Peterpan, showed no remorse.

BANDUNG, Indonesia - An Indonesian pop star who rocked this predominantly Muslim nation after his homemade sex tapes found their way to the Internet was sentenced Monday to 3 1/2 years in jail. Fans of Nazril "Ariel" Irham broke down in tears, saying the singer recorded the videos in the privacy of his own home with no plans to make them public. But hundreds of Islamic hard-liners surrounding the court tried to smash down its gates, saying he'd gotten off too easy. The 29-year-old singer was the first celebrity to be found guilty of violating the country's strict anti-pornography law, which came into effect in 2008 despite strong opposition from the public and members of government. It is seen by many as vaguely worded, its penalties too harsh. Ariel insists the tapes were stolen from his house and posted online without his knowledge, but presiding Judge Singgih Budi Prakoso said he did nothing to prevent their distribution on the Internet. He sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in jail - well short of the maximum 12 years - and fined him $25,000. "As a public figure, the defendant should be aware that fans might imitate his behavior," Prakoso said, adding that Ariel, lead singer of the group Peterpan, showed no remorse. Indonesia, a secular country of 237 million people, has more Muslims than any other country in the world. Though most are moderate, a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years. They have pushed through controversial laws - including the anti-porn bill - and been known to attack anything perceived as blasphemous, from transvestites and bars to "deviant" religious sects. More than 500 demonstrators turned out Monday, some pelting the police vehicle carrying Ariel to the court with rotten eggs and tomatoes. Others held placards criticizing the star. When the verdict was read out, a man on a bull horn shouted, "Too light! Too light!" and others charged past police to the gates of the courthouse. "More years for Ariel!" shouted Kurnia Maryati, a 33-year-old mother of three who was wearing an Islamic headscarf. "He made a porn movie that's harmful for our children," she said. "I'm sure many followed him after they downloaded the videos on their mobile phones." The videos were made public in June. The first six-minute clip purportedly showed Ariel in bed with his girlfriend, Luna Maya, a top model and actress who joined him at the court Monday. She broke down in tears when the ruling was read out. The second clip showed him with a former girlfriend, also a well-liked model and television presenter. The singer's supporters were devastated with the judge's decision. "He's just a victim," said Roslawati, 30, as tears streamed from both eyes. "He didn't post that video ..." Like many Indonesians, she uses just one name. - IRWAN FIRDAUS

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Lonesome LeRoy's BOO HOO Rubber Stamp

Egyptian Police Using U.S.-Made Tear Gas Against Demonstrators

Photographs From Cairo Document Canisters Labeled 'Made in U.S.A.'

SARAH O. WALI and DEENA A. SAMI ABC News

PLEASE TRY TO FORGIVE BARBRA STREISAND

Carol Channing considered throwing herself out of a window after learning Barbra Streisand had won the title role in the 1969 movie, "Hello, Dolly!" after Channing had played Dolly Levi on stage. The legend, who celebrates her 90th birthday Monday, told LGBT networking site dot429.com: "I was looking out the window on the 18th floor of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel [in Toronto] . . . I thought, just one more move . . . and this terrible pain will stop, this pain of losing it for all time, they're all forgotten performances, it will stop, the moment that I hit, hit jumping out the window. That's exactly what I wanted to do." But when asked what stopped her from doing it, she replied, "I had a show that night to do, a matinee, as a matter of fact, that day. So I had to get ready for it." Channing on Streisand after she saw her in the movie: "It's not just, you know, singing, that's the last thing that Dolly is. She is a great, great star. Each of us has a different interpretation of playing the same character." - NY Post