Random News: May 27, 2022

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s May 27, 2022, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Here are some thoughts and things…

• We lost one great actor and two outstanding musicians yesterday. All were pretty shocking and unexpected. Ray Lotta died at age 67. Drummer Alan White, best known for his work with progressive rock band Yes but who also drummed with people like George Harrison and John Lennon (including songs like “Imagine” and “Instant Karma”) died at age 72. Andy Fletcher, who was a founding member of influential electronic band Depeche Mode, died at 60.
• We lost 19 little children and two teachers on Tuesday because assault weapons are legal for anyone in the United States to purchase, often with zero kinds of background checks or training required.
• I need a license to go fishing, but I don’t need anything other than money to get a gun that I could use to kill dozens and dozens of people before having to even change ammunition.
• Realizing that it would be a “bad look” for them, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick cancelled their scheduled appearance at this weekend’s NRA convention in Houston. All but one of the musical artists who were scheduled to perform have also cancelled. Still currently appearing, in order to help more guns be sold to more people who can kill more children: former President Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
• It’s Memorial Day weekend. Shrug. Not really in a beach party mood, ya know?
• I am approaching my industry’s Super Bowl at the end of next week with something called the NAMM Show. If I seem busy, that’s because I am way too fucking busy.
• Am I worried about getting COVID at NAMM? Yep. Am I at least slightly concerned about terror attacks at NAMM? Yep. Am I putting all that aside and going anyway, since it would be devastating for my clients exhibiting at the show to not have me available there? Yep.
• Getting ready for NAMM is always the high-stress point of my year from a work perspective. Doing the show itself isn’t that bad.
• My first NAMM Show was in 1993. I’ve worked that show every year since then, which have happened each year other than 2021. So this will be my 28th NAMM, not counting the Summer NAMM Shows I’ve also done.
• From the sports desk: the Dubs beat the Mavs and are going to the finals. Miami and Boston play their sixth game of the series tonight in the East.
• Today in history… 1927: Ford stops making the Model T and switches over to the Model A. 1941: the German battleship Bismarck is sunk by the Royal Navy, killing 2,100 men.
• May 27 is the birthday of American police officer Wild Bill Hickok (1837), novelist Dashiell Hammett (1894), actor Vincent Price (1911), actor Christopher Lee (1922), warmonger Henry Kissinger (1923), jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis (1935), actor Lou Gossett Jr (1936), musician Siouxsie Sioux (1957), weirdo Adam Carolla (1964), actor Paul Bettany (1971), and rapper Andre 3000 (1975).

Alrighty. Every second of the rest of my day today will be full of suck, with meetings and deadlines and furious amounts of writing and design work. Be well.