Random News: May 30, 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 30, 2022, and it’s a Monday, though it’s a holiday so it doesn’t feel quite so Mondayish. Here are some things…

• Memorial Day is to honor the military personnel who died in duty. It’s not Veterans Day, which is a general holiday that salutes anyone who ever served. People do get confused.
• You’re always welcome to thank a veteran for their service regardless of what holiday it is, or isn’t.
• If you’re a musician and so inclined, there’s a thing called “Taps Across America”, where you play “Taps” at 3PM your local time, preferably in the key of Bb. Google it if you want more info, or just play it. It’s four notes; you can do it.
• War is fought by people who are thoroughly misled about its purpose, but I will never blame the people who are duped into giving their lives for fighting what they believe in.
• A little good news that follows a horrific story. You probably know that one of the two teachers shot and killed in Uvalde had a husband who died of a broken heart days later. A GoFundMe set up for their four kids had a goal of $10,000. It surpassed $2.6 million yesterday.
• Some jerkoff threw a cake at the Mona Lisa yesterday in Paris. Mona is fine (those who’ve been to the Louvre know she’s behind some plexiglass). The guy was obviously insane, and crazy people do stuff sometimes that’s hard to understand or explain.
• Ronnie Hawkins died yesterday at age 87. You probably have never heard of him, but he plays an integral role in the shape of modern music. Short version: he was a rockabilly artist from Arkansas who had a band called the Hawks that featured a drummer named Levon Helm. They moved to Canada to get gigs, and the whole band fell apart except for Hawkins and Helm. They brought in replacement dudes from Canada named Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson. After that band starting backing Bob Dylan, they became known as The Band, and were hugely influential on everyone from the Grateful Dead to Eric Clapton to Wilco and many others. Anyway, RIP Ronnie Hawkins.
• From the sports desk… Boston won game 7 on the road against Miami, so we have the NBA Finals set up. The Celtics face the Warriors on Thursday night. I think the Dubs will crush them, but you never know.
• Yesterday, super genius Marjorie Taylor Greene stated that Bill Gates grows fake meat in a peach tree dish to zap you. I’m just gonna leave that there.
• Monkeypox.
• Also on the health topic… man, I seem to know a ton of people who recently got COVID. I’m continuing to wear a mask in all public settings. I am super grateful to be vaccinated and double-boosted.
• The NAMM Show starts on Friday. That means very little to most of you, and a whole lot to some of you. I’m totally looking forward… to it being done and over. I am, truthfully, hoping to say hi to some friends who I haven’t seen in person since January 2020 or earlier.
• Today in history… 1431: the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake for being a heretic. 1868: Decoration Day, the precursor of the modern Memorial Day, is observed for the first time. 1911: the first Indianapolis 500 is held. 1974: the Airbus A300 passenger jet enters service. 
• May 30 is the birthday of voice actor Mel Blanc (1908), bandleader Benny Goodman (1909), NFL great Gale Sayers (1943), Star Trek actor Colm Meany (1953), musician Wynona Judd (1964), musician Tom Morello (1964), baseball great Manny Ramirez (1972), and singer CeeLo Green (1974).

That’s it for now. Enjoy yourself today. Not in a weird way.