Random News: November 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 November 30, 2022, and it’s a Wednesday. Some rather exciting stuff going on around the world and in your neck of the woods, so let’s get down on it…

• Very big trial verdict yesterday pertaining to the January 6 file coup attempt.
• Founder of the far-right group Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, along with four of his little friends, has been found guilty of seditious conspiracy against the United States among other offenses.
• A federal jury also convicted Rhodes of obstructing an official proceeding and tampering with documents.
• The only other Oath Keeper found guilty of this serious charge was Kelly Meggs. 
• The three other defendants — Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell —were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding as well as a mix of other charges.
• Two more seditious conspiracy trials relating to Jan 6 — one involving more Oath Keepers and the other a group of Proud Boys — are set to start in the coming weeks.
• Get their asses.
• In somewhat related news, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that FPOTUS chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before a Georgia grand jury investigating 2020 election meddling.
• They rejected Meadows' argument he is shielded by "executive privilege.” He was Trump’s main guy in the Big Lie, the campaign to overturn the election.
• Get his ass too.
• In other positive news from yesterday, the Senate passed legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriage, called the Respect for Marriage Act, in a landmark bipartisan vote with a final tally of 61-36.
• The House is expected to pass the bill as early as next week and then send it to Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
• The downside: if this right-wing Supreme Court overturns its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage, a state could still pass a law to ban same-sex marriage (and some likely will).
• The somewhat upside: under the new law, that state would be required to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state.
• It’s good news overall. Ideally it won’t have to be used if the SCOTUS keeps Obergefell in place and not discriminate against same-sex marriage, keeping it legal as it has been.
• And now, The Weather: “Help” by Rozi Plain
• The Sports Desk is being bumped upward for the moment to congratulate the USMNT for their 1-0 victory over Iran yesterday in the FIFA World Cup. They will go on to face the Netherlands in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
• Congrats to Hershey, PA’s own Christian Pulisic, who scored the game winner.
• I always feel like US soccer is like the small kid on your little league team who manages to catch one fly ball and everyone runs to congratulate them. Like, no one has high expectations and is amazed when they don’t lose immediately.
• Good luck USMNT!
• Still a whole lot of fallout from the infamous Mar-A-Lago thanksgiving nightmare for the FPOTUS. More and more voices from within the GOP have come out in condemnation of the event, as well as of the anti-Semitic outlook of Trump’s visitors.
• Another note to send my good thoughts to my friends in Hawaii. Mauna Loa erupting is a pretty serious event, and with Kilauea erupting at the same time, I’m hoping things won’t get too crazy over there. 
• Georgia is kicking ass! Their voters set a single-day early turnout record Monday as 301,500 people stormed to the polls on the first day they were open in most counties ahead of the Warnock/Walker Senate runoff.
• The state’s turnout was even higher in the runoff Monday than it was during presidential elections, surpassing the previous high of 253,000 early voters on the Friday before Election Day in 2016.
• This is what democracy looks like!
• I’m rarely critical of the Biden administration; for the most part, they’ve been doing an exceptional job.
• Like most Americans, I am hoping this rail strike and the resulting impact to the economy can be averted.
• At the same time, for a supposed pro-union guy, Joe doesn’t seem to be caring at all that the current contract gives the rail workers zero paid sick time and are then disciplined for taking unpaid time off.
• Bernie Sanders wouldn’t stand for that. Neither would Elizabeth Warren. So, elect a centrist and I guess you get centrist results.
• The last railroad strike in the US occurred in 1992 for two days before Congress intervened.
• Today in history… The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate begins an impeachment trial of Federalist Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase (1804). The Confederate Army of Tennessee suffers heavy losses in an attack on the Union Army of the Ohio in the Battle of Franklin (1864). The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England (1872). A German engineer patents front-wheel drive for automobiles (1900). The Soviet Red Army crosses the Finnish border in several places and bomb Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the Winter War (1939). The SS-Einsatzgruppen round up 11,000 Jews from the Riga Ghetto and kill them in the Rumbula massacre (1941). In Sylacauga, AL, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap (1954). Michael Jackson's sixth solo studio album, ‘Thriller’, is released worldwide, ultimately becoming the best-selling record album in history (1982). Exxon and Mobil sign a US$73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world's largest company (1999). In Seattle, WA, demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies (1999). 
• November 30 is the birthday of admiral Andrea Doria (1486), satirist Jonathan Swift (1667), novelist Mark Twain (1835), physician/activist Martha Ripley (1843), actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (1918), actor Richard Crenna (1926), TV host/producer Dick Clark (1929), lawyer/criminal G. Gordon Liddy (1930), NFL coach Bill Walsh (1931), actor/director Woody Allen (1935), activist Abbie Hoffman (1936), director Ridley Scott (1937), bass player Roger Glover (1945), actor Mandy Patinkin (1952), singer Stacey Q (1958), NFL/MLB player Bo Jackson (1962), actor Ben Stiller (1965), DJ Steve Aoki (1977), singer Clay Aiken (1978), and model Chrissy Teigen (1985).

I’ve been pretty productive over the first couple of days back after the Thanksgiving break, and feel a little more caught up, which is good. I work pretty hard, because my boss is a total dick. His name is… me. I’m the dick. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 29, 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 November 29, 2022, and it’s a Tuesday. Various meanderings of a distracted brain heading your way…

• From the Complete Idiots folder, meet the Board of Supervisors in Cochise County, AZ.
• Yesterday was the deadline for all 15 Arizona counties to certify their election results. All of them did, with the exception of Cochise, who seem onboard with Kari Lake’s unfounded election fraud allegations, backed with zero evidence.
• Cochise’s action could put at risk the votes of some 47,000 county residents and could inject chaos into the election if those votes go uncounted.
• And here’s the thing: Cochise County is very Republican. If those votes went uncounted, it would flip two races to Democrats: the contest for state superintendent and a congressional race won by Republican Juan Ciscomani.
• That won’t happen, of course. Courts will step in and deny these election deniers the chance to subvert the free and fair vote of Americans.
• The other day, I mentioned the looming nightmare of a national rail strike.
• Last night, President Biden called for Congress to act immediately to head off an economically crippling freight rail strike, saying there appeared to be “no path to resolve the dispute at the bargaining table.”
• Biden asked that Congress act “without any modifications or delay” to impose a tentative settlement that leadership of railroads and 12 unions had hammered out in September.
• Presidents have involved themselves in strikes that affect the entire nation on many occasions, perhaps most famously in August 1981 when Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers.
• Speaking of former presidents, a smattering of Republicans have managed to condemn Trump for having spent Thanksgiving with white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
• “President Trump hosting racist antisemites for dinner encourages other racist antisemites. These attitudes are immoral and should not be entertained. This is not the Republican Party.” - Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
• “There is no room in the Republican Party for white supremacy and antisemitism. It’s wrong. I think Republicans should all condemn white supremacy.” - Senator Rick Scott (R-FL)
• “I condemn white supremacy and anti-semitism. The president should never have had a meal or even a meeting with Nick Fuentes.” - Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
• “President Trump was wrong to give a White nationalist, an antisemite and Holocaust denier a seat at the table, and I think he should apologize for it. And he should denounce those individuals and their hateful rhetoric without qualification.” - Former VP Mike Pence
• And the ever-eloquent Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): “It’s bad – there’s no question about it.”
• More concerning is that few of the other Republican leaders would give any statement condemning Trump’s actions in legitimizing a Holocaust denier.
• As long as we’re doing quotes, here’s one straight from the mouth of Trump’s dinner guest Fuentes…
• “America, for what it’s worth, was founded by white Christians. It was not founded by Jewish people. It was not founded by Judeo-Christians. It was founded by white Christians. And white Christians are in the majority. Christianity is the religion of this nation. Not Judaism, not the Talmud, not that stuff. It’s just what it is. It’s just a fact. And, you know what? If we’re going to make America great again, we’ve gotta talk about this anti-white thing that’s going on. And if we want to restore America, we’ve got to make America a Christian nation again.”
• The MAGA movement has been based on racial and religious prejudice from the start. You can’t support Trump without supporting MAGA, and you can’t support MAGA without supporting racism and bigotry.
• Just two words for FPOTUS: Jack Smith.
• Moving on.
• The total turnout after the first day of statewide early voting in Georgia is a jaw-dropping 300,438. That’s 70,000 more votes than the previous record set in 2018.
• Keep it up, GA!
• And now, The Weather: “Wasted On You” by Andy Shauf
• Rest in peace to congressman Donald McEachin (D-VA), who passed away from cancer at age 61. House members cannot be appointed to fill a vacancy, so there will eventually need to be a special election to get a new representative for the VA-4 district.
• From the Sports Desk… the USA will be facing Iran in the FIFA World Cup today. In addition to the geopolitical rivalry between the two countries, there’s also bad blood between the squads themselves. Good luck USA.
• The Sports Desk also notes that it’s way too early in the season to be talking about basketball, but the Boston Celtics look tough at 17-4. 
• In the “you heard it here first” folder: Mitt Romney is going to run for President in 2024 against Trump and a smattering of others, and has a pretty good shot at pulling a large percentage of the remaining semi-sane GOP voters with him.
• Today in history… San Jose, CA is founded as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe and is the first civilian settlement, or pueblo, in Alta California (1777). The crew of the British slave ship Zong murders 54 Africans by dumping them into the sea to claim insurance (1781). Union forces under Ambrose Burnside successfully defend Knoxville, TN from Confederate forces under James Longstreet (1863). Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph for the first time (1877). FC Barcelona is founded by Catalan, Spanish and Englishmen (1899). Richard E. Byrd leads the first expedition to fly over the South Pole (1929). The Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia is declared (1945). Lyndon B. Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1963). "I Want to Hold Your Hand", recorded on October 17, 1963, is released by the Beatles in the United Kingdom (1963). Atari releases Pong, the first commercially successful video game (1972). 
• November 29 is the birthday of physicist Christian Doppler (1803), novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832), physicist John Ambrose Fleming (1849), director/choreographer Busby Berkeley (1895), novelist C. S. Lewis (1898), guitarist Merle Travis (1917), author Madeleine L’Engle (1918), sportscaster Vin Scully (1927), musician John Mayall (1933), actress Diane Ladd (1935), musician Chuck Mangione (1940), musician Felix Cavaliere (1944), musician Ronnie Montrose (1947), comedian Garry Handling (1949), writer/director Joel Coen (1954), comedian Howie Mandel (1955), politician Janet Napolitano (1957), politician Rahm Emanuel (1959), actor Don Cheadle (1964), actor Chadwick Boseman (1976), and NFL player Russell Wilson (1988). 

I’ve got a standard Tuesday ahead. Exercise, work, meetings, work, groceries, work, and so on. I also have to get my ass in gear for Christmas shopping. I’m still in the safe zone for now, but if I let it go much longer, it’s going to get stressful, and I need less stress in my life, not more. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 28, 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 November 28, 2022, and it’s a Monday. Let’s see what’s happening, or at least what we think might be happening… 

• I am always so confused after a holiday weekend.
• Who am I? What is it that I do for a living? And how?
• This speaks to the fact that throughout the year, it’s extraordinarily rare for me to take any time off at all. I’m like that machine that runs super well, but you never turn it off because no one knows if it will come back on again.
• Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, is erupting for the first time since 1984. I was a junior in high school last time.
• There are ash fall advisories on the Big Island. Hopefully any lava flows will confined to the existing caldera walls.
• Here’s an actual important thing for those of you with little kids. Green Sprouts is recalling its stainless-steel cups and bottles over a lead poisoning hazard.
• These sippy cups are sold at chain retailers including Whole Foods and Bed Bath & Beyond.
• Houston is under a water boil advisory after a power outage at their water treatment plant.
• Pretty good possibility of severe weather including tornadoes, affecting people in the South starting Tuesday, from Louisiana through Tennessee. Be careful down there, friends.
• And now, The Weather: “We’re Here, My Dear” by Ging
• I joked over the weekend about going to my local bakery and having forgotten my mask. I really am very good about wearing it, and had it been crowded in there, I would have waited for my order outside.
• Over 300 people every day are still dying of COVID. Most of them are 65 and older. When you choose to ignore COVID, you’re basically saying that you don’t give a shit about the older folks in our society.
• A little reminder to people in Georgia: a vote for Raphael Warnock will make things a lot easier for the Senate to accomplish its goals, while a vote for Herschel Walker will do essentially nothing; it would leave the Senate tied 50-50 as it currently is, with the tie breaking vote going to Vice President Kamala Harris. Just get Warnock back in there and let them get to work. Thank you.
• A very exciting news if you like an active and engaged populace: more Georgians voted yesterday than on any Sunday in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 general elections, or in the 2021 Senate runoff. YOU GO, GA!
• There are 33 days left in 2022. Where did it go? It’s all in the past now.
• An observation from my Twitter pal BlackKnight10k: “Imagine the downward spiral your life must be in to have dinner with Trump and it makes Trump look bad.”
• From the Sports Desk… two weeks ago, I predicted that the Las Vegas Raiders would lose every game for the remainder of the season. They proceeded to win their next two consecutive games, including yesterday’s road game against a tough Seattle squad. I am now definitely doubling down that there’s no possible way for them to win even one more game this year, and I will continue to bet against them.
• I have to note the performance of running back Josh Jacobs, who set an all-time Raiders record on Sunday with 303 combined rushing/receiving yards from scrimmage. It’s not just a Raiders record; according to NFL Research, Jacobs is the only player since at least 1950 with 225+ rush yards and 70+ receiving yards in a single game.
• They’d better pay that man a lot of money.
• Today in history… In Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway pay a £40 bond — equivalent to £12,500 in 2022 — for their marriage license. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, premieres at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig (1811). Irish nationalist Arthur Griffith founds Sinn Féin as a political party with the main aim of establishing a dual monarchy in Ireland (1905). The Grand Ole Opry begins broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee, as the ‘WSM Barn Dance’ (1925). First successful flight of SM-65 Atlas; the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (1958). NASA launches the Mariner 4 probe toward Mars (1964). The first pulsar is discovered by two astronomers Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish (1967). British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by John Major (1990). 
• November 28 is the birthday of philosopher Friedrich Engels (1820), Venezuela president Ramón José Velásquez (1916), songwriter/producer Berry Gordy, Jr. (1929), singer-songwriter Randy Newman (1943), musician/bandleader Paul Shaffer (1949), actor Ed Harris (1950), actress S. Epatha Merkerson (1952), drummer Matt Cameron (1962), comedian/TV host Jon Stewart (1962), and actress Karen Gillan (1987). 

Well then. I didn’t workout since Wednesday, and I’m still fighting that lower back issue, so when I go downstairs in a few minutes and do some exercise, I’m going to be particularly careful and take it slow. The last thing I need to kick off this week is a bunch of disabling pain. But I still am going to do it because longterm, it’s what keeps me from having future pains. I never want to do it, but I do it anyway. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 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 November 27, 2022, and it’s a Sunday. I’m not having any more turkey for a good long while, so let’s do some news and thoughts…

• China is going through some shit.
• The country’s zero-Covid policy caused protests to erupt on Saturday, including at universities and in Shanghai where hundreds chanted “Step down, Xi Jinping! Step down, Communist Party!”
• That is astonishing in a country where protest and defiance of government policy is nearly unheard of due to extremely harsh penalties.
• It’s so hard to find a middle ground that works in regard to pandemic response. Whiny people in the USA freak out from being politely asked to wear a mask in public; in China, they’ve faced mandatory near-total lockdowns.
• Speaking of this country, while other former Presidents were helping out at food banks and continuing their commitment to public service, Donnie Boy made more than 40 posts on his personal social network and never mentioned Thanksgiving once.
• Seems about right.
• The FPOTUS also spent a good amount of time this weekend trying to do damage control over his disastrous dinner with Kanye West and white nationalist holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
• You can tell what upset him the most wasn’t the realization that he was inviting these horrible people into his home. It was that Ye suggested that Trump run as his vice president in 2024.
• However, many people on the right are publicly faulting Trump for his bad judgement in having these people in his home in the first place. Lots of cracks forming in the many groups that fall under the Republican umbrella right now.
• People in Georgia were lined up hundreds deep this weekend to cast votes for their run-off Senate election between the incumbent Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock and the sadly brain-damaged former NFL player Herschel Walker.
• Many people waited multiple hours to cast their votes.
• Adding that 51st Democrat vote in the Senate is a big deal. It means subpoena power. It means the Democrats can continue the Jan. 6 Committee’s work. It means oversight of the threat of MAGA Fascism. It means picking up the pace of judicial confirmations
• If you think Warnock has an easy win, think again; some polling sources still have Walker at a slight advantage. VOTE, GA! Thank you.
• And now, The Weather: “Carbon Dioxide” by Fever Ray
• Speaking of votes, here’s some less good news: the Senate almost certainly does not have the 60 votes that would be needed to reenact the Assault Weapons Ban that was previously so successful at curtailing mass shooting events.
• I wasn’t expecting it to pass if it even gets put to vote.
• From the Sports Desk… just a weird note that three NFL games being played at this second (Bucs/Browns, Bengals/Titans, Falcons/Commanders) are tied at 10-10 at halftime.
• Today in history… James Pratt and John Smith are hanged in London; they are the last two to be executed for sodomy in England (1835). Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on Cheyenne living on reservation land (1868). Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss is first performed (1896). In New York City, the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held (1924). CARE is founded to send CARE Packages of food relief to Europe after World War II (1945). The Soviet space program's Mars 2 orbiter releases a descent module. It malfunctions and crashes, but it is the first man-made object to reach the surface of Mars (1971). The United States Senate votes 92–3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States (1973). In San Francisco, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White (1978). A hydrogen atmosphere is discovered on the extrasolar planet Osiris by the Hubble Space Telescope, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet (2001). 
• November 27 is the birthday of Aragon King Ferdinand I (1380), physicist Anders Celsius (1701), painter Frank Dicksee (1853), Israel president Chaim Weizmann (1874), novelist/critic James Agee (1909), sportscaster Chick Hearn (1916), car dealer Cal Worthington (1920), drummer Al Jackson, Jr. (1934), actor/martial artist Bruce Lee (1940), singer-songwriter Eddie Rabbit (1941), guitar legend Jimi Hendrix (1942), trumpeter Randy Brecker (1945), human glob of goo Steve Bannon (1953), engineer/educator Bill Nye (1955), lawyer/diplomat Caroline Kennedy (1957), MLB player/manager Mike Scioscia (1958), and actor Jaleel White (1976).

I’m going to be doing some overall cleanup of my home today, knowing that this coming week (and all weeks from now through the holidays) will be busy. I like waking on on Monday and not having trash and dishes and shit all over the place, and having clean clothes to choose from. It’s not how I want to spend my Sunday, but it’s a favor to my future self. You’re welcome, future me. Enjoy your day. 

Random News: November 26, 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 November 26, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. Feels like I’ve been floating in some null space where time is meaningless and life is only measurable by the number of turkey sandwiches I’ve consumed. Let’s see what’s up…

• Rest in peace to Irene Cara. She was only 63. Cause of death not announced.
• As I just posted upon hearing the news, I was about 12 when 'Fame' came out, and I think that was the first time I realized one could go to school for performing arts, which is exactly what I ended up doing.
• Between my junior and senior years of high school, I spent a summer in Boston studying at Berklee College of Music, and in the late ‘80s spent a year at Musicians Institute in Hollywood.
• I ended up getting my bachelors in Music from Cal State Dominguez, and I have no regrets about that decision.
• Music is a particularly difficult major, with more credits and time spent studying than most others, including business, pre-law, and pre-med. It was a challenge and I enjoyed it a lot.
• In any case, RIP to Ms. Cara, who won both Grammy and Academy awards for her work.
• Music trivia note: Irene’s hit ballad “Out Here on My Own” had lyrics composed by Lesley Gore, who had a #1 hit at age 16 with the song “It’s My Party”.
• Side note to my side note: Lesley was a lesbian who was a gay rights activist. She passed away in 2015 at age 68.
• And now, The Weather: “Yet Another Window” by Goon
• I was going to post some news stuff in this news, but every single story this morning seems to be about people being shot… in Nashville, TN, in Greenville, NC, in Sacramento, CA, in Denver, CO, in Portland, OR, in Fort Wayne, IN, in New Orleans, LA. There are more but I’m done doomscrolling. 
• It’s the guns.
• Happy birthday to Tina Turner, who turns 83 today. She is still touring, bless.
• 2,500 people stripped for a naked photo shoot on Australia's Bondi Beach on Saturday (which has already passed in AU, since they’re in the future), designed to raise awareness of skin cancer. Seems… counterproductive.
• I assume they wore sunblock.
• I should add that the human body is not obscene, though I respect the fact that not everyone wants to see me or anyone else naked. But nudity in and of itself is not a reason to freak out.
• From the Sports Desk… the FIFA World Cup continues in Qatar. Poland beat Saudi Arabia 2-0. Australia beat Tunisia 1-0. And gay rights are beating Muslim religious rule with every story that focuses on small acts of rebellion to keep it as a news story that overshadows the game play. 
• Side note: everyone thinks the word “soccer” is an Americanism, meant to differentiate from our sport we call football.
• Nope.
• It was slang that was developed by college kids at Oxford in England in the 1880s to distinguish between the sports of “rugger” (rugby football) and “assoccer” (association football). The latter term was further shortened to “soccer”.
• Defeated Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate and complete idiot Kari Lake’s campaign has sued Maricopa County and its election officials.
• She’s demanding they respond to the campaign’s public records requests about malfunctions on Election Day before the county certifies its vote canvass on Monday.
• These people love losing over and over again. I think it’s a fetish.
• Today in history… Vlad the Impaler becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time (1476). In the Hawaiian Islands, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit Maui (1778). A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress (1789). United States President Abraham Lincoln proclaims November 26 as a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated annually on the final Thursday of November (1863). The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams (1917). Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years (1922). ‘Casablanca’ premieres in New York City (1942). George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's electoral votes by Katherine Harris, going on to win the United States presidential election, despite losing in the national popular vote (2000). The World Health Organization identifies the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (2021). 
• November 26 is the birthday of policeman/journalist Bat Masterson (1853), inventor Willis Carrier (1876), AA founder/activist Bill W. (1895), cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922), actor Robert Goulet (1933), comedian Rich Little (1938), singer Tina Turner (1939), bass player John McVie (1945), producer Michael Omartian (1945), NFL player Art Shell (1946), NBA player Shawn Kemp (1969), and rapper DJ Khaled (1975).

I don’t have much of a plan today. I’m still in a bathrobe, you see. It’s difficult to make plans in a bathrobe. In a few minutes, I’ll take a shower and put on some kind of clothing, and then we’ll see where we’re at. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 25, 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, um afternoon… It’s November 25, 2022, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Here are some observations from a guy with a food hangover.

• In the never-ending election, congrats to congresswoman Mary Peltola. The Democrat was elected to a full term (after winning a special election this summer) via Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, beating former governor Sarah Palin.
• Peltola is the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and the first woman to hold Alaska's House seat.
• Oddly enough, I’ll also send congrats to Alaska’s Republican senate winner, Lisa Murkowski. She won reelection over Trump-backed election-denying fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka. 
• Murkowski was one of the few Republicans with balls who voted to impeach Trump in his second impeachment trial for inciting the January 6 failed coup attempt.
• Speaking of FPOTUS, he had an interesting dinner on Wednesday night.
• It was at Mar-a-Lago with Kanye West, who is running for president in 2024, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
• According to Ye on a video after the event, he a) asked Trump to be his vice-president in 2024, and then b) Trump started screaming at him, said he’ll lose, and called Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian an expletive that Kanye didn’t appreciate at all.
• These are weird fucking people, man.
• True story: I never wanted to be President of the United States. 
• Also, the older I got, the less appealing the job seemed.
• If you were going to President, it’s helpful to have a background in military service. 31 of the 46 Presidents do. It’s also a good idea to be a lawyer, which 27 of the 46 have been.
• Statistics say being a Governor or member of Congress seems to work.
• Here are all the governors who became President…
• Thomas Jefferson (VA), James Monroe (VA), Martin Van Buren (NY), John Tyler (VA), James K. Polk (TN), Andrew Johnson (TN), Rutherford B. Hayes (OH), Grover Cleveland (NY), William McKinley (OH), Theodore Roosevelt (NY), Woodrow Wilson (NJ), Calvin Coolidge (MA), Franklin Roosevelt (NY), Jimmy Carter (GA), Ronald Reagan (CA), Bill Clinton (AR), George W. Bush (TX).
• And here are the nearly equal number of Senators who stepped up to be POTUS…
• James Monroe (VA), John Quincy Adams (MA), Andrew Jackson (TN), Martin Van Buren (NY), William H. Harrison (OH), John Tyler (VA), Franklin Pierce (NH), James Buchanan (PA), Andrew Johnson (TN), Benjamin Harrison (IN), Warren G. Harding (OH), Harry S. Truman (MO), John F. Kennedy (MA), Lyndon B. Johnson (TX), Richard M. Nixon (CA), Barack Obama (IL), Joe Biden (DE).
• As you’d expect, a good number of people served in the House before being President…
• James Madison (VA), John Quincy Adams (MA), Andrew Jackson (TN), William Henry Harrison (OH), John Tyler (VA), James K. Polk (TN), Millard Fillmore (NY), Franklin Pierce (NH), James Buchanan (PA), Abraham Lincoln (IL), Andrew Johnson (TN), Rutherford B. Hayes (OH), James A. Garfield (OH), William McKinley (OH), John F. Kennedy (MA), Lyndon B. Johnson (TX), Richard M. Nixon (CA), Gerald Ford (MI), George H.W. Bush (TX).
• Only one person was President with no military or previous political experience. I wonder how that worked out?
• And now, The Weather: “Green Viridian” by Fonteray
• There were a bunch of shootings yesterday here in America on Thanksgiving — in Houston, a couple of them in Portland, three in Atlanta, and so on — but I’m not going to talk about that.
• Instead, I’ll talk about sandwiches. 
• My Thanksgiving meal last night was superb, but it won’t even come close to the sandwich I’m going to be making shortly.
• I used to tell people that my personal turkey sandwich — which involves shredded white meat on white bread with mayo, lettuce, and stuffing — was the best sandwich.
• But as I got older, I realized that my personal tastes and opinions, colored by my own culture and socialization, were just that: mine.
• Subjective to my own perspective, my background, my experiences, I can certainly suggest my sandwich for others to try, and they can do the same for me, but at the end of the day, it’s up to each of us to acknowledge that we are different, and that we’ll each have our own sandwich that we enjoy, and that the world is better with a diverse range of sandwich possibilities, with myriad variety and something for everyone to find to their liking.
• From the Sports Desk… the Sports Desk noticed that in the incredibly exciting action of the World Cup, the USA and England are currently tied 0-0 at the half. There’s a joke going around that whoever loses has to keep James Corden. 
• Today is Black Friday.
• I may or may not shop for holiday gifts today.
• Not, like, in person. The last time I went Christmas shopping in a store was… Jesus… um, like 2006?
• I mean on the Interwebs. If I see something that might be a good gift, I might get it, but I’m not going out of my way in some insane exercise in consumerism. 
• Today in history… Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant break the Siege of Chattanooga by routing Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg (1863). A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan starts fires in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City (1864). The "Hollywood Ten" are blacklisted by Hollywood movie studios (1947). Thirty-six top musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio and record Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia (1984). U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua (1986). A five-year-old Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, is rescued by fishermen while floating in an inner tube off the Florida coast (1999). 
• November 25 is the birthday of violin maker Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri (1666), author/activist Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck (1778), businessman/philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835), engineer/businessman Karl Benz (1844), engineer/businesswoman/philanthropist Kate Gleason (1865), MLB legend Joe DiMaggio (1914), singer Percy Sledge (1940), actor John Larroquette (1947), singer Amy Grant (1960), singer-songwriter Mark Lanegan (1964), actress Christina Applegate (1971), and NFL player Donovan McNabb (1976). 

Well, I’ve had a sandwich, and I’ll have another, and I’ll heat up some yams, and have some pie. This is a wonderful day for extreme gluttony, and I have no regrets. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 24, 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 November 24, 2022, and it’s a Thursday for some reason… and it’s Thanksgiving, possibly my favorite holiday. Here’s some thematically accurate stuff…

• How to make a turkey.
• First, get a turkey. Don’t get a frozen turkey. You’re way too late. You couldn’t make a frozen turkey ready for dinner tonight with anything less powerful than a hydrogen bomb. A frozen turkey would laugh at a typical flamethrower. 
• So get a fresh turkey. Take it home.
• Preheat your oven to 350º F. Some say 325º. I say my oven runs a bit cool and I don’t have all fucking day. Adjust accordingly.
• The turkey will be wrapped in some kind of plastic.
• Be careful about where you open said plastic. There will be various liquids inside that you don’t want to spray around willie-nillie in your kitchen.
• I’m assuming you’re in your kitchen. Don’t prepare food in your bedroom or bathroom.
• So anyway, you’ve got this turkey in front of you. You will notice something right away.
• The turkey will have a hole where its neck used to be, and a hole in the general vicinity of its ass.
• But don’t worry. This is normal. Here’s where it gets weird.
• You’re gonna remove the neck from the ass, and the body parts, aka giblets, from the neck. Do not freak out. They are in little plastic bags.
• You are not compelled to do anything with these spare parts. Now, if you’re a cool-ass motherfucker, you might want to make your own giblet gravy from scratch.
• I will not be telling you how. I’m just your turkey guy. Go find a giblet guy elsewhere.
• Controversial moment: to rinse the bird or not.
• The actual USDA has a statement on this. It says…
• “Many consumers think that washing their turkey will remove bacteria and make it safer. However, it's virtually impossible to wash bacteria off the bird. Instead, juices that splash during washing can transfer bacteria onto the surfaces of your kitchen, other foods and utensils.”
• So, ew, fucking gross, there’s so much bacteria on the fucking animal carcass that it’s pointless to wash and you should just give up. That’s what they’re saying.
• I carefully rinse my turkey in my sink with nothing else in it. I do NOT splash turkey juice all over the fucking place. I am careful. I am calm. I am at one with this dead bird.
• After I give it a rinse, I pat it down with some paper towels. Then I put the turkey on some more paper towels.
• Important note: everything the turkey touches in this raw state must be SUPER cleaned immediately after. I’m talking hot water, soap, disinfectant, and so on. Hands, countertop, sink, the car in which you drove the turkey home, and all points in between.
• I mean, don’t freak out. But do clean.
• Let’s talk about stuffing.
• I fucking love stuffing. You could serve me literally everything else in a giant Thanksgiving feast and without stuffing, it would be entirely meaningless to me.
• Stuffing is easy to make. I won’t tell you how. You can easily find that info elsewhere. But I will say this.
• If you’re going to put in in the bird, you should have made your stuffing like two hours ago. It’s already cooled down entire and has been in your fridge with some plastic wrap on it to keep it moist.
• Moist, I said, Moist.
• Your other option, and many prefer this anyway, is to cook the stuffing apart from the bird.
• Why do I bring all this up? Two reasons.
• First, the cooking time is longer with the bird stuff versus not.
• Second, I'm gonna tell you some shit about how to stuff.
• Put your bird into the roaster pan. Don’t stuff the turkey until right before that fucker is going in the oven. 
• Do not overstuff the bird. That’s a terrible idea. Just put the stuffing in the cavities until it is loosely full.
• Side note: I make twice as much stuffing as I need for the bird because a) I heat up the non-stuffed stuffing as its own side dish and b) I require stuffing for my sandwiches the next day.
• So you have your stuffed bird, and your oven is well heated to the proper temp.
• And now, The Weather: “atonement” by Winter ft. Hatchie
• One more thing.
• Take a lot of butter and put it all over that turkey.
• How much butter? Like, way more than you think. Every millimeter of the surface area of that turkey should be buttered. Heavily buttered. Apply the butter any way you want. Melt it and pour, or just squish it all over at room temp. Smear it into the crevices.
• I hope you have a meat thermometer. If not, you’ll probably be fine. If so, stab it into the beast in the lower part of the thigh next to the body, not touching the bone.
• Put the bird in the oven. Try putting it in at an angle where you can actually see your thermometer. That’s helpful.
• So, that’s basically it. Oh wait, you probably want to know how long to cook that sucker.
• Roast your bird at 325-350º for about 15 minutes per pound, if it’s stuffed. For my typical 12-13 pound turkey, that’s usually right around four hours.
• This is a good time to scrub the crap out of everything per above. Especially yourself.
• But wait. There’s one more thing.
• When it’s about 2/3 done and the skin is a lovely shade of golden brown, make a little tent with some aluminum foil and put it over your bird.
• The turkey is fully cooked when the thigh’s internal temperature is 180 degrees. If you’re super fancy, the thickest part of the breast should read 170 degrees and the center of the stuffing should be 165 degrees.
• Take it out of the oven. Don’t leave your oven on unless you’re cooking other shit as I do.
• This next part is important.
• You may be hungry but you’re gonna wait a bit. Let the turkey stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. There are reasons for this that involve your turkey being delightfully juicy rather than bone-ass dry.
• Also, if you’re me, you’re finishing up 17 other dishes at that moment and need the time regardless.
• Today in history… Genghis Khan defeats the renegade Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din at the Battle of the Indus, completing the Mongol conquest of Central Asia (1221). Abel Tasman becomes the first European to discover the island Van Diemen's Land, later renamed Tasmania (1642). The Texas Provincial Government authorizes the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers (1835). Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species (1859). Anna Sewell's animal welfare novel ‘Black Beauty’ is published (1877). In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory officially opens (1932). Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is killed by Jack Ruby (1963). Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" after The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (1974). Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions (2013). 
• November 24 is the birthday of composer Charles Theodore Pachelbel (1690), missionary Junípero Serra (1713), US president Zachary Taylor (1784), painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864), pianist/composer Scott Joplin (1868), educator Dale Carnegie (1888), mob boss Lucky Luciano (1897), author/publisher William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925), politician George Moscone (1929), NBA player Oscar Robertson (1938), NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue (1940), drummer Pete Best (1941), bass player Donald “Duck” Dunn (1941), comedy Billy Connolly (1942), keyboardist Richard Tee (1943), serial killer Ted Bundy (1946), NBA player/coach Rudy Tomjanovich (1948), actress Denise Crosby (1957), and actor Colin Hanks (1977). 

So that’s all. Now you know exactly how to make a turkey. This information may serve you well someday. You never know when you’ll be in some life-or-death situation where properly preparing a turkey is the only way to save the galaxy. Now you’re ready. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 23, 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 November 23, 2022, and it’s a Wednesday that feels like a Friday. Here’s whatever is on my mind that is still publishable on a family-friendly web site…

• Can I wake up on one fucking day in the United States of America without a mass shooting?
• Apparently not.
• Last night, it was at a Walmart in Virginia, leaving six dead and others shot but alive.
• The shooter was a manager at the store. There’s no known motive. He killed himself after killing his staff.
• Stores, schools, churches, hospitals, nightclubs… there is nowhere safe in this country from gun violence.
• We’ve had plenty of opportunities to change that and then choose not to.
• And a little message to you gun nuts: someday it’s going to be you, or your wife, or your dad, or your child, or your best friend, and you will have to accept part of the responsibility for fetishizing these instruments of death.
• Anyway, RIP to the dead, I guess. Poor-ass people just trying to earn a living at Walmart. Dead now for no reason at all.
• Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied the request of the former president to shield his tax returns from Congress, who had requested them for investigations starting years ago.
• There were no dissenting opinions given. They did not state a reason for their denial.
• It’s likely that the Treasury Department will immediately hand over six years of tax records from Trump and some of his companies to the House Ways and Means Committee.
• They’re gonna have to hurry; the new GOP-led House which starts in January will immediately withdraw the request to better allow Trump to continue his criminal ways unfettered.
• Godspeed, you defenders of democracy.
• Why doesn’t FPOTUS want his tax records released? I mean, they’re just taxes. Every president has made their public until that guy.
• It’s likely he’s been lying about how rich he is, by a LOT.
• It’s likely that despite that, he hasn’t been paying his fair share of taxes.
• He got a $73 million refund in 2010 and may not have been truthful about its reasons.
• He very well may have loans with foreign countries or individuals that may have compromised his decisions as president.
• He’s repeatedly claimed that he makes large donations to charity, while the tax records might show that’s a giant load of shit.
• Yesterday was a very bad day for FPOTUS yesterday on another front as well.
• Trump’s lawyers in his criminal document case argued before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
• That conservative court includes Chief Judge Bill Pryor (George W. Bush appointee), Judge Britt Grant (Trump appointee), and Judge Andrew Brasher (another Trump appointee).
• That court annihilated Trump’s lawyers’ arguments and said that Judge Cannon “abused authority”, and may apparently end her Special Master ruling.
• We expect a ruling from the 11th circuit within a week. Then Jack Smith will get down to business in prosecuting that and the January 6 incitement crimes.
• Oh, almost forgot: Kanye West says he was at Mar-a-Lago yesterday and asked Trump to be his running mate in 2024. PLEASE let that happen.
• In other news…
• There are mounting concerns about an upcoming rail strike. Earlier this week, the largest rail union announced they have rejected the tentative agreement reached in September.
• The good news: it if happens, it shouldn’t impact Christmas much. Most of the products for the season are already at retailers and distribution centers.
• The super bad news: a prolonged rail strike could cause product shortages and price spikes early in 2023 as nearly one-third of all freight in the United States moves by rail.
• Speaking of things that move…
• Do you know who the founders and chief inventors behind Tesla are?
• American engineers Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard founded the company in 2003. That’s it.
• The guy who you mistakenly think had something to do with establishing the brand and its technologies was merely an investor who bought his way into being the largest shareholder, then made himself the CEO.
• I was glad to see that when Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez identified the victims of the Club Q shooting massacre, he not only used the names by which they identified themselves, but also gave their preferred pronouns.
• Kelly Loving; Pronouns are “she/her;” Daniel Aston; Pronouns are “he/him;” Derrick Rump; Pronouns are “he/him;” Ashley Paugh; Pronouns are “she/her;” Raymond Green Vance; Pronouns are “he/him."
• If you can’t respect the wishes of people who struggled and fought their entire lives just to have the world see them as they are, I don’t know what to feel about you. Pity, I guess.
• And now, The Weather: “Resolutions” by Una Rose
• So yeah, most of us Americans eat the same thing tomorrow. My menu is ultra traditional.
• Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, bread rolls, and pumpkin pie and pecan pie for dessert.
• I cook everything except a) Kat is in charge of the mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce, and b) although I do know how to bake them, I buy the pies because ain’t no one got time for all that.
• I know a lot of people in various areas of the country and from various cultures add or substitute things like mac and cheese, collard greens, peach cobbler, and more. I’m good with any of that.
• However, as I mentioned on the Bird Site, Thanksgiving is NOT a time to experiment. Experiment with your meals and recipes on a random day in March. Not at the most important feast of the year.
• Today in history… Thespis of Icaria becomes the first recorded actor to portray a character on stage (534 BC). John Milton publishes Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship (1644). King William III of the Netherlands dies without a male heir and a special law is passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to succeed him (1890). Edwin Hubble's discovery, that the Andromeda "nebula" is actually another island galaxy far outside our own Milky Way, is first published in The New York Times (1924). The BBC broadcasts ‘An Unearthly Child’, the first episode of the first story from the first series of ‘Doctor Who’, which is now the world's longest running science fiction drama (1963). Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17, giving the CIA the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua (1981). Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury announces in a statement that he is HIV-positive and dies the following day (1991). The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, is introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada (1992). 
• November 23 is the birthday of Holy Roman emperor Otto I (912), US president Franklin Pierce (1804), actor Boris Karloff (1887), comedian/musician Harpo Marx (1888), composer Johnny Mandel (1925), musician R. L. Burnside (1926), activist/politician Bobby Rush (1946), politician Chuck Schumer (1950), reality TV personality Snooki (1987), and singer Miley Cyrus (1992).

Well, today will be kinda weird. It is a work day, but at some point around lunch, everyone with whom I work will be traveling or cooking or prepping their homes for the holiday. I already know that there will be some type of last-minute emergency that will hit because that’s how life is, but I’m not worried about it. Oh, and my fucked-up back is a tiny bit better today, so I am grateful for that, even though it is still unmistakably fucked up. I guess that’s it. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 22, 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 November 22, 2022, and it’s a Tuesday. Here’s whatever that I have time to write in the time I’ve allotted to write things…

• Big salute to retired US Army Major Richard M. Fierro. He was the man who rushed the shooter at Club Q in Colorado Springs, CO. 
• He did four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in his 15-year career. His service record shows that he was awarded the Combat Action Badge and the Bronze Star twice.
• When the shooter began his rampage, Fierro (who was there with his wife, daughter and friends on Saturday, enjoying the drag show) first hit the deck, grabbing his companions and pulling them down to safety, and then rushed the guy.
• Fierro took Anderson Lee Aldrich down while he was still shooting, and yelled for other club patrons to help him. A man grabbed the AR-15-style rifle and moved it away to safety. A transgender woman stomped on Alrdich with her high heels. And Fierro grabbed a handgun from the killer and beat the fuck out of him, leaving him senseless.
• Thanks to their brave actions, there were five dead instead of 50+.
• There are lots of courageous and good people in the world. If you can’t find one, be one.
• Side note: Fierro and his wife Jess own Atrevida Beer Co., a local brewery in Colorado Springs. Looks like a cool business whose motto is “Diversity, it’s on tap!”. I bought one of their t-shirts last night.
• Moving on.
• Having been appointed on Friday, special counsel Jack Smith is already getting to work on his double investigations against FPOTUS.
• The prosecutors who are working under Smith have continued taking witness testimony and collecting documents under subpoena.
• And now, The Weather: “Haunted House” by Cosmopaark
• I’ve continued to cover the punishment of traitorous insurrectionists involved in the January 6, 2021 coup attempt.
• Why? Because it’s bound to happen again. There are still forces actively campaigning to motivate violent insurrection to our government.
• Riley Williams, 23, of Harrisburg, PA, was convicted of six charges, including two felonies. You may remember her as a) the women who stole Nancy Pelosi’s laptop and b) the prisoner who managed to get granted temporary release to attend a fucking Ren Faire.
• Williams is a big fan of Nick Fuentes, who has used his online platform to spew antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric.
• There won’t be fairs in her immediate future. She was visibly shocked in court when U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Williams immediately remanded to federal prison.
• In more personal news…
• I got my turkey. I always wait until the days before the feast and get a fresh bird as opposed to frozen.
• It’s a crap shoot. If they don’t have one, then I’m driving around town until I find somewhere that does. But my fat little gobbler was right there waiting for me; a 13-pound Butterball that will be perfect for four people and leftovers.
• Thanksgiving is a very American holiday (yes, Canadians, I know you have them too).
• I often feel sorta bad that my news bullets are so USA-centric.
• I mean, I do know why. I’m an American and I tend to focus on things that might affect me personally.
• And yet, saying that, I write very often about things that absolutely don’t impact me on a direct basis. I’m white, primarily heterosexual, and cisgendered. I’m not super rich but definitely not particularly poor. I live in what might be the best state in the country for liberal outlooks, voting rights and more.
• Obviously, I care about people who aren’t named Me, but at the same time, like most folks probably do, I mentally prioritize things that have some degree of proximity to me, or that I might be able to affect even in small ways.
• When I see that hundreds of people were killed and many thousands more injured and/or left homeless by an earthquake in Indonesia, it’s obviously sad. But there’s a disconnect there.
• I don’t personally know anyone in Indonesia directly, at least no one I’m aware of aware of immediately or are close to.
• Anyway, that’s sad and I hope they recover well.
• Speaking of sad, Herschel “Head Injury” Walker is running a new ad attacking the LGBTQ+ community just days after the Colorado Springs mass shooting. 
• Of course he is. The cruelty is the point. Re-elect Raphael Warnock for a better direction, Georgians.
• From the Sports Desk… the 2022 FIFA World Cup began this week in Qatar. I’m not here to talk about soccer, a sport that doesn’t interest me very much despite having played it for a number of years in my youth.
• Instead, the Sports Desk will point out that it’s very difficult to live in a world where actions and behaviors that would be considered human rights violations in one country are celebrated and encouraged in others.
• Visitors and players in the World Cup were banned from wearing any sort of apparel with rainbows, since homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, which is a theocracy (a county governed by religious belief).
• For all the good it may bring, the world would be better off without religion.
• In unrelated news, I was thinking about nipples.
• How bizarre is it that people of every gender have nipples, and yet I can walk around all day with no shirt on, post topless pics of myself on any social media site, and not one person will think of this as some form of obscenity?
• We’re just mammals. Mammals have nipples.
• Today in history… Juan Fernández discovers islands now known as the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile (1574). Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard attacks and boards the vessels of the British pirate Edward Teach, aka “Blackbeard", off the coast of North Carolina (1718). In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched (1869). General Friedrich Paulus sends Adolf Hitler a telegram saying that the German 6th Army is surrounded in Stalingrad (1942). The Summer Olympics, officially known as the games of the XVI Olympiad, are opened in Melbourne, Australia (1956). U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and Texas Governor John Connally is seriously wounded by Lee Harvey Oswald, who also kills Dallas Police officer J. D. Tippit after fleeing the scene (1963). U.S Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as the 36th President of the United States (1963). Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco (1975). British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher withdraws from the Conservative Party leadership election, confirming the end of her Prime-Ministership (1990). ‘Toy Story’ is released as the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery (1995). England defeats Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, becoming the first side from the Northern Hemisphere to win the tournament (2003). Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany (2005).
• November 21 is the birthday of organist/composer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710), first lady Abagail Adams (1744), novelist/poet George Eliot (1819), US vice-president John Nance Garner (1868), French president Charles de Gaulle (1890), songwriter/musician Hoagy Carmichael (1899), composer Benjamin Britten (1913), comedian Rodney Dangerfield (1921), actress/singer Geraldine Page (1942), actor/director/animator Terry Gilliam (1940), tennis player Billie Jean King (1943), guitarist Rod Price (1947), musician/actor Steven Van Zandt (1950), bass player Tina Weymouth (1950), actor Richard Kind (1956), actress Jamie Lee Curtis (1958), actress Mariel Hemingway (1961), actor Mads Mikkelsen (1965), tennis player Boris Becker (1967), actor/activist Mark Ruffalo (1967), singer-songwriter Karen O (1978), businessman Shawn Fanning (1980), and actress Scarlett Johansson (1984).

Well, I have things to do. My back is still fucked up. Trying not to let that bum me out. Pain is a shitty way for the body to let you know something is wrong. I think whoever designed this body could have chosen a way better method. Anyway, I’m tough and I’ll get better. I will always get better until I don’t. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 21, 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 November 21, 2022, and it's a Monday. I’m a guy with a hurt lower back and, as a result, a shitty attitude. Let’s see what’s worth talking about…

• Wouldn’t it be weird if there was nothing to talk about?
• Like, I woke up one morning, and literally nothing had happened other than the sun having gone down and back up again?
• There are days I feel like that… not because nothing has happened, obviously, but that the same things happen over and over so often for so long that it’s impossible to distinguish one set of events from any other.
• Like mass shootings.
• Allegedly, the piece of shit who shot up the gay nightclub in Colorado Springs is the grandson of MAGA Republican representative Randy Voepel, who supported the January 6 insurrection and compared it to the Revolutionary War. 
• Bigotry, racism, and extreme right-wing nationalism does run in families. I’ve seen it on many occasions.
• Another note on that topic: the shooter, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, was taken down by one of the club’s patrons, which tells you the best way to fight a bad guy with a gun is a gay guy without a gun.
• Contrast this with the Uvalde shooting massacre, where dozens of heavily armed and armored cops waited outside a school while one guy killed dozens of kids. Then ask yourself about your perceptions of bravery.
• In other gun news, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy from Vermont was shot multiple times by police in New York after he was involved in a gunfight with another group of people early Sunday morning.
• But no, the guns aren’t the problem.
• And now, The Weather: “Light on the Corner” by Dani Mack
• It’s Thanksgiving week, which means many of you are planning to travel. Whether you’re going across town or across the country, be safe, be patient, and give yourself plenty of time to get wherever you’re going.
• I’m not going anywhere except to my kitchen.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating another potential leak out of the Supreme Court, following a New York Times report that said anti-abortion leaders knew about the 2014 Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision before it was official.
• The alleged leaker was SCOTUS justice Samuel Alito.
• If the Hobby Lobby leak is authenticated, it will be the second known leak from the Supreme Court. This summer, a draft opinion was leaked in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case that overturned abortion protections provided by Roe v. Wade.
• Both decisions were authored by Alito.
• I hope they throw his ass off the Court, and frankly chief justice Roberts, who’s been aware of the Hobby Lobby leak for months and did nothing, should go with him.
• From the Sports Desk… after the Sports Desk predicted his Las Vegas Raiders would lose every game for the remainder of the season and then bet against them… they won a game. Granted, it was against the even sadder Denver Broncos.
• The Sports Desk had to laugh at the optimism of the Raiders fan base. They went from being 2-7 to, “We’re going to win out the rest of the seasons, go 10-7 and make the playoffs!”
• That will NOT happen, but it’s cute to see people enjoying this silly idea.
• In personal news…
• So yes, my back is fucked up, but it’s not as fucked up as it has been in the past, so while I’m in pain, I’m not in horrifying pain.
• Perspective is everything.
• About the only other thing I’ll add is my ultra-traditional menu for the feast this week.
• Turkey, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, bread rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin and pecan pies.
• I’m buying the pies. That’s way too much shit to cook in one day.
• Today in history… Judas Maccabeus restores the Temple in Jerusalem, and this event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah (164 BCE). Danish astronomer Ole Rømer presents the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light (1676). North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution and is admitted as the 12th U.S. state (1789). Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound (1877). Claude Monet's paintings shown at Gallery Durand-Ruel in Paris (1900). The Philadelphia Football Athletics defeat the Kanaweola Athletic Club of Elmira, New York, 39–0, in the first-ever professional American football night game (1902). Albert Einstein's paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik (1905). Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first female United States Senator (1922). American disc jockey Alan Freed, who had popularized the term "rock and roll" and music of that style, is fired from WABC radio over allegations he had participated in the payola scandal (1959). The first permanent ARPANET link is established between UCLA and SRI (1969). National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the Iran–Contra affair (1986). 
• November 21 is the birthday of writer/philosopher Voltaire (1694), businessman Samuel Cunard (1787), painter René Magritte (1898), songwriter/producer Buck Ram (1907), NFL player Sid Luckman (1916), MLB player Stan Musial (1920), author Christopher Tolkien (1924), actor Laurence Luckinbill (1934), actress/activist Marlo Thomas (1937), politician Dick Durbin (1944), actor/writer Harold Ramis (1944), actress Goldie Hawn (1945), singer-songwriter Björk (1965), NFL player Troy Aikman (1966), MLB player Ken Griffey Jr. (1969), and NFL player/TV host Michael Strahan (1971).

Okay. Time to be Mister Monday. My regular Monday meeting this morning was canceled, so I’m super happy about that. I need to map out what can and can’t be done in this shortened work week, so I’ll do that, and then do some actual work. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 20, 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 November 20, 2022, and it’s a Sunday. I think about stuff, and then sometimes it spills from my fingers…

• There was a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO just before midnight last night. At least five are dead and 18 others injured.
• The suspect in the shooting at Club Q was identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich. He’s 22. Per the club, it was only due to the heroic actions of its patrons that stopped the devastation from being even worse.
• Openly gay people are, as a whole, very brave. They are constantly under threat of violence their entire lives just for being their true selves.
• Easy prediction: nothing will be done to change the easy access to weapons, nor to improve our system of background checks and red flag laws, as a result of this or any other mass shooting.
• We’re averaging about two mass shootings per day every day of 2022. There have been close to 700 of them this year.
• If I lived outside of this country, I would never visit it, nor allow anyone I cared about to come here.
• Sadly ironic side note: today is the Trans Day of Remembrance, a day that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
• I’ll say the same thing I do after the worst of these, which is that your thoughts don’t help and your prayers do nothing. They may make you feel better, but at that same moment someone else is loading ammunition with the intent of killing more people.
• I should add that there were another 10+ lethal shootings yesterday alone in the USA that weren’t “mass” shootings, so I guess they don’t matter that much.
• Moving on, as we do.
• I did most of my Thanksgiving shopping yesterday evening. The store wasn’t as packed as I’d feared it might be. 
• I got almost everything except the turkey. It’s a risky gamble. I like a fresh bird, but in this weird-ass supply chain purgatory, it’s impossible to know if the turkey of an appropriate size for my meal will be available at the ideal time, which is on Tuesday.
• But I’ve always gotten lucky and ended up with a perfect bird, so I’m rolling the dice again for 2022. Wish me luck.
• And now, The Weather: “Sunday Service” by Daisynuke
• It’s Joe Biden’s birthday, as noted below. The POTUS is 80. No US president has ever been 80 years old while in office. Happy b-day, Joe!
• From the Sports Desk… I hate to be that guy, but with my NFL team sucking so badly, my enthusiasm for the entire season is rather subdued. One game of note: the Buffalo Bills are hosting the Cleveland Browns… at Ford Field in Detroit. 
• As mentioned previously, western New York had over six feet of snow dropped on it like a frozen water bomb, and the Bills’ stadium is unusable as such.
• I realized this morning that we’re getting close to December, which is when I do my annual “Top Indie Music Releases” of the year. That’s always fun to create, and narrowing down my list is a challenge that I enjoy.
• Keep in mind that I feature an indie music release every single fucking day here.
• Feeling like I forgot something… oh yeah.
• I need some Cool-Whip for my pies.
• And the owner of Twitter reinstated the traitorous former president’s account on that platform yesterday.
• I’m a good cook. Not like, a gourmet, and I have some friends who are genuinely great pro chefs and home cooks to whom I would never compare my skills in the kitchen. But I can hold my own doing things like an entire Thanksgiving feast.
• Cooking is a bit like music in that choosing how much of what to add and when to add it is crucial.
• Today in history… New Jersey becomes the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights (1789). An 80-ton sperm whale attacks and sinks the Essex 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America (1820). Francisco I. Madero issues the Plan de San Luis Potosí, denouncing Mexican President Porfirio Díaz, calling for a revolution to overthrow the government of Mexico, effectively starting the Mexican Revolution (1910). Trials against 24 Nazi war criminals start at the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg (1945). In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation (1962). Native American activists seize control of Alcatraz Island for a year and a half until being ousted by the U.S. Government (1969). The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation, leading to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System (1974). Lake Peigneur in Louisiana drains into an underlying salt deposit (1980). Microsoft Windows 1.0, the first graphical personal computer operating environment developed by Microsoft, is released (1985). 
• November 20 is the birthday of Roman emperor Maximinus II (270), inventor Mungo Ponton (1801), astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889), linguist Charles Berlitz (1913), pianist Yakov Zak (1913), senator/racist Robert Byrd (1917), lawyer/politician Robert F. Kennedy (1925), actor/host Richard Dawson (1932), musician Dr. John (1941), US President Joe Biden (1942), actor Bob Einstein (1942), musician Norman Greenbaum (1942), musician Duane Allman (19436), musician Joe Walsh (1947), activist Jeff Dowd (1949), actor Rodger Bumpass (1951), guitarist Frank Marino (1954), actress Bo Derek (1956), actor Joel McHale (1971), and rapper Future (1983).

Okay, so… I should get dressed and stuff. My lower back is tweaked, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve experienced so much worse. In fact, after I shower and put on clothes, I should be pretty good. Not sure of my plans today. Check out some football? Make some music? I genuinely don’t know. Enjoy your day.