Random News: January 31, 2023

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 January 31, 2023, and it's a Tuesday. Lots to talk about…

• Two more Memphis police officers and three EMTs/fire department employees were fired in the wake of the Tyre Nichols murder. 
• It’s almost pathetically predictable that while the first five officers who are Black were nearly immediately fired and charged with crimes, the sixth officer, identified as Preston Hemphill, is white, and therefore was not fired but just suspended with pay pending a hearing.
• The seventh officer has not been identified.
• Will there be nationwide police reform? I seriously doubt it.
• President Joe Biden intends to end the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, the White House stated yesterday.
• This comes in response to some House measures to officially end the emergency which the Biden admin said are unnecessary because it intends to end the emergencies anyway.
• The reason is wait until May 11 is simple: it ensures an orderly wind-down of authorities that states, health care providers, and patients have relied on throughout the pandemic.
• Obviously this had to happen at some point. Hopefully it doesn’t negatively impact the continuing fight against COVID or the longterm treatment of people who continue to suffer from its effects (he said, knowing that of course it will).
• Got some breaking news about a man who lies so much, he makes other politicians look honest by comparison. That’s right, it’s Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
• After a meeting with Kevin McCarthy yesterday, Santos has “volunteered” to step down from his Congressional committee assignments until the House ethics committee clears him of wrongdoing.
• According to a poll this morning, 78% of the voters in his district want Santos to resign. That includes 89% of Democrats, 72% of independents/others, and 71% of Republicans.
• Actress Cindy Williams has died after a short illness. She was 75. 
• Most people in my age range were huge fans of the show “Laverne & Shirley” which ran from 1976-1983, and was a spin-off from “Happy Days”. Her Shirley Feeney character was always lovable.
• Rest in peace.
• And now, The Weather: “Painted The Room” by Rozi Plain
• Another important figure in music has also passed away. Barrett Strong was a founder of Motown, and sang on and co-wrote some of the label’s most well-known hits including “Money (That’s What I Want)”, “War,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”. He was 81.
• I’m not going to talk about the Trump/Stormy Daniels grand jury payment evidence because Trump is completely irrelevant to any aspect of life today or in the future.
• Florida is on track to entirely eliminate concealed weapons permits.
• They say it is their God-given right to carry concealed guns. Well, many more of them will be meeting God as a result, and they can talk to him about it when they get there.
• Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed support for the idea, so the bill should not have a problem passing in a legislature with a GOP a super-majority.
• It’s probably something he’d like to enact nationwide if elected president. If you want your children being around people hiding guns, vote for him in 2024.
• From the Sports Desk… as the media will undoubtedly be covering way more than is necessary, Super Bowl LVII will have a first. Eagles center Jason Kelce and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will make history as the first pair of brothers to oppose each other in the Super Bowl.
• Both are great players and likely future Hall of Famers.
• Second up in sports news, RIP to the great Bobby Hull. Hull is one of those people whom you can choose to greatly respect as an athlete (a hall of Fame player who still leads the Blackhawks after all these decades in goals and hat tracks), and detest as a terrible person (a multiple domestic abuser who spoke out in support of Hitler).
• Today in history… Four of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, including Guy Fawkes, are executed for treason by hanging, drawing and quartering (1606). The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital (1747). The United States towns of Juneautown and Kilbourntown unify to create the City of Milwaukee (1846). The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, and submits it to the states for ratification (1865). US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War (1945). President Truman orders the development of thermonuclear weapons (1950). Doug Williams becomes the first African-American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl and leads the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXII (1988). Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occur (2018). The United Kingdom's membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50, after 47 years of being a member state (2020).
• January 31 is the birthday of composer Franz Schubert (1797), chemist Theodore William Richards (1868), singer-songwriter/actor Eddie Cantor (1892), actress Tallulah Bankhead (1902), musicologist Alan Lomax (1915), MLB legend Jackie Robinson (1919), actress Carol Channing (1921), novelist/playwright/journalist Norman Mailer (1923), actress Suzanne Pleshette (1937), politician Dick Gephardt (1941), guitarist Terry Kath (1946), MLB legend Nolan Ryan (1947), singer-songwriter Harry Wayne Casey (1951), guitarist Adrian Vandenberg (1954), singer-songwriter John Lydon (1956), bass player Fat Mike (1967), businessman Dov Charney (1969), actress Minnie Driver (1970), actress Portia de Rossi (1973), and singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake (1981).

As some of my friends are already aware, I’m dealing with a parent at the end stage of their life. It’s a hard thing that nearly everyone goes through eventually. There’s very little I can do except offer support as best I can to the other people affect by their imminent passing. The shitty thing is, of course, the necessity to keep carrying on with the other more mundane elements of life while that is transpiring. I will be okay. It’s not easy, but I’m a pretty tough dude and I’ve been through shit before and made it out the other side. I’ll keep on keeping on. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 30, 2023

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 January 30, 2023, and it’s a Monday. What follows are items of information that happen to be based on current events and observations…

• The definition of optimism is thinking that one of these police-related deaths will be the one that causes systemic change and that it won’t happen again.
• As skeptical as I am of that occurring, I’m still glad to see the nationwide protests over the murder of Tyre Nichols. As long as people care and make it loudly known, there’s less ability to shove it under a rug and pretend it doesn’t happen.
• It’s been brought up by many of you that the swift justice for the five Memphis cops seems starkly different than in cases where the cops were white. I have no way to argue against that.
• Moving on…
• Joe Biden will be hosting Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Wednesday to hash out a deal on this debt ceiling fiasco.
• While McCarthy says he wants to address spending cuts along with raising the debt limit, the White House has ruled out linking those two issues together.
• The speaker claims that cuts to Social Security and Medicare would be off the table. Remember that when they carry out their stated plan to do exactly that.
• A statement from the White House says, ”The President will ask Speaker McCarthy if he intends to meet his Constitutional obligation to prevent a national default, as every other House and Senate leader in U.S. history has done.”
• Perhaps McCarthy is looking to cut defense spending instead? Guess we’ll see.
• And now, The Weather: “Fractals” by Beth Orton
• Speaking of the weather, lots of wintry stuff going on in various areas of the US this morning, especially in the Midwest, mountain states, and Texas. We’ve got a good rain going on right now here at the beach.
• In shitty world news, at least 46 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a suicide bombing carried out by the Pakistan Taliban at a mosque in the city of Peshawar.
• Sigh. Pakistan isn’t doing so great in recent times, if you were unaware.
• Here’s a word salad from the former president, talking about his assumed 2024 challenger Ron DeSantis: "So then when I hear he might run, you know, I consider that very disloyal. But, it's not about loyalty — to me it is, it's always about loyalty. But for a lot of people, it's not about that."
• A little happy follow-up… the City of Alhambra, CA honored the man who has been hailed a hero for disarming the Monterey Park shooting suspect at a second dance studio during Lunar New Year celebrations last weekend.
• Brandon Tsay, 26, was awarded a medal of courage from the Alhambra Police Department during a ceremony yesterday. It’s well deserved.
• I only keep covering George Santos (R-NY) for the comedy. The latest?
• Campaign donors identified as Victoria and Jonathan Regor purportedly each contributed the maximum amount allowed.
• One problem: no one named Victoria or Jonathan Regor could be located anywhere in the U.S., and their address on the donation form — 45 New Mexico Street, Jackson Township, New Jersey — does not exist.
• Fucking Santos.
• From the Sports Desk… we have a Super Bowl matchup. The AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs will go up against the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, February 12.
• Both teams were the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences. Both had great records in the regular season. It’s no surprise to see them facing off in the big game.
• Early betting lines have the Eagles as a very slim -1.5 point favorite. That means anything could happen. Hopefully a good game.
• And guacamole.
• Today in history… Charles I of England is executed in Whitehall, London (1649). Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed (1661). The Forty-seven rōnin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka (1703). In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen as well as Jackson himself (1835). Yerba Buena, CA is renamed San Francisco, CA (1847). Japanese carmaker Mazda is founded, initially as a cork-producing company (1920). Adolf Hitler takes office as the Chancellor of Germany (1933). Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery bus boycott (1956). Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies (1968). The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London (1969). The World Health Organization declares the COVID-19 pandemic to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (2020). 
• January 30 is the birthday of statesman/poet George Villiers (1628), lawyer/politician John Lansing, Jr. (1754), nun/saint Angela of the Cross (1846), US president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882), actor Gene Hackman (1930), actress Vanessa Redgrave (1937), US vice president Dick Cheney (1941), singer-songwriter Marty Balin (1942), singer-songwriter Steve Marriott (1947), singer-songwriter/drummer Phil Collins (1951), golfer Payne Stewart (1957), singer Jody Watley (1959), NBA player Jalen Rose (1973), actor Christian Bale (1974), actress Olivia Colman (1974), and actor Wilmer Valderrama (1980).

I didn’t have the most relaxing weekend, but that’s okay. I’m more peeved about not having had time to finish my laundry last night, and I’m starting the week in my least favorite clothing. But this too shall pass. In fact, while I’m working out, I’ll be running the dryer and hopefully before my first meeting at 10am, I’ll be wearing clothes that aren’t the things I shove to the back of the drawer for emergency use. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 29, 2023

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 January 29, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. Got my coffee, wearing a robe, let’s see what’s shaking around this globe…

• This morning, Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT) signed bills that ban youth from receiving gender-affirming health care.
• Utah's measure prohibits transgender surgery for youth and disallows hormone treatments for minors who have not yet been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
• Lawmakers in at least 18 states consider similar bills targeting health care for young transgender people. Much like states that don’t allow for people to choose their own reproductive plans, I find it likely that there will be an exodus from those places for people who would face discrimination there.
• In better news, the Minnesota Senate passed legislation early yesterday morning that guarantees the right to abortion.
• The Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act passed the state Senate 34-33, after Republicans had unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill 35 times. The bill states that "every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health."
• Good.
• You know the guy in Half Moon Bay who killed seven of his farming coworkers in a mass shooting last week?
• Turns our he did it after his supervisor demanded he pay $100 to repair a forklift damaged at work. Chunli Zhao was enraged by the equipment bill, saying that a co-worker was to blame for the collision between his forklift and the co-worker's bulldozer.
• Zhao also said he was bullied and worked long hours on the farms and his complaints were ignored.
• Sad.
• Demonstrators marched through New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland, among other cities across the nation yesterday to decry police brutality after the release of video depicting the violent Memphis police beating that led to the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols.
• I’m not sure there’s any way to end police brutality. A certain percentage of people who go into law enforcement do so specifically because it gives them a legal blanket to be the violent people they want to be.
• How do you change that?
• General Mike Minihan, a four-star Air Force general who leads the Air Mobility Command (AMC), said in a memo on Friday that he believes the USA will be at war with China by 2025.
• “I hope I am wrong,” he added.
• Me too.
• And now, The Weather: “Cheers!” by koleżanka
• Let’s talk a little more about the Republican plan for a 30% national sales tax.
• Data shows the tax would raise the cost of a household by $125,000, the cost of a car by $10,000 and the average grocery bill by $3,500 a year. Everything from groceries to gas to medicine would jump up, and in most states, you’d still be paying state income tax.
• A national sales tax would hit lower-income folks as well as retirees particularly hard, while the rich would benefit disproportionately.
• Why does the GOP-led Congress think this “FairTax Act” is a good idea? I don’t know. You’ll need to ask your congressional rep, and you should.
• 2023 has been brutal in terms of the loss of musical heroes. Among others, in the past couple of weeks we’ve lost David Crosby and Jeff Beck. Yesterday’s loss of Tom Verlaine was right up there with those two more well-known guys.
• So much of today’s indie rock (and frankly any kind of avant-garde music that uses guitar) is based on music that Verlaine and his band Television launched in the mid/late 1970s. Along with a short list of other bands from that era like the Talking Heads and the B-52s, Television was so far ahead of their contemporaries that they ended up changing the direction of music in ways that reverberates all the way to the present.
• RIP, Tom.
• From the Sports Desk… today’s the day. NFL Conference Championships. I’d like to say that I’ll be able to chill and watch these two penultimate games of this football season, but that remains to be seen. I’m not really pulling for or against any of these teams, regardless.
• Speaking from much personal experience, it’s actually a better experience to watch games where you don’t have any emotional investment.
• I was born in Cincinnati, so I suppose I’d enjoy seeing the Bengals return to the Super Bowl for the second straight year. Today’s AFC Championship is a repeat of last year’s, when the Bengals beat the Chiefs 27-24.
• The 49ers are also making their second straight trip to the NFC championship. Last year they lost to the Rams 20-17, and the Rams ended up winning the Super Bowl.
• So we’ll see. Enjoy the games, if you can.
• Today in history… "The Raven" is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe (1845). Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state (1861). Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile (1886). Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator (1907). The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kyiv, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty (1918). The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced (1936). In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea (2002). 
• January 29 is the birthday of scientist/philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg (1688), activist/philosopher Thomas Paine (1737), US president William McKinley (1843), playwright Anton Chekhov (1860), businessman/philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874), actor W. C. Fields (1880), actor John Forsythe (1918), composer Leslie Bricusse (1931), bass player James Jamerson (1936), actor Tom Selleck (1945), drummer Tommy Ramone (1949), actress/TV host Oprah Winfrey (1954), diver Greg Louganis (1960), actor Nicholas Turturro (1962), NHL player Dominik Hašek (1965), actress Heather Graham (1970), actress Sara Gilbert (1975), singer Adam Lambert (1982), and MLB player José Abreu (1987).

I have no idea what today is all about. I’ll eventually get dressed and stuff. Beyond that is anyone’s guess. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 28, 2023

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 January 28, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. I’m relaxing in a robe on an overcast morning, so let’s look at things that have transpired since we last met…

• I have not watched the Tyre Nichols murder video. I really try to avoid seeking out things that will fill me with anger and disgust.
• Everyone says it’s really bad.
• One thing to keep in mind. Whether it’s a traffic violation or some heinous violent crime, it’s not the job of law enforcement to kill suspected criminals. Whether the person is guilty or not is of no bearing.
• All five cops — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were fired last week, and on Thursday were taken into custody and face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
• The thing to keep in mind: this was not an aberration. It was just one of the few that were caught on video. Americans have come to expect and accept this, and they shouldn’t.
• We treat this like the cops are acting in some way that’s not within the bounds of their jobs, but the fact is that police are trained to be violent, are trained to use coercive force, and are trained to use weapons in a deadly manner as their first option.
• In the very rare occasions like the case with Mr. Nichols where cops condemn their own for being violent, the condemnation is for not doing violence correctly.
• All of us are innocent until proven guilty. All of us deserve the rights of due process, and not to be killed in the street because law enforcement makes that on-the-spot decision. 
• Moving on, for now…
• Continuing our reporting on the moronic insurrectionists who failed in the coup attempt against the USA on January 6, 2021, Julian Khater was sentenced to 80 months in jail for his actions that led to the death of officer Brian Sicknick. 
• Khater’s purposeful pepper spray attack injured at least three officers. He’s already served 22 months in pre-trial detention. Khater, like other MAGA insurrectionists, is also facing civil suits from the people he assaulted and their families.
• Each of them chose to ruin their own lives for the sake of Donald Trump’s Big Lie. I have zero sympathy. Adults make their own decisions and have to live with the consequences.
• And now, The Weather: “Trauma Kit” by Draag
• There was another mass shooting late last night here in the LA area. Three dead, four others wounded in critical condition, in a shooting outside a house party at 2:30am in the very wealthy area of Benedict Canyon above Beverly Hills. 
• You will be affected by the proliferation of guns in the USA. It’s a matter of when, not if.
• From the Sports Desk… the odds have fluctuated a bit, but seem pretty well established for tomorrow’s NFL Conference Championship games. NFC: PHI (-2.5) over SF. AFC: KC (-1.5) over CIN.
• Games are on Sunday at noon and 3:30PM respectively.
• Today in history… Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father's death (1547). Execution of Agnes Sampson, accused of witchcraft in Edinburgh (1591). Sir Horace Walpole coins the word “serendipity” in a letter to a friend (1754). Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois (1851). An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces (1915). Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance (1956). The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today (1958). The National Football League announces expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for the 1961 NFL season (1960). Supergroup USA for Africa records the hit single “We Are the World” to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief (1985). Space Shuttle STS-51-L Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board (1986). 
• January 28 is the birthday of poet/critic Johann Elias Schlegel (1719), businessman William Seward Burroughs I (1855), businessman Charles W. Nash (1864), painter Jackson Pollock (1912), artist Claes Oldenburg (1929), actor Alan Alda (1936), businessman Carlos Slim (1940), NBA coach Gregg Popovich (1949), singer-songwriter Peter Schilling (1956), singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (1968), SCOTUS justice Amy Coney Barrett (1972), NFL player Daunte Culpepper (1977), singer Nick Carter (1980), and NBA player Andre Iguodala (1984).

I’m in a slightly better mood today than I’d been in recent times. Having french toast shortly. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 27, 2023

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 January 27, 2023, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Here are things I’m seeing while thinking about sushi…

• The city of Memphis, TN will be releasing the video of Tyre Nichols’ murder by five police officers at 6PM local time tonight. 
• It’s so bad, apparently, that the Department of Homeland Security said that it is coordinating with partners across the United States.
• The chief of Memphis police stated that the footage is worse than the infamous Rodney King beating that launched the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
• There may finally be a smoking gun to get serial liar George Santos (R-NY) out of office.
• This week, he listed a man as his campaign financier against his wishes and used his signature without consent.
• On Tuesday Santos filed an updated campaign finance report with the Federal Election Commission, in which Thomas Datwyler, an experienced campaign financial consultant, was listed as his new treasurer, with the filing signed with his name.
• However, Datwyler had previously informed Santos that he would not serve in the role, but Santos is alleged to have fraudulently signed the name to the FEC form anyway. That’s a big, massive, hugely illegal act.Guess we’ll see.
• Meanwhile, as reported earlier, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has rejected an Advanced Placement course on African American studies.
• DeSantis’s decision to whitewash history has led to a strong nationwide backlash. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote to the college board, "One Governor should not have the power to dictate the facts of U.S. history.”
• On Wednesday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump announced that three Florida high school students are prepared to challenge the state's decision in court. AP courses help high school students across the country earn college credit.
• Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the nation's largest labor union, tweeted, "When we censor classes and whitewash lesson plans, we harm our students and do them a deep disservice. I support the educators at Florida's state capitol today to demand complete and honest education for all Florida students."
• And now, The Weather: “Poppy Seeds” by Who Boy
• Speaking of Florida…
• Having a lively discussion with myself as to whether or not to mention the latest allegations about Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
• On one hand, I feel a need to bring it up due to Gaetz’s terrible mix of horrible behavior and blatant hypocritical tendencies.
• On the other, I firmly believe that all people’s sexual outlook and orientation and activities, as long as they’re done with consenting adult humans, are no one else’s business.
• So if married (to a woman) Matt Gaetz is having an affair with his male press secretary Joel Valdez, and everyone involved is cool with it, so am I. I do find it odd as such that Matt is supportive of Florida’s discriminatory “Don’t Say Gay” laws, but to each his own.
• It’s said that bisexuals are probably the most misunderstood and least supported members of the LGBTQIA+ community, so perhaps Matt has good reasons for keeping it on the downlow, I suppose, if this alleged information is accurate.
• From the Sports Desk… not much. Just awaiting the two final NFL games this weekend that will determine the matchup for the Super Bowl on Sunday February 12.
• Today in history… Dante Alighieri is condemned in absentia and exiled from Florence (1302). The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31 (1606). The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States (1785). A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast (1820). Modest Mussorgsky's opera 'Boris Godunov’ premieres in Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petersburg (1874). Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp (1880). First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning (1939). Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger (1951). Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, FL (1967). The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress (2003). Apple announces the iPad (2010).
• January 27 is the birthday of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756), labor leader Samuel Gompers (1850), NFL team owner Art Rooney (1901), psychologist James J. Gibson (1904), editor/publisher William Randolph Hearst, Jr. (1908), singer-songwriter Elmore James (1918), actress Donna Reed (1921), NBA team owner Jerry Buss (1933), actor Troy Donahue (1936), actor James Cromwell (1940), drummer Nick Mason (1944), dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (1948), guitarist G. E. Smith (1952), SCOTUS chief justice John Roberts (1955), actress Mimi Rogers (1956), NFL player/commentator Cris Collinsworth (1959), journalist Keith Olbermann (1959), actress Bridget Fonda (1964), singer-songwriter Mike Patton (1968), and comedian Patton Oswalt (1969).

I’m continuing to go through some personal shit regarding a family member’s dire health situation. It’s difficult to keep up a normal pace of life with that going on. At the same time, and I say this having been through the deaths of my sister and father and a number of friends, I am and always have been pragmatic about the finite nature of life. I can come off kind of cold and stoic as a result, but it’s not a matter of not having feelings. Instead, I prefer to direct my energy toward things I can affect, and that’s what I do. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 26, 2023

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 January 26, 2023, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. Here are some various things…

• Welcome back to Facebook, Donald J. Trump!
• Ha ha, just kidding. Fuck that guy. But Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is allowing the former President, onetime insurrectionist leader, and current criminal suspect back on its platforms upon his begging request.
• His accounts will be restored in the coming weeks, just over two years after suspending him in the wake of the January 6 Capitol failed coup attempt that he instigated.
• They claim they are doing so “with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.” The FPOTUS could once again be suspended for as much as two years at a time for violating platform policies in the future, per their President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg.
• Now in news that matters…
• Remember a couple of weeks ago, when Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) took 15 ballots to get elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives?
• Among the many things he promised a group of 20 hard-right holdouts in order to win was a vote on legislation that would 1) scrap the Internal Revenue System and U.S. taxation system and 2) replace it with a 30 percent national sales tax. You’d still be paying your state tax, by the way.
• I’m sure you know how deeply a 30% sales tax on everything would screw the American people. With the exception of the top 5% of wealth earners, this would result in much higher taxes for Americans overall.
• However, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) has already filed legislation for this "Fair Tax Act”.
• And the punch line: Kevin completely lied to those crazy MAGA people just to get elected Speaker. He now says he didn’t commit to a vote on the ridiculous and unpopular topic at all, and would only give the bill a hearing in committee, where it will immediately fail.
• The GOP tends to fuck itself before trying to fuck everyone else.
• We have yet to address the police killing of Tyre Nichols in this report.
• As you likely know, Nichols, 29, was hospitalized after Memphis, TN police used excessive force to arrest him on January 7, and he died from injuries three days later.
• Five Memphis police officers, who are also Black, were fired for violating policies on excessive use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid. A prosecutor has said a decision on whether to file charges is forthcoming.
• Video of the incident could be released this week or next week. Frankly, while I understand the difference in the public’s level of outrage had Nichols been beaten and tested to death by white cops, it’s still enough to boil anyone’s blood that law enforcement can act this way.
• It affects the perception of law enforcement across the country.
• Nichols’ family wants the officers charged with murder. I don’t blame them.
• In other news…
• It turns out that three times on the day that a six-year-old in Newport News, VA shot his teacher in class, with the bullet going through her hand and into her chest, leaving her in critical condition, school administration was warned that the kid had a gun. It was ignored.
• Note that the child has a disability. But the school administration who did nothing to prevent this from happening is culpable for what transpired.
• The school board voted to fire their superintendent and members of the school administration have since resigned. 
• It’s likely that the teacher, 25-year-old Abby Zwerner, will bring legal action against the school for their inaction.
• And now, The Weather: “Moron pt 2” by Ovlov
• It was three years ago today, on January 26, 2020, that NBA legend Kobe Bean Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in a horrific helicopter crash. 
• One of my distinct memories of that day, apart from the sadness of Kobe’s death, was a secondary news story about a serious virus that had begun in Asia and was seeing its first cases in the USA.
• From the Sports Desk… a quick note about the 49ers Brock Purdy. For those of you who don’t know, this man was selected last in the 2022 NFL draft. He was drafted at #262, a position that is ceremonially called “Mr. Irrelevant” since no person at that low spot had ever had an impact in the league.
• Most of them never even get to play in the NFL. But Purdy has yet to lose a single game since being named the starter. Now he’s one win away from playing in the Super Bowl.
• That’s crazy.
• From the Sports Desk rumor mill… Aaron Rodgers to the Jets? Who even knows.
• Today in history… The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism (1564). The British First Fleet sails into Port Jackson to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia, which is commemorated as Australia Day (1788). Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state (1837). The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union (1861). Virginia is readmitted to the Union (1870). The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress (1915). The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird (1926). The first United States forces in WWII arrive in Europe, landing in Northern Ireland (1942). The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope until BTA-6 is built in 1976 (1949). On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky (1998).
• January 26 is the birthday of the 12th Dalai Lama (1857), general Douglas MacArthur (1880), mafia boss Frank Costello (1891), pilot Bessie Coleman (1892), singer Maria von Trapp (1905), violinist Stéphane Grappelli (1908), pianist/composer Jimmy Van Heusen (1913), philanthropist/politician Annette Strauss (1924), actor Paul Newman (1925), director Roger Vadim (1928), cartoonist Jules Feiffer (1929), MLB p[layer/actor Bob Uecker (1934), activist Angela Davis (1944), football coach/child molester Jerry Sandusky (1944), film critic Gene Siskel (1946), singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams (1953), guitarist Eddie Van Halen (1955), singer Anita Baker (1958), comedian/TV host Ellen DeGeneres (1958), NHL legend Wayne Gretzky (1961), singer Andrew Ridgeley (1963), speaker of the house Kevin McCarthy (1965), NBA player Vince Carter (1977), and the Suleman octuplets (2009).

Welp… still having a tough time with stressful family health issues going on. Living isn’t easy, and unfortunately neither is dying. But on my end, I’m still doing fine and pushing through. Life is like running an obstacle course; you’re bound to trip and fall from time to time because it’s designed for that, but the point is whether or not you decide to get back up and stay in the race. That’s up to you. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 25, 2023

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 January 25, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. I'm having some delicious coffee and finding out what’s been happening, so I’ll share with you as I do…

• Hot tip: check your garage for classified documents. Apparently everyone has some laying around.
• A lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence’s Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI.
• The FBI and DOJ’s National Security Division have launched a review of the documents and how they ended up in Pence’s house.
• The discovery comes after Pence has repeatedly said he did not have any classified documents in his possession. It is not yet clear what the documents are related to or their level of sensitivity or classification.
• Here’s what I think: I think Biden and Pence did not know about the documents. I think neither of them tried to obstruct their possession of the documents.
• However, I think Trump was a) well aware of what was in his possession, and b) refused to return the documents despite being subpoenaed to do so, and c) obstructed the return of the documents in every way imaginable.
• So that’s the difference here, and that will almost certainly be a major aspect of the investigations and eventual indictment of Trump to that end.
• Moving on.
• In local news, we apparently had a mildly sizable earthquake here overnight. A 4.2 quake struck a few miles off the coast between here and Malibu.
• It was at 2:00am. I had no idea about it until this morning when someone asked if I’d felt it. I hadn’t.
• I am very good at sleeping. I could win awards.
• The DOJ and eight states sued Google yesterday, accusing the company of harming competition with its dominance in the online advertising market.
• It’s the Biden administration’s first blockbuster antitrust case against a Big Tech company. The eight states joining the suit include California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia.
• Per the complaint, Google gobbled up rivals through anticompetitive mergers and bullied publishers and advertisers into using the company’s proprietary ad technology products.
• As part of the lawsuit, the US government called for Google to be broken up.
• Interesting!
• Since I get great personal pleasure on covering the convictions of insurrectionist pieces of shit who attacked our Capitol building on January 6, 2021, meet Pauline Bauer, a 55-year-old resident of Kane, PA.
• She was convicted yesterday of nearly half a dozen charges for her role in the failed coup attempt, including obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building, and disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building. 
• She could face up to 20 years in prison and financial penalties for the obstruction of an official proceeding charge, which is a felony. The other charges, which are misdemeanors, carry a maximum of three years imprisonment in total and financial penalties. 
• And now, The Weather: “Under the Light” by Modern Bodies
• The latest news about serial liar and national joke fodder Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is that he’d previously been claiming he lent his campaign more than $700,000 to find his election.
• That seemed pretty odd for someone who was earning $55,000/year.
• But in two new filings with the Federal Election Commission, Santos indicated that loans of $500,000 and $125,000 had come from elsewhere.
• It is illegal to accept a six-figure contribution from another person. It also is against the law for a corporation to donate a sum of any size directly to a congressional candidate.
• Let’s see him lie his way out of this.
• In other news, I was hoping a day would go by that I didn’t have to mention a mass shooting.
• But then some 21-year-old piece of shit in Yakima, WA named Jarid Haddock randomly killed three people at a couple of convenience stores before shooting himself in the head.
• There was no conflict with the people. He just killed them because they were there.
• But make sure guns are easy to get for everyone, with few background checks and make their purchase essentially untraceable because AMERICA.
• From the Sports Desk… the NFL Conference Championships this coming weekend have all the markings of great games. One clue… Vegas odds have both games at nearly even odds.
• The Philadelphia Eagles are only a -2.5 favorite over the San Francisco 49ers. The Cincinnati Bengals are a surprising -1 favorite over the Kansas City Chiefs, probably due mostly to Patrick Mahomes’ recent high ankle sprain.
• Anyway, both games are on Sunday, and I’m looking forward to them. The winners, of course, face off in the Super Bowl two weeks later on Sunday, February 11.
• Today in history… Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn (1533). São Paulo, Brazil, is founded by Jesuit priests (1554). University of Virginia chartered by Commonwealth of Virginia, with Thomas Jefferson one of its founders (1819). The ‘Wedding March’ by Felix Mendelssohn is played at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter, and becomes a popular wedding processional (1858). Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company (1881). Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco (1915). The Ukrainian People's Republic declares independence from Soviet Russia (1918). The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, in the French Alps, inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games (1924). ‘The Guiding Light’ debuts on NBC radio from Chicago (1937). Thomas Goldsmith Jr. files a patent for a "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device", the first ever electronic game (1947). The first Emmy Awards are presented in the United States (1949). The National Association of Broadcasters in the United States reacts to the "payola" scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accept money for playing particular records (1960). Blue Ribbon Sports, which would later become Nike, is founded by University of Oregon track and field athletes (1964). Charles Manson and four "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate–LaBianca murders (1971). The first wave of the Egyptian revolution begins throughout the country, marked by street demonstrations, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes, and violent clashes (2011). 
• January 25 is the birthday of chemist/physicist Robert Boyle (1627), poet Robert Burns (1759), businessman William Colgate (1783), abolitionist/activist/educator Anna Gardner (1816),  writer W. Somerset Maugham (1874), writer Virginia Woolf (1882), conductor/composer Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886), singer-songwriter Sleepy John Estes (1899), politician Corazon Aquino (1933), singer Etta James (1938), director Tobe Hooper (1943), runner Steve Prefontaine (1951), NHL player Chris Chelios (1962), NFL player Mark Schlereth (1966), singer-songwriter Emily Haines (1974), politician Volodymyr Zelenskyy (1978), and singer-songwriter Alicia Keys (1981).

I have no specific plans today, beyond work. I’m editing an interview video right now, which is the most tedious task I do on a regular basis. I’m also getting my clients ready for upcoming trade shows and events. I’m very lucky that I get to use my creative skills to earn a living, but trust me… there are no easy jobs, especially if you take any pride in your work. I guess it would be easier if I did it half-assed, but for whatever reason, I just refuse to represent myself via shitty work. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 24, 2023

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 January 24, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. Here’s what I’ve heard…

• Another day, another mass shooting in America.
• Yesterday, it was in Half Moon Bay, a beautiful coastal city about 30 miles south of San Francisco.
• Seven people are confirmed dead, and it seems like the suspect in custody is a man named Zhao Chunli, age 67. It appears that the victims include Chinese farm workers. They seem to have worked on a marijuana farm together? Not quite sure on that detail.
• Anyway.
• Meanwhile up the road in Oakland, another mass shooting killed one and injured seven. The killer got away. Apparently some folks were shooting a music video when it happened.
• We are three weeks into 2023 and there have been 38 mass shootings thus far. Or is it 39? I can’t keep track.
• It doesn’t happen in countries with reasonable gun control laws.
• Moving on.
• One of the biggest pricks who was part of the failed coup attempt on January 6, 2021 was found guilty on eight counts by a Washington, D.C. jury.
• Richard Barnett, also known by the idiotic name of “Bigo,” was the asshole who was infamously photographed putting his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the insurrection.
• He will soon be sentenced for eight federal crimes.
• Meanwhile, four members of the Oath Keepers were convicted yesterday of seditious conspiracy in the January 6 attack on the USA. This is the second major trial of far-right extremists accused of plotting to forcibly keep Donald Trump in power.
• Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, FL; Roberto Minuta of Prosper, TX; David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, FL; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix, AZ comes weeks after after a different jury convicted the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, in the attack.
• The Justice Department is also trying to secure sedition convictions against the former leader of the Proud Boys and four associates. The trial against Enrique Tarrio and his lieutenants opened earlier this month in Washington and is expected to last several weeks.
• Get their asses.
• Meanwhile in Congress, the head of House Democrats Hakeem Jeffries has submitted Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to sit on the powerful Intelligence Committee, and is also expected to seat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
• This was done to make Republicans super mad, and will force them to hold a floor vote to remove her for being Muslim.
• And now, The Weather: “Walker Lake” by Good Looks
• Very sorry to hear about the passing of a well-known Second Life music supporter at last weekend’s Tampa Jam. Her name is still being withheld pending notification of her family and friends.
• Unlike many other folks in the SL music scene, I was not personally acquainted with her. I was well aware of her BBW Heaven Beach Club, having seen many event notices of my fellow SL musicians who performed there.
• Life can, unfortunately, end quickly without warning. I’ve witnessed that personally with a number of relatives and friends.
• In any case, per the outpouring of support I’ve seen from many, she was a beloved person who was very supportive of live music in SL and a good friend to many, and she will be deeply missed. 
• From the Sports Desk… on Sunday night, the Portland Trailblazers were killing the Los Angeles Lakers, outscoring them by 32 in the second quarter alone.
• What came next was one of the biggest turnarounds in Lakers franchise history -- tied for the second-largest halftime deficit overcome to win.
• The team credits their rabble rouser, Patrick Beverly, for a halftime pep talk.
• "Told the guys, 'Just turn our swag up.’ Understand we're fortunate to play a game that gives us stability to take care of our families, be able to live a lifestyle, a fortunate lifestyle that a lot of people dream about. So regardless of what's going on, have fun with this shit. Stay swaggy. That was my message, and we came out and responded."
• The result was an improbable 121-112 come-from-behind victory. L.A. outscored Portland 75-41 after halftime. Side note: the Lakers still pretty much suck with a 22-25 record so far, so hopefully this will spur a larger turnaround for the men in purple and gold.
• Today in history… Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula (41). King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behavior and possible impotence (1536). King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament (1679). James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento, CA (1848). The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell (1908). In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional (1916). The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices (1933). The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus (1986). Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison (1989). The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation (2003).
• January 24 is the birthday of Roman emperor Hadrian (76), philosopher Christian Wolff (1679), Prussian king Frederick the Great (1712), US Air Force general Hoyt Vandenberg (1899), businessman J. Howard Marshall (1905), painter Robert Motherwell (1915), evangelist Oral Roberts (1918), singer-songwriter Ray Stevens (1939), singer-songwriter Neil Diamond (1941), singer Aaron Neville (1941), actress Sharon Tate (1943), congressman John Garamendi (1945), singer-songwriter Warren Zevon (1947), actor John Belushi (1949), NBA player Mark Eaton (1957), pianist/singer-songwriter Jools Holland (1958), actress Nastassja Kinski (1961), actor Phil LaMarr (1967), gymnast Mary Lou Retton (1968), actor Matthew Lillard (1970), actor Ed Helms (1974), actress Mischa Barton (1986), and NFL coach Sean McVay (1986).

If you’ve been following along, Tuesday is a day with a bunch of meetings, and grocery shopping in the afternoon. Why Tuesday? I don’t know. I started doing that almost three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic, limiting my necessary exposure to other people to one day per week, and stuck with it as I tend to do. I didn’t have any specific meeting conflicts later in the day on Tuesdays, so that was probably the impetus. Did it work? Well, I never got COVID, so it sure didn’t hurt. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 23, 2023

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 January 23, 2023, and it’s a Monday. Forthcoming is a variety of items of information and opinion in no particular order…

• Yesterday was pretty weird in my neck of the woods, especially for a usually peaceful Sunday.
• The suspect in the mass shooting up in Monterey Park (about 30 miles north of here) ended up in Torrance (less than two miles southeast of here on a corner I pass by often), in a standoff with law enforcement agencies.
• It appears he killed himself shortly after being captured in a parking lot near a local mall. He was confirmed as the shooter in the mass murder, and was identified as Huu Can Tran, 72.
• There is still no update on Tran’s motives for the mass shooting. We do know he used a magazine-fed assault pistol with an extended magazine.
• So that wasn’t fun, for him or anyone.
• The further away that national news happens from my front door, the happier I usually am.
• Another side note to this story.
• After the carnage in Monterey Park, the gunman went to a second location in Alhambra, just north of the first mass murder scene. He entered another ballroom where residents were also holding Lunar New Year celebrations.
• But this time, he encountered Brandon Tsay, 26, upon arriving.
• "He started prepping the weapon and something came over me. I realized I needed to get the weapon away from him. I needed to take this weapon, disarm him or else everybody would have died."
• He thought he was going to die… and took action anyway.
• Tsay lunged at Tran and they struggled for the gun. They two men fought in a life-or-death tussle. Brandon was able to disarm Tran, and pointed the gun at him at told him to leave.
• This could have been way, way worse if not for a brave young hero.
• Moving on.
• President Biden will name Jeff Zients to serve as his next chief of staff, replacing Ron Klain who is expected to leave in the coming weeks.
• Previously, Zients successfully oversaw the administration’s coronavirus response, leading the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history.
• Good luck to him in his new role.
• Yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade decision that was overturned last year by a far-right Supreme Court pressured by Republicans, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke and detailed fights throughout history for liberties such as civil rights and the right to vote for women.
• She tied that to access for abortion, which Harris called the “fundamental, constitutional, right of a woman to make decisions about her own body.”
• Let’s hope it stays that way for as many women as possible.
• And now, The Weather: “Core” by Battle Ave
• While the senseless murder of people in SoCal was horrific, it wasn’t the only mass shooting in a 24-hour period. Early Sunday morning, someone targeted a club in Baton Rouge, LA and shot 12 people. They are all expected to survive, somehow.
• In good political news, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) announced today that he will run for the U.S. Senate in Arizona. He will be looking to replace Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
• Gallego is a great guy who is a Marine veteran and has served in the House since 2015. He comes from a humble background and is a first-generation American. I will support him in every way I can.
• From the Sports Desk… we are all set for the NFL conference championships next Sunday. In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers (2) will be facing the Philadelphia Eagles (1) at noon PST, while in the AFC, the scrappy Cincinnati Bengals (3) will play the Kansas City Chiefs (1) at 3:30PM PST.
• If you ask me — and you probably shouldn’t — the most dominant team remaining is the Eagles.
• Today in history… Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries (1368). The Royal Exchange opens in London (1571). Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his ‘Lettres provinciales’ (1656). Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, MD, now a part of Washington, D.C. (1789). Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, NY, becoming the United States' first female doctor (1849). Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler (1941). American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee" (1957). The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified (1964). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley (1986). Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State (1997). Netscape announces Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source (1998). A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted (2003). 
• January 23 is the birthday of general/politician John Hancock (1737), painter Édouard Manet (1832), weapons designer John Browning (1855), engineer Frank Shuman (1862), actor Randolph Scott (1898), guitarist Django Reinhardt (1910), pianist Marty Paich (1925), actor Rutger Hauer (1944), singer Anita Pointer (1948), actor Richard Dean Anderson (1950), pilot Chesley Sullenberger (1951), singer Robin Zander (1953), and NHL player Brendan Shanahan (1969).

It’s a Monday, as I mentioned above. I hope it’s a mellow one. Let’s have less senseless deaths and violence and anger, and more thoughtful discourse and music and fun. That seems highly preferable. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 22, 2023

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 January 22, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. Just woke up, got a full cup, my second grade teacher was Mrs. Hupp. Let’s see what’s going on…

• I guess we’ll start with some shitty news from here in LA.
• At least 10 people are dead and another 10 wounded after a mass shooting last night in Monterey Park, a city that's a few miles northeast from downtown LA just over the hill into the San Gabriel Valley, with a heavy Asian population.
• People were there celebrating the Lunar New Year, which begins today.
• The suspect is still at large, and there has yet to be a clear motivation for the killings.
• You know what would have made it a lot harder to kill a bunch of people at a peaceful and joyous event? Lack of easy access to high-powered, high-capacity handguns and rifles.
• Anyway, it’s the worst mass shooting in California in years. The last major one was in 2018. Our state’s gun control measures, as hampered as they are via national law, are effective to some degree.
• Moving on.
• More documents keep popping up in various locations controlled by President Biden. At the risk of repeating myself, if he’s done something wrong, he should face consequences. No one, be they Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, powerful or weak, is above the law.
• No one.
• The negotiations for raising the debt ceiling continues. The Treasury Department is making short-term moves for the government to pay its obligations for now.
• For now, that means suspending new investments in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund. In a few months, it will be necessary to start suspending payments to other government obligations, like paying our military or being able to continue our Social Security and Medicare programs.
• The Republican-led House can pass this budget any time they want. They are choosing not to.
• Speaking of Republicans in the news, let’s see what our pal George Santos (R-NY), aka Anthony Devolder, says about the video of him wearing a sparkly red dress and makeup.
• ”No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys. I was young, and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life.” - George Santos, Drag Queen and Republican Congressman
• Santos is facing a number of state and federal investigations for fraud and illegal campaign fundraising. I don’t care that he also likes wearing women’s clothes. He should do that on the floor of the House. It would be fun.
• And now, The Weather: “Boat Cloak” by Fred Thomas
• Even though the worst nightmare of women who don’t want government control over their bodies has already happened via the overturning of Roe v Wade last year, Republican leaders say that was only the beginning of control of American women.
• At a “right to life” rally in D.C. on Friday, House Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), said that overturning Roe “was only the first phase of this battle. Now the next phase begins.”
• What does that mean? Simple. They formerly said abortion was a state issue. Now they want national federal legislation for women in all 50 states to be under their thumb.
• These are the people you elect, so this must be what you want.
• We’ll wrap up news with a quote from yesterday’s off-the-rails memorial celebration of Lynnette “Diamond” Hardaway, half of the conservative “Diamond & Silk” entertainment duo.
• “And another secret about Diamond: She had a boyfriend. Yes, that’s right. And she had a boyfriend, and oh, my God, we would talk about him all of the time. His name: President Donald J. Trump. Yes, yes, yes. President Donald J. Trump, that was her boyfriend.”
• Shrug.
• From the Sports Desk… I’ve gotten so used to upsets in the NFL that it was actually a surprise yesterday that both of the favored teams who their respective Divisional Playoff games yesterday.
• Shout-out to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hung in there and made it a game versus the Chiefs. The NY Giants? Not so much against the powerhouse Eagles.
• Today’s games are the Bengals at Bills, and the Cowboys at Niners. Good luck teams.
• Today in history… Edward VII is proclaimed King of the United Kingdom after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria (1901). Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1924). Australian and American forces in WWII defeat Japanese army and navy units in the bitterly fought Battle of Buna–Gona (1943). KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood (1947). Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space (1968). The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport (1970). The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states (1973). The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during a Super Bowl XVIII television commercial (1984). The space shuttle Discovery launches on STS-42 carrying Dr. Roberta Bondar, who becomes the first Canadian woman and the first neurologist in space (1992). Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (2002).
• January 22 is the birthday of soldier/writer/explorer Walter Raleigh (1552), philosopher/politician Francis Bacon (1561), poet John Donne (1573), sailor/pirate William Kidd (1645), poet Lord Byron (1788), philanthropist Edward Harkness (1874), director D. W. Griffith (1875), actress Piper Laurie (1932), actor Bill Bixby (1934), actor John Hurt (1940), impresario Malcolm McLaren (1946), singer-songwriter Steve Perry (1949), director Jim Jarmusch (1953), NHL player Mike Bossy (1957), actress Linda Blair (1959), singer-songwriter Michael Hutchence (1960), DJ/producer DJ Jazzy Jeff (1965), and chef Guy Fieri (1968).

I don’t have many big plans today beyond some typical life maintenance shit. I’ll check out some NFL games, clean my house a bit… nothing beyond that, I think. It’s good to have a Sunday of non-stress and recuperation from the busy aspects of other days. I think I’ll start with a shower and putting on clothes. There’s only so much one can do in a bathrobe. It’s limiting, to say the least. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 21, 2023

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 January 21, 2023, and it’s a Saturday. My coffee is Peet’s Sulawesi-Kalosi and my robe is blue, so let’s do what we do…

• I’m kind of “meh” on news today. Most of it is follow-up on stuff we’ve already mentioned here.
• All the things that have been happening are still happening.
• Here’s a new one.
• White House Chief Of Staff Ron Klain is expected to step down in coming weeks.
• It’s the most significant changing of the guard in the Biden administration since he took office almost exactly two years ago.
• Klain has told people in private that he was planning to resign since the midterm elections. A search for his replacement has been underway since then.
• Alrighty then.
• There’s a continuing standoff between the Biden administration and the GOP-led House who want to kill Social Security and Medicare rather than increase the debt ceiling.
• My sympathies for the many of you who will be personally affected by this dangerous game that Kevin McCarthy is playing.
• Moving on.
• In better news, the Lunar New Year kicks off this weekend. The Year of the Tiger draws to an end, and the Year of the Rabbit starts tomorrow.
• Gong Hei Fat Choy!
• The rabbit is traditionally a symbol of hope and peace, possibly signaling a calmer year ahead.
• Many of you saw this already, but I had to share my laughter and derision in regard to the people who saw the promo for Pink Floyd’s 50th anniversary ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and got way too upset.
• A good number of them mistook the use of the spectrum rainbow in the graphic for a sign of gay pride support.
• "Sad to see a band that was once great has gone full WOKE!!! I loved your music before, NOT LISTENING NOW!"
• But the super double funny thing is that Pink Floyd absolutely, 100% unequivocally, undeniably, and proudly is and always has been, completely fucking woke. I guess some folks didn’t realize the fascist hammers from ‘The Wall’ were meant to be seen in a negative light. 
• Lordy.
• And now, The Weather: “God is a Woman’s Name” by Indigo Sparke
• You know Elizabeth Holmes, the lady who was convicted last January of defrauding investors with the bullshit blood testing startup Theranos?
• In November, she was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, but has appealed it and is generously not yet in jail, currently being pregnant.
• However, she attempted to flee the country after her conviction. I hope they add to her sentence as a result.
• From the Sports Desk… football.
• Today in history… The first American novel, ‘The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth’ by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston (1789). After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine (1793). Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate (1861). New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor (1908). Finland and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty (1932). American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury (1950). The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States (1954). Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, UK (1981). The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined (1997). Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women's march, on Donald Trump's first full day as President of the United States (2017).
• January 21 is the birthday of anatomist Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714), businessman/soldier/politician Ethan Allen (1738), explorer/soldier/politician John C. Frémont (1813), Confederate loser Stonewall Jackson (1824), chemist Felix Hoffmann (1868), mystic Grigori Rasputin (1869), director Baldassarre Negroni (1877), fashion designer Christian Dior (1905), soldier Richard Winters (1918), actor Telly Savalas (1922), actor Paul Scofield (1922), actor Benny Hill (1924), golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940), tenor Plácido Domingo (1941), singer-songwriter Richie Havens (1941), actress Jill Eikenberry (1947), singer-songwriter Billy Ocean (1950), lawyer/politician Eric Holder (1951), businessman Paul Allen (1953), actress Geena Davis (1956), NBA player Hakeem Olajuwon (1963), NBA player Detlef Schrempf (1963), actor Ken Leung (1970), and singer-songwriter Cat Power (1972), 

Okay. That’s all. Go back to what you were doing before. I’ll do things too. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 20, 2023

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 January 20, 2023, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again. Here’s a bunch of stuff that might interest you, affect your life, cause you to shrug in perplexed puzzlement or lack of giving a shit, or otherwise…

• 2023 has already had a rough start for musicians and music lovers. RIP to David Crosby, a major influence on me and my songwriting, especially in regard to vocal arrangement and production.
• I read Crosby’s autobiography ‘Long Time Gone’ right when it came out in the late ‘80s. I would never have predicted he’d live for over three more decades past that point.
• If you don’t know, Crosby was a member of seminal ‘60s folk rock group The Byrds, and then put together the supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash (later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young).
• He did a musical thing that I’ve done ever since via his influence. Due to his love of jazz, Cros didn’t go for the easy harmony. Instead of the 1-3-5, he’d be singing these middle 2’s, suspended 3rds, sixths… anything to make it more interesting.
• One of his final tweets was in reference to heaven. He said it was overrated and cloudy.
• Upon hearing about his passing, I had that weird personal reaction of, “But I was just chatting with him on Twitter two days ago!” Well, my snarky tweets apparently didn’t stop him from shuffling off his mortal coil.
• Damn.
• Here’s a short list of songs that really represent Crosby’s skills as a singer and/or songwriter: “Eight Miles High” (The Byrds), “Mr. Tambourine Man” (The Byrds), “Wooden Ships” (CSN), “Long Time Gone” (CSN), “Guinnevere” (CSN), “Music Is Love” (solo).
• In the “How Surprising (Not)” file: the Supreme Court says it is unable to identify the person who leaked the draft opinion from last May that ended up previewing their overturning of Roe v. Wade.
• Court investigators conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees, all of whom had denied being the source of the leak.
• Several employees did acknowledge that they had told their spouses or partners about the draft opinion and the vote count. That is in violation of the court’s confidentiality rules, the report said.
• The big takeaway from the report… it conveyed the distinct impression that there were enough holes in the system that the mystery of who leaked the opinion may never be solved.
• Proof-absent opinion from me: I think it was Alito.
• Moving on…
• Alec Baldwin has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the deadly 2021 “Rust” film shooting.
• The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will be charged with the same.
• A conviction is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine, according to the district attorney.
• Here’s the thing: the basis of the charge is that the prosecutors were told that “every actor checks the gun” before pulling the trigger. What in the actual fuck are they talking about?
• Does the actor check the cables and lighting setup to make sure the key grip and gaffer won’t actually electrocute someone? Is every single actor and actress experienced enough with firearms to hold the responsibility of confirming the kind of ammunition loaded into a prop weapon that’s been handed to them?
• I understand that the armorer (whose job this is) might be liable. I get that Baldwin, as a co-producer of the film, could be hit with a big civil suit, and probably should.
• But this criminal charge will be a precedent that might change the way movies are made, with every actor and actress now being legally responsible and liable for things that happen on set.
• Fucking ridiculous. Moving on…
• Three Marines were arrested Wednesday for their participation in the failed coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
• Micah Coomer, Joshua Abate, and Dodge Dale Hellonen were arrested on four charges each. They are the first active-duty military members to be arrested in connection with the siege since Marine Maj. Christopher Warnagiris, who was taken into custody in May 2021 on nine charges.
• All three Marines, who were arrested more than two years after the attack, work in jobs connected to the intelligence community.
• Semper fi, I guess.
• The administration of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is blocking an AP course for high school students on African American studies.
• The Florida Department of Education’s Office of Articulation said the course is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”
• The order did not elaborate on what the agency found objectionable in the course content.
• In Florida, don’t say gay… or, apparently, Black.
• And now, The Weather: “Change Your Mind” by Lo Noom
• A real headline that made me actually laugh out loud: “Rep. George Santos denies ever having been a drag queen”
• Snort.
• The FPOTUS and his lawyer, Alina Habba, have been fined almost $1 million by a federal judge in Florida for what was ruled a frivolous lawsuit brought against his 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton and others.
• “He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer. He knew full well the impact of his actions. As such, I find that sanctions should be imposed upon Mr. Trump and his lead counsel, Ms. Habba.” - U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks
• Ha ha, motherfucker.
• From the Sports Desk… it’s been a stressful week for me, and I’m hoping to unwind this weekend with some enjoyable NFL divisional playoff games. 
• As a reminder: Jags at Chiefs - Saturday at 1:30 PST. Giants at Eagles - Saturday at 5:15 PST. Bengals at Bills - Sunday at 12:00 PST. Cowboys at Niners - Sunday at 3:30 PST.
• Today in history… The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament” (1265). Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out in the Battle of Rio de Janeiro (1567). The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings (1649). The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, beginning the British colonization of Australia (1788). Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British during the First Opium War (1841). The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base (1887). Newly formed automaker General Motors  buys into the Oakland Motor Car Company, which later becomes GM's long-running Pontiac division (1909). The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released (1929). King George V of the United Kingdom dies and his eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII (1936). Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms (1937). John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the youngest man to be elected into that office (1961). Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States of America (1981). Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time (1986). Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States (2009). Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America; at age 78, he is the oldest person ever inaugurated (2021). Kamala Harris becomes the first female Vice President of the United States (2021).
• January 20 is the birthday of composer Johann Hermann Schein (1586), lawyer/politician Richard Henry Lee (1732), botanist Carl Linnaeus the Younger (1741), physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775), suffragist Harriot Stanton Blatch (1856), mafia boss/politician Enoch L. Johnson (1883), musician/songwriter Lead Belly (1888), actor George Burns (1896), businessman Aristotle Onassis (1906), pianist/composer Juan García Esquivel (1918), director Federico Fellini (1920), actor DeForest Kelley (1920), singer-songwriter Slim Whitman (1923), actress Patricia Neal (1926), comedian Arte Johnson (1929), astronaut Buzz Aldrin (1930), director David Lynch (1946), singer-songwriter Paul Stanley (1952), sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (1953), comedian/commentator Bill Maher (1956), MLB player/manager Ozzie Guillén (1964), actor Rainn Wilson (1966), political strategist Kellyanne Conway (1967), musician/producer Questlove (1971), and politician Nikki Haley (1972).

Fridays are almost always busy for me, and that’s okay. Fridays also include my weekly sushi lunch which I always look forward to, and if things work out in some miraculous way, hopefully I’ll be able to get the hard stuff out of the way early and kind of gently wind into the weekend come this afternoon. Enjoy your day.