Random News: February 6, 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 February 6, 2023, and it’s a Monday. I’m sure something has happened, so we might as well be woke- I mean, aware of the world around us…

• The world had a major disaster with a massive earthquake and a series of huge aftershocks affecting southeastern Turkey and surrounding regions such as Syria.
• The first was a 7.8, and subsequent aftershocks have been as high as 7.5. 
• Over 2,000 are confirmed dead so far, but the number is going to climb much higher. Tens of thousands are injured and homeless. Entire cities with huge populations have been reduced to rubble. It’s heart-wrenching to see, and it’s also horrifying to be aware that an earthquake of that size can and almost certainly will eventually hit my home in Los Angeles County.
• Priceless monuments that have survived for thousands of years have crumbled to dust. You have to understand that this area is one of the cradles of human civilization, and is the location of several Unesco world heritage sites.
• I should note that when a tragedy of this scale happens, any thoughts of political boundaries and ideologies should go right our the window. Your concern, and the world’s, should only be on the people affected.
• Rescue crews and help is pouring in from across Europe and the Middle East. If you can help these people in any way, please do.
• In semi-related news, Buffalo, NY was hit with its strongest earthquake in 40 years. It was a 3.8. Here in Southern California, we get a 3.8 just about every other day, and it’s not worth getting up from your desk.
• I should note that in the past 50+ years, I’ve been in hundreds of inconsequential (and often unnoticeable) earthquakes and a few dozen earthquakes that were worthy of conversation, but only one major quake… the 1994 Northridge 6.7 quake, and it was scary as fuck.
• Best wishes to the people of Turkey. Moving on, for now…
• I haven’t spoken about ol’ Ted Cruz (R-TX) lately, because why would I?
• I just found this funny though. Cruz is pushing for legislation that limits Senators to two terms and House representatives to three terms.
• He is doing this while running for a third term. Ladies and gentlemen, the GOP (golf clap).
• Side note: I’m not at all opposed to term limits. Cancun Boy and I have a rare spot of alignment on that topic, despite his hypocrisy.
• Keep your eye on north Carolina and the Moore v Harper case. The new Republican majority on the state’s supreme court is going to reverse this voter ID and redistricting (i.e., gerrymandering) case designed to make Black voices less powerful in elections, and will have repercussions nationwide as a precedent.
• And now, The Weather: “개화 (Blossom)” by Parannoul
• Polls say that the majority of Americans want new blood in the White House in 2024. It’s not that Biden hasn’t done a good job. It’s that he’s old.
• A new AP-NORC poll finds just 37% of Democrats say President Joe Biden should run for reelection in 2024, down from 52% in October. The decline is concentrated among younger Democrats.
• While Biden has indicated he’s going to run for a second term, he will be going on 82 years old at the time of the election.
• I’m not a fan of ageism, but I am also susceptible to the idea that many of our elected officials are past the point of having the energy to lead at their best, and possibly falling out of touch with the wants and needs of a good portion of the populace.
• Long way to go until then regardless. The other big question that comes up is, of course, “If not Biden, then who?”
• He’ll be giving the State of the Union address tomorrow night. Hopefully he can fire some people up.
• The 65th Annual Grammy Awards were on last night. I didn’t watch. I barely could stomach looking at the winner’s list, which I had to do for work.
• I love new music and listen to it all the time. Every day, I give you a new music recommendation here on this very list.
• But my preferred music generally doesn’t come from a corporation, which is exactly the type of music most often honored by the Grammys. That’s fine, it’s just not my groove.
• Skateboard icon Tony Hawk is donating proceeds of autographed photos of himself and BMX rider Rick Thorne to the memorial fund for Tyre Nichols.
• “My proceeds from these will go to the Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund, which includes plans to build a public skatepark in his honor; as our worlds continue to grieve his loss. He was a talented skater among other admirable traits. Let’s keep his legacy alive.”
• Tony Hawk is a seriously admirable guy.
• From the Sports Desk… the Brooklyn Nets are trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks.
• He costs a lot. The Mavs are sending Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, an unprotected 2029 first-round pick and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Nets for Kyrie and Markieff Morris.
• So, I’m sure he’ll be totally mentally and emotionally stable and not do anything to give the Mavs bad PR or create locker room tension. I’m not really sure of that at all, but whatever.
• In other sports news, the silly NFL Pro Bowl was yesterday. I actually like this format much better, focused on a couple of flag football games and a bunch of skills competitions. It’s a meaningless game for fans to enjoy; why not make it fun?
• It’s more entertaining in a manner similar to the NBA All Star weekend. I think they should keep this format. The general consensus among sports fans, after people bitching about it beforehand, was that it was great, and even more competitive than the silly game in full pads that’s been the previous standard.
• Today in history… James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of his brother Charles II (1685). New York became the third state to ratify the Articles of Confederation (1778). Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution (1788). Forces under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew H. Foote give the Union its first victory of the war, capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee in the Battle of Fort Henry (1862). British women over the age of 30 who meet minimum property qualifications, get the right to vote when Representation of the People Act 1918 is passed by Parliament (1918). The five-day Seattle General Strike begins, as more than 65,000 workers in the city of Seattle, WA, walk off the job (1919). Elizabeth II becomes Queen of the United Kingdom and her other Realms and Territories and Head of the Commonwealth upon the death of her father, George VI (1952). Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit (1959). In testimony before a United States Senate subcommittee, Lockheed Corporation president Carl Kotchian admits that the company had paid out approximately $3 million in bribes to the office of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka (1976). Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring Air Jordan and the Jumpman logo (1988). SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, a super heavy launch vehicle, makes its maiden flight (2018).
• February 6 is the birthday of mathematician/astronomer Mario Bettinus (1582), British queen Anne (1665), mathematician/theorist Nicolaus II Bernoulli (1695), US vice president Aaron Burr (1756), physicist/cryptographer Charles Wheatstone (1802), French prime minister Alexandre Ribot (1842), MLB legend Babe Ruth (1895), screenwriter Michael Maltese (1908), actor/US president Ronald Reagan (1911), Hitler’s wife Eva Braun (1912), anthropologist Mary Leakey (1913), actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (1917), actor Rip Torn (1931), actor Mike Farrell (1939), journalist Tom Brokaw (1940), singer-songwriter/keyboardist Willie Tee (1944), singer-songwriter Bob Marley (1945), singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle (1946), singer-songwriter Natalie Cole (1950), actress Kathy Najimy (1957), drummer Simon Phillips (1957), singer-songwriter Axl Rose (1962),   and actress Alice Eve (1982).

It’s so easy to let the world get you down. Natural disasters, personal tragedies, widespread injustice, random annoyances… they seem to happen all the time, and they do. Everyone you every met has either gone through major shit, is going through it now, or will in the near future. I’ve learned a few things in my life, and one of them is that what’s important is not shielding yourself from bad things, but being able to react to them in ways that don’t add to the vortex of negativity. I’m not impervious to negativity by a long shot, but I do try and not make things shittier, and I do pretty well at that. Enjoy your day.