Random News: October 18, 2024

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 October 18, 2024, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! No news today; I’m in the desert and I’m not going to write a thousand words on this iPad. However, I can tell you a few things.

• I’m writing to you live from Joshua Tree, CA. This place is always amazing no matter how many times you visit.
• This is the high desert. Our cabin is at about 3,300 feet. I am always sensitive to elevation, spending 99% of my life near sea level.
• It’s windy so far but that doesn’t really impede any plans we have.
• The home we’ve rented is spacious and nice. As I mentioned yesterday, we’re in the same neighborhood where we’ve stayed many times since Kat and I first visited together in 2010.
• I do have my guitar and some other musical tools with me. If so inspired, I may write some tunes.
• For the moment, just enjoying my coffee and the sights and sounds of the Mojave Desert.
• And now, The Weather: “Depot Dog” by hemlock
• From the Sports Desk… the Dodgers gave another beat down to the Mets in the NLCS, winning 10-2 and taking a 3-1 lead in that series. The Guardians managed to snag a game from the Yankees, winning 5-7. Yanks lead the ALCS 2-1.
• Today in history… King Chlothar II promulgates the Edict of Paris that defends the rights of the Frankish nobles while it excludes Jews from all civil employment in the Frankish Kingdom (614). African-American poet Phillis Wheatley is freed from slavery (1775). Herman Melville's ‘Moby-Dick’ is first published as ‘The Whale’ (1851). United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million (1867). The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain (1898). The British Broadcasting Company is founded by a consortium to establish a nationwide network of radio transmitters (1922). Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón marries actress Eva Duarte (1945). Texas Instruments announces the first transistor radio (1954). NASA Astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch take part in the first all-female spacewalk when they venture out of the International Space Station to replace a power controller (2019).
• October 18 is the birthday of poet Lady Mary Wroth (1587), painter Luca Giordano (1634), composer Baldassare Galuppi (1706), painter James Brooks (1906), Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau (1919), singer-songwriter/guitarist Jessie Mae Hemphill (1923), singer-songwriter/guitarist Chuck Berry (1926), actor George C. Scott (1927), actor Peter Boyle (1935), actress Dawn Wells (1938), NFL player/coach Mike Ditka (1939), assassin Lee Harvey Oswald (1939), songwriter Cynthia Weil (1940), TV host Huell Howser (1945), composer Howard Shore (1946), singer-songwriter/pianist Laura Nyro (1947), tennis player Martina Navratilova (1956), actress Erin Moran (1960), trumpeter/composer Wynton Marsalis (1961), sportscaster Rachel Nichols (1973), skier Lindsey Vonn (1984), MLB player Yoenis Céspedes (1985), and WNBA player Britney Griner (1990).

That’s enough. I’m gonna make some breakfast and keep on doing my desert things. Enjoy your day.