Hotel Chelsea (07.05.22)

Nice to be back rocking in SL again. Photo by Kat.

Oh hi there.

So, for those of you who understandably think this has become a weird news blog over the past couple of months, allow me to explain. It's not an anything blog. For the most part, going back to when this started in April 2008, it's primarily been a repository for documenting my musical experiences... my live performances in Second Life and elsewhere, the creation of new original music by me and my band They Stole My Crayon, and so on.

Along the way, it's also been a place where I make note of various events, big and small, which is pretty much what a blog is by at least some definitions. Some events have been personal. Some have been world-changing. But this has never been a blog with a single purpose or topic or focus.

Anyway, I'd been disseminating information on sociopolitical and cultural topics for years and years on various social media like Facebook and Twitter. One day in May of this year, I decided that instead of filling my social feeds with smatterings of topical posts, I'd compile these thoughts into a single daily post that I called "Zak's Random News". Since I was posting that to Facebook, I thought it seemed like good stuff for this blog and whoever was reading it.

Why Now?
It just so happened that during this same period, I had a dearth of music stuff to write about. The reason was mundane; I had a business event in June that both took up a lot of my time and energy, and also forced me to temporarily cancel my one remaining regular show... the first Tuesday of the month at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life.

On the day I'd usually be doing my June show, instead I was in business geek mode.

So that's why, going back to early May, there's been nothing here on the Zak Claxton blog but my daily Random News posts. I find I enjoy doing them. The act of skimming through all manner of news sources and reference information has me feeling more informed than ever before, and I can tell based on the statistics via this blog and my social media nets that people are indeed reading these posts. It's not thousands of people, but it is more than I would have expected. Hopefully they're getting something out of them. I'll continue doing them regardless.

So You're Back? How About That Show?
Yes, so I finally made my return to music performance after that two-month hiatus. It had a multiple-weird thing going on. First, Monday was a holiday, so this particular Tuesday night show felt like a massive Monday. Second, as is typical for people in the business world after a holiday weekend, I had to make up for the day off by doing twice as much work as would be typical on a single day. Third, I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat that I couldn't shake.

I'd have to feel a lot worse to think about canceling this show. Photo by Kat. 

I wasn't going to cancel the show; I knew I could still sing. It primarily hurt while swallowing. But all in all, I wasn't filled with confidence that this particular show was going to rank among my better ones. That feeling was driven home when I arrived at the venue, and instead of finding it packed with people as is usually the case with my friend Max Kleene performing before me, there were just a few people hanging out. Max was ill so I was on my own to try and draw a crowd.

Not a big crowd but, as usual at Hotel Chelsea, one who appreciated cool music. Photo by Kat.

And?
It went fine. We didn't have a ton of people there, but if you know me, you know that it doesn't bother me at all. I don't perform enough in SL on a regular basis to expect people will be there to flock to my infrequent shows when I have them.

Despite the throat issues and my lack of recent steady performances, my voice held up just fine despite a couple of occasional rough patches. I was particularly happy with my set list, which seemed to come together very nicely and had a number of tunes I haven't done very often. Oh, and I almost forgot; on Saturday, I did a long-overdue restringing and maintenance to my main acoustic guitar, the Takamine P5DC. It was sounding fantastic at the show, and was playing very smoothly.

Fresh strings on a clean guitar make me a happy virtual rock star. 

Me doing my thing. Photo by Kat.

Live music is fun. For me, and hopefully for you. Photo by Kat.

Sweaty me, right after my show.

Hotel Chelsea set list...
Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel)
Is She Really Going Out with Him (Joe Jackson)
*All You Need is Love (Beatles)
Either Way (Wilco)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Hannah Sun (Lomelda)
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
Crime (Real Estate)
Crosses (José González)
Daniel (Elton John)
Drive (Incubus)
Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel)
Tribute (Tenacious D)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out for the show, with extra super thanks to the following who helped support it!
AutumnFoxx Sutherland, Sin Snowfield, Kat Claxton, Nina Brandenburg, Irishk9 Aeon, Alessia Rodeyn, Jenna Graycloud, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko!

Random News: July 6, 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 July 6, 2022, and I think it’s a Wednesday. A variety of various thoughts and things coming at ya…

• I was in a shit mood yesterday but still chortled in schadenfreude joy as I read that Fulton County, GA has sent subpoenas to the team behind the former President who attempted to commit election fraud in Georgia, including Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell, Jacki Pick Deason, and Kenneth Chesebro.
• The specific crimes being investigated include solicitation of election fraud, making false statements, conspiracy, racketeering, and threats related to election administration.
• I’m going to continue not spending much time on the Highland Park, IL shooter. The only thing I want to impart is that this asshole kid was able to legally buy his AR-15 despite having had run-ins with the police, suicide attempts, and had made violent threats in the past.
• When we say we want nationwide background checks and red flag laws, this is why.
• A bunch of people would still be alive today had those proposed laws not been quashed by Republicans and NRA sycophants.
• It’s game over for UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Members of his cabinet are resigning and he’s lost the confidence of the people. Expect some changes there soon.
• Not gonna spend much time on this topic either, but I spent all day yesterday with a sore throat, and then did a live music show last night where I sang for an hour and exacerbated it. Still hurts a lot this morning.
• And there’s a huge wave of COVID Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 going around here in California. And my son and his friend were with tens of thousands of people at AnimeExpo over the weekend.
• Sigh.
• Shout out to Carlos Santana. He collapsed onstage last night in Michigan, but the good news is that it seems to be heat exhaustion and dehydration. The dude is going on 75, had heart surgery last year and COVID this year. Hope he’s doing okay.
• While we’re on the topic… COVID was the leading cause of death for Americans aged 45-54 in 2021, and the third leading cause of death overall. Keep treating it like it’s over, and you very well might join that morbid club.
• Back to Carlos. Something you may not know but makes sense timing-wise: Santana and Peter Frampton were big influences on me as a young guitarist in the ‘70s when I first started playing.
• They fired up the Large Hadron Collider for the third time, this time at a record high energy level. Assuming all goes well, it will be running for the next four years in search of new particles and perhaps even answering the mysteries of dark matter.
• It probably won’t cause the Earth to collapse into its own black hole.
• Fun fact: if the Earth was to be a black hole with its mass staying the same, its size would be almost the same as a regulation ping pong ball, with a radius of just under an inch.
• Poof.
• QotD: “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.” - George Sand.
• Side note: George Sand (1804-1876) was the pen name of French novelist Aurore Dupin. They dressed in male clothes and smoked cigars in public to subvert dominant gender stereotypes. Their contemporary Victor Hugo commented, "George Sand cannot determine whether she is male or female. I entertain a high regard for all my colleagues, but it is not my place to decide whether she is my sister or my brother."
• Good call, Victor.
• Sand was also the lover of renowned composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin as well as actress Marie Dorval.
• One of the biggest problems that humanity has always faced is the assumption that everything that happens is new. “There didn’t used to be gay people! There weren’t any trans people when I was a kid!"
• Of course there were, you idiot, and there were when your grandma was a kid, and her grandma, and her grandma and so on, going back to when we were barely human.
• Just because you had no personal experience with something doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It just means you were ignorant to its existence until you weren’t.
• Today in history… Mindaugas is crowned king of Lithuania (1253). Richard III is crowned king of England (1483). The first GOP convention is held (1854). Louis Pasteur successfully tests a vaccine for rabies (1885). Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus (1944). The AK-47 assault rifle goes into production in the Soviet Union (1947). John Lennon meets Paul McCartney (1957).
• July 6 is the birthday of railroad tycoon Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884), artist Frida Kahlo (1907), first lady Nancy Reagan (1921), TV magnate Merv Griffin (1925), rock and roller Bill Haley (1925), actress Janet Leigh (1927), actress/singer Della Reese (1931), President George W. Bush (1946), actor Sylvester Stallone (1946), rapper 50 Cent (1975), and baseball player Manny Machado (1992).

Here’s wishing you a good day. Here’s wishing me that this sore throat turns out to be nothing. Here’s me waving goodbye at you for now.

Random News: July 5, 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 July 5, 2022, and it’s a Tuesday that feels like a super Monday. Various meanderings of thoughts forthcoming…

• Guns.
• Here’s a concept: the same guy (it’s always a guy) who says your opinion on gun control is meaningless because you’re not an expert on guns has a very strong opinion about the viability of an ectopic pregnancy.
• Meet Darren Bailey. He’s the Trump-backed Republican challenger to J. B. Pritzker for this fall’s gubernatorial race in Illinois. Hours after the horrific mass shooting at the July 4 parade in Highland Park, he said the following: “Let’s pray for justice to prevail, and then let’s move on and let’s celebrate the independence of this nation.”
• Move on and celebrate. Blood was still running down the street. The killer had yet to be found. Six people were dead and 24 injured.
• That’s the Republican party encapsulated in one sentence. Let’s move on. Don’t discuss things. Don’t bother trying to fix them either. Just move along.
• The suspect in this, Robert Crimo III, seems like a complete waste of space. I’ll reserve further comment until I know more about him and that it’s ascertained that he is indeed the shooter. He has yet to be formally charged as such. What we know is that he’s 22 and obtained the weapon legally. I’ll leave it there for now.
• But I will say this: a guy had to tell his little kids they were playing a special game of hide-and-seek when he put them inside a dumpster to protect them from the hail of bullets from the high-powered rifle.
• That’s the America Republicans want when time and time again, they make it easier for even the most disturbed people to buy high-power, rapid fire, high-capacity weapons.
• I watched the video. I heard 30 shots squeezed off with no break, followed by about 5-10 seconds of reload time, followed by 25-30 more.
• “But he could have used a knife!”
• He’d have to have a whole lot of knives and be pretty amazing at throwing them from a rooftop. But the gun is what made it easy to take out families in Highland Park, IL.
• It’s the guns.
• “But the founding fathers said…” You wanna know what the founding fathers said? Thomas Jefferson, the primary architect of the Constitution, wanted it re-written every 20 years so that dead people would not rule over the living.
• “You can’t ban guns,” said the macho man who wants to ban books that reference slavery and/or gay people.
• Sigh.
• Finland and Sweden are joining NATO. They formally signed an accession agreement and over the upcoming months will be ratified as members.
• This is probably good news for everyone but Russia, who is not at all happy about it.
• From the sports desk… it seems as if the Lakers are going to sign Kyrie Irving and trade Russell Westbrook to the Nets. I don’t know if this is great news for either team. Kyrie is a great player, but he missed a good chunk of last season due to his anti-vaccination beliefs.
• “When one burns one's bridges, what a very nice fire it makes.” - Dylan Thomas
• Today in history… John Guy sets sail from Bristol to colonize Newfoundland (1610). Isaac Newton publishes the ‘Principia’, a seminal book on math and physics (1687). Frederick Douglass delivers his “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” speech (1852). The US Secret Service begins operation (1865). Cops open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco (1934). NHS creates the first nationwide public health system in the UK (1948). Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right”, in Memphis, TN (1954). The USA certifies the 26th Amendment, lowering voting age from 21 to 18 (1971). Arthur Ashe becomes the first Black man to win Wimbledon (1975). Jeff Bezos founds Amazon (1994). The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter (2016).
• July 5 is the birthday of doge of Venice Carlo Contarini (1580), Connecticut colony founder Thomas Hooker (1586), admiral David Farragut (1801), circus man P. T. Barnum (1810), actress Katherine Helmond (1929), musician Robbie Robertson (1943), musician Huey Lewis (1950), cartoonist Bill Watterson (1958), actress Edie Falco (1963), rapper RZA (1969), and soccer player Megan Rapinoe (1985).

Why does everything seem so shitty? Because it is! Don’t let people gaslight you into believing this is normal. It’s fine to be mad. If you’re not mad, I have to wonder about your ability to perceive the world around you like a human being. Take your anger to the polls… the real independence day will be November 8, if we do it right.

Random News: July 4, 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 July 4, 2022, and it’s a Monday. Some national holiday thoughts ahead…

• Pretty tough to enjoy Independence Day at the moment. A lot of Americans suddenly feel far less independent than they did a couple of weeks ago.
• I’d say Americans are kind of made for moments like these. Facing adversity, fighting against insurmountable odds, never backing down… all that superhero stuff that we tend to enjoy.
• What kind of amazes me is that there’s a big chunk of the “FREEDOM!” people who are celebrating rights being taken away from themselves and their fellow Americans.
• Here’s a quick thought. Clarence Thomas has stated that the overturn of Roe will lead to a reconsideration of other cases. One of those is Lawrence vs. Texas. It’s about sodomy. Let’s talk about that.
• In 1960, every state in the USA had an anti-sodomy law. What is sodomy?
• Sodomy is any kind of sexual act not intended for procreation. It’s mostly used as an excuse to persecute any homosexual behavior.
• However, the law applies to any kind of sex that doesn’t involve a penis in a vagina.
• If Lawrence is overturned, let’s normalize calling the cops on married heterosexual couples who engage in oral sex. How’s that sound? Not good? Invading your privacy? Un-American?
• You get what you ask for.
• Back on the topic of today, it’s the USA’s 246th birthday. That’s not very old at all. One of my friends in the UK lives in a house that’s older than our country.
• Three old ladies back to back is 246 years. A lady born in 1776 who dies in 1856, and one born then who dies in 1936, and one born then who’s still alive today. Easy.
• England was established over a thousand years ago in 927 (with the unification of Angles, Saxons, and Danes). But that’s nothing. India had an established government over 4,000 years ago in 2000 BCE. Both Egypt and Iran’s governments were established over 5,000 years ago.
• 246 years is nothing.
• I remember the bicentennial well. It was, obviously, 1976, and I was seven. My grandma said that everyone across America would ring little bells at noon that day, and sent me a bell to that end. I walked out to the end of my driveway and waited until the moment, perhaps expecting to hear the sonorous sound of bells large and small, symbolic of freedom and the promise of America, echoing across the plains and over the hillsides. The moment came and I began to ring the tiny bell, looking around expectantly and pausing every so often to hear the other bells.
• Utter silence. I was all alone and I had the only bell. I was disappointed as I trudged back up the driveway. But, looking back, I did ring that damn bell for all it was worth.
• I’m disappointed today too, but I’m still ringing my bell, metaphorically anyway.
• My criticism of what this country does is based on my vision of the potential this country has.
• If you ask your friends from other countries what they think of America, many of the answers are the same. With some perspective, it’s easy to both hate what America does, and love the American people, despite the fact that this country is supposed to truly represent its people more than any place before it.
• But it doesn’t, and that’s the fight. That’s always the fight. If I am critical of America, it’s because I want it to to be MORE American, and representing the needs and desires of all its citizens, male and female, black and white and brown, speaking whatever language they speak, worshipping as they choose, loving whomever they love.
• One thing we get here that I believe isn’t offered anywhere else is a guarantee of the possibility that you’ll be happy. It’s right there in the Declaration of Independence.
• "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
• Note that they don’t say you’ll definitely be happy per se. But they do say you have the right to TRY and be happy. That’s pretty cool. That’s good stuff.
• A note about the signing of the Declaration. You have to understand that this was crazy shit. They weren’t like, “Yeah! America! Fist pump! High five!”
• It’s said the atmosphere in the room was very somber and gloomy, mostly because each of them assumed they were signing their own death warrants.
• There was a comic relief moment, apparently, when Benjamin Harrison, a fat man, said to Elbridge Gerry, a skinny guy, "I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes and be with the Angels, but from the lightness of your body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead."
• Good times.
• But here we are, 246 years later. Will we last another 246 years? We didn’t even get to 100 years without a civil war. It’s hard to say. Logically, based on currently trends, the answer is no, we won’t.
• I like to think of America like a child. Your child isn’t always perfect. Your child doesn’t do homework, or falls in with a bad crowd and gets addicted to drugs, or runs into legal problems. Or maybe you are super lucky and have a great kid,, but then they turn out to be a very different person than you are.
• But you still love the child. You support and encourage the child. You correct the child when they make a mistake. You show your child how to be a good person via your own example.
• And that’s America. You don’t stop trying to make it better. Not as a good parent, and not as a good citizen. The worst kinds of each are those who don’t give a fuck.
• You gotta give a fuck.
• While I was writing these here bullets, someone asshole shot up a July 4th parade in Highland Park, IL, a wealthy suburb of Chicago. At least five dead, 16 wounded for the moment. Probably more.
• While you’re having your hot dog and watching fireworks (which, by the way, I will not be doing), remember that if you love your country, you want to fix these problems. It doesn’t mean you love it less; it means you love it too much to watch it fuck itself up time and time again. It means you love it more.
• Happy 4th.
• QotD: “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” - George Washington
• Today in history… Chinese and Arab astronomers observe a supernova (1054). The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress (1776). The US Military Academy at West Point opens (1802). John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die on the same day (1826). John Neal delivers the first public lecture in the US on women’s rights (1832). Henry David Thoreau moves into a cabin on Walden Pond (1845). The Confederate Army withdraws after losing the Battle of Gettysburg (1863). Lou Gehrig says he is the “luckiest man on the face of the Earth” and retires (1939). The Philippines gains independence from the USA (1946). The 50-star flag debuts (1960). The US celebrates the Bicentennial (1976). The discovery of the Higgs boson is announced at CERN (2012).
• July 4 is the birthday of geographer George Everest (1790), novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804), songwriter Stephen Foster (1826), President Calvin Coolidge (1872), cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1883), gangster Meyer Lansky (1902), evil bitch Leona Helmsley (1920), sex symbol Gina Lollobrigida (1927), playwright Neil Simon (1927), football executive Al Davis (1929), singer-songwriter Bill Withers (1938), journalist Geraldo Rivera (1943), activist Ron Kovic (1946),  and singer-songwriter John Waite (1952).

I hope you enjoy this day. I already am, doing what I do. I mentioned above that I’m not taking part in any fireworks shows or the like, and that is because I refuse to celebrate freedom while it’s being forcibly taken away from so many people I care about. But feel free to celebrate or not in your own way. That’s freedom too.

Random News: July 3, 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 July 3, 2022, and it’s a Sunday. Here are various things…

• Pete Arrendondo, the man who was in charge of the police response at the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, TX, has resigned from his newly-elected position on the city council. He was already placed on leave from his job as chief of school police.
• He said he didn’t want to be a distraction. I find the murder of a bunch of school kids a bigger distraction, but whatever.
• Should we talk about the 10-year-old in Ohio who was raped, became pregnant, and can’t get an abortion in her state?
• I wasn’t going to bring it up, but now they kind of forced me to. This morning, governor Kristy Noem (ND) was asked about it, as her state has similar “no exception” abortion laws.
• Noem confirmed that North Dakota would also force this 10-year-old to give birth to her rapist’s baby.
• The girl has been taken to Indiana, where for the moment her abortion procedure is still legal.
• Are you (or your wife or daughter) going to submit to roadside checkpoints to see if you’re pregnant
• This is what Republicans wanted and voted for. There will be many, many more cases like this. That’s what they’ll be celebrating tomorrow on the Fourth.
• A 10-year-old (or for that matter 17-year-old) can’t vote. But you can. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for them.
• My governor, Gavin Newsom, has been running ads in Florida just to troll Ron DeSantis. I approve of this.
• There was a mass shooting last night in Haltom City (near Fort Worth, TX). Two dead (three counting the shooter), another four shot. Fortunately it was one of the smaller mass shootings we have daily in the USA.
• Sydney and its suburbs are getting massive flooding. Stay safe, Aussies.
• From the sports desk… the top 10 teams in Major League Baseball right now: Yankees (58-21), Astros (50-27), Dodgers (49-28), Mets (48-30), Braves (46-33), Padres (46-34), Brewers (45-35), Blue Jays (44-25), Twins (45036), Red Sox (43-35).
• QotD: “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” - Haile Selassie
• I did a full maintenance of my Takamine Pro Series P5DC guitar yesterday. Removed the shitty old strings, full detailed cleaning of the body, lemon oil on the rosewood fingerboard, and restringing. I went with D’Addario EJ10, which. is an extra light gauge (.010-.047) 80/20 bronze set. Man, that thing is sizzling tone-wise, and plays like butter now.
• Today in history… William the Conqueror becomes Duke of Normandy (1035). Quebec City is founded (1608). George Washington takes command of the Continental Army (1775). Dow Jones publishes its first stock average (1884). Idaho is admitted as the 43rd state (1890). Jimmy Carter signs off on secret aid to anti-Russian forces in Afghanistan (1979).
• July 3 is the birthday of Louis XI of France (1423), writer Franz Kafka (1883), actor Ken Russell (1927), guitarist Tommy Tedesco (1930), lawyer Gloria Allred (1941), actor Kurtwood Smith (1943), singer Laura Branigan (1952), talk show host Montel Williams (1956), musician Vince Clarke (1960), actor Tom Cruise (1962), hockey great Teemu Selänne (1970), and um… Julian Assange (1971).

Most of us in the USA have a three-day holiday weekend. I didn’t write anything about Independence Day in this little whiz-bang. Maybe tomorrow. Enjoy your Sunday.

Random News: July 2, 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 July 2, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. Lazy and semi-coherent items ahead…

• I just saw a headline on CNN that read “What is the Supreme Court and why does it have so much power?”
• Seriously, let me ask you people something. I’m assuming you all went to middle school (or junior high, as some places called it at some times).
• We all (again, I assume) had classes before we were 13 years old that specifically taught you at least the very basic details of the country we live in and its form of government.
• Some of us also went to high school where we had more advanced classes in history, social studies, and government. You probably were taught more details about the Constitution, its Amendments, the system of checks and balances, and so on.
• Why is it, then, that so many fucking adults out there who were born and raised in America seem to have NO FUCKING CLUE about the United States?
• And even more ironically, those who seem to know the least are the ones most likely to consider themselves “patriots”.

• It’s like a huge percentage of people. It’s amazing. It’s mind-blowing. What the fuck? 
• Sigh.
• There has been a multitude of instances of hope in the midst of the repeal of women’s rights to safe abortion. A good number of district attorneys in force-birth states are stating they will not seek prosecution of abortion crimes.
• Some state courts are fighting orders to close clinics. And in some states that don’t force women to give birth, like New York, they are rapidly reinforcing their laws to ensure that safe and legal abortion will continue in their state regardless of what happens at the national level. California will be doing the same soon.
• And perhaps the biggest glimmer of positivity has been the fierce reaction of not only a huge percentage of the nation’s women, but also a majority of men who support their rights to bodily autonomy.

• Always keep in mind: we are the majority. It crosses into both Democrat and Republican sides. It crosses gender and race lines. It’s going to be a night and will take time, and people will suffer in the interim.
• But we will win.
• Apparently so many people watched the new episodes of ‘Stranger Things’ that Netflix crashed. I’m a weirdo who doesn’t really watch TV (I mostly just don’t have time), but that show looks fun. I’ve seen a few clips here and there and I admire the production details.

• From the sports desk… I don’t know jack shit about college sports, but I do know enough that seeing UCLA and USC leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 10 seems mighty fucking bizarre. I don’t know much about it, but it feels like a money thing.

• Try this out: when you find yourself asking “why?” about something, try replying “money”, and then see if that answer fits. It almost always does in some way, often directly.
• The more I learn about space travel, the more I’m becoming aware that it’s almost impossible for organic life forms like humans. Just one example, beyond the radiation and other aspects, is a new study that shows just six months in space resulted in decades worth of bone deterioration due to living in microgravity.
• We have to make this planet work. There’s no way this homo sapiens species is going to live long enough to figure out ways to live on other planets. Zero possibility.
• Fuck this shit. I’m going to work on some music today.
• Music is one of the only things I do that I know with 100% certainty makes the world a better place in which to live. It may be the only thing. I’m serious.


• QotD: “All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.” - Richard Adams, ‘Watership Down’
• Today in history… Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident (866). Thomas Savery patents the steam engine (1698). The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with Great Britain (1776). 35 slaves are hanged in South Carolina, accused of organizing a rebellion (1822). 53 slaves mutiny and take over the slave ship ‘Amistad’ (1839). President James A. Garfield is shot by a crazy dude and eventually dies (1881). Guglielmo Marconi gets a patent for the radio (1897). The war between the US and Germany in WWI is formally ended (1921). Amelia Earhart is last heard from somewhere over the Pacific (1937). The first Walmart opens (1962). Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act (1964).
• July 2 is the birthday of Roman emperor Valentinian III (419), feminist writer Lily Braun (1865), writer Hermann Hesse (1877), tennis player and creator of the polo shirt René Lacoste (1904), fashion designer Pierre Cardin (1922), activist Medgar Evers (1925), politician Imelda Marcos (1929), Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas (1932), race car driver Richard Peeetty (1937), writer/comedian Larry David (1947), model Jerry Hall (1956), baseball player and steroid user Jose Canseco (1964), NHL great Joe Thornton (1979), actress Lindsay Lohan (1986), actress Margot Robbie (1990), and rapper Vince Staples (1993).

Now I’m gonna pick up a guitar and write the greatest song in the world. I hope your Saturday is filled with the sweet nectar of excellent mojo.

Random News: July 1, 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 July 1, 2022, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! I have no idea what I’m about to write…

• The Supreme Court finished this round of terror with a few more decisions. In a nutshell, fossil fuel companies don’t have to abide by the EPA greenhouse gas emission rules in West Virginia v. EPA (boo), and Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy is over in Biden v. Texas (yay).
• In much, much, much more horrifying news than just about anything, the SCOTUS also agreed to hear Moore v Harper, a case that advocates for an extreme interpretation of the Constitution that could make it easier for state legislatures to suppress the vote, draw unfair election districts, and enable partisan interference in ballot counting.
• So we’ve got that to look forward to being fucked by next year, apparently.
• Expand the Court. The USA has expanded it in the past from six to nine justices. The number is set by Congress… not the Constitution. Move it to 12 associate justices plus one chief justice.
• Also, fuck it… drop the filibuster. What’s gonna be more important than this? What better place than here? What better time than now?
• The hacking collective Anonymous claimed yesterday that “Data from menstrual tracking apps have been hacked and deleted to avoid identifying possible abortion in states where abortion is now banned.” It’s sad that I have to count on these people to do the right thing. Sincerely, thanks once again, Anonymous.
• Abortion rates will not change; what gets diminished are safe abortions. You’re not saving any babies. You’re just killing moms.
• What’s this I’m hearing about checkpoints on state borders? Where they stop you for being a woman, or to see if you have a woman in the car? After all, if she’s leaving the state, it might be for an abortion and she must be questioned and/or inspected. Is that the America where you want to live?
• Me neither.
• You said we were being alarmist when we predicted this SCOTUS would overturn Roe. Don’t say shit to me when I tell you right now, there will be interstate travel checkpoints and possibly even bans for women to leave certain forced-birth states. Governor Kristy Noem already said there “will be a debate” about how to handle cases of South Dakota women traveling out of state for the procedure.
• You’re going to get pulled over for being female. They’re going to forcibly check to see if you’re pregnant. This is what Republicans want. FUCKING VOTE.
• Sigh.
• Two more people were gored by bison at Yellowstone this week. Bison are huge and fast and can easily kill you. Try and stay away from bison. This is the kind of valuable advice you only get here.
• A bit of happiness this week happened when a radio station in Vancouver, BC was being taken off the air, and some of the DJs commandeered the easy listening KISS-FM station and played Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing In The Name” over and over for 18 consecutive hours. They were taking requests, and then played the same RATM song regardless of what was asked for. I salute those DJs, and in the immortal words of Zach de la Roche, “Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me.”
• It’s July. The month was named after Julius Caesar, being the month of his birth. Fun Fact: before then, it was called Quintilis, being the fifth month of a year that used to start with March.
• July’s birthstone is the ruby. July’s flowers are the larkspur or water lily. While June was LGBTQ+ Pride month, July is National Hot Dog Month, which is good news if you like weiners.
• Side note on the topic of dates: July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (or 183rd in leap years); there are 183 days remaining. So like, half, if you’re into math.
• QotD: “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Today in history… Cortez’s conquistadors have to fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall (1520). The Battle of Gettysburg begins in the American civil war (1863). The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence (1870). The first international phone call is made — it was between New Brunswick and Maine (1881). SOS is adopted as the international distress signal (1908). Battle of the Somme in WWI, with 19,000 British Army dead and 40,000 wounded in one day (1916). United Airlines begins service as Boeing Transport (1931). ZIP codes are introduced for the US mail (1963). Sony introduces the Walkman (1979). The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA (1984). 
• July 1 is the birthday of French author George Sand (1804), businesswoman Estée Lauder (1906), blues musician Willie Dixon (1915), actor Jamie Farr (1934), musician Delaney Bramlett (1939), musician Debbie Harry (1945), actor Dan Ackroyd (1952), Princess Diana (1961), actress Pamela Anderson (1967), rapper Missy Elliott (1971), singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens (1975), and actress Liv Tyler (1977).

Okay, let’s go out and kick ass. I mean literally. Find someone who is an ass and kick them. Legal disclaimer: this is likely assault and you may face civil and criminal punishment for any asses you actually kick. Kick ass at your own risk.