Random News: November 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 November 6, 2022, and it’s a Sunday. I’m up early due to the time change; it’s rare that I’m asleep when the sun is already up, so might as well spread some news around while I devour coffee…

• For those of you upset by polls coming into Tuesday’s election, here’s a little reminder.
• In Kansas, the anti-abortion measure they had in August was supposed to win by four points, according to polls. 
• It lost by 18 POINTS.
• Pollsters do NOT understand the change that’s happened in recent years. They’re doing things as most statisticians do, by following “proven” methods and longterm trends.
• Vote. Vote like your candidate is 50 points behind, or 50 points ahead, or whatever inspires you to get your ass to the polls.
• “They won’t hear you boo, but they will hear you vote.” - Barack Obama
• Let’s talk for a moment about elections in close races… which is now the norm nearly everywhere.
• You may not find out the winner of the election on election night.
• You may not find out for days. It takes time to count and verify millions of votes. The only time the race is called — usually by a trustworthy media source like the Associated Press — is if there’s no mathematical possibility for one side to win based on a large percentage of votes having been counted.
• Point being, we’re humans and we’ve come to expect instant gratification. It doesn’t always happen that way. A longer time to tally votes doesn’t mean something weird is going on.
• Be patient. Be strong. Be peaceful. And do trust the results. Mass-scale voter fraud is all but impossible in this country. In all but a tiny number of instances, whoever wins will have won legitimately.
• Moving on.
• Huge respect to Valerie Bertinelli. She changed her display name on Twitter to “Elon Musk” and spent the weekend binge-tweeting support for Democratic candidates and policies.
• The brilliance here is in that Musk has announced a new policy at Twitter so that the “blue check” verifications are now for sale and no longer help secure the identity of the user.
• Therefore the tweets really do look like they are coming form Musk at first glance.
• He was hoisted by his own petard. They may likely ban Bertinelli for this stunt, but I guarantee she was aware of that before she started.
• Apparently no one won that ridiculous Powerball lottery, and it’s now up to $1.9 billion. That’s a lot of money. Imagine a stack of 1,000,000 dollar bills going up to the sky.
• Now imagine 1,900 of those stacks.
• If you gave away a million dollars every single day, it would still take you over five years to burn through that money.
• And now, The Weather: “Too Far Gone” by Pecq
• Speaking of the weather, a storm system in the Caribbean is heading toward Florida and could impact on Tuesday, aka Election Day. Make sure that nothing stops you from voting.
• Here’s an actual Fox News top headline from this morning (I’m not kidding; go look if you want): “Conservatives turn on Trump for attacking Ron DeSantis ahead of midterms: ‘What an idiot’… DeSantis is among the most popular and successful Republicans in the country.”
• They’ve abandoned Trump, and that will become progressively more and more apparent over the next couple of years.
• From the Sports Desk… congrats to the Houston Astros, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to two in the World Series. I’m still not happy about the Astros’ cheating scandal from while back, so I really get no joy from this win, but what’s done is done.
• Sports Desk also says he’s going to check out NFL games today. Baseball is done, basketball and hockey are just getting started, so it’s all football for awhile here in Sportsland.
• At the risk of being repetitive, I will once again ask my friends who are acting as poll workers and election officials to be SUPER careful throughout the election.
• In places like Arizona, there have been hundreds of documented threats of torture and death toward people who just want a job or want to do something for their country. All threats have come from MAGA-associated Republican persons and groups.
• Today in history… Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States with only 40% of the popular vote, defeating John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas in a four-way race (1860). Rutgers College defeats Princeton University 6–4, in the first official intercollegiate American football game (1869). President William McKinley is re-elected, along with his vice-presidential running mate, Governor Theodore Roosevelt of New York (1900). The 1st Ukrainian Front in WWII liberates Kyiv from German occupation (1943). ‘Meet the Press’, the longest running television program in history, makes its debut on NBC (1947). Art Modell announces that he signed a deal that would relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore (1995). Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay politician to be elected to the United States Senate (2012). The Democratic Party wins the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections (2018).
• November 6 is the birthday of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494), instrument designer Adolphe Sax (1814), economist Charles Dow (1851), composer John Philip Sousa (1854), basketball inventor James Naismith (1861), director Mike Nichols (1931), actress Sally Field (1946), musician Glenn Frey (1948), journalist Maria Shriver (1955), actress Rebecca Romijn (1972), NBA player Lamar Odom (1979), actress Emma Stone (1988), and comedian Bowen Yang (1990).

Jesus, I woke up and made coffee and wrote all that shit and it’s still only 8:30am. I have no big plans today, beyond some typical weekend maintenance chores. I leave you with just one thought, and it’s that YOUR VOTE TRULY MATTERS and to please make a plan to vote Tuesday if you have yet to do so. Thank you. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 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 November 5, 2022, and it’s a Saturday. I’m in a blue robe and have a full cup of delicious coffee, so beyond that, I got this…

• The 2022 National Election is in three days on Tuesday November 8. I hope you vote.
• There’s no way to tell what will happen at this stage. Historical patterns would say that Republicans will win many seats and take over the House and Senate.
• But things have changed drastically compared to the time frame where those patterns emerged. The stakes are much higher, spearheaded by the repeal of Roe v Wade earlier this year but also driven by many other factors that energize voters.
• For a midterm (non-Presidential) election, the early voting numbers are very high, and that’s a good sign. But frankly, no pundit or polling group really knows what will happen on Tuesday and the days following while the votes are tallied.
• Two years ago, we spent that whole week nervously watching vote counts in various states. As you may recall, it wasn’t until Saturday morning of the following weekend that the race was called for Biden.
• So what I’m saying is, don’t expect instant gratification. In this bizarre world, it will likely take time before we know who’s won what.
• But do vote if you have yet to do so. The bigger the voter turnout, the more the elected candidates represent the will of the people. That’s what a democracy is all about.
• I will point out for the record: electing people who deny the free will of the people to hold fair elections can result in this country losing its democracy and becoming a form of government where the people do not get to choose its leaders ever again. It means losing the very concept of America forever.
• Hope it all works out. I’ve done all I could do.
• Moving on.
• I almost don’t want to talk about the Twitter debacle, but it merits a mention.
• The platform’s new owner laid off roughly 50% of the workforce in the past few days. It’s estimated that 3,700 people lost their jobs.
• A number of them immediately filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Twitter is in violation of the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), which requires that an employer with more than 100 employees must provide 60 days’ advanced written notice prior to a mass layoff.
• We’ll see how that goes.
• Meanwhile, the new Twitter owning is threatening to “name and shame” the advertisers who are leaving the platform in droves… because that’s the very best way to get them to give him more money.
• It seems insane, but it’s also very much in line with a person who, due to his unfortunate disability that doesn’t allow him to have any perception of human emotion, genuinely doesn’t get why his actions are perceived as wrong.
• Moving on from that.
• Thoughts going out to the folks in North Texas and Oklahoma who got nailed with tornadoes yesterday. Over 50 homes were destroyed.
• Climate change will continue to cause this kind of devastation, and much worse. There’s very little we can do to stop it now, but we can slow it down a bit.
• And now, The Weather: “Prescribed Burn” by Shadowgraphs
• SCOTUS justice Amy Coney Barrett on Friday again declined to block President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt. Barrett denied an emergency request by the Indiana borrowers, represented by a conservative legal group.
• Judge Arthur Engoron has imposed an independent monitor to oversee the finances of the Trump Organization. 
• It means the company is unable to change its corporate structure, sell or transfer non-cash assets, or make deals without giving notice to the court.
• This is part of NYAG Letitia James’ $250 million fraud suit again Trump Org. The FPOTUS is not happy. I’m pretty sure he’s never happy, has never been happy, and doesn’t know what happiness is.
• I — along with anyone else who understands happiness — am miles above the quality of life of people like him. It’s never about money or power. He’ll never get it.
• Today in history… Guy Fawkes is arrested in the Gunpowder Plot (1605). French-American forces under Colonel LaBalme are defeated by Miami Chief Little Turtle (1780). Nat Turner, American slave leader, is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in Virginia (1831). In defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time, and is later fined $100 (1872). Woodrow Wilson is elected the 28th President of the United States, defeating incumbent William Howard Taft (1912). The Everett massacre takes place in Everett, WA as political differences lead to a shoot-out between the Industrial Workers of the World organizers and local police (1916). Franklin D. Roosevelt is the first and only President of the United States to be elected to a third term (1940). Richard Nixon is elected as 37th President of the United States (1968). Bill Clinton is reelected President of the United States (1996).
• November 5 is the birthday of painter Anna Maria van Schurman (1607), socialist Eugene V. Debs (1855), journalist Ida Tarbell (1857), writer/philosopher Will Durant (1885), astronomer Fred Lawrence Whipple (1906), singer Roy Rogers (1911), actress Vivien Leigh (1913), accordionist Myron Floren (1919), musician Ike Turner (1931), singer Art Garfunkel (1941), actor/playwright Sam Shepard (1943), musician Gram Parsons (1946), musician Peter Noone (1947), actor Armin Shimerman (1949), actor Robert Patrick (1958), musician Bryan Adams (1959), actress Tatum O’Neal (1963), actress Famke Janssen (1965), actor Sam Rockwell (1968), guitarist Jonny Greenwood (1971), MLB player Johnny Damon (1973), musician Ryan Adams (1974), golfer Bubba Watson (1978), and NFL player Odell Beckham Jr. (1992).

Okay then. Might work on some music today, maybe? Not sure yet. It seems like the weather is crisp but super nice. I should get dressed. I’m just gonna sit here and consider things for awhile. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 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 November 4, 2022, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Sparrows are birds, MAGAs are turds, after seconds come thirds, and here are some words…

• Don’t forget to set your clocks back this weekend. Daylight Saving Time is done once again.
• What actually is time? There’s a valid scientific concept that time doesn’t exist, or at least not at all in the way that we seem to perceive it.
• Here’s something to think about… it is both ALWAYS now, and it’s NEVER now.
• By the time you can say “now” or snap your fingers or whatever you can do near-instantaneously, what was “now” has already passed.
• Here’s another thing. Massless particles do not experience time. A photon generated in a star in the Andromeda galaxy takes about 2.5 million years traveling at the speed of light to reach your eyeball from your perspective, but to the photon, no time elapsed at all in that journey.
• Time is weird, man. It could be that everything that ever happened or ever will happen is actually happening now.
• Or now.
• Or now.
• There is a “smallest possible time division”. It’s the Planck Time. Here’s how small one Planck Time is: there are more Planck Times in one second than there have been seconds since the start of time itself.
• And now, the news.
• According to the U.S. Elections Project, more than 32,970,000 early votes have now been cast.
• That’s really good.
• The elections happen in four days on Tuesday November 8.
• Do you want to explain someday how your wife or daughter died of not being treated for an ectopic pregnancy because you thought gas prices were a bit high that one time in 2022?
• Vote blue all the way through.
• Hey, check this out.
• Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) on camera: “It will be my objective to phase out Social Security. To pull it up by the roots and get rid of it.”
• He said it out loud and he’s serious. Maybe that doesn’t mean shit to you today, but it will when your elderly parents can’t afford groceries or a place to live.
• And anyone who has ever worked has paid into Social Security their whole lives. Where is that money going to go? It’s YOUR money.
• Vote out Mike Lee in Utah next week, and vote in Independent candidate Evan McMullin. The dude is not even a Democrat. He’s just way better than Mr. Steal Your Social Security Lee.
• And now, The Weather: “Beautiful Friend” by Space Equator
• From the Sports Desk… Game 5 of the World Series was a tough fight from both sides, but the Astros beat the Phillies and now have a 3-2 lead. They can wrap it up in game 6 tomorrow night in Houston, or it could go to game 7 on Sunday if necessary. Go Phillies!
• Also in sports… NFL’s Thursday night game had the Eagles beating the Texans (oddly enough, it was Philadelphia versus Houston in this sport as well), and the Eagles are now 8-0 for the first time in their storied franchise history.
• Also in sports… well, this was inevitable. The Brooklyn Nets suspended Kyrie Irving for at least five games (and possibly indefinitely) without pay Thursday, dismayed by his repeated failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs."
• NBA commissioner Adam Silver asked Kyrie to apologize for posting a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter feed. He refused, and now the team says he is "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.” Yikes.
• The Sports Desk concludes today by noting that Ray Guy, the only NFL punter to be elected to the Hall of Fame, has passed away at age 72. Famously, Ray’s punts for the Raiders went so high that at least one opposing coach demanded the ball to be checked to see if it had been filled with helium. RIP Ray.
• Death by alcohol use in the US spiked during the pandemic, studies show. It jumped 26% between 2019 and 2020.
• I don’t drink alcohol. When I was in my early 30s about 20 years ago, I developed an intolerance to alcohol where if I drank enough to get drunk, it just mades me sick, sometimes for days. So I stopped, and while I’m not at all sober (hello weed!), looking back I know that drinking was very, very bad for me personally.
• But you have to make those decisions for yourself. I did it because that’s what was right for me at the time. Before that, I’d have laughed if someone had told me I would get to a point where I didn’t drink at all.
• Today in history… The future Mary II of England marries William, Prince of Orange; they later jointly reign as William and Mary (1677). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 36 is performed for the first time in Linz, Austria (1783). Sir James Young Simpson, a Scottish physician, discovers the anesthetic properties of chloroform (1847). Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi is assassinated in Tokyo (1921). British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to Tutankhamen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings (1922). Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female elected as governor in the United States (1924). Disobeying a direct order by Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel begins a retreat of his forces after a costly defeat during the Second Battle of El Alamein (1942). The United States government establishes the National Security Agency, or NSA (1952). Dr. Jane Goodall observes chimpanzees creating tools, the first-ever observation in non-human animals (1960). Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter (1980). Barack Obama becomes the first person of biracial or African-American descent to be elected as President of the United States (2008). 
• November 4 is the birthday of painter Guido Reni (1575), painter Gerard van Honthorst (1592), king William III of England (1650), actor Edmund Kean (1787), actor/social commentator Will Rogers (1879), physicist Alfred Lee Loomis (1887), actor Gig Young (1913), gunnery sergeant John Basilone (1916), journalist Walter Cronkite (1916), actor Art Carney (1918), actor Martin Balsam (1919), actress Doris Roberts (1925), actress Loretta Swit (1937), singer-songwriter Delbert McClinton (1940), conservationist Kafi Benz (1941), first lady Laura Bush (1946), photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (1946), actress Markie Post (1950), race car driver Jacques Villeneuve (1953), guitarist James Honeyman-Scott (1956), keyboardist Jordan Rudess (1956), actress Kathy Griffin (1960), actor Ralph Macchio (1961), rapper Sean Combs (1969), and NFL player Vince Wilfork (1981). 

Alright. I have a hell day coming. I can’t even tell you how jam packed my day is. It will stress me out to even think about. So, I’m just going to do all the things, and not think about them, and eventually they’ll be done, and then I won’t be totally freaking the fuck out like I am at the moment. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 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 November 3, 2022, and it’s a Thursday for some reason. Here’s all the news that I’ll tell you before losing interest in my own ramblings…

• President Biden made a short address to the nation yesterday to say that the midterms are a “defining moment” for democracy as threats of political violence and voter intimidation loom over the upcoming elections.
• He’s right.
• “We don’t settle our differences in America with a riot, a mob or a bullet or a hammer. We settle them peacefully at the ballot box. We have to be honest with ourselves, though. We have to face this problem. We can’t turn away from it. We can’t pretend it’s just going to solve itself.”
• All true.
• “American democracy is under attack because the defeated former president of the United States refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, he refuses to accept the will of the people, he refuses to accept the fact that he lost. He’s abused his power and put loyalty to himself before loyalty to the Constitution.”
• Yas Joe.
• Here’s a December 31, 2020 email from FPOTUS attorney Kenneth Chesebro to fellow FPOTUS lawyer John Eastman: “We want to frame things so that (SCOTUS Justice Clarence) Thomas could be the one to issue some sort of stay or other circuit justice opinion saying Georgia is in legitimate doubt.” Chesebro contended that Thomas would be “our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6, which might hold up the Georgia count in Congress.”
• This is part of a batch of eight emails that Eastman had sought to withhold from the January 6 select committee but that a judge ordered turned over anyway, describing them as evidence of likely crimes committed by Eastman and Trump.
• I’m not saying Thomas is complicit just from being specifically referenced here. But it doesn’t instill much trust in the supposed neutrality of the SCOTUS overall.
• Trump adviser Kash Patel has been ordered to testify before a grand jury investigating the handling of federal records at Mar-a-Lago. Patel was granted immunity from prosecution on any information he provides to the investigation.
• He flipped.
• Back to the important stuff…
• Want to make yourself feel ill? Look at the polls, which are predominantly run by conservative organizations and tend to reach older voters on land lines.
• Due to those polls, there’s lots of chatter out there about a Republican sweep of the Midterms. I’m not going to lie to you: it could happen. They could take both the House and Senate, and everything that happens after that is exactly what I’ve told you will happen.
• Abortion will be made illegal nationwide and women will be forced to carry the children of whomever impregnates them.
• Social Security will be gutted and then dismantled.
• Many rights that Americans take for granted will be removed.
• It doesn’t have to happen.
• I’m going to tell you some things that may seem unlikely but are 100% true. The folks in red states and swing states like to make you think that you shouldn’t bother voting, but…
• Beto O’Rourke CAN win his election for governor of Texas.
• Cheri Beasley CAN win her election for senator of North Carolina.
• Michael Franken CAN win his election for senator of Iowa.
• Val Demings CAN win her election for senator of Florida.
• Katie Hobbs CAN win her election for governor of Arizona.
• Evan McMullin CAN win his election for senator of Utah.
• Stacey Abrams CAN win her election for governor of Georgia.
• Mandela Barnes CAN win his election for senator of Wisconsin.
• Tim Ryan CAN win his election for senator of Ohio.
• You just have to vote. That’s all you have to do.
• It goes the same for folks in supposed blue states that have strong challenges from GOP candidates, like Nevada, Oregon, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and the rest.
• You just have to vote. If you haven’t already done so, make a plan for Tuesday. Know where your polling place is. Have ID if needed. DO NOT LEAVE THE LINE even after the polls have closed, if you’re running late.
• And now, The Weather: “Dusty” by Niall Summerton
• That Powerball lottery is up to $1.5 billion. That’s a nice chunk of change. I should probably waste a few bucks on some tickets. I could do a lot for the world with that kind of scratch.
• First thing I’d do would be to set up an ongoing charitable trust. Second thing I’d do is… I don’t know. Nothing? I’m not into stuff. Probably get some nice cheese. I like cheese.
• From the Sports Desk… huge game 4 of the World Series last night, and this one is destined for seven games it seems. Astros shut out of the Phillies, so they’re wrapped up at 2-2.
• The Sports Desk also notes that Steve Nash, a two-time MVP as an NBA player and by all accounts one of the smartest minds in basketball, was fired by the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, because the team is made up of a bunch of baby-men who would rather blame their coach than take responsibility for their own actions.
• Nash will be fine, will get another coaching or broadcasting job, and is probably relieved to be away from that dysfunctional hellhole of a team.
• Back on the important stuff.
• The way things might go, especially in predicted close races where voting tallies aren’t available right away, violence is a strong possibility in today’s political landscape.
• I suggest you make some precautionary plans for the days following the election. Not trying to freak you out. My prediction is that everything will be fine. Unless it’s not.
• Today in history… The River Arno floods causing massive damage in Florence (1333). Christopher Columbus first sights the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea (1493). English Parliament passes the first Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the Anglican Church, supplanting the pope and the Roman Catholic Church (1534). French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined (1793). The Times of India, the world's largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper is founded (1838). John Willis Menard (R-LA) was the first African American elected to the United States Congress, but because of some racist shit, he was never seated (1868). Panama separates from Colombia (1903). William Howard Taft is elected the 27th President of the United States (1908). Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T (1911). Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected President of the United States (1936). Lyndon B. Johnson is elected to a full term as U.S. president (1964). Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton defeats Republican President George H. W. Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot in the 1992 United States presidential election (1992). The 2020 United States presidential election takes place between Democratic Joe Biden and Republican incumbent President Donald Trump. On November 7, Biden was declared the winner (2020).
• November 3 is the birthday of painter Annibale Carracci (1560), businessman Stephen F. Austin (1793), US Chief Justice Edward Douglass White (1845), MLB player Bob Feller (1918), actor Charles Bronson (1921), actor Ken Berry (1933), guitarist Bert Jansch (1943), singer Lulu (1948), actress Roseanne Barr (1952), singer Adam Ant (1954), NFL player Phil Simms (1955), actor Dolph Lundgren (1957), musician Steven Wilson (1967), and guitarist Mick Thompson (1973). 

Well, I’m going to do the things I do. I write this shit at 7am each morning, and invariably as soon as I post it, some other shit happens that will end up in the next day’s news. Life doesn’t happen on a schedule and you never know what the future may hold, for good, bad, or otherwise. I just try and go with the flow. Enjoy your day.

Hotel Chelsea (11.01.22)

Getting ready to start my show at Hotel Chelsea while Max Kleene wraps up his last tune.

Well hello! Remember me? The musician guy who writes things other than horrifying news bulletins?

I know it's still a little weird, popping in here once or twice a month with these little reports on my musical activities. I can imagine someone who'd become a regular reader of this blog, skimming through bullet points every day and getting quickly caught up on various things in the USA and the world, and then it's like, "What the fuck is this shit?" It's like you're binge-watching a horror series on Netflix and then you cue up a random episode has the same main character hanging out at a concert, with nothing that ties into the plot.

Are There Regular Readers of This Thing?
Oh yeah. For sure. I can see the traffic to every single post of this blog. It's not thousands of readers every day, but it is quite a lot compared to what I'd expect. This blog isn't monetized or promoted in any serious way. It's as much a diary for my own enjoyment as it is an actual source of information.

Still, I hear from people over and over that they actually rely on my news bullets. Not everyone is active on the kind of social media where "everyone knows" what's going on. All I do is aggregate info that I see on various news media and my own social media sources. I'm not a journalist; I know what it takes to maintain sources, do investigative reporting, and this ain't that. But news is only as effective as its ability to be seen, and if I help people stay informed by passing along that info, I am performing a service that is needed and that people appreciate.

Thousands of people read this silly blog, and even more read my news bullets via other platforms like Facebook. It's definitely worthwhile to someone.

What Else Has Been Happening?

Like, with me? Well, I am working on a new song. I think it's good. I have no need to rush through it, and I'm spending some time on lyrics, as well as refining the song structure and production thoughts. I do hope to release it by year's end, or earlier if possible.

Beyond that, being less than a week out from a major national election, my focus has been on getting out info that allows as many people as possible to be informed voters, and to make them aware that their vote matters a lot.

And yeah, like anyone else, I've dealt with work issues and health issues and family issues and financial issues. That's just all part of a normal life in this era. You have challenges, and you do what you can to overcome them. That's all.

How About That Show?

Ah yes. So, I got into SL for my show at Hotel Chelsea, and decided to change my clothes, as I'd been performing in basically the same outfit for most of the summer and early fall. My appearance isn't my big priority in SL, frankly. Still, having months worth of show photos where I'm basically dressed identically isn't cool either.

So I changed a few things, and then went to TP to my show, and everything locked up. SL froze and quit automatically. I logged in again and the same thing happened. I logged in yet again and pinged my manager Maali for a TP to the show. Crashed again.

I did eventually make it to the show. Photo by Trouble Streeter.

There was a time years ago where this would send me into a mental vortex of anger and frustration, but after however many thousands of shows I've done, this was nothing at all. I next had the idea of teleporting straight to the show from the same link I'd used to announce it, and it worked fine, and I had plenty of time -- well, ten minutes, anyway -- to get set up and ready to play.

Max, playing before me as usual, had a typically large crowd there, and I was super happy that a good portion of them stayed for my show, along with a number of those who'd arrived to see me. I had a couple of weird glitches happen; primarily, my guitar signal kept fluctuating in volume, but even that didn't deter me... I just strummed a little harder when I heard it fade. I'll make sure it's working as expected before my next show.

Tunes?

Yes, had tunes a-plenty. I pulled out two I hadn't done before: "You May Be Right" by Billy Joel, and "Like a Virgin" by Madonna. I had no specific reason for doing them. I think I just ran across them at some point and decided to add them to my set.

For the rest of my set, I relied on some good old superstition. I went back to November 2018 and 2020 in my shows right before those years' elections, and used the same tunes. Both of those elections turned out favorably; why take any chances? Maybe it was me and my smooth-ass acoustic rock goodness that tilted the Blue Wave in our favor! Probably not, but I had no reason not to replicate those sets and hope for the best.

Me doing my thing onstage at Hotel Chelsea. Photo by Trouble Streeter.

I also had something rare happen at the show in that a person in the audience called out a request and I took it. I almost never, ever do that. But it so happened that a guy named Zack asked for something by Townes Van Zandt, and it was at a point in the set that I felt it might work well, so I did it. Kinda fun.

Hotel Chelsea set list...

Pecan Pie (Golden Smog)

Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake)

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil Young)

*You May Be Right (Billy Joel)

Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone) (Kurt Vile)

Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)

All You Fascists (Woody Guthrie)

Thank U (Alanis Morissette)

Wichita Lineman (Glen Campbell)

*Like a Virgin (Madonna)

Space Oddity (David Bowie)

America (Simon & Garfunkel)

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

Big ol' thanks to everyone who hung out at the show, with super special thanks to the following who helped support it!

jonny6452 Resident, Awgidawda Gazov, asimascott Resident, Zackooo Resident, KateHershey Resident, AutumnFoxx Sutherland, Trouble Streeter, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko!

Random News: November 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 November 2, 2022, and it’s a Wednesday. I’m sure there are things to talk about, and I hold the microphone like a grudge. Let’s go…

• My back is all fucked up.
• I’ll be fine in a day or two. But I finished my show last night, put down the guitar, and SPROING! Lower left back went, “Fuck you, buddy.” I knew immediately that I’d rocked too hard, and that I am old.
• And that’s okay. I’ve had so much worse happen with my spine that this is nothing in comparison.
• 82-year-old Paul Pelosi continues to recover from the attack by a hammer-wielding MAGA terrorist. It’s pretty amazing that he’s alive at all.
• The attacker, David DePape, had a hit list of other political leaders. This was a targeted assassination attempt on Nancy Pelosi, the third-highest ranking member of the US government. It’s a big deal.
• DePape’s lawyer is already claiming that he’s a victim of online misinformation from MAGA hate groups.
• A wide swatch of Republican leaders who’d mocked Mr. Pelosi in the wake of the attack are now walking back some of the continued misinformation they’d spread initially.
• If they were laughing at this elderly man being attacked, they’d be laughing at you or your parents in the same situation. Please vote blue across the board.
• The election is in six days on Tuesday November 8. 
• While specific plans for violence is not excepted on Election Day itself, the days directly after pose a potential serious problem, particularly in locations where vote counting drags on.
• Speaking of which, yesterday the Supreme Court declined to block a subpoena for Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to testify in front of an Atlanta special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
• Ha ha Lindsey, you traitorous fuck.

• Arizona seems poised to make a huge mistake by possibly electing a former local TV news anchor who is a dedicated election denier for their governor.
• Kari Lake is pure evil. And she won’t stop at governor. She’ll be looking toward a national role soon enough.
• You wanna know how democracy ends? Because that’s how. We’re always just one election away from putting a person in place who decides we don’t need elections any more.
• The super weird thing about Lake? She’s been a Democrat her whole life until she figured out how easily she could manipulate MAGA folks.
• Please vote for Katie Hobbs for governor, AZ friends.
• And now, The Weather: “Bumblebees” by Castle Theater
• From the Sports Desk… PHILLIES! They absolutely crushed the Astros in Game 3 of the World Series, winning 7-0 and taking a 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is tonight.
• North Korea fired 23 missiles in the vicinity of South Korea today.
• The launches came hours after North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons to get the U.S. and South Korea to “pay the most horrible price in history” in protest of ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.
• So hopefully we’ll all still be alive for awhile, but you never really know.
• I recommend living life in a way that shows you know that you aren’t guaranteed to live forever. Carpe diem, friends.
• Today in history… North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states (1889). The Russian Empire declares war on the Ottoman Empire (1914). KDKA of Pittsburgh starts broadcasting as the first commercial radio station (1920). The British Broadcasting Corporation initiates the BBC Television Service, the world's first regular, "high-definition" - then defined as at least 200 lines - service (1936). Howard Hughes performs the only flight of the Hughes H-4 Hercules, also known as the "Spruce Goose” (1947). Game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance (1959). Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the trial 'R v Penguin Books Ltd’, the ‘Lady Chatterley's Lover’ case (1960). Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1983). The Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, ending the longest Major League Baseball championship drought at 108 years (2016).
• November 2 is the birthday of English king Edward V (1470), hunter/explorer Daniel Boone (1734), French queen consort Marie Antoinette (1755), president James K. Polk (1795), physician John Light Atlee (1795), inventor John J. Loud (1844), president Warren G. Harding (1865), actor Burt Lancaster (1913), actor Ray Walston (1914), producer Rudy Van Gelder (1924), engineer/busienssman Amar Bose (1929), saxophonist Phil Woods (1931), sexologist Shere Hite (1942), keyboardist Keith Emerson (1944), singer-songwriter J. D. Souther (1945), drummer Carter Beauford (1957), singer-songwriter k. d. lang (1961), actor David Schwimmer (1966), rapper Nelly (1974), and NFL player Jimmy Garoppolo (1991).

Well, me and my fucked up back have things to do. Believe it or not, I’m still going to work out; much of my daily exercise is stretching/yoga, and that will actually help. I’ll just take it slow. Enjoy your day.

Random News: November 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 November 1, 2022, and it’s a Tuesday. I’ve got a stupidly busy day ahead, so let’s get rolling on this merry-go-round…

• Rabbit rabbit rabbit. Happy November.
• A little follow-up on the MAGA attacker of Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. David DePape was charged with one count of assault of an immediate family member of a United States official with the intent to retaliate against the official on account of the performance of official duties, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
• That was by the feds. The state of CA has charged him as well with a variety of crimes with sentences ranging from 13 years to life.
• Republicans immediately started a series of jokes about the near-lethal assault of this 82-year-old man, which included having his skull fractured with a hammer. He remains in the ICU as of this writing.
• One of the sons of the former president was particularly gleeful about it. He posted a number of memes on social media with pictures of hammers and underwear, making fun of the elderly man who was attacked.
• The GOP governor candidate in Arizona, a deeply evil person named Kari Lake, did a little comedy routine about it on the campaign trail.
• This is who you associate with by voting Republican. Also, when you or your family members are similarly attacked, they will make those same jokes at your expense.
• This is not who we are as a nation. It’s just a small and shrinking minority. Don’t attach yourself to them.
• A brief aside… after years of dwindling Halloween traffic followed by two years of no trick-or-treaters at all during the pandemic, I got bum-rushed last night by like 30 kids aged 3-6 all at once.
• It was like Sharknado, but instead of sharks, there were children flying through the air and coming at me from every direction for a horrifying minute or so. 
• A criminal trial against the Trump Organization began in New York yesterday. It’s one of three legal cases that Trump and his company face in that state alone.
• They are charged with paying untaxed perks to its executives for 15 years. A former executive who worked with Trump Org for decades pleaded guilty in August and is expected to testify.
• In other news of criminals — oh wait, it’s the same one — the FPOTUS has asked the Supreme Court to intervene and prevent members of Congress from obtaining his past tax returns in an appeal filed Monday.
• Should the court decline, the records are set to be turned over to the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
• Many of the things going on right now, as important as they are, are merely distractions from the Midterm Elections, which happen on Tuesday November 8, one week from today.
• The Midterm Elections are where women will find out if they still have the ability to make decisions about their own bodies.
• The GOP has already stated that they will enact nationwide abortion regulations if they win the House and Senate.
• They have also said they will start coming after the Social Security that YOU paid for out of your paycheck your whole working life. It’s YOUR money.
• Believe them. Vote Democrat across the board, from your Senator to your Congressional rep to your Governor all the way down to your local city council.
• And now, The Weather: “Grapevine” by Weyes Blood
• A little note on voting, if you’re planning on using a dropbox for your ballot as I do. Several states have determined that it’s legal for “ballot watchers” to observe you.
• If you are in ANY way intimidated or impeded from voting, there are many systems in place to make sure your rights are not violated, like the non-partisan Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
• From the Sports Desk… Game 3 of the World Series was supposed to be last night in Philadelphia, but got re-scheduled for tonight due to rain.
• The Sports Desk is rather pleased to report that after a mostly miserable start followed by a couple of reasonably decent weeks, the Sports Desk is currently in second place out of 19 participants about halfway through the regular season in his annual NFL Pick ‘Em Pool. 
• The Sports Desk was the champion of said pool in 2015, 2018, and 2021.
• The Sports Desk knows what the fuck he is talking about, is what I’m saying.
• On Friday October 28, the day that weird fuck bought Twitter, use of the N-word on the platform skyrocketed by over 500%, per National Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), an independent organization that forecasts and reports possible cyberthreats.
• Today in history… Philip II is crowned as 'King of France’ (1179). The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time (1512). The Strait of Magellan, the passage immediately south of mainland South America connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, is first discovered and navigated by European explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the first recorded circumnavigation voyage (1520). French Huguenots establish the France Antarctique colony in present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1555). William Shakespeare's tragedy ‘Othello’ is performed for the first time (1604). Shakespeare's play ‘The Tempest’ is performed for the first time (1611). The British Crown colony of New York is subdivided into 12 counties (1683). John Adams becomes the first President of the United States to live in the Executive Mansion, later renamed the White House (1800). President Abraham Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as the commander of the Union Army (1861). A picture showing the bare breasts of a woman appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time (1896). Photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography (1941). 6,500 United States Army soldiers are involuntarily exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes (1951). Leon Jaworski is appointed as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor (1973). Honda becomes the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the United States with the opening of its factory in Marysville, OH (1982). The Republic of Serbia and Montenegro joins the United Nations (2000).
• November 1 is the birthday of polymath Jan Brożek (1585), UK prime minister Spencer Perceval (1762), UK prime minister F. J. Robinson (1782), doctor/abolitionist Caroline Still Anderson (1848), painter William Merritt Chase (1849), novelist Stephen Crane (1871), sportswriter Grantland Rice (1880), race car driver Ken Miles (1918), golfer Gary Player (1935), publisher Larry Flynt (1942), musician Ric Grech (1946), songwriter Jim Steinman (1947), producer David Foster (1949), computer programmer Mitch Kapor (1950), singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett (1957), businessman Tim Cook (1960), singer Anthony Kiedis (1962), singer Sophie B. Hawkins (1964), NHL player Tie Domi (1969), and actress/anti-vaxxer Jenny McCarthy (1972). 

It’s the first Tuesday of the month, which, for me, means I have a show tonight at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life. Come if you want. Funny note: I am known as a musician by a bunch of people, and known as a slacker political activist by a bunch of other people, but there is also this large subset who know me as both and that’s cool with them. And then there’s a whole big batch of other people who know me as some guy who isn’t even named Zak at all, and yet many of them know me as all three. Totally true. It’s a funny world. Enjoy your day.