Random News: January 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 January 6, 2023, and if you can believe it, it’s a Friday once again! Today is a special day that we Americans shall never forget, so let’s talk about that and other things…

• It’s January 6. Two years ago on this very day, a mob of people attempted a violent coup against the United States of America.
• They failed. America still stands. Democracy is still in place.
• A refresher…
• The mob was seeking to keep Trump in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the electoral college votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. 
• Per the House Committee report, the attack on the USA was the culmination of a seven-part plan by the losing candidate Donald Trump to overturn the election.
• Five people died either shortly before, during, or following the event: one insurrectionist was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes.
• A large number of the insurrectionist mob were injured, as were 138 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack killed themselves within seven months.
• Monetary damages caused by attackers exceed $2.7 million.
• More than 2,000 rioters entered the building, many of whom occupied, vandalized, and looted the grounds of our Capitol.
• After the area was cleared of insurrectionists, the counting of the electoral votes resumed and was completed in the early morning hours of January 7.
• A significant number of the insurrectionists were linked to extremist groups or conspiratorial movements.
• By December 2022, 465 individuals charged had pleaded guilty. There are still, two years later, ongoing investigations to find every single person who attacked the USA on that day to hold them accountable for their actions.
• January 6, 2021 was the most severe assault on the US Capitol building since the 1814 burning of Washington by the British Army during the War of 1812. 
• We will never forget, nor forgive, those involved.
• And the most important note of all… the MAGA ideology that led to the coup attempt is still very much alive and out there, and right now as you read this, there are groups of people planning future attacks of a similar or worse nature.
• We know who they are. It’s easy because they tell us who they are every day in social posts and YouTube rants and so on. They will be being watched for the rest of their lives.
• There will be no end to the January 6 investigations until every person who was directly and peripherally responsible for the failed coup attempt is indicted and receives a trial, and hopefully is convicted to pay their debt to society.
• And now, The Weather: “Elastics” by Robbing Millions
• Yesterday, the House of Representatives held their seventh attempt to elect a Speaker. Then their eighth. Ninth. Tenth. And then eleventh. All were unsuccessful. Kevin McCarthy’s historic public humiliation amidst the clown show continues.
• It’s unknown how long this spectacle of a party in complete disarray will be able to function as a single entity.
• A reminder that the House can do literally nothing until a Speaker is elected. The GOP’s inability to work together negatively impacts American lives in numerous ways.
• They’ll continue the voting today. Hopefully they’ll be able to act like adults and put the American people above their narcissistic grandstanding.
• Not so surprisingly, the congresspeople who are responsible for holding up the House vote are also those who were supportive of the January 6 failed coup attempt.
• “With regards to the fight over the Speaker … that’s not my problem. I just think it’s a little embarrassing that it’s taking so long.” - President Joe Biden
• Side note: in stark contrast to the clusterfuck at the House, Biden was having a good-ass time this week, stopping by Just Q’in BBQ in Cincinnati, OH. Joe seemed super happy having a brisket plate with potato salad, mac and cheese, jalapeño cornbread, and peach cobbler.
• Yum!
• Meet Matt Schlapp. He’s the chairman of the American Conservative Union, a Republican political activist and lobbyist, and a political contributor to Fox News.
• Matt and is married to Mercedes Schlapp, who was Donald Trump's Director of Strategic Communications. They have five daughters.
• Yesterday, it was reported that a staffer for Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign has alleged that Matt Schlapp made “sustained and unwanted and unsolicited” sexual contact with him while the staffer was driving Schlapp back from an Atlanta bar this October.
• “Matt Schlapp of the CPAC grabbed my junk and pummeled it at length, and I’m sitting there thinking what the hell is going on, that this person is literally doing this to me.” - The Staffer
• Party of family values. Yikes.
• In much better news, the South Carolina state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the state’s six-week ban on abortion violates the state’s constitution.
• The 2021 law had banned abortions once what it called a “fetal heartbeat” is detected, which can be as early as four weeks into pregnancy.
• In a 3-2 ruling, the court concluded that the law ran afoul of the state constitution’s privacy protections.
• Want to look at online porn in Louisiana? You’re gonna need to show some ID.
• As of January 1, 2023, people in Louisiana need to present proof of their age, such as a government-issued ID, to visit and view pornographic websites like Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube.
• What happens the first time someone hacks the databases of those sites? Well, I guess your ID will be there to let everyone else know what gets you off.
• From the Sports Desk… it was amazing news yesterday morning that Damar Hamlin is now conscious and is able to communicate a bit with doctors and family through writing, a very good sign.
• He wanted to know who’d won the game. That’s a football player for you.
• His charity, a toy drive that had a goal of $2,500 before the incident, has now raised over $6 million. I hope that brings him some joy to learn, when he does.
• To be clear, Damar is substantially improved but is still in critical condition. It’s not possible to know if he’ll make a full recovery, and has a long road to go before then regardless, but he appears to be remaining among the living, which is sorta miraculous under the circumstances.
• The Sports Desk notes to this end that the NFL has decided not to continue the Bills-Bengals game that had been in progress. They’re going to work out some kind of crazy-ass set of scenarios so that there’s some measure of competitive fairness despite that crucial game not being played.
• In non-sports injury world, some good news for actor Jeremy Renner, who is still in intensive care after multiple surgeries after his own snowplow ran over him. He could have easily died, but instead is awake and alert and on the mend. That, too, will take a long time.
• Today in history… Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England (1066). King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves (540). Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes, the forerunner of Morse code (1838). Samuel Colt obtains his first contract for the sale of revolver pistols to the United States government (1847). Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome, Italy (1907). New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state (1912). Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people (1929). United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address (1941). Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are sentenced to death for conspiracy in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandh and are executed the same day (1989). U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1994). Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump attack the United States Capitol to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election, resulting in five deaths and evacuation of the U.S. Congress (2021).
• January 6 is the birthday of English king Richard II (1367), martyr Joan of Arc (1412), politician/abolitionist Charles Sumner (1811), composer Max Bruch (1838), composer Alexander Scriabin (1872), poet/biographer Carl Sandburg (1878), cowboy/actor Tom Mix (1880), poet/philosopher Kahlil Gibran (1883), actor Danny Thomas (1912), actress Loretta Young (1913), religious leader Sun Myung Moon (1920), politician Kim Dae-jung (1924), banjo player Earl Scruggs (1924), engineer/businessman John DeLorean (1925), writer E. L. Doctorow (1931), songwriter/producer Van McCoy (1940), actress Bonnie Franklin (1944), singer-songwriter Syd Barrett (1946), singer-songwriter Sandy Denny (1947), guitarist Malcolm Young (1953), golfer Nancy Lopez (1957), NFL player Howie Long (1960), director John Singleton (1968), actor Norman Reedus (1969), actress Kate McKinnon (1984), NFL player Ndamukong Suh (1987), and NFL player Jameis Winston (1994).

I am sometimes apprehensive of Fridays, since it tends to illogically be the most likely day that I find myself doing a ton of unexpected work. However, I’m not going to worry about that. Whatever happens, happens. I’m gonna go with the flow. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 5, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s January 5, 2023, and it’s a Thursday. I’m in the midst of a bomb cyclone, so let’s write things and ignore the apocalyptic weather outside the window…

• We had a good amount of fun yesterday watching Kevin McCarthy lose his bid for Speaker of the House for the fourth, fifth, and sixth sessions of balloting.
• An update for those who haven’t been following the clown show…
• As the GOP leader of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy had assumed for years that he was the presumptive choice for the Speaker of the House role once Republicans gained a majority.
• He even moved into the Speaker’s official offices.
• However, that majority is so narrow, and Kevin is so disliked within his own party, that a cadre of reps formed against him and now he cannot get the required 218 votes.
• The last time something like this happened was 1923, exactly 100 years ago.
• In case you’re wondering what happened then, it’s freakishly identical to this situation, where a faction of the Republicans refused to vote for a mainstream Speaker candidate.
• Frederick H. Gillett (R-MA) did end up getting reelected as Speaker after nine ballots, when many of his opponent’s backers simply voted "present."
• That may happen today with McCarthy. It’s impossible to know.
• One item of note, lest we get caught up in the entertainment: the House can do absolutely nothing until this is resolved one way or the other. They can’t swear in new members or adopt House rules. This is spelled out in Article 1 of the US Constitution.
• Until someone is Speaker, the House is not allowed to conduct any additional business.
• We’re stuck doing nothing for now. Good times.
• Side note: don’t be shocked if someone nominates Donald J. Trump to be the Speaker of the House today. Then the rest of the Republicans would be put in a position of voting for or against him, and neither choice is advantageous for them.
• Side note 2: the Speaker does not have to be a) a member of Congress or b) from the majority party. True facts.
• Moving on.
• Special counsel Jack Smith has received a trove of new documents from local election officials in Wisconsin and Nevada who were subpoenaed as part of the ongoing criminal investigation by the Justice Department into the FPOTUS’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
• They include communications with lawyers working on Donald Trump’s behalf.
• Ha. May Jack Smith have mercy on your soul. Just kidding. No mercy.
• And now, The Weather: “Abalone” by Packs
• I want to be clear that our weather in my city of Redondo Beach, CA, a coastal suburb of Los Angeles, is stormy but we’re not facing the more deadly aspects of the bomb cyclone that nailed Northern California in the past day.
• I’m perfectly fine. The worst could likely happen here is that my garage floods a bit. Being on a hill, topography is my friend in times like these.
• That being said, we have 33 million residents of our fine state under flood watch and many thousands with no power after wind gusts of over 50 miles per hour last night, so give them some positive mojo, please.
• Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, understandably.
• Here in SoCal, I definitely feel for anyone who has to commute into work this morning. In addition to floods and freeway closures, drivers are urged to be on the lookout for downed trees, rocks and debris on the road.
• I’m not going anywhere. I’ve worked from home since 2003. Today is definitely no exception. Still making sure all my stuff is charged in case we lose power, which in rain like this could easily happen.
• Scientists are saying that the COVID variant XBB.1.5 may be the most transmissible subvariant of Omicron to date. I was sort of glad to see more people masked up when I went grocery shopping on Tuesday afternoon.
• I have not gotten COVID. I’m not planning on getting COVID. I am fully vaccinated and boosted with the latest bivalent shot. I wear masks in public, and I give exactly zero fucks about anyone’s opinion about my choices.
• I haven’t even had a cold since 2019.
• From the Sports Desk… no real updates on the condition of stricken Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. It was said he is showing signs of improvement, but he remains sedated and on a ventilator. The challenge, as many of you know, if that when the brain is deprived of oxygen for even a small amount of time, it’s very difficult to come back.
• Keep sending him positive vibes.
• No other sports news.
• Today in history… Robert-François Damiens becomes the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering after attempting to assassinate Louis XV (1757). Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold (1781). The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses (1914). The German Workers' Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded in Munich (1919). Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay (1933). The play ‘Waiting for Godot’ by Samuel Beckett receives its première in Paris (1953). US President Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program (1972). The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after the outbreak of violence in Mogadishu (1991). The dwarf planet Eris is discovered by Palomar Observatory-based astronomers, later motivating the International Astronomical Union to define the term planet for the first time (2005).
• January 5 is the birthday of explorer Xu Xiake (1587), businessman King Camp Gillette (1855), actor George Reeves (1914), actress Jane Wyman (1917), music producer Sam Phillips (1923), US vice president Walter Mondale (1928), actor Robert Duvall (1931), music producer Phil Ramone (1934), journalist Charlie Rose (1942), actress Diane Keaton (1946), actor Ted Lange (1948), actor Clancy Brown (1959), singer-songwriter Marilyn Manson (1969), actor Bradley Cooper (1975), and musician Deadmau5 (1981).

Well, I have a bunch of meetings today. This post-holiday week thus far has been jam-packed with work. It’s pretty typical at the start of a new year, with all those projects that were “we’ll tackle that after the holidays” suddenly in my face. That’s okay; I’ve told you before, I don’t mind being busy to a certain point when it gets stupid. Enjoy your day.

Hotel Chelsea (01.03.23)

Back to my happy place. Rocking Hotel Chelsea on 1/3/23. Photo by Kat.

Well hello there. It's nice to be writing about some music stuff as opposed to the news of the world being shitty, and I have a lot of music stuff to tell you about before we even get to last night's fun show at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life. Let's do this. Let's go.

The Return of They Stole My Crayon

Let's begin with the somewhat unplanned resurrection of my alt-rock band They Stole My Crayon. We hadn't disbanded and weren't on any kind of hiatus. Instead, we were just fucking busy with life. As you may recall, we formed in 2012, created a great self-titled debut album in 2016, and then... well, the aforementioned life happened.

However, we never stopped working on new music. We'd been creating songs here and there the whole time. Not all of them got 100% finished per se, but some did, and some were in reasonably good shape with various additions required.

One day in mid-December, I happened to hear one of our demo songs and shared it with the band in our private chat room, mentioning that it was really pretty good and that perhaps we should consider polishing it up and putting it out as a single. Then, while looking through some music files, I stumbled across several folders of stems. "Stems", also called tracks, are the individual recordings that make up a song... the guitars, the drums, the keyboards, the vocals, and so on.

They Stole My Crayon: Bunny Knutson, Christina Lee, Zak Claxton.

"Hey, We Have An Album Here."

My musical cohort Bunny Knutson started a similar process on his end, and slowly but surely, it became apparent that we had more than enough really solid songs to release a second album. How solid? I loved our first album, but I genuinely feel this one will end up being better. We were never going to put out a new album with 1-2 decent songs and a bunch of filler. But this collection is completely full of songs I really like.

This past weekend, on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, we had a band meeting and spent two straight hours going over our notes on the current demo recordings. It's funny how, while we had come to our conclusions individually, we all seemed to have the same notes on nearly every tune... vocals to re-record, guitars to tweak, song sections to remove or add to, and so on.

Despite there being just three of us, we're a very textured band, and that means there are a lot of tracks to deal with. Like, a whole lot. But the process of putting everything together is part of the fun, and an art form of its own.

So what's next? Well, it's a process, as most recording musicians will tell you. Some of the songs are nearly ready to go as-is; others need a bunch of work. We'll be doing the actual work of recording and re-recording various parts. Once we're happy with everything, the songs will be handed off to our superb mixing engineer Spencer Crewe, assuming he's available for the task. Then it will be mastered, and then released. And of course, there's a lot of stuff to do to help promote the album... artwork, video shoots and all that. But I'm looking forward to every moment. I actually spent about eight hours on January 2 digging out old files and getting set up to work on them. So that's all great news.

How About That Show, Bro?

Ah yes. As usual on the first Tuesday of each month, I had my show at Hotel Chelsea last night. While putting together my set list, I made it a point to pull out a batch of songs that had fallen off my radar for awhile. In several cases, it had been over three years since the last time I'd performed those specific tunes.

And unsurprisingly, since I'm excited about the new Crayon album, I did a couple of tunes from it. I'd done them both before while the songs had been freshly written, but now I had more of a feeling that I was doing them with purpose. Plus, I was newly familiarized with the songs, with all the analysis and planning we'd done the previous weekend.

I often make a point of mentioning during my shows there that Hotel Chelsea in SL reflects many of the great qualities of its real-world counterpart. Artists, poets, authors, and creative people in all forms feel welcome there, as do the audiences that enjoy the inclusive and welcoming vibe of the place. Photo by Kat.

Me, onstage, singing and chatting as I tend to do. Photo by Kat.

I didn't not have the benefit of an opening act at this performance; when I arrived, three people were there, and that included my manager and the venue staff. But by the time I went on and started my first tune, we had a good-sized audience that continued to grow throughout the set. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I know I was.

Hotel Chelsea set list...

Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)

The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)

Loading Zones (Kurt Vile)

Pink Moon (Nick Drake)

Save Me (Aimee Mann)

California (Joni Mitchell)

Abrasion (They Stole My Crayon)

Perfectly Calm (They Stole My Crayon)

Don’t Let It Bring You Down (Neil Young)

Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)

Fruiting Body (Goon)

Accidents Will Happen (Elvis Costello)

Blue Skies (Irving Berlin)

Big, big thanks to everyone who came and hung out for the show, with extra-special super duper thanks to the following who helped support it!

DhruvEastman Resident, cristoofarr Resident, Maurice Mistwallow, Alexis Fairlady, Kat Claxton, Trouble Streeter, LeilaNairobi Resident, Varistentia Varriale, Alex Zelin, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko, and Chelsea's great staff!

Random News: January 4, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s January 4, 2023, and it’s a Wednesday. I’m sure we have plenty to talk about, so let’s so that while I drink my coffee and watch the raindrops fall…

• Let’s start with the obvious: the historic public humiliation of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
• Yesterday was the first session of a new Congress, and typically the very first order of business is to elect a new Speaker of the House. Everything else, from swearing in new members to moving ahead on the first legislative items, happens after that.
• It’s usually a perfunctory exercise where the current party leader is easily elected. I recall Kevin McCarthy saying this summer, “I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel. It will be hard not to hit her with it.”
• Hitting an 82-year-old woman with a hammer is on-brand for Republicans, of course. 
• Kevin had predicted that a massive political “Red Wave” would gain the GOP some 60 seats in the House.
• But that did not happen, thanks to you voters.
• The Republicans did gain an advantage in the House but only by a minimal amount, and that meant that Kevin needed every single vote to get elected as Speaker.
• One problem: despite him being a giant asshole, he’s simply not enough of an asshole for a number of the most hardcore right-wing ultra-MAGA congresspeople.
• So with this tiny majority, they suddenly had clout, and used it. They formed a “Never Kevin” cabal and voted for others instead of their own party leader. The Speaker requires 218 votes — a majority of the chamber — to be elected.
• The last time the Speaker wasn’t elected on the first vote? Exactly 100 years ago in 1923. Previous to that was in the Civil War era of the mid 1800s.
• The first vote tally came in with Democrat House leader Hakeem Jeffries leading with 212 votes (reflecting all 212 Democrat members), followed by 203 for Kevin McCarthy, 10 for Andy Biggs, 6 for Jim Jordan, 1 for Jim Banks, 1 for Lee Zeldin, and 1 for Byron Donalds.
• That’s 19 Republicans who stopped McCarthy. The second vote held immediately after was similar. The third vote was even worse for McCarthy, with yet another Republican yanking his support.
• The session was terminated after that, with more voting continuing today.
• So what’s going to happen next? It’s anyone’s guess. In a normal environment, I’d say that eventually, the ultra-MAGA group would be offered enough concessions that they’ll eventually cave and vote for Kevin, but in this clown show of a Congress, you can’t assign typical behavioral patterns.
• The least likely but funniest possible result would be for another six Republicans to get sick of this shit and defect, voting for Hakeem Jeffries and having a Democrat lead a Republican Congress. 
• I still believe that McCarthy will get the Speaker’s chair, but it will be fun to watch him squirm in the process.
• And now, The Weather: “Bump” by Dora Jar
• Speaking of the weather, a powerful Pacific storm is set to slam into Southern California today, prompting officials to issue evacuation warnings in some of the region’s burn scar areas.
• The event is being described as an atmospheric river or bomb cyclone by weather officials. It could bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to much of the Southland, according to the National Weather Service. The rain will continue all day but the big storm action happens this evening.
• I’ll be fine. Wet, but fine.
• In other local news, some of you will recall the controversy of “Bruce’s Beach”, an area in Manhattan Beach, CA (about three miles from my home) that had been stolen from Black owners in 1924.
• The property was given back to the heirs of the owners last year. Yesterday, they agreed to sell the beachfront land back to L.A. County for $20 million. I’m happy for them.
• From the Sports Desk… it’s really hard to stay focused on the upcoming NFL playoffs with the continuing tragedy of Damar Hamlin’s mid-game heart stoppage. Doctors are still trying to get Hamlin to breathe on his own. He remains sedated and on a ventilator.
• The sports implication, though, is that the game between the Bills and Bengals does need to be completed to have a final playoff ranking. The NFL has yet to reschedule that game, in which Cincinnati was leading 7-3 in the first quarter.
• News has come out that the NFL had instructed the game to continue, and that the players and coaches told them to rightfully fuck off.
• Today in history… The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance (1717). After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ later becomes a national bestseller (1853). Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state (1896). Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK (1972). Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota (1999). Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC (2004). The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history (2007). The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai (2010). 
• January 4 is the birthday of mythologist Jacob Grimm (1785), educator Louis Braille (1809), circus performer General Tom Thumb (1838), Japan prime minister Katsura Tarō (1848), writer/activist Max Eastman (1883), engineer/businessman Leroy Grumman (1895), pianist/composer Lionel Newman (1916), actress Barbara Rush (1927), NFL coach Don Shula (1930), boxer Floyd Patterson (1935), actress Dyan Cannon (1937), guitarist John McLaughlin (1942), singer-songwriter Patty Loveless (1957), actor Matt Frewer (1958), and singer-songwriter Michael Stipe (1960).

Always more to say, but I’ll stop there for now. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 3, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s January 3, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. It’s the first normal-feeling, regular-ass weekday in awhile, and here I am to spooge you with info…

• As mentioned many times previously, today is the day that Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) tries to fulfill his dream of becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives.
• It’s a big gig… the second line line to the presidency behind the VP. 
• The vote for the Speaker is usually a ceremonial event where everyone knows in advance who it will be and they have widespread support within their party.
• That’s not how it will be today. McCarthy’s votes, in the slim majority margin of Republicans in the House, is being held hostage by the furthest right-wing members who swear they will never vote for him.
• If McCarthy is able to get elected as Speaker, he’ll have done so by conceding a ton of his power to the far-right crazies.
• A reminder that it takes 218 votes, or exactly half the chamber, to be elected Speaker. Republicans have only 222 members, meaning it takes just four of them to derail shit.
• Ah well. We’ll see how it goes.
• In the midst of this GOP chaos, another joke is happening in Washington, and that’s George Santos being sworn in as a congressman from New York.
• The latest headline on George — if that’s his name — is that Brazilian prosecutors have reopened their criminal fraud case against him. 
• In 2008, Santos went into a clothing store in Rio de Janeiro and spent almost $700 using a stolen checkbook and a fake name.
• He left the country before he could be arrested. Now that his whereabouts are known, the case has been reopened.
• He’ll fit right into the GOP, come to think of it.
• Here’s my standing reminder that if there are “no-travel” advisories in your state due to severe weather, please take that as an actual warning and don’t travel. I promise that your stupid fucking job isn’t worthy dying for.
• And now, The Weather: “Moderation” by Cate Le Bon
• From the Sports Desk… last night during the Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle, was administered CPR for ten minutes on the field, and then was taken by ambulance to University of Cincinnati’s hospital, where he remains listed in critical condition.
• They postponed the game in the first quarter. It was horrifying.
• The suspected cause is called commotio cordis, where a blow to the chest at a precise moment in the electrical cycle stops the heart. It’s happened to several athletes over the years, like NHL player Chris Pronger (who made a full recovery and end up in the hockey Hall of Fame).
• If you’re among the world’s most awful people, you’ll try to tie this to something about vaccines. If so, fuck you.
• Moving on to better stuff.
• I spent a huge chunk of yesterday reviving a song that my band had initially recorded almost ten years ago, in June 2013.
• The challenge — in addition to wanting to replace/revise/re-record some of the tracks — was that I no longer use the audio workstation software that I did back then.
• As opposed to going through some time-consuming process to convert the old mix, instead I did “File>New” and started the whole damn thing from scratch, importing raw audio files, redoing a bunch of tracks, and giving it a temporary mix that I think is already a lot better than the last one.
• I’m glad I did. It took up about eight hours of my day yesterday, but was a great project to kick off the new year.
• Today in history… Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem (1521). American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton (1777). Delaware votes not to secede from the United States (1861). Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States (1933). Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time (1947). Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state (1959). Apple Computer is incorporated (1977). Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces (1990). 
• January 3 is the birthday of philosopher/politician Cicero (106 BC), soprano Henriette Sontag (1806), businessman Ichizō Kobayashi (1873), UK prime minister Clement Attlee (1883), writer J.R.R. Tolkien (1892), pianist/comedian Victor Borge (1909), NFL coach Hank Stram (1923), producer George Martin (1926), director Sergio Leone (1929), actor Robert Loggia (1930), singer-songwriter Stephen Stills (1945), bass player/composer John Paul Jones (1946), WBNA player Cheryl Miller (1964), racing driver Michael Schumacher (1969), singer-songwriter Kurt Vile (1980), NFL player Eli Manning (1981), and environmental activist Greta Thunberg (2003).

I’m jumping back into the regular life with an extremely busy day, with back-to-back meetings this morning, plenty of work to crank through, grocery shopping in the afternoon, and a live music show tonight at Hotel Chelsea in SL. Come if you want… it’s at 5PM. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 2, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s January 2, 2023, and it’s a Monday that’s a holiday in many places, since New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday and we’re not getting ripped off for our day off, so here’s whatever bits of info I feel like scraping together…

• There’s probably gonna be some drama on the floor of the House of Representatives tomorrow.
• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) still has not secured enough commitment from his fellow members of Congress to assure the 218 votes needed to make him Speaker. Is this a big deal? Well, yeah.
• The last time the House did not choose a Speaker on the first ballot was a century ago and it’s happened only once since the Civil War.
• McCarthy has been trying to make concessions to the “Never Kevin” faction, but as of Sunday night, it wasn’t clear that the standoff was any closer to being resolved.
• Guess we’ll see.
• Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva was sworn in as Brazil’s president for the third time yesterday, while threats of violence loomed from supporters of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
• Sound familiar?
• Lula was previously president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.
• During his earlier two terms in office, Lula undertook radical reforms, leading to growth in GDP, a reduction in public debt and inflation, and helping 20 million Brazilians escape poverty.
• Where’s his predecessor? Bolsonaro fled the country and is staying where all wannabe dictators go to die: Florida. Reports say he’s staying at the home of an MMA fighter.
• Bolsonaro took the same path as a leader in fighting COVID as another Florida Man, Donald Trump. The result cost the country thousands and thousands of lives.
• And now, The Weather: “New Year's Resolution” by Tutankhamun
• Far too many deaths of beloved people in recent days. RIP to Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters. She was 74, and handled the lead vocals on many of the group’s biggest hits.
• Also, send some thoughts to Jeremy Renner. The Oscar-nominated actor (and fan favorite as Hawkeye from the ‘Avengers’ franchise) is in critical but stable condition right now from a snow-plowing accident. No further details available yet.
• In personal news, we went to my mom’s home last night for our annual gift exchange and dinner. It’s always good to spend some time with family, especially when they’re getting up there in years. I know from experience not to assume that everyone will be around forever and to appreciate the time you have with them. 
• From the Sports Desk… going into the final week of the NFL season, only the Patriots, Dolphins, Steelers, Jaguars and Titans (AFC) and the Lions, Packers, and Seahawks (NFC) are fighting for the final few playoff spots. Good luck to them.
• Today in history… The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire (366). American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, NJ (1777). Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution (1788). American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China (1900). The second Palmer Raid, ordered by the US Department of Justice, results in 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists being arrested and held without trial (1920). Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union (1959). Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of CA (1967). United States President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo (1974). Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia (1991).
• January 2 is the birthday of Hawaii Queen Emma (1836), physician Una Ledingham (1900), environmental activist Bob Marshall (1901), politician Barry Goldwater (1909), writer Isaac Asimov (1920), televangelist Jim Bakker (1940), speaker of the house/convicted felon Dennis Hastert (1942), zoologist Jack Hanna (1947), actress Tia Carrere (1967), actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. (1968), and actress Kate Bosworth (1983).

Like most Americans, I have today off work, officially. I’m still going to do a couple of small work things so I don’t feel like a brick is hanging over my head going into tomorrow. I also will be doing some music stuff today, and that includes putting together a set list for my show in Second Life tomorrow evening. Enjoy your day.

Random News: January 1, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s January 1, 2023, and it’s a Sunday. I’m up reasonably early and I’d like to know what’s happened and share it with you…

• Rabbit rabbit rabbit.
• We’ll start our 2023 news bullets with my home state. The weather so far this year here in typically placid California has been rather tumultuous.
• Both Northern and Southern California were hammered by an atmospheric river-type storm, bringing flooding rain and heavy mountain snowfall.
• This is good for our near-constant drought, and less good for a lot of people who’d planned to go to outdoor events on New Year’s Eve last night (and definitely not good for people in flood-prone areas).
• Places like Highway 99, a major north/south route in central CA, had flooding so bad that cars were submerged. Families had to be rescued from rushing water in San Bernardino County.
• There’s another similar storm heading our way in the next couple of days.
• There’s a new dominant strain of COVID hitting the USA. This omicron subvariant is named XBB.1.5, and the concern is that there will be a big wave of COVID cases following the busy holiday travel season. 
• The CDC projected that about 40% of confirmed U.S. COVID cases are caused by the XBB.1.5 strain, up from 20% a week ago. In the Northeast, about 75% of confirmed cases are reported to be XBB.1.5. 
• Symptoms of XBB.1.5 are no more or less severe than typical omicron.
• Be vaccinated and use a mask when it’s smart. Thank you.
• Speaking of disease, the FPOTUS had his annual New Year’s party at his golf motel in Florida last night.
• He invited journalists to a surprise slot of "media availability” but not a single cable news network covered it. Even Fox News and Newsmax, which have historically offered sympathetic coverage of the former president, skipped on covering his remarks.
• Welp.
• A more interesting news item about the Orange Menace happened this week when he posted an article on his social network that floated the idea of running a third-party campaign if Republican leaders don’t get behind his 2024 run for the presidency.
• The article correctly stated that such a move would torpedo Trump’s chances of winning the White House, but it would also wipe out Republican hopes for any other candidate.
• Heh heh. Don’t be shocked when it happens.
• And now, The Weather: “Lucky” by Lo Noom
• On Friday, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted to uphold a Florida school-board policy requiring students to use the bathroom of their biological sex.
• Fucking pricks.
• “A policy can lawfully classify on the basis of biological sex without unlawfully discriminating on the basis of transgender status,” the Trump-appointed judge Barbara Lagoa wrote for the majority.
• How can that not, by definition, be discriminatory?
• I promise that Florida will eventually pay a hefty price for these and other bigoted policies.
• A little personal news. We had a band meeting with They Stole My Crayon late yesterday afternoon. It was an excellent way to spend a couple of hours on New Year’s Eve.
• We did a full review of all demo song candidates for the new album, made some decisions and a lot of notes.
• We have a list of tasks to start on the refine these songs, and will be meeting bi-weekly until we’re ready to hand the songs off for mixing. That’s some exciting shit!
• And fun too.
• In other music news, send congratulations to Sir Brian May. The Queen guitarist received a knighthood from the New Year’s Honors List, the first from King Charles.
• In addition to his workin music and animal rights, Sir Brian is a doctor of astrophysics and does award-winning work in stereoscopy, or 3D imaging. We are likely slackers compared to him.
• Back in political news, Tuesday January 3 will be the first vote to see if Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has the requisite 218 votes to be the next Speaker of the House.
• It’s not known yet if he does, and a cadre of hardcore far-right “Never Kevin” House members say they will not vote for him. Who knows what sleazy backroom shit is going on in the next 48 hours to grease McCarthy’s skids into the role?
• From the Sports Desk… we’re at the penultimate week of the NFL season. I’d say it’s pretty likely that the playoff picture will be solid after today. 
• Only two playoff slots remain in the AFC (with four teams still in contention), and three remain in the NFC (with eight teams vying).
• Today in history… For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1 (153 BC). Emperor Honorius issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights (404). Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral discovers the coast of Brazil (1500). Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25 (1600). The first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, are issued by the London Credit Exchange Company (1772). Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action (1776). The first edition of The Times of London is published (1788). Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi (1801). French rule ends in Haiti, and it becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States (1804). The United States bans the importation of slaves (1808). The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory (1863). Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States (1892). New York, NY annexes land from surrounding counties with four initial boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx - that are then joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs. The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia (1901). The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, CA (1902). The Republic of China is established (1912). Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison (1934). Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces (1959). Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television (1971). The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet (1983). 
• January 1 is the birthday of silversmith/patriot Paul Revere (1735), seamstress Betsy Ross (1752), FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (1895), boxer Rocky Graziano (1919), author J. D. Salinger (1919), philanthropist/diplomat James Hormel (1933), actor Frank Langella (1938), singer-songwriter Country Joe McDonald (1942), comedian Don Novello (1943), and rapper/DJ Grandmaster Flash (1958).

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? I didn’t. I never do. My plan for 2023 is to keep on doing what I do. I will, with 100% likelihood, make some mistakes, continue some bad habits, and do things that I will regret in some way that would be preventable with some thought and effort. I will also continue doing some good things, be creative, be responsible, and try and find happiness and peace where I can. That’s who I am and it’s likely I’ll remain me until I am no longer here to be me. Enjoy your day.