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Entries in News (9)

Sunday
Oct102021

News Of The Week Roundup: Week 40, 2021

This week, I'm looking back on important stories, but also some that might be considered odd or topics that are out of the mainstream.


There are positive signs the Delta strain of the current COVID-19 surge in waning in America. Still, way too many remain unvaccinated. This includes members of the military. This is concerning for a few reasons, notwithstanding that service members are now getting infected and dying from COVID at alarming rates.



Let's just call it rape and be done with it, but good on California for making "stealthing" officially illegal. Every state should do this, too.



At one time, traveling - especially flying - was find of fun. Now it just feels like a miserable experience every time. Heck, that even applies to waiting in lounges and going first class (use credit card points, people!) Apparently Southwest is having another major system meltdown, canceling hordes of flights all weekend and stranding people across the country. When cancellations reach into the thousands, it usually takes days to sort out and get everyone where they need to be. You have my sympathy if you were flying Southwest this weekend.



Bobby Flay is leaving Food Network. I am not a Food Network devotee and I try my best to avoid cooking anything that would be considered a complicated meal. Still, this is a big deal for a whole host of business reasons, including product endorsements and ratings.



I watched CATS on a Royal Caribbean cruise, once. Well, I made it to intermission. The stage production was not good. I can't even imagine what the movie was like. Apparently CATS creator Andrew Lloyd Weber hated the movie so much... he had to get a therapy dog to cope!




This is cool as hell. My household watches Ohio State Football, so I'm well aware of just how awesome of the OSU marching band is... after all, they are known as the Best Damn Band In The Land for a reason! The band played tribute to RUSH yesterday and the result was just epic.


And I leave you with this: immense New England fall beauty.


Sunday
Oct032021

News Of The Week Roundup: Week 39, 2021

I can't believe it is October. I've spent the entire weekend organizing and decluttering. Eric is working on redoing the drywall in the garage which meant everything had to come out of there anyway, so it was a great time to get rid of some stuff. It is always amazing to me how much "stuff" a person accumulates. Eric and I are not collectors. I rarely if ever buy physical media anymore, the odd hardcover book an exception that I know I will want to revisit several times. All my music is digital. I stream shows and haven't bought a DVD in I don't know how long. Eric has a fetish for tools and I have one for bags. He has too many tools - like, it is absurd how many he owns. Plus he keeps what he calls "aggregates" in case he needs for future projects. What are "aggregates" you ask? Think pieces parts and bits of wire, plastic pipe, PEX, tile, glue, wire, wood, whatever. We got rid of a lot of that and I am thankful. I use my local Buy Nothing group on Facebook to give away things that still have life to keep items out of landfills. Truly the best use of Facebook.


As for news, the week was all about the infrastructure bill on Capitol Hill. The government was funded so we didn't "shutdown" in America, which is always good. The infrastructure bill will pass by the end of the month. The question is really just how big it will be and what will it include.





Also, any infrastructure bill passed will not close churches in America. Just FYI.



Friday kicked off the official Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration. The celebration will actually last 18 months and features special programming and merchandise in all four Disney parks. I saw some crowd photos from Friday and all the people gave me the heebee jeebees.



This wasn't at night... we're talking around 6 a.m. - people were flocking to the main gate of The Magic Kingdom because they wanted exclusive merchandise. Bonkers.




COVID-19 cases remain frustratingly high in America (see post above for crowds). Still, the pandemic is showing signs of easing, at least in the U.S. Perhaps by Christmas time, things will be more stable and less dangerous - with Delta starting to die off. Experts are hoping to vaccinate large swaths of the world as soon as possible. Without doing so, this pandemic will never end.


A grim milestone for America:



The Feds are still looking for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of murdered van life blogger Gabby Petito. Laundrie is wanted on a financial crimes warrant of using a debit card that wasn't his while traveling home to Florida from out west where he was the last to see Gabby alive. Many want more serious charges for him. That won't matter if he stays in the wind.



The Super Bowl halftime show announcement has people buzzing! I have to admit, I am excited for this. 90s hip hop, rejoice!



And I leave you with this:


Sunday
Sep262021

News Of The Week Roundup: Week 38, 2021

I got my flu shot today, so that's a check-mark on the chore list. My Bengals beat the Steelers today, too which is always a good feeling.


The biggest news for me of the past week was the continued search for Brian Laundrie, the main person of interest in the homicide of Gabby Petito. Gabby's family had a public memorial for her today in her home state of New York. Laundrie is still in the wind. Even Dog the Bounty Hunter is looking for him now. The FBI is on the case. Today, agents visited Laundrie's parents briefly.





The CDC met over COVID-19 booster shots. Folks 65 and older, those with underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable and people in risky jobs (healthcare workers) can now get boosters.



The Cyber Ninja recount of the Arizona presidential election results came in... and Joe Biden won. Again. He even picked up more votes than originally counted via the hand tabulation. Another waste of money! Now Trump is demanding a recount of Texas and the governor is complying. Waste, waste, waste.



This story is cool and odd:



And I leave you with this:


Sunday
Sep192021

News Of The Week Roundup: Week 37, 2021

It's officially the last weekend of summer and it was a crazy hot one in my neck of the woods. Fall will officially be here on Wednesday. That means colder, shorter days. Most people love fall. I don't care for the season much because it means winter is close at hand.

This past week had a lot of news headlines. Stories were kind of all over the place.

The city of Pasadena, California wants to pay tribute to Eddie Van Halen. There might be a park named after him!

 


Remember, even (big) cats can get COVID-19:

 

 


Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom easily beat back naysayers during Tuesday's recall election. The fiasco wasted over $200 million in taxpayer money.

 


The search continues for missing travel blogger Gabby Petito. Now her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, is also missing (or in hiding). Laundrie is apparently the last person to see Gabby alive. He wouldn't cooperate with police or give them any information, which is definitely... odd. This story is very weird.

 

 

 


A U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan killed 10 innocent civilians. The strike was aimed at Taliban fighters. The Pentagon admitted the mistake after media investigations. The CIA did try to send a warning that the area was full of kids - but the warning wasn't relayed in time. Tragic. 

 

And I leave you with this:

 

Sunday
Sep122021

News Of The Week Roundup: Week 36, 2021

This past week, the world paid tribute to the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. I try to avoid too much 9/11 coverage because I had nightmares about the the attacks back in the day. I worked in TV news then and spent hours upon hours of racking videos of the towers falling and people jumping to their deaths, etc. From what I did see this year, the tributes were very tasteful. I think it was nice that President Biden deferred and let former President Bush speak at one of the big memorial events. Bush was president when the attacks occurred and they defined his legacy.




The drama in the Fleetwood Mac camp continues. These people have never - and will never - get along.



The Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to cause havoc across America and the world. Too many vaccine-deniers are keeping the virus around and the rest of us are ready to move on. President Biden will require all federal workers and government contractors to take the vaccine. There is also an OSHA mandate for employers with 100 or more employees to get the shot or do weekly testing. So those opposed to the vaccine will still help the greater good by getting a test each week.






And I leave you with this...


Sunday
Sep052021

News Of The Week Roundup: Week 35, 2021

My shoulder/arm/wrist is absolutely killing me today, so not much commentary from me follows. I have no idea why I am throbbing so bad, but it sucks and ibuprofen is not helping.


The two biggest stories of the past week (for me) are the unconstitutional Texas abortion ban that the Supreme Court let stand via shadow docket and the horrific remnants of Hurricane Ida on the east coast.







Also, I'm a weather nerd. The storms up the east coast definitely were forecast. Meteorologists mentioned catastrophic flooding as a possibility. The rain came so fast and swift, infrastructure just could not keep up. Some elected officials, namely New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, keep going on TV saying no one knew the weather was coming. That just is not true.






...and some hopeful COVID-19 news for America:


Sunday
Aug292021

News Of The Week Roundup: Week 34, 2021

So much news over the past week and especially today. Hurricane Ida is a massive category 4 storm. She is lashing parts of Louisiana today and will bring large storm surges and heavy rain to surrounding states. Watching some of the live cams, I fear for the folks who decided to stay in place. There is going to be widespread damage for sure. Hospitals in the south are already full because of COVID-19 and it's a confluence of bad events. Also, a reminder for folks since so many of us will be dealing with flooding rains far from the hurricane in the days ahead: do not drive your car through water. You can drown and your car will get destroyed too.




Federal resources (FEMA) and disaster declarations are already declared so hopefully people will start getting help immediately once the storm passes. The humanitarian airlift out of Afghanistan continues. Over the past couple of weeks, 113,000 Americans and SIV-Afghans have been flown out of the country. A bad situation turned worse when a member of ISIS-K detonated a suicide vest, killing American troops and Afghans. The violence just reinforces my opinion that it was time to leave Afghanistan... 19 years ago.




Today, President Biden went to Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer service of the remains of the troops killed in the suicide blast.




The U.S. fought back swiftly, launching a drone strike that killed the planner and associate of the deadly attack.


The Delta variant and low vaccination rates are two reasons COVID-19 is hanging around this summer. Case numbers are climbing all over the country, but the crisis point remains the south. Still, some states are reissuing mask mandates to try and stop the spread. Illinois is now under a mandatory mask mandate for everyone again.



Booster shots are coming for sure. It's just a question of when.




Sirhan Sirhan, the man who killed Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 and altered the course of history was granted parole and will be released from prison unless California Governor Gavin Newsom reverses the decision. Personally, I think it's ridiculous to let him out of jail. He should stay behind bars for life.



Actor Ed Asner has died. He played Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and then later on the spinoff Lou Grant. Such great television!



And I leave you with this: