M Is FOR MASHUP - RERUN (because it's Useo's Birthday!) - July 15th, 2020
Yippee For The YITTLES!
By DJ Useo
The fabulous & productive Yitt
( www.yittmashups.com )
is a home producer well worth following. His tracks are inventive, & extremely well-produced. He's made lots of singles, & full albums available, with the latest being the completely ingratiating "YITT - The Yittles"
( www.yittmashups.com/music ) . The theme is obvious to Fab Four fans, with the complete album devoted to cool new pairings with other artists like Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, CCR, & 10 more.
The appeal holds up completely from beginning to end. I went for every cut in a big way, with "Let Fire And Rain Be" (James Taylor vs Beatles) really sending me as one of my top faves. We'll all be playing this collection often. I urge you to grab it now, as mashup albums tend to quickly vanish forever.
Many thanks to Yitt for the kicks this brings. I hope he enjoys the creative process much, as we all feel the benefit.
ps. Thanks to everyone for the July 12th Birthday greetings. I celebrated with a very private party I dj-ed for. & then I aged a year all at once! Lol. Also, Mrs Useo baked me my favorite cake, a pineapple upside-down cake. So snecking good.
- DJ Konrad Useo
from Bruce
Anecdotes
Children and Teenagers
• When American gymnast Dominique Moceanu was only six months old, her parents (who had been gymnasts in Romania before coming to the United States to live) tested her strength by having her grab onto a clothesline and hang on by herself. Of course, her mother was ready to catch her if she let go of the clothesline — but she never did. After witnessing this demonstration of her strength, her parents decided that Dominique could probably be a top gymnast. She proved them right by winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
• When the Romanian junior women’s gymnastics team flew to New York to participate in the 2000 Pontiac Women’s Gymnastics Team Championships, the flight attendants were happy to have such celebrities on board and took photographs of the team. Later, the flight attendants brought coloring books to the Romanian gymnasts, offending them deeply. The gymnasts, who were tiny 14- and 15-year-olds, said, “Hey, we’re small, but we’re not that young.”
• When Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller was a little girl, she started taking gymnastics. One day, the girls at her school took part in a parade. Little Shannon noticed some of the other girls doing back walkovers, so she decided to do them, too. Unfortunately, this was a skill she hadn’t quite mastered yet, so whenever she wanted to attempt a back walkover, her mother ran out of the audience and spotted her to make sure she wouldn’t land on her head.
• In 1971, when they were kids, gymnasts Bart Conner and Jim Hartung competed against each other. Young Bart was amazed by the size of young Jim’s ears, so he got behind him and took a photograph of the back of his head so he could show Jim’s ears to his friends. Later, the rest of Jim’s body caught up with his ears, the two continued to compete against each other in college, and the two became Olympic gold medal-winning teammates in Los Angeles.
• Even at age six, Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller was a master at saving time. She used to wear her leotard underneath her clothing at school to save time dressing for gymnastics practice after school. This trick gave her a few more minutes of precious TV-watching time. (Her parents didn’t know she was doing this until they received her school photographs and saw the sleeves of her leotards poking out underneath the sleeves of her dress.)
• Even before Jennifer Capriati was a teenager, she showed great toughness and determination as a tennis player. During practice, her tennis-training partner hit a hard drive that smacked into her forehead. Young Jennifer lowered her head, raised her hand, wiped her eye, then got right back into the ready position — even though tears were flowing from her eyes. In 1992, Ms. Capriati won an Olympic gold medal in women’s tennis.
• While growing up in West Virginia, Mary Lou Retton learned gymnastics easily. When Mary Lou was six, she tried to teach her sister a trick she had learned at cheerleading camp: a cartwheel without hands, aka a side aerial. Her sister tried it — and broke her arm. At the time, her mother was making snickerdoodles, and Mary Lou’s sister refused to eat snickerdoodles thereafter because she associated them with her broken arm.
• When Maria Butyrskaya was 15 years old, her coach at the Central Army Club in Moscow told her that she had no talent and that she should get out of figure skating. Fortunately, Ms. Butyrskaya didn’t listen to the coach. She continued to train in figure skating, and in 1999, she became the World Champion — in fact, she was the first Russian woman ever to become World Champion in women’s figure skating.
• Even as a toddler, elite gymnast Vanessa Atler loved tumbling classes. Her mother remembers that young Vanessa was so eager to go to class that she used to put on her leotard hours before practice. (By the way, young Vanessa almost became an ice skater, but her mother enrolled her in gymnastics classes because the Atler family couldn’t afford to buy ice skates for her.)
***
© Copyright Bruce D. Bruce; All Rights Reserved
***
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Buy
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Buy the Paperback
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Kindle
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Apple
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Barnes and Noble
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Kobo
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes — Smashwords: Many Formats, Including PFD
Presenting
Michael Egan
U.S.A. said:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION
BANDCAMP MUSIC
BRUCE'S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC
Music: "Big Mamou"
Album: THE ORIGINAL
Artist: The Woogemen
Artist Location: Christiansburg, Virginia
Info:
“A blues-based, little big-band with a wide musical footprint. We play and reprise music from eras past including folk, rock, jazz, soul and funk. From Louis Armstrong to Pink Floyd, John Prine to The Meters, we’ve got you covered.”
“We would like to dedicate this, our first album, to The Original Woogeman: Lt Colonel Carroll Wooge (Mar 21, 1921 - Nov 15, 2020)
The Woogemen are:
Jon Wooge - Guitar / Vocals
Andrew Cook - Doublebass / Vocals
George Brooks - Harmonica / Keyboard
Ben Stovall - Trumpet / Vocals
Bruce Coluccio - Saxophone
Tim Parker - Drums
Price: $1.25 (USD) for track, $9 (USD) for eight-track album.
Genre: Blues.
Links:
THE ORIGINAL
The Woogemen on Bandcamp
Other Links:
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog #1
David Bruce's Blog #2
David Bruce's Blog #3
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 140 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
New Venture
Michael Egan
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
Reader Comment
Current Events
Linda >^..^<
We are all only temporarily able bodied.
Thanks, Linda!
that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Bit of a marine layer.
Nominations
Emmy
Netflix’s The Crown and Disney+’s The Mandalorian tied with the most nominations with 24 on Tuesday as the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards were unveiled. The noms, which come for a TV season that took place amidst the global pandemic, were announced by the Television Academy in a virtual ceremony hosted by Ron Cephas Jones and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
Among platforms, as usual the fight is between HBO and Netflix, with the combined HBO and HBO edging the streaming giant in total noms 130-129. Disney+ saw 71 noms today while NBC was fourth overall with 46, a strong showing for a broadcast network in the age of streaming.
The Crown, in its fourth season, is on an Outstanding Drama Series list with fellow previous nominee The Mandalorian as well as fellow Netflix buzz title Bridgerton along with The Boys, previous winner The Handmaid’s Tale from Hulu, HBO’s Lovecraft Country which made news when it was not renewed for a second season, and previous noms Pose from FX and NBC’s This Is Us.
On the Comedy side, the series race is between Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, HBO Max’s duo The Flight Attendant and Hacks, ABC’s Black-ish, Netflix’ Emily In Paris, The Kominsky Method and upstart Cobra Kai, and Hulu’s Pen15.
Overall, The Crown and Mandalorian were followed in the totals by WandaVision with 23 noms, Handmaid’s Tale and Saturday Night Live with 21 noms and Ted Lasso scoring 20. The latter’s haul makes the Jason Sudeikis-starring series the most-nominated freshman comedy series in TV history.
Emmy
Beats Defamation Suit
Sacha Baron Cohen
It looks like Sacha Baron Cohen is getting the last laugh over failed Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. After almost three years of legal dogfighting between the savvy Who Is America? frontman and the scandal-plagued Moore, a federal judge Tuesday has put the kibosh on the latter’s $95 million defamation lawsuit.
“Defendants have moved for summary judgment, arguing that Plaintiffs’ claims are barred by both a waiver clause in the agreement that Judge Moore signed prior to the interview and also by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” said U.S. District Court Judge John P. Cronan in an opinion (read it here) released on Emmy nominations morning.
After having appeared on the third episode of the 2018 Showtime satire, the former Alabama state judicial official proclaimed he had been hoodwinked into going before the cameras, suing for some pretty big bucks.
To be specific, Moore, who faced an avalanche of allegations of sexual misconduct with minors during his unsuccessful 2017 Senate bid, alleged in his initial September 2018 filing that his signature on a release “was obtained through fraud” and therefore “void and inoperative.” Moore also made it pretty obvious that he was not at all amused by the self-described pedophile detecting instrument that a disguised Cohen kept moving his way to louder beeps in the interview.
“The Court agrees that Judge Moore’s claims are barred by the unambiguous contractual language, which precludes the very causes of action he now brings,” Cronan wrote in the 26-page decision against Moore and his co-plaintiff spouse. “Although Kayla Moore was not a signatory to that contract, her claims are barred by the First Amendment. Accordingly, Defendants’ motion is granted in its entirety.”
Sacha Baron Cohen
New Barbie Doll Sells Out
Naomi Osaka
Fans of Naomi Osaka may have a tough time getting their hands on her newest Barbie doll.
The four-time Grand Slam title holder teamed up with toy maker Mattel for its latest Barbie Role Model doll, which honors the 23-year-old tennis phenom. The collectible officially hit shelves Monday, and sold out just hours after its release.
“Due to high demand, we are currently sold out of this doll,” a message on Mattel’s website read shortly after the item was listed as “back ordered.” “Click below, and we will notify you if she becomes available for purchase.”
Osaka first partnered with Barbie and Mattel in 2019 to commemorate the doll’s 60th anniversary, according to The Los Angeles Times. Her newest doll is part of the brand’s Role Model Series and features a likeness of Osaka dressed in the outfit she wore at the 2020 Australian open.
The Barbie retails for $29.99 and early purchases were limited to two dolls per person, according to a news release.
Naomi Osaka
Resigns From Harvard
Cornel West
“With a few glorious and glaring exceptions, the shadow of Jim Crow was cast in its new glittering form expressed in the language of superficial diversity,” Professor West wrote.
Venerated professor Dr. Cornel West has resigned from his position at Harvard University, penning an open letter just months after being denied tenure at the illustrious college from which he graduated.
On Monday, West posted a copy of the letter on Twitter, a missive dated June 30. “This is my candid letter of resignation to my Harvard Dean,” he wrote. “I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities! Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot!”
“I hope and pray you and your family are well!,” West began. “This summer is a scorcher!” He then immediately announced: “Here is my brief and candid letter of resignation.”
A philosophy professor who has taught in the past at Harvard’s law school, divinity school and department of African and African American studies, West notes that when arriving at the divinity school four years sgo, his salary was less than what he’d earned 15 years earlier. The first African American to graduate from Princeton with a Ph.D. in philosophy added he “hoped and prayed” he could end his career with “some semblance and intellectual intensity and personal respect.”
Cornel West
Are Rioters Traitors
Jan. 6
Plotted to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory: Check. Discussed bringing weapons into Washington to aid in the plan: Check. Succeeded with co-insurrectionists, if only temporarily, in stopping Congress from carrying out a vital constitutional duty: Check.
Accusations against Jan. 6 rioter Thomas Caldwell certainly seem to fit the charge of sedition as it’s generally understood — inciting revolt against the government. And the possibility of charging him and others was widely discussed after thousands of pro-Trump supporters assaulted scores of police officers, defaced the U.S. Capitol and hunted for lawmakers to stop the certification. Some called their actions treasonous.
But to date, neither Caldwell nor any of the other more than 500 defendants accused in the attack has been indicted for sedition or for the gravest of crimes a citizen can face, treason. And as an increasing number of lesser charges are filed and defendants plead guilty, those accusations may never be formally levied.
Some legal scholars say that sedition charges could be justified but that prosecutors may be reluctant to bring them because of their legal complexity and the difficulty historically in securing convictions. Overzealousness in applying them going back centuries has also discredited their use. And defense attorneys say discussions of such charges only add to the hyperbole around the events of that day.
The last time U.S. prosecutors brought such a case was in 2010 in an alleged Michigan plot by members of the Hutaree militia to incite an uprising against the government. But a judge ordered acquittals on the sedition conspiracy charges at a 2012 trial, saying prosecutors relied too much on hateful diatribes protected by the First Amendment and didn’t, as required, prove the accused ever had detailed plans for a rebellion.
Jan. 6
Not Unique To Canada
Boarding Schools
Ruby Left Hand Bull Sanchez sits in the passenger seat of her husband's beat-up, white work truck, filled to the brim with tools and framed Native artwork, when she begins to sob.
She hasn't stopped spontaneously sobbing in the weeks since news broke that a massive, unmarked grave of 215 Indigenous children was found outside an Indian residential school in British Columbia, Canada.
The shock was then followed by an even more gruesome discovery of an unmarked grave of 751 Indigenous peoples, mostly children, was located outside a former residential school in Saskatchewan.
"This is only the tip of the iceberg," she said. It's not just a belief. She knows there are more lost children out there, and in the United States as well.
Now 63, Sanchez was 5-years-old when white government agents in suits and white priests in clerical collars yanked her away from her mother's arms.
Boarding Schools
Wobble Will Intensify Flooding
Moon
Recurrent high-tide floods are expected to worsen as sea levels continue to rise on account of climate change, but, as a new study warns, a regularly occurring 18.6-year cycle involving the Moon could trigger unprecedented flooding along U.S. coasts in the 2030s.
Nuisance flooding, sunny day flooding, or high-tide flooding—it’s all the same thing, and an annoying pain in the ass. In 2019, NOAA tracked more than 600 of these recurring high-tide flooding events, in which high tides extend 2 feet (0.6 meters) above the norm. These floods aren’t life threatening, but they can damage coastal infrastructure in affected areas and create annoyances like flooded parking lots. Needless to say, nuisance flooding is happening more frequently on account of human-induced climate change, and it’s poised to get even worse as sea levels continue to rise.
If that’s not bad enough, an 18.6-year lunar cycle is expected to amplify this effect even further, according to new research published in Nature Climate Change. The authors of the paper, led by Phil Thompson from the University of Hawaii, say the confluence of rising sea levels and a periodic wobble in the Moon’s orbit will increase the frequency and severity of high-tide floods along U.S. ocean coastlines. By the mid-2030s, tidal floods could occur in batches that last for a month or more and on a nearly daily basis, the scientists say. Members of NASA’s Sea Level Change Science Team from the University of Hawaii contributed to this research.
Scientists have known about this wobble in the Moon’s orbit since the early 18th century, as well as how alignments involving the Moon, Earth, and Sun can influence the tides. During the first half of this cycle, high tides are below the normal average and low tides are higher than normal. During the other half of the cycle, both the high and low tides are amplified, appearing both higher and lower than usual. The reason for this has to do with the Moon’s gravitational pull, which causes Earth’s ocean tides. We’re currently in the amplification phase of this cycle, but the Moon’s gravity is not affecting tides to the degree expected in the mid-2030s when the amplification phase renews.
This is all well known, but scientists are now having to predict the effect of this lunar cycle in the era of climate change and rising sea levels. Indeed, the situation looks bad, Moon wobble or no. Figures provided by NOAA paint a grim picture, with estimates suggesting global sea levels will rise by at least 12 inches (0.3 meters) by the turn of the century. Unfortunately, the world is currently on track for the worst-case sea level rise scenario that scientists have modeled and researchers have uncovered increasing worrisome signs about Antarctica’s ice. As of 2014, nearly 40% of the U.S. population inhabits coastal areas that could be vulnerable to rising sea levels.
Moon
Unknown Population
Cave Dirt
A cup of mud that has been buried beneath the floor of a cave for millennia has just yielded up the genome of an ancient human.
Analysis reveals traces of a woman who lived 25,000 years ago, during the last ice age; and, although we don't know much about her, she represents a significant scientific achievement: the feasibility of identifying ancient human populations even when there are no bones to recover.
The sample also yielded DNA from wolf and bison species, which an international team of scientists were able to place in the context of their population histories.
"Our results," they wrote in their paper, "provide new insights into the Late Pleistocene genetic histories of these three species and demonstrate that direct shotgun sequencing of sediment DNA, without target enrichment methods, can yield genome-wide data informative of ancestry and phylogenetic relationships."
The recovery of ancient DNA has typically relied rather a lot on bones, and luck. First, you need the bones to have survived, and survived intact enough to preserve DNA over many thousands of years.
Cave Dirt
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
