Month: June 2020

Posted on

Think Ya Reopened a Little Too Soon, Douchebag?

"Teh St00pid, it BURNS!"

From The Independent:

Arizona lockdown: State shuts down again for 30 days amid spike in coronavirus cases

Arizona governor Doug Ducey announced that the state has closed bars, gyms and movie theaters for 30 days, amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

The state has also shut down water parks that reopened in May, and Mr Ducey has imposed a limit of 50 people at gatherings both indoors and outdoors.

Arizona announced a record daily total of coronavirus cases on Sunday, with 3,800 people testing positive for Covid-19.

The daily total has been steadily rising in the state, since non-essential business reopened in mid May, and Sunday was the seventh time in 10 days that cases have totalled more than 3,000, according to NPR.

"Our numbers continue to increase," the governor said at a press conference in Phoenix on Monday. "Our expectation is that our numbers next week will be worse," he added.

The reopening of schools has been delayed until 17 August, and the governor has asked residents of the state to wear face masks when they go outside, but has not made it mandatory.

Mr Ducey also asked residents to get any urgent tasks done before the order began on Monday evening and stressed: "Remember you are safer at home. If you do not need to go out, do not go out."

There has been a rise in coronavirus cases across the US in the past month, since most states reopened non-essential businesses.

Florida, California and Texas have also been forced into implementing stricter social distancing measures, after they recorded record daily totals in the last few weeks.

Mr Ducey told reporters that the planned expiry date of 27 July for the new order is "aspirational" and depends on the number of cases and hospitalizations, as he is keen to keep cases under control and safely move the state out of lockdown.

"In Arizona, they're going in the wrong direction and we're going to take some additional action today to contain this virus and get back on track," Mr Ducey said.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 2.6 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 129,544.

Posted on

Released 34 Years Ago Today

Madonna: True Blue (1986)

From Behind the Grooves:

"True Blue", the third album by Madonna is released. Produced by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, it is recorded at Channel Recording in Los Angeles, CA from December 1985 – April 1986. After the massive whirlwind success of the "Like A Virgin" album and "The Virgin Tour", the pop superstar does not rest on her laurels, beginning work on the crucial follow up at the end of 1985. Working with long time collaborator Stephen Bray and new producer Patrick Leonard (Michael Jackson, Jody Watley), the album is praised upon its release as her strongest effort to date, and is widely regarded today as one of the best albums of her career. It spins off five top five hits including "Live To Tell" (#1 Pop), "Papa Don't Preach" (#1 Pop), "Open Your Heart" (#1 Pop) and the title track (#3 Pop). "True Blue" also marks the beginning Madonna's long association with famed fashion photographer Herb Ritts who shoots the LP's iconic cover photo. The original LP package also includes a poster of the album cover shot. As a promotion for the album, MTV sponsors the "Make My Video" contest, inviting viewers to submit their own visual interpretations of the title track. The winning entry comes from Angel Gracia and Cliff Guest, whose black & white clip is rotated heavily on the video channel. The pair are awarded a check for $25,000 by the pop superstar herself at MTV's New York studios. The alternate video directed by James Foley, featuring Madonna with close friends actress Debi Mazur and fashion designer Erika Belle is shown largely outside the US. Madonna also supports the album with the worldwide "Who's That Girl Tour" beginning in June of 1987. It is remastered and reissued on CD in 2001, with the extended 12" mixes of "La Isla Bonita" and the title track included as bonus tracks. The vinyl LP is reissued in Europe in 2012, including the original inner sleeve lyric sheet and poster featured in the original release. In October of 2016, a limited edition release of the LP pressed on blue vinyl, is issued as exclusive through the European supermarket chain Sainsbury's. "True Blue" spends five weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 7x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

My unbridled love for this album and the accompanying quest to acquire it on "true blue" vinyl has been well documented on this blog, so I won't add anything more today and instead will sign off and go listen to it.

Posted on

You are Not Seeing Socialism

I searched my mind for something relevant to say about our current pandemic crisis, but the situation continues to be so overwhelming and surreal that I could only sit back and watch the responses, see the battle lines drawn, and wonder where this all leads, with the usual suspects spreading their disinformation of "welcome to socialism." Then I came across this, no idea of its origin, but it reflects my feelings very well:

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you need to know how silly you look if you post some variation of, "Welcome to Socialism…"

You are not seeing Socialism. What you are seeing is one of the wealthiest, geographically advantages, productive capitalist societies in the world flounder and fail at its most basic test: taking care of its people.

The crisis is not about the virus.

The crisis is about the massive failure of our "booming economy," to survive even modest challenges. It is about the market dissonance of shortages in stores, even as farmers/producers destroy unused crops and products. This crisis is about huge corporations needing an emergency bailout within days of the longest Bull Market in our history ending and despite the ability to borrow with zero percent interest rates.

The crisis is about corporatized healthcare systems being unable and ill-equipped to provide basic healthcare, at the same time they post record profits. It is about crisis response depending on antiquated systems nobody remembers how to operate.

But most of all, this crisis is a direct result of the politicization of every aspect of our society of the benefit of the privileged few. This vilification of education, science, media, natural rights, rural lifestyles, urban lifestyles, charity, compassion, and virtually everything else for brief political gain has gutted our society.

Posted on

Quote of the Day

Here's the truth: Trump's supporters don't measure his success by what he does for them, they measure by what he does against people they don't like. That's why they see him as being "successful," and why they will never abandon him. His tormenting of the "others" sustains them." ~ Corey Reynolds via Twitter.

Posted on

The Sam & Dean Comedy Hour

That's what Ben and I are starting to call it as we continue to slog our way through the fifteen (sixteen? seven hundred?) seasons of Supernatural. We just started season six, and I've got only one thing to ask:

How does anyone find the will to go on from one episode to the next without putting a boot through their television or a bullet in their head?

So much shark jumping.

So many plot holes you can drive a fleet of trucks through.

So many still-unresolved Daddy Issues.  Seriously guys…see a shrink for chrissake!

And while you're there you might want to discuss the whole "wincest" vibe that's going on between you in almost every episode. I just want to yell, "Would you two just FUCK and get it over with already?! Jesus!"

Or is all this supposed to be part of the show's charm?

Posted on

PSA

Remember, wearing a mask is not to protect you. It's to protect everyone.