Hey everyone
There are few things I find more aggravating than when it rains during the first few days of summer. It seems to happen every year. I love that the sun stays out till almost 9 o'clock at night, there is something really cool about that to me. There are some places in the world that have a midnight sun, and that is definitely something I'd love to see once in my lifetime.
But here in NY, we get sunsets around 8:45 or so, and it seems like it's either outright raining on those days or very cloudy. The forecast had called for lots of rain on Saturday, but thankfully it turned out to be a gorgeous night, and I was able to enjoy the late sunset. (though it was still a bit overcast) I realize in the grand scheme of life these are minor annoyances, but well, they are annoyances just the same.
And on that note, onto the week that was..
TRAGEDY AT SEA
The five poor souls who died while in a submersible that was going to explore the wreckage of the Titanic were guilty of nothing more than a sense of adventure and a unique curiosity. I by no means want to make light of their deaths, or trivialize the tragedy in any way. Especially the 19 year old boy who was on the submersible with his father.
But I really can't get past the feeling that perhaps this was a trip that only should be undertaken by trained professionals, people who have extensive experience doing underwater research, and not thrill seekers with money to burn. Especially upon hearing about how this watercraft was built and operated, by Oceangate Exhibitions.
Per the BBC.com
A former junior employee told the BBC he was surprised to find that Titan's electrical design included off-the-shelf development boards, as opposed to using a custom, in-house design like other engineering companies.
David Pogue, a CBS News journalist who joined (Oceangate founder) Stockton Rush on a trip to the Titanic wreck in 2021, said the chief executive drove the Titan with a game controller and used "rusty lead pipes from the construction industry as ballast".
Yet Mr Rush assured Mr Pogue that only thing that really mattered was the vessel's hull, built from an unusual and largely untested material for a deep sea vessel: carbon fibre, with titanium end plates.
Mr Rush knew carbon fibre was used successfully in yachts and aviation, and believed it would allow for his submersible to made more cheaply than industry-standard steels ones.
"There's a rule you don't do that," said Mr Rush in 2021. "Well, I did."
Well, this may come as a surprise, but sometimes there are reasons why rules are put in place, why you need a certification to do certain things. Because when they don't, things like this could happen.
Now, could this have happened on a vessel that was up to specifications and controlled by a proper control panel (and not a video game controller..I mean seriously?) and built with the recommended steel? Of course.
But from where I'm sitting, it seems like this whole thing was a recipe for disaster.
Now, some may point out that I have cheered on Jeff Bezos Blue Origin Space program, which again allows people with $$$ to ride a rocket into outer space. Yes I have and I still do. For one thing, I believe Bezos and his people wouldn't cut corners. Look at all the negative publicity this underwater disaster wrought. (and I'm not suggesting the Oceangate people wanted anything bad to happen) but can you imagine if one of Bezos rockets exploded over Texas? With millions of people watching on TV? Even he doesn't have enough money to buy himself out of that disaster.
Plus I still believe that space offers much more of a chance to explore and maybe one day expand. The Titanic sank over 100 years ago, and at this point I'm not sure there's any real value in going down there. And again, if there is, let trained oceanographers do it.
I just think this all could have been avoided. More to the point, it should have been avoided.
POLITICS: Congressional Catfight
The dingbat Congresswoman from Colorado's 3rd Congressional district, Lauren Boebert, moved to introduce an impeachment resolution against President Biden.
Now, since the first thing the attention starved whore representing Georgia's 14th congressional district did upon being sworn into Congress was to introduce a resolution to impeach Joe Biden, even before he took the Oath of Office, you would think she would be overjoyed at this development.
Instead, she essentially accused Bloebert of being a copycat, and then proceeded to call her a BITCH on the House Floor, according to The Daily Beast. Bloebert when asked if this actually happened, responded "I'm not in middle school" I could point out that Bloebert chose middle school over lets say high school because it doesn't seem like she spent much time in high school, but I'll digress and say she tried to take the high road, such as it is.
You know I don't like to mention either one of these pea brains because the last thing I want to give either one of them is the attention they both lust after. But I'm mentioning them here because it drives home my point.
They don't care about you. They care about themselves.
And this was my biggest fear coming out of the Trump administration. That people would look at how he conducted himself and say, "That's the way to do it" These two are the epitome of that.
I have had my differences with the so called Squad on the Democratic side. I don't agree with everything they do, and I sure as hell don't agree with everything they say. (Some people did something on 9/11)
But I still think the overall scheme of things, they want better for the country, and they are willing to present a united front to do so. I still think AOC has a big ego, but I also think she would ultimately check it at the door for the greater good.
Not these two. They apparently can't stand each other, but they f-cking deserve each other.
It's us good hardworking Americans that don't deserve this nonsense.
OK, onto some good news......
MUSIC-A new Beatle Song!
When John Lennon was posthumously voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, it was Paul McCartney who gave the presentation speech. That night, Yoko Ono gave Paul some cassettes of unfinished songs from John. Two of those songs, Free as a Bird, and Real Love, were worked on by the three surviving Beatles, and became the big hook of the Beatles Anthology documentary project and accompanying albums. The two new songs were released as singles, with Free as a Bird making the Top 10, and Real Love just missing out at number 11.
The Anthology CD's were three double-cd sets, that came out in November 1995, March 1996 and October 1996. Each was to contain a "new" Beatle song. Free as a Bird was on the first one and Real Love was on the second, but a third song called Now and Then, was scrapped for the third. (A George Martin instrumental instead led off Volume 3) Apparently, George Harrison didn't think the quality of Now and Then was Beatles worthy, so he raised an objection to it. Paul, who had always insisted that the rule within the group was all decisions had to be unanimous, honored George's decision and Now and Then was cast aside.
But a couple of weeks ago, Paul announced that they were indeed going to release a new Beatle song. And many believe that it is the aforementioned Now and Then.
Paul himself didn't specify the name of the song, but since this is the one they had previously worked on, it stands to reason that it is indeed Now and Then.
He made the announcement during an interview with the BBC.
"We were able to take John's voice and get it pure through this AI, so then we could mix the record as you would normally do."
Now some fans were concerned that Paul mentioned AI, because apparently someone used AI to create a song by Drake and the Weeknd called Heart on My Sleeve. The song was making its way up the charts till it was removed from Spotify and YouTube amongst other music services.
Paul assured everyone that this isn't AI creating a replica of John's voice, but a method used to isolate and clarify John's voice, similar to what Peter Jackson did with the tapes from the Let it Be sessions that was released on Thanksgiving 2021. I'm speculating here, but I’m guessing this was how Paul convinced George's widow, Olivia Harrison to sign off on it.
Paul says this is the "last Beatles record" something that I take with a grain of salt. I've been hearing this is the last Beatle-fill in the blank- since at least the Anthology project and probably way before that. As long as they can make $$$, they'll find more stuff to put out. Having said that, I'm psyched to see how this all plays out.
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Unfortunately I haven't read enough on this whole situation in Russia to make a commentary on it. Maybe next week.
Other than that, Happy Summer Everyone!
Stay Safe
and Have a Great Week
