- It’s nice that there’s a change in the waters somewhere in
the world and it’s not a result of the global warming that Donald Trump can’t
make up his mind on being a hoax or semi-real. Turkey is a turbulent place
these days, but those around Istanbul can enjoy a colorful diversion as the
waters surrounding the city have once again turned a striking shade of
turquoise. It’s a regular natural phenomenon called a "phytoplankton
bloom" that has turned the normally dark waters of the Bosporus and the
Golden Horn into an opaque tone of light blue, all due to microscopic organisms
that have inundated the Black Sea just north of Turkey's largest city. Environmental
experts note that this year has brought a lot of rain to the region and that
has carried nutrients from the Saharan desert to the Black Sea, which created
an optimal environment for this phytoplankton to bloom. According to NASA,
which released a statement containing a satellite image of the Black Sea, the
milky coloration is "likely due to the growth of a particular
phytoplankton called a coccolithophore." These curious microscopic
organisms support fish, shellfish and other marine organisms, but in certain
circumstances, they can also cause die-offs of marine life due to loss of
oxygen from the water if the "blooms" are too widespread. Still, it’s
a nice visual in the Bosporus, a strait that separates Europe from Asia and also
connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara for the many, many mariners who pass through
its now-colorful waters…….
- Not a good reason, Josh Homme. You working with the auteur
of one of the most annoyingly overplayed pop songs of the past decade isn't cool
on any level, but citing said syrupy sweet mainstream pop song as the reason
your (ostensibly) heavy rock band worked with the auteur of that song makes it
so much worse. According to Homme, Queens of the Stone Age worked with “Uptown
Funk” artist Mark Ronson on the band’s new album is because of a track that
everyone with ears has heard 1,000 times more than they ever wanted. Ronson
produced the album, “Villains,” and according to Homme, he connected with
Ronson while the pair both worked with Lady Gaga last year. Homme played guitar
on ‘Perfect Illusion,” the lead single from Gaga’s most recent album ‘Joanne,”
and from there, pop music pulled him into its tangled web of crap. “Within an
hour of working with him on this Lady Gaga stuff, the references – that
glossary you use to talk about stuff and what was important to him, I realized
there’s this grand overlap of interest and fascination and elation in making
music.” That sounds like a typical shovel full of music industry bullsh*t, but
it’s what came next that set that turd pile on fire. “I think one of the
reasons was to act like a talisman as a reminder of listening to ‘Uptown Funk’.
It’s very tight and vacuous. It sounds fucking great,” Homme said. “I knew I
wanted to make something that sounded very tight, and with the air sucked out
of it and very clear.” And right there
you have the moment Homme took a sledgehammer to his rock and roll credibility……..
- Bangor, Maine can be a terrifying place - and not just in
Stephen King novels. It can also be scary out on the many trails around the
city, as local Rachel Borch knows well after she was attacked by a rabid
raccoon who tried to turn her evening run into a man versus wild battle for the
ages. That run was cut short when that raccoon attacked her, latching onto her
skin and refusing to let go until she drowned it in a nearby puddle. According
to Borch, she was running through the woods when she saw the animal on the path
and after the pair locked eyes, the raccoon rushed toward her on the narrow
path, bearing its teeth and exhibiting all the characteristics of a rabid
beast. At first, Borch tried to navigate around the animal, but in the process,
she dropped her phone. “Imagine the Tasmanian devil,” she said, “it was
terrifying. I knew it was going to bite me.” The path was simply too narrow to
get away, so Borch decided her best chance to overcome would be using her hands
to hold the animal down. Not one to go quietly into that good night, the raccoon
sank its teeth into her thumb and “wouldn’t let go.” Then, in an epiphany,
Borch saw her dropped phone fully submerged in a puddle and realized she might
be able to put the raccoon in the same position. She wasn’t sure she could
drown the animal with her bare hands, but decided to try. Dropping to her
knees, she dragged the biting, clawing raccoon into the puddle and was
eventually able to send it shuffling off this mortal coil. She then rushed
home, where her mother immediately drove her to the hospital to get shots. A
few days later, wildlife officials confirmed that the animal tested positive for
rabies, putting an exclamation point on its untimely demise……..
- Inglewood was home to zero professional sports teams just
a few short years ago. Soon, the Southern California city could have three of
them. At some point, the new Los Angele Rams (with the Los Angeles Chargers as
their permanent house guests) stadium will open - presumably in 2020, although
it’s already been delayed - and if Microsoft corporate titan and noted
courtside spaz Steve Ballmer has his way, his Long Angeles Clippers could be
joining the neighborhood. After the Inglewood City Council unanimously approved
an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Clippers, there could be a new
arena for the NBA team across the street from the future home of the NFL's
Chargers and Rams. Under the agreement, the Clippers and the city have a
three-year negotiating period, including a six-month extension, with a
developer to build a state-of-the-art basketball arena with 18,000 to 20,000
seats. Ballmer will have to pull the extra change from the ash tray of his
Maybach for the nonrefundable $1.5 million deposit to cover costs associated
with the planning, but getting a new arena on a 20-acre parcel of land located
across the street from the under-construction, $2.6 billion NFL stadium
slogging its way toward completion won't come easy. If the Clippers join the
part, they’ll be leaving the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, where they
have a lease to play through 2024. Getting a massive complex that would include
team offices, parking and a practice facility should be more than enough
incentive to fight that battle, even if their battle for an NBA championship
appears as futile as ever……..
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