February 15, 2021

Carnival is canceled in Rio de Janeiro for the first time in 103 years,

For the first time in more than 100 years, Rio de Janeiro's iconic Carnival celebration will not take place.

The loss is especially tough on the thousands of people who design, choreograph, and perform in the annual spectacle.

But Rio's dedicated samba schools are already gearing up for a raucous Carnival in 2022.

https://www.insider.com/carnival-canceled-rio-de-janeiro-brazil-sambadrome-2021-2

February 15, 2021

An 8-year-old border collie named Lulu is inheriting a $5 million trust

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/13/us/dog-border-collie-lulu-5-million-dollar-trust-owner-trnd/?iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial



Lulu's owner, 83-year-old Bill Dorris, was Burton's friend and an unmarried, successful businessman. He died late last year and left $5 million for the care of his beloved pet. "I don't really know what to think about it to tell you the truth. He just really loved the dog," Burton said.

The will specifies: "This trust is to provide for all the needs of Lulu. The dog will remain in possession of Martha Burton."

According to WTVF, the estate is currently in probate and it's not yet clear how much it's worth. The will does state, however, that Burton will simply be reimbursed for reasonable monthly expenses to care for Lulu.


It's not clear what will happen to any money left in the trust when 8-year-old Lulu someday passes away.

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Lulu's late owner Dorris had a piece of property along Interstate 65 that is the site of a controversial statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was a Confederate general and an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

February 15, 2021

thousands of years of evidence that proves Earth is a spherical planet

&feature=youtu.be

https://twitter.com/AstronomyMag/status/1361246401854926848

https://astronomy.com/news/videos/2020/09/infinity--beyond--episode-7-flat-earth-conspiracy?utm_source=asytwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=asytwitter

February 14, 2021

The drawbacks of living in a 'tiny home' during a pandemic

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-Drawbacks-of-Living-in-a-Tiny-Home-During-a-15948828.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight

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“When the pandemic began, our tiny home started to feel a whole lot smaller,” said Davis, who has a lead generation business, working with small companies to generate business via her websites and marketing help, and runs a blog with her husband. “You feel trapped.”

Nearly a year of staying within four walls can wreak havoc on anyone’s mental health. But those living in the coveted tiny homes that gained popularity about a decade ago — designed to erase debt, constraints and other limitations — have faced some significant burdens. They are unable to store large amounts of food, toilet paper and other pandemic necessities; they’re trapped in very small spaces; and many who relied on showers at gyms lost access to those facilities because of pandemic lockdowns. Also, as public parks and camping grounds shuttered or limited visitors, many tiny homes lost their domains.

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She had planned on staying at the Mustang Island State Park on the gulf in Corpus Christi, Texas, until the coronavirus curve flattened, but the morning after her arrival, a ranger told her the park was closing. Gailloux needed a park that had full hookups, as she didn’t own a portable generator, has limited funds and could not find a store selling one for less than $1,000.

“I walked with my dog to the gulf, stood in the water and cried,” Gailloux said. “It was truly one of my lowest moments.”

She persuaded the ranger to let her stay for a few more days, but shortly after, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott closed all the campgrounds and public lands in Texas. Then, Gailloux’s tiny home broke down and had to be towed.

Now her beloved bus is in storage, emptied of all personal belongings and is for sale.

February 14, 2021

'To call this a vanity project is an insult to vanity projects' -movie made by wife of Steve Mnuchin

'To call this a vanity project is an insult to vanity projects': Steve Mnuchin's wife Louise Linton, 40, is panned by critics for new movie 'Me You Madness' where she plays a knife-wielding, sex-obsessed serial killer

CNN described it as an 'extended perfume commercial or music video, possessing roughly as much substance'

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: 'To call this a vanity project is an insult to vanity projects'

NBC blasted it 'a knockoff Louis Vuitton bag of a movie' and 'a perfect artifact of the Trump era'

The outlet also hit out at the timing of releasing a movie about the ultra rich at a time when the nation is crippled by mass unemployment



Linton, 40, wrote, produced, directed, starred in and financed the film where she plays a knife-wielding, sex-obsessed serial killer opposite Ed Westwick
The movie was available to stream on demand from February 12



As wife of the former treasury secretary, Linton was branded the 'Marie Antoinette of the Donald Trump administration' following a series of infamous photos where she showed off her wealth including a snap of the couple posing with freshly printed dollar bills.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9256993/Steve-Mnuchins-wife-Louise-Linton-40-panned-critics-new-movie-Madness.html

February 13, 2021

postman was too "knackered" to help 72 year old woman who had fallen in the snow

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/postman-left-pensioner-crying-snow-23492742

Frail and crying OAP left in snow by 'knackered' postman has lump 'as big as an egg'
Patricia Stewart, 72, shouted for help for around 20 minutes after slipping on ice and hitting her head outside her home in Bainsford, Falkirk

February 13, 2021

Serval jump

February 13, 2021

musical objects

February 13, 2021

Appalachian Fracking Boom Was a Jobs Bust, Finds New Report

https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking-jobs-bust-appalachia-2650514718.html

The fracking boom has received broad support from politicians across the aisle in Appalachia due to dreams of enormous job creation, but a report released on February 10 from Pennsylvania-based economic and sustainability think tank, the Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI), sheds new light on the reality of this hype.

The report looked at how 22 counties across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio — accounting for 90 percent of the region's natural gas production — fared during the fracking boom. It found that counties that saw the most drilling ended up with weaker job growth and declining populations compared to other parts of Appalachia and the nation as a whole.

Shale gas production from Appalachia exploded from minimal levels a little over a decade ago, to more than 32 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2019, or roughly 40 percent of the nation's total output. During this time, between 2008 and 2019, GDP across these 22 counties grew three times faster than that of the nation as a whole. However, based on a variety of metrics for actual economic prosperity — such as job growth, population growth, and the region's share of national income — the region fell further behind than the rest of the country.

February 13, 2021

'People are hurting': San Jose's largest Vietnamese mall hanging by a thread

https://sanjosespotlight.com/people-are-hurting-san-joses-largest-vietnamese-mall-hanging-by-a-thread/



Sometimes she’ll watch an Asian drama on her laptop. Other times, she’ll sit and people watch behind a countertop brimming with unopened skin care products. There’s the rare customer, of course, who might inquire about wrinkle prevention creams with just their eyes peeking out over their face mask.

But more often than not, she sits and waits.

“Right now, everyone’s wearing a mask. No one needs skincare products, so I haven’t been able to sell anything,” said Nancy, who declined to give her last name.

Not far from Nancy’s store, inside the food court, an employee there said the mall has lost 80% of its customers.

“It’s barren, paralyzed,” the employee, who works at Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa, a porridge restaurant, said in Vietnamese. “Some days, we sell only tens of dollars’ worth of food.”