May 092026
 

Yesterday was David Attenborough’s 100th birthday. The first email I saw about it had the subject line “100 years of David Attenborough” which made me think we had lost him – but, thankfully, we have not. He is so well known and loved. Some years ago I went to a college theater production featuring the three winners of a contest for one-act plays. The one I remember best had three actors – two were visible and were a boy and a girl mayfly. The third, invisible inside a prop TV set was David Attenborough narratibg a program about the life cycle of Mayflies, which you probably know is in the neighborhood of 24 hours. The two Mayfly characters were getting increasingly panicked that they wouldn’t have time to reproduce. It was very funny. (The second was about Philip Glass tring to place a bakery order in the style of his music. That was funny too, but not as funny as the Mayflies. I don’t remember the third at all.)

From Press Watch. Suggestions to more wimpy news media about how to report on the Evil Emperor

From Bowers News Media. Yes, the voters in Virginia overwhelmingly voted for a [temporary) distrct map skewed Democratic – and the Virginia Supreme Court immediatelu struck it down. Bowers News Media is big on sharing things ordinary people can do – some are always not feasible, geographically or physically or budget-wise.

https://www.propublica.org/article/kids-tear-gas-trump-immigration-crackdown
From ProPublica. The war and some other things have kind of pushed this out of the news. It’s not all video – there are just three to scroll down past in order to get to content.

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Apr 172026
 

Yesterday, I was fairly well rested, and even managed to get to bed early (for me.)  Malcolm Nance mentioned more or less in passing. that Australia has been hurting for oil and  that now one of their only two oil refineries there has blown up. If that interferes with internet there, it may be a while before we hear from Lona. He also mentioned (it was breaking news to him – and he was shocked) that Justin Fairfax, former LtGov of Virginia apparently shot his wife and himself, but apparently not their teen children. I expect The Root will have more information.

No telling whether the archive is needed – we all get at least one free story a month, but I have no way of knowing whether any of you have used yours. So, archived to be safe and save time. This is sad – but I can’t call it unexpected, alas.

[analysis Magyar election] I was a bit taken aback by the new Prime Minister’s name which I now know I have been pronouncing wrong all my life.) I thought about it off and on trying to think of similar names. First I came up with xomposer and conductor Edward German (he wasn’t.) Eventually I also remembered a General while I was in the Marines – Lowell English (he was American, but I suppose at least some of his ancestors were English.)
(Also, her letter dated April 15 reviews Lincoln’s assassination on April 14 – and how Andrew Johnson undermined reconstruction almost before it started.

Another analysis piece, this one from ProPublica. Of course, investigation was needed in order to publish it with receipts. But couldn’t you have predicted it? I would think any sane person could have. The more people you arrest at random, the less likely any of them is to be a criminal.

Brian Tyler Cohen is not a favorite of mine, partly because his videos are so long. But this one is the only place I have seen anything about this stunt – and as far as I’m concerned you can shut it off when he finishes with that part. (even in full, it’s only 8½ minutes – which is very short for him)

Dog

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