NEW YEAR'S EVE BALL DROP FLOP!

Sharing the disappointment of many as let down by the New Year's Eve coverage as I was. Turned to NBC, which had a brief shot of the Times Square ball lit up, ready to drop, then the countdown, and NO footage of the ball actually dropping! Immediately switched to ABC but of course by then it had already dropped, but apparently their footage was no better. Can't find any online either of the ball actually dropping, just of when it stopped and the year lit up.

At first I thought something either went wrong with the ball itself, or maybe Donald Trump or someone had cornered exclusive filming rights and was going to sue anyone else who shot it, but now it just seems a major screwup on the part of numerous organizations. Would think those who spent long hours of time and trouble crafting that beautiful ball and light display to have it seen ONLY by those who bothered freezing for hours in New York would be majorly upset! So glad to have missed the "commentary," which seems to have consisted of celebrities many never heard of saying things best not heard! Johnny Carson's fake mockup the year they cancelled due to threats was WAY better!

On Friday, February 26th @ 7:30 p.m., at the Egyptian Theater there will be a celebration of life for a man that was mentored by Ray. The public is invited to George Clayton Johnson Day.

The calendar for February has not been populated yet: http://www.americancinemathequ...dar_egyptian/2016-02

I should add that one frequent visitor to this blog should make sure to read the parking signs in Hollywood before selecting where he'd like to have his car towed from this time.

quote:

Originally posted by jkt:
I should add that one frequent visitor to this blog should make sure to read the parking signs in Hollywood before selecting where he'd like to have his car towed from this time.

I'm sure everybody will read the signs, no matter how well-hidden!

Hallelujah! Signed Mom and myself up for Life Alert!

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Hallelujah! Signed Mom and myself up for Life Alert!

Well, don't fall and not be able to get up!

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:

quote:

Originally posted by dandelion:
Hallelujah! Signed Mom and myself up for Life Alert!

Well, don't fall and not be able to get up!

Cute! The idea of subscribing to this service is not because you're planning for this to happen! Does falling and having to crawl back inside because you can't stand count?

Powerball Jackpot stands at $1.4 billion and counting.

Personally I believe there should be a new multi-state lottery, or reform in the existing ones. A relative with whom I happen to agree on this pointed out once when one of these jackpots grew ridiculously high, they could help the economy much more by creating a game where 300 people won $1 million, than one poor person struggling under the load of $300 million! All they would have to do is create a game with better odds. Then maybe even people good at math will play!

P. S. Also as far as odds go, I wonder what the odds are that the winner will even be someone you know!

Watching a series, Colony, today that is on Thursday nights on USA Network. The opening scene of last night's episode has a teacher being arrested for teaching from Fahrenheit 451

I would have been guilty of this same crime for many years. F451 was on a banned list, no doubt?

The Ray Bradbury Read is announced:

http://stevenpaulleivasthisnthat.blogspot.com/

August 11th: http://www.southpasadenaca.gov...age=20&recordid=3427

Last night Ray won two Retro Hugo Awards. One for Best Fanzine (Futuria Fantasia) and one for Best Fan Writer.

http://www.thehugoawards.org/h...1-retro-hugo-awards/

Awards.jpg (111 Kb, 6 downloads)

NPR repeated Rachel Bloom's appearance on Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!, today.

Here is a transcript of the appearance:
http://www.npr.org/2016/05/07/...-crazy-ex-boyfriends

Here is the PodCast:
http://www.npr.org/programs/wa...ll-me-for-may-7-2016

Not posting this on Facebook, but thought it might prove of interest elsewhere. Today while passing behind the local thrift store I saw its industrial-sized dumpster overflowing mostly with books. Those on top appeared to be mostly trashy paperbacks--if I'd seen any I wanted I would have grabbed them. I didn't have my phone at the time to take a picture, so ran some errands and came back with my phone. To my shock the dumpster was completely empty! A lady parked nearby saw me looking and asked what the issue was. I told her I was planning to take a picture of the dumpster full of books to post as an example of the decline and fall of culture. (I wasn't going to mention the store's or town's name but of course on Facebook everyone from this town would know where the picture was taken.) She said that would have hurt the store which has enough trouble as it is.

I asked if the trash collectors got the books, and if this was their usual pickup time. She said yes they got them and no this wasn't their usual time--they made a special trip and the store had to pay for it! I said that seemed a shame considering the recycling bins take books for free. She said she had no one to take them there if so and would have been glad to recruit me. Of course it would have taken hours to haul that volume of books, and they definitely wouldn't have all fit in the recycling bin nearest the store which was stuffed nearly full, and I doubt would have fit in both bins if taken there separately. (The town has only two such bins that I know of.) She said the books had been there six months and were taking up valuable space which could be occupied by items the store could sell for profit. What say all here?