Biden a clone, ketamine and paternity, goodbye toilet paper, whalespeak
It's National Rotisserie Chicken Day!
I’m back. And I can take a hint.
Most comments about KGB Report’s move to Substack were positive, but one observation from readers was consistent: the Report’s size made it a daunting read.
It often exceeded the character limit of some email services, forcing readers to view it on the Substack app or website. (Tip: If the newsletter is truncated in an email, look for a"View entire message" button. Click it, and you should be able to read the entire post in your email app.)
The email size was due to the material making up the bulk of the Report - holidays, on this day in history, etc., and their “invisible” but lengthy url links.
I’m going to significantly cut down on that content, featuring only items which are significant- which means those that pique my interest. I’ll also provide links to the resources I use to compile the material. The newsletter’s tone will be more like what appeared in the kgbreport.com blog.
You can also visit KGB Overset (actually my Substack Notes page) for the memes, cartoons, humor, news, and miscellany that didn’t fit in today’s newsletter. You can also follow on Bluesky or Facebook.
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Knee Deep in the Hoopla
What ketamine is doing to Elon Musk’s brain. (Video)
Tech bro had to go. (Maureen Dowd, NYT gift article)
Here’s the New York Times investigative piece revealing Musk’s drug abuse and paternity battles, including “his 14th known child.” (Gift article- no subscription needed)
One of the largest egg producers in the U.S. lost six million chickens, 95% of the chickens in Arizona, to the H5N1 bird flu. The rapid spread of H5N1 from wild birds to mammals, and even humans, is raising the stakes in the fight against avian influenza. So, of course, the Trump administration cancels plans to develop a bird flu vaccine.
“China moves decades ahead”: World’s first fusion-fission hybrid reactor set to eclipse U.S. efforts by 2030.
He was afraid the song would ruin the band’s rock and roll cred. It earned them $30 million. (Video)
This secret version of Windows 10 still gets updates until 2032. But do you want a version of the software that was frozen in 2021 and was designed to run ATMs and McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks?
We’re close to translating animal languages – what happens then? I’m guessing we’ll discover four-letter words exist in all species. (Video)
The clickbait headline says “Goodbye toilet paper—this alternative that’s taking Asia by storm could revolutionize bathrooms in the United States.” Right. Try talking grandpa into using a bidet.
If you’re looking for something to binge this summer, consider Person of Interest . The 103 episode series ran from 2011 to 2016 on CBS and was praised by critics as one of the best science-fiction series ever broadcast. The show’s premise is based on the existence of “The Machine”, an artificial super intelligent computer the government designed as a response to the 9/11 attacks. The Machine monitors- well, everything. The series’ premise became uncomfortably close to reality when, in 2013, Edward Snowden disclosed the National Security Agency’s PRISM project, a mass surveillance system disturbingly akin to the show’s Machine. The series is available on DVD and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. (Video)
Shirt of the day (click on image)
KGB Quote of the Day:
“The value of old age depends upon the person who reaches it. To some men of early performance it is useless. To others, who are late to develop, it just enables them to finish the job.”
--Thomas Hardy (Wikipedia link)
(More Thomas Hardy quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
American Indian Citizenship Day, I Love My Dentist Day, National "Thank God It's Monday" Day, National Bubba Day, National Leave the Office Early Day, National Rocky Road Day, National Rotisserie Chicken Day, Shavuot, and Yell "Fudge" at the Cobras in North America Day. Details here and here.
On This Day:
455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals entered Rome, and plundered the city for two weeks. (Video)
1935 – Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, ended his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, ten World Series, and 714 home runs. (Video)
1950 – US Senator Margaret Chase Smith delivered her "Declaration of Conscience" speech. Senator Smith stood up against Republican Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin and his supporters, who were running roughshod over American democracy. Too bad there are no Republicans like her today. (Video)
1953 – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey became the first British coronation and one of the first major international events to be televised. (Video)
2004 –Ken Jennings began his 74-game, $2,520,700 winning streak on the syndicated television game show "Jeopardy!" (Video)
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer and educator (died 1934), best remembered for his Pomp and Circumstance Marches. (Video)
1904 – Johnny Weissmuller (Johann Peter Weißmüller), Hungarian-American swimmer and actor (died 1984) (Video)
1937 – Sally Kellerman, American actress (died 2022) (Video)
1941 – Stacy Keach (Walter Stacy Keach Jr.), American actor (Video)
1944 – Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (died 2012) (Video)
1948 – Jerry Mathers, American actor (Video)
1955 – Dana Carvey, American comedian and actor (Video)
(Complete list of today’s birthdays.)
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Old KGBReport.com archives (not the stuff here on Substack)
Current weather in South Park, PA (Personal station on Weather Underground)
KGB Quotations Database Search (KGB Quote-A-Matic)
DCL Dialog Online (an archive of my DCL Dialogue columns which appeared in DEC Professional (later renamed Digital Age) magazine from March, 1987 through December, 1995.)