Old Man

RNC asks job applicants if they believe 2020 election was stolen in ‘litmus test’
 

Boston mom says 3-year-old son with special needs was restrained to chair by teacher

It's a great place to celebrate Defenestration Day, too!

It's a great place to celebrate Defenestration Day, too!

Can you open the windows in the Empire State building or do you have to throw the person through them?  Asking for a friend.

I've had a hard time thinking of a title, so if it's not too late, I'll go with the obvious: Up Schitt's Creek, in the Dark, with No Spear

And being poisoned by Shelob.  Also...physical or psychological complications from the mental battle against the Ring, and when in Mordor, seeing the Eye.  It's no surprise that he only stays in the Shire for less than 2 years.
 
But he did pick up Favors...really big ones...and Reputation.  So maybe it's close to a wash.

Okay, about that concert:
 
Journey put on a spectacular show. They had great energy and engagement. Arnel Pineda (who's my age(!)) was running all over the stage, climbing onto speaker stacks,holding the mic out to the audience ... oh, and singing the vocals like they were written for him. Fantastic range and tone. Neal Schon (the only founding member remaining) was impressive on guitar, slinging out the solos front and center. Longtime guitarist / keyboardist Jonathan Cain took over hosting duties for about the second half of the set, telling some of the stories behind the songs. They played about 20 songs, with two extended guitar solos and one piano solo (during which times the rest of the band changed outfits and presumably took care of basic biological needs). Cain came out for the second half wearing a Utah Grizzlies hockey jersey, which was pretty cool. They played all their big hits and a couple of lesser-known songs. If you've heard the 2-CD The Essential Journey, that was basically their playlist. The mixing was a little off; it was too loud for the venue overall, too heavy in the bass and too light in the midrange. But the band had solid musicianship, enthusiastic performances, and memorable songs. Like I said, they put on a great show.
 
But Toto was better.
 
I mean no disrespect to Journey here, but Toto was amazing.
 
Toto opened the show. They did only nine songs, which kind of bummed me out. Obviously they did "Rosanna", "Hold the Line", and "Africa". They did a couple of other lesser hits, "99" and "I'll Be Over You". They did a cover or Bob Seger's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends". But they also did three non-singles: they opened with "Girl Goodbye" from their first album, played "Home of the Brave" for The Seventh One, and also played "Dying On My Feet" from 2006's Falling In Between. Fewer songs, but they played them flawlessly. The mixing was perfect; highs, lows, and midrange were all clear and the vocals were easy to understand. Guitarist Steve Lukather (Luke) acted as host, introducing and telling stories about all the songs. He also took a few minutes to introduce the band members. Like Schon, he's the only founding member left, though the band does include longtime members Joseph Williams (son of composer John Williams) and Greg Phillinganes. In introducing the band, Luke talked about how his mom and the bass player's mom were both pregnant with them at the same time living on the same street, how the drummer played on all of Taylor Swift's hits the first time around, and how the second keyboardist was actually on loan from his son's band, which also includes Nick Collins (Phil's son). He mentioned how he had met Greg while they were both doing studio work on Thriller—at which point he casually dropped the opening guitar riff from "Beat It". He also had Joseph sing the "Hakuna Matata" bit from The Lion King—Williams was the singing voice of the adult Simba in the film. Luke also mentioned how Toto and Journey were now family, since his son had married Jonathan Cain's daughter. (Cain mentioned it later as well.) Toto came across as a lot more laid back in their part of the show, but their playing was clean and tight. They were like a bunch of old friends who just happened to have got together to play music for 15,000 people one night.
 
All in all, a fantastic and memorable evening.
 
 

Dammit...
 
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after being struck by ship. Rescuers search for people in water

Especially when that week is the first week of a new academic quarter.   But yes, I will report ... in the fullness of time. Expect it when you see it.

Too soon...?
 

Airship factory opening in Tribble's backyard

My backyard is not big enough for one of those. The park opposite my house on the other hand....

Airship factory opening in Tribble's backyard

I know already that there is at least one RPG player with NASA (and in the astronaut corps, in fact).  Hope he had a hand in this.

Front left.  Biggest burner, closest to the sink, no small inquisitive hands.

Second grader tries to organize classmates to adopt a horse as class pet.  (Longish tiktok video but you have to watch till the end.)