A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
Mosquitoes impact public health on a global scale and are considered the deadliest creatures on earth due to their spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, dengue, Zika, and malaria.
It doesn't have sharp teeth or claws, but the mosquito kills more people than any other animal on Earth. As the climate warms, mosquito season is lasting longer, giving them more time to spread dangerous diseases. Ben Tracy with Climate Central reports on why the insects are thriving, and the surprising way scientists are fighting back.
I'm recycling what I wrote last year for my reaction.
"Using one parasite that doesn't affect humans to reduce the ability of an insect to spread a parasite harmful to humans — clever! It's also not forever in the same way genetic modification is. Fine by me"...I think infecting them with Wolbachia is an example of a third law, "Nature knows best."
The technology has advanced so that it runs by mail order. Progress (and convenient, too).
That's a wrap for today's biodiversityholiday. PBS NewsHour has another segment on how scientists are fighting the effects of climatechange. Stay tuned to see if I feature it or return to Emmy Awards coverage tomorrow.
Brass instruments could soon become more expensive as the U.S. Department of Commerce has proposed a 25% tariff on brass-wind musical instruments, parts, and accessories. Brass-wind instruments are among 14 categories of products being considered for Section 232 tariffs on aluminum, steel, and copper.
I take this story personally, as I'm a brass player, having started off on French horn in middle school, switched to tuba in high school, which I also played in college and as an alumnus, and played baritone and contrabass bugle in drum corps, all brass instruments. Unless one thinks the brass instruments in military bands count, I don't consider brass instruments to be a national security issue. Also, it's not as if there is a lot of domestic production of brass instruments to protect, as WJHL mentions in 25% tariff proposal on brass instruments could spike costs for band students.
The U.S. Department of Commerce proposed a 25% tariff on imported brass-wind instruments, drawing negative feedback from local band programs and instrument shops.
U.S. instrument companies have offshored a lot of their production. Maybe these tariffs will bring some instrument manufacturing back to the U.S., but that will take a while. Tariffs will hurt music students now.
The administration declared brass instruments a national security threat. Paula Poundstone has a simpler idea. Today's thing: call your Representative and demand Trump be impeached. 84 days to November 3rd.
HAHAHAHAHA! But seriously, Congress has impeached Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump twice. Without convicting and removing him, it won't do any good. There aren't the votes to do any of that right now. It would be better to comment against this proposed tariff by August 27th and work to elect Democrats and independents who would provide majorities to impeach and convict Trump and his Cabinet officers next year.
I'm resuming my awards show coverage with the animation nominations. Here are the nominees and winners (yes, already) at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Animated Program
Bob's Burgers: "Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening" (Fox)
Rick and Morty: "There's Something About Morty" (Adult Swim)
The Simpsons: "Homer? A Cracker Bro?" (Fox)
Smiling Friends: "Le Voyage Incroyable de Monsieur Grenouille" (Adult Swim)
South Park: "Sermon on the 'Mount" (Comedy Central)
Star Wars: Visions: "BLACK" (Disney+)
South Park leads with three nominations, followed by Star Wars: Visions with one nomination and a win, The Simpsons with two nominations, and Bob's Burgers, Rick and Morty, and Smiling Friends with just this one nomination. Gold Derby's prediction page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also has South Park leading, as every editor, 90.9% of experts, and 92.6% of users believe it will win with professional and user opinion split among the rest of the nominees with the remaining 9.1% of experts and 1.7% of users selecting Smiling Friends while Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons tied at 2.5% of users each, followed by Rick and Morty with the final 0.8% of users. No one at Gold Derby thinks Star Wars: Visions has a chance, but the series earned an Emmy anyway in the next category.
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Juried)
Eyes of Wakanda: "Into the Lion's Den" – Uzoma Dunkwu (Disney+)‡
Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: "Kingdom of Sorrow" – David Krentz (Adult Swim)‡
Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: "Vengeance of Death" – Scott Wills (Adult Swim)‡
The Mighty Nein: "Mote of Possibility" – Howard Chen (Prime Video)‡
Star Wars: Visions: "The Duel: Payback" – Takashi Okazaki (Disney+)‡
Congratulations to all the winners, including Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal twice!
Pamela Adlon – King of the Hill: "Any Given Hill-Day" as Bobby Hill (Hulu)
Julie Andrews – Bridgerton: "The Waltz" as Lady Whistledown (Netflix)
Hank Azaria – The Simpsons: "Keep Chalm and Gary On" as Gary Chalmers (Fox)
Trey Parker – South Park: "The Crap Out" as Satan (Comedy Central)
Matt Vogel – The Muppet Show as Kermit the Frog (Disney+)
Steven Yeun – Invincible: "Don't Leave Me Hanging Here" as Mark Grayson / Invincible (Prime Video)
Julie Andrews leads with every expert, 66.7% of editors, and 79.6% of Gold Derby users selecting her to win. She's followed by Pamela Adlon with the remaining 33.3% of editors and 12.4% of users. The rest of the users are split among Trey Parker with 4.4%, Matt Vogel with 1.8%, then Hank Azaria and Steven Yeun tied at 0.9%.
The prognosticators are consolidating around Julie Andrews as every expert, 75% of editors, and 85.1% of users are now choosing her to win. Meanwhile, 25% of editors and 9.9% of users remain with Pamela Adlon, 4.1% of users are sticking with Trey Parker, and 0.8% maintain their support for Matt Vogel. Hank Azaria and Steven Yuen have lost all their voters. That took less than a week!
Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
The Boys: "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk" – "Raise Him Up" by Christopher Lennertz and Daveed Diggs (Prime Video)
Hacks: "EGOT" – "Mis Figuritas" by Carlos Rafael Rivera and David Stal (HBO Max)
The Pitt: "12:00 P.M." – "Need Someone" by Gavin Brivik and Andrew Bird (HBO Max)
South Park: "The Crap Out" – "Christian Woman" by Trey Parker (Comedy Central)
Spider-Noir: "A Mistake I'll Never Make Again" – "The Devil You Know" by Warren Oak Felder, Sebastian Kole, and Daniel Pemberton (MGM+ / Prime Video)
Wednesday: "Woe Me the Money" – "The Dead Dance" by Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt, and Henry Russell Walter (Netflix)
This is a three-way contest for the Emmy according to Gold Derby among "The Dead Dance" from Wednesday with 45.5% of experts, 50% of editors, and 56.3% of users expecting Lady Gaga will win her first Emmy, 27.3% of experts, 25% of editors, and 25.2% of users predicting The Boys will repeat with "Raise Him Up," and 18.2% of experts, the remaining 25% of editors, and 16.8% of users hoping Hacks will take home the Emmy for "Mis Figuritas." User and professional opinion split on their final choice, as 1.7% of users think "The Devil You Know" from Spider-Noir is the dark horse while the remaining 9.1% of experts think "Need Someone" will pick up a trophy as part of a sweep by The Pitt. No one thinks "Christian Woman" will win. Listen to A Christian Woman Knows Her Place — Singing ONLY — SOUTH PARK Christmas Song S28 Ep5 and hear why.
That's mean comedy like one would expect from South Park (and Borat) that succeeds at being a deliberately a bad song, bad enough to make me root even harder for Lady Gaga.
Follow over the jump for a category Gold Derby didn't handicap.
Since the late 1980s, Hollywood Video had grown to become the world's second largest video rental store. With well over 2,000 locations and 30,000 employees, the billion dollar chain was truly enormous, capitalizing on the insatiable growth of the video rental market. However, after an acquisition by Movie Gallery and two subsequent bankruptcies, it all came crashing down. Join me as we find out why.
Oh, look, a leveraged buyout and private equity! Why am I not surprised? Also, Netflix played the role that Amazon usually plays, the big disruptive competitor representing the future of the sector.
On a more personal note, I rented movies from Hollywood Video when I was a homeowner in Ann Arbor through most of the 1990s. When I got divorced and moved to the Irish Hills, I passed the Blockbuster at the edge of town when my kids visited me for the weekend, not the Hollywood Video, so I rented from there. Later, I became a customer of Family Video. Blockbuster's decline made enough news that Business Insider included it among ten of the companies that went out of business last decade and I watched a video about the last Family Video in Michigan that closed in 2021. I didn't even notice when Hollywood Video went out of business. I just looked around one day and noticed there weren't any. Thanks to Jake Williams of Bright Sun Films for explaining how and when that happened.
National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory explores the extraordinary lives of bees — among the planet’s most important animals. Over three years, special cameras opened a rare window into a single hive, revealing their hidden world. With more than 20,000 bee species pollinating one-third of the world’s food, this series uncovers their astonishing architecture and intelligence, unlocking their secrets.
National Geographic explorer and narrator of "Secrets of the Bees" Bertie Gregory talks about the new miniseries "Secrets of the Bees," streaming on Disney+ and Hulu on April 1.
Gregory did a good job of explaining the series, which I expect will be nominated at next year's News & Doc Emmy Awards, but he'd better. That his series is on National Geographic and he's promoting it on ABC News is not a coincidence. Disney owns both. As I wrote most recently in 'The Mythology of the Backrooms Explained' by Storied plus 'Backrooms' box office, it's not just news value that's driving the story. I can say the same about Inside Nat Geo's 'Secret of the Bees' from Good Morning America, an ABC News program.
The new series uses cutting-edge technology to reveal the world of bees in a whole new way.
I'm looking forward to blogging about this show two or three more times, when it's nominated for Outstanding Nature Documentary and Outstanding Cinematography - Documentary next spring, on World Bee Day, and maybe when and if it wins an Emmy or two. In the meantime, I can recommend the series to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.
Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show (Disney+)
Wicked: One Wonderful Night (NBC)
The Muppet Show and Wicked: One Wonderful Night co-lead with six nominations each, followed by Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show with five, Nikki Glaser: Good Girl with three, and Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... with two. Gold Derby's prediction page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards also has The Muppet Show leading with 90% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 71.3% of users electing it to win. They reverse Wicked: One Wonderful Night and Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show as the latter has the vote of the remaining 10% of experts and 66.7% of editors plus 18.0% while the former only has the support of 8.2% of users. The professionals are split! The users also reverse Nikki Glaser: Good Girl and Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... with the former ranked fifth at 0.8% and the latter in fourth with 1.6%.
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Pamela Adlon – King of the Hill: "Any Given Hill-Day" as Bobby Hill (Hulu)
Julie Andrews – Bridgerton: "The Waltz" as Lady Whistledown (Netflix)
Hank Azaria – The Simpsons: "Keep Chalm and Gary On" as Gary Chalmers (Fox)
Trey Parker – South Park: "The Crap Out" as Satan (Comedy Central)
Matt Vogel – The Muppet Show as Kermit the Frog (Disney+)
Steven Yeun – Invincible: "Don't Leave Me Hanging Here" as Mark Grayson / Invincible (Prime Video)
Julie Andrews leads with every expert, 66.7% of editors, and 79.6% of Gold Derby users selecting her to win. She's followed by Pamela Adlon with the remaining 33.3% of editors and 12.4% of users. The rest of the users are split among Trey Parker with 4.4%, Matt Vogel with 1.8%, then Hank Azaria and Steven Yeun tied at 0.9%.
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special
Chris Fleming: Live at the Palace – Chris Fleming (HBO)
The Muppet Show – Albertina Rizzo, Gabe Liedman, Nedaa Sweiss, Kelly Younger, and Andrew Williams (Disney+)
Nikki Glaser: Good Girl – Nikki Glaser (Hulu)
The Oscars – Amberia Allen, Jose Arroyo, Josh Comers, Dan Cronin, Jessie Gaskell, Skyler Higley, Berkley Johnson, Ian Karmel, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Carol Leifer, Todd Levin, Jon Macks, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, Agathe Panaretos, Mike Sweeney, Levi MacDougall, and Eric Roth (ABC)
Wanda Sykes: Legacy – Wanda Sykes (Netflix)
Gold Derby predicts The Muppet Show will win this award, too, with every editor, 50% of editors, and 87.9% of users picking it. The remaining 50% of editors and 4.3% of users chose Chris Fleming: Live at the Palace to upset. The rest of the user vote is split among Nikki Glaser: Good Girl at 6.9% and Wanda Sykes: Legacy at 0.9%. The Oscars have no support at all!
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny – Hamish Hamilton (NBC)
Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... – Rikki Hughes (Netflix)
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour: The Final Show – Glenn Weiss (Disney+)
78th Annual Tony Awards – Glenn Weiss (CBS)
Wanda Sykes: Legacy – Julie Dash (Netflix)
Once again, every expert and editor plus 94.3% of users have Hamish Hamilton taking home the statuette. Glenn Weiss for both Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour: The Final Show and 78th Annual Tony Awards ties himself at 2.9% each, so he has a combined 6.8 5.8% chance, while no one thinks Rikki Hughes for Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... and Julie Dash for Wanda Sykes: Legacy have a chance.
Despite my using the Twitter/X publicity image for Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable..., Gold Derby still thinks its director has no chance. On the other hand, users are trickling away from The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny to Glenn Weiss's projects, splitting their votes evenly at 3.5% for 7% total. I'm not convinced.
Outstanding Music Direction
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny – Miguel Gandelman (NBC)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Series Finale" – Louis Cato (CBS)
The Oscars – Michael Bearden (ABC)
Saturday Night Live: "Host: Jack Black" – Lenny Pickett, Leon Pendarvis, Eli Brueggemann, and Maddie Rice (NBC)
Wicked: One Wonderful Night – Stephen Oremus (NBC)
For the third and final time, every expert and editor along with 90.1% of users think The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny will win, giving Miguel Gandelman an Emmy. Wicked: One Wonderful Night notched 9.1% of users, The Oscars 0.8%, and the rest of the field earned no votes at all.
This may be Wicked: One Wonderful Night's best shot at winning, but even here user opinion is consolidating around The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny with 91.6% and all the rest with Wicked: One Wonderful Night at 8.4%. The users have abandoned The Oscars, which has joined the rest of the field without any votes at all.
Happy WorldElephantDay! I found two videos for today that illustrate a point I make about elephants, that they are ecosystem engineers, foundation species that not only maintain an ecosystem, like keystone species such as sea otters, but can re-establish ecosystems. Watch World Elephant Day 2026 from American Humane Society.
Take elephants out of Africa, and the landscape itself begins to change. Their absence would be felt far beyond the herd, in the forests they help renew, the water sources they uncover and the habitats their movement creates for countless other species. Elephants are not simply part of Africa’s biodiversity; they are one of the forces that help sustain it. This World Elephant Day, help us protect these extraordinary animals and the living landscapes shaped by their presence.
India is home to more than 60% of the world’s Asian elephants—a distinction that comes with a deep responsibility.
From 33 Elephant Reserves and more than 150 identified elephant corridors to science-led monitoring and mitigation measures across 77 critical railway stretches, India continues to strengthen efforts for elephant conservation.
Technology, scientific research, frontline forest teams and local communities are all playing an important role in creating safer landscapes for elephants and people.
On World Elephant Day 2026, we celebrate India’s elephants and reaffirm our commitment to conserving the habitats and landscapes they call home.
John Oliver discusses how the Department of Justice has changed since Trump took office for his second term, how the DOJ seems to be acting on his behalf instead of on behalf of the people, and why we need barbers who use scissors instead of their teeth. You’d think that goes without saying, but we’re afraid it might not.
I've been following the protestsagainstICE and the follies around the ReflectingPool, so I'm familiar with DOJ's legal failures involving them. I also read Marcy "Emptywheel" Wheeler, who has a Weaponized DOJ category on her blog, so I've also read about the cases investigating serious crimes that were dropped to concentrate on immigration and Pervert Hoover's political enemies. While I've encountered Harmeet Dhillon's name and office there, I had no idea she and Pervert Hoover had ended the agreement about septic systems in Alabama because of environmental justice and DEI. As an environmentalist who thinks diversity is a strength, I'm offended. Just the same, thanks to Last Week Tonight's researchers for finding the story.
That's a wrap for today's holiday. Tomorrow is WorldElephantDay, so stay tuned to see if I blog about it.
