'Trump' hijacks the Resurrection to sell Bibles on 'SNL' for Easter

Happy Easter! As I have the past two years, I'm celebrating with the Easter cold open from the previous night's Saturday Night Live. Watch as James Austin Johnson's Trump hijacks the Resurrection to sell Bibles in Easter Cold Open - SNL.

Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) advertises his God Bless the USA bible.

With luck and hard work by his opponents, we won't have Donald Trump in power and possibly even the news next Easter. If we do, we'll have worse things to worry about than an SNL Easter skit with Trump as Pontius Pilate or the equivalent.

Mocking of TFG selling Bibles resumed in Weekend Update: Trump Selling $60 Bibles, Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapses.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama attending a fundraiser for President Joe Biden in New York City.

Wow, it was a busy news week! At least the SNL writers found time for Boeing's current problems, including Boeing’s embattled CEO being poised to walk away with millions. Nothing like a golden parachute for jumping out of a malfunctioning airplane!

Weekend Update continued with Robotic Police Dog Shot, Oppenheimer Premiers in Japan.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like a famous Washington D.C. cherry blossom tree getting chopped down.

The Oscar-winning Oppenheimer opening in Japan makes today's post worthy of being the Sunday entertainment feature. A robotic police "dog" being shot reminds us that we live in science fiction times complete with 21st Century crime scenes. Also, pour one out for poor Stumpy, although the tree's genes will live on.

Follow over the jump for the rest of Weekend Update, two Ramadan skits, and a recap of last year's top SNL posts.

'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning' and 'The Last of Us' lead nominees at the fourth Critics Choice Super Awards

It's time to examine the nominees for the Critics Choice Super Awards!

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced today the nominees for the 4th annual Critics Choice Super Awards, honoring the most popular, fan-obsessed genres across both television and movies, including Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, and Action. Winners will be revealed on Thursday, April 4, 2024. “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” leads this year’s film nominees, earning five nominations including Best Action Movie. Tom Cruise received a nomination for Best Actor in an Action Movie, while Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson and Pom Klementieff all received nods for Best Actress in an Action Movie.

“The Last of Us” leads this year’s television nominees with seven nominations including Best Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. Pedro Pascal received nods for both Best Actor in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actor in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie, while Bella Ramsey earned a nominations for both Best Actress in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actress in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. Melanie Lynskey was also nominated for Best Villain in a Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. (Superhero categories also include Comic Book and Video Game Inspired series.)

“The Super Awards consistently shine a bright light on the outstanding work being done in genre cinema and television,” said Sean O’Connell, CCA Director of the Super Awards. “We were blown away by the performances and craftsmanship that went into the slate of films and series recognized this year. These nominations represent the absolute best in popular culture, and we’re excited to see which winners emerge.”

Consistently, yes, but only for the past four years, while the Saturn Awards have done so 51 times since 1973, when Slaughterhouse Five and Blacula won. As a Saturn Awards voter since 2017, I feel I have to point that out. That written, I usually vote what I like to consider to be the professional over the popular choice, so I'm very interested in what one group of entertainment professionals, the critics, think of speculative fiction movies and TV shows and how that compares to the more heterogeneous electorate for the Saturn Awards. Follow over the jump for the movie nominees.

Randy Rainbow asks 'HOW WILL YOU VOTE?' for Flashback Friday

Happy Flashback Friday! It's finally time to start my retrospectives of the top posts of the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News with the subject of the top entry actually posted during the blogging year just ended, Randy Rainbow.* Since this is a Flashback Friday, Randy is not putting out new videos while he's on tour, and the major party presidential nominees will almost certainly be the same as four years ago, I'm celebrating today with a video that turns out to be just as timely now as it was then, Randy asking HOW WILL YOU VOTE? - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody.


I know who I'm voting for in November. Do you?

Follow over the jump for the top posts featuring Randy Rainbow during the 13th year of this blog.

CityNerd explains 'All the Ways Car Dependency Is Wrecking Us'

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for a regular post" and I'm delivering with Ray Delahanty as CityNerd explaining All the Ways Car Dependency Is Wrecking Us.

By popular demand -- a comprehensive review of all the ways car dependency destroys our communities, our health, and our planet. With gratuitous commentary by your host!

It looks like I have to update the headline statistic in U.S. traffic deaths reached nearly 43,000 in 2021, the most in 16 years, a driving update, which I had telling my students to make a point. The actual number is 4,000 higher, 46,980. They would be even more shocked if I told them more than one million people die every year in car crashes, including collisions with pedestrians, worldwide. Yikes! Also, I make that comparison between the safety of cars and commercial airlines every year as an analogy for the day-to-day safety of coal-fired power plants and nuclear plants. Both commercial air travel and nuclear power plants are much safer than personal automobile travel and coal-powered plants, even accounting for Boeing's current problems and meltdowns. Nuclear waste? We haven't got there yet.

The rest of the list is just as enlightening and I plan on sharing the highlights as stories I tell my students. I hope they learn them, too. As for me, it's always a good day when I learn something new and I learned a lot from this video.

It's Wayback 'Wednesday'

I was working on a post that was going to take too long, so I made this meme instead. I like the idea of Wednesday Addams as a mascot for Wayback Wednesday. I hope my readers do, too.

Stay tuned for a regular post tomorrow.

Stats for the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Throwback Tuesday

As I wrote yesterday, "Stay tuned for stats!"

As of 11:59 PM EDT March 20, 2024, this blog had a lifetime total of 4,463,208 page views, 5,798 total posts, and 4,057 comments. Minus the 3,821,974 page views, 5,418 total posts, and 3,979 comments as of just before March 20, 2023, that means this blog earned 641,234 page views and 78 published comments on 380 posts during the 366 days of the 13th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. My calculated page views are close to the ~640,000 page views Blogger's counter showed during the past twelve months, which I think covered April 1, 2023 to March 20, 2024, but wildly off from the 199 comments it counted during the same period. Blogger aggressively threw a lot of comments into the spam filter beginning about February 2023, including some that were not spam and which I had to approve to display again, which would explain the more than 100 comment difference. Blogger also aggressively held a lot of comments in the spam filter and never published them. That's O.K. I don't miss the spam.

I also don't miss the anxiety I was feeling when I wrote last year's post. This past year's 641,234 page views beats the year before's 419,300 page views on 379 posts between March 21, 2022 and March 20, 2023. It's also more than the 532,981 page views the blog earned between March 21, 2021 and March 20, 2022. Had I actually followed through on raising my page view goal to 25,000 per 29 days, which translates to 862 page views per day, I would have easily exceeded the 315,517 page view goal for the 366 days of the blogging year. Yay!

I'm also no longer working harder for fewer page views, as the blog earned 1,687.46 page views per post and 1,752.01 page views per day. That's much better than the 1,106.33 page views per post and 1,148.77 page views per day last year and the 1,452.26 page views per post and 1,460.22 page views per day the year before that. Whew. Still, I'm not tempted to increase my page view goals this coming year.

While the raw number of comments, including spam never released from the spam filter, increased from 168 to 199, the published comments remaining at the end of the blogging year decreased from 122 to 78. Since I don't have comment goals, I'm not concerned. I'd prefer fewer quality comments than a lot of spam.

As for my commenters who aren't spammers, I'd like to thank them, beginning with continuing commenters Infidel753, Nebris, the first commenter on my blog, Friend of the Court, and best man at my first wedding Narb Xorbian. Keep up the good work! I also want to thank H-bob, tronvillain, August Johnson, Noah, Marc McKenzie, Realityhold, Steve in Manhattan, and my student Ecogranite for making their first posts here. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost longtime commenters Paul W. and Sarnia Sam, while last year's first-time commenters Powers, Sicko Ricko, Expat, verbum, Buzzcook, Bruce.desertrat, and emjayjay didn't return. Come back, I miss you!

Follow over the jump for the rest of the analysis.

CityNerd examines 'Why Americans Live So Far Away From Everything,' a driving update

Happy Holi! Normally, I'd write an entire post about the holiday, but, like Purim, I'm just not feeling it.* Besides, I have something else in mind, a driving update. I begin with CityNerd examining Why Americans Live So Far Away From Everything.

"Super commuting": when your job is in one metropolitan area and you live in a completely different metro area. With the intensifying housing affordability crisis and the increase in hybrid work schedules, there are more long work trips than ever...but are they really "super"?

Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty has interesting things to say about super commuting, but that's not what prompted me to leave a comment on this video. Instead, I focused on something more personal.

The preview image looked eerily familiar, so I zoomed in the sign listing the exits and read "Yorba Linda Blvd. Weir Canyon Road" then CA 241. That's heading east on CA 91 just past the intersection with CA 90 in Anaheim Hills. Hey, I used to live within a mile of where that picture was taken! Appropriately for the video, I commuted to downtown LA from there.

I elaborated on this at my Dreamwidth, adding "That was about the background, which probably came from a drone carrying a telephoto lens, because the mountains would otherwise be much smaller. The foreground has been added from a traffic jam in Arizona." Check out the Arizona license plate and U of A sticker to see why I think so.

That's my personal reaction to the general driving update. Follow over the jump for my personal driving update.

Marche du Nain Rouge returns

As I promised yesterday, I'm resuming coverage of Marche du Nain Rouge for the first time since the pandemic began. Because it's been five years since I last covered the parade and I have lots of new readers, I'm reintroducing the subject with The History of Detroit's Nain Rouge by MLive.

Throughout Detroit's history, the legend of the Nain Rouge (Red Dwarf) dates back to its founder, Antoine Cadillac. This Detroit Devil has been spotted on the eve of Detroit's worst events in its history and as the legend goes, is feared to be the harbinger of disaster for Detroit if spotted.

MLive produced that video in October 2020, a year of no Marche du Nain Rouge, and disaster did befall the city, although no one claimed to see the Nain Rouge. I guess that's because the disaster was global, not local, so not a result of the Nain Rouge's curse.

Under the Radar Michigan uploaded Marche du Nain Rouge - Detroit just before the parade returned in 2022.


That's the Nain I remember, a complete jerk!

WDIV/Click on Detroit covered the return in Revelers march to banish Nain Rouge from Detroit in annual tradition.


I'm glad to see the event return, too.

WDIV has a preview of this year's parade, which is forming up as I type this, in Marche du Nain Rogue in Midtown Detroit: What to know.

What started as a parade attended by a couple hundred people back in 2010 has grown into a parade that draws in thousands of attendees every year.

Here's to everyone enjoying themselves at today's celebration of Detroit's hidden history. May they have even more fun marching and partying that I had writing this entry!

Marching music for the Louisiana and Missouri primaries

I'm continuing my series of marching music for primaries and caucuses with this year's edition of marching music for the Louisiana primary, then working my way up the Mississippi River to Missouri for the Show Me State's primary. Since Louisiana had the competitive drum corps in the two states, I'm kicking off the music to watch and listen while waiting for results with Louisiana Stars | #dci2022 | Spellbound.

Lafayette, LA | 30th Place | 70.025

Lafayette, Louisiana's Louisiana Stars perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Spellbound," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

That's just the official clip. For the full show, I'm sharing Louisiana Stars 2022: “Spellbound” @ Portage, Michigan from Luke Herbert, an unofficial upload that is an original, not a rip of a FloMarching feed, so it might just remain up.*


This looks like a show I could recycle for a drum corps Halloween and there is a reaction video of the entire show with a great preview already. So long as it's still there when the last week of October rolls around, I've penciled it in.

Now the HBCU band I featured four years ago, Southern University Human Jukebox Homecoming 2023 Halftime Show.


That was fun, which is why I featured it.

Follow over the jump for two marching bands from Missouri.

International water crises for World Water Day from CNA, VOA, and PBS

Happy World Water Day! I begin today's observance of the day with Singapore's CNA reporting World Water Day: Water can be a tool for peace when communities, countries cooperate, says UN.

World Water Day falls on Mar 22. It is marked every year by the United Nations (UN) and the world to inspire positive ripple effects to tackle the global water crisis. The theme this year, amid growing concerns over wars, is “Water for Peace”. The UN says water can create peace or spark conflict, playing a critical role in stability and prosperity. CNA's Julie Yoo has the details.

The statistics Julie Yoo cites for the distribution and availability of fresh water are the same ones I tell my students using a graphic similar to this one from PBS.


It certainly puts things in perspective and I hope it makes an impression on my students.

Yoo's report for CNA emphasized international conflict and cooperation in Asia. Voice of America took a more global view and included private actors indirectly moving water in World Water Day: Corporations Accused of ‘Grabbing’ Water From Global South | VOANews.

There is a growing risk of conflict over water as climate change takes hold, according to the United Nations, which marks World Water Day on Friday. Meanwhile, aid agency Oxfam accuses global corporations of grabbing water from poorer countries to boost profits. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.

Seeing South Africa's water shortage reminds me that the second post I wrote for this day was Cape Town's Day Zero for World Water Day 2018. Same country, different city.

Also, the transfer of water from the global south to the global north reminds me of another story I tell my students, I=P*A*T, "where I is impact, P is population, A is affluence, and T is technology." Affluence increases environmental impact both through the ability to demand resources and the waste that resource use creates. While technology is the only way to reduce the impact from population and affluence through efficiency, it can also make the impact worse. The technologies allowing the international transfer of water through food and other products might just fall into that latter category.

Some water shortages have mostly local causes other than climate change, as PBS News Weekend reported two weeks ago in Mexico City is running out of water. Here’s why and how millions of residents are affected.

Mexico City, one of the world's most populous cities, could be just months away from running out of water. It’s a crisis brought on by geography, growth and leaky infrastructure, all compounded by the effects of climate change. Journalist Emily Green joins John Yang to discuss the situation.

The irony of this is that Mexico City was built on a lake and much of that water is still under the city. That's another story I tell my students, but I'm saving it for another time.

Tomorrow features a traffic jam of topics, with Purim, blog stats, and Louisiana primary all on the agenda. I've skipped Purim before so I might do it again. Stay tuned.

Company Man explains the song rights to 'Happy Birthday' for the 13th birthday of the blog

Nowruz Mubarak! Happy International Day of Nowruz AKA Persian New Year and happy 13th birthday of this blog! I'm changing the emphasis a bit for today's celebration because this blog is now a teenager. Birthday first!

I found just the video for today's observance, Company Man's Happy Birthday - Song Rights. Take it away, Company Man Mike!

It's a song we all know, yet we were unable to sing it on TV, in movies, or even in restaurants. This video explores why this was the case and why this is no longer the case.

This is a story I should have shared years ago, but I'm happy to spread good news whenever I learn about it. If my readers already know about it, great! If not, I hope they learned something and feel the same I do about any day I learn something new, that it's a good day.

With that, I'm once again wishing my blog a happy 13th birthday!


Before today, I didn't realize that "Happy Birthday" has 13 letters. Count the letters and candles yourself.

And to everyone who celebrates it, Nowruz Mubarak, happy Persian New Year!


Stay tuned for World Water Day tomorrow, followed by more celebrations of the 13th year of this blog.

PBS NewsHour and SciShow explain the difficulties of recycling plastic and plastic pollution

I'm returning to another evergreen topic on the last day of the blogging year, plastic. I begin with PBS NewsHour reporting The plastic industry knowingly pushed recycling myth for decades, new report finds.

The world produces an average of 430 million metric tons of plastic each year. The United States alone produces tens of millions of tons of plastic waste annually. Yet on average, only about 5 to 6 percent of plastic in the U.S. is recycled. NPR correspondent Michael Copley joins Ali Rogin to discuss a new report on the plastic industry’s tactics to push recycling and avoid regulation.

This is looking like what the fossil fuel industry said in private about climate change and the tobacco industry about lung cancer, both of which turned into major scandals and legal actions. It parallels the story about Keep America Beautiful told in Adam Ruins Going Green: Student Sustainability Video Festival 79 and Vox on going green by reducing waste for Earth Day 2018, that it began as a corporate effort to shift responsibility for waste from the companies that made products to the consumers that used them and disposed of them. That worked for decades, but people are starting to catch on, thanks to reporting like this and the Emmy-winning "Plastic Time Bomb."

I'm a scientist and educator, as well as an activist, so I'm sharing SciShow explaining Why We're So Bad at Recycling Plastic.

Plastic is quickly becoming a problem and we're eager to point fingers, but honestly, the reason there's so much plastic everywhere isn't just because of human negligence.

Hosted by: Stefan Chin

So that's the science explaining the difficulties of plastic recycling and disposal. The result is that a lot of plastic can't be recycled and the rest isn't just landfilled or incinerated, but becomes pollution. SciShow just uploaded a video about how that reaches the literal ends of the Earth, The Arctic Is Drowning in Plastic.

Many people picture the Arctic as a pristine icy wilderness. But when it comes to microplastics, it's one of the most polluted places on Eart[h.]

Hosted by: Reid Reimers (he/him)

It's not just the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Plastic is everywhere.

The ubiquity of plastic is one of the topics I ask my students in the Worksheet for 'Treasures of the Earth: Power', which I'm showing this week. Here are two of the questions:

15. What uses are there for plastic? Name five uses or products.

The video lists cosmetic cases, chairs, phones, clothes, and toilet seats, or if it doesn't, I'll accept them as answers. The video shows lots more, including bottles and bags.

16. Why is plastic a challenge for disposal?

The video says that plastic doesn't break down and burning it creates greenhouse gases. In the way paper decomposes, it doesn't, although it does break down physically. Students also point out that the sheer variety of plastic complicates recycling. That's the point of the second video above, but it's not part of "Treasures of the Earth: Power." Still, it's true.

Students can also use plastic as an example of some of Commoner's Laws, Everything is connected to everything else, everything must go somewhere (there is no away), and there is no free lunch along with climate change.

This concludes today's episode of stories I tell my students. Stay tuned for Happy International Day of Nowruz and the 13th birthday of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on tomorrow and World Water Day on Friday. My blog will be a teenager!

Marching music for the Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio Presidential Primaries on the Vernal Equinox

Happy Vernal Equinox! I'm passing on the science of the day this year to celebrate with the next installment of marching music for primaries and caucuses. I'm working my way more or less east to west starting at Ohio, represented by one DCI corps, three DCA corps, and a Rose Parade band. I kick off the music to watch and listen while waiting for results with with Bluecoats | #2023 | The Garden of Love | Bon Iver - ____45_____

Canton, Ohio's Bluecoats perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2023 production, "The Garden of Love," during the 2023 DCI World Championships hosted August 10-12 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Canton, OH | 2nd Place | 97.738

That deserves an encore, so here's Bluecoats | #dci2022 | Riffs and Revelations.

Canton, OH | 2nd Place (tie) | 97.325

Canton, Ohio's Bluecoats perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Riffs and Revelations," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

While Blue Devils won and Boston Crusaders tied for second, this was the show everyone talked about in 2022, and this was probably the most talked about moment.

Now for the first of three all-age corps from the Buckeye State, as Cobbled Deepslate asks Could you imagine if this was Cincinnati Tradition 2022 at DCA Finals. Yes, but thanks to Deepslate, I don't have to.

Why would this be Cincinnati Tradition's 2022 program "Soirée" at DCA finals 2022?

Because it is.

Next, Cake Doctor asks does anyone have a video of Rogues Hollow Regiment @ DCA finals 2023? Dude, you do. Let's see how long this, and all the rest of the unofficial uploads, lasts.

Rogues Hollow Regiment Preforming their 2023 Program "'Groovin" At DCA Finals.

Back to Cobbled Deepslate asking I wish this was Columbus Saints at DCA Finals 2022 for the last all-age corps from Ohio.

I wish this was Columbus saints show "Mixtape" at dca finals 2022.

The Columbus Saints remind me of the Marion Cadets during the 1990s. Let's see if any of my readers gets that reference.

I close out Ohio's marching music selections with Ohio State University Marching Band - 2022 Pasadena Rose Parade from Music213.

From Columbus, Ohio The Ohio State University Marching Band performing at the 133rd Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Saturday, January 1, 2022.

Darn, they didn't do the precision turn they performed in 2019. I was looking forward to that.

Follow over the jump for marching music from Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Arizona, which makes this part an update of A Drum Corps Ides of March for an election year and Marching music and a drink for the St. Patrick's Day primaries. The tradition of Illinois and Florida holding their primaries on holidays continues!

Vox asks 'Is the US running out of Social Security?'

Today's post is a follow-up of sorts to PBS Terra asks 'What Happens When Demographics Change Forever?' Watch as Vox asks and attempts to answer Is the US running out of Social Security?

There’s no denying that Americans rely heavily on Social Security benefits. Estimates from the Social Security Administration found that 97% of adults over the age of 60 are either collecting or will start collecting Social Security. As of February 2023, about one in every five residents in the US collected benefits from these funds. For such a widely used program, it’s a bit surprising that people in the US know so little about how it works. To be fair, most of the news around this program over the past decade has been about how it’s doomed in one way or another. Millennials and younger may see the money being taxed from their paychecks and believe they’ll probably never see it again, but is the program really destined to fail? And what do we stand to lose if it does? Check out the video above to get the most basic facts about Social Security in the United States and what to expect in the coming years.

The answer to the question is "not until 2033 at current rates" and even then, "not really." Eighty percent of current benefits would not be a good outcome, but it's definitely not nothing. As for the solutions that would maintain current levels of benefits, the one I'm most familiar with is increasing the cap on income being taxed. I'm O.K. with that, but that's because I don't quite earn enough to have the payroll tax not deducted from my final paycheck of the year. Even if I did, I might want that money after I retire, which I plan on doing in December 2026. As for taxing investment income, that's something I hadn't considered, but I'd like even more if it could happen. Good luck making that happen with the current House of Representatives, although it wouldn't be them doing it anyway. I expect nothing will happen until 2029 at the earliest.

Since this video deals with the intersection among demographics, economy, and government, it's something I'd be tempted to show my students as part of the unit on population I'm teaching right now. It even features an animated age structure. Unfortunately, it has an ad in the middle of it. I'm not showing that to my students!

That's it for today's evergreen non-holiday post. Stay tuned for the next installment of marching music for primaries and caucuses on the Vernal Equinox.

The luck of the Irish was with Cillian Murphy at the Oscars for St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I telegraphed the subject of today's post at the end of yesterday's entry.

Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature on St. Patrick's Day. The luck of the Irish for Cillian Murphy at the Oscars, anyone?

Without any further ado, I present Cillian Murphy Wins Best Actor for 'Oppenheimer' | 96th Oscars (2024).

Cillian Murphy wins the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in 'Oppenheimer'.

That's quite the all-star line-up of presenters! Also, Murphy is right to be a very proud Irishman. Thanks to him for dedicating his Oscar to all the peacemakers. The world needs it!

I continue the celebration with Cillian Murphy | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Oscars 2024 Press Room Speech.

Best Actor in a Leading Role 'Oppenheimer' winner Cillian Murphy speaking to acclaimed press moments after Oscar win.

Not only is Murphy a proud Irishman, the Irish are proud of him, as evidenced by the first and last questions from Irish media. This includes Irish-American me. Congratulations to Murphy, Christopher Nolan, Robert Downey, Jr., and all the behind-the-scenes winners of Oscars for Oppenheimer!

Follow over the jump for three Irish-American Oscar winners in two categories.

PBS Terra asks 'What Happens When Demographics Change Forever?'

My blog passed its page view goals for the month this morning, so I will intersperse evergreen content among all my planned holiday and retrospective posts through Easter. Today's topic comes from PBS Terra, which asks What Happens When Demographics Change Forever?

Are we on the brink of population collapse? Some economists and tech billionaires (like Elon Musk) think so. After all, birth rates are declining, and some argue an aging population could strain social services and hurt the economy. (On the other hand, some say, slower population growth could be more sustainable for our environment.) Whichever argument you sympathize with, here's a key thing to understand about this trend: Demographers predicted it. In fact, they've been expecting for years. Their advice? Don’t freak out. Here’s what changing demographics might mean for our planet and the future.

Like NOVA warns of 'The Next Pompeii' for the Ides of March, this video covers a story I tell my students, this time one about population. In fact, I just added this video to the PowerPoint for that lecture and plan on showing it to my environmental science class on Tuesday. They'll see it right before the first video in Vox and CNBC explain 'Why China's population is shrinking' and 'What [it] Means For The Global Economy'. I hope they don't find it too repetitive.

Speaking of being repetitive, I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling two points from CNBC asks 'Is The U.S. Running Out Of People?'

Second, increased population is bad for the environment, as expressed by the variable P in I=P*A*T "where I is impact, P is population, A is affluence, and T is technology." Impact increases as both population and affluence increases; both drive up demand for resources and create more waste and pollution. Therefore, keeping population down will help the environment. By keeping human population below the carrying capacity for our species, it helps people as well.

Third, increasing educational and economic opportunities for women is the number one way to decrease birth rates and keep them down, although increasing economic security might put a floor under the declining birth rates. Women's education and a stronger economy will also increase affluence, which will increase impact if more efficient technologies don't counteract both affluence and population.

The video makes both of these points, which I hope my students absorb.

I close by repeating what I worried about six years ago and have repeated several times since.

I have been in favor of zero population growth for as long as I can remember. However, I'm not sure the U.S. economy is set up for a stable or slowly declining population, a point I made in the Hipcrime Vocab: Why Slowing Population Growth is a Problem. We are going to have to figure how to do so. Otherwise, I might live long enough to experience the wisdom of the saying "Be careful what you wish for; you might get it."

Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature on St. Patrick's Day. The luck of the Irish for Cillian Murphy at the Oscars, anyone?

NOVA warns of 'The Next Pompeii' for the Ides of March

Beware the Ides of March! After three years of Roman-themed drum corps shows, I'm returning to the theme of death and destruction in the Roman world and other dire warnings with The Next Pompeii from NOVA on PBS.

In the shadow of Vesuvius and Pompeii, a lesser-known volcano puts the city of Naples at risk. (Aired February 20, 2019)
...
In the shadow of Italy’s Vesuvius, a lesser-known volcano rumbles: Campi Flegrei. An eruption could endanger the millions of residents of the city of Naples. Scientists gain new insights into what happened in nearby Pompeii, and dig into the unique geology of Campi Flegrei. How will they know if the ever-shifting ground is reaching a breaking point? And can an innovative eruption warning system prevent Naples becoming the next Pompeii?

This episode contains several stories I tell my students, although I learned new things about nearly every one of them to update my lessons. The first one I describe to my geology students is the principle volcanologist Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo states, that processes that happened in the past are likely to repeat in the future, so understanding the past is essential for preparation. This is a key takeaway from uniformitarianism, the concept that everything we see in nature is the result of everyday processes occurring over sufficient time, which is boiled down to "the present is the key to the past." It also means that the past is the key to the future.*

The second story I show is of the Macellum of Pozzuoli, the Roman marketplace with the three columns containing holes from boring clams showing that they had been submerged and then lifted out of the sea. These appear in the frontispiece of Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell, the first geology textbook, as examples of processes acting over sufficient time lowering and then raising the ground the pillars stood on. I had never seen photographs of them, but I recognized them instantly from the illustration.

Both of the above appear in the second lecture of my geology course. The rest appear three lectures later, when I discuss volcanoes, beginning with my describing calderas. I use Mount St. Helens, Crater Lake, and Yellowstone as examples, but Campi Flegrei works just as well for explaining the mechanism of caldera formation. I also describe pyroclastic flows and Plinian eruptions, employing Mount Pinatubo and Mount Pelée as examples. In fact, I recognized some of the clips of vehicles fleeing pyroclastic flows as videos of Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1992. I also recognized the cause of the earliest deaths in Pompeii from Mount Pinatubo, as the roofs collapsed at U.S. military bases nearby from the weight of the ash. At least there, the Navy and Air Force had evacuated everyone.

Finally, using seismic waves to map the interior of the planet is a topic I include in my lecture about earthquakes. Using the sound of crashing waves to do so is something I may have encountered before, but it didn't stick. I'm sure it stuck this time, meaning I learned something new. It's always a good day when I learn something new, especially when I can share it with my students. Speaking of which, I will recommend this video to them. I hope they, along with my readers, find it as fascinating as I did.

I close with Garbage's cover of Siouxie and the Banshees song about the eruption of Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii I embedded in Two songs about Pompeii and a volcano drink for the Ides of March six years ago, Cities in Dust.

The official video for Garbage's cover of “Cities in Dust” by Siouxsie and the Banshees, off their ‘Witness To Your Love’ EP.

One of the comments reads "Garbage covering Siouxsie and the Banshees is essentially a life-long dream come true." I agree. As soon as I heard this, I penciled it in for today's post.

Stay tuned for a non-holiday entry tomorrow, followed by St. Patrick's Day on Sunday, the Vernal Equinox on Tuesday, Happy International Day of Nowruz and the 13th birthday of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Thursday, World Water Day on Friday, and Purim followed by Holi on Saturday and Monday. Busy, busy, busy!

*This reminds me of "Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past" from 1984. Now I wonder if George Orwell had taken a science course that mentioned uniformitarianism and that later inspired him. File that under things that make me go "hmm."

30 digits of Pi from DCI for Pi Day

Happy Pi Day, International Day of Mathematics, and Science Education Day! Today is the tenth anniversary of A drum corps Pi Day, so I'm celebrating today with Drum Corps International (DCI) wishing its fans Happy Pi Day!

March 14 is Pi Day! Learn the first 30 digits of Pi with DCI through the years.

Once I saw this video, I knew I would use it for today.

For my readers who want something more conventional to celebrate the day, I'm sharing National Day Calendar's National Pi Day | March 14th.



March 14th is National Pi Day!
That's it for today's geeky celebration. I'm sharing a warning for tomorrow: Beware the Ides of March!

'Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey' biggest Razzies 'winner' followed by 'Expend4bles'

It's time to acknowledge last year's worst films, so watch 44th Annual Razzie Awards Hosted by The Mean Gays.

The Mean Gays Take Over The 44th Razzies®

For this year’s version of Tinseltown’s Most Notorious Trophy Derby, the 44th Annual Razzies® Awards co-founders dared something new.

Under the production banner of Evan Mirzai and House of M, viral comedic personalities The Mean Gays (Aaron Goldenberg & Jake Jonez) act as hosts, writers and producers of this year's 44th Razzie digital ceremony entitled THE MEAN GAYS TAKE OVER THE 44th RAZZIES®.

While Exorcist: Believer and Expend4bles tied for most Razzie nominations with seven each, neither was the big "winner." That dishonor went to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which took five Golden Raspberries home for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, and Worst Screenplay. Expend4bles walked off the virtual platform with two Razzies, Worst Supporting Actor for Sylvester Stallone and Worst Supporting Actress for Megan Fox. Fox earned a second statuette for Worst Actress in Johnny & Clyde. I predicted as much in Colbert, Meyers, and 'The Daily Show' take closer looks at Supreme Court hearing immunity appeal.

Mocking Seth doing his job by promoting Shazam! Fury of the Gods reminded me that the film earned four Razzie nominations, although two of those are for Helen Mirren in Worst Actress and Lucy Liu in Worst Supporting Actress. Hey, those two are the only reasons I want to watch the film! At least I don't think either will win — Megan Fox could easily win both categories — but Gold Derby hasn't opened up odds for this year's Razzies — yet.

And Fox won both actress categories. No surprise there, no thanks to Gold Derby, which never did post odds for this year's Razzies.

While I mocked the Golden Raspberries for their bad math skills for missing that Exorcist: Believer and Expend4bles tied for most Razzie nominations, instead reporting that Expend4bles had the most nominations by itself, they did feature the worse film, as Exorcist: Believer took home no Razzies. I'll give them that much, even if it was by mistake.

Finally, Jon Voight "won" Worst Actor for Mercy — I enjoyed the snide aside that MAGA doesn't mean "Make Acting Great Again" — and Fran Drescher won Razzie Redeemer "for her brilliant shepherding of the actors' guild through a prolonged 2023 strike with a successful conclusion." Congratulations!

I'm already looking ahead to next year's nominees, as I wrote in 'SNL' mocks 'Biden is old' in 'Inside Politics' cold open.

I'm a little worried for Sweeney for reasons that I mentioned in 'SNL' tackles E. Jean Carroll judgment, DeSantis endorsement, Nikki Haley, and more — "here's to hoping Madame Web doesn't earn at least one Razzie Award nomination next year and Johnson doesn't earn one as well for her role." I'm afraid Madame Web will earn multiple Razzie nominations and might even win some of them. I just hope Sweeney escapes being nominated.

The only thing that might save Madame Web is that Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is coming out this year. I'm sure that will be worse, not bad enough to prevent nominations for Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, but bad enough to win, although the original earned no acting nominations.

Enough of today's entertainment update. Stay tuned for a string of holidays, Pi Day, International Day of Mathematics, and Science Education Day tomorrow, the Ides of March on Friday, and St. Patrick's Day and Irish American Heritage Month on Sunday. Busy, busy, busy!

Marching music for primaries in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington plus Democrats Abroad

I closed Four years of the COVID-19 pandemic by telling my readers "Stay tuned for this year's edition of Marching music for the Washington, Mississippi, Democrats Abroad, and Georgia primaries." I'm going in alphabetical order by state, which happens to be by poll closing time east to west, followed by a non-North American drum corps and Rose Parade band to represent Democrats Abroad. I kick off the music to watch and listen while waiting for results with with Spirit of Atlanta | #DCI2021 | "Bottle Tree" from Drum Corps International (DCI).

Spirit of Atlanta of Atlanta, Georgia, performs a segment from the corps' #DCI2021 production, "Bottle Tree," during the DCI Celebration events hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

DCI hasn't uploaded any more recent shows, so I'm following up with Spirit of Atlanta – "Up Down and All Around" | DCI Finals 2023 from Pageantry Innovations, which at least isn't a bootleg of the FloMarching video, so it will stay up.

Enjoy Spirit of Atlanta's 2023 production, “Up Down and All Around” from the perspective of their synthesizer performer & audio engineer.

Much like Vic Firth Marching, a drum stick maker whose videos I've embedded as part of this series, Pageantry Innovations is an instrument and equipment maker, in this case the carts for the synthesizers and soundboard. That makes this advertising, but I'm O.K. with that.

Georgia also has an all-age corps, Atlanta CV. Watch Atlanta CV Drum & Bugle Corps 2018 Show Clip By Box5TV, an official clip from Drum Corps Associates.

Provided by Box5TV, enjoy this show clip of the 2018 AtlantaCV from DCA World Championships!

Follow over the jump for the rest of the drum corps and marching bands representing Georgia, Mississippi, Washington, and Democrats Abroad.

Four years of the COVID-19 pandemic

Today is the fourth anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. ABC 7 News - WJLA in Washington, D.C., observed the occasion with 7News marks 4 years since COVID-19 pandemic declaration with survivor's harrowing tales.

By March 11, 2020, there were more than 118,000 cases and 4,291 worldwide deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Four years later, 7News is reflecting on how the pandemic impacted local communities.

That's a graphic and terrifying retrospective of how fast the disease spread, how much it disrupted everyday life, and how that felt to everyone affected. I had half-forgotten all of that, but realized how important it was to be reminded. The last time I felt like that was watching the opening of season 2 of The Morning Show, when my reaction was "You poor people. You have no idea what you're in for."

That's the past. Fox 5 New York described the effects of the pandemic on the present when it asked COVID-19: 4 years later: Where are we now?

NYC's health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan shares the progress we have made since COVID hit our nation four years ago.

That's good news and bad news. The good news is that we are better able to protect ourselves against COVID-19. The bad news is that people have become more vaccine-skeptical, not only about the COVID-19 vaccines, but about the MMR vaccine as well. That's led to a measles outbreak. WDIV talks about all of the above in 4 years of COVID: Michigan's top doctor on COVID today, measles & more.


I live in Metro Detroit, so of course I'd include a local report when I can find a good one, even if it was about bad news.

Vaccine skepticism is not the only bad effect of the reaction to the pandemic. MSNBC uploaded ‘COVID stole our optimism’: Reminding Americans how bad things were four years ago.

Polls show a big difference between what Americans think of President Biden’s economy compared to what we had under Donald Trump. Now the GOP is reminding everyone what life was like four years ago - when the COVID pandemic transformed our country. Molly Jong-Fast, Maya Wiley, Christine Romans, and Mary Harris discuss with Stephanie Ruhle on this week’s Nightcap.

Are you better off now than you were four years ago? No? Really? Feelings are not facts!

Today is also the 13th anniversary of the Fukushima triple disaster, but I've had enough of tragedy. Stay tuned for this year's edition of Marching music for the Washington, Mississippi, Democrats Abroad, and Georgia primaries.

'SNL' satirizes the State of the Union and response

It's Sunday, so it's time for a highlights post of last night's Saturday Night Live! I begin, like the show, with State of the Union Cold Open.

CNN covers President Biden’s (Mikey Day) State of the Union address and Republican Senator Katie Britt's (Scarlett Johansson) response.

I knew this would be the cold open, but I had no idea that Scarlett Johansson would play Senator Katie Britt. Surprise! I guess it pays to be married to one of the hosts of Weekend Update, which is up next with more State of the Union coverage.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Marjorie Taylor Greene heckling Biden during his State of the Union address, Democrats criticizing Biden for calling migrants "illegals" and Republican Senator Katie Britt's video response.

Looks like Colin got the better jokes last night.

Weekend Update had no entertainment news and no interviews, which meant that it ignored tonight's Oscars, an easy target. Never fear, SNL had an entire sketch sending up the awards, Moulin Rouge.

PBS host Ken Burnt (Mikey Day) takes a look back at the 2001 film Moulin Rouge starring Nicole Kidman (Ariana Grande) and Ewan McGregor (Bowen Yang).

Go Glinda and Pfannee from Wicked! Yes, Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang are in the movie together. Sometimes it pays to read the comments.

I could end here, as that sketch justified this post as the Sunday entertainment feature, but my wife asked me to include the following video about the State of the Union from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Nickelodeon’s State Of The Union Simulcast.

Addressin’ the nation and Congress is he!

Joseph Biden! That's a great parody, but it might actually be a good idea to get kids interested in politics. Spongebob Squarepants has taught them when Leif Erikson Day is. Hinga Dinga Durgen!

That's it for today's recap. Enjoy tonight's Academy Awards, for tomorrow is a double anniversary of tragedy, the pandemic arriving in Michigan and the Fukushima triple disaster. Stay tuned.

Grammys, other awards, and Oscar nominations for 'Barbie' on Barbie Day

Happy National Barbie Day! "On March 9th, National Barbie Day celebrates an iconic toy that premiered on this day in 1959. Barbie debuted at the American International Toy Fair in New York." Happy 65th birthday, Barbie!

As I wrote yesterday I plan on celebrating by examining Barbie's Oscar nominations and awards show wins, including at the Grammys. Follow over the jump.

WION celebrates International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day! India's WION (World Is One News) uploaded a series of videos for today, beginning with International women's day 2024: Inventions by women that the world can't live without.

Women have always been skilled and inventive; they have just faced numerous obstacles in getting recognition and credit for their creations. Here is our tribute to some women who were not afraid to stand up for the respect and credit they rightfully deserved.

I knew that Hedy Lamarr invented the technology that made cell phones possible, but I didn't know that it also made Wi-Fi and Bluetooth possible as well. I did not know about the rest, although that photo of Margaret Wilcox looks much too recent for an inventor active in the 1890s. Still, it's the one that I find when I search for her name. There may be an attribution issue in the history of her portrait, but I'm not going to look for it today. Just the same, I learned a lot just from this video, and it's always a good day when I learn something new.

Follow over the jump for the rest of WION's videos for International Women's Day, which do double duty for Women's History Month.

Boeing gets the John Oliver treatment on 'Last Week Tonight'

It's Thursday, so it's time for me to embed Boeing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).

John Oliver discusses how Boeing went from being a company known for quality craftsmanship to one synonymous with crashes, mishaps, and “quality escape.” Whatever that means.

I'd read about how the McDonnell Douglas management took over Boeing years ago, changing Boeing's corporate culture, but if I had read about them sending The Economist cover with the copulating camels to the original Boeing executives, I'd forgotten about it. Given what's happened since, I agree with John Oliver and his writers that the wrong camel came out on top. The previous Boeing executives weren't the only ones screwed when that happened!

Among the casualties was the 787 Dreamliner. I wondered what happened to the plane and now I know! Another was the 737 Max, which was the subject of an Emmy-nominated documentary I covered in Emmy-nominated documentary 'Escape from Kabul' for the fall of Kabul two years later, Flight / Risk.

The 737 Max turned out to be less wonderful than when I shared a video promoting it in 2016. Even at the time, I called the video, which has since been made private, "Corporate salesmanship and greenwashing." That turned out to be not even the half of it.

That was before the door plug fell off the plane, which the monologue I embedded in Colbert and Meyers return from break to take closer looks at politicians saying stupid things about history and science mentioned as "Stephen describes a scary situation on a recent Boeing 737 flight." Now my snarky comment from eight years ago isn't even a third of it or maybe even a quarter! The wrong camels know corporate infighting and stock valuations, but they didn't learn from the company that acquired them how to build a quality aircraft.

That's it for today's exercise in corporate accountability disguised as comedy. Stay tuned for International Women's Day.

Nikki Haley drops out after Super Tuesday

The big news from Super Tuesday is Nikki Haley dropping out. CNN has the story in Nikki Haley will exit GOP presidential race, clearing path for Donald Trump.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will announce that she is exiting the Republican presidential race, according to sources familiar with her plans, clearing the path for former President Donald Trump.

I'm slightly surprised that she dropped out now, as she finally won two primaries, in D.C. on Sunday and Vermont last night. On the other hand, I can't say I'm actually disappointed, as I had tweeted in late January that she might drop out after losing South Carolina and would be lucky to last until Super Tuesday. Despite her primary victories, her luck and, more importantly, her money ran out.

With that, I'm recycling my reaction from 'SNL' opens with a Trump victory party after the South Carolina Republican Primary, itself an upcycled response.

I'm recycling my comment from George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel and Trump sells sneakers for the other hand.

Nikki Haley is staying in for the same reasons Liz Cheney is opposing Trump: "As I wrote in July 2022, 'In Liz Cheney's case, she'd like her pre-2015 Republican Party back. I doubt she'll get it any time soon, so she'll settle for damaging TFG instead. I wish her luck.' She's certainly doing her best." Too bad her best won't be good enough to win the nomination.

But it might be enough to damage Trump. I hope she's happy with that. I know I am.

I think Haley will most likely end up endorsing Donald Trump, but it will be late and lukewarm when it occurs. A less likely scenario is that she ends up on the No Labels ticket, should they actually decide to run a candidate in the general election. If that happens, I wouldn't be surprised if Kyrsten Sinema joins her on that ticket, now that she's announced her retirement from the Senate. I might get to that news later.

That brings me to Morning Joe on MSNBC looking ahead in Mika: With Haley set to drop out, the general election essentially starts today.

The Morning Joe panel discusses Trump's latest inflammatory rhetoric and news that Nikki Haley is set to suspend her presidential campaign.

I agree, although I still plan on continuing my marching music for primaries and caucuses series. Those will go on, even if the presidential nominating contests are essentially over.

I might add a report on Haley's remarks later today. Until then, I'm concluding by retiring the graph I made for Haley in Marianne Williamson and Nikki Haley, two women running for President on International Women's Day.

Now for Nikki Haley at On The Issues. She has an economic score of 88 and a social score of 25. On The Issues describes her as a Libertarian-Leaning Conservative. This makes her less conservative socially than either TFG or DeSantis, but to the right of both economically. TFG has an economic score of 83 and a social score of 20, while DeSantis has an economic score of 85 and a social Score of 13. On The Issues considers both of them to be Hard-Core Conservatives.

I'm also retiring, for now, the drink I suggested for her in FiveThirtyEight asks 'Who is Nikki Haley?'

I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling the South Carolina Swizzle Cocktail - The Proper Pour with Charlotte Voisey - Small Screen, which I used for Lindsey Graham.

Inspired by the delicious produce of South Carolina and Georgia, Charlotte created the South Carolina Swizzle Cocktail to celebrate one of her favorite regions of the United States. Served in a julep style, this refreshing libation is perfect as a summer sipper.

Remember, great cocktails start with measuring responsibly.
Recipe:
1 1/2 parts Hendrick's Gin - Watch The Unusual Times: http://bit.ly/hendricks_reservebar
1/2 part Bitter Truth Apricot Liqueur
3/4 part fresh lime juice
3/4 part simple syrup
1/4 part Yellow Chartreuse

Instructions:
Shake ingredients with ice.
Strain over crushed ice into hurricane or tall glass.
Garnish with a mint sprig.

Pour one out for Haley's campaign and possibly even for her future in the Republican Party.

Marching music for Super Tuesday, part two

A happy a marching music Super Tuesday! As I promised my readers in yesterday's part one, "Stay tuned for part two tomorrow, when I feature the competitive drum corps and select marching bands from Super Tuesday states west of the Mississippi River." Unlike 2020, when I ended with California, I begin with California starting with Blue Devils | #DCI2022 | Tempus Blue.

Concord, CA | 1st Place | 98.750

Concord, California's Blue Devils perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Tempus Blue," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

I always wanted a DCI corps to play "Tank!" I got my wish.

Next, Santa Clara Vanguard | #dci2022 | Finding Nirvana.

Santa Clara, CA | 5th Place | 95.000

Santa Clara, California's Santa Clara Vanguard perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Finding Nirvana," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

SCV didn't field a corps last year, but should return this year.

Continuing with the third DCI finalist from California, Mandarins | #dci2022 | The Otherside.

Sacramento, CA | 10th Place | 90.013

Sacramento, California's Mandarins perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "The Otherside," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Yes, this is the same corps I featured in 'The Year of the Dragon' from The Cadets and Sacramento Mandarins for a drum corps Lunar New Year.

I'm starting to repeat myself with Vanguard Cadets | #dci2022 | Somewhere New.

Santa Clara, CA | 18th Place | 81.050

Santa Clara, California's Vanguard Cadets perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Somewhere New," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

SCV Cadets didn't tour last year, either, just like their parent corps. I don't know if they'll be on the field this year yet.

Heading to Southern California, it's Pacific Crest | #dci2022 | Welcome to the Void.

Diamond Bar & City of Industry, CA | 19th Place | 80.250

Diamond Bar and City of Industry, California's Pacific Crest perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "Welcome to the Void," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Pacific Crest had a much better 2023, placing 12th at San Antonio and 14th in Indianapolis.

Returning to the Bay Area, it's Blue Devils B | #dci2022 | I Am.

Concord, CA | 22nd Place | 78.375

Concord, California's Blue Devils B perform a segment from the corps' #DCI2022 production, "I Am," during the 2022 DCI World Championships hosted August 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Now back to Southern California for Guard Girl's reaction video, DCI Open Class : Gold 2022 - The Gift | REACTION | #IllBeTheJudge.


That's just California's competitive drum corps. Follow over the jump for California marching bands that earned finalist status in Metallica's marching band contest and drum corps, Rose Parade bands, and more drum corps and Metallica contestants from Utah, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Minnesota.