Artemis II and Blue Origin for Yuri's Night

Happy Yuri's Night AKA International Day for Human Space Flight! As I have since 2019, I'm sharing updates on the progress of Artemis. I begin with Artemis II to the Moon: Launch to Splashdown (NASA Mission Animation).

The Artemis II mission, slated to launch early 2026, will fly four astronauts around the Moon. This mission will last for about 10 days and will be the first crewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the Exploration Ground Systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Florida needed to support them.

Not only will this mission be the first time in over 50 years that human beings have seen the Moon close-up, Artemis II will also prepare us for future human landings on the Moon starting with the Artemis III mission and help prepare for future missions to Mars.

That's much more detailed than the Artemis previews in 'NASA 2025: To the Moon, Mars, and Beyond' and 'ESA 2025: A fifty-years legacy of building the future'. I'm looking forward to the mission.

NASA Johnson has more as it explains How Gateway Will Support NASA’s Artemis Campaign and Pave the Way for Future Mars Missions.

“We know how to live and work in low Earth orbit. Now, it’s time to go further.” Gateway, humanity’s first lunar space station, will advance science and exploration on and around the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Gateway will also help NASA and its partners test the technologies and operations essential for a sustained presence in deep space, laying the groundwork for the first human mission to Mars. This video brings together insights from the “Houston We Have a Podcast” miniseries on Gateway, “Lunar Space Station 101,” where NASA leaders and astronauts discuss how Gateway will shape the future of space exploration.

Voices featured: NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, deputy director for NASA's Exploration Operations Office Stephanie Dudley, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, and NASA’s Lunar Architecture Lead Shatel Bhakta.

I'm looking forward to Gateway as well. Two space stations, at least as long as the ISS remains in orbit!

The final NASA Johnons video I'm sharing today is Preparing for Artemis: NASA's Geology Training for Lunar Exploration.

From the volcanic fields of Arizona to the lunar-like landscape of Iceland, NASA scientists are actively preparing astronauts and mission support teams for conducting science on the Moon.

Learn about NASA’s rich history of geology training and hear how scientists and engineers are getting ready to bring back samples that will help us learn about the origins of our solar system.

I'm a geologist as well as a paleontologist, so I find this video not just professionally interesting, but thrilling. May it come to pass!

All that will happen next year and later this decade. Now for something scheduled to happen next week. ABC News reports Blue Origin's next mission will have all-female crew.

Aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe joins ABC News Live to discuss the significance of Blue Origin’s all-female space crew.

Yes, Katy Perry is a member of the crew. Since the host said he was singing "Firework," I close with Katy Perry - Firework (Official Music Video).


Katy Perry, astronaut. I never thought I'd ever type that.

That's a wrap for Yuri's Night, when I celebrate the promise of space. Now stay tuned for Apophis Day, when I report on the perils of space.

PBS Terra tells 'The REAL Story of the LA Fires | Full Documentary' for Flashback Friday

Happy Flashback Friday! For today's retrospective, I'm continuing the environmental theme from PBS Terra asks 'Save the Planet? In THIS Economy? Pffft' for an Earth Month Throwback Thursday by revisiting the top entries examining risks from climate change during the 2024-2025 blogging year. I begin with PBS Terra telling The REAL Story of the LA Fires | Full Documentary.

It is WILD how often cities used to burn down. So when fires ripped through LA at the beginning of 2025, we wondered: are urban firestorms BACK?

In 1871, nearly a third of Chicago burned down. In 1889, 25 blocks of Seattle went up in flames. Modern buildings and firefighting solved the problem. So, how is this happening again? And why is it getting worse? To find out, we went to LA while the fires were still burning. Our crew was on the ground from day one. We interviewed top fire officials and leading scientists. And, we learned exactly what went wrong in LA - and the ONE THING that could stop these UNSTOPPABLE fires.

Wow! That's the most in-depth I've seen Maiya May and Weathered get on a topic! Of course, it's also the longest. Here's to hoping my readers watch the whole thing.

I have a personal connection to these fires, which I'm recycling from PBS Terra asks 'When Will We Stop Moving to the Riskiest Regions?'

The disaster in my former home state connects back to two more entries, PBS Terra asks 'Is This Type of Fire IMPOSSIBLE to Stop?' and PBS Terra asks 'Will Climate Change Pop the Housing Bubble?' I'm recycling what I wrote about fire in the first entry.

Fires with high winds were always the most dangerous. They've become even more so since I moved to Michigan 35 years ago, as I wrote in California's Camp and Woolsey fires air pollution seen from space and felt on ground.

I found out last week that the home where I grew up was in a mandatory evacuation zone. In the 25 years I lived there, that never happened. In addition, I don't recall my family ever telling me that had happened during the three decades I've lived in Michigan until this past week.*
...
*I[n] case anyone is wondering, the house is O.K. It was more than a mile from the edge of the fire at its greatest extent.

My old house was under mandatory evacuation orders during these fires as well, but survived again. Whew!

PBS Terra retitled the video in the second post "The Insurance Industry Can't Weather Another Wildfire Season Like This UNLESS..." which I think is more accurate. As the second video points out, the fires have caused between $135 billion and $150 billion in damages so far. Yikes!

Those are just the monetary losses. May and the Weathered crew also showed the human costs. Those can be seen and felt, but are harder to measure.

Follow over the jump for the top posts featuring videos from Weathered, whether on PBS Terra or the main PBS channel, between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025. The most read of them was PBS examines 'THE RISKIEST Places to Live in the US as Our Climate Changes', which listed Los Angeles County, California, among the riskiest places in the U.S. because of climate change. That turned out to be true sooner than I expected!

PBS Terra asks 'Save the Planet? In THIS Economy? Pffft' for an Earth Month Throwback Thursday

Happy Throwback Thursday! For today's retrospective, I'm finishing the series of Earth Month videos from PBS Terra I featured in For Earth Day, PBS Terra asks 'Stop Saving the Planet?' Change the world instead and today's featured post, PBS Terra explains 'How Big Business Broke Recycling (And Blamed You)' by sharing Save the Planet? In THIS Economy? Pffft.

We often hear industry and political leaders talk about how we need to balance the economy with the environment. The thinking goes something like this: environmental destruction is necessary to earn a living and make the things we need. But is this really true? Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant explores how we can approach the economy and the environment differently.

I begin my reaction by recycling two passages from the first post in the series.

This video reinforces a point I've been making since the first year of the blog and even before that in my environmental science classes: "economy is dependent on society, which is in turn dependent on the environment. Without an environment, there is no society. Without a society, there is no economy."
...
I think the system needs to be reformed; the status quo is unsustainable, while scrapping our food, energy, and economic systems and starting over would be too disruptive.

This video provides an idea of how those reforms could work. It's also one I could show my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant also pointed out the inequitable distribution of both harms and benefits from economic activity using the example of the port district of Wilmington in Los Angeles, which I can add as an example of environmental racism. What struck me as hard as the life expectancy of residents of the port neighborhoods of San Pedro, Wilmington, and West Long Beach being eight years lower than Los Angeles County as a whole is that more people died from air pollution in L.A. County than from traffic accidents and crime combined. Yikes! Am I glad I moved out of there!

Follow over the jump for how today's top post earned its page views.

CNBC explains 'How Private Equity Is Behind Red Lobster And TGI Fridays' Bankruptcies,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Wayback Wednesday

Happy Wayback Wednesday! I closed Hooters files for bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse by telegraphing today's topic.

A couple of the videos mentioned the bankruptcies of Red Lobster and TGI Fridays. Those were the subjects of two of the most read entries of last year. Expect me to cover them on Wayback Wednesday. Stay tuned.

I begin today's retrospective with How Private Equity Is Behind Red Lobster And TGI Fridays' Bankruptcies.

Between 2014 and 2024, private equity firms invested more than $90 billion into U.S. restaurants and bars. Red Lobster and TGI Fridays were two of the most notable. The two casual dining giants were acquired through a transaction type called a leveraged buyout that ultimately contributed to their bankruptcies in 2024. Watch the video above to learn more about the most commonly used strategies by private equity firms, including sale-leasebacks and roll-ups, to try to turn a company around.

Private equity has been responsible for so many retail and restaurant bankruptcies that I have a standard rant about it: "I listed a who's who of retail chains gutted by private equity in CNN Business explains retail bankruptcies and how private equity is gutting retail, tales of the Retail Apocalypse and again in Business Insider and CNBC explain the rise and fall of Chuck E. Cheese, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and pandemic." Add Party City, Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, and Joann to that list.

Speaking of lists, one of the biggest surprises was the roster of restaurant chains Roark Capital owns.


I've eaten at a majority of them and I had no idea they were under the same ownership! I know I write that it's a good day when I learn something new, but I wonder if I learned something good from this. I will say I learned something useful, that Roark Capital helped defeat raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. That makes me like them even less than their name.

It is named for Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. The firm claims that its name is not meant to connote any particular political philosophy but instead signify the firm's admiration for the iconoclastic qualities of independence and self-assurance embodied by the central figure in The Fountainhead.

Longtime readers should know that I have a dim view of Rand and Objectivism; some of my newer readers are learning this, as they've made A conversation with The Archdruid about Objectivism, Satanism, and the GOP from the back catalog the ninth most read entry during the 2024-2025 blogging year. That's a conversation for later.

Based on the continued interest private equity has in restaurant chains, I expect to see more bankruptcies and write more Retail Apocalypse entries about them. Now follow over the jump for the most popular entries about the Retail Apocalypse posted between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025.

De-extinction update — dire wolves and woolly mice

Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live showed some genetically modified woolly mice, to which I responded "I'm glad to see progress being made on mammoth de-extinction — science!" The company behind the woolly mice revealed an even bigger development this week, which TIME profiled in No Longer Extinct? Colossal Biosciences' Dire Wolf Project.

Colossal Biosciences' project to revive the once-extinct dire wolf could also prevent existing but endangered animals from slipping into extinction themselves.

On the one hand, this is a great technological and scientific advancement. On the other, these aren't really dire wolves. They're genetically modified gray wolves with about a dozen dire wolf genes, which is still quite an accomplishment. If nothing else, they're proof of concept and cool animals in their own right.

Speaking of proof of concept, TIME reported Scientists Genetically Engineer Mice with Woolly Mammoth Like Hair last month.

Extinction is typically for good. Once a species winks out, it survives only in memory and the fossil record. When it comes to the woolly mammoth, however, that rule has now been bent. It’s been 4,000 years since the eight-ton, 12-foot, elephant-like beast walked the Earth, but part of its DNA now operates inside several litters of four-inch, half-ounce mice created by scientists at the Dallas-based Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences.

Cute, but the scientist interviewed at the end was not that impressed. Neither was Anton Petrov, who I first featured in Ig Nobel Prizes for April Fools Day 2025, a holiday special, in Let's Talk About the Woolly Mammoth Mice That Were Just Created.

Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the woolly mice (please note a small correction in the video comments about the base pair/gene differences between mammoths and elephants)[.]
...
Small correction (thanks Jake): It's not 1.5 million gene differences, but 1.5 million base pairs (building blocks of DNA)[.]
Mouse genome is believed to contain around 80,000 genes (but only 22000 create proteins) and here 8 were affected[.]

A more realistic comparison would be to use total number of base pairs and for Asian elephants there are 3.38 billion base pairs and it looks like 1.5 million are different between elephants and mammoths[.]

Still a lot[.]

Petrov's objection I most agree with is the ethical and legal one — obtaining an elephant to experiment on. Just the same, I'm more optimistic than he is, even if these are stunts.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for a retrospective on Wayback Wednesday tomorrow.

Hooters files for bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I left my usual "Stay tuned" message in the middle of 'SNL' laughs at Trump's tariffs and stock market crash: "Hooters' bankruptcy deserves more than a one-liner declaring the chain's business model a bust, so I plan on blogging about it tomorrow or Tuesday. Stay tuned." I begin with ABC News reporting Hooters restaurant chain files for bankruptcy on April 1st, no fooling.

Restaurant chain Hooters of America filed for bankruptcy in Texas on Monday, seeking to address its $376 million debt by selling all of its company-owned restaurants.

I vaguely recall Stephen Colbert telling that joke, but I'm glad I saw it again to share it. Also, since I have been eating out very little since the pandemic, and when I do, it's at Hooters competitor Buffalo Wild Wings, the butt of Colbert's joke, I haven't noticed inflation much at casual restaurants. I had no idea inflation was that severe in that sector!

The bankruptcy didn't come as a complete surprise, as Inside Edition asked at the end of February Is Hooters on the Brink of Bankruptcy?

Bloomberg News reports Hooters may be on the brink of filing for bankruptcy. The restaurant chain once had 430 locations around the world. Now, 40 locations shuttered in the U.S. in the past year alone. There's another issue specific to Hooters. In the "Me Too" era, Hooters was seen as a throwback to another time when scantily clad waitresses seemed like a fun idea. Inside Edition's Alison Hall has more.

The answer to the headline question turned out to be yes. On the other hand, the answer to whether the chain as a whole will close its door will probably be no. I'll get to that later. First, I'll address Hooters' reputation that might have caught up with it in Company Man's Hooters - The Controversial History.

Hooters is a national restaurant chain with a controversial history. This video talks about some of their bigger controversies over the years.

Company Man Mike was right; Hooters has a controversial history! Now I'm wondering when he'll come out with "The Decline of Hooters...What Happened?"

Yahoo! Finance explains why the chain will almost certainly survive in Hooters files for bankruptcy: CEO talks about company’s future.

Hooters has filed for bankruptcy, but the chain isn't going away. Hooters of America CEO Sal Melilli explains what's next for the company in the video above.

I don't know if Sal Melilli's plan will address food and labor costs, but it does deal with the chain's checkered reputation. I hope it works.

I close by calling back to The first year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News: Part 1 of several, the first time I recall mentioning Hooters on this blog.

I'll leave you with my two favorite images of signs in Troy...The second proves that I can fail the Butt-Head half of the Beavis and Butt-Head test. What makes it even worse is that is the exit sign for the Hooters in Troy. Think about it.

Unfortunately, the Troy Hooters location closed seven years ago. On the one hand, this is the last time I can tell that joke. On the other, it was time my readers and I found out.

A couple of the videos mentioned the bankruptcies of Red Lobster and TGI Fridays. Those were the subjects of two of the most read entries of last year. Expect me to cover them on Wayback Wednesday. Stay tuned.

'SNL' laughs at Trump's tariffs and stock market crash

I closed the body of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' for First Contact Day, a holiday special with a program note.

In the meantime, Stay tuned for the highlights of tonight's Saturday Night Live. Let's see how they make tariffs and a stock market crash funny.

Watch Trump Tariff Cold Open to find out.

President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) addresses his tariffs and their impact on the stock market during a speech.

That explanation of the tariff equation made about as much sense as the real one and was a lot more fun. Also, James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump will be very disappointed to find the real McDonald Island is a cold place inhabited by penguins, not a tropical paradise with fast food. That's ironic since my original nickname for Hoover Cleveland was The Penguin. Weekend Update acknowledged that fact in Trump Tariffs Cause $6 Trillion Loss, Tesla Stock Plummets 10%.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Trump imposing worldwide tariffs.

Six trillion dollars lost in one week? Yikes! Speaking of lost money, the next segment featured Retail Apocalypse news, Hooters Files for Bankruptcy, Subway Unveils Footlong Doritos Nachos.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a 1-year-old eating his grandfather's ashes.

Hooters' bankruptcy deserves more than a one-liner declaring the chain's business model a bust, so I plan on blogging about it tomorrow or Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Follow over the jump for the rest of last night's highlights.

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' for First Contact Day, a holiday special

Happy First Contact Day, when I celebrate Star Trek! Like last year, I'm looking forward to an upcoming season of the latest series on the franchise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Watch the SyFy Sistas Inc. wishing their viewers Happy First Contact Day _Season 3 Teaser Star Trek SNW.

[Paramount+] released the teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of its hit original series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, coming this summer to the platform. Paramount+ previously announced the series has also been renewed for a fourth season, which is currently in production in Toronto.

In season three, when we reconnect with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, still under the command of Captain Pike, they face the conclusion of season two’s harrowing encounter with the Gorn. But new life and civilizations await, including a villain that will test our characters’ grit and resolve. An exciting twist on classic Star Trek, season three takes characters both new and beloved to new heights, and dives into thrilling adventures of faith, duty, romance, comedy, and mystery, with varying genres never before seen on any other Star Trek.

Other than the preview image, this is exactly the same as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Season 3 Official Teaser | Paramount+, but the preview image was exactly what I wanted for today, so SyFy Sistas win. Just the same, here is the official upload's description.

One show. Infinite Adventures. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns this summer exclusively on Paramount+!

Join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they discover new civilizations, test their resolve and dive into thrilling adventures.

SyFy Sistas even have a more comprehensive description.

The trailer looks like fun, so I watched First Look | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 3.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock, Number One and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the starship, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. The new season is set to debut in 2025.

That's an interesting premise entertainingly executed. I'm looking forward to seeing how the crew gets out of this situation, as well as the rest of the ten episodes that will stream this summer.

It turns out that First Contact Day is only one of at least ten special Star Trek days on the calendar. Trek Culture describes them in 10 In-Universe Star Trek Holidays (And When To Celebrate Them).

Let's look at every holiday from Star Trek that we can celebrate in 2025.

Hearing that Frontier Day is April 13th reminds me that I already celebrate a space day that I declared in 2012, Apophis Day. Now I have two holidays to celebrate in eight days!

I'm not done with today's holiday celebration. Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the rest of the most read holiday entries that I didn't cover in Ig Nobel Prizes for April Fools Day 2025, a holiday special.

Kosta, Colbert, and Meyers take closer looks at tariffs on Flashback Friday

Yesterday's bad news was tariffs and, of course, tariffs were the story that stuck around. The Daily Show was among the shows that featured them as the topic of their monologues. Since it had the best preview image, I'm sharing Trump’s Tariffs Send Markets Plunging and Penguins Waddling to a Trade War first.

Michael Kosta recaps Trump's tariffs fallout, from a stock market crash to cabinet officials taking to the airwaves to cheerlead the move. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt checks in on the penguins who now find themselves in a trade war.

Imposing tariffs on a territory inhabited only by penguins was the funniest thing about this mess. It shows that Hoover Cleveland and whoever was actually doing his work just went down a list and assigned tariffs without checking to see if any people actually lived there. *Eye roll* I'd say we're living in Idiocracy except that's science fiction that takes place in the 26th Century. We're really living in a kakistocracy, "government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens." How about all three?

Speaking of "the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens," the title of Stephen Colbert's monologue was Trump Jets Off To Watch Golf After Triggering Global Market Meltdown | No Tariffs On Russia.

President Trump's tariff announcement, which sent stocks into a nosedive and enraged America's allies around the world, mysteriously excluded one major country: Russia.

No tariffs on Russia? I'm not surprised. As I wrote yesterday, "Maybe it's good for his fellow billionaires, including Vladimir Putin, his partner in a bad bromance. I have long had my suspicions." This just reinforces them.

My wife and I watched both Colbert and Seth Meyers, who examined the situation in Trump's Insane Tariff Plan Tanks Stock Market, Risks Economic Collapse as Prices Rise: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Trump implementing massive tariffs on almost every country in the world, raising prices for American consumers, escalating a pointless trade war with allies and pushing the economy into a self-inflicted meltdown.

Seth mentioned his wife's shopping list, which reminds me that my wife went shopping at Costco yesterday. She said it reminded her of the early days of the pandemic, when everyone was buying toilet paper, including her. Doom spending, anyone?

I close this portion of the post with the cold open of The Late Show, The World Reacts To Trump's Tariffs.

The president thinks his man-made economic disaster is going "very well."

He would think so. In reality, we're partying like it's 1929.

Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the top posts from last year featuring late-night talk-show hosts examining Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump's second term so far to observe Flashback Friday.

Colbert, Kosta, and Meyers take closer looks at tariffs, Wisconsin, and Cory Booker

It's been a minute since I compiled the monologues of the late-night talk show hosts, so I'm returning with Stephen Colbert laughing at Trump Risks Historic Economic Damage | Musk Crushed In Wisconsin | Sen. Booker's Marathon Speech so he and his audience don't have to cry.

President Trump announced new tariffs which economists warn could plunge the world into a depression, Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly rejected Elon Musk's preferred candidate for the state's Supreme Court, and Senator Cory Booker spoke for a record-breaking 25 hours on the Senate floor in protest of Trump's actions.

I call Trump Hoover Cleveland because he was the first president since Herbert Hoover to leave the Oval Office with fewer Americans employed than when he entered. His tariffs could repeat that. The only thing that could save him is that he's doing it so early in his second term. Still, it wasn't necessary for the good of the country. As I wrote in Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and will close all U.S. stores, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and repeated in CNBC explains 'What’s Scaring Americans Into Shopping More':

If the U.S. does go into recession this year, it won't be because of internal economic forces, but because of government interference, which normally tries to cushion against economic downturns. Biden piloted the U.S. economy to a soft landing, then Hoover Cleveland tries to crash the plane anyway!

I'm not even sure it's good for Hoover Cleveland, although he might think so. As I wrote in George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel and Trump sells sneakers, "he has long had a very bad case of 'L'État, c'est moi.' As far as he's concerned, he is the country." Maybe it's good for his fellow billionaires, including Vladimir Putin, his partner in a bad bromance. I have long had my suspicions.

Michael Kosta at The Daily Show covered the same stories with the assistance of Desi Lydic, but scrambled their order, in Trump Launches "Liberation Day" Tariffs & Cory Booker's Speech Breaks Senate Record.

Michael Kosta recaps surprising wins for the Democrats, including a victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race despite Elon Musk's financial interference, and a record-breaking 25-hour speech by Cory Booker. Plus, Trump launches his "Liberation Day" tariffs, and Republicans scramble to supply cover.

Since Kamala Harris lost, I've been wondering who would step up to be the next leading candidate for the 2028 Democratic Presidential nomination. Cory Booker might have just made his move.

I conclude with Seth Meyers' Musk and Trump Lose Big in Wisconsin After Spending Millions to Buy Votes: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, trying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin state Supreme Court.

Can Elon Musk buy an election?

I'd like to think Democrats still have the turnout advantage in off-year elections they've had since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Hoover Cleveland won states like Wisconsin and Michigan through "bullet ballots" — people voting for him but no one else. They didn't vote for downballot contests and aren't likely to vote in an election where Trump is not on the ballot. That reminds me of an answer to the question I asked in I ask The Archdruid and his readers 'Can you show us on the doll exactly where the educated professionals hurt you?' The answer is turn against Republicans and deny them downballot victories. I hope that happens tomorrow in Wisconsin and other states where there are off-year and special elections.

I got my wish. The answer to "can Elon Musk buy an election?" was "NO!"

I know I promised a retrospective for Throwback Thursday, but I decided I would catch up on my sleep, so I ran out of time. Definitely tomorrow for Flashback Friday, when I don't have to go to work. Stay tuned.

Vox asks 'RFK Jr. is in charge of vaccines. What now?' A Wayback Wednesday special

I've been worried about RFK Jr. being in charge of federal health policy ever since Hoover Cleveland's re-election. Vox explored his ability to affect Health and Human Services (HHS) policy when it asked RFK Jr. is in charge of vaccines. What now?

The new US secretary of Health and Human Services has a long history of spreading misinformation about vaccines.
...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been called the most unqualified health secretary in the history of the US. Before his confirmation, over 22,000 doctors signed a letter urging the Senate to reject his appointment. During the confirmation hearing several senators grilled him on his concerning history related to vaccine misinformation: things like his founding of an anti-vax organization, his concerning anti-vax rhetoric, and his history of suing vaccine manufacturers, something he stands to make a lot of money doing.

The former environmental lawyer was propelled to the nation’s highest health office largely by the “MAHA” movement, a play on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan (“Make America Healthy Again”). As health secretary, Kennedy wants to solve the chronic disease epidemic in the US, which plenty of doctors can get behind. The issue is that he aims to do it at the expense of infectious disease research. And therein lies the problem. Most people can agree when he says things like “I’m supportive of vaccines” and “I want good science.” The trouble is that his definition of “good” is, well — let’s call it historically shaky. In March, he appointed a well-known vaccine skeptic to head a study on the long-debunked potential link between vaccines and autism.

So what’s next? Can RFK Jr. take away vaccines that are already on the market? It’s unlikely, but he doesn’t need to. Kennedy sits at the helm of the very department he’s been undermining for years. In that position, the power he has over vaccine policy isn’t limitless, but the changes he can make could ripple for decades.

If I have to concentrate on criticizing any of Trump's Cabinet Secretaries, it will be RFK Jr. I'm a scientist and he's the biggest threat to science of anyone actually confirmed by the Senate (Elon Musk as the effective head of DOGE may be just as big right now, but he's not Senate-confirmed and probably isn't there for the long term). Vox's video helps me by showing how and why he can threaten health research and policy.

One of those threats is the ongoing measles outbreak. ABC News covered that and health policy news in Nearly 500 cases of measles reported across 19 states last week.

Plus, why Utah banned fluoride in public drinking water and the potential fallout from the FDA’s top vaccine official’s resignation.

Utah answered no to 'Should fluoride be in our water?' I hope that doesn't adversely affect my mom, sister, and nephew who live there. Also, the Reduction In Force (RIF) of 20,000 HHS employees shows how both RFK Jr. and Musk combine to be threats to health and science.

CBS Texas updated the situation in the Lone Star State when it reported Texas measles outbreak hits 422 cases; vaccine clinics canceled due to federal cuts last night.

The measles outbreak in Texas continues to spread, with 422 cases reported since January, an increase of 22 cases since Friday. Most cases are in West Texas, where one child has died. Dallas County Health and Human Services has cut 21 workers, including 10 temporary workers, leading to the cancellation of 15 vaccine events, including measles vaccination clinics. These cuts are part of the Trump administration's effort to reduce federal spending.

Bird flu may be a bigger potential threat, but measles is a menace right now.

I'm repeating what I wrote in Randy Rainbow sings 'I Think I'm Gonna Hate It Here' and recycled in Kosta, Colbert, and Kimmel mock Trump for blaming crash on DEI and his Cabinet picks.

Seriously, that supposed ideological diversity probably comes from former Democrats Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., who I called cases of failing upwards. I thought I was done with both of them when they dropped out of the 2020 and 2024 Presidential contests, respectively. Instead, I could be writing about them for the next four years. Ugh. At least my readers and I have Randy and others to keep us sane. May they be like Ben Carson AKA Doctor Pyramid, about whom I ended up writing "At least you were too boring to write about for the past four [years]" after Carson's service as HUD Secretary. May we be so lucky with Gabbard and RFK Jr.

So far, they've been making news. At least they're not boring.

Follow over the jump for the top post of mine about RFK Jr. during the 14th year of this blog.

Ig Nobel Prizes for April Fools Day 2025, a holiday special

Happy April Fools Day! I promised a retrospective about holidays and I'll get to it, no fooling, but first I'm recycling last year's theme of IgNobel Prizes for April Fools Day/A> by sharing Anton Petrov describing Drunk Worms, Butt Breathing and More Hilarious Studies That Won Ig Nobel Prize In 2024.

Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about 10 exciting studies that won the Ig Nobel prize in 2024[.]

I agree with Anton; many of these are important studies, some of which may become stories I tell my students, at least for the next year or so I plan on teaching. The plant that mimics other plants, including plastic ones (Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees, anyone?), dead trout and salmon swimming, and butt-breathing mammals are facts I can share with my Organismal Biology students. I can even use the last today, as I'm lecturing on the respiratory system in Human Structure and Function after lecturing on the digestive system last week — a transition! My geology students flip coins for an extra credit exercise simulating radioactive decay, so the fair coin finding will be a good story to share with them. Finally, I show age structures comparing Bihar and Kerala, the states with the lowest and highest literacy in India, and point out how illiteracy affects Bihar's reported age structure. The demographic research casting doubt on extreme age might enhance that story.

I hope my readers enjoyed today's excursion into "achievements that first make people LAUGH, then make them THINK." All of them are real research. No hoaxes today!

Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the five most read posts about holidays during the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

Can Elon Musk buy an election? Silly and serious takes on the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest

I'm closing out March's blogging by sharing silly and serious takes on tomorrow's election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, beginning with The Daily Show's Elon Musk & Billionaires Flood the Zone in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race.

Ronny Chieng covers the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election, including Elon Musk’s $20 million intervention in Republican Brad Schimel’s campaign, attack ads against the wrong Susan Crawford, and alternating pro-pedophilia smear campaigns. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt sees how billionaires are turning elections into games.

The preview image asked "Can Elon buy a Wisconsin election?" That was the silly take. I begin the serious takes with Democracy Now! asking the nearly identical question, Can Elon Musk Buy Wisconsin? Ari Berman on Billionaire-Funded Attempt to Flip State Supreme Court.

After spending over a quarter of a billion dollars on Donald Trump's presidential election campaign, Elon Musk is pouring money into a Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. Musk has spent more than $18 million to support Trump-backed candidate Brad Schimel over liberal Susan Crawford and has been paying Wisconsin voters $100 to help flip the state's top court. This election could impact abortion rights, unions and Republicans' ability to keep gerrymandered districts in place to control Congress. "The level of corruption at play here, the level of money at play here, really is a warning sign for what's happening to our democracy," says Ari Berman, voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones magazine.

Amy Goodman and Ari Berman are right; this is part of a larger project that includes Hoover Cleveland's power grab in the form of an executive order regarding elections. The voters can stop it, but only if they demonstrate that the answer to The Daily Show's and Democracy Now's question is "no." To that end, I'm embedding NBC News's Steve Kornacki: Wisconsin Supreme Court race will test Democrat’s off-year turnout 'advantage'.

NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki digs into battleground Wisconsin ahead of the state’s Supreme Court election.

I'd like to think Democrats still have the turnout advantage in off-year elections they've had since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Hoover Cleveland won states like Wisconsin and Michigan through "bullet ballots" — people voting for him but no one else. They didn't vote for downballot contests and aren't likely to vote in an election where Trump is not on the ballot. That reminds me of an answer to the question I asked in I ask The Archdruid and his readers 'Can you show us on the doll exactly where the educated professionals hurt you?' The answer is turn against Republicans and deny them downballot victories. I hope that happens tomorrow in Wisconsin and other states where there are off-year and special elections.

That concludes March's blogging. Stay tuned for a retrospective about holidays on April Fools Day.

'SNL' mocks the Signal group chat in its cold open and Weekend Update

Last night's Saturday Night Live began by mocking last week's top U.S. political story in Group Chat Cold Open.

A group of teenagers (Mikey Madison, Sarah Sherman, Ego Nwodim) get added to a group chat with Secretary Pete Hegseth (Andrew Dismukes), Vice President JD Vance (Bowen Yang), Secretary Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández) and Editor of the Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg (Mikey Day).

Where's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz? Didn't he start the group chat? I guess he's not known, disliked, or funny enough to be parodied in the skit. On the other hand, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is all three, which is one of the reasons both this scandal and Hegseth are called Whiskeyleaks, a nickname alongside Kegseth. Hegseth deserves his own label on this blog and I think I'll use Kegseth.

SNL continued mocking Whiskeyleaks, both Hegseth and the scandal, in the first segment of Weekend Update: Pete Hegseth Sends Attack Plans on Signal Group Chat.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visiting a Salvadoran prison.

At least Waltz made the preview image along with Hegseth, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio, and had a couple of jokes told about him, although I think the one about Hegseth was funnier. As for Kristi Noem's photo op, Michael Che's quip about OnlyFans reminds me of what Steve M. wrote at No More Mister Nice Blog yesterday.

It's obvious that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's visit to El Salvador's brutal Cecot prison was part of the the Trump administration's effort to keep pumping out images of performative machismo in order to appeal to Trump's multi-ethnic, multi-generational coalition of male voters (a "badass" woman in skintight clothing is a familiar trope in male-coded popular culture)...The Trumpers know what boys like.

A conservative female politician using her sex appeal? I've seen that before.

Weekend Update continued with Will Smith's New Album, 23andMe Goes Bankrupt.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like three girls trying to stab [their] mother after she turned off the Wi-Fi.

Will Smith's new album alone qualifies this entry as the Sunday entertainment feature, but so does Jost's rant about Paddington and to a lesser extent, Melania Trump's campaign against deepfake revenge porn plus more over the jump.

Too bad 23andMe filing for bankruptcy only got a throwaway line; I guess the privacy concerns weren't funny enough. On the other hand, Joann's bankruptcy earned an entire segment, Joann on JOANN Fabric and Crafts' Bankruptcy.

Joann (Ashley Padilla) stops by Weekend Update to discuss JOANN Fabric and Crafts announcing store closures.

I wish SNL gave all the casualties of the Retail Apocalypse that much attention. Imagine the one of the teens from the cold open bemoaning the loss of Forever 21!

Follow over the jump for more highlights from last night's show plus the top posts from the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News featuring SNL.

CNBC explains 'What’s Scaring Americans Into Shopping More'

I wrote "I should go on recession watch again" in Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and will close all U.S. stores, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse. To that end, I'm sharing CNBC explaining What’s Scaring Americans Into Shopping More.

Retail sales are holding up, but consumer confidence is slipping. A rising share of Americans are making purchases not out of want, but out of worry. This trend, called "doom spending," is driven by fears of higher prices and supply disruptions. While it may offer a short-term sense of control, it's happening alongside rising debt and financial strain and could set the stage for a sharper slowdown ahead. Watch the video above to learn more about why Americans are spending more amid growing economic concerns.

CNBC shows it's also on recession watch with this video, so I'm in good company. It also points out that the current round of "doom spending" will shore up the economy in the short run, holding off a recession, but could result in a recession when it abates. If so, I'll blame Hoover Cleveland.

If the U.S. does go into recession this year, it won't be because of internal economic forces, but because of government interference, which normally tries to cushion against economic downturns. Biden piloted the U.S. economy to a soft landing, then Hoover Cleveland tries to crash the plane anyway!

Among other things, the threat of tariffs prompted my wife and me to buy a new Volkswagen Tiguan before the price went up. That's a major purchase. Just the same, we're very happy with it; it's providing good experiences in addition to being a material object.

That concludes today's episode of recession watch. Stay tuned for the highlights of tonight's Saturday Night Live.

My Saturn Awards preferences and predictions vs. the winners for Flashback Friday

I told my readers "I might just examine the most read entry of last year, which should look familiar" as the outro to CityNerd warns 'The New USDOT Is Coming for Your "Woke" Projects,' a driving update on Throwback Thursday. By raw page views, that was Science fiction speaks to our current anxieties from August 3, 2014 with approximately 1,940 page views. I'll get into the details over the jump. Right now, I'm doing the same thing I did for last year's top post by raw page views, comparing My Saturn Awards votes vs. the actual winners, beginning with the movie nominees.


Best Science Fiction Film: My preference/prediction Dune: Part Two. Winner Dune: Part Two.
Best Fantasy Film: My preference/prediction Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Winner Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Best Horror Film: My preference/prediction Alien: Romulus. Winner Alien: Romulus.
Best Thriller Film: My preference/prediction Strange Darling. Winner Strange Darling.
Best Action / Adventure Film: My preference/prediction Deadpool & Wolverine. Winner Deadpool & Wolverine.
Best Independent Film: My preference/prediction The Substance. Winner Late Night with the Devil. Surprise!
Best International Film: My preference/prediction Godzilla Minus One (Japan). Winner Godzilla Minus One (Japan).
Best Animated Film: My preference Inside Out 2. Prediction The Wild Robot. Winner The Wild Robot. "All of the editors, most of the experts, and nearly all the top 24 users think The Wild Robot will win next year's Oscar for Animated Feature, and the Saturn Awards electorate might follow suit." They did.
Best Actor in a Film: My preference Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool & Wolverine). Winner Nicolas Cage (Dream Scenario). "I can't rule out Nicolas Cage, who surprised me by winning Best Supporting Actor in a Film earlier this year for his hammy portrayal of Dracula in Renfield."
Best Actress in a Film: My preference/prediction Demi Moore (The Substance). Winner Demi Moore (The Substance).
Best Supporting Actor in a Film: My preference/prediction Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine). Winner Hugh Jackman (Deadpool & Wolverine).
Best Supporting Actress in a Film: My preference Margaret Qualley (The Substance). Prediction Emma Corrin. Winner Rebecca Ferguson (Dune: Part Two). Not a complete surprise, as I noted below.
Best Younger Performer in a Film: My preference McKenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire). My prediction Jenna Ortega. Winner Jenna Ortega (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) as predicted.
Best Film Direction: My preference/prediction Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two). Winner Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two).
Best Film Screenwriting: My preference/prediction Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve Jon Spaihts). Winner Longlegs (Osgood Perkins). Surprise!
Best Film Visual / Special Effects: My preference/prediction Godzilla Minus One (Masaki Takahashi, Tatsuiji Nojima, Kiyokk Shubuya, Takashi Yamazaki). Winner Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salacombe, Gerd Nefzer. Not a surprise, as Dune: Part Two won the equivalent Academy Award this year.
Best Film Music: My preference/prediction Dune: Part Two (Hans Zimmer). Winner Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Danny Elfman). Not a complete surprise, as I wrote "That's a lot of fun and even better than the original!"
Best Film Production Design: My preference/prediction Dune: Part Two (Patrice Vermette). Winner Dune: Part Two (Patrice Vermette).
Best Film Make Up: The Substance My preference/prediction The Substance (Pierre-Olivier Persin). Winner The Substance (Pierre-Olivier Persin).
Best Film Editing: My preference/prediction Dune: Part Two (Joe Walker). Winner Deadpool & Wolverine (Dean Zimmerman & Shane Reid). Not a surprise, as I wrote "I like the editing in action films, so I'm predisposed to vote for Deadpool & Wolverine..."
Best Film Costume Design: My preference/prediction Dune: Part Two (Jacqueline West). Winner Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Colleen Atwood). Surprise! See below.

My predictions of winners different from my should-have-been votes:

I decided to go with the professional opinion and vote for Margaret Qualley as Best Supporting Actress in a Film, but I think Emmy-nominee Emma Corrin is just as good an actress and chewed more scenery as the villain of Deadpool & Wolverine, so she could upset.

This is a distillation of my comment in 'Dune: Part Two' leads movie nominations at the Saturn Awards.

I think the choice between Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya is even starker than between Brolin and Butler for Dune: Part Two. The only hope is that they coalesce around one of them as the better actress. Otherwise, Emma Corrin, who is an Emmy winner, will sneak through as the villain of Deadpool & Wolverine.

The voters decided on Rebecca Ferguson.

I think McKenna Grace is a better actress and displayed more range in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire than Jenna Ortega in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but Ortega is a bigger star, so she's likely to win Best Younger Performer in a Film.

That happened.

While I decided the makeup was integral to telling the story of The Substance, both Dune: Part Two and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice earned https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000133/2025/1/Critics' Choice Award nominations for their makeup, so either of them could win, particularly Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

The Substance won, but Beetlejuice Beetlejuice surprised me in the next category instead.

Dune: Part Two also earned a nomination for costume design at the Critics' Choice Awards, but I wouldn't be surprised if the superhero cosplayers who are on the Saturn Awards costumes committee would be able to sway the vote to Deadpool & Wolverine.

Nope, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice won.

Follow over the jump for the television and home entertainment categories plus more on the most read entry of the 14th year of the blog.

CityNerd warns 'The New USDOT Is Coming for Your "Woke" Projects,' a driving update on Throwback Thursday

I'm switching things up for the first retrospective examining the most read entries of the fourteenth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. Instead of featuring the most read entry, I'm beginning with two driving updates that were among the most read posts of the blogging year just ended. To that end, I'm sharing Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty warning his viewers that The New USDOT Is Coming for Your "Woke" Projects.

We're only a few weeks into the new administration and it already feels like years. Let's check in on what the new USDOT is up to.

As Delahanty pointed out, it's not like he didn't warn us last year. I featured three of his videos doing just that, CityNerd explaining 'What Project 2025 Means for Our Cities' can drive one to drink, CityNerd responds to comments on his Project 2025 video, and CityNerd examines Agenda 47 and cities in 'And You Thought Project 2025 Was Bad'. I anticipated many of the effects on climate change and energy in The BBC World Service examines 'How the US election could change our climate' plus MSNBC on Project 2025 and climate. I didn't expect that this administration would move as aggressively against DEI as it has. Yikes!

Since I like data, I found Henry Grabar's lists of states with the highest and lowest birth numbers and fertility rates.


I mentioned these numbers in class last week when I lectured on population. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Follow over the jump for the current driving update and the two driving updates that made the most read list during the 14th year of this blog.

Stats for the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Wayback Wednesday

I closed 23andMe files for bankruptcy, fueling privacy concerns by telling my readers "stay tuned for the first retrospective of the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, stats." Here goes!

As of 11:59 PM EDT March 20, 2025, this blog had a lifetime total of 5,222,122 page views, 6,168 total posts, and 4180 comments. Minus the 4,463,208 page views, 5,798 total posts, and 4,057 comments as of just before March 21, 2024, that means this blog earned 758,914 page views and 123 published comments on 370 posts during the 365 days of the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. My calculated page views are close to the ~757,000 page views and 133 comments Blogger's counter showed during the past twelve months. That was closer than last year, but not exact. I think that's because Blogger counts whole days, which started at 8:00 P.M. March 21, 2024, but my count starts 20 hours earlier. Blogger lost all of those ~1,900 page views from those 20 hours. I tested this hypothesis by multiplying the next day's 2,290 page views by 0.833 (20/24) and got 1,908. Close enough. I can't completely account for the ten extra comments. I deleted six and there were eight comments during the first three weeks of March 2024 that Blogger might have counted, but neither add up, literally. Maybe I'll figure it out next year.

Last year's trend of increasing page views continued. Not only did this past year's 758,914 page views on 370 posts during 365 days beat the year before's 641,234 page views on 380 posts during 366 days, it beat the year before that's 419,300 page views on 379 posts during 365 days. That means I'm working less hard for more page views, as the blog earned 2,051.12 page views per post and 2,079.22 page views per day during the blog year just ended. Both are more than the 1,687.46 page views per post and 1,752.01 page views per day the blog earned between March 21, 2023 and March 20, 2024 and a lot more than the 1,106.33 page views per post and 1,148.77 page views per day between March 21, 2022 and March 20, 2023. May the trend continue during this year just started.

While the published comments increased from 78 to 123, the raw number, including never released spam decreased from 199 to either 154 or 133. Still, the number of published comments increased to 123, just edging out the 122 of two years ago. Just the same, I'm getting less spam and more published comments. 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 Steve in Manhattan. I also want to welcome back Paul W., who didn't comment last year. Keep up the good work! I also want to thank John R. Christiansen, E.A. Blair, and Steven C. Di Pietro for making their first posts here. Stick around! Unfortunately, I seem to have lost longtime commenter Narb Xorbian, the best man at my first wedding. In addition, last year's first-time commenters H-bob, tronvillain, August Johnson, Noah, Marc McKenzie, Realityhold, and my student Ecogranite didn't return. Come back, I miss you!

Follow over the jump for the rest of the analysis.

23andMe files for bankruptcy, fueling privacy concerns

I have another bankruptcy story to report today, 23andMe Files For Bankruptcy And CEO Anne Wojcicki Exits—Here's What We Know from Forbes.

Genetic testing company 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to initiate the process of selling off its assets, while the troubled firm’s co-founder Anne Wojcicki—who was attempting to take 23andMe private—stepped down from her role with the intent to become an outside bidder for the asset sale.

CNBC explained how the company got to this point as it answered What Happened To 23andMe?

23andMe was one of the hottest startups of the 2000s, once valued at $6 billion. The company’s DNA test kits became a viral sensation and powerful research tool for those hoping to learn more about their ancestry and health. But today, it has lost 98% of its value and is on the verge of being delisted from the Nasdaq after all independent board members resigned, citing frustration with founder Anne Wojcicki’s “strategic differences” in her vision for the company. Meanwhile, 23andMe is sitting on the world’s largest genetic database that it once hoped to leverage for drug development. So what will happen to all that DNA data, and can Wojcicki save the company from collapse by taking it private? Watch the video to find out more.

On the one hand, the situation went from bad to worse since CNBC uploaded the video on October 20, 2024; they didn't even mention bankruptcy as a possibility five months ago. On the other, 23andMe's data apparently became more useful since 2013, the only other time I've mentioned the company, when I quoted an article about a lawsuit claiming the test results were "meaningless."

Forbes and CNBC emphasized the parts of the story important to their readers and viewers, who are investors and others interested in business and the economy. For news more important to consumers, including 23andMe's customers, I turn to NewsNation asking 23andMe files for bankruptcy: What are customers' rights?

23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and CEO Anne Wojcicki, whose takeover bid failed, has stepped down. The genetic testing company has more than 15 million customers' genetic data — and California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning users to purge their data sooner rather than later.

Laura Coordes, a law professor at Arizona State University, joins “NewsNation Now” to discuss what customers should do with their data.

My wife and I bought a pair of test kits before the pandemic, but never turned in our samples and paid the rest of the fee. On the one hand, I'm annoyed that we wasted our money. On the other, we don't have to worry about protecting our data; 23andMe doesn't have it!

At this point, I would write that I would wait for Company Man and Bright Sun Films to cover the company, but I don't have to, as Company Man already asked The Decline of 23andMe...What Happened?

23andMe was once considered one of the most promising companies, but today, it is falling apart. This video attempts to explain the reasons behind the decline.

Here's Company Man Mike's list:


Company Man Mike added the difference in motivations between 23andMe and its customers as a factor to the other four reasons, which Forbes, CNBC, and NewsNation all covered. The company wanted the results to be used to improve their customers' health, while most of the customers were interested in the entertainment value of the results, including learning more about their ancestry. Procrastinating over deciding to pay the premium for the health results was what led to my wife and I not paying for the test at all; we were more interested in our ancestry. Maybe we'll pay for an Ancestry.com test and actually take it.

Now all I have to do is wait to see if Jake Williams of Bright Sun Films covers 23andMe. In the meantime, stay tuned for the first retrospective of the 14th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, stats.

'FOREVER 21: Nothing Is Forever' by Retail Archaeology, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I closed Marche du Nain Rouge, history and revelry by telling my readers, "Stay tuned for either an evergreen post I can share in April, no fooling, or the stats for the 14th year of this blog." I decided that I should wait until Wayback Wednesday to post last year's stats, so I'm opting for the post worth sharing next month by revisiting Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and will close all U.S. stores, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse. Watch FOREVER 21: Nothing Is Forever | Retail Archaeology, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse.

In this episode of Retail Archaeology we a take a look at Forever 21. They just filed for bankruptcy and are closing all of their stores.

While Erik repeated that blaming online shopping in general and Amazon in particular is a lazy explanation for brick-and-mortar chains failing, he acknowledged that competition with Shein and Temu is a major reason why Forever 21 declared bankruptcy this time. He also repeated what I wrote just before Forever 21 filed for bankruptcy the first time and repeated in 2020.

As an environmentalist, I probably should be more opposed to fast fashion than I am; as Newsweek reported three years ago, Fast Fashion Is Creating an Environmental Crisis.

Americans are blithely trashing more clothes than ever. In less than 20 years, the volume of clothing Americans toss each year has doubled from 7 million to 14 million tons, or an astounding 80 pounds per person. The EPA estimates that diverting all of those often-toxic trashed textiles into a recycling program would be the environmental equivalent of taking 7.3 million cars and their carbon dioxide emissions off the road.

Yikes! On the one hand, replacing Forever 21 with a clothing outlet that produces more sustainable clothing would be an improvement. On the other, that's not likely to happen. Instead, until Americans, especially young women, change their fashion tastes, they will just buy fast fashion online and more malls will be stuck with empty anchors and other stores, creating more dead mall[s]. Sigh.

I quoted this passage then elaborated on two of its points in Vox explains 'The lies that sell fast fashion'.

I have become more opposed to fast fashion and Americans have apparently accelerated their acquisition of cheap clothing, a trend being pushed by new chains I hadn't even heard of then, Shein and Temu, and haven't mentioned until now, through a social media platform, TikTok, I wouldn't mention until 2020. Then, I was concerned about TikTok's capacity to monitor users on behalf of China and its ability to misinform, which are why I don't use it, despite its promotion of dance, a phenomenon I can watch on YouTube shorts, thank you very much. I didn't think enough about it as an advertising medium affecting Americans' shopping habits beyond convincing young people to shop local. Now I am. That's another reason to be suspicious of the platform.

TikTok ended up being banned in the U.S., but returned after Hoover Cleveland's inauguration. I don't know if that's a good thing, like ending Daylight Saving Time and ending penny production probably could be, but at least it happened.

That's it for Forever 21 until either or both Company Man and Bright Sun Films produce a video about its second bankruptcy. Stay tuned for another post worth sharing in April next.