A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
66 million years ago a giant space rock crashed into our planet and killed the dinosaurs. In the span of just four decades, we’ve gone from not knowing there was a space rock at all to knowing exactly where that planet-killer came from.
I've been following this story for as long as I've been a geologist, but I still learned new things from this video, or at least was reminded of things I'd forgotten, like Luis Alvarez having earned a Nobel Prize in Physics. I will say I was skeptical at first, but by the time I earned my M.S., I was convinced.
A giant asteroid impact ended the age of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. How did this mass extinction play out, moment by moment? In this video we meet a geologist who has explored the asteroid crater and learn what the rocks tell us about the last days of the dinosaurs. It was pretty bad!
Not only did Dr. Joe Hanson and Sean Gulick describe the details of what we now know about the Chicxulub impact and its effects, Joe concluded with a "so what" message. Unlike the dinosaurs, we have a choice.
That's a wrap for June's blogging. Stay tuned for Canada Day to begin July.
"Patches" with its soaring vocals and soulful energy, and its sad and empathetic storyline about a farmboy from Alabama being given a mission by his dying father, has always been a favourite for us. Sung by the late Clarence Carter - who sadly died just last month, aged 90 - it was written by lead singer of "Chairmen of the Board" General Johnson along with Ron Dunbar in 1970, before Carter turned it in to a blues hit.
We are using it for a much more mundane topic than the affliction of southern rural poverty on a family, which is to reflect on Trump's disastrous ($14m and counting) renovation attempts of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, which will now not be complete in time for the anniversary celebrations. The story has travelled around the world and prompted lots of hilarious online memes and commentaries, being such an accessible and colourful microcosm of his presidency and its impact.
One of my favorite versions of "Kodachrome" is from Simon and Garfunkle concert in Central Park, where they mashed it up with "Maybellene". This song parody turns it into "Algae Foam" to continue making fun of Donald Trump's Reflecting Pool debacle.
The Reflecting Pool hasn't made Patrick Fitzgerald forget about the EpsteinFiles.
That's a wrap for today's musical parody post. Stay tuned for InternationalAsteroidDay, the younger but paradoxically more established version of Apophis Day, to close June, and Canada Day to begin July.
The legend of Paul Bunyan is ingrained in Minnesota history, and his statue is a symbol of local pride to Bemidji residents. FOX 9's Maury Glover takes a closer look at the legacy the statue represents as it nears its 90th birthday.
The first record of loggers telling Paul Bunyan stories may have been in Wisconsin, but the first Paul Bunyan story was published in Michigan in 1906. News Center Maine mentions the date, but not the location, in History and folklore of Bangor's Paul Bunyan statue now on display.
New signage aims to educate visitors about the folklore and history behind the iconic statue.
I learned something new about the importance of timber to Bangor from this video. Any day I learn something new is a good day.
Joel Baker is the owner of American Giants, a company that restores muffler men. Muffler men are 18- to 25-foot advertising giants that were popular in the 1960s and are becoming popular again.
He shows us how his team restores a Paul Bunyan muffler man. This includes patching up cracks on the giant, adding a structure inside, repainting it, and placing it in its new location.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for another post I can share in July tomorrow followed by InternationalAsteroidDay, the younger but paradoxically more established version of Apophis Day, to close June, and Canada Day to begin July.
Americans are back at the movies. Summer blockbusters like Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Obsession, and Backrooms have all contributed to the best first half of the year since 2019. CNBC’s Sarah Whitten breaks down the data.
Movie theaters are enjoying a post-pandemic resurgence, with Gen Z driving ticket sales and helping fuel one of Hollywood's strongest summer seasons in years.
After all the "Millennials are killing" some institution, cultural activity, food or other product I've been reading since before the pandemic, I shouldn't be surprised that news media and popular culture would discover a contrasting feature about Gen Z to report. Gen Z reversing the trend by saving malls certainly fits.
So does Gen Z saving movie theaters. While I'm planning to retire this year, it's not because of my students. I like them and think they're good people (I'm tempted to write kids, but they're adults and deserve to be treated as such).
Food, fuel or inflation? What breaks first? This is possibly the most important podcast we have done to date. I know its a long one and a departure from our normal format, but this is definitely worth your time and we'd love to hear yourt thoughts and ideas...
I first predicted "I fully expect Peak Oil, economic decline, and social upheaval to end the national touring model, which has been around since 1971, by 2020" on this blog in 2012. I came to that conclusion four years earlier, as "I started mourning in 2008, when I quit writing for Drum Corps World and stopped going to shows." I even warned a corps director about it.
Well, the 2020 drum corps season has been cancelled, so the national touring model is in a coma, not dead, but Peak Oil had nothing to do with it. Instead, it was the pandemic that drove what passes for economic decline and social upheaval and that caused there to be no competitive drum corps this year.
The national touring model was still unconscious in 2021, as there were no competitive shows and no national tour, just DCI Celebration, three nights of exhibitions in Indianapolis. The national touring model didn't get out of the hospital until 2022. I was right for the wrong reason, but I'll still claim a successful prediction.
That written, the current situation the panelists at Marching Arts Network are describing is more what I was envisioning beginning in 2008, an oil shortage, although because of war, not Peak Oil directly, and economic disruption and even people in the activity who are not doomers see the national touring model as the problem. I think its return in 2022 will turn out to be a temporary triumph of business as usual once the pandemic receded enough to reinstitute what the activity was doing in 2019 and is still doomed, although I'm not predicting the year of its demise today. I think what I wrote on Christmas 2012 will extend the existances of both drum corps and the national touring model for years after the latter should have ended: "As for drum corps' hopes, they rest on the one thing that makes Americans act, messing with their entertainment. Americans want their entertainment, and will do just about anything to keep it going." So far, that observation has remained true.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned to see if I celebrate Paul Bunyan Day or the Sunday entertainment feature early or if I post a compilation of last night's monologues to share next month, which begins Wednesday, Tuesday night according to Greenwich Mean Time.
Josh Johnson dives into the Scottish takeover of Miami for the World Cup, the flock of tourists visiting D.C.'s bright green reflecting pool, Trump’s security escalation to catch possible pool “vandals,” and whether Trump's pool disaster is karma for trashing Biden and Obama’s previous reflecting pool projects. Plus, conservative media can’t stop talking about the pool, while Michael Kosta can’t stop dreaming about drinking it.
Everything Trump touches dies, including the Reflecting Pool. Then he blames someone else.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for a particularly doomy preview of the drum corps season, which begins tomorrow.
In 1952, a terrifying creature was spotted in Flatwoods, West Virginia — a 10-foot-tall creature with glowing eyes, a spade-shaped head, and cloaked in a metal skirt. Was it an alien, a Cold War experiment, or mass hysteria?
Dr. Z doesn't make up her mind to resolve her question, although she certainly leans heavily on cultural context influencing how people interpret what they see.
Universal Pictures is proud to release a new original event film created and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple) and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).
Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Combined, those films earned more than $3 billion worldwide. Koepp also wrote the script for this 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth.
Disclosure Day is produced by five-time Academy Award® nominee Kristie Macosko Krieger (The Fabelmans, West Side Story) and by Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment. The executive producers are Adam Somner and Chris Brigham.
Steven Spielberg is one of the industry’s most successful and influential filmmakers. The top-grossing director of all time, Spielberg has helmed such blockbusters as Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones franchise and Jurassic Park.
Among his myriad honors, he is a three-time Academy Award® winner, including Oscars® for Best Director and Best Picture for Schindler’s List, which received a total of seven Oscars®, and for Best Director for Saving Private Ryan. His most recent film, The Fabelmans, was released by Universal in 2022 and received seven Academy Award® nominations, including for Directing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Picture.
While I fully expect to see Disclosure Day earn nominations at the Critics Choice Super Awards next month and the Saturn Awards in January, if they stick to this year's schedule, I also expect it to lose to Project Hail Mary in most of its categories, especially Best Science Fiction Film or equivalent. Its best bets are best actress for Emily Blunt followed by supporting actor for Colman Domingo. That written, will it influence how people see UFOs/UAPs? Yes, but not as much as previous Spielberg movies on the subject.
Is anyone out there? On this episode of the National Day Spotlight (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/), Marlo Anderson (https://marloanderson.com/) and co-host Alice Anderson are diving into the unexplained mysteries of the cosmos for World UFO Day (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celeb...) . They’ll explore why humanity keeps looking to the skies for answers and celebrate the fun of cosmic curiosity. Tune in for an episode that is truly otherworldly!
That's a wrap for this week's series of holiday entries. I have a musical post planned for tomorrow followed by a particularly doomy preview of the drum corps season, which begins Friday. Stay tuned.
I gave you my verdict on the New York and Chicago style pizzas, now it's time for something in between. Here's my verdict on Michigan's own, Detroit-Style Pizza. But how many Lorenzos did I give it?
I'd give it more than four, but I live in metro Detroit.
Laurence recorded and posted the above video on National Pizza Day 2020, more than a year before the first National Detroit-Style Pizza Day, so can be forgiven for not recording on the right day. It didn't exist yet! As he and his wife Tarah mentioned, he also reviewed New York and Chicago pizza. Here's the first of the two, A Brit's Verdict on Chicago-style Pizza.
After the controversy surrounding Jelly-gate, I thought I'd try an American food item closer to home: a Chicago-style pizza.
Since it's National Pizza Week, it only seems right that I present to the world–with the help of Old Fashioned Af–my verdict on America's New York-style Pizza.
I grew up on New York style pizza in Los Angeles, but people from the East Coast looked down on it. They said it was better cold. Now that I think about it, they were right.
That's a wrap for Lawrence's take on pizza. I have more videos of Brits eating Detroit-Style Pizza that I'm saving for next year. I'm an environmentalist; I conserve my resources. In the meantime, stay tuned for the first of two WorldUFODays, the last of the current string of holidays.
It's considered to be one of only two inland temperate rainforests in the world. This forest contains a diversity of rare species and ancient trees. The Weather Network's Mia Gordon shares five facts about this rare ecosystem.
Take a walk through BC's ancient, globally unique Inland Temperate Rainforest with veteran conservationist Craig Pettitt of the Valhalla Wilderness Society. These forests and the mountain caribou they support are endangered by clearcut logging, which continues despite the urging of a recent provincial commission to protect what remains of our old growth. Pettitt describes Valhalla's thoughtful plan to do just that, through the formation of three new provincial parks which would link up with existing protected areas to create intact wildlife corridors and ecological connectivity. Learn how you can take action now to save the Inland Temperate Rainforest and mountain caribou at VWS.org
This video is about preserving the remnants of the ecosystem in British Columbia. I'm not a resident of that province or of Canada, but those of my readers who are can act as Craig Pettitt requests. Now I feel like I should see what, if anything, is being done to preserve the U.S. portion of the inland rainforest. Next year.
Think dad jokes are just a phase? Well MRI scans show that becoming a father literally alters a man's neurological blueprint. On Father's Day, we explore the incredible biological upgrade that transforms men into caregivers.
Internet sensation April the Giraffe gave birth to her son, Tajiri, live online in front of millions of people this April. The baby giraffe met his father, Oliver, shortly after, but the two have not seen each other since. This week, at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, the three were reunited. It made for a wonderfully memorable moment and delighted fans all over the world.
Tajiri may be the star, but I'm going to wish Oliver a happy Father's Day and the entire family a happy World Giraffe Day!
Next, the reason both World Giraffe Day and National Seashell Day are today, the Summer Solstice. Watch WMAR-2 News' Science with Stevie: Summer Solstice.
The sun is ready for its big moment in the spotlight! Meteorologist Stevie Daniels talks about the summer solstice in this Science with Stevie segment!
Here's to Stevie becoming a mom next month so her viewers can wish her a happy Mother's Day next year!
It was last year and I normally celebrate it that day to avoid pile-ups like today's, but I wasn't feeling it. I'm also not feeling like turning today into the Sunday entertainment feature. I'll make up for it later in the week, when I plan on sharing a particularly doomy preview of the drum corps season, which begins Friday. In the meantime, stay tuned for World Rainforest Day, Detroit-style Pizza Day, and the first of two WorldUFODays. I love holidays!
The time has finally come to break my silence on America's national bird, the bald eagle.
There is also an AI summary.
Lawrence explores the fascinating reality of North America's endemic Bald Eagles, examining their surprising habitats and unique behavioral traits. This look into the conservation success story uncovers the history behind their near-extinction and remarkable recovery.
I've been slacking on one of my traditions, including a drink video for my holiday entries, so I'm making up for by including National Day Calendar's WORLD MARTINI DAY | JUNE 20.
Shaken, not stirred. Do you enjoy a good martini once in a while? Let us know in the comments.
Detroit isn't having all the fun in the Great Lakes State. WNEM TV5 in Saginaw, Flint, Midland and Bay City reported Juneteenth plans in Flint for 54th year.
Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said Flint was the first city in Michigan to officially recognize Juneteenth in 2020, a year before the federal government.
I didn't know that about Flint, so I learned something new. That makes today a good day.
When you look at Federally declared disasters across the U.S., there’s a surprising blank spot in the Southwest region. What’s up with that? Is the Southwest really a safe haven from natural disasters? Or is there a more sinister explanation for this giant hole in the map? On this episode of Weathered, we talk to the folks who made this map, and some of the world’s leading experts on climate risk to find out what’s really going on.
My wife and I watched this video together on the big-screen TV in our bedroom. I guessed the lack of natural disasters in the American Southwest was because there aren't a lot of people there and that the dark secret was the heat. The first guess wasn't true; the Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler, AZ MSA has an estimated population of 5,228,938 while the Las Vegas–Henderson–North Las Vegas, NV MSA has an estimated population of 2,407,226.
The second guess was dead on. That's no surprise, as I blogged about Phoenix being the hottest city in the U.S. in 2021 and mentioned its record heat in 2023twice. What is surprising is that heat waves don't count as federal natural disasters covered by FEMA. The commenters found the reason dismaying: "You don't get disaster declarations for mortality. You only do it for economics." Ecurewitz responded "That’s the most American statement ever." RandomAngle9 commented "The fact that heat doesn't 'qualify' as a disaster because it doesn't destroy buildings, only people, says everything about how we value human life in policy." Speaking of policy, Florida banning municipalities from protecting workers from heat shows that DeSantis wasn't only bad on COVID-19. He and the rest of the Republicans on Florida are bad on climate and weather, too.
The trailer alone demonstrated that Underdogs deserved this nomination. Unfortunately, I doubt it will win this award. It's competing against 2000 Meters to Andriivka with six nominations including Best Documentary, Songs from the Hole with four nominations including Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary, and The Stringer, also with four nominations including Outstanding Investigative Documentary. I expect grit will win over wit.
I was wrong; wit beat grit in Outstanding Writing: Documentary.
Secrets of the Penguins deserved this nomination, but I doubt it will win. Instead, I think it's between Turning Point: The Vietnam War with five total nominations and Love + War with four nominations. Both are also nominated for Best Documentary. The sounds of combat would probably impress the journalists and documentarians, possibly even more than the sounds of nature or music. If the entertainment professionals in the Creative Arts Emmys were voting, they might give WE WANT THE FUNK! the advantage. Not here; electorates matter.
I think the same of Underdogs' chances for Outstanding Sound: Documentary. Given the competition in its categories, it has an apt title.
Don't even think about getting a bigger boat! Let us know in the comments the largest fish you ever caught.
When Marlo Anderson mentioned that a Danish scientist had figured out that the "dragon's tongues" were really giant sharks teeth in 1666, I thought "that has to be Nicolaus Steno." It was.
In 1667, Danish naturalist Nicolaus Steno made a discovery that forever changed the way we viewed the oceans forever. The fossils were thought to have been the petrified tongues of dragons or snakes, but what Nicolaus realised was the truth was equally, if not far more terrifying. These strange objects were actually the fossilized teeth of the largest shark to have roamed the oceans, the megalodon.
I plan on lecturing on Steno's contributions to geology on Thursday and I will include this factoid. One of my students is really into sharks and he'll enjoy it.
I have more material, but I feel like being a good environmentalist and conserving my resources for next year. May I remember to celebrate on time then. In the meantime, stay tuned for the News & Doc Emmy Awards won by Underdogs for Wayback Wednesday.
This is in the same overall series as Secrets of the Whales, Secrets of the Elephants, and Secrets of the Octopus, all of which earned nominations at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. That, and its award-winning producer and director, bode well for its award chances at these Emmy Awards.
...
I'm rooting for Secrets of the Penguins...
I got my wish; Secrets of the Penguins won Outstanding Nature Documentary.
On the other hand, I was happy to be wrong about Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary, for which I wrote, "Secrets of the Penguins is in very good company, including 2000 Meters to Andriivka with six nominations including Best Documentary, which is my pick to win both that award and this category." I repeated that thought in 'Underdogs' earns four News & Doc Emmy Award nominations: "Underdogs might be more deserving than Pangolin: Kulu's Journey and as deserving as Secrets of the Penguins, but I still think 2000 Meters to Andriivka is the favorite to win Outstanding Cinematograpy: Documentary." Nope, Secrets of the Penguins won Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary. I'm glad that nature beat warfare.
Speaking of Underdogs, it also won two News & Doc Emmy Awards, so I think I will cover it next. Stay tuned.
Previous posts about the 57th News & Doc Emmy Awards
"Yankee Doodle" was a traditional song (Roud 4501) that predated the American Revolution and was adapted by both British and Americans to mock one another in the eighteenth century. So we felt it was a fitting tune to repurpose on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States, and the No Kings musical protests occurring this weekend which happens to be the 80th birthday of Donald Trump.
The word 'doodle' likely comes from German 'Dödel' meaning fool or simpleton or nob. It may also reference Low German 'dudel' = playing music badly. So it works whether you like or hate this parody arrangement! The earliest known version of the lyrics was the 1750s when it was sung during the Seven Years' War (or "French and Indian War" in the colonies), and it had become a patriotic song for the USA by 1781, when new verses mentioned a certain George Washington, who also crops up in ours as a bringer of political or national liberty (though, of course, also a slaveholder and denier of liberty).
I promised another Sunday entertainment feature, so follow over the jump for the remaining most read post and top social media shares about entertainment during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
There's a lot that unites us as humans. How much we sleep, how much we eat, how much we travel... wait, what? Yeah, turns out that the vast majority of human populations have the same average amount of travel time per day. Here's what the research says about why that is, and how learning this could shape our future.
Hosted by: Madelyn Leembruggen (she/her)
78 minutes? I've been on the low side of that average time for years, but I did enough to contribute to the average 20 years ago, when I drove 48,000 miles in one year and 40,000 miles per year from 2000-2005. I'm glad I'm no longer doing that. Follow over the jump to see how I'm doing now.
Happy Flashback Friday! I promised "Stay tuned for another winner at the News & Doc Emmy Awards along with a retrospective of posts on a related theme" for today and get to both of those after I lead into them beginning with SciShow explaining How Instagram Hacks Your Brain.
Do you feel addicted to social media? You're certainly not alone. Social media and our brains have a messy relationship, and researchers are working hard to understand what's going on, who might be more or less at risk, and why.
Hosted by: Hank Green (he/him)
Can't Look Away: The Case Against Social Media is the Emmy winner I'm featuring today and it's all about how social media algorithms make the platforms addictive and how they especially harm teenagers. Howtown examined another possible cognitive harm in What the actual science says about "brain rot".
Are TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts actually destroying our attention spans, or is “brain rot” just another moral panic? In this video, we dig into the science behind short-form video and attention, from debunking viral goldfish statistics to explaining real cognitive psychology experiments testing analytical thinking and prospective memory. We break down what researchers actually mean by “attention span,” how infinite scroll and autoplay feeds are genuinely different from previous forms of media, and what lab tests can and can’t tell us about the mental effects of short-form video.
As much as I have proclaimed "Behold the power of the YouTube algorithm," I at least had the choice of clicking on the preview of the intriguing video the program presented to me. With YouTube shorts, TikTok, and Instagram reels, the only choice I have is to watch the next video or stop watching unless I see the preview of the short on my YouTube home page, where I still have the choice to click. It's one of the reasons I generally avoid TikTok, the other being the ownership, both old and new. Do I think the format is making me stupid? No, although it's certainly distracting, entertaining, and surprising, especially as Instagram reels, some of which I find educational. That loops back to Hank Green's observation about Instagram hacking my brain. I like closing loops.
The second loop to close is today's featured News & Doc Emmy Award winner.
After I watched Can't Look Away's trailer, I declared, "I don't have to look at the other two trailers; I think this is the winner." I was right; it won. Congratulations!
Follow over the jump for the final loop, today's featured post from the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News, which was also about a legal action against social media.
CNN FILMS PRIME MINISTER WINS TWO EMMY® AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST DOCUMENTARY
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CNN’s recognition extended to the Documentary Emmy® Awards on Thursday night, where CNN Films’ Prime Minister won Best Documentary and Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. The acclaimed film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, earning the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary before being acquired by HBO and CNN Films. Released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures, Prime Minister is available to stream now at CNN.com/Watch, on the CNN app, and on HBO Max.
Dame Jacinda Ardern posted a thank you speech to her Instagram.
Tonight the incredible team who made the documentary simply titled “Prime Minister” won the Emmy for best documentary. From the sidelines I saw these talented directors, editors, and producers all come together to create a film (which I have still only watched it in its entirety once..) that feels like the most accurate portrayal of what it’s like to lead with your heart on your sleeve. My huge congratulations to them all, especially Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz who co-directed it. But here, I want to make a special mention of Clarke, the first person who picked up a camera. I wasn’t the easiest person to film, and nor through the years of being PM was I the easiest partner. But that never changed the amount of support he gave in return. Our loved ones don’t choose politics, but they are still on the front line alongside us every day, cheering us on, keeping life at home going, reminding us why we’re there. So thank you, Clarke. Now it’s my turn to cheer you on xx
Clarke spoke at the awards tonight, and he saved his final words, rightly so, to thank New Zealand. Our home. We will both forever be grateful for the privilege of a lifetime.
Congratulations to Dame Jacinda, the documentarians, CNN, and HBO!
Since it's Throwback Thursday and the subject is politics, follow over the jump for the top serious political posts written during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
The tongue-twisting I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General, performed live during Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, directed by Mike Leigh at English National Opera.
Andrew Shore plays Major General-Stanley, with Joshua Bloom as Pirate King and Claudia Boyle as Mabel in this ENO production by film director Mike Leigh.
About The Pirates of Penzance:
With sentimental pirates, blundering policeman, absurd adventures and improbable paradoxes, The Pirates of Penzance is Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular comic opera.
A swashbuckling farce of brilliant humour and razor-sharp wit, it's chock-full of memorable melodies, including the famous tongue-twisting patter song from the Major-General.
This production was directed by directed by BAFTA-award winner Mike Leigh, who makes his operatic debut.
Randy could have been more pompous, but he has Pervert Hoover for that.
Randy isn't the only one revisiting the past. My readers gave enough page views to three posts from the 2016 election that they joined the most read entries of the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. Follow over the jump for their stories.
“Lyin’ Eyes” was written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, released by California’s rock legends The Eagles in 1975. It was apparently inspired by their visions of many beautiful younger women with older husbands in Los Angeles, who they imagined leading double lives and lying and cheating. So it’s a story about moral reprobates, hypocrisy, double standards, and virtual self-prostitution, which made it perfect to adapt to address J.D. Vance’s latest foray into European politics.
Plenty of muck-stirrers had already sought to whip up anger and outrage in the wake of the tragic murder of Henry Nowak, and the horrendous footage and troubling backstory. These included Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, Rupert Lowe, and Elon Musk. But Vance – who had met several of the more disturbing UK ‘politicians’ last summer – in his inimitable style took things to a new level.
Vance showed wanton disregard for the grieving Nowak family’s own stated request: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred, or tension.” He shared footage of the eighteen-year-old’s ghastly final moments, let down by mistakes by British police officers under huge stress, and crassly linked it to fears about migration, civilisational collapse, hatred, invasion and anger. It was a sick message that has been amplified on Twitter/X and, at point of writing, has over 10m views.
We didn’t even have time to get into the hypocrisy of casting stones across the Atlantic by this administration or this chameleon. But the song’s intended to express that the behaviours, ideologies and values that Vance and his ilk embody, particularly in this tragic moment, are anathema to most in the UK, and we suspect most Europeans. They are like a cancerous cell in the tissue of what we understand being ‘civilised’ means, and they are threatening to metastasise.
The Walt Disney Company earned 21 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards across ABC News and National Geographic, with the award-winning content streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Following another record-breaking year of 51 nominations — the most ever for the brand — National Geographic took home 13 News & Documentary Emmy Awards, breaking its all time record. This included seven awards for "Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller," which also stood for the third consecutive year as the most-nominated series ever. "Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller" is an original documentary series that explores the complex and dangerous inner-workings of the global underworld, black and informal markets. Each adventure follows Mariana on a mission to follow the chain of custody of trafficked goods, understand how to obtain the contraband, or see the 360-degree view of the trafficking world from the point of view of the smugglers, law enforcement and those caught in the crossfire.
Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller explores the inner-workings of the most dangerous black markets on the planet. In each episode, she investigates a different underworld — from fentanyl and illegal street racing to the smuggling of brides and the rise of militias — to meet the players, learn the business, and better understand the world’s multi-trillion dollar shadow economy.
This trailer earned an Emmy nomination of its own for Outstanding Promotional Announcement: News. Also, eight of the ten episodes promoted earned Emmy Award nominations and six won Emmy Awards, including the one that is the reason for featuring the series today, "Shark Hunters."
Outstanding Climate, Environment or Weather Coverage - "Shark Hunters" **WINNER**
Yes, that's an ocean conservation themed episode. It's also one I can recommend to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.
Follow over the jump for the other five Emmy-winning episodes.
Ever felt like a place seems real yet oddly unsettling? Welcome to The Backrooms, a digital folklore phenomenon that blurs the lines between reality and fiction, exploring the eerie and uncanny through playful, yet terrifying, community-driven digital storytelling.
I watched this video when it came out almost exactly two years ago, so I had heard that the concept would be made into a movie then. The movie was released two weeks ago, and was a huge hit. Watch as ABC News reports Horror film 'Backrooms' makes box office history.
Independent horror film "Backrooms" is a box-office stunner, taking in $82 million dollars in domestic ticket sales in its opening weekend.
What ABC News didn't mention was that Backrooms and Obsession knocked The Mandalorian and Grogu out of first place. Remember that Disney owns both ABC and Lucasfilm, which makes Star Wars. It's not just news value that drives the story, including what isn't reported. That wasn't CNN's problem, as their video on the subject described How YouTubers are beating Disney at its own game.
Youtubers-turned-directors are beating media giants like Disney at the box office. CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter breaks down how these directors have the edge, as the panel debates.
CNN, owned by Warner Brothers-Discovery — for now — has no such problem pointing out Backrooms and Obsession beat The Mandalorian and Grogu at the box office.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for WorldOceansDay, which I haven't celebrated since 2024. Oops.
Today's evergreen educational entry features Bankrupt - Cicis Pizza by Bright Sun Films, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse.
Starting in the mid 1980's, Cicis Pizza was always the go-to pizza restaurant for cheap bites and great value. With their no-frills locations, cheap prices and innovative buffet concept, the restaurant became a massive success with hundreds of locations across the country. However, things have changed and following a bankruptcy, their once dominating presence has been severely diminished. Join me as we find out why.
As user
tcbgarage2845 wrote in his comment, "Private equity, Leveraged buyouts, Covid 19 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy! The whole gang is here." Indeed.
As I've written several times, no bankrupt company's story is complete without both Bright Sun Films and Company Man making videos about it, so I'm sharing Company Man Mike asking The Decline of CiCi's Pizza...What Happened?
Cici's pizza has been on the decline for more than a decade now. What was once the 5th largest pizza chain in the U.S. has fallen to number 10. This video takes a look at how they grew so large and theorizes where they went wrong.
There is also an AI-generated video summary.
CiCi's Pizza: from a humble beginning to a top-five pizza chain, this video explores the brand's rise and subsequent decline. The documentary analyzes the company's unique buffet model and its impact on CiCi's growth trajectory. It also examines factors that may have contributed to its recent struggles.
Company Man Mike uploaded this video on October 14, 2020, during the height of the pandemic, yet he didn't mention it. I'm surprised. Also, he produced this before CiCi's declared bankruptcy and before he began creating his lists of reasons for failure. Too bad — those lists are right up with his bar charts and line graphs among my favorite parts of Company Man Mike's videos. At least this video has plenty of those, along with enough shots of the menu items to make me hungry.
That's a wrap for today's lesson showing what not to do in business. Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature.
