Armed Robbery In My Neighborhood

Disturbed by this event on Thursday evening. I saw the police helicopter in the distance and wondered what was up:

"Three Identical Strangers"

Saw this film at the Tower. Very interesting!

Life This Week on Traitor's Avenue

“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.”

Via "Crooked Timber." The Death of Stalin and the parallel to the Trump Administration:

Sia - Cheap Thrills ft. Sean Paul

Walt sends this video: "Maybe you've seen this before - I just saw it now."



Hi Walt! No, I haven’t seen this video before. Thanks for the thought! I like the “Corny Collins” theme of the video. Sia has had a most unusual singing career. I remember she sang Zero 7’s “Destiny” in the late 90’s, but it’s only this decade that she’s been having her monster hits. And Sean Paul can do no wrong either.

Here is one of Sia’s biggest hits:




And of course, Corny Collins = Dick Clark. Baltimore’s John Waters is twisted, but the finale of his creation, “Hairspray,” is probably the best in all of musical theater:




Walt replies: "Of course when we lived in Baltimore, we saw all of John Waters' flicks, at his theatre."


And tying it all together is this video from SYTYCD-Next Gen. The dancer from Chandelier is Judge #1 on the panel. Sean Paul sings. The choreographer is Laure Courtellemont, the most-charismatic dance instructor I’ve met in 30 years. Long live Jamaican Dancehall!

Two Easy

Via "Cheerful Nihilism" on Facebook. Jerry's reaction was shock : "That's Maureen McFadden of WNDU-TV!"

Margaret's Birthday

It felt just a bit odd - singing happy birthday to Margaret, who passed away in May. But her family made a cake, so....:

Today we celebrated the birthday of our dear friend Margaret, G-Boogie. She left us too early but we feel her presence every day, every time we step foot in Step 1 or show up anywhere on the dance floor where we can let loose.
G-Boogie, you hold a special place in our hearts forever we love you!!! . Happy birthday to you!!!!

Working With 3 Pyramid

Jack Tapke and Attila Kollar from 3 Pyramid Construction and Renovation Corp. Jack is the one who is primarily doing the work on my house. Jack’s construction skills, speed, and determination are unmatched. I’m awestruck, actually!

"It Wasn't Me"

Hot-Air Balloons Are Useless

And yet, they have served Albuquerque pretty well:

The first hot-air balloons drew huge crowds, inspiring onlookers to cry, laugh, even faint. One witness wrote, “Since these exhibitions, there seems to prevail a kind of aerial phrenzy among us. The term ‘balloon’ is not only in the mouth of everyone, but all our world seems to be in the clouds.” For some, the new invention was the culmination of Enlightenment science, the pinnacle of human ingenuity. Grand schemes abounded: using balloons to carry mail, to improve cartography, to bombard enemy fortifications. Then, almost overnight, the fervor subsided as everyone sobered to the fact that these vehicles, which couldn’t be steered, were largely useless.

Raising a Dove

Not usually a good idea to raise a bird, but sometimes it works out.

Calamitous Crash Near Bernalillo

Sounds awful, and it started with one of those damned rear-end collisions:

Three people are dead and 24 injured following a massive wreck Sunday morning involving a bus, semi-truck, passenger car and pickup just north of Bernalillo on Interstate 25, according to Sandoval County authorities.

...“This is definitely one of the worst accidents that I’ve seen in my career,” said Sandoval County Fire Chief James Maxon at a news conference Sunday morning. “A lot of agencies involved, we have a lot of patients, we have a lot of critical patients.”

Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Keith Elder said the first in a series of related crashes happened around 2 a.m. when a southbound passenger car rear ended a pickup truck, sending the truck into the interstate median. The driver of the car was ejected and killed.

“At that point, I’m told that the (car) was disabled to the point that they didn’t have any lights that were visible to any other vehicles,” Elder said.

The driver of an El Paso – Los Angeles Limousine Express, Inc. bus, also traveling south, came upon the wreck, “took evasive action to avoid the car and the ejected driver,” and lost control. The bus rolled onto its side and landed across both northbound lanes of the interstate.

A semi-truck headed north swerved to avoid the bus, sideswiped it, and crossed southbound I-25 and a frontage road before coming to a stop at the bottom of an embankment.

...A total of 24 patients were transported to five area hospitals. In total, 38 people, including the three who were killed, were involved in the crash.

Davis Aquastarz' 2018 "Dancing With The Starz" Exhibition

Photo selections from Davis Aquastarz' 2018 "Dancing With The Starz" exhibition last night. First time I've watched synchronized swimming. I was intrigued with how they launch each other upwards despite not being permitted to touch the bottom of the pool. Several DMTC girls here too. Thank you Jennifer Caplan-Barth for the invitation.

Nice coverage at the Davis Enterprise:

New for this year, the Aquastarz are fielding a USA Synchro team that will preform more specialized routines. That team of Molly Anderson, Madison Barth, Nellie Cox, Daelin Johnson, Mirielle Peauroi and Amanda Soeth showed off their advanced techniques with a pair of performances, one titled “Aftergold” with music by Big Wild and the other a music mash-up called “Can the Frog Tap Dance.”

This year is also an exciting one for Davis as it will serve as host for the VFCAL championships, which will feature league members Auburn Mermaids, Cordova Cordettes, FEC Stingrays and Sunrise Swans.