YouTuber and local superhero German in Venice offers an update on the beachside homeless encampment.
I live very close to where most of this was filmed. Every week the beach gets visibly more crowded with tents. The density of folks has sent crime soaring. In the video, G-i-V reads the latest statistics from LAPD. 150%-200% increases in violent crime across the board in one year in a community already suffering.
Having grown up here and experienced all the ups and downs Venice has had over the last half-century, I am finally willing to say "I have never seen it this bad." There is more suffering than ever. People are dying. There are deaths to violence, deaths to drug overdose, starvation, lack of medical care, and it is a miracle that no humans have died in a fire.
A dog, however, was burnt alive in a house fire that is attributed, by the most proximate neighbors, too bad actors from an atypically aggressive adjacent encampment. LA is a dog-centric town, and this is helping to keep fear and anger at a running boil. Of course, there was a candle-lit vigil.
Local discussion, between housed and unhoused folk, seems to revolve around a theme that many of the unhoused do not want and will not accept City or State provided housing. Many shelters have restrictions, or a restriction, that essentially devalues the rest of the support the shelter could give. Limits on drugs, alcohol, pets, and the number of possessions one can keep all come into play. Self-determination and feeling like you have control over your own life disappear in these shelters, while safety and help may or may not really appear, leaving most finding more stability on the very dangerous beach.
St. Josephs is a good local resource for Venice area folks looking for assistance. No one group serves the entire community of unhoused people or can answer all their needs, but St. Josephs is well regarded.
Before Star Wars became the 1977 classic we all know and love, it was a steaming piece of trash that bored people. This video shares clips and wide-ranging facts about the early cuts of Star Wars.
The bit about nicknames for characters in the movie is wonderful, and the clips of Leia calling Han 'Hotshot' are pretty funny.
Sounds like the George Lucas cut was hard to watch, but luckily he had a very talented wife, Marcia Lou Griffin, as well as the rest of his team, who help make the movie shine.
There is a recent, moronic run on gasoline that has people storing it in containers that will dissolve upon any prolonged contact with the petrol. Additionally, some folks reportedly employ containers that do not keep toxic and flammable fumes in check, like an open plastic bucket.
This fireman goes to town on people who are this misguided.
Ocasio-Cortez left the House chamber late Wednesday afternoon ahead of Greene, who shouted "Hey Alexandria" twice to get her attention.
Two Washington Post reporters witnessed the exchange and reported Ocasio-Cortez did not stop. Greene caught up with Ocasio-Cortez and began shouting at her and asking why she supports antifa, a far-left activist group, and Black Lives Matter, falsely labeling them "terrorist" groups. "You don't care about the American people," Greene shouted, the Post reported. "Why do you support terrorists and antifa?"
Honestly, I think this Indiana Jones trailer is enough Indiana Jones for me today. I will gladly wait for the 5th film and hopefully be able to see it in a theater, but I have enough copies and re-releases of Raiders, Temple of Doom and Last Crusade.
Our study is the first to demonstrate the presence of the COVID-19 virus in the penis long after the initial infection in humans. Our results also suggest that widespread endothelial cell dysfunction from COVID-19 infection can contribute to ED. Future studies will evaluate novel molecular mechanisms of how COVID-19 infection leads to ED.
An excellent animated explainer covering the first fighter jet, Nazi Germany's Me-262, the revered long-range fighter escort of the European theater, the P-51D Mustang, and some of their known engagements.
Airplanes back then were generally beautiful things, especially for war machines. Just a few years later jets would be used to make some really ugly stuff go:
From the people that brought you really bad reactor design, a flying combat boat that doesn't like to turn!
In the Star Wars prequels 'Order 66' was a confusing and emotionally empty moment. Over time, other Star Wars properties have been slowly filling in the events around Palpatine's 'secret' plan to destroy the Jedi order.
Watching Ahsoka and Rex is pretty intense.
I think it safe to assume any Jedi not see blown into bits can make a comeback.
Vox's Missing Chapter investigates why Chinatowns the world over adopted a common look that doesn't really reflect the prior homes of their immigrant founders.
This New Yorker article covers the most recent, always-definitive research on the mysterious deaths of the Dyatlov party.
In 1959 a group of adventure-seeking, experienced outdoors young Russians, led by Igor Dyatlov, were not just found dead but oddly mutilated, near a campsite that seemed like it was just fine — minus the frantic slashes in their tent made as they apparently scrambled away.
This research suggests their tent became partially covered by a sliding shelf of snow, injuring some of the party and invoking fear of a massive avalanche in the others. Viewed from this scenario, the rest of their response seems logical, and sadly, insufficient.
The most appealing aspect of Kuryakov's scenario is that the Dyatlov party's actions no longer seem irrational. The snow slab, according to Greene, would probably have made loud cracks and rumbles as it fell across the tent, making an avalanche seem imminent. Kuryakov noted that although the skiers made an error in the placement of their tent, everything they did subsequently was textbook: they conducted an emergency evacuation to ground that would be safe from an avalanche, they took shelter in the woods, they started a fire, they dug a snow cave. Had they been less experienced, they might have remained near the tent, dug it out, and survived. But avalanches are by far the biggest risk in the mountains in winter, and the more experience you have, the more you fear them. The skiers' expertise doomed them.
I have lost too many hours to Historic Travels, a YouTube channel ostensibly about more than the Titanic, but it's the Titanic.
I remember a childhood fascination with the Titanic that coincides, strangely, with the release of the greatest Titanic movie of all time:
I read a lot of books and was all sorts of interested in the Titanic before it was actually explored. As they've learned a lot, it is very interesting to see what it all means.
Depending on the level of detail you want on a particular topic, there are videos that generally cover the loss of the ship, to detailed investigations into various aspects and phases of the dive.
Questions like 'could people have survived the sinking and been alive in the hull?' are lots of fun.
For those with a strong stomach, click here to read about Newhart's May 1 confrontation with police, which began outside the emergency exit door of Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock 'N' Roll Steakhouse in Nashville.
Charged with disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and two counts of assaulting a police officer, Newhart is being held at the Davidson County jail in lieu of $4500 bond.
Newhart–who has a Confederate flag tattoo on the back of his head and a neo-Nazi "1488" tattoo on his forehead–has a rap sheet with convictions for theft, vandalism, obstruction, and public intoxication.
North American Association of Subway Franchisees (NAASF) expresses their deep disappointment that Subway corporate is rolling out an overly complicated, hazardous sandwich despite their warnings.
The notice reports that some operators have said the melts have caused damage on their toaster ovens. Furthermore, the sandwiches are allegedly more complicated to make than other items and present an issue with customization.
The franchisees association advised its members to "weigh out the above concerns and stand strong with the decision you make as a franchisee investor." It continues to say that Subway's leadership is yet to adequately respond to these concerns, while the sandwiches have already gone through a soft launch.
"We are incredibly disappointed in FWH leadership's plan to move full steam ahead with this launch before these significant issues are resolved," the notice reads.
Meanwhile, Subway maintains the melts have gone through sufficient testing before being launched.
This Quiznos ad still cracks me up. That's about all I know of bad sandwiches.
