Chicxulub is a small town in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. It is pretty much at the epicenter of one of the largest extinction events in world history, called the Chicxulub Impact Event.
The catastrophic impact took place about 66 million years ago, when a meteor estimated at between 7 and 50 miles wide crashed into earth with the force of 100 million megatons of TNT (6 million Hiroshima atom bombs). Geologic evidence reveals that the impact produced a tsunami tidal wave that was somewhere between 150 and 1000 feet tall and superheated the surrounding atmosphere to 10,000 degrees in an instant. This event disrupted the worldwide climate and was the cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event, in which 75 percent of plant and animals on earth became extinct. The evidence of the meteor’s impact is invisible to the naked eye but can be seen with the use of ground penetrating radar.
Jack Daniel (the guy who the whiskey is named after) died from kicking a safe. When he kicked it, he broke his toe, which became infected. He eventually died from blood poisoning.
Probably the most famous “session musician” of all-time is Hal Blaine. He was a drummer who collaborated for many years with The Wrecking Crew, a group of talented musicians who backed up famous solo and group singers when they recorded records in a studio setting.
Blaine was a fixture on virtually all of the Beach Boys, Neil Diamond, Phil Spector “Wall of Sound”, Simon and Garfunkel, and Johnny Rivers studio productions, and contributed to many Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand classics. He was the drummer for the original Rocky Horror Show cast recording. Blaine is also credited with providing the drum expertise on 39 records which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Top 100 list, including: “He’s a Rebel” (Crystals), “Mrs. Robinson” (Simon and Garfunkel), “Surf City” (Jan and Dean), “I Got You Babe” (Sonny and Cher), “Help Me Rhonda” (Beach Boys), “California Dreamin’” (Mamas and Papas), “Strangers in the Night” (Frank Sinatra), “Cracklin Rosie” (Neil Diamond), “The Way We Were” (Barbra Streisand), “Be My Baby” (Ronettes), “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” (John Denver), “Da Doo Ron Ron” (Crystals), “Everybody Loves Somebody” (Dean Martin), “Kicks” (Paul Revere and the Raiders), “Mr. Tambourine Man” (Byrds), “The Happening” (Supremes), and “Return to Sender” (Elvis Presley). Mr. Blaine played on six consecutive Grammy Record of the Year recordings, and was one of the first “sidemen” to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later in life, he lost most of his money in a divorce, and at one point had to make money working as a security guard. He died this year at age 90.
Tilamook. Reminds you of cheese and ice cream, huh? The creamery is located in Tilamook, Oregon, along the beautiful coastline that Charlie and I like to frequent in our motor home. The beach and ocean sights in the area are wonderful. Here’s one of them: the Tilamook Light House. It’s abandoned now, but must have been a thriller to work in back in the day.
The 75th anniversary of D-Day (June 6, 1944) was celebrated in France this week with much pomp and ceremony. In American history books it is given credit for being the great turning point in World War II, and much is made about the sacrifice of the American soldiers who came ashore to confront the entrenched Nazis. All of that is true, and a “Thank you for your service!” hardly seems enough in gratitude of their courage and sacrifice.
But, what most Americans, especially the younger ones, don’t realize is that the United States didn’t win the war against Germany single-handedly, and, in fact, played a lesser role than Russia in its outcome. The Nazis primary objective early in World War II was to conquer Russia, and most of their military might was focused there. The Russian people paid a terrible price in withstanding the German onslaught and eventually removing the Nazis from their homeland. As many as 11 million soldiers and 27 million civilians died in the Soviet Union during World War II, which was approximately one half of the deaths worldwide during the conflict.
When D-Day occurred in June of 1944, Russian troops already had the Nazis in retreat, heading back to Germany. Of the 5 million Nazi military deaths that occurred in the war, the majority took place via battles with the Russians on the Eastern Front. It is no exaggeration to say that the defeat of the Nazis could have happened without the Allied landing at Normandy, but it could not have happened without the ass-whipping that the Soviet Union administered to the Germans prior to 1944.
Speaking of Germany, the dessert delicacy called German Chocolate Cake is named after a baker by the name of Samuel German, and has no affiliation with country that brought us the Nazis.
If I were to say “Alabama”, what are the first things that would come to your mind? Probably college football (i.e. the University of Alabama) because the “Crimson Tide” either wins the national championship each year or comes in second.
You might also think of the state’s troubled past (and present?) with regard to racial injustice. The state has a hard time accepting that the Civil War is over.
Recently, the state got another black eye when its Governor signed the most aggressively anti-abortion law in recent American history. If enacted, the law would permit abortions only if the mother’s life is at risk or if the fetus cannot survive, but not in cases of rape or incest. That seems a bit much, particularly when one considers that Alabama also grants parental rights to rapists. In other words, if a stranger (or a relative!) rapes a woman, she must not only carry the baby to term, but she must also share parental custody with the criminal who violated her.
As the saying goes, “The inmates are running the asylum”…in Alabama.
Speaking of crimes and scofflaws, La Sagrada Familia, one of the most striking architectural achievements in the world, has finally gotten its building permit…after 137 years!
The cathedral in Barcelona, Spain has been under construction since 1885. The project started a few years earlier, but the architect Antoni Gaudi and the city never agreed on its precise parameters. So, it was technically an illegal build. When it is completed (in 2026), it will be the most spectacular cathedral in the world, surpassing even St. Peter’s Basilica in its scope and architectural design. The top spires are 560 feet high. (I have had the privilege of climbing part way to the top of one of the spires.)
Student loan debt has become a big issue lately. More than 44 million Americans owe some $1.5 trillion for their college education. How did this happen?
Back in the 1960’s when I went to college (Cal State University at Los Angeles), it was tuition-free, with $300 in “fees” per year. The cost was so low that one could “work their way through college”, like I did. My Bachelor’s Degree probably cost me less than $2,500 in fees, tuition, and books. Since then, college costs have skyrocketed: Cal State L.A.’s tuition is now about $7,000 per year, and many private universities charge more than $50,000 per year. Virtually no one can exit college after four years without owing someone a bunch of money, whether it be Mom and Dad, banks, or the Federal government.
This financial reality plays a role in determining career paths (i.e. academic majors focused on earning potential), family formation, and mental health stability. Many graduates (and in-debt non-grads) struggle for years to work off the debt load, which averages around $40,000. This is not surprising, since higher education in America, like health care, costs much more than in other developed countries. A service that was once publicly-funded for the most part has become a business, and seats in classrooms that used to be occupied by American youth are now being purchased by foreign students…who will pay more for the privilege. It’s a bidding war, and this goes for public universities as well as private schools. A graduating high school student in the United States, if he/she wants to go to college, can look forward to costs of $50,000 to $300,000 for a Bachelor’s degree, and then having to work off the debt for that education for ten to fifteen years after graduation. I am a great believer in education, but that is quite a commitment. It’s no wonder so many young people turn to quick money jobs…like selling drugs, and use drugs attempting to escape a depressive reality…that the American Dream is beyond their reach.
Some researcher has determined that the average American child is given $3.70 per tooth that falls out. (Maybe that’s why colleges cost so much…a lot of frivolous research!)
Le Bron James made almost $36 million in base salary last year while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He only played in 55 of the team’s 82 regular season games. Thus, he was paid approximately $655,000 per game. Each game is 60 minutes long, so Mr. James was paid roughly $655,000 per hour for his daily toil. Top brain surgeons make $1,300 per hour. Go figure.
Le Bron James didn’t go to college, so he has no student debt.
Other famous people who didn’t have to worry about student debt include Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Ted Turner (CNN), Tony Robbins (Motivational Speaker), A.P. Giannini (Bank of America), Thomas Edison (Inventor), Larry Page (Google), Ray Kroc (McDonalds), Steven Spielberg (Director), Colonel Harlan Sanders (Fried Chicken), Ralph Lauren (Fashion), John D. Rockefeller (Oil), Walt Disney (Cartoonist), Oprah Winfrey (Entertainment), Albert Einstein (Physicist), Henry Ford (Automobile maker), Frank Lloyd Wright (Architect), and Abraham Lincoln (President)…all of whom either didn’t attend college or dropped out.
Who knew?