Weekend Edition
What to Rock: Anyone who tells you rock is dead doesn't listen
to Royal Blood. The dynamic duo is back with a new album, a hint of disco added
to their sound, and a must listen. Check out Typhoons. This is the rock band
that old school rockers love.
What to Book: I got an advance copy of The End of the Golden
Gate, a collection of essays from writers on loving and (sometimes) leaving San
Francisco. It's an excellent book and it couldn't be more timely. It features
25 acclaimed writers taking on the Bay Area-dweller's eternal conflict: Should
I stay or should I go? (To paraphrase the Clash: If I go, there will be
trouble, And if I stay it will cost me double.)
What to Carb: Unlike most Americans, I didn't rediscover carbs
during the pandemic. I have remained true to pasta. And I'm pretty sure I just
started boiling the best pasta brand I've tried. It's called Mancini, and my
pot runneth over.
What to Promote: The promise of life not doing it for you? How
about a donut? Free beer, pot and doughnuts. Savings bonds. A chance to win an
all-terrain vehicle. Places around the U.S. are offering incentives to try to
energize the nation's slowing vaccination drive and get Americans to roll up
their sleeves. These relatively small corporate promotion efforts have been
accompanied by more serious and far-reaching attempts by officials in cities
such as Detroit, where they're offering $50 to people who give others a ride to
vaccination sites. Chicago is sending specially equipped buses into
neighborhoods to deliver vaccines. Public health officials say the efforts are
crucial to reach people who haven't been immunized yet.
What to Spend: Counting the coronavirus stimulus plan approved
earlier this year, President Biden has now proposed more than $5 trillion in
new spending initiatives over the next decade—far more than Clinton or Obama
ever offered—to be partially paid for by tax increases on corporations and
affluent families. On cultural and social issues, Democrats are likewise
pursuing a much more ambitious lineup than Clinton or Obama did. Should be an
interesting 2022 election year. The Thing is lurking.
What to Read: John Grisham has spent the past 30 years
churning out legal thrillers and courtroom dramas. His next act: A basketball
novel.
"Sooley"
(available now) tells the story of 17-year-old Samuel Sooleymon, who leaves his
family behind in a Sudanese refugee camp to chase his dreams of playing college
basketball.
This is book No. 46 for Grisham, who hasn't gone a year
without publishing a book since first releasing "The Firm" in 1991.
Wild.
On the Rink Rats Book List.
What to Eat: Live in the Claremont, California area, crave a
Chicago Dog or Wisconsin Brat, perhaps a Labatt Blue to wash it down? Well,
“Windy C’s” 353 W. Bonita Avenue in Claremont is your place.
It is nice to visit a restaurant again (after fourteen
months). The menu is decent Chicago Dogs, chili dogs, brats, onion rings and
the usual. All worth a try. The service, not so good. The owner never smiles
(must be a Chicago Bear fan) and no thank you for coming or giving them some
business. Clean up the consumer relations and this place is a go.
Finally, after a year and a half: Rink Rats rating from 1 to
10 with 10 being Hoot Owl like: We give “Windy C’s” a six. Good food, ambiance
is like visiting Mar-a-Lago with a “I love Joe” hat.
BOOK EM’ DANNO - Federal investigators
in Manhattan executed a search warrant on Wednesday at the Upper East Side
apartment of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became
President Donald J. Trump's personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal
investigation into Mr. Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, three people with
knowledge of the matter said. One of the people said the investigators had
seized Mr. Giuliani's electronic devices. Rudy Giuliani's Apartment Searched in
Federal Investigation. Hmm. This is odd. Rudy never struck me as a guy who
might be up to something unsavory.
FEEL GOOD FRIDAY - There was a time I needed
a helping hand. They gave us an opportunity to get back on our feet. So it is
my job to give back." Steelers Draft Pick Najee Harris Hosts Draft Party
at Homeless Shelter Where He Used to Live.
Number of Americans fully vaccinated tops 100 million.
CVS to offer in-store mental health counseling.
Arab towns offer food, drink to Meron survivors; hundreds give
blood in Tel Aviv.
Number of children held in Border Patrol facilities drops 84%
since peak last month.
Crazy odds: Minneapolis mom gives birth to three kids, each
two years apart, all on the same day. (I'm guessing the dad's birthday is
exactly nine months before this date.)
PANDEMIC UPDATE - More Brazilians have
died from the virus in the first four months of this year than in all of 2020,
with the death toll having jumped from 300,000 to 400,000 in the past five
weeks alone. Brazil's COVID-19 Deaths Top 400,000 Amid Fears Of Worsening
Crisis.
As cases in India surge faster than anywhere in the world,
Indians struggle to care for their family members who have COVID and mourn lost
loved ones." Photos Show How Dire The Coronavirus Surge In India Is. (The
numbers in India are likely being undercounted, but when you look at the
disasters in India and Brazil, keep in mind that America had worse numbers
under a president who called the virus a hoax.)
HEAD FOR THE LINKS -
Watching the Masters on television usually makes golfers itchy to get on the
course themselves. That may be especially true this year. The pandemic created
a boom in golf participation, with about a half a million more players hitting
the links last year as a safe escape from the drudgery of lockdown. But what
happens when things get back to normal?
The industry has a lot of ideas for how to capitalize on the
game's revival over the past year. Maybe golf becomes less formal and more
social. Maybe it loosens the rules or even shortens the game by creating
courses with fewer than 18, or even nine, holes. We also talk to outgoing USGA chief executive
Mike Davis about the biggest issues facing the game, such as how to make golf
courses sustainable both financially and environmentally.
Golf is also angling for new ways to engage you on and off the
course. All sorts of new tech is available that generates data to help you
analyze—or, more likely, overanalyze—every aspect of your own game. We
test-drove AI apps that aim to teach you to swing the club better, and found
some workouts that will help you prepare physically for your round.
If you're at home, new technology is being rolled out to personalize
the viewing experience, enabling fans to follow any player they choose through
all four rounds of a tournament if they like. And then there's the gambling.
The game used to scold players for wagering. Now the PGA Tour is aiming to
capitalize on the legalization of sports betting that has swept across the U.S.
CENSUS - The U.S. population over the
last decade grew at the slowest rate since the 1930s, the Census Bureau said.
With immigration leveling off and a birthrate on the decline,
the nation may be entering an era of substantially lower growth, demographers
said.
The total population was 331,449,281 in 2020, up by just 7.4
percent over the previous decade. The South and the West drew Americans away
from struggling small communities in high-cost, cold-weather states in the East
and the Midwest. The newly released data also underscores America's slowed
growth and aging population, according to Brookings Institution demographer
William Frey.
Stagnating population growth, in small part due to the pandemic,
means the U.S. should take "a serious look at our immigration policy going
forward," he said.
Utah was the fastest-growing state. Three states lost
populations, with West Virginia's population declining at the fastest rate.
The Census Bureau data is used to reapportion seats in
Congress, based on new state population counts. Six states gained congressional
seats: Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon, North Carolina and Texas gained two
seats (ugh). California, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and
West Virginia lost seats.
MARKET WEEK - The average used vehicle is
now worth $17,609, but trade-ins are becoming very difficult.
Normally, dealers buy an old vehicle at a discount to what
it's worth and hope to sell it at a profit.
Now, they need to worry that the whole market will crash from
its current frothy highs.
Three huge shortages as we come out of the pandemic: (1)
Microchips; causing havoc in the automobile industry. (2) Ketchup packets; home
takeout dining over the pandemic has made the supply of ketchup packets
exceptionally low. (3) Toilet paper;
early in the pandemic, toilet paper inexplicably became the hottest product in
America overnight. Some stores went weeks without TP on the shelves.
Eventually, the situation sorted itself out.
But now, toilet paper is on the brink of becoming scarce
again.
The culprit this time is the shortage of shipping containers.
Wood pulp is used to make bath tissue, but the lack of containers means there
could soon be supply issues, according to Suzano SA, the biggest producer of
wood pulp.
Big Tech crushed earnings reports this week, and shows no sign
of slowing down:
Facebook stock hit an all-time high Wednesday after reporting
a whopping 48% revenue growth over the previous year.
Apple earnings blew past Wall Street estimates, as sales of
the iPhone, Mac and iPad all came in far ahead of expectations.
Amazon eclipsed analyst expectations for both earnings and
revenue on Thursday, as sales surged 44% year-over-year.
Microsoft crushed Wall Street expectations and posted its
highest revenue growth since 2018.
Google's parent, Alphabet, reported a record profit last
quarter. Its video arm, YouTube, brought in a whopping $6 billion in revenue
last quarter — more than Snapchat, LinkedIn and Pinterest combined.
Snapchat beat Wall Street expectations on subscriber growth,
earnings and revenue, while also reporting that usage of its AR products hit an
all-time high.
Recovery: Consumer and govt. spending fueled 6.4% GDP growth
last quarter, the second-fastest pace for economic growth since 2003.
Control: China ordered 13 companies, including TikTok-owner
ByteDance and Tencent, to follow much tighter regulation.
Crypto: Ether, the world’s second-largest digital currency,
surged to a record high yesterday as Bitcoin's dominance declined.
IPO: UFC's parent company Endeavor saw its shares pop on its
first day of trading (fun fact: Ari Gold from Entourage was based on Endeavor's
CEO).
LA LA LAND - Californians hoping to remove
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office have met the state's minimum number of
valid signatures to push a recall election forward this fall.
County officials have verified 1,626,042 signatures, according
to the California secretary of state's website. Recall backers needed at least
1,495,709 valid signatures to qualify, which represents 12% of the votes cast
in the state's last gubernatorial election.
Newsom has already formed a political offensive to fight the
recall, saying the effort is a partisan attempt by Republicans aligned with
former President Donald Trump to wrest power from his majority-Democratic
state.
100 DAYS - President Biden spent his
first 100 days trying to engineer the end of the coronavirus and the start of a
job boom. The next 100 are more audacious and risky: Try to re-engineer the
very fundamentals of America — inequality, voting rights and government's role
in directing economic growth.
So look for Biden to court Republicans, but not yield to them,
as he pushes a $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, to be followed by $1.5
trillion for his American Families Plan — including child care, paid family
leave, universal pre-K and free community college.
It's the unspoken Biden formula: Talk like a rosy bipartisan;
act like a ruthless partisan.
The Biden next-100-day agenda is more activist than most
expected. But, three data-backed trends have encouraged his team to push the
envelope:
(1). His poll numbers are strong.
(2). The economy is growing — and many think it's poised for
an historic boom. In Biden's address to Congress on Wednesday night, look for
him to point to the recovery as a vindication of his strategy so far.
(3). Corporations are cutting off, or cutting down, money to
the GOP, which has been forced to find other sources of cash. And CEOs are
taking public stands that sound a lot more like Biden than Trump.
OUCH - For the film industry, which
was already fighting to hold its place at the center of American culture, the
Nielsen ratings for Sunday night’s 93rd Academy Awards came as a body blow:
About 9.85 million people watched the telecast, a 58 percent plunge from last
year’s record low.
Among adults 18 to 49, the demographic that many advertisers
pay a premium to reach, the Oscars suffered an even steeper 64 percent decline,
according to preliminary data from Nielsen released on Monday. Nielsen’s final
numbers are expected on Tuesday and will include out-of-home viewing and some
streaming statistics.
Many factors have been undercutting the ratings, starting with
the delivery route. Old broadcast networks like ABC are no longer that
relevant, especially to young people. (One awards show that is actually growing
is the Game Awards, which celebrates the best video games of the year and is
streamed on platforms like YouTube, Twitch and Twitter.)
Increasingly, the ceremonies are less about entertainment
honors and more about civic issues and progressive politics, which inevitably
annoys half the audience.
Like every Academy Awards show, this one brought out a variety
of opinions from viewers and reviewers. It was a year when small films took the
big awards, so it makes sense that the awards show was more intimate as well.
Overall, I liked most of the changes and thought the show seemed more real and
personal, which makes perfect sense following year that was all too real and
personal. Among the highlights: Yuh-Jung Youn's acceptance speech for best
supporting actress for her role as the grandmother in Minari. The moving speech
by director Thomas Vinterberg who lost his daughter during the filming of the
best International Feature Film, Denmark's Another Round. And, of course, Glenn
Close dancing to Da Butt, which moved this exchange down to her second greatest
television moment. Meanwhile, Frances McDormand howled like a wolf (which made
my beagles howl back), and the show switched around the awards to present best
actor last, to create an emotional Chadwick Boseman win, only to find that
Anthony Hopkins won the award. He wasn't there, so Joaquin Phoenix had to
accept on his behalf. But really, there's no better way to mark a return to
normal than Joaquin Phoenix being weird.
BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK –
Birthday wishes and thoughts this weekend to Megan Granquist …famous
long-distance runner, Dave Keon (81), Jerry Seinfeld (67), William Shatner
(91), Kathryn Tappen (40), Julie Wright …famous educator, Robin Wright (55),
Joe Zanetta …the Mayor of Palm Springs.
CHRONICLES OF HIGHER EDUCATION - The
California State University System and University of California System will
require vaccinations for all constituents at the start of the fall semester or
upon the full approval of one or more vaccine, whichever occurs later.
More than 240,000 cases of Covid-19 have been linked to
American colleges since January 1, and more than 660,000 cases have been
reported since the beginning of the pandemic.
The American College Health Association is recommending that
Covid-19 vaccinations be required for all on-campus students, and more than 180
colleges have set such a mandate.
PLAYOFFS - The Pittsburgh Penguins
clinched a playoff berth for the 15th consecutive season, the longest active
streak in the five major North American sports leagues.
Longest active playoff streaks:
🏒 NHL:
Penguins (15)
⚽️ MLS:
Sounders (12)
⚾️ MLB:
Dodgers (8)
🏀 NBA:
Raptors, Trail Blazers (7)
🏈 NFL:
Chiefs (6)
Longest active playoff droughts:
⚾️ MLB:
Mariners (19)
🏀 NBA:
Kings (14)
🏈 NFL:
Jets (10)
🏒 NHL:
Sabres (9)
⚽️ MLS:
Fire, Dynamo, Whitecaps (3)
DETROIT SPORTS – Depressing times in
Deeeetroit:
As of today – April 30
Detroit Tigers (MLB) the worst record in the league (8-18)
Detroit Pistons (NBA) the second worst record in the league
(19-44). Thank you, Houston (16-47),
Detroit Red Wings (NHL) eighth worst record in the league
(17-26-9), though a better record than the two L.A. teams.
Michigan Wolverine Football – still Jim Harbaugh is coach.
Michigan State Athletics – still haunted by the Larry Nassar
sex-abuse scandal.
Time to head to the Anchor Bar (450 W. Fort Street, Detroit)
and yes, they are serving!
CONGRATS TO THE SAINTS – Let us
not get too excited since there were only three teams out of twelve playing at
the end of the season. The St. Lawrence men's hockey team won the ECAC Hockey
title and the Whitelaw Cup (their seventh conference crown) with a pair of
thrilling overtime victories in the conference playoffs, defeating Colgate 5-4
in the semifinals at Appleton Arena before toppling top-seeded Quinnipiac, 3-2,
in the finals. The championship comes in Charles W. Appleton II Head Men's
Hockey Coach Brent Brekke's second season at St. Lawrence.
Good job boys but do not get big heads over this one. BTW what
happened to Clarkson?
SWAMI’S WEEKEND TOP
PICKS –
147th Kentucky Derby –
Saturday 5/1, 6:57 PM (EDT), NBC:
1). Known Agenda: 6/1, Todd Pletcher, Iran Ortiz, Jr.
2). Hot Rod Charlie: 8/1, Doug O’Neil, Flavin Prat
3). Sainthood: 50/1, Todd Pletcher, Corey Lanerie
4). Essential Quality, 2/1, Brad Cox, Luis Saez
SCIAC Game of the Week –
Saturday 5/1, 11:00 AM (PDT), LVTV-3: It is okay now to play some baseball in
the SCIAC (D-III). #2 Chapman University Argyros (2-1) vs. University of LA
Verne Leopards (0-0). The Leopards led by Drew Reddick, Brandon Shiota, Tanner
Siffert, Matthew Diaz, Sean Holt, Nicolas Skardutos, and Aaron Fong – all with
outstanding business skills begin the 2021 season against nationally ranked
Chapman University. Too bad we cannot take in the game at Ben Hines Field. The
Swami likes La Verne to upset the Argyros, 6 – 5.
Season to Date (21-10)
Next Blog: Who Cares?
Until Monday May 10, 2021 Adios.
Claremont, California
April 30, 2021
#XI-31-437
3,152 words, six-minute read
CARTOON OF THE WEEKEND – Mallard
Fillmore
RINK RATS WEEKEND POLL – This first weekend
of May, what is on the grill?
____ burgers
____ hot dogs and brats
____ fish
____ steak
____ veggies
QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: “Climate
change kills jobs. Clean energy saves and creates them. Climate deniers who say
otherwise are as dumb as doo-doo.” – Jerry Brown
Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations,
predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments and questions. Also
participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada,
South America and the United States.
Posted
at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010
Our
Eleventh Year.
www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com
