I’d not have thought that Grease would be a good candidate for a prequel, but now that I’ve heard there’s one likely coming once the pandemic lets up, it’s actually the perfect candidate for one. Why did Sandy’s family decide to stay in America instead of returning home to Australia after their summer vacation? Did Danny really save Sandy from drowning – or did he either exaggerate his rescue to establish a heroic context, to impress his buddies, or both? How far did things really go between them during that fateful summer fling? And…is Sandy dead? Are both of them dead? So many burning questions.
We have a big (and I do mean BIG) election coming up in November, which will depend on having plenty of poll workers to keep our polling stations running smoothly – unfortunately, the pandemic situation makes that a hazardous affair for the majority of folks who have filled that role for years, as many of them are of advanced age. The time is NOW for our younger people who value our democracy to give serious thought to taking on what could end up being the most heroic task of their young lives. Local entrepreneur Nathan Ryan did just that in the recent runoff election, and shared his experience in a piece for Tribeza this week.
The members of Midland have been criticized for years amongst the Texas Country crowd for what some perceive as a lack of legitimacy – criticism that has largely rolled off their backs, as it should. Given that, though, probably not such a great idea to play around with the storefront of one of Austin’s most historically important Black-owned BBQ joints.
There’s been lots of worry about exactly how long or how strongly people who have recovered from COVID-19 will remain immune from reinfection, with the conventional wisdom of late leaning towards not long at all – however, that notion appears to be based on incomplete science, and the reality is not likely the doomy sitch some are making it out to be.
A friend of mine came down with the worst-case version of West Nile disease a few years back, and it took her years to recover. Please take the news that local mosquitoes
have tested positive for West Nile virus seriously – especially considering that it could collide with COVID in disastrous fashion.
Lastly on the COVID tip, another encouraging vaccine story, this time from Oxford University in the U.K. The best case scenario will be several workable vaccines all launching in concert globally, and gradually winnowing down to the one or two that work best.
Digging the new output from Phoebe Bridgers, who made an appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week.
https://youtu.be/DCFStAAqkX4
And finally, speaking of Stephen Colbert, I’ve seen Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, exactly once in my life: he did a “duet” of sorts with Ozzy Osbourne at the infamous Jon Stewart/Colbert Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear in Washington D.C. almost a decade ago, and I was fortunate enough to be there. Yusuf turns 72 today – Happy Birthday sir.
