Year: 2020

  • Wave 1 finally hits a Pennsylvania nursing home

    Wave 1 finally hits a Pennsylvania nursing home

    As schools, nursing facilities, and the public itself is getting mentally braced for what experts say could be ‘wave 2’ of COVID-19, one Pennsylvania nursing home is tragically dealing with wave 1..

    To date, the Milton Nursing home in Milton PA was coronavirus clear.. No deaths occurred even during the most trying weeks in the late winter and early spring of this year.

    But just within the past day, this information has been released:

    Milton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Northumberland County (as of 08/18/20):

    93 total residents.
    73 residents have been infected with COVID-19
    36 staff members have been infected with COVID-19
    13 residents have died from COVID-19

    There were just 0 deaths from COVID days ago.

    The virus seemingly has rampaging through the home with a thunderous and deadly zeal.

  • NASA confirms that a small asteroid was the closest ever that just passed Earth

    NASA confirms that a small asteroid was the closest ever that just passed Earth

    An asteroid the size of an SUV passed 1,830 miles (2,950 kilometers) above Earth, the closest asteroid ever observed passing by our planet, NASA said Tuesday.

    If it had been on a collision course with Earth, the asteroid — named 2020 QG — would likely not have caused any damage, instead disintegrating in the atmosphere, creating a fireball in the sky, or a meteor, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said in a statement.

  • The Unconventions of 2020: ratings sink

    The Unconventions of 2020: ratings sink

    Democrats began this year’s hot political season with a dull pre-taped snooze fest on the first night of their DNC convention. They will do this for the rest of the week. Republicans will join them next week.

    People are responding with……..snooze.

    Neilson states that 5.7 million people tuned in to the first night of the Democratic National Convention on the major broadcast networks, cutting the viewership of four years ago in half as the virtual event proved a tougher sell than the traditional live gathering.

    From 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. New York time, Monday’s convention debut drew 2.1 million viewers on Walt Disney Co.’s ABC, 1.9 million on Comcast Corp.’s NBC and 1.7 million on ViacomCBS Inc.’s CBS, according to Nielsen’s fast affiliate data. About 11.6 million people watched the first night of the event on those networks four years ago between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., the website TV by the Numbers reported at the time.

  • COVID 20: LETTING THE GOOD TIMES ROLL IN WUHAN

    COVID 20: LETTING THE GOOD TIMES ROLL IN WUHAN

    Partying like it’s 1999?
    Or like there’s no viral load to be shared!?

    International media is abuzz with photos and video of a big pool party in the Wuhan province of China.

    This was the epicenter of 2020’s 2019 coronavirus.

    The photographs taken over the weekend at Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park show carefree swimmers putting the infectious past behind them!

    Close contact?
    It’s fine.

    Here’s video of the event:

    As the world suffers the new plague.. The city it started in parties into the night..

  • Theaters will reopen with NEW MUTANTS

    Theaters will reopen with NEW MUTANTS

    That seems appropriate, right? So many movie chains closed due to COVID.. but on August 28, it appears that anti social distancing will take place and NEW MUTANTS will be alive and well in safe theaters across the nation.

    Unless something else changes. In 2020 anything is possible.

    20TH CENTURY released a ‘meet the cast’ of the NEW MUTANTS:

    Some have joked online that by the time NEW MUTANTS would be released they would be old mutants.

    But it seems like the date may finally give us the film?

    Showtimes have been listed for Dolby and Cinemark theaters.. Marcus Theaters are showing movies at 30% capacity and distanced seating with masks required.

    AMC and REGAL are going to also be opening some theaters this week .. Of course we will see if there is a ‘FIELD OF DREAMS’ response (if you reopen.. they will come..)

    In its latest survey on US adults’ comfort level with certain activities, conducted Friday to Monday, Morning Consult found that most respondents were more comfortable with other activities like going out to eat or going to a shopping mall. Morning Consult surveyed 2,200 US adults, and just 17% said they would be comfortable going to the movies immediately, a dip from about 20% earlier this month.

    NEW MUTANTS may change that for some fans who have eagerly anticipated the film for —-years.

    And remember: The initial teaser for this film came out 3 YEARS AGO.

    After all that time.. they seem to be ready to finally arrive..;

  • Today in horror history: The EXORCIST III  was the number 1 film in America!

    Today in horror history: The EXORCIST III was the number 1 film in America!

    August, 1990: Bush I was president. We were still trying to overcome the fact that the 1980s made high shoulder pads acceptable. And EXORCIST III was released into theaters..

    But … reviews weren’t pretty.

    And neither was the movie!

    Malcolm Johnson wrote this in the HARTFORD COURANT:

    Meanwhile, famed critic Roger Ebert described Kinderman and Dyer’s scene as “catastrophic”…

    The plot of The Exorcist III is as much a detective story as it a horror. Dyer and Kinderman, having remained friends years after the events of The Exorcist, relate details from a series of gruesome murders in Georgetown, Washington DC. Ostensibly unrelated, Kinderman’s instinct informs him that a supernatural influence might be responsible for the killings. When Dyer meets his own grisly end, Kinderman’s determination to unravel the mystery strengthens further. In truth, the plot of The Exorcist III is not the most coherent. Responsibility for this may not fall at Blatty’s door; the film was originally titled Legion, after the novel on which it was based, and renamed at the insistence of Morgan Creek Productions. Morgan Creek also demanded the insertion of an exorcism sequence, to correspond with the film’s two predecessors.

    The reviews were not kind.

    But the audience was!

    EXORCIST III was the number one film this week in 1990–it even beat the amazing GHOST with Sam Wheat consuming Whoopi Goldberg’s body!

    This from Ed Blank in the PITTSBURGH PA PRESS:

    Also notable for this week in the roaring ’90:

    FLATLINERS.
    PRESUMED INNOCENT
    MY BLUE HEAVEN
    TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
    PROBLEM CHILD.

    So in that sense EXORCIST III wins!

    We still talk about it today. And GHOST plus FLATLINERS.

    As bad as some say it may have been… we miss its existence in theaters today.

  • It came from outer space! A solar storm could hit by Thursday

    It came from outer space! A solar storm could hit by Thursday

    These things can happen–even during a solar minimum!

    Here is a time lapse of the sun from August 16 2020:

    NOAA analysts have modeled the trajectory this CME.. Their conclusion: It could deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on August 20, 2020.. Thurday.

    From NOAA:

    Clearly, the storm cloud is not heading directly for Earth. However, NOAA models of the CME’s trajectory suggest it could deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on August 20th. Minor geomagnetic storms and high-latitude auroras are possible when the CME arrives.

    And more reason for no fear: Fortunately, the SWPC noted that the CME was created by a B1-class solar flare, which is the weakest type. This means that only a minor geomagnetic storm would occur if the CME hits Earth.  

  • He-Man: The New Master of 21st Century Universe?

    He-Man: The New Master of 21st Century Universe?

    There are a lot of universes in our pop culture. The DC Universe is moving to HBO. The domninant Marvel Universe seems to be everywhere..

    But missing in action since the late 1980s: The Master of all of the universe, He-Man.

    So the dazzling amount of toys that are now for sale at Walmart may touch at the nostalgic heart. But will they sell well for modern kids?

    THE HE-MAN BLITZ

    The new 2020 toy line is a little familiar. A little different. The plastic of the toys seems a bit lighter.. The face of the characters look a little lazier .. The figures stand the same, but movable arms and legs are now in play. And gone are the rubber bands that held legs on during the Reagan era.

    Excitement began to build in June with the announcement of the toy line–albeit mostly in adults with kids. Not with their children, quite yet.

    Walmart was named the official distributor of the news at this time, until some time in 2021 when the line will expand beyond just one retailer.

    However there some anger initially in June. When Walmart listed the action figured online, they sold old immediately.

    And now in August, as this image shows from my own local Walmart, the shelves cannot even stay filled. Although Battle Cat doesn’t seem as popular as the figures themsevles.

    The boxing looks reminiscent of the 80s. Each figure even includes a comic book! Though not as long as in length, it certainly adds to the air of the past.

    HE-MAN RE-ENTERS THE MOMENT

    So why the sudden reemergence?

    There seems to be a thought that NOW is the hot moment for He-Man’s triumphant return to the small and big screens alike. So why not toys, too.

    Noah Centineo showed fans just how he’s transforming into his role as HE-MAN for a new film with two photos posted to his Instagram.. The movie is set for release March 2021 (we will see) ..

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CDpzZSCpsEZ/?utm_source=ig_embed

    Beyond the live action film Kevin Smith is working on a He-Man project for Netflix release.

    Comic Book Review has this:

    Information regarding the upcoming Netflix series is still a mystery, though it does boast an impressive voice cast, including Mark Hamill, Chris Wood, Kevin Conroy, Sarah Michelle Gellar and many more. Additionally, the series will serve as a new chapter in He-Man lore instead of being an origin story. Kevin Smith initially announced plans for a new He-Man series in August 2019 at Power-Con.

    https://www.cbr.com/kevin-smith-praises-tony-todd-he-man-masters-universe-acting/

    Kevin Smith is also going to be making a special appearance at the POWER CON conference in Anaheim California in September.

    PARENT TESTED. KID APPROVED?

    We don’t know.

    This seems to be a gamble.

    There are a number of parents that grew up during the prime time for Eternia in the 1980s that now have their own children.. those kids are consumers of pop culture. Consumers of Youtube. Consumers of all things comic and creative.. But will they consumer He-Man and his masters of the universe?

    There seemed to be a sense of death in the He-Man world with the 1980s live action film .. while some secretly like it, it was a huge flop. It seemed to be made at the wrong time, the wrong era.. Kids just…outgrew it by the time it made it to theaters.

    When He-Man was brought back in a new cartoon in the early 2000s, it was met well by critics and reviews were strong.. but it didn’t meet the same approval of younger kids the way the 80s version did.

    And now we are back to the past: A cartoon is on the way back. Toys are too..

    But will kids?

    We don’t know.. we are unsure if this will be a hit that some hope for. But as fans of the 80s version, we are sure happy to see HE-MAN on toy shelves again.

    The only thing missing is the KAY-BEE or Toys-R-Us store that they were in originally..

  • News for Saturday September 15 2020

    News for Saturday September 15 2020

    If you had the flu in Seattle this winter, chances are it was COVID-19!

    US scientists are developing a strain of the coronavirus that could be used to deliberately infect volunteers in so-called “challenge studies”

    The Pentagon announces a new task force to research UFOs.. MORE: In a press release, the Defense Department, perhaps to avoid association with the extraterrestrial implications of “Unidentified Flying Objects,” used the term “Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon,” but it’s clear what it’s referring to: objects in the sky of unknown origin…

    Study says that thousands of people in Seattle who thought they had a winter flu actually had the coronavirus!

    COVID signs appear in order..


    GET FRESH AIR! Fauci says the sunlight defeats COVID-19!

    CDC says COVID immunity lasts for only 3 months! 

    As many as two million Californians were plunged into darkness over the course of four hours late Friday in the first rolling blackouts to hit the state since the 2001 energy crisis…
    It is just the beginning..

    Hurricane season about to go into overdrive..

    The election insurrection: The Trump campaign is working to dispatch tens of thousands of election monitors to battleground states in what is shaping up as the Republican Party’s largest-ever poll-watching operation.

    At least 50 Belarus security personnel in riot gear dropped their shields and were embraced by anti-government protesters in Minsk, as demonstrators chanted “brothers” at the police.

    Miley says her new song is about reclaiming her life..
    < br> Rumors rampant online that the real life ANNABELLE that inspired horror movies escaped from a museum! But it’s not that fun: “I’m here to tell you something,” he said on the family’s YouTube channel. “I don’t know if you want to hear this or not, but Annabelle did not escape.”..

    New THE BATMAN film will focus on Bruce Wayne trauma..

    DC Universe going to HBO..

    SPUTNIK review: “It’s a vision of the 1980s Soviet Union as an imposing and alien world, detached from reality and humanity, and run by menacing figures with little adherence to normal codes of conduct, or morality”

    Normal Things: Gaten Matarazzo has been spending the coronavirus hiatus working at a restaurant

    Star says STRANGER THINGS 4 will be worth the wait..

    Bill Maher says: It’s time to cancel God!


    Beauty at 54! Sizzling Halle Berry on a skateboard!

  • National Weather Service issues America’s first-ever warning for a fire tornado

    National Weather Service issues America’s first-ever warning for a fire tornado

    “The Reno office of the National Weather Service warned Northern California of a fiery tornado Saturday afternoon that had sprung up near a large, fast-moving wildfire in the Sierra. That’s right: A firenado,” the Sacramento Bee reported Saturday. “It is the first known issuance of a tornado warning for the climate phenomenon since it burst into California’s consciousness during the deadly Carr Fire in 2018.’

    It’s not the first time one happened, keep in. I don’t.. but the first time a warning sound …