Your Bag of Nothing for Tuesday, April 15, 2025

 

  • Blue Origin crew safely back on Earth after all-female space flight
    • It’s ridiculous to consider any of these passengers astronauts.​ A person who is merely a passenger on a spaceflight—without performing any operational duties or contributing to mission safety—is not considered an astronaut. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), such individuals are designated as “spaceflight participants” rather than astronauts.
    • In 2021, the FAA updated its criteria for awarding commercial astronaut wings. To qualify, a person must not only travel above 50 miles (80 km) but also demonstrate activities during flight that are essential to public safety or contribute to human spaceflight safety. This change excluded individuals like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, who did not meet these criteria during their suborbital flights.
    • But I will give Jeff Bezos this, he’s done a fine job marketing this company. The plethora of free coverage by sending morning television show hosts like Michael Strahan and Gayle King, and celebrities like William Shatner and Katy Perry first thing in the morning for the world to talk about is a genius move.  So, how does their flight compare to the flights of the first two men in space? Well, here ya go.
      Feature Vostok 1 (1961) Mercury-Redstone 3 (1961) Blue Origin NS-31 (2025)
      Date April 12, 1961 May 5, 1961 April 14, 2025
      Crew Yuri Gagarin Alan Shepard Six Women
      Flight Duration 108 minutes 15 minutes, 28 seconds Approximately 11 minutes
      Maximum Altitude 203 miles (327 km) 116.5 miles (187.5 km) Over 65 miles (105 km)
      Maximum Speed 17,000 mph (27,400 km/h) 5,180 mph (8,340 km/h) Over 2,200 mph (3,540 km/h)

      A couple of the women kissed the ground when they exited the capsule. That reminded me of when Pope John Paul II used to do that. I thought he did it all the time, but a little research tells me he was known to kiss the soil on his first visit to a new country as a gesture of respect for the land and the people. I do have memories of when he was old and feeble, and his hosts would bring the ground (soil) up to him. I wonder if any other popes do this in some form.

  • A lad who has spent ‘over 158 days’ working out one of his trap muscles is also attempting to do the same with his legThe 19-year-old, known as ‘The Crooked Man’ (@thecrookedman10) on socials, is going seriously viral for having one heck of a trap, or trapezius. It’s the large muscle group in the upper back and neck.

  • Johnny Depp has gone grey for a role and looks like the Most Interesting Man in the World.
  • These are the most mispronounced words in the United States in 2025, study says
    • In 2025, several words and names are proving to be challenging for people to pronounce correctly. The top mispronounced words, according to a study by Mondly, include Chappel Roan, SZA, Croissant, Demure, and Oregon.

  • Honestly, I always thought they were singing “Snoopy.”

  • I’m a big Buster Keaton fan.

  • I guess it’s time to support the Dallas Wings as the Mavs will be hard to support as a franchise, especially with their ownership.
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Your Bag of Nothing for Monday, April 14, 2025

  • I love how much technology has advanced and make a strong effort to adopt it in my everyday life. It’s fun living in and embracing the future. But I felt uncomfortable reading comments on a recent Reddit post.


  • From the Wall Street Journal – How a Secretive Gambler Called ‘The Joker’ Took Down the Texas Lottery – A global team of gambling whizzes hatched a scheme to snag the jackpot; millions of tickets in 72 hours

  • I caught the preview for next week’s 60 Minutes segment on the monarch butterfly migration to the mountains of Mexico. What stopped me in my tracks, and I honestly didn’t know this was possible, was hearing the sound of butterfly wings. That’s right. There are so many monarchs gathered in one place, their wings actually make a sound. Here’s the link if you’re interested.

  • DHS told her to leave the country. She’s a citizen — and an immigration attorneyWhen Massachusetts resident Nicole Micheroni received an email on Friday from the federal government telling her to leave the country, she was baffled.“At first I thought it was for a client, but I looked really closely and the only name on the email was mine,” said Micheroni. “So it said my parole status had been terminated and I should leave the country within seven days.”

    But the 40-year-old is a U.S. citizen, born in Newton and raised in Sharon.

    “Probably, hopefully, sent to me in error,” she said. “But it’s a little concerning these are going out to U.S. citizens.”

  • I finally watched Taxi Driver over the weekend. It’s one of those movies I’ve heard about for years but never got around to. Going in, all I really knew was the basics: a Scorsese and De Niro collaboration, a young Jodie Foster, the John Hinckley connection, and of course, “You talking to me?”

    When it ended, I found myself struggling to understand why it’s considered one of the greatest films of all time. So, I did what I often do after watching a so-called classic—I dug into the cultural context of the era and read reviews from when it was released.

    Maybe I’m a cultural buffoon, but I don’t think I should have to do homework to appreciate a film. When I watched The Godfather for the first time in my mid-twenties, I could feel its greatness while it unfolded. Taxi Driver didn’t land the same way for me.

    One thing that got my attention was his mohawk, which was something I wanted to have as a kid. Per Wikipedia, this is how it made it into the film:

    That made me think of old footage of the 101st Airborne preparing for D-Day. I believe they were the Filthy Thirteen. I always thought that would be an interesting thing to do, thinking you were participating in a suicide mission. I’m not sure if they ever got an opportunity to remove their helmets in front of any German troops or POWs, but there’s no telling what went through German soldiers’ minds if they saw this.

    Here’s a bit more of a backstory of what happened to some of them. It’s cool to see today’s soldiers honor them.

  • It’s amazing how long The Simpsons have aired, but I’ve always wondered what they would do if one of the leading voice actors died. I’m curious if any of them have anything unique in their contracts with the considerable progression of AI. I believe the late James Earl Jones had a similar agreement with Disney and his voice for Darth Vader. Anywho, this article led to all that thinking:Parks and Rec actor to take over voicing The Simpsons’ Jimbo Jones (exclusive) –
    Mo Collins will take over the character from Pamela Hayden, who retired from the show last year.
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Your Bag of Nothing for Friday, April 11, 2025

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Your Bag of Nothing for Thursday, April 10, 2025

  • One day, eventually, Nico Harrison will step down as the Mavericks’ GM, and this city will go crazy. It’s going to be one of those days to just get the popcorn ready.
  • I have no idea if this was intentional or not.

  • We live in weird times. The visiting Lakers are rallying the home crowd to cheer for one of their own. Of course, it’s Luka, but just the thought of the dynamics is bewildering.
  • Tesla Sitting On Thousands Of Unsold Cybertrucks As It Stops Accepting Its Own Cars As Trade-Ins
  • I’m sorry for the lack of posts this week. It’s been one of those tough emotional weeks.
  • I felt like a complete moran at church yesterday. I sat down to eat across from a woman I didn’t recognize and cheerfully said, “Howdy, I’m Keith,” with a big smile. She laughed and smiled back. Perplexed why she didn’t tell me her name, I cheerfully retorted, “What’s your name?” When she told me, I then realized it’s someone I’ve known for a while. I just didn’t recognize her because she used clippers to shave all her hair off after her first chemo treatment. Thankfully, she extended grace, as I think she expected morons like me not to recognize her.
  • Junior Miller shared a sweet story about his three-year-old daughter yesterday on the air. He mentioned that a kids’ version of We Will Rock You is his daughter’s favorite song. But to her, “we will rock you” means rocking in the rocking chair.

  • Jay North, TV’s mischievous Dennis the Menace, dies at 73

    It’s disappointing that CNN, ABC, and especially CBS, which ran the show, left out that North suffered verbal and physical abuse on set—slapped for minor mistakes by his aunt, forced to work long hours, and robbed of a childhood. Later in life, he turned his pain into purpose by advocating to protect future child actors. That deserves to be part of his legacy. I also think it’s worth mentioning he served a short stint in the Navy and was honorably discharged, but he often received harsh treatment from his shipmates and superiors for being a former child star

  • I will be honest: I could not believe the WH press secretary herself used the phrase “bend the knee” but she did.

    www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/u…

    [image or embed]

    — Peter Sagal (@petersagal.bsky.social) April 9, 2025 at 10:19 AM

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