It was great to see this live-in-the-studio performance on the PBS News Hour tonight. Hermanos Gutiérrez are Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers who make amazing music on electric guitar and lap steel. I hope the News Hour will do more of these.

I was surprised to learn that the Bible contains no mention of the Holy Grail. The Grail never existed, and the idea comes from medieval stories about King Arthur.

JD Vance's July 4, 2016 essay in The Atlantic says that one day, voters would realize the truth about Donald Trump. That day has now arrived.

Some MAGA luminaries (Carlson, Shapiro, Rogan, others) are upset about the bigotry and conspiratorial thinking that they helped to create.

This story about Tulsi Gabbard is nuts. Reporting reveals how she was controlled by the leader of a Hare Krishna splinter group. The guru gave her talking points and told her what bills to introduce when she was in Congress. She resigned as DNI 2 days after she was notified that the story would run.

A rather enjoyable interview with John Waters.

Turns out that Olivia Rodrigo is a huge fan of the Cure. Robert Smith has joined her on stage to perform Cure songs, and he guests on a track on her new album.

Occasionally there is some good news.

Tianwen-2 is getting close to NEA/quasi-moon Kamo'oalewa. The sample that it collects and brings to Earth will tell us whether Kamo'olewa is made of ejecta from the Moon (possibly from the spectacular young crater Giordano Bruno).

The Sound Opinions radio show/podcast did a “classic album dissection” of the Violent Femmes' 1983 debut album. Includes a debate on whether the lyric is “like a blister in the Sun”, or “like I blister in the Sun”.

Americans don’t have much experience with authoritarianism. But Russians have been living under tyranny for centuries. This phrasebook can help us to understand. It is sad and frightening how many of the examples in the book can be recognized in what is happening in the U.S. today.

FBI director Kash Patel went snorkeling at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

Great new single from the Trashcan Sinatras: "Melodramatic". It is one of three singles released ahead of a new album coming in July. www.youtube.com/@TrashcanSin...

The Freakonomics radio show/podcast has a super 3-part series on physicist Richard Feynman. The world needs more minds like his. freakonomics.com/podcast/the-...

Trump's negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are volunteers, not government employees, so they are exempt from federal financial disclosure laws. They both have extensive financial interests that conflict with their public roles for the American people. Endless graft, grift, and corruption.

I recently visited Lancaster Brewing (Pa.). I often buy the Milk Stout at my local booze dealer, but for the Chocolate Stout, Shandy, and Peanut Ale, one must go to the source.

Among the nonsense that RFKennedy, Jr. has promoted is the claim that condensation trails formed behind jet planes are actually from dastardly “chemtrail” spraying operations. For a rational examination of this conspiracy fantasy, listen to episode #1039 of the Skeptoid podcast.

The sticky tape had been around the tree for less than an hour and had accumulated about two dozen juvie spotted lantern flies. A few days later, the tape is about 25% covered. For scale, the bugs' bodies are about 2 mm.

The U.S. CDC used to have a special unit for responding to cruise ship outbreaks. The unit was eliminated last year by HHS Sec. RF Kennedy, Jr - as part of the DOGE cuts.

This Is really good! A great protest song. Well done Waterboys!

Another 40-yr anniversary. The Bunnymen had recently put out their best-of collection "Songs To Learn And Sing". The Church were touring the shimmering psychedelia of the "Heyday" album. I was on Penn's concert committee and helped out the roadies.

A few days after the Artemis-II astronauts returned to Earth, the Trump administration released the President's Budget Request for 2027. It calls for a 47% cut to NASA science. If implemented, over 50 science missions would be terminated. This is an extinction-level event for space science.

Help support this great new project from Skeptoid Media.

A 40-year anniversary that passed last month. Great show: the Bangles were touring the Different Light album ('If She Knew What She Wants', 'Walk Like An Egyptian', 'Manic Monday'). The Gurus had just released Mars Needs Guitars!, which featured “Bittersweet”: loud with massive catchy guitar hooks.

Mr. Trump's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology is mostly tech billionaires, and has only one academic scientist. Government of, by, and for the billionaires.

A thoughtful reflection on the meaning of the triumph of Artemis-II in today's world. link.motherjones.com/public/45159...

No one is too crazy or unqualified for this Administration, as long as they are blindly loyal to the dear leader. “A far-right conspiracy theorist turned high-ranking official at the US Federal Emergency Management Agency claims to have once teleported to a Waffle House.“

The Artemis-II spacecraft has major components from the European Space Agency: The European Service Module (ESM) is providing Orion’s propulsion. It also provides the crew’s life-support systems (water and air, temperature), all of which are powered by the module’s four solar wings.

A piece in Scientific American about upcoming U.S. robotic rovers on the Moon. I provided a few quotes about Lunar Vertex, APL's lunar lander/rover science investigation.

"not a single psychic has led police to Nancy Guthrie—potentially saving her life, claiming the $1M reward, bringing criminals to justice, [and] relieving the family’s grief. There’s no way around it: The psychics either cannot locate her, or they choose not to do so for some reason."

Go Artemis-II !

Vice President Vance thinks that UFOs are demons. Hmm . . . and maybe the Loch Ness monster is the Holy Ghost.

"Meta’s chief executive is striving to create “superintelligence,” or a godlike A.I. that can act as the ultimate personal companion."

Sending ICE agents to help with TSA duties is like sending the tennis team in to play hockey: they don't know the rules, they lack the right training, and are completely ill-equipped for the job. From the article: "ICE officers’ exact duties at airports remained unclear."

It's getting hot, faster.

Here's a great collection of conversations with the members of Monty Python, from the Bullseye radio show/podcast.

How to be better insulated from oil price shocks? This Middle East expert says “Over the long run, the United States needs to do what China is already doing: invest in E.V.s.”

Recounting the series of bad decisions that led to having Hells Angels as security at the infamous Grateful Dead-Rolling Stones concert at Altamont, Ca. in 1969.

The unwritten rule "Never embarrass the Bureau"? Someone please tell the Director.

Anyone seen "The Chair Company"? I'd say this series is the very definition of an offbeat, dark comedy/thriller.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem gave a $143M no-bid contract to a company staffed by her friends. The CEO is married to Noem's former DHS spokesperson. Most organizations have an ethics rule about “avoiding even the appearance of a conflict of interest.” Not in this Administration.

I recently saw an interview with a former FBI agent. She said they had one very important unwritten rule: Never embarrass the Bureau. The current director has not gotten the message.

A pastor who supports repealing women’s right to vote and believes homosexuality should be a crime led a worship service at the Pentagon, saying he was invited by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

North of North (on Netflix) is a lot of fun. www.imdb.com/title/tt2737...

Continuing with “Where are today's protest songs?” (drawn from the Sound Opinions podcast episode #1055): Smoking Popes with Scott Lucas, 'Allegiance'.

“Where are the protest songs today?” Well here's one. Billy wrote and recorded it in a day. Read the lyrics, shown below the video.

As he tries to distract from the Epstein files, the president made an announcement about UFOs. For an entertaining science-based look at the chances of alien life and interstellar travel, and explanations of much-hyped Navy “UFO” videos, check out “The UFO Movie THEY Don't Want You To See”.

The president keeps pardoning drug dealers and kingpins. These are just the latest – look up Garnett Gilbert Smith, Larry Hoover, and Juan Orlando Hernández.

Venezuela's oil is 'sour heavy crude'. "It's more difficult and expensive, to extract, transport and refine. Producing it releases more planet-warming gases than other kinds of crude, making it worse for the climate." The 'sour' means high in polluting sulfur. It should stay in the ground.

I've read a number of Nick Hornby's books and novels over the years (Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, How To Be Good, Songbook, Slam, Funny Girl). I recently found this Hornby-edited short story collection at Goodwill. It's from 2002, and features some real literary stars. All the stories were great.