samhexum

Still completely not enjoying the teen storyline. And who would have thought Meadow Soprano would wind up a waitress in Montana? (Did you know she's Lenny Dykstra's daughter in law?)

Texas school teachers told to counter Holocaust books with ‘opposing’ views A secret audio recording revealed a Texas school administrator warning teachers to balance out classroom books on the Holocaust with “opposing” views. An official with the Carroll School District in Southlake is heard on the recording, obtained by NBC News, advising educators about what books they should have on their classroom shelves after a local teacher was reprimanded for keeping an “anti-racism” book in her library. “Make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust that you have one that has opposing — that has other perspectives,” a voice that is purportedly Gina Peddy is heard saying to groans from teachers. “How do you oppose the Holocaust?” one teacher responds, according to NBC News. “Believe me — that’s come up,” replies Peddy, the school district’s director of curriculum and instruction. The recording was made Friday during a training session said to be related to Texas’ new law that requires teachers to present differing views when studying “widely debated and currently controversial issues,” the TV station reported. The controversial 3979 bill was portrayed by conservative lawmakers as a ban on “critical race theory,” outlining how teachers can discuss history and structural racism in Lone Star State’s classrooms, the Dallas Morning News reported. A spokeswoman for the district told NBC school leaders recognize “teachers are in a precarious position” due to new legal requirements. The law is viewed as applying to books available in class libraries — not just those used as part of a lesson, the spokeswoman said. “Our district has not and will not mandate books be removed nor will we mandate that classroom libraries be unavailable,” spokeswoman Karen Fitzgerald said, according to NBC News. A state teachers union and state senator have said the school district is misinterpreting the law. NBC obtained a photo of teachers in an apparent protest of the discussion having stretched yellow caution tape across bookshelves.

$3.33 for regular/cash/self-service at Valero in Queens.

This thread (DUH!)

‘View’ staff ‘banned’ from talking to Meghan McCain by exec producer Meghan McCain’s upcoming audiobook memoir “Bad Republican” — and new columnist gig at The Daily Mail — apparently has her former boss at “The View,” Brian Teta, seeing red. Sources told Page Six that Teta is so paranoid about her feeding the British tabloid news about “The View,” that he’s attempted to ban staffers from talking to their former colleague. “Brian has lost his mind. What does he think this is? A cult, where everyone has to listen to what he has to say? We literally report into the news division. We’re being told not to talk to someone on the outside, who has different political views… who used to work with us,” a source on the show said. And, for the record, “many of us are still in contact with her,” the source added. But a spokesperson for the show told us: “This is not true. No one has been banned from talking to Meghan. Our focus is on the exciting season ahead and we wish the best for Meghan in her next chapter,” they said. Another insider pointed out that McCain is still in contact with people at the show, and even continues to use the show’s stylist Fran Taylor. “Her mom [Cindy McCain] was recently on as a co-host. This is so not true. It was a warm reaction and there’s nothing but warm thoughts for Meghan. And she and Brian left on good terms,” they said. McCain, 36, left the show in August after a combative four seasons as a co-host. Her upcoming memoir will “describe the moment she decided to leave and everything leading up to it,” another source told us. “They have bigger problems than Meghan and the Daily Mail. They should be more afraid of Candace Cameron Bure saying she suffered PTSD from hosting the show,” the second source said, adding that McCain’s new column is more political, and has, “nothing to do with gossip. She doesn’t care about what’s happening at ‘The View.’” The show continues to search for her replacement.

great abs

Do you ever search for the hidden items in each BIZARRO comic? Above Dan Piraro's name is the # of items in that day's comic. In this one, the 5 are the piece of pie (bottom right), the K2 & stick of dynamite in the bush (lower left), the alien on the runner's shirt, and the eyeball in the bush atop the wall (top right).

I honestly don't remember how big his role was, but the shirt didn't come off much, if at all.

He said it's been going on for a couple of years.

Katey Sagal was hit by a Tesla making a turn whilst crossing the street today. She was taken to the hospital, but will be okay.

Everybody's doing the Disco-- Disco Dick...

Moderator's note: No political commentary in The Lounge. If you like Mr. Gorham, you should've watched UGLY BETTY.

Astoria street fair to thank neighbors for raising close to $90,000 for charities and progressive causes Astoria volunteers will be hosting a free community cookout on the 31st Open Street on Saturday, Oct. 16, to thank neighbors for donating thousands of dollars to various organizations. During the pandemic, Astoria resident Eli Goldman started barbecuing on Open Streets in his neighborhood to raise money for food pantries and progressive causes. Goldman has donated close to $90,000 to the ACLU, NAACP, Astoria Food Pantry, Astoria Mutual Aid and more. Goldman started barbecuing off his balcony in hopes of bringing some joy to his neighborhood during the height of the pandemic, but never thought it would turn into such a large movement. “People seemed to get a kick out of me barbecuing on my patio,” Goldman said. “It was boredom, working from home during the pandemic and a sense of hopelessness. Things were just so crazy in the beginning.” Once Goldman started getting some more attention from his neighbors, he moved his set-up to the Open Street in Astoria. “It quickly snowballed into a real thing,” Goldman said. “People started to see what I was doing and how much money we were raising for charity. There was once or twice a month when [we] would set up two smokers and make as much food as we could and feed anyone regardless if they could pay or not and instead of keeping it for ourselves, we gave it away.” Goldman said that the event Saturday is meant to thank the neighborhood for helping him and his passion grow so quickly over the past year. The street fair is the first of its kind, said Goldman, and he doesn’t know what to expect. “We usually serve 150 people but we have a lot more restaurants involved,” Goldman said. “It’s usually just us.” The event will be located at 31st Avenue between 33rd Street and 35th Street, and will start at 11:30 a.m. with music until 9 p.m. There will be five DJs and a Brazilian drumline at 2:30 p.m. Free food from local restaurants like Between the Bagel, Cafe Boulis and King Souvlaki will be available from 1 to 5 p.m. Weather permitting, there will also be a family-friendly Halloween movie at 9 p.m. The entire event is free, which Goldman said is a statement of what they believe in and how they should be treated. “If you can’t afford it if you’re having a bad day, you forgot your wallet, you got fired or your employment ran out, as long as there is good, you’re getting fed,” Goldman said. Goldman also said it was really important to him to feature Astoria restaurants and artists at the event. “We really wanted to show how vibrant this community is,” Goldman said. “Some street festivals aren’t reflective of their neighborhood, but these are Astoria bars and restaurants. After this event, you can still meet these people just two blocks away from you.” For more information on the event, visit their Instagram page @tikkunbbq. Donations can be made on their GoFundMe page.

I am looking forward to the season finale Tuesday, but am kind of bummed I have to wait until next season for more. I've really enjoyed it. Did you continue watching? If so, did your enjoyment level change as it went on?

The season remained very dumb throughout. I know 2 other people who watch and they concur. However, the last half of the last episode was quite sweet.

Jamie from Progressive was an accident victim on STATION 19 last night. He was moonlighting as a delivery driver. You'd think Flo would've made an appearance at the accident site, but she was nowhere to be found.

I read something earlier this year that I'd forgotten until I watched the season premiere of LOVE IT OR LIST IT. The real estate industry is going to stop using the terms master bedroom, master bath, master suite because they conjure up images of slavery, I guess. Every time Hillary, David, or the homeowners mentioned the 'main suite' I wondered how many takes it took to not say the word master.

Too Much Salt Is Sickening Americans; FDA Wants Food ... https://khn.org › morning-breakout › too-much-salt-is-s... 12 hours ago — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed at ... FDA spells out lower sodium goals for food industry | Ap https://www.wvgazettemail.com › business › fda-spells-ou... 1 day ago — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out target sodium levels for dozens of foods ... FDA spells out lower sodium goals for food industry - Star ... https://www.startribune.com › fda-spells-out-lower-sodi... 1 day ago — NEW YORK — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed ... Feds pressuring food industry to cut salt levels - Bangor Daily ... https://bangordailynews.com › News 1 day ago — NEW YORK — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed ... FDA spells out lower sodium goals for food industry - WSFA https://www.wsfa.com › 2021/10/13 › fda-spells-out-lowe... 1 day ago — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed at ... FDA spells out lower sodium guidelines for food industry https://chicago.suntimes.com › 2021/10/14 › fda-lower-... 12 hours ago — NEW YORK — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed ... FDA guidance to food industry: Cut the salt | Health - Buffalo ... https://buffalonews.com › lifestyles › health-med-fit › fda... 1 day ago — NEW YORK (AP) — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines ... FDA spells out lower sodium goals for food industry - Action ... https://www.actionnews5.com › 2021/10/13 › fda-spells-o... 1 day ago — Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after U.S. regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed at ...

QNS Weekender: 28 things to do in Queens https://qns.com/2021/10/qns-weekender-28-things-to-do-in-queens/ The Amazing Maize Maze (Queens County Farm): See if you can make your way through NYC’s only corn maze, which celebrates the genius of Andy Warhol’s pop art. Get tickets. 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Floral Park. queensfarm.org. Advance tickets are $12 or $8 for children 4-11 and free for kids under 3. Open Fridays from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Oct. 17 to 30.

Are The Conners‘ Becky and Mikey going to become more than just friends with benefits? I really wanted see Becky get together with Emilio. “We really love Mikey and Becky together, but we’ll see what happens with them” as Becky continues to navigate her newfound sobriety, executive producer Bruce Helford recently told TVLine. As for Becky’s baby daddy, fellow EP Dave Caplan confirmed that Emilio will be back, and he “makes her think about her future a little differently.”

Domino’s Pizza posted its first drop in U.S. same-store sales in over a decade on Thursday, as the world’s biggest pizza chain grappled with a slowdown in delivery demand and a tight labor market that created a shortage of drivers. As COVID-19 curbs ease, Americans have started to eat out at restaurants after more than a year of ordering food at home, slowing sales at Domino’s that gets most of its business from deliveries and take-away orders. Adding to its woes, Domino’s also said a severe labor crunch in the United States dealt a blow to its business, forcing it to reduce store operating hours and compromise on delivery service times. To address the labor shortage, Domino’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Allison said the company would maximize the number of deliveries a driver could make per shift. “I don’t see why drivers should ever have to get out of their cars. Why can’t we keep them turning to the store back to the customer and maximizing deliveries per driver per hour,” Allison said on a call with analysts. The Michigan-based company said stimulus check benefits rolling off also helped lead to a 1.9% fall in same-store sales at its U.S. restaurants during the third quarter. That was off analysts’ estimate of a 1.89% increase, according to IBES data from Refinitiv, and a reported jump of 17.5% a year ago. Compared with 2019, however, the pizza chain’s U.S. same-store sales were still up 15.6%. Shares of the company rose 2% in afternoon trading, as it also reported an increase of 8.8% in its international same-store sales. Domino’s net income rose 21.5% to $120.4 million or $3.24 per share, beating estimates of $3.11 per share and alleviating some concerns that rising wage expenses were pressuring the company’s profit margins. McDonald’s rolling out McPlant meatless burger at select US restaurants https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/123748-plant-based-meat/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-1905665

The Cardinals have fired manager Mike Shildt, as first reported by Rob Rains of StLSportsPage (Twitter link). At a press conference announcing the news, St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters (including Jeff Passan of ESPN) the organization made the decision based on “philosophical differences” between Shildt and the front office about the direction of the franchise. It’s a shocking development, since there was no prior indication Shildt’s job was in jeopardy. Indeed, the broader expectation as recently as last week had been that Shildt and the team would try to work out a contract extension, with his current deal running only through the 2022 season. Instead, the Cardinals will go in another direction in spite of the club’s strong run of play during Shildt’s tenure. Today’s announcement concludes Shildt’s nearly two decades in the Cardinal organization. The 53-year-old began his career as a scout and minor league coach in the St. Louis system in the early 2000’s, steadily working his way up the organizational ladder. By 2017, he’d earned a spot on the big league coaching staff, and he took over as the major league manager on an interim basis in July 2018 when the club fired Mike Matheny. The club removed the interim tag a month later. St. Louis won the NL Central and advanced to the NLCS in 2019, Shildt’s first full season at the helm. They finished in second place and lost in the Wild Card round during last year’s shortened season. This year, the Cardinals hovered right around .500 for the first few months before rattling off a miraculous 17-game win streak in September to coast to a Wild Card spot. St. Louis lost to the Dodgers in last week’s Wild Card game and ultimately won just one playoff series during Shildt’s tenure. But the club advanced to the playoffs all three years in which he was at the helm. While there’s little to quibble with from a results perspective, the front office clearly determined a new voice was needed behind the scenes. While announcing the news, Mozeliak noted that the Cardinals believe they have “quality internal candidates” who could be options to step into the manager’s office, although he declined additional comment when asked whether the team planned to stay internal or look outside the organization for Shildt’s replacement (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post).

I think he had two lines last night. BTW, I keep meaning to ask... is that actually you as your avatar? If it is, you're adorable.

McDonald’s rolling out McPlant meatless burger at select US restaurants McDonald’s announced Thursday it will test its meatless McPlant burger — created in partnership with Beyond Meat — at a handful of restaurants across the US next month. Starting Nov. 3, McDonald’s will roll the alternative-meat patty out in Irving, Texas; Carrollton, Texas; Cedar Falls, Iowa; Jennings, Louisiana; Lake Charles, Louisiana; El Segundo, California; and Manhattan Beach, California. It will be the first time the burger giant sells a plant-based meat imitator in the US. The limited test will help the Chicago-based burger giant “understand how offering a burger with a plant-based patty impacts the kitchens in our restaurants,” it said. The meat-free patty is made from ingredients including peas, rice and potatoes, and it will be served on a sesame seed bun with tomato, lettuce, pickles, onions, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and American cheese, the company said. McDonald’s has been slower to jump on the white-hot plant-based meat trend than its peers. White Castle, for example, was one of the first nationwide chains to jump onboard with the 2018 rollout of its Impossible Slider, which was created with Beyond Meat rival Impossible Foods. Burger King has also leaned into the movement, with its Impossible Whopper. The Restaurant Brands International-owned chain is also now testing meatless chicken nuggets. If the trial is successful and McDonald’s rolls out the McPlant burger more broadly, it could be a boon to Beyond Meat and help it dominate the plant-based meat industry. Shares of Beyond Meat were last seen trading more than 1 percent higher at $106.36 per share. The stock is down almost 14 percent since Jan. 1. McDonald’s has tested some plant-based products internationally, but never in the US. It rolled out — and then killed — a plant-based burger in Canada in 2019. Last year, the company unveiled the McPlant brand. Then, earlier this year, it announced a multiyear partnership with Beyond Meat to support that effort. Notably, former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson was an early investor in Beyond Meat and sits on its board. The McPlant has been tested in a few countries, including Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and the UK, where it recently expanded its testing of the product. It’s not clear how long the US test will last. The company said, “you’ll have to stay tuned for future McPlant availability updates coming out of our test…”