samhexum

I know it is terrible of me because I have absolutely no idea who he is and have been bored to tears by anything and anyone Olympic-related for my whole life, other than liking how Mark Spitz looked in his Speedo and how Bruce Jenner looked in his little shorts (and later in his tight CHIPS uniform)... whatever became of him?

OPINION MacKenzie Scott’s donations have shamed the boys of tech — Bezos above all MacKenzie Scott has done it again. Having already donated $1.7 billion to charity by this past July — and announcing that she’s no longer using the last name of her ex-husband, Jeff Bezos — she declared that she has donated another $4.2 billion to 384 organizations in the last four months. While all the tech bros fight over colonizing space and California tax codes, banding together for the only thing they really care about — fending off anti-trust legislators — Scott makes them all look like stingy, greedy incels without a shred of compassion for those ruined by COVID-19. “This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,” Scott wrote in a Medium post on Dec. 15. “Economic losses and health outcomes alike have been worse for women, for people of color, and for people living in poverty. Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.” Billionaires who, with the exception of Bill Gates and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, have been relatively mum on this pandemic. Remember Elon Musk loudly inserting himself into the Thai cave rescue crisis, acting like a real-life Tony Stark? Why so quiet now? And where’s Mark Zuckerberg? He’s signaled political ambitions. Know what helps with that? Acts of generosity, compassion and humanity. That said, no one on the planet has profited more off this pandemic than Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (who not that long ago publicly humiliated Scott by carrying on an extramarital affair with his now-fiancée). Amazon has been the biggest beneficiary of the COVID-19 crisis so far and likely will be for some time to come, as brick-and-mortar retail crumbles and even older, tech-averse Americans turn to online shopping. A recent USA Today report ranked Bezos No. 1 among 30 billionaires made even more disgustingly wealthy by a virus that has claimed 1.65 million lives worldwide. By April 2020, just one month in, more Americans were unemployed — 14.7 percent — than had ever been recorded, according to a congressional report. Yet Bezos has remained awfully quiet on the economic devastation suffered by so many Americans. A survey conducted by The Washington Post (also owned by Bezos) in June reported that he, “the wealthiest man in the world with a fortune of $143 billion,” gave just $125 million to charity thus far in 2020. (An Amazon spokesperson told The Post that Bezos has given a total of $900 million to charity in the past year, including funds to fight climate change.) Either way, that’s less than one percent — the equivalent of rooting around in his sofa for loose change. Meanwhile, Bezos purchased David Geffen’s Beverly Hills estate for $165 million in February. The previous summer, he bought several New York apartments for $80 million, and in April it was reported that he bought yet another New York apartment for $16 million. During this pandemic, Bezos’ wealth spiked by $13 billion in just a single day in July. Amazon shares traded at $1,700 pre-lockdown. Now they’re at more than $3,000. All this while employees at Amazon fulfillment centers protested and begged for proper PPE and workplace safety conditions. Some, like New York City protester Christian Smalls, were fired. Amazon exec Tim Bray resigned in May, calling such firings “chickenshit” and writing in a blog post that “remaining an Amazon VP would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions I despised.” As The Guardian noted, Bezos is now worth more than Exxon Mobil, McDonald’s or Nike. Yet his ex-wife, who got $38 billion in the divorce, dwarfs him in charitable giving. “She’s responding with urgency to the current moment,” Chuck Collins, director of the Charity Reform Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies, told The New York Times. “You think of all these tech fortunes, they’re the great disrupters, but she’s disrupting the norms around billionaire philanthropy by moving quickly.” In her Medium post, Scott wrote of average Americans giving what they could — not just financially, but of themselves — to help others in need. “Our hopes are fed by others,” Scott wrote, encouraging those of us lucky enough to have jobs and homes and health to give what we can. “The hope you feed with your gift,” she concludes, “is likely to feed your own.” With her giving, Scott hasn’t just proved her beautiful holiday spirit. She’s proved what Scrooges her billionaire brethren — and especially her ex-husband — truly are.

You know Dexter was married to his sister from 2008-2011, right? I'd been a fan of Yvonne Strahovski's from CHUCK, so I was greatly attuned to her accent when she was on DEXTER, since she'd only dropped it once on CHUCK. She also did it only once on DEXTER, saying 'fort-yune' cookie.

Viola Davis was on THE VIEW Friday and what was said about it (and Ma) was interesting. Davis said she and Boseman had attended several publicity events together and that he never left her and her husband's sides during them; they were that close. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51hnCYfAFWo:143

My parents had an unhappy marriage (my sister & I used to wonder why they didn't divorce). They just didn't like each other. Eventually he moved to Florida (while I was in college) and she stayed in NY. At some point after he moved he told me he and my mother hadn't had sex for two years before he'd moved. I was shocked that it had been that recently. I'd have guessed it was a lot longer than that... and I now sleep in that bedroom, so it's not one that sees a lot of action. ?? I don't know if this is true or not, but on DESIGNING WOMEN Charlene once said "Lisa Marie was born 9 months to the day from the day Elvis & Priscilla got married... that's why they called him The King."

I did something a couple of weeks ago, but it turned out to be for the wrong person. I'd gotten the same cashier twice in a row when I went grocery shopping and she was terrific... fast, friendly, great packing skills. I had bought several Lean Cuisines and it turned out only 1 variety was on sale, so three rang up as too much, which I hadn't noticed until I checked the receipt. It was early morning, so customer service wasn't open yet. She went through the long receipt for me to find out which items were affected, then found them in my bags and did a return for me at the register. The receipt lists the cashier's name and the manager's, plus his email. According to the receipt, she was Pia S., and I sent a nice message about her to the manager. The next time I went, my cashier was wearing a name tag... PIA. I doubted there were 2 cashiers with that name, but maybe that's why the first one was Pia S. Anyway, this Pia did everything well (I needed to do a return with her, too), although she was wearing her mask under her nose. When I got home & checked the receipt, the cashier was listed as Jos. I figured they're not always so strict about whose code they enter at the start of their shifts. ANYHOO... tonight I got the first cashier again and I asked her "Your name isn't Pia, is it?" She said no, but pointed Pia out two registers over-- the other cashier (the one that had worn the PIA nametag, and who still had her mask under her nose). So I told her what I'd done and said "I tried to do a nice thing!" She laughed and thanked me for trying.

I'd search under the couch cushions to find $ to hire him.

‘The Morning Show’ halts production after positive COVID test

Mysterious ‘angelic figure’ spotted on Mars by spacecraft An ‘angelic figure’ on the surface of Mars has been spotted by the European Space Agency. Scientists were using the Mars Express spacecraft to observe around the south pole of Mars when they spotted what looks like a snow angel formation on the ground. The researchers may have been feeling festive when they pointed out that the formation looks like it has a halo and two wings. A heart shape to the right of the ‘angel’ has also been pointed out. The ESA said in a statement: “The defined wings of an angelic figure, complete with halo, can be seen sweeping up and off the top of the frame in this image.” The colors are due to the different types of sands in the area. An enhanced color image was also released by the ESA. The angel’s left hand is said to be stretched into a ‘sublimation pit’. This is something that occurs when ice on Mars turns into vapour and leaves a depression on the surface. The ESA added: “The ‘head’ and halo are formed of an impact crater, created as a body from space flew inwards to collide with Mars’ crust.” There’s also signs of the surface being disrupted by strong wind formations called ‘dust devils’. The Red Planet is known for its bumpy surface and lots of people think they’ve spotted mysterious objects there. An eerie crater on the dusty slopes of Mars’ Pavonis Mons volcano was once picked out by two space scientists as a prime spot for extraterrestrials. NASA says the “unusual” feature “appears to be an opening to an underground cavern”. An image of the hole was first snapped by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011, and scientists have studied it ever since. 2020 Perseid Meteor Shower Timelapse