samhexum

The pilot who flew a small plane into Beijing's tallest building last week wrote in his diary about “ending his life,” authorities in China say. Their investigation concluded that the cause of last Friday's crash was “personal reasons,” according to a statement posted on social media by Beijing's Chaoyang district government. The pilot, a 66-year-old man, was killed in the crash and 13 other people were injured. None of the injuries are life-threatening and one of the injured has been discharged, the government statement said. The crash, which happened in a downtown skyscraper district as people were leaving work around 6 p.m., raised questions about security in the Chinese capital. It left a hole in the glass facade of the 108-story CITIC tower, nicknamed the “Zun” building because it mimics the shape of an ancient wine vessel of that name. The pilot, identified only by the surname Liu, first flew with someone else in the two-seat training plane, then took off on a solo flight from a general aviation airport in the outskirts of Beijing, the Chaoyang statement said. He deviated from the planned flight path and contact with him was lost, it said. Liu had no fixed job, was divorced and lived alone, according to the statement. He had insomnia and anxiety and his diary had multiple references to ending his life, it said.

Dansby Swanson hit two homers on Tuesday and hit three with eight RBI yesterday. He now has 26 RBIs in his last 10 games. According to Jeremy Frank, that’s the fourth-best total in MLB history, tied with Mel Ott (1929) and trailing Jimmie Foxx (1933), Joe DiMaggio (1939) and Lou Gehrig (1930). Frank has Foxx with 28. Baseball Reference (image below) says 27. Whatever the number, the fact remains: Nobody — not Barry Bonds, Mickey Mantle, Manny Ramirez or Hank Aaron — has done anything like this in more than 90 years. 23 of the 26 came in four games... yesterday and 15 in three versus the Mets

I watched tonight and enjoyed it although I found Ray's softening a bit unrealistic.

Last night, my YouTube feed offered me Patti LuPone singing this on Stephen Colbert's show. Her performance lacked the "personality" of Ms. Stritch's and was noticeably inferior, IMO.

A long-empty Greenpoint firehouse could see its sparsely detailed but elegant limestone facade restored as part of a new residential project pitched by a developer. The firm has proposed to demolish the rear of the building and the single-story brick structure next door to make way for a six-story, 10-unit condo building. Plans for the new build and partial restoration were presented to Landmarks Preservation Commission at its meeting on Tuesday, May 19, with the site at 124 Greenpoint Avenue falling within the Greenpoint Historic District. The commissioners supported plans for demolishing the single-story brick building, originally a wagon shed built in 1893 and long used as a poultry slaughterhouse before falling into disrepair. They also expressed support for restoring the early 20th century firehouse facade and developing the site, and praised the design team’s creative approach. Still, they sent the plans back to the drawing board for more work. Their main critique was that the new building is too dominant and overall the project lacks cohesion. https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/greenpoint-firehouse-122-124-greenpoint-avenue/

Amazin’ Mets Foundation and America’s VetDogs raising Howie, their fourth service dog together By Ethan Marshall The Amazin’ Mets Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the New York Mets led by team co-owner Alex Cohen, and America’s VetDogs, a non-profit that provides specially trained service dogs to veterans and first responders with disabilities, are partnering to co-raise their fourth service dog together, Howie, named after Mets longtime announcer Howie Rose, who is retiring at the end of the 2026 season. Howie the dog is an 11-month-old Labrador Retriever. For the next 14 to 18 months, Howie will undergo basic training and socialization with Amazin’ Mets Foundation staff members, as well as Mets players and fans. Throughout Howie’s training, he will have a home in the Mets front office. In an effort to expose him to various environments that will help mold him into a confident and calm future service dog, Howie will be attending select events at Citi Field. Howie’s Citi Field debut will come during the Mets game against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, July 8. America’s VetDogs was chosen as the beneficiary for that evening’s 50/50 Raffle program held by the Amazin’ Mets Foundation. “America’s VetDogs is incredibly grateful to Alex Cohen and the Amazin’ Mets Foundation for their continued support,” America’s VetDogs President and CEO John Miller said. “The Amazin’ Mets Foundation’s generosity helps raise and train future service dogs for our nation’s and communities’ heroes while increasing awareness of the life-changing resources available to them at no cost. It costs America’s VetDogs more than $50,000 to breed, raise, train and place a service dog, and support from Alex Cohen and the Amazin’ Mets Foundation helps make that possible.” Howie’s name was chosen through a vote by Mets employees, reflecting the deep appreciation for his namesake, Howie Rose. Rose has worked as a broadcaster for Mets games since 1987. After hosting the team’s pregame and postgame shows from 1987 to 1994, he became the play-by-play announcer for Mets games on TV from 1995 to 2003 and has been the play-by-play announcer for games over the radio since 2004. The service dog being named after Rose is meant to be a tribute to his long and extraordinary career and lasting impact on multiple generations of Mets fans. As of June 2026, the Amazin’ Mets Foundation has funded over $200,000 in grants to America’s VetDogs. The Mets became the first MLB team to partner with America’s VetDogs to raise a service dog when they first partnered to co-raise Shea in 2022. Ethan Marshall I was born and raised on Long Island and reside in Bayside. Graduated Cum Laude from Hofstra University. Big Mets, Jets and Islanders fan.

The NBA had its draft this week. Charlotte picked a German player whose first name is Hannes. They had another pick a little later and picked Christian Anderson (Jr., another German)

isn't it against forum rules to post pictures of aberrant behavior? How dare you post a picture of Dakota Johnson's dad smoking!

On Wednesday night, Giants rookie Victor Bericoto hit a walk-off home run to give the Giants a 2-1 win over the A’s. Last night, Bericoto hit another home run, and as Jared Greenspan of MLB notes, the two home runs were almost identical: 445 feet, with an exit velocity of 108.7 mph. The only difference: hang times of 5.2 and 5.3 seconds. In a sobering note, after Wednesday’s game, Bericoto learned that his brother’s girlfriend was among near-500 casualties of the earthquakes in his (and many big leaguers’) home country of Venezuela.

just imagine how peeved ol' millie woulda been if she'd found some wire hangers in Vida's closet!

State Park Leader Accused of Secretly Recording 23 Lifeguards Naked in Locker Room with Hidden Camera Former California State Parks superintendent Kevin Pearsall is accused of secretly recording nearly two dozen male employees in a locker room Hidden cameras allegedly captured audio and video of 23 men over an 11-month period at Bolsa Chica State Beach beginning in August 2024 Pearsall retired after the investigation began and could face up to 18 years in jail if convicted On June 24, the District Attorney's Office in Orange County announced former California State Parks superintendent Kevin Pearsall, 59, has been charged with 23 counts of secretly filming another, five counts of eavesdropping and three counts of unlawful dissemination of private records. According to prosecutors, the charges stem from multiple instances of recording lifeguards and other state employees in the locker room of the Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters in Huntington Beach. Pearsall is also accused of sending nude images of at least three different employees to two other men. In July 2025, a sworn California State Parks officer discovered a USB drive in the men's employee locker room at the lifeguard headquarters, according to the release. Upon further inspection, the officer allegedly found the USB contained images of state employees undressing. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) was immediately contacted, and an investigation began. CHP identified at least 23 different men who had their genitals or buttocks filmed by Pearsall, none of whom consented to the recordings. Pearsall is also accused of making sexually charged comments about his employees' genitals. Pearsall, who worked for the department since 1994, was placed on leave while under investigation, prosecutors say. He subsequently announced his retirement after search warrants were served.

I looked at the title quickly and thought Martians in Venice is an odd topic for this forum.

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As Mrs. Brolin once sang, Memories... light the corners of my mind...

Even though cantaloupe has a hard rind that isn’t eaten, you need to wash your melon before eating it... really wash it, or there can be real consequences for your health. Food safety litigator Bill Marler has been “suing people over cantaloupe for years.” One of the biggest recent outbreaks was in 2023, when almost 600 people were sickened in the U.S. and Canada and eight people died. The culprit is the skin of the melon. The netted rind is the perfect place for bacteria, says Marler. “Unlike most produce, bacteria doesn’t just sit on the surface of a cantaloupe after harvest—it grows there.” This can happen anytime between harvest and your grocery store purchase. This means if you don’t properly wash cantaloupe before cutting, your knife will simply drag any harmful bacteria into the flesh. And since cantaloupe is eaten raw, there’s no chance of killing the bacteria while cooking. The California Cantaloupe Advisory Board (CCAB) and USDA have cleaning recommendations specific to cantaloupes and other melons with a netted (rough) rind. A simple quick rinse is enough for most fruit and veg, but this one needs a bit more care. In short, the USDA recommends: “To minimize the risk of cross contamination, use a vegetable brush and wash melons thoroughly under running water before peeling or slicing.” The CCAB notes that you can use the same kind of brush commonly used to clean potatoes before cooking. Note that you’ll also want to make sure to clean your knife and cutting board to help decrease chances of cross-contamination. Basically, think of the clean-up after cutting melon similar to dealing with raw chicken, another product prone to harbor salmonella. That being said, it is still statistically unlikely to contract salmonella from cantaloupe. So pull out your vegetable brush, give your prized melon a good wash, and enjoy the taste of summer.

Ahem... she was most widely known for hawking hostess cupcakes.

don't know any and wouldn't be worth the effort if I did.

thanks, but my hands don't work too well and I wouldn't have the necessary dexterity. It's no big deal.

This isn't exactly a cooking failure, but... I somehow wound up with seven pieces of cutlery that my aunt had -from a set that she did not have all of- in which everything was smaller than the usual piece of silverware. I had a tablespoon, 3 teaspoons, a fork, and two butter knives. Over the years, the fork and one of the teaspoons broke, and twice I absentmindedly left one of the teaspoons on a tray I put into the toaster oven and the plastic handles melted, so I was down to the tablespoon (which I use all the time) and two butter knives (which I've been using a lot lately to make peanut butter and Smuckers sugar-free preserves sandwiches). Last night I had a bowl soaking in the sink and I made a sandwich so I tossed the knife into the bowl to let the peanut butter soak off. Later on when I went to rinse them out, I tipped the bowl over to let the water out and the butter knife (because it's so much smaller than usual) went right down the drain. When I shine the phone flashlight down there, I can see the maroon handle sticking up, mocking me. It's not affecting drainage in any way, so I assume it will stay there until this apartment is bought by somebody who has the money to redecorate this kitchen. OOPSIE!

My former roommate and I went to Europe three years in a row from 1989 to 1991. During one of the first two trips we went to planet Hollywood in London, which was no great thrill, but one of my happiest memories happened just as we were leaving. My friend had liked the avengers TV show when she was younger, but I had gotten rather obsessed with it around that time and had started driving her nuts by always watching it and/or talking about it. So imagine my joy when (literally) as we were walking out the door to leave the theme from the show came on blasting at high decibels. We were parked around the corner and up the block and I think I laughed the whole way to the car as we could hear it the whole way. She cursed me out the entire time. The thought of it still makes me happy. That same friend and I loved a Totie Fields album that I have and we used to quote parts of the routines to each other. One of our favorite cuts was the last selection on the album, entitled Weaver high, in which Totie talked about her time at Weaver high school in Hartford, Connecticut. Well, one day I was doing some fieldwork gathering address information in a neighborhood that had seen better days in Hartford when I passed a high school, and when I looked at the building, guess what the name of it was!?! Judging by the students who were leaving for the day at the time, the demographics of the student body had apparently changed rather a lot since Totie had gone there. I had a cassette of the album with me and of course, I had to pull over and put it on and laugh at my happy coincidence. Have any of you ever had a similar experience, a silly little moment that somehow related to a part of your life and made you laugh then and ever since?

The daughter of classic movie director William Wyler has been found dead alongside her husband in their parked car. Judith Sheldon, 84, and Wylie Sheldon, 86, were discovered in their Jeep on California's Interstate 5 near Redding on 15 June, the same day an extreme heat warning was issued. Temperatures reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 43C). The California Highway Patrol said in a statement that both parties were pronounced deceased at the scene. Authorities revealed that their car's engine was running, and the fan was high, but the air conditioning wasn't working. There was also no water in the car. Judith and Wylie, who met at Stanford University, were on their way to meet their friend David Smith in Oregon to attend Ashland's Shakespeare Festival. Smith told The New York Times: "They didn't crash. They stopped. They both just died there. The entire thing is so bizarre. We're still in a state of shock." Whether the heat was the cause "may be determined" by an autopsy, with Tim Mapes, Shasta County Sheriff's Office spokesman, stating: "We'll just have to wait and see." Judith's father, William Wyler, is the most nominated director in Oscar history, having won three Academy Awards for wartime drama Mrs Miniver (1942), romance The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and religious epic Ben-Hur, and received a further nine nominations for films including Roman Holiday (1953), starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, and 1958 Western The Big Country. Judith – one of Wyler's five children from his marriage to Margaret Tallichet – had a small role in The Best Years of Our Lives and Roman Holiday, appearing alongside Peck in a scene set by Rome's Trevi Fountain. During Wyler's career, he directed 14 actors to Oscar wins, including Bette Davis (Jezebel, 1938), Olivia de Havilland (The Heiress, 1949) and Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl, 1968). Wyler, one of the most versatile filmmakers in Hollywood history, died in 1981, aged 79. Judith, who chaired the board of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, would often bring her father's Oscar trophies to parties, where attendees could pose with them. Judith and Wylie, a former lawyer, are survived by their sons.

In a report made public on Monday, the National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South was triggered in early June 2021 when two connections between garage columns and the condominium’s pool deck failed. Investigators found that initial structural failure spread to other elements of the pool deck and street-level parking garage and caused cracks to grow over the span of a few weeks, eventually unseating the southern edge of the pool deck slab from its supporting wall, the report said. As the pool deck’s concrete slab sagged and warped, the weight of the initial columns transferred to nearby columns “that were not strong enough to support them,” the report said. That caused a “progressive collapse.” “When the pool deck slab broke away, it damaged two connections supporting that part of the tower,” the report said. “The failure then progressed through the Middle part of the tower, followed by the East part.” Investigators said there was no particular event that prompted the partial collapse of the L-shaped building at 8777 Collins Ave. on June 24, 2021. Instead, they said, a host of design and construction defects, along with other decisions made over the 40-year life of the beachfront building, left it vulnerable. https://apple.news/Aik3AIKwFSr2zSDEmb0iSXA

Hence, my avatar