Hubble Saw THIS on Your Birthday

As part of the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Telescope, NASA has made thousands of photographs available as part of their "birthday" search.

"...Hubble explores the universe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means it has observed some fascinating cosmic wonder every day of the year, including on your birthday...."

Many events, during the pandemic, have of course been cancelled, but NASA is making all manner of educational tools available on their website, as well as a resource download page HERE.

Check it out HERE!

Ginny Saville on CARES Act (Coronavirus Relief)

(editor's note - The following was written by Ginny Saville, founder/owner/operator of The Botany Bay stores in Central KY. You can also find The Botany Bay on Facebook and Instagram.)

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I spent my morning outlining my understanding of the important parts of CARES Act for regular people, small business owners and individuals. This is a long post, read if you are interested. It tweaked a lot of rules about retirement plan withdrawals and contributions, charitable contributions, and how businesses can deduct interest and losses, in addition to these things that affect the most of us.

NIN - "Ghost" Offered Free

Nine Inch Nails has released the next 2 albums in the "Ghost" series....and is making them both available free to everyone.

In a statement available on their website, Trent and Atticus say:

FRIENDS-

WEIRD TIMES INDEED…

AS THE NEWS SEEMS TO TURN EVER MORE GRIM BY THE HOUR, WE’VE FOUND OURSELVES VACILLATING WILDLY BETWEEN FEELING LIKE THERE MAY BE HOPE AT TIMES TO UTTER DESPAIR – OFTEN CHANGING MINUTE TO MINUTE. ALTHOUGH EACH OF US DEFINE OURSELVES AS ANTISOCIAL-TYPES WHO PREFER BEING ON OUR OWN, THIS SITUATION HAS REALLY MADE US APPRECIATE THE POWER AND NEED FOR CONNECTION.

MUSIC – WHETHER LISTENING TO IT, THINKING ABOUT IT OR CREATING IT – HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE THING THAT HELPED US GET THROUGH ANYTHING – GOOD OR BAD. WITH THAT IN MIND, WE DECIDED TO BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL AND COMPLETE THESE NEW GHOSTS RECORDS AS A MEANS OF STAYING SOMEWHAT SANE.

GHOSTS V: TOGETHER IS FOR WHEN THINGS SEEM LIKE IT MIGHT ALL BE OKAY, AND GHOSTS VI: LOCUSTS… WELL, YOU’LL FIGURE IT OUT.

IT MADE US FEEL BETTER TO MAKE THESE AND IT FEELS GOOD TO SHARE THEM. MUSIC HAS ALWAYS HAD A WAY OF MAKING US FEEL A LITTLE LESS ALONE IN THE WORLD… AND HOPEFULLY IT DOES FOR YOU, TOO. REMEMBER, EVERYONE IS IN THIS THING TOGETHER AND THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON.
BE SMART AND SAFE AND TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER.

WITH LOVE,
TRENT & ATTICUS

The albums, "Ghost V: Together" and "Ghost VI: Locusts", are available on all streaming devices and can also be downloaded HERE.

Enjoy!

R&R Hall of Fame 2020 Inductees

We posted the list of nominees and ballot link not long ago, and now the results are out. The class of 2020 is:

Depeche Mode
The Doobie Brothers
Whitney Houston
Nine Inch Nails
The Notorious B.I.G.
T. Rex

The Ahmet Ertegun Award goes to both Jon Landau and Irving Azoff.

Depeche Mode had 54 single on the UK charts, has sold over 100 million albums, garnered 5 Grammy nominations, and is called by Q magazine one of the 50 bands that changed the world. In addition, Billboard Magazine recognized them as one of the most successful and influential dance bands in music history.

Have YOU Voted? R&R Hall of Fame 2020

Ballot is below....and the nominees for the Class of 2020 are:

Pat Benatar
Dave Matthews Band
Depeche Mode
The Doobie Brothers
Whitney Houston
Judas Priest
Kraftwerk
MC5
Motörhead
Nine Inch Nails
The Notorious B.I.G.
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Todd Rundgren
Soundgarden
T. Rex
Thin Lizzy

To cast YOUR vote, visit the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and follow the instructions!

50 Years Ago Today - 1970 in Music

WHAT AN AMAZING YEAR....

1970 saw incredible albums, tours, single, performances, festivals, and so much more.

Big winners at the 1970 Grammy Awards included Crosby, Stills, & Nash (Best New Artist), "Games People Play" by Joe South (Song of the Year), the self-titled album from Blood, Sweat, & Tears (Album of the Year), and 5th Dimension's "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" (Record of the Year). Other winners included Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, Wendy Carlos, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, and more.

50 Years Ago...this Month in Music

"Until you have won some victory for humanity, you should be ashamed to die." - Horace Mann

Its always hard to judge the day in which one lives, so I offer this - a look back at December of 1969 - as a stick of measure for our current collective creative output quality. Its also fun to see where we were as a culture (the music & entertainment culture as well as the larger culture). Expect a look at 1970 later this week!

So, 50 years ago this month, what happened?

Are You "Healthy"?

(ed. note: By request, the following is a short overview that you, the reader, will hopefully find useful. These ideas are currently being expanded upon and will be available soon as a short e-book).

There are various types of health/wellness and I've seen interesting "health" break-downs over the years, but recently revisited the concept. I rather like the one listed below (which I have, admittedly, altered to how I best process information and attack goals).

Hoping you will find something serviceable, if not out and out useful, below.

This Day in Music - August 3

THE DAY COLUMBUS set sale in 1492 with three ships; World War I begins when Germany invades Belgium & declares war on France (1914); the NBA officially forms in 1949; and births include Martha Stewart & some guy named Tom Brady.

Also.....1958, the Billboard Hot 100 chart is founded.

1963, the Beach Boys release the first song Brian Wilson ever wrote, "Surfer Girl". The album on which the song is found (also "Surfer Girl") stays on the charts a phenomenal 56 weeks and peaks at #7, while the song itself also peaked at #7 and went on to be covered by artists as diverse as Paul Simon to Maroon 5.

1968 saw the Doors with TWO songs simultaneously in the top 5 - their own version of "Hello, I Love You" hit #1 while Jose Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" hit #3.

1971, Paul McCartney announces the formation of Wings; 1973, Stevie Wonder releases the now classic "Innervisions"; 1985 sees Tears For Fears hit #1 with "Shout"; 1987, Def Leppard releases "Hysteria" (which goes on the sell over 20 million units - among the biggest albums of all time); 1996, "Macarena" hits #1 and stays there for 14 weeks and sells 11 million units, and is later voted the best one hit wonder of all time; 2007, Brian May of Queen officially hands in his PhD thesis in Astronomy.

Born on this day.....Tony Bennett (1926), the Byrd's John York (1946), bassist BB Dickerson of War (1949), multi-instrumentalist Johnny Graham of Earth, Wind, & Fire (1951), Lee Rocker of Stray Cats (1961), and Metallica front-man James Hetfield (1963).

This Day in Music....

587 BC, the Babylonian Empire (in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II) sacks Jerusalem and destroys Solomon's Temple.....904 AD sees the sack of Thessalonica, second largest city of the Byzantine Empire.....and in 1588, Howard & Drake crush the Spanish Armada.

In happier news....

Born on this day: guitar wizard Carlos Santana (1947), Rush bassist and singer Geddy Lee (1953), guitarist & gun-for-hire John Sykes (Tygers of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Blue Murder - 1959), country star Martina McBride (1966), Boyz II Men vocalist Wanya Morris (1973), producer & Gnarls Barkley co-founder Danger Mouse (1977).

Also on this day: 1965 - the Beatles 2nd film "Help" premiered.....1966, John Lennon's interview hit the stands and caused a stir when he said "The Beatles are now bigger than Jesus"; Eric Clapton's band Cream made their live debut; and Bob Dylan suffered extensive injuries in a now famous motorcycle crash (ironically, he had been injured in a car accident exactly 5 years earlier).......1967, the Doors "Light My Fire" hits #1 in the US.....1968, the Beatles record "Hey Jude".....1974, Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas dies in her sleep.....1978, the soundtrack for the movie "Grease" goes to #1 in the US....